"Oh, I didn't know anyone was up," Luke apologized, stumbling into the kitchen around 8 AM, finding Celeste in the kitchen, doing some arm and back stretches while she waited for the water to boil, staring out of the window overlooking the backyard. She'd already showered, her hair still damp.

"Good morning," she said smilingly, as she turned, adding a small yawn which she hid with her hand. She was beginning to have trouble sleeping, not enjoying staying in one position for extended periods of time, craving for stretching and exercise early in the morning.

"Lor is still asleep. I wanted to let her get a few more hours," he added. It was basic knowledge that Lorelai was most fun to be around when she was rested and well-fed.

"Coffee?" Celeste asked, as the water heater clicked. "I just have the french press right now though," she added. She hadn't bothered getting a new coffee maker for the new place, Jess being indifferent to the making process as long as it was strong enough and herself having switched to herbal teas.

"Sure," he replied, watching her graciously move around the kitchen, everything placed just right, as he took a seat at the counter.

"What do you think they're going to name him?" she asked, pouring the water onto the coffee grounds and her own tea a moment later.

"I'm pretty sure Richard's going to be in there somewhere, Rory's grandfather," Luke said as he now sat at the counter, toying with a cork coaster.

"I know they've had a name thought out for a while, but she never told me, so it's possible," Celeste replied.

"Yeah, he was pretty important to her," he sighed.

Celeste fell into thought as he'd said it - he wondered what that would've been like - feeling that much for a family member so one would want to keep the memory alive in a child - certainly it was nothing like she'd ever had. What she hoped was that her daughter would have those important people in her life.

"Listen, I don't know what issues you had with your family, but I just want you to know that I get how hard it can be without parents, family. So if you ever need anything, feel free to ask, okay?" Luke said, having been thinking about that part for a while now. He could imagine what it must've felt like - telling people about the baby, being happy about their new house and the relationship itself, but not having really anyone to tell other than Jess' family and some friends.

"Oh wow, that's so sweet," Celeste said, looking up, her hormones getting the best of her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…," Luke said, as she saw the tears dripping down her cheeks, despite her trying to hide her face.

"It's just my hormones, they're just all over the place," she replied, gesturing with her hand apologetically. "But thank you," she said genuinely.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," he replied awkwardly, not really sure what to do with her - hand her a napkin, though she already seemed to have one, hug - that just felt too bold in this setting, her still dressed in her robe. To his relief he could already hear someone's footsteps coming down the carpeted stairway.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jess arrived, confusedly seeing Celeste sniffling her nose into a napkin, wrapping his arm around her. "You okay?" he asked her, getting just a nod in reply, then glancing at Luke for an explanation.

"I just basically said if she ever needs family, she's got one," Luke explained, getting an approving smile from Jess.

"I just wish it wouldn't be an issue…," she began, wiping her cheeks.

"What?" Luke asked.

"That she hates me," Celeste added gesturing upwards with her index finger. She'd almost convinced herself that she didn't care - that Lorelai was not someone that mattered - and when it came to prioritize Rory, the choice was easy, but in this context, she hadn't even realized how much approval of anyone in Jess' family meant to her.

"We talked about this…, she doesn't even know you," Jess soothed, getting her to calm a little.

"I know, still..," she sighed.

"She's been a little cold and arrogant towards her. My guess is it's about Rory more than anything," Jess explained to Luke.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. She's been going through a rough patch," Luke commented.

"Then she should get help, not lash out at my girls," Jess said, the choice of words jolting everyone pleasantly. It had a certain positive possessiveness, defensiveness, to it, and it was quite endearing.

"Yeah, I'll talk to her," Luke replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable discussing this. But he knew best of all how Lorelai could get when Rory was concerned. She'd been such a big part of her that she felt incomplete, desperate, she didn't function right - and he'd been sensing it too.

The three ate, switching to discussing what to do with the downstairs apartment which they'd largely left as storage for now, containing some odd pieces from Jess' Philly apartment. It didn't need much in terms of renovation, but still a more concrete plan than just staying empty or as storage.

After a while, Luke took breakfast, grilled cheese sandwiches, and coffee up to the guestroom room, to wake her with caution, hoping the smell of coffee would help, while the others went to get ready.


Logan held the tiny newborn to his shoulder, his one hand supporting the baby's neck and the other his bottom, his hands appearing huge in comparison.

"Hey baby," Celeste said softly, her eyes glued and in awe of the little creature, after they'd done the initial round of congratulations.

"You want to hold him?" Logan asked Celeste. It was obvious from her gaze that she wanted nothing more.

She didn't really need to reply, Logan already positioning the little creature onto her shoulder, her hands instinctively looking for the right places to hold.

"Oh my god, he's so light, and smells divine," Celeste sighed, taking a lungful of the sweet scent. The baby's facial features were still a little puffy, skintone a little patchy, eyes squeezed shut and his blonde hair of uneven length, longest on the forehead, reminding her of Tintin.

It didn't go unnoticed by Jess how good she looked with him - she was a natural.

"We named him Finn Richard," Rory said proudly.

"Wow, does Finn know yet? That's quite a gesture," Celeste asked, adding, "hi Finn," to the baby.

"We're telling him once he gets here, so…," Rory said, making a hush gesture with her finger.

Celeste smiled in response, understandingly.

"He's the Aussie right?" Jess inquired.

"Yeah, he's a lot deeper than what he appears and he had a pretty significant role in us taking the plunge for real," Logan explained.

"No need to explain, your son - your friend," Jess replied, not getting his eyes off Celeste.

"And how are you doing Rory? Feel free to close your ears, Jess, if you don't want to hear it," Celeste said as she moved carefully over to her, leaning onto Rory's bed. She had to admit the process Rory had gone through, the part that she'd seen at least, hadn't quite left her feeling confident of what was to come.

"Sore, but I have to say that it really is true, a lot is forgotten the instant the baby comes out, but still… god, like 30 hours! Really? Now I totally get why Lorelai kept telling me my birth story year after year," Rory described, trying to laugh at the ordeal.

"Well you did great, you both did," Celeste added, looking at the young parents.

"Ace did all the hard work, she was amazing," Logan said, not feeling like he could take any credit for this. He'd never quite realized that it was possible to love Rory even more than he had, but after seeing her grown through something like this - she was just incredible in his eyes.

"And you will, just the same," Rory assured. "Though I'm not sure when will I ever get more than two hours of sleep at the time again, he's always hungry," she added, having realized that labor was just one tiny part of the process to come.

"Oh, I think I have a card for someone who might be able to help with that. She's a lactation specialist," Celeste recalled, carefully handing the baby over to Rory, who placed him onto her bare chest, just above her breasts, and then wrapping her soft sweater around him, stroking his cheek with back of her finger gently.

She found the card in her purse, handing it to Rory. "There was this second-time mother in yoga class, who swore by her," Celeste explained.

"Thanks", Rory replied, having Logan place the card somewhere for safe keeping.

"Did your parents come yet?" Celeste asked Logan.

"Dad did, but I don't really know about Shira," Logan replied.

"I'm sure she will, she did send gifts so she's not completely made out of ice," Celeste replied, knowing Logan wouldn't mind the comparison.

It had almost slipped Jess' mind how well Celeste really knew Logan, and while recently the main connection between the two seemed to be Rory, Logan was the one she really knew, having years of history with. He wasn't really jealous though, her round bump reminding him that those times were in the past.

"Oh, I think we better go check on the food. We had some of the birthday food delivered here. I'll have it set up in the waiting room so people can eat there and you can only accept as many visitors as you feel like. I'm sure they'll keep themselves happy by chatting to each other and eating in the meanwhile," Celeste explained.

"Wow, thank you," Rory sighed.

"I'll come out there as well for a bit, see if Finn is here yet. You okay alone for a bit, Ace?" Logan asked.

"Yeah," she replied, looking fully content with the baby glued to her chest.

The food arrived and Celeste made sure she brought large selection to the nurses station as well to keep them happy. People wandered in and out of the waiting room, Lorelai, Luke and Emily slipping into Rory's room to adore the baby.

Logan was chatting with Robert, Colin and Finn, as Jess and Celeste sat on a sofa, snacking on spinach quiche.

"You looked really good with the baby," Jess said.

"Thanks", she muttered with her mouth full, thinking how sweet of him to was to say that.

"I was thinking of a name actually," Jess began, having sumbled upon a name while reading the other day.

"Oh yea?" she replied as she'd swallowed.

"Evie," Jess said. "It's a little like Ivy, and I'd be okay with that too, but somehow it feels more right, I don't know, just a gut feeling," he added, feeling like he needed to explain his though process.

"It stands for 'life', I think," Celeste tried to recall.

"I haven't looked it up or anything," Jess said.

"I like it," she replied, smilingly.

As Lorelai, Luke and Emily returned, Logan went to check on Rory to see if she needed some time or whether she was ready for the guys, including Finn. The baby was still asleep, so he gestured them in a moment later. Five minutes later the guys exited the room, Finn visibly dumbfounded by what he'd learned.

"Bloody hell," Finn said with a chuckle, as he stepped into the hallway, running his fingers through his scruffy hair. He almost expected the guys to be jealous of him or something, instead getting strong pats of encouragement on his back from the two others.

"It's going to be fun to see Finn transform," Celeste commented to Jess, having seen and over heard his reaction, through the open doorway.

"I don't really know him that well," Jess replied.

"Well let's just say he's been quite a party animal, forever eligible bachelor, you know," Celeste explained.

"And you think this is going to change him?" he inquired, a little dubiously.

"Whether he realizes this or not, he's going to be a role model. It might take a few years before he fully gets it, but I think he's really going to enjoy the kid. Especially if he, say, never has any of his own," Celeste explained her theory insightfully.

Jess took her hand, stroking her palm gently - that gesture having become their thing ever since Rory's housewarming party. There was just something about that slightly tingling feeling that felt so intimate between them. It was a few moments later when Celeste moved his palm onto the side of her stomach, allowing him to feel her kicks again, causing them both to smile.

"I think she senses when you're near," Celeste added.


AN: The end is nearing. Not ready to say how many more chapters it will be exactly but there are just a few things I feel I need to wrap up in this story to make it feel complete. But if you do have anything you want "solved", suggestions are welcome, maybe they'll triger my imagination to make it slightly longer. I have really enjoyed wrtiting this story so far, honestly I love the Celeste I created so much more than Rory with all her issues, it's going to be strange going back to writing more Rory after this (will probably need to create AU/ OOC Rory or smth).