Happy New Year

Luke stood at the kitchen table, modeling two ties thrown over his shoulder. "Remind me again why we're doing this." He complained, looking at the four women looking from tie to tie.

April and Rory shrugged, looking to the other women at the table. Neither of them really knew either—they had already been told what to wear. Black dresses. It was pretty simple. But Luke had a colored tie so that they wouldn't all be in black. Lorelai just smiled. "Because," Sookie said, taking charge of the conversation. "you don't know the next time you'll all be together! Rory travels a lot, and Obama is looking like a promising candidate. What if she's asked to cover his full presidency? It could be four—eight years before she comes back to Stars Hollow!"

"That won't happen." Rory told Sookie, reaching across the table and squeezing the woman's hand. That won't happen because that's really not a job option, Rory thought to add, but she didn't. April just stifled a laugh.

"Still. Family photos—you guys don't have any! I used to take pictures of Lorelai and Rory all the time, and then Lorelai took pictures of me and Jackson, and me and Jackson and the kids." Lorelai thought about the photos Sookie had taken of her and her daughter with great fondness. "You don't want to wait until the baby comes to take family photos, do you?"

Luke shrugged. He just didn't like pictures. He didn't see the need to get dressed up for pictures. Lorelai had gotten him two ties for Christmas: one that was red with white pinstripes and one that was solid red. He couldn't really tell the difference all that much—unless you were up close who could see the difference?—but she insisted they were too different for her to pick between them. The girls had it simple: Sookie had them pick out the two articles of clothing they had that would look best together, and they were both black dresses. Rory had gotten her mom a black maternity sweater that had a little red belt, so that made it pretty simple (she didn't want to get her pink, just in case Lorelai didn't want anyone knowing it was a little girl).

Lorelai stood up, sweater clad and smiling. With the little red belt on her baby bump was perfectly framed. She wrapped her arms around him, standing on her toes. "Imagine how great we'll look on a Christmas card." She said, grinning. He let out a sigh and grabbed the red tie off his shoulder, finishing getting ready. Lorelai smirked and sat back down at the table. "Rory, April, go get dressed. We'll want to take the pictures before the sun goes down." The girls scurried off. Sookie just looked at Lorelai in slight amazement. "That'll do it."

While putting on his tie, Luke looked back in his sock drawer. There it was—the little jewelry box that he had purchased about a week ago. He couldn't bring himself to wrap it to give to her at Christmas, he gave her something simple and smaller, something for the nursery. And a frame—he got a frame for them, for the family portrait that they didn't have. He realized he had brought this picture-taking event upon himself due to his inability to open his mouth and admit what he wanted. He wanted her to be his wife.

It's now or never, he thought, grabbing the little black jewelry box and shoving it in his blazer pocket. He looked in the mirror and saw who he was: he was cleaned-up, in a black suit with a red tie. His hair was combed, his scruffy face cleanly shaved. He thought of himself when Lorelai first met him—he must've been flannel-clad, with a ratty hat on, his hair long and curly and falling in his eyes. He wasn't as spry as he was then, but he was a lot better. Happier. And he realized he owed a lot of that to Lorelai.

When Luke came back down the stairs, Lorelai and the girls were waiting for him. Looking at him descending down the stairs, she saw the man that her grandparents probably expected their daughter to be with: refined, successful, well-dressed, and sharp. Sure, he was awkward and gruff, and he didn't sugar coat anything, but if they had seen him like this—and seen the way her mom was smiling at him—their minds would've changed immediately.

Sookie grabbed her camera off the table. "Should we head on outside? It's sunshiney and it'll be perfect. Let's go!"

Rory and April hurried outside and Sookie shortly followed. Lorelai waited at the foot of the stairs for Luke and then took his hand in hers. "You look good." She said, grinning as she leaned in to kiss him. He wrapped his free arm around her waist until she pulled away. "And I'm the luckiest person in all of Stars Hollow."

"We're both very lucky." He said before leading her out to the backyard. She shivered a little. "Do you need me to go back in and grab your coat?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Let's just take some pictures. If I need a coat, I'll go back in and grab one in a little bit."

Everything was perfect. Lorelai's breath was taken away when she saw it in the yard. The girls were already posed and Sookie was getting a picture of just the two of them. After a few shutter clicks, the girls darted off, chasing Paul Anka through the snow with a childlike whimsy Lorelai hadn't seen in Rory since she was ten years old. It was the picture perfect family, she realized, grinning with tears in her eyes.

"It's so… beautiful." She said, wiping her eyes and looking back at him. To her everything was prettier when it snowed, and this was no exception. But snow or no snow, she was so enamored by the scene in front of her. They continued down the porch stairs and then toward the chef with the camera.

The photos weren't forced. All of the photos that Sookie had taken of Rory and Lorelai were impromptu, photos taken simply because they were "in the moment", and she didn't want them to miss anything. And Lorelai's favorite photos of Jackson and Sookie and the kids included her straightening his tie, or making sure the kids didn't muss their hair or outfits. The ones that showed who they really were, not just the ones that showed what they wanted the world to see.

Lorelai let out a little shiver as she leaned into Luke's arms, posing ever so slightly for the photo. Luke leaned over her shoulder and smiled as Rory and April arranged themselves in front of the adults. Here and now, he could only think of one thing making this time better, and it was in his coat pocket. The shutter kept going and the flash kept going off. Sookie just kept taking pictures, watching them all look at one another and smiling. She hadn't seen any of them smile that much—Luke especially.

There was another chilly gust and Lorelai was wrapped in Luke's arms, still shaking from the cold. "Lorelai, why don't you go inside and get your coat?" She nodded and headed up the porch stairs.

"Paul Anka!" She called, and the dog followed her to the door.

While she was inside, she peeked through the window to see Luke talking to Sookie. She couldn't help but wonder how they went from feuding over food to being the type of friends (more or less friends) that they were today. And then there were April and Rory—why hadn't they really met before Christmas? If Lorelai could go back to when she saw the fluffy-haired spectacled girl filling the salt shakers at Luke's Diner, she would've started by introducing her to Rory. Things would've been so different… no, the past was in the past, and this was the pleasant present. April brought out the youth in Rory, which was pretty important, Lorelai thought. Rory hadn't acted like a child in a very long time—she was always very mature for her age, and with April she got to act… her own age. April was adjusting to being a little sister, and Rory was always destined to be a great big sister. Lorelai patted her little baby bump before putting down the curtain and going to get her coat.

Now in their blissful oblivion while taking photographs in the backyard, they had not heard a black Lincoln pull into the driveway. They had not witnessed someone glancing around the corner of the house to see them posing in the snow, and the teen and young lady running around in their black dresses. They had not heard the sound of heels clicking up the porch, or judgmental voices whispering and making comments.

But Lorelai did hear an unexpected knock on the door.

Lorelai pulled her coat off the hook and threw it over her arm before opening the front door. There they stood, looking like the couple out of American Gothic, if only those two had been empty-handed. Her parents. In a mere instant a smile lit up Emily's face as she came into the house towards her daughter. "Lorelai!" She said, opening her arms for a hug. "My goodness, look at you!" Lorelai pulled further away.

"Merry Christmas, darling." Richard said, smiling at his daughter. "Though I guess it's almost new year now… well, happy new year too!"

Lorelai stood there and stared for a moment. Was she imagining this? She must've been hallucinating. Her mother, smiling? Her father, wishing her well? They hadn't spoken to her since September. Without even speaking, she turned on her toes and bolted for the back door.

She ran down the stairs, her coat still thrown over her arm. She ran straight past Luke and to Sookie. "My—" She paused for a moment to catch her breath and minimize her hysterics. Tears were starting to run down her face where she had been blinking them away since she saw them on the porch. Luke came towards her, starting to worry. Was something wrong? Was she okay? He took Lorelai's coat off her arm and threw it around her shoulders so that she'd—at the very least—stop shaking. He was trying to appear calm, but Lorelai being so upset really worried him. "—Parents. They're—they're—"

"Grandma and grandpa are here?" Rory asked, coming closer to her mother. April followed suit. Lorelai gave a teary nod, starting to cry a little more. With those four around her, she couldn't pull herself together. This was her family. That was how she felt in that very moment. Her parents hadn't spoken to her in four months (which she didn't help, due to the fact that she was dodging her mother's phone calls… that was beside the point).

Sookie pulled Lorelai into her arms, trying to comfort her a little bit while also giving instructions to the girls. "Rory, why don't you go inside and see your grandparents? Maybe introduce them to April?" Rory nodded, taking April with her. Luke just looked stunned as Lorelai's sniffling slowed down. "See, that's not too hard." Luke tried to take his girlfriend out of Sookie's arms, but the chef didn't release. His concern grew in his eyes. Hormones, Sookie mouthed, and he nodded as if he understood that fully. Just another write-off of this is normal, he learned. "Luke, why don't you go get them drinks? Lorelai and I will be in there soon, we're just gonna—"

"I need to leave." Lorelai said, cutting the chef off. Luke had started towards the porch per Sookie's instructions. He started back towards her with these words. "I—I can't be here." Lorelai ran through the backyard and toward her car in the driveway.

Sookie gave one last instruction before following her best friend to the car. "I'll handle this. I've been there before. Now you need to handle your in-laws. Go, I'll bring her back when she's calmed down."

Luke just stood in the yard, watching the women run away. He gulped, knowing now that it was just him, the girls, and Lorelai's parents.

Author's Note: I must admit, I cannot write a GG story that doesn't include Emily and Richard. But don't worry: it will all be alright. Please review!