A/N: Long chapter. There was a lot I wanted to cover and it just came out this way. I wanted to show Luke playing an active role in this new full circle dynamic and how having someone like him could have affected the plot.

Also, I want to advance the plot more, so the updates will probably start to be generally longer than they have been.

Please let me know what you think! I hope it doesn't disappoint.

In the words of Ms. Patty, Later dolls.

Lorelai dragged herself from bed, feeling nauseous and tired from the new life redirecting her energy in order to grow. She went to pee and then came back and shook her husband who was still happily asleep, reassuring herself that this was his burden as much as hers. She was doing the hard work and fully intended to milk his servitude for the full 9 months.

"LUUUUKKEE!" she whined. "Eggs, Luke… make me eggs." Undenounced to Lorelai, the man was more tired than usual because he'd snuck out of bed the night before to work on a project in the garage.

Begrudgingly, Luke buried his face in his pillow and pulled both arms under it, smothering his face as he turned onto his back. Towering over him, Lorelai pried the pillow from him and replaced it with her face and a soft kiss.

"Fine," the man conceded, shucking off his covers as she moved out of his way.

Lorelai made a giddy squeal and slight jump on her tiptoes in excitement. "And toast… oh no, and pancakes… apple pancakes. Can you make apple pancakes? Is there such a thing? If not, invent those for me please." Luke only grunted as he walked to the bathroom with his blue eyed wife on his heels babbling about her breakfast list. He shut the door behind him but it only muted her sound a small amount which she compensated for by speaking louder.

He came out of the bathroom scratching his head then stretching his arms over his head. To end the rant, which somehow had gone from eggs to pot roast and chili Pringles, he lowered his arms around Lorelai's waist, drew her in and planted a few soft kisses then leaned back. "Anything you want," he conceded, garnering a smile from his wife.

Lorelai then showered and changed while Luke prepared her breakfast. She entered the kitchen to find her plate already at her seat and a fresh cup of coffee poured.

"He does love me," she cooed.

"Of course he does. Only an idiot wouldn't," he said matter of factly as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and kissed his shoulder, as he was flipping a pancake on the stove. She then took her seat and he joined her. "Why are you up so early? You don't have to work today. Is it the baby?"

The sheepish look on Luke's face from inquiring about their growing bundle gave Lorelai a large grin and a short chuckle trying to withhold her mocking due to his sincerity. "No sweetie, it's not the baby. Whitley and I picked out fabric for a dress for her date with Bryan yesterday and she's coming over here so I can teach her how to sew it together."

"Oh," Luke said trying not to sound too relieved.

"Oh, hey that reminds me- can you get my old sewing machine out of the garage and put it in the living room with my other one?"

"Sure. What time is she coming over? I made enough pancake batter for her and Jazz."

"That'd be great. She'll be here in about an hour, I'm only up this early because I needed to get some things from the attic," she said waiting for the response she knew Luke was going to give.

"You mean I need to get stuff from the attic. You know I don't want you climbing some pull down ladder in a house that had termites while pregnant," he groaned and she nodded with a grin.

A lightbulb went on in Lorelai's head. "Hey, you should take Jazz to the park for a little while! You could get some good practice!"

"That sounds like a terrible idea, Lorelai. She'd probably have me tied to the swing set in 5 minutes. I always try to keep a minimum 5 foot distance from Sookie and Lane's kids."

"Oh, Luke," she patted him on the thigh and batted her eyelashes. "I think it's cute you think you have a choice. If you're truly nervous, call Zach and have him meet you with Steve and Kwon- I know they're both off and Lane could use reprieve. Oh! And call Jackson and have him bring his kids too. It might be too cold for the park though. You guys should take them to the kids' museum in Hartford- it has an indoor playground. I'm gonna call Sookie and Lane so you guys can do your manny thing and we can have a girls' day here. Zach and Jackson both have vans so you can corral all the kids in them. Oh and don't forget TJ, Liz will never forgive us if you forget TJ and Doula."

Lorelai's quick wit and easy instant party planning abilities never ceased to amaze him. He wanted to say no, to come up with literally any excuse not to do this, but he was trapped. He knew that he was powerless against her piercing eyes, pouty lip, and her newest trump card- her status as an incubator for his 'loinfruit' as she so crudely phrased it. So with a sigh, he pulled out his cell phone as Lorelai pulled out hers with a tiny squeal of excitement in how easy it was to con him into this plan. He called the guys and she called the girls.

Sookie packed brownbag lunches and snacks for the kids and dads along with a cooler of drinks for them. She also made a spread for the ladies' brunching pleasure. Some of it were her go-to frozen casseroles and pot stickers that she'd long-since learned to always keep around due to her best friend's spontaneity.

Lane gave Zach her best Mrs. Kim look and he caved with only mild sarcastic protests that he knew would be fruitless. He roped Brian and Gil into coming. Brian was extra hands and Gil had kids of his own to bring along, plus him having a third van was convenient with the field trip that came from Lorelai's quick mind.

Jackson took no convincing because he always tried to lighten the load on Sookie, even before their unexpected third child due to his chickening out on a vasectomy. Bridget made them both happy anyway and their argument over his deceit had long since dissipated when they had a longer discussion and he actually did get the vasectomy while she was still pregnant to avoid further incident.

TJ was also a willing participant because he said Liz was starting to get baby fever again and wouldn't keep her hands off of him. Of course, this made Luke groan and want to uninvited him but he knew Lorelai was right about appeasing his sister.

Whitley was weary of allowing 6 men take her child to a museum without her. It sounded like a terrible sequel to Daddy Daycare where there was imminent chaos. But after assurances from all of the mothers about the ability of the fathers and Brian to keep a kid alive, she caved on the condition that they could call her if Jazz so much as sneezed.

oOo

As the women watched the men drive off from the front porch steps, Lorelai shouted "FREEDOM!" and raised her hands in fists over her head running through the open front door with the women on her heals also shouting their excitement.

Whitley was standing on a milk crate that Lorelai pilfered from Luke's Diner ages ago as Lorelai measured her for the dress they were about to make. The women were all gathered in the living room eating from Sookie's makeshift buffet and jabbering about their husbands and kids, while watching her. It made the young woman feel really uncomfortable being on display like that.

"Lorelai, you're so good at that. I was never much for domestic talents. I can clean, but if I have to so much as sew a button back onto a shirt, it's just going to get thrown out," Liz marveled at her sister-in-law.

"Yeah, Mia taught me. Growing up in high society, this kind of skill wasn't part of the housewife duties expected of me in that life. I was simply to order servants to do those things. It's funny that learning housekeeping skills was a form of rebellion for me," she giggled.

"Well being a good girl isn't quite as fun," Liz responded. "So what are you making a dress for?"

"Whitley has a date with Brian tomorrow," Lane piped in making the girl on the egg crate blush as they all examined her face. "He's talked about nothing else since she said yes. I almost miss the germ talk." Lane rolled her eyes. The information put an involuntary grin on Whit's face as she thought of him being as nervous and excited as she was.

"Oooohhhh…." Sookie teased as though they were in elementary school.

"Aw, Sook, you're embarrassing the kid," Lorelai warned halfheartedly with a gleam in her eyes as she measured her waist. She turned her attention up at Whitley who'd been quiet so far. "You alright? You know we're just teasing. It's a date, I'm sure you'll be fine. You've been on a date before right? Yeah it'll be awkward- more like the montages in movies where they try to set someone up and they go on 50 awkward dates that the succeeding part where the guy and girl instantly click. That rarely happens. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that though."

"Well… actually… this is my first date," Whitley confessed. She almost instantly regretted it in fear of more teasing that she was already receiving.

"Really?" Lorelai said stunned. Even she'd dated before she got to the having Rory part, with Christopher and a couple other guys.

Everyone's eyes were on her intently now. She knew she had to explain now. She sighed, "Well Alex, Jasmine's dad, was my only boyfriend and we never went on a date. We were just in the same group of friends and because everyone else was paired off, we ended up also being coupled. It was silly because we were in 7th grade. My friend Christine wasn't allowed to date black guys or any guys 'of color' (though apparently having me as her half-black friend was ok) and she liked Alex's friend Tyrell. We all had landlines at the time, so I would call her and she would 3-way call Tyrell so they'd think she was just talking to me. This went on for a while and it also meant that when she hung out with me, Tyrell and Alex were there. Because they were dating, Alex decided to ask me out. We never went on dates or anything though- not even a school dance."

She realized that Lorelai had been rubbing comforting circles on her back while she told the story. It helped her have the courage but she wasn't truly aware of the contact until she was done.

"Well isn't this exciting then?!" Sookie giggled. "We get to help you get ready for your first date! It feels nostalgic like when you brought me the lip smackers chapstick after April's party, Lorelai."

Lorelai smiled, thankful to have such a bubbly friend like Sookie. Even though Lorelai was much more upbeat and optimistic than Luke, Sookie far exceeded her in her glass half full way. "Yeah, that was awesome. You should have been there for the sleepover. Gossiping about boys, having a pillow fight, putting on makeup for fun and not just to try to reclaim my youth… it was wonderful."

"We should have a sleepover too!" Liz said. While most people, especially Luke, would find his sister's suggestion crazy, Lorelai loved it.

"But what about our husbands and kids?" Lane asked.

"Oh! OOOO….We could make them have a sleepover too. They can stay at our house tonight. They can make hamburgers and hot dogs for them and the kids; or they could order Pizza. They can handle one night of mayhem. Jackson still owes me for the chicken pox thing," Sookie offered.

"We can watch a Molly Ringwald marathon and braid each other's' hair," Lorelai said blissfully. She once again looked at the girl standing on the egg crate. "Are you in?"

"I don't know. Jazz has never been without me overnight before. She might have a meltdown if I'm not there. I don't want her to wake up scared that I'm not there if she does fall asleep."

"She is young….hmmm… Well we could have Luke bring her back here after they have dinner and still have a sleepover here. She's a girl too so it won't break the no boys rule. Plus, after the excitement of having kids to play with all day, she'll probably conk right out. Plus, if we do it that way, Only Luke will have to stay at Sookie's tonight. The others can go home if they want."

A smile crossed Whitley's eyes. She'd been thoroughly convinced and Lorelai could see it. "Okay. I mean, I have to go home and get some things for the kid and I to sleep in and stuff, but I suppose it could be fun!"

"That works for me too. Brian can stay with Zach and the boys. Or Zach can call my mother if he gets desperate."

"I'm in. TJ can handle Doula, but can he still stay at Sookie's? Ya know… Just in case… I mean she's been fine so far but sometimes he gets ideas about training Doula for careers and stuff then tries to build her things (like a tight rope because she's a very balanced walker for her age) and my big brother can talk him out of it."

"No problem!" Sookie said. "Oh, this is gonna be fun!"

"Ok, we can call the men in a minute and clue them in. Then when you're all done eating we can go get what we need and I can go get movie snacks and the movies. We can reconvene back here whenever we finish," Lorelai said matter-of-factly.

Whitley practically had whiplash from the change in plans today. She went from learning to sew, to a sleepover with married women before her first date. What a year? What a crazy year, she mused.

oOo

All of the men once again caved after very short battles after their cell phones simultaneously rang. Gil was the sole person looking after the kids since his wife wasn't a conspirator in this day. It was good timing though as they were all sitting on the benches inside eating Sookie's lunches after the kids had played their hearts out.

"Unebelivable," Luke muttered as he hung up. "I'm going to take away her pregnancy card." The men nodded sympathetically as they'd had a discussion on pregnant wives earlier. Luke was the newest inaugurated member of that club.

Brian absorbed the information, not sure if it would ever apply to him. He and Whitley hadn't even been on their first date yet. He did get some sage advice from Luke on being a dad to a kid you didn't help create. Luke had pulled him aside to partially scare him and because he knew what the kid was going through.

"Listen, it really doesn't matter if you're biologically the dad. If you get involved with her, that little girl right there is part of the package. She'll look at you for comfort, advice, support. She'll grow attached to you."

"Yeah? I mean, she's a great kid. I don't know what Whitley wants or expects from me with her though. What if she doesn't want me to?"

"She wants you too. No woman with a kid wants anything less than a man who can be a good father figure to her kid. I don't know when I first thought of Rory as my own, but I remember the first time that I realized I'd do literally anything for her. She had conned me into going into a caterpillar's funeral. It was me, her mother, Babette and Morey. I still hadn't realized what a sucker I was for her even though I literally just attended a funeral for an insect. 3 days later, she came into the diner and she was upset but sat down with her head in a book while Lorelai tried to calm her down. I realized from what her mom said that her dad was supposed to come see her for father's day and she'd made him a card at school but she'd just gotten off the phone with him and he'd given some lame excuse again. I didn't know Christopher at the time, but I was so angry for her. I brought her pie alamode to cheer her up and I sat down with her for a second. I saw the tears in her eyes as her head was hanging down buried in the book. I reached out to pat her on the back and to my surprise, she dropped her book and lunged in to hug me and sob into my shirt. When it registered I hugged her back and waited for her to stop crying despite all the customers whose food was getting cold. When she finally stopped, she reached into her backpack and pulled out the card made for her dad and handed it to me. 'I know you're not my dad, but thanks for coming to the funeral… and for the pie,' she said. I glanced at Lorelai and she looked as stunned as I was. Rory just went back to eating the pie like nothing had happened and skipped out of the diner when they were done with no weight left on her shoulders. I was walking on air for the rest of the day knowing I'd made her smile. That's when I knew she had me. Do you get what I'm telling you, Brian?"

"Kind of…" he replied unsure.

"What I'm saying is, be prepared to love Jazz like your own. You don't deserve her mom if you can't. Part of the Reason Lorelai and I both hesitated is because for both of us, Rory came first. She was just a kid and innocent in all of this and her feelings and needs always came first. If you're on a date with Whitley and Jazz is sick, you don't get upset about having to end it early, you g; you stay with her and help her as much as she'll let you. If you're not ready for that, you should cancel your date now."

"Thanks Luke. Jazz is really special to me already. She's one of the reasons I like Whitley so much. She's so good with her, she never complains about working, cleaning, doing it all on her own. She just does it. Yeah, she's REALLY beautiful, way out of my league beautiful, but I'm attracted to how kind and funny she is, and how kind and funny she's raised Jazz."

Luke smiled knowingly, "You're screwed," he chuckled. "They've both got you hooked and you don't even know how deep it is yet."

After a shared round of complaints about the women, the men prepared to leave. First, they ushered the kids into the bathroom and in a line took turns changing all of their diapers like it was an episode of Full House where they had to learn to change a diaper. The pro fathers showed Brian and Gil how it was done, the way that it gets more difficult when they get more mobile, how to hold them in place with one hand while using the other to remove and replace the old diaper, the 'tabby things' on the sides, and how the pictures indicated front from back. Luke wished then that he'd carried his diner pen like Lorelai always assumed he did.

oOo

Lorelai and Whitley were the first back to the house. Whit was eager to get back because they had just a couple more stitches to finish on the dress. Lorelai was showing her how to stitch in the zipper when she remembered she hadn't mentioned her news to the young girl next to her. Now that she was happy, Lorelai wanted to share in her joy.

"Maybe we can make Jazz a matching dress from the scraps. I just love little girl stuff. I'm not sure what I want more with Luke this time. We both have girls so it would be familiar but I always picture Luke tossing the ball with our son," she strained to sound casual.

"You and Luke are planning to have a baby?"

Lorelai was shocked that the news hadn't reached the girls ears yet but was happy she got to be the one to do it. "Sort of. We're kind of already making one. I'm due in August I think."

"OMG! Lorelai! Oh I'm so excited for you! Congratulations!" Whitley jumped from her chair prompting Lorelai to follow her lead and the bounced up and down for a second and hugged. That was the first time Whitley had initiated really any physical contact. Lorelai had noticed she wasn't a hugger so it meant all the more to her.

oOo

After the rest of the women regrouped and being halfway into Sixteen Candles with The Breakfast Club queued up, the boy chatter began. Whit came downstairs after putting Jazz to bed in Lorelai's bed at the hostess' insistence to avoid waking her. They'd set up evening camp in front of the TV but looked up to judge the way that she looked in the dress that Lorelai helped her make that afternoon.

Wows, oohs, and ahs were said all around. Whitley was afraid that she was being placated by the women. She was more self-conscious because this was her design. The lacey, soft lilac colored fabric, over the semi-shimmery pearl white fabric flowed to her knees and the cut of the top showcased her soft skin and shoulders.

"Are you sure? I mean, it doesn't make my chest look too big?"

"Sweetie, it is big, but Brian's gonna LOVE that," Sookie teased in her giggly tone. Noticing Whitley's face pale a little, she quickly apologized. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I always say the wrong thing and then I upset people and I don't mean to but then it just happens. I didn't mean it like that. I just…. I mean he'll think of you as pretty."

"You look totally rock and roll," Lane offered and the rest of the women nodded in agreement.

"Thanks. I just. I'm uh, not very experienced you know. I don't want to… to rush it."

"Don't worry, Brian's still a virgin," Lane consoled. "He hasn't done it because he says he only wants to share his germs with the right person and not spread them all around. Basically, he's a chicken. Plus, he REALLY likes you. He'll wait until and if you're ready. I've known Brian for years, he's like a brother to me. I promise he'll treat you well. He's a good guy."

Lanes words had the intended calming effect. Lorelai, sensing this, moved the conversation forward. "Well now that we know you've got the perfect dress, go change and we'll discuss your hair and make-up while we watch the guy from Two and a Half Men as an awkward teenager staring alongside Molly."

Whitley obeyed and went up the stairs. Before changing, she perused herself one last time. I hope he likes me.