A/N: I'm not sure if anyone wanted a sequel to last year's crossover Christmas fic, but I did, so I wrote it and here it is ;)

This story takes place in the Present Day (December 2022), with the same three caveats/addendums as last year; 1) the Gilmore Girls 'A Year In The Life' revival never happened; 2) the post-series events of my series 'Long Live The Hart-Kinsellas' all stand as canon, so Zoe & Wade's son is named Jack and he's seven now, and they also have a daughter named Eve, who is about to be four; 3) Covid and pandemics in general don't exist in the worlds of Gilmore Girls or Hart of Dixie. Plus, of course, this is a sequel, so if you didn't read 'The Dixie-Gilmore Christmas Special' from 2021, this may not make a whole bunch of sense!

Disclaimers: All recognisable characters from Gilmore Girls belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and other folks who aren't me. All recognisable characters and from Hart of Dixie belong to Leila Gerstein and other folks who aren't me. Any new characters that do not actually feature in the canon of either Gilmore Girls or Hart of Dixie belong to me, Ultrawoman, aka Ultra.

Part 1 of 3

"Yeah, it's too hot here."

Lorelai rolled her eyes, giving her husband a light shove in the shoulder to get him moving. "Faster we get into the airport, the cooler you'll feel. Pretty sure most indoor spaces are automatically air-conditioned in Alabama."

"I guess so," Luke agreed, still sounding grumpy, "but at some point or other we're going to be outside again, and this is just..." He waved one hand in a vague gesture through the sticky air.

"Yes, I get it, it's too hot."

"I think we all get it, at this point," said Jess, corralling the kids and trying to keep them all between the two adult couples as they moved across the tarmac and into Mobile Airport proper. "I tried to tell you to leave the flannel at home, Uncle Luke," he added with a look.

His wife, Rory, unsuccessfully tried to stifle a giggle, though in truth, she also had to admit it was a crazy kind of hot way down south in Dixie! She had done plenty of travelling when she was reporting on Obama's campaign trail many years ago, but somehow, she seemed to have forgotten just how sticky things could get in the southernmost states.

"Mommy, is it going to be like a cowboy movie?" asked her seven-year-old son in earnest.

"I don't think so, Richie," she told him, smoothing his hair that never did want to lay down flat even on a good day - the humidity was not going to help with that. "From what Zoe and Wade told us, Bluebell is a lot like Stars Hollow actually."

"Except it feels like Summer instead of Winter here," said Jess thoughtfully.

"They have Christmas in Summer in Australia too," said his daughter proudly. "I read about it."

There wasn't much that Mia hadn't read about. Much like her parents, she devoured books, even at nine years old. Non-fiction was her genre of choice lately, especially anything in the fields of geography or history.

"I'll bet even Australia isn't this hot ," Luke grumbled, then let out an audible sigh of relief as they all passed through the doors into the air-conditioned building.

Rory supposed she couldn't blame him. It was a strange feeling, knowing tomorrow was Christmas Eve and yet they were all sweating in the kind of heat that Connecticut rarely saw, even in Summer. She was sure they would all manage okay with it. Her mom was right, most buildings were bound to be air-conditioned anyway, making the whole thing that much easier to deal with. Also, it would be really cool to see the Hart-Kinsellas again, to see Bluebell, and to meet so many people they had only heard about in stories so far.

Not that Luke was the only one who didn't seem all that thrilled to have come on vacation for Christmas. Though Lorelai was excited, Jess and the kids were happy enough, and even Rory's half-brother, Will, was okay with the trip, it was April, Luke's now-grown-up daughter, who was looking even less impressed than her father.

"How are you holding up, kid?" asked Jess, hanging back to talk to her, his arm around her shoulders as they walked along.

"I'm fine," she told him, looking anything but. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You really want me to answer that?"

She had been invited on the trip in the hopes of cheering her up, and boy, did she need it after finding out her scummy boyfriend was cheating on her just one week ago. It was the night before a majorly important test at grad school which she then failed spectacularly, so April was far from in a good place. Rory hoped, rather than believed, Christmas in Dixie would help her step-sister's mood.

"So, I know Zoe would be tough to spot in a crowd, even in her high heels," said Lorelai as they moved through the airport, "but Wade ought to stand out in a crowd, right?"

"I'd think so," Rory agreed with her mom, craning her neck to look into the sea of people waiting at Arrivals.

The good-looking specimen that was Wade Kinsella didn't seem to be anywhere amongst the crowd. Luke was soon complaining about the fact nobody was there to meet them, when suddenly, Jess saw something useful.

"Right there," he said, pointing into the middle of the crowd, a sign clearly visible that read 'Stars Hollow' in big block letters.

"Good spot," said Lorelai with a grin, "although that guy is definitely not Wade, and I know he's not Lavon Hayes either," she said definitely, since this man with the sign was clearly white and not at all built like a former NFL star. "Well, let's go see what's happening," she said then, putting her hand on the trolley full of luggage Luke had been pushing and steering him in the direction she now wanted to go.

Everybody followed, mostly because Lorelai would not be denied, and besides, it made sense. Why would anybody be holding a sign that said Stars Hollow unless they were looking for their family?

"Hey," said Lorelai the moment they reached the stranger. "You seem to be holding my town in your hand there."

"Ah, good. Lorelai, right?" he checked, holding out a hand to her when she nodded affirmatively. "I am George Tucker, town lawyer and music management services, but you can just call me George," he said, seemingly having made himself feel stupid by giving such a long introduction. "I'm sorry that Wade and Zoe couldn't be here to meet you. They're both a little tied up right now, but they're real excited to see you all. It just may not be until the morning at this point."

"Oh, well, okay. That's fine. At least you're here. So, introductions," said Lorelai as George's eyes moved around the group. "My husband, Luke," she said, presenting him like a prize on The Price Is Right, then continuing to do the same with everybody else. "Our son, Will, my daughter, Rory, her husband, Jess, their daughter, Mia, and son, Richie, and the mopey one in back is Luke's daughter, April. Now, I don't expect you to remember all of that because, hey, who could, right? But yeah, that's us, the Gilmore-Danes-Mariano clan, with added Nardini."

Poor George looked like his head might explode if he was given even one more piece of information. Still, he nodded like he had got it all, more or less, and continued smiling like someone from a toothpaste ad. Rory couldn't deny, he was a good-looking guy and seemingly charming too. Clearly, that was a theme in the south, or maybe it was just Bluebell? She supposed she would find out as the days went by. It did give her hope for April though. Maybe if she met some nice young men around town, it would help with her opinion of the male sex in general. It was all too easy to let one butthole colour your judgement of them all, Rory knew. She didn't want that happening to her step-sister.

"You do know that all of us and all of this luggage are not going to fit in one car, right?" Luke asked George, as they headed for the exit.

"Yes, sir. That is why I had the Reverend Mayfair lend me the church's minivan for the occasion. Lots of room for everybody."

That was a slight overstatement, as it turned out. There wasn't exactly lots of room, but there were enough seats for every member of the family, and just about enough room for the bags and cases too. Out of the windows of the minivan, Rory was happy to watch the scenery go by, and when they finally reached Bluebell, she was stunned to see how much it really did look like Stars Hollow, complete with gazebo in town square, as well as a giant Christmas tree, over-decorated to within an inch of its life.

The kids were more than a little interested in the decorations, from the almost obscene amount of twinkle lights, to the garlands, the nativity, and Santa's sleigh with a sign close by, saying he would be arriving at six o'clock tomorrow evening. Rory sighed, a little deflated since Richie had declared this year that he no longer believed in Santa. The same thing had happened with Mia just the year before. It was sad.

"You know, if you're a good girl, I'll take you to meet the big guy tomorrow," Jess told her with a smirk, almost as if he just read her mind.

"You're hilarious," she dead-panned, but had to fight not to smile.

"Okay, here we are," said George from the driver's seat then. "The Whippoorwill Blossom Bed and Breakfast," he declared, pulling up to the kerb.

"Wow, that is one beautiful place," said Lorelai, eyes wide with wonder.

"It's no Dragonfly, but it's pretty darn... well, pretty," said Rory with a smile.

So far, she thought she was going to like Christmas in Bluebell, at least until they began disembarking from the minivan and Luke was heard to grumble once again, 'It's just too damn hot.' That was going to get real old, real fast!

"Where in the H-E-double hockey sticks is my left shoe?!" Zoe called loudly, quite proud of herself for remembering to spell it out in the circumstances, as she hopped around awkwardly.

"You try under the couch?!" Wade called back, rolling his sleeves back down as he descending the stairs.

By the time he got there, Zoe was just coming back out from under the furniture, triumphant with previously lost shoe in hand. "Okay, I'm almost ready. Everything fixed up there?"

"It doesn't smell too great, but at least it's clean." Wade shook his head. "Not that I'm blamin' Evie, it ain't her fault she got over-excited, what with it bein' her birthday today and Christmas tomorrow, and half the town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut showing up to visit. Still, I'd like to know, how does that much throw-up even come out of one five-year-old anyway?"

"Speaking as a doctor, I honestly don't know." Zoe shook her head. "I swear the amount of bodily fluids just isn't proportionate to the size of the body when it comes to kids."

"Well, we're all good now, right?" Wade checked then, pulling Zoe close and kissing the top of her head. "I mean, the past couple of days, have just been crazy. I coulda used not having that stupid beer delivery thing at the Rammer Jammer last night and then all of this today..."

"And I could've used not having a potential disaster at the office, today of all days, but you know what happens when Tom and Wanda get it into their heads to get a new pet."

"Always a fun time." Wade rolled his eyes. "Okay, you got two shoes, there are no more bodily fluids on the bathroom floor or any other place they shouldn't be. So, all we gotta worry about now is the fact the kids have been quiet for..." he checked his watch to see how long it was, but Zoe didn't even wait for a count.

"Too long," she declared, heading for the den and whipping open the door.

A sigh of relief escaped when she realised Jack and Eve were curled up together on the couch, watching Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer for what had to be the zillionth time. Walking in, she crouched down in front of them and checked Eve's colour and forehead temperature with the back of her hand.

"How are you doing, baby girl?"

"All better." Eve nodded. "Sorry, Mommy."

"Oh, you don't have to be sorry, Eve," Zoe promised. "Everybody gets sick sometimes. Daddy cleaned it all up, no problem."

"Don't worry about it, munchkin," said Wade, leaning over the back of the couch and messing Eve's hair until she tilted her head back to look at him, grinning wide. "So long as you're feelin' better now, that's all that matters."

"All better," she said once again. "Look, Rudolph!"

"Yeah, I see that." Wade nodded. "But right now, we gotta leave good old Rudolph and Santa and all their buddies, 'cause we gotta go see to our guests. You wanna see the friends you made last Christmas, right?"

"I do, I do!" said Jack excitedly. "Did they bring us presents?"

Zoe laughed out loud at that, even though she was sure she shouldn't have. "Well, maybe, but that's not really why they're here, Jack. They're coming to enjoy a nice Christmas with us, and yes, they may have gotten us gifts, just like we have gotten gifts for them, but what do we not do?"

"Ask for gifts?" he guessed, as if he hadn't been told fifty times already.

"That's right. Good boy," she said, getting up and kissing his forehead. "Now, shoes on and by the front door in two minutes. Ready, set, go!"

It was a game they played a lot, a little race to get ready to go someplace, or even to get ready for bed or dinner, sometimes. It didn't matter who won or lost, it just got them to hop to, and sometimes, that was all Zoe needed. Ultimately, they were good kids. In fact, to her mind, they were the best, because they were part of her and part of Wade too.

"So, they have been here less than twenty-four hours, we ain't even seen 'em yet, and already, it's nothin' but drama," said Wade, the moment the kids were gone, wrapping his arms around Zoe from behind. "This is gonna be one heck for a Christmas, doc."

She sighed and leaned back in his embrace. "It'll be fine, good even," she insisted. "Come on, we made Christmas work last year, and that was practically a miracle, given the circumstances. At least we have home court advantage this time around."

Wade smiled at the odd sport's metaphor, something Zoe would hardly ever use, and kissed her cheek. Maybe she was right. Maybe it would all work out for the best in the end. Stranger things had happened at Christmas, after all, like a doctor and a bartender finding love that, after some ups and downs, had proved it could last a real long time.

To Be Continued...