Chapter One

A.N. OMG you guys are great! I got great reviews and it pushed me to update this quickly and while I should be in bed I decided to start on the chapter...I'm not sure how long this will run but hopefully if I stay motivated (and I'm motivated by reviews, lol) I can get this out fairly quickly...I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews, it was slightly overwhelming the amount I got for a story I wasn't even sure if I should bother adding to! As for who the father of the baby is...well that'll come in the next chapter, but keep guessing...it might actually sway me! Oh and Allie, thanks for pointing out the decade thing...I did mean century but sometimes I type one thing and think another! Also for those of you who are bothered by the fact that Lorelai wasn't at the hospital with Rory...well there's an explanation for that as well!

"Hey baby," Lorelai's words are calmer then anyone expected. "It's me. Mommy. I can't believe this has happened. We always said we'd be old together, you'd come take care of your crazy old cat lady of a mother in the senile old folks home. Remember?" Lorelai takes a deep breath before continuing, "I remember the day you were born. I swore I'd give my life for yours and never once did I considered that you would give your own for your child's." Lorelai gasps back tears, her resolve beginning to fade.

"I love you, more than anything and I don't know why this had to happen. You've got this beautiful baby, a baby girl who's going to have to grow up without her amazing mother. I don't understand, kid, and I don't know how I'm supposed to go through the rest of my life without you. You were my original better half. I love you babe, always and forever." Lorelai immediatly bursts into tears and suddenly Like is there, his arm around her waist, supporting her as they return to their seats between Christopher and G.G. and Richard and Emily.

The funereal lasted a long time, nearly everyone who Rory had touched in her life had delivered eulogies; Paris, Lane, Miss Patty, Kirk, Taylor, Luke, Dean, Christopher and both elder Gilmore's (who both looked like they'd aged ten years in less than a week) had followed Lorelai. Two who loved Rory as much, if not more, than anyone else in the church sat in the back, but despite this deep love, neither one of them stood up in front of the church to speak about the girl who had touched them so deeply. Both slipped into the church late, strangers and yet together, and joined the crowd of people who were standing along the back wall, the only room left in the church. Both remained silent and still, lost in their own thoughts and memories of Rory Gilmore. And yet when it came time to carry the cherry wood casket out of the church they both stepped up, replacing Kirk and Taylor, both men giving understanding nods, and joining Christopher, Luke, Richard and Dean.

The wakewas being held at Luke's, there was no other logical place to hold it, Lorelai had sobbed at the thought of have it at the house. Many members of the town were crammed into the diner, just having so many friends crammed in close proximity brought comfort to many. Rory's parents, grandparents, sister and daughter sat in a corner of Luke's, people approaching them in an endless stream of "I'm so sorry's" and "she was an amazing girl's."

"Dear," Babette approaches Lorelai, who sits motionless with Rory's newborn cradled in her arms, "it's so horrible. Rory was unlike girl I've ever met, her baby...it's so sad..." Babette wipes a tear away, "have you decided on a name for her then?"

Lorelai's normally bright eyes are fogged over and dull and if she realizes that she's being spoken to she doesn't show any sign of it. Christopher seems to be the only one of the five adults there able to respond, "Victoria Leigh Gilmore, after both of Lorelai and Rory's middle names. Rory decided on the name months ago."

"It's beautiful." Babette responds with a soft sob, "and she's beautiful. Truly."

Lorelai chooses then to break her silence, "she looks just...just like Rory did when she was born."

Babette gives Lorelai's shoulder a gentle squeeze, "if you need anything be sure to give us a holler."

Lorelai nods, but before she can return to starring at nothing her eyes follow a young man standing across the room. "Luke," Lorelai's voice is barely audible but it immediately catches her husbands attention.

"What is it?" Luke asks quickly.

"Is that..." Lorelai lets her sentence trail.

Luke follow's Lorelai's gaze and finally he finds who Lorelai has spotted, "Jess," Luke states with a sigh.

"Jess?" Emily's voice comes out high and squeaky. "What is that hoodlum doing here? He broke our Rory's heart, he has absolutely no right to just come here."

"D you want me to get rid of him," Luke asks Lorelai directly.

Lorelai shakes her head, "I want to talk to him."

"What?" Richard, Emily and Christopher question.

Luke doesn't say anything, instead he walks toward his nephew and within in moments he returns with Jess in tow, looking tanned, healthy, well put together and at the same time a complete mess. Jess shifts uncomfortably before starting, "I would have been here sooner but I was in Australia on assignment..." Jess takes several deep breaths, attempting to push away tears. "I came as soon as I got my mom's email. I..." Jess can't continue and instead he breaks into tears.

Lorelai immediately stands up, the first real movement she's made since she sat down two hours before. In one swift movement she pulls Jess into a crushing hug around the baby, sobbing as well.

Victoria's cry wakes Lorelai hours later, she only vaguely had a memory of sobbing into Jess' shoulder until her mother had to take the baby away and someone (was it Christopher?) had pressed more sedatives into her hand. Lorelai didn't remember swallowing them but she must have because that was the last thing she remembered, with a sigh Lorelai glances at the clock, it was almost three in the morning, and throws her feet over the edge of the bed. Glancing next to her Lorelai realizes that Luke is sound asleep, and quietly she pads out of their bedroom.

"Hi baby girl," Lorelai scoops Victoria out of her bassinet, it had been set up in the living room, Lorelai was still unable to venture into her daughter's childhood room. "What's the matter, are you hungry?" In a few short minutes Lorelai has Victoria's bottle ready and they are both settled on the couch together, Victoria holds onto Lorelai's pinky finger as Lorelai's thoughts wander back to the last conversation she would ever have with Rory, just hours before she'd get the call that Rory was dead.

"Hey babe," Lorelai greets into her cell phone, ignoring Luke's glare and incessant gestures that she go outside to talk on her phone. "Any baby yet."

"No," Rory's voice comes out strained and tired.

"What's the matter, you sound weird."

"I'm just tired, trying to get a final article in before I go on maternity leave. But I am taking a break and I wanted to call you, in case my little girl makes her appearance today and I don't get another chance to have a good conversation with you for awhile."

"You think she'll make her appearance soon?" Lorelai questions, she was strangely looking forward to being a grandmother.

"Yeah, I do."

"Maybe Luke and I should fly up today," Lorelai suggests.

"No, don't do that," Rory hastens to say. "You know how long first labors can be, you'll have plenty of time to get up here."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Lorelai replies, and the line goes silent for a minute.

"Mom, I just wanted to say that I love you." Rory breaks the silence with her unexpected words.

"I love you too, kid." Lorelai responds, "getting cold feet with this whole having a baby thing."

"Yeah, I guess. But I just wanted you to know that you were an amazing mom to me growing up. You gave me everything I ever needed, everything I needed to become who I am today."

Lorelai smiles at her daughters words, and turns her back on Luke who is still glaring at her, "you'll do the same for your little girl too."

"She'll have you growing up too," Rory whispers, "and I know you'll do the same for her as you did for me."

"Yeah, I'll say she's a pretty lucky girl. "She'll have everything you had growing up, plus the added bonus of you."

"You're my best friend, Mom," Rory sounds like she's crying but Lorelai attributes it to pregnancy hormones.

"You're mine too, always and forever."

"Always and forever," Rory echoes.

"So, you better get back to that article, I don't think the New York Times cares about pregnancy hormones . Besides the faster you get it done the faster you can get on your pre-baby vacation."

"Yeah I should go," Rory responds, "I love you."

"Love you too." Lorelai responds.

As the phone call plays threw itself in Lorelai's mind she realizes, for the first time that Rory had called to say good-bye to her mother, knowing that there was hardly a chance that she would come out alive from the emergency C-section she was going into. Rory's doctor had explained to Lorelai when they had flown up to get Victoria, what exactly the situation had been. Rory had collapsed at work and been rushed to the hospital, where they had informed her that there had been complications, Lorelai hadn't wanted to know exactly what the complications were, and Rory had to go into an emergency C-section. And she'd been asked that if it come down to it who to save Rory had, without a second thought, informed her doctor that they were to do everything to save her little girl.

Lorelai stares at Victoria, "your mommy loved you," Lorelai whispers. "More than anything else in the entire world."

"Lorelai?" Luke yawns his question from the bottom of the stair.

"Victoria was hungry," Lorelai responds not taking her eyes off of her granddaughter. Luke sits beside and finally Lorelai glances at him and with silent tears streaking down her cheeks Lorelai asks, "what am I supposed to do without Rory? Luke, how am I supposed to live without her?" Luke doesn't respond the question seems to take over the entire room, hanging in the air and wrapping itself around the couple.