"It's Still There – part 15"
* * *
The day after Christmas, Lorelai and Rory went to Sookie's house for lunch. As they sat around the living room eating dessert, Lorelai smiled out the window. "Man, eight inches of snow. . .you can't ask for a better start to the winter."
"Unless you hate snow," Sookie said.
Lorelai frowned. "How can anyone hate something so beautiful?"
"Um, maybe because it's a deadly hazard?" Rory suggested. "People slip on it and fall and get hurt. It causes car accidents, shoveling it injures people's backs. Kids sometimes get hurt when they go sledding. Sometimes – "
"Okay, okay," Lorelai interrupted, waving her off. "Let's just sit back and enjoy the beauty of it, hm?" She set her plate on the coffee table, then leaned back against the couch cushion. "I don't wanna go back to work on Saturday. I wish I had the rest of the year off instead of just today and tomorrow."
"Me, too," Sookie agreed.
"What are you doing for New Year's Eve?" Lorelai asked. "You guys wanna come over?"
"Aw, sorry, we can't," Sookie replied with an apologetic frown. "Jackson's friend invited us to some party and Jackson already told him we'd come." She rolled her eyes. "I'd much rather hang out with you guys, though, since I'm sure at your house I won't be sitting around listening to a bunch of drunks talk about the latest episode of Jerry Springer."
"Ooh, is that the one where the guy wanted to marry his own mom?" Lorelai asked. "Or the one where the girl admitted to her boyfriend that she used to be a guy?"
"Okay, you'd fit in really good at the party," Sookie commented with a smirk. "Which is actually kind of scaring me."
"Don't worry, she doesn't actually watch the show," Rory assured her. "She just likes to read the little title at the bottom of the screen, and then she changes the channel to something more educational, like SpongeBob or Powerpuff Girls."
Sookie giggled. "Ah, I see. So you guys are just hanging out at home on New Year's Eve?"
"Yup. Well, Luke and I are." Lorelai gestured to Rory. "This one is abandoning her mother to hang out with her boyfriend."
"One of Dean's friends is having a party," Rory added.
"Ooh, sounds fun," Sookie commented.
"So while my kid's out partying it up, Luke and I will be sitting at home trying to figure out exactly how old Dick Clark is," Lorelai said. "And with no alcohol. Sounds like a rockin' New Year's Eve, huh?"
"I'm sure it'll be fun," Sookie said. "You two will find other ways to occupy your time."
Lorelai smirked and nodded. "Oh yeah, we're good at that."
Rory jumped up from the couch. "Okay, I'm gonna go get a drink before this conversation goes where I think it's going." Lorelai and Sookie both giggled as Rory walked to the kitchen.
"Have you heard from Christopher lately?" Sookie asked.
Lorelai nodded. "He called Rory a few days ago before he left for some trip with Sherry to visit family of hers."
"Does he know about the baby?"
"Rory mentioned it when he called, and he told her to tell me congratulations."
Sookie raised an eyebrow. "He didn't even tell you himself?"
Lorelai shrugged. "Apparently he was in a hurry." She sighed. "Tomorrow is our last free Friday night. Weekly dinners start back up again next week."
"Oh, wow, how long has it been?" Sookie asked.
"We haven't seen them since Thanksgiving," Lorelai replied. "I was getting so used to not having to go there."
"Do you guys exchange Christmas presents?" Sookie asked.
"Yeah. I never know what to get them though."
"What'd you get 'em this year?" Sookie asked.
"Kind of generic stuff. We got my mom this crystal vase, and my dad this gold paperweight with his initials engraved on it."
"Ooh, they sound like nice gifts," Sookie commented. "And definitely not too generic."
Rory poked her head through the doorway. "It's safe for me to come in, right?"
Lorelai patted the seat next to her. "Yes, get in here." Rory walked in and sat down, and the three of them continued talking.
* * *
It was almost 8 o'clock on New Year's Eve, and Rory was brushing her hair in her bedroom when Lorelai walked in. "Hey hon. You leaving soon?"
"Yup. Dean'll be here in a few minutes to pick me up."
Lorelai sat down on Rory's bed. "So, you said you don't know where the party is?"
Rory applied some lip gloss. "Not really. It's at this kid Jay's house, and I think he lives on Orange Street, but I'm not positive."
"But it's definitely around here somewhere, right?" Lorelai asked. "It's not in some other town?"
"Oh, yeah, it's close by," Rory assured her. "He goes to school with Dean, so I know he lives in Stars Hollow."
"Okay, just checking. What time do you think you'll be home?"
Rory shrugged. "I'm not sure. Probably by one."
Lorelai nodded. "Just call if you're gonna be later than that."
"I will." Rory smoothed out her shirt in the mirror, then turned around. "How do I look?"
Lorelai smiled. "Adorable."
"Good. Let's go." Rory walked out of the room, and Lorelai followed her to the front entryway.
As Rory rummaged through her purse, Lorelai pulled at the waist of her jeans. "Okay, I think this is the last time you're gonna see me in these for awhile."
Rory looked over at her. "Oh, are they getting tight?"
Lorelai nodded and patted her stomach. "I do believe that Mommy is starting to expand."
Rory smiled. "Time to buy some maternity clothes."
"Actually, not yet," Lorelai replied. "The book said that around this month, maternity clothes would be too big, so you should go out and buy regular clothes in a size larger than normal."
"Oh. So either way, we need to go clothes shopping tomorrow."
"Yup."
"Sounds good."
A few minutes later, Dean arrived to pick up Rory, and they left for the party. Lorelai went upstairs and changed into comfortable pajamas, then sat down on the couch to watch television as she waited for Luke to get home from work.
* * *
Luke arrived home around 8:30 with takeout from the diner. Lorelai was sitting on the couch watching television, and he walked over to her. "Hey." She looked up at him, and his eyes widened when he saw that she was crying. "What happened? Are you okay?"
Lorelai sniffled and nodded as she wiped her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Luke sat down next to her. "Talk to me."
"It's nothing, I'm okay." Lorelai gestured to the television. "It was just. . .there was a Cheerios commercial on."
"Oh." Luke nodded understandably. It wasn't the first time a commercial had made her cry lately, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. "What was it about?"
"Oh, it was really sweet. The little girl. . .I guess she was like 6 or something. . .she pours a bowl of cereal and then she carries it on this tray down the hall and wakes up her dad, and she's like, 'Happy Birthday, Daddy.' And he's so touched and he smiles at her, and they sit on the bed and eat the cereal together. . ." Her lower lip trembled and more tears slid down her cheeks. "And it was just the sweetest thing." Lorelai wiped her eyes and sniffled a few times. "You probably think I'm a moron."
Luke, who was finally starting to get used to her new emotional state, shook his head and pulled her into a hug. "No, it sounds nice," he said, comfortingly rubbing her back.
"It was. Next time it's on, I'll call you so you can see it."
"Okay." Luke kissed her cheek, then pulled back and smiled at her. "You okay now?"
Lorelai nodded and wiped her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Good." He held up the takeout bag. "I brought dinner. You wanna eat it out here?"
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah."
"Okay, I'll go get some drinks. Juice?" Lorelai nodded, and Luke handed her the bag before heading for the kitchen.
* * *
When they were done eating, Luke carried the empty containers into the kitchen to throw them away. As he was pouring himself another drink, he heard Lorelai walk in behind him. "Hey, I'm ready to learn. You ready to teach?"
"Huh?" Luke turned around and saw that she was carrying his new chess set. "Oh, yeah. Sure." He gestured to the table. "Let's set it up."
They sat across from each other at the table and they set up the pieces on the board. When they were finished, he started explaining how to play and how the pieces were allowed to move. After he explained the pawn and the rook, he picked up one of his knights.
"Aw, look at the cute little horsie," Lorelai gushed.
"Now the knight. . ." He gave her a look as he emphasized the correct name. ". . .is the only piece that can jump over other pieces, and it moves in the shape of an L."
"Because your name starts with L?"
Luke narrowed his eyes. "What?"
"Does it move in the shape of an L because your name starts with L? Like, if Sookie was playing, would it move in the shape of an S?"
Luke shook his head. "No, it moves in an L for everyone. Like this." He demonstrated the different ways to move it. "Got it?"
"Yeah." She picked up another piece. "What's the pointy guy do?"
Luke rolled his eyes. "The bishop moves on a diagonal, like this." He took it from her and demonstrated.
Lorelai grabbed it back. "Yeah, I know what a diagonal is, thanks." She put the piece back down and picked up another. "This is the queen, right?"
"Yeah, that can move in any direction as far as you want it to go, as long as no other pieces are in its way."
"Nice." She picked up the king. "And this is the king?"
"Right. It can only move one space at a time in any direction."
Lorelai smiled. "Ha, the queen is more powerful than the king? That's the girl power I like to see."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Are you ready to play?"
"Yes." Lorelai glanced down at the board. "Wait. I don't remember anything you just said. Could you go over what all the pieces do again?"
Luke sighed. "I'll teach you as we go along. Let's just start."
They started playing. Luke kept reminding her of the move restrictions for the pieces and tried to help her think out her moves, but it still only took a few minutes for him to beat her.
Lorelai pouted and hugged her knees to her chest. "This game is hard."
"It was only your first time. It gets easier the more you practice."
Lorelai waved an accusatory finger at him. "You know, I don't know how, but I'm pretty sure you cheated."
"I didn't cheat," he assured her. "You wanna play again?"
"Only if you don't cheat this time," she grumbled. Luke started setting up the pieces, and she asked, "Oh, hey, can I have your horsies on my side?"
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"
"Yeah, I think it'd be cute to have all the horsies lined up together in the front row," she said. "What do you say? I'll trade you my pointy guys for your horsies."
Luke shook his head. "You can't do that."
"Who says?"
"The person who invented the game of chess."
"Well, we'll play our own version of chess." Lorelai pouted. "Please? It's not like the chess police is gonna come arrest us for not playing the right way."
Luke rolled his eyes and handed her his knights. "Fine, here."
Lorelai grinned. "Thank you." She handed him her bishops. "Here you go."
"Thanks," he replied dryly. He finished setting up the board and they started playing.
After a few minutes, Lorelai asked, "So, did I mention that one of my most perfected skills is slowly deteriorating?"
"Oh yeah? Which one?"
"My ability to wear tight jeans." Lorelai frowned. "They're pretty snug now – and not in a good way."
Luke smirked. "Gaining weight, huh?"
Lorelai nodded. "Looks that way. Rory and I are going shopping for clothes tomorrow." She glanced down at the chess board and sighed. "I don't really feel like playing this right now."
"What do you wanna do?"
Lorelai shrugged and stood up. "I don't know, but we're newlyweds with the whole house to ourselves on New Year's Eve. . . we should be doing something fun. Let's go make out like teenagers on the couch or something." She headed for the living room. Luke stared after her for a moment, then jumped up and followed her.
Lorelai started to sit down on the couch, then stopped. "Ooh, wait. I know what I wanted to do." She walked to the desk and began rummaging around in the drawers.
Luke walked over to her. "What are you looking for?"
Lorelai pulled out her camera and held it up. "This. Here." She handed it to him. "Take a picture of me like this." She lifted up her pajama top a few inches to expose her stomach.
"Why?"
"Photographic documentation of the pregnancy," Lorelai said. "We'll take a picture each month and then at the end we'll have a little flip book of me blowing up like a balloon."
"Ah."
"Plus, in case I have trouble losing the weight afterwards, you'll have a picture to remind you of how perfect my body used to be."
"Sounds good." Luke took two pictures of her, then set the camera on the desk. "Okay, that's done. So. . .now. . ." He gestured toward the couch.
Lorelai was confused for a moment, then caught on and smiled. "Making out, right. Let's go."
* * *
A few minutes before midnight, Lorelai was snuggled up against Luke on the couch as they watched the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square on television.
"What were you doing this time last year?" Lorelai asked.
"Probably sleeping."
Lorelai looked up at him, surprised. "You didn't even wait up for the ball to drop?"
"No. I've never really understood the excitement of watching a ball slide down a big pole."
"It's a tradition," Lorelai said. "We watch it every year. You have to take advantage of what you have before it's gone, and one day, Dick Clark will no longer be with us, so we have to enjoy him while he lasts."
"I'm sure he appreciates you thinking that way."
Lorelai took his hand and aimlessly stroked his palm. "This year was amazing. I mean, think of all that happened with us. . . dating, living together, getting married, getting pregnant. It was a huge year."
"Yes, it was," he agreed. "Can't ask for a bigger one."
"Last year at this time, I was sitting right here with Rory waiting for the ball to drop, and not in a million years did I ever imagine that any of that stuff would've happened in the upcoming year, let alone all of it."
"Me, either."
"But I'm glad it did."
"Me, too." Luke kissed her. "Any regrets?"
Lorelai shook her head. "None. You?"
"Nope." Luke glanced at the television. "Oh, hey, there's your ball. . ."
"What?" She turned to look, and saw that the countdown had begun in Times Square and the ball had begun its descent down the pole. "Ooh, here we go. . ." She counted down the last few seconds and at exactly midnight, threw her arms in the air. "Happy New Year!"
He smiled at her excitement. "Happy New Year." They hugged and kissed passionately as Auld Lang Syne poured out of the television speakers.
Lorelai picked up their cups from the coffee table and handed Luke his drink. "Here's to 2003 – may it be as exciting and eventful for us as 2002."
"I'll drink to that." They clinked their cups and drank their juice.
Lorelai set her glass on the coffee table, then let out a long yawn. "I'm beat. Ready for bed?"
"Yup."
"Let's go."
Lorelai turned off the television, and the two of them tiredly climbed the staircase to the bedroom.
* * *
On Friday night, Lorelai, Luke, and Rory arrived at Emily and Richard's house just before seven. They rang the bell, and both Emily and Richard answered the door to let them in. They exchanged salutations, and after hanging up their coats, headed to the living room and sat down.
"So, how was your trip?" Lorelai asked.
"Oh, it was wonderful," Emily replied. "We're already thinking of going back next year."
Lorelai gasped. "So it'll be two years in a row without the apple tarts? Come on, Mom. Don't do that to me."
"I said we're thinking about it, Lorelai," Emily pointed out. "Nothing's been decided yet."
"Yes, but just knowing the possibility is there that I may not be able to have them is devastating to me." She frowned toward Luke. "Maybe you can get the recipe and make them."
"Maybe."
"So, Lorelai, how are you feeling?" Emily asked. "I assume everything with the pregnancy is going along well so far?"
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "What pregnancy?"
"Yours, of course."
Lorelai let out a laugh. "Oh my God, you guys really did think I was pregnant? That whole thing on Thanksgiving was just a joke, I thought you knew."
Emily and Richard's eyes both widened, and their smiles were replaced with the sternest of looks. Richard folded his arms across his chest. "Excuse me?"
"A joke?" Emily asked through pursed lips.
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Good one, huh?"
"It was most certainly not a good one!" Emily exclaimed. "How could you do something like that?"
"Lorelai, I am outraged that you would joke about something like that," Richard scolded her. "To let us believe that you were expecting a child when you're not is one of the most – "
Lorelai giggled and held up her hands. "Whoa, calm down, I'm kidding!"
Luke sighed and shook his head. "Lorelai. . .geez. . . "
"Yes, she's pregnant," Rory assured her grandparents. She shot Lorelai a look. "But for some reason she feels it necessary to be annoying whenever possible."
Emily shook her head angrily. "Do you want us to constantly be suspicious of whatever you say, Lorelai? To always be wondering whether you're telling the truth or not?"
"Yes, because I feel that it creates an air of mystique around me," Lorelai replied. "And who doesn't look sexier with some mystique surrounding them, huh?"
"We're upset with you right now, Lorelai," Richard declared. "It's no time for your smart remarks."
Lorelai rolled her eyes and smiled. "Come on, loosen up. Who doesn't love a good 'I lied about being pregnant' joke?" She glanced around the room and was greeted with blank stares, and she held up her hands innocently. "Okay, okay, I get the picture. Sorry."
"Thank you," Emily replied. "Now, Luke, since you seem to be able to answer questions without giving us strokes, why don't you tell us how the pregnancy's going."
"Everything's fine so far," he replied. "Our second doctor's appointment is on Wednesday."
"And we had to go out and buy some bigger clothes this week because her other ones were starting to get a little tight," Rory added.
Emily smiled. "Oh, that's so exciting. That's when it really hits you that there's an actual person inside of you . . .when you start to get bigger and can actually see the pregnancy from the outside. Right now you can't tell that you're pregnant at all."
"That's because I'm not, I told you," Lorelai said quietly with a shrug.
Emily scowled at her. "Lorelai, stop that."
Lorelai giggled. "Sorry, last pregnancy-related joke ever, I promise."
Richard stood up. "Well, what do you say we give you your belated Christmas presents before dinner is served, hm? I'll go get them." He left the room.
"Oh, I left yours in the hallway," Lorelai said.
"I'll get them," Rory offered, standing up and heading for the hallway. She and Richard returned a moment later with the presents, and after exchanging gifts, everyone moved to the dining room for dinner.
* * *
On Wednesday afternoon, Lorelai was behind the front desk of the inn signing some papers when Michel walked over and handed her another stack. "These need to be signed as well."
"Geez, my hand's falling off here," Lorelai complained. "What are those?"
"The contracts promising that when you have your baby, you will not bring it within a hundred feet of me," Michel replied before walking over to the computer.
Lorelai rolled her eyes and flipped through the papers. "Should I bother reading through these or have you checked them all over?"
"They're checked, just sign them," he grumbled.
Lorelai glanced over at him and snickered. "Why are you being so cranky with me today? I haven't done anything to annoy you at all."
"Your mere presence annoys me."
"Well, then you'll be happy to know I'm leaving in a few minutes anyway."
Michel scoffed. "It's nice how you think you can leave whenever you want to. You're lucky I don't call up the boss lady and tell her how irresponsible you are."
"First of all, Mia barely understands you when you talk anyway, and secondly, I told you last week that I had a doctor's appointment today and would have to leave for a few hours."
"Yes, well, if you haven't noticed, I try to tune you out when you talk."
"Why are you complaining?" Lorelai asked. "You should be happy I'm leaving. You just said my presence annoys you."
"He said that?" a voice asked. Michel and Lorelai looked up and saw Luke approaching the front desk.
"Yes, he did," Lorelai confirmed. "And for once I didn't even do anything to provoke him." Luke folded his arms across his chest and gave Michel a stern look.
Michel took a step back from the desk and adjusted his tie. "I did not mean. . .when I said that. . . I was just. . ." He turned and quickly walked away from the front desk.
Lorelai giggled. "I love that he's scared of you."
"Me, too." Luke leaned over the desk and kissed her. "You ready?"
"Yup, let me just get my coat from the office."
* * *
Fifteen minutes later they were in the examination room of the doctor's office. Lorelai had just changed into her gown and was sitting on the exam table while Luke sat on a nearby stool. They talked as they waited for the doctor, and finally she walked in.
"Hello," the doctor greeted them with a smile. "How are we doing today?"
"Hi, Dr. Palmer," Lorelai said, and Luke nodded hello as he stood up. "We're fine."
"Good, good." The doctor walked over to the scale. "First things first, I'm gonna get you to jump up on here real quick, Lorelai."
"Okay." Lorelai walked over to the scale and stepped on it, then turned back to Luke. "Don't look. A lady never reveals her weight to her man." Luke turned his head away.
The doctor weighed Lorelai and wrote it on her clipboard. "Okay, it looks like you've put on three pounds since your last visit."
Lorelai stepped off the scale. "Is that good, bad, too much, too little?"
"No, that's perfectly normal," the doctor assured her. "Why don't you hop back up on the table and we'll check your blood pressure." They did that, and the doctor wrote it down. "Okay, looks good. So before we get started with everything else, do you have any questions about anything?"
"Yes, actually," Lorelai replied. "Is it true that back in the '70s, Florence Henderson – you know, Mrs. Brady – went out with the guy who played Greg Brady? Because I've always wondered if that rumor was true."
Doctor Palmer smiled and clarified, "I meant any pregnancy-related questions."
Lorelai shook her head. "Oh, then, no. But let me know if you find out the answer to the Brady Bunch one, okay?"
"I will." The doctor smiled at Luke. "You've got yourself a fun one here."
"Yeah, fun's one word to describe it," Luke replied, rolling his eyes. "Exasperating could also be used." Lorelai gasped softly and nudged him with her elbow.
"So, you've been taking your vitamins, eating well, staying hydrated?" Doctor Palmer asked, and Lorelai nodded. "What about your caffeine intake? You said that it might be hard for you to limit it, but have you managed to do it?"
Lorelai nodded. "Yup, no more than two cups of regular coffee a day."
"Where it used to be no less than eight," Luke added. "So it's actually quite an impressive feat for her."
The doctor smiled. "Very good." They talked for a few more minutes, and then Lorelai leaned back against the reclined table for the doctor to check her over.
When the physical exam was through, the doctor made some notes on her clipboard, then smiled. "Okay, everything looks good. Anna's gonna come in and do the ultrasound for you, and I'll be back in a little bit."
Lorelai smiled. "Okay, thanks."
"Yeah, thank you," Luke added.
Doctor Palmer left the office, and a few minutes later a nurse walked in. "Hello."
"Hi," Lorelai said. "Are you Anna?"
"Yes, I am," Anna replied, extending her hand. "Lorelai, right?"
"Yup, and this is my husband Luke," Lorelai replied, gesturing to him.
"Hey." Luke shook the nurse's hand.
"Nice to meet both of you." Anna smiled. "Are you ready for the ultrasound?"
They both nodded, and Anna rolled over the cart of ultrasound equipment. She flipped a few switches, then picked up a bottle of gel. "This might feel a little cold." She squirted some of the gel on Lorelai's stomach, then picked up a small paddle. "Okay, here we go. It might take a minute to actually pick something up, but we'll see. . ." All three of them stared at the small monitor as Anna glided the paddle over Lorelai's midsection.
Some white splotches appeared on the monitor. "Ah, here we go," Anna said.
Lorelai squinted at the screen. "What is it?"
"The baby."
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Are you sure?" She patted Luke's arm. "Can you see it?"
"I can see something," Luke replied. "But it doesn't look like a baby."
"A lot of people have trouble making out the shape this early," Anna said. "But I can assure you, we're looking at your baby right now."
Lorelai smiled. "Wow. Luke. . ." Luke smiled and put an arm around her, and they both stared at the unrecognizable white blur in awe. Lorelai noticed something pulsating on the monitor, and she gasped. "Oh my God. . .is that the heart beating?"
The nurse smiled. "Yes, it is."
Lorelai gasped again and patted Luke on the arm. "Aw, hon, look."
Luke was staring at the screen with wide eyes. "I see. . ." He shook his head slightly. "Wow."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Here." The nurse turned a knob on the monitor, and soon the room was filled with a rapid fire swishing sound. "That's the heartbeat."
Lorelai covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my God." She leaned her head against Luke's chest.
Luke's mouth dropped open. "That's the baby's actual heartbeat?"
The nurse nodded. "Yes. Amplified, of course."
"It sounds so. . .fast," Luke commented, his eyes glued to the screen.
"It sounds amazing," Lorelai whispered. As she watched the fluttering of the heartbeat on the monitor and listened to the accompanying swish-swish-swish sound that was echoing through the room, tears welled up in her eyes. Lorelai laced her fingers through Luke's. "Luke. . . that's our baby."
Luke swallowed hard and nodded. "Yeah." He stared at the screen, his own eyes suddenly feeling moist. "That's. . .it's . . .the most incredible thing I've ever seen. Or heard." He kissed her softly, and they both returned their gaze to the monitor, staring at it with speechless amazement.
* * *
Almost an hour later, Lorelai returned to the inn, and she rushed immediately to the kitchen. "Sookie!" she called excitedly.
"Coming," Sookie called from across the room. Lorelai walked in that direction as Sookie walked out of the storage room. "Hey. How was the appointment?"
"Amazing. Look at this." Lorelai held out the photo printed from the ultrasound. "There's my baby!"
Sookie gasped. "Aww, that's so. . . " She paused and eyed the photo curiously. She turned it sideways. "Wait, which way do you hold it?"
"I'm not sure, but somewhere on that paper is my child. And we got to see and hear the heartbeat."
Sookie's eyes widened. "No!"
"Yes!"
Sookie giggled with excitement and squeezed Lorelai's arms. "Oh my God, how was it? Was it incredible?"
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "It was the most exciting thing ever. I didn't want it to stop. I asked the nurse if we could take the big machine home with us so we could just watch the heartbeat all day long, but she said no."
Sookie frowned. "Medical personnel are so mean."
"I know. She did say that there're some little ones on the market made for home use, but that they don't usually work as well until you're further along."
"Neat. So, how's the baby? Everything's okay with it?"
Lorelai nodded. "Yup, everything's great so far. It's developing normally, the heartbeat was a good pace, I'm doing fine. . .everything's good."
Sookie grinned and hugged her. "Oh, that's so great. Can they tell the sex yet?"
"Not yet, but we haven't even decided if we wanna know now or wait."
Sookie looked down at the picture again and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I really don't see it."
Lorelai shrugged. "Me, either. But we know it's there, that's all that matters."
"Yeah. It's so exciting!" Sookie hugged her again. "I'm so happy for you."
Lorelai smiled. "Thanks, Sookie." She gestured toward the lobby door. "Okay, I gotta get back out there. I'll see you later."
* * *
That night, Lorelai and Rory were sitting at the kitchen table in their pajamas eating ice cream when Luke walked in the back door. "Hey."
"Hey hon," Lorelai said.
"Hey Luke," Rory said. "How was work?"
"Long. Busy day today, it's good to be home."
"Mom said that you guys heard the baby's heartbeat today. That must've been cool."
Luke smiled as he took off his coat. "Yeah, it was great. Did she show you the picture we got?"
"Yup."
"And she says she can see the baby in it," Lorelai said incredulously.
"Oh yeah? I was having trouble with it." Luke sat down at the table with them.
"Me, too. She tried to point it out to me just like the nurse did, but my eyes just aren't seeing it." Lorelai shrugged. "Oh well. I'm giving up. I'll see the thing when it comes out of my body."
"Or if you get another ultrasound in one of the later months, it'll probably be easier to see the shape of the baby," Rory said. "It's still early yet. How big is it?"
"The doctor said it's about three inches in length," Lorelai replied.
"Wow." Rory held up her fingers to estimate the size. "Aw, that's so tiny."
Lorelai giggled. "I know. And it only weighs half an ounce. That's so cute."
"It's neat to think that we all started off that small," Rory commented. She finished up the last of her ice cream, then walked the bowl over to the sink. "Okay, I'm heading to bed."
"Night, sweets," Lorelai said.
"Night," Luke added.
"Night." Rory walked into her bedroom and closed the door.
Lorelai scooped up a small spoonful of ice cream and held it out toward Luke. "Hungry?"
Luke shrugged. "Not really."
Lorelai ate the spoonful, then set her spoon down in the bowl. She reached into the pocket of her pajama shirt and pulled out the picture from the ultrasound. "I can't stop looking at it."
Luke took it from her and stared down at it for a moment. "It is pretty amazing." He turned it a little. "I think I'm finally starting to see it."
"Oh yeah? I guess that makes me the only loser in the house who can't."
Luke stood up. "Well, let's go upstairs and stare at it for a while before bed. Maybe you'll get lucky."
Lorelai smiled. "Get lucky?"
Luke rolled his eyes. "I meant, see the baby's shape."
Lorelai stood up and raised an eyebrow. "So you're eliminating any other alternate forms of getting lucky?"
"I didn't say that." Luke smirked and pulled her into a hug.
"Good." Lorelai kissed his cheek, and the two of them walked toward the staircase.
* * *
To be continued . . .
Thanks so much for reading and for the reviews. :)
