Author's Note: Here's the next installment. As of now, I'm not entirely sure where I'm going to take this story. I'm just writing for the sake of writing about these wonderful characters. I'm sure the specifics will come to me soon. I hope you enjoy reading.
Disclaimer: I only own the plot.
"Uggggghhh."
Lorelai groaned loudly as she and Luke plopped down heavily upon their couch. Luke laughed as he took in the image of pure exhaustion tinged with relief upon his fiancé's face. She glared at him beneath heavy eyelids.
"What?? My parents are…exhausting. What about me being worn out after two hours is funny to you?" She questioned, feigning anger.
Luke, chuckling quietly, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled the love of his life as close to him as humanly possible.
"It's not funny that you're exhausted; your facial expressions are just cute." Luke said and kissed her on the top of the head before heading to the kitchen to make dinner.
Lorelai grinned and lightly slapped him on the butt as he passed her. He glared at her, cheeks flushed, before continuing towards the kitchen.
"Whoa. Please, keep the dirtiness to a minimum while I'm in the house." Rory said as she entered the living room after seeing her grandparents off.
"Oh, jeez." Luke mumbled from the kitchen.
Lorelai laughed while patting the now vacant seat next to her. Rory sat, legs curling underneath her, and let her blue eyed gaze trail up and down her mother's glowing face.
"You look happy." Rory mused.
"I am, Kid." Lorelai said while unconsciously resting her hand on her stomach.
"No, I mean, really, really happy. Like, even happier than when you first started dating Luke. Actually, I've never seen you this happy. It's…reassuring…knowing that you're so much better than okay." Rory said.
Lorelai giggled and pulled her daughter against her side, arm resting comfortably around her shoulders.
"Well, aren't we observant today?" She asked, laughing.
"Really? You're really commenting on my observant nature? Like it's a new trait?" Rory asked.
"Oh, it's an expression!"
Both girls laughed loudly, filling the room with sounds it hadn't heard in months. Luke listened to their glorious giggles, a grin gracing his features, as he cooked dinner for two of his favorite people.
"Luuuuuucas!!!" Lorelai called. "How is that food coming? I haven't eaten since 6 and it's already 9! It's a medical miracle that I'm still alive!"
"No, it's a medical miracle that you're still alive, and thin, when you eat the way you do." Luke said as he brought out three plates, each containing a burger and fries.
Lorelai shrugged, not feeling anything but proud about that fact, as Luke set their plates in front of them. As he sat next to his fiancé and reached for his burger, he felt two sets of almost identical blue eyes boring into him.
"What?" He asked, burger poised no less than two inches from his mouth.
"Where are the condiments?" Lorelai questioned while letting her eyes roam quickly across the coffee table.
"And the drinks?" Rory added, her gaze mimicking her mother's across the coffee table.
Luke sighed and laughed lightly before standing.
"Sorry, sorry. I don't know how I could forget seeing as I've been serving you both for more than a decade." Luke said as Lorelai grabbed the TV changer and switched on "Friends".
"Here, let me help." Rory said, getting up to follow Luke.
"No, it's okay. I got it. You enjoy being home." Luke smiled.
"Are you sure? I don't mind helping." Rory protested.
"Of course you don't. Your mother, on the other hand…" He trailed off.
Lorelai's mouth dropped.
"Hey! I'm carrying your child! I shouldn't have to help until after it's born, at least."
"How long after, exactly?" Luke asked, as though sensing a few words left unsaid.
Lorelai turned her head, breaking eye contact with Luke, and mumbled those few words.
"Only a year or two…"
Luke rolled his eyes and grunted before shuffling into the kitchen.
"Thanks, Babe!" She called to his retreating back, grin in place.
Rory shook her head in disbelief.
"I can't believe you already have him whipped." She said.
"What? He's not whipped! Not yet, anyway. He still grumbles about doing everything."
Rory raised her eyebrows in horror, a silent gasp forming on her lips.
"Oh, Sweets, I'm kidding! Trust me; Luke is definitely his own man." Lorelai said, waggling her eyebrows in implication.
"Ew, Mom! While I know that I am almost 23, Luke is like my dad; therefore, those implications are severely disturbing. Not to mention gross." She added as an afterthought.
Lorelai laughed out loud at her daughter's open disgust, while simultaneously feeling a sense of euphoria at hearing Rory practically call Luke her dad.
"Hey." Luke interrupted Lorelai's laughter as he reentered the living room. "Are you talking about what I think you're talking about? Because I know that we already agreed to keep everything about that part of our lives entirely separate from our kids."
Luke handed both girls their drinks before setting down his own and their necessary condiments.
"Oh, come on. That's impossible. One kid has been present for multiple sessions."
"Mom! Please, I beg of you, do not force me to think of my poor sibling that's currently living in your uterus suffering through that." Rory protested just as Luke began.
"Jeez, Lorelai! Is it your goal to make the whole room uncomfortable?" He asked.
Lorelai, absolutely giddy, squirted ketchup on her plate before dunking a fry into the red pool.
"Noooo. That's only my goal when I'm in my parent's house." She laughed as she stuffed the fry in her mouth.
"Well, I think maybe you've forgotten where you are. Does this look like your parent's house?" Luke asked, ridding his mind of the images of his unborn child present while they made love.
Lorelai gasped dramatically, clutching her hand to her heart as she did so. Luke, fearing the worst, dropped the ketchup bottle on the floor and clutched her shoulder in fright.
"What? What's wrong?? Are you okay??" He asked, practically shouting.
"Oh god, no!" Lorelai gasped. "How can you compare this loving and comfortable home to my parents' vampire lair??"
"Damn it, Lorelai! You scared the hell outta me! Don't do that!" He yelled before bending to pick up the dropped ketchup bottle.
"Well, it's good that I scared it away then. I'm not sure I want hell in you at all…" She trailed off.
Luke turned to look at her with incredulous eyes. Lorelai burst out laughing at his expression before giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Instantly, the irritation and fear in his heart vanished. He rubbed the side of his face in embarrassment once he remembered that Rory was no more than two feet from them. Rory, pretending that she hadn't heard or seen a thing, kept her gaze glued to the TV. Lorelai lovingly ran her hand through his hair, as though it were a well practiced habit, before returning to the TV and her delicious dinner.
"You know, I don't think this show could get any better. It's like physically impossible to dislike it." Rory commented as Monica began dancing in front of Chandler with a turkey on her head, complete with a pair of huge sunglasses and a tiny hat.
"Oh, I completely agree. The humor is just so…You know, I can't even describe it." Lorelai said.
Luke finished his food and leaned back against the couch in order to get comfortable.
"Well, when I first saw an episode, I didn't think it was that great." He said.
Lorelai pressed pause on the remote before fully turning her body toward him. Rory, upon hearing his comment, did the same. He glanced at each of them in turn, forcing himself not to laugh at their identical expressions of shock.
"I'm sorry, but what?" Lorelai asked.
"I didn't think it was that great…" He repeated as though speaking to a slow person.
"Again, I'm sorry, but what?? You are such a liar! The first time we watched this, you laughed so hard that Helen Keller would have heard it!" Lorelai retorted.
Luke blanched at the metaphor.
"I agree! You were laughing louder than me and mom!" Rory added.
"He couldn't get his pants back on! He was trying to use lotion! And then he accidentally slapped himself in the face because he was pulling so hard! You can't expect me not to laugh!" Luke defended.
Lorelai gave him a look of awe inspired pity.
"Aw, Hon, you're just supporting our conclusion that Friends is awesome." Lorelai said as she looped her arm through Luke's. "Face it. You love the show just as much as we do. You don't have to try and knock it to make yourself seem manlier."
"Yeah, Luke, you're much more man than this house has seen in many, many years." Rory added. "Liking something that is not action or sports related is okay by us."
"Thanks, Rory. I'm glad that you have no problem reassuring me of my manliness." Luke said, laughing.
Rory laughed right along with him. "Anytime, Luke, anytime." The next few hours were spent mocking numerous movies that Lorelai had kept aside for Rory to see; laughter ensued continuously. If a stranger were to look in on them, their impression would be that of a happy family laughing and spending quality time together. It wasn't until around midnight that the party came to an end, for Rory had drifted off to sleep against her mother; who, in turn, was gradually drifting off to sleep against the love of her life. Luke glanced from the movie, "Super Troopers", when the noise in the room reached a new low. A gentle smile crossed his face at the sleeping girls next to him. Because Lorelai was resting against him, he couldn't move enough to stand.
"Lorelai, honey, wake up." He whispered, jostling her slightly.
She moved only an inch or so before her eyes flickered open.
"Hmmm. What's wrong?" She asked when her eyes met his.
"It's time to go to bed." He whispered.
"No, we're watching the movie."
"No, you were sleeping. Rory still is." He said, chuckling.
Lorelai looked down at Rory.
"We're just resting our eyes for a minute."
"Well, you've been 'resting your eyes' for a good ten minutes now; both of you." Luke said as he tucked a stray curl behind Lorelai's ear. "Time to go to bed."
Luke reached over to wake Rory when Lorelai stopped him. He gazed at her, eyebrows furrowed in questioning.
"I don't want it to end…" She whispered. "Tonight…I don't know when she's gonna come back home again…"
Luke sighed and hugged her against him, pressing his cheek against hers as he did so.
"I know, Baby, I know. But, whether we sleep out here like this or in our rooms, the morning's gonna come." He whispered gently.
"Yeah…I know…" She softly brushed her daughter's hair with her fingertips while Luke traced the veins of her pallid forearm with his fingers.
Lorelai sighed, already missing her little girl.
"Sweets." Lorelai whispered. "Wake up, Hon."
Rory stirred momentarily before opening her eyes slowly. Luke couldn't help but notice, once again, just how similar the two Gilmore girls were. How is it that they even wake up in a very similar manner?, he wondered.
"S'the movie over?" She muttered, eyelids heavy and voice filled with sleep.
Suddenly, Lorelai had a flashback of Rory at age eleven saying those exact words in that exact voice. They were in the living room, the TV was older, the couch was lumpier, and Rory was much smaller; although, the only really significant difference was the absence of Luke sprawled out next to them. They had been watching a Brat Pack marathon when Rory had fallen asleep in the middle of Pretty in Pink. Lorelai had noticed instantly when the vibrations of laughter radiating through her were replaced by the subtle vibrato of her gentle snore. She had spent the end of the movie brushing Rory's dark brown curls with her fingertips. As the movie came to a close, Lorelai gently shook her awake; for she knew that Rory had gotten too heavy to be carried off to bed. Rory had stirred lightly before looking up at her mother and saying the exact same words in the exact same voice as she did now. Tears sprang to Lorelai's eyes, but she kept them at bay as she answered in the same way as she had over a decade ago.
"Yeah, Hon. The movie's over. Time for bed. Up you go." She whispered before ushering Rory to her feet and wrapping her arm around her waist to keep her from stumbling.
As she guided her daughter to her bedroom, she subconsciously noticed that Luke had gotten up to follow. Lorelai sat Rory down and let her lie back before pulling the covers up over her; Rory was asleep once her head hit her pillow. Lorelai sat on her bed next to her, conscious of the fact that Luke was there, leaning against the doorway. She kept her eyes on her daughter, trying and failing to keep the tears from spilling from her eyes.
"I love you, Kid. More than you'll ever know." She whispered before placing a kiss on her forehead and walking toward the door.
Luke slipped his hand in hers as he closed the door to Rory's room. They walked toward the stairs side by side, Lorelai's head resting on Luke's shoulder, silent tears running down her cheeks as they went. As they entered their bedroom, they immediately headed to their soft, fluffy, white bed. Luke lay down and Lorelai, instead of walking around the bed to her spot, crawled over her fiancé before settling on her side with her back facing Luke. He turned and wrapped his arms around her from behind in a spooning position. Lorelai sighed and intertwined her fingers in his.
"I love you, ya know." Luke breathed in her ear.
"I know. I love you too. More than you'll ever know."
And that's the end of that chapter. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Review please!