Chapter 11

Christmas music played softly from Gigi's office computer on December 24th. She liked to start listening to it a week or two before Thanksgiving, to stretch the holiday out as long as she could, a slow simmer. It wasn't very late, but the office was emptying out as people left early to get to their Christmas Eve gatherings. Gigi didn't have anywhere to be. Chris had called her around lunch time with the bad news. He was stuck in Detroit because of a big snow storm. He promised to get the first flight he could.

"Why don't you go to Stars Hollow?" he had suggested. "I can call Rory, I'm sure they'd love to have you."

Out of pity. "Will their holiday be unfulfilled in any way if I'm not there?" At her father's prolonged silence, she said, "I'll be fine until you get here."

Around five o'clock, Jason Stiles poked his head in. "Hey, Gigi, you're still here?"

She glanced up. "Yeah. I don't have anywhere to go tonight, so I'm getting some work done."

He gave her a perplexed frown. "You don't have anywhere to go? But it's Christmas."

"My dad's stuck in Detroit, and my grandma moved to Florida a few years ago. So, no." Michelle probably would have taken her in, but they already went to see her family in Pittsburgh. "It's not a big deal."

"But you love Christmas." He pointed to her computer. "You've had Christmas music playing since summer."

"No, that was just Christmas in July. I didn't start up again until November."

"Well either way," Jason said. "You should come over to our house until your dad gets in." The Stiles house was the last place she belonged. She was about to politely turn him down when he added, "It's just me and Jenny this year."

"What about your kids?"

"Xavier says he can't make it back. He said the same thing at Thanksgiving, even though he usually makes it back for at least one. And Sloan decided to go skiing with friends, but I think it's really because she's still mad at me."

Gigi considered it. "You don't postpone Christmas until they can be here?"

He shook his head. "No. They're adults, and we don't want them to think the world stops for them when they choose not to come."

Jason and Jennifer Stiles just won a few points in Gigi's book. "You're sure Jenny won't mind?"

"Not at all. In fact, if she finds out you didn't have anywhere to go and I didn't invite you over, I'll be in trouble. You can distract her from the fact that her own kids didn't come to see her," he said. "So you have to come."

"Well, I don't want you to get in trouble."

He grinned and nodded. "That's right, just come by the house. Jenny was off today, she's been baking cookies."

It was starting to flurry when she arrived at the Stiles's an hour later. "Come on in," Jason said at the front door, peeking out at the sky. He took her coat and directed her to the kitchen.

Jennifer greeted her with a smile. "You're a Christmas orphan this year?" She was standing at the center island with a bowl of dough in front of her, the counter full of ingredients. Judging by the jar of molasses, the current batch was going to be gingersnaps.

"Yeah, thanks for having me over."

"Our pleasure." Jenny dusted off her hands and turned to a pot on the stove. She gave it a stir and said, "I hope you like baked potato soup." She turned back. "What do you and your dad usually do?"

Chris wanted them to have their own traditions, especially when it was just the two of them making all the decisions. She liked to decorate the tree as early as she could talk him into putting it up, while listening to Christmas music. "We used to go to my grandma's house. Sometimes we'd go to church if she thought we should go. The choir and decorations were always pretty." She shrugged. "We have cinnamon rolls for breakfast and bake cookies." From 'scratching' Chris would always say. She asked, "What do you guys do?"

"Jason's parents go south for winter now," Jennifer said. "But we used to go to their house for Christmas Eve. They always served clam chowder and the kids opened presents—more than they ever needed. And we did our own thing Christmas day."

When Jason came in to snag a finished cookie from the table, Gigi asked her, "What was your first Christmas at his parents' like?" She took a spoon and helped drop cookie dough on a second baking sheet.

"Uhhhh," Jenny said, high pitched and drawing the word out. "Jason was really nervous. I was ashamed of myself, and guilty. But Floyd helped me push through that."

Jason glanced at her, in disbelief. "Floyd, really?"

"Yeah, the shame was replaced with indignation." She explained, "You left the room, and your dad took your glass, and when I saw, he claimed he was going to freshen your drink." Jenny continued, "So I picked up Xavier's cup and handed it to him and said his needed to be freshened, too. Even though it obviously didn't. And I just stared him down so he'd know I knew what he was doing."

Gigi grinned.

"Really?" Jason asked.

"You shouldn't have been naive by then. Surely you knew he wouldn't blindly trust me."

"I always assumed the test came back positive since he never told me otherwise." He added, "I didn't know about your death stare though."

"He may as well have called me a slut and a liar in front of everyone. I couldn't just sit there and pretend not to notice." She turned to the oven to put her sheet of cookies in and set the timer.

The phone rang and Jason went to answer it.

Jennifer went on, "Once the DNA results came in, Floyd could move on to hating me for keeping his grandson from him for three years. I was never going to win with him."

"But you guys got married. Did you get some points for that?"

She shook her head. "Not with our one executive per family rule. Kind of put the nail in that coffin."

After Gigi spooned the last row of cookies, she rested her elbows on the counter and leaned in conspiratorially. "So why is Sloan mad at Jason?"

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Daddy-issues, what else?" She added, "His, not hers. He doesn't want her working there after college. He's worried everyone will treat her like a kid."

"What do you think?"

She flipped to another recipe and switched out a few ingredients. "I think she has two years to get over it or change his mind."

Jason returned then, handing the phone off to Jenny. "It's Xavier."

Gigi's heart fluttered and it felt like her face may have flushed.

"Oh, good," Jenny said, accepting the phone. "I can tell him we've replaced him."

Jason nodded. "He knows."

XXX

Xavier snuck into his childhood bedroom just before dawn and collapsed in his bed. He was usually able to sleep for the entire flight across the country, but this time he did not have such luck, middle of the night though it was. He'd shifted in his seat for hours, trying to get comfortable while everyone else on the plane slept without trouble.

He pulled the blanket up over his head, willing himself to get a couple hours of sleep before the sun came up. He was awakened by a young blond woman sliding in next to him, a ray of sunlight peeking in from a crack between the curtains. Sleepily, he wrapped his arm around her waist to spoon her closer. Sleepily, he said, "I heard you were here."

"How? No one knows I'm here. I heard you come in."

Xavier registered his sister's voice. He jerked his head away. "Sloan? Get out of here." He shoved her out of his bed with both hands.

Sloan squealed as she landed on the floor with a thud. "Ow!" She rubbed her hip.

More awake now, he sat up, pulling his blankets around his waist. "What are you doing in here?"

"I was crawling into bed with you, like when we were kids. It was going to be adorable," she said, still offended. She scowled at the blankets gathered at his midsection. "You were a little too happy to see me."

He hissed, "I didn't think it was you."

Her scowl deepened. Somewhat shrilly, she asked, "Who did you think it was?"

Their mother said something out in the hallway, probably hearing the commotion. Xavier and Sloan both went to the door and poked their heads out. Jennifer was standing in the doorway of the master bedroom, and the room across the hall from her opened and Jason stepped out.

He asked, "What's going on?" They both stopped when they noticed their children staring at them.

Jennifer blinked. "You're here?" She looked from her daughter to her son. "Both of you?"

"I decided not to go skiing."

"Me too," Xavier said. "I mean, I decided I could make it after all."

"It's a Christmas miracle," Sloan said.

The door to the spare room opened and Gigi stepped out to see what was going on. If hearts could skip beats, then Xavier's did. A breath got caught in his throat. Her hair was shorter than when he'd seen her at the end of summer. It looked prettily curled and then slept on. He quickly ruffled his own bed head with both hands. Her eyes widened when she saw him and his sister.

Sloan scowled some more. "What is she doing here?"

"Gigi's dad is out of town, and since our kids were too, we invited her," Jason explained.

Xavier hadn't taken his eyes off of Gigi, who was looking like a deer in the headlights. "Uh, I could go," she said, obviously feeling awkward. "I don't want to intrude."

"Don't be silly, stay," Jenny said. "You're not going to want to miss these two pouting when they find out I don't have presents for them."

Sloan's jaw dropped, along with her shoulders. "Auh."

"See? It's already starting."

She lifted her chin slightly, bucking up. "That's okay. I came to see my family. That's what's really important, right?"

Jenny smiled, aware her daughter was laying it on a bit thick. "That's right. Now get dressed so we can have breakfast." Her eyes lingered on Sloan as she came over to give them each a hug. "You can help me make it."

Jason followed Jenny back into the master bedroom, leaving the younger people to look at each other. Xavier tried to push past his sister to get to Gigi, but Sloan frowned at his not going to get dressed, glancing down at the sheet he was letting fall. She looked back up at him. "What are you—?" Then, remembering from before, "Who did you—" She turned to Gigi and narrowed her eyes at Xavier.

He quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back into his room, shutting the door behind them.

Sloan was scandalized. "Did you know Gigi Hayden was here?"

"Dad mentioned it when I called last night, yes."

"And was that before or after you decided to come back?"

"Um, before. Just before."

She squared her shoulders and crossed her arms, giving him a defiant look, daring him to lie. "What's going on?"

"She and I—." He turned his palm up. "We—"

"There's a we?"

"Sometimes, there's a we. Like when we're in the same time zone."

Sloan's jaw dropped in horror. Her face muscles were getting a workout today. "That is my work enemy."

He smiled widely, saying, "You don't work there."

"Only if Dad gets his way." She gestured toward the door. "She's stealing my life!"

Xavier sat down on his bed and rested his chin in his palm. Muffled by the side of his hand, he flatly asked, "How is she stealing your life?"

"She pals around with Mom in the Junior League, and Dad is letting her have clients. Those should be my clients!" she said indignantly. "And she's at our house, on Christmas. Doesn't she have somewhere else to go?" She added, "You know, I've seen her watching cat videos on company time."

Xavier mockingly gasped in horror. "I wonder who sends her those?"

Sloan glared at him. "You?"

He grinned cunningly.

She gasped. "I don't even know you anymore."

"And no, she doesn't have anywhere else to go if her dad's out of town." He put his arm around her shoulders and led her to the door. "Now go get dressed so we can all have a nice Christmas breakfast."

He pushed her out, peeking into the hall before turning to his duffel bag. He'd hastily thrown some clothes in the bag the night before when he impulsively decided to come. He put on jeans and a sweater, and went down to the kitchen, where his mother and sister were cracking eggs and whisking. He put on water for coffee and two cups of peppermint tea. Sloan eyed the two cups and then Xavier, wary that he knew everyone's morning beverage preference.

After the tea was ready, he took the cups to the living room, where Gigi was sitting on the loveseat, the couch being occupied by Bones McCoy. Xavier sat down next to her and handed over one of the cups.

She glanced at him. "Thank you." She lifted the cup to breath in the scent. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

"The tree is pretty," she commented. It was in the corner near the fireplace, lit up with white lights. "Sorry for ambushing your holiday. I really could go."

"No, it's okay. No one minds."

She lifted a brow. "No one?"

"Well, no one who's in charge around here."

Slightly uneasy, Gigi asked, "Uh, your parents, are they okay?"

"I think so. Why, did you hear something?" he asked, startled.

"No, but they came out of different bedrooms."

"Oh, that's all? Okay," he said, putting a hand to his heart. "That's fine. You scared me."

"It's fine?"

"Dad's a really light sleeper, and can only sleep with Mom about seventy percent of the time, but that's slipping because she keeps throwing all the covers off and turning the fan on. He wakes up freezing, so he just goes to the other room." He added, "That's why Sloan was in my room."

"Oh, well that explains . . . nothing."

"When she was little I intercepted her on the way to our parents' bedroom at night. I knew she'd wake up Dad, so I let her come into my room."

"Do you win annual Sweetest Big Brother awards for your chivalry?" she asked wryly.

He smirked. "If only."

"So your dad has to sleep in a different room. That's . . . weird."

"My dad is a weird guy."

"So is mine. I think that's just how dads are."

"No, we're talking dad-weird on top of his preexisting Jason-weird. That's a potent combination."

Gigi took a sip and exhaled heavily. "My dad bought me a pied-a-terre in Paris."

"Wow. Is it nice?"

"Probably, but I wouldn't know. I got mad at him and refused to go." When he gave her a silent, though unimpressed look, she asked, "What?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking about how well-adjusted you are." He escorted her to the dining room when breakfast was ready, pulling out her chair before sitting on the opposite side of the table next to his sister.

"So, Gigi," Sloan said when they'd all helped themselves to the food, "do you have a boyfriend?"

Xavier's heart surprised him by suddenly beating faster, anxious for the answer. Maybe she was finally finished with her relationship hiatus and found someone else. That would explain why she had become so elusive the last few months.

"No," Gigi said slowly, to Xavier's relief.

Jason asked him how work was, and his mom followed up with an inquiry about his friends. He was not going to engage in insurance shop talk as long as his sister was in the room.

Sloan changed tacts and asked Gigi, "Have you traveled anywhere good lately? The Pacific Northwest, maybe?"

"Uh, no." She looked down at her plate. "I'm only taking clients on the east coast, so I won't be travelling far."

The fork in Xavier's hand stopped and he looked at her. "Just the east coast?"

"Yeah," she glanced at him. "I might teach some ballet, so I can't be out of town all the time."

Gigi wasn't going to travel anymore. Xavier heard it, but it took a moment to process. She would never come to Seattle again? She was avoiding eye contact with him, playing with her food. And then, barely thinking, he said, "I think I'm going to move back."

Everyone stopped to stare at him. Sloan, suddenly not caring about interrogating Gigi, asked, "Really?"

"Yeah," he said, his heart beating quickly. "I've been out there almost five years, that's long enough." He glanced at Gigi again, gauging for a reaction. She had that wide eyed deer in the headlights look about her again, panic stricken.

"It is a Christmas miracle," Jennifer said. "When did you decide that?"

"Oh, pretty recently." Another glance to Gigi, still speechless. "All the people I care about are here, so I should be here, with them."

Gigi finally spoke, "Why?" It wasn't exactly the enthusiasm he was hoping for.

"I just said. I can be with anyone I want, without an entire country in between."

"You can't move."

Sloan hissed, "Yes he can."

"I can't?" he asked, pointedly.

"No. Don't."

"What?" he asked. "Why not?"

"Because, you love Seattle."

"Not as much as other things."

Sloan frowned at him, taken aback.

Jenny tilted her head toward Jason to whisper, "What's going on?"

He whispered back, "I have no idea."

Sloan quietly briefed them, "They've been having an amorous connection. Apparently."

"Oh," they both said with a nod and continued to watch.

Xavier was too distracted to pay them any attention. "What is your problem?" he finally asked Gigi, frustrated.

"I don't have a problem," she said defensively.

"Then how are we not married yet?" he asked rhetorically. Then he answered, "The only reason I can think of is that we live too damn far apart. If I move here, we could be a normal couple."

"Married?" Jason whispered to his wife. "He's 26."

"Shh." Jenny kept her eyes on the drama in front of them.

"I don't understand," Xavier said. "Things were—moving forward, I thought you were finally finished 'finding' yourself. You called me, from here." He added, "I met your dad. He took me out to lunch a couple months ago."

That was news to Gigi. "What?"

"He was in Seattle, he looked me up."

"Well he shouldn't have."

"He works for a software company, it wasn't like we couldn't carry a conversation." He went on, "You asked me to come to your sister's wedding, because I wasn't just anybody."

"I shouldn't have asked you to do that."

He sat back a little, exasperated. "So none of it means anything?"

She looked down rather than at him as she shook her head. Tears started falling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I should go," she said, avoiding eye contact with everyone as she fled.

XXX

"What's wrong with him?" Tristan asked later that evening. He came over at his sister's request, his nephew needing cheering up. He helped himself to a Christmas cookie. "He's moping around like his dog died."

"More like when his team lost the Super Bowl," Sloan said. She and Jason were playing a game at the table, their work conflict set aside for the day.

"You think the Seahawks losing the Super Bowl was worse than when Sirius died?" Jennifer asked. "That's terrible."

"Sirius was old, you guys talked to us about death. It was sad, but we knew it was coming," Sloan said. "Before the Super Bowl, Dad and Xavier had two solid weeks to giggle about Tom Brady's deflated balls."

Jason smiled. "Oh that's right."

Jenny asked, "It's nice to have an excuse to act like a 13 year old boy, isn't it?"

Tristan and Jason both grinned and nodded.

"The Seahawks were winning the game, and then at the very end, they lost," Sloan said. "For the longest time after that, all we heard was, 'You have Marshawn Lynch. Pass the ball to Marshawn Lynch.' And, 'Why did Pete Carroll make such a bad call?'"

"She's right, that was worse," Jason said. "That was when we had our talk about forgiving people when they make mistakes."

"Okay, that was annoying for us, but on an emotional level, I still think the death of his childhood dog was a deeper loss," Jennifer said. "Sirius was gone forever. There were other Super Bowls, and Tom Brady got that funny 90's junior high hair cut."

"Fine," Sloan conceded. "He's moping around like his dog died."

Jennifer answered her brother's original question, "He's having some girl troubles. He got a little dumped this morning at breakfast."

Jason added, "In front of us."

Dryly, Tristan turned to his sister. "That must have been terrible for you to see."

"It was heartbreaking."

"Did you think about leaving the room?"

She picked up a cookie. "I did not."

He shook his head at her. "Who's the girl?"

"Georgia Hayden."

His brow quirked up. "Is she southern?"

"No, but she went to Princeton," Jenny said. "She did an internship at the paper in Trenton. She was working too hard to please other people, and living in the unrealistic shadow of an older sister she hardly ever sees." She added, "She works with Jason now."

Sloan interjected, "I thought she didn't have anywhere else to go. She has a sister?"

"Half-sister, and she's a lot older." Jennifer pointed to her brother. "Like, that much older. They don't see much of each other. Her mom left, too."

Jason admitted, "I have a hard time remembering that connection. But I usually forget she's Chris Hayden's daughter, too. She works hard." He continued, "I knew Xavier flirted with her at the office, and work has sent her to Seattle. I didn't know he wanted to marry her though. Isn't he kind of young?"

"Not everyone fears commitment," his wife said pointedly.

Jason asked Sloan, "Is she looking at me?"

Sloan glanced at her mother. "No. But Tristan is."

"So am I supposed to cheer up Willie Nelson, or pump him for details?" Tristan asked. At Sloan's confused look, he said, "Georgia on my mind."

"Hey man, do what you can," Jennifer said.

Xavier walked in on them then, Lafayette resting on his arm, and they all stopped talking about him.

"Come on, let's go out," Tristan said.

"I don't want to go out."

"I didn't ask if you wanted to. Put your dog down and get your coat."

Silently annoyed, he gave his uncle a withering look as he put Lafayette in Sloan's outstretched arms.

As they headed out, Tristan asked, "How long are you in town?"

"I'll probably get a flight out tomorrow."

Sloan's shoulders dropped as she watched them leave.