Waiting in the long line that wound its way through the Christmas village in the middle of the Hartford mall, Lorelai did her best to keep Jess and Rory entertained until it was their turn to see Santa. While spinning them in small circles, she quietly sang, "Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Clause, right down Santa Claus lane."

So far, Jess and Rory had been well behaved, but they had been waiting for nearly an hour and Lorelai was running out of Christmas songs. Anxiously, Lorelai craned her neck to see the front of the line around the people in front of her. She noted there were still several families ahead of them and kept singing.

Unfortunately, Christmas songs were not distracting Luke and he was growing impatient. Every few minutes he would shuffle his feet and sigh heavily. During Lorelai's rendition of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, he interrupted the song to complain, "I swear this line gets longer every year."

"Really? I think you just get more impatient every year," teased Lorelai.

"We stand in this line for hours just so they can spend five minutes with Santa. I don't see the point."

"It's a tradition." Lorelai paused to look pointedly at the top of the kids' heads. "And they love it."

Luke watched Jess and Rory dance around Lorelai while holding her hands and almost smiled at their obvious excitement. Realizing he couldn't disappoint them, or Lorelai for that matter, Luke resigned himself to spending one Saturday every December in his own personal version of Hell. He shuddered as he envisioned the endless lines of overexcited children stretching into his future, all for the sake of spending a few moments with a fictional character. "Oh, God," he groaned loudly, drawing Jess and Rory's attention. "The things I do for my kids."

Rory let go of Lorelai's hand and wrapped her arms around Luke's leg, pressing her chin into his thigh and looking up at him with a wide smile. "Love you, Daddy!"

Picking Rory up, Luke held her close to his chest, kissed her cheek, and said, "I love you too, Rory."

"What about me?" Jess asked, tugging on Luke's pant leg. "I love you too, Daddy."

After transferring Rory to one hip, Luke ruffled Jess' hair before bending to wrap an arm around Jess' waist. Luke carefully lifted Jess onto his other hip. "Of course, I love you, Jess." An incessant tapping on his shoulder forced Luke to turn back to Rory. "May I help you?"

"What about Mommy?"

"Yes, I love Mommy," he answered with a chuckle.

Jess grabbed Luke's face and pulled it close to his own. "What about Santa?"

Struggling not to roll his eyes, Luke grimaced and, through clenched teeth, answered, "Yes, Jess, I even love Santa."

"Oh, good," Jess sighed dramatically, collapsing against Luke's chest in relief.

Jess' uncharacteristic theatrics caused Lorelai to burst into laughter. She quickly bit her lip in an effort to stifle her laughter, but her quaking shoulders betrayed her. Ignoring Luke's glare, Lorelai managed to calm herself enough to say, "Come on, the line is moving."

L&L L&L L&L

Strolling away from the Christmas village, Lorelai and the kids sucked on the candy canes they had received from Santa. Lorelai pulled her candy cane from her mouth with a loud pop and bumped her shoulder against Luke's. "That wasn't too bad, was it?"

"I guess not," Luke admitted reluctantly. "But the wait was unbearable."

"That's because you have no patience."

"Funny, usually I'm saying that about you."

Jess interrupted his parents by pulling on Lorelai's hand and demanding, "Want lunch, Mommy."

"Me too!" chirped Rory.

"Let's go to the food court," Lorelai decided, leading the way to the escalator.

"That food is so bad for you," protested Luke.

"Relax, Luke. It's part of the mall going experience." She stepped onto the escalator and made sure Jess and Rory also made it safely onto the moving staircase. When she looked toward the bottom of the escalator, she gasped and immediately averted her eyes. "Oh, no. Oh."

Concerned, Luke asked, "What?"

"Emily."

"Emily who?"

"Emily the Strange with the black cat and the boots made for kicking. Who do you think?"

"Your mom is here?" Luke began looking around for Emily, but didn't see her. "Are you sure?"

"Very sure. She's going up the other escalator. Don't look!" Lorelai hissed. "I don't want her to see us." Lorelai held her breath as her mother passed them on the adjacent escalator and had just let out a sigh of relief when she heard her mother inhale sharply.

"Lorelai?" Emily asked in surprise.

"Nobody. Say. Anything," Lorelai ordered in a threatening whisper. "Maybe she'll think she made a mistake."

"Lorelai," Emily called again.

"I don't think it's working," Luke said quietly.

"Lorelai! Luke!"

"God, she's persistent!"

"I think you have to say something, Lorelai."

Wearily, Lorelai replied, "Fine." She turned to acknowledge her mother with a tight smile and a small wave.

"Meet me at the bottom," Emily insisted. "I'll be right down."

"See what you did!" Lorelai reprimanded Luke as she helped the kids off the escalator and stepped to the side to wait.

"At least she won't be stalking us through the mall," Luke pointed out with a helpless shrug.

"To think, today was going so well and now it is ruined."

"Not necessarily," Luke responded optimistically, earning a disapproving look from Lorelai.

Seeing her mother approaching, Lorelai stepped forward and braced herself for a confrontation. "Hello, Mom."

"Didn't you hear me calling your name?"

"Yes. That's why we stopped," remarked Lorelai in a mocking tone.

"I called your name several times before you acknowledged me. I don't think it's too much to ask for you to acknowledge my existence when we happen to run into each other in a public place."

"I'm sure you don't."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. There's no reason for you to be rude to me," admonished Emily. "I'd like to remind you that we are in public."

Luke contorted with dread in anticipation of a venomous response from Lorelai that never came because Jess chose that moment to interrupt. "Want lunch now, Daddy."

Releasing the breath that he hadn't realized he was holding, Luke smiled gratefully at Jess. "I know. We'll get food soon," Luke promised, urging the kids forward until they were standing next to Lorelai. "Hello, Emily."

"Hello, Luke. How are you?"

"Fine. Thanks. How are you?"

"I'm doing very well. Thank you."

"Good, good. I'm sorry to interrupt, but we were on our way to lunch and the kids are getting hungry."

Catching on quickly, Lorelai eagerly agreed, "Yes, we really do need to get going."

"You too really are a match made in heaven," Emily scoffed with evident condemnation. "Fine. Go to lunch. Don't think we're done with this, Lorelai. Your father and I will expect to see you all for Christmas."

"Maybe," Lorelai replied over her shoulder, already walking away with Luke and the kids.

L&L L&L L&L

That night, long after they had returned from Hartford, Luke was in the bedroom getting ready for bed alone. As he was pulling his T-shirt over his head, Luke noticed that Lorelai was taking much longer to brush her teeth than usual. When she still hadn't returned by the time he had finished getting ready for bed, he decided to go check on her.

Luke found Lorelai in the bathroom. She was standing in front of the sink, leaning heavily against the counter. Her head was down with her chin tucked in so close that it was nearly touching her chest. In one hand, she clutched the toothpaste and, in her other hand, she gripped her toothbrush so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.

Taking a deep breath, Luke cautiously approached his wife. "Lorelai," he said softly to alert her to his presence. She didn't react, so he gently placed one hand on the small of her back, stroking lightly. He used his other hand to take the toothpaste and her toothbrush from her and set them on the counter next to his toothbrush. "Still upset about what happened with your mom?" Luke asked, pulling Lorelai into a hug.

"Yes! I know I shouldn't let her get to me, but she just makes me so angry," Lorelai seethed, working herself into a rant. "Every time I think I've calmed down, I start to think about how she acted like I had no reason to be upset with her and I get angry all over again. I get that she's embarrassed by pretty much everything I've ever done in my entire life, but she makes it seem like what I want doesn't matter. Like Rory's birthday! She insulted what we had planned and was rude at dinner, but today she acted like it never happened. Rory is our daughter! What we want matters. What Emily wants doesn't matter. She doesn't get to tell us what to do! And she really doesn't get to demand that we see them for Christmas!" Having finished her long-winded rant, Lorelai collapsed against Luke's chest and let Luke hold her while she struggled to catch her breath.

"Do you feel any better?"

"A little, but I'm still upset."

"Do you want me to fix it or am I just supposed to listen?"

"I don't think you can fix it."

"Probably not, but I might be able to make it a little better."

Lorelai pulled away from Luke's chest, but kept her arms wrapped around his waist. Regarding him suspiciously, she asked, "How?"

"By saying that I don't think we should see your parents for Christmas."

"You don't?"

"No."

"What happened to not wanting me to give up on my mom? To not throwing away all the progress you think we've made with my parents?"

"I just changed my mind."

"Oh. That's sweet. Now, how about you give me the real reason?"

"I don't want to spend Christmas with your parents," confessed Luke.

"Any particular reason? I mean, I know why I don't want to spend Christmas with them, but you're usually all 'let's give your parents another chance.' Why the change of heart?"

"Two reasons. First, I'm getting really sick of how your mother treats you and I hate the way she makes you feel. Things were better, but now it seems like we're back to the way it was when I first met you."

"I'm glad you're finally seeing it my way. What's the other reason?"

"I really want to spend Christmas with my dad this year. Like we always do."

"You're really worried about him, aren't you?" asked Lorelai, instinctively understanding the deeper meaning behind Luke's words.

"Yeah," Luke admitted softly, resting his forehead against Lorelai's. She lifted one hand to the nape of his neck and ran her fingers through the ends of his hair until he continued. "He's been really tired the last few weeks and he's been coughing. It's almost like before…" he trailed off.

"The cancer was diagnosed," Lorelai finished for him.

"Mhmm," Luke murmured, emotion clogging his throat. "I'm so scared he's sick again," he told Lorelai, his voice thick with unshed tears.

Not knowing what else to do, Lorelai wrapped her arms tightly around Luke and held him while he struggled to regain his composure. When he calmed down, she kissed him gently and said, "Let's not worry too much until his doctor tells us to worry."

"Right, yeah, that's a good idea. Let's do that."

"He sees his doctor every month for a reason."

"I know. I'll try to worry less, but I still want to spend this Christmas with my Dad."

"Me too."

"Maybe we can celebrate with your parents, or at least your dad, some other time. If you want."

"I'll think about it."

"Good." Luke kissed Lorelai's forehead. "Do you think you can brush your teeth now? I want to go to bed."

Rolling her eyes, Lorelai pushed him toward the door. "Go. I'll be there in a minute." When Luke narrowed his eyes skeptically, she shoved him out of the bathroom. "I promise," she said as she closed the door behind him.