July 13, 1998
United States Naval Academy
0430 hours
The Danes/Mariano family had arrived at the on-base hotel late evening and were quickly checked into the two-bedroom suite that Luke had reserved for them. Lorelai had quipped about how their family was better than all the others who had to stay at hotels located further out or were smaller than the elegant suite Luke, by way of his military affiliation, had been able to secure. Since both rooms only held one queen sized bed each, Luke and Lorelai had taken one, along with Billy who slept in the pack-and-play that was set up soon after their arrival. Jess had suggested Rory take the other bedroom, but Rory had declined, suggesting they flip for the bed.
Needless to say, Jess' quick hand (and trusty double headed coin) allowed him to conveniently "lose" the toss. Rory only rolled her eyes and shook her head as Jess temporarily used the ensuite bathroom to change and prepare for bed. Within an hour of their arrival, the Danes family said their goodnights and headed to their sleeping areas, leaving Jess to get comfortable on the sectional's pull out.
The next morning was a bit of a struggle for everyone. While Luke and Jess had no issue waking at 4:30, the women were not quite as ready to leave the comfort of their beds. 20 minutes after their alarms went off, the girls hadn't done more than mumble something about the sun not being up and coffee before drifting back to sleep. Sending Jess to wake his cousin, Luke returned to his bedroom to try to wake his wife again.
"Good morning, Lorelai." He spoke softly, gently shaking his wife.
"Early, hate early, must kill early." Lorelai mumbled into her pillow.
"I know, Babe, but Jess has to report to the gates at 0600, so we have to get a move on." He reminded her, removing the covers from where they lay covering her head before pulling her into a sitting position. "Up and at 'em, you can take a nap later once Jess is processed."
"Fine, you win," Lorelai gave in after Luke continued to encourage her to get up, "What about Billy?"
"You just do whatever magic you do in the bathroom; I'll make sure Billy is ready to go by the time you get out." Luke assured his wife.
"Okay," Lorelai agreed, crossing to the bathroom door.
In the other room, Jess wasn't nearly as patient with his step-cousin. After trying to gently wake the sleeping girl, he lost his patience and ripped the covers from the bed, revealing the t-shirt and boxer shorts she was wearing. Seeing as Rory's only response was to roll over and curl up on herself, Jess decided a more aggressive tactic was necessary, slipping out to the kitchen, he grabbed a glass and quickly filled it with ice cubes.
"Rory, this is you last warning," Jess advised, "If you don't get up now, you aren't going to like the consequences."
"G'way." Rory murmured, "It's too early."
"You gonna get up?" Jess asked.
"No." Came the mumbled response.
"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you." Jess chuckled, removing an ice cube from the glass in his hand. Gently pulling the back of Rory's t-shirt toward him by the collar, he tossed the ice cube down the back of her shirt.
With a scream, Rory was out of the bed like a flash. "I hate you, Jess!" She growled menacingly, "I really hate you."
"Hate me all you like as you're getting dressed," Jess remarked casually before walking back to the living area of the suite, rattling the remaining ice cubes in the glass. "And don't even think of going back to bed."
Rory just groaned and shuffled over to her duffel bag to grab a shirt and shorts to wear for the day. Quickly dressing, she joined Luke and Jess in the dining area for breakfast. Luke had already changed Billy who was sitting in a highchair with only his diaper on.
"Is there a reason?" She asked, gesturing to the toddler.
"Figured I'd wait to get him dressed until after he eats, easier to clean up." Luke explained.
"Ah, pancakes and coffee please." Rory asked, taking a seat at the table.
"Does this look like the diner to you?" Luke quirked an eye brow to the girl at the table before turning back to the stove.
"No, but you look like the diner owner, and you do seem to be cooking something." Rory countered as Jess set a steaming cup of coffee in front of her, "Even Diner Boy here has seemed to have taken a page from 'The Care and Feeding of a Gilmore Girl'
"Danes Dame," Luke corrected jokingly.
"…and was nice enough to bring me coffee, now I demand pancakes Diner Man." Rory continued.
"You demand pancakes?" Luke questioned, "What ever happened to asking nicely?"
"All chances of that ended when your dear nephew decided the best way to wake me up was to throw a cup of ice down my back."
"Jess…" Luke's voice took on a warning note
"It wasn't a whole glass." Jess defended himself, "It was one cube, and it worked, didn't it?"
"Yeah, fine, whatever." Rory groused as Luke handed her a small stack of pancakes before cutting up one for Billy.
"What are we 'fine, whatevering?'?" Lorelai asked as she breezed into the kitchen area and poured herself a cup of java.
"Apparently Jess had to use alternative tactics to wake our daughter this morning." Luke explained as he handed a plate of pancakes to his wife who flashed him an appreciative smile.
"Alternative tactics?" Lorelai grinned, "What kind of alternative tactics?"
"Mean ones." Rory supplied.
Lorelai looked at Jess for further explanations, "I put ice down the back of her shirt," he admitted.
"Ooh, juvenile, I like it." Lorelai teased as she tucked into her pancakes.
"It was really mean, Mom." Rory protested.
"What was I supposed to do, push you out of the bed?" Jess challenged, "I'd already poked you, called your name, pulled the covers from your bed. By the way you owe me a new t-shirt, you know that Metallica shirt you were wearing is not yours."
"Sue me." Rory retorted.
"Children, corners." Lorelai stopped the bickering before it escalated. "Rory, it sounds like Jess did everything he could other than cause you bodily harm to wake you this morning. At least ice down your shirt is not as bad as being pushed to the ground and bruised. We don't need anyone thinking you're abused."
Rory just sighed defeated and finished her breakfast.
"Now Jess," Lorelai continued, turning to her nephew, "Ice down the shirt is very creative, but I for future reference, if you have to wake her again, a cup of coffee on the bedside table will help when trying to rouse a Gilmore Girl."
"Danes Dame." Luke murmured.
"Fine, Danes Dame." Lorelai smiled at her husband, humor in her eyes. Ever since they'd gotten married, Luke had been referring to Lorelai and Rory as Danes Dames rather than Gilmore Girls. She rather liked the affectionate term, having his name used in reference to them was a good type of possessive. Kind of like how hearing him refer to her as his wife sent a thrill up her spine, or the way warmth spread through her body every time she heard him claim Rory as his daughter.
"But what about my shirt?" Jess asked.
"We'll buy you a new one," Lorelai shrugged, "Not that you'll really be needing civvies anytime soon by what Lukie has told me."
"Don't call me Lukie." Came the muttered response as Luke collected the dishes and began to wash them in the sink.
"All done, Bubba?" Rory asked her little brother who had clearly moved on from eating to playing with his food. She picked him up and carried the boy to her parent's room to get him dressed.
"His shirt and hat are in the smaller bag." Lorelai called after her as she sat finishing her third cup of coffee. Rory just nodded her understanding before closing the door behind her to get her brother ready for the day.
After a quick rinse and diaper change, Rory quickly dressed her little brother in the khaki shorts and shirt her mother had told her to put on him. Billy giggled as she tugged socks and shoes on to his wiggling feet before pulling a small baseball cap on the boy's head and picking him up. "Alright Billy boy, let's go get Jess to school."
"Jesh," The boy asked and pointed toward the dining room where their cousin had last been seen. "Bye-bye?"
"Yeah Bud," Rory nodded somewhat sad, "Jess is going bye-bye for a while."
When their children had returned to the common area, Luke couldn't help but chuckle at what his son was wearing. It was a very typical Lorelai/Rory outfit to dress the boy in. The dark blue shirt he had on had NAVY printed in gold on the front and on the back was DANES printed in an arch between his shoulder blades and in the middle of the back was '16, the year he would be graduating high school and possibly follow the Danes before him into the Corps. The –backwards- hat on the boy's head was the toddler version of the one Luke wore every day at the diner. "You know, you're going to have to turn that hat around once we get to the Academy." Luke advised, "Keep the sun out of his eyes."
Rory nodded her understanding and handed the boy off to his father and headed into her room to grab her purse before rejoining the group in the living room. Her parents already had her brother in his stroller, the manly camouflage diaper bag Luke usually carried resting in the storage compartment underneath. Jess, who had been leaning up against the side of the couch when she'd walked in, slung his old duffel bag over his shoulder and smiled nervously over what he was about to do. "Shall we roll out?"
"Roll out." Luke confirmed as he opened the door for his family to make their way across the campus to where Jess would be checked in a processed. The process of checking in didn't take long as they were one of the first families to show up. Immediately following, Jess was whisked into Founders Hall to be processed and the family didn't see him again until Lunch. Lorelai and Rory whiled their day away shopping in the campus store picking up various items for themselves and for Jess, all printed with the NAVY logo on them. Billy was left with Luke who was enjoying playing the proud Papa whenever he came across an old classmate or instructor.
"Danes!" Came a booming voice from behind him as he sat on a shaded bench while his son dozed quietly in his arms. Almost as if his body had a mind of its own, it reacted immediately to the voice. Adjusting the sleeping boy to rest on his shoulder, the boy's head resting in the same place his Drill rifle used to sit all those years ago. The rest of his body at attention as he turned to face the man who had called his name.
"Commandant Mitchell." Luke responded as he saluted, he may not be active duty any more, but he was still on the Individual Ready Reserve roster, necessitating he salute the superior officer.
The stoic administrator returned the solute and a grandfatherly smile spread across his face. While he might deny it, he always had a soft spot in his heart for the Danes men. He had served with William, and had become Commandant of the Academy by the time Luke applied. The Danes' had a long history in the Corps just as the Mitchells so they were like family. "I heard you were on campus, along with the next generation of Danes officer candidates, but I think this one is a little young." He nodded toward the sleeping toddler.
"He may be young, but I think he could make it." Luke joked, "Assuming we get him to stop sleeping on the job, give him another 17 years."
"You have an older son?"
"No, we – my wife and I – brought our nephew." Luke explained as he shifted the now waking toddler to his hip, "Liz got into some trouble a while back and Lorelai and I took him in. After hearing about his grandfather's and my time in the corps as well as collaborating with me on an assignment I had, he decided he wanted to follow in our footsteps. He even went so far as to head out to Texas to MMA to finish out high school, even stayed over two summers so he could graduate a year early with the rank of Cadet Lieutenant Colonel."
"Impressive." The commandant nodded, "Any chance we might be able to get this one?"
"Maybe in a few years," Luke shrugged, "I know his mom and sister might have something to say about it, but I guess we'll have to wait and see what Billy here wants to do."
"Named for his grandfather?"
"Both of them." Luke nodded toward the boy who had been watching the exchange in the typical Danes way, silently. "Commandant Mitchell, meet William Richard Danes."
"He does look an awful lot like Will, doesn't he?" The commandant commented.
"You'd think that, but just wait until you meet his mother." Luke chuckled. Almost as if summoned by the mere mention of her, Lorelai walked up behind him, Rory in tow bags in their hands.
"Hey Babe," She smiled, kissing Luke before setting the bags on the stroller and taking her son into her arms. "Hey Bubba, did you have a good nap?"
"Lorelai, Rory," Luke caught their attention, "I want you to meet someone. Commandant James Mitchell this is my wife Lorelai and her daughter Lorelai, but we call the little one Rory."
"Ladies." The commandant touched the bill of his cover, "Lorelai, forgive me, but you look familiar. Have we met before?"
"Not unless you are somehow connected to someone from the DAR." Lorelai shrugged.
"You're society?" The older man asked.
"Recovering," Lorelai shrugged before handing her son, who was now squirming to be let down, to her daughter to play on the rolling lawn nearby. "My family is from Hartford, but I left after I had Rory. I never really fit there, and my folks wouldn't let me raise her the way I wanted to, so I relocated to Stars Hollow."
"I don't mean to be impertinent, but you look fairly young to have a teenaged daughter."
"I was 17 when Rory was born," Lorelai wasn't fazed by the question, she'd grown used to it over the past 13 years, "Richard and Emily thought it would be a good idea for me and Rory's father to marry, I had other ideas."
"Richard and Emily…" The Commandant started, "Not Richard and Emily Gilmore."
"Those would be my parents." Lorelai admitted.
"I've known Richard for years, we came up together," The older man smiled, "He went to Yale, I came to the Academy, we've stayed in touch over the years. I remember he named his daughter after his mother, I see you carried on the tradition with Rory and Little William there."
"Yep," Lorelai smiled, "Why find new names when you can just recycle the old ones? I'm either really lazy or the Demerol took over when they were each born."
"Don't believe her." Luke cut in, "We decided on Billy's name long before he was born, now I wasn't around when Rory was born but I'd put good money on the fact her name was decided beforehand as well, Demerol be damned."
The older man chuckled before glancing down at his wrist watch which gleamed under the dark blue jacket he was wearing. "Well I'd better be off. It was nice to see you again Lorelai." He nodded to her before turning to Luke, "You too, Danes. You have a beautiful family."
"Thank you, sir." Luke smiled, shaking the man's outstretched hand. "You take care of my nephew now. His name's Mariano, fairly sure he's the only one by that name here."
"Mariano," The older man nodded, "I seem to remember a glowing recommendation for a Jessup Mariano from the MMA Commandant."
"That'd be him, but if you value your life or the lives of your midshipmen, I would recommend addressing him as Mariano or Jess." Luke chuckled, "He hates that his mother saddled him with Jessup as a name."
"Duly warned." The commandant nodded before continuing on his way toward Founder's Hall.
"He was nice." Lorelai commented softly.
"He's known me since I was born." Luke supplied, taking a seat on the bench, "He and my dad were close from the Academy on. I wouldn't be surprised if our fathers met through him at one point or another."
"I think they did, once." Lorelai cocked her head up at her husband, taking a seat next to him. "Seems Dad was having some issues fixing one of his hobby classic cars and a friend of his suggested this guy who showed up in an old beat up green Chevy loaded up with various parts and had it fixed in minutes."
"I remember that," Luke nodded, "I was a junior in high school, working at Dad's hardware store when Mitchell called asking for him. Within minutes he headed out the door and loaded his truck up with some spare parts only telling me that he was going out to Hartford for a bit and would be back shortly. He came back three hours later talking about this guy, Rich. I remember wondering if Rich was a name or a description."
"Both," Lorelai chuckled.
"I know that now." Luke smiled and turned back to look at their children.
"Mom hated that nickname." Lorelai spoke softly, almost as if speaking too loudly would make the memory disappear. "His frat buddies used to call him that, but Mom hated it. She eventually got him to stop using it, but whenever he wanted to bond with another man he would introduce himself as Rich."
"I wonder if we would have met if I'd gone with him." Luke mused aloud.
"Maybe, but I doubt you would have remembered me." Lorelai shrugged, "I was probably 10 or 11 years old, and you were a junior in high school which would have made you 16 or 17."
"You never know what could have happened, Liz is only a couple years older than you." Luke commented, "I probably would have noticed you based just on that."
"Yeah, but then our relationship would have been a brother/sister thing." Lorelai put her arm through Luke's and leaned on his shoulder, "I really prefer it this way."
"Oh really?" Luke smiled down at her, "Why's that?"
"Because this way you looove me," Lorelai explained, drawing out the 'o' in love before whispering in his ear, "And I get to see you in all your naked glory strutting around our room."
Luke blushed, "I don't strut," He muttered.
"Oh yes you do," Lorelai smiled at him impishly, "Right after, sometimes you think I fell asleep in your arms. Sometimes that's true, but when you slide out of bed to use the bathroom, it still wakes me. You may not notice it, but you have a cocky little strut to your step."
"Dirty." Luke murmured in her ear. "Maybe I'll strut around more often after the kids are asleep." Now it was Lorelai's turn to blush.
"Promises, promises." Lorelai grinned. A few minutes later Rory and a tired out Billy returned to their parents to meet up with Jess one more time before going home.