Hey. This story is told from differentiating points of view - either Luke, Lorelai, Emily, Richard, Rory or Jess. It should be easy to tell within the first few lines. I don't own. Sniffle.
" Congratulations, sir, ma'am. You have a healthy, beautiful baby girl."
With that the doctor gently handed me a tiny little baby girl. I look up at my husband, and grin. He catches my look and correctly interpreted it. He grinned at me and whispered,
"She's gorgeous. We did good."
"Yes, we did." I tell him, and when he sees me still looking at him with a grin on my face, he tells me in his usual gruff way,
"No coffee if you're breastfeeding my child." I pout at him and whine,
"But Luke, you said that as soon as I had the baby," at this I hold our daughter up, "which I'm pretty sure I just did, that I could have the largest cup of coffee known to man. Now cough it up bucko." When he tries to resist, I turn the power of my pout up a couple decibels and start to coo at our daughter. When I see his resolve weakening, I try another tactic.
" You know, pretty soon that little black dress will fit again. Besides, Rory will back me up on the coffee thing so you might as well-" I'm cut off by said daughter bursting in saying,
"I wanna see the baby! I wanna see the baby! Mommy, I wanna see the baby!" I quickly hand the baby over and laugh as Luke protests,
"Hey! I haven't gotten the chance to hold her yet! I should hold her before Rory!" I smile sweetly and tell him,
"Yes, you should my Lukey-pooky, but I'm mad at you. Having a baby hurts! And it's all your fault." He quickly shot back,
"You didn't seem to have a problem with it when you got pregnant, or when we found out! Besides, it takes two to tango, my dear. And don't call me Lukey-pooky, Lorelai." I pout and tell him,
"Well, you kissed me! How can a girl resist? Besides, you were the main contributor to this," I say, gesturing at our daughter, being held by Rory. "As for the Lukey-pooky comment, I think it's cute."
But Luke's not listening to me anymore. I probably lost him when I gestured to the baby. Then I catch sight of the look on his face and immediately grab my cell phone, which is a camera phone, and snap a shot. He completely ignores me and continues to watch my daughters interact. Well, Rory interact with the baby, who just kind of stares up at her big sister. I smile to myself at the look of complete love on his face.
Who'd have thought that I could make gruff, monosyllabic Lucas William Danes look at someone like that?
Apparently I said that last part out loud because Rory looks up at me, rolls her eyes at me, and informs me,
"Mom, he's always looked at you like that. And it's no surprise Luke's completely infatuated with her. She's his daughter. His firstborn baby." At that, Luke looks up and says,
"What are you talking about?" I can't help but tease him, because after all, he just put me through nine months of hell, and on top of that, labor. Can you say ow?
"Oh, just all the dirty things I plan on doing to you as soon as I can." Because he's Luke, he gave the typical response of,
"Geez, Lorelai. Not in front of Rory and the baby." I just smile at him as Rory hands the baby over to him. He just kind of gave me a 'what the hell do I do with this thing?' look that I see so often.
"Mrs. Danes? Do you have a name picked out?"
While we were talking the doctor had walked in, completely unnoticed. Luke and I share a look before he says,
"Elizabeth Emily Danes. Anything else?"
The doctor looks down at his chart thing and says,
"I need you to make sure that all this information is correct."
Luke looked torn about leaving Elizabeth, Beth for short, and wanting to make sure that everything was correct. I nodded to Rory, who said that she'd make sure everything was right. Luke shot her a grateful look and kissed her forehead.
Looking pleased, Rory followed the doctor, but when she reached the door, she turned around, grinned, and said, "I'm a big sister."
Then she followed the doctor away, looking thrilled. Luke chuckles and looks back down at our daughter before whispering to no one in particular,
"I'm a daddy." I just smile and start to go to sleep because, well, let's face it, having a kid is exhausting, when I hear,
"I want to see my daughter. You called to tell me she was here and now you refuse to let me see her?!" I shoot a panicked look at Luke, who raises an eyebrow at me as I hiss,
"Luke! Mom doesn't even know I was pregnant! What the hell are we going to do?" He tells me he'll take care of it and to go to sleep and that he loves me before walking out and saying
"Richard, Emily. What are you doing here?" to which I hear my mother shout,
"We are here to see our daughter. Why are you here?" As I try to fall asleep per Luke's orders I hear my father trying to calm my mother down.
"Richard, Emily. What are you doing here?" I greet my wife's parents. In-laws. Fun.
"We are here to see our daughter. Why are you here?" Emily shouts at me.
"Emily, please, relax. If anyone knows what's wrong with Lorelai, it's Luke. Correct?" I nod my head and open my mouth to say something when Rory comes over and exclaims,
"Grandma, Grandpa! Hi! What are you doing here?" Emily, who catches everything, notices me glance back in the direction of Lorelai's room. Her glance then falls on the baby in my arms as Rory asks me where her mom was.
"Oh, she's asleep. She looked exhausted." I pause for a second, then say,
"Well, I told her to go to sleep. She probably snuck out for a cup of coffee."
"Nah, hospital coffee sucks. She'll wait till we get home to sneak out." Rory disagrees. I smirk at her and say,
"You're probably right. She's probably thinking of all the ways she can try to get coffee from me." At that, Richard chuckled and said,
"Young man, you seem to know my daughter pretty well." I roll my eyes and respond,
"Yeah, well, she came into my diner every damn day for eight years before we were even together, and three years since then." Rory just giggles and adds, "And even then two, three times a day." Finally Emily speaks up.
"Yes, well, then you know exactly what the hell is wrong with Lorelai." As she was saying that, Lorelai's doctor walked by and said,
"Mr. Danes, we need to put Elizabeth in with the other infants."
"Oh, yeah, sure, of course. Love you Beth." With that I kissed her forehead and handed her over as Emily and Richard looked on. Rory blew Beth a kiss as the doctor carried her away.
"What is wrong with my daughter, Luke?" Emily repeats.
"Nothing, Emily. She's fine." I tell my mother-in-law as I headed for my wife's room.
"Yeah, I'm just tired from pushing a kid out of my ass!" Lorelai called. I groan at this, considering she probably didn't know that I hadn't told her parents, or at least Emily, that she had even been pregnant. Emily glanced sharply at me before stepping into her daughter's room. Richard, Rory and I had no choice but to follow. After all, Lorelai had to have gotten her stubbornness somewhere.
I quickly followed Luke, Grandma, and Grandpa into Mom's room in time to see Mom grin at Luke and say,
"Hey, Lukey-pooky. Where's our baby girl?" Luke gives her a tense look and says in a tight voice,
"What are you talking about, Lorelai? Rory's right here." But because it's Mom, she doesn't get the unspoken message and laughs as she says,
"Not Rory, sweetie, Beth. Where's Beth? I miss our baby girl already. No offence, Ror." She quickly adds.
"None taken." I assure her, while shooting a panicked look at Luke, but of course Grandma doesn't miss anything and asks,
"Lorelai, what the hell are you talking about?" Mom casts a funny look at Luke and asks him,
"You didn't tell them?" Luke let out a furious sigh and practically growled at her,
"I was going to but-" He was interrupted by the doctor; I think I heard him say his name was … Dr. Wrell?
"Lorelai, how are you feeling?"
"Oh, you know, never been better. Yeah, it's not like I just gave birth or anything." Mom joked. Grandma glanced sharply at Mom and demanded,
"Doctor, what on earth is my daughter talking about? Is she hallucinating? And who the hell is Beth?" Mom gave a sigh and said quietly,
"Dr. Wrell, if I could have a few minutes with my family? Thanks." As soon as he was gone she took a deep breath, let it out with a whoosh, and told her mother,
"The main reason I stopped coming back to Friday night dinners wasn't because of another fight, it was because I found out I was pregnant, and because I really didn't want to hear about how it was a mistake, and that this wasn't what I really wanted and so on and so forth. I started to have lunch with Dad either at the diner or at the Inn every Wednesday with Luke. That's why Dad disappears. He's not having lunch with Pennilyn Lott, he's having lunch with us."
At this, Luke went over to Mom and put his arm around her as she started to cry, but being Mom, she didn't make a sound as the tears rolled down her face. Luke had been completely lost on what to do when one of us would burst into tears a year ago. Then Mom got pregnant and he learned to comfort her pretty well. A few nights on the couch can do that to a guy, especially when you have no idea what warranted you a night on the couch. Oh, wait, Mom's talking again.
"-So that's why I stopped coming to dinner. Okay? Congratulations, you're grandparents again." As soon as the words were out the subject herself entered, screaming.
"Well, I think she's hungry. Ready, Mommy?" Dr. Wrell's said. Mom immediately forgot about everyone else except for Luke and Beth as she took my little sister in her arms. She glanced up and cocked an eyebrow as she remarked,
"So, you want to watch me feed my daughter for the first time?" When no one moved, she said,
"Ah, maybe I didn't make myself clear. So, you want to watch me breastfeed my daughter for the first time?" As soon as the word breast left her mouth, Grandpa, Grandma, Luke, and I hurried toward the door.
"Not so fast, mister. You got me in this predicament. You're not going anywhere." Luke gave a sheepish sigh and hurried back to Mom, whispered something in her ear, and blushed scarlet when she stated loud enough so my grandparents and I could plainly hear,
"Well, it's just too damn bad if you watching our daughter eat is going to get you all hot and bothered. It's entirely your fault that she's here in the first place. So buck up cowboy. You're staying." I smothered a giggle as Luke muttered,
"Ah, jeez, Lorelai." Mom just grinned at me and then went back to cooing at Beth.
I grinned as Beth finished eating, gave a little burp, and immediately went to sleep. Oh, she was so her mother's daughter. No doubt about it. Suddenly I noticed that my daughter wasn't the only one getting sleepy.
"Hey, go to sleep, Lorelai." I whisper softly in her ear. She blinked sleepily at me but protested as I took Beth.
"Hey! I wasn't falling asleep. I wasn't Luke, honest!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sleep now, bitch later." I roll my eyes at her.
Sometimes my wife can be so stubborn. Wife. At that one word my heart swells up. We have only been married for ten months after all. Yeah, I know it's a cliché, but can we help it if she got pregnant on the honeymoon. I have to say; finding out did make that last night there great. And exhausting. If you know what you mean. I grin at the memory and look over at my wife just to discover she had fallen asleep. Just like I knew she would. I sigh and turn my attention back to my daughter and promise her,
"I'll always be there for you Beth. Always. No matter how insane your mother is." With that I kissed her forehead and sit down with her in my lap, remembering how different my life was before meeting Lorelai and Rory, my Gilmore girls.
"Rory, why didn't your mother ever tell me she was pregnant?" I ask my granddaughter as we leave a grinning Lorelai, a blushing Luke, and a hungry Beth behind and head down to the cafeteria.
"Well, Grandma, I think that she thought that you would just tell her that the baby was a mistake and that nothing good would come from the pregnancy and she was just so happy and so afraid you would be all condescending she just didn't tell you." My granddaughter told me slowly.
"What? But Rory, that's crazy, I would never do something like that." I laughed.
"Yeah, well, according to Mom, you weren't exactly bursting to tell your friends she was pregnant with me." She reminded me. My husband nodded and said,
"We weren't exactly happy that she got pregnant, but you know what good came out of it? We got two granddaughters, and maybe more grandchildren to come." When we both looked curiously at him he explained.
"Well, first we obviously got Rory, then after she was born Lorelai ran away to Stars Hollow, where she met Luke, which resulted in Beth. By the way, how did she get the name Beth?"
"Oh, well, Beth is short for Elizabeth, which is Luke's sister's and his mom's name, and her middle name is Emily, for Grandma." I immediately grinned, pleased.
"Really?"
"Really." Rory confirmed. "Well. How about that." My husband grinned at me as I smiled back, pleased.
"Rory?" Grandma asked me after a few minutes of silent eating.
"Yes, Grandma?"
"Do you – I mean how did Luke and your mother meet?" I carefully put my fork down and said
"Well, I've only heard Mom tell it once or twice." I grinned, considering Mom made Luke to tell the story to her and the baby just about every night.
"Well, it was at Luke's, it was at lunch, it was a very busy day and the place was packed. And this person,"
"Your mother?" Grandma interrupted. I just grin and keep talking.
"This person comes tearing into the place in a caffeine frenzy."
"It is your mother." Grandpa laughed.
"He was with a customer and she interrupts him wild eyed, begging for coffee. So, he tells her to wait her turn. Then she starts following him around talking a mile a minute saying God-knows-what because let's face it – she's Mom. So finally he turns to her and tells her she's being annoying. Sit down, shut up, he'll get to her when he gets to her. As you can imagine, she took that very well because she's just delightful. She asked him what his birthday was. He wouldn't tell her, but finally gave in because she wouldn't stop talking. Then she opened up the newspaper to the horoscope page, wrote something down, and tore it out. Handed it to him and under 'Scorpio' she had written 'You will meet an annoying woman today. Give her coffee and she'll go away.' He gave her coffee. She didn't go away though."
"She told him to hold onto that horoscope. Put it in his wallet, carry it around with him and one day it would bring him luck."
Luke finished as he pulled up a chair next to me. With a grin he added,
"I've never been happier to have a completely useless piece of paper in my wallet." I laughed.
"Mom and Beth asleep?" He nodded as my pager went off.
"Oh, shoot. Luke, can I borrow your phone? I left mine in the charger on my nightstand back in the Hollow."
"Yeah, sure. Anything wrong?" He asked, concerned.
"No, I don't think- Paris, hi, what's up?"
"What number are you calling from? Whose phone is it?" Paris, suspicious as always asked.
"It's Luke's. Why? What's up?"
"Who's Luke? Your boyfriend?" I made a face and said,
"No, Paris, he's my step-father. You know, you've met him." I rolled my eyes.
"Oh. Well, where are you? I've been trying your cell all day."
"I'm at the hospital. Mom had the baby. As for my phone I left it at the house in Stars Hollow. Paris, what is so important?"
"Oh, your dad is here. He says he won't leave until he talks to you and I have a class to get to."
I frowned. My dad? I haven't heard from him since Grandma and Grandpa's vow- no, since he offered to pay for Yale. Actually, the day Logan left for London was the last time I heard from him.
"Let me talk to him. Go to class, Paris." Luke looked at me curiously and observed,
"That's a pleasant look for you, Ror."
"Apparently Chris is at the apartment and won't leave until he talks to me." Oh, yeah, have I mentioned I kind of hate my father's guts? Sorry, I mean my birth father's guts. Luke has been more like a dad to me than Christopher ever was. I mean, I don't call him Dad just because he's married to my mother.
"Hey, kid." The object of my hate greeted me.
I sighed. Here we go. After all, I haven't talked to the guy in years. As in two. Or is it one? Who knows?
"Hey, Chris. Long time no talk." I said into the phone with mock enthusiasm.
"Well, you never get back to me. I leave you tons of messages that you never return. Any reason why?"
"Funny." I commented.
"What?" He asked, confused.
"I never took you for an idiot. My mistake." I said coolly. He sighed.
"Okay, I give. What did I do to deserve the 'tude?"
"You know damn well what you did Christopher." I said. After a second he laughed and said,
"Are you still made about what happened at your grandparents vow renewal? Rory, that was, like, three years ago. Come on."
"No, you come on." I snapped right back. Hey, nobody messes with Mom and Dad (Luke), and gets away with it.
"Look, I just want to meet for dinner. With my daughter. Is that so wrong?"
"No," I responded.
"Good. What do you say to Cirque de Soleil?"
"Well, is Gigi old enough to go there? I mean, I don't think it would be a good idea." Chris laughed.
"I'm not talking about-"
"Well, you must be, considering I can't think of another daughter you have that can stand to look at you long enough to have dinner with you."
"Rory-"
"Look, Chris, I've got to go. If I'm lucky I won't talk to you later. Bye." I cut him off before hanging up.
"Oh, he just pisses me off so bad." I scowled and slowly wrung my napkin, imagining it being Chris's head. Grandma stared at me in surprise.
"What was that about?" She asked. I just shook my head.
"If I start talking about it I will pull a full on Luke-rant. Trust me, I can do a damn good impression of him when I get pissed off enough. Ask Mom." Luke frowned at me and I smiled back.
Mom definitely picked the right guy. I've never seen her happier than when she is with Luke or even just talking about him. The same could be said for Luke about Mom. Still, I am going to kill her if she screws this up again.
"God, what? Do you know what time it is? It's like eleven-freaking clock at night and I just got Davey and Martha to sleep so make it good." I moaned to the phone.
"Hey, Sookie? It's Rory."
"Oh, hey honey. What's up?" I yawned into the phone. A sudden a thought struck me as I quickly asked,
"What? Is everything all right? Did something happen to the baby? Is your mom all right? Is the baby all right? Are you all right? What's going on? Was there a fire at the Inn? Oh, my God, are we going to have to close down? I don't think we can afford a fire at the Inn. I mean to have a fire at the Inn." Rory laughed, interrupting my babbling.
"No, Sookie, it's nothing like that. Actually, Mom just had the baby. A gorgeous little girl named Elizabeth Emily Danes who already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. It's actually pretty cute. But anyways, what that means is that we need to reschedule Mom's baby shower. She comes home on Friday so what do you say we welcome Beth into the fold with a party the day she comes home for the first time. Huh? Huh? What do you think?" She said perkily.
God, that girl has to stop drinking coffee. It makes her way too perky. Especially at eleven o'clock at night.
"I think that you are completely insane but I love the idea. Great. You plan, I cook. Good night." I yawned.
"Night." Rory said just before I hung up.
"Good night." I repeated as I lay my head down on the kitchen table, fast asleep.
"Grandpa. Grandma." I suddenly hear whispered.
"Rory? Is something the matter?" My eyes instantly fluttered open and I sat up, concerned.
"No, Grandpa, everything's fine, I was just wondering if I could talk to both of you for a second."
"Yes, of course dear, what's wrong?" Emily asked, straightening up. Rory just shook her head and motioned for us to follow her out into the hall.
"Sookie and I had a baby shower planned for Mom for, well, this afternoon, but we obviously have to reschedule. I was wondering if you would maybe like to help with replanning everything? We were thinking we would do it Friday, when she gets home. What do you think?" She glanced hopefully back and forth between us.
"Well, Rory, that sounds like a marvel-" I started but was cut off by someone running over calling for Rory.
"Logan? Oh, my God, hi! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in London!"
"I know Ace, but when you called and said you were in the hospital I was on the first flight home, no questions asked." Logan explained, slightly out of breath. My granddaughter promptly burst into laughter.
"What are you talking about? Oh, Logan, I said I was at the hospital, not in the hospital!" Logan looked confused.
"So, wait, why are you at the hospital, not in the hospital?"
"Mom had the baby. Oh, my God, She is the sweetest little thing! She's only about twelve hours old but already has Luke at her mercy. God, when she grows up and Mom teaches her to pout, he is going to be so screwed it's not even funny. On second thought, it might be really funny." Rory cocked her head thoughtfully.
"Good. Emily, Richard, hello. Sorry, didn't see you on account of it being really dark in here… What time is it?"
"Good to see you too, Logan, and it's one in the morning." Emily told him as I shook his hand.
"Think I could get a look at Rory's sister?" he asked.
"Right this way, please. OhmiGod she is so cute and lovable and I just want to eat her up!" Rory squealed, pulling her boyfriend in the direction of her sister's bassinet and practically bouncing off the walls. When Emily and I laughed she just pouted and said,
"So shoot me for being excited about my new baby sister."
"That's quite all right Rory. It's just refreshing. Like watching a child in a candy store. Or your mother in a-" I was once again interrupted by someone barreling down the call calling for Rory.
"Jess! Hey! You made it!" She threw her arms around him.
"I told you I'd get here as quick as I could! I had to finish my shift then I had to pick up my friend at the airport then traffic sucked getting here. Then I had to bribe the security guard to let me in but that didn't work and then I had to sneak in through the emergency room then I had to find my way to the maternity ward all the while hiding from security guards… I came as quick as I could." He explained, out of breath from both the run and the explanation. She stared at him for a second then asked as she cracked a smile,
"What's her name?" The guy looked insulted.
"Her name? Dear sweet Lorelai, you think that I got here so late to the place of the birth of my cousin because of a girl?" He paused for a millisecond before saying,
"Her name is Jessie, shut up, and she's completely engrossing. How did you know?" Rory laughed as she linked her arm through his and pulled him closer to Logan, Emily, and myself.
"Simple Dodger. I know you. Besides, with that whole elaborate story…" She shook her head. When she noticed us staring at her she said,
"Oh, right, Grandma, Grandpa, Logan, this is Jess Mariano. He's Luke's sister Liz's son. Speaking of Liz, where is she?"
"On her way. Uh, Doogie?" Rory looked confused for a second before her face lit up.
"Jess, this is my boyfriend Logan, you've already met, my grandmother, you've already met her too,"
"I remember. How do you do?" He nodded,
"And this is my Grandfather."
"Pleasure to meet you, sir. I've heard much about you from the Gilmore girls." He shook my hand as I responded,
"Nice to meet you too."
"Now come on, guys. Do you want to see the newest Gilmore girl who has stolen Luke's heart? I know she's only Gilmore by blood but still, we are Luke's 'Gilmore girls.' Don't correct me." She added, narrowing her eyes and pointing at Jess before he could get a word out.
"Geez, paranoid much?" He joked under his breath. As the three walked away Logan put his arm around Rory and Jess repeated his statement, this time without the playful tone, making me wonder about how much of their love was cousinly and how much was real like Rory's and Logan's. I also heard Logan say,
"Her name is Rory, not Ace. Lorelai is her mother."
"I know. It's a running joke between Rory and I." I couldn't help but detect something hostile in their tones and noticed Rory lace her fingers through Jess' and smile.
I smiled at Jess as I laced my fingers through his. He gave me a dirty look. When I looked at him curiously, he gestured with his head at Logan. I rolled my eyes.
"So Ace, what's new in our fair city of New Haven?" Logan asked. Before I could say anything Jess said to Logan,
"Her name is Rory, not Ace." I interjected before Logan could say anything.
"Nothing much. Paris is crazy, and believe it or not, Paris and Doyle are actually getting married." Logan stopped walking and stared at me.
"What's new in the Hollow, Ror?" Jess asked me as we kept walking. I grinned at him.
"Not much. Oh, Miss Patty got married again." He shook his head and said,
"That woman goes through more men than our mothers put together." I laughed.
"Low blow, Mr. Mariano."
"A true one no less, Ms. Gilmore." He teased back. Just then Logan caught up with us and put his arm around my shoulders, drawing me closer to him.
"So, how long have you two been together? I mean, I can't blame you for being with someone while I was in London, three thousand miles away across open water." I pulled myself away in shock, noting duly that my fingers were still hooked with Jess'.
"What? Logan, you're insane! Jess is my cousin, nothing more! And of course I wasn't with anyone while you were in London! Because you were still my boyfriend and no matter what continent we are on, separate or together, that fact does not change! Way to have faith in your girlfriend." I glared sourly at him then pulled Jess toward the room where Beth was. But Jess didn't move as he glared at Logan with a venom.
"What?" Logan asked, glaring right back.
"I've watched Rory while she was in her two other relationships and she is the most faithful person in the world. How dare you insinuate that she was anything less than faithful to you. God knows why though."
"What the hell do you know about this? It's not any of your business."
"Like hell it's not my business. Rory is my cousin. I've known her for years." I suddenly got worried. If I know Jess he's about to bring up Dean and himself.
"Rory is incredibly bright but when it comes to guys, well, let's face it. She's an idiot. Sorry, Ror, but it's true. She has no sense of relationships. First, she dates Dean, which sadly may have been her most successful relationship. Then, she decides to date me. Of course, because I'm an idiot, we break up. Actually, I skip town and if you ask Lorelai, she'll say it was the best move I ever made. After about a year, she gets back together with Dean, despite the fact that he's, oh, married, and now, she's with a prize like you!"
Who knows Jess better than me? Seriously, I dare you to try to find someone. Suddenly and out of nowhere Logan's fist is swinging at Jess' face. The next thing I know Luke is pulling them apart. Oh, brother.
"… And so I tell her, she's being annoying. Sit down, shut up, I'll get to her when I get to her." I was, for the millionth time, telling this story to my wonderful wife, the woman who recently gave birth to my firstborn child. Suddenly I heard the sounds of a fight outside the room.
"What the hell was that?" Lorelai asked, sitting up in her hospital bed. I frowned.
"I don't know. I'll go check it out." When I opened the door, Jess slammed into it. Jess? I thought. Then realized that he was getting the crap beat out of him by… Logan? What the hell? I quickly pulled them apart with the help of the security guard that showed up. When the guys had stopped lunging at each other, I questioned Jess, Logan, and Rory.
"What the hell? When did you guys get here? Why are you beating each other up? Do you realize you are at a hospital? People are trying to rest. They're here for a reason and the two of you fighting is not helping them get better! Now what exactly caused this fight? Was it something Rory said or did? 'Cause I know you were fighting about Rory. Now, who wants to tell me what happened?" I ranted at my nephew and my stepdaughter's boyfriend. Jess glared at Logan as he said,
"Logan accused Rory of cheating on him while he was in London and I was merely telling him that he was wrong when he started coming at me swinging. I'll be honest that I wasn't too nice about it, but he started it." I sighed.
"Is that what happened?" I questioned Rory and Logan. The latter just looked at me while the former nodded.
"Ah, jeez. You guys are ridiculous. Jess, how many fights have you gotten into because of Rory?" My nephew shrugged and muttered,
"The only reason I fought was because he was insulting Rory." I rolled my eyes. "Look, I've had a bad night and drove as fast as I could here breaking a million different laws so I could see my baby cousin. Now, if that's a problem, I'll just leave and take care of my God damn daughter." He burst out. Rory instantly looked panicked as I asked,
"What daughter?" He looked flustered, and I caught another panicked look between him and my stepdaughter.
"My roommate's daughter. She- I'm babysitting her for the weekend for my roommate and his girlfriend." I could instantly tell he was lying, but decided to grill him later.
"No. Stay. Come on, Beth's in here. Be quiet because if you wake her up, I'll have your head on a platter."
I froze, trying to figure out what to say as I shoot a panicked look at Rory. "My roommate's daughter. She- I'm babysitting her for the weekend for my roommate and his girlfriend."
I managed to stammer out. I could tell Luke didn't believe me and I knew I was in for a grilling in the morning. He sighed.
"No. Stay. Come on, Beth's in here. Be quiet because if you wake her up, I'll have your head on a platter." He threatened.
"What about Aunty Lorelai?" I asked smirking. Luke looked at me for a moment before saying, "She'll probably get to you before I do." He turned on his heel and walked into his wife's room. Rory and I exchanged relieved glances as we followed him.
"Hey, Rory, I've got to get back to London. I'll talk to you… later." With that, Logan stalked off.
Twenty minutes later Jess and I sat in the cafeteria, nursing a beer and cup of coffee respectively. "You named our daughter Jessie?" I asked out of the blue. Jess laughed.
"No. Jessie is the name of the main character in the book I'm reading. I named our daughter Lorelai Elizabeth Gilmore-Mariano." I stared at him, horrified. Before I could say anything, he quickly added,
"That's just her official name on her birth certificate. I already talked to the authorities and they said that I can just use the name Lorelai Elizabeth Mariano if I want. The Gilmore just has to be on the official papers and things. I can drop the Gilmore when I enroll her in school. I don't have to use it if I don't want to." I breathed a sight of relief.
"Why's you name her that?" I questioned.
"Simple. Lorelai after her mother, grandmother, and great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth after her other grandmother and her great-grandmother, and the Gilmore-Mariano should be obvious to you. But I've decided I'm going to call her Lora, like you're Rory." He explained. I grinned at him.
"You thought of everything. How is our baby girl? I haven't managed to get even a day of from work to come down and see her. God, she's already a month old. It seems like just yesterday I was calling you to tell you I was in labor, doesn't it?"
"Actually," he replied dryly, "it seems like a lifetime ago. Hey, I got a job offer."
"What? Jess, that's great! Where will you be based?" I exclaimed.
"I was offered a choice. New York,"
"You love New York!" I interrupted.
"-Boston, London, San Francisco, Paris, Los Angeles, Miami."
"London, Paris, Jess, that's great! You should definitely go to one of them! Travel the world, see the sights-" He interrupted with one last city.
"Or New Haven." I stared at him.
"New Haven?" I whispered.
"New Haven. So, what do you think I should do?" I stared at him.
"New Haven?" I repeated softly before nodding decisively. "New Haven. My vote lies with New Haven."
"Funny, mine does too. So, it's a yes for New Haven?" He asked. "Damn right it's a yes for New Haven." I grinned at him and he smiled back.