Gilmore Girls does not belong to me..enough said.

Thanks to everyone who is reviewing, I have done a lot of writing these past few days and will be sending everything off to my BETA Poterworm (thanks again for Beta-ing) and will post when I have stuff back. Copop – I have just started writing ch 14 and that is the chapter that really explains where I'm planning on going with the story. Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 10

It had been a long night. Lorelai, Luke, and Rory had stayed up until 3 in the morning discussing everything they could about the idea of the surrogacy. When Rory had fallen asleep at the table, they decided it was best to call it a night and talk about other concerns in the morning. It still wasn't decided, but Lorelai was pretty sure she knew what she wanted to do.

Lorelai couldn't help but think about how great a father Luke would be. Every little thing he did seemed to echo in Lorelai's mind lately, but when he picked up Rory from her chair at the table and laid her gently in his bed, she knew that things would work out if they did proceed with the surrogacy. Curling up tighter against her daughter, she couldn't help but smile looking over at the man sleeping on his tiny couch, allowing her and her daughter to share his be. Smiling to herself, she continued to think about the night.

It had been awkward, but they had all decided to let loose the questions and work through them as best they could. She was happy to have the weight of so many issues off her mind. The main topics had been about money, living arrangements, parental rights, and family obligations, as well as dating.

It had been decided quickly that they would split the costs of everything to do with the surrogacy equally. Lorelai had refused at first, but Luke had made it clear in no less than a five minute rant that he was involved in this too and would not be leaving Lorelai with all the bills. They had discussed what the insurance would cover, which wasn't much, but they were glad for the little help it would provide.

At that point, Rory had brought up the issues of finding a surrogate and what it cost from there. Lorelai had actually been prepared for this and took out some paperwork from her trusty file folder. The average surrogate from the Hartford agency would be paid $10,000, which included her medical exams and prenatal vitamins, plus regular groceries. If the family decided they wanted the woman to be on a special diet than it would have to be decided on with the surrogate and the extra money allotted. As well, the agency would add on a finder's fee of $500 for helping place them with a surrogate. When Luke's jaw returned from the floor, they continued on about what they would expect from their surrogate, which was agreed upon all around. No smoking or drinking, caffeine or medications not prescribed by a doctor, as well as not working past her 6 month of pregnancy.

The discussion of living arrangements was over within minutes. The small sewing room beside Lorelai's bedroom would serve as a nursery, which would provide easy access for middle of the night feedings. With Rory's approval, when the baby was a bit older they would move the child into Rory's old room, and Rory would set up her guest room in the sewing room. As Rory was off in Yale anyway and would hope to have her own place once graduated, it wouldn't matter about giving up her room, as long as she still had a place to call her own.

Luke had seemed a bit down during that part of the discussion, and Lorelai made it clear he was going to be part of the child's life. He was going to have full access to the house to see the child anytime he wanted, and he could take the baby to the diner every once and a while, as well. She wanted to make sure that a good schedule was in place as to not disturb the child, but knew how important family was to Luke.

This had led to Rory's next question, that of telling friends and family. After much convincing, Lorelai was talked into telling her parents, though she made it clear she would not tell them until after they had found out the surrogate was pregnant and healthy. They had decided that family and close friends would know first, and the town would know when they felt ready. They knew the town would add an undue stress with all the questions, so it was best to leave it until at least Lorelai was fully recovered from her surgery.

The final topic of conversation occurred after Rory fell asleep. It had been hinted at when they talked about how they would share custody of the child, but the issue had been skirted around. When Lorelai asked him how it would work when either of them dated, he looked extremely uncomfortable. With Luke having no children of his own now, they decided to fall back on Lorelai's model. No potential suitor was to be introduced to the child until they were in a solid relationship. Luke had added to this that he felt that the other parent should get a say, so when the relationship became solid enough that the adults would get together and talk. It was going to be hard, but there was nothing they could do but play it by ear.

After that piece of the discussion, they had decided to call it a night. As it was late, Luke told Lorelai in no uncertain terms that she and Rory were staying and taking his bed, and he would sleep on the couch.

A loud snore from the couch interrupted her thoughts. Lorelai knew what she had to do. Gently shaking her daughter awake, she stroked her daughter's face.

"What?" Rory groggily let out, making it clear she wasn't impressed about being waken up.

"I made my decision."

Rory's eyes widened at this. "Well, tell me," she said, dragging out her words.

"As long as you're okay with it, I want to do this; I want Luke and I to have a child," Lorelai said as she continued to stroke her daughter's cheek.

"Ah, Mom," Rory whispered. "I'm so glad. This will all work out, you'll see; I promise. I can't wait to be a big sister." Cuddling her closer, the two fell asleep.

__________________________________________________________________________________

At about 8:15, Lorelai woke up to Rory poking her in the ribs.

"Gah! God, kid. What the hell?"

"Mom, you were supposed to be at work 15 minutes ago, and I have to meet Lane soon, and since we're not at home, we obviously don't have any clothes to wear," Rory said, rolling her eyes at her mother's child-like behavior in the morning.

"Shoot, we better go quickly. I have a meeting at 9:30 with a potential buyer. Mia would flip if I missed it," Lorelai said as she rushed towards the door.

As Lorelai entered the diner, she heard Patty let out a loud wolf whistle.

"So you finally got to discover what's under our hot diner man's flannel did ya, honey," Patty said, leering suggestively at Lorelai. Lorelai, who had now moved out of the doorway, stopped blocking Rory from view.

"Yeah, it was hot Patty; we had Rory tape us, just like Paris Hilton. Good times; good times," Lorelai said mockingly.

"Ah, jeez," Luke said, looking disgusted.

"Gross Mom, eww," Rory said, making a face similar to Luke's. "I gotta go meet Lane; see ya later," she said, throwing a quick look over her shoulder and running out of the diner.

"Hey, Luke. Can I talk to you for a second? I promise only a second; I'm about to be late for a meeting," she said, heading toward the door. Holding the door open, she waited for Luke to follow her, and then closed the door. Walking down the steps, she took him to the alleyway beside the diner.

"So, uh, I was wondering if you wanted to come to Hartford with me later this afternoon and get this process started," Lorelai said, toeing her shoe nervously into the ground.

"Does this mean-" Luke stuttered out nervously.

"If you're still in," she said, biting her lip.

"I'm all in," he says squeezing her hands

.

"Pick me up at 2," she said.

"See you then," he said, trying to hide his giant smile.

Grammatically betaed by Potterworm