Title: What Sam Says

Chapter 14: The Second Shortest Sleep

A/N: Okay, I am once again hyper, so let me start off by saying:

I LOVE YOU TOO, MANDA!

Yes, your fabulous, two-paragraph reviews (both of 'em) made my day—night, again, actually—and I am now hyper enough to write chapter 14 (playing in my head all day) and maybe get it up before two this morning.

I have two words—I'll try.

So, here's me trying. And:

I LOVE THE REST OF YOU, TOO!

See, cause I wasn't too sure about that chapter—I hate people who say that, but now I know that it's true—and you guys have made my night!!! (Ha, I got it right) Please continue to review, and I will continue to write—just for you guys.

Okay, let me just say—I like Christopher. I really do. It's just…he's a suck-ass father. Seriously. He's bad. So, I write him as such in this chapter. For that fact, and the fact that Luke as a better father figure fits better into the story. Okay. Sorry. Continue.

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Rory's watch alarm went off at two-thirty the next morning, giving her half an hour to get ready before Luke—with two cups of decaf coffee, he promised—was to pick her up. She somehow struggled out of bed, and, on six and a half hours of sleep, dressed and packed a small bag. She had ten minutes to spare, and spent the time picking loved books from her bookcase to read on the long flight.

At two till three, Rory quietly walked out of her bedroom with her one bag and carefully shut the door behind her.

"If the baby's a boy, you should name him Jake Ryan," Lorelai said thoughtfully from behind Rory, causing her to jump ten feet in the air.

"God! Mom! I didn't expect you to be up!"

"Geez, sorry. I would've thought you'd be happy I was seeing you off."

"I am, you just surprised me. It's two till three in the morning."

"I know." Lorelai continued flipping through a magazine while Rory just stared at her. Finally, she looked back up. "Don't look at me like that. I've stayed up later than this."

"Oh," Rory nodded, recognition dawning on her face. "And you've re-watched Sixteen Candles for the four thousandth time to keep yourself awake."

"Yep!" Lorelai nodded. "How'd ya know?"

"Your choice of opening statement."

"Oh, right." Lorelai grinned. "I like the name Jake Ryan."

"Jake Ryan Gilmore?" Rory said incredulously. Lorelai just continued grinning.

"It's from a John Hughes movie. And besides, Jake was the best guy in all of the movies. He was nice, and cute, and he broke up with his girlfriend for Samantha—on her birthday," Lorelai stressed, "and he helped out Farmer Ted, aka The Geek, aka, Anthony Michael Hall, aka, God, he used to be just a geek with really long fingers but he is now a stud with really long fingers and the ability to see flashes of the future on a USA original series based on a Stephen King novel."

Rory nodded. "You certainly get more hyper as the night wears on."

"Uh-huh!" Lorelai exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Well, Mom, I hate to break it to you, but not everything connected with John Hughes is wonderful."

"Uh!" Lorelai protested. "How dare you say that about John Hughes! He's fabulous, and everything connected to him is fabulous!!"

"Home Alone 3 and Maid in Manhattan," Rory offered.

"Ugh." Lorelai pulled a face. "I can see where you're coming from."

"I thought you would."

There was a knock on the front door, and Rory started to get up from the kitchen table, but Lorelai stopped it.

"Wait. Let me get it." She grinned, once again. "I wanna see the look on Luke's face when he sees me up at three in the morning."

"I wanna see it too!" Rory protested, getting from her chair and following her mother to the door.

Luke, standing outside the front door, rolled his eyes as he heard the girls argue all the way to the door. When their walking slowed and their conversation quickened, he knocked again, startling both women so they each uttered an "Oh!"

Finally, though, Lorelai pulled the door open, a grin on her face, Rory at her shoulder. Luke gave her his "You're absolutely crazy, Lorelai Gilmore" face, and then said to Rory, "You ready to go?"

Rory nodded, and Lorelai moved so her daughter could walk onto the porch.

"Bye, Mom," Rory said, wrapping her arms around her mother as well she could while carrying a bag. Luke, noticing the awkwardness of the hug, tugged the bag from her hand, allowing mother and daughter to get a firm hold of each other.

"Call me when you get to the airport," Lorelai commanded over Rory's shoulder. "And when you get to the gate. And when you get on the plane. And after you get off the plane. And after you make it to Venice Beach. And after you find him. And after you talk to him. And—"

"Lorelai! We're gonna be late!" Luke exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry!" Lorelai gave Rory another quick squeeze and a peck on the cheek, and then finally released her.

"Bye, Mom," Rory tried again, this time waving and walking down the porch steps at the same time.

"Bye, Rory," Lorelai called back, waving and leaning on the doorjamb.

"Let me take my bag," Rory commanded as Luke caught up to her walking to the truck parked on the street.

"No, let me carry it. You're…in no condition to carry the bag."

Rory thought about protesting, but decided that she'd let Luke baby her and carry her bag. As they settled into Luke's truck, she waved at Lorelai again, and continued waving until they were too far down the street to see the house anymore.

Lorelai waved until the truck disappeared in the distance, and then turned right around and went right back upstairs, dragging the phone into bed with her and using it almost as a pillow.

Two minutes into the half hour drive to Hartford, Luke tried to break the silence.

"Uh. So. You're going to see Jess?"

"Yep," Rory nodded.

"Right," Luke nodded, too. "Uh…."

"You know, Luke, we don't have to talk. We can turn on the radio."

"Oh, that's good." Luke said in relief as he reached down and turned the radio on. He spun the tuner dial around and around, not able to find anything and keep his eye on the dark road in front of him.

"I'll get it," Rory offered, reaching to take over the dial spinning. He nodded in appreciation and turned his full attention on the road. Rory bypassed a few songs she really liked, knowing that Luke wouldn't like them, and stopped completely when a very familiar song came on. "Oh, my God! It's Lane's band!" she exclaimed, pointing to the radio excitedly. "It's Lane's band!" She turned to Luke.

"Really?" Luke asked. "Wow."

"God. I heard them when I was in Seattle, but…I guess it's really only seeming real now that I'm closer to home."

"Oh," Luke said, wondering what Rory was doing in Seattle.

"I haven't talked to her in forever. I should call her. Although not now, cause I have no idea where she is, how to reach her, or what time it is there."

"Right," Luke nodded.

The song faded out, and the deejay started talking about the band. "Killer song, huh? Well, the lead guitarist and drummer are making headlines again, after the drummer used the lead guitarist's credit card to buy a book entitled, The Lifetime Book of Wedding Planning. My wife used that book, and Lifetime almost asked us to be in their June wedding special. So, if I were you, I'd expect an appearance by Lane Kim and Dave Rygalski on Lifetime's wedding special, come June. Up next…."

The deejay faded off as Rory stared at the radio in shock. "Wow."

"Yeah."

"Big news," Rory said, pointing to the radio and looking at Luke again. "Don't you think it's big news?"

"Well, you've got big news, too," Luke said, his eyes darting to Rory's stomach and then back to the road.

"Yeah, I guess so," Rory half-smiled, settling her hands on her stomach. Then her baby kicked, and she gasped and reached for Luke's hand. "He's kicking!" she exclaimed, pulling Luke's hand from the steering wheel and putting it over the spot the baby had just kicked. Luke sat at an awkward position, even more awkward since this was Rory, but all his uncomfortable thoughts flew out the window when the baby kicked his palm.

"Wow," he said. "That's…amazing."

"I know!" Rory squealed and released Luke's hand, who placed it back on the steering wheel somewhat reluctantly. Then a thought hit him.

"Jess knows about the kid, right?"

"Yeah," Rory nodded. "He was the one who helped me look at my pregnancy tests. And I called him every time I couldn't get through to Mom and something was happening, like after I got my first sonogram."

"Huh," was the only thing Luke could muster up. Well, well, well. Jess was sweet underneath that tough-boy exterior.

Luke realized what he'd just thought, and gave himself a disgusted look. He'd thought the word "sweet" about Jess. He didn't think he'd ever associate that word with anything other than food and ice tea.

"Hey, Luke?" Rory's voice broke Luke from his thoughts. "I think I'm gonna try to get a little sleep. Wake me when we get to the airport, okay?"

Luke nodded, and she nodded back, and leaned her head against the glass of the window.

She was asleep within seconds, and awoken seconds after that by Luke's hand gently shaking her shoulder.

"Rory. Rory. We're here."

"Oh!" she snapped awake, anticipation growing in the pit of her stomach and swirling like so many butterflies.

Luke climbed from the car, carrying Rory's bag, and then opened her door for her. She graciously used his hand to step onto the curb, and he handed her bag to her.

"Thanks," she said.

"You're welcome. Uh, are you good from here?"

"I'm good from here," Rory nodded, and after a second's pause, threw her arms around Luke. "Thanks," she whispered again.

He nodded against her shoulder. "I'm proud of you," he whispered, before letting go and walking back around the car quickly. He waved as he got back into the truck, and Rory waved back as he drove the car away. She smiled, slightly, at the thought that his eyes had sparkled with tears as he'd ended their hug.

"Just like a dad," she murmured, wondering over the fact that she hadn't seen her dad in over a year, longer than she'd talked to Lorelai, but he didn't seem to be worrying that much about her—she'd sent him a card at Christmas, and apparently that had contented him enough that he hadn't even noticed her birthday.

Rory shook her head and walked into Hartford Airport, intending to get her boarding pass and then find some more coffee, and maybe some breakfast.

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A/N: Okay, fine, so the story hasn't ended yet. I'm sorry. Your wonderful reviews have got me so that I really don't want to see the story end, so you're just gonna have to wait a little longer.

On another note: I have gotten at least one chapter out every single day for over a week. Go me!

On a third note: I promised myself I would finish this before 2 a.m. It is now 12:51 a.m. I have completed my task.

On a fourth note: I got a blurty!!! If you would like to, you can go to blurty.com/~peace2u and read my blurty. If you comment on it, I will gush about how much I love my commenters, as well as my reviewers!!

On a fifth note: I don't care if commenters is not a word. It is in my world, if not Bill "I own Microsoft it must do what I say" Gates' world.

On a sixth note: Can you tell that at (now 12:53 a.m.) I get a little weird? I must sleep soon.

On a seventh note: But this is going up first!!!!!

On an eighth note: Look, eight notes!!!!