Author's Note: The reviews for the last chapter were amazing! Thank you so, so much. I've gotten differing opinions about Lorelai's letter, which was great. I love it when people wonder whether characters did the right thing or not (not that I don't have any responsibility as a writer, either!). I don't know if any of you have seen Prancer, the movie my fictional Danes (plus Rory-oh, how I love to be able to put Lorelai under the "Danes" heading, sappy as I am!) clan watch in this chapter, but I wanted to include it because it has special meaning to me, since I used to live in the town next to where it was filmed (and had actually visited the town where it was filmed lots of times). Since I live in AZ now, it's always fun to watch it to see a "Michigan Christmas" (which is actually a song. Seriously). Two more chapters to go after this one.

I've had a few people ask me whether I plan to write about Luke/Lorelai's other exes meeting their family, since this story is a bit of a companion to another oneshot, "Blue Eyes and Coffee," which features Lucy running into Max Medina. The answer is YES. I initially was going to write the Rachel story first, but I have a little bit of writer's block on it (please tell me if you have any suggestions for the premise!), so I'm writing my Nicole one for the time-being. I also have an idea about an off-shoot about Dean (though I do not think I will be writing about Rory's exes, especially since running into your step-cousin is pretty anti-climatic!). I have so many writings going on, including other GG fics and an original novel where I'm in the baby stages of, but hopefully, I will get those up soon.

Btw, my awesome mom just bought me a copy of Health, which featured Lauren Graham...who does indeed eat healthy in real life (like that's any surprise!). I've always suspected she did (there's a reason Gilmore Girls is a TV show!), but it's funny to see it in print. Just imagine Lorelai Gilmore being interviewed for Health: "The key to looking like me is to never exercise or eat healthy foods, unless it's in the form of an apple in one of my mother's apple tarts. Or an apple when I'm pregnant. But obviously, the pregnancy thing is probably not the way to go, seeing as my figure definitely wasn't at its best then. Also, drinking lots of coffee is a must." Cue the steam coming out of Luke's ears. Haha.

Sometimes, the best thing one can do in the face of personal angst is to recognize the pain of someone else. As someone who had been a parent for the better part of her life, Lorelai knew this better than anyone.

As soon as the phone call ended, she told Luke what had happened. He was unsurprisingly upset at the way Christopher had treated her, but calmed down after Lorelai pointed out that getting angry at Chris wasn't worth it. Rory was also upset with her father when Lorelai called her after telling Luke, but pointed out grimly, "You knew this might happen."

She tried to put on a brave face for her youngest children, but she caught Will glancing up at her a few times. Still, for the most part, she was able to distract them with the events of the day. Rory's boyfriend, who had been away on business, was snowed in, and April was spending the holidays with her mother's family, so it was a smaller Christmas than usual. Lorelai liked it this way. Though she missed April, and she wished for Rory's sake that her boyfriend was present, it was nice to have a Christmas away from her parents and Liz and T.J. She loved Doula, had grown to love Liz, and had come to tolerate T.J., but Christmas with Luke's family was always more exhausting.

That day, they spent time at Rory's apartment, putting the finishing touches on the tree and making popcorn garlands (for this, Lorelai did miss Liz, since as a jewelry maker, her garlands were always original and inspiring). They also added frosting to the batch of cookies Luke had made, though Will, who had inherited the artistic gene from his aunt, had decorated the cookies far better than the other five. Rory had done all right too, but Lucy's looked like any other six-year-old girl's, and Lorelai had played on the philosophy that the amount of frosting was more important than the actual design. Luke, for his part, had only frosted a few cookies, before grumbling that he had done enough work baking the cookies and making the frosting.

The point in the day that Lorelai's parental wisdom came out in the open happened after dinner. They had gone out a neighborhood spot, and Lucy slipped on some ice on the way back to Rory's apartment. Instantly, Lucy was no longer the happy six-year-old who had been looked forward to watching Prancer, but a little girl whose tears rivaled Veruca Salt's. She had torn her tights and skimmed her knee quite badly, and even Will was concerned about his little sister.

As soon as Lucy fell, Lorelai swooped in overprotective parent mood, but Lucy would have none of it. Instead, she clung to Luke, who, in her mind, was the only person who could make everything better. Though upon reaching Rory's apartment, Lucy answered Lorelai's and Rory's inquiries of how she was feeling, it was Luke who was called on to ice her knee. When the movie began, Lucy snuggled up close to her father on Rory's leather chair, instead of joining her siblings and mother on the couch. Luke himself was so preoccupied with his youngest daughter that he did not even go into his customary movie rant.

Lorelai watched the scene between her husband and youngest child with interest. Though she had become accustomed to the close father-daughter relationship between Lucy and her namesake, she often found herself comparing and contrasting Lucy's childhood with Rory's. Will was equally close to both parents, but although Lucy also loved spending time with her mother, she was clearly a daddy's girl. Even when Lorelai had been pregnant, Lucy had always seemed to respond to Luke's voice. Seven years later, this had not changed.

It hadn't been like that at all with Rory. Though she had never hesitated to rush into her father's arms, he had never seen her at her worst. Rory was always on special behavior around her father, and the first time she had ever lashed out at him was after Sherry got pregnant, when Rory was almost eighteen. In contrast, Luke had seen Lucy through bad and good-through tantrums and through hugs. Will's gender and similar bookish, reserved nature usually kept Lorelai from comparing Rory's and his childhoods, but she was unable to stop comparing the childhoods of her two daughters.

At the point in the movie where Jessie first met Prancer, Will, who was sitting in-between his mother and older sister, snuggled into Lorelai's shoulder. "I love you, Mom," he whispered into her ear.

Lorelai felt herself beginning to smile. Though she was honestly not bothered by the way Lucy had ignored Lorelai in favor of her father, she appreciated Will's sensitivity in making sure that she was all right. He was so much like Rory as a child that way. His blue eyes, identical to Luke's, were fixated on her, and she drew her son into a hug.

"I love you, too," she said into his hair. "You're the best son a mom could ask for."

"I'm your only son," Will reminded her, a phrase they had perfected over the years. After Lucy was born, Lorelai had made a special effort to remind Will how special he was, aware that he often felt left out with three sisters and a girl cousin (having a boy cousin in the form of Jess, because of his age and the fact that he was not around as much, did not balance things out much). Though a tinge of his father's trademark sarcasm had filled Will's voice, she knew he appreciated the reminder of how much his mom loved him.

"That doesn't stop you from being as perfect as a son could be," Lorelai said softly.

Lucy, who had calmed down slightly, frowned at the television. She had been sucking her thumb, a habit she had mostly outgrown, but still went back to whenever she was upset. Though he had already explained to Lucy the disadvantages of sucking her thumb after a recent dentist appointment, this time, Luke had obviously not had the heart to tell her to stop.

"You would never do that to me, would you?" Lucy asked him. "Send me to live with Auntie Liz and Uncle T.J. and let Will live with you, if Mommy died?"

The whole room took a collective breath. The father in the film had been considering sending his daughter to live with her aunt so that she would have a female influence, something that seemed to have worried Lucy. Sensing that this was a serious discussion, Rory paused the movie.

Luke glanced at his wife, eyebrows raised. After Lorelai nodded at him to take control of this situation, Luke took a deep breath. "Lucy, of course not. You know, I got partial custody of April before your mom and I got married, and I was okay with her staying with me. Her being a girl didn't change that." He smirked in an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. "Besides, do you really think I'd let you be raised by your Uncle T.J.?"

Lucy giggled. "I guess not."

Just as Rory prepared to resume the film, Lucy spoke again, her Lorelai blue eyes even wider than before. It often amused Lorelai that though Will's eyes were from his father, both of her daughters had inherited her blue eyes. "But what about Rory and her dad? Would he have taken care of her or seen her more if she was a boy?"

The room was even stiller than before. Luke's jaw had begun to tighten, Will was staring at his younger sister, and Rory had tensed.

"Lucy, how do you know about that?" Lorelai said, racking her brain, trying to remember if they had ever talked about Christopher in detail with their two younger children.

Lucy shrugged. "I heard you and Daddy talking about it today, after you told him about the call with Rory's dad. Daddy said something like it wasn't a surprise that he didn't know how to take care of Gigi, when he'd never seen Rory when she was younger."

Rory spoke, her gaze drifting between both of her younger siblings. "Lucy, you know that our mom and my dad were very young when they had me."

"Sixteen," said Lucy, nodding.

"Right. Suffice to say, I was a…surprise, not like your brother and you were." Will had actually also been conceived before Luke and Lorelai got married, but Lorelai was grateful that Rory had not added this particular fact. "And you know, they didn't get married until much, much later. Since they weren't married, my dad had no reason to see me every day, either. While there are some fathers, like your dad, who are willing to be there for their children even if they aren't married"-she smiled at Luke, who smiled back-"my dad, being sixteen, took a long time before he grew up enough to the point where he wanted to be my father. My being a girl had nothing to do with it. Even if I had been a boy, it wouldn't have made much difference. It was his maturity that stopped him, not my gender. You understand that?"

"So you mean if he was more grown up, then he would have seen you more, if you were boy or still a girl?"

"Exactly."

She frowned. "But what about Gigi? Is he a better dad to her?"

Lorelai sighed, realizing that hiding her phone conversations with Christopher and Gigi had not been able to cease her youngest children's worry. This discussion was beginning to hit closer to home than she would have liked.

"My dad was a lot older when he had Gigi," Rory said after a short pause. "Actually, I really admire what he's done for Gigi. There were a few years where Gigi's mom didn't have any contact with her, so it really took a lot on his part to raise Gigi and keep up with his demanding job."

"Gigi's mom who lives in Paris?" Lucy said incredulously.

Rory nodded grimly. "That's the one."

"She didn't see Gigi for two whole years? How come?"

Lorelai nudged her oldest daughter. It had taken Rory a long time to become comfortable with children, and though Rory was now a pro around Steve, Kwan, Doula, and her two youngest siblings, Lorelai still knew that this was a conversation usually left to a child's parents. Rory, however, ignored her mother's look, before returning her focus to her youngest sibling.

"Lucy, what you have to understand is that not everyone has parents like your brother and you. Not everyone is meant to be a mother, and I'm afraid Gigi's mom was one of these people. She's a much better mother now, just like my dad is to me, but she had to do some growing up, too. It's like…uh…well, Ursula. You wouldn't want her having a kid of her own, would you?"

Lucy smiled. "I guess not."

Lorelai felt herself relaxing, assured that they had finally gotten over the hurdle, but her youngest daughter had another surprise in store. Just as Rory was about to un-pause the television again, Lucy said, "But Mommy and your dad got married when you were a grownup. He still can't be very grownup and nice, or else she would have stayed married."

Lorelai's heart skipped a beat. Apparently, the conversation hadn't reached its peak yet.

Will was shooting his sister a look. "Lucy! You don't say things like that!"

Lucy frowned. "You can't tell me what to do!"

"Lucy, your brother actually has a good point," Luke said, interrupting the skirmish before it could develop into a full-blown fight. He put his hand over his daughter's shoulder. "He's Rory's dad, sweetie. It's not nice to say bad things about other people's parents to them, okay? I've been guilty of it too, but it's still not right."

Lucy bit her lip. After casting a look at her oldest sister, Lucy walked over and engulfed Rory in a hug. "I'm sorry, Rory," she said softly.

Rory hugged Lucy back, in a tight embrace. "It's okay, Lucy. You didn't know." She turned to Will. "Hey, Will. Sandwich hug?"

Grinning, Will joined his sisters in their embrace.

After the hug had finished, the other four focused their gaze on Lorelai. In particular, Luke had clear concern in his eyes. Her heart was still pounding, and she knew that her silence had already given away that she was upset.

"Mommy?" said Lucy softly. "I-I know he's Rory's dad, but wasn't mean to you, was he?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. She patted to the spaces on each side of her, so that each of her younger children had a spot on either side of her. When Will and Lucy came to sit down, she put an arm around each of their shoulders. She already felt a little better, with her youngest children in her arms.

"Lucy, Will, I think it's time the three of us had a talk."

Gigi sat still, moving around her mushroom ravioli with her fork. For Christmas Eve's dinner, she and her father had joined Jane and her kids at an upscale Italian restaurant in Manhattan. She sighed deeply, watching as Jane attempted to explain to Bradley that his plain penne pasta was not very different from macaroni and cheese.

"So, Gigi, I feel like I haven't had a chance to catch up with you yet," said Jane brightly, after Bradley finally decided to share Brie's tortellini. Gigi glanced at her father, wondering what he had told her about why she had missed the other night. "How's everything going? I bet you're glad to have time off from school."

Gigi shrugged and took a sip of her Shirley Temple. She would have felt better about her drink if Brie hadn't ordered the same thing. "I guess so. I'm pretty ready to start high school next year, so the school work hasn't been too bad."

"Yes, your father's told me how you plan to attend Princeton," Jane said. She flinched, wondering if he had also told her how much her grandmother had nagged her to do just that. "Very impressive. When I was your age, I had no idea what I wanted to do."

For at least the dozenth time that day, Gigi found herself thinking of her older sister. Though she knew it was up to her to return Rory's call, it hurt to think of Rory, perfectly content with her other family. "I don't know. My older sister wanted to go to an Ivy League for way longer than I did, so I don't think it's that impressive, really. A lot of kids in my class want to go to Harvard or Yale."

"Well, your dad is very lucky to have two smart girls," Jane said, smiling at Christopher. Though he smiled back, Gigi recognized the guilt that always fell over his face whenever someone mentioned his oldest daughter. "I can't wait to meet Rory someday. From all that you and your dad have told me, she sounds just wonderful. I have to say, even before I met your dad, I was always impressed by her articles in the Times. She's a truly gifted writer."

"Well, you can't meet her this time around, because she's spending Christmas with her mother's family," Gigi said. She and her father exchanged brief glances at these words. "I guess you could always just call her up and offer to meet her somewhere, since you live in the same city, but that might be awkward, seeing as you've never met before."

Jane chuckled, missing Gigi's sarcasm. "True."

Brie interrupted the conversation by complaining about one of the vegetables in her tortellini dish, but Jane turned back to her after they had ordered their desserts. "We're so excited to have you and your father here for holidays. I just love Christmas, don't you?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Gigi found herself answering. "Not really," she said, shrugging.

Jane's eyebrows shot up, and even Christopher looked up in surprise. "Come on, Gigi, you love Christmas," he said enticingly. "The cookies and the presents…what's not to like?"

"No, I don't!" Gigi snapped. It was annoying that her father thought she was making this up, just because of her feelings about Jane. She went on with even more vigor than before, ignoring the wide-eyed looks Brie and Bradley were shooting at her. "Christmas's just an over commercialized holiday about a religion we don't even really celebrate, about a guy who probably wasn't even born in December to begin with. Caitlin and I were talking about this, and she says the only reason Christmas is in December is because the Christians wanted to compete with the pagan holiday happening at the same time or something. I don't like Christmas! In fact, I hate it!"

She was disgusted to feel tears pooling up in her eyes. She had been on the edge about everything else happening, and that, combined with a case of PMS, had finally caused her to crack. Her father gaped at her, but it was Jane who made the first mood.

Very softly, in a sweeter tone than anyone else had ever used after Gigi's outbursts, she said, "Was there ever a Christmas, anytime, that you enjoyed?"

Gigi bit her lip. A memory of a Christmas she had tried hard to suppress came whirling back to her. Decorating cookies. Wearing reindeer headbands. Stringing garlands. Tasting the cookies and ripping open the presents and watching movies and everything feeling so warm and content and right…

"Gigi?" her dad said quietly.

She swallowed very hard. Crying would not do her any good. It would only draw attention to the significance of this memory, and Gigi wasn't read to have a conversation about it just yet. Trying hard not to look at her father, she met Jane's brown eyes. Her voice came out very soft.

"The Christmas I was three."

There was a long, collective silence after Lorelai finished recounting the story of Christopher's and her brief marriage. She had told both children the story of their parents' romance thousands of times, but she had never told it quite like this. Though she had skipped the part about sleeping with Christopher and had painted their father's side in a very sympathetic manner, she hadn't gone into as much depth about Luke's and her infamous breakup. Even Rory and Luke seemed to have taken in the story.

Finally, Lucy broke the silence. She had huddled up against her mother's shoulder, looking a great deal smaller than her six-and-a-half years of age. "But then you and Daddy got back together, and we all lived happily-ever-after?"

"They kissed," said Will quietly. They all looked at him, surprised that the eight-year-old boy had remembered this, when normally, romance was something he abhorred. Flushing slightly, he said, "I mean…you've told the story so many times before, and…you sang that song to Dad before, right? And then Dad made that party for Rory, and then you kissed again."

Lucy grinned. "That's right! And then you and Daddy got back together and got married that December, and then you had Will, and then me."

"Mom, Luke?" Rory said softly, as Lorelai and Luke took a few moments to smile at each other, each distinctively remembering the joy of first getting their middle after everything that had transpired before.

Lorelai was snapped out of her daze. "That's right," she said, smiling at the two children on either side of her. "I was single for a few months after Rory's dad and I got divorced, since I wasn't sure if your dad still had feelings for me, but then he had that party for Rory, and I knew." She met her husband's gaze again, then chuckled to lighten the mood. "You know, you're both getting so good at remembering the story that I bet you could tell it yourselves."

Lucy looked like she was on the verge of beginning the story herself, so Will interrupted her by shooting her a look. "Mom? You still loved Dad…even when you were married to Rory's dad?"

Lorelai sighed, still feeling ashamed after all these years. "I know it was wrong, Will, and I hope you and Lucy-and both of your older sisters, for that matter, though I know that all of you are a lot smarter than I was-won't ever do a thing like that. You just have to understand that I was so heartbroken after your dad and I split that I thought I would never be happy again. This definitely doesn't excuse it from happening, but being with Rory's dad made me feel less lonely. It was easier to pretend I wasn't still heartsick over your dad's and my breakup than to give into the feelings and admit that I was."

"You know, your mom wasn't the only one," Luke said. "I, uh, can't say that I was happy she married Rory's dad, but I did the same thing, a little before your mom and I got together the first time. You know that I was married to a woman named Nicole. I liked her a lot, sure, but a big part of the reason we got married is because I never thought I would have a chance with your mom. I know you two are too young to think about it just now, but settling for someone is never a good idea."

"You two are lucky," Rory said, in the low voice that she used when reading to her siblings. "I don't know if you can see it just yet, but your parents had a love story for the ages. They loved each other so much that they were willing to give each other a second and third chance to work things out, and not just everyone does that. I don't know about you, but personally, I think that's a whole lot more admirable than any whirlwind romance that was portrayed in a Disney movie…or even Han Solo and Princess Leia, Will."

"But what about parents who get divorced?" Will said, still frowning. "I-I know you guys love each other, but Sammy Silverman told everyone his parents had loved each other, too." He glanced at his sister, who had adopted her brother's frown. "You won't breakup again, will you?"

A tear fell onto Lorelai's cheek. Luke's and her year apart had stopped them from ever taking each other for granted, but she felt herself pounded with how lucky she and Luke really were. She had found her soul mate. Yes, it had taken a long time to marry him and even more work to keep him, but now she had him. So many people, Christopher included, were still searching for their soul mates or dealing with a marriage gone wrong. For all that she had gone through, at least she was not one of these people.

She kissed Will on top of his head. "Will, your dad and I love each other, really love each other. While it's true that we've had some rough spots over the years, at the end of the day, I always remember how much I love him. I assume he feels the same way." She met Luke's gaze, who nodded and looked down, not as secure about admitting his feelings in front of other people. "I might not know what will happen in the future, but I can promise you that your dad and I learned a valuable lesson from our year apart, and that no matter what happens, we will work through it." She smirked, filling with enormous love for her husband. "Besides, I think we've broken up enough. Does that answer your question?"

Will grinned wide, and his eyes began to sparkle. "Yeah. I think it does."

If the room had been filled with adults (or even adults and the mature Will), they would have all taken a few minutes of reflecting before speaking, but this wasn't the case with a vivacious six-year-old. Seeming to have completely forgotten the gravity of the conversation, Lucy pointed to the T.V. screen.

"Can we watch more now?" she asked. "I really, really want to see what happens next."

They all laughed. "Sure, sweetie," said Lorelai. "I think you've been patient enough."

Though he had tried to engage Gigi in conversation after they made their way back to the hotel, Gigi was resistant. Instead, she went into her bedroom without a further word. He heard the shower running a few minutes later. When he went in to check on her, a half hour later, Christopher found her completely out. Her breaths were so even that he knew she was not faking. He took a few minutes to observe his sleeping daughter, taking in the way her blonde hair had spread out on the pillow.

He had never admitted it aloud, but Lorelai was his inspiration as a parent. He had no way of knowing what she was like with her youngest children, but with Rory, she had been caring, fun loving, and always there for Rory, no matter what. From Lorelai, he had learned a critical rule of parenthood: one needed to put aside their personal feelings for the sake of their child. It was not a rule Christopher was always good at following, but this time, he was determined to give following the rule a better shot. He loved Gigi. And despite everything, he was willing to do anything to decrease his daughter's pain.

After closing Gigi's door, he took out his phone and hit number "three" on his speed dial option. Rory answered immediately, sounding out of breath. "Dad, I really want to talk to you, but I'm in the middle of watching a movie. Do you think this could possibly wait?"

His voice was uncharacteristically firm. "Rory, I get that, but I really need to talk to you-now. I know your mother's probably told you what happened and that you're upset at me...god knows, I wouldn't blame you...but that's not about this. It's about Gigi. If you care about your sister, please let me talk."