Leaning against the side of the truck, Lorelai watched as Luke loaded the bed of the truck with everything they would need for a week at the lake cabin. She grimaced when she saw him walking toward her carrying fishing poles and a tackle box. "Didn't we just go fishing?" she whined.

Luke put the fishing poles and tackle box into the bed of the truck, closed the tailgate, and went to stand next to Lorelai. "That was two months ago and you didn't fish," he reminded her, folding his arms across his chest.

"And I don't plan on fishing now."

"You don't have to.

"I don't plan on watching this time either."

"Again, you don't have to."

"Good, because that was a one-time only Father's Day present."

"Understood. When Dad and I go fishing, we won't invite you."

"Aww, thank you. I knew you loved me."

"You're welcome. I do love you, but I'm not sure why my refusing to invite you somewhere is what makes that clear to you."

"I look at it as you not making me do something I don't want to do."

"What's the difference?"

"Your way I'm not invited, but my way I could go if I wanted to."

"But you don't want to go," Luke clarified, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Exactly!"

Luke groaned and rubbed one hand across his face in a desperate attempt to ease the pounding headache that had formed behind his left eye. "You really are crazy, you know that?"

"I know," Lorelai agreed, beaming at him with a wide smile. "But you love me anyway," she teased.

"God, help me."

"Hey!" Lorelai gasped, glaring at Luke with feigned anger. "That was rude." She paused for a second before admitting, "But I guess I love you too."

Smiling, Luke stepped closer to Lorelai and placed his hands on her hips. "Yeah? That's lucky." He dragged her away from the truck and slid his arms around her waist. Before he could kiss her, they heard the front door of the house open and close behind them. The interruption elicited moans of disappointment from Luke and Lorelai. Luke rested his forehead against Lorelai's for a moment and then turned to face the house, one arm still wrapped around Lorelai's waist.

William was standing near the front door, watching Luke and Lorelai with a knowing smile. "I thought you were supposed to be loading the truck."

"I just finished," Luke informed his dad.

"Did you grab the present that I'd left on the kitchen table? I can't find it now."

"Yeah. I thought it was ready to go."

"It was. I just didn't see you take it." The conversation lapsed into an awkward silence. "I guess I'll go check on the kids. We'll be ready to leave soon."

"Okay. Thanks, Dad."

As soon as William was back in the house, Lorelai dissolved into a fit of laughter. Between peals of laughter, she managed to say, "Your dad has awful timing."

"Tell me about it."

Regaining her composure, Lorelai stepped away from Luke. "Let's just get on the road."

"Good idea."

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Several hours after they arrived at the lake cabin, Luke collapsed on the couch. Lorelai moved to sit next to him, but, as she passed in front of him, he grabbed her hand and, with a gentle tug, pulled her into his lap.

Landing awkwardly in Luke's lap, Lorelai gave a soft squeal of surprise. She shifted into a more comfortable position, effectively wrapping herself around Luke, who responded by holding her tightly to his chest. She pressed her face against his neck, mumbling, "The tiny humans are evil."

"No, they're not."

"They're evil little jack-in-the-boxes. We put them to bed, they get back up, we put them to bed, they get back up. Why won't they sleep?"

"They're just excited. And they are asleep. Now."

"I know they're excited, but I don't think the extra nap they took on the way here helped the situation."

"Probably not."

Lorelai pressed her face more firmly against Luke's neck for a few seconds, then pulled away to rest her cheek on his shoulder. Her eyes drifted close as she started to fall asleep. "No more extra naps," Lorelai murmured. "They make bedtime impossible."

"Okay." When Lorelai didn't say anything else, Luke nudged her with his shoulder. "Let's go to bed."

"Sleepy," moaned Lorelai, snuggling deeper into Luke's embrace. Smiling indulgently, Luke picked Lorelai up and carried her to their bedroom.

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The next morning, Luke slept in later than usual, but was still exhausted when he woke up. He blinked several times to clear his bleary vision and turned to look at Lorelai. She was laying on the other side of the bed, fast asleep. Usually, Lorelai slept against Luke's side with her head on his chest, but Jess and Rory had woken up in the middle of the night and forced themselves between their parents. They had refused to go back to their own beds, so Luke and Lorelai had spent the rest of the night sleeping fitfully on opposite sides of the bed and dodging little hands and feet.

Realizing that the kids would soon be awake for the day, Luke didn't bother trying to fall back asleep. Instead, he folded his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling. The moment Jess and Rory began to stir, Luke picked them up and carried them out of the room. He was determined not to wake up Lorelai, figuring at least one of them should get some uninterrupted sleep.

In the living room, Luke sat down on the couch with Jess and Rory cuddling against his chest, slowly becoming more alert. When they were fully awake, Jess and Rory rolled from their father's chest to the couch and then slid from the couch to the floor. Luke watched as they dragged out the toys Lorelai had packed for them and began to play quietly.

Seeing that the kids were content to entertain themselves, Luke decided to get some rest. He leaned back, sinking deeper into the couch, and closed his eyes. Hovering on the brink of consciousness, he paid just enough attention to be sure the kids were still in the room and not causing any trouble.

Luke continued to doze until he felt one of the kids sit on his foot and wrap their arms and legs around his calf. Opening his eyes, he saw that it was Jess who was clinging to his leg. "Hi, Jess."

"Hi, Daddy."

Luke stared at Jess, waiting to hear what he wanted, but Jess just sat there, staring back at Luke with a toothy grin. Luke finally broke down and asked, "Do you need something?"

"I'm hungry, Daddy. Want pancakes for breffiss."

"Me too," Rory said, seconding Jess' request. She climbed into Luke's lap and pressed her hands to his cheeks, forcing his lips to pucker. "Pleeeeasssssse," she begged.

Faced with Jess and Rory's matching pouts, Luke hauled himself off of the couch with a heavy sigh. He transferred Rory to his hip and staggered toward the kitchen with Jess still sitting on his foot. "Who wants to help me make pancakes?"

"Me!" cheered Jess and Rory.

"Shh. Mommy's still sleeping, so we have to be quiet. Okay?" Jess and Rory clamped their mouths shut in silent agreement. "Good," Luke said with a quick nod. "Let's get started."

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"I smell coffee," Lorelai announced as she walked into the kitchen. Sniffing the air dramatically, she added, "And pancakes too."

"You're kidding," Luke commented sarcastically, gesturing at the plate of pancakes he had just set in the middle of the table.

"Good morning to you too," Lorelai responded wryly, walking past him to get a cup of coffee.

Luke ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I'm sorry. I didn't sleep very well."

Returning with her coffee, Lorelai moved to stand next to Luke and began rubbing his back in slow, lazy circles. "I know. I didn't either." Laying her head on his shoulder, she continued, "Until my amazing husband woke up early with our kids and let me sleep in." She kissed his cheek and, letting her lips linger against his skin, whispered, "Thank you."

Luke turned to face Lorelai, causing her kiss to shift from his cheek to his lips. He was just about to deepen the kiss when Rory decided she was done waiting for her breakfast. "Daddy! Mama! Stop kissing! Want pancakes now!" she demanded.

Laughing, Luke and Lorelai stepped apart. "She has your appetite," Luke told Lorelai as he cut up a pancake for Rory.

"It comes with the name," Lorelai informed him. Setting her coffee cup on the table, she asked, "Jess, do you want a pancake?"

Jess set down the cup of orange juice that he had been drinking while waiting patiently for his breakfast. "Yes."

After serving the kids, Luke and Lorelai filled their own plates and settled into their chairs to eat. Breakfast was unusually quiet. Luke and Lorelai were too tired to maintain a conversation. Jess and Rory were too hungry to engage in their usual chatter.

Lorelai had just poured her second cup of coffee and was walking back to the table when William walked into the cabin. He smiled at the sight of his family enjoying their pancakes and said, "Looks like I'm just in time for breakfast."

"Hi, Papa!" Rory greeted him cheerfully.

"Hi, Rory," William responded as he walked up behind her and kissed the top of her head. He reached over with one hand to ruffle Jess' hair. "Morning, Jess." Jess mumbled a greeting around a mouthful of food. "Are you going to share your pancakes with me?" Jess jerked his plate away from William and would have dropped it on the floor if Lorelai hadn't caught it before it could slide off of the table. William chuckled. "What about you, Rory? Will you share with me?"

Rory recoiled in horror and gasped, "No!"

"Well, what am I supposed to eat?"

"I guess you'll have to get your own," answered Luke.

"You'll have to excuse Mr. Grumpypants. He didn't sleep well," Lorelai said in an attempt to smooth over Luke's gruffness.

William began preparing his own breakfast plate. "I guess that explains why you didn't go fishing with me," he said to Luke.

"Yeah. Sorry. I finally fell asleep just before we were supposed to leave and when I woke up, you were already gone. Do you want to go tomorrow?"

"Sure, if you think you'll be able to drag yourself out of bed," William joked as he sat down.

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The rest of the week was spent fishing, swimming, and relaxing. Jess and Rory quickly settled into life at the lake cabin and had resumed their normal sleep patterns, much to Luke and Lorelai's delight. With the kids sleeping through the night in their own beds, Luke and Lorelai were able to sleep peacefully.

By Saturday morning, the entire family was well-rested and looking forward to the barbeque that was planned for that evening. Jess was especially excited because the barbeque was his birthday party. His excitement made it difficult for him to settle down for his afternoon nap.

When Jess was still awake thirty minutes after Rory had fallen asleep, Lorelai laid down next to him and began stroking his hair, trying to lull him to sleep. Jess snuggled close to his mother and asked, "My birfday party now, Mommy?"

"Not yet, sweet boy. You have to take your nap first."

"Okay." He closed his eyes, but a few minutes later, just when Lorelai thought he had fallen asleep, he opened his eyes. "Now, Mommy?"

"Not yet. You need to sleep now or you might fall asleep during your party," she warned him.

"Okay, Mommy," Jess agreed reluctantly with a sigh of frustration. Obediently, he shut his eyes, but a short time later, he opened them again and said, "Mommy?"

"Not yet, Jess. It's time to be quiet now."

Jess huffed angrily. "Okay." For the third time since Lorelai laid down, he closed his eyes. This time his eyes stayed closed, but even after she thought Jess was asleep, Lorelai continued to stroke his hair for several more minutes. When Lorelai was certain that Jess was asleep, she slowly rolled to the edge of the bed and stood up. She gently kissed Jess' forehead and quietly left the room.

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After Rory woke up from her nap, Lorelai took her to the kitchen table to color. An unexpected knock at the door caused Lorelai to jump to her feet. She hurried to open the door before whoever was on the other side could knock a second time and risk waking up Jess. Yanking open the door, she was surprised to see Mia and Sookie standing outside, holding balloons and a birthday cake. The shock must have shown on her face because Mia said, "I know we're early, but can we come in?"

Realizing that she had been staring at them instead of welcoming them, Lorelai stepped aside and said, "Of course." She led them into the kitchen, so that Sookie could put the cake in the refrigerator. "I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting anyone to show up for another couple of hours."

Mia waved off Lorelai's apology. "We came to help."

"I wanted to be sure the cake was here on time," added Sookie.

"It is definitely on time and it looks amazing. Thank you, Sookie."

"You're welcome. It's the first cake I've made for a little kid. I hope Jess likes it," Sookie said, wringing her hands nervously.

"Jess is going to love it," Lorelai assured her.

"It's an edible dinosaur. He's going to be thrilled," Mia predicted. She went to the kitchen table where Rory was still coloring. "That's a very pretty picture, Rory."

"Thank you," Rory replied politely without taking her eyes off her drawing.

"Where's Jess? Doesn't he want to color too?"

"Jess is sweeping."

"Jess is sleeping," Lorelai translated. "He had a hard time going down for his nap."

"Ahh. And where are William and Luke?"

"I sent them to the grocery store to pick up the food for the party."

"I wish you'd let me handle the food," lamented Sookie.

"We couldn't ask you to do that. You're our guest. Don't worry though, Luke is a great cook."

"I'd still like to help. Do you think he'll let me?"

"Luke prefers to cook alone. Besides, you already made the cake. That's more than enough."

"I guess," Sookie conceded doubtfully.

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At Jess' birthday party, Emily stood next to Richard while he chatted with William and Buddy. Ignoring the men's conversation, Emily studied the other guests. She briefly considered joining Mia and Maisy, but was slightly uncomfortable in the small gathering of her daughter's friends and chose to stay with Richard instead. Emily decided her discomfort was a small price to pay to be invited to her grandson's birthday party.

Glancing toward where Luke was grilling, she saw that he was struggling to fend off Sookie, who seemed determined to take the tongs out of Luke's hand. She looked over to where Lorelai was sitting at a picnic table with Jess and Rory and realized that she hadn't noticed the dispute between Luke and Sookie. Excusing herself, she crossed the yard to talk to Lorelai.

As she approached Lorelai and the kids, Emily heard Jess whining as Lorelai explained that he had to wait to open his presents. She smiled when Lorelai tickled him to make him laugh. After a moment, she cleared her throat to alert Lorelai to her presence. "Excuse me, Lorelai."

Lorelai looked up over her shoulder. "Hi, Mom."

"Hello. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I think Luke could use some help."

Turning to see what Luke might need, Lorelai gasped when she saw he was being harassed by Sookie. "Can you sit with the kids?" she asked, standing up.

"Yes."

"Thanks!" Lorelai called as she ran off to save Luke.

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Lorelai walked her parents to their car and said goodbye before returning to the picnic table where Luke sat with Jess and Rory on his lap. Jess was struggling to stay awake, but Rory was already fast asleep. "Are you ready for bed, Jess?" Jess nodded, his cheek rubbing against the blue stuffed lizard that he clutched tightly against his chest. The lizard, named Inspector Iggie by Lorelai, hadn't been out of Jess' hands since he received it from William.

"I can get him ready for bed, if you take Rory," Luke suggested, lifting Rory toward Lorelai.

"Deal," she agreed, taking Rory from him and heading inside.

Luke followed Lorelai into the cabin and they worked together to get the kids into bed. It wasn't long before both kids were tucked into their beds and sleeping soundly. Lorelai turned out the light and pulled Luke into the hallway. "Let's go to bed."

"You want to spend our last night of vacation sleeping?"

Lorelai smirked. "I didn't say anything about sleeping."

A grin slowly spread across Luke's face when he realized Lorelai had no intention of going to sleep. "No, you didn't." He gently pushed her toward their bedroom.