Disclaimer: I don't own Brokeback Mountain

I know, finally the Christmas chapter.

WARNING: sweet, mushy, sex scene. I'm working through all of this towards something, don't know what. But sooner or later, this will get better.

Christmas was here. Jack had all ready made arrangements with Lureen and Bobby. They would be arriving on December 27th which was a Friday and staying for the weekend. Lureen promised that on the way to their ranch they would stop and pick up Francine. Junior had managed to catch Francine while in town and she was telling her mother that she was staying with friends for the weekend. Lureen was supposed to be the family friend of the friends she would be staying with. Jack was still limping around a bit but the cast had come off and he could get around pretty well with a cane. The porch was done, but now snow was always on the ground and the three inhabitants of the house stayed in most of the time.

On the morning that everyone was going to get there, Ennis was standing out on the front porch. He had been nervously pacing throughout the house for the past hour and now he was out on the front porch smoking his fifth cigarette. He heard the front door open and shut and the now familiar tap of Jack's cane.

"You tryin' to freeze to death before they get here cowboy?" said Jack's easy voice.

"I just needed some air," Ennis said with his head down. Jack knew that Ennis was embarassed that he had been discovered. Ennis hated people knowing that he was nervous or that anything was affecting him. Jack was always the one who could tell no matter how much he had tried. Jack slowly sat down on one of the chairs and let out a deep sigh.

"Knowing Lureen's driving it's probably going to be about another hour before they all get here. Snow makes her nervous." Ennis silently nodded and lit another cigarette. "Ennis, sit down. It's going to be all right." Ennis didn't sit. He kept pacing. Jack slowly stood while Ennis's back was to him and walked towards Ennis. He gently put an arm around Ennis's waist. Ennis relaxed against Jack's body, let his eyes slip closed, and his chin rest on his chest. "It will be all right. It's just three days. It will be better than you think."

"I can't help it Jack."

"I know. We'll survive." Jack still stood with him for a while. "Do you want to go back inside?" Ennis took Jack's hand in his and gripped it tightly.

"Stay with me... a little longer?" Jack gently nuzzled Ennis's neck.

"Of course I will. Don't worry, I'll never leave you. I love you too much to leave. All you ever have to say, is stay. Just ask me to stay and I'll stay with you forever."

"How do you know what I'm thinkin' rodeo?"

"I know you. I've known you for years now. And you're mine. Sometimes I think I've known you my entire life. I think I knew you before I was even born. Like our two souls met long before we even came into being."

"I don't know if that's right or not. But I do know one thing."

"What's that?"

"I love you. Nothing and no one is ever going to take you away from me ever again. Not even me." Jack held Ennis a little tighter in response. They heard a car coming up the road and looked up.

"That's Lureen," said Jack recognizing the sound of the motor. Jack started to pull away but Ennis held his hand tight.

"Nothing is taking you from me again," he said quietly. As the car came into view, both of them waved to the driver of the car. Lureen smiled and waved back. Ennis moved away from Jack and went down the steps they had so carefully constructed. Lureen slowly parked the car and turned it off. Francine jumped out of the back seat and into her father's arms.

"I've missed you!" she cried as she threw her arms around her father. Bobby also launched from the car and ran to his father.

"Daddy!" he shouted as he ran up the steps and into his father's waiting arms. Lureen got out of the car and walked up the steps of the porch as well.

"Hey there Lureen," said Jack giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas Jack," she replied with a smile on her face.

"We can't thank you enough for bringing Francine up here."

"It's not a problem," she replied with a shrug. Alma came out onto the porch and the two sisters nearly knocked each other over as they hugged each other tightly. It was like they hadn't seen each other in years. For two sisters who had lived together their entire lives, months felt like years. When Ennis came back to the porch, Jack could see tears welling up in his eyes. He gently took his lover's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Slowly all of them filed into the house.

"You have a nice house here," said Lureen looking around.

"It wasn't that great when we got here. But we got it all fixed up in a couple of weeks," said Jack looking at the work they had done. Francine had retreated to the kitchen with Junior to work on lunch together. Ennis stayed back a ways and watched Jack with his ex-wife and son.

"Well, let me show you upstairs to your rooms."

"Are you sure you can make the stairs Jack?"

"It's not as bad as it was. I've actually been riding some now and again when Ennis here lets me out of the house." Ennis dipped his head down in embarassment.

"Don't worry Ennis," said Lureen. "Jack is the master at embarassing others." Ennis smiled slightly at Lureen and she genuinely smiled back. Jack led Lureen and Bobby upstairs while Ennis wandered into the kitchen and listened to his two daughters catch up. He wasn't really listening to what they were saying. But he felt tears in his eyes. He missed this. True, he had one daughter living under his roof. But it wasn't like having the both of them under his roof. Junior was the one who looked up and saw the tears flowing from his eyes.

"What's wrong Daddy?" she asked quietly. Francine turned and gasped at the look of sadness on their father's face. Ennis shook his head and turned away from the door. He almost ran into Jack as he turned around. Before he knew it he found his arms wrapped around Jack tightly and Jack was holding him just as tightly.

"Easy cowboy," said Jack quietly. "Easy, it's all right. It'll be all right."

"What's wrong?" said Junior.

"Nothing's wrong dumplin'," said Jack quietly. "Just a little overwhelming. Excuse us for a minute." Jack took Ennis by the hand and led him into their bedroom and shut the door back. He sat Ennis down on the bed and went into the bathroom. He soaked a washcloth in cold water, wrung it out, and walked back in.

"Here you go love, wipe your face." Ennis wiped the tear stains from his cheeks and held the cold cloth over his burning eyes.

"I'm sorry Jack, I just... I haven't had the two of them in the same place in what feels like so long... I miss Francine..."

"I know Ennis. There's no need to apologize. I nearly cried when I saw Bobby jumping out of the car." He gently ran his fingertips up and down Ennis's back. Ennis let the cloth drop away from his eyes and he rested his head in the crook of Jack's neck. Jack put his arms around Ennis's shoulders and held his shaking lover. "It's all right cowboy. I've got ya, we'll be all right." They could hear laughter coming from the kitchen and both smiled. "We should go-" Jack's words were silenced by Ennis's mouth covering his.

"Now we can go." They smiled at each other secretly and slowly shuffled out of the room together.

The afternoon passed easily and dinner was soon ready. They ate, talked, gossiped, caught up with their children, and laughed. Ennis was nervous in the beginning, but as the night went on and after a couple of beers he was feeling better and better. He laughed with his daughters and Bobby alike. He, Jack, and Lureen talked about safe subjects. When Bobby and Francine started yawning, the kids were sent up to bed. Lureen decided to follow not long after because she was tired from all the driving. Ennis nudged at the fire with a fire poker. Jack smiled to himself. It meant that Ennis was either trying to think of something to say or working up the courage to say something. Jack leaned across the space and put his hand on Ennis's neck. Ennis sighed and let Jack gently caress his skin.

"I've missed you, Jack," said Ennis quietly. Jack knew he meant the fact that they hadn't had sex in almost a month.

"I've missed you, too," Jack replied. Ennis took Jack's hand from his neck and kissed his fingers. Jack felt his heart beat quicker and his breath start to come quicker. It just wasn't possible to resist the man he loved. Ennis stood and pulled Jack to his feet.

"What have you got in mind cowboy?" Jack asked as Ennis pulled their bodies tightly together. Ennis kissed Jack for a moment and then lifted Jack in his arms. Jack found himself giggling at Ennis acting all chivalrous. But he was surprised when Ennis started heading for the front door. But he decided to go along with it. Ennis took him outside and started walking towards the barn.

"What is in your head?" asked Jack. Ennis just gave him a foolish looking grin. "And what the hell are you-" But Jack's words were stopped when they walked around the barn and he finally saw just what Ennis had in mind. It was a tent that he had set up on the far side of the barn. It looked just like the one that they used on Brokeback Mountain. He had cleared away the snow and the fire that he had lit near the tent was still burning. Jack felt his breath hitch and his heart nearly stop. He looked at Ennis and saw the loving smile on his face. Jack returned the smile and the two kissed each other passionately. Ennis carried Jack into the tent and laid him down on the soft sleeping bags. They kissed slowly and passionately. They slowly pulled their clothes off of each other. They relished the feel of each other's skin for the first time in what felt like forever. They were taking their time with each other. They wanted to make this time special. When Ennis finally slid inside of his lover, both hissed and winced in pain at how tight Jack had become.

"Jesus Jack..." Ennis whispered through a gasp. "You're so tight... God damn..." Jack reached up and pressed his hand to Ennis's cheek.

"I love you so much... Ennis... God..." Jack let out an inarticulate sound as Ennis slowly pulled out and pushed in again. Ennis thought he might come right then and there. With the hot tightness around him and Jack moaning and writhing beneath him, it was almost too much. But he held Jack's hands tightly and breathed deeply to maintain his composure. The two made love for what felt like a sweet eternity. Even with the cold, their cheeks were so hot they felt like branding irons on their skin. When they were both spent, they held each other tightly. Ennis pulled pants on Jack and wrapped their jackets around each other. He put out the fire with the dirt and carried Jack back into the house. They curled up together in bed and snuggled into each other's bodies.