Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you may recognize.
A/N: I love that people are enjoying this. I seriously never thought a sequel was in the cards, but hey, I've been wrong before. And ZZtop? You rule.
Thanks to Linz for everything.
Chapter Three
On Friday, Luke and Jess were the first to arrive at Emily and Richard Gilmore's for dinner. Luke had left the diner at five to go home and change into nice pants and a shirt and tie, then he'd headed for Hartford, arriving at six-fifteen, just in time to watch the last fifteen minutes of Jess' class. Sometimes he was caught off guard by how graceful and woman-like she had become.
She stood in a black leotard with capped sleeves, white tights and the new pink satin toe shoes, her arms above her head balancing easily on the toes of one foot while her other leg lifted up as high as it could go – to her waist – and then came down again and up went the other leg while the first one balanced. All the while her eyes focused on some unknowable object in the middle distance, her concentration high, her features sharp and tense. He knew these moves were elementary to her, but it was still amazing to him that anyone could do it, let alone someone he was related to.
Her arms came down now and she placed one little hand on the bar at her side, arranged her feet into first position and began to plié. When she finally spotted him she pitched him a wide, open smile and waved, then twirled over to say hello.
Luke grinned at her showing off and when she lifted her lips to his cheek he felt such a rush of pride and warmth it almost overtook him and he had to look away for a moment. This was his girl, and she was marvelous.
"About ready?" he asked, ducking his head and pushing his hands into his pockets. The other people there to pick up their daughters were all women and they made him feel a little shy. He could feel their curious looks on his back and he didn't like spending too much time here lest anyone get friendly and want to talk to him.
"Uh-huh," she answered spinning one more time for him and then heading with a flourish for the locker room. He waited while she changed into her Friday Night Dinner clothes, the only time during the whole week that she didn't wear a leotard, and watched the other dancers finishing up.
Getting accepted to the prestigious Hartford Junior Ballet Company was no easy task. As soon as Miss Patty mentioned it last year Jess had found out everything there was to know about it. The Company was for girls aged 13-18 in the Hartford area and getting in included jumping through several rings of fire, not the least of which was a fairly lengthy audition process. To his immense pleasure she'd nailed each audition and moved up the ranks of dancers easily.
He suspected that Emily Gilmore might have had something to do with it. She sat on the board of the professional ballet company in Hartford and had nothing really to do with the Junior Company, but he knew she knew people and it was something that he often wanted to ask her about.
Before he could ponder this more, Jess exited the locker room and came toward him wearing her royal blue velvet dress and slinging her dance bag over her shoulder. She tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and leaned against him as they walked toward the truck. Nothing made her happier than to dance, but nothing wore her out faster, he knew.
They drove quickly to Emily and Richard's and pulled into the driveway by quarter to seven. Luke turned the ignition off and then faced her. "No other cars are here," he observed glumly.
"Looks like we're the first," she agreed.
Luke let his chin sink to his chest in exaggerated misery. Jess giggled and said, "Come on. It's not that bad, I'll be your buffer."
He laughed at the phrase. 'Buffer' was something Lorelai said, too, usually with reference to her parents and himself.
"Thanks," he said ruefully before opening his door and heading for the door.
As they suspected, Emily opened the door and immediately announced, "You're the first to arrive! Hello, Jess, how are you! My, you look smashing in that blue. Can I get you something to drink? Hello, Luke. Jess, I meant to tell you about this article I read in Dancer USA…"
Emily ushered Jess into the living room and Luke followed, used to this drill. Richard was there, already mixing drinks. He handed Jess a tall glass of chilled water, her usual, and then he turned to Luke and said, "What can I get for you, Luke?"
"Whatever you're having is fine, Richard," Luke answered, settling himself on the settee. Richard handed him a glass of Pinot Grigio and Luke took a generous sip, letting the alcohol take the edge off the evening. He'd been to enough of these now to know it wouldn't be a party.
Before things could get too awkward what with Richard and Emily not having anything to say to him, the doorbell rang again and Richard, still standing near the drink cart, went to get it. When he returned, a very pregnant Rory Gilmore and her husband Marty Banks followed him.
"Rory you are positively glowing!" Emily gushed as Rory sat with a grunt on the settee next to Luke. Marty sat in one of the end chairs while Richard got Rory a drink.
"If this kid doesn't come soon I'm going in after it," she replied with little ceremony. Her faced was paler than normal and it was obvious that the pregnancy was sapping all her spare energy. "He's been kicking all day. I swear I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight if this keeps up."
"Did you find out it's a boy?" Jess asked. They were all eager to know but so far Rory and Marty had been keeping mum.
"No, we still don't know; we want it to be a surprise," Marty reminded them.
"But what about decorating," Emily pouted. "You have to have some idea."
"The nursery colors are yellow and white, Grandma. You know this, you've been there," Rory chided indulgently, resting one hand on her sprawling stomach as she accepted a glass of water from Richard.
"I can't believe you're still working," Jess commented.
"I agree," Richard said. "Everyone at the office thinks you should have called it quits weeks ago."
"My due date isn't for another eight days," Rory reminded him, pausing to take several deep draughts of the cool water. "There's plenty I could be doing at the office, as you well know, and I just can't stand the thought of staying home, bored out of my mind every day."
Luke and Lorelai both had been beyond shocked when Rory announced at the end of her summer living with Richard and Emily that she'd be following in her grandfather's footsteps and getting her business degree at Yale and then going for her MBA. Once she had a focus point, though, nothing was going to stop her and she re-enrolled, graduated with honors in business, went straight into Yale's MBA program and, after some lengthy debates within the family, ended up accepting a position at her grandfather's insurance company.
Along the way, she'd come to the realization that Marty was not only a wonderful friend, but he was also the only man she trusted outside of her family. Logan had been disappointing and in the end, Marty had picked up the pieces and she'd seen him for what he truly was, the best thing that had ever happened to her.
They married three summers ago and now they were expecting their first child. "Won't you at least tell us what names you've picked out in either case?" Emily pressed.
"We want it to be a surprise, Grandma," Rory said with a smile.
Before Emily could protest the bell rang again and Lorelai arrived with Will who, adorably, was wearing a bow-tie and jacket just like Richard's. He looked so serious in his conservative little suit that when Lorelai introduced him as her date he rolled his eyes, and sat next to Jess for protection. Jess put an arm around his little shoulders and let him have a sip of her water.
Lorelai gave Luke a kiss hello and then patted Rory's stomach and said, "Hello, in there. Ready to come out yet?"
"God, I wish," Rory said again.
"Dinner's ready," came a voice from the doorway.
"Thank you, Angelina," Emily said and led the way into the dining room.
Richard and Emily sat in their customary places at the head and foot of the table, Lorelai sat on her usual side, between Luke and Will, and Rory sat on the other side flanked by Jess and Marty.
"So how's work, Marty?" Richard asked.
"Interesting," he said. "I didn't attend a school like Chilton and now that I'm teaching there it's a little weird. The kids are so competitive."
"You don't have to tell us," Emily said. "Rory held her own there beautifully, but you're right about how kids can be."
Luke watched Jess pick at her food. Lorelai must have been reading his thoughts because she looked up just then from cutting Will's meat to ask, "How was class, Jess?"
"Good," she said, starting to beam a little shyly at the family. "They announced the cast of The Nutcracker and I got the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy."
"That's marvelous!" Richard exclaimed as the others gasped and clapped. Luke smiled and she exchanged his look with one of her own, silently sharing their own moment.
"When will it be?" Rory asked.
"Rehearsals start on Tuesday and it'll run December fifteenth through the thirty-first."
"Wonderful," Emily sang out. "We'll all have to go!" Jess looked down at her plate and smiled, silently very pleased with herself.
For dessert, Angelina brought out chocolate mousse with whipped cream and Luke watched as Jess left hers untouched. This was the girl who had once stuffed an entire donut into her mouth to hide the evidence of stealing it in the first place. How times change.
Suddenly, Rory sat up straighter, put a hand to her lower abdomen and said, "Oh."
The entire table turned to stare at her and she looked around with wide eyes before she started again and said with some surprise and uncertainty, "I think…I think my water just broke." En masse the table erupted.
"My rug!" Emily cried when she saw the large puddle of goop under Rory's chair.
"Mom!" Lorelai scolded. "This isn't the time!"
"You're right, I'm sorry!" Emily said, coming to her senses.
Marty stood and helped Rory out of her chair, preparing to lead her to the car. "I'll follow you," Lorelai told them before turning to Luke and saying, "You take the kids home in the Jeep, I'll take the truck, okay?"
"Absolutely, drive safe and call as soon as you know anything." He kissed her quickly and watched her hurry after Rory and Marty. Richard and Emily followed Lorelai with Jess with trailing behind them and that left Luke at the table alone with Will, who was gazing up at him as if Luke had somehow orchestrated the entire thing get him away from Lorelai.
"Finish your pudding," Luke said gently.
"It's mousse," his son corrected him stiffly. It was going to be a long night.