Disclaimer: These characters are owned by the WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and Amy Sherman-Palladino.

Author's Note: This is the second part of a three part Christmas story. This is written from Emily's point of view. I was having trouble writing Emily's point of view after recent episodes, but I made a change that seemed to help. I hope you like it.

EMILY

"Hello."

"Lorelai, it's your mother. I am calling to make plans for getting together for Christmas. I've talked to Richard about it and he would like to have you for drinks and appetizers and then you could have dinner here with me. What time would work best for you?"

"Well, before we make definite plans, I need to check with Rory and Luke."

Emily was taken aback. "Luke? Why do you need to check with Luke?"

"He's my boyfriend, mom. You remember that, right? That's why we had to do the whole re-meeting of him when we started dating."

"But what does that have to do with Christmas? Isn't he going to do Christmas with his family? I did talk to Rory about it and she said to work it out with you." Emily couldn't ever remember a time Lorelai had considered a man in her Christmas plans.

"Luke mentioned that he would like for us to get together with his sister Liz and her husband TJ at some point during the holidays. I just want to check with him about the plans for that. I'm sure that we can figure out a way to get together. I just don't want to make firm plans without talking to him."

"Is this Liz the mother of the hooligan?"

"Hooligan? Do you mean Jess?"

"Whatever his name was, that awful boy that Rory dated. I'll never understand what she saw in him."

"Well, amazing as it may seem, I think we actually agree on something."

"But you want to spend Christmas with his family?"

"I don't think Jess will be there, and I don't know if there are any definite plans yet. Let me just check with Luke."

"Well, far be it from me to expect you to spend time on Christmas with your family. You just give us a call and let us know how you can fit us around your boyfriend." Emily spat out the last word bitterly, the anger covering up the hurt she felt about Lorelai's priorities.

Lorelai sighed. "Fine, I'll talk to Luke and let you know at dinner. Bye, mom."

"Goodbye Lorelai."

"Lorelai, you haven't let me know about Christmas dinner plans. Do you think you will be able to fit your family in around your other commitments," Emily asked sarcastically.

"Yes, we'd love to come for Christmas dinner, and I know that Rory already told you she could make it, so we'll all see you here. Thank you for inviting us," Lorelai said with a sly smile.

Emily quickly picked up on the subtle message and said, "Oh, so your friend from the diner will be able to make it as well?"

"Yes mom, my boyfriend Luke will be able to join us. He wanted to know if he could bring anything, like a dessert or something. He made the most fantastic ricotta cheesecake and amaretto cookies few weeks ago." Lorelai was smiling like she had just won a battle. Rory just looked a little baffled.

"Well, I'm quite sure that our maid will be able to make a sufficient dessert without having to have an invited guest cook their own meal."

"He just wanted to contribute something. He's not trying to insult your maid."

"Grandma, let Luke bring something. I haven't had a chance to have any of his gourmet cooking, and now we've got an inside connection," Rory pleaded, then smiled at her mother.

"Well okay, if you insist. Your grandfather will see you at 4:00 for drinks and we'll have dinner at 5:30."

"We'll be there, mom. Thanks for inviting us," Lorelai said sincerely. Emily wasn't sure she liked how happy Lorelai looked about Luke being included in the Christmas plans.

Emily heard a car drive up and looked across the patio at the pool house. These were her loneliest moments since the separation. She hated the thought that the girls were here but not with her. She felt every minute of the time while she was here, left out of whatever they talked about with Richard. To be honest, most of her life was lonely now. She found herself wondering how it had come to this, this purgatory of indecision, not together but not totally apart either. There were so many pieces to the unhappiness that it was hard to keep track of what had actually made her leave. She remembered times that she had been happiest with him, when they were the most important things in each other's lives. Then she remembered how quickly that had changed. He stopped consulting her about important decisions and spent all of his time working. She felt neglected and unimportant, no longer his partner, only his wife.

Emily wondered sometimes how much Pennilyn Lott had to do with the separation. She would like to think of herself as not being prone to petty jealousies, but she had been thrown for a loop upon finding out about Richard's secret lunches, and again after reading Trix's letter to Richard. She remembered the most painful words:

I don't know the circumstances surrounding your breakup with Pennilyn Lott, but it is still my belief that she is much better suited for you than Emily. I know that the timing of this is particularly awkward, since you are to be married tomorrow. But your happiness is too important to me, so timing be damned.

Remembering it made it fresh again and she knew that it was a piece of this tragedy, a part of the reason she suddenly felt less important to him than he was to her. The final straw had been the way that he had dealt with Jason and Floyd. Though she had never liked Jason and certainly did not want him with Lorelai, he had been treated despicably, and Emily really had been afraid about what it might do to their relationship with the girls. The bond that they shared with Rory and especially Lorelai was tenuous and constantly strained, yet it had become so important now that she and Richard were separated.

She looked back across the patio again and could see Rory, Lorelai and Luke ushered in and offered drinks. She wondered if Richard felt the same loneliness that she felt when the girls were with her. She wondered if he missed her as much as she missed him. She thought for a moment and then got her coat and headed to the pool house. No one should have to be lonely on Christmas.

"Emily, what are you doing here?" asked Richard, with a slight tone of annoyance.

"Well, I was over at the house watching Henrietta prepare a huge amount of food for us and it didn't seem right for you to stay over here by yourself while we were eating Christmas dinner. I came to ask if you wanted to join us for dinner. And this isn't just me trying to take the girls away before you've had time with them. Continue with your drinks and come on over in about an hour." Emily realized that she was babbling a bit, but she had not strung that many words together in a conversation with Richard in quite a while.

He seemed surprised at the invitation and Emily noticed Rory, Lorelai and Luke exchanging glances as well. Richard hesitated before answering, "That sounds nice." He then looked at her and said, "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure we can be civil for a few hours."

"In that case, you should join us for drinks."

"If you're sure that I wouldn't be intruding."

"Of course not. It is Christmas after all."

"Yes, it is."

Lorelai then interrupted her parents and said, "If we're all going to hang out together, should we adjourn to the main house?"

"Yes, why don't we do that," answered Richard. "If that meets your approval, of course?" he continued, looking at Emily.

"That would be nice."

It took them a few minutes to move their party to the house. They all gathered in the living room. Emily noticed that Luke placed his hand on the small of Lorelai's back as they walked into the living room. Once they were seated on the couch, he took her hand and gently caressed it with his thumb. Lorelai looked at him and smiled. Emily was surprised at how intimate they were. She hadn't seen them together since they had come to dinner the first time, when they had both been tense and nervous. They seemed so much more comfortable with each other now. It was unnerving. Even though Emily had always seen a spark between them, now that they were dating she couldn't help but wish that Lorelai was with someone with more…something.

"Lorelai, what is new at your inn?" asked Richard.

"New, well hmm… new horse feed? Oh, I know! We have a new laundry policy. It was suggested by a guest."

"A laundry policy?" questioned Emily.

"It's the funniest thing. We get to save money and be environmentally conscious at the same time. We put little notes in the rooms that if guests are willing to use their towels again they should hang them up and otherwise they leave them on the floor and we will wash them. We save time and money, because most people don't care or they actually care about the environment. Gotta love those win-win situations."

"You mean you don't wash their towels?" asked Emily.

"Only if they choose it. You know, it's like at home, when you don't wash your towels every day."

"People really choose to keep their dirty towels?"

"Yeah, and it's kind of interesting to see who chooses to wash or not. I was filling in for one of the maids who was sick last week and I sort of did a little research project to figure out who are the most environmentally conscious guests. It turns out-"

"You were filling in for the maid?" Emily was horrified.

"Yes, well she was sick and our other maid was on vacation, so we all helped out a bit."

"Lorelai, you are the owner. You shouldn't have to do those kinds of menial tasks."

"You know, I was a maid for several years. That's how I got to where I am now. It's no big deal to help out now and then."

"Please don't remind me about how you made a living after running away from us," Emily said distastefully, covering up the pain she felt when she thought about the way Lorelai had been willing to live rather than being at home. "Does this happen often, where you have to do other people's jobs?"

"Occasionally. Since we are new we can't really afford temps when we are short staffed, so we just pitch in to do what needs to be done. The other day I was waitressing at dinner. That was kind of fun. I even got tips," she said with a giggle as she smirked at Luke and Rory. They seemed to be sharing a private joke.

"Lorelai, this isn't funny. These are not proper jobs for you. You are the owner and above that sort of thing. I can't imagine what would make you think that it is appropriate for you to wait on people like that, like a common serving girl." She heard Luke draw in his breath sharply and realized that was exactly what he did every day. Just one more reason he was not appropriate for Lorelai.

She hadn't realized how quiet the room had become until Richard spoke, attempting to change the subject, "So Luke, I asked you before and you didn't get at chance to tell me whether you've given any more thought to franchising your diner?"

Luke frowned slightly and Lorelai squeezed his hand. "Well, I 'm pretty satisfied with operating a single location right now. It keeps me busy, especially the way that these two eat," he said, trying to lighten the tension in the room with the joke.

Emily cut in, "But surely you don't plan to run that diner by yourself permanently do you? You must want to move beyond flipping hamburgers and serving coffee, don't you?" How could he possibly be satisfied with that? Did he really think that Lorelai would be satisfied with someone with so little ambition? Emily could see Lorelai about to make a sharp retort and saw Luke squeeze her hand and look at her pleadingly. To her amazement, Lorelai sighed and was silent, but not before glaring at her mother.

Rory broke the silence with an attempt to change the subject, "So Grandpa, how is the insurance business?" The conversation then veered off into the more comfortable territory of Richard's business and Rory at Yale.

During dinner, Rory and Richard shared the story about the prank played on Logan and Emily found herself thinking how relieved she was that Rory was finally making some connections with appropriate young men. She had been devastated to find out that she was back with Dean earlier this fall. It had precipitated the party that had so angered Lorelai, but had actually accomplished the goal. Rory broke up with Dean and from all accounts was spending more time with Logan and his friends. Emily felt quite justified in her attempts in that respect. It was what made her feel so frustrated about Lorelai's choice of Luke, and even more determined for Lorelai to see the mistake she was making.

Emily noticed that Lorelai occasionally laughed while Richard and Rory told their story, but was quiet and withdrawn. Both Emily and Richard told Rory how happy they were that she was friendly with Logan and his group of friends. Lorelai frowned at these comments, but with a look at Luke kept silent. Emily was impressed at how easily he calmed her, but disturbed by the amount of influence he obviously had over her behavior. It wasn't until later in the conversation that she burst out, "Hey, Mom, Dad, Rory can be friends with and date whoever she wants."

"Of course she can," Emily responded, trying to be diplomatic. "We just want her to have the opportunity to make meet some of the more prestigious families that she missed meeting while she was growing up. Surely you don't want keep her from making connections that will ultimately be good for her future."

Lorelai groaned with what sounded like frustration, "It's just you like to turn this around and make it my fault so as to justify meddling in her life."

"She obviously doesn't seem to mind our encouragement, so I don't understand why you do." Emily looked at Rory as she said this and saw that she looked torn by conflicting loyalties to her mother and grandparents.

"Hey, everyone, it has been great being at Yale and having the opportunity to meet and hang out with all different people, but before you all go pairing me off, let me get to know them." As she said this she looked pointedly all around the table and effectively ended all conversation on that topic.

Eventually things lightened up a bit with Lorelai sharing stories of humorous happenings at the inn. Emily was relieved to see her animated again. Though she was constantly amazed and sometimes annoyed at what she would babble on about, she really was quite beautiful when she was smiling. Luke seemed more relaxed too, just watching Lorelai and smiling. Emily had noticed throughout the night that they were often holding hands or touching the others knee or arm. When they weren't close enough for that, they were still totally aware of each other's presence. They did seem to have an uncanny connection, that encompassed the quiet mood of earlier and Lorelai's playfulness now.

"Is it time for dessert yet?" she asked eagerly. "You guys are going to love what Luke brought!"

"Shall I go help to bring it out?" Luke asked nervously.

"Of course not," Emily snapped. "You are a guest here. Henrietta is perfectly capable of serving it."

"Whoa mom, chill. He was just offering to help."

"It's fine. No problem," he said, continuing his peacemaking.

Rory again jumped in to break the tension, "So what did you make for us, Luke?"

"Mocha cheesecake with raspberry sauce, and a chocolate sauce too, because your mother insisted."

"Wow, that sounds fabulous, and mom's not the only one who likes chocolate."

"See, I told you," Lorelai said as she playfully hit Luke's arm. "And look, here it is!"

Everyone was soon busy digging into their desserts. Luke brushed off compliments shyly, but smiled as he watched Rory and Lorelai happily eating their cheesecake.

Emily turned to him and said, "Lorelai tells us that you are quite a gourmet cook on occasion. Have you considered changing the menu of your restaurant? You might attract a higher class clientele than you can with burgers and fries."

Lorelai frowned at the question, but Luke looked thoughtful. "The problem is that there aren't many high class patrons in a town like Stars Hollow. I can make a lot more money selling diner food than I could running a fancier restaurant. Besides, with the Dragonfly open now, any fancy restaurant would be a direct competitor, which would get me in trouble with the owner." He said this last part with a smile at Lorelai, who grinned and kissed him on the cheek.

Across the table, Rory laughed and said, "And you don't want to get on my mom's bad side."

"Certainly not," he said with a knowing grin.

Emily continued her questioning, "Would you ever consider a different location? There are certainly enough people in Hartford to support a high quality restaurant."

"I really can't see myself leaving Stars Hollow. I've been there all my life and everything that is important to me is there." He glanced quickly at Lorelai and Rory before continuing, "especially now that my sister has moved back to town as well."

"Besides," said Lorelai, "the town wouldn't be the same without Luke's Diner. I'm honestly not sure that it could function," she said with a smile while she gave Luke's arm a gentle squeeze. "At least I couldn't without the coffee."

Emily was feeling desperate. She was even more convinced now that Luke was not an appropriate man for Lorelai. He had no ambition, no desire to see anything beyond the bounds of Stars Hollow. He could only hold her back and keep her in that tiny, crazy town. She mused on this, trying to figure out what she could possibly do now.

They went back to the living room to have after-dinner drinks and to open presents. As Richard began to make drinks, Emily casually said, "So Lorelai, I understand that Christopher's wife left him with the baby and that he has been in town lately."

Lorelai answered warily, "Yes, that's true."

"So you have seen him?"

"Once or twice, but he seems to be doing fine. I haven't seen him in over a month actually." She held Luke's hand firmly as if to reassure him.

"Well, it's so nice that he can depend on you and Rory. I always thought he made the wrong decision leaving you to stay with that woman. Now maybe things can work out for the best." It was her last desperate attempt to knock some sense into Lorelai's head. She needed to at least know what her options were.

"How dare you," Lorelai fumed, her face pale with anger. Luke seemed too baffled by the conversation to calm Lorelai this time.

"Well, really isn't it obvious? Hmm," she said looking into the ice bucket, "I need to go to the kitchen for some more ice." She then walked out leaving the group in stunned silence.

In the kitchen, Emily reached to open the freezer as Lorelai stormed in, "How dare you talk like that in front of Luke. He is my boyfriend. What could possibly make you bring up Christopher in front of him?"

"Luke is a very nice man Lorelai, but you deserve someone you could have a future with. I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy with Luke and it really hurts that you are so blind to me that you can't see that. I thought that you would be pleased that I was finally in a real committed relationship. I know that he is not the son of one of your blue-blood friends, but I don't care because he is wonderful and kind and he is there for me all the time." Lorelai was so angry that she didn't realize she was shouting, "He's the one. I love him, Mom. I want to marry him and have a family. I'd like to do it right this time, with you and Dad involved. I want the whole package, and I want it with him."

"And you're sure that he wants that too?" asked Emily sharply.

Lorelai's reply was softer, but still firm, "We haven't talked about the marriage and family part. Neither one of us is great with words, but I know he loves me without him saying it."

"He hasn't told you he loves you?" Emily asked in surprise, although she had to admit that it was obvious to any close observer that he was completely in love with her.

"It doesn't matter what he says, "Lorelai answered, her voice raising again. "I know that he loves me."

"How do you know if he hasn't told you?"

"Because he's here, "yelled Lorelai. "He's sitting here listening to you and Dad dropping your subtle and not so subtle hints about how he's not good enough for me, but he's here because he loves me. Mom, there is something you need to understand. When I came to you for money for Chilton and we started having Friday night dinners, I was miserable coming here and being judged unworthy by you on a weekly basis. But I swallowed my pride and did it for Rory because I love her. At first, it was because I wanted her to have the opportunity to have what Chilton offered. After a while, it was because I could see how important it was for her to have a relationship with you and Dad. I don't regret it at all, but it has been so hard to be reminded of your continued disappointment in me. I won't let you do that to Luke. He's too important to me. You are doing exactly what Gran did to you for all those years. I know how much that hurt you. How can you turn around and do the same thing to Luke?"

"It's not the same situation at all," Emily said, but deep down she knew that it was.

"It is exactly the same situation. Much as it torments me at times, I want you and Dad to be in our lives. If I have more kids I want them to grow up knowing you. But I want to make something clear. Luke is the one. If you can't accept Luke then I can't give you the rest of the package. I can't stand to let him go through what you did for so many years with Gran. I know how much it hurt you to find that letter and know that she wanted Dad to be with Pennilyn Lott. But you waving Christopher around in front of Luke is exactly the same thing. I won't let you do that to him. I love him too much to put him through that." She then turned and left the room, leaving Emily to make the connections between herself and Luke.

As Emily watched Lorelai leave the room, she realized the one difference between her situation with Richard's mother and that with Luke and Lorelai. Lorelai was willing to stand up to her over Luke, and Emily couldn't remember a time that Richard had been willing to do that for her. A renewed sense of loss and loneliness washed over her and she followed Lorelai out of the kitchen.

"Lorelai, wait -" she started, but stopped when she saw them. Luke and Lorelai were standing in the dining room looking at each other and she knew that at that moment the rest of the world had fallen away and they were not aware of anyone or anything else.

Luke touched his forehead to Lorelai's for a moment and then looked her in the eye and spoke. They were speaking so softly that Emily couldn't make out the words. He leaned in to kiss her, then looked at her again and smiled. Emily was struck by the intimacy of the moment and remembered with pain that she and Richard used to look at each other like that. She heard a sound across the room and looked up to see Rory watching her mom and Luke with a content smile.

After a moment, Lorelai looked up and saw both her mother and Rory. She looked at her mother and said, "We are going to leave now. Feel free to open the presents without us. Rory came separately, so of course she'll stay if she chooses to."

Emily started to protest, but saw the quiet anger in Lorelai's face and said instead, "I understand. I do appreciate you coming and thank you for the dessert, Luke."

As they headed to get their coats, Emily looked questioningly at Rory, who said, "I think I'll be going too. I'm meeting Paris soon. I'm going to say goodbye to Grandpa."

Emily stood back in the entryway while Luke and Lorelai said quick goodbyes to Rory and Richard.

As they were walking out the door, Luke turned and said, "Rory, thanks again for your gift. It means a lot to me."

"You're welcome. I'm glad you appreciate it." Rory then walked over to give her grandparents hugs and to say goodbye.

Emily looked at Rory and said, "Thank you for coming. I'm sorry the party broke up this way."

"I'm sorry too."

"Rory, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Grandma."

"What did you give Luke, if you don't mind my asking?"

Rory looked Emily right in the eye and said, "Acceptance. Now if you'll excuse me as well, I'm going to get going." She turned to leave, then stopped and turned around, "Grandma, thank you for having Grandpa at dinner."

When the door shut behind Rory, Emily began to process what had happened and what had been said. She caught Richard looking at her from across the room, concern and curiosity on his face. She knew that he had heard most of her conversation with Lorelai and tried to gauge his reaction to it. He took a few steps toward her and asked, "What was that Lorelai said about Pennilyn Lott and my mother? Why would that come up in a conversation about she and Luke? Do you want to talk about it?"

Emily heard the softness in his voice and wanted to lean in and let him wrap his arms around her. She wanted to go back several years and pretend that all of the neglect and unhappiness had never happened. But it had, and Richard's confusion about how his mother could come up in a conversation about not accepting someone's significant other snapped her back to reality. Because in reality this was the man who had neglected her, who had lied to her, and who had failed to stand up to his mother over her mistreatment of Emily. "No thank you. If you can't make the connection, I don't want to make it for you. I think that I would like to be alone now. Thank you for coming to dinner."

He looked sad and confused for a moment, then regained his composure and said politely, "Thank you for inviting me, and Emily?" She caught her breath when he said her name. "Merry Christmas. I had a nice time."

Emily watched the door close behind him and went into the living room. The first thing that she saw was the pile of unopened presents. On top was a flat package with her name on it. She turned over the tag and was surprised to see 'From, Luke' written on the back. Tears welled in her eyes as she placed the package back on the pile, remembering Lorelai's quiet anger as she left. In the empty living room and silent house, Emily had never felt more alone in her entire life.

Author's Note: The last chapter will be Luke's point of view and it will hopefully be posted within a day or two.