Lorelai "Lola" Alexandra Gilmore was born on September 29, 2004 at seven-thirty at night. She weighed seven pounds, eleven ounces and was about 20 inches long. Her mother, 19 year old Rory Gilmore, delivered her exactly on the due date and not a moment later.

Many people who heard the news the Rory "The Golden Child" Gilmore had gotten pregnant, were shocked to their cores, not sure of what they should do. So they did what they did best. Gossiped. Every where, people speculated on who was the father of the baby. Some say it was Dean and the baby was the result of a heated, spontaneous love affair. Rory and Dean quickly debunked the rumors and placed the town back to thinking. Some say it was someone from school. Maybe her friend Marty? Once again Rory squashed the idea and told the town she hadn't even so much as dated Marty, let alone slept with him. No one even thought about Jess, the man who left Rory before her graduation.

In fact it was him who had gotten her pregnant. She didn't know why she went to New York, where she learned he had gone to live. She didn't know what made her do it. One day as she was walking out of class, she noticed a book lying on the ground. It was Oliver Twist. A sudden wave of pain had spread through her, leaving an empty hole in her heart. For days she tried to shake it off, unaware that in a mere two weeks she would be pregnant. So, finally sick of the heavy feeling and wanting a sense of closure, Rory picked up a bus schedule, told her mother she was going away for the weekend with Paris, and told Paris she was going away for the weekend with her mother. It was a set plan, she didn't have to worry about either calling each other when they thought that she was with them. She had gotten her homework in advance and packed before Paris woke. The next morning at seven-thirty, she was sitting on a bench, a worn copy of Moby Dick in her hands. She decided something from her childhood was needed for now.

When the bus arrived, she slowly got on, almost turning around and forgetting the whole thing even happened. She knew she had come to far, told too many lies, convinced herself this was for the best. There was no turning back. At this point, it wasn't even an option. Rory sat down next to an old man who was reading a biography on John Adams.

"I've read that," she said suddenly. He looked up at her with warm, brown eyes. She smiled nervously at him, worried she had annoyed him. "It's very good."

"I'm inclined to agree with you," he said, a twinkling smile on his lips. They didn't speak to each other again, just say in comfortable silence, the only noises around them were the honking of horns, chattering of people, and then gentle turn of a book page.

After a few hours, in which Rory grew increasingly nervous, the bus finally came to a stop and the driver stepped off, leaving the passengers to collect their things. As Rory grabbed her bags from the corner, she glanced around at the faintly familiar bus station that had brought her to Jess once before. This time, however, she had something more serious on her mind.

The streets were loud and crowded as Rory fought her way through, her only destination was on a small scrap of paper that she had found on Luke's counter one day. The only reason it had caught her eye was the way Luke had roughly shoved it out of view the minute she looked at it. She had to convince her mother to step behind the counter and grab a few doughnuts and catch Luke's attention before she could grab it. The paper had been nestled in her pocket even before Luke reached Lorelai.

Now, three weeks later, she was stumbling around looking for a street that could or could not have Jess, the possible love of her life. She wasn't sure yet. After a moment a hotdog stand came into view and Rory realized with a start just how hungry she was.

"Thank you," she said once the man behind the cart had handed her the grossest looking hotdog known to mankind.

"Welcome," he snapped and snatched her money without a second glance at her. Oh, HOW I love New York, she thought sarcastically and stepped out of line. Her shoulder knocked into someone's and she glanced up shortly.

"Sorry," she gasped, wiping the mustard out of the corner of her mouth.

"No problem," the person answered, the voice sounding faintly familiar. She glanced up, her blue eyes locking with a pair of deep, chocolate eyes that stared back at her in disbelief. "Rory?" he asked, sounding shocked.

"Jess," she replied. Now that she was here, she felt silly. Why had she come? What did she want to say? What had she wanted to prove? "How are you?" she asked, stupidly.

"Fine," he answered, still looking at her as though he expected her to disappear in a moment. "How's school? Is Yale good?"

"Yes, Yale's great," Rory answered. "I need to talk to you."

"Alright," he said, a book rolled up in his hands. For the first time since he's seen her, his entire body had become clammy. The same thudding his heart had made when she stepped into a room had returned. At this moment he would very much like to turn and run away…again. It hurt him to know that he had caused her pain, it hurt a whole lot. He loved her and was so afraid of feeling that, he had run. "Sit down," he said, gesturing to a bench.

"Thank you," she said. The grease-soaked hotdog fell into the trash bin and she clutched protectively to the napkins in her hand. "I-" she stopped when his lips were suddenly on hers. This wasn't what she was expecting, in fact she nearly bit her tongue at his movements, but that didn't mean she wanted him to stop. Their lips seemed to move in a rhythm that was familiar to the both of them. His hands moved to her cheeks and broke away from her, panting.

"I-I'm sorry," he rattled out. His cheeks were flushed. "You've cut your hair."

"My hair?" Rory asked, dumbly. "Oh! My hair…yes, I've cut it. Do you like it?"

"Yeah," he answered, feeling the smooth silk from her head. "I like it." A silence spread within their small space and neither wanted to break it. "I'm guessing you didn't come here for a kiss. In fact, I expected it to be the last thing on your mind…What's up?"

Rory thought for a moment. What WAS up with her? Things she had wanted to say for months suddenly flooded through her. "Why did you leave me?" she asked finally.

He was expecting that. It would be have been surprising if she didn't ask him that. Still, it didn't help on his part in the slightest. How could he answer that? How about the truth? a small voice in his head asked, Isn't that what she's always wanted? The truth. "I love you."
Rory wasn't expecting that. She stared at him for a moment and then, without thinking, raised her hand and slapped his sharply in the face. He started, swore, and looked up at her as though she were crazy. "Take it back!" she yelled. Her breathing was heavy and she felt tears in her eyes. "Don't tell me you love me!"

"I do," he cried incredulously. "I always have."

"Then why did you leave me?" she asked, her voice thick with tears. Once again Jess looked torn.

"Because I was afraid I would hurt you," he finally admitted. "I grew up with a shit household. My mother was this self-centered woman who couldn't even care for her own kid so she shipped him off to her brother. A brother who tried more than anything to put his nephew on track. My father bailed on me I think six minutes after I was born. He didn't even give me a chance. No one ever gave me a chance…except you. You were the only one in the Stepford town who gave a rat's ass about me. And it scared me. I was so used to people not caring, or not showing how much they cared for me that I pushed you away. You deserve better than me…always have always will. I didn't want to make you your mother. I didn't want to make you my mother. I didn't want to hold you back for anything-" Rory kissed him before he could finish. Now it was his turn to be shocked at her action.

Within ten minutes, they were stumbling into Jess's new apartment, something he had just recently bought with some money he had saved up. In less than an hour, Rory Gilmore was no longer a virgin. In a month she would find out she was pregnant. In a month and two days she would break up with Jess and return home.

Nine Months Later

"Look at her," Lorelai said, her voice in a stage whisper as she glanced down at her granddaughter. Lorelai kissed her daughter's head and smiled at the baby. "Pick out a name?"

"Yes," Rory answered. "Lorelai Alexandra Gilmore. We'll call her Lola, though. I think it's exotic."

"I like it," Lorelai answered and smiled again. "I can't stop smiling! I'm feeling crazy right now! Wanna go dancing?"

"Sure, let me just put down the baby, pull the plugs out of my arm, and find my jacket," Rory answered sarcastically. She smiled at her mother and then down at the baby again.

"Did you-"

"No," Rory answered instantly. "I didn't call him. I know I should have, but I couldn't." Lorelai didn't answer Rory, instead glanced back down at the sleeping baby.

"She has his hair," Lorelai whispered.

"Mmm," Rory replied sleepily. "You want to call everyone in so they can get a look before I pass out from exhaustion?"

"I suppose," Lorelai fake grumbled and stayed still by her daughter's bed. Rory sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure I'll still be here when you get back from down the hall," she snapped lightly. Lorelai pouted.

"I know that," she said, patting Rory's arm. "I just can't seem to pull away from this bundle of pudge."

"Mom," Rory begged.

"Yeah, yeah," Lorelai said, now actually grumbling. "I'll be right back! Make sure she doesn't do anything really cute and important while I'm away!"

"I promise," Rory said, rolling her eyes again.

"I mean it! If I come back in and she's walking and talking…There'll be hell to pay-"

"Hey!" Rory hissed. "Virgin ears…" she pointed down at the baby as her mother left the room to call the vast number of people who turned out to meet the newest Gilmore. Rory glanced down at Lola with a feeling of slight pain and hurt. This baby, the darling little baby sitting on her lap, didn't know how messed up her life was.

"Rory!" Lane called, coming into the room, shortly followed by Dave, who had come back for her. He had been home for summer break and they met at a coffee shop across the street from where Lane and the band were doing a gig. As of right now they were waiting for Dave to finish college before they got married and moved into an apartment in Star's Hollow, where Dave insists on living. After realizing just how serious they were, Mrs. Kim even promised to at least open the wedding invitation when it came, Lane thinks this is a huge improvement. "Oh-Is this her?"

"Yeah," Rory whispered, shifting the sleeping baby so her friend could get a good look at her.

"Isn't she just the best thing in the entire world?" Lorelai asked, leaning back down over the baby.

"Oh God," Lane said with a groan, "you're going to be one of them, aren't you?"

"I beg your pardon?" Lorelai said, shock in her voice. "One of what?"

"You know, those grandmother's who aren't even the mother but they act like they are…" Lane said and Dave nodded.

"I believe my grandmother is one of those," Dave said with a nod. "Yeah, she lives in Naples, California and my parents live in Hartford. My dad was an only child, so I was considered hot stuff. She drove my parents insane so much they quit their jobs, packed up, and left…So did you pick out a name?" He leaned down to get a closer look of the baby through his camera while Lorelai sat down on a chair looking like a scolded child.

"Yes, Lorelai Alexandra," Rory proclaimed, her face glowing with pride.

"Another Lorelai to the brood," Lorelai exclaimed proudly. "We're planning on making an entire world of Lorelai's…" Rory nodded her agreement as Dave turned the camera back and forth to capture mommy, grandma, and baby.

"Oh, gotta go," Lane said, ten minutes later, looking down at her watch. "They only allow so many visitors a minute and we were before Paris. She said we got ten minutes and then she would come in here and get us."

"That wouldn't worry me so much if it hadn't been for her removing my balls part," Dave said with a sarcastic shrug. "You enjoy this precious moments. I'm going to leave the camera with you, Lorelai, so you can capture these moments at a distance, because remember, Naples is pretty far away…" Lorelai snatched the camera out of his hands as Lane and Dave left the room.

"…took you long enough! What were you writing about the joyous moment or something? Having her reenact the entire birth?" Paris snapped to Dave and Lane's retreating backs. She came into the room with a giant stuffed teddy bear. "Rory!" Her entire face lit up as she entered the room. Jamie, her on and off again boyfriend, trailed behind looking nervous and out of place. "Here, we got this for you…"

"Actually, we're not allowing the baby to have anything bigger than itself…" she trailed off and Rory had a sneaking suspicion she was thinking about what Dave said. With a laugh, she waved her hand, "Gah! I'm sorry, go on. Forget I even interrupted."

"Done," Paris said and handed Rory the bear. "Did you pick out a name?"

"Lorelai Alexandra," Rory said again, never getting old of the name. "Jamie, how's Stanford?"

"Good, I'm graduating next fall and going for my masters," he said, looking at the tube sticking out of Rory's arm.

"My baby is going to be a doctor," Paris exclaimed proudly. They chatted for a few minutes and then Paris glanced down at her watch. "Oops! Gotta go, sweety. Your grandfather and I haggled until we got each other down to twenty minutes apiece. Sly devil than man is…I respect that…Bye Lorelai."

A moment later, two other voices were replaced by Paris and Jamie's. "HONESTLY, Richard! I could have told you that there's no smoking in the hospital!" Emily was basically shouting as their voices neared.

"I think grandma and grandpa are coming…" Rory said weakly, giving her mother a very weak smile. Lorelai nodded once, placing a fake smile for her parents.

"Mom! Dad! What a lovely surprise!" she exclaimed.

"We've been here over twenty hours, Lorelai," Emily said, placing her purse on the chair. "You just spoke to us nearly an hour ago-"

"I meant…Hello, mom, dad, won't you sit and view your great-granddaughter?" Lorelai said, sarcastically. Emily suddenly looked at Rory with a small, rare smile.

"Hello, Rory," she said, clasping the young girl's hands. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, grandma," Rory answered, glancing over at her grandfather who was still standing in the doorway. For most of the year he had been withdrawn and almost disappointed in her. Rory felt, never voiced, that her grandparents felt they had failed again. "Come sit grandpa," she offered. He entered the room with a quick and small smile.

"Oh…Rory," Emily gasped, picking up the baby and cradling her in her arms. "She looks just like your mother…" Lorelai was caught off guard and felt herself smile. "I remember the night your mother was born. We were caught in that horrible traffic! Don't you remember, Richard?" Emily turned to her husband who had taken the baby with a tiny smile.

"I do," he answered, still gazing at the baby, almost critically.

"Wait," Lorelai interrupted, "I was born in a car?"

"No, Lorelai," Emily said, exasperatedly. "We were coming home from Joanne Haynes' annual party. We had just gotten onto the freeway and my water broke."

"I sped all the way to the hospital, getting a ticket in the process, only to have to wait another fourteen hours for you to be born…" Richard said, another smile on his face. "It was the proudest moment of my life when they handed you over to me." Lorelai felt tears in her eyes and quickly wiped them away.

"The night Rory was born," Emily said, still holding Rory's hand. "We were coming back from Annabelle Parker's annual party and I found a note on the kitchen table…" Lorelai looked down, feeling what was coming. "We sped all the way to the hospital just in time to see your mother wheeled off into the delivery room. About ten minutes later, a nurse beckoned us in and we saw you laying on your mother's chest…"

"I'll never forget," Richard said suddenly. "you looked up at us with these big, blue eyes and sighed. I had a feeling from the start you'd be smart. I could feel it…I feel it now, with this one."

Everyone looked at the baby in his arms. "We passed your friend, Paris is it, when we came in. She was ranting to her boyfriend about something or other…" Emily informed them.

"Sounds like Pairs," Lorelai muttered.

A half hour later, Emily and Richard left and something between the four of them had changed. it would show up for months, but Lola had brought Lorelai closer to her parents, and she was forever grateful.

"Is there anyone else?" Rory said with a yawn.

"I don't know-" Lorelai began when there was a knock on the door.

"If it's Babette or Miss Patty, remember I'm asleep," Rory warned, not wanting to be bombarded with towns people so late at night. The door opened and she heard Lorelai gasp.

"Luke!" she cried. "What're you doing here?"

"You used my truck to bring Rory here, remember?" Luke asked, sounding like his usual gruff self. He ambled into the room.

"What's that behind your back?" Lorelai asked, wrestling it out of his hands.

"It's nothing-" he began, now embarrassed.

"It's a gift. You bought the baby a gift!" Lorelai said, handing it over to Rory.

"It's nothing, really," Luke said, looking uncomfortable. Lorelai was pleased to see that his cheeks were flushed. She gave him a smile and turned back to Rory.

"Luke Danes brought the baby a gift," she informed Rory, as though she hadn't heard the entire thing a moment ago.

"Did he!" Rory asked, feigning shock. "Luke has a heart!" she sang.

That night as Rory slept, Lorelai glanced at her daughter with a heavy heart. As much as Lola was a blessing to them, and someone they could now not live without, Lorelai felt like she had failed. Was this what her parents felt when she told them she was pregnant? Did they have this empty feeling of failure. Did they feel all of her dreams become crushed? Was she really better off with Rory? Of course she was! She shifted at the thought of a life without Rory, what she wondered was what it would have been like without Rory. If she had married Christopher later in life. Would there be more kids?

Another thought entered Lorelai's mind: Jess. She had been furious and shocked when Rory told her who the father of the baby was. Jess, the boy who ran out on her without so much as a goodbye. Jess, the boy who treated her like dirt. Jess, the boy who got her pregnant. Jess, Jess, Jess. Rory didn't want to tell him about the baby…but was it best? Lorelai had gone out on her own, alone, without the Christopher. She proved she could do it on her own…Rory never voiced how that effected her….WAS it for the best? Maybe for her…but not Rory…

One Week Later

"Liz…Liz! Calm down," Luke was yelling into the phone. Lorelai came around the back of the counter and began to pour her own coffee as Luke swatted at her to stop. Rory and Lola were at home as of now, they had gotten home a few days ago. "I'll get the beer T.J. wants…I promise…" Luke rolled his eyes up at the ceiling and then glanced down. "Uh, huh…alright….bye." He hung up the phone and shoved Lorelai back in front of the counter.

"So what did Liz want?" Lorelai asked, sipping her steaming coffee.

"She and T.J. are having their vows renewed because on T.J.'s marriage certificate, they spelt his name wrong and he has it in his head that Liz is married to someone else…I know, I know, it's crazy. And I know that once again I was sucked into it," Luke said with a sigh.

"So who is Liz technically married to?" Lorelai asked. Luke rolled his eyes and handed her a cover for her coffee. Just then Miss Patty came up to Lorelai.

"Lorelai, darling, how's Rory and the baby?" she asked, patting Lorelai's arm.

"Very well, Miss Patty," Lorelai answered, with a smile. "Both are healthy, sleepy, and hungry."

"I'm glad to hear it," Miss Patty said and walked back over to Babette, who instantly bent heads with Patty to discuss Rory and the baby. Word had gotten out about who the father actually was. The bell over the door twinkled and everyone turned to see Jess storming in looking ill tempered.

"I'm back for a week," he snapped before going up the stairs. The entire diner was absolutely silent as they turned back to Luke and Lorelai who stared at the stairs in shock. Lorelai was too stunned to speak.

"Was that-?" Miss Patter asked, voicing the question everyone was thinking.

"Yep," Babette replied.

A/N Please read and review.