Chapter 21

Lorelai feels even more weak, and slumps over in Lukes arms.

Luke picks her up bridal style and yells to Sookie, "Sookie, I'm taking Lorelai to the hospital. We'll back soon!"

Sookie is standing at the door with Babette, and they are both in shock, "Okay Luke. I'll take care of the kids…," she looks at Lorelai then back to Luke, "…Take care of her."

Luke nods as he starts walking to the truck, and Lorelai looks up from his shoulder to see Rory and April go stand next to Sookie.

Both girls look on in horror and whisper to Sookie, "Is that mom?!" Sookie nods tearfully, "That's your mom girls."

Lorelai looks back at Luke and whispers, "My babies."

Luke opens up the truck door and lays her down gently, "Sweetheart, they haven't stopped thinking about you."

A week later-

Luke and Lorelai come home from hospital.

After pulling up in the driveway, Luke gets out, goes to Lorelais side and opens the door. She jumps out slowly and hobbles to the front door with Luke behind her.

Suddenly, the door bursts open, with April and Rory on the other side.

Both of them start crying and hugging their mother.

Lorelai hugs them back gently and pulls away after a few minutes, "Pumpkin and Apricot. My sweet angels. I missed you so much. I thought about you everyday."

April takes Lorelais non bandaged left hand and pulls her inside, "Mom, we have so many things to tell you."

Once they arrive into the living room, Lorelai and Luke's eyes grow wide.

Melody stands up on her little legs, and walks over to Lorelai and says with joy, "Mama!"

Lorelai starts sobbing, "Was that her first word girls?"

Rory nods, "We had practiced with her a lot. Happy birthday mom."

April also pipes in, "And those were her first steps too."

Lorelai bends down carefully with Luke's help, picks up Mel and holds her close to her chest.

Luke looks at Rory, "Where's Junior?

Rory looks at Luke and whispers, "Dad, I don't think it's a good idea to bring him out here."

Luke furrows his brow in confusion, "Why? What's wrong with your brother?"

Rory gulps, "He's started to call me 'mama'. Mom's not going to like it. She's missed so much. But I don't want her to stress. She had been abused for five months. I don't think she needs more pain."

Luke peeks over his shoulder at his wife and his youngest daughter, who are having a babbling contest.

He sighs, "She has to see him Rory. We can't hide him from her."

Rory rubs her forehead, "I know dad. Believe me, I know."

She looks over at April, "Apricot, please get Junior and bring him out here to mom."

April shakes her head in frustration, but goes to the nursery anyway.

After a few minutes, April comes back into the living room, holding Junior.

She whispers to him as she points to her mother, "Lucas, there's mommy."

Junior starts whining loudly when Lorelai reaches out to take him from April, and refuses to go to her.

Rory chokes back tears of guilt when Junior points at her and says, "Mama."

Lorelai looks like she had been punched in the face, "Lorelai Leigh, why is your baby brother calling you his mother?"

Rory gives Lorelai an apologetic look, "Mom, I don't know. I've been trying to tell him that I'm not his mother since he started talking."

Lorelai hands Mel over to Luke, and rubs her temples, "I'm sorry. But I can't deal with this right now."

Mel puts her arms out wide and tries to get Lorelai to take her back into her arms. But when Lorelai refuses, Mel screams loudly and cries for her mama.

Luke looks at Lorelai and says softly, "Honey please calm down."

Lorelai shakes her head and heads up to their bedroom and slams the door.

She turns around to find a bloodbath still left over from the night the twins were born. She feels sick and falls down gently to the ground and curls up into a ball.

Luke comes up to the bedroom door and knocks quietly, "Lorelai Victoria Danes. Please open the door right now."

When Lorelai doesn't respond, Luke looks at Mel, who has since calmed down, and looks back up at the door, "I brought Mel. She's been crying for you."

Lorelai slightly opens it enough for him to hand her Melody, "Hand me the baby."

Luke chuckles slightly, "As you wish."

He gives Mel to her and watches her shut the door in his face.

Lorelai cooes at Mel, "Hi sweet girl. Mommy is very sorry that she was gone for the first few months of your life."

Mel whispers her second word, "D-d-dada."

Lorelai looks at the door, knowing that Luke was still on the other side, "Luke, did you hear your daughter?"

Luke chuckles, "See, even she knows that you need me."

Lorelai pushes the door open and lets Luke in.

He sits beside her and raps an arm around her.

Luke smiles and kisses Lorelais forehead, "You okay now?"

Lorelai nods and looks down at Mel, who is in her arms, "I feel much better. Thank you."

Melody plays with the locket around Lorelais neck and giggles, "Mama and dada."

Lorelai smiles, "The future is bright for this one."

Luke chuckles, "I see Harvard or Yale in her future."

Luke takes one of Mel's little hands in his then looks at Lorelai, "She's a spitting image of you."

After a few minutes of precious looks and quietness, a small snore escapes the lips of the tiny little girl in Lorelais arms.

Lorelai looks at Luke and giggles, "She got the snores from you babe."

Luke leans into her, and kisses her smiling lips, "Hmm. I missed you."

Lorelai kisses him back and runs her free hand through his hair, knocking off his baseball cap, "Mmmm. I missed you too baby."

Lorelai pulls away and looks at the crime scene on the bed and all around it, "Luke, did you ever think to get this place cleaned? Or get a new mattress?"

Luke cringes, "Lorelai, I couldn't even go in here. Let alone clean it."

Lorelai sighs then takes his hand, "Luke, I'm so sorry."

Luke's eyes grow wide, "Lorelai. Do not apologize. You getting kidnapped, was not your fault."

Lorelai quietly starts to sob, "But I hurt you. You thought I left you and was never coming back. You know how much I love you. I made you doubt me and us."

Luke raps both of his arms around her and holds her very close to his chest, "I was very scared. I was traumatized. I couldn't believe that I had lost you for good."

Lorelai looks deep into his eyes and tries to find the words to say, but is speechless.

Luke starts playing with her fingers and smiles, "So, are you ready to send Miss. Lorelai Leigh Danes off to college next year?"

Lorelai grins, "Not without doing our world famous Danes pro-con lists."

Luke chuckles with a groan, "Not those again."

Lorelai points a finger into his chest, "Babe, you know those are mandatory. We've been doing them since she was five."

Luke laughs, "Fine. If they are a must."

Lorelai smiles, "So what's new with Aprilanne?"

Luke smiles a huge proud smile, "April is going to try out for Americas Got Talent and she's in choir at school."

Lorelai grins, "My baby is going to be on TV?!"

Luke laughs, "Cool your jets, crazy lady. She has to audition first."

Lorelai laughs, "I can't believe it though! My baby. Possibly going to be on TV? That's a major accomplishment!"

Mel starts stirring in Lorelais arms and sleepily whispers, "Mama. Dada."

Luke looks at their daughter and whispers to Lorelai, "We created a precious little angel."

Lorelai nods with a gigantic smile, "We did."

Lorelai laughs, "Has she been trying trying to take Rorys coffee yet?"

Luke chuckles, "She tried to this morning."

Lorelai doesn't know if she should laugh or be disgusted with herself, "Yep. She is my mini me for sure."

Luke gives her a goofy smile, "I have a belated birthday present for you."

Lorelai grins, "What? Did you get me a pony? A puppy? Lucas, spill."

Luke pulls out two tickets out of the pocket of his flannel, "Two tickets to see Maroon Five. And there may be meet 'n' greet passes involved."

Lorelais eyes widen, "Besides the Bangles, they are my favorite band!"

Luke nods, "I know. I'm going so Adam Levine can't try any funny business."

She leans in and softly kisses him, "Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me."

Luke kisses her back then looks at the bed, "I'd say that we could lay in it, but we can't."

Lorelai giggles but then turns serious, "Babe, let's take the kids, and stay at the inn until the cleaner guys finish cleaning. Cause there's still blood spots down the stairs and on the living room carpet too. And I'll call my dad and get him to purchase a new mattress for us."

Luke stands up and gently pulls Lorelai off the floor, without hurting her and waking up Mel, "Okay. Let's go. Did you already get our rooms?"

Lorelai pulls out her cellphone and dials the inn, and Michel picks up, his French accent was something she missed, "Independence Inn, Michel speaking."

Lorelai smiles, "Hi Michel, it's Lorelai."

Michels eyes light up, "Lorelai! Thank God. How are you? Are you glad to be home? Has your husband shaved that beard of his?"

Lorelai giggles, "I'm feeling pretty good. I'm glad to be alive. I am so glad to have Luke and the kids back…", She pauses to stick her tongue out at Luke, "…Yes Michel. Lucas has shaved his castaway beard."

Luke grumbles, "You two are ridiculous."

Michel laughs, "Good. Now what I can do for you?"

Lorelai nods, "I need a couple rooms, for right now. We need a place to sleep because the carpet cleaning guys that Sookie called, are coming over for the evening to get our house restored to normal."

Michel barely even glances over the books to see if there is a room available, "We have two rooms open just for you, Mrs. Danes."

Lorelai smiles brightly, "Thank you Michel, see you soon."

They both hang up and Lorelai looks at Luke, "Alright. That's settled. I'll call dad about the mattress tomorrow. Let's go. I'm getting really sleepy."

After getting everyone together in the living room to explain the plan, Luke and Lorelai decide on taking the jeep.

They all pile in the jeep and head to the inn.

That night with Luke's arms wrapped around her tight, Lorelai finally has the best sleep that she hasn't had in five months.

A Month Later- Luke's Diner- Lorelais first day back in the diner-

Lorelai comes in carrying a small convertible car seat, and smiles down at the little bundle, "Mel, where's daddy?"

Mel squeals, "DADA!"

Lorelai giggles and tries to act natural when Luke comes out of the kitchen, "Hi burger boy."

Luke grins and leans over the counter, "Hi crazy lady."

He looks down at the blue eyes peering up at him from the car seat, "Miss. Mel. I see you've come to visit daddy."

Lorelai smiles and sits the seat on the counter, "She's wanted to see you all day."

Mel puts her little hands out and pouts, "Dada."

Luke raps his hands around hers and laughs, "Hi angel. Daddy missed you too."

Suddenly Miss Patty, Babette, Lulu, Kirk, and the rest of the town notice the presence of the youngest and tiniest Danes daughter, and they all flock over to the counter, "Luke! Can I hold her?!"

"Luke, she looks just like Lorelai! So beautiful!"

Lorelai giggles, "She also has a thing for coffee. She keeps trying to take it from me when I drink it."

Luke rolls his eyes, "Probably because she is trying to make sure you don't die from drinking too much."

Lorelai gives him a funny look and snorts, "No. She wants coffee hon. Maybe we should just give it to her?"

Luke shakes his head, "No. Not happening."

Miss Patty looks back from Mel to Luke and Lorelai, "She loves the attention. Lorelai, she is you."

Lorelai laughs, "What can I say? She's got good genes."

Suddenly the front door of the diner opens, and Rory is walking in with Junior in his car seat.

Luke looks over at Rory, "Hey Pumpkin. How was the college fair?"

Rory sets Juniors seat on the counter beside Mel's, and takes a deep breath, "It was great. I'm coming to the final decision."

Lorelai looks at Rory with wide eyes and sits up straight, "Please don't base your decision on me or your father."

Rory nods, "Mom. Dad. I'm going to Harvard."

Luke sticks his tongue out at his wife, "In your face! My baby is going to Harvard!"

He runs around the counter and envelops his daughter in a huge hug, "I'm so proud of you Lorelai Leigh!"

Rory clears her throat and Luke lets go of her, "Dad. You didn't let me finish… I'll go to Harvard now and get my degree in law. Then I will go to Yale for my degree in journalism, once I'm finished with Harvard."

Lorelai laughs, "Ha! She's going to Yale too! In your face!"

Lorelai walks over to Rory and hugs her tight, "My precious baby girl is going to both colleges. This is like a dream. I'm so proud of you honey."

Babette turns Mel's seat around and Mel squeals, "Rorrrr!"

Rory walks over to Mel and smiles at her, "Are you trying to say Rory, Melly?"

Mel nods and blows Rory a kiss, "Rorrr… Rory."

Rory grins from ear to ear, "My baby sister is the smartest little bean."

Lorelai smiles brightly and pats Mel's chubby little leg, "Kid, you are going to go places."

Suddenly, Junior starts getting fussy, and Lorelai tries to pick him up to rock him. But that only makes it worse.

Rory looks at her baby brother and picks up his carrier, "I'll take him to Aunt Sookie. Me and April have somewhere to be, so we'll be gone a while."

Rory kisses her parents goodbye, before heading out her car and strapping Junior in. She pulls away from the diner and heads up the street to Sookies.

Sookie answers the door cheerfully, "Hey Sweetie. Where's my little boy?"

Rory hands Junior's seat to Sookie, "Here he is! He's starting to get very fussy. Just as a warning."

Sookie takes the seat from Rory, "Thank you. I will take good care of him. Bye hon."

Sookie shuts the door, and Rory goes and gets back into her car.

She drives to the elementary school and waits for April to get out of school.

At three o'clock, April comes running out to the car and gets in, "You ready?"

Rory nods as she pulls away from the school, "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

30 Minutes later- The Gilmore Mansion-

Rory pulls up and gulps, "Mom's going to kill us."

April looks up at the house and rubs her forehead, "You've got that right."

They get out of the car and walk to the door and knock.

A young terrified maid answers the door, "Hello. May I help you?"

Rory smiles and clasps her hands together, "Hi. I'm Lorelai Leigh Danes, and this is Aprilanne Marie Elizabeth Danes. We are here to see Richard and Emily. We're their granddaughters."

The maid nods and ushers them in and yells up the stairs, "Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore, your granddaughters are here!"

Richard comes down the stairs with Emily behind him, complaining about his new tie, "Emily, I highly doubt anyone will pay attention to my tie."

"Well Richard, I don't like it", Emily says with a huff before looking up at her granddaughters in shock.

Rory extends her hand, "Hi grandma. I'm Lorelai Leigh. Rory for short."

April smiles and curtsies, "Hi grandma. I'm Aprilanne Marie Elizabeth. You can call me April or Apricot, which ever you prefer."

Emily looks at both of them and starts crying, "You two are the spiting image of your mother. Beautiful. I can't believe I missed most of your lives."

Richard looks at Emily and hands her a handkerchief, "Dear, Lorelai actually gave birth to twins six months ago. A boy named, Lucas William Richard Danes, and a girl named, Melody Victoria Rose Danes. So you have two new grandchildren to spoil."

Emily looks at them, "Girls. I'm sorry for the way I treated your mother. It was very wrong of me. I mean this in the most sincere way possible."

Rory looks down at her dress shoes, "Grandma. You can't forget that you hurt our father too."

Emily looks down, "I know. I didn't think that your father was good enough for your mother. I regret my decisions. I hope that he can forgive me."

Rory looks up at her grandmother, "Besides, we are the spitting image of dad too. If you hate him, you hate us too."

Richard looks at Emily then back at the girls, "She doesn't hate your father. She hates that your mother never married Christopher."

Emily looks upset, "Richard, stop. I don't want to make them angry."

Rory stands up and is enraged, "So you wanted my mother to marry that slime ball?! He tried to kill both my mother and my father. And he tried to kill me and April. Then he held my mother captive for five months, and hurt her badly. She has so many scars and is mostly in pain from the damage he caused. But you know what makes this story even better? She killed that asshole. That's right. In pure self defense."

Emily cowers down in her seat, speechless.

Richard looks at the girls and nods to the dining room, "Who's hungry? Let's eat."

Three hours later-

The girls are getting ready to go when Emily comes over, "Girls, I'd like to see you coming over every Friday night for dinner. And I'd like you to bring your mother, father, Mel, and little Lucas."

Rory nods, "We will talk to them and find out if that's what they want to do."

April nods, "Yes, we will talk to them."

Both of them say their goodbyes and head to the car.

Rory gulps, "Mom is going to totally kill us."

April rubs her head, "We better go pick up Junior and head home. We don't want dad to start freaking out, like that one time where we were a minute late getting home."

Crap Shack-

Lorelai comes into the house after going to check on the wedding party at the inn, and notices the girls sitting at the kitchen table, "Hi girls. What's going on? Why do you both look like you're about to cry?"

Rory looks at her mother, then motions to a chair, "Mom, you are going to need to sit down."

Luke comes in right on queue, and helps Lorelai sit down, "I'm figuring that I need to sit too?"

April nods, "Yes dad. You too."

Luke sits beside his wife and takes her hand under the table, "What's going on?"

Rory takes a deep breath, "We went to dinner at Grandma and grandpas tonight. We talked and-"

Lorelai puts her free hand up and looks very angry, "You went and saw my mother?! Lorelai Leigh Danes, you went behind my back! You know that I haven't spoken to her since that day in court! Damn Rory! I can't believe you!"

Rory looks down at her hands, "She invited us to dinner for every Friday night. She wants to apologize!"

Lorelai stands up and wobbles in the process, causing Luke to stand up and let her fall against his chest, "After every fucking thing she did, she thinks that having us over every Friday night until we all die, is going to fix this? Hell no."

Luke rubs her back, "Lorelai, calm down and think about it."

Lorelai pushes away from him, "No, damnit. I don't want to think about it. It's done. It's final. Hell no!"

Rory stands up and points her finger at her mother with a scowl on her face, "Maybe if you wouldn't have gotten pregnant at almost sixteen with me, you wouldn't have had a shitty relationship with grandma! Or maybe you should have gotten married to Christopher like you were supposed to!"

Finally Luke steps in and is furious, "Lorelai Leigh, you better stop right now! You are being very disrespectful to your mother!"

Rory looks so angry as tears fill her eyes, "WHY WON'T YOU LET US GET TO KNOW OUR GRANDMOTHER?!"

Lorelais tiny voice grows icy and loud, "BECAUSE SHE IS THE REASON YOUR SISTER WAS TAKEN AWAY! THE REASON WHY YOUR FATHER MISSED FOUR YEARS OF YOUR LIFE! SHE DID ALL OF THAT! DO NOT BLAME ANY OF IT ON ME DAMNIT!"

Suddenly, Mel and Junior start screaming because of the shouting match.

Luke looks down, then heads up to take care of them without a word.

Lorelai looks down at her hands then back up at Rory.

Rory looks away from her mothers stare, "I'm going to stay at Grandmas and Grandpas until graduation."

Rory goes to walk away when Lorelai grabs her arm, "LORELAI LEIGH, THERE IS NO FUCKING WAY THAT YOU ARE GOING TO STAY WITH THEM!"

Rory gasps and tries to pull her arm away, "GET THE HELL OFF OF ME LORELAI!"

Lorelai gives her a dirty look, "YOUNG LADY, DO NOT TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!"

Rory pushes Lorelai down, "I'M GOING AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!"

Lorelai gets up and gives her an angry look, "I BROUGHT YOU INTO THIS WORLD WITH SO MUCH LOVE! YOUR GRANDMOTHER WILL TAKE ALL OF IT AWAY! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?! I DO NOT WANT YOU TO BE WHO I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

Rory stops fighting, "What the hell am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to be you?!"

Lorelai shakes her head, "God, no. But you can make better decisions then I did."

Rory rolls her eyes, "I'm going to bed. Don't expect me to come out of my room tomorrow."

Lorelai yells over the sound of Rorys bedroom door slamming, "DIDN'T PLAN ON IT!"

Luke comes down and stands beside her, "Damn. I can't believe she did that. Who does she think she is?"

Lorelai takes Luke by the arm, "Let's just go to bed, I'm very weak and I'm about to fall over."

They both go to bed and lie awake, as they think of their daughters future.

May 16th 2003- Rorys High School Graduation-

17 year old Rory Danes sits in her bedroom finishing the final details on her speech, when her mother comes in with a garment bag, "Hey kid. I have your dress."

Rory hides the speech and smiles up at her mother, "Thanks mom. So how's it feel to have your oldest daughter about to graduate high school today?"

Lorelai looks a bit sad, "I have mixed feelings. I'm excited for you, but I'm also sad because my baby is leaving me."

Rory pats her mothers arm, "Don't be sad. You have dad, April, and the twins. It'll be alright."

Lorelai looks down at the bag in her arms and smiles, "Do you wanna see the dress? It's some of my best work."

Rory shakes her head, "No. Grandma bought me a dress so I'm good. But thank you anyway."

Lorelai goes into Rorys closet and finds the dress from Emily, "You are not wearing this Rory."

Rory stands up, "Why not?"

Lorelai groans, her head taking her back to every dress fitting she had ever had as a child, "Rory, this isn't you. This is Emily. My mother is trying to pull you away from me."

Tired of the discussion, Rory rolls her eyes and shrugs her shoulders. "Fine. What the hell ever." Her tone held resentment as she said, "I'll wear the one you made me."

Lorelai wished Rory wouldn't swear, but at least Rory wasn't yelling at her. Feeling a bit more confident, lorelai said, "I made it in your favorite color. I thought you would like..."

"I said I would wear the damn thing." Rory turned away from her mother. "I didn't want to have a heart to heart talk about it."

Knowing it was pointless to argue, Lorelai stood at the bedroom door and said, "I'm so proud of all the work you put in, Rory. I can't wait to hear your speech. All our hard work paid off, baby girl!"

The reply, mumbled as it was, was still audible to Lorelai, "I did all the work. You just fucked my life up."

"Rory. That's enough!" Lorelai said, her voice threatening to get louder. "I don't understand where this is coming from."

Rory turned around. She didn't yell, she just said, "Get out of my room, mom." When Lorelai didn't move, Rory's voice got louder. "I said get out of my room!" Tears came to Rory's eyes, "I don't want you here."

Lorelai tried to understand. "What, Rory! I don't want to leave you like this."

Rory walked over and pushed her mother out of her room. Just as she was about to slam the door, Rory yelled. "You know why I'm excited for today? Because after today I won't have to see you anymore!"

Lorelai was crying at the thought of Rory not wanting to see her.

Rory finished with, "Come to my graduation. But you'd better take a good look at me up there on that platform because that's going to be the last time you fucking see me again!"

Lorelai starts sobbing quietly, and Luke comes over and holds her close to him, "Shhh. It's okay baby. She'll come around."

Rory listens through the other side of the door and feels a pang of guilt run through her body.

She walks over to her bed and sits down and takes out her speech and starts writing about the two people who gave her life, and through all circumstances, loved her and fought for her no matter what.

Chilton Court Yard-

Rory had drove alone to get her thoughts together. She decided to give her mom the silent treatment until after the speech.

She pulls up to the school and gets out, and puts her cap over her head and walks to the line of her classmates.

Once Luke and Lorelai get to the court yard, April carries Junior to their assigned seats for the valedictorians family, and Lorelai carries Mel over and sits.

Lorelai smiles at her husband as he takes a seat right beside her, "This is strange. Are you feeling really old right now?"

Luke looks back at her in surprise, "What are you talking about?"

Lorelai groans, "For one, we have four children. One who is eighteen and graduating high school and going to both of the colleges that we graduated from. One who is thirteen and is in middle school. And to top that off, two one year olds."

Luke laughs and pats Lorelais knee, "Honey, we aren't that old."

Suddenly, Richard walks over, "Hello you all. How is everyone today?"

Lorelai smiles, "Hi dad. Thanks for coming."

Richard grins, "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

After a few minutes, Head Master Charleston comes up and talks about Chilton, and Paris does the pledge of allegiance.

Headmaster Charleston comes back to microphone and smiles, "Next up, I'd like to present our valedictorian, who was second year transfer from a very wonderful school in her home town of Stars Hollow. She is a very strong, independent, amazing young woman. Her name is, Lorelai Leigh Danes."

From the audience, Luke and Lorelai both have proud tears in their eyes.

Mel and Junior clap for their big sister and start making noises.

Rory smiles at the crowd as she walks to the microphone, "Hello all. I can't believe it's over. It's been a long ride. It's been an honor to be able to go here and to get to know all of you. It was once a dream of mine, and also my parents dream for me as well."

Rory pauses and feels tears fill in her eyes, "If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here in front of you all today. My parents are the smartest, kindest, and funniest people alive. I was once mad at them for protecting me from someone who could take all my joy away, but I was wrong. They have sacrificed a lot of their life for me."

Lorelai looks for Sookie who is supposed to be taking pictures, and finds her near the podium.

Rory looks out into the crowd at Luke and Lorelai, "My dad, is a Harvard Graduate. He is lawyer, and the owner of a diner. He taught me how to run a business from the ground up. My mother is a Yale Graduate. She is a business major, and is the executive manager of an Inn. She taught me how to grow up and not take nonsense from anyone, and to always have a wonderful work ethic. I am so proud of the both of them."

Rory smiles wide, "Thank you mom and dad for loving and supporting me. Also, I'd like to thank both of my grandpas, especially since one is in heaven, and my sister April. Thank you for believing in me too. Thank you. I love you all."

Luke and Lorelai stand up and cheer for their daughter then sit down as diplomas are handed out.

Richard smiles, "That was a beautiful speech."

Lorelai smiles at her dad and wipes her eyes, "It was? Wasn't it?"

Luke nods and kisses his wife's forehead, "It made me cry."

Lorelai giggles, "Aww. Poor stone cold Luke."

Once Head Master Charleston gets to the "D"'s section, Luke and Lorelai are proudly looking on, as Rorys name is called.

"Lorelai Leigh Danes."

Rory walks up, gets her diploma, shakes the headmasters hand, smiles for pictures, then looks up at Lorelai and Luke who are blubbering, and smiles at them.

Lorelai wipes her eyes, then looks over at April, "Hey kid, could you hand me Mel?"

April nods and hands over Mel to her mother.

Melody squeals, "RORY!"

Lorelai grins at her youngest daughter, then back at Rory, "RORY! Future Harvard and Yale graduate!"

Luke shakes his head and looks at Rory and shrugs his shoulders, "You two are crazy."

After the ceremony-

The Danes clan and Richard all walk to Rorys seat.

Rory turns around and smiles at her family, "Hi everybody. Did you enjoy the graduation?"

Lorelai kisses Mel's head and nods, "Honey, it was great."

Sookie runs over and hugs Rory, then whispers in Lorelais ear, "We got the inn!"

Sookie and Lorelai have decided to reopen the Dragonfly Inn and be owners together.

Neither one of the others knew about it until this very moment.

Jackson comes over and smiles, "Congrats Rory! I am so proud of you."

Sookie and Lorelai start jumping around and screaming, "WE DID IT!"

Luke looks at the both of them and laughs, "What's wrong with you two?"

Lorelai takes a deep breath, "WE ARE OPENING OUR OWN INN!"

Sookie giggles and smiles wide, "We better celebrate Rorys accomplishments first before our own!"

Luke's eyes grow gigantic as he thinks of his wife being the owner of her own inn. He can't help but get proud tears in his eyes, as her pulls her into a gigantic hug.

Lorelai hugs him back and kisses his lips softly, "Thank you for always being proud of me."

Luke runs his fingers through her hair and grins, "I will always be proud of you, love."

Lorelai looks around at everyone's happy faces and smiles, "Let's go celebrate Rorys big day!"

Rory smiles, "Can we drink champagne? Pretty please?"

Lorelai looks at Rory then back to Luke, "You better ask your father."

Luke can't help but fall victim to the Rory face and agrees, "Yes pumpkin. We can have some in your honor."

Rory squeals in surprise as a big black limo pulls up in front of her, "Mom. Dad. Grandpa. Did you guys get me a limo?!"

Luke nods happily, walks over to the limo and opens the door, "It's custom designed just for you."

Rory puts a hand over her mouth as she gets into it and looks around, "Oh my god! This is amazing! I am beyond blown away!"

Lorelai grins at Luke and Richard, as Rory exclaims, "There's a bowling alley and a hot tub in here! Ooooh! I see pizza!"

Lorelai giggles, "Okay Sherlock, Buckle up, cause it's time to party!"

Everyone gets in and the driver gets the signal to drive away.

Richard pops the champagne and hands Rory a glass first, then hands Luke and Lorelai a glass, "To the graduate! You have a bright future ahead of you! I am so lucky to be your grandfather, Rory Danes."

Rory clinks glasses with her parents and grandfather and smiles brightly, "I feel so alive! I feel like a rock star!"

A few minutes later-

Lorelai pours her daughter and herself a fifth round of champagne, and smiles, "Drink up Pumpkin!"

Rory is really drunk by now and laughs at her mother, "You look funny."

Lorelai hits her playfully, "Heyyyyy. Don't talk bad about your mommy. You look like me you know."

Suddenly, Rory unbuckles, gets out of her seat, goes to the moonroof, presses the button to open it, and stands up, "I'm queen of the world!"

Lorelai gets up and joins her daughter, "This is amazing!"

Luke takes the bottle out of Lorelais hand, and she comes back down from the moonroof, "I'm cutting you off. You got our eighteen year old daughter drunk."

Lorelai pouts, "So? It's her big day. You don't have to be a sour puss about it."

Luke grins in satisfaction as he watches her pout, "Sorry. No more. I've been trying to keep her from getting drunk since you poured number two. Right Sookie?"

Sookie looks over at Jackson and nods, "Oh yeah. He has."

Lorelai shakes her head, "This isn't over you evil, evil man."

A Few Months Later- Rory Moves To Harvard-

Lorelai yells over the staircase to her older daughters room, "RORY LETS GO! We're going to be late!"

Rory yells back, "WHERES DAD?! I have another box and a suitcase for him to put in the truck!"

Luke comes in and yells up to his wife, "LORELAI! Come outside I have something for you!"

Lorelais feet come pounding down the stairs and out to the porch.

She looks over and sees a new state of the art, red, 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Extended Cab sitting in their driveway.

Lorelais mouth breaks out into a smile, "Luke! Did you buy me a truck?!"

Luke stands by the truck and smiles, "This is also a belated birthday gift. I figured it may be easier if you had your own truck."

Rory giggles as she comes outside with a few boxes, "Dad, did you forget the whole, "What's mine is yours" thing?"

Luke chuckles, "So your saying that, the moment your mom and I fell in love at four and five years old, that everything that I owned… became hers?!"

Rory nods with a smirk, "Yep. You just screwed up horribly. Keep digging a bigger hole."

Luke groans, as Lorelai gets into the truck and gives him a smile, "Yep. Keep digging a bigger hole Lucas! But I do love this. I'll always love my jeep, but this is different!"

Luke gives her a sexy grin, "You look sexy in a truck."

Rory packs the last of her stuff in the back of Lorelais truck, jumps in the backseat and hits the back of her mothers seat playfully, "Let's go! Chop chop! And stop flirting. You're grossing me out!"

Luke gets in, buckles up and Lorelai pulls out of the driveway.

Harvard-

Lorelai pulls in by Rorys car into her fancy guest parking spot and grins back at her daughter, "Why darling. You have your own parking spot? That's a great accomplishment for our future lawyer."

Luke looks back at his daughter, "I am truly proud of you, Pumpkin."

Rory grins, "Thank you. Now let's go inside and get my stuff unpacked. I'm getting tired and I'm also not ready for the tears from the both of you."

All three of the Danes clan gets out of the truck and start unpacking and moving stuff to Rorys room.

After four hours of hanging out with Rory for the last time for a while, Luke and Lorelai start saying their goodbyes.

Lorelai looks at her oldest daughter and as the tears start filling her eyes, she pulls her into a tight embrace, "Goodbye Pumpkin. Make sure you call a lot and come visit a lot. I'm so proud of you. I'll miss you so much."

Rory squeezes her mother tight, and the tears fill her eyes too, "I will. I love you mama."

Lorelai kisses her forehead as she pulls away, "Back at ya kid."

Rory then turns around to Luke and pulls him into her arms, "Bye daddy. I'll miss you."

Luke hugs her tight as tears claw at the corners of his eyes, "Oh Rory. I'm so proud of you. I believe in you, more than you know. I love you Pumpkin."

Luke lets go of Rory, then walks over to Lorelai and raps his arms around her waist.

Rory waves at them as she walks down the courtyard, and Luke and Lorelai watch her walk away, their eyes filled with tears and pride.

A Week Later-

Lorelai smiled, barely awake as she felt her husband's arm wrap around her stomach and pull her close to him. She knew by his breathing that he was asleep, and the thought of him pulling her closer to him in his sleep made her snuggle in against him.

Her mind went where any mother's mind went when she had free time. To her kids. She couldn't believe that Rory had started at Harvard last week. It felt like just a few days ago that she had held her firstborn in her arms in the hospital. And April had been sticking close to Lorelai since Rory had gone to college; April was always talking about something that she had read in her science book or some experiment she wanted to conduct in the kitchen that could possibly blow something up. Lorelai was looking forward to getting a bit closer to April, with April being the oldest kid at home right now.

She tried not to hurt when thinking about Lucas. She loved to see his serious face when he was trying to learn a new skill. Just the other day, Luke and Lorelai had been sitting on the couch watching him try to work one of the puzzles that Richard had given the little toddler; they had both laughed as he focused so hard on getting one of the pieces put into the wrong spot. He would look at the piece, try to put it into the open space. When it didn't fit, he would hold the piece again, look at it for a bit longer, and then try again to put it into the same space.

Lucas was talking quite frequently now. He used his words sparingly, just like his father, but he ate his veggies just like his mother, kicking and screaming that usually ended up with one or both parents wearing the food.

But he was still so stand-offish to Lorelai. He wouldn't let her pick him up, hold his hand, or even talk directly to him. It hurt so much to know that he didn't think of her as his mother. She remembered when she had first seen her little boy that day in the operating room. How absolutely perfect he had been, his little hand curling around her finger –she had missed so much with him, and she hated that fact. And she didn't blame him for not trusting her – Rory had been his mother for the major part of his life. But that didn't stop Lorelai from crying sometimes late at night when Luke went down to calm his crying because if Lorelai went down, Lucas would cry louder.

Luke kept telling her to just give it time. That eventually when Lucas realized that she was going to be there forever, that she wasn't going to leave, and that Lorelai loved him, Lucas would learn to love her too.

Her heart skipped a beat when she thought of little Mel. From the beginning, Mel had been a constant surprise. Her birth, when Lorelai realized that she had been carrying two babies instead of just one. Her reaction when Lorelai had come home to see her baby for the first time. Lorelai remembered the beautiful feeling in her arms as Mel had walked to her, and the feeling in her heart when Mel had called her "mama." She was smaller than most kids at that age, only because of how premature she had been born, but somehow that made her more precious to her family, the little baby of the family. And Lorelai loved how Mel would come with her to work, and everyone was entertained and overjoyed to see the little ball of happiness – her light brown hair and deep blue eyes shining along with her beautiful smile that brought joy to everyone who saw her.

She was startled out of her musing by a sound from the baby monitor. Coughing. She smiled at the little girl cough she heard. But she stopped smiling when she heard the low, guttural coughing that wasn't leaving much time to breathe in between inhales and coughing. Luke stirred around her as she got up out of bed and wrapped her robe around her thin nightgown.

"Lorelai, what's wrong?" He groggily asked.

She whispered, "Mel's coughing. Go back to sleep. I'm going to go check on her."

He asked, "You sure?" But she could tell that before all the words were out of his mouth he was asleep again. She knew he worked so hard for her and had to get up in a few hours to go to the diner, so she turned off the monitor in their bedroom and quietly closed the door. The coughing had stopped before she reached the little nursery, but she walked in to check on her little girl before going back to bed. She walked over to the crib that Luke had made for their little girl after she had been brought home – and she looked over into the crib to find a red-faced Mel looking up at her with her big blue eyes and tears on her cheeks

Lorelai could tell she was breathing just fine now, but when Mel held her arms up to be picked up, Lorelai didn't hesitate to reach over and pick her little bundle of joy up, and she let Mel lay her head on Lorelai's shoulder as she quietly walked out of the little room, careful not to wake her little Lucas as she closed the door.

Walking into the living room, Lorelai turned on the lamp and whispered to Mel, "Baby girl, are you trying to scare Mommy with your coughing?" Mel looked over at her when Lorelai sat down on the couch and placed the little girl in the soft onesie pajamas on her knee. Brushing the little tears from her daughter's face, Lorelai said, "You just wanted some Mommy time, didn't you?"

A small smile came to her two-year-old's face. "Mommy. Time to play."

"Oh no" Lorelai playfully exaggerated. "What have I started? Now you're going…"

But she stopped talking when Mel's body seized up as she started coughing, of course the little girl didn't cover her mouth, but her whole body went rigid. The coughing went on and on, and then her little lungs sucked in air only to begin coughing again. And again.

Lorelai started to panic when her baby's lips started to turn blue. She was still breathing, but tears were coming out of her eyes as she coughed and coughed. Lorelai patted her back, wondering if she had maybe inhaled some saliva into her lungs or something. But nothing seemed to help. And when the lips started turning blue, even though Mel was breathing, Lorelai knew something was terribly wrong.

She didn't bother about waking anyone up. She didn't care about worrying anyone. She didn't worry about anything but the tiny girl in her arms who wasn't getting enough oxygen. Lorelai screamed up the stairs. "LUKE! LUKE!"

She knew he would come. Mel's arms reached around Lorelai's neck as Lorelai laid her on her shoulder, hoping that sitting upright and the patting on her back would help the toddler get back to breathing normally.

And she frantically called again, "LUKE!"

And she heard feet hit the floor upstairs. And pounding down the stairs until her strong, emotionally stable man came into sight – the only thing on his body was his boxer shorts and the blanket from the bed that was caught on his foot. "Lorelai. What is…"

And his eyes flew to Mel in her arms. "Is she…?"

Lorelai didn't have time to let him say anything. "I can't get her to stop coughing. I don't think she's getting enough oxygen…" She pulled the little girl from her shoulder and turned her around so she could check to see if the toddler's lips were any less blue. No change.

Luke was now standing beside Lorelai, and he reached out to take Mel from Lorelai, but the little girl pulled away from him and onto Lorelai's shoulder.

Lorelai was frantic now. "Luke, I think we need…"

"I'll start the jeep. You go tell Rory to watch the…" Luke stopped his thoughts suddenly. They always depended on Rory to watch the kids when something like this happened. Luke looked into her eyes, and Lorelai knew that one of them would have to stay here with the kids. April was too young to look after Lucas, and it would take Sookie too long to get here. They needed to get Melody to the hospital right now.

Lorelai started to hand Mel to Luke. "I'll stay. It will be…" But Mel wouldn't let go of her neck.

"I'll stay until Sookie gets here." Luke said, and then added, "And then I'll come right away."

Lorelai was already over to the door, grabbed Mel's diaper bag and a big blanket to cover up the little girl as she ran out the door to the jeep. Luke walked out with them, and helped her get Mel into the carseat. Lorelai was afraid to leave Melody in the backseat of the jeep while she was up in the front seat driving. What if she stopped breathing. What if she got scared and started crying, which she was already doing over her coughing.

Lorelai knew Luke was thinking the same thing. But they just couldn't leave the two other kids here alone.

Then she heard her little Apricot's voice coming from the porch. "Mom, can I go with you? I'm scared for Mel!"

They both let out a sigh of relief, because then someone would be with Mel in the backseat while they were going to the hospital. Within a few seconds, April was there, holding her little sister's hand, while Lorelai sped down the road, listening to her little toddler go from crying in pain to coughing so hard Lorelai was scared. All she could think about was getting her baby girl to the hospital – to someone who could help – because something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong.

HOSPITAL: FOUR HOURS LATER.

Breathing in.

A second.

Breathing out.

A second.

Beeping.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

A second.

Lorelai was looking at her baby girl. Sedated. Tubes going down her throat, through her nose, into her arms, and even more wires attached all over her chest, fingers, toes.

She tried to remember what and why they were all there.

On her toes to check her oxygen levels.

On her fingers to check her capillary refill.

Her chest to keep track of something to do with her heart.

The IV into her tiny arm was for fluids and antibiotics.

The tube in her nose and throat were to help her little girl breathe.

Because the doctors said that her little girl's lungs were weak. And they didn't know why. They said that it could have been she got a virus or even just a little cold. But because Mel had been a premie, her lungs hadn't developed to the point that they were able to hold their own against whatever complicated thing had happened.

The hospital crib seemed so big for her baby girl. And the room seemed even bigger. In the corner, April had fallen asleep on the couch, the nurse had brought a blanket and pillow for the teenager, who had been such a help the whole time.

But Lorelai just stood above her baby's bed, unable to fight the tears that came down her face at the thought of how close she had come to losing Melody. As they had been walking into the emergency room, she remembered the empty feeling as Melody had stopped breathing. Tears streamed down Lorelai's face as she remembered how afraid she had been. And how terrified she had gone into that emergency room, screaming for someone to help them, to help her because her baby wasn't breathing. And how quickly her little girl had been torn out of her hands. How afraid she was as they inserted the tube in her throat. And how empty her arms had felt.

There was one other time she had felt so empty.

That day that Chris had dragged her out of the hospital. The day she had left her baby here. How empty and horrible and such a bad mother she had felt then. And now, there was no way that anything could make her go sit down on a chair. No, she was going to stay right there. And watch her little baby, who was hooked up to so many machines and cords – watch her breathe.

Breathe in.

A second.

Breathe out.

And Lorelai kept telling herself to breathe in and breathe out. It was the only way to keep the panic away.

Back at the Crap Shack-

Luke groggily sits on the couch, praying that his precious baby girl was going to be okay, and that his wife could stay calm until he got there.

Suddenly a knock on the door, yanks Luke out of his daze, and he gets up to open it, to find Sookie looking him up and down.

Luke looks down and notices that he's still in just his boxers, and his face turns bright red, "Ah jeez."

Sookie giggles, "I'm here to relieve you of your parenting duties."

Luke nods, "Make yourself at home. Oh wait, you already have"

Sookies pushes him up the stairs, "Go Lucas."

Luke comes back downstairs in his blue flannel, blue jeans, his cap atop his head, and wedding ring on his finger, "Okay Sookie, you know the drill."

He kisses Juniors head and waves goodbye to Sookie.

Luke gets into the truck and drives to the hospital.

Hartford Memorial-

Luke runs down the hallway to his daughters room, to find Lorelai right beside Mel in a chair that a nurse brought to her earlier, holding her hand.

Luke comes around to Lorelai and holds her, as he watches his daughter sleep, "How's she doing?"

Lorelai shakes her head and holds back tears, "She's okay right now."

Luke bends down and gets on his knees so he can be closer to his wife, and wraps his arm around her shoulder, "She's going to be okay. She's strong, just like you."

Lorelai looks into his eyes and can't help letting the tears flow, "I almost lost her. My beautiful baby girl. She was so helpless. I can't lose her too."

Luke brushes a lose hair out of her face, "What you mean Lorelai? You didn't lose anyone."

Lorelai looks down at her hands then back into his eyes again, "I had a miscarriage. Last week. I wasn't even that far along and I didn't think it'd be right to even say that I was pregnant."

Luke feels a burning sensation in the back of his throat as he takes a deep breath, "Oh honey."

Lorelai starts crying again, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Luke raps both of his arms around her and holds her in his arms as she sobs.

Lorelai chokes back tears, "There was so much stress."

Luke hated it when Lorelai was hurting.

He didn't know what part was harder to deal with. The fact that he knew there was no way that he would ever be able to understand what she was going through? Or the fact that it had been his baby that she had lost. A little baby that they would have loved. And he hurt with her.

He watched her lean up against the crib, her arm brushing against Mel's cheek.

And then Luke watched as a tear rolled down his wife's soft face. And he leaned over and wrapped his hand around her waist. She laid her head on his shoulder, and she just cried. They didn't say a thing. She just stood there, leaning against him, her arm in the crib. And they hurt together. And cried. And somehow in their desperate sadness, they were strong together.

A Week Later-

Mel is still in the hospital for monitoring, so Lorelai is still staying by her side.

Luke had left the night before because he had early deliveries. But he took the rest of the day off to be with his girls.

Luke comes in carrying a big cheeseburger and a huge mug of coffee, making Lorelai jump up at the smell and run over to him.

Lorelai grins from ear to ear, "Hi handsome. You brought me food? Awww. You must really love me to go through all that trouble."

Luke leans in and kisses her softly, "Hi crazy lady. Mmm. You smell wonderful. New perfume I bought you?"

Lorelai giggles, "Yes babe. It is actually."

Luke smiles then looks over at his baby girl, who is awake and watching her parents interact, "Hey angel. How's daddies little girl feeling today?"

Mel bounces up and down, "Much better."

Luke smiles at his tiny daughter, who no matter what, was the spitting image of his wife, "Rory is coming to visit today. Are you ready to see your big sister?!"

Mel smiles, "Yay! Rory! I missed her!"

Lorelai grins, "Rory is so excited! She's being calling me all day to ask what kind of toys and snacks you like!"

Mel giggles, "Mmmm. Snacks."

Luke groans then chuckles, "No doubt about it. This child is you."

Lorelai hits his chest playfully, "Shut up you."

Suddenly, Rory busts through the door of Mel's room and is smiling wide, "MELODY! God, you look so big! You are so the spitting image of a Mrs. Lorelai Victoria Danes!"

Mel bursts into happy tears at the sight of her big sister, "RORY!

Rory holds up her pointer finger and giggles, "Hold that thought."

She races out into the hallway then comes back in carrying a huge load of balloons and a huge basket full of toys and snacks, "For you little one! A great big basket of fun!"

Mel's eyes go wide when Rory hands her the basket and balloons, "Rory! I love it!"

Rory gives her sister a hug and a kiss on the forehead, "I knew you would kid!"

Luke looks surprisingly at his eldest daughter, "What inspired you to do all this?"

Rory laughs, "I wanted to make Melly feel better!"

Lorelai grins wide, "Well you succeeded!"

Luke looks over at Mel then back at Rory, "How's school going, Pumpkin?"

Rory smiles, "It's amazing! I'm enjoying every moment of it!"

Lorelai is still grinning, "I'm so proud of you. You are going to make a fine lawyer someday, just like your daddy."