Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls.

AN: I am such an idiot. I didn't let you know that there was a six month gap between chapters twelve and thirteen. I can't believe that I did that!

It had been nearly a month since Maddie had come clean about what was bothering her. Tristan had been in constant contact with Olivia to get updates on Sam's condition. His body wasn't taking to the chemotherapy the way that it should and he was in constant pain. There was talk of surgery but there insurance wouldn't cover it and they had struck down Tristan's offer to pay for it. Tristan regretted not letting Maddie go and see him that summer, now there was a chance that he wouldn't make it to spring.

Maddie was doing better and Rory was helping her in English and Math and they had hired enrolled her in an after school program that would help her bring her grades up in her other classes. Her teachers had been more than understanding when Tristan had explained the situation.

He couldn't believe that a year had passed so quickly. Aiden was talking up a storm and it was hard to keep up with him because he thought that making people chase him was fun.

Rory had settled into working from home that summer. Maddie had been a big help even though she was still giving her dad the silent treatment at the time. Even she hadn't been able to tell Rory no. Things had gotten easier when Jake had started school full time a few months ago.

With Christmas less than a week away there was talk of her family coming to New York. Lorelai had been able to talk Luke into it since he had never experienced New York at Christmas. Tristan was thinking of letting Maddie visit her grandparents for the three weeks that she had off from school. He hadn't talked to Olivia but he was sure that there wouldn't be a problem. He sent Olivia an e-mail since it was a 'chemo day' for Sam. She kept her phone off so that she could give Sam her whole attention because he disliked everything about the chemo process. Tristan doubted that she would be able to back to him before tomorrow.

If his sixteen year old self could see him now he would probably have some acid tongued remark for him along with a bored, exaggerated eye roll. It was amazing how much a person could change when someone called them out. He thanked Sam every time he saw him for calling him out for the spoiled little rich boy that he was back then. He was a better, more level headed person now not only because of Rachel's family and Maddie but because of Rory. He felt blessed to have a second chance with her.

XXXX

Jess, Casey and Skylar arrived the Friday before Christmas. Skylar's cancer had been in remission for over a year and her exuberant personality was starting to come back. She had a list of things that she wanted to do while she was in town and Jess was put in charge of making it all happen since Casey was seven months pregnant.

Jess begrudgingly agreed to do whatever Skylar wanted even though going ice skating in Rockefeller Center was at the top of her list. Skylar looked up at him before batting her lashes and sticking out her bottom lip. He gave her a stern look before going to grab their jackets.

"Don't think of it as torture, think of it as making Skylar the happiest little girl in the world," Rory said as she grabbed her coat.

"You're coming?"

"I could use some fresh air. Plus, Maddie was talking about wanting to go a little while ago."

Rory got Jake bundled up while Jess ran downstairs to hail them a cab. There was one waiting by the time Rory came down with the kids. The five minute car ride was silent and when they got to the rink the kids took off towards the ice. Rory bought the kids rental skates while Jess watched the kids waiting by the ice.

"You aren't skating?" he asked when she only purchased skates for the kids and him.

"I don't feel like it," she said with a shake of her head.

"Fine," he said sullenly.

"Don't act like you're going to enjoy every minute of it. You don't fool me Jesse Tyler Mariano," she called after him.

He turned to give her a dark look over his shoulder and she stuck out her tongue in response. He rolled his eyes before shaking his head. Rory smiled, glad that Jess had put his 'too cool for you' teenage ways behind him. Meeting Casey and becoming an instant dad when they had gotten married had been the kick in the ass to make him change.

Jess held Skylar and Jake's hands while Maddie skated with her friends. He wasn't the best skater and being in between the kids was like holding up a wobbly table. He lost his footing and was able to let go of the kids' hands so that they wouldn't go down with him before falling.

"Daddy, you skate worse than I do," Skylar said before erupting into a fit of giggles.

"Thanks Sky," he said with a sigh once he was standing again.

He brushed ice from the seat of his jeans before taking their hands again. He looked towards where he had last seen Rory and she clapped her approval. He held back the urge to flip her off so he sneered before turning his attention back to the kids. After a few minutes they complained that they were cold so he took them back to where Rory was standing. She had gone to get them hot chocolate and Jess a cup of coffee.

"If you tell anyone that I fell I will never speak to you again," he said pointedly.

"I only told Luke. I think your secret is safe with him."

"Mom, come skate with us," Jake said, tugging on her gloved hand.

"I don't think so buddy. Maybe some other time," she promised.

They skated for another half an hour before going back to the apartment. Luke and the boys were bringing their things in when they got back. Jess got roped into helping since Tristan was on an important call. Lorelai met Rory at the door with open arms.

"Hey Mom," Rory said, squeezing her gently.

"It's good to see you. You don't come see me enough," Lorelai said with a pout.

"With Maddie and Jake both in school it's hard to get away and you don't like me to stay for just the weekend," Rory reminded her.

"Are you alright?" Lorelai asked, noticing something wasn't quite right.

"I'm fine, I'm just tired," she reassured her.

"Maybe you should lay off the Christmas cookies, the weight that you've put on can't be good," she said in concern.

"Thanks Mom," Rory said with a laugh.

"I'm not saying that you're fat, just that you could lose a few pounds," Lorelai said with an eye roll.

"I get right on it," Rory promised earnestly.

Lorelai didn't have a chance to respond because Emily could be heard in the hall. All joking would be suspended until she left the day after Christmas. Emily didn't get Lorelai, Jess' or Tristan's dry humor. She was easily offended and the three of them walked on eggshells around her.

Emily came in and JJ enveloped her in a hug. He could always be counted on to break the tension Emily brought along with her. Emily fussed over him while Jake waited for his hug. Emily took Jake's hand and led him to the couch then he climbed into her lap, digging through her cardigan pockets. He smiled in victory, holding up a lollipop in his small fist. Emily beamed with pride. Skylar came over and Emily patted the space next to her. She reached into her purse and pulled out a small pack of gum and held it out for the girl.

Rory watched in wonder as the two small children flanked her grandmother. She had been slightly terrified of her grandmother at their age. Emily had softened quite a bit in the last ten years. After Richard's death six years ago she had slowed down, she only sat on the board of the D.A.R now but still gave money to many organizations.

"Rory, are you feeling alright?" Emily asked.

"I feel fine Grandma," she said with a nod.

"See? I'm not the only one who noticed the dark circles beneath your eyes," Casey said under her breath as she passed by.

"I'm just tired," Rory said with a smile.

Emily nodded, accepting her answer. Tristan came into the room carrying Aiden and when he saw Lorelai his eyes lit up.

"There's my favorite little elf," she said as she held out her hands.

"He could be from Lord of the Rings right?" Jess asked.

"He looks like a mini Legolas," Lorelai said affectionately.

"He's getting so big," Rory said endearingly.

"How old is he now?" Emily asked.

"He is twenty months."

"Down," Aiden said, patting Lorelai for emphasis.

Aiden toddled over to Emily. He stood in front of her with his hands on her legs, waiting patiently. She reached into her pocket and Rory waited with bated breath to see what she would pull out. They hadn't given him candy before so they didn't know how he would react. Emily pulled a toy car out and Aiden's eyes lit up. Rory heaved a sigh of relief; she shouldn't have worried in the first place.

The doorbell rang and Rory turned to answer it. Liz and TJ stood outside with Jess' little sister. Jess took their bags and put them in the spare room. Tristan had offered to let them stay at the apartment. Jess and Casey were sleeping in the living room while Skylar shared a room with Maddie and her aunt. Lorelai and Luke were more than willing to give up the extra room for them and were staying with Maggie while they were in town.

The apartment was filled with noise as everyone talked at once. Rory snuck away to the kitchen to check on dinner. She hadn't made anything special but she had wanted to make something so that they didn't have to go out to dinner. Tristan came up behind her as she tossed the salad. He wrapped his arms around her before resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Don't take what everyone said to heart. I happen to like that you've put on a few pounds, you're too skinny. I know that the last week hasn't been easy for you. I read the article about the new fiscal review, I agree wholeheartedly," he said before kissing her cheek.

"You're just saying that so I won't kick you out of the bed," she said with a teasing smile.

"You got that right. I wouldn't have anywhere to sleep but the floor," he said with a huff.

She giggled before shaking her head slowly.

"Seriously, you are perfect the way that you are," he said in concern.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, squeezing her arm gently.

Casey and Liz came into the room offering to help so Tristan left the kitchen in search of Jess. He found him in the office working on his laptop. He had recently started working on his fourth book and was deep in the research process. Tristan grabbed the New York Times from the desk before sitting on the couch across the room. He propped his feet up on the coffee table before opening the paper.

"I appreciate you letting me work in here," Jess said after a few minutes of silence.

"It's not a problem. Just don't tell Emily that I've got my feet propped up on the table that she gave us as a wedding present."

The only sounds were the typing of keys and the turning of the pages until Rory came to bring Jess a plate. She pushed Tristan's feet off the table when she passed him to get his attention.

"How come he gets to eat in there?" he asked as they walked down the hall.

"You eat in there when you're working on an important case," she said as they entered the living room.

Everyone was already seated at the table and after dinner the younger kids would help Liz and Casey make cookies while Luke, TJ, Tristan and the boys would get the Christmas tree and decorations down from storage. Rory had made baked spaghetti because it was Luke's favorite and it was something that she could make in her sleep. Rory and Lorelai cleaned the kitchen before Liz and Casey came in with the kids then sat down with Emily and Aiden.

"Are you ready for Christmas Rory?"

"We are. Tristan and I finished Christmas shopping the other night and I'm going to wrap the presents while Tristan takes the boys to see Santa tomorrow. Maddie can't wait to go and see the Nutcracker with you by the way. It's all she's talked about for a week."

"It's important to introduce children to the arts early on," Emily said with a smile and a nod.

"I agree."

"Didn't you say that you had to go by the store after dinner Ror?" Lorelai asked.

"You're right, I did. I shouldn't be more than a couple of minutes. Excuse me," she said before standing.

Rory slipped out the door before anyone could ask for the reason for her absence. She walked quickly to the elevator and pushed the close button several times before the door shut behind her, luckily no one else needed to get on the elevator.

The closest store was on the corner on the opposite side of the street. Luckily it was still open when Rory came in. It took a minute to find the aisle she was looking for because there was only one person working and they were at the register. Once she found what she was looking for she was overwhelmed by the selection the store had. There had to be ten boxes advertising the same thing. She grabbed three without looking at them then walked to the front of the store. The girl behind the counter smiled as she rang up Rory's purchases.

"I hope everything works out for you," she said optimistically.

"Thank you," Rory said politely.

Her mom and grandmother were where she had left them less than ten minutes before. She smiled politely as she pulled off her coat and took off her shoes. She walked down the hall with determination. She closed her bedroom door behind her before crossing the room to the bathroom. She locked the door behind her before filling the cup on the back of the counter with water. She drank it in three gulps before filling it up again. Luckily she didn't have to wait long for the urge to go to come over her.

Once she was done she set the three tests on the counter then checked her watch. She would find out if they would be expanding their family in less than five minutes. There was a knock at the door and she turned to face it slowly.

"Is everything okay?" Tristan asked through the door.

She heaved a sigh of relief before opening the door. He gave her a worried look as she moved to let him in. He looked to the three pregnancy test on the counter before looking back to her with wide eyes.

"I'm almost positive that I am. I didn't want to tell you until I knew for sure," she explained quietly.

"How much more time do we have?"

"Four minutes," she said after checking her watch.

He sat on the edge of the tub while she sat on the toilet. The minutes ticked by in silence. They had talked about Aiden being there last baby not long after his first birthday but neither of them had done anything to make sure that she didn't get pregnant again. Rory picked up the test closest to her once the four minutes had passed. She looked down at the test hesitantly then smiled slowly when she saw the plus sign.

"It looks like we're going to be a family of five," she said once she had checked the other two tests.

"Maybe this time we'll finally give Maddie the little sister she's always wanted," he said with a shake of his head.

"Maybe," she said with a soft chuckle.

"Do you want to tell everyone now or do you want to wait?"

"I think we should wait until Christmas. I've got an idea of how we can tell them," she said with a playful gleam in her eye.

He nodded his head in agreement before taking her in his arms. The baby was unexpected but they would love it just as much as they loved it's siblings.

XXXX

Everyone was crowded into the living room to open presents before dawn on Christmas morning. The adults were half asleep seeing as they hadn't gone to bed until after midnight but the younger kids were tearing through the wrapping paper with abandon. There was one last present under the tree and Jake crawled under the tree to retrieve it since it was in the back.

"Whose name starts with 'A' Dad?"

"That's Aiden's Buddy," Tristan answered.

Jake handed the present to his younger brother who tore open the small package in one swipe. He held the shirt close to him to inspect it with a smile.

"Who gave him a plain white t-shirt?" Lorelai asked in confusion.

"It's not plain Mom, there's something written on it," Rory explained.

"Show everybody what you've got," Tristan encouraged Aiden.

Aiden handed Maddie the shirt and she laughed in delight before holding it up for everyone to see. 'I'm going to be a big brother' was written across the front. Lorelai, Emily and Megan enveloped Rory and Tristan in a hug while everyone else started talking at once.

"I thought that you weren't going to have anymore," Lorelai said.

"We hadn't gotten around to making sure that it didn't happen," Rory said impishly.

"Can I tell Gram and Papa when I see them tomorrow?" Maddie asked.

"Sure," Tristan said with a nod.

Tristan was driving her to the airport in the morning while Rory went to tea with Emily and Lorelai before they left. Tristan had been relieved that Maddie had been able to be there when they told everyone. Rory had kept the reveal a secret even from him. He should have known that she would make it so Maddie had a chance to be a part of it.