Chapter Ten

Meeting Our Miracles, Part Two

The ride to the hospital was only supposed to take ten minutes (Luke had timed it the previous week), but it felt longer than that for Lorelai. She was in the back seat, needing the extra space, with Sookie next to her, while Rory was upfront helping Luke navigate (even though he had made the drive before, the circumstances made him feel nervous and frazzled).

"Sookie…." Lorelai whined. "How did you do this without drugs and in your house the first time?" Lorelai shifted around, having reached a point now where it was uncomfortable to be still, and yet uncomfortable to move. She was losing faith in her ability to do this naturally.

"Oh, sweetie," Sookie said sympathetically, patting her best friend's head. "You can do this, I promise. Just think about how happy you'll be when they're here!"

"That could be hours!" Lorelai yelled, overcome with pain and emotion. "I don't know how much longer I can take,"

"You've got this, Mom, and we're right here with you," Rory said, turning around to face Lorelai. "You handled this with me at 16, I know you can do it again,"

"Thank you, kid," Lorelai tapped Rory's hand appreciatively. She felt a sudden burst of energy and confidence, and looked out the window again, using the snow as motivation. It was silly, but she always felt like the snow knew when she needed it, and this was no different.

Lorelai continued to stare out the window at the snow for the remainder of the ride, using it as something to focus on and distract herself from the pain. She was zoned out, when she heard Luke say, "We're here," and park the car. Lorelai could hardly believe it- she was at the place where their family would finally grow.

Luke helped her out of the car, the other girls carrying all of Lorelai's "labor essentials" (recommended to her by her class) and they all walked in, taking in the early morning glow about. What a beautiful day to have babies, Lorelai thought.

After the required check in process was complete, Luke and Lorelai, along with their support people, settled themselves in the hospital delivery suite. This was the most expensive room in the whole hospital, used only by the most wealthy, and of course, Emily paid for it, saying "My grandchildren will enter the world in the most comfortable circumstances possible." She and Richard were away right now, on vacation in the Vineyard, but Luke had called them that morning to let them know, and they were going to stop by when they returned.

The equipment in the room was state of the art, everything from a labor tub to heated baby scale. Lorelai felt a bit in over her head-there was no way she could ever take advantage of all this equipment to its full potential, but the sight of it seemed to make her feel like she was in a fancy tropical destination, some expensive hotel (yes, she was reaching the point where pain was causing her to feel a little bit delirious).

"Make it stop!" Lorelai could be heard yelling all throughout the small hospital almost three hours later. She had reached her breaking point, and nothing, especially none of those hippie relief methods that she had learned, calmed her. She had tried nearly every one of them, to no avail. She used her focal point picture, and stared out the window at her beloved snow, and that just made her feel aggravated. She had decided, and declared, in no uncertain terms, that these natural methods were " complete and utter bullshit", and she couldn't believe that she thought using them in the first place was a good idea. Nothing but screaming and cursing seemed to help even a little. She lied in the hospital bed, gripping Luke's hand in one of her own and Rory's hand in the other, yelling various exclamations, mostly cursing her idea to do this without medication.

"I know, Lorelai, I know it hurts," Luke kissed her head softly. "But you're doing so good, you can do this. We're almost there," Luke held a cup of ice chips to her, expecting her to take and eat one, but instead, she took it and threw it at him, suddenly making her forget about the pain for a moment and making the whole room, including Doctor Jacobsen, who was in to see how Lorelai was doing and check on her progress, laugh.

"There, now I feel better," Lorelai snickered. "I did that at some poor doctor while in labor with Rory and they never let me live it down,"

"Oh Lorelai, you're sure a character," Doctor Jacobsen got up from the stool she was sitting on at the foot of Lorelai's bed, removed her gloves, and put on a fresh pair. She went to Lorelei's side and tapped her on the shoulder. "Well, you did it. You're ready to deliver now."

"Unfortunately, we can only have one support partner in here during the delivery, so I'm going to have to ask both of you girls to leave," Doctor Jacobsen explained as she went around the room, setting up the necessary supplies. "But you can come back in immediately after."

Sookie got up from the couch she was sitting on by the window, and went over and kissed Lorelai on the head. "I'll go first," she said, turning toward the door. "I need to go call Jackson and check on my own babies, anyway," she gave Lorelai a squeeze and then left the room, calling, "Good luck, hon. Love you," as she walked out. Rory was next to go, kissing her mother and wishing her good luck before leaving to the hospital cafeteria, in search of much needed coffee and something sugary for breakfast.
"Okay, now, let's get started," Doctor Jacobsen began, making sure that Lorelai was all set. "Now, Lorelai, just push when you feel you need to,"

It was by no means easy, but twenty minutes later, Lorelai felt pain leave her body. She collapsed against the bed, exhausted, and watched as the doctor lifted their baby girl onto her mother's chest.

"Hi, baby girl, Lorelai cooed, stroking her daughter's back lightly and covering her head in soft kisses.. "Your daddy and I have waited such a long time for you and your brother. I hope you know how much we love you both." She couldn't help but tear up as she listened to her baby's first cries. This was the moment they'd waited so long for.

A nurse took the baby from Lorelai to be cleaned and swaddled a few minutes later, and even though what she really wanted was a long nap, coffee, and a giant slice of pie (in that order), she realized she had to do it all over again. She gripped Luke's hand for strength, took a deep breath, and gave her all, until another ten minutes later, their son was in the world and on her chest, swaddled and content. She whispered quietly into his ear as Luke held their daughter, now wrapped and quiet in his arms. She was on cloud nine.

"Good job, Lorelai, you were amazing today," Luke kissed her passionately. "And you did it all naturally, no medication, just like you wanted. I knew you could,"

"You were my rock, babe," Lorelai returned the kiss. "I couldn't have done it without you," she gushed. "And thanks for letting me throw ice at your head,"

"Anything for you, dear,"

The new parents enjoyed a few minutes of quiet, taking in their new babies' softness, sweetness, and how lucky they were to be their parents. Lorelai was now dressed in cozy pajamas she brought from home, sitting up in bed, nursing her daughter. Luke watched, feeling somewhat bashful about it, but amazed by the way his wife and daughter seemed to be so connected already, even though she was only a few minutes old.

"What's the matter, Luke?" Lorelai laughed, noticing the look on his face. "If this freaks you out, you're going to need to get over that, and soon, 'cause you're going to see a lot more of this," she pointed at the nursing baby. "And, besides," she grinned slyly. "These milk machines aren't anything you haven't seen before, they just serve a new purpose now,"

Once both of their babies had been fed, and Lorelai got a little rest, she felt it was time to introduce them to two very important people: their big sister, and their Auntie Sookie. Luke went to get them from the waiting room, and soon, they were all together in the large hospital room, cooing over the new babies.

"Oh, how precious," Sookie exclaimed as she held the baby girl in her arms. "I'm so happy for you guys, you'll make the best parents together,"

"Definitely," Rory added as she cradled her new baby brother. "But, if you ever need a break, I'm happy to babysit anytime,"

"Well," Sookie said nervously. "It's time to ask the big question, the one I've been wondering the answer to for months- what are these angels' names?" she nearly jumped up and down.

"Luke and I are so excited to introduce you to our daughter, Harper Victoria Danes, and our son, Luca William Danes," she said softly. The whole room smiled and applauded, and Lorelai took it all in, feeling like the happiest woman in the world. They had finally made it. They had their miracle babies, and life was about to get crazier, but crazier for the better.