I offer my sincerest apologies in getting this chapter out to y'all so late. I know we're almost in March but Stars Hollow is still focused on Christmas. Life just got in the way of updating. Hope you're still here and reading!

She was late.

Late as in if she didn't make it back to work in the next ten or so minutes, she would never hear the end of it from the other maids. They already had plenty of ammunition against her that fueled gossiping behind her back. Being late and not berated by Mia would be one more thing they could add to the list about how she was the boss' favorite. Not that Mia wouldn't reprimand her for being late, because even though she did take her in and give her a place to raise her baby in a time of need, Lorelai still worked for her and had to obey the same rules as everyone else. The blow was lessened though by the fact that she cleaned circles around every other maid there.

Lorelai was beginning to regret that she refused Mia's offer to use her car for her last-minute, lunch-break run into town. But she foolishly thought that she could run into town, deal with Kirk over the bike he was selling and make it back to the inn all in the span of thirty minutes without a car. How wrong she was. She did have to deal with Kirk after all. And he had insisted on showing her the features of the bike. Not that she cared, it was the average, child sized bike that was perfect for Rory and for her budget. A last-minute Christmas gift.

Now the wind was cutting through her coat and making her shiver as she tried to avoid the icy patches on the sidewalk. The regret really set in when she realized she had to be hunched almost all the way over to push the bike down the sidewalk.

Just as her foot slipped on a patch of ice and she had to catch herself from falling, she heard the rumble of a truck idling close-by followed by a voice calling out to her.

"Need a ride?"

Her head whipped around at the sound of a voice that was becoming familiar. "No, I've got it."

"Yeah, it sure looks that way."

She continued pushing the bike down the sidewalk. The unmistakable sound of the truck followed her. "I said I've got it," she called out without looking over at him.

"I'm just offering a ride. It's cold."

She scoffed. "Oh really, I hadn't noticed." The wind was beginning to sting against her legs. She had on a pair of tights with her maid uniform but they did nothing to protect against the cold, bitter air.

"I can put the bike in the back of my truck. You wouldn't have to push it."

The truck stopped at the same time she turned to face him. "I said I'm fine, I don't need a ride."

"Okay."

With that, the green truck accelerated and left her standing on the sidewalk. She called out to him before she realized she had even opened her mouth.

"Luke, wait!"

The red brake lights were her indication that he heard her. The way the truck idled in the street meant that she was going to have to meet him. As she approached, hunched over and pushing the bike, he got out from the driver's side and helped to hoist the bike into the back of his truck. She half-expected him to walk her around to the passenger side and open up the door for her, instead he walked back to his side and left her standing there.

"The inn?" He asked when she was settled into her seat.

"Yeah," she answered him with a nod of her head. "I only accepted your offer because I'm going to be late for work."

"Of course," Luke replied dryly. "Wouldn't willingly accept help."

"You don't know that. You don't know anything about me."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, I don't."

She stared out the window, knowing the ride to the inn from here was only a few minutes. But, still, the quiet was weirdly unsettling, so she spoke again. "Why aren't you at the diner? It's lunchtime, thought it would be busy."

"Thought I'd drive around, pick up people off the street."

She turned to look at him now. "So that's how you meet girls. Just pick them up off the street."

"It worked on you."

She could feel her skin beginning to flush with the look he gave her before he focused on the road again. She was suddenly glad she had spent the better part of her lunch break out in the cold because it was her excuse should anyone ask why her cheeks were now tinged red. She looked out the window once more. They were almost there.

She was only slightly surprised when he gave her his real reasoning for not being at work.

"I ran out of some things and didn't want to deal with Taylor, so I was headed to the store."

She gave a nod of understanding. "Always a smart option."

"I thought so."

"So..." She said, just to avoid the quiet threatening to settle around them.

He copied her. "So."

"Any plans for Christmas?"

Safe and easy question. They didn't have to delve too deep for answers.

Luke gave a shake of his head, turning into the driveway for the inn. "Nah, not really." His answer was aloof but he moved on to asking about her. "What about you? Your daughter must be excited."

She smiled then. "She's only been talking my ear off for the past week about how she loves Christmas. And she's very diligent with her countdown calendar, crossing off a day every night before bed. There's been a few letters to Santa dropped off in the mailbox for the inn."

He had parked the truck but she didn't seem to notice as she continued talking about Rory. He watched how bright her smile grew when talking about her daughter and it caused the tiniest twitch in his lips when she mentioned that she got lucky with Rory because she wasn't as "gimme, gimme," as other kids. And how even though she was excited for her presents, as all kids were, she was equally excited to give away the rest of the presents she picked out for people.

Her words started to falter, turning into mumbles and eventually fading out all together when she realized that she was well into rambling mode and he was simply watching and listening.

"Sorry," She apologized quickly, with her hand already on the door handle. "It's a habit."

With a nod of his head in the general direction of the back of the truck, he asked. "Need any help with that?"

She hated to infringe on any more of his time, especially since he had already helped so much, but she couldn't lie to herself and say that his help wouldn't be a relief. "If you don't mind."

He shook his head. "I don't."

"Great!"

She hopped out of her side of the truck and met him at the back where he lifted the bike out and held it awkwardly in his hands instead of the pushing method she opted for.

"You want it in the potting shed?" He asked.

"I want it in my home, yes," Lorelai smoothly corrected him. Her tone was curt, a stark difference from the way she spoke in the truck. "You know the way. I'll follow."

She said follow but she soon fell into step with him as they started towards her home.

"I didn't mean anything by that."

She gave him a tight smile. "It's fine."

"You're mad," he pointed out.

"No, I'm not," Lorelai replied, looking everywhere but at him now. "It is a potting shed, or it was, but now it's mine and Rory's home. We love it."

"This is you not mad."

She ignored him and dug into the pocket of her coat until she produced a key. She quickly unlocked the door and stepped inside, gesturing with her arm that he was to follow her. Inside, she wordlessly pointed to a corner of the room he could stash the bike in until she could come up with a better hiding place.

"Here okay?"

"Yeah."

He blew a breath out in a huff. "I'm sorry."

"I said it's fine," Lorelai replied, walking over to him. She placed her hands on his back and began to push him towards the door, definitely not letting her hands roam ever so slightly to feel what Sookie mentioned he kept hidden underneath the flannel. "I have to get to work, don't have time for this."

"You don't have to push."

She let her hands fall from his shoulders and stood, leaning, in the doorway when he made his way outside and turned to face her. It wasn't a mansion or even a nice apartment but it's where she was raising Rory and that was enough for her.

"It's mine and Rory's home," she told him again. Refuge from her parent's world is more like it, she thought. "We don't need a whole lot of space. We like it tiny and cramped. Besides, you're one to talk. You live above your own diner in an office space."

The look on his face told her he was confused. "How'd you know that?"

She pushed herself away from the doorframe, locked the door, and moved past him. "I have my ways."

Lorelai was walking fast but he managed to catch up to her. He let it go that she knew facts about him because he would be lying to himself if he said he hadn't eavesdropped a few conversations about Lorelai and Rory that a couple of gossipy ladies loved to have in the diner.

"You know that's Kirk's bike, right?"

"Yeah," Lorelai answered. "I bought it from him, or Santa did, so it's Rory's now."

"No, I mean it was Kirk's bike when he was little," Luke replied.

That stopped her in her tracks. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Nope," he shook his head. "Not too many boys own a purple bike covered in flowers."

She scrunched up her face. "That's a little disturbing."

"No, that's Kirk," Luke replied.

"Oh my god," Lorelai said laughing. "This explains so much though."

He seemed amused too, laughing along with her, but as soon as it began, she ended it and hurried along the pathway back to the inn. She muttered something about how she should've taken the back way and snuck in but it was too late now seeing as they were just a couple of feet from the porch. He walked alongside her again, following her to the porch. She climbed onto the first step then turned to face him.

She brushed a strand of hair out of her face. Nervous habit. Right up there with rambling. "Thanks for your help today."

He shrugged his shoulders like it wasn't a big deal. And it wasn't. "No problem."

"And, I guess, thanks for your help the other day too. Rory and I didn't freeze in our home," Lorelai added on. The heater was now working at full capacity, keeping it nice and toasty for them. "I also noticed the shower pressure is infinitely better than what it was before."

"I wouldn't know anything about that."

"Of course, you wouldn't."

She stood there for a little longer, a moment lingering between them that she was refusing to acknowledge. She ducked her head because one of them needed to look away first. When she lifted her head, he was still watching her with the very hint of a smile on his face. She smiled back in response to his before stumbling her way up the rest of the porch steps, yelling out thanks again and that she was late, before she shut herself away in the safety of the inn.

"I know, I'm late," Lorelai said as she rushed into the lobby of the inn and found Mia behind the front desk. "But Kirk was being Kirk and I didn't realize how much time it would take me. But I got a ride and I'm here and I'm so sorry for being late."

"I noticed," Mia replied with a knowing look.

"Not you too," Lorelai groaned.

"What, dear?"

"That's the same look Sookie gave me a few nights ago," Lorelai explained. "And there's nothing going on, he just gave me a ride."

Mia held her hands up in surrender. "I said nothing."

"Right." With her hands on her hips, she asked. "Room ten, right?"

Mia nodded her head. "Start there. Rory snuck up there a few minutes ago, said something about wanting to scare you when you came back."

"I'll do my best surprised/scared face."

Later that night, Lorelai lay back on the bed while Rory rummaged through her books looking for one that they could read together. She watched as Rory carefully sifted through the books, creating two different piles. One noticeably smaller than the other. After a few minutes of deliberation, her little mini-me jumped onto the bed with a book in her hand.

"Let's read this one Mom."

"A Christmas Carol," Lorelai read the title. "How appropriate."

Rory curled into her mother's side. "It is almost Christmas," she said excitedly.

Lorelai chuckled at her daughter's enthusiasm. "Yes, it is. And I think someone is just a little excited for it."

"It's me!"

"Yes, it is, my sweet girl." She kissed the top of Rory's head. "Now get comfortable. Remember, no squirming around once we start."

"I know the rules," Rory played along.

Lorelai began to read from the page with Rory sounding out and reading everything she knew. As they read, Rory cuddled more and more into her mother until her head rested on her shoulder and she was almost laying across her. Lorelai just hugged her closer, her voice growing softer when she noticed Rory's eyelids starting to droop before fully surrendering to the sleep that washed over her.

She gently placed the book on the nightstand, careful not to disturb Rory. Though she tried to avoid it, her mind kept drifting back to earlier. There was definitely a moment, even if it was a minuscule one between her and Luke earlier. She couldn't deny that. The way she felt when he looked at her was something she hadn't felt in a while. A great feeling. An overwhelming feeling. She had made a fool of herself too, rambling and literally stumbling away when things started to get intense.

Crap, she thought as a realization washed over her.

Maybe she did like him after all.

If my calculations are correct, one more chapter to go!

I thought about extending this beyond where I plan to take it in the next chapter, which is one of the reasons it took so long to update, but since this story is centered around Christmas, it might not happen. I could just continue on with it but with a little separate story where this is already established. I love writing them before any of the actual show storyline comes into place.

As always reviews are appreciated. They mean the world to me!