Hello everybody (: This is the AU I and a lot of people have waited for a long time now. This story gives you what we deserved in the revival and that is a little daughter for Lorelai and Luke. It's a rewrite for A Year in the Life. My attempt was to change as little as possible. It was also my goal to keep the daughter's appearances as short and as a little as possible since I know how difficult it is to work with kids on set. I wanted to keep it realistic and achieve a version of the revival, which we could have seen. I hope I did this justice and hopefully, you enjoy it too.
Winter
After the mandatory town tour, Rory and Lorelai finally approached the Gilmore home, which over the years had gone through some changes. It did not look like the house Lorelai and Rory once had moved in and had lovingly called it the Crap Shack.
Back then, it had looked like that way. But that was before they had put in the work and love. Over the years, the house had out-worn the name, but occasionally it still got used, but only in a mocking way.
Lorelai interlinked her arm with Rory, making sure she was not a hologram and actually back at home. It had been such a long time and it felt good to have her close. As soon as she would enter the house, Lorelai knew she would have to share Rory. Her alone time with her was over.
"Come on. Let's get in and out of the snow! Let's go! Luke and Lily are gonna be so excited to see you," Lorelai gushed while dragging Rory up the stairs.
"I can't wait to see them," Rory answered, dropping her bag once she entered the house. It fell against a big pile of boxes. At the top of it, the Rabbi started to dance, which made both Lorelai and Rory chuckle.
It looked natural how Rory first greeted the Rabbi and then inspected Paul Anka, who she pitied with the hat he was wearing. Only seconds later, a pair of tiny arms was wrapped around her middle. It was a hug-attack by her younger sibling, welcoming her home.
"You're here," 7-year-old Lily said in a high-pitched voice, almost shrieking in happiness. She would not let go of Rory anytime soon and buried her nose in her stomach. All Rory could see was the dark curls. Her sister's hair was just as curly and wild as Lorelai's hair had been before she discovered the magic of hairspray.
"I missed you too," Rory answered, trying to pull a few strands of hair back so she could see her sister's face. She longed for the freckles on her nose, which reminded her of Lorelai's. Most of Lily's appearance resembled Lorelai, even though the debate on the eyes was still open. On some days, Lily's eyes were as deep as Lorelai's and other days they matched Luke's eye color.
"Will you help me with my puzzle?" Lily asked, jerking her head to the coffee table.
Rory declined the offer, and Lorelai added, "Sweetie, we'll have dinner soon. I can smell Daddy's cooking from here. Can't you?"
Lily nodded enthusiastically, her curls falling into her face again as she pushed away from Rory. With a smile, Lily looked at her older sister and Rory knew exactly what she intended with that. It was her way to ask her if she would help her finish the puzzle after dinner.
When Rory didn't answer right away, Lily's started to pout like a pro. She had the best teacher for that but still, Rory was amazed how well she could already work the pout in combination with puppy eyes. "After dinner, I'm all yours," Rory promised, ruffling through her sister's hair again.
Lily seemed pleased and returned to the puzzle on the coffee table. Rory had no time to linger and watch her sister for a second because Lorelai dragged her to the kitchen, whispering, "Quick! Better go before she stops playing so nicely with no one else around."
Rory nodded to that and then Lorelai warned her in another whisper over her shoulder, "Okay. Get ready."
"For what?" Rory asked, following her mother to the kitchen. She frowned at that.
"For super-proud Luke," Lorelai explained, turning around for a moment, and then calling into the kitchen, "Luke, it's a Christmas miracle!"
The scene which unfolded in front of Lorelai warmed her heart, Luke swept Rory up in his arms, calling her the New Yorker writer, which prompted Lorelai to do a round of jazz-hands and to repeat in her mocking voice, "Super-proud."
For weeks, Luke had been eating her ear off with the praise of Rory's article, and since Luke refused to use any digital media he had not been able to tell Rory in person. Out of all the people in the family, Lorelai was sure Luke was most excited to finally see Rory again. Super-proud Luke was a great sight, even though he could get very exhausting and over-board at times.
The situation felt far too familiar when Luke soon started to call them out on their eating habits, which prompted Lorelai and Rory to flee to the room next door. It was supposed to be Lily's room, but she still refused to sleep downstairs alone. Too often, she had a nightmare and crept back in Luke and Lorelai's bed. They didn't mind, but the extra room on the first floor was in comparison to Rory's old room small.
Therefore, Rory's room was still Rory's room, even though it acted also as a playroom for Lily and as some kind of storage room. It was their personal room of requirements. April would be proud of Lorelai making that kind of reference; after all, April had been the first to call the room like that when she had stayed over in the house for the first time.
Unfortunately, April was not able to come over, so busy with college and spending time with her mother. A big family meeting was overdue, but the girls' schedules never seemed to work out. Lorelai tried not to dwell on that and concentrated on the day Rory was able to make room for her family. She would make the best out of it, even when Rory's supposedly boyfriend Paul showed up.
The evening was nice enough and way too short, but Lorelai still was in a good mood when she and Luke were getting ready for bed that night. Lorelai felt complete and more herself when Rory was around. She was content with her life, even though a bad dream was haunting her. Luke, however, knew how to soothe her nerves and she ended up watching one of the Lifetime movies, which helped her fall asleep and drift off to a hopefully peaceful night next to the man, who made her smile so often.
With a child of seven years, who had a nightmare more than once a week, and an elderly dog, the nights in the house were usually not spent in peace and silence. There was always someone, who needed some extra attention. A nightmare here. The need for a glass of water there. And then there was always the unpredictability of a cough or cold coming their way.
When Lorelai awoke that night, not to the sound of a little child calling for her or a dog whimpering, she was surprised. Of course, her personal nightmare made her sit up in horror, but there were also loud knocks filling the house. It almost sounded like Luke had an insane episode thinking it was fun to do some handiwork early in the morning. It wouldn't be the first time. She looked to her right to check if was still next to her. She saw him sound asleep, not getting disturbed by the taps of what seemed like a hammer. Once he was out, not even a thunderstorm could wake him.
She envied him for that skill, sighed and got off the bed to make her way toward the sound. Dressed in a bathrobe, she went downstairs and what she ran into baffled her. Rory was tap dancing in the kitchen. She was tap-dancing in the middle of the night right in front of her laptop. Why was she tap-dancing?
"Too loud?" Rory asked when she noticed Lorelai. "Did I wake Lily?"
"No, she's fine," Lorelai answered, studying how Rory still danced there right in front of her. No one would ever believe her if she told that kind of story. She needed proof of that very incident.
However, Rory was like usual a step ahead of her. She had hidden her phone somewhere in the chaos of the house. It was a lost cause to start looking for it. Between her own stuff and Lily and Paul Anka's toys, it would take days to go look everywhere for it.
Instead, Lorelai and Rory shared some coffee and talked from heart to heart. Lorelai missed those kinds of talks. With Sookie gone, she missed having a girlfriend around to chat like this without needing to schedule a Skype call. Of course, Luke and she talked too, and he was her best friend next to Rory and Sookie, but it did not compare. And there was also Lily, who naturally sought her attention, and took away time for talks like this.
After wishing Rory a good night for the second time tonight, Lorelai slept better, she did not even notice Luke getting out of the bed early in the morning. She awoke at her usual time and both Rory and Lorelai took Lily to school.
Afterward, they went over to Luke's. As soon as they placed their orders, Luke asked, "Did you drop off Lily at school?"
"That's a weird question to ask," Rory remarked.
"Your mother forgot to drop her off at school once," Luke said.
"No way! Do tell," Rory said.
"Everything's fine," Lorelai assured him, dismissing Rory's request with a handwave. "She refused to wear her jacket at first, but then I made her step outside on the front porch for a minute and suddenly even two scarfs were not enough to keep her warm."
Luke rolled his eyes at that, but by the way his lips twitched Lorelai knew he was also suppressing a smile. Lily could come up with the cutest, yet oddest things if she wanted to. They both enjoyed this little oddly cute moments with their daughter.
"You'll pick her up later, hon? I have to see my mother for dinner," Lorelai asked him before she left for work that day.
"You're sure, Lily shouldn't come too?" He asked back.
"It's the first time I see her since-" Lorelai's voice broke. Luke knew exactly what she was referring to. "I think it's best if I test the waters by myself. Keep Lily safe and out of the battlefield."
"If you say so," Luke said, raising his arms in defeat. "But you know Lily can be quite the charmer with her grandmother."
This time Lorelai rolled her eyes. The second Lily had been born, she had Emily Gilmore wrapped around her teeny tiny fingers. Finally, there was another baby in the family. Finally, there was a kid, who would grow up with a father present, but to whom Lorelai was not married again. Lorelai sighed, but she rejected Luke's offer after all.
What she did not know at the time was that things did not play out as planned. Often situations turned out differently than expected and Lily would be present for the dinner with her grandmother after all.
The house was still standing, still looking a little scary. Big. Full of memories, lots of bad ones too. A lot of fights like the last one.
Her mother still treated her like she did not even exist. Things had not been pretty the last time she had been at her parents' house, but she thought Emily would act a little more politely than this, especially with Rory around.
Being ignored was not the only thing that was odd about the usual dinner at the Gilmore mansion, there was also a big portrait of her late father in the living room. The painting so big that a whole wall was covered and there was no way her mother had intended for it to be this huge. Emily Gilmore was extravagant in her style but not to that extent. This seemed like a joke, a mistake, a horrid failure.
When Lorelai pointed it out, her mother of course snapped and Rory was yet again caught in the middle. Little did she know why her mother and her grandmother were at odds yet again. Things had turned ugly at the funeral.
Four months ago, their personal nightmare had come true, to all the Gilmore girls. No one had expected Richard to die this soon. It had been sudden and Richard had not suffered a long time, but it had still been inexplicably hard on all of them. Emily had lost her husband, who she loved dearly, Rory had lost her grandfather, who she loved dearly too, and Lorelai had lost her father, who she shared such a complicated relationship with. It had been harder in a way for Lorelai to grasp his absence than for the others.
Rory had cried a lot, but then soon appreciated all the good times she had shared with him, being grateful for having a grandfather for over 30 years. To Emily, a big part had been missing, but Lorelai had not had a clue how she was supposed to feel. Of course, she had been sad and something had been missing too, but she had not been able to quite grasp it yet.
All she had focused on was functioning, making the funeral work, being there for her mother. Lorelai had forgotten to eat; she had not carved a burger or chocolate. She had been sick all the time, even when Luke had put some food under her nose. All she had been focused on had been the day of the funeral, hoping that once it had been over she could go back to normal.
The funeral had been the last piece, the end of the journey. The day had been dreadful, black all over the place and seeing her youngest daughter dressed in black, mourning a grandfather had not been a pretty sight. She had been glad Luke had taken care of their daughter, giving Lorelai the space she needed to grieve herself. He had been there at her side, always within reach, always there if she had needed someone to catch her. He had taken care of loose screws and had entertained Lily upstairs in Lorelai's old room.
He had also agreed when she had asked if he could drive Rory to the airport and take Lily home with him. Her mother had needed her with her and she had known her daughters would be alright without her when Luke would take care of them.
Staying had turned out to be a mistake. Her brain had not worked well with the alcohol she had drunk all day in the mix with no food in her stomach. A fall-out with her mother had been ought to happen. The fight had grown out of proportion like it usually did with the two of them. Things had been said which had not been pretty.
"You blow through life like a natural disaster, knocking down everything and everyone in your path," Emily had accused her in the kitchen. „Did Luke know what he was getting into?"
„Don't," Lorelai had warned. Her mother had crossed the line with Luke before and they had had those fights in the past before, she wouldn't go down that line again tonight. She would not take any accusations against Luke and the life she built with him.
„Did you ever ask him what he wanted? Where he wanted to live? If he wanted another child? I'm sure that didn't matter to Lorelai Gilmore. Nothing matters to her except what she wants and feels. God help you if she thinks you've wronged her. She will hold onto that grudge forever waiting to get back at you," Emily had said.
Lorelai had not reacted to the words her mother spoke. She had not been able to let them sink in because they had been wrong. Not true. At all. Instead, Lorelai had fought back, letting the fight coming full circle. Full freakin' circle.
They had not spoken since. Lorelai had tried to reach out with emails because Luke had forced her too, but he had not pushed any further. She had told him off, which had left him raising his hands in defeat.
As Rory learned about the situation, she gave Lorelai a displeasing look too. The fallout could have been prevented too easily and in retrospect, Lorelai knew that too, but a simple apology would not do the trick with Emily, it never did.
Dinner was awkward, even before Kirk joined them after his car had broken down in the driveway. Since Emily was in hosting mode she invited him to dinner too. It was the proper thing to do. Meanwhile, Lorelai called Luke and asked him to pick her and Kirk up, explaining the situation to him.
"Thanks, hon," she greeted Luke when he arrived at the Gilmore mansion. It had not been the plan that he would be coming to dinner here. He was definitely not dressed for it. Lily, however, acted like a pro, giving her grandmother a big hug. Lily had asked about her in the last weeks constantly. Therefore her hug was a little more powerful than usual, bringing her hands to Emily's hair, messing it up.
Lorelai hushed her away from Emily, patting her lap for Lily to sit down, whispering a little warning in her ear, reminding her to behave herself while she watched Emily fixing her hair when Luke decided to give her a hug too. He wanted to show Emily that he was not angry with her, Lorelai mused.
She looked at him a little proud, but as soon as he was stepping up to the chair, in which Richard used to sit, she frowned and made some warning signals. Luke got the hint and stayed put next to Rory. Luke didn't seem to mind, but Lorelai thought it was rude of her mother to not ask the maid to fetch another chair for Luke. Then again, Emily could not communicate with Berta on any level, so it was a lost cause indeed.
All of them engaged in a conversation and when Luke mentioned Rory's article for the New Yorker, Lorelai whispered a "super-proud" into Lily's ear, which made her giggle.
Immediately, Emily shot the two of them an unpleasing look, but she carried on with the conversation for a little while until Kirk excused himself to play outside with the other kids. "Let's team up with them," Kirk suggested to Lily and stretched a hand in her direction, which she took upon with an encouraging nod from her mother.
"Be careful," Lorelai said, watching them both join the other kids and play football within seconds. She smiled at her youngest daughter chasing after a ball.
"Explain to me again who that person is," Emily demanded, to which Lorelai answered still smiling and rolling her eyes, "Oh, that I could."
They chatted some more and discussed Rory's situation. At some point, Emily encouraged Luke to sit down in the seat next to Lorelai. He really lived by the advice Lorelai had given him a couple of years ago. To deal with Emily best was to do exactly what she asked and not to talk back, not if you were not ready to get in a fight.
Once he was seated, Kirk was yet again embarrassing them by cheering way too loudly about a goal and then he picked up Lily too, who joined him on his cheering. Lorelai and Luke exchanged looks, very well aware that Emily was pursing her lips in disapproval of their daughter and kid and therefore judging their parenting skills.
Dinner stretched longer than expected and Lily was already sleepy when they finally left. Her legs were a little weak. Luke really had to hold her hand tightly so she would stand straight. Lily waved at her Grandma goodbye and Luke helped her into the mini-van, which Lorelai and Luke had purchased after having Lily. Neither Lorelai's jeep nor Luke's truck offered enough space if they wanted to go somewhere as a family. It was an inevitable decision, but they still kept their respective cars. Lorelai needed a car to get to work and Luke needed his truck whenever he had something heavy and huge to carry.
Even after years, he still did not trust Lorelai to drive the truck. The older it got the more quirks appeared and it was more difficult to handle than before. That's why she ended up going with Kirk when her jeep was still with Gypsy. No one could have known Kirk's car would break down too, and Luke would need to get them from Hartford tonight. It had not been the plan.
Luke was ought to watch and feed Lily in the evening while closing up the diner. He was in the last steps when Lorelai had called him. That was why they hit up the diner once back in Stars Hollow instead of going straight home, even though Lily had fallen asleep in the car. They left her sleeping there and decided to wrap things up in the diner quickly. The car was parked right in front of the dinner and they would see her if she would wake up.
Kirk was giving his thanks and then asked Luke to not mention the incident since it would ruin his reputation with his business, but Luke had no intention to hide the facts from anyone, who would ask him. However, he mused, no one would ask him.
Luke sighed when he watched Kirk chasing his pig, Petal. It would make a great story for Lily when she asked for a new good-night-story.
While Lorelai filled up the salt shakers, a task she had mastered over the years, and Luke was going through some papers and bills, she told him about Michel and his husband. They were thinking of having a child and it was a ridiculous thought, so ridiculous that this town should better pool some more money for another piglet.
"Hey Luke, did you ever want a kid?" Lorelai asked out of the blue.
"We have a kid," he reminded her, jerking his head to the mini-van outside, where Lily was sleeping peacefully.
"I mean a fresh kid," she clarified, but it didn't make any more sense to Luke.
"What the hell is a fresh kid?" He asked in confusion.
"A kid that's fresh," she explained in that duh-voice he hated so much. "A kid with me. We never had a serious conversation about it, I don't think. That moment at the Twickham house, but since then-" Things had been crazy ever since they had gotten back together. Everything had happened so fast, without a moment to catch their breaths. Lily had been a big surprise and decisions had to be made quickly. Moving in together, getting a new car, finding a new routine, settling into the parental roles. There was never a serious discussion about more kids.
"Well, I figured if you wanted another kid you would say something," Luke told her.
"I figured if you wanted another kid, you'd say something," she shot back. She couldn't believe how similar they were in their thinking, but yet not really. When Luke explained the situation, in which he had brought up having another kid Lorelai could not believe this was his real attempt to start a conversation like this.
"Well, how do you feel about it now?" She asked more directly now, but he still didn't understand it, frowning when he said, "What?"
"Do you still want another kid?"
"Oh, well, I mean, isn't it, uh, too late?"
"I don't know," she said. Of course, she was not the youngest anymore and peri-menopause had hit her hard last year, but peri-menopause was not menopause yet. And there were other options to have a kid too.
"Look, forget it. I have kids. I have Lily and April, and I've always considered Rory to be a little bit mine, so…" Luke's voice trailed off.
"Yeah, but she was so much fun to raise. Don't you want to have that kind of fun again?" Lorelai liked raising a kid with Luke. It was the first time she had a partner, someone to rely on. They worked well together.
"I have fun. Look at all the chairs I get to put on tables."
"You don't wanna toss a ball around with your son?" Lorelai asked. Having three girls between them did not compare to a boy, a little son, which Luke could engage in the typical father-son-activities.
"There's Jess."
"I said toss a ball 'with' not 'at'," Lorelai said.
"I'm fine," Luke assured her.
"You'll never share the first beer with your son."
"I had some wine with April for her 21st birthday."
"It's not the same," Lorelai insisted, a little defeated when Luke had managed to come up with counterarguments every single time.
"I know it's not the same."
"I don't want you to miss out on anything." She wanted him to have everything he wanted. The words her mother had spoken were still somewhat echoing in her head.
"Nobody gets to have everything they want in life," Luke said. "All in all, I think I did pretty good." He smiled at her and Lorelai knew it was meant to be reassuring. If she had not been in such a funk after seeing her mother, she would have appreciated his statement more, it was as close to a love declaration as Luke would get.
However, Lorelai could not let this topic rest and dragged Luke to a surrogate agency after seeing it on TV the other night when Luke had been long asleep. They had three beautiful girls but something about a little boy made Lorelai's heart ache. She longed for it and she thought Luke deserved to have a chance to have a son.
Luke deserved someone to share his interests with. Lily was not keen on fishing or interested in baseball. At times, Lily could be a real girly girl, wearing pretty dresses, asking for tea parties and she was very much into dancing. She had Luke wrapped around her little fingers and he agreed to her hair at times. Luke did well with their daughter.
The surrogate, however, in theory, a good idea blew out of proportion. Paris was a force of nature and made Luke uncomfortable. Paris' behavior blew Lorelai's little chance of persuading Luke the surrogate was a good idea. It had been such a good sign that he agreed to come here in the first place and if things had not been in such an in-your-face-way Lorelai thought she had a chance to convince Luke. But it was not the case, especially after Paris had ambushed him at the dinner later, bringing two of her top breeders along.
She let it rest for the moment, she had to bring her attention to other things like work or Rory and her endless search for her lucky outfit. Somehow she even ended up at her mother's, sharing some Scotch. Her mother opened up a bit but still managed to judge Lorelai's relationship with Luke. It stroke a nerve with her, but she gave Emily a pass on that one this time around because her mother was deep in pain. Lorelai gave her advice and was there for her. They were definitely moving forward.
And so was time too. Life got busy and in the evening Lorelai worked on Lily's outfit for the winter carnival. It had become a tradition that Lily would wear something wintery for that town event. They made some little snowflakes, which they glued to some hair clips. Half the day was spent with creating Lily's perfect hairstyle, some glitter was also dusted all over the braid. The snowflakes were placed all over her hair. Lily looked a little like Elsa from Frozen.
Lily was not the only family member, who was dressed up. Paul Anka also wore a costume, one which both Lorelai and Lily had worked very hard on. They had put much thought into it and they were excited and proud to show it to Luke, whom they met in the center of town.
"Dansey-boy!" Lorelai shouted out when she spotted Luke.
„So dressing up of the dog extends to the outside of the house now, huh?" He asked.
"He wanted to go public," Lorelai said. "It's a whole new world."
"Uh-huh." Luke seemed wary, his eyes darting back and forth between a rambling Lorelai and their daughter, who smiled back at him.
"I can only support with love, not judgment," Lorelai said, pulling lightly on her daughter's hand. Lily nodded to Lorelai's statement.
"So that's me," Luke finally said.
"Yeah, daddy," Lily confirmed, watching as Luke pointed to the dog.
"And that's?" Luke inspected the outfit, playing along with his girls' work.
"It's his order pad and pencil," Lorelai said.
"Sure, sure. And the baseball cap?"
"Oh, his head's too big," Lorelai explained.
"None of yours would fit," Lily added, ruffling over Paul Anka's head.
"Oh, okay. Let's get a drink," Luke suggested, reaching for the leash for Paul Anka and then taking Lily's hand in his, so that she was sandwiched between her parents. They walked for a little bit, passing by Taylor, who high-fived Luke.
When they started to discuss Paris and the surrogate again, Lily got bored with the adults' conversation and asked, "Can I go over there to the giant snowflakes?"
Luke and Lorelai agreed and Luke handed Lily Paul Anka's leash, so she had a furry protector with her.
After resolving the surrogate situation, which left Lorelai sadder than expected, they got two big gloggs. Lorelai did not have time to really enjoy it when Gypsy approached her about her jeep. It had been weeks since her car had broken down.
While Lorelai talked to Gypsy about the jeep, Luke watched Lily being in her element, running around the event, enjoying the town's activities.
"Where's Lily?" Lorelai asked when she returned.
"She's watching Paul Anka chasing ice skaters," Luke answered, taking a sip from his glogg. He kept on watching his daughter; he only averted his gaze when Lorelai was on the phone with her mother and suddenly the word "therapist" was mentioned. Alarm bells were ringing in his head right away.
It was too late though to save Lorelai from her misery and she sighed heavily against his chest. He wrapped an arm around her. They made their way to fetch Lorelai's jeep, when Luke suddenly asked, "Shouldn't we get Lily?"
"She just got here," Lorelai argued. "Besides, this is Stars Hollow, Luke. It's not very big and everybody knows her."
"Still. She might need us," Luke argued.
"She has Paul Anka with her."
"This isn't as soothing as you might think."
"You worry too much." She bumped her hip against his. It was a running gag between them.
"And you not enough," Luke retorted.
"See, that's why we work so well together."
He locked eyes with her and smirked at her remark. He could not fight her on that one. In the ten minutes, it would take for them to get the jeep nothing would happen to Lily. Their daughter was old enough to be alone for a moment and she was too distracted by the winter carnival anyway. Luke sighed and drew Lorelai closer so he could press a kiss on her head, giving in.
Did you notice how little is changed to the actual revival? There are basically no changes at all. That is how easy it would have been to work in a little precious daughter for Lorelai and Luke. This is how easy it would have been to make most of the shippers very happy.
I do really hope you liked it. Let me know in the comments. I appreciate your thoughts.
Also for now, this is a one-shot. I have not planned anything further than that, but I might continue when the muse strikes. xxx