A/N: Wow! Thanks for all the great reviews. Keep 'em coming! Since I got such an overwhelming response I decided to sit down right away and write the next chapter after watching the finale (don't get me started on that….)
Luke grumbled when Rory's cell phone rang for the fourth time that hour. "Stop calling Logan." He barked into the phone.
"I need to talk to Rory."
"You don't need to talk to Rory, you want to talk to Rory. There's a big difference."
"Fine, I want to talk to my fiancée." Logan spat back, putting a lot of emphasis on the word 'fiancée'
"Listen you worthless little twerp. She's not your fiancée anymore. She doesn't want to talk to you, and I wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to talk to you again. You damn well better stay away from this house and my family. As much as I would love to watch my wife rip you to pieces, we're just starting our married life together and I'd hate for her to spend the rest of it in jail. If you try to contact Rory or come here without her permission I will call the cops. And I have to warn you, they just got some new handcuffs at the Stars Hollow Jail and there's a new kid fresh from police school who's just dying to make use of our town's very empty cell." Luke said forcefully. He then hung up and turned off Rory's phone completely.
Luke climbed the stairs and knocked softly on the door to the bedroom he shared with Lorelai.
"Come in." Lorelai whispered. Luke entered their bedroom carrying a huge tray piled with every breakfast food imaginable. Lorelai let out a small gasp, "Well Luke Danes, look what you've created for us!"
"Breakfast in bed for my two favorite girls." He said, setting the tray down and coming to kiss Lorelai. "How long have you been up?"
"About an hour."
"She's still out huh?" Luke asked, indicating Rory.
"Yeah, I didn't have the heart to leave her alone." Lorelai said reaching out to rub her daughter's back lovingly.
"Do I smell pancakes?" Rory mumbled groggily.
"Yeah sweets, look what Luke did for us."
"Hi Luke," Rory sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Thanks for sharing her with me last night." She said, indicating her mom.
"Anytime." Luke said, walking to the other side of the bed and embracing Rory in an awkward hug. "Well, you two are up and fed so I need to get to the diner. You've got an entire pot of coffee, pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs. You know a heart attack on a plate. I also threw in some freshly squeezed orange juice…."
"Freshly squeezed? Dirty!" Lorelai said, raising her eyebrow and looking at Luke.
"Make sure she behaves today Rory."
"I will, and Luke?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you tell Miss Patty and Babette about why I'm back and ask them to spread it around town?"
"Dirty!" Lorelai joked again.
"Sure thing." He said walking to the other side of the bed and kissing Lorelai goodbye.
Observing her mother's face as she watched Luke out of the room made Rory smile. "He really loves you."
"I really love him too."
"I'm glad you're so happy mom."
Lorelai smiled. "So how are you feeling honey? You look a little green." She asked, reaching up to tuck a strand of Rory's hair behind her ear.
"I feel empty and a little nauseous."
"Eat something; it'll help with the nausea. That's what I did when I was pregnant with you. Of course that's probably why I weighed about a thousand pounds when I delivered you."
"Is this decaf?" Rory asked, sticking her coffee cup under her mother's nose.
Lorelai sniffed the coffee."No silly girl, have I taught you nothing?"
"I'll miss you coffee." Rory stuck out her bottom lip in a pout as she poured her coffee back into the pot.
"And the Oscar goes to…."
"Don't tease. You'd die if you had to go without your coffee. Didn't you drink coffee even when you were pregnant with me?"
"Yes." Lorelai said, looking a little guilty. "But hey, you turned out okay! And who's to say the caffeine you were exposed to didn't help your little baby brain develop into the super brain it is or that it didn't give you the fastest metabolism in the history of metabolisms?"
"Maybe…."
"Thank the mommy." Lorelai said pointing to her cheek. Rory laughed and planted a kiss on her mother's cheek.
"I've missed Luke's pancakes and eggs."
"Are you okay?" Lorelai asked, ignoring Rory's breakfast commentary. "Do you want to talk?"
Rory shook her head. "Not right now. I don't really know what to say. I'm still a little shocked."
"Okay, but you know you can come to me any time you do want to talk." Lorelai said as she continued to look at Rory with concern in her eyes.
"I know." Rory said smiling. "Hey, did you tell Luke?"
"No, I wasn't sure if you wanted to tell people yet."
"I guess I want to wait until I make an appointment with my doctor. Crap, I need to make an appointment with my doctor and my doctor is forty-five minutes away in a different town."
"You could go to my doctor. She's great and right in Stars Hollow so she's never very busy. I bet she could squeeze you in today."
"Works for me." Rory said, casually glancing at the calendar. "Oh my God."
"What?"
"It's FRIDAY!"
"So?" Lorelai sat for a moment staring at Rory blankly until it dawned on her. "And we're expected at the Gilmore house tonight."
"Where we will come in, hand our coats to the maid, and sit down for drinks as usual. Except tonight I'll have to decline anything with alcohol in it and they'll know."
"They might not notice."
"Mom, this is Emily Gilmore we're talking about here. She can smell stuff like this from a mile away." Rory said rolling her eyes.
"Okay, so you tell them that you were so upset over Logan that Miss Patty brought you some Founders Day Punch for breakfast and you're still a little drunk."
"That'll go over real well."
"So get a drink and I'll down it while they're not looking."
"That could work."
"You know, I wouldn't offer to drink extra alcohol for just anyone. That's how much I love you kid!"
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"Rory, come on we're going to be late." Lorelai called up the stairs.
"Grandma, I'm fine really. Mom's taking good care of me." She paused for a minute, listing to Emily rant on. "Yeah, I know he's a scumbag grandma. Listen, mom and I are going out now but we'll see you tonight." Rory said before hanging up the phone and heading downstairs. "I don't think I've ever heard grandma use such foul language!"
"So she was pretty angry at Logan?"
"Her list of ways to cause him bodily harm alone could get her arrested."
"I could certainly add to that list." Lorelai regretted the words immediately after they left her mouth. She was doing her best not to blatantly insult the man her daughter had loved for so many years. "Come on babe, let's go."
"Wait, put these on." Rory said, handing Lorelai a pair of sunglasses and a baseball hat.
"Rory, sweetie, it's overcast outside."
"I know. But I don't want someone to see us walking into the doctors' office and getting suspicious. I'm not ready to deal with everyone knowing.
"Don't worry, everyone will just think you're going with me to an appointment. I've been seen there a lot lately."
Rory's expression turned sad when she realized what her mother was saying. "I'm sorry mom. I know you and Luke are trying so hard for a baby. I'm so insensitive sometimes."
"Oh honey…." Lorelai said hugging Rory tightly. "No, don't be sorry. I'm very happy about this." She placed her hand on her daughter's flat stomach. "This is good and exciting and happy. I'm going to be a grandma. My daughter's going to be a mom."
"Grandma…." Rory said, testing the word out. "That sounds so wrong."
Lorelai wrinkled up her nose, "Yeah, well, we'll figure out something."
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"So this is it huh?" Rory asked, standing outside the office of one 'Elizabeth Matthews'.
"Yep, you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Well then, let's go." Lorelai reached to pull open the door but stopped pulling when the door was half open as a familiar voice reached their ears.
"…and if you'd like to you can purchase some of our special cream it's great for…." Lorelai let the door drop closed.
"Kirk works in your doctors' office?" Rory asked sounding shocked and freaked out.
"He didn't three weeks ago." Lorelai replied sounding equally freaked out.
"That's kind of creepy."
Lorelai shrugged, "Like we should be surprised. The only places in town Kirk doesn't work at are The Dragonfly and Luke's. And that's not for a lack of his trying."
"Do you think he'll tell anyone?"
Lorelai shook her head, "No, but follow my lead." She said, taking Rory's hand and leading her to the reception desk. "Hi Kirk."
"Name?" Kirk asked.
"Kirk!" Lorelai said, sounding exasperated.
"Name?" Kirk repeated.
"Lorelai Gilmore. The appointment's at 3:30."
"Lorelai Gilmore or Lorelai Gilmore-Danes?"
"Lorelai Gilmore."
"Really? I thought you took Luke's last name."
"Just Gilmore Kirk."
"Okay. So you and Luke are hoping to up the population of Stars Hollow by one huh? Taylor put you up to it?"
"Ewww, no Kirk."
"Well, if you end up having a baby I'd be happy to sell you baby shower invitations and birth announcements at a reduced price. And I must say Kirk is a nice strong name for a baby boy."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Lorelai said sarcastically.
"Just fill these out." Kirk said handing Lorelai a clipboard with forms on it. He turned his attention to the younger Gilmore, "Hi Rory."
"Hey Kirk."
"I'm wanted to express my sympathies about you and Logan."
"Well, thank you very much Kirk."
"And if you're looking into purchasing a house here in town I'd be glad to show you some property."
"Thanks, but I think I'll be okay."
"We're gonna go sit down now Kirk." Lorelai said taking Rory's arm and pulling her away. "See, I knew naming you after me would come in handy some day." Lorelai whispered as she handed Rory the clipboard.
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After having about four vials of blood taken and being examined, Rory sat in the cold examination room with her mother staring at the slightly graphic posters depicting the stages of childbirth that hung on the walls.
"It's best not to study the posters too hard babe." Lorelai said rubbing Rory's arm lovingly. "I know it seems scary now but it's all worth it, trust me."
"You'll be there with me when I'm in labor right?" Rory asked in an attempt to quiet her irrational fear of giving birth with no one by her side.
"Not even a nationwide coffee shortage could keep me away."
Dr. Matthews interrupted the conversation with a knock at the door.
"Come in." Rory called.
"Well Rory, I just got your test results back and everything looks fabulous."
"Oh good!" Rory said, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Looks like your little one is due October 8th."
Lorelai smiled and nudged Rory, "You were born on October 8th."
"I know!" Rory whispered.
"I just want to do a quick ultrasound and then you can go okay? Sorry, the gel is a little cold." Dr. Matthews apologized when Rory jumped as the clear made contact with her bare abdomen.
"You'd think they would have figured out a way to warm the stuff by now." Lorelai said, a smile coming to her face as she remembered the first time she saw baby Rory on an ultrasound.
"There's the baby and there's its heartbeat." Dr. Matthews pointed to a fluttering black and white spot on the monitor screen.
"Wow…" Rory said, unable to take her eyes off the screen. She didn't realize she was crying until Lorelai reached over and wiped the tears away with her hand. When Rory looked at her, she saw she was crying too. "What do you think mom?"
"I think it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen."