It's Always There

by CoffeeDrinker

This is a 2nd sequel to "It's Right There" that picks up a few weeks after the ending of "It's Still There." Lorelai and Luke navigate the ups and downs of domestic life as they raise their fresh kid. :)

4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

. . . . .

. . . . .

The following Friday, Lorelai arrived at the Gilmore house for dinner by herself, and when Emily answered the door, she narrowed her eyes. "Why are you alone?"

"Sorry, I meant to call and tell you it would just be me," Lorelai said as she walked into the house. "Josh isn't feeling well and he's been super cranky today, so Luke stayed home with him tonight."

"Oh, that's quite a shame," Emily said sympathetically, but then she wagged her finger at Lorelai. "It's from that daycare. This is the second time he's been sick since he started going there."

"Thanks for keeping a tally, Mom," Lorelai said as she took off her coat.

"He wasn't getting sick when he was being watched at home," Emily pointed out. "That was working out just fine, I don't know why you had to go and change things."

"That was a short term solution with temporary volunteers because the daycare didn't have an opening yet," Lorelai said as she hung her coat on the coat rack. "Having someone watch him at home isn't an option anymore."

"Is it because of money? Because your father and I can help out," Emily said. "We'll find a private caretaker for him, someone that can come to your house every day so he won't be exposed to all those germs. I'll ask around, see if anyone in the DAR can recommend someone."

"It's good to expose him to germs, it helps build up his immune system," Lorelai replied. "He's fine in daycare, Mom, but if we do find ourselves looking for a good DAR-approved nanny, I'll let you know."

Emily eyed Lorelai's face for a moment. "You look very tired."

"Well, that's because I am," Lorelai said with a shrug.

"Well, I need you to fake not being tired because your grandmother's here," Emily whispered harshly. "And if you're tired, it's my fault."

"Well, I'll be sure to tell her that it's not your fault and that she can blame the baby that came out of me 6 months ago for sucking up all of my energy," Lorelai told her. "Rory's in there, right? I saw her car outside."

"Yes, she's in with your father and your grandmother. Let's go," Emily said, and as she led her down the hall, she whispered, "Smile."

"Too tired to smile," Lorelai muttered.

"Lorelai's here," Emily announced as they walked into the living room, and everyone looked over at them.

"I am indeed here," Lorelai confirmed with a wave. "Hi."

"Hi, Mom," Rory said.

"Lorelai," Richard greeted her with a nod.

"Hello, Lorelai," Trix greeted her.

"This is a nice surprise, Gran," Lorelai replied as she sat down on the couch next to Rory. "How have you been?"

"Very well, thank you," Trix asked, and she glanced toward the entryway. "Are you here alone? No husband with you this evening? No baby?"

"No, it's just me tonight," Lorelai replied.

Trix looked at Emily. "Didn't you tell her that I was coming? Of course she would've brought the rest of the family had she known I would be here considering I haven't seen my great-grandson in several weeks."

"He's not feeling well, Gran, so he couldn't make it," Lorelai explained.

"Oh, what a shame," Richard said as he walked to the drink cart. "Would you like a drink?"

"White wine, please," Lorelai replied.

"How did he get sick?" Trix asked. "He must not have enough of the Gilmore side in him because Gilmores never get sick."

"He just picked up a little cold at daycare," Lorelai explained. "It's no big deal."

"Daycare? Your child was not in daycare the last time I saw him," Trix recalled. "This is new?"

"Yes, he just started a few weeks ago," Lorelai replied, and as Richard handed Lorelai her drink, she added, "Thanks, Dad."

"Why is your child suddenly in daycare?" Trix asked.

"Well, because Luke and I both like working, and we heard it's illegal to leave the baby home alone, so... this was our option."

"I see," Trix said. "Private care at home is much better for the child, Lorelai."

"That's exactly what I said," Emily piped up, and received a stern look from Lorelai for ganging up on her with Gran. "He's gotten sick twice since he started there and I've told her he should be cared for at home."

"Well, clearly you did not say it loud enough because it didn't stick, did it?" Trix retorted to Emily. "You should've put an end to this immediately."

Emily glanced around the room for a moment as she decided her best course of action. Finally, with a forced smile, she said, "Excuse me, I'm going to go check on dinner," and she quickly headed out of the room.

"And I also see that Emily did not teach you that when a child is sick, a mother should stay by its side until it is well," Trix said. "You should never leave a sick child, especially not a sick baby."

"He's fine, Gran," Lorelai said. "He's at home with his very capable father tonight."

"A baby naturally feels more nurtured by its mother, Lorelai," Trix said. "A father simply cannot provide the same care and affection."

"Well, I'd rather not get into a lengthy debate about how children without mothers are still able to receive the care and affection they need from their fathers and/or other caregivers," Lorelai calmly said. "So, I'll just say that the baby got plenty of motherly nurturing today, and his father can hold down the nurturing fort for a few hours."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to hope this won't delay his recovery process," Trix said.

Rory cleared her throat. "So, um, Mom, I was just telling Gran about our trip."

"Oh, would you look at that, Rory knows how to politely change the subject without skipping a beat," Trix remarked. "Very good, young lady, you've been taught well."

"Yes, we're heading to Europe in the Spring, just Rory and I," Lorelai said. "We're really excited about it."

"We've been talking about visiting Europe for as long as I can remember," Rory said.

"Travel is very important for a young girl," Richard said. "Or anyone, for that matter."

"That it is," Trix agreed, and then said to Lorelai, "And I suppose while you two are in Europe, the baby will be..."

"Home with Luke," Lorelai supplied. "Who I've previously mentioned is a quite capable father, so the baby will be completely fine."

"Well, I suppose we'll find out, won't we?" Trix pointedly replied.

"We will," Lorelai agreed. "But maybe not for a few years until after the devastating, irreversible long term effects of a father lovingly caring for his own child kick in."

Trix ignored her comment, and then shifted both her tone and the subject. "And you're still working at that same inn?"

"Yup, the Independence Inn," Lorelai replied.

"I recall you saying that you wanted to branch out and start your own inn someday," Trix said. "Is that still the goal to which you are working towards?"

"Yes, with my friend Sookie," Lorelai confirmed. "We're not quite ready to undertake that project yet since both of us just had babies, but hopefully within the next few years."

"They even have a site in mind already," Rory added. "There's this old abandoned inn in town called the Dragonfly that they're hopefully gonna put new life into one day. They've got a plan."

"Well, good. Don't lose sight of it if it's still your dream. If you're going to continue working while raising a family, make sure you're doing something that you love," Trix said. "Otherwise, you will carry the negativity of work home to your family, and that's not good for anyone."

"Good advice," Lorelai said sincerely. "Thanks, Gran."

Trix looked over at Richard. "Dear, might you escort me to the powder room so I can freshen up before we eat?"

"Sure, Trix," Richard said, jumping up to help her.

"Excuse me, ladies," Trix said to the girls, and Richard walked her out of the living room.

When they were alone, Rory gave Lorelai a sympathetic frown. "Geez, since when did you replace Grandma as the family piñata?"

"Since that time I left my sick child alone with his father, apparently," Lorelai said as she slumped back against the couch. "That was not what I was expecting tonight, nor was I caffeinated enough to deal with it."

"Sorry," Rory said, and then she patted her knee. "But you handled it relatively maturely."

"Relatively?"

"Well, there were a few comments I would've left out."

"I did my best," Lorelai replied, and then she sat back up straight on the couch and patted Rory's knee. "But forget all that... how are you? What's going on?"

"I'm good," Rory replied. "School's good... I like my new classes, but they definitely seem like they'll be a lot of work. I think Paris is dating a professor. I was thinking about getting an on-campus job to get a little income flowing in, but I don't know how well that'll balance out with the heavy class workload."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... go back," Lorelai said, her eyes wide with surprise. "A professor?"

Rory nodded, and then lowered her voice. "We can't talk about it here, Grandpa knows him, but I'll tell you later. Remind me to tell you about Lane, too."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's just changing up her life a little," Rory replied. "We'll talk out front in the car before I head back to Yale."

Lorelai gave her an intrigued look. "Okay. I want all the details."

"You got it," Rory replied. "Is Josh okay?"

"Yeah, just another cold, it's been making him really cranky," Lorelai said with a sigh. "He wouldn't let me put him in the crib last night, he would only sleep if I was holding him, so I just slept in the rocking chair with him cuddled up on my chest all night."

Rory frowned. "Did you actually get any sleep yourself?"

"Not really. And I stayed home with him today and he was very clingy and it was just..." She sighed again and shook her head. "Well, let's just say, Mommy has had more enjoyable parenting days than today."

"I'm sorry," Rory said sympathetically. "Hopefully he'll feel better soon."

Emily returned to the room and both girls looked up at her.

"Well, well, well, look who's back," Lorelai said. "Gee, that was a long time checking on dinner, Mom."

"Were you hiding, Grandma?" Rory teasingly asked her.

"No, I was not hiding," Emily replied firmly.

"Yes, you were hiding out in the kitchen so Gran could focus her attacks on me instead," Lorelai said. "You left your daughter in a cage with a wolf. Don't you know you're supposed to protect your young and not sacrifice them? How am I ever going to forgive my own mother for doing something like that?"

"I'll send you home with the leftover chocolate mousse cake we're having for dessert," Emily offered.

"You're forgiven," Lorelai confirmed.

"Dinner's ready, let's go sit at the table," Emily said, and then waved the girls toward the dining room, quietly adding, "The faster we eat, the faster she'll go home."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Later that night, as Lorelai was walking across the yard to the front door, she could hear Josh crying from inside, and she hurried into the house. "Luke?" she called. "I'm home!"

"I'm making his bottle," Luke called from the kitchen. "Can you get him from the swing?"

Lorelai placed her purse and the container of leftover cake on the desk, and quickly scooped Josh out of the swing. "Shh, shh, shh," she whispered as she cradled him against her chest. "It's okay, you're okay... you're fine, honey." She kissed his head and bounced him a little until he started to calm down. "There you go, you're okay."

Luke walked into the room with the bottle. "Here you go," he said, holding it out to her.

Lorelai sat down in the armchair and placed the bottle to Josh's lips. When he contently started sucking on it, she looked up at Luke with a smile. "Hi, there."

Luke smiled. "Hi." He leaned down to kiss her, and then sat on the ottoman in front of her chair.

"Was he like this all night?" Lorelai asked.

Luke shook his head. "No, he wasn't too bad. He just wanted to be held, which is why he screamed when I had to put him down to make the bottle."

"He's eating late," Lorelai commented, and then looked down at Josh. "Is your schedule all out of whack because you're sick? I think so. I think we need to get you back into whack." She looked over at Luke with a frown. "Poor boy."

"Yeah, he's having a rough day," Luke said, then he rubbed her knee as he asked, "What about you? How was dinner?"

Lorelai leaned her head against the back of the chair. "Ugh. Well, my grandmother was there."

Luke winced a little. "Uh oh. Was she tough on Emily?"

"Oh, not just Emily," Lorelai replied, shaking her head. "Today I discovered that I, too, am not immune from her wrath."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first of all, she pretty much told me I'm a bad mother for leaving my baby when he's sick."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "Did she know he was at home with his father and that you didn't leave him with some strangers off the street?"

"Yes, I told her that," Lorelai replied. "But that just led to the second of all, which is that fathers cannot provide the nurturing that sick children need as well as their mothers can."

"Oh, my God."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, tell me about it. Oh, and both she and my mother think we're evil for sending him to daycare... which might be the only thing my mother and Gran have ever agreed on."

Luke's eyes widened. "Geez. What happened? She's usually nice to you."

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe she just wanted to mix it up a little and try to help push me toward therapy in case my mother wasn't succeeding on her own."

"Sorry you had to deal with that," Luke said as he affectionately squeezed her knee.

"It's okay. It's just good to be home." Lorelai glanced down at the baby, and then back at Luke. "So, I have a question for you, and I want you to be honest... really honest."

"Okay."

"Are you concerned at all about me going to Europe and you having him by yourself for ten days?" Lorelai asked.

Luke shook his head without hesitation. "No, I'm not. If I was, I wouldn't have planned for you to take a trip to Europe in the first place," he pointed out.

Lorelai nodded. "Okay, I just wanted to make sure."

Luke eyed her for a second, and then asked, "Are you concerned about me having him by myself for ten days?"

"Not at all," Lorelai replied, shaking her head.

"You sure?

"Yes. I just wanted us to have a discussion about it because we haven't yet, and it's only like six weeks away."

Luke cocked his head to the side. "You can tell me if you have concerns, I'm not gonna get offended or anything. We should talk about 'em before you go because you're not gonna have a good time if you're worried about him."

"I don't have concerns," she told him. "One, because you're an amazing father and you've been completely hands-on with him since day one and you are a hundred percent capable of handling him on your own. And two, I know you're gonna have the entire town watching out for you every second I'm gone, so if you did need any help for any reason whatsoever, it's gonna be readily available."

Luke smiled. "True."

The baby finished eating, and Lorelai shifted him to her shoulder to burp him. "Oh, Rory gave me a few bits of friend gossip tonight... both Paris and Lane have some interesting things going on."

"Like what?"

"Well, Paris is apparently dating a much old professor," Lorelai said, and then her eyes widened as she added, "Like, my dad's age."

Luke's eyes widened. "Wow, that's quite an age difference."

"Yup."

Luke groaned. "Ugh, and another thing to worry about with Rory. In addition to college guys, she might also have professors preying on her, too?"

Lorelai frowned at him. "Tsk, come on, I don't wanna add that to my stress list."

"Sorry. What's up with Lane?"

Lorelai's face softened. "Aw, that one's a little sadder... she decided she doesn't want to go to that Adventist college that her mom was making her go to... she wants to focus on her band and work toward a career in music."

"That's not so sad," Luke replied with a shrug. "She's following her dream... she's gotta do what makes her happy."

"Yeah, but Mrs. Kim doesn't feel the same way," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "She told Lane she has to move out if she drops out of school."

Luke's eyes widened. "Whoa."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah... see? Sad."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's rough. Lane's a good kid."

"I know. Rory said she's trying to rent an apartment with some of her bandmates. Plus, she's gotta find a job. Poor girl has a lot hitting her all at once."

Luke was quiet for a few seconds as he pondered something, and then asked, "You think she'd wanna try waitressing?"

Lorelai looked surprised. "Really? Since when are you looking for someone?"

"Remember, Nancy told me she's leaving at the end of the month?"

"Oh, right, she's moving to New York with her boyfriend," Lorelai recalled.

"You think Lane would want the gig?"

"Yeah, I think she would love to work for someone she knows, where she'll know the customers," Lorelai said. "Might make things a little less overwhelming for her. And you know she'll be a good worker, she's a responsible girl."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Tell Rory to have her come talk to me."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay. I will, thanks." She had been rubbing the baby's back as they talked, and she stopped when she realized he'd fallen asleep. Lorelai kissed the top of his head and whispered, "Are you gonna actually let me put you in the crib tonight?"

"If he doesn't, he can sleep on me this time," Luke told her. "You aren't gonna go sleepless two nights in a row."

Lorelai smiled appreciatively. "Thank you." She lifted her feet onto the ottoman and said, "Can you take these off for me?"

Luke unzipped her knee-high boots and removed them for her, placing them on the floor next to the chair. He placed her feet on his lap and began rubbing them, and she sighed contently.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the chair. "That feels good."

Luke continued quietly for a few moments before he said, "Okay, I believe you that you don't have any concerns about me watching him when you're gone..."

Lorelai's eyes opened and she confusedly asked, "How did we get back to this topic?"

"... but I just got an idea to help keep you from possibly becoming concerned in the future," Luke finished.

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "Ooh, intrigue. Lay it on me."

"Before you leave, make a list of things about Josh that you think someone watching him would need to know," Luke suggested. "Big things, little things, things you know I already know but are still important. That way, when you're not here, you know that there's a list I can check if I'm not sure about something."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side. "Hon, that's silly. I don't think you need a list. I already said I know you're a hundred percent capable."

"I know, but trust me, you'll feel better if you know it's here," Luke said. "I want you to be focused on traveling and enjoying the sights, and not worrying about something stupid that pops into your head, like if I know how to check the temperature of his bath water with that little plastic duck-shaped thermometer."

Lorelai smirked. "Luke..."

"And yes, I do know that, but you should still put it on the list," Luke added. "Because wouldn't it be good to have a list like that around just in case someone else needs to watch him for us? We'd have it ready to go."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, if you want there to be a list, we can make a list. The key word being we... you have to add things to it, too. It should be something we do together."

Luke smiled. "Deal."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The following weekend, after working a few hours at the inn running a Sunday brunch party, Lorelai stopped at Doose's on her way home. As she was walking through the aisles throwing essentials into her basket, she came across a Valentine's Day display and abruptly stopped short.

She was staring in disbelief at the greeting cards and chocolates and cheap wine, trying to figure out how far away Valentine's Day actually was.

Miss Patty saw her standing in front of the display and walked over to her. "You okay, honey? You look confused."

"When is Valentine's Day?" Lorelai asked. "I mean, I know it's the 14th, but when is that? I have no idea what day it is."

"Today's the first, dear," Miss Patty told her.

Lorelai gasped. "It is? That means tomorrow's Groundhog's Day. I almost missed it! I like to watch the movie Groundhog's Day on Groundhog's Day, it's a tradition."

"Well, don't worry, you didn't miss it." Miss Patty gestured to the display. "So, I guess you two haven't made any plans for Valentine's Day weekend?"

Lorelai shook her head. "I haven't, no, and I'd venture a guess that Luke doesn't realize Valentine's Day is coming up either." She thought for a moment. "I should do something for him."

Miss Patty smirked. "Or to him."

"I should plan a surprise for him," Lorelai said. "Like a night out." She put her hand on her forehead. "God, we haven't had a night out since... I don't even know when. He deserves a night out."

"You both do," Miss Patty said.

Lorelai nibbled on her bottom lip. "I'm getting an idea, but I'm gonna need babysitters. You think people might be available next weekend?"

"Those of us not currently in relationships will be," Miss Patty muttered.

Lorelai frowned. "Sorry, Patty. I'm sure a new lothario will be knocking on your door very soon."

"I hope so. As far as next weekend, I'm in as long as you let me live vicariously through the romantic escapades of you and that sexy husband of yours."

Lorelai patted her on the shoulder. "Knock yourself out. I gotta get home, but I'll be in touch, okay?"

"Okay," Miss Patty said. "Bye, honey."

Lorelai grabbed a few more items and walked over to the register to check out. As she was putting her bags into the Jeep out front, her cell phone rang, and she pulled it from her coat pocket. "Hello?"

"Lorelai, hello," Richard's voice replied. "Do you have a minute?"

"Sure, Dad, give me one second," Lorelai replied. She closed the trunk of the Jeep and got into the driver's seat. "Okay, what's up?"

"Well, I don't typically like to conduct these types of conversations over the phone, but I'm going to be traveling this week, so I won't be able to see you in person."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's fine," Richard replied. "But I had lunch with Trix yesterday, and we had a discussion that concerned you."

"Oh, great. Is she still mad at me for coming to dinner last week instead of staying home with the sick baby?"

"Well, she didn't mention as such, but she did reveal that she had spent a great deal of time thinking about how her great-grandchild was continually getting sick in daycare," Richard replied. "She isn't too fond of the situation, to say the least. She is pretty adamant that he should have more private care at such a young age."

"Well, sorry, Dad, there's nothing we can do about that. We both want to work and that's our best option right now."

"Yes, well, she wants to help expand your options," Richard said. "Joshua already has a trust fund that he will receive when he turns 25, but she is creating a second smaller one for him that can be used now. That way you and Luke can have the chance to find more personalized care for him until he's of school age."

"Mom already tried to fund that for us, Dad," Lorelai told him. "I rejected her offer, and I'll reject Gran's, too. He's perfectly fine in daycare, it's not a big deal. We don't need the money."

"Well, I wasn't aware Emily had offered, but I'm afraid your grandmother won't take no quite as easily as your mother did," Richard told her. "She's already called her financial advisor to have him start transferring the funds."

"But we don't need the money, Dad... we don't want it."

"Well, she's providing it either way. Whether or not you use it is up to you, I suppose." There was a brief pause before he added, "And Lorelai, it would probably be best if you didn't mention this to your mother."

Lorelai sighed. "So, I'm being forced to take money I don't want, and I also have to keep it a secret. Anything else you want to throw on top of that, Dad?"

"No, I think that's about it. I'll contact you with the account information once Trix gives it to me. Goodbye, Lorelai."

"Bye, Dad," Lorelai said, and she hung up the phone.

She drove home and found Luke in the kitchen feeding the baby in his high chair. "There are my handsome men," she said as she set her shopping bags on the table.

"Hey," Luke greeted her. "How was work?"

"It was good, the party was really nice," Lorelai replied. She walked over to the high chair and leaned down to greet the baby. "Hi, there, little boy," she said softly, and when the baby smiled at her, Lorelai's smile widened. "You're happy today. I love happy Josh." She kissed the baby on his forehead, then turned to Luke. "I love happy Luke, too," she said before leaning in to kiss him. "Luke's happy today, right?"

"Yeah, but he'll be happier if you have some diapers in those bags," he replied. "We're down to the last three."

"Yup, got the diapers," she confirmed, and she sat down in the chair across from him. "Also got an interesting call a few minutes ago."

"From who?" Luke replied as he fed Josh his last spoonful of cereal.

"From my dad," Lorelai replied. "You ready?"

"Hit me."

Lorelai filled him in on the phone call as Luke wiped Josh's face and hands, and Lorelai started wiping down the tray of the high chair.

Luke quietly listened as she explained what was going on, and when she was done, he said, "I think it's something we should consider."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes, surprised. "What?"

"Taking him out of daycare," Luke replied. "I think we should consider it."

"Really?" Lorelai asked as she lifted Josh from the high chair. "I thought you liked the daycare." She started walking to the living room to change him, and Luke followed behind her.

"It's fine, but I like the idea of him being at home," Luke said. "And it's not even because of the sickness stuff... we expected that. Kids touch stuff, they put their hands in their mouth, they get sick. That'll happen anywhere, we can't totally prevent that."

"Right, unless we go full-on Bubble Boy."

"When Maisie and Mrs. Cassini were watching him here at the house, I just felt... I don't know... more relaxed about being away from him during the day. I knew exactly where he was, who he was coming in contact with, what his surroundings were."

"Yeah, I liked that part of it, too," Lorelai agreed. "But the whole reason he went to daycare was because we didn't have someone to watch him full time. We had to either quit working or send him somewhere."

"Yeah, but we didn't even consider looking for private care outside of people we know," Luke pointed out. "But maybe it's something we should talk about." Lorelai didn't say anything as she focused on changing the baby's diaper for a minute, and finally Luke asked, "So, what do you think?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I think there are pros and cons to both sides. Yeah, it would be nice to have him here in an environment that we have more control over, but being with other kids at an early age is good for him... it'll teach him sharing and help develop his social skills."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Right, true."

Lorelai finished changing Josh and handed him to Luke. "I have to get changed," she said, nodding toward the stairs. "Come up with me."

Luke grabbed a rattle from the coffee table and followed Lorelai up to the bedroom. As Lorelai started taking off her work clothes, Luke sat down on the bed with Josh and held the rattle out for him, watching as he wrapped his little fingers around it.

Luke glanced over at Lorelai. "Any other pros or cons to talk about?"

Lorelai finished pulling on a pair of pants and folded her arms across her chest. "Umm, let me think," she pondered out loud. "Not taking him to daycare means less car rides, and he loves car rides, so that would definitely be a con for him. Plus, less people would see him in his cute little outfits if he was home all day. I hate it when I'm dressed all cute and no one sees it."

Luke smiled amusedly, and then cocked his head to the side. "Lorelai."

"Yeah?"

"You don't want to use the money, do you?" Luke asked. "Is that basically the bottom line here?"

Lorelai gently nodded her head. "Pretty much."

"But we don't even know if private care would be more or less than the daycare center," Luke said. "I mean, sure, the word private in it makes it sound expensive, but maybe there are reasonably priced babysitters out there. Maybe we wouldn't even have to dip into your grandmother's money at all."

Lorelai shrugged with uncertainty. "Maybe." She sighed softly. "I hate that she's doing this. It feels like a handout, like she thinks we're not doing a good enough job raising our kid so she needed to step in and help us."

"That's one way to look at it," Luke said. "Or you can just look at it as a bonus gift. She knows we're fine without it, that we don't need it, but she's giving us the ability to change things if we want to. She's just being nice."

"That's not exactly a common theme in the Gilmore family," she reminded him. "She's doing it so we can raise our kid the way she thinks he should be raised, not out of niceness."

"Yeah, but since we both want him to be watched at home anyway, what she wants matches with what we want," Luke pointed out. "She's not trying to get us to do something we don't want to do."

"Yeah, but it still feels manipulative."

Luke closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them. "Let me ask you... if we look into private care and we find a really good candidate and we have enough money to handle it on our own, would you wanna do it? Would you want to have him watched at home?"

"Yes."

"And let's say we look into it and it turns out we would have to use some of your grandmother's money each month to cover it," Luke said. "Would you be against the idea?"

Lorelai glanced down at the ground as she thought it over, and then lifted her head as she admitted, "Probably."

"Okay, so, here's what we'll do," he calmly replied. "We'll look into, see if we can cover it, and if not... we won't do it."

Lorelai eyed him for a moment. "Really? You'd be okay with leaving things as they are?"

"Yeah. Because I know you hate that your parents are involved with Yale and you'd hate it just as much if your grandmother was involved with Josh, and I don't want you to be uncomfortable." He leaned down close to Josh's ear and whispered loudly enough for her to hear, "Because we'd never hear the end of it, would we, buddy?"

Lorelai smiled. "And you seriously won't be mad if we don't do it?"

"Nope. We'll check it out and see how it adds up, and we'll decide from there."

Lorelai nodded in agreement, feeling relieved. "Okay... that works. Thank you."

As Luke shifted Josh on his lap and started talking to him, Lorelai turned to face the closet and looked for a shirt to wear.

As she listened to Luke playing with Josh behind her, she noticed her relief starting to morph into some sort of anticipated guilt. She knew if they ended up staying with daycare just because she didn't want to use the money, Luke would pretend that he wasn't disappointed. He would go along with it without complaining, even if it was the opposite of what he wanted, and she was already feeling bad about that.

She selected a t-shirt from the closet and pulled it on, then turned around to face him. She watched him for a few moments as he tickled Josh's belly to make him giggle, and then she finally said, "I guess... maybe... it wouldn't hurt to try it out either way."

Luke looked up at her. "What?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. "We should try it out either way. Even if we do have to use a little of Gran's money... we should try it out just to see if we like it better."

Luke's eyes widened with surprise, and then just as quickly narrowed at her. "You sure?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yes. And if we aren't happy, we'll go back to daycare. We'll probably end up on the waiting list again, but at least then we can say we tried other options and decided which we liked the best."

Luke nodded in agreement. "That sounds good, if you're sure you're okay with it."

Lorelai nodded. "I'm okay with it." She walked over and sat with him on the bed. "I wouldn't even know where to start, though. How do you find someone to come over and watch your kid?"

"I have no idea."

"It's probably usually word of mouth," Lorelai replied. "Like someone knows someone who nannies kids or used to be a teacher or something like that."

"Right."

Lorelai thought for a moment. "Didn't Kirk give you his babysitter application back when he found out we were pregnant?"

Luke shook his head. "Don't even think about it."

"Why not? He's responsible... sort of... sometimes."

Luke scoffed. "You cannot be serious right now."

Lorelai groaned. "I know, I'm just desperate for ideas." She exhaled a sigh. "I would love for it to be Maisie, she was so good with him. But I know that's not an option."

In the fall, when they were looking for people to watch Josh a few days a week, Maisie had volunteered to help out temporarily for a few months, but said she wouldn't be able to do it long term because Buddy needed her at the restaurant.

"Okay, well, we don't have to decide right now," Luke said. "We can ask around, see if anyone in town has some suggestions."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Yeah, good idea."

Luke stood up from the bed and passed Josh to her. "I'm gonna go work on weeding the junk out of the hall closet so I don't fear for my life every time I open it."

"It's not junk, it's all important stuff," she insisted.

He rolled his eyes. "There's an entire box of Cheers VHS tapes and memorabilia."

"Important classic stuff!"

"Yeah, well, I think we can move some stuff to the garage," Luke said. "I'm gonna build some more shelves out there soon." He gestured toward the door. "You guys coming down?"

"If we do, are you gonna make me help clean the closet?"

"Probably."

"Then we're gonna play in his room for a little while," Lorelai replied, smiling.

"Yeah, I figured." He leaned in to kiss her. "Have fun."

"You, too."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few days later, Lorelai walked into the kitchen of the Independence Inn. "Sookie, I need you."

"What's the matter?" Sookie asked as she continued chopping vegetables at the counter.

"I'm down to the last task on my to-do list for my Valentine's Day surprise," Lorelai said. "Can you call my mother and tell her we need to skip Friday night dinner next week?"

Sookie laughed. "Yeah, right, you couldn't pay me enough." She paused, thought it over, and then said, "No, wait, you could. Make me an offer."

Lorelai smirked and walked over to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"Shouldn't that have been your first task?" Sookie asked. "You know, get the night off before you start planning things?"

Lorelai walked back over to Sookie with her coffee. "Probably, yes, but when the first task is the scariest, you tend to keep pushing it down the line, and it accidentally ended up allll the way down the line. So now I have to suck it up and hope for the best and, if necessary, whip out some tears to really go in for the kill."

"And you haven't mentioned anything about it to Luke yet?" Sookie asked. "He has no idea you're planning something?"

"Not yet. I think I'm gonna tell him this weekend at the festival," Lorelai replied. "You know, like a nice little surprise by the bonfire."

Sookie smiled. "That's a good idea, romantic." She picked up her cutting board and walked over to the stove to dump the vegetables into a pot. As she walked back to Lorelai at the counter, she said, "You're kind of making me feel like a bad wife. You've got this great evening planned out, and Jackson's gonna be lucky if I even have enough energy to cook him a Valentine's Day dinner this year. I've been so exhausted at night, we've been ordering out a lot."

"Well, maybe he can cook dinner for you instead," Lorelai suggested. "Under your supervision of course. Want me to secretly and very subtly plant that seed next time I see him?"

Sookie eagerly nodded. "That would be nice."

"Consider it done."

"Thank you," Sookie replied. "You guys make any progress on the daycare versus not-daycare situation?"

"No," Lorelai said. "And the more we've been talking about it, the more we both realized we'd really rather it be someone we know and trust. They're not only gonna be taking care of our kid, but they're also gonna be in our house all the time, so it's like, do I want Stranger McStrangerson all over my house going through my things while my baby's sleeping?"

"Right, it makes sense to want a familiar face," Sookie agreed.

"But that obviously makes it even harder because it takes the candidate pool way down." Lorelai took a long sip of her coffee. "We're kind of just waiting for some miraculous answer to fall into our laps."

Sookie smiled. "Solid plan."

"I thought so." Lorelai took a deep breath. "Okay. I have to go call my mom and see if she will take pity on me and enable me to go on a date with my husband for the first time in months. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Sookie said. "Let me know how it goes."

"If you hear screaming or cursing or a loud noise that sounds like it could've been me throwing a chair across the lobby, you'll know how it went."

"Got it."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few days later, on Saturday evening, the annual Firelight Festival was taking place in the town square, and Rory came home for the weekend so she could attend with them. They spent some time mingling, trying out the different food booths, and staying warm by the bonfire, and mid-festival, Lorelai went home with Josh to feed and change him.

Luke and Rory stayed at the festival to keep an eye out for Liz. She was in town for her high school reunion, and was planning to meet them at the festival to introduce them to her boyfriend.

When Lorelai returned with the baby, she found Luke and Rory talking with Liz near the churro booth. "We're back," Lorelai announced as she approached them.

"Lorelai, hey!" Liz exclaimed, and she greeted her with a big hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"You, too," Lorelai said. "I was afraid I was gonna miss running into you."

"Perfect timing, we just got here," Liz said as she pulled back from the hug. She gestured to Rory and said, "I just met your girl - she's so sweet!"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "That she is."

Liz leaned down to look at Josh in his stroller. "Hi, there, remember me? I'm your Aunt Liz. How's the little cutie doing?"

"He's doing good," Lorelai said. "He's up past his bedtime, so he's probably gonna conk out soon."

Liz stood back up. "I want you to meet TJ. He just went to get us some apple cider."

"Can't wait to meet him," Lorelai said.

"I was just gonna get in line for churros, Mom," Rory said. "You want some?"

"Definitely," Lorelai replied. "Get a large order."

As Rory walked away to get in line, Lorelai said to Liz, "So, did you have a chance to see Jess yet?"

Liz smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we had lunch with him today. He's doing real good." She looked over at Luke. "Thanks to this guy."

Luke shook his head. "You don't have to thank me every time it comes up, Liz."

"Okay, sorry, I just wanna make sure you know how much I appreciate it."

"I know you do." Luke glanced toward the apple cider booth across the square. "You know, you might wanna go check on TJ. I don't see him over there... he may have gotten lost."

"He's probably staring at the bonfire, he falls into this weird trippy daze when he's around fire," Liz said. "I'll be right back."

As Liz walked off, Luke stepped closer to Lorelai and gestured to a bench near the gazebo. "Let's sit." He pushed the stroller over and parked it beside the bench, and they both sat down. "I wanna talk to you about something."

"Oh, good, because I wanna talk to you about something, too," Lorelai countered.

"You go first," he said.

"Okay, well, you may or may not be aware of the fact that... Valentine's Day is next week," Lorelai said, pausing a moment to see his reaction.

Luke grimaced slightly. "It is?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, I had that same reaction when I found out last weekend." She rubbed her hands together excitedly. "But I have concocted a surprise plan that involves..." Lorelai took a deep breath before finishing with, "... you and me going away overnight."

Luke's eyes widened with surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. We haven't even been out on a date without the baby since he was born," Lorelai pointed out. "He's 6 months old!"

"I know, but who's gonna watch him overnight?"

"Well, I have started compiling a group of people to help out," Lorelai said. "Like a babysitting team."

"Hello, Lucas," a breathy voice called from behind them, and they both turned around.

"Oh, geez," Luke muttered under his breath as he saw Crazy Carrie walking toward them with two of Liz's other friends. "Hey, Carrie," he politely greeted her as he stood up from the bench.

"We're looking for Liz, have you seen her?" Carrie asked.

"She went to find TJ," Luke replied, and then he gestured to Lorelai. "Uh, you remember Lorelai."

"Hi," Lorelai said. What Lorelai remembered the most about Carrie was her unwavering commitment to flirting with Luke every single time they ran into her.

"Yeah, the wife, I know," Carrie replied, avoiding eye contact with Lorelai as she ran her hand down Luke's arm. "Did you tell her about that time we made out in high school?"

"We did not make out," Luke insisted, pulling his arm away.

"We sure did, under the bleachers," Carrie said. "It was hot, and you were very handsy."

Luke groaned. "Not true."

"Thank you for letting me know," Lorelai said to Carrie, and then cocked her head toward Luke. "Honey, considering the impact this information could have on our marriage, I think we should have a very intense talk right now about that thing that may or may not have happened two decades ago, shouldn't we?" she asked him with faux-seriousness.

"Yes, we should," Luke agreed, playing along, and then looked back at Carrie. "Can you excuse us?"

"Sure thing, stud," Carrie said, patting him on the shoulder. "Let me know if you need a place to stay tonight."

As the women walked away, Lorelai shook her head amusedly. "She's something else."

"We did not make out," Luke told her as he sat back down. "I just need to reiterate that."

"I know." Lorelai looked into the stroller to check on Josh, who had fallen asleep. "He's officially out."

Rory walked over to them with a plate of churros. "I come bearing gifts."

"Ooh, yum," Lorelai said, taking one from the plate. "Thanks, hon."

Luke stood up so that Rory could sit down next to Lorelai, and he noticed Liz and TJ walking toward them.

"Here he is," Liz announced, and she linked her arm through TJ's. "Lorelai, I want you to meet my guy... this is my TJ."

Lorelai stood up, and after brushing crumbs from her hands, extended one toward him. "Hi, TJ, nice to meet you."

TJ's eyes widened as he shook her hand and he stared intently at Lorelai's face. "Wow. You are definitely Rory's mother."

"Oh, um, wow," Lorelai confusedly replied. "Yes, I am. Wasn't expecting that greeting."

"Sorry. I just meant, you know, you guys look really alike," TJ explained. "I met her earlier."

"Right. How are you liking Stars Hollow?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, it's great. Everyone's so nice here." TJ held up the cup in his hand. "And the punch is amazing."

"I thought you went for apple cider," Luke said.

"Miss Patty lured him over to the punch table," Liz said.

"She can be very persuasive," Lorelai said with a nod.

"She bought a couple pairs of Lizzie's earrings today," TJ said. "Have you seen her jewelry? She makes beautiful stuff."

Liz gasped. "Oh, shoot! I made you a pair, Lorelai. I left it at Carrie's house. I'll drop it off before we leave tomorrow."

"Oh, that's nice," Lorelai said, smiling appreciatively. "Thanks, Liz."

"We're hitting the road really early, so I'll just leave it in the mailbox." Liz pointed at Luke. "Don't forget to check the mailbox tomorrow, okay, bro?"

"I will," Luke assured her. "Carrie was just looking for you... did you see her?"

"Yeah, she just wanted to tell us that she and the girls were going over to KC's," Liz said. "We're gonna head over there in a little bit."

"Did you tell these guys about the booth I made?" TJ asked Liz.

"Oh, my God - TJ made me this amazing booth for my jewelry," Liz told them. "And he carved this really great big sign on top so you can see it from far away. It's beautiful. I'll send you a picture."

"Having an eye-catching booth is very important at a renaissance fair," TJ told them. "If you don't have a good booth, nobody's gonna come see your merchandise."

"That's what I've heard," Lorelai said, nodding in agreement.

"Yup, me, too," Rory said.

They chatted for a few more minutes before Liz and TJ said their goodbyes. When they had walked away, Lorelai said, "He seems nice... friendly."

"Yeah, I guess he's not too bad," Luke admitted.

"They seem happy," Rory said, and Lorelai nodded in agreement as she bit into another churro.

Lane walked over to them. "Hey guys, hey boss."

"You don't have to call me boss," Luke said.

"How's the waitressing life?" Rory asked, offering her a churro.

Lane took one from the plate. "It's good. Only a few days in, and I've already got a good handle on who leaves the best tips."

"You're doing great," Luke said. "Those tips are well deserved."

"How's the new apartment?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, we're still getting settled in, and we are currently living on crackers and spray cheese, but it's a start," Lane said.

"Good, good," Lorelai said, and she patted Lane's arm. "I know it might seem scary being on your own, but we're here if you need us, okay?"

"Definitely," Luke agreed. "If you need something, don't be afraid to ask."

"Luke's particularly good at fixing things if your apartment needs any minor repairs," Lorelai added.

Lane gave them an appreciative smile. "Thanks."

Rory and Lane started talking, and Luke and Lorelai exchanged a look. He nodded to the side to indicate he wanted to take a walk with her.

Lorelai glanced into the stroller to confirm that the baby was still sleeping. "Can you guys keep an eye on him for like ten minutes while Luke and I have a chat?" she asked Rory and Lane. "It'll be good practice for next week."

"Sure," Rory replied.

As Lorelai and Luke walked away, Luke confusedly said, "Practice for next week?"

"Yeah, I'll explain in a minute."

They winded their way through the festival crowd as they looked for a quiet area for some privacy. They ended up on a bench in front of the church across the street.

"Okay, back to the Valentine's Day plans," Lorelai said. "I figured we'd hit up that new Italian restaurant in Berlin, and then I reserved us a room at the inn for Friday night. So it's not like we're not gonna be far from home on our overnight jaunt, but hey, a night out is a night out, right?"

"Right."

"And I know Valentine's Day is on Saturday, but the inn was booked that night, so just go with it."

Luke smirked. "Got it." He thought for a moment. "Wait, so, did you get us out of Friday night dinner?"

Lorelai inhaled a sharp breath. "Well, see, I tried really hard, but Emily was being ridiculously stubborn about it, so I suggested that she and my dad join us at the restaurant for dinner."

Luke groaned. "Seriously?"

Lorelai grinned. "No, I just wanted to see your reaction."

Luke exhaled a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God." He shook his head at her. "That was cruel."

"Sorry. Yes, with a very strong tone of desperation, I was able to convince my mom to relinquish Friday night for all of us, Rory included."

"Nice work."

"So, Rory and Lane are gonna sleep at the house overnight with him," Lorelai said. "Lane isn't sure if she has to work on Friday night, but she'll come over after her shift if you need her at the diner. Or you can maybe try to schedule her earlier in the day so she can be there when we leave."

Luke looked hesitant. "Those are two people who know very little about babies. You're okay with that?"

"They know enough to handle it for a few hours, most of which Josh will be sound asleep," Lorelai said. "And they're only going to be there by themselves for the overnight hours. I have the rest of the time all worked out. You ready?"

"Ready."

"Babette and Morey will be there on Friday night until the baby falls asleep," Lorelai explained. "And when he wakes up in the morning, Rory is gonna call Miss Patty to come help them until we get home. And Sookie is going to be on call the whole time, including overnight because Davey still gets up to eat every few hours. So everything's covered, and there are all sorts of extra hands on deck."

Luke gave her an impressed nod. "Wow. You have it all worked out."

"I really want us to do this," she said. "Not only because we deserve a night out, but it'll also give me a chance to get used to being away from him, even if it's just for a night."

"To prepare for your trip," Luke presumed.

"Yeah." Lorelai squeezed his hand. "What do you think?"

"I think it sounds great," Luke replied. "I just feel bad you're the one planning everything. I should've been the one trying to give you a nice night out."

Lorelai shook her head. "You do enough for me, I wanted to do something for you."

Luke smiled and leaned in to kiss her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said. "Now, your turn, what did you wanna talk about?"

Luke took a deep breath. "Okay, well, when you went home with Josh, I ran into Carl, the cook who used to work at Al's years ago before they went to international cuisine," he said. "Remember that guy?"

Lorelai pondered for a moment. "Yeah, I think so... tall, kind of looks like Clint Eastwood if you're squinting?"

"Yeah, that's him. Well, he's been working at a restaurant in Litchfield," Luke explained. "And he's getting older now and was looking to cut down his hours a little, but he just got a new manager who told him if he couldn't commit to a full time schedule, he'd have to let him go for someone who could. So now Carl's keeping his eye out for a part-time job."

"Okay," Lorelai said confusedly, unsure about where he was going with this.

"And he's a real good guy, I've known him a long time," Luke said. "And as I'm talking to him, I started thinking about how we're looking for someone to watch Josh in the mornings, and suddenly this idea popped into my head."

"You want Carl to watch the baby?" Lorelai asked, still confused.

Luke shook his head. "No. I want to hire Carl as a part-time cook at the diner... and I'll stay home with Josh."

Lorelai's eyes slowly widened. "You want to stay home with him?" She blinked a few times. "Like, you'll be a morning stay-at-home dad, and I'll be an afternoon stay-at-home mom?"

"Yup, we'll tag-team him," Luke replied. "I still might have to run in early sometimes for deliveries or stuff like that, but I'll be back for you to go to work. We'll take turns during the day, and at night we'll all be together - it's perfect. That way it's us raising him during the early years... we can be the ones seeing all of his firsts instead of a daycare worker or nanny."

Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. "That's... I'm... I can't..." she stammered. She stood up from the bench and walked a few feet away, processing everything in her head for a minute. She walked back to him and just smiled down at him for a few seconds before finally declaring, "You're amazing."

Luke stood up with her and humbly replied, "Thank you."

"Seriously," Lorelai told him. "The concept of a dad wanting to be involved in his kid's life is completely new to me after what I went through with Rory, and you just never stop surprising me." She kissed him, then pulled back with a smile. "You have surpassed every expectation I could've ever had."

"So, you like the idea?"

"I love the idea," she told him. "If you want to do it, then yes, let's do it."

Luke smiled. "Okay, good. I think it'll be good." He shrugged as he added, "I'm not sure if we'll need to use your grandmother's money yet. I think the money we were paying for daycare might be enough to cover it, but we'll have to see. It could fluctuate week to week if we need Carl for more hours for some reason."

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "Okay."

"How do you think your grandmother will take it?" Luke hesitantly asked. "I mean, considering she doesn't think I can properly nurture my kid."

"I don't know, she might not love the idea," Lorelai admitted, and then she kissed him softly. "But one day she'll realize that you're a pretty extraordinary father."

Luke shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm doing my best."

"You're doing amazing," she corrected him, and grinned as she added, "You're gonna get some extra special treatment on our overnight date."

Luke smirked and leaned in to kiss her, interlocking his hands at the small of her back. As he pulled his lips from hers, he said, "So, let me get this straight..."

"Yes?"

"We're gonna go out and have a nice dinner at an actual restaurant on Friday night," he said.

"Correct."

"And then head over to the inn where I get to spend the rest of the night with you, alone, without being interrupted by crying or having to go feed or change anyone?"

Lorelai smiled. "That's right. Although you will definitely have to feed me, so bring some snacks."

Luke hummed approvingly. "I love that boy to death, but a night of just you sounds pretty damn good."

Lorelai nodded. "I concur." She glanced over toward the festival. "Speaking of the boy, we should get back."

"Okay. But for the record, I'm probably gonna spend the next week thinking about Friday night."

Lorelai grinned. "You and me both."

They shared a kiss, and then Luke took her hand and they started walking back toward the gazebo.

. . . . .

. . . . .

To be continued...