AN: Merry Christmas! A few people at my blog voted for a Trory one shot as their Christmas gift, so here you are. I hope you had a very Merry Christmas. I didn't take time to edit or anything, but I wanted to get this up before Christmas was over.
"How much longer, mommy?" Five year old Anna Gilmore asked her mother as she tugged at her mom's hand.
Rory looked down sympathetically at the little girl. "Not too much longer honey. I'm sorry it's taking so long. But it will all be worth it soon. You'll get to tell Santa exactly want you want for Christmas."
The line behind them was long, but the line in front of them still longer. They had been waiting at the Hartford mall for at least forty minutes to see Santa. And it looked like it was going to be at least another forty minutes or so until the little girl could finally tell Santa what she wanted.
Anna had been uncharacteristically closed mouthed about her wish list. Every time Rory asked her what she wanted, Anna would simply tell her that it wasn't anything she could do. It was just something Santa could give her. To say the least, Rory was concerned. How on earth could she buy whatever present her daughter wanted if she didn't know what it was she wanted.
Rory was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the man in front of her turn around and openly stare at her.
"Rory, Rory Gilmore?" The blonde man with piercing blue eyes asked.
Rory snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the handsome man in the blue sweater, which she couldn't help but notice nicely matched his eyes. Hey, she may be a single mother and divorcee, but that didn't mean she was dead. She knew a hot guy when she saw one. And this guy, well, he definitely was hot.
"Yes, that's me." She paused, noticing that he did look rather familiar. "I'm sorry, but I simply can't place where I know you from."
The man chuckled, the sound washing over her like honey. "That's alright. It's been a long time, Mary."
Mary. Lord, that was familiar. "Mar-" Oh Holy Night. It couldn't be. After all these years. Could it? "TRISTAN?" She shrieked, earning curious stares from others waiting in line with their children.
She was awarded with a smile. Not a smirk, like she remembered so well from high school, but an actual smile. "Got it in one."
"Wow, it's been a long time." She said in amazement. She was so caught up in the shock of running into Tristan DuGrey after so many years that she didn't notice her young daughters curious glances aimed towards her mother and the strange blond man talking with her.
"Yeah, it has been. Chilton. Wow, that was a lifetime ago." He agreed.
"More than ten years. So what brings you here?" Rory asked, glancing at her daughter to make sure the little girl was still there.
"I got roped into bringing my nephew, Peter, here to see Santa." Tristan answered, gesturing to a small boy about Anna's age, with brown hair and sparkling green eyes.
"Nice to meet you, Peter. I'm Rory, and this is my daughter, Anna." She said, crouching down to the little boy's height.
When the child didn't say anything, Tristan smiled apologetically. "He's shy."
Rory smiled, "I totally understand. Anna went through a stage like that last year. She wouldn't even hug my grandmother."
"How is Emily? I heard about your grandfather, and I'm sorry."
"Thank you. She's doing better. It was hard on her to lose my grandfather, but she's making it. She really shocked everyone when she decided to take over his company after his death. But she's really doing well with it." Rory smiled, remembering the way her grandmother had threw herself into Richard's insurance company two years ago after he died during a round of golf at the club. The heart attack wasn't unexpected, but it still hit everyone hard when he didn't make it.
Tristan threw his head back and laughed, remembering the look of horror on his father's face when he heard a woman was running one of the top insurance company's in the country.
Rory and Tristan continued to talk as Anna and Peter watched them in interest as they got closer and closer to seeing Santa.
Rory honestly couldn't remember when she had so much fun talking with a man in the recent years. Since her divorce from Logan she hadn't given dating a try, preferring instead to concentrate solely on their daughter, which he seemed to have forgotten they had. Other than the more than adequate support check and alimony check every month he had all but dropped off the face of the earth. But that was just fine with her.
Now, just this simple conversation with Tristan was awakening feelings she didn't even remember she was capable of having. Maybe it was time for her to get back out in the dating world again. Just maybe.
Finally, there were just a few more children in front of them to see Saint Nick. As much as Rory had wished for time to go by quickly, she found herself sorry that she and Tristan would soon be parting ways.
"Listen, maybe this is a bit forward, and if so, I completely apologize, but would you and Anna like to go to dinner with me some night?" Tristan asked, putting his hands in the pockets of his faded but fashionable jeans and giving her a hopeful smile.
Rory looked down at Anna and saw the little girl beaming. Before she could give her answer, her daughter did.
"We would love to Mister."
The two adults laughed at that. "You heard her, we would love to." Rory told him, smiling.
"Ehem." A rather unhappy looking elf cleared his throat, gathering their attention. "You wanna see Santa this year or next?" He asked, putting his hands on his green-clad hips and looking rather put out.
"Oh, sorry." Tristan apologized, realizing that it was Peter's turn and they were holding up the line.
Within minutes Peter was finished, having refused to speak to the jolly red guy, and when it was Anna's turn the little girl sat on Santa's lap.
"Ho, ho, ho. What would you like little girl?" Santa asked, handing her a candy cane.
"I just got my Christmas wish. But thanks anyway Santa. Looks like I didn't need your help after all." She smiled as the camera flashed. Anna hurried away towards her mother, not realizing she dropped the little piece of paper she wrote her very short list on.
Santa couldn't help but wonder what the sweet young child wanted for Christmas, so he opened to folded red piece of paper, and written there in crayon was "A Daddy."
He looked at the blond man standing with the brunette woman and a little boy, and smiled as the little girl joined their group.
"Merry Christmas." He whispered, happy that this year, the child got her biggest wish.
What the mall Santa didn't know, and would never, was that in six short months Tristan would ask Rory to marry him. The two would go on to be married the following Christmas, and Anna would be the flower girl, and Peter, who wouldn't be so shy, would be the Ring Bearer. They would go on to expand their family with another little girl, and a little boy. They would have their ups and downs, good times and bad. But they always had a great Christmas.
Anna got her Christmas wish.