Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, but I wish I owned a giraffe. Aren't
they cute!
A/N: I'm super excited about this fic! All of my reviewers are amazing and I love you all! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 25: Nightmare Before Christmas
Lorelai ran downstairs in her pajamas with Luke chasing after her. When he caught her, he carried her over to their couch and laid her down. They had been married for a month and a half, and they were about to celebrate their first Christmas together. Luke had closed the diner for the day, so he and Lorelai could wrap everyone's presents. So far, they had wrapped one of Rory's gifts and then Luke accidentally tickled her, which started a war. Luke was in the process of winning when the phone rang. Lorelai picked it up a little out of breath from laughing.
"Hello," she greeted the person.
Emily Gilmore returned, "Hello Lorelai. I was hoping I would reach you."
"What do you need, Mom?" Lorelai asked while rolling her eyes.
"I was hoping you and Luke would come to a Christmas party I'm throwing on Christmas Eve," Emily stated. "After all, I haven't gotten a chance to spend much time with my daughter or granddaughter in a while, and I thought it would be nice to see the two of you."
Loreali sighed, "Okay Mom. What time does it start?"
"Wonderful!" Emily exclaimed. "It starts at seven, so don't be late."
"We won't be. Bye Mom," Lorelai said as she hung up the phone.
Luke sat up and looked at Lorelai's unhappy face, "Uh oh."
"Uh oh is right," she replied. "We have to go to the Gilmore House of Hell for Christmas Eve."
Luke sighed and held out his hand for Lorelai to take. They sadly trudged up the stairs and into their bedroom to finish their wrapping job. Lorelai had been looking forward to Christmas, but now she wasn't so sure it would be that much fun. At least Christmas day would be fun; Rory and Jess were going to spend the night and they were having a traditional Gilmore Christmas morning. The tree was to be hung with homemade ornaments made that year, which everyone had been working on. Also, a strand of popcorn was going to be wound around the tree. It had been a tradition ever since Lorelai and Rory's first Christmas at the Independence Inn.
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Rory stumbled into the kitchen as Jess dished out the pancakes he had made her for breakfast. His boss had been kind enough to give him a week off of paid vacation. Since he did have a diploma! Rory had been shocked and excited when she heard the news. Jess had received an immediate pay raise, which helped them out tremendously with their finances.
"What's wrong?" Jess asked her after seeing the scowl on her face.
Rory groaned, "We have to go to my Grandparent's house on Christmas Eve."
"No!" Jess moaned. "We were supposed to have a night in until we went to your Mom's house."
"I know, but it looks like that's out of our plans," Rory said, apologetically.
Jess helped Rory into a chair and served her breakfast. She shoveled food into her mouth at an extraordinary rate and Jess just grinned at her appetite. Her stomach was so big, she couldn't even see her feet anymore. The doctor said she was doing wonderfully, and she was due on February 15th. He was excited and terrified at the same time. Right now, though, he was dreading Christmas Eve.
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Unfortunately, Christmas Eve came far too soon for the Mariano's and Dane's. They stood outside the huge mansion just staring at the door. Eventually, Luke rang the bell, and was met by groans of three unhappy people.
"What?!" he said, defensively. "Someone had to ring it."
At that moment the door swung open and a brand new maid ushered them into the house. They obliged and gave her their coats. Emily walked into the foyer and greeted them all, telling them to mingle with the people at the party. They nodded and scattered around the room. Tristan and Paris were there as well, and saw Rory and Jess talking to a man looking bored to tears. They decided to rescue them.
"Rory, Jess!" Paris said walking up to her. "I've been looking all over the place for you two."
Rory shot her a thank you look and said, "Please excuse us."
As soon as they were out of ear shot Rory said, "Thank God you showed up! I don't know what that man was droning on about but I was this close to faking labor pains!"
Tristan and Paris laughed and they all went to get something to eat. Richard stood up to give a toast to Christmas and to opening a new business venture. Everyone applauded and continued about their business. Lorelai ran into a guy she knew in high school, and he was pleased to see her again. His name was Jason Styles, but Lorelai insisted on calling him Digger. Luke thought he was a nice enough guy, and he learned some interesting facts about Lorelai as a young teen. He had known she was wild, hence Rory's existence, but he was shocked at the some of the things she had doneThe party finally ended, much to everyone's relief, and they all went back to Luke and Lorelai's house.
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"Finally!" Rory sighed as she fell into bed. "I'm so tired. I don't think I can move until morning.
She rolled over on her side and Jess slid into bed next to her. "That can be arranged," he whispered.
They soon drifted off into a peaceful slumber as Luke and Lorelai slowly ambled up the stairs.
"I had no idea you were so wild!" Luke exclaimed.
Lorelai smiled, "Yeah. I really was. Before I had Rory, that is. After that, everything changed. I knew I had to get my act together to take care of her. And now look at her, she's married and expecting a baby in just a couple of months."
"Time flies. I remember when she was just a little girl begging me for coffee!" Luke laughed.
Lorelai glanced at Luke and cautiously whispered, "Sometimes, I miss those days."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well," she replied. "Rory's an adult now, and I just got to the appropriate age to have children."
Luke's pulse quickened and he asked, "So, do you want to have more kids?"
"Yeah. I know you'd make a great father," she told him.
Luke was quiet, but then inquired, "Do you want to start trying?"
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Jess cracked his eyes and felt the bed shaking; either that or he was the one shaking. His mindwas still cloudy from sleep, and he tried to focus. Finally he heard his wife's voice impatiently tell him to wake up. Sleepily, he sat up and realized that she and Lorelai had been shaking the bed to wake him up.
"Come on sleepyhead!" Rory complained while pulling him off the bed.
"Humshibubalan," Jess replied.
"Okay, Mr. Cranky pants," Lorelai said sternly. "The sooner you get your cute little booty into the living room, the sooner we can all open presents."
"Mom!" Rory exclaimed. "I'm the only one allowed to say he has a cute booty!"
Jess groaned, "Oh my God! You two are sick."
The two women pushed Jess into the living room, and then Lorelai helped Rory sit down on the floor. That act was getting harder and harder for Rory to accomplish. Lorelai plopped down next to her daughter and Jess sat across from them. They started handing out gifts and Lorelai and Rory tore into their presents the second they received them. Luke and Jess just laughed at their antics, while slowly opening their own.
All four of them had a pretty great Christmas with jewelry for Rory, coffee for Lorelai, new clothes for Luke, and plenty of CD's and band T-shirts for Jess. They gathered up all their presents and thanked each other. Jess tried to get Rory into a standing position, but he had a little trouble.
"Umf," Rory groaned once she got completely up. "I'm too big to sit on the floor anymore."
Jess hugged her and replied, "But you're still my gorgeous trophy wife."
Rory sent him a murderous glance as she climbed the stairs that never seemed to end. Jess just smirked at her and helped Luke clean up all the wrapping paper. Lorelai ran into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee from her new supply. They spent the next hour getting ready to go out and enjoy the Stars Hollow Christmas parade.
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The foursome strolled through the streets and made fun of all the floats that passed by them during the parade. Every year was a complete disaster because nobody wanted to work on it until two weeks before Christmas. Kirk was Santa this year, and he was having trouble with the plastic elves. Every time their mechanical arms would rise up, they would hit Kirk in the head. He was attempting to duck every time, but he wasn't having much success.
"Look at Taylor!" Lorelai laughed and pointed to where Taylor was attempting to jump onto the float to stop the elves from assaulting Kirk.
On another float Miss Patty had all her dancing ballerinas. They were performing nicely until the driver would have to slow down. The second the brakes were tapped, all the dancers would fall down. It was quite hilarious since they were slowing down quite frequently. The Mariano's and Dane's laughed so hard, they were practically crying.
Rory was having fun, until she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. She looked for something to hold on to, but Jess was too busy yelling orders at Taylor to notice she was close to fainting. Lorelai turned and asked her what was wrong just as Rory fell down.
"Rory!" Jess yelled. "Baby, are you okay. Rory what's wrong?"
Rory leaned against Jess' chest as he held her and focused all her energy on staying awake. She knew dizzy spells were common, but she needed her head to clear before she answered her worried husband. Rory vaguely heard talk of an ambulance but couldn't speak to tell them she was fine. Once Luke left, Rory finally recovered.
"I'm okay, Jess." she said while pulling away. "I just got a little dizzy, that's all."
Jess still looked concerned, so she said, "I just need some rest. I'm okay. You can call off the ambulance."
Lorelai agreed and told Luke that Rory was fine. Jess helped Rory up, carefully, and then looped his arm around her waist. They walked back to the house so Rory could take a nap. Lorelai sat on her bed stroked her swollen abdomen until Rory fell asleep. Jess called Rory's OB/GYN office and asked to speak with her doctor. Luke stood next to him, and only heard Jess' side of the conversation.
"Hello, this is Jess Mariano," Jess said. "My wife got dizzy and she fell down, and I was wondering if you'd like to see her.... uh huh...... yeah, she's seven months along now. Okay... yeah I will... Thank you."
"Well?" Luke questioned.
Jess sighed, "She's fine. The doctor said that it was completely normal. He told me not to let herself overdo it much, and she should feel better."
Luke sighed in relief and told Lorelai the good news. They all three decided that Rory should stay put for a few days, so everyone could watch out for her. Once Rory woke up, she agreed with them and even got a little bell from Lorelai. Rory had fun for the next two days shaking the bell constantly.
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After Rory was feeling better, her and Jess returned home and Jess had to go back to work. Ever since Michel had come back, Rory had been bored to tears. During Christmas, she had a little break since Jess was home, but now she was lonely again. Fortunately, Lorelai called a couple of weeks later with the perfect situation for Rory.
"He says he needs help, and that he's busier than he ever was at the Independence Inn!" Lorelai exclaimed.
Rory perked up, "I could help him, until the baby's born. That way you'd have enough time to find him a replacement."
"I thought you weren't supposed to do anything strenuous. You always worked pretty hard here when you worked here a few months ago, and that was a few months ago, you're bigger now." Lorelai replied.
Rory wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away so she countered with, "But I was all alone, then. Now, it would be Michel and me! I wouldn't be doing as much work, but I'd still get to leave this apartment! Please Mom!"
"How soon can you start?" Lorelai asked.
Rory laughed and said, "How's tomorrow?"
They chatted for a little while longer until Lorelai had to leave. Just as Rory hung up the phone, there was a knock on her door. She really didn't want to get up since she was eight months pregnant.
"Who is it?" she called.
The muffled reply said, "Paris! Can we talk?"
"Only if I don't have to leave this couch." Rory yelled back.
Paris opened the door, glad to find it was unlocked, and walked into the living room.
"You really should lock your door," she scolded.
Rory laughed, "Please! It's Stars Hollow. The worst crime we've had here is the time Jess drew a chalk outline of a fake murder with police tape around it."
Paris laughed, and said, "That's true. Now, I need some advice about Tristan."
"Oh yes, the lovely couple! How are you handling him?" Rory asked.
"Well," Paris stated, "I guess we're doing good. Great actually. Um... I think I love him."
Rory gasped, "That's wonderful! Have you told him yet?"
"No, that's why I need your help. Should I tell him, or should I wait for him to tell me?"
Rory sighed, "Hmmm. That is an interesting conundrum. On one hand, he could be waiting for you to say it, but on the other hand, he could be taken completely by surprise. I'd say wait until you're sure you love him, and if he hasn't said it yet, just be completely honest with him."
"That's what I was thinking, too," Paris agreed. "Well how's the mommy to be feeling?"
Rory and Paris continued to chat about pregnancy and love until Jess came home. Paris left, to let Rory be alone when she told Jess about resuming her job at the Dragonfly. He was against it at first, but Rory argued her point thoroughly and he finally gave in. Rory was excited because she had read every book in their apartment over and over again. Everything seemed to be falling into place.
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A/N: I know I didn't answer whether or not Luke and Lorelai are going to start trying, but you shall see in chapters to come. I already know how I'm going to end this fic, but their are still a few more chapters to go! Thank you all for your support and dedication. Pleez R&R!
A/N: I'm super excited about this fic! All of my reviewers are amazing and I love you all! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 25: Nightmare Before Christmas
Lorelai ran downstairs in her pajamas with Luke chasing after her. When he caught her, he carried her over to their couch and laid her down. They had been married for a month and a half, and they were about to celebrate their first Christmas together. Luke had closed the diner for the day, so he and Lorelai could wrap everyone's presents. So far, they had wrapped one of Rory's gifts and then Luke accidentally tickled her, which started a war. Luke was in the process of winning when the phone rang. Lorelai picked it up a little out of breath from laughing.
"Hello," she greeted the person.
Emily Gilmore returned, "Hello Lorelai. I was hoping I would reach you."
"What do you need, Mom?" Lorelai asked while rolling her eyes.
"I was hoping you and Luke would come to a Christmas party I'm throwing on Christmas Eve," Emily stated. "After all, I haven't gotten a chance to spend much time with my daughter or granddaughter in a while, and I thought it would be nice to see the two of you."
Loreali sighed, "Okay Mom. What time does it start?"
"Wonderful!" Emily exclaimed. "It starts at seven, so don't be late."
"We won't be. Bye Mom," Lorelai said as she hung up the phone.
Luke sat up and looked at Lorelai's unhappy face, "Uh oh."
"Uh oh is right," she replied. "We have to go to the Gilmore House of Hell for Christmas Eve."
Luke sighed and held out his hand for Lorelai to take. They sadly trudged up the stairs and into their bedroom to finish their wrapping job. Lorelai had been looking forward to Christmas, but now she wasn't so sure it would be that much fun. At least Christmas day would be fun; Rory and Jess were going to spend the night and they were having a traditional Gilmore Christmas morning. The tree was to be hung with homemade ornaments made that year, which everyone had been working on. Also, a strand of popcorn was going to be wound around the tree. It had been a tradition ever since Lorelai and Rory's first Christmas at the Independence Inn.
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Rory stumbled into the kitchen as Jess dished out the pancakes he had made her for breakfast. His boss had been kind enough to give him a week off of paid vacation. Since he did have a diploma! Rory had been shocked and excited when she heard the news. Jess had received an immediate pay raise, which helped them out tremendously with their finances.
"What's wrong?" Jess asked her after seeing the scowl on her face.
Rory groaned, "We have to go to my Grandparent's house on Christmas Eve."
"No!" Jess moaned. "We were supposed to have a night in until we went to your Mom's house."
"I know, but it looks like that's out of our plans," Rory said, apologetically.
Jess helped Rory into a chair and served her breakfast. She shoveled food into her mouth at an extraordinary rate and Jess just grinned at her appetite. Her stomach was so big, she couldn't even see her feet anymore. The doctor said she was doing wonderfully, and she was due on February 15th. He was excited and terrified at the same time. Right now, though, he was dreading Christmas Eve.
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Unfortunately, Christmas Eve came far too soon for the Mariano's and Dane's. They stood outside the huge mansion just staring at the door. Eventually, Luke rang the bell, and was met by groans of three unhappy people.
"What?!" he said, defensively. "Someone had to ring it."
At that moment the door swung open and a brand new maid ushered them into the house. They obliged and gave her their coats. Emily walked into the foyer and greeted them all, telling them to mingle with the people at the party. They nodded and scattered around the room. Tristan and Paris were there as well, and saw Rory and Jess talking to a man looking bored to tears. They decided to rescue them.
"Rory, Jess!" Paris said walking up to her. "I've been looking all over the place for you two."
Rory shot her a thank you look and said, "Please excuse us."
As soon as they were out of ear shot Rory said, "Thank God you showed up! I don't know what that man was droning on about but I was this close to faking labor pains!"
Tristan and Paris laughed and they all went to get something to eat. Richard stood up to give a toast to Christmas and to opening a new business venture. Everyone applauded and continued about their business. Lorelai ran into a guy she knew in high school, and he was pleased to see her again. His name was Jason Styles, but Lorelai insisted on calling him Digger. Luke thought he was a nice enough guy, and he learned some interesting facts about Lorelai as a young teen. He had known she was wild, hence Rory's existence, but he was shocked at the some of the things she had doneThe party finally ended, much to everyone's relief, and they all went back to Luke and Lorelai's house.
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"Finally!" Rory sighed as she fell into bed. "I'm so tired. I don't think I can move until morning.
She rolled over on her side and Jess slid into bed next to her. "That can be arranged," he whispered.
They soon drifted off into a peaceful slumber as Luke and Lorelai slowly ambled up the stairs.
"I had no idea you were so wild!" Luke exclaimed.
Lorelai smiled, "Yeah. I really was. Before I had Rory, that is. After that, everything changed. I knew I had to get my act together to take care of her. And now look at her, she's married and expecting a baby in just a couple of months."
"Time flies. I remember when she was just a little girl begging me for coffee!" Luke laughed.
Lorelai glanced at Luke and cautiously whispered, "Sometimes, I miss those days."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well," she replied. "Rory's an adult now, and I just got to the appropriate age to have children."
Luke's pulse quickened and he asked, "So, do you want to have more kids?"
"Yeah. I know you'd make a great father," she told him.
Luke was quiet, but then inquired, "Do you want to start trying?"
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Jess cracked his eyes and felt the bed shaking; either that or he was the one shaking. His mindwas still cloudy from sleep, and he tried to focus. Finally he heard his wife's voice impatiently tell him to wake up. Sleepily, he sat up and realized that she and Lorelai had been shaking the bed to wake him up.
"Come on sleepyhead!" Rory complained while pulling him off the bed.
"Humshibubalan," Jess replied.
"Okay, Mr. Cranky pants," Lorelai said sternly. "The sooner you get your cute little booty into the living room, the sooner we can all open presents."
"Mom!" Rory exclaimed. "I'm the only one allowed to say he has a cute booty!"
Jess groaned, "Oh my God! You two are sick."
The two women pushed Jess into the living room, and then Lorelai helped Rory sit down on the floor. That act was getting harder and harder for Rory to accomplish. Lorelai plopped down next to her daughter and Jess sat across from them. They started handing out gifts and Lorelai and Rory tore into their presents the second they received them. Luke and Jess just laughed at their antics, while slowly opening their own.
All four of them had a pretty great Christmas with jewelry for Rory, coffee for Lorelai, new clothes for Luke, and plenty of CD's and band T-shirts for Jess. They gathered up all their presents and thanked each other. Jess tried to get Rory into a standing position, but he had a little trouble.
"Umf," Rory groaned once she got completely up. "I'm too big to sit on the floor anymore."
Jess hugged her and replied, "But you're still my gorgeous trophy wife."
Rory sent him a murderous glance as she climbed the stairs that never seemed to end. Jess just smirked at her and helped Luke clean up all the wrapping paper. Lorelai ran into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee from her new supply. They spent the next hour getting ready to go out and enjoy the Stars Hollow Christmas parade.
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The foursome strolled through the streets and made fun of all the floats that passed by them during the parade. Every year was a complete disaster because nobody wanted to work on it until two weeks before Christmas. Kirk was Santa this year, and he was having trouble with the plastic elves. Every time their mechanical arms would rise up, they would hit Kirk in the head. He was attempting to duck every time, but he wasn't having much success.
"Look at Taylor!" Lorelai laughed and pointed to where Taylor was attempting to jump onto the float to stop the elves from assaulting Kirk.
On another float Miss Patty had all her dancing ballerinas. They were performing nicely until the driver would have to slow down. The second the brakes were tapped, all the dancers would fall down. It was quite hilarious since they were slowing down quite frequently. The Mariano's and Dane's laughed so hard, they were practically crying.
Rory was having fun, until she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. She looked for something to hold on to, but Jess was too busy yelling orders at Taylor to notice she was close to fainting. Lorelai turned and asked her what was wrong just as Rory fell down.
"Rory!" Jess yelled. "Baby, are you okay. Rory what's wrong?"
Rory leaned against Jess' chest as he held her and focused all her energy on staying awake. She knew dizzy spells were common, but she needed her head to clear before she answered her worried husband. Rory vaguely heard talk of an ambulance but couldn't speak to tell them she was fine. Once Luke left, Rory finally recovered.
"I'm okay, Jess." she said while pulling away. "I just got a little dizzy, that's all."
Jess still looked concerned, so she said, "I just need some rest. I'm okay. You can call off the ambulance."
Lorelai agreed and told Luke that Rory was fine. Jess helped Rory up, carefully, and then looped his arm around her waist. They walked back to the house so Rory could take a nap. Lorelai sat on her bed stroked her swollen abdomen until Rory fell asleep. Jess called Rory's OB/GYN office and asked to speak with her doctor. Luke stood next to him, and only heard Jess' side of the conversation.
"Hello, this is Jess Mariano," Jess said. "My wife got dizzy and she fell down, and I was wondering if you'd like to see her.... uh huh...... yeah, she's seven months along now. Okay... yeah I will... Thank you."
"Well?" Luke questioned.
Jess sighed, "She's fine. The doctor said that it was completely normal. He told me not to let herself overdo it much, and she should feel better."
Luke sighed in relief and told Lorelai the good news. They all three decided that Rory should stay put for a few days, so everyone could watch out for her. Once Rory woke up, she agreed with them and even got a little bell from Lorelai. Rory had fun for the next two days shaking the bell constantly.
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After Rory was feeling better, her and Jess returned home and Jess had to go back to work. Ever since Michel had come back, Rory had been bored to tears. During Christmas, she had a little break since Jess was home, but now she was lonely again. Fortunately, Lorelai called a couple of weeks later with the perfect situation for Rory.
"He says he needs help, and that he's busier than he ever was at the Independence Inn!" Lorelai exclaimed.
Rory perked up, "I could help him, until the baby's born. That way you'd have enough time to find him a replacement."
"I thought you weren't supposed to do anything strenuous. You always worked pretty hard here when you worked here a few months ago, and that was a few months ago, you're bigger now." Lorelai replied.
Rory wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away so she countered with, "But I was all alone, then. Now, it would be Michel and me! I wouldn't be doing as much work, but I'd still get to leave this apartment! Please Mom!"
"How soon can you start?" Lorelai asked.
Rory laughed and said, "How's tomorrow?"
They chatted for a little while longer until Lorelai had to leave. Just as Rory hung up the phone, there was a knock on her door. She really didn't want to get up since she was eight months pregnant.
"Who is it?" she called.
The muffled reply said, "Paris! Can we talk?"
"Only if I don't have to leave this couch." Rory yelled back.
Paris opened the door, glad to find it was unlocked, and walked into the living room.
"You really should lock your door," she scolded.
Rory laughed, "Please! It's Stars Hollow. The worst crime we've had here is the time Jess drew a chalk outline of a fake murder with police tape around it."
Paris laughed, and said, "That's true. Now, I need some advice about Tristan."
"Oh yes, the lovely couple! How are you handling him?" Rory asked.
"Well," Paris stated, "I guess we're doing good. Great actually. Um... I think I love him."
Rory gasped, "That's wonderful! Have you told him yet?"
"No, that's why I need your help. Should I tell him, or should I wait for him to tell me?"
Rory sighed, "Hmmm. That is an interesting conundrum. On one hand, he could be waiting for you to say it, but on the other hand, he could be taken completely by surprise. I'd say wait until you're sure you love him, and if he hasn't said it yet, just be completely honest with him."
"That's what I was thinking, too," Paris agreed. "Well how's the mommy to be feeling?"
Rory and Paris continued to chat about pregnancy and love until Jess came home. Paris left, to let Rory be alone when she told Jess about resuming her job at the Dragonfly. He was against it at first, but Rory argued her point thoroughly and he finally gave in. Rory was excited because she had read every book in their apartment over and over again. Everything seemed to be falling into place.
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A/N: I know I didn't answer whether or not Luke and Lorelai are going to start trying, but you shall see in chapters to come. I already know how I'm going to end this fic, but their are still a few more chapters to go! Thank you all for your support and dedication. Pleez R&R!