Disclaimer: I don't own anything, the whole spiel.

Author's Note: In response to someone's comment, the point of the story isn't Rory/Lorelai. It's not even Rory/Jess. It's about realizing your mistakes, accepting your destiny, and coming to terms with your past. It'll all work, I promise you. You will have what you want; you'll just have to trust me to get there.

"Luuuuke…." Luke looked up from where sat on the edge of the bed untying his boots.

"Yes Lorelai?" His voice was coarse, but filled with love and as Lorelai heard it, grinned widely.

"I was just thinking," she murmured, trying to unsuccessfully turn to her side. She gave up, and pouting, sat back biting her lip. "At some point this kid is going to get ripped out of me-" she could barely suppress the giggle that coursed through her and the pained expression on his face. "I was just thinking we should name it." Luke sighed as he leaned back into the bed, settling next to her.

"Lorelai, didn't we-didn't you decide to wait until she had been born, so her face could make the decision for her?" Lorelai turned her head to pout at him, and added the fluttering of her eyelashes.

"But Luke! We've already named my stomach, it's the Batwomb! And we've discussed that yes it is strange to name my stomach after a comic book character, but it's Ok, because the baby will be like Batman, when jetting out of there!" Luke looked at her plainly, waiting for her to finish.

"Lorelai, sweetheart," he leaned over and kissed her softly. "If you want to name the baby now, we can name the baby now. But I know you. You're going to get attached to the name, and if she comes out, and she doesn't look like an Edwina, you're not going to have the heart to change it, and I'm going to have to. And I don't like that sort of responsibility." Lorelai's shocked expression did nothing to change the look on his face. She frowned.

"Edwina? When did we decide on Edwina? When did we even talk about Edwina?" Her eyebrows rose with an attitude that Luke knew by now, not to mention. Luke sighed.

"Don't you remember? Last night. You were saying that since Rory," Lorelai's sharp intake of breath was almost imperceptible, but Luke felt the pang go through her. "Was named after you, you wanted this baby to be a part of both of us. And then you asked me 20 million questions about aunts and uncles, and when I happened to mention my aunt Edwina, you clapped your hands and said 'that's the winner!' then-and for the first time in what feels like months, you didn't ask for coffee, and fell asleep." Lorelai was gazing at him thoughtfully.

"We never talked about Edwina." She replied laughing, and settling down into the blankets.

"But-"

"I don't even remember that conversation. I remember coming up here, exhausted-I was out with my friend Mimi you know-"

"She made a pass at your husband. You should stop seeing her." Lorelai barely held back her giggle.

"That slut!" She laughed, the warm sound enveloping them in the room. "Anyway, I have another proposal." Luke couldn't help groaning. Lorelai went through baby names like they were candy, and he couldn't help but indulge her. "And I caught the end of the that oldish Capra movie." Luke shrugged. "The one with Bruce Willis, co directed by Quentin Tarentino?" Luke still looked blank.

"And you were thinking Quentin for the baby? Do you want our daughter to hate you?" Lorelai gasped and then laughed, and Luke could feel it reverberating within him.

"No, no, no, no. I was thinking…Alexis! She was one of the stars. Cute little thing. What do you think?" She smiled broadly and awaited his response.

"Alexis."

"Yeah. It's new, it's fresh. Alexis Gilmore Danes. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" Luke shrugged. The name Alexis was nice, but ultimately did nothing for him.

"Whatever makes you happy, Lor." He mumbled, turning to his side, and burrowing into his pillow.

"But it has to make both of us happy!" She exclaimed. He cracked an eye open and grinned.

"Then wait 'til she's born and lets decide then. I'll be happy once I see her."

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"I can't believe what you did with the place." Rory sat cross-legged on the floor of Jess' apartment, leaning against the door.

"Hey, you never know with Ole Uncle Luke. He didn't want me to change anything. Was afraid I'd break his stuff."

"But, wasn't he living with mom when you came back?" The question hung in the air between them, and Jess cringed. He couldn't lie to her again; it took too much out of him.

"No. I came back a little before they were married." His admission shook Rory to the core. He'd been there that long?

"So you really didn't come back for me." The words were quiet, but her gaze was direct. Jess couldn't look away.

"I came back right after you left." Rory's eyes widened. "Lorelai was inconsolable, Luke didn't want to leave her for a second for fear that she'd melt down and it seemed like a logical step. So I took a leave of absence for a week, and then another, and eventually I just didn't go back." Rory's head was spinning. Her lips parted, and she tilted her head to the side, as if by taking him in from a different angle would allow her to understand more.

"But you hate Star's Hollow." The words had escaped before she could stop them. He had hated Star's Hollow when she had known him, but it was evident that she didn't know him anymore.

"It grows on you after a while." He responded, and yawning, stood. Rory couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could Jess be more orientated than she was? It was almost as if since leaving Yale she'd fallen into an alternate universe. But now, in Star's Hollow of all places, she was regaining her footing.

"So have you seen my mom?" Jess' eyes snapped to attention. He and Luke hadn't discussed this. Granted, he and Luke hadn't discussed her staying with him either, but there she was.

"I see her a lot, She is married to my uncle, and has a strong dependency on the coffee which I sell." His answer did not satisfy her. Lorelai was dying and she still drank coffee? Normal people didn't do that. Granted, she thought, Lorelai couldn't always be counted on to be a 'normal' person.

"Have you seen her since she…?" She couldn't finish her thought, and for that Jess was grateful. He didn't exactly have to lie.

"Oh yeah. She's taking it really well. She's a regular trooper, Lorelai is." Rory's glass blue eyes filled with tears. She didn't want to hear this. She didn't want her mother to die without a fight, without even fixing their problems.

"Does she ever talk about me?" Her voice was so very young and pained, that Jess wanted to lie. Wanted to give her the stars and the moon, if only they would make her happy. But he didn't.

"No." The word hung in the air between them, and Rory was glad that he couldn't see her tears fall, in the dark.

Author's Note 2: I'm not really feeling this chapter. But it is really long, for your reading pleasure, so I hope you liked it. I also hope you like the Alexis joke too. I promise, they won't name the baby that.