Christmas 2007

Luke was so happy to be back with Lorelai. She always loved Christmas, and this year he didn't even try to pretend to be the grump he usually was. He had a lot of crappy Christmases in his past, and last year was in the top three worst of all time. And the Christmas before that, when they were engaged, was stressful given his "secret" daughter. This year was shaping up to be one of the best though. He had partial custody of April. Even though she wouldn't be visiting this year, they had a relationship now, and he knew there would be at least one phone call to say Merry Christmas and catch up. Rory would be home for a few days. And of course, there was Lorelai. Her energy and the gusto with which she led her life never failed to lift his spirits. She was infectious, especially at this time of year. He had a decent gift in mind. He only had to find the time to make it.

Christmas was only a few days away, and Luke had finally managed to finish all the pieces. He had commandeered the garage a while ago, and all his woodworking tools were there. It was risky, but Lorelai was never really out there anyway. She would be home from work in about an hour which was more than enough time for him to assemble and stain the jewelry armoire he crafted. When finished, it would have a top jewelry box compartment, four drawers below that, and one compartment on each side with a door that would swing outwards and to the back. The slender legs holding up the body of the armoire matched the twisting sides of the chuppa he made for her half a decade ago, and he had carved a delicate inlay of flowers and birds on the top and down the sides. He even engraved a miniature Gilbert on the face of one of the drawers.

Just as he was applying the first few brush strokes of stain, Luke heard a noise that made his heart jump. It was the Jeep. Lorelai was home 20 minutes early. He took several deeps breaths to try and calm down. In the middle of that process, he realized that she'd go inside, look around for him, and maybe call the diner or his cell phone before she even bothered to think of looking in the garage. Satisfied, he picked up the pace and planned to go inside once the first coat was fully applied.

The door was suddenly jerked open as Lorelai excitedly squealed, "Luke! I just got the most perfect present for April today! I know we said we were done, but this couple was checking in and…" she stopped mid-sentence as Luke looked at her like a deer in the headlights, brush in hand, with her Christmas present in full view.

"Pretty!" she exclaimed. "Wow, Luke, this is beautiful. Really, really beautiful. This blows my idea out of the water. I'm sure April will love this. Oh my God – a mini Gilbert," she cried as her finger traced the delicate etching. "You know this looks very similar to the chuppa." She turned to look at him and he saw the second her confusion shifted into realization and astonishment as she figured out this was not for April. He sighed and set the stain down on the workbench. So much for his surprise.

"Oh no, Luke, I'm so sorry," she said sympathetically. "I didn't know. Really you have to believe me. I never would have barged in here like that if I knew you were working on something for me."

"Nah, it's my fault. I should have known better than to try and make this anywhere near the house. I just figured you never actually go in the garage," he emphasized their location by wildly gesturing at the ground around them. "What made you come in here anyway?" he asked and placed his hands on his hips. "I heard you come home but I thought you'd go inside to look for me."

"Well I was headed toward the house, but I just happened to notice the light on in the garage windows and I was so excited I had to come and talk to you."

"Ah," he shrugged, put his arm around her, and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "Well, now that the cat's out of the bag, let me get this coat of stain finished and I'll meet you inside. Any requests for dinner?"

"Lasagna!" she decided. He nodded and turned to go back to work but stopped when he felt her arms around his waist. Her blue eyes sparkled as she looked up at him. "It really is beautiful," she whispered and moved in for a kiss.

"Well, I figured it was a good way to show you that I plan to be around for a while," he whispered back before his lips brushed hers.

"Does that mean I get something shiny every year?"

Luke rolled his eyes as she jumped around in his arms. "Oh it soooo does!" she yelped excitedly and bounced out of his reach towards the garage door. "I want a cord choker with a psychedelic pink flower power charm, and a fuzzy zebra striped slap bracelet, and some triple scoop ice cream cone earrings. Ooo and one of those giant mood rings…" her voice faded as she disappeared into the yard, but he could still tell she was listing every ridiculous piece of jewelry she could think of. He chuckled to himself feeling a sense of relief that she was pleased with his gift. And even though she saw it a few days early, it was still a surprise, she was happy, and all was right in his world.

Christmas 2008

He'd have to be an idiot to not get her something shiny this year given the big spectacle she made of the armoire last year. She had decided to transfer her jewelry piece by piece over the weeks following Christmas. While getting ready each morning, she'd pull a pair of earrings and necklace from her collection and speak to them of the "promised land" they'd get to move to at the end of the day. All the earrings were told of a luxurious box where they could host luaus and all the necklaces were getting into a club so exclusive that even Bono would want an invite. The armoire was just one big party in her head.

Luke gave out jewelry pretty rarely. In Lorelai's case, all of her favorites were made by Liz - the earrings he gave her while he was still with Nicole, the matching necklace he brought back after his summer in Maine, and the necklace from their reconciliation after Rory graduated from Yale. He figured his best bet would be to go to Liz again, and see if he could help design something. A bracelet this time: one with blue beads or stones to match the necklace that reminded him of Lorelai's eyes. Knowing Liz's lack of respect for deadlines, he reached out before she left for the faire circuit in the spring. When she was home in the fall, he stopped by to look at her latest creations to see if any of them fit the bill.

Right after Thanksgiving, she'd made the perfect one. It was a relief to have it taken care of so all he had to do was hide it until he could wrap it and put it under the tree. He wouldn't have to wait long. Lorelai shared with him last year that the perfect tree was always picked and decorated the very first weekend of December.

A week later Lorelai was curled up on the couch with a mug of peppermint coffee, a bowl of popcorn, a bag of marshmallows, and a giant package of Red Vines. She was admiring the newly decorated tree and preparing to put the first of the Christmas movies on when Luke came downstairs. He was in his sweatpants and a dark green long-sleeved shirt with a Christmas tree on it that Lorelai insisted he wear as often as possible in December. He placed a small wrapped package under the tree on his way to settle in at the other side of the couch.

She sat up and stared at the gift.

"What's that?" she snapped and glared at him.

"Uh, it's your present," he replied.

"No," she stated firmly. "No, you can't put a present under the tree this early. I can't stare at that and not open it for three weeks! You have to hide it and wait until the last minute to wrap it and then you put it under the tree on Christmas Eve. Like Santa."

"Come on, Lorelai. You're an adult. Christmas is less than three weeks away. You can wait to open it."

"Um, hello? What have I ever done to make you think I'm an adult? I'm offended. If you don't remove that present tonight I'm going to open it."

"Lorelai, please," he said full of exasperation while leaning forward and rubbing his forehead. He lifted his head, "Why don't you focus on picking out Rory and April's presents?"

She just glared at him more. He broke out the big guns.

"I'll bake you a pie every Sunday from now until Christmas, including tomorrow, for every week you get through without opening it. That's three pies, just for you."

She tilted her head in thought before countering "Pies are a good start, but I also want peppermint chocolate chip cookies right now."

He rolled his eyes and sighed before heaving himself up off the couch. It didn't take too long to whip up the dough, and after another couple of minutes in the oven the first batch was done. He brought a plate piled with cookies, handed her a glass of milk and kissed her forehead. She stuffed a warm cookie in her mouth and smiled up at him. Then he noticed the bracelet and confirmed what he already knew with a glance under the tree.

"God dammit, Lorelai!" he roared. "You couldn't wait half an hour?"

She just giggled and admired her wrist as he went into rant mode.

Christmas 2009

He hid her present in the diner. It was a pair of snowflake earrings that he knew Lorelai would love. Luke knew she didn't need more jewelry. She'd be happy with him serving her coffee in the silk Santa boxers she got him last year, but he couldn't help it. She liked shiny things, and he liked seeing her happy. This year, there was no way she was going to accidentally see her present or be able to unwrap it before Christmas Day. He only pulled them out of hiding on Christmas Eve to place a bow on the box. He was going to keep the small box in his pocket until midnight, when he would place the present under the tree…like Santa.

He set them on the kitchen table and slipped into Rory's old room where Lorelai had set up her wrapping station. He was riffling through a box of ribbon and looking for scissors. He didn't know she had been napping on the couch and woke up when he came home. He stepped back into the kitchen to see Lorelai holding the open box with a huge smile on her face.

"I smell snow!" she cried.

"I give up!" he shouted as he dropped the ribbon on the table, threw his hands in the air, and stomped off to go take a shower.

Christmas 2010

Luke couldn't remember if he ever had the chance to give Lorelai a Christmas present on Christmas Day. Okay he could, but for the past three years, Lorelai's impatience and his own rookie mistakes led to early presents. This year would be different. He had it wrapped at the store and kept it in the diner again. All he had to do was bring it home on Christmas Eve and place it under the tree. For the next two weeks, it would just sit in a corner of the storeroom, away from prying eyes.

At this point, it was a game for Lorelai. How many years could she find her present before Christmas? She got lucky last year, but now she was actively on the lookout. By the second week of December she was pretty sure Luke had already purchased something for her, so she tore apart the house. She looked under the bed, in all the closets, under the couch, and out in the garage. She even checked every nook and cranny in the kitchen, but she turned up empty handed. Then she remembered his old apartment.

The week of Christmas, as Luke prepared the veritable feast Lorelai ordered for breakfast at the diner, she slipped upstairs. He moved out long ago, but most of his old furniture was still around. She checked all the closets and under the beds and the couch but didn't see anything Christmas-y. The timer on her phone went off while she was checking desk drawers so she quickly silenced it, shoved the drawers back, and ran downstairs before Luke could figure out what she was up to. She stopped by for lunch too, at the busiest time of day, claiming it was her only chance to get away from the inn. He gave her a kiss goodbye when she finished her meal, but when he ducked into the kitchen she scurried upstairs to continue the search instead of leaving. Thirty minutes later and still she had not found a thing. She was going to have to weasel some information from him without him realizing it…and soon. April would be coming to visit in two days and there would be far less time for snooping and wheedling. She slipped out the back unnoticed and was determined to get some information at dinner.

Lorelai caught Luke at the diner before he was about to head home.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" Luke asked, clearly surprised to see her at the diner again.

"Just came to see my big strong man with the coffee" she flirted.

"Uh huh. I was just about to head out. Did you want to grab dinner first or should I make something else at home?"

"I could go for a burger and fries. Do you mind staying a bit longer?"

"No, that's fine. Go sit over there and I'll be there in a minute," he said and pointed the empty table just inside the door.

She formulated a strategy as she sipped the coffee Luke had brought over before he assembled their food. She was debating between a subtle or direct tactic when Luke sat down.

Lorelai wasted no time in taking a big bite of her burger.

"Mmm! This is so good!" she mumbled through stuffed cheeks. "What did you get me for Christmas?"

Luke just glared at her.

"Oh come on! I've found out early for three years in a row. How am I supposed to wait until Christmas now?"

"No. I'm not telling you and you're not getting it before Christmas this year. Do you hear me?" he all but shouted.

She pouted at him, but he steadfastly refused to look at her. He asked about her day, he talked about April, he asked about Rory – anything to change the subject, but she just kept circling the conversation right back around. Finally they'd finished dinner and he just needed to get away from her for a bit. He said the first thing he could think of.

"I forgot I have to take inventory tonight. I'll just be an hour or so. Why don't you head home and I'll bring some pie when I leave here," he said as he cleared their table.

"Or, I could come back to the storeroom and help you out. You know I'm a pro at inventory," she offered, following him to the counter.

"Yeah, sure," he scoffed. "Last time I let you help me we broke a jar of pickles. If I recall correctly, you were worse than Miss Patty ever was."

"But Luuuke," she whined, trailing behind him to the storeroom, "when's the last time we had a good old fashioned make out session in the storeroom? It'll be fun, I promise!"

Luke blocked her when she reached to open the door. He was really regretting his excuse. He had to get Lorelai out of there before she saw her present and without causing suspicion.

"No, Lorelai. Look, just let me get this done and then we can do whatever you want at home."

She huffed and crossed her arms. "Can't we do something different? Like make out in the storeroom?" She went for the door again, but Luke caught her hand and redirected to his mouth, placing a kiss on her knuckles.

"Tell you what. If you let me do my inventory alone," he lowered his voice and gave her a pointed look, "we can be intimate in the theater the next time we go to the movies."

This time she scoffed. "You don't make out at the movies, Luke. Movies are for watching. Storerooms are for necking." she insisted.

He blocked her again by stepping between her and the door and wrapping his arms around her waist. He knew he had to come up with something fast or she'd get suspicious.

"Okay how about I go to the next town meeting with you and we can uh, cuddle, a little in the back? It'll be new and Taylor will blow a gasket."

Lorelai smiled at him mischievously and said "okay" before she walked away. He breathed a sigh of relief and tried to think of any excuse that would get him out of a town meeting make out session.

On Christmas morning, Luke could hardly believe he had her wrapped present under the tree. Finally he got it right. The smile immediately fell off his face when she came downstairs. She was wearing jeans and a tight light blue sweater with a V-neck instead of her Christmas pajamas. And she was wearing the snowflake earrings that just so happened to perfectly match the necklace he found this year. He frowned at her.

"What?" she asked innocently. She pushed her hair behind her ears and fiddled with an earring. At that moment he knew she'd already seen her present.

Christmas 2011

Luke bought multiple presents this year. He hoped that maybe if she found one she wouldn't bother looking for the rest. He hid fluffy Christmas themed socks under the bed, some movie about bridesmaids that Lorelai wouldn't stop talking about under the couch, and some candy in the hall closet as an extra distraction. Then he hid her actual present in the glove box compartment of his truck under his registration and insurance papers and a pile of left over napkins. It was a ring she saw when they visited Liz at the faire over the summer. They were checking out a new jewelry booth that had popped up, scoping out the competition. As it turned out, the booth was focused on rings. Since Liz mainly made earrings and necklaces, they didn't feel bad actually looking at the items on display. He noticed she had picked up and tried on a rather delicate piece with intricate little dragons engraved on either side of a light blue gem. Just before they left, Luke slipped Liz the money and asked her to purchase it. A few days later, he received it at the diner.

Two weeks before Christmas Lorelai came down into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee before settling in for their Sunday night movie. She was wearing festive pajamas and a pair of the socks he'd placed under the bed. He yelled at her for snooping and grumbled all night about her ruining Christmas in the hopes that she would stop there.

A week before Christmas he came home to find her watching that damn bridesmaid movie and eating the candy he'd left in the closet. He ranted and stormed all over the house not only because he was legitimately upset with her, but also to hide the panic he felt rising in his chest.

Christmas morning, Lorelai was back to wearing her traditional pajamas. Her present was still wrapped under the tree. There was no way she bested him this year. He watched her carefully as she unwrapped and opened the box with the ring.

"Aww, Luke! The ring from the faire, I love it!" she squealed and placed the ring on her finger. She admired it for a minute before pushing Luke's presents over to him. There was a small box wrapped on top of a larger box. "Your turn! Open the small one first."

Satisfied that she was surprised, he started opening his present. It was a ring. It was a big, ugly ring that he'd never wear. It was a big, ugly ring that he'd never wear with a big, stupid dragon etching.

"How the hell are you doing this?" he bellowed. After a moment of watching Lorelai's giggling fit, he had a realization. He'd bet his life that Liz let it slip.

Christmas 2012

He lectured Lorelai every day in December. Christmas was a stupid holiday that got twisted and perpetuated by corporate America. Clearly the novelty of being with Lorelai was wearing off. Or maybe it was just that he was fed up with her always finding her present. He would wait until the last possible second to buy something. And maybe his bad mood would keep her curiosity at bay or get her to take pity on him and just wait until Christmas Day.

Lorelai couldn't believe her luck this year. Her daily searches of the house and diner had all been in vain. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't find anything that might be a Christmas present. April had arrived a full week before Christmas this year so it was getting harder and harder to snoop in secret. She stopped at Doose's to drown her defeat in pint of Rocky Road, but when she stepped outside she saw Luke driving away. He hadn't mentioned going out of town so she hopped in her jeep and kept her distance. She saw him pull off at a jewelry store a few towns over. To make sure he didn't see her, she drove to another little strip mall area and circled back. She hid outside and watched until he got a sales associate to pull the item he was looking at. When she saw him getting his wallet out of his back pocket she walked in and right up to the counter.

"Ooo! Gimmie!" she demanded and reached for the open box.

She walked out of the store wearing her new necklace.

Christmas 2013

He was done with jewelry. Clearly it was bad luck. Instead he thought a weekend trip to New York City would be perfect. They could see a show on Broadway and meet up with Rory now that she was getting settled in her new apartment. He would even suffer through a day of shopping just to get Lorelai a present she couldn't find and open before Christmas. He consulted Rory and she suggested the Matilda musical so he bought tickets for all three of them.

Christmas morning, Luke was making her usual Christmas pancakes and bacon while she slept for a little while longer. He brought a tray into the living room and set in on the coffee table. Grabbing the coffee cup, he started up the stairs right as she rounded the corner to descend them. She had a broad smile on her face and had bounced down the stairs to meet him at the bottom landing. He saw the smile disappear off her face when she saw only her present for him under the tree. Her disappointment brought a smile to his face. His trick worked. She probably still looked, but at least there was nothing to find.

"Merry Christmas" he said in a deep whisper. He handed her the coffee, kissed her temple, placed his hand in the small of her back and guided her down the stairs to her spot on the couch. "I made double chocolate chip pancakes this year."

"Oh, um, they look delicious, but what does a girl have to do to get some whipped cream?" she said half-heartedly.

He rolled his eyes and went back to the kitchen. When he came back out she was frowning and picking at the pancakes.

"You feeling alright?" he asked as he placed the can of whipped cream on the tray.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said and mumbled something under her breath.

"You sure?" he asked. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "You won't even look at me."

She sighed and looked up with a fake smile on her face. "I'm good, I promise."

"Ok good, because I wouldn't want you to be catching a cold. I've got plans for you this weekend," her smile brightened at that and he cut her off before she could say anything. "Don't say it. But yes, some of those plans are dirty." He waggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed before planting a big kiss on his lips and snuggling into his side.

"So what are these plans you have?"

"Well, since you can't be an adult and always have to snoop for your present, I had to get you something that doesn't need to be hidden or wrapped."

"Hey!" she snapped and wriggled away from him. "If that's a crack at my immaturity," she shrugged, "well, then, okay." He chuckled as she started to devour her breakfast. "So spill," she said through stuffed cheeks, "What'd you get me?"

"I spoke to Sookie and Michel to make sure things would be covered at the inn so we could go and spend the weekend in New York City."

"Oh fun! Can we make some time to go see Rory? I really want to see her new place."

Luke smiled at her and ducked his head shyly, "Of course. I, uh, booked a show for the three of us to see Friday night, Matilda, and Rory said she could meet up with us for lunch on Saturday too. I thought maybe we could walk around and go shopping."

"Luke!" she turned to him with her mouth open. "Did you just offer to go shopping with the Gilmore girls? Do you know what you're getting yourself into?" He sighed and gave her a nod. "Aww, you big softy!" she exclaimed and moved to sit in his lap.

"Only for you," he mumbled in a deep sexy voice before kissing her fiercely. Before they could get carried away, Lorelai broke free from his grasp and hopped up.

"I'm so excited, Luke! Thank you! I hope you like your present just as much." She reached under the tree and pushed his present over to him.

As he pulled off the wrapping paper a new carry-on sized suitcase became visible. He wasn't sure if this was a coincidence or not so he looked up at her with his eyes squinted.

"What's this for?" he asked suspiciously.

"Well, now that Rory's settled in New York, and April will be getting out of college soon, I was thinking we could try and do some more little trips. Your bags are all falling apart so I wanted to replace them with something nice. And this one has wheels so I can help and you don't have to carry everything."

Satisfied that she hadn't figured out her present, he smiled at her once again, "This is great, Lorelai. I'd love to get you alone more often." He leaned over to pick back up where they left off, but she leaned away.

"I put something in the bag too. It's some entertainment for travel time or downtime," she said. He raised his eyebrows.

"Really?"

"Yeah, one of my favorites, but I'm sure you already know."

He opened the suitcase to find Roald Dahl's "Matilda" tucked inside.

"How? How did you know? There was nothing to find!" he fumed.

She just smiled at him adoringly.

Christmas 2014

The second they saw Rory in New York the previous year he knew she told Lorelai about his present. She could barely look at him and the first time Lorelai left the two of them alone, she had apologized profusely. He couldn't be mad at her. Lorelai on the other hand, he didn't know she was playing hardball. Well, he had a daughter too.

"Hey April, you've gotta help me out," he pleaded over the phone.

"Hey Dad, what's up?" she replied.

"Can you help me with Lorelai's Christmas present this year? She keeps finding her present before Christmas Day and I can't take it anymore. Last year I got her a trip to New York. There was nothing for her to find and she still found out about it. Turns out she brought Rory into this whole mess!"

"Ah. So you want to bring me into this battle of the Christmases as retaliation?"

"No, I didn't mean it like that. But you and me, we're a team, right? Can you please help me get a Christmas present that Lorelai doesn't know about under the tree this year?"

"Sure. I can try and run interference for you. What were you going to get her?"

"I haven't decided yet. I'm sure I'll have something figured out by the time you get here. Listen, I've gotta run, but thank you!"

"No problem, Dad. I'll talk to you later."

Relieved to have a solid partner in crime, Luke started brainstorming. Sookie decided to take half a year off and Lorelai had been stressing out, so he thought giving her some time to go pamper herself would be a good idea. A day at a nearby spa would be perfect for her. When April arrived he sent her out to do his dirty work. She came back with a gift certificate, and wound up coordinating her own present with his idea – some bath bombs, lavender scented candles and some weird hippy CD for meditation. April definitely reminded him of his sister sometimes.

Christmas morning as they sat around the tree, Lorelai opened her present from April first. She gushed over the bath bombs, because April had purchased the perfect kind, and took a deep whiff of the relaxing lavender candles. Luke could tell she wasn't so sure of the CD. She was sporting one of her fake smiles when April started talking about the different meditation technique she researched to try while listening to it. He brought out his gift for Lorelai and she smiled happily while opening it. She looked confused for a minute before she spoke.

"Oh, man! I thought you went for a cheap spa, but this place is awesome!"

"I was surprised too." April jumped in, "I mean Dad had me pick it up so you wouldn't see, but when I got there I couldn't believe how nice it was!"

"Well why didn't you tell me?" Lorelai asked.

"I told you that you were getting a certificate to the spa, you didn't ask which one!"

"Oh, come on! You're always so well researched and informative. I can't believe you would leave something that important out!"

Luke just sat there with his mouth open, gawking at his girlfriend and his daughter. He wasn't sure if he was more hurt that April turned on him or more ticked off at Lorelai for turning her. Either way, he also couldn't stop the little jolt of joy he felt. Seeing the two of them like this made his world complete.

Christmas 2015

It had been a rough year for the Gilmore girls. Richard passed away a few months ago, and while life went on, Luke could tell Lorelai was still struggling. He thought some time away would be a perfect present. April was scheduled to graduate from MIT this coming spring so he could spend some extra money to take all three of his girls somewhere special. They'd all been going crazy over Harry Potter and he remembered their thrill last year when Universal Studios in Florida had opened some new Harry Potter themed rides.

Lorelai had to be crafty. She knew Luke was getting more and more frustrated each year she found her present. That only fueled her determination. After all, a frustrated and ranting Luke was still a great joy to experience. He seemed to be trying new strategies to trick her so she was doing anything possible to stay ahead of the curve. Both girls and Liz were on alert, as they had been after Christmas 2012 (never again would she sink to Rocky Road level defeat). A few others were added in as well, just to cover all her bases.

"Hey sugah," Babette screeched as she came running across the lawn one Wednesday in early December. "I've been watching that gorgeous hunk of yours for a few weeks now. You know, like you told me too, I mean I watch him anyway, especially when he's fixing that truck of his." Babette noticed Lorelai glaring at her before she continued "Anyhow, I was watching him like you asked and I noticed that he's been coming home around lunch to check the mail. I wanted to tell you yesterday, but Morey had a gig in New York. I think whatever he was looking for got here though because I didn't see him today. I just thought you might want to know."

"Huh," Lorelai put her hands on her hips and studied the ground for a bit. "I didn't realize it, but yeah, I haven't been the one brining it in." She rushed to check the box to find the mail still inside. "Well he definitely didn't stop by today. Thanks for the heads up, Babette, you're the best!"

"No problem, doll! Let me know if there's anything else I can do," she yelled heading back into her home.

Lorelai shuffled through the mail as she walked up the steps to the porch, looking for clues in case Luke was still trying to intercept something but didn't make it home in time today. Nothing jumped out at her. A few Christmas cards, a bill, some junk. She opened the electric bill and went to go put it on the hallway desk with the other bills that were stacking up for the month – water, gas, cable, her credit card. She paused on that one.

"Oh man, I don't even want to think about next month's bill," she groaned. It was going to be a doozie since all her Christmas shopping would be captured on one piece, well several pieces, of paper. She sighed and put it all back down, shuffling around the desk some more. "Huh," she thought out loud. "Where's Luke's bill? It's usually here and obnoxiously low. It's like the man takes pleasure rubbing his financial responsibility in my face." She figured it probably just had not shown up yet and decided to take a bath before changing to some more comfortable clothes for the evening.

Lorelai's day was fading away as she relaxed into the warmth and breathed in the fresh scent of her Winter Snowflake bubble bath. Her good mood carried on and she put some of the bubbles on her face for pretend scruff.

"I'm Luke Danes," she grumbled in a low voice. "I'm a responsible adult that never spends any money and never has any fun. I only use my credit card for boring adult purchases like gas for my misogynistic truck." She shook her finger at the imaginary Lorelai she was scolding at the other side of the tub. "You can't just go spending all your money on clothes and makeup." She switch to a high pitched flirty southern voice, "Oh, but Luke, you love my new little black dress and my watermelon lip gloss."

"Yeah, I do," Luke said as he smiled from the doorway into the bathroom.

"AH!" She screamed.

"It's only me," Luke chuckled, careful to stand back at a safe distance to avoid any of Lorelai's belated "self-defense" moves.

"Oh my God, Luke! You can't just creep up on a woman like that!"

"Sorry," he smiled at her, "but I didn't want to interrupt that excellent advice you were giving yourself."

Lorelai rolled her eyes, grabbed a towel, and wiped the bubbles from her face. "It's Christmas, Luke. You know I can't help it."

"You can, you just won't."

"Ugh, Taylor's right, you are a surly, bitter kill joy" she stuck her tongue out and he rolled his eyes back at her. "So speaking of kill joys, bills are due soon. I think we've got all of them except your credit card bill. I didn't see it down in the pile."

"Oh, yeah, I uh, didn't use it this month. I misplaced it so I was using cash." He didn't look her in the eye and left the bathroom to putter around the bedroom.

"What? How do you misplace it? You keep it in the same spot in your wallet and never take it out!"

"I have to take it out to pay with it. I was in a rush and forgot to put it in my wallet one time. Everything's okay though, I found it in my jacket pocket and its right back where it belongs now. I'm gonna go start dinner. I was thinking gumbo. That okay with you?" he called, heading down the stairs

"Mmm, I love your gumbo. Did you bring home any pie for dessert?" she yelled. She was pretty sure there was a confirmatory grumble. She smiled and shook her head, still not fully believing he misplaced his credit card. Then it hit her. He'd been checking the mail. His bill was missing from the stack. He never lost his card.

The Gilmore-Danes house was in full swing on Christmas morning. Rory had some extra time off this year and took up residence in her old room. Anna had moved back to Connecticut over the summer which meant April could split the day between her parents. Since Rory was staying at the Crap Shack, April stayed with her mom, but had to be with her dad in the morning considering Lorelai's inability to wait more than five minutes after waking up to open presents.

Lorelai bounded down the stairs. She all but skipped into the kitchen, her usual morning drowsiness nowhere to be found.

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good morning!" She squeezed both Rory and April in a tight hug from behind as they sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee. She danced over to Luke, who was cooking breakfast, and pulled on his flannel sleeve repeatedly whispering happily "Everybody's here!"

He paused in his breakfast preparations wrapping his arm around her waist to bring her in for a hug and his breath caught in his throat. It had been months since he saw the sparkle in her eye and he hoped with all his heart that it wouldn't dull again.

He gave her a soft, sweet kiss before grumbling, "Your pancakes are just about done. Then we can go open presents before you explode."

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before she squealed with excitement. She poured herself a cup of coffee, took a quick sip, and then she pulled the girls out of their chairs and pushed them towards the couch. Luke followed shortly with several plates of pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast. They all dug in hoping to get a few bites before Lorelai started passing out presents. Luke insisted on going last so the girls all swapped presents with each other. After a few minutes, wrapping paper littered the living room. All that was left were three wrapped presents for Luke. Each girl pushed her gift towards him and they all sat expectantly waiting for him to open them.

"Alright, before I open these, I have a present for all of you," he smiled and pulled an envelope from his back pocket. He looked at Lorelai and she bounced in her seat. "You can wait to open this until after I get through all these, right?" He addressed Lorelai directly as he held the envelope in one hand and gestured to his waiting bounty with the other. She bit her lip and nodded her head, unable to sit still.

He went with April's present first. It was the complete collection of Harry Potter movies. He immediately frowned but before he could say anything, April jumped in.

"Do you remember when I graduated from High School and you promised we could have a Harry Potter marathon?" she waited for him to nod before she went on, "Well, this is my last winter break and it might be the last chance we have to be able to sit down and get through all of them before I graduate from college. I have another two weeks off from school and I still really want to watch these with you. I think you'll love them!"

He looked at her and was reminded of the 12 year old girl that came barging into his diner.

"Of course, I'll watch these with you." He looked at Lorelai trying to decide if she had anything to do with this present. She gave him a smile that one parent might give to another during a heartwarming moment. Not totally convinced he went on, "It just seems like Lorelai here might have helped you pick this out."

"Well she kind of did. I didn't know what to get you and she mentioned that something we could do together would be a good idea and then I remembered you still haven't seen these. And they're great to watch on a snowy day. I even have a Harry Potter cookbook so we can make some themed food. I really want to try some pumpkin pasties and butter beer. Plus there's a polyjuice potion recipe that looks amazing! " She started to bounce in her seat a little and her eyes were filled with excitement.

He never thought his grown daughter would be so eager to spend time with him, so he shook his head while she spoke and agreed as soon as her chatter started to die off.

"Alright, alright. I'll see what the diner schedule is like and we can set up a few days to get through all these."

"Yes! You won't be sorry, Dad."

He rolled his eyes and worked on opening Rory's rather heavy present. Before the wrapping paper was completely removed he set the gift back on the coffee table, shot up out of his chair, and pointed at Lorelai.

"Now I know you had something to do with this!" He shouted.

"Whoa there, Cool-Hand, I coordinated with April," Rory interrupted. "She told me she was getting you the movies and I couldn't let those be your only experience with Harry Potter. I mean, they're great, but the books are better. Why do you keep thinking Mom had anything to do with this?"

He looked at Lorelai and she seemed taken aback at his outburst, and a little hurt. Rory's big blue eyes looked up at him, full of innocence. He sighed and sat back down, picking the books up again as well.

"Thank you for the books, Rory. I'll uh, see if I can get through these in the next few years."

Rory brightened a little, "Oh they're actually a really quick read. I bet you could get through all of them in a few months."

He nodded and looked back at his girlfriend. She wouldn't look him in the eye and he felt awful. "Lorelai, I'm sorry, but you keep snooping and no matter how hard I try you always find your present. These gifts go along with my present so well that I thought you had something to do with it."

Her head was down, she brought a hand to her eyes, and her shoulders started shaking. Shit. He'd made her cry. It was Christmas Day and he was so excited to see her smiling, but instead she was crying.

He grabbed the envelope from the table and knelt in front of her. "Here, open this." She sniffled a little before taking the present from him and he kissed the top of her head. Lorelai opened the envelope. She looked up at him, confusion in her watery eyes.

"Luke, these are tickets to Universal Studios. How does this have anything to do with Harry Potter?"

"Well, last year you were all going crazy over that new Harry Potter ride or whatever they opened up so I thought we could all go and check it out sometime in the next couple of months."

"Oh my God, these are tickets for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter?"

Both Rory and April shrieked as they jumped off the couch and gave Luke a hug. They took the envelope of tickets from Lorelai and ran out of the room.

Lorelai pushed her present towards Luke and sat very still. He half expected to see a Harry Potter themed gift, but it was a black and yellow scarf that looked like Lorelai made it herself. He ran his fingers over the soft yarn and noticed a small piece of paper sticking out. He looked up at her with a small smile and opened the envelope he pulled from the folded scarf.

"Tickets to Islands of Adventure? What's that?" He looked up to see Rory and April walk back in with matching blue and silver scarves in a similar style to his. Lorelai was wrapping a deep red and golden yellow scarf around her neck.

"Oh, that's the other Universal amusement park with half of Harry Potter's Wizarding world. I thought it would go well with the girl's presents." She smiled at him mischievously.

"God dammit!" he bellowed at the girls and dropped his head. Lorelai got him. They all got him and they all got him good. He was seething. Although, his rage subsided a bit when he saw the same cheerful gleam of pure joy in all three sets of eyes starting at him.

Christmas 2016

Ten years. This was the tenth Christmas they'd be spending together since the reconciliation and their first as a married couple. They had their hardships this year, every year really, but it was different this time. Lorelai had left him alone in Connecticut to go do "Wild." He spent at least a month, from the time she announced her trip to the moment she said "I think we should get married," thinking he was going to lose her. It brought a new light to this Christmas. Suddenly he wasn't as upset. Did it really matter that she found her presents? She was still here. He could still hold her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her.

On the other hand, she should be able to wait until Christmas day for a present. Hell, they waited over nine years to get married! Maybe with Rory being pregnant he had a shot at distracting her and actually getting to surprise her this year. Clearly he couldn't buy jewelry, tell anyone anything, go anywhere looking too suspicious, or pay with his credit card before the November bill showed though. God, why did she have to make this so impossible?

"Hey, Luke?" Lorelai walked into the foyer of the Crap Shack and removed her shoes, "I think I changed my mind."

"Of course you did," he called out from the kitchen. "What do you want for dinner now?"

"Oh, no the fried chicken smells amazing. I meant I changed my mind on the honeymoon." She hugged him from behind and planted a kiss on his cheek. The wedding was only a month ago and they'd both agreed there was no need for a honeymoon. He wasn't surprised by her change of heart, and he had actually been hoping for it. "I found the perfect little place in Vermont today. We could go just after Christmas and before Rory moves into the apartment above the diner. You can go skiing and I can drink hot toddies by the fire. Maybe walk around in the snow and go shopping."

"Lorelai, we can't afford that. With all the money you spend on Christmas presents I'll be surprised if we can buy you a cup of coffee from my diner in January."

She rolled her eyes, "When was the last time I bought coffee there anyway? Come on, it'll be so much fun!" She lowered her voice and whispered in his ear "We can save a day to spend in bed."

Luke cleared his throat. "Ok," he capitulated, "but if we do that there's no Christmas presents this year. We get a honeymoon and that's it." She pouted at him. He glared in return.

"Oh fine," she muttered, "but I'm getting a massage at the lodge!"

Luke's credit card bill arrived on the 12th of December, which didn't leave him much time to purchase the gift he had in mind. He had always been frugal, and while helping to pay for April's education did drain his savings faster than he would have liked, they were still pretty well off. How could he pass up the chance to get Lorelai a present she wasn't expecting? He could finally surprise her this year. He took his laptop into the abandoned apartment above the diner and did some research. An hour later he was on his cell phone.

"Yeah, I tried to book a tour on your website, but something's not right," he was pacing the old kitchen area and stopped when the employee on the other line interrupted him. "Well, I'm trying to make this a surprise and I don't have a lot of time so I need-" he got cut off again. Luke raised his voice in anger, "I don't give a damn if your website's down right now. I need to book two adult tickets to your New York Secret Foods Tour before my wife and her daughter find out about it. You should still be able to help someone over the phone. Now what do I need to do to get these tickets?"

He rolled his eyes and picked up his card from the table. "Fine," he huffed and read off his information. The rude employee assured him the booking went through and e-mailed confirmation with a link to printable tickets. He promptly saved a copy of the tickets and confirmation in his accounting folder for the diner.

Feeling good about his Christmas plans, he went back down to the diner and was slightly alarmed to see Rory and Lorelai sitting at the counter. He paused slightly when he opened the curtain, but quickly tried to show a pleasant surprise instead of the panic he felt.

"Hey! What are you guys doing here?" he leaned in towards Lorelai for kiss.

"Nothing much, we were just about to head upstairs to the apartment. After decorating the dragonfly, we know the importance of getting measurements before we buy any furniture, especially bookcases. We were going to start the redecorating shopping today, but I smelled coffee and we got distracted." Rory rolled her eyes and pouted a little, clearly not happy with her small mug of decaf coffee.

"Ah, just don't go too crazy when you go shopping," he gave her a pointed look knowing she'd buy out any store for her daughter and unborn grandchild. He ran back to the kitchen, relieved that they hadn't barged into the apartment while he was on the phone.

Luke figured Lorelai might sleep in a bit longer on Christmas morning. There were no presents this year per the honeymoon agreement and Rory was adamant about not letting them get her anything given the amount of money they'd be putting into re-furnishing the apartment for her. April was in Germany so all her presents had been sent earlier. He made a cup of tea and sat on the couch staring off into space thinking about the diner's inventory to try and distract himself from his building excitement. It couldn't have been more than half an hour before a sleepy Lorelai came down the stairs looking for coffee.

Luke followed Lorelai into the kitchen where Rory was just pouring herself a cup of decaf. Lorelai drank a cup with her as an impromptu Christmas present, because God knows she wouldn't have any otherwise. Luke started breakfast and the girls began chatting about their progress and future plans with the apartment. They were still going strong when Luke announced breakfast would be served in the living room in a few minutes. Lorelai topped off her cup and shuffled to the couch with her arm around her daughter. Once the girls were settled and enjoying their pancakes Luke made another announcement.

"Now I know we made an agreement to not purchase presents this year, but I couldn't waste an opportunity to actually surprise you," He pulled an envelope from the desk in the hallway and handed it to Lorelai. "I know your both excited for the arrival of the baby, but I wanted you to be able to enjoy some time together as only mother and daughter before there's another Gilmore in the world."

Lorelai's smile shone bright as she stole the envelope from him and shook it, pretending to listen for a noise.

"Is it more tickets to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? Because that was awesome and I want to go back."

"Well, I hope it isn't" Rory huffed. Lorelai gave her an inquisitive look.

"But you probably enjoyed that trip more than any of us, why wouldn't you want to go back?"

"I'm pregnant, mom. I wouldn't be able to go on half the rides."

"Oh who cares? The best part was the food anyway." Lorelai ripped open the envelope unable to contain her glee. "Ha!" She exclaimed and waved the paper in Rory's face. "Luke knows we're all about the food. Secret Food tour tickets for Boston!"

"Boston?" Luke interrupted and took the printed confirmation from Lorelai. "The dumbass I spoke to on the phone said they booked a New York tour. How the hell did this happen? What a bunch of idiots."

"Aw, that's okay Luke," Rory chimed in. "We could definitely make a weekend out of that. There's a lot of cool stuff in Boston."

Lorelai engulfed Luke in a big hug. "Thank you so much, hon. I'm sure we'll have a blast." She kissed him on the cheek before continuing on. "And, I couldn't resist getting you a little present either," she smiled brightly and went to her purse. She brought back an envelope and handed it to Luke.

He opened it to find three tickets to a Boston Red Sox game for April 16th and a single ticket for a Secret Food tour in Boston.

His jaw dropped and he was completely speechless. He just stared at the tickets and battled with the disappointment, anger, surprise, and utter happiness. After a moment he shook his head and sighed.

"How'd you do it this year?"

"Why, whatever do you mean?" Lorelai flirted.

"You know what I mean. I definitely ordered tickets for a New York tour. How'd you find out about it and how did you change the order?" he demanded.

"You get awfully loud when you're yelling on the phone."

"There's no way you heard me on the phone in the apartment when you were down in the diner."

Lorelai shrugged. "Well, we might have already been up the stairs before I decided to get distracted by coffee."

Christmas 2017

Luke had come to realize this "war" between him and Lorelai was more like a battle of the sexes. A really unfair battle of the sexes. It was Luke against the world, and he could prove it. Rory and April both betrayed him. Liz betrayed him. He was pretty sure Sookie, Miss Patty, and Babette were all aware and involved too. Luke had some pretty slim pickin's. Kirk, if you could even call him a man. TJ, yeah right. And Taylor? Not even if hell froze over. There was no one. At least not until this year. Rory welcomed little a little baby boy into the world back in late July.

"Oh, I know! You should name him Paul Anka! That way there's the real Paul Anka, Paul Anka the dog, and baby Paul Anka!"

"Mom, I'm not naming my son after your dog. Besides, I already picked a name."

"What? When did that happen? Was it when you were hopped up on Demerol?" Luke stepped to Lorelai's side, holding the little boy. "Oh, is this little guy the male version of Lorelai?" she cooed to her grandson.

Rory chuckled, "What would that even be?"

"I don't know. Lorelo? Lorolai? Maybe Lethario? Lethario Gilmore." She giggled and cradled him in her arms. She couldn't seem to stop stealing him from whoever was holding him. "So prestigious. Emily would love that."

"Eww, no! You are holding Richard Gilmore," Rory replied with a tremulous smile, reaching to take her son back from her mom.

"Oh hon, she really will love that."

"I miss him. I wish he was here to meet his great grandson. Do you think he'd be excited?"

"You have no idea, kid. When I called your grandmother she reverted back ten years and started yelling at Roberta like it was somehow her fault. I don't think she could get out of the house fast enough to get here. I fully expect an earful about calling when someone goes into labor, not after the birth. She'll probably be here any minute."

Luke smiled at the memory. And now, he finally had a reliable teammate. The present he had in mind had been in the making for over a year. It wasn't anything too extravagant, like a trip or expensive jewelry, but Lorelai would love it just the same. His plan was to try the decoy gift idea again. Although this time, instead of several smaller gifts he went with one larger gift on par with past years.

"Hi, this is Luke Danes. I'm calling about the Stars Hollow coffee festival. Yes, we're setting it up for the last weekend in January. We have some vendors lined up to sell coffee products and my wife loves your chocolate cappuccino cheesecake so I wanted to reach out and see if you'd be interested in participating. Yeah, sure. I'll call back in a few days with some more details. Great, thank you."

Kirk had come into the diner while Luke was on the phone and was eavesdropping from the spot he claimed at the counter. He chimed in after Luke hung up. "Do you have the appropriate permits? I can put in a good word with Taylor if you want some help."

"Shut up, Kirk."

"Taylor doesn't like to be excluded from festival plans."

"I don't care, Kirk," Luke grumbled back. "It's not like he'll be able to do anything about it anyway. He won't know until it's too late."

Kirk stared at the counter and made a strangled, high pitched whining noise.

"Kirk," Luke growled. "This is Lorelai's Christmas present. If you tell anybody about it I will kill you." He leaned over the counter and grabbed Kirk's upper arms, shook him a few times, and repeated his threat. "I mean it. I will kill you."

Once released, Kirk sprang up from his stool, ran out of the diner, and sprinted down the street towards Doose's Market. Luke leaned against the back counter with his arms crossed in front of him and a smirk on his face. Everything was going according to plan. Kirk wouldn't be able to keep it from Taylor, and Taylor would be outraged so it would eventually get to Miss Patty, who was of course, on team Lorelai.

Christmas morning rolled around and Luke prepared himself for the worst. He had to assume that Lorelai knew about his real present and racked his brain for what she might do to clue him in that she knew the whole time, but he came up empty handed. He convinced her to exchange presents at the Crap Shack before going to spend the day with Rory and Rich in the apartment. He sat Lorelai on the couch and pulled an album from one of the top shelves on the entertainment center and handed it to her.

"What's this?" she asked.

"It's your Christmas present," he said flatly. He stood by the side of the coffee table in front of the couch and stared blankly at her knowing she had to be faking confusion for her own amusement.

"But it's not even wrapped," she pouted.

"Oh, come on. We both know you already know what it is. There's no point it wrapping anything up anymore."

She opened the album and let out a small gasp. Luke rolled his eyes. Lorelai had gone more and more over the top the past few Christmases. Instead of just finding the presents and coordinating her own presents with it, she brought out fake crying and even switched her own present. He didn't quite know how low she'd stoop just to get a rise out of him.

"Where did you get these? I burned all my baby pictures!"

"I'm not telling you."

"Seriously, Luke. I burned all of them. Ask my mother, they're all gone."

"I don't have to ask your mother," he sniped back. She jerked her head up and stared at him, mouth open in astonishment.

"You got them from my mother?"

Luke didn't bother to respond with more than a nod.

"I can't believe you got these from my mother. I honestly didn't know there were any left. She never even showed Rory when she asked for them." Lorelai turned through several more pages of the album and laughed out loud at a picture of little Luke.

"Oh my God! How old were you here?"

Luke stepped around her legs and sat down on the couch next to her. He chuckled a little, knowing exactly what picture she was referencing.

"I'd say about 2 or 3. It was Christmas Eve and we were at my grandparents' house with the whole family. My Grandfather had a pair of cowboy boots and all the kids were taking turns trying them on. Eventually my Grandmother got a camera out and took a picture of each of us when we had them on. That's my dad on the couch in the background, and the beautiful lady stepping and reaching to remove my finger from my nose is my mother."

Lorelai laughed and snuggled into his side, staring at the pictures of Luke's childhood taking in all the information she could. Curiosity got the best of her though, and she turned a few more pages quickly looking at familiar photos of herself and baby Rory. She gasped again and brought a hand to her face. Pictures of little April were gracing the pages.

"Wow. Luke, she's beautiful."

"Yeah. I wish I could have been there" he said softly. She heard the heartbreak in his voice and looked at him again. He smiled at her and turned a few pages.

"Here's the real present" he pointed to some pictures of Rich. Several she'd already seen before and a few professional ones she hadn't.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed again. "When did you have time to do this and how did I not know about it?"

He shook his head seriously contemplating when she got so good at acting.

"Not that you really need me to tell you, but remember when I got stuck taking Rich to his two month checkup? There was just enough time to schedule a quick photo session before the appointment." He turned the page and pointed to the last photo. "I didn't even know they were taking that one. We were pretty much done and Rich was getting fussy so I laid down in front of him and made a silly face that always makes him laugh. Cheered him right up."

Lorelai touched the photo gently, her two favorite boys, lying on their stomachs facing each other. Luke with a ridiculous scrunched up face and his tongue sticking out; Rich with a big toothless smile. She could practically hear his delighted squeal.

Luke couldn't take it anymore so he grabbed his present from her purse on the coffee table, anxious to see how she would prove her cleverness this time. It was a box of tea bags, and he had no clue how that related to the photo album.

"Thanks? I was running starting to run low."

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. She looked confused briefly before she saw the box of tea in his hand.

"Hey! No fair, you can't open your present while I'm not paying attention!"

"You'll get over it. I just don't get how this relates to the album."

"Um, it doesn't," she blushed. He stared at her blankly again and she continued on. "I came across some information about the coffee festival you're planning and I thought I'd return the favor so I planned a tea festival for February. There will be a bunch of booths with different teas, teapot sets, and foods that go with tea. The whole works."

Luke started laughing.

"What's so funny?" she asked, looking confused yet again.

"There is no coffee festival."

"What? What do you mean there's no coffee festival? Patty said Taylor was blowing a gasket over it. Something about you refusing to let him be a part of the planning and ignoring all the necessary permits."

Luke laughed harder. "And how do you think Taylor found out about it?"

"I don't know, he knows about every event going on in Stars Hollow."

"Only because he plans all of them. How does he always find out about anything he didn't come up with on his own?"

"I don't know, Luke!" She was clearly getting frustrated and it made Luke laugh even more. He was savoring this moment. The frustration melted away to realization and she gasped "Oh my God! It was Kirk! You used Kirk. How did I not see that?"

"I don't know. I thought for sure you figured it out. I was actually curious what present you'd dream up that would go with a baby photo album. I wasn't expecting a giant tea party in the town square."

Lorelai leaned away from him slightly and scoffed looking incensed. He was laughing at the absurdity of it all. Then he was smiling so wide his face hurt. He finally had a win in his column. He didn't expect to be able to win often, or ever again really, but no matter what happened, this was a battle he would never stop fighting.

A/N – The idea for this story is the one that actually pushed me to try writing my own fiction. I was going to submit it for the Gilmore Christmas Advent Calendar, but then I realized I'd be disappointed if someone else wrote it, which meant if I wanted to read the story with my ideas, I'd have to write it. Funny how that works, isn't it?

Shout out to savvyliterate and deepfriedcake for reading parts of this and providing feedback, commas, and encouragement!There's a nod to each of them in here. Harry potter for "If You Want More, Then Jump" and cowboy boots for "Stars-Crossed, Colorado." Also, there might be a picture of me at about 3 years old in my grandpa's cowboy boots as my mother heroically tries to stop me from picking my nose.

Finally, sorry, not sorry about the unoriginal baby name. If Rory did have a son, I feel strongly that she would want to honor the memory of her grandfather. I'm also personally attached to the name Richard. For those reasons alone, it was worth sacrificing originality. Hopefully you were able to enjoy the story anyway!