Chapter 6: perfect- or not?
"Hello, Will! Hello my boy!" She smiled and then again tears ran down her cheeks. She caressed his face with one finger and placed a kiss on his head. The boy calmed down immediately when he heard his mother's voice
"Look at him Luke! Isn't he perfect?" She looked at him in wonder.
"Yeah, he is. Just like his mother. I´m so proud of you!"
"I couldn´t have done it without you. Thank you!" She squeezed his hand.
He just kissed her in response, careful not to crush the baby.
"We need to take him away for a few minutes, to examine and bathe him, while you have to go through the afterbirth," a nurse told them.
"Oh noooo!" Lorelai pouted and Luke started to laugh when he saw it. As if he knew what was coming, William started to squirm.
"Yes, my son, tell them you wanna stay with your mommy. But you know what? Daddy can go with you, so you won't be alone, while mommy finishes here and then daddy brings you back? You're ok with that? I promise you that daddy will take good care of you. Now go!" She told her son and placed a kiss on his forehead, before the nurse took him away. He began to cry at that very moment.
"You´re ok if I go with him?" Luke asked her.
"Yes, I´m fine. Go and look after our son!" She smiled and Luke followed the nurse and his crying son.
Luke was allowed to bathe Will for the first time and was surprised that he was able to do it. When Lorelai had told him that she was pregnant he had been very happy, but also scared. He had always been grumpy and never really good with kids. They freaked him out because he never really knew what to do with them or what to say to them.
And now he held his son and it was such a natural thing to do, that he thought it was nearly too easy.
When they were done, the nurse told them that Lorelai had been brought to another room and that he should just follow the nurse.
Lorelai lay in her bed, still in the hospital-gown, her eyes closed. When she heard them come in she opened her eyes and saw Luke coming in with a clean and dressed William in his arms.
Will was squirming again and she knew that he would start to cry any second.
Luke sat down on the edge of the bed and handed her the baby.
"Hello, Will. Did your daddy take good care of you? I´m sure he did!" Lorelai used a baby voice while she talked to her son.
"I was allowed to bathe him!" Luke told her and she had to smile because he sounded so proud.
"What do you think Luke?" She asked and pointed with her chin in the direction of their son. "I think we did very well! Isn´t he beautiful? And don´t say 'Men aren't beautiful', because this one´s still a baby and because men can be beautiful! I have the living proof when I look at my beautiful husband!" She teased him.
"Ah geez! I´m not... what ever." He rolled his eyes. "But you´re right, He is beautiful!"
Luke hadn´t finished his sentence when Will started to cry.
"What´s wrong with him?" Luke asked and looked concerned, because Will cried furiously within seconds.
"I think he´s hungry." Lorelai laughed.
"Why didn't I know? I mean his mom also gets very cranky when she´s hungry!" Luke smirked.
"Hey, pay attention to what you say, Mister! Or the next time I´m hungry I will just start to cry the way he is right now!"
"Oh god, help me!" Luke mumbled.
"Luke can you go to the car and bring in the bag we packed for hospital. I want to get changed before I feed him this thing is not really comfortable. And I want him to wear his own clothes."
"Yeah, sure." Luke said and gave her a peck on the lips before he turned around and walked towards the door.
"Hey, hon! Hurry up! If you don´t he may be starved before you come back!" She told him before he left the room.
Luke nearly ran outside, grabbed the small suitcase and headed back inside. When he arrived on the fourth floor, he nearly slammed into a nurse. A few feet away from Lorelai's room he could hear Will's furious cries.
"Is mommy refusing to feed you! Poor boy! But wait, there will be the day of revenge, when mommy wants something to eat and daddy will refuse to give her something!" Luke said when he walked into the room.
"Mean!" Lorelai exclaimed. "You know how helpless I am when it comes to food and cooking!"
"I´m sure you can´t be more helpless than him. Now here is your suitcase, hand him over so that you can get changed!" Luke ordered.
"Uuuuh! Bossy Luke! How cute!" She teased him when she handed him Will and then kissed both of them before she walked slowly over to the bathroom.
"Now let´s see if mommy has something you want!" Lorelai said when she sat on the bed again, in her own night-gown, which had some buttons, so that she could nurse the baby easier.
She unbuttoned it and then repositioned Will. Then she offered him her left breast and he opened his mouth and began to suck.
"That´s my boy!" She laughed.
"Definitely!" Luke agreed and laughed also.
For some minutes they just sat in silence and watched how Will sucked contently.
"Heyyyy so Luke!" Lorelai broke the silence.
"Oh I know that tone. What do you want? And don´t say 'coffee'!" He said in his usual grumpy way, but smiled.
"Baaaaaah!" Lorelai said and stuck out her tongue. He just raised his eyebrows.
"But that´s actually not what I wanted to say, prince charming! I wanted to ask if you could look outside and see if Rory´s here!" She said.
"I´m sorry, I totally forgot about her. I could have done that when I brought the suitcase. Your mother must also still be outside somewhere. I mean, her car must still be at the mall..."
"You might be right. So, if you find Rory outside, send her over. And if my mother is still outside, tell her we´re fine, call a taxi and send her home." She instructed him with a serious expression.
Luke who had already stood up sat down again on her bed and looked her in the eyes.
"What happened at the mall?" He asked after some seconds.
"She... well she... I don´t really wanna talk about it right now. I´m so happy at the moment and I don´t wanna ruin it. I will tell you later when Rory is gone and he is asleep. Deal?"
"Deal!" He agreed, kissed his son's head and walked outside.
He wasn´t sure at first if he had taken the right direction, but then he saw Richard pacing the hospital floor, while Emily was still sitting on the chair. He was angry with her, because he knew that something really ugly must have taken place at the mall and he first considered yelling at her, but when he saw her, he just couldn´t. It was more than obvious, that she had cried, the streams were still visible on her face and her eyes were red and glassy. She was fidgeting nervously with the handkerchief in her hands.
When they saw him Emily jumped out of the chair and Richard stopped pacing. The fact that they were both worried sick was written all over their faces.
"Is everything ok with Lorelai? How is the baby?" Emily asked him.
"They're both fine." Luke just said.
"Where is Rory?" He asked then.
"She never answered the phone. I tried it a dozen times and left messages on her mailbox and her answering machine saying that she should come to the hospital, or call back. But I talked to Sookie and she promised to keep on trying. And I handed the nurse Lorelai's purse." Emily said very fast. She was afraid he might interrupt her.
"Okay. I...uhm.. I think I have to get back." It was an awkward situation for all of them.
"Yes, sure. I think we should go home, Emily. You´ve done enough!" Richard said and nodded in Luke's direction.
The two elder Gilmores started to walk away when Emily suddenly stopped.
"Is it..I mean ...what..." Emily stuttered.
When Luke remained silent, she turned around and started to walk toward the elevator again. This time Luke stopped them.
"Richard, Emily wait!" He said and walked over to them, then handed Emily a small card.
"Here! Goodbye!" With that he turned around and walked back to Lorelai's room.
"What´s that?" Richard asked when Luke was out of sight.
"William Jeremy Danes, born 5:36pm, 6th July 2006, 8 pounds 10 ounces, 22 inches." Emily read aloud with tears in her eyes and a sad smile on her face.
When she finished Richard turned around and stepped into the elevator without saying a word.
TBC