Chapter 46

Per Jaiden's request, the family spent the rest of the evening, playing games at the kitchen table. They started out with a quick game of Candyland, Lorelai and Rory's pick before playing another quick game of Operation. That one was quick on the count of Luke and Lorelai getting into an argument when she kept making him nervous on his turn, which led to Luke, rage quitting. Rory was able to calm the two down and shift the focus back to family game night, letting Jaiden pick the next game.

Jaiden looked around in the game closet, scanning the many board games until landing on the game of Risk, and asked what it was. Rory explained to her what the game was, piquing the kid's interest, thus choosing the game. They set it up on the kitchen table as Lorelai and Rory explained the rules, and as they played through the game. It was a slow start at first but over time, Jaiden got the hang of it and by the end, she had conquered all of South America and Africa, and was shifting over to Australia when everyone started feeling tired and ready for bed.

Both Luke and Lorelai came in to say good night to the girls which Jaiden requested their lullaby before everyone went to bed. All seemed at peace that night as everyone slept soundly. Or, so they thought.

Lorelai laid there, hugging her pillow as she slept peacefully. Despite being asleep, she felt movement creep along the bed. Lorelai figured it was probably Paul Anka and didn't really think much of it. So, she shifted over in her sleep, facing the other way. The bed sunk in between the couple's upper bodies as some weight was moved along the bed. It was strange Paul Anka would come that far up on the bed. Then, for a split second, Lorelai heard a tiny voice squeak before the sudden sound of someone vomiting. Lorelai had never moved so fast than she did in that moment. She immediately turned on her bedside light to be able to see who it was.

Luke had also shot up out of bed the moment he heard the sound of someone puking their guts out. Unfortunately, not quick enough to avoid getting some on him.

There, on the bed, was Jaiden, sitting back on her legs, clutching both Stanley and her new blanket. Puke had splattered all over her knees, along with the sheets and pillows. Luke wasn't thrilled to find out some of it had splattered on him, as well.

"Sorry," they heard the kid whimper, while wiping her nose on her arm.

Trying her best to not throw up herself, Lorelai kneeled on the bed, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, sweetie. Does your stomach hurt?"

Jaiden timidly nodded. "A little. I was having trouble sleeping and then my tummy felt weird. Not sick-weird like when I was sick. It was like…"

"Like butterflies flying around in there?"

Luke had went to change in the closet while Lorelai was making sure Jaiden was alright and made sure she got cleaned off. Of course the kid wanted to take another shower, but Lorelai managed to talk her out of it.

"You just need a sink and a rag, and a change of clothes, and you're good."

Jaiden still wasn't one hundred percent sure and tried to insist.

Lorelai pushed some hair behind the kid's ear. "Sweetie, it's great you want to be clean. That's good. Some kids have to be bribed into a shower. But sometimes, messes happen that can be wiped up with a washcloth and soap."

Jaiden looked away out the corner of her eye. She bit down on her lip and began chewing on it as if to ponder on Lorelai's words.

Luke came out of the bathroom, changed into another shirt. "Remember what I said camping, Tiger?" he reminded her, stopping on his side of the bed and placed his hands on his sides. She twisted around the other way to look back at him. "Sometimes, a sponge bath can be enough until you're able to shower again. Right?"

Her gaze dropped towards the floor from where she was looking at him.

"It's okay. I promise," he reassured her. As much as being clean was important to both Luke and Lorelai, it was inevitable to get dirty or messy even after you had showered or bathed that day. It took a bit more encouragement, but Lorelai was able to lead Jaiden down the hall, to the girls' bathroom. She grabbed the kid a change of pajamas while Jaiden stripped out of the soiled ones. Jaiden's form was tensed when Lorelai returned and flinched once Lorelai had wet a washcloth in the sink, with soap, and kneeled to her level.

"It's alright, sweetie." Lorelai gently asked for her arm first and started wiping off all of the splatter. When it came to wipe off her face, Lorelai made sure to ask first. She wasn't sure why she was doing it when Jaiden was capable. Something in her motherly instincts insisted on doing it.

Each time the washcloth made contact, Jaiden would flinch but would start to relax whenever Lorelai reassured her.

"Mommy."

Lorelai stood up to rinse the washcloth under the faucet again.

"You're softer than my other mommy," Jaiden told her.

She smiled briefly while looking up from rinsing off the washcloth.

Jaiden nodded before dropping her gaze on the floor again. She rubbed at her arm. "Can… Can I tell you something?"

Lorelai turned off the water and twisted the washcloth in her hands to wring out the water. "What's that?" she asked, encouragingly.

The kid searched around the bathroom tile for a good long minute. Lorelai left the washcloth to hang on top of the faucet for now and kneeled back down in front of her. She held the clean pair of pajama pants out so Jaiden could step into them, holding onto the edge of the counter for support. Jaiden took over to pull them up.

"It's okay if there's something on your mind. You can tell me anything. Really, sweetie," Lorelai said, scrunching up the shirt before pulling it on over Jaiden's head. Of course Jaiden took over the rest, putting her arms in the sleeves. It fell on its own, to her knees. The few times Lorelai seen the kid without a shirt always reminded her how skinny the kid really was. Not dangerously skinny, she was thankful of that. Still, Lorelai couldn't help notice every time.

Without lifting her gaze, Jaiden uttered, "When I was little…"

To lighten the mood, Lorelai finished with, "you tap danced with a tuxedo-wearing penguin?" snickering afterwards. It was even better when the joke got a small smile from the kid, who stole a look at her before lifting her head more.

Jaiden shook her head. "No, Mommy," she replied, looking like she was trying not to laugh.

"Oh, darn." Lorelai snapped her fingers in mock disappointment, adding a smile afterwards. She then let Jaiden continue.

With the lighthearted teasing, Jaiden only looked away briefly before she was able to get her thought out. "I...actually liked getting dirty."

"Yeah?" Lorelai said with a smile.

She nodded. "We had a big backyard that had trees that were fun to climb, and there was this pile of sand that was fun to dig in and build mountains with. But…" Jaiden's gaze dropped once more.

Lorelai reached out and gently took hold of her waist, ducking her head to look the kid in the eye. "But, what, sweetie?"

Jaiden hesitated. "Mommy didn't like it and made me take a shower every time I got dirty."

Hearing the kid share more about her past broke Lorelai's heart. Don't get her wrong, she was glad Jaiden was opening up. It didn't make it any less heartbreaking. "I'm sure your mom meant well." She tried to offer some sympathy.

Slowly, Jaiden lifted her head. "How come my other mommy hated me?" Her small voice cracked as the words spilled out.

"Oh, hun." Lorelai invited Jaiden in and held the kid in her arms, rubbing a hand along her back. "Your mom was hurting just as much as you were. Both of you had to live through pain I can't imagine living through and your mom didn't know how to express those feelings. Not saying it was right what she did to you, but when stuff like that is kept bottled up inside of us, it can come out in anger and hurt those around us." She heard Jaiden sniff in from her shoulder as the kid held her arms around Lorelai.

Lorelai held Jaiden for as long as the kid needed before nudging Jaiden away to look at her, directly. "Hey, I got a great idea."

Jaiden rubbed a fist in her eye as she asked, "What?"

She pushed some hair behind Jaiden's ear. "How about when you get home from camp, I ask Celia where they buried your mom, and you and I can go visit her. What do ya say?"

Jaiden continued to rub at her eye. She did, however, nod her head. "Okay," she replied in a mouse-like voice.

"We can make a stop and get some flowers to lay on her grave, too," Lorelai added.

"Her favorites are hy-dra-gra."

"Hydrangeas?" Lorelai asked, making sure.

Jaiden nodded.

"Then, that's what we'll get."

The small smile returned.

Seeing Jaiden smile was contagious. "You feeling better, sweetheart?" She nodded towards her stomach.

Jaiden looked down, touching her hands to her stomach. "A little," she admitted.

Lorelai nodded. "Little's good. Nervous about tomorrow, huh?"

She nodded. "I'm scared I'm gonna have a bad dream and Daddy won't be there to sing to me. Daddy singing makes me feel better."

"Well, maybe when that happens, you can close your eyes and picture Daddy in your mind, singing," Lorelai suggested.

But Jaiden shook her head. "I tried that at Stephen and Mal's house."

"Yeah, Mallory told us they heard you singing."

"It's not the same like Daddy sings it," she pointed out.

"Hm." Lorelai went into thought to try and come up with something that could help. Then an idea popped in. "On the way to the drop off in the morning, we can stop and get like some kind of greeting card or one of those stuffed bear toys you can record a message on, and we can record your dad singing. You think that might work?"

Jaiden timidly shrugged. "But what if it wakes up everyone?" she asked worried.

"We'll make sure he doesn't yell the words." Lorelai chuckled, trying to add more lightheartedness again. She got serious to assure her, it would be okay.

When she stood up, Jaiden asked, "Mommy?"

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"Can I sleep with you and Daddy?" The kid's blue-green eyes shined as they stared up at her with hope. How could anyone say no to that face?

Lorelai smiled. "Of course you can."

They left the bathroom which Lorelai turned off the light and returned to hers and Luke's room where Luke had already finished switching out the sheets and comforter. He returned shortly from dropping the soiled ones, along with his shirt and Jaiden's pajamas, outside to be washed in the morning.

Jaiden had already climbed into her spot when Luke made his way around to his side. Hovering over her, he held a kiss to the side of the kid's head.

"Feel better, Tiger?"

"A little," she told him the same thing she told her foster mom.

Luke passed Jaiden a glass of ginger ale. "Here, this'll help settle your stomach," he offered.

Jaiden took the glass from him and held it with both hands so she could take a drink. At first she had mentioned it looking like water with a lot of bubbles.

"It's soda but it can help with a stomach ache. My mom and dad used to give me some as a kid whenever I got an upset stomach."

Jaiden took a drink of the clear, carbonated soda, drinking the whole thing, before passing the glass back. Knowing the kid wasn't a big fan of soda, Luke only poured a small amount. She wiped the back of her hand along her mouth. "Thank you, Daddy."

Luke set the glass on the nightstand. "You're welcome, Tiger."

She turned to Lorelai, who was also getting back into bed. "And, thank you, Mommy."

Lorelai wrapped an arm around the kid and squeezed Jaiden to her. "You're welcome."

"Mommy, can I tell you one more thing?" she asked.

"Sure, sweetheart."

"Were you mad tonight?" The heartbreaking look had returned.

"You mean about throwing up in our bed? Nuh uh," she shook her head, shifting her pillows as Lorelai tried to get comfortable, lying backwards now.

Jaiden held onto Stanley and her blanket. Somehow, those had been saved from the line of fire. She stared down at them. Eventually, Jaiden shook her head.

Luke gently grabbed at her side. "Why would your mom be mad, Tiger?" he asked, encouragingly.

Her hold on her toy and blanket tightened as she chewed on her lip.

Lorelai sat up to lean forward. "What is it, hun?"

"I...I...I...grabbed the wrong book," the kid managed to say.

"Wrong book?" Lorelai exchanged a confused look with Luke. She then turned back to Jaiden to ask, "What book is that?"

"The one I draw in."

"Oh, were you worried about how we reacted to the naked drawings?" she guessed.

Jaiden nodded her head, slowly as she stared at the bed. "The one Jess gave me is what I use to practice in. I was going to bring the one Mal gave me that I draw all my action drawings in." A lone tear drifted down her cheek which Luke caught and wiped away, gently.

"Nobody was mad, sweetie," Lorelai assured her. "We were only surprised, that's all. We didn't think you drew stuff like that."

"It's how I got good at drawing people. The person on the video says you have to know a person's body shape," she explained, still holding her gaze on the bed.

"We know that now, sweetie. Don't worry." Lorelai rubbed a loving hand along Jaiden's opposite arm.

This time, Jaiden managed to look up to add, "I don't draw the pee pees or anything else private down there. I do draw a girl's breasts, though."

Luke suddenly started turning thirty shades of red and fidgeted where he was sitting. "Alright, how about we go back to bed, now," he announced and reached over to switch off his lamp before getting underneath the comforter and laying back on his pillow.

The gesture made Lorelai roll her eyes at her husband. "It's okay to draw boobs and stuff, sweetheart. We all have them, and soon, so will you when you're older."

Luke cleared his throat aggressively than he needed to. "Trying to sleep, here!"

Lorelai snickered but stopped when Jaiden hadn't. "Why don't we let Grandpa, here, sleep, and get some sleep, too. We have to be up early in the morning, after all."

Innocently but confused, Jaiden asked, "Why did you call Daddy, grandpa, for?"

"I was teasing him, because sometimes he acts like a grandpa." She snickered over at the back of Luke's head which Luke just ignored by this point. Lorelai had to stop again when Jaiden suddenly glared at her. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"Daddy is nothing like Papa," Jaiden snapped as if offended.

Lorelai reached out towards Jaiden to touch her shoulder. "No, I know, hun. I didn't mean…" But Jaiden shook away from the touch, still glaring at her.

With Stanley and her Diego blanket in her arm, Jaiden climbed over her foster dad. She dropped onto the small space near the edge of the bed and snuggled beside him. Luke lifted his upper half to scoot over and gave the kid more room so she wouldn't end up rolling off during the night. The night after they had lost their mother, Luke and Liz had climbed into bed with William. Some time during the night, Liz had somehow taken over most of half, causing Luke to be pushed enough to roll off. Their parents had a pretty high bed, too, so it was quite a fall for a small child, causing everyone to wake up at that exact moment.

Luke had Jaiden lift up for a brief moment so he could pull the comforter out from under her, and draped it over her as Lorelai turned her light off. Softly, he told Jaiden, "your mom wasn't comparing me to your grandfather, Tiger. She was talking about grandpas in general who are nicer." Luke held an arm over her. "Okay?"

Jaiden just stared back at him. Even in the dark, he could see a worried expression on the kid's face. Eventually, Luke felt Stanley brush against him as she snuggled closer to him. All three exhausted, they managed to fall back to sleep. Lorelai took a little longer than the other two, thinking about the slip up. Even though, the kid was picking up on her sense of humor, she knew Jaiden would still miss one, here and there. It didn't make Lorelai feel any less guilty.