Title:  The Christmas Conspiracy

Author:  Emma

Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, the Doctor

Rating: R

Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I owned them, would I let some of those idiots write the scripts? And if I were making any money off them, would I be where they could find me?

Spoilers: None. This takes place in my Homecoming AU, two or three millennia in the future

Author's Note: This was going to be a sort of epilogue to Memory and Time, but when I realized that it would not be finished in time for Christmas, I decided to post this anyway. Happy holidays, everyone!

            Jack, working his way through the tray of nibbles one of the kids had brought in earlier, hid his grin behind a convenient napkin. Ianto's Christmas obsession had never diminished. Every year, no matter where/when they were, they would come home for the holidays, and Ianto and his cohorts would plunge into a veritable orgy of tree-trimming and gift-wrapping. As the family grew there were more trees and more gifts until the whole house seemed covered in tinsel and handmade paper.

            He took a look out the window. He could see he lights of New Galllifrey in the valley below. The wind carried snatches of Christmas carols. On Christmas Day, everyone would come up the hill and the serious partying would begin, segueing from Christmas to Hogmanay. Not that it was the right time on this planet; outside, the roses were blooming and the wheat fields were only starting to sprout. But it was Christmas on Earth, and the family held on to the tradition.

            Family. More like a tribe at this point. The compound had been enlarged three times since the original settlement, and it was already bulging at the seams again, especially during the holidays. The ground floor of what had been the colony's first infirmary had been converted into a ballroom, with fireplaces at both ends and arched windows running all along one side. Especially designed holographic projectors connected to the communications grid allowed those who couldn't be physically present to join in the festivities.

            During Christmas the hall was children's territory. The fireplaces were decorated with garlands and antique Welsh ornaments. A twelve-foot tree loaded down with silver cornucopias filled with sweets and candied fruit held place of honour in front of the windows. There were so many lights on it that people swore that in clear nights it could be seen from the orbital port. Adults were invited in after Christmas Eve dinner, Ianto, the Doctor and Jack leading the way, to ooh and aah over the decorations and distribute presents. Then, when they were all hip deep in torn paper, and heavy-eyed children cuddled in adult laps, the old stories would be retold. Indoctrination, Ianto would snort; family history, Jack would counter.

            A knock on the door brought him out of his introspection. He let Ianto answer, and watched the men exchange a hard hug. Over the centuries, Ianto and the Doctor had grown close; probably, Jack thought, because they had become nearly mirror images of each other, not in the physical sense, but in the symbiotic relationship they had with the Vortex. Two very different kinds of Time Lord.

            “Hello, Jack.”

            “Hey, Doc.”

            He threw his arms around the Doctor and was surprised to feel him cling just for a few moments. Over the Time Lord's shoulder, Jack looked at Ianto, eyebrows raised. His partner returned a small smile and a nod.

            “Oi, you two! Knock off the wordless communication. I'm fine!”

            The Doctor was on his last incarnation, and after two hundred or so years, his body had started to age. Now he looked to be in his late forties, much like Jack.

            “Look,” said the exasperated Time Lord, “Marti-Fran has given me a clean bill of health...what are you grinning about, Ianto Jones?”

            “Sorry, Doctor. It's just that the names in this family... I am to assume our newest doctor is a Milligan-Jones?”

            The Doctor made a sound surprisingly like a giggle. “No she's a Davidson-Hart, from the Earth branch of the family. Asked to do her residency with Andrew.”

            “I remember her,” Jack said. “Cute little tyke.”

            “The cute little tyke is a stunning twenty-eight year old with John Hart's eyes on Tish's face and Andy Davidson's common sense. Andrew has big plans for her.” He waved his hand dismissively. “But I didn't come here to talk about the family.”

            He seemed at a loss for words. Ianto poured some Penderyn into a tumbler and handed it to him. “Out with it, Doctor.”

            The Time Lord tossed back the whiskey, then looked at them with uncharacteristic diffidence. “You both made me an offer a few centuries ago.”

            Jack's heart was suddenly trying to thump its way out of his chest. “Doc?”

            “One of the children asked me if there was anything I regretted about my life. I started to say no, and then I realized that there was indeed something I regretted.” He hunched his shoulders. “I've never made love with Jack Harkness.”

            Jack didn't realize he had moved until he found himself so close that he could feel the Doctor's breath ghosting over his face. Slowly, almost fearfully, he raised his hand and cupped the Time Lord's cheek. The Doctor's hand came up to cover his; they stood like that for a while, staring into each other's eyes, letting themselves acknowledge the enormity of their feelings.

            “From the moment I met you, I knew you were trouble,” the Doctor whispered. “I loved Rose but I wanted you. And time passed and there you always were, fighting my battles, keeping safe the ones I loved, making me feel less lonely. And the wanting was always there. Toshi used to say that neither one of us would be complete until we ended up naked and horizontal…”

            Jack leaned in and pressed his lips to the Doctor's, shutting off the flow of words. He felt the Doctor's mouth soften, then open in invitation. He deepened the kiss, curving one arm around the Doctor's shoulders to press him close. The moment was made even more overwhelming by the joyful benediction flowing from Ianto. There was not even a hint of surprise in Ianto’s reaction. He wondered briefly if his partner had known about the Doctor’s intentions, then dismissed the thought. Ianto would have told him. Wouldn't he?

            The Doctor pulled  back. “Ianto.”

            “He's ok with this, Doc. More than ok. He's happy for us.”

            “I'm glad, because... would you mind him if I asked him to stay?”

            Jack's smile was brighter than whole galaxies. “When you cut loose you really cut loose, Doc!”

            That earned him a light slap on the arse. “Tease. The two of you are so much part of each other now. It wouldn't feel right without him. Besides,” the Doctor gave him a cheeky glance as he walked towards Ianto, “you can't blame me for being curious about the young man who hog-tied the notorious Jack Harkness.”

            Jack laughed, grateful for the light-hearted verbal foreplay. The tension had grown too fast. He wanted to savor every moment and stretch every moment into hours. He had been fantasizing about this for centuries and he had plans. Oh, he had plans.

            He held out his hands. His lovers – take a couple of deep breaths, Harkness, before you embarrass yourself – clasped them and pulled him close. The three of them touched and caressed, stripping jumpers and shirts off, covering bare flesh with fierce sucking kisses and soothing the tiny hurts with gentle licks. Jack watched as Ianto grabbed the Doctor's neck with both hands and held him still for a deep kiss, a subtle dominance the Time Lord seemed to relish. Jack reached between them to unbuckle the Doctor's belt and pull down his trousers and pants. Trainers and socks followed. He did the same to Ianto, then settled back to admire his handiwork.

            “You're overdressed, Jack,” growled his partner.

            He allowed them to drag him to the huge bed under the skylight and strip him of the rest of his clothes. Lips and hands trailed fire over his body. He arched, moaning into Ianto's mouth as the Doctor stroked and petted him all over.

            “You really do live up to your publicity, Jack.” The satisfied purr in the Doctor's voice sent pleasure skittering up Jack's spine. “But can you perform as advertised?”

            “Are you going to let him get away with that, cariad?”

            Laughing, Jack twisted out from under his lovers' hands. Gripping the Doctor 's shoulders he pressed him down into the pillows and stretched out on top of him. The full-body contact drew a groan from both of them. Jack groaned again as he felt the Doctor's hands clench on his arse. He started to rock gently as he leaned in for a kiss.

            “Have I ever told you how much I like this new face? It reminds me of the first you I met.” He rubbed his lips over the Doctor's face from brow to chin. “The same sharp cheekbones... “ He took a bite at the lower lip.  “Much better ears, though.”

            “Shut up, Jack.” The Doctor took stinging little nips along Jack's jaw and neck. “So good. Want so much.”

            “What do you want, Doc? Tell us.”

            “You... inside me...” The Doctor was gasping for breath, eyes huge and dark. “Ianto... holding us both... Jack, please.”

            Jack felt Ianto's delight at the request. His partner held out his hand and a small pool of oil appeared on his palm.  He rubbed his hands together to warm it, then stroked it into the sensitive skin  between the Doctor's arse cheeks. At the first touch of Ianto's fingers on his opening the Doctor moaned and his eyes started to roll back into his head.

            “Not yet, love.” Jack reached between their bodies and pinched sharply. “Stay with us.”

             He waited until Ianto moved his hand away then positioned himself. The Doctor tilted up his hips and used one hand to press Jack down as he reached for Ianto with the other. Jack sank into him to the hilt as Ianto devoured the Doctor's mouth. Ruthlessly Jack controlled his movements, setting a slow pace. He inhaled the scent of their arousal, the familiar mix of his pheromones and Ianto's cinnamon spiciness subtly altered by a third, the smell of the air right before a thunderstorm. The combination set fire to his nerve endings. He raised himself up on his knees, wrapping the Doctor's legs around his hips and cupping his arse in his hands as he pounded into him.

             He felt Ianto's arousal and opened himself up to the sensation. Beyond Ianto he felt the Doctor, more hesitant, and reached out to bring him into the link he shared with his partner. The Vortex coiled around them, opening their minds to what their bodies experienced. He felt the Doctor's frenzy as he pulled Ianto down and kissed, licked, and nibbled every part of the younger man's body that he could reach. He felt Ianto's joyful abandon as he retaliated. He felt the energy build up in all of them as their bodies strained towards release, then he gave up all consciousness as the explosion caught him and threw him off the edge of reality.

             When he could focus again, he found himself cradled between his lovers' bodies. He reached back to grip Ianto's head and pull him down for a deep kiss.

             “Love you.” He repeated the action with the Doctor. “Love you.”

             “So, we're going to do this again?”  the Time Lord said cheekily.

             “Oh yeah.”

             As Jack drifted into sleep, he heard something that confirmed his earlier suspicions.

             “Thank you, Ianto.”

             “Merry Christmas, Doctor.”