Hello slowly and surely I am getting back into the updating thing, it's just taking some time. I was sunbathing earlier cause it's so hot over here right now and I was gonna write then but the damn sun was shining on my laptop screen and I couldn't see it. Not that I'm complaining about the sun or anything :P
Thank you for your reviews, I am still a junkie you know!
"Lorelai," Mia called, five days after Christmas.
"Yeah?" the teen asked, rounding the corner into the lobby from where she'd been cleaning.
"There's a phone call for you," she replied.
"Who is it?"
"Your mother."
"Oh they must be back from their vacation," she said in realisation as she took the phone from the elder woman. "Lorelai here," she said into the receiver.
"Lorelai, it's your mother," said Emily in an overly loud voice.
"Gah why are you shouting?" she asked, holding the phone away from her ear slightly.
"We're in the car, Richard gave me his cell phone to use, damn horrible thing. It's the size of a brick and weighs a ton," she complained.
"Mom," she said, reminding her that she was the one to call her.
"Well we're in the car back from the airport and I thought I'd check to see if you were coming to dinner tonight." She was still shouting.
"Mom seriously, I can hear you just fine, please speak at a normal volume."
"So are you coming to dinner?" she asked, quieter this time.
"Erm I guess so, I mean are you up for it after all the travelling?"
"We were only in the Vineyard Lorelai; it's not exactly the other side of the world."
"Sorry," she said quietly. "We'll be at dinner," she answered the previous question.
"Oh good it will be nice to see you again, did you have an enjoyable Christmas?"
"Yeah it was great," she replied.
"What about Rory, did she have a good time?"
"She loved it, she couldn't wait to open her presents."
"Well good, I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves. We'll talk more at dinner tonight."
"Ok mom, see ya tonight." The mother and daughter hung up before Lorelai turned to Mia. "I'm gonna finish up down here then take my lunch break, is that ok?" she asked.
"Yes you're doing a marvellous job dear, where is Rory today?"
"She's with Luke, I'm gonna go over there for lunch."
"She did enjoy Christmas didn't she? Her and Jess seemed to have such a good time together."
"Yeah, they get along really well," she replied. "Probably cause they're around the same age."
"They were adorable together; you should have them play together more often."
"Liz and I were talking about that actually, we were gonna set up a couple of play dates."
"What a wonderful idea." Lorelai nodded. "Anyway I'll let you get back to work; no doubt you'll be missing that little girl of yours."
"There's no doubt about it," she replied before picking up her duster and getting back to work.
Lorelai breezed into the diner twenty minutes later, to find a pretty busy crowd. She closed the door behind her and looked around for Luke, Rory or even just a seat to sit at. She saw one open up at the counter but as she was about to rush to it, she heard the unmistakable sound of her daughter's giggles coming from one of the tables. She looked around curiously then settled on Patty, Babette and other various townies; there she spotted Rory happily sat in a high chair, munching on what looked like carrot sticks.
"Look who's here Rory!" Patty exclaimed as she pointed toward Lorelai. Rory followed the direction of her finger and giggled again when she saw Lorelai watching them curiously.
"Hi ladies," she greeted as she made her way over, the stool she had her eye on seemingly forgotten. "Hey Rory." She kissed Rory's forehead then pulled up an empty chair to the table.
"Cawa," Rory said, offering a carrot stick to her mother.
"Aww thanks baby." She took the vegetable from her daughter and munched it thoughtfully.
"No way did I just see that," she heard a voice from behind her. Her head snapped around quickly and she grinned. "Hey," he said shyly, aware of the women that were watching him.
"Hi," she replied, her mouth full of carrot.
"Did you just eat a carrot?" he asked, not sure if he was seeing things or not.
"Well Rory was offering and I couldn't say no to her little face," she explained, squeezing Rory's cheek between her fingers.
"Uh huh," he replied with a slight shake of his head. "Want some coffee?"
"Always," she said quickly. "And a burger, with some chilli fries," she added.
"You disgust me."
"Good to know." He scowled then went behind the counter to place her order and get her coffee.
"Are you coming to the party tomorrow night sugar?" Babette asked.
"Party?"
"Yeah, we plan to celebrate the New Year in style," said Patty. "You should come."
"Oh well I have Rory so I don't know if I can," she answered with a frown.
"You have to come, it's the first New Year's you're spending in Stars Hollow," Babette pleaded.
"I really want to but Rory has to be in bed by eight and the party will be way past midnight."
"Well Luke could take care of her," Gypsy suggested.
"But I don't wanna leave them while I go paint the town red, that's not what mom's are supposed to do."
"Honey you're allowed a night to yourself now and again, have a think about it and let us know if you can find a babysitter. If not you can always bring Rory with you," Patty shrugged.
"I'll see what happens," she replied, taking a sip of the coffee that Luke had put in front of her minutes ago. A New Year's party sounded like fun, especially with all the citizens of Stars Hollow. She'd only ever been to rich kid parties for New Year's and they were usually boring and stuffy, but she had a feeling that this party would actually be enjoyable. She sighed and waited for her food to arrive as she listened to the women gossip around her.
"Hey I have to get back to work," said Lorelai after half an hour. The rush had died down and there were only ten or so customers left.
"Ok, Ben's coming in at five thirty so do you want me to swing by after that?"
"Ooh actually I forgot to tell you, my parents are back from their vacation and want us to go to dinner tonight. I'm going but you don't have to if you don't want to."
"I'll go with you," he said decisively. "I kinda got used to not having to go to dinner the past couple of weeks, it's weird."
"I know but we haven't seen them since the Christmas party and it'll be nice to catch up." Luke smiled and Lorelai looked at him confusedly. "What?" she asked.
"Nothing, I was just thinking about how far you and your parents have come since I met you, you've really turned things around." Lorelai shrugged.
"We just needed to communicate more. I don't think they'll ever forgive me for running away, I mean, my mother probably won't but dad might be more understanding. It's nice having a semi normal relationship with them."
"Ok so I'll pick you both up at a quarter after six?" he asked, tickling Rory's stomach as she sat on the counter in front of him.
"Yeah, I'll make sure we're ready on time."
"You're never ready on time," he rolled his eyes. Lorelai picked up Rory, ready to take her back to the inn with her.
"Bye Burger Boy, love you." Before Luke had a chance to reply, Lorelai had kissed him on the cheek and had exited the diner. He watched her stroll past the window and smiled to himself as he shook his head. She was crazy.
"Lorelai are you ready?" he asked as he entered the potting shed that evening.
"Almost," she called from the bathroom. "Can you put Rory's coat and shoes on?"
"Sure." He picked up the tiny coat that was lying on the arm of the couch then looked around the room for his daughter. "Where is Rory?" he asked, his eyes scanning the room curiously.
"She might be in her room," he heard the faint answer before walking over to the open door that was Rory's bedroom.
"Rory?" he asked softly as his eyes adjusted to the dark room. "Are you in here?" He felt around on the wall for the light switch and flicked it on, his eyes squinting at the bright light. "What are you doing sitting in the dark?" he asked, bending down to where she sat on the floor, hugging Colonel Clucker.
"Cuckoo," she said, holding the hen out to him.
"Come on, we've gotta go to your grandparent's for dinner." He lifted her to him and took her out to the main room of the shed. He sat her on the couch and put her coat on, zipping it up to ensure she'd be warm enough, then gathered her shoes and fastened them onto her feet. "Lorelai," he called again.
"Yeah?"
"Come on we've gotta go." She appeared in the doorway, her arms reaching behind her back. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Can you zip me up? I can't get it to fasten," she complained. Luke nodded and she turned around so her back was facing him. He slowly slid the zip up her back then ran his hands down her arms once it was secured.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked softly.
"Yeah let me just grab my purse."
"Cuckoo," Rory said, just as they were about to leave.
"You can't take Colonel Clucker with you sweets; grandma wouldn't like him very much." Rory's face saddened visibly.
"She won't go to sleep without him though; we'd better bring him for when we put her down," Luke said logically. He transferred Rory into Lorelai's arms then disappeared into Rory's bedroom, coming out moments later clutching the stuffed hen under his arm. "Come on, we'll be late if we don't set off now."
They arrived at the Gilmore's ten minutes before seven, there was little to no traffic on the road so they got there quicker than they normally would. They trudged up to the large front door, Rory holding Lorelai's hand as she clutched Colonel Clucker with the other. Luke rang the doorbell and they waited until they heard shuffling coming from the other side.
"Good evening," the maid said politely. She stepped aside to allow them to enter then stood in front of them graciously. "May I take your coats?"
"Yes please," Lorelai replied as she removed her own, then Rory's. Luke took off his too and handed them all to the maid.
"Mr and Mrs Gilmore are in the living room."
"Thanks."
"Doesn't your mom usually come to the door?" Luke asked in a hushed tone.
"Yeah, this means she has something to show us," she whispered back. "Mom, dad, hi," she greeted as she made her way over to her usual spot on the couch.
"Hello Lorelai, Luke," Emily said with a curtly nod.
"Richard, Emily," Luke replied politely, nodding back.
"Hello Rory darling," cooed Emily, her voice turning soft. "How is my favourite girl?" She lifted the toddler into her lap and smiled down at her.
"I thought I was your favourite girl," Lorelai joked, pouting for effect.
"Lorelai," Emily warned, not taking her eyes off of her granddaughter. "You've grown haven't you sweetheart? You're growing into a big girl."
"Gama," said Rory, moving her fingers towards Emily's face. She poked her nose then giggled at Emily's scrunched up face.
"What's this?" Emily asked, referring to the stuffed hen still held between Rory's fingers.
"Cuckoo," Rory replied excitedly. Emily's brows creased.
"It's a very ugly stuffed toy," she commented. "Lorelai couldn't you have bought something less...scary?"
"We got it from Martha's Vineyard," Lorelai replied, not really paying any attention to Emily's dig at her.
"It's an ugly looking thing."
"Rory loves him, she won't sleep without him," Luke informed, jumping into the conversation.
"I don't see why, it'll do nothing but give her nightmares." Emily plucked Colonel Clucker from Rory's clutches and put him on the floor beside her chair.
"Cuckoo," Rory said sadly as she tried to reach for him.
"You can have it later sweetheart, you don't need it right now," Emily said dismissively.
"Cuckoo," she whined, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Lorelai stood up and took her daughter from Emily, picking up Colonel Clucker too. She reclaimed her seat and sat Rory in her lap, letting the little girl take the hen from her. Rory smiled happily, her tears seemingly forgotten about. Emily just stared after her, both shocked and appalled.
"So how was your vacation?" Lorelai asked changing the subject.
"It was nice Lorelai, thank you," Richard replied, smiling at his daughter. "Cold, bitter weather this time of year in the Vineyard but we still found it very enjoyable."
"That's good," she replied, nodding her head slowly.
"We got you gifts," said Emily, looking over at Richard as she silently told him to fetch them. He returned with three wrapped presents, large bows were tied around them and were perfectly fastened on the top.
"Wow look at them, I kinda don't wanna open it," Lorelai said, eyeing the gifts in Richard's hands. "Rory look." She pointed towards Richard and Rory followed the direction of her finger, her eyes widening when she saw that she had yet another gift to open. She thought the gift giving process had ended.
"Pesents!" she exclaimed, holding her hand out longingly.
"If you say please I'm sure grandpa will give you one." Rory looked up at her blankly. "Say, please grandpa," she pushed. Rory looked over to her grandfather, back to Lorelai then over at Luke before she settled on Richard again.
"Pease ganpa," she mumbled, suddenly becoming shy at all the eyes watching her.
"Here you go sweetheart, this one's for you," he said in his Rory voice, it was a soft tone he saved only for his granddaughter. Rory held her arms out to take the present then rested it in her lap, Colonel Clucker dropping to the floor forgotten.
"What do you say to grandpa, Rory?" Luke asked quietly. The little girl looked up at him then over at her grandfather again.
"Tank you," she muttered before trying her best to tackle the ribbon surrounding her gift.
"You want some help there?" Lorelai asked, beginning to pluck the gift from her daughter's grasp.
"No," she protested. "Me."
"Ok." Lorelai held her hands up in surrender, knowing that Rory would soon get frustrated and ask for help. They waited patiently while she studied the bow-tied ribbon, hastily pulling on it but finding that nothing happened.
"For god's sake Lorelai, will you please open it for her?" Emily asked, growing impatient. Emily had never had much patience.
"No, let her figure it out herself, she'll ask if she needs help. Emily sighed and crossed her arms over her chest in irritation. After at least three minutes of struggling, Rory moved her hands away from the gift and pouted. "What's up sweets?" Lorelai asked, knowing the answer already.
"Shtuck," she whined.
"It's stuck?"
"Yesh."
"Do you want mommy to try?" Rory answered by picking up the gift and holding it out to her. Lorelai took hold of it and easily untied the ribbon before setting it aside and giving the present back to Rory.
"Mine," she claimed before ripping the paper off. She tossed it aside then stared down at the box in confusion. "Dow," she said, holding it up for Lorelai and Luke to see.
"A china doll?" Lorelai asked.
"Yes it's a very lovely doll Lorelai, wait until you see it's hair and the outfit of course," Emily gushed.
"Mom, she's fourteen months old," she reminded her mother.
"I do know this Lorelai, she's my granddaughter."
"She's literally still a baby and you bought her a china doll?"
"I don't see a problem here, it's something she can keep until she's your age, or my age even."
"That is the problem; it probably won't last until she's two, never mind forty."
"Of course it will last, it's an expensive antique, they're made to last."
"But it'll get smashed and broken," Lorelai protested. "She'll drop it or sit on it or something."
"No she won't because it will stay in the box." Lorelai shook her head.
"Lorelai maybe you should open your gift," Luke interrupted her before she could say anything else. He gave her a look telling her not to go any further, one that she ignored.
"Why couldn't you have just gotten her a soft doll, you know, one that she's actually allowed to touch."
"Lorelai," Luke sighed.
"You're being ridiculous Lorelai," Emily cut him off. "Every time we try to do something nice for that girl you call us up on it. There's always something wrong with our gestures, no matter what we do for her, you hate it and I can't take it anymore." She stood up and hurried out of the room, almost running into the maid on her way. They saw her rush up the stairs and Lorelai frowned.
"You happy now?" Luke asked quietly, he almost sounded angry.
"Dinner is ready," the maid announced. All eyes fell to her and she shifted from foot to foot nervously. Richard waved her back into the kitchen then covered his face with his hands.
"I'll be right back ok?" She also stood and held Rory out to Luke. He took her and settled her in his lap before all three of them; Luke, Richard and Rory, watched Lorelai follow Emily's path up the stairs.
"Just when they were getting along so well," Richard said with a shake of his head, Luke nodded in agreement as they sighed at the same time.
Lorelai wandered down the hall toward her parent's room. She pushed open the door and frowned when she found it to be empty. She then decided to check her old room; the door was already open so she peeked her head inside. There she found her mother sat on her old bed, facing the opposite wall. Her head was bowed and she was clutching something between her fingers, something Lorelai couldn't quite tell what it was. She walked into the room, Emily completely oblivious to her presence until she felt the bed shift. She didn't need to turn her head to know who was there.
"What do you want Lorelai?" she asked shrilly, still facing the opposite wall.
"I..." she cleared her throat. "I came to apologise."
"Oh really?" Emily asked, in a tone that said she wasn't quite believing it.
"Yeah I was kinda...um...I was out of line just then," she mumbled. Emily didn't say anything so Lorelai crawled across the bed and seated herself next to her mother. "What's that?" she asked, gesturing to the white material in Emily's hand.
"Your baby blanket," she replied, running her fingers over it. "You wouldn't sleep without it."
"You kept it?" Lorelai asked in surprise.
"Of course, it reminds me of a time when you didn't hate me," she admitted. Lorelai frowned further.
"Mom, I don't hate you." Emily remained silent. "You know, I was actually looking forward to seeing you and dad again tonight." Emily turned her head slightly in curiosity, silently asking for her to continue. "I missed you guys while you were on vacation." Lorelai sounded so genuine and it melted Emily's heart hearing her daughter admit that to her.
"I missed you too." The mother and daughter shared a smile before Emily's gaze dropped to Lorelai's neck. "That is a gorgeous necklace," she stated, wondering how her daughter could afford such a thing.
"Oh thanks, Luke bought me it for Christmas," she said happily, willing to boast about her boyfriend's excellent taste in jewellery.
"Is that a diamond? Lorelai nodded. "Oh my."
"He got me matching earrings too." She tucked her hair behind her ears and showed off the earrings to her mother. Emily was speechless.
"How did he afford them?"
"He owns his own business," she reminded her mother.
"But it's only a diner." Lorelai rolled her eyes at her mother's judgement.
"Luke's is the most popular place to eat in Stars Hollow; it's packed out every day."
"Oh," was Emily's reply, she couldn't think of another way to respond. "Well it's beautiful, Luke has good taste."
"I know," she replied smugly. Emily checked her watch.
"Dinner will be ready, we should go downstairs." Lorelai nodded and followed Emily as she stood up. They linked arms, both aware that it felt slightly weird but neither making a move to break the contact.
"There's no shouting so that's a good sign right?" Luke asked uncomfortably. Richard nodded but didn't say anything. Luke shifted Rory on his lap and picked up Colonel Clucker from the floor. "You forgot about this," he said to her, speaking quietly in hope that Richard wouldn't hear him. The older man did though.
"Cuckoo," said Rory, seeming happy to see him again. She grabbed the toy and hugged him tightly to her.
"It's nearly bed time," Luke said. Rory pouted, not wanting to go to sleep.
"Mama," she exclaimed, pointing toward the stairs where her mom and grandma made their way down, arms still linked.
"Hey sweets, bed time soon," said Lorelai, sweeping Rory up into her arms from Luke's lap.
"Noooo," she whined
"What? You wanna stay up later with us?" she asked her daughter.
"Yesh!" she agreed over-excitedly.
"Oh I don't know about that, I wonder what daddy thinks." She turned to Luke and smiled while Rory pouted at him.
"We'll see," he answered her pleading little face. Rory smiled, that was a good enough answer for her.
"Mrs Gilmore, dinner is ready," the maid announced once again, snapping Emily and Richard out of their trances as they watched the two teens with their granddaughter.
"Very well, let's move this to the dining room," Emily ushered. Her and Richard went ahead while Luke held Lorelai back for a second.
"Everything ok?" he asked once the elder Gilmores were out of earshot.
"Yeah, we sorted it out," Lorelai assured. "Again," she added. Luke nodded and his hand went to her lower back as he guided her into the dining room.
"This is really good Emily," Luke complimented as he stabbed some more of the white meat with his fork and brought it to his mouth.
"Why thank you Luke," Emily replied happily.
"What is it?" Lorelai asked, not recognising the taste as turkey or chicken.
"Yes I was just wondering the same thing," Richard added.
"It's rabbit," Emily announced, causing Luke and Lorelai to look down at their plates, both frowning.
"Rabbit," Lorelai repeated.
"Yes Lorelai, you know those fluffy creatures that hop around everywhere and dig holes in your perfect lawn?" Emily asked sarcastically.
"But rabbits are adorable," she protested. "How could anyone kill them intentionally?"
"Good heavens, does it matter?" asked Emily. "The thing's already dead anyway, just eat it."
"I..." Lorelai was about to retort something but thought better of it and instead stabbed at her asparagus with her fork. She looked up at Luke who was staring down at his plate, also looking a bit disgusted with the thought of eating any more. Emily noticed both of them focussing on their veggies when a moment ago they couldn't get enough meat down their throats.
"Why aren't the two of you eating your meat?" she asked, hating seeing it go to waste.
"I don't like it," Lorelai mumbled in reply.
"But moments ago you were stuffing it down like there was no tomorrow," she reminded her daughter.
"That was before I found out what it was." Emily shook her head and focussed on Luke.
"Luke is there a problem with your food?" she asked as she watched him push a few carrots around his plate.
"No Emily, it's lovely," he replied politely, avoiding eye contact with her.
"Good I'm glad you like it, you might want to eat that meat before it goes cold," she said, somewhat forcefully. Luke caught on to what she was saying and looked up at her, finding that she was watching him, along with Lorelai and Richard, waiting for him to eat his food under her watchful eye. He cleared his throat, shot a quick 'help me' glance at Lorelai, then proceeded to chop a small piece from his slice of rabbit.
He slowly brought the fork to his mouth and chewed thoughtfully, trying his hardest to hide his grimace as he swallowed. Emily smiled in accomplishment then looked back at her own plate. She was grinning smugly, obviously pleased with herself. Luke took a few tentative sips of his water to dislodge the after taste of his meal from his throat then looked across the table at his girlfriend. She mouthed an 'I'm sorry' and he shrugged in return, his eyes pleading with her to get them out of there soon.
"Dinner was delicious, thanks mom," Lorelai said appreciatively as she gave her mom a semi awkward hug.
"You're welcome Lorelai." Luke adjusted Rory so she was laying his arms rather than having her head rested against his shoulder then reached out to shake Richard's hand.
"We'll see you next week," Richard said. The teens nodded, said their final goodbyes, then exited the house.
At the potting shed, Luke settled Rory in her crib then came back out to find Lorelai searching through the kitchen cupboards.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm starved," she complained.
"We just ate dinner," he reminded her.
"Ugh you call that dinner? I call it road kill." Luke rolled his eyes and walked closer to her. "God I'm so hungry, I'm surprised my stomach hasn't disintegrated."
"Don't be so dramatic. What exactly are you looking for?" he asked.
"Food," she whined.
"What kind of food?" he asked patiently. "Junk food or something proper to eat." Lorelai pouted while she thought for a moment.
"Grilled cheese," she said dreamily. "With extra grilled cheese."
"Ok well you get to making that, I have early deliveries at the diner tomorrow."
"But Luuuuke, I don't know how to make grilled cheese," she moaned.
"It's not hard," he muttered with a sigh. "Fine I will make you grilled cheese but then I'm going to my apartment to get a proper night's sleep," he warned. She hesitated.
"Fine," she sighed unhappily before flopping down onto the couch and removing her shoes. Just as she'd undone the first buckle, there was a knock at the door. She looked over at Luke but saw that he was busy preparing her late night snack so she pulled herself up and over to the door. She could hear a baby crying from outside as she fiddled with the lock and furrowed her brow in confusion. She finally swung open the door to reveal a worried looking Liz with a hysterical Jess wrapped in a blanket in her arms. "Liz," she gasped. "What's wrong?"
"It's Jess," she said in a panicked voice. "I think there's something wrong with him, he won't stop crying and he has a fever and I don't know what to do," she said frantically. Luke had long since abandoned Lorelai's grilled cheese and was stood by his sister's side, his arm around her waist.
"It'll be ok," he said soothingly. "Let's take a look at him." Luke brought his nephew to his chest and brushed a dark brown lock from his face. "What's up buddy?" he asked, beginning to worry himself when he felt the heat radiating from the little boy's forehead. Lorelai went over to the kitchen and pulled out the bottle of Tylenol she kept in supply for situations like these. She grabbed one of Rory's plastic spoons and filled it with the funny coloured liquid.
"Here sweetie, have some of this," Lorelai cooed to the screaming child in her boyfriend's arms. She managed to empty the contents of the spoon into Jess' mouth and went to rinse the spoon, leaving it to drain.
"Is he ok?" Liz asked, beside herself with worry for her son.
"We'll wait and see if the Tylenol helps his fever, if it doesn't calm down then we'll cross that bridge if we come to it," Luke replied calmly, rocking his nephew from side to side slowly. It always soothed Rory. Speaking of Rory, her soft cries could be heard from the other side of the door. She'd obviously heard Jess' screams.
"I'll get her," Lorelai said before making her way into Rory's room.
"God Luke I was so worried," Liz said, falling into the couch and running her hands down her face. "He's never been like this before, he hardly ever gets sick. He just woke up in this state and I was frantic, you and Lorelai were the only people I could think of to help me," she rambled.
"Liz," Luke began in his ever so soft voice. "Calm down ok, he'll be fine."
"How do you know?" she asked, almost snapped at him.
"Let's just say it's not the first time I've had to deal with a toddler in this situation," he winked.
"Rory?" she asked knowingly.
"Yeah, kids get a fever sometimes," he shrugged. "Just give 'em Tylenol and they'll be fine," he told her. Liz smiled slightly.
"When did you become an expert?" she asked. "When Jess was born you didn't even know that you had to hold his head and now you know more than I do."
"Practice," he said nonchalantly.
"Hey sweets," Lorelai said to her bawling baby. She scooped Rory up and cradled her in her arms as the girl's cries subsided. "Did Jess wake you huh?"
"Jesh?" Rory asked questioningly.
"Yeah, he's right out there with daddy and Aunt Liz," she said softly while brushing Rory's growing hair off her damp cheeks. "But he's not very well at the moment she we have to be extra quiet ok?"
"Shh," Rory hushed, fully understanding her mom's instruction.
"Good girl," she whispered before kissing her daughter's forehead. She took her out to the main room of the potting shed and sat on the couch next to Luke, allowing Rory to see Jess. The little boy was clinging to Luke's dress shirt while he sobbed quietly, taking comfort in being close to his uncle.
"Hey Ror," Luke greeted, stroking her cheek with the back of his finger.
"Shh," she scolded before looking at Jess again. "Jesh," she whispered, almost inaudibly. He looked round at her and rubbed his cheek against his uncle's shirt.
"Wowy," he replied, acknowledging her presence.
"You know," Lorelai spoke over their moment. "I think these two are gonna be really great friends when their older, or even boyfriend and girlfriend."
"Eww that'd be weird," Liz said, shaking her head in disgust.
"Why would it?" Lorelai asked.
"Cause if you guys get married then they'd be like cousins!" Both Luke and Lorelai blushed at the mention of marriage and looked away from one another shyly. "Oh did I make things awkward?" Liz asked, not at all sorry.
"Just a little," Lorelai replied quietly as she refocused her attention on Jess. "You doing better hon?" she asked him, reaching over to feel his forehead. "He's still warm but he seems to be dealing with it better," she assessed, referring to his quieter state.
"So he's gonna be ok?"
"He'll be fine," she assured her boyfriend's sister. "He just needs his sleep." Liz nodded.
"Well I guess we should get home then," she said, standing up ready to leave. "Thanks for helping me tonight guys."
"It was no problem," Lorelai replied, happy that Jess was fine.
"Hey, why don't you come and stay at my apartment with me tonight?" Luke suggested, not wanting his sister to be alone.
"Aren't you staying here?" Liz asked in confusion.
"Early deliveries," he explained. "You can take the bed and I'll take the couch. I still have a crib up there." Liz looked like she was thinking about it.
"Ok," she agreed. "I'll have to go to my place first and get some of Jess' stuff, if that's ok?"
"Sure," he replied. He tossed his truck keys to her. "Go get in the truck, I'll be there in a minute." Liz nodded, understanding that her brother need some time alone to say goodnight to his girlfriend. She took Jess from him and made her way over to the door.
"Bye Lorelai."
"See ya Liz, I hope everything's ok in the morning." Liz nodded again then left the potting shed. Both Luke and Lorelai stood up at the same time and Lorelai sat Rory on her hip.
"You coming in the diner for breakfast tomorrow?" Luke asked, grazing her hip with his fingers slowly.
"I might be persuaded," she replied, leaning into him the best she could with Rory attached to her. They kissed lightly and pulled away before it went too far.
"Goodnight," he said, leaving another kiss on her cheek. "See ya Ror." He kissed the toddler's forehead then turned toward the door.
"Night," Lorelai returned, watching him leave the potting shed. She sighed as the door closed behind him then looked down at Rory. "It's just me and you tonight sweets." Rory looked up at her and smiled sleepily before returning her head to her mother's shoulder. Lorelai looked over at the kitchen; her half prepared grilled cheese sat uncooked on the countertop. She sighed and tossed it in the trash before sitting Rory on the bed and changing herself into nightwear.
"Seep," Rory mumbled as she crawled under the large duvet and laid back into the pillow.
"You go to sleep honey; I'll be back in a minute ok?" Lorelai was just about to enter the bathroom but Rory's voice stopped her.
"Cuckoo," she said, rolling over and looking around for her stuffed hen.
"I'll bring Colonel Clucker in with me ok?" She continued into the bathroom and went about her nightly routine, rushing herself because she'd left Rory by herself. She emerged just over five minutes later then collected the stuffed animal from the couch. Rory had managed to fall asleep just fine without him so she tucked the hen under the covers then settled herself at the other side of her daughter, turning the light off as her head hit the pillow.
"Coffee," Lorelai called, pushing Rory's stroller ahead of her through the diner's door.
"No my name's Luke," he deadpanned as he came up to greet them. "Good morning Rory, did you sleep well?"
"Yesh," she replied. "Hugwy."
"We'd better do something about that hadn't we?" He greeted Lorelai with a quick kiss then went back behind the counter while Lorelai got settled on a stool.
"Happy New Year's Eve," she said excitedly as Luke poured her a cup of coffee and set it in front of her. Luke simply grunted in response. "So is Liz still here?" she asked, changing the subject.
"No she left earlier; she was taking Jess to the doctor just to be sure there's nothing wrong."
"Was he ok this morning?"
"He seemed to be his giddy self but he was still quite warm, Liz is really worried."
"It's good that she's trying with him, not like when I met her." Luke nodded and she could see in his eyes that she didn't really want to talk about it.
"So what will you have today?" he asked formally.
"Bacon and lots of hash browns kind sir," she replied in her 'posh' voice.
"And for the little one?" Lorelai smirked at his behaviour, usually he was so uptight.
"Lucky charms I'm thinking, with a cup of milk. That ok Ror?" she asked, knowing the girl wouldn't mind what she ate.
"Hugwy," she complained again.
"Ok lucky charms it is." Luke nodded and put in the order with Caesar before going in the back and reappearing with a box of lucky charms under his arm.
"Bought them especially for Rory," he explained, pouring some into a bowl and setting them in front of her.
"How sweet," Lorelai gushed, putting her hand to her heart exaggeratedly.
"Your breakfast will be ready soon," he mumbled. They fell into silence where Luke wiped the counter and Lorelai stole some of Rory's cereal. She chewed thoughtfully then opened her mouth to speak.
"So dinner was weird last night," she commented. "As if my mother served rabbit, it's so gross."
"At least she didn't force you to eat it."
"Oh yeah, sorry about that," she apologised. Luke shrugged. "It's so cruel when people eat rabbit," she said sadly. "They're such cute animals, all small and fluffy with their big ears," she gushed.
"You're not getting a rabbit," he said, stopping her rambling before it went too far.
"I never said I wanted one."
"You were getting there so I felt the need to stop you."
"But they're so cute," she whined.
"So is Rory, play with her," he ordered.
"But Rory's not fluffy," she pouted.
"Buy a stuffed toy," he shrugged as he put her breakfast in front of her.
"Luuuuke," she complained. "You're being unreasonable." Luke was determined to stand his ground, no matter how much she begged and pouted. There was no way she was getting a pet rabbit, or any other pet for that matter.
After what seemed like hours, but was in fact only forty minutes, Lorelai and Rory left the diner after a pretty intense debate with Luke about pets. He had won in the end and she had relented, promising him that she wouldn't buy anything furry or slimy. The breakfast crowd died down and the minutes ticked by slowly.
By ten thirty, Luke was bored. He usually began to feel this way around this time every morning, then again in the afternoon. He sighed as he flicked through the newspaper on the counter for the third time then looked up when the bells jingled. He smiled at his new customer and went to pour their coffee. Just as he was setting the pot down again, the bells sounded again but Luke didn't turn around straight away this time.
"Hey Luke," said a woman's voice. Luke froze momentarily. He recognised that voice and frankly, it was one he didn't really want to hear right now, or ever for that matter. He slowly turned away from the coffee pot and looked towards the door. Sure enough, there she was.
"Rachel..."
Ooooh...figured it was time for her to make an appearance in Stars Hollow, mix in a little drama :D Sorry about the cliffhanger, I promise that I will try to update sooner than I have been doing so you can read how this plays out. So please leave a review and I will love you forever ;) Till next time...
Emily.