That Friday Luke and Lorelai were getting changed into fancy clothes, as Rory and Jess sat on the bed together, playing with some sort of baby brain teaser. At one stage Jess sat back and looked at it with deep concentration before starting back at trying to crack it.
"You are sure she invited all of us?" Luke asked again, "I don't want to just turn up."
"Yes, for the last time she said the four of us, what other four could she mean?"
Luke thought about it and then said, "she scares me."
"That's kinda her thing." Lorelai straightened his tie and threw the hat from his head to Rory who giggled and put it on Jess.
"Now that's a good look!" Lorelai laughed running to her dresser to grab her camera and snap a photo.
"Do you like my hat Jessie?" Luke asked him taking the hat from his head.
"Hat." Jess pouted pointing at the hat Luke had just taken off him.
"We totally have to get him a mini hat!" Lorelai grinned, "Oh and a flannel shirt, that would be so cute!" She picked up Jess, "Do you want to dress just like daddy?"
"Not happening." Luke said, "we have to go soon we should get them changed." He changed the subject.
"Fine, but I am totally getting him a hat and shirt." Lorelai replied walking out towards Jess' room.
"Lorelai.." Luke moaned, "you can't let him be seen in public like that." He followed her out with Rory, going into Jess' room and handing her Rory, "here. Whatever dress I pick you are going to change it, he's easy."
At six Luke and Lorelai pulled up outside the Gilmore mansion. Originally Emily had suggested seven but Lorelai had decided that Rory and Jess wouldn't deal so well with eating that late. They walked up to the front door, Rory in Lorelai's arms and Jess in Luke's. Lorelai stood in front of the door, after about 30 seconds Luke spoke up.
"I'm pretty sure we have to ring the bell." He gave her a confused look pointing towards the door bell.
"Yes I know." Lorelai replied but didn't move.
"Do you want me to do it?" Luke asked slowly, not sure why she was just standing there.
"Nah, it's ok, Ill do it. Just, you know, preparing myself." She replied pressing the bell.
"It will be fine." Luke said reassuringly, "anyway you said you and your mother got on great when you came last."
Lorelai opened her mouth to reply but then the door was opened by a maid, who invited them inside.
"Mr and Mrs Gilmore are in the living room." She said after she had taken their coats.
"Thankyou." Luke nodded at her.
"Lorelai!" Richard said, seeing them come in, "it's good to see you, you too Luke." Richard got up to get them a drink as they sat down.
"Mum," Lorelai started conversation, "Do you have those pictures from the other day, I really want to show Luke?"
"Yes I do actually," Emily sprung up and went over to a draw, "I got them printed as I wanted to show your father, I got two copies, I thought maybe you would like some too." She handed Lorelai a stack of photos.
"Thanks Mum." Lorelai smiled at her, showing Luke the photos. Jess from Luke's knee also looked at them and in one of them he pointed at himself, "jessss." He said.
"Yeah, that's Jess," Luke said, "that's Jess walking for the very first time." He smiled.
Lorelai continued to flick through them.
"Mama! Rorrrry!" Jess said pointing at one of the photos of Lorelai and Rory, sitting on the very couch they were currently sitting on, both seemed oblivious to the photo being taken.
"I didn't know you took this." Lorelai said to her mum.
"I know." Emily smirked.
"It's a good photo." Luke said as he smiled at Lorelai and continued to flick through the photos.
Lorelai walked out of her parents house a few hours later with a half asleep Rory resting on her shoulder. She was confused, that experience was almost pleasant.
They drove home in a comfortable silence, with the radio playing quietly, allowing Rory and Jess to sleep. When they got home Luke jumped out of the car and went to get Jess. Jess was woken up slightly from the stopping and lifting, "mama," he whimpered slightly.
"Shhhh." Luke said lifting him up, "you're ok, go to sleep."
"Mama!" Jess started to cry and Lorelai rushed round the car to take him from Luke, "I've got him." She smiled at Luke as Jess settled down back to sleep in Lorelais arms.
"He is such a mamas boy." Luke laughed at Lorelai.
"Now there's nothing wrong with that!" Lorelai said as she cuddled him.
They walked up the drive towards the house "geez!" Luke shouted and jumped, miraculously not waking up Rory, "what the hell are you doing here?" He asked Liz who was sitting in front of their front door obviously drunk from the near empty bottle of alcohol in her hand.
"Hey big brother!" She slurred with a grin, "where were you, I've been waiting for ages."
"Waiting, why?" Luke asked her.
Lorelai from behind was shivering as she wrapped her arms around Jess to keep him warm, "let's discuss this inside. It's freezing. It's going to snow tomorrow, I smelt it."
"Right, ok." Luke said still glaring at Liz as he unlocked the door and let them all in, not even commenting on Lorelai's claimed ability to smell snow, every other time she had brought it up he had made a point of saying that she had just got lucky last year.
"Liz we will be right back, just sit down in the living room, ok?" Lorelai asked her as she dragged Luke up the stairs, "Come on," she said to him, "let's at least put them to bed before we deal with whatever that is."
15 minutes later they came downstairs to see Liz on their sofa asleep.
"What do we do?" Lorelai asked uncertainly.
"What is she playing at?" Luke asked angrily.
"Come on babe, let's just leave her, she'll be asleep for the night and probably easier to talk to in the morning, you know less drunk." Lorelai said taking a very angry looking Luke by the arm and leading him to their bedroom.
"She can't do this." He said angrily as he sat in the bed and Lorelai got changed into her pyjamas.
"Relax, it's one time, maybe something happened."
"This is what she was always like, my dad hated it, but even when he was sick she wouldn't stop. She can't do this, I won't let her. If she is going to go out drinking and doing drugs, she can not come back to my house, and she can not see my kids." Luke said stripping to his boxers and getting under the covers, angrily shuffling them about.
"Drugs?" Lorelai asked, "what kinda drugs? She did drugs?"
"Yeah I had to monitor her basically 24/7 when she was pregnant with Jess after I caught her."
"She did drugs while pregnant with Jess?" Lorelai was starting to get just as angry as Luke, "how could she?"
"She's out of the apartment." Luke said, "she has had that job for long enough to have enough money for a place, ofcourse she probably wasted it all, but that's not my problem."
The next morning was Saturday, Luke and Lorelai's day off, they came downstairs with Jess and Rory for breakfast to see Liz sitting at the table drinking coffee.
"Hey!" She said casually turning to face them, "how's my boy?" She asked looking at Jess.
"He's not your boy." Lorelai growled holding onto Jess tighter, luckily he didn't seem to mind and just took it as a sign that she wanted to cuddle and cuddled up close to her. When Liz was around Jess was quite clingy with Lorelai for some reason, a fact that made Lorelai secretly very happy. It wasn't the best kept secret though, Luke had also picked up on it.
"Liz you can't go back to that." Luke said setting Rory in her high chair and getting breakfast for Jess and Rory started as Lorelai sat down in a chair next to Rory with Jess in her lap.
"Go back to what? So what I went to one party, big deal. I'm not even hungover. Stop being so dramatic."
"Liz, no! You cannot come to my family home drunk and god knows what else, I won't allow it." Luke said raising his voice causing Rory to start to cry and causing Luke to look really guilty.
He picked her up, "I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean to scare you, you're ok. Why don't you and mummy and Jess go into the living room while I talk to Liz, hey?" Luke walked out closely followed by Lorelai and Jess. By the time he got there Rory had calmed down.
20 minutes later Luke returned to the living room with breakfast for all of them. "She's going back to New York." He said sitting down next to Lorelai and having Jess climb into his lap.
"When?"
"She just left."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
That afternoon at 2 o'clock it snowed just as Lorelai said it would.
"Luke it's snowing!" She squealed clapping her hands.
"I know." Luke smiled at her.
"Come on, we have to go for a walk in it." She said running up stairs and re appearing with two baby snow jackets.
"When did you even get those?" He asked.
"Come on, it's the first snow of the season." She went up to Jess and Rory and grinned at them, "Come on guys, this is one of the best days of the whole year, it's magical!"
They walked around and eventually settled on a bench in the middle of town. Jess was toddling about and Rory was looking at him with great concentration, then she did it, she started walking after him, slower and less sure of herself, but definitely walking.
"Oh my god, Luke, look, she's doing it, and in the first snow of the season too, this really is a magical time!" Lorelai got really excited.
Luke grinned at Rory, "good job, princess!" He said sitting on the snowy ground a few feet from her, giving her a target to aim for, she slowly but surely walked over to him and then fell forward into him, "and in the snow too, now that's impressive, very slippery you know." Luke hugged her then looked at Lorelai. "She is amazing, they are both amazing!" He said.
"I know!" Lorelai grinned at him, "come on let's go to the diner, I need coffee and you look cold."
"I look cold?" He asked smirking standing up.
"Yes you do." She said with a matching smirk on her face.
"How thoughtful of you. Of course you're not cold, no snow is too magical to make you cold."
"You've got it, come on I think you are starting to get really cold."
"Come on crazy lady." He said leading the way towards the diner.
The diner was surprising full and when they entered josh rushed over to Luke, "Oh thank god, I've been trying to phone your house, Leah fell, she's in the hospital with Maggie, they think she broke her arm but they haven't x rayed it yet. I need to go man!" He said in a panic.
"Go! And take tomorrow off, I've got it here." Luke said as josh rushed out the door.
"Right well if you are working, I would like a burger and a coffee, oh and some fries, please." Lorelai said as she sat down at an empty table, then she looked up towards the ceiling, "Do you think she's gone yet?"
"Probably," Luke grumbled, "I'll check later, I'll bring you your food, I've got to go, it's surprising busy in here."
"Wow," lorelai said once Luke had left to the two babies looking at her, "we can all walk now!"
"Walk!" Jess said, Rory then clapped and repeated after him.
"You're both so big, you used to be little, what happened?" She smiled at them, then sat up straighter in her chair and starting playing a game with them to keep them occupied.
The months pasted and soon it was Lorelai's birthday.
That morning she woke up and grinned to herself then turned to Luke beside her and started nudging him awake.
"Hey Luke?" She grinned.
"What?" He grumbled.
"I'm an adult." She grinned at him.
He sat up slightly, still confused from just waking up, "what?"
"I'm an adult. I'm 18 now, sure I can't drink or anything but if I was in the uk I could." She grinned.
"Feel any different?" Luke sat up properly now.
She paused, seemed to really consider it, "more votery."
"Votery?"
"Yes, more votery." She nodded.
"Well I'm sure that feels great." He said sarcastically then got out of bed, he walked around and sat next to her.
"Happy birthday." He said and kissed her on the lips.
"We can get married now." She grinned with his face still close to hers.
"We aren't getting married until June. June third remember." Luke reminded her kissing her again.
"Yeah I know, I just mean I wanted to be 18, I'm 18."
"That you are, come on, it's Friday we still have work, and dinner with your parents tonight, let's get Rory and Jess and go have breakfast." He stood up and headed for the door.
"Wait!" Lorelai said as he reached the door and she got out of bed, "don't I get a present?"
Luke rolled his eyes, "You know you are supposed to be subtle about that kinda thing, you don't ask for presents, and we literally just got up, it's not like I have forgotten to get you a present it's down stairs."
Lorelai squealed and ran for the stairs.
"Oh how very adult of you." Luke called after her, "get Rory before you go down." He added.
She rushed into Rory's room, "hey baby girl, guess what?" She asked her.
"Biff day." Rory said pointing at Lorelai.
"Yeah!" Lorelai said, proud of her daughter, "how did you know?" She asked her walking down the stairs.
"Because you've been telling them about your birthday every chance you got for the last week." Luke said walking down the stairs behind her with Jess.
They got into the kitchen and like she did every morning she put Rory down at the door way of the kitchen and let her walk to her high chair before lifting her up and putting her in the high chair.
"Look, I see a present on the table." Lorelai said to Rory and Jess.
"What did daddy get me?" She asked them.
"No, this present is from me and Rory and Jess." Luke said.
"My mistake." Lorelai said and then turned to Rory and Jess who sat side by side in their high chairs, "you got me a present, how nice! What did you get me."
"Daddy say surprise." Rory said putting her finger to her lip in a shushing signal.
Jess looked at Rory and grinned, "necklasssss!" He said laughing.
Lorelai laughed with him as Luke said, "Jess!"
Lorelai opened her gift and it was indeed a necklace. "Wow, Luke, thanks!" She got up and kissed him on the cheek.
"You like it?" He asked her quietly.
"I love it, put it on me?" She asked, handing it to him and turning around.
"I'm sorry." Luke said.
"What? Why?" Lorelai asked him surprised.
"I'm not very good at buying presents." He blushed slightly.
"No Luke, it's nice, I like it. It's pretty." She said looking at him.
"You're pretty." Luke whispered in her ear causing her to blush and hide her face in his shoulder.
Later on that evening Luke was driving to Friday night dinner when he asked Lorelai, "will there be cake?"
"Where?"
"At your parents, do they do cake and candles and stuff for birthdays."
Lorelai laughed, "of course. Huge cakes, with fancy candles. Hardly ever chocolate cake though."
They arrived and were greeted and brought into the living room where Emily and Richard were.
"Grandpa!" Rory yelled from Lorelais arms stretching out her arms towards him.
"Calm down, sweetie." Lorelai said to her as she laughed slightly and let Rory down so she could run over to her grandpa who picked her up.
"Hi grandpa." Rory said once she was there.
"Why hello Rory." Richard said in a very jolly voice, obviously thrilled by his granddaughter.
Rory then proceeded to try and pull of Richards tie, to everyone's amusement apart from Emily's.
"Richard, don't let her do that, come on everyone sit down."
Everyone sat down and Jess crawled from Luke over to Lorelai and started cuddling himself into her.
"Come on buddy." Lorelai said as she put her arm around him.
Emily noticed this, "what is it Lorelai, is everything ok? Is he sick?" She asked concerned.
"No Mum he is fine, he's just being really clingy, that's all, isn't it Jessie, you just love your mummy." She addressed the last bit to Jess.
Jess nodded his head and said, "love mama."
"Hey buddy," Luke said tapping his back, "What about daddy?"
Jess Luke at Lorelai as if waiting for her to give him a response so Lorelai pretended to think, "what do we think, Jessie?" She then paused to think, "Yeah, he's ok." She nodded.
Jess then turned to Luke and said, "dada ok." Causing everyone including Emily to laugh.
"Lorelai, Luke, I forgot to ask you, how rude of me, would you like anything to drink?" Richard stood up and handed Rory to Luke before walking over to the drinks cart.
"Just a soda." Lorelai said and Luke asked for the same thing.
"Ah but Lorelai, you are 18 now, and in England when you are 18 you can drink, now we aren't in England but we do have a family representative there, in the form of my mother, so what would you like to drink?" He asked with a smirk.
"Ohhhh." Lorelai grinned, "I dunno, surprise me." She said then added, "but you better make it good."
"Luke how about you?" Richard asked.
"I'm ok with the soda, thanks. I'm driving."
"This, Lorelai is a gin martini." Richard handed her her drink and Luke his soda.
Lorelai drunk some and grinned, "This is now my drink, can I have one everything i come here?"
"One, you aren't 21 yet."
"So Lorelai," Emily started, "I'm sure you are dying to know what we got you for your birthday, I'm incredibly surprised you haven't asked us yet, although pleased too as that would be rude. Well, you and Luke never told us where you were going on your honeymoon."
"We aren't going on a honeymoon." Lorelai said not entirely sure how that linked into her birthday present.
"What? Why not? You have to go on a honeymoon, right that's it our present was rubbish anyway, we are giving you a honeymoon." Emily said with a sense of finality in her voice.
"Really it's ok." Luke said awkwardly.
"No it isn't. Why aren't you going on a honeymoon. Well I guess weren't you, because you now are."
Luke and Lorelai looked at each other, "well, Mum, we aren't really swimming in money, so we though we would be better to save any we get, and anyway, we didn't want to leave Rory and Jess, we considered bringing them with us, but we just decided to stick around the house, Mia has given me a week off, that Luke is going to take of as well."
"Perfect you have a week, and you cannot bring two babies with you on your honeymoon, don't be ridiculous."
"Then Mum we can't go."
"Of course you can, we will take them."
"What?" Lorelai asked shocked.
"We are their grandparents, Lorelai." She rolled her eyes, "right then it's settled, I will book you five days on Martha vineyard starting the day after your wedding. I'm sure you can go five days without seeing them."
"Five days?" Lorelai asked.
"Yes." Emily replied.
"No." Lorelai said with a panicked look.
"What do you mean no?" Emily asked her, taken aback slightly.
"I mean no, I'm not leaving them, they're only babies, they'd miss me, I'd miss them, it's not happening."
"Lorelai they will be 20 months old in June, that's almost 2 years old, it's only 5 days, you can leave them just fine. It will hardly be any different than going to work except you won't see them in the evenings."
"We take them with us to work, one each." Lorelai said.
"You're not serious?" Emily asked looking at the pair of them, "you are? Lorelai you can't spend all day everyday with them. Don't they go to some sort of nursery or something?"
"They will do, when they are 2, that's when they start at the local day nursery, they're only babies, they need to be with their parents." Lorelai was now starting to get upset and that caused Jess to get upset.
"No, baby, it's ok." Lorelai said as she stood up and rocked the crying baby in her arms slightly, she started pacing and then just walked out of the room.
Everyone left in the room looked confused. Luke stood up, "I'm going to see where she went." And he walked out after her.
Rory whos eyes had been on Luke since Lorelai had left then started crying, "mama! Dada!"
"Oh for goodness sake!" Emily said as she walked out as well to see Luke with a calm Jess in his arms talking quietly to Lorelai in a reassuring way.
"Lorelai, come with me and Luke go back in there and sort out your daughter." She then grabbed Lorelais arm and dragged her down the hall and into a different room. Leaving Luke standing there with Jess. "Mama?" Jess asked Luke pointing in the direction Emily and Lorelai had gone in, "no idea buddy, and what did she mean sort out Rory?" Luke asked as he went back into the living room and was met by a crying Rory, "ah."
"Dada!" Rory shouted upon seeing Luke and she stretched her arms towards him.
"What's wrong princess?" He asked her as he put Jess down on the sofa and then took her from Richards arms and sat back down next to Jess. "Did you get scared? It's ok, mummy just freaked out a little bit, but she's ok." Luke rocked her.
"Mama?" Rory asked.
"She's ok, she'll be back soon, you'll see."
After she calmed back down Richard picked Jess up and sat him down on his knee as he looked like he was planning a great escape from the sofa, "What was that about, with Lorelai?" Richard asked Luke meeting his eyes.
Luke sighed, "Oh well it's just, Lorelai is terrified of loosing them, especially him, my sister came to town for a while a few months back, she showed up in their birthday actually and it terrified Lorelai, more than she likes to admit. She just freaked out at the thought of leaving them."
In a room down the hall Lorelai sat on another sofa as her mother stood in front of her, "now What was all that about? You were acting absolutely ridiculous. If I didn't know any better I'd think you didn't want to go on honeymoon with your husband. That's it! You don't. Don't you want to get married at all?"
Lorelai burst into tears, "of course I want to get married and go on honeymoon, it's Luke! I just freaked out I don't want to leave them. I don't want to be a bad mother."
Emily's face softened, "you are not a bad mother, Lorelai, you have done great. Not only have you done great with Rory but with Jess too. You took him in because you saw he needed you, that's amazing. You are so young, Lorelai, and you've done so much for both of them. But you have to let go a little bit. They can spend a few days with their grandparents."
Lorelai took a deep breath and wiped her face clear of tears with her hands, "three days."
"Ok, three days." Emily said, she smiled at Lorelai and then pulled her into a hug, "you are doing so well, me and your father are both proud of you." She whispered in her ear and then the two of them walked back to the living room.
When they entered both Rory and Jess shouted out "mama!" Causing Lorelai to smile.
Luke stood up with Rory and handed her to Lorelai, he looked her in the eye and saw that she had been crying, "You ok?" He asked her quietly, standing close so that only she could hear.
She smiled and nodded at him then looked over her shoulder, "go get him and sit next to me, he looks awfully offended." Lorelai gestured at Jess who seemed to be huffing that Lorelai hadn't come straight to him.