Luke spent the rest of the night alternating between wandering the halls and trying to sleep on the uncomfortable chairs in the PICU waiting room. By midmorning the next day, Luke had spoken to his dad about Lorelai and Rory. As Luke had expected, his dad was more than willing to help Lorelai, should she want help. Luke had also confirmed that after nearly two weeks in the PICU, Jess would be able to go home that afternoon. Now, he was ready to talk to Lorelai.

As he neared Lorelai's room, he could hear shouting. When he stopped outside her room, he could hear what the shouting was about.

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After Luke walked her back to her room, Lorelai managed to sleep for a few hours, but woke up early, desperate to nurse Rory. As Rory nursed, Lorelai gently stroked the infant's head and contemplated her choices. By midmorning she'd decided that anything, even accepting the help of a stranger, would be better than returning to her parents' house. She'd also decided that even though she preferred Luke's help to her parent's control, she needed more information before she could agree to move in with his family. However, before she could get too lost in thought about all of the things she still needed to discuss with Luke, her parents arrived.

Richard and Emily Gilmore entered Lorelai's room without knocking. "I presume you've realized that you'll need a different name for the child," Emily stated while gesturing at the baby in Lorelai's arms.

"No, Mom. Her name is Lorelai Leigh Gilmore. I'm not changing her name."

"What about Susan? Susan is a nice name."

"I'm calling her Rory."

"What about Christine or Christina? You could name her after Christopher," Emily continued as if Lorelai hadn't spoken. "You should also giver her Christopher's surname. After all, he is her father."

"I'm not naming her after Christopher or using Hayden as her last name. Chris couldn't even be bothered to come meet her."

"He's a busy boy," Richard interrupted. "I'm sure he'll meet her later. At the house, perhaps."

"If he wanted to be a father, he'd have at least come to the hospital to meet her," Lorelai declared.

"Lorelai, really?" Exasperation was clear in Emily's voice, "You refuse to marry him, but still expect him to come to the hospital for you? He probably feels like you don't want him involved. Naming the girl after her father would go a long way toward showing him that you want him to be her father. Don't you think that Christine Hayden sounds like a nice name?"

"It sounds like a very nice name, Mother."

Emily smiled, "Then, it's settled."

"Let me finish, Mother. It sounds like a very nice name, but my daughter's name is Lorelai Leigh Gilmore. If Christopher even wanted me to consider naming her after him or giving her his last name, he'd have shown up. He clearly isn't interested."

"Lorelai Victoria Gilmore! You can't name your daughter after yourself! It's just not done."

"Men do it all the time."

"Yes, so the child should be named after her father."

"I won't give her the name of someone who doesn't want her!"

"Don't be impossible, Lorelai!"

"She's my daughter. I've named her. You can't force me to change her name."

"You're impossible."

"I'm her mother."

"You're a child."

"I stopped being a child the minute the strip turned pink," Lorelai responded quietly.

Emily sighed in frustration, "When can we get out of here?"

"The doctor said he planned to discharge Rory and me this afternoon."

"I'm ready to go now."

"We haven't been discharged yet, Mother."

"Well, I'm not waiting here all day. We'll be back later. Call the house when you're ready to come home. Come along, Richard," Emily called to her husband as she stormed from her daughter's hospital room, nearly running into the young man waiting outside.

"Yes, dear," Richard stated calmly as he followed his wife at a much more sedate pace.

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After watching the couple, who were clearly Lorelai's parents, leave her room, Luke took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Lorelai called.

Luke entered the room and stopped to stare at Lorelai, who was staring at the infant nestled comfortably against her chest. Luke's gaze followed Lorelai's and he found himself staring at Rory. After a few moments of silence, Lorelai pulled her gaze from her daughter and looked up at Luke with a smile. "Hi, Luke," she greeted warmly.

"Hi," he murmured, not shifting his attention away from Rory.

For a moment Lorelai watched Luke as he watched Rory. Her smile grew wider when she realized that he was completely mesmerized by her daughter. Suddenly, he seemed to jolt back to reality and lifted his eyes to hers. "So, um, your parents came to visit."

Lorelai's smile shifted into a grimace, "You heard them, huh?"

"Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just coming to see you and I heard the shouting, so I decided to wait until it was over."

"Smart man. Unfortunately, it will never be over. They've been like that pretty much my entire life and it's only gotten worse since I got pregnant."

"Oh. Sorry."

Lorelai shrugged, "It's just how they are."

Luke glanced down at the floor, took a deep breath, then looked back up at Lorelai and asked, "So, have you thought about my offer?"

"Yes. Have you?"

Luke nodded.

"And you're still offering?"

"I am."

Lorelai let out a sigh of relief, "Good. I mean, I really want to say yes, but I need to know more about you and about how this would all work before I can. Say yes, that is."

"What do you need to know?"

"Your last name, for starters."

"Danes."

"Luke Danes. Hmm, I like it."

Luke smiled. "Gee, thanks. I'm glad you approve," he commented dryly.

Lorelai smiled widely.

"What else?"

"How old are you, Luke Danes?"

"Nineteen."

"Nineteen and you adopted your sister's baby? That's nice."

Lorelai's praise caused Luke to shift uncomfortably as he mumbled, "Um, thanks."

Lorelai took pity on him and moved on. "Have you told your dad about me?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"He wants to help," Luke said with a shrug. "Just like I said he would."

"That's nice of him, but what about your mom? You never mention her."

"She, um, passed away when I was fifteen."

"I'm so sorry, Luke."

"Me too." Luke got lost in thoughts of his mom for a moment. "What else do you need to know?"

"Where's your sister?"

"She took off right after the adoption was finalized. Last I heard, she was in New York."

"Do you think she'll be back?"

"No."

"Okay. Well, um, is there anything you want to know about me."

"I already know your name."

"My mother is loud."

Luke chuckled, "She is. So, um do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No. I'm an only child."

"Are you going to tell your parents you're leaving?"

"I don't think so. I'll probably just leave a note or send them a letter."

"Don't you think they'll worry?"

"I doubt it. If anything, they'll probably be relieved."

"Oh. That sucks."

"I guess," Lorelai agreed.

"So, what do you think? Should we do this?"

Lorelai looked down at Rory, running one finger down her smooth cheek. She took a deep breath and raised her eyes to Luke's, "Yes."

Luke let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Yes. Okay. Good. I guess we should figure out how this will work."

"I guess we should."

"Okay, so, um, I spoke to Jess' doctor this morning and he still plans on discharging Jess this afternoon."

"We're still being released today too."

"Good. I know you said you didn't want to go home at all, but I'm sure there's stuff you want to grab before you leave."

"Not really. I couldn't really afford to buy anything for Rory and my parents have been in denial, so I only have a few outfits for her. They're in my bag in the closet."

"What about your clothes? Or a car seat?"

"The car seat is in the closet too."

"What about your clothes?"

Lorelai mumbled, "I don't really have clothes that fit anymore."

"What was that?"

Lorelai blushed. "I said 'I don't really have clothes that fit anymore.'"

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So, you don't need anything from your parents' house?"

"No."

"I guess you can just come home with me as soon as everyone's discharged."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Where is home exactly?"

"Stars Hollow."

"I've never heard of it."

"It's a little town about thirty minutes from here. The people are crazy. Nice, but crazy. I think you'll like it there."

"I'm sure I'll love it, but what happens when we get to your house?"

"I talked to my dad about that last night and we think we have a plan."

"Care to share?"

"You and Rory can have the guest room. We're sure the townspeople will help out with baby supplies and things once they know you're there."

"I'm not a charity case."

"I know."

"I'll get a job and pay rent as soon as I can."

"Did you even graduate high school?"

"No, but I'm sure I can get some kind of job."

"I'm sure you could. In fact, my dad thinks he can get you a job at his friend's inn, but you should finish high school."

"I won't have time. Rory has to come first."

"I know, but just hear me out here."

"Okay."

"You move in with us. You get your GED. While you're working toward your GED, you can work a few hours a week at the inn. As long as you're working toward your GED, you can live with us without paying rent and my dad and I will help with Rory. After you get your GED, we can discuss the possibility of you paying rent."

"That's too generous. I should pay something. I'm not a charity case."

"It's not charity."

"Then what is it?"

"It's what we'd want someone to do for Liz."

"Oh."

"So what do you say?"

"I say okay."

"Good. Well, um, I need to go check on Jess, but I'll be back for you and Rory after he's been discharged."

"What if we're discharged first?"

"I'll either be in the PICU waiting room or visiting Jess in the PICU."

"Okay."

"I'll see you later, Lorelai."

"Bye, Luke."

Luke stole one more glance at Rory before turning around and walking toward the door.

"Hey, Luke?"

Luke looked over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Luke smiled. "You're welcome."

Lorelai smiled back. Their eyes locked for a brief moment before Luke turned away and left the room.

Rory started to squirm in her mother's arms. "It's okay, baby girl," Lorelai whispered to her daughter as she adjusted the baby to allow her to nurse. "Everything's going to be okay. I'm sure of it."