A/N: Stupid me. I just went back to the last chapter to re-read, and I realized I talked about Straub Hayden being alive, when he died in season 5. Oops, sorry. This story will be done soon, I wanted to finish before the premiere, but that didn't exactly happen. This chapter is huge for the story, so read on, people, read on! Oh, and don't forget those reviews, they keep me alive
"I hate you for making me do this. I don't feel good." Lorelai and Luke were walking hand-in-hand up the walk to Emily and Richard's front door. Luke reached out and rung the doorbell. Within seconds, they were greeted by a new maid, which was nothing new.
"Lorelai. Relax. We'll do this and get it over with." Luke said as he walked through the door. He kissed her head.
"Don't start up any conversations, drink enough for the both of us, and eat fast. Got it?" Lorelai said. She handed her coat to the maid. Luke did the same. He leaned down and whispered into her ear.
"Got it."
"Luke! Lorelai! How nice to see you two again. Where's Rory?" Richard said as he came out of his study and pulled off his glasses with one hand.
"Hi, dad. Rory's in the car, on the phone with Logan." Lorelai said, kissing her father's cheek.
"Hello, Richard." Luke said, reaching his hand out in front of him. Richard looked startled at first, but then offered his hand as well.
"Emily is in the living room, getting drinks together. Follow me?" Lorelai rolled her eyes and followed her father. Luke walked right behind her, his hand on the small of her back.
"Don't make me do this…" Lorelai whispered over her shoulder. Luke just rubbed her back until they were in the living room. She crossed her arms when she saw Emily standing by the couch. "Mom."
"Lorelai. You're looking well." Emily said, tilting her head to the side slightly.
"I am?" Lorelai said, taking Luke's hand and sitting down on the couch. She had to tug on his arm a little to get him to sit.
"Lorelai, that was very rude." Emily said.
"What was, Mom?" Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms over her chest.
"You sat before we were ready to sit." Emily said bluntly.
"Mother, I am 9 months pregnant. When I want to sit, I sit." Lorelai said. Emily raised her chin and looked at Richard, who was attempting to hide the small smile playing on his lips.
"What are you smirking about?" Emily said. Richard opened his mouth to talk, but was cut off.
"Grandma! Grandpa! Hi!" Rory came bouncing in. She kissed each of her grandparent's cheeks and smiled at Luke and Lorelai, who smiled back.
Rory was planning to tell them about her engagement that night. They still didn't know, and that was the way she had wanted it. She had most of the plans done, so now was the perfect time to make sure that Emily didn't interfere and try to stick her own ideas in. She already had that problem with Shira, but Logan took care of it for her.
Rory sat down next to Lorelai, who was staring down at the floor. Emily and Richard sat down in chairs. No one talked. This was an unusual occurrence in the Gilmore household. Someone usually started talking about something. Rory poked her mom in the shoulder.
"What's going on here?" She whispered. Emily looked up.
"Your mother refuses to talk to me." Emily said. Lorelai leaned back on the couch and rested her forehead on Luke's shoulder. "She thinks that she shouldn't have to be here. She thinks she shouldn't have to see her parents before she gives birth." Emily explained. Lorelai picked her head off of Luke and looked at Emily.
"Mother, I am huge. I can hardly walk without my back hurting. Do you actually think making me come to this stupid dinner was a good idea?"
"Lorelai, you promised you would come, and here you are."
"Emily, don't be so hard on her. She's due in a week." Richard said. Rory looked at her grandmother.
"Grandma, can we eat now? I'm starved, and I'm sure mom and Luke are too." Rory said.
"Yes. Yes, I think that's a fine idea. Let's eat." Emily stood up and placed her drink on the table.
"But
Emily, it's not nearly 7 yet." Richard said. Normally dinner at
the Gilmore's started at 7 o'clock sharp. No later, no
earlier.
"Emily, we're not that hungry yet." Luke said.
Rory shot him a look. "Okay then, maybe we are." He took
Lorelai's hand and helped her off of the couch.
"Good. Grandma, what's for dinner?" Rory asked, smoothing her dress over her body. Lorelai leaned into Luke.
"Duck." Emily responded.
"Luke, I can't eat duck." Lorelai whispered into his ear.
"Why?" He whispered back.
"I'll get sick. Trust me; you do not want me to eat duck."
"Well, what are we supposed to do?"
"I'm not sure. Too bad they don't have a dog." Lorelai said softly. Richard, Emily and Rory were headed over to the dining room. Once they were in, Luke figured the two of them had a minute to be alone before everyone noticed that they weren't with them.
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"Grandma, Grandpa, I have something to tell you two." Rory said once they were seated at the dining room table.
"You do, Rory? Please continue." Richard asked.
"You know Logan Huntzberger."
"Yes, we know Logan. He's a fine boy.What about him?" Emily asked.
"You know how we've been dating for about a year and a half now." Rory said.
"Yes, we knew about that." Richard said.
"Well, he asked me to marry him, and I said yes. We're engaged." Rory said. She showed them her left hand.
"How nice." Emily said. "So, Rory, how's Yale?"
"Wait, that's it? A 'how nice'?" Rory asked.
"What would you like us to say?" Emily asked.
Rory thought for a second.
"Nevermind." She said. "Yale's great, as usual."
Luke turned Lorelai so she was facing him. Just from the look in her eyes, he knew something was wrong. She had this look, almost a cloudy appearance, when she was either upset or sick. He figured that she could be either, and decided to try to find out which one it was.
He ran his hand up and down her arm, attempting to soothe her, but all she did was close her eyes and rest her forehead on his chest. Luke moved his hand from her arm to her back, hoping that would make her feel better. It didn't. She looked up at him, that cloudy look still in her eyes.
"Luke, I don't feel so good." She stated in a shaky voice. That answered his question. So she was sick. That wasn't good.
"What hurts?" He felt like he was asking a toddler what hurt after she fell. Lorelai was no toddler. He had a feeling that she wasn't sick. Just afraid. Afraid of her parents, and afraid that her life was about to change any day now.
"Everything. I just want to go home." Luke felt tears through his dress shirt. Maybe she really was sick.
"Okay. Let me go get Rory." Luke said. "Here, sit down." He helped her relax into the corner of the couch, and left the living room to get Rory.
He came up behind Emily. Richard went into his study to wait until Luke and Lorelai joined them. Rory and Emily were sitting at the table, food in front of them, but no one was eating. She looked up at Luke. He nodded his head towards the living room, and left quickly, as not to be seen by Emily.
"Grandma? I'm going to go, uh, check on mom. I'll be right back." Rory took her napkin off her lap and set in on the table next to her plate.
"Rory, her husband is in there with her. You don't need to go." Emily argued.
"Her husband's name is Luke, and I am going to see how my mother is." Rory said. She got up from the table and headed for the living room.
"But, Rory!" She could hear her grandmother argue again. This time Rory ignored her and sat down on the couch next to Lorelai. Luke was standing in front of Lorelai, her head resting on his leg. Rory reached out to rub her back.
"Mom, what's wrong? You're never like this." Rory said softly.
"I don't know, Hun. Luke and I are going to leave. Do you want to stay or leave with us?" Lorelai asked, turning her head to look at her daughter. She knew Rory would leave with them, but she wanted to ask and make sure.
"Duh, I'm going with you." Rory said. Lorelai managed a small half smile. "Should I go tell Grandma?" Rory asked.
"No, I'll do it." Luke said. "You stay with your mom." Rory nodded and rubbed Lorelai's back again. Once Luke was gone, and Rory and Lorelai were alone, Rory thought she should try her luck on getting Lorelai to tell her what's wrong. She wouldn't.
"Is it the baby?" Rory asked. Lorelai shook her head.
"I don't think so." She said. Rory was silent.
"Are you sure?"
"No." Lorelai wiped her eyes. Rory's hand began stroking the back of her head. Nothing seemed to comfort her. Seconds later, Luke emerged from the dining room with Emily and Richard at his heels. He shrugged his shoulders and put his hands up in defense when Rory looked at him.
"Lorelai Gilmore, would you cut this out and come back and eat?" Emily said, crossing her arms. All Lorelai did was squeeze her eyes shut.
"Grandma, she's not faking anything. She's really sick." Rory said, her hand moving down to Lorelai's back again.
"Yeah, sure she is. She was fine earlier." Emily said. She looked away.
"Emily, she was not fine earlier. She didn't want to come, but I made her because she promised you she would. It's my fault, and now we have to leave." Luke said. He offered his arms to Lorelai, who took his hands, and with the help of Rory, got up and into Luke's arms. He kissed her hair.
"I think that's fair. If she's really sick, we wouldn't want germs here." Richard said to Emily.
"Gee, thanks dad. How considerate of you." Lorelai said. It took all she had not to yell. Richard raised his eyebrows. "We are leaving now. Me, Luke and Rory. Now. Goodbye."
Neither of the elder Gilmore's said anything. They watched Luke and Lorelai leave, Rory following close behind.
They got in the car silently. Rory drove so Lorelai and Luke could be together in the back. Lorelai was lying on her side, head in Luke's lap. He ran his hands through her hair.
Thirty minutes later, Rory pulled the Jeep into the driveway. Lorelai had fallen asleep, and Luke had to wake her to get her out of the car. She opened her eyes slowly as Luke stroked her cheek, whispering in her ear. Once she was awake, Luke helped her out of the car and into the house. Rory shut and locked the door behind them.
Lorelai sat down on the couch and shut her eyes again. It wasn't long before she was asleep for the night. Luke spent the night on the chair, while Rory slept close by in her room.
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The next morning, Rory was the first up. It was 10:30, and neither Luke nor Lorelai looked like they'd be getting up anytime soon. She walked into the kitchen, not expecting to find much in the fridge for breakfast. Surprisingly, she found microwave pancakes and some syrup in the cabinet. While the pancakes were in the microwave, she thought it would be a good time to call Logan. She picked up the phone and dialed the number for the apartment they shared, but there was no answer. Rory tried Logan's cell phone. Finn answered.
"Finn?" Rory asked, confused.
"Yes? Is this Rory?" Finn asked.
"Yeah. Where's Logan?"
"I don't know. He left his phone here and went out last night."
"Where's here?" Rory asked.
"My place." Finn said.
"He hasn't come back?" Rory asked, concerned.
"No. He told me he'd be home this morning, so don't worry." Finn said.
"It's almost 11. Don't you think he'd be back by now?" Rory asked.
"Nah, he's probably at a bar somewhere."
"Make sure he calls me when he gets back, okay?" Rory said.
"Will do. Bye, Rory."
"Bye." She hung the phone on the cradle and went back to the kitchen to get her breakfast. She popped the door and took out the pancakes, dropping them on the counter and let out a little yelp when she realized how hot they were. Taking a plate out of the cabinet, she saw Luke next to Lorelai through the archway that led into the kitchen. Rory left the plate on the table and went to go see what was going on.
Lorelai was still lying on the couch, although her eyes were open, her hand on her stomach. Luke was just looking at her. Rory joined him at the side of the couch.
"Feeling better?" She asked.
"Yeah, a little. Can you cancel that thing we had planned today?" Lorelai asked Rory, hoping she got what she meant.
"Thing… Thing today, oh! Yeah, I'll call right now." Rory said.
"What thing?" Luke asked.
"Oh, it's nothing. Forget it." Rory said, going over to her purse to get her cell phone. "I'll be right back." She walked into her bedroom and shut the door behind her. She dialed Christopher's number and put the phone to her ear. It rang twice.
"Hey, Ror." Christopher said happily.
"How'd you know it was me?" Rory wondered.
"Caller ID. What's up?"
"Mom's sick." Rory said.
"Is it the baby?" Christopher asked.
"How did you know about the baby?" Rory asked. She never told him.
"Lorelai told me a few months ago. She must be due soon, right?"
"In 5 days."
"Thought so. What's wrong with her?"
"She says it isn't the baby, she just doesn't feel well."
"Is she sure it's not the baby?"
"No, but she's done this before, I guess she knows what she's talking about." Rory said.
"I understand. I'll cancel our reservations." Christopher said.
"Thanks. Bye, dad."
"Bye, Ror." Rory ended the call and shut her phone. She walked out of her room and put the phone back in her purse.
"Cancelled." Rory announced to Lorelai.
"Thanks, kid."
"Sure." Rory said, resuming her place by the couch.
"Luke, I need to take a shower." Lorelai said.
"Alright, come on. Rory, can you help me get her up?" Luke asked. Rory and Luke got Lorelai up; Luke took her upstairs.
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An hour later, Lorelai was lying in bed with Rory next to her and Luke downstairs making lunch. Lorelai didn't feel like talking for once, so they just lied there, waiting for Luke to call them down.
They got their call 20 minutes later. The girls went down the stairs and met Luke
in the kitchen. He made grilled cheese, which Lorelai wasn't too keen on eating. Rory ate her own along with Lorelai's. Luke made Lorelai a burger 5 minutes later, and then sat down.
"This burger is amazing, Luke." Lorelai said. "Better than usual."
"I used different seasonings. I figured you'd like it." He took a bite out of his grilled cheese.
"Hey, can we go to the theater today? They're showing Hardbodies and I think you owe us a showing after you fell asleep when mom and you watched it." Rory asked Luke. Lorelai giggled.
"Yeah, Luke. Let's go see it." Lorelai said.
"Fine, Fine." Luke said, taking one last bite of his food before putting his place in the sink. Lorelai had finished her burger and handed her plate to Luke, who also took Rory's.
"Can we go now?" Lorelai asked.
"I guess. Let's go."
They got in the car and began the short drive to the Black, White, and Red movie theater. Once there, they took seats on Big Red and waited for the movie to start. Rory got a call from Logan, which left Lorelai and Luke to be alone.
"So, you say this is a good movie?" Luke asked.
"It's great." Lorelai insisted.
"Whatever you say."
"That's my boy." Lorelai said, pinching his cheek.
"Ow! You're turning into my Aunt Ira." Luke said, rubbing the spot where she pinched him.
"Luke, you don't have an Aunt Ira."
"So? You're sure acting like one."
Lorelai grinned. "Thank you. I take pride in my Aunt Ira-ness." She said. Luke shook his head.
"The things I let you do to me."
"Dirty!" Lorelai exclaimed.
"Walked right into that one."
"Mhmm."
Rory came back into the room then, phone in hand and a big smile on her face.
"Ooh, Rory's happy. What are you smiling about?" Lorelai asked. Rory sat down.
"Logan said he got the perfect idea for our reception. We already talked about having it at your house, that is, if it's OK."
"That's fine. Go on…" Lorelai said
"Well, he was thinking about getting Paul Anka, which I said would be ridiculously expensive. He said it wouldn't be with his father's connections. We can have real Paul Anka and dog Paul Anka together on stage!"
Lorelai burst out laughing. "You want Paul Anka at your wedding reception?"
"Why not?" Rory asked.
"I don't know. I didn't think you were an Anka girl." Lorelai said, trying to stifle her laughs on her sleeve. "I thought you'd have Hep Alien or something more along those lines."
"Lane already agreed to get the band together to play, but she thought they could go on after Paul Anka." Rory said.
"Okay, it's your wedding." She burst out into laughter again. "Wow. That's so funny I almost I forgot I'm sick."
"Mom!"
Lorelai put her hands on her stomach. "Baby thought it was funny, too!" Luke laughed this time.
"Luke!" Rory exclaimed.
"Sorry."
"Oh, look. The movie!" Rory said. They watched as the beginning of Hardbodies came on.
"Ooh, Baby's still laughing." Lorelai said, her hands returning to her stomach.
"Hey! Let me feel!" Rory said. Lorelai showed her where to put her hands. "That's so weird." Rory said, shaking her hands out.
"Luke, want to feel?" Lorelai asked.
"Nah, I've felt it before."
"Luke, you're supposed to say yes whether you want to or not." Rory said.
"Fine." He put his hands on Lorelai's stomach in the same spots Rory's were. He smiled. "That's so cool."
"Yeah." Lorelai said. She inhaled sharply.
"Mom? Are you ok?"
"I-I think so." She breathed in again.
"Lorelai?" Luke asked
"Uh-oh."
"What?" Rory asked.
"Water. Broken. Baby." Lorelai managed to get out.
"Oh man. I do not want to see this." Rory said, turning around.
"Hospital. Luke. Car. Hospital. Baby." She said, looking down. Luke was confused.
"Rory, what don't you want to see?" He asked.
"Luke, the baby's coming, and I don't want to see it."
"The baby? Oh my god! The baby's coming?" Luke asked Lorelai. She nodded. Luke entered panic mode. "Hospital! We have to go to the hospital!" Lorelai nodded again.
"I'll run home and get the bag you packed. You did pack a bag, right?" Rory asked. Luke shook his head. "Okay, I'll get one packed and meet you at the hospital."
"How'll you get there? We have the Jeep." Luke asked.
"Drop me off at home, and I have a car, Luke." Rory said, grabbing her purse and standing up.
"Right. You're 22, you have car." Luke said, helping Lorelai up. Once she was on her feet, Rory ran ahead and opened the door for him to get Lorelai into. Rory climbed into the back seat, and Luke started the engine.
Half a minute later they were in their driveway, and Rory jumped out of the car and into the house. Luke and Lorelai pulled away.
"Lorelai, I don't know what to tell you. Breathe?"
"Working on it." Lorelai said sarcastically.
"Yeah, thought so."
It took 10 minutes to get to the hospital. Luke filled out the necessary forms on a clipboard while a nurse took Lorelai in a wheelchair to get changed into her gown and get into a room. Rory arrived at the hospital just as Luke gave the papers and clipboard back to the receptionist. They were told to go to room 142A. After a minute of searching, they found it, and burst in.
Lorelai was lying on the bed with her legs up. There was a nurse in-between them.
"Aww, jeez. I really don't want to see this. I'm going to wait outside." Rory said. Luke nodded at her and stood at Lorelai's side.
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7 hours later, Luke's hand was being crushed as Lorelai attempted to bring their daughter into the world. She had been pushing for an hour, and hadn't been getting anywhere.
"Lorelai, push!" The doctor exclaimed. Lorelai's head went to her chest as she pushed. After a few seconds, her head flew back to the pillows and she pushed again.
After another hour, the head was out and Luke was positive his hand was broken. A few pushes later, baby Danes arrived.
"It's a girl!" The doctor said, before placing the newest addition to their family on Lorelai's chest.
"A girl." Luke said. "A girl!" He kissed Lorelai's head a few times before looking down at his third daughter. He couldn't help but smile. A nurse took the baby away from them for a few minutes to be cleaned, weighed and measured.
"Luke, our kid doesn't have a name!" Lorelai realized.
"We'll deal with that later." Luke said, stroking her head. "I'll go get Rory."
"Okay." Lorelai agreed.
Luke left her bedside to find Rory, who was found in the cafeteria nursing a cup of coffee.
"You have a new sister, name to come." He told her.
She gasped. "I do!"
Luke nodded. Rory flung her arms around Luke's neck.
"Your mom wants to see you." Luke said.
"'Kay."
Luke and Rory walked back through the waiting room and in front of Lorelai's door.
"Is she all covered?" Rory asked.
"Probably not. Just don't look." Luke said, ushering Rory into the room. She had her hand on the outside of her face so she couldn't see to the side, and rushed over to Lorelai.
"Mom!"
"Hey, kid." Lorelai said. Rory kissed her cheek. Luke stood and watched his wife and daughter talk from afar. The cleaned baby girl was wrapped up and put back into Lorelai's arms. She cooed at her for a moment before offering her up to Rory. "I've already gotten to know her in the past 9 months and 8 hours. Your turn." She said.
Rory smiled and took the baby from Lorelai, holding her close in her arms. "She's gorgeous, mom." Rory said, looking into her sister's face.
"Well, with the parents she has, she had to be." Lorelai said, smiling. Rory turned to Luke and motioned him to come over with her head. He obliged and took his daughter out of Rory's arms. "Let's talk names." Lorelai suggested.
Luke nodded. "Do we want to keep the Lorelai tradition going?" At the same time, Rory and Lorelai both said yes.
"But maybe just as a middle name." Lorelai said. "Rory is my only Lorelai." Rory smiled at this comment.
"What about a first name, though. How about something traditional like Emily, or Jennifer?"
"Are you crazy, suggesting Emily? I don't like Jennifer." Lorelai said.
"She looks like a Kristen." Rory said.
"Kristen. I like it. Lorelai?"
"I like it, but I like Kirsten better." Lorelai said.
"Me too." Luke said.
"So, Kirsten Lorelai Danes?" Luke nodded, as well as Rory. "Good."
Luke tickled Kirsten's tummy. "Hi, Kirsten." He said.
Lorelai beamed. Rory smiled. Luke was just overly happy.
A/N: So, there it was. The long awaited chapter. I have to say, it took me the longest. I've been sitting at my computer all day writing it. I hope everyone likes it. The next chapter will be the last, set probably around a month or two after this one. Review!
