A Prayer for Every Year

December 21st

She enjoyed waking up in Jack's arms and was going to miss it if she had to start sleeping back in her own bed. She knew she should, after all, it wasn't all that fair to Lucy, but that would mean giving up her nights with her fiancée. She had totally attached herself quickly and part of her was worried.

"Sue?" Lucy questioned, setting a hand on her arm. The best friends were out to lunch, happy for a chance to chat.

"Are you sure you're okay with me moving out?" Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Are you kidding? I've been looking forward to this for as long as I can remember. You and Jack? You've loved each other from day one!" Sue blushed and Lucy laughed.

"This is the greatest present I could have asked for, Sue. And I'll bet the rest of the team thinks so too."

The surprise that greeted Sue when she got home was unlike she had ever had before. The living room of Jack's house was dark, only a few candles in the room providing the light she needed to move around. Jack was nowhere to be found, though she knew he was around somewhere. He had not only left the office before her but she'd told him she had a few errands to run before she came home. One of them included dropping Jack's present off at what was now Lucy's house. She looked around for Jack, calling out his name. Two arms wrapped around her waist as the room was lit with…

"Houses?" The confusion in Sue's voice was palpable and Jack spun her to face him.

"It's our own village," he explained to her, dropping his mouth to hers. She broke the kiss first, wanting to look at her newest Christmas addition.

"Jack, this is amazing! A general store? And a skating rink? How did you do this?" she asked, her eyes shining with tears. He shrugged.

"People owed me a few favours."

"How did you know? I mean, Lucy was the only one that knew about my childhood village and I made her swear not to tell…"

"You'd be surprised at what I can get out of Lucy," he told her with a grin. Sue rolled her eyes, blinking taking the tears down her cheeks. He looked down at her, worried.

"Hey, what's with the tears?" he asked, wiping them off her cheeks as they fell. She smiled through her tears.

"You've made this Christmas so perfect for me," she whispered. "I couldn't have asked for anything better, Jack, and I don't know how to thank you." He shook his head.

"You don't have to thank me, honey. I wanted to do this for you," he told her, hugging her to him. After a moment she loosened his arms slightly.

"Thank you," she whispered, standing on tiptoe and sealing her lips over his. He responded in kind, sliding his mouth against hers, asking for entrance to her mouth with a probing tongue. She granted it immediately and his arms wrapped tighter around her waist. Hers wound comfortably around his neck. He pulled away from her mouth only to start walking her backwards towards his bedroom. Her fingers worked on the buttons of his dress shirt as he walked her backwards. He stopped her hands as they reached the last couple of buttons. They'd reached the bed by this point and her knees brushed up against the edge.

"Are you sure?" he whispered to her. The smile he gave her was answer enough. Tipping her back on the bed he climbed in beside her.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing her passionately and he proceeded to show her just how much.