Title: Back In Stars Hollow

Chapter 9: Amy

A/N: Ha, ha! Cliffhangers are evil and incredibly fun at the same time. However, quickly writing a chapter to end the cliffhanger is not evil.

Sigh.

You guys are ruining my evilness!

Enjoy.

"Just my luck," Rory muttered, glancing at the dark puddle slowly spreading underneath her feet. "My water breaks on the damn carpet." Rory placed her hands on the small of her back and steered herself over to the couch. Bracing her hands on either side of her, she slowly lowered herself down.

"Okay, what's next? Breathing, gotta start the breathing." Lamaze training kicking in, she rubbed her hands in a circle on her stomach and started breathing in rhythm. "Heeheehoo, heeheehoo, heeheehoo, this-is-stoo…pid." Rory finished out of rhythm and sighed.

"Mom always said that Lamaze crap was a bunch of hooey. Now what?"

"Ror?" Jess edged the door open and walked into the house, carrying Chinese take-out and saving Rory from making a decision.

"Hey," she smiled as he came into view and kissed her.

"You have a good morning?" he asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Relatively uneventful," she said after a pause and glance at the puddle of amniotic fluid ten feet away from her.

"You finish the scene?"

"And I wrote a few more. The Katelyn character needed a little more fleshing out."

"I've been trying to get that to work for a while."

"I think I did."

"Thanks." Jess walked back to the couch, carrying two plates. "Eating out here?"

"I don't feel like moving."

"Okay." Jess set the plates on the coffee table and walked to the television set. "Wanna watch a movie?"

"No, thanks."

"Whaddya feel like doing?"

"Going to the hospital," Rory answered after a second.

Jess started to nod, and then paused and stared at her. "Ror?"

"My water broke," Rory gestured to the puddle.

"Oh, God, Rory, why didn't you tell me?" He rushed over to her side and helped her to stand.

"It's not that big a deal," she shrugged.

He picked up her suitcase from next to the door and slung it over his shoulder. "The hormones have made you insane," he speculated as he locked their door behind them.

"I resent that," she said as he bustled her down the walkway to the car.

"You made small talk for two minutes!"

"I haven't had any contractions."

"You can have contractions and not know it; they're just not severe yet."

"Right, so obviously, the kid's not ready to come. We've got time."

"We still need to get to the hospital." He folded her into the passenger seat of the convertible and ran around to the other side.

"Where's the cell phone?" she asked as he turned the car on.

"Shit!" He jumped out of his seat, leaving his door open and the engine idling. He spent a minute and a half trying to open the locked front door before running back for his keys. She held them out for him; he smiled in thanks and jogged back to the house. He was back a minute later, and he slid in and threw her the phone before she pointed out that the front door was open. He used another expletive and disappeared again.

As he slid into the car for the third time, she borrowed his trademark smirk and murmured, "And I'm insane?" She chuckled. He glared and eased the car out of the driveway.

Lorelai was stretched out on her couch, reading a magazine. Sounds of clanking pots and pans were coming from her kitchen, driving her insane.

"Ah! Damn it!" Luke yelled.

"What happened?" Lorelai put her magazine to the side and sat up. "Can I come in there?"

"No."

"Luke," Lorelai sighed, exasperated. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Luke's voice was firm.

"Are you bleeding?"

"I'm fine!"

The phone started ringing, and Lorelai glanced around for it. "Luke, I think it's in the kitchen."

"I'll answer it," he yelled.

She sighed again. "You're such a baby."

"I'll answer it! Hello?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes and stretched back out. Luke had come over that afternoon and announced he was cooking dinner for her. That had been an hour ago, and still it didn't seem any actual cooking had been done.

"Lorelai! Get in here!"

Luke sounded so frantic that she leapt from the couch and ran to the kitchen. Luke threw the phone at her and pushed her back towards the living room. She rolled her eyes.

"Hello?"

"Mom."

"Rory! Is it time?"

"It's time."

"Yes!" Lorelai squealed. "We're calling the airline right now and catching the next flight out there," she informed her daughter.

"I wouldn't expect any less."

"Any pain?"

"Only to Jess, if he doesn't stop bugging me."

Lorelai grinned. "That sounds about right. Don't let that baby come out till I get there!"

"I'll see what I can do."

"Good. I love you, sweetie."

"Love you too, Mom."

"Bye." Lorelai turned the phone off and threw it towards the couch, and then ran into the kitchen. "My baby's having a baby!" she screamed as she threw her arms around Luke's neck.

"Now?" he asked, shocked.

"Yep! Oh, I never thought this day would come!" She squeezed his neck.

"Lorelai, shouldn't you get tickets?"

"Oh! Right!" She let him go and ran back into the living room for the phone.

Jess helped Rory from the car. As she stood, he slipped one arm around her waist. She allowed herself to be led inside, settling her head on Jess' shoulder. She was very tired, and silently cursing herself for not getting enough sleep the night before.

"Excuse me, she's in labor," Jess announced to the woman at the desk in the waiting room.

"Have you called her doctor yet?"

"Yeah, he said he was here."

"What's his name? I'll page him." The woman lifted her phone to page the doctor, but he appeared behind her.

"Ah, Rory! Any contractions yet?" Dr. Murphey offered a wheelchair to Rory, who happily settled in.

"Nothing severe. At the most, I've felt like I was being pinched from inside."

"Completely normal," the doctor nodded. "Well, let's get you settled in, and see how dilated you are. How much was it at the last visit?"

"Three centimeters."

"We'll see what you're at now, and then go from there."

"Okay."

Dr. Murphey nodded and wheeled Rory down the hallway to a labor room. Jess followed at a distance, still calling people on the cell phone.

"Where is she? Where's my baby?" Almost eight hours later, edging on nine o'clock, Lorelai raced into the hospital waiting room in California, Luke at her heels.

"Slow down," Luke commanded, taking both her arms in his and pulling her toward him. "She just said she's not that far along."

Lorelai struggled against the warm embrace of her boyfriend's body, and as Lane walked towards them, he allowed her to spring towards the younger woman.

"Lane! Where is she?"

"Whoa! Hello, Lorelai, it's nice to see you too."

"Yeah, enough with the crap formalities. Where's my baby?"

Lane rolled her eyes at Luke, who nodded. When Lorelai shot them both a look, Lane cleared her throat. "She's in Labor and Delivery Room two; and just under eight centimeters dilated. The contractions are fierce, but fortunately, Jess and Dave both have strong hands."

"Jess and Dave?" Lorelai asked. Lane nodded.

"Paris, Baylor and I have been taking turns nursing their hands back to their normal strength; Rory's pretty much decided that men are the weaker sex."

"Well, duh," Lorelai said. Luke gave her a look that plainly said, "and who fixed the heater this morning?" Lorelai blushed. Lane smiled and started to walk away.

"Follow me," she commanded over her shoulder, waving them behind her. Lorelai and Luke did as they were told and quickly ran after her.

"Coffee," Jess moaned, stumbling out of Rory's room into the hallway. Luke wordlessly handed him a cup, and Jess fell into the chair next to his uncle's.

"Lorelai still in there?" Luke asked. Jess, too tired for sarcasm, nodded.

"Did the other four leave?"

"It's almost midnight."

"I know," Jess groaned. "I've got to get up at the ass-crack of dawn, too."

"Cost a lot of money to go overtime?"

Jess nodded. "A hell of a lot. The studio's okay with us, though, cause we're still way under budget for how far along we are."

"You'll just have to take a break for a few days."

"Yeah." Jess groaned again as another thought hit him. "Oh, God, my head writer's gonna be out of commission. Dammit, I wasn't counting on that for another two weeks."

"Babies can't be planned."

"I know."

Luke smiled. "You know, I remember when you were born. Jimmy was off God knows where, and Liz started having contractions and freaked out and called me. She was so scared, too; you were a week early."

Luke looked at his nephew to see if he was listening, and Jess nodded, his head resting on the wall behind him and his eyes closed. "I'm listening."

"I told her to get to the hospital as soon as she could, and she did. She left the apartment so quickly she forgot to hang up the phone." Luke chuckled. "Anyway, Dad and I closed the store and jumped in the truck to head to New York. Later we found out that we were in such a hurry we forgot to lock the store and turn the lights out. But when we got to the hospital, Jimmy was there, being the dutiful husband. Dad and I just paced in the waiting room for a while, kinda like this. And then…you were born. You looked like crap warmed over. After they cleaned you off, you still looked like crap."

Jess half-smiled through his exhaustion.

"You fit into my dad's arms like you were meant to be there, though. I'll never forget that image of my father." Luke sighed and sank into silence, and then glanced next to him. Jess was breathing slowly and evenly, sleeping. Luke half-smiled.

"I'm so tired," Rory cried. "Why aren't you coming out?" she screamed through the contraction.

"It's okay, sweetie. Just breathe."

"Breathing is crap!"

"Or scream. Screaming's okay, too." Lorelai wiped Rory's hair from her forehead with her free hand; her other hand was locked in Rory's death grip. Rory screamed through the rest of the contraction, and then curled up onto her mother's arm when the pain subsided.

"How far are we now?" Dr. Murphey asked, swinging into the room.

"Well, I'm not sure about you, but I hope I'm at ten centimeters." After eighteen hours of labor, Rory was ready to get the whole thing over with.

"Right. Let's check." The doctor sat in front of Rory's bed and checked; as he stood up, Rory grinned. "Yep. We're at ten." Dr. Murphey smiled at Rory. "Time for the hard part."

"Yes! Mom, get Jess."

"Yes, ma'am." Lorelai kissed her daughter on the forehead and walked out of the room. She came back a few seconds later leading an extremely scared-looking Jess.

"Well, this is the end of the line for you, Mrs. Gilmore. From now on, it's all Rory." Dr. Murphey started rolling Rory's bed; Jess grabbed her hand and ran with the bed as it was wheeled for the elevator.

"Bye, Mom! I love you!"

"Love you too, sweets."

Luke stood and placed both his hands on Lorelai's shoulders as the elevator doors closed. She lifted her hands and covered his, and he kissed her on the top of her head.

"My baby," she murmured.

"My baby," Rory murmured, kissing her brand-new daughter on top of her head. The infant's bright blue eyes gazed up at her mother, and she stretched her balled-up fists and yawned. Then a flash went off in her eyes, and she closed them quickly and snuggled into her mother. "Mom!" Rory complained.

"I'm sorry, sweetie." Lorelai, sitting in a chair off to the side of the bed, looked sheepishly at her camera. "She's just so cute."

Luke reached from his chair next to Lorelai's and took her camera. "Problem solved," he announced.

Jess, sitting on the bed, shook his head. "You're just as bad as she is."

Luke glared as Jess grinned.

"Hello, people! Name?" Rory said, annoyed. "You're in here for the announcement."

"Tell us! Tellustellustellustellus!" Lorelai bounced in her chair.

"Okay! But I also have to explain. Over the past year, I've come to realize the incredibly wonderful need for family. And so I decided that when I gave birth to my little one, I'd use a name with family ties."

"I loved that show," Lorelai interjected. Rory glared. "Okay, sorry. Continue."

"Thank you. Anyway, I thought about the name for a long time, and I've decided that the best name for my daughter is Amelia Lorelai Mariano, Amy for short."

All of the other three adults in the room were a little surprised at the selection; especially Luke and Jess.

"Amelia, after her grandfather's mother," Rory nodded to Luke, who tried to discreetly wipe away tears at the thought of his mother. "Lorelai, after her mother's mother," Rory nodded to her mother, who smiled. "And Mariano, after her father—legally. That is, if he'll have me."

Jess stared, shocked, at Rory.

"Whaddya say, Jess? Will you marry me?"

Jess continued staring at Rory, and then at little Amelia Lorelai Mariano. "Little Amy Mariano…do you want me to be your daddy?"

Amy reached a hand and grabbed Jess' outstretched finger. She gurgled and waved it around. Jess laughed.

"Yes, Rory. I will marry you."

"Good," Rory smiled. "Now you have to kiss me."

"What a horrible punishment." Jess leaned in and they kissed, sweetly, before Amy knocked Jess' finger into his head.