"Sit near me, Sweets!" Lorelai eagerly insisted.
Rory shot Jess a "What's going on?" look before she plopped next to her Mom on the couch.
She felt obligated to try and explain Jess' sudden presence. She started with "Mom, I just want to -"
Lorelai cut her off.
"Sssssshhhhhhhhhh. It's about to begin." she said excitedly.
Jess slowly walked over to the arm chair. It was strange that Lorelai hadn't said one word to him since he walked into her house. She was never one to mince words. He sat awkwardly in the chair and glanced over at his uncle.
Luke sat on the other side of Rory with the remote fixated on the TV.
"What exactly are we watching?" Rory asked curiously.
Lorelai sang teasingly "You'll seeeeeeeeee." Then she gave Luke a nod.
Jess didn't miss the subtle smirk on his uncle's face.
Luke quickly pushed play on the DVD remote.
Rory had seen plenty of ER episodes to know immediately that she was looking at an ultrasound. Her mother's name at the bottom of the screen took away any mystery of whom it belonged to. She just wasn't 100% sure that what she was seeing on the screen was what you'd normally see in an sonogram. In fact, how could it BE?
Jess wasn't as dense as his uncle. He put two and two together fast... Lorelai's excitement, Luke's smirk, and an ultrasound - and said teasingly "Uncle Luke, did someone forget to wear a raincoat AGAIN?"
Luke impulsively threw the remote at Jess' head. It was a direct hit.
"Geez!" Jess quipped while rubbing the lump on his forehead, "I was just kidding."
"Good way to ruin a moment." Luke grunted.
Rory and Lorelai were completely focused on each other. They didn't hear a word that the men were saying.
"You're PREGNANT?" Rory asked with complete disbelief.
"Yep!" Lorelai answered excitedly. She couldn't contain herself when she screamed, "And it's TWINS!"
Rory's voice went up one octave as she replied, "No! You can't be! HOW? When did you find out? Twins? Oh my God!"
She immediately threw her arms around her Mom and pulled her into a big hug. Lorelai sank into the warmth of her daughter's embrace.
"Tell me everything, Mom...don't leave anything out!" Rory said giddily.
Lorelai enthusiastically repeated the babies' story she had just told to Luke.
She added apologetically, "It was killing me NOT to tell you - that's why I kept avoiding you. I knew I was going to slip up and say something, if I talked to you. I hope you don't hate me for that. I just thought that I should tell Luke, first."
Rory affirmed "I KNEW you were avoiding me! I told Jess that and he said I was being paranoid - but I just had a feeling that something was going on. Of course I never imagined it was THIS! And, I could NEVER be mad about not being the second to know...dads come before sisters."
Rory's eyes went to Luke. He had the happiest look on his face that she had ever seen. She immediately got up and bounced over to him.
"Congratulations!" she said whole heartedly as she put her arms around him. There was no hesitation when Luke tightly embraced her back and thanked her.
Jess got up from the old chair and approached Luke. He extended his hand and said truthfully, "I'm really happy for you."
Luke immediately pulled Jess into a tight hug.
Jess broke the embrace and walked over to Lorelai who was still seated on the couch. He felt totally awkward as he approached her. She eyed him curiously for a brief moment and then stood up.
She opened her arms to him and said with a smile and sarcastic wit, "I guess, somehow, this is going to make us related. We should probably start the uncomfortable and weird hugging now."
Jess nodded and gave her a brief embrace with his sincerest congratulations.
Rory taunted "Look at you two! It's like you actually like each other!"
Both of them shot Rory a look of contempt.
"Okay, okay." Rory reassured them. "We'll just start with baby steps here."
Everyone laughed.
Silence fell on the room. Rory decided to break it with the next set of obvious questions.
"So..." she said with light hearted wonder, "What are you two kids going to do next? This is quite a predicament you've gotten yourself into."
"Well," Lorelai responded contemplatively, "I'm absolutely starving - which means the babies are starving too. I'd like to eat."
She shot Luke her prettiest smile.
Luke was more than eager to please her and his babies. He rambled, "I'd offer to make something - but I know you two so I'm sure there is no food in the house AT all. We could go to the diner and I'll cook or we can do take out or I can go to the store and get some stuff to make or..."
Jess rolled his eyes at his uncle.
"WHAT?" Luke snapped when he noticed the gesture.
Jess smirked and asked, "Is this how you're going to be for the next six months?"
"What are you talking about?" Luke asked unknowingly.
"Are you going to FREAK OUT every time Lorelai wants to eat?" Jess laughed.
Luke began ranting, "I'm NOT freaking out. I'm being considerate. Maybe if you tried it sometime, you'd be surprised how..."
Lorelai interrupted by clearing her throat and saying, "Boys, this is all very entertaining - but I'm FAMISHED. Watching you two go at it is doing nothing for my empty stomach - and those of my babies."
"Mom, you are SO going to milk this for all it's worth!" Rory chuckled.
Lorelai winked awkwardly at her daughter.
Luke approached Lorelai and kissed her sweetly on the top of her head.
He reassured her, "Whatever you want - I'll make it or get it. What would you like?"
Lorelai's eyes darted back and forth while she thought about it. Finally, she answered definitively, "Chinese food from Al's, Red Vines from Doose's and two cups of coffee from Luke's."
Luke shook his head adamantly and said "NO WAY! The babies can't eat that crap! I've been watching you shovel that poison into your mouth for years. It's fine if you want to kill yourself slowly - but no way are you doing that to OUR babies."
Now Lorelai was the one rolling her eyes.
Softly, she said to Luke, " You said you'd get me whatever I want - and I have witnesses, Mister. I have CRAVINGS. It's not me that wants the Chinese food, Red Vines and coffee - it's the babies."
Sternly, Luke repeated with exasperation, "No way! You blaming this on the babies is NOT going to get me to change my mind. You just can't eat all that junk while you are pregnant, Lorelai. I mean it."
Lorelai was annoyed. She replied with snark, "Well then, since I have no say in what I want - why don't you just make me whatever you are REQUIRING me to eat!"
Rory shot Jess a look. She tilted her head to motion him to follow her into the kitchen. He happily vacated the living room with her.
Lorelai guilted Luke with, "See, now you made the kids so uncomfortable, they had to leave the room."
Luke wasn't having any of that.
"Oh PLEASE! If that scared them off, then surely they've never met me before." he quipped.
He took a deep breath, sat down beside her and took hold of her hands.
He explained gently, "Look, I don't want to upset you. I love you and I love our babies. I just want them to have the best chance in this world - and I REALLY think that if you feed them Red Vines and coffee, they're not going to have it."
Lorelai let a little of her anger slip away.
She reminded him, "Luke, I ate Red Vines and drank coffee when I was pregnant with Rory. She was the valedictorian of her prep school graduating class. She got accepted to every ivy league school she applied to. She's a student at Yale...I really don't think that they harmed her."
Luke searched his mind for a compelling argument and only came up with "But she sucks at sports. She doesn't have an athletic bone in her body."
Lorelai scrunched up her nose and asked with amazement, "And you think THAT'S from Red Vines and coffee?"
"Well," Luke offered, "It could be. We don't really know. So why take the chance?"
Lorelai mulled the situation over. She knew that he was just concerned about the babies. She also knew there was no way she was eating clean for the duration of this pregnancy - so she didn't want to make a promise to him that she had no intention of keeping.
"How 'bout this?" she offered. "I'll have a salad with the Chinese food - I'll only have one or two Red Vines for dessert - and I'll cut the coffee demand to only one cup."
Luke realized that this was not a battle he was going to win completely. Compromise was the only way to go.
"You are REALLY going to eat the salad?" he asked suspiciously. "You aren't going to force it on Rory or throw it out when I'm not looking?"
"I promise." Lorelai said holding up two fingers.
"You aren't a Boy Scout, Lorelai." Luke chuckled. "Those two fingers don't mean much. But I'll take you at your word about the salad."
"So glad that we got that settled." Lorelai said. "Can you PLEASE go and get the food now, Luke?"
"Absolutely!" Luke answered. "And I'll take Jess with me so you and Rory can...uh...talk. Maybe you can find out what's really going on with those two."
Lorelai gave Luke a quick kiss and responded "You know that I will!"