So, the other stories. . . . life is hectic and I just really haven't been inspired. And believe me, I've tried to sit down and make myself write, but what I do write is just crap. Be patient, it's coming.

ETA: Had to re-upload. Was missing some sentences.

His mother had always taken them to the midnight Christmas Eve service. He had never understood how a town like Stars Hollow had enough people in it to even NEED 2 Christmas services on the 24th and another on the 25th.

"What?" she asked as she slipped an arm through his. They had been walking through a gentle snow fall on their way home from a movie at the Black, White and Read theatre.

"Nothing," he said as he offered her a smile. "Just thinking," he finished as they started to walk again.


"Luke?" Lorelai asked later that night as they were crawling into bed.

"What?"

"Why did you stop in front of the church?" Lorelai watched as Luke looked down at the covers and played with a loose thread for a moment. Just as she was about to tell him to forget it, she heard him sigh.

"Just a memory," he finally said.

"Of?" she prompted, scooting a little closer to him.

"My mother," he said with a heavy sigh. "She was a lot like you. Very big on the festivals in town and tradition. It was always really hard to get her to change her mind." Lorelai gave a small smile to match the one on Luke's face. "She would drag us all to the midnight service on Christmas Eve."

"Every year?"

"Every year," he confirmed with a nod. The two sat quietly for a moment longer before Luke wished her good night, rolled over and went to bed.

Lorelai, on the other hand, sat quietly for a long time, thinking about what Luke had told her. He talked about his father all the time, but his mother? Almost never so when he did, the memory really meant something to him. She made a mental note to talk to Charlie about this tomorrow when she got back from her night spent with Emily and Richard.


"Did you dress up?" Lorelai asked out of the blue a few nights later. Charlie quickly stuck her straw in her mouth and started to drink to keep herself from smiling too much. Her mother had convinced her of her plan the other night and the 4 year old was doing her best not to spoil it.

"Dress up for what?" he asked as he served another customer at the counter in the diner.

"Church on Christmas Eve." Luke blinked at her for a moment.
"Why do you want to know?"

"Curiosity," she shrugged. "I want to know if I need to be imagining a little Luke in a suit and tie or jeans and a t-shirt."

"It was a sweater, tie and slacks, if you really must know. She bought me and my dad a new tie every year and Liz got a new dress. Do you need to know about colours, too?" he asked, a little sarcastically.

"Nope, I'm good. Can I just say that you were adorable in your little sweater and tie? Hair all parted nicely and combed back. . . So sweet," she goaded him a little. Luke shook his head slightly before he headed off to clear some tables.


"What's this?" Luke asked as Lorelai handed him a gift on Christmas Eve.

"Open it," she said. She and Charlie were still dressed up from a Gilmore Function that Luke hadn't had to go to. Christmas was for family, as far as Emily was concerned and Luke wasn't quite family yet. With a sigh, Luke indulged his girlfriend and opened the package.

"A sweater and tie?" he asked as he pulled them out and looked them over.

"Your slacks and a shirt are hanging in the closet, ready to go," she informed him. He looked at her quizzically, the tie in one hand, the sweater in the other. "Services, we're not going to get a seat if you don't hurry up."

"You don't go to church," he said, still not really understanding.

"And neither do you, except for Christmas Eve."

"Come on Luke! Let's go!" Charlie said, bouncing up and down slightly. He looked at her for a moment before he heaved himself off the couch with a sigh.

"Trouble, both of you!" he called as he mounted the stairs.

"Rory will meet us there!" Lorelai called as she herded Charlie to get her coat and boots on.


Lorelai glanced over at Luke. Things were winding down in the church and they were singing the last hymn by candle light. She smiled as she saw Charlie curled up in Luke's side, his arm around her as he continued to hold a hymnal open for Rory and himself. The pair locked eyes for a moment and shared a smile before they turned their attention back to the sons in front of them.

The Gilmore girls may not be church people, but Lorelai figured they could make an exception once a year.