Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls is owned by Amy Sherman-Palladino, Warner Bros., and all those other rich, smart people.
A/N: The italicized words in the second scene are flashback-dialogue.
XXX
Luke woke abruptly from the oddest dream. Lorelai had been in a crazy mood and had yelled at him, and then he had been forced to sleep on the couch, while all the other fathers in Stars Hollow warned him to tread lightly around her...
Oh.
He looked at his surroundings, realizing he was on the couch, Lorelai had gotten mad at him, and all the other fathers hadn't been trying to freak him out. His back felt horrible.
"Good morning!" Lorelai chirped as she entered the living room from the kitchen. "Finally, you're getting up. It's like, eight, and I know you were gonna have Lane open today, but that's still sleeping late for you."
Luke blinked a few times, taking in her good mood. She was definitely singing a different tune today than last night. His neck cracked as he sat up. "Uh, yeah."
She looked sympathetic. "Sorry, the couch must've been uncomfortable. You know it wasn't me, it was Chloe."
"Who's Chloe?" Luke was confused, and not too happy.
"Oh, you know, I'm just trying out different names. How 'bout Chloe for a girl?"
"No."
"Fine. Oooh, Georgette?"
"No."
Luke began walking towards the kitchen as Lorelai trailed behind him.
"Lorelai!" she shouted.
He shook his head. "You already used that once. Remember Rory? Your twenty-two-year-old daughter?"
She shrugged and munched on a Pringle. "These would taste good with cream cheese," she said thoughtfully.
Scrunching his face at the thought, Luke poured himself some milk. "Really? That sounds kind of..." He trailed off from the look on her face that said clearly, 'You finish that sentence, you die.'
"I like the name Lily." She said it quietly, almost so Luke couldn't hear it. Almost.
His eyebrows rose. "Lily? Like my mother?"
Lorelai nodded. "I think it'd be a good name. Lily Emily, after her grandmothers. Or William Richard, after his grandfathers." She sighed and softened. "I thought of the idea this morning. What do you think?"
"I like them." He felt touched that she had decided to put his parents' name's first.
"Good," Lorelai agreed. She stood and grabbed her purse. "I'm gonna head to the Inn, you know, before the next wave of morning sickness hits. How embarrassing would it be to be caught throwing up in our yard?" She smirked and pecked him on the lips, but took Luke's hand before she left.
"I'm really glad you like the names," she said honestly, and then left.
Luke was once again hit by how lucky he was to marry her.
XXX
Luke was surprised when he stepped outside. The February morning was actually a bit warm, at least enough so that he didn't need to wear his jacket as he walked over to the diner.
He opened the door and the bell jingled, which made Lane look up from behind the counter. She grinned at him. Luke still couldn't believe how grown up she was, as he had watched her age along with Rory.
Lane had been working for him since the day he had hired her three years ago, and had been the best worker he could ask for. He knew that even though her band was rising in success, she still needed another way to make some cash, and he was happy to pay her every week. Though she and her mother had made up long ago, Lane had insisted that she keep living with Zach and Brian, and somehow had gotten Mrs. Kim to understand her need for an independent life. How she did it was still a mystery to all, however.
"Hey, Luke," she said casually. Too casually for his taste. The diner was pretty empty, since it was in between the morning and lunchtime rushes, so she and Cesar seemed pretty idle.
"Hey, how's it going this morning?" He grabbed his apron from under the counter and stood beside her.
"Pretty good. There wasn't a big crowd this morning; I guess they've all gone away for vacation."
Luke remembered that the schools had a week-long vacation that had begun yesterday afternoon, once they all had exited the school. He wondered if his child would go to the Stars Hollow public schools or Chilton, then decided he'd debate that another day. Valentine's Day was only four days away, so instead he briefly considered what he'd do for Lorelai. More importantly, what he'd get her that wouldn't send her into a crying fit. He already knew part of his plan, though.
Lane still seemed uneasy, as Luke had picked up on when he had walked in. "Is something wrong, Lane?" he asked.
Taking a deep breath, Lane drew up her hands, as if surrendering. "Alright, don't get mad at me or anything, but if you go upstairs right now, you're going to find something you won't like."
"What are you talking about?" Luke wasn't following.
"I sent him upstairs to wait in your old apartment. I figured you wouldn't want him just showing up at your house unexpected."
Now getting annoyed, Luke looked at the curtain that hid the stairs leading to the second story. "What the hell are you talking about? Who's..." Then he realized the only person she could mean.
Noticing his sudden epiphany, Lane took a step back. "I'll stay a little longer."
"Good idea," Luke said as he descended the stairs slowly, wondering if it was possible. He hadn't heard from him in since the wedding, and they hadn't left things on the best of conditions.
Yet when he opened the door that still said "William's Hardware" and saw the scene before him, he knew it was very possible.
"What are you doing here, Jess?"
Jess stood slowly from his sitting position in the beat-up chair and smirked that annoying smirk. "What? Not happy to see me, Uncle Luke?"
Shutting the door with a slight slam, Luke took a few steps closer to his nephew. "I thought you told me you never wanted to see me again, or something to that effect."
"Yeah, well, I lied." Jess sat back down.
"Jess...," Luke said, exasperated. "Why're you here?"
As he marked a page in the book he had been reading and set it down, Jess seemed to become nervous. He looked back up at his uncle. "I just...came."
"Why?" Luke almost pleaded, wanting to know why he was here after the things they had said to each other.
"I came to say sorry, okay? I'm sorry for what I said after your wedding, and all the things I've said in the past that hurt you. I shouldn't have left so quickly when you were just pointing out the obvious, and then trying to apologize for it." That wasn't what Luke had expected him to say.
Jess had not only come to Luke and Lorelai's wedding at the Dragonfly, but had even partook in some of the jokes and stories about the couple; before they were together, after they were together, and all things he had witnessed during his time living in Stars Hollow. But as the reception was breaking up and people were starting to depart, Luke had decided to get some fresh air away from the party, and had come upon Jess lighting up a cigarette.
'What are you doing?' he had asked, mentioning that he thought his nephew had quit.
Jess had shrugged and said that 'things had changed'.
Luke didn't accept this, and told him that he was going to die from lung cancer. The young man had told him that it was 'none of his business, and that things had been stressful lately'.
Then Luke had hit a nerve; he had asked if Jess had been fired from his book editing job. Giving in, Jess had told his uncle that he had lost the job.
'Are you happy now?' he had said bitterly. 'Just like you predicted. You said that I was never gonna keep a job, and you were right, so 'yay' for you.'
'No, I'm not happy,' Luke had replied. 'I want you to do well in life. And you can start by not smoking this.' He had then taken the cigarette right out of Jess' mouth and squished it on the ground.
Jess had been livid. 'Just because you finally have the perfect life: the great job, the friendly town, and the amazing wife that you've loved for years, doesn't mean you can just swoop in whenever you want and tell me what to do. I'm not part of that perfect picture.'
Sighing, Luke had put a hand on his shoulder, but Jess had shrugged it away. 'You are in the picture.'
Laughing without meaning it, his nephew shook his head. 'Please. I couldn't make it work in New York, or here, or California, or in Boston. I'm a failure, and it'd be just peachy if you could leave me alone. I don't need any of The Great Luke Danes' sympathy.'
Not believing this, Luke had become angry. 'It's always one step forward, two steps back with you!' he had exclaimed. 'After your mom's wedding, I thought we were good, then you got the job in Boston and we were great. And now you've lost that, and decided to mess us up too?'
'Thanks for the pep talk. I'll send you a postcard.' Jess had started walking away.
'Jess! You're never gonna get anywhere if you don't learn how to pick up the pieces after things fall apart!'
'Get the hell away from me! Just stop! You don't understand anything about me, so don't talk like you do! Everything in your life has always been easy!'
'Hardly,' Luke had growled. 'I worked hard for everything I have today.'
'Yeah, and marrying Lorelai was just the last thing, huh? Now you can run for freakin' mayor.'
This had sent Luke through the roof. 'Don't mention her in this,' he had warned. 'This is just you being stupid, as usual!'
'Well let me not intrude anymore, and get the hell out of your way! I've always been that one smudge mark in your perfect window, huh? Well you can wipe it clean now! I'm out,' Jess had said.
'Jess...I'm sorry, I didn't mean...' But it was too late, Jess had stormed off.
And now here the man was, sitting in Luke's old apartment, admitting his mistakes, and trying to fix his relationship with his uncle.
"Well, I'm uh, sorry too. There was a lot of stuff going on, and I didn't really mean...," Luke sighed.
"I know," Jess said. "Oh, and sorry for using the word 'perfect' way too much that day."
Leaning against the wall, Luke folded his arms over his chest. "So what brought on this sudden need to mend things between us?"
"I've just been thinking," his nephew replied openly. "After our fight, I registered to take some classes back in Massachussetts at a community college, and now I'm working on a book. I've got a job at this small publisher's company. I wanted to prove you wrong; I wanted to prove that I could pick up the pieces. So I did, and now here I am."
Luke had to admit something. "You've really grown up, Jess."
Waving a hand, Jess shrugged. "I'm twenty-two, it's time I get over myself and start building my life. Like you did."
The two men let those words flow around the room, before Luke couldn't take it anymore. "Alright, we're getting sappy."
"Do you accept my apology? I'll accept yours if you accept mine," Jess said tauntingly.
"Yes."
"Good."
Silence.
"So, how long are you staying?"
"I think I'll head back to Boston tonight."
Luke cleared his throat. "You can stay here...if you want. For a few days."
Giving a real smile that Luke hadn't witnessed in years, Jess nodded. "That'd be great."
"You wanna eat something? Downstairs?" Luke didn't know why he felt so fatherly towards this young man, but he didn't mind it that much. He'd always known Jess would get his act together at some point.
"Sure. But I should warn you, I'm not paying. Publisher house workpay sucks."
XXX
"So what's the latest gossip in Stars Hollow?" Jess asked mockingly half an hour later as he chewed some fries at the counter.
"Well, the Lowe's wanted to put in a pool, but first they had to ask the everyone at the town meeting if it was okay. Then Taylor told them they'd have to put the fence all around the house, but they didn't want to pay the extra if they could just have it going around the perimeter of their backyard. It's big scandal." Luke leaned forward on the counter beside Jess, looking at the nearly-empty diner.
"And how 'bout those crazy Gilmore girls? Is Rory still dating that Greg guy?" Jess and Rory had finally put their past behind them when he had shown up for the wedding.
"Yeah. He's a good kid. He's a reviewer for books; he likes them a lot." Luke turned and began absently wiping down the coffee machine.
"Anyone who dates Rory Gilmore has to like books."
The bell jingled, signaling Luke to look over from his work and conversation to see who was entering.
"Lorelai!" he exclaimed, as he remembered he'd forgotten to call her and warn her Jess was here and that they had made up. She had been even more enraged with him than normal after Luke had mentioned the argument between the two.
"Hello darling man. Wonderful husband. Father of my child. Feed me," Lorelai announced, too preoccupied with placing her cell phone back in her purse to notice Jess spin around in his seat.
"Father of-what? You're Rory's dad?" Jess looked back at Luke.
Lorelai's head rose so slowly it was almost comical. Luke chuckled nervously.
"No, Jess, uh, didn't I mention? Lorelai and I are having a baby."
Jess nodded. "Yeah, failed to mention that."
Slowly walking to the counter, Lorelai kept her eyes trailed on Jess. "You're back again," she said shortly.
"Yeah," he replied easily.
"Lorelai," Luke cut in. "Jess came back to apologize and straighten things out. He's doing well now."
As if not believing him, she glanced at Jess. He shrugged in confirmation. "I even have a girlfriend now, so don't worry about me going after your daughter." Luke smacked him on the arm.
"Well...great," Lorelai said, sounding strained.
Pleading with his eyes for her to be nice, Luke set a mug down on the counter. "Decaf?"
She sat. "If I must."
Jess was still looking between them. "So. Having a baby. That's news."
Lorelai gripped her cup. "I'm surprised your mom didn't tell you."
"I haven't really been reachable until lately."
"Finally decided to join Real Life again, instead of sitting by yourself in Jess World?" Lorelai smirked.
"You haven't changed, Lorelai. Pity," Jess smirked back.
"Right back 'atcha, kid."
Luke had had enough. "Great, so, you're both the same, awesome. Lorelai, can I talk to you a minute?" He nodded towards the storage room, and she followed him in.
"You know, we don't have to hide it anymore. Everyone knows we're married. If we wanna do it in the storage room, then screw them!" She grinned.
Luke sighed. "About Jess..."
"Ah, yes, my favorite part of the day so far."
"He's gonna be staying for a few days."
"I'm thrilled. Maybe he and I can go shopping together and bond."
"I know you've never really liked Jess, but we've been talking, and things have been working out for him in Boston. I just wanna spend some time with him, so we don't keep having these long periods of time where we aren't speaking."
Lorelai seemed to consider. "Fine." Luke smiled. "So," she continued. "Are we not doing it in the storage room, because I'm kind of hungry..."
The two went back into the main dining area. Jess was still sitting in the same seat, however now he had a book.
"You got that book quick. You really read a lot," Luke commented.
"You have the most amazing observation skills," Jess said. He turned to Lorelai. "He's a keeper, this one."
"Well, got no choice now." Lorelai patted her stomach. Luke just rolled his eyes.
XXX
"You're moving?!" Luke heard Lorelai yell into the phone in the kitchen while he went through the newspaper.
She entered, still on the phone. "Rory is moving in with Greg. My baby is moving in with a guy." She listened to what Rory was saying. "Yes, I know I did, and I'm not saying it's wrong. Are you gonna get married?" Pause. "What do you mean I sound like my mother?"
Luke chuckled. Lorelai glared.
"Yeah, well, maybe I will...Fine," she groaned. "Yup, you too, bye."
"So Rory's moving in with Greg?" Luke wondered what this meant.
Lorelai sighed loudly. "Yes. And she's given us permission to give Lily/William her room, which is good, because the little guest room upstairs definitely isn't large enough for the baby, let alone his/her stuff. It's like an over-sized closet."
"Wouldn't it be easier to just call it 'It' or 'Baby' or even 'Kid' right now, instead of using all those slashes?" Luke regretted saying that after he saw Lorelai's horrified expression.
"Luke," she said slowly. "We should be using his/her real name instead of 'It' or 'Baby' or 'Kid'. We'll get used to saying the names, and if she/he can hear, then he/she..." She trailed off, the glared at him. "You know what, it is hard to keep saying 'he slash she'."
"Thank you," Luke said, and went back to skimming the paper, even though there was never anything of interest inside, unless you were the type of person who thought water pressure was fascinating.
Lorelai leaned across the back of the couch so her head was beside Luke's. She stared at him. Finally, he caved. "What?"
"What're we doing for Valentine's Day? I mean, I'm pregnant. It's not like we can go bar-hopping as planned. Now we have to find something boringly romantic to do that won't make me want to hurl, and it's tomorrow. Any ideas?"
Pondering for a moment, Luke shrugged. He knew exactly what was going to happen tomorrow. "Just be home by 5:30, and make sure you're wearing something you'd wanna go outside in."
"Darn, there goes wearing sweats all day. Is it a surprise?"
"Sort of. It's something you'll hopefully appreciate."
Lorelai looked at him, wanting more information. Luke just began reading the article about toothpaste. "You'll see."
"Why isn't Jess going back to Boston for Valentine's Day? I thought he had a girlfriend."
"I dunno."
Sitting beside him, Lorelai looked at the mantle, which was holding an assortment of pictures, some older and some newer. "I can't believe how grown up Rory is. It seems like just yesterday we were moving in here. And she's graduating from college in May."
"She's an adult now," Luke said almost wistfully. "She's beginning her own life."
"Yeah," Lorelai said sadly. Luke took her hand and she smiled gratefully at him. "At least we're going to have a new little person to focus on."
XXX
"If I trip and fall down these steps and die, it's going to be all your fault, mister."
Luke was leading Lorelai up the stairs into his old apartment at 6 o'clock on Valentine's Day. He had instructed her to close her eyes.
"You'll be fine. Look, we're already at the top." He opened the door. "Okay, open your eyes."
She did so. Luke smiled slightly as they both looked at the crib, changing table and bookshelf positioned in the middle of the room.
"I made them, with some help from some of the guys. I just thought, instead of spending money on buying a generic plastic crib, it'd be better if our child was in a homemade one. And the bookshelf I got from Kim's Antiques, and I just fixed it up. And the changing table used to be a chest." Luke was proud of himself for his work.
"A chest?" Lorelai asked, her eyes wide as she slid a hand across the smooth wood of the crib. Her eyes filled with tears.
"You like them?"
She turned to him. "I love them." Before he could say anything else, his wife nearly tackled him with a hug. "That was so thoughtful of you. I just can't believe...they're so nice." Lorelai let go and went back to the furniture, Luke trailing behind her. "This is just...," she took a deep breath. "When Rory was born my parents insisted on getting expensive custom-made things that seemed more for look than comfort. But when we left...she never got something as nice as these." She turned back to him once again, and put her arms around his shoulders. "You're too good."
Blushing a bit, Luke wrapped his arms around her waist. "You're the best," he countered. Lorelai rolled her eyes at their mushy talk and then kissed him fiercely.
Cursing the need for air to keep functioning, they pulled apart. "Let's head out to dinner," Lorelai said, breathless.
"After we clear out Rory's room I'll bring this stuff home."
The couple left, and Lorelai grabbed Luke's hand as they went down the stairs. As he pulled the curtain back, however, Luke noticed a large group of people running around frantically outside, lights being strung up and food being set out. It reminded him a bit of the party that had been thrown for Max and Lorelai's engagement.
Not wanting to think about that, he and Lorelai went to the window for a closer look. "That better not be another damn festival. They should only be allowed to add one new one each year! If it's another one, I swear I'm gonna kill Taylor. Doesn't the town celebrate enough?"
During his short rant, he had dragged Lorelai outside the diner. When he spotted Taylor, Luke let go of her hand. "Taylor! What the hell is going on?"
He knew he was being a bit dramatic, but didn't feel like calming down.
Taylor seemed as if he were caught stealing something. "Oh! Luke and Lorelai! Uh..." He looked around at the others, who had stopped what they were doing.
Lorelai gasped. "Are those rattle-shaped lights?"
"No! Well..." Taylor was flustered.
"Oh, forget it honey, they were gonna find out in a minute anyway," Miss Patty said, patting Taylor on the shoulder.
Sookie and Rory approached with big smiles, Rory's boyfriend Greg trailing behind. The bespectacled man was holding a wrapped gift. Luke finally noticed that the other townspeople were also carrying gifts.
"Happy Baby Party!" Sookie announced loudly, and the others clapped.
Lorelai was shocked. "Wha...what?"
Rory grabbed her mother by the arm. "Well, everyone in town was so excited about the baby, that they wanted to throw a congratulations party for you and Luke. Think of it as a baby shower with guys. And half the town."
"How did you guys plan this?" Lorelai was still staring at her surroundings in awe.
"Me and Sookie started talking about it, and then we called Babette and Miss Patty, and before we knew it, it was a big party."
Luke was beginning to get over the surprise of all this. "But it's Valentine's Day."
Sookie and Jackson handed them both rattle-shaped cookies as they passed by people who were shouting congratulations. "We all decided that this was the perfect way to spend the holiday. Plus, it's still early." She smiled widely and looked between Lorelai and Luke.
"And I don't have classes tomorrow and Friday, so me and Greg can stay for the weekend." Rory linked arms with Lorelai.
"Surprised?" Jess asked as he sauntered over, eating some cake.
"Very," the expecting couple said at the same time.
XXX
