A/N: Thanks for the continued reviewage, peops. Now, I know it's closer to March 25th than December 25th, but in Stars Hollow, it's Christmas! :)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 21

"Well, this is going to be fun," said Lorelai with the fakest smile she had ever worn.

"You didn't have to come," Rory told her with an edge to her tone not much heard in the last few weeks.

Honestly, they had been getting along so much better lately. Lorelai was really starting to feel like she and Rory were building a strong connection, a real mother-daughter relationship. It was never going to be easy or instantaneous, they had a lot of time to make up, and Lorelai had a lot of trust to earn back, but they'd got into a rhythm lately, a good place, at least until now.

Emily and Richard were not the problem but more like the catalyst for it. They were symbolic of the issues that had existed, and probably always would on some level, between Lorelai and Rory. Coming to this house, where they had both grown up, where all the lies and deceit had begun, it just put more strain on the fragile status quo the Gilmore girls had recently built between them. Unfortunately, it was all unavoidable. Rory still loved her grandparents and Lorelai still loved her parents too, tough as it was to be around them. So, here they were, because it was almost Christmas, and nothing said the festive season like a family meal.

"Are you going to knock?" Rory asked then.

"You have a key, right?" Lorelai countered.

Rory squirmed and then shrugged. "I don't live here right now," she pointed out. "We should probably knock."

"Or ring the bell," Lorelai considered.

It had been different when they dropped by for Rory's birthday. Richard had been at the door to greet them then, eager to welcome his granddaughter home, even if it was just for an hour or two. Emily had been in the room for maybe a total of ten minutes in the entire visit, seemingly determined to find excuse after excuse to be elsewhere. Phone calls, important conferences with the maid, trips to the bathroom, anything and everything she could do to avoid talking to her daughter or granddaughter. Richard made an effort, but it was tough going. Lorelai had avoided coming back ever since, having Rory make the trip alone if she wanted to visit, until now.

This time, Emily had made the invitation herself and frankly insisted on seeing both girls. Maybe she finally got over herself, but Lorelai just couldn't see it happening. As she rang the bell at last, she took in a deep breath and steeled herself for whatever came next. Still, she wasn't quite ready for the overly cheery smile she received from her mother when a maid finally ushered them into the foyer.

"Hey, Mom." Lorelai smiled back at her, hoping that was the right thing to do. "How're you doing?"

"Well, I'm doing just fine, Lorelai. Why wouldn't I be?" she asked acidly.

"No reason I can think of." Lorelai shrugged. "We're fine too, if you were wondering."

"I might have asked if given the opportunity," her mother told her, looking to Rory next. "I see you're still insisting on imitating a panda with your make up," she said, shaking her head. "Honestly, why such a pretty girl would want to do such a thing," she muttered as she walked away from them into the living room, presumably expecting them to automatically follow.

"Still glad you came?" Lorelai muttered to Rory.

She refused to acknowledge that with an answer, but couldn't say she had any regrets when Richard suddenly appeared, complete with warm smile and the offer of drinks. It was strange because Rory knew she should be as mad at him as she was Emily or Lorelai, but somehow, she wasn't. All three told her the same lies as a child, pretending the grandparents were her parents and everything, but somehow it was always easier to blame her fellow Gilmore girls than to be mad at the only father figure in the life.

They had a lot in common, she supposed, and Rory attributed a lot of her love of books to the man she started out calling Daddy and was now supposed to see as Grandpa. He was always the one to ask how school was going and seem like he really was interested in the answer too. He asked now and Rory felt herself smiling before she could even remind herself that it was probably better not to.

Of course, within two minutes, Emily was dominating conversation again, picking holes in Lorelai and then Rory, one after the other. Acid-laced, steel-lined comments about their clothes and their makeup and the way they were living right now. In answer to Lorelai's question, though she never formally gave it, Rory would have to say no, she wasn't at all glad that she had come to the place she used to call home.

When dinner was done, and small gifts had been exchanged, which were not supposed to be unwrapped until Christmas Day itself, Rory and Lorelai finally left. Richard hugged them both, awkwardly as he had ever done anything, and wished them both a Merry Christmas. Emily followed suit though she looked much less like she meant it.

"Well, turn up the heat a little and I think we could've passed that off as Dante's ninth circle," said Lorelai, the moment the door closed behind them.

"Can't even say it was worth it for the gift." Rory frowned at the package in her hands. "I'm pretty sure this is bath salts."

She proffered the wrapped box at Lorelai who sniffed cautiously.

"Ugh, the kind that'll make you smell like Gran too," she said wincing. "Well, with my luck, this'll be a kitchen appliance I'll never use," she said of her own gift, "or a pack of 'sensible' underwear."

"Eew." Rory made a face.

"Who knows with the great Emily Gilmore?"

Lorelai watched the smirk that was very nearly a smile appear on Rory's face and tried not to grin herself. It probably wasn't healthy that they were bonding over a mutual dislike of their treatment at the hands of their 'mother' but she would take what she could get. At least Lorelai understood why Emily was mad at her. Rory was the victim in all of this, and didn't deserve any of the pain she suffered.

"So, what do you say, kid? Back to the Crap Shack for ice-cream and some kind of bad movie marathon maybe?"

"Yeah." Rory nodded, heading to the passenger side of the car. "Let's go home."

Lorelai stopped walking for a second, the shock of what she just heard throwing her for a loop, but in the nicest way.

"Home is good," she said too softly as she finally remembered how to move again.

It was the first time she had ever heard Rory refer to her house that way, and it felt good.

With the dreaded visit to the Gilmore elders well and truly behind them, Lorelai and Rory could both look forward to Christmas in Stars Hollow. Mostly, Rory was all about the break from school and the chance to finally get her real date with Jess, but before their night of alone time could be arranged, there was Christmas Day itself to get through.

"Did they learn nothing from Thanksgiving?" she asked Jess as they walked across the square together. "Make-shift family events clearly do not work for us."

"To be fair, you and me were not in a good place four weeks ago," he considered. "They know we're okay now."

"I kind of thought we were better than okay," said Rory, leaning into his side a little more.

"Well, maybe we are." Jess smiled down at her, kissing the top of her head. "You do know that just about everybody is talking about us, right?"

"Do you care?" she asked, perhaps a little more seriously than she really needed to.

"You seriously think I would?"

"I don't know." She shrugged from beneath his arm. "You kind of have a reputation in this town, a real angelic one," she said, giggling a little. "I'm not good for that."

Jess stopped walking, turning Rory into his embrace and holding on tight.

"Rory, you are my girlfriend and I'm happy about that. If anyone in this town has a problem then they can deal with that however they want, but it is not going to make me feel any differently about you, okay?"

"You sure about that?" she asked, eyes tracking a couple of older ladies who went by staring and talking behind their hands.

Jess turned to see what she was looking at then faced her again, rolling his eyes.

"You're cracked if you think I care about that," he told her.

"Actions speak louder than words," she quoted, lifting her chin as her eyes sparkled with the challenge.

"Is that so?" said Jess, smiling as he moved in closer.

"It's what I heard." Rory nodded slightly, just before his lips covered her own.

"Disgusting!"

Jess and Rory pulled apart in time to see Mrs Kim scurrying by them, dragging her daughter behind her.

"I kinda feel sorry for her," said Rory with a sigh.

"Lane?"

"Yeah. I've seen her around town and her mom is always yelling at her or pulling her by the arm or something. None of my family are saints but even Emily wouldn't go that far."

"I guess in the parents stakes we could both be worse off," Jess considered. "I think we lucked out with Luke and Lorelai at least. You two are getting along better now, right?" he checked as they started walking again.

"I guess," Rory agreed. "I actually bought her a Christmas gift."

"Huh."

"Okay, so I don't wanna jinx this, but I feel like today is going really, really well," said Lorelai in an excited whisper as she joined Luke in the kitchen. "I kind of thought Rory's first Christmas away from the home she has always known would be tough on her, but she seems happy, right?"

"She really does actually," Luke agreed, moving to pull the turkey out from the oven and baste some more. "I think her and Jess getting closer has helped. He's a good influence on her."

"Yeah, that's probably true." Lorelai nodded. "Though I was kind of hoping that maybe I was being a good influence too."

When Luke turned around and saw the dejected look on her face, he immediately felt bad. He really hadn't meant to imply that Jess was the only reason Rory was happier these days, he just figured that being in that new relationship was helping.

"Lorelai, you're doing a great job with Rory," he promised her, keeping his voice as low as hers, mindful that the kids were only in the living room and might hear. "She's come a long way in a few months. I mean, sure, she can still be a little... prickly, but she's calmed down a lot lately. She definitely seems happier."

"She does, doesn't she? And you know the whole thing with her buying me this bracelet and everything, I feel like the Rory who came here in August never would've been so thoughtful. She must like me a little, right? I mean, her feeling happier and more comfortable here, I have to be some small part of that." Lorelai sighed, almost as if she didn't really believe it as she stared through at Rory and Jess messing around on the couch.

Luke's hand on her arm got her attention back in a moment.

"You are a big part of that," he promised, his gaze locking onto hers. "Lorelai, the kid just needed to know somebody cared. From what you told me, the grandparents kind of gave up on her when the truth got out, sending her off to boarding school and everything. Now she has you, and Jess, and me. We're all doing our best to make her feel like she belongs somewhere. Who wouldn't be happy with that? Come on, who wouldn't be happy to have you on their side?"

Lorelai smiled even as tears welled up in her eyes.

"You know, you can be a real sweetheart sometimes, Luke Danes."

At that, he smiled too, and then rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well, don't tell anybody else that," he urged her. "They'll all expect me to be nice to them, and that's not happening."

"If you can be nice to me, why not anyone else?" she asked, even as he turned back to the stove and continued prepping dinner.

"You're special," he told her, wincing to himself as he realised how that sounded.

Not that it wasn't true, of course. Lorelai was very special, but he usually caught himself before he told her stuff like that. It always seemed safer that way.

"You're special to me too, Luke, you know that," she said behind him. "Like I told you before, you're my best friend."

He didn't have words to answer that and was glad not to have to as Lorelai left the room. Luke literally jumped when he turned around to find she had come straight back, seemingly in completely silence somehow.

"I know we said gifts for each other were unnecessary," she said, gripping a small bag in her hands, "but I saw it and I couldn't resist," she explained. "Besides, you're doing all the cooking and everything, it seemed only right."

With that, she held the gift bag out at arm's length towards Luke and waited for him to take it. He looked at her and then at the bag with a wary eye, then picked it out of her hands, peering in to see what was so special that she just had to buy it for him. He smirked when he realised what it was, looking up when he heard Lorelai giggle.

"Come on, you've had this one since before I even met you," she said, moving closer and pulling the battered green hat from his head. "You needed a new one."

"Maybe it is time," Luke admitted, trying not to react too obviously at how close Lorelai was standing now.

"May I?" she asked, reaching for the new cap that poked out of the bag in his hands.

"Sure," he agreed, then ceased breathing altogether as Lorelai grabbed the new blue hat and planted it on his head with the peak facing forward.

"Wow, that is all kinds of wrong," she declared, immediately taking the hat back off, turning it around, and replacing it. "Perfect," she said when she was done. "I knew blue was your colour."

"Thanks."

They stood there just smiling at each other like idiots for maybe a minute, both seemingly contemplating what was supposed to happen next, until Jess yelled to Luke from the living room, asking what time dinner would be ready. The spell was broken.

Lorelai was suddenly in motion, rushing around, mumbling about setting the table, and Rory and Jess came into the kitchen with their arms around each other, seeking a response to his question that had been left unanswered so far. Luke shook his head to clear the fog that had settled and told the kids they had an hour to wait yet. They didn't seem to mind too much if the smiles on their faces were anything to go by.

"Thanks for this, Luke," said Rory, quite unexpectedly. "I think, without you, Christmas dinner would've been leftover Chinese food, with Mallomars for dessert, which is fine any other day, but it's not exactly special."

"You're welcome, Rory. I'm glad to help you and your mom have a good Christmas."

The moment Rory and Jess were gone back into the living room, Luke wandered out to see Lorelai fussing over the table, seeming to deliberately keep her back to him at all costs. His hand strayed to the hat on his head and he smiled to himself. Maybe he and Lorelai had lost a moment, but something about today gave him hope that it wasn't the only one they would ever have. Things were definitely changing around here and in all kinds of ways. Maybe next time would be different.

To Be Continued...