A/N: Another chapter. A little later then I was planning to but I'm very busy at the moment. Only one more week of school (two official) before summer vacation! Finally I may add, although it's hard to believe it will be over soon. Next year all I have are internships. Going to Norway for 5 months and stay in the Netherlands for the second five months but don't know where just yet. Well I do know but I'm trying to get rid of it and change it for something better. Long story, won't bother you with it when you have my chapter to read ;) Thanks LorelaiAkaCoffeeAddict for proofreading and thanks to those of you who read and reviewed the last chapter(s)! I love you all!

Chapter 36 flight 226

Luke handed their tickets to the flight attendant.

"Seat 26 a and b, that's this way sir." The women pointed towards an aisle.

"Thanks." They followed the aisle and it didn't take long before they reached their seats.

"24, 25, 26, here we are." Lorelai smiled. She was very excited about going to pick up Rory. She had no idea how her daughter would respond when they suddenly showed up in front of her, but she tried hard to keep it a secret, and succeeded. She had dressed Lucan in jeans and a t-shirt and of course he had his blue baseball cap on his head. "Can I have the window seat? Please?"

"Sure. He watched as Lorelai sat down with Lucan in her lap, and then reached above his head to put their luggage away. With a smile he sat down next to Lorelai. "You seem happy."

"I am, you have no idea how excited I am. It's been forever since I've been in one of these."

"An airplane? You went to Europe only 3 years ago."

"Yeah I know. We should definitely do this more often."

"I hope not. Enjoy this time because if it's up to me, we won't be in an airplane again any time soon."

"What we're staying in London now? I thought we were only staying a few days, but it can be fun. Rory can continue college there, and you can open a diner and I can open an inn."

"That's not what I meant." His voice sounded a little harsh.

"Well looks like someone's a little crabby."

"I'm not. It's just…. Never mind."

"No, what?"

"Nothing, really."

"I know you Luke, and something's up. Do you regret going on this trip, because the plane didn't leave yet. We still can get off this plane if you want to."

"No, there's nothing. Okay?"

"Fine, whatever." She turned her head and stared out of the window.

When everybody had taken their seats, a stewardess came to check if everybody had fastened their seatbelt. "Hello."

Lorelai turned around "Hey."

"Here's a seatbelt for your son." She showed Lorelai how to put it on.

"Thanks."

"There's a changing table in the lavatory and if you need to warm up a bottle or need anything else, just press this button," she pointed, "then someone will come to you as soon as possible."

"Thank you."

The woman nodded, then walked away to continue her job.

Soon the plane started to drive backwards, taxiing to the place for take-off. Lorelai, who had been staring out of the window for a while, turned towards Luke and saw how uncomfortable he looked. "You really don't like airplanes do you?"

He shook his head. "Definitely not."

She took his hand in hers. "Everything will be okay, I promise."

He gave her a slight smile. "Thanks."

"No problem. You should close your eyes and enjoy the feeling. Soon the plane will be in the right place and stop, then you will hear the engines going up and the plane will start driving faster and faster, you will be pushed back into your seat because of gravity and then, before you know, the front wheels will be loose, then the back wheels and we will be free."

"Uhuh, I will really enjoy that."

She smiled. "Yeah you will." Even though she knew he wouldn't. It didn't take long before the plane stopped. "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, plus I'm sure they won't wait until I am completely ready anyway."

"Why not?" She squeezed his hand and put her other hand a little tighter around her son. The engines went louder and the plane started driving, faster and faster. She squeezed his hand tighter.

Luke smiled when he saw the look on her face. "Something tells me you're enjoying this just as much as I do."

"Who, me? I love this."

"Sure, I can see that." They felt how the plane got loose from the ground and Lucan started crying.

"Yeah well, we're not the only ones." She tried to sooth the baby, but it was kind of hard because of the seatbelt. She looked at Luke with panic in her eyes. "What do we do now?"

He easily lifted his other hand to the baby and put a finger in his mouth. The baby started sucking happily and stopped crying.

"How?"

"It takes the pressure of his ears. We can do it ourselves by swallowing, but he doesn't know that."

She turned to Luke in amazement. "I would have never thought of that."

"Yeah well…"

"How did you know?"

He looked at Lorelai and wondered how he could get himself out of it. In the diner he would go serve someone, at home he would check up on Lucan, but here he couldn't walk away. Plus, even if they were somewhere else, Lorelai wouldn't have dropped it anyway.

"Tell me Luke."

"I read this book okay about how to travel with babies. The book tells how baby's and kids experience the trip and it came with some tips."

"Mr. Danes read a book. I'm impressed."

"Hey I read sometimes."

"Sometimes, yes. The last time I saw you read a book was… mmmm… when was it…"

"Hey stop it. I read okay. You don't spend every single moment with me so you don't know if I read during the day and I do."

"Okay fine." Somehow she wanted to get angry but when she looked at the satisfied baby in her arms she smiled. "You should read more often. This really works."

Luke smiled proudly.

After 2 hours Lorelai started to get bored. "Luke?"

"Yeah?" He turned his attention away from the magazine he was reading.

"I'm bored."

"Well, read something, or watch the movie."

"I don't want to watch that movie. I've seen it once and I promised myself I would never have to see it again. And I don't feel like reading."

"Then try to sleep or something."

"I'm not tired. Can't we talk or something?"

"Sure, talk." He put his magazine away.

"No, you have to talk."

"About what?"

"I don't know, tell me a story."

"Oh I don't know Lorelai, you know I'm not good at that."

"You tell Lucan stories all the time. Why can't you tell me one?"

"Fine, what do you want me to tell you?"

"Don't know. You think of something."

"Lorelai." He sighed.

"Please Luke? Please?"

"Fine uhm… let me think."

"Oh yeah." She shifted happily in her seat.

"Do you mind sitting still?"

"I'll try."

Luke thought a little longer before he said, "I really can't do this. You tell me a story. You love to talk anyway."

"No, I want you to tell me a story. Tell me what it was like, when you were a kid. Have you ever been on vacation?"

"We went sometimes. But it was kind of hard to get away with my father's store and all. But my mother loved nature. When I was seven my father decided to buy the cabin. My mother had a drivers license, so if she wanted she could take us away, and sometimes he would come along."

"Did your dad teach you how to fish?"

He smiled. "No, my mother did. My father needed something to do. He couldn't sit still. When he was around the cabin, he usually worked. He brought wood and made furniture and fixed things around the place. He let me help him sometimes. When I turned six I got my own tools."

"Oh and Bert?"

"I got a little toolbox."

"So, a mini Bert?"

"Something like that. Anyway, while my father was working around the cabin, my mother took us swimming or fishing. And if we caught any fish, we ate them at night sometimes."

"You ate the poor fish?"

He shook his head. "Not all the time. We threw them back most of the time."

"It seems really nice, having a family vacation."

"Yeah, it was. But you had them too right?"

"Sure, my parents made me come visit their rich friends, where all I could do was sit on the chairs all day. Or they had a nice family vacation together and left me home with a nanny. And when I was older they sent me to summer camp."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Me too. Just promise me that the vacations with our kids will be like the once you had okay? It wasn't bad all the time, and I really liked summer camp, it's just… that I would rather spend a vacation with my family instead of without my kids you know? "

"Of course, I promise. And maybe, by the end of the summer, we can go to the cabin for a few days, the four of us, and if Rory's boyfriend is coming, he can come, too."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

"Tell me some more?"

"Uhm… about what?"

"Where did you go on vacation when you were older?"

Luke's smile faded. "We didn't. After my mother died we stopped going to the cabin."

"Oh, I'm sorry Luke, I…"

"It's okay. When I got 16, I wanted to go away for a weekend with some friends and my dad gave me the key to the cabin. We spent a few weekends there to remodel the place, paint the thing, fix some broken windows, and fix the furniture. After we were done we brought some girls to clean the place and we went there regularly during the summer. To fish, to swim. Just to have fun."

"That sounds nice. Maybe, if Lucan gets 16 and wants to go he can go to the cabin to, all by himself."

"We'll see."

"What about Liz?"

"What about her?"

"Didn't she want the cabin?"

"Nah, she liked it when we were kids but when she got older she got other interests. She started to hang out with the wrong guys and she got pregnant with Jess. My dad told me to take her with me sometimes, but she wouldn't come."

"Oh."

"I don't know if it was losing my mother while she was so young that turned Liz into that, or that she would have done the same if my mother had still been there. I guess it's stupid to ask myself that over and over. I just… I kind of blamed myself for letting her hang out with those guys and when she got pregnant… I felt like she completely threw her life away and I was to blame and I…."

"You what Luke?" She sounded a little harsh.

"Oh Lorelai, I didn't meant that. You've always been a great mother for Rory, no matter how young you were. Liz just isn't the right person for a kid. Especially not the way she was back then. Liz is the kind of person that smokes pot in front of her kid or gets completely drunk. You wouldn't smoke pot, and especially not in front of Rory. And there are many other stories I can tell, but I don't really want to get into it now. But trust me, there's a lot of difference between you and Liz."

She nodded, not completely convinced.

He turned to face her. "Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to do, getting pregnant when you were 16, but it turned out okay for you. You found a job to support your daughter and you found a way to accomplish your dreams. Liz just kept looking for guys to support her. And now she has TJ and things are better, he's the first guy who's good for her. I may not completely like him, but it's obvious he loves my sister."

"He does. And things did turn out okay. I'd be lying if I'd say that I never wonder how it would have been like without Rory. But then I think, I wouldn't have had Rory! I mean…."

"I know. I know exactly what you mean."

Lorelai smiled and leaned in to kiss Luke. "It's weird you know, I've known you forever, we've been together for two years, we've been married for almost six months, and there still are so many things I don't know about you."

"And there are many things I don't know about you. But I like to think that it keeps things interesting."

"I think they do. But it's still weird."

"You already know the most important things, the rest you'll learn within time."

"You know the most important things about me, too." She smiled.

xxxxxx

"Lucan needs a clean diaper." Lorelai looked at her husband.

"Hand him to me, I'll do it." She nodded as he stood up to take the diaper bag. Lorelai handed him the baby and smiled as she saw her two men walk away.

Luke had to wait because the lavatory was occupied. A woman was standing in the line behind him.

"What a cute baby you have there."

"Uh thanks."

"How old is he?"

Luke wondered why people always had to ask you questions when you had a baby with you. "three and a half months."

"He really looks like you. You must be very proud."

Luke gave the woman a slight smile. "Thanks, that's what my wife says. But she also says he looks a little like his sister as a baby." He immediately cursed inwardly for saying that, knowing he would get another question about that. He looked at the locked lavatory door impatiently.

"You have a daughter too? How old is she?"

"Yeah." He took his change when the door to the lavatory opened and stepped inside. "I'm sorry, I would love to talk longer but my son needs a clean diaper." He didn't give the woman a change to reply. He locked the door behind him and sighed. "Stupid woman." He looked at the baby. "Why do people always do that when you're with me. Asking all those stupid questions. They think you're cute." The baby smiled as his father laid him down on the changing table. "You're not cute are you. Boys aren't cute. Little girls yes, but you don't say cute to a boy, not even when they are a baby." He smiled as he caught himself talking to Lucan again. "I like your big sister, you know that right?" Lucan smiled in response. "Yeah you do. People just don't understand. And your mommy totally knows how to deal with it, but she's been dealing with it for 21 years."

Luke took a diaper, having trouble to get around in the small area. "Your mommy is right you know. I tell you a lot more stories then I tell her. She's completely jealous you know."
There was a knock on the door. "Luke?"

"Yeah?" And to the baby he whispered "See, your mother is jealous already."

"Is everything okay in there?"

"Fine. We're almost done."

"Kay."

Luke threw away the dirty diaper and put Lucan's jeans back on. Then he opened the door and saw Lorelai still waiting for him.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing, just wanted to check if you were okay."

Luke noticed the lady from before was still standing there too. "Where's your daughter? You can't leave her alone right?"

Lorelai looked at Luke with questioning eyes.

"She's big enough to stay by herself."

"Oh. How old is she?"

Luke looked at Lorelai now, his eyes begging her to answer.

"She's 21. Actually she's not in this plane, but she's in London. We're on our way to pick her up."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, she's been in London for a year and now she finally comes home, but if you don't mind, we're going back to our seats. Lucan here will be hungry soon."

"Yeah… uh…. Sure…." The woman had no idea what to say anymore.

Luke was happy Lorelai solved the little issue with the woman. He knew he was acting ridicules for not answering the question himself. And so did Lorelai. She looked at her husband and wondered what was wrong. He wasn't ashamed of her was he? First the thing he said about his sister getting pregnant as a teenager and now this. They walked back to their seats in silence, both lost in their thoughts. When they sat down, Lorelai looked at her husband and shook her head.

"What?"

"Nothing." She kept staring.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Then stop staring."

She shook her head again.

"Lorelai." He kept his voice down, knowing they were in the middle of an airplane, surrounded by people. Not the best place to fight.

"Why Luke?"

He gave her a confused look. "Why what?"

"Why are you ashamed of me?"

"What?" His voice was soft now.

"I don't understand. I thought you accepted me for who I am and Rory for who she is. That you were okay with the both of us."

"I am, and you know that."

"Do I Luke?" She shook her head again.

"I don't know what's wrong, but trust me this has nothing to do with you or Rory or how old you were when you had her."

"Then what is it Luke, because I'm dying to know." Her tone was sarcastic.

Now it was his turn to shake his head. "You know how I hate people asking me questions, and they never really did, until Lucan came. For some crazy reason people seem to have to want to talk to you whenever they see a baby and ask you all kind of stupid questions."

"They are just interested."

"No, they're curious and they don't respect our privacy. It's non of their business how old our son is and if we have more kids."

"You're embarrassed Luke?"

"Absolutely not and you know that."

"You're giving me a complete different impression."

"I know and I'm sorry because it's not the way I mean it. You know I love you and that I love Rory. And I already told you that you did an amazing job raising Rory to who she is now. And I'm even proud of that."

"Normally when you're proud of something, you want to show it off. That's why people ask you questions when you have a baby with you. Not so much because they find it interesting, although they might do, but because they know people love to talk about their children. Do you love to talk about yours Luke?"

"Of course, but not with a stranger. I like to talk about them with you."

"But what about others Luke? I don't understand."

"That's who I am and you know that. You know that I don't like to talk to strangers."

"Then you found yourself a completely wrong job."

"No, that's different."

"No it's not. But lets forget about it because we're not going to solve this now and I don't want to fight in here."

"But you're angry at me."

"And from the way I see it, I have every reason to be."

He couldn't reply because he knew she was right. He kept silent and thought about what happened and the things he said. After almost 15 minutes he said: "I don't like the way they look."

"What?" Lorelai put down the magazine she was looking at. She had tried to read it but gave up when she realized she couldn't focus and started looking at the pictures.

"I don't like the way they look when I tell them."

"Tell them what?"

"How old Rory is. When I'm with Lucan and they ask me if I have more kids and I tell them we have Rory they will ask me how old she is. When I say she's 21 they give me a disapproving look and I don't like it."

She was confused now. "I don't understand."

"People seem to find it weird that we have a 21 year old daughter and a 3 month old son. I don't like the way they look because they disapprove our kids and us and I don't like it. That's why I rather don't tell them. Because I'm proud of my family Lorelai. I love the three of you so much and I don't want anyone to give us that kind of look. It reminds me of how many times you probably have gotten it when you tell someone Rory is your daughter, and I just don't like it. And I know she's not really my daughter but it feels like she is and I don't want either you or her get hurt for who you are."

Lorelai started to smile. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I don't know. I was embarrassed I guess."

"But why, because that's one of the sweetest things anyone ever said to me."

"Yeah well." He gave her an uncomfortable look.

"Don't do that Luke. You're the most amazing guy I've ever met. You love Rory like she's your own daughter and you will always protect her from everything. You do the same thing for me and you will do the same thing for Lucan for as much as you're not doing it already."

He gave her a smile. "You're amazing."

She leaned in and gave him a kiss on his lips, then she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I can't believe you married me."

"What? Why not?"

"You're way to good for me you know that? Every day I wake up in your arms I wonder why you fell in love with me."

"I wonder the same thing."

Lorelai closed her eyes. "I'm tired."

"Then get some sleep." He kissed her forehead.

"Only a few more hours before I see my daughter again." She murmured almost asleep already.

Luke smiled as he looked down at two of the most important people in his life. Only a few more hours and his family would finally be complete again.

That's it for now. Next time you'll read about Rory's reaction when her mother, little brother and Luke show up in front of her dorm. Don't forget to review this chapter ;)