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. :)

7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

. . . . .

. . . . .

That night in the living room, as Josh slept in his carseat beside the couch, the girls told Luke about their trip. They shared stories from their time on the other side of the ocean and showed him pictures on the digital camera.

They were going through the souvenirs they'd brought back when Josh finally woke up. Lorelai retrieved him from the carseat, changed him, and they played with him for a few minutes before he started getting fussy.

They brought him to the kitchen to feed him, and Rory went upstairs to take a bath. As Josh sat in his high chair picking at the array of food on his tray, Luke and Lorelai chatted at the kitchen table.

"So, what else did we miss around here?" Lorelai asked. "Any good town gossip?"

Luke shrugged. "Not really." He reached over and ran his hand over Josh's head. "I think the main gossip of the week was us... the Danes' boys trying to make it on their own."

Lorelai smiled. "And they did."

"We did," Luke confirmed, and then he thought for a moment. "Oh, I learned a couple of interesting things when Jess came over."

Lorelai gave him an intrigued look. "Do tell."

"Well, first of all, he said Jill broke up with him a few months ago."

Lorelai frowned. "Oh, bummer. Is he okay?"

"Seems to be now, but I think it probably stung a lot when it first happened. He really liked her."

"I had a feeling something was going on there... he quickly changed the subject the last few times I asked about her."

"Yeah, we probably shouldn't mention her anymore... no need to open up old wounds."

Lorelai nodded understandingly, and then asked, "What else?"

Luke exhaled a soft sigh. "Well, get this... apparently his dad got in touch with Liz and asked her to give Jess his number, and now Jess is talking about going to visit him in California this summer."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Whoa. That's... I'm..." She shook her head slightly. "I can say with full confidence that if you asked me to make a list of 500 things that I think might have happened while we were away, the return of Jess' long lost father wouldn't have the slightest possibility of making the list. That's how obscure a topic that is."

"I know, it's insane," Luke said, shaking his head. "I couldn't believe it."

"It's good, though," Lorelai said. "I mean, if Jess wants to go visit him, he must be happy about it, so that's good." She paused a moment and eyed her husband, who didn't look as enthused. "But based on your face, maybe it's not good," she said as she narrowed her eyes confusedly. "Uh, help me out, is this good or not good?"

"It's not good," Luke said, shaking his head. "Jimmy is a terrible person... I told you what he did, right?"

"Yeah, you said he up and left when Jess was a baby," Lorelai said.

"Before he even came home from the hospital!" Luke exclaimed, raising his clenched fists up into the air with anger. "He just disappeared right after he was born and never looked back! What kind of person does that?"

Lorelai's eyes widened at Luke's tone and body language. "Wow."

Luke lowered his arms and his voice. "Sorry. I've been thinking about it all week and it just bugs me a lot."

"Okay, well, let's talk it out," Lorelai calmly said. "Preferably without the violent hand motions."

Luke smirked. "Okay, sorry."

"I know it was a crappy thing that he did, but the fact that he's reaching out now must mean he's changed, right?" Lorelai asked.

"Changed or not, if it takes someone 19 years to reach out to the kid he abandoned, there's something wrong with him," Luke said.

"It's not the behavior of a perfect father, no," she agreed. "But... and I hate to be Miss Cliché right now... better 19 years later than never, right? Some people take longer to change than others. I mean, Jess could've gone his whole life not knowing his dad, and now he has a chance."

"He's not worth knowing, trust me," Luke told her. "And I don't understand why Jess is okay with this, why he's not more pissed off."

"Why are you so pissed off?" Lorelai asked. "I mean, I get being surprised or confused or whatever, but you seem really intensely affected by this."

"Well, why shouldn't I be?" Luke countered. "I'm the one taking care of Jess, trying to be a good influence on him, trying to get him on track, and now this guy's gonna swoop in and screw him up after I've spent years trying to turn his life around."

"You're not trying to turn his life around, you have turned his life around," Lorelai corrected him. "You guided him, you gave him independence, and he matured into a more responsible version of himself that I bet a lot of people didn't think he had in him." She paused before adding, "That I didn't really think he had in him."

"No, you didn't," Luke agreed. "But I understood why. You guys didn't start off on the greatest foot."

"I was wrong," she admitted. "But you believed in him and you were right." Lorelai looked at Luke silently for a moment before she added, "You're not gonna lose him, if that's what you're worried about. You guys have a bond, he's not gonna forget about you because he suddenly has a chance to know his dad."

Luke shrugged. "It's not that, I just don't want him to get hurt... I don't want him to get attached to his dad and then Jimmy ends up disappointing him. And I told him that, too... I told Jess that's what I'm worried about."

"And what'd he say?"

"That he doesn't have high expectations, he just wants to meet him and see what he's like."

"See, there you go," Lorelai said. "He's going into it with a good head, I really wouldn't over think it too much."

"Yeah, that's what he said, too," Luke said.

"It'll be fine," Lorelai told him, and patted his hand. "He's smart, he's an adult, he can handle it."

Luke smiled at her. "I missed having you around to calm me down." She smiled and leaned across the table to kiss him. "I missed this, too," he murmured before kissing her again.

"Mmm," she hummed in agreement. "Me, too."

When they separated, Lorelai watched Josh for a few moments. "Well, the good news is, the kid seems to remember me, and doesn't seem to be harboring any grudges."

"Unless he's really good at hiding them."

"Which is a skill he definitely could've inherited from me," Lorelai replied, and then she leaned in close to the baby's face. "You're not mad at Mommy for leaving you, right, Josh-kosh B-gosh?"

Josh brought his hand toward her face, and started giggling as Lorelai playfully pretended to eat his fingers. Lorelai grinned. "Nah, he's not mad."

When he was finished with his food, they cleaned him up and brought him to the living room. Lorelai sat down with him on the floor with some toys, and Luke sat on the couch.

"He's still been doing that thing where he gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth like he's about to crawl, but hasn't taken off yet," Luke told her. "Shouldn't he have started by now?"

Lorelai shrugged. "All babies are different. He'll get it soon and then we'll be begging for him to go back to being lazy," she said. "We're gonna have to baby proof the hell out of everything."

Luke glanced around the room. "We've already got the sockets covered. What else?"

"Well, we need a baby gate to block those off," Lorelai said, nodding toward the stairs. "Maybe another to keep him out of the kitchen. And we should probably get some more throw rugs because the hardwood is going to be rough on his knees. Plus, we can't leave small things on the floor or on any tables that he can reach. He's gonna be able to spot a dime across the room and crawl to it like a bat out of hell hoping to get to it before we see it, and if he gets it first, we'll have to pry it out of his insane baby grip before he puts it in his mouth and chokes."

Luke's eyes were wide. "Geez." He glanced at Josh. "Don't rush into that crawling thing, kid... take your time."

"Be prepared for him to become quite the handful," Lorelai warned.

"Another skill he inherited from you?" Luke joked.

"Ha ha," Lorelai dryly remarked, but smirked as she nodded in agreement. "But yes, probably."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next day, Rory went over to help Richard and Emily get ready for Trix's funeral. Emily had decided to cancel their usual Friday night dinner, but Rory stayed to eat an early dinner with her.

When she got back to Stars Hollow that night, the first floor of the house was empty. "Mom? Luke?" Rory called.

"Up in the bathroom," Lorelai called back.

Rory went upstairs to the bathroom, and the door was open. Lorelai was kneeling beside the bathtub and Josh was sitting in it, secured in a little plastic seat that was suctioned to the bottom of the tub.

Lorelai smiled as Rory walked in. "Look who's here, Josh... show Rory your ducky."

Josh obliviously continued chewing on the rubber ducky.

Lorelai looked up at Rory. "He'll show you later." Rory smiled and sat down on the floor next to Lorelai, and Lorelai patted her knee. "How was your day? How's Grandpa?"

"Better than yesterday, but still out of it," Rory replied. "He didn't even come out of his study to eat dinner with us."

Lorelai frowned. "That's sad."

"Grandma and I started arranging things for the funeral, and we had to go through some of Gran's papers." Rory reached into her back pocket and pulled out some folded pieces of paper. "And you will not believe what I have here."

Lorelai eyed the paper. "Did you steal Gran's will?"

Rory playfully swatted Lorelai's shoulder with the paper. "Of course I didn't."

"Oh, then, what is it?"

"I have here in my hand a copy of a letter from Gran to Grandpa begging him not to marry Grandma," Rory declared.

Lorelai's eyes widened and she gasped. "Get out!" She dried her hands on the towel in her lap, and then took the letter from Rory.

"It's insane," Rory said, shaking her head. "Not only did she send him the letter, but she kept a carbon copy of it!"

Lorelai nodded toward the baby. "Don't take your eyes off him," she told Rory, and she started reading the letter, her eyes widening more with each sentence. "Wow... wow... wow... this is incredible." She suddenly looked at Rory and grimaced. "Did my mom see this?"

Rory shook her head. "No, thank God. I came across it in the stack of papers I was going through and immediately hid it from her."

"Good girl." Lorelai returned to reading the letter, and once she had gotten through both pages, she handed it back to Rory. "Wow. That's all I can say."

"What should I do with it?" Rory asked.

"Destroy it," Lorelai replied as she reached into the tub to help sit Josh up straighter. "We don't need anyone else seeing that, ever."

"Okay." Rory put the letter back in her pocket. "It sucks that Gran never tried to hide how she felt about Grandma, even to her face. That must've been hard for Grandma."

"Yeah, as unsubtle as my mother can be when she dislikes someone, it pales in comparison to the commitment that Gran showed to making Emily's life miserable."

"I wish Grandpa would have stood up for Grandma. Maybe it would've helped."

"Well, he might have tried over the years, who knows," Lorelai said. "But Gran was gonna do what she wanted... she was set in her ways."

"Yeah."

"I gotta get him out, hold on," Lorelai said. She drained the water in the bathtub, grabbed a towel, and wrapped Josh in it. She carried him to the nursery, and Rory followed behind her. As Lorelai patted him dry and started to get him dressed, Rory sat down in the rocking chair.

"So, what are you doing tomorrow? Is there still stuff to do over there?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, Gran left very specific plans for her funeral, so Grandma's trying to track down some people, and I'm in charge of buying her a new outfit," Rory replied.

"You need to buy my mother a new outfit?"

"No, Gran requested a new outfit to be buried in."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes with confusion. "Well, that seems like a waste, but all right."

Rory shrugged. "Grandma gave me some money to do that tomorrow, and then I have to try to help rewrite her obituary because the first one didn't pass muster."

"I'm surprised Gran didn't have one written herself," Lorelai said. "You'd think she'd want some control over what was said about her."

"Maybe we haven't come across it yet... there are still a lot of things to go through."

"Is there anything I can help out with?" Lorelai asked. "I can come by tomorrow."

Rory shook her head. "Not really. Between me and Grandma, we've got it pretty much covered. Plus, the Spring Fling starts tomorrow," Rory reminded her. "It's Josh's first one, I know you're excited about that. And Sunday's the funeral, so tomorrow's the only day you can go."

Lorelai shrugged as she lifted Josh from the changing table.. "Seems kind of unimportant now when there are more serious things going on."

"It's still important," Rory said. "Life goes on. You have to enjoy the little things while you can."

Lorelai smiled. "Very wise of you."

"Well, I'm a Gilmore." Rory stood up from the rocking chair. "Where's Luke? At the diner?"

"No, he came home from the diner, and then went back out to pick up a dinner that would satisfy someone's Chinese food craving."

Rory nodded toward Josh. "This kid and his appetite, huh?"

"Yeah, tell me about it." Lorelai started walking toward the stairs, and Rory followed her down to the living room. "I have to find a babysitter for the funeral who won't be too busy with the festival. You think maybe Patty would be good?"

"Yeah, if she can get someone to cover her punch table."

The front door opened and Luke walked in with bags of food, and he smiled at Rory. "Hey," he said. "How'd it go at your grandparents' house today? Everything okay there?"

"Yeah, as okay as can be expected," Rory replied as she and Lorelai followed Luke into the kitchen.

"Hon, we were just talking about the funeral," Lorelai said. "And who we should get to watch the baby... I'm thinking of calling Patty."

"Okay." Luke paused and thought for a second. "Wait, no... ask Gypsy first."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at the suggestion. "Gypsy? Really? I never pictured her as the babysitting type."

"Trust me, she wants to watch him. If she can't do it, then ask Patty."

"Okay, I'll go call her," Lorelai said. "Be right back." She grabbed the phone and walked with Josh to the living room.

Rory helped Luke open the containers of food. "I ate dinner with Grandma a little while ago, but I'm starting to get hungry again... you have some food to spare for a hungry college student?"

Luke smiled. "Always. Make yourself a plate."

Rory retrieved 3 plates from the cabinet and set them on the table, and she and Luke started spooning out food onto their plates. Rory sat down and started eating, and soon Lorelai returned to the kitchen with Josh and confirmed Gypsy could watch him on Sunday for the funeral.

"And she sounded really excited about it," Lorelai said with a confused smile.

Luke smiled. "Yeah, she told me last week she really likes babies. She stopped by for a visit one afternoon to see him."

"Ah, that explains the missing Rolos from the candy stash," Lorelai said.

"Yup." He gestured to a plate of food on the table. "Here, this is yours. I'll take him."

"Thank you." Lorelai passed the baby off to Luke and sat down at the table. She opened up a pair of disposable chopsticks and started eating.

Luke sat down with the baby and started talking to him and making faces, and Lorelai smiled at Rory. "Are you seeing how adorable this is?" Lorelai asked.

"With my own eyes," Rory confirmed.

"No comments from the peanut gallery," Luke said, eyeing them both. "Eat your food."

Lorelai smirked. "Sorry." She took a bite of an eggroll and said, "Okay, let's see... Spring Fling tomorrow, funeral on Sunday, back to regular lives on Monday... ugh, work."

"Ugh, school," Rory echoed. "I can't believe break is over already."

"What a weird rollercoaster of a break you had, though, huh?" Lorelai said. "Ten days of awesome international experiences followed by a few days of funeral planning. Bet no one else's break ran the gamut like that."

"I'll say," Rory said. "And then there's only two months left of the semester."

"Wow. First year of college is almost in the books," Lorelai said.

Luke stood up with Josh and walked over to the fridge as he asked Rory, "Any plans for the summer yet?"

"I applied for a couple of internship positions at some local papers," Rory replied. "So hopefully I'll get one of them... I should hear soon."

"I told her to go for the Stars Hollow Gazette," Lorelai added. "Can't get more local than that."

Rory smiled. "I was shooting for something a little bigger, but that'll be my backup."

Luke grabbed one of Josh's teething rings from the refrigerator and sat back down with him at the table. "An internship would be really good," Luke said. "You'd get some good experience and exposure."

"And expertise," Lorelai added. "All the major exes."

"Yeah, hopefully it'll work out," Rory said. "I feel stupid that I didn't even think of it myself... it was Paris' idea that I apply for one. She's always been good at thinking ahead and preparing for the future."

"Speaking of which, we need to start preparing for the super amazing celebration we're gonna have this summer," Lorelai said, and she rubbed her hands together excitedly.

Rory and Luke both looked at her with confusion. "What celebration?" Luke asked.

Lorelai gasped. "What celebration? Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," Luke confirmed.

Lorelai gasped again. "You failed to recognize that your son will be achieving his one year anniversary of living?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "No, you failed to recognize that I'm not planning a one year old's birthday party 4 months in advance."

"Celebrations require lots of planning time to be perfect."

"We didn't even plan our wedding for that long," Luke reminded her. "We did it in less than a month, and it was perfect."

Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. "I still can't believe we did that in that short amount of time. I wonder how many people thought it was a shotgun wedding and that I was pregnant."

"A lot," Rory replied, and they both looked at her with surprised looks. She shrugged. "What? I heard people talking."

Lorelai smirked. "Well, they were wrong, so joke's on them."

"Back to my point, it only took a month," Luke said.

"Yes, but see, we didn't have a baby making us exhausted all the time, so we didn't require as much time to achieve perfection," Lorelai explained. "But now I'll take us twice as long, so we need to allow for extra preparation time."

"So, that would be two months," Rory said.

"Hello, who's not helping here?" Lorelai scolded her, and then explained, "It's twice as long for each of us individually, so that would be four months total."

"That doesn't make sense," Rory muttered.

"Two months it is," Luke declared. "We'll start planning in May."

Lorelai frowned. "Fine." She ate a bite of food, and then asked, "How much do you think it would cost to hire an ice cream truck to come to the party and give out free ice cream?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Too much," he replied, and he gestured to her plate. "Eat your dinner. No party planning until May."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The following weekend, Luke was out front mowing the lawn and Lorelai was inside with Josh. As she sat with him on the floor watching him chew on various toys, the phone rang and she stood up to grab it from the desk.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, Mom," Rory replied. "You busy?"

"Nope, just watching a boy shove things in his mouth," Lorelai replied as she sat down on the couch. "Which, by the way, is more exhausting than it sounds. What's up?"

"Just needed a distraction from schoolwork," Rory replied. "I figured you could handle that task."

"Oh, okay, let's see," Lorelai said, and pondered for a moment. "Um, Luke's outside mowing the lawn. Josh is, like I mentioned, chewing on every toy he can get his hands on..." She glanced at the television. "And there's an episode of Bewitched on the TV, which is not only entertaining for me, but also good for Josh because I want him to be cultured in the classics. And don't throw any neurological studies at me that talk about the negative effects of television on kids because he's not watching it, his mind is merely absorbing it as it plays behind him."

"Since when do I throw neurological studies at you?" Rory asked.

"Uh, you did that one time for that one thing and it obviously had quite a negative effect on me," Lorelai replied. "You should do a study about how using neurological studies to make a point can be harmful to mothers."

"I'll look into that."

"Thank you." Lorelai noticed Josh reaching for a toy and she slid down onto the floor to help him. She squeezed the toy to activate its music and held the toy out to him. "Here you go," she said to him.

"So, Mom..." Rory started, and then hesitated for a moment.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Yeah?" she prompted her.

Rory nervously cleared her throat. "Do you remember when we were walking through that outdoor market in Ireland and we saw that guy selling jewelry, and you said he kind of looked like Jake Ryan from Sixteen Candles, but with lighter hair?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes, surprised by the random question. "Yeah?"

"And then I said he reminded me of a guy who works on the Yale Daily News?"

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah, and then I bugged you for more details about said lighter-haired Jake Ryan lookalike that you'd never mentioned before, and you were very nonchalant about it."

Rory smiled. "Well, his name's Mark, and there wasn't anything to mention before."

"Well, I assume you wouldn't be bringing him up now unless there was something to mention, so spill it."

Rory smiled. "Well, we've kind of become friends this semester. We chat at the paper, we have a class together, we email a little. Well, a lot, as of the past few days."

"Uh huh," Lorelai said intriguingly. "Go on."

"Well, yesterday he asked me if I wanted to go out for dinner one night this week."

Lorelai's eyes widened and she smiled. "Like a date? What'd you say?"

"I told him that would be fun," Rory replied.

Lorelai smiled. "Wow, okay. And you like him?"

"Yeah, he's nice," Rory replied. "Funny, smart. Oh, and he's on the track team, so of course I asked Janet about him."

"Ah, and what did Sporty Spice have to say?"

Rory smiled into the phone. Lorelai sometimes referred to Rory's roommates Janet, Tana, and Paris as Sporty Spice, Baby Spice, and Scary Spice. "I asked her what he's like during track meets, because how someone acts during competition can really show their true self, you know?"

"Yeah, like me in the dance marathon," Lorelai said knowingly.

"Exactly," Rory said. "But Janet said that from what she's seen, he's a good guy, not a jerk to people, he works hard but also tries to keep things fun."

"All positive feedback," Lorelai said.

"Yeah."

"Good! So, when are you going out?"

"Tomorrow," Rory replied. "I suggested that Mexican place a few blocks from my dorm."

"Well, I think it's great," Lorelai said. "You sound excited about it."

"I am," Rory confirmed.

"Good. I want all the details of the evening."

"You got it."

Lorelai glanced at the television. "You know, this episode's on for 10 more minutes if you want to upstage the child who only absorbs television with his mom instead of actually watching it with her."

Rory smiled. "Sure. What channel?" she asked as she reached for the remote.

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few weeks later, on the Saturday before Easter, Lorelai and Luke brought Josh to the annual Stars Hollow Easter Egg hunt in the town square.

Luke waited with Josh while Lorelai went to retrieve a basket to collect eggs in, and then she walked purposefully through the crowd and over to Luke. She leaned in close to his ear. "I have big news that no one knows but me. You ready?"

Luke's eyes widened with intrigue. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Well, apparently..." Lorelai started, and then looked around to make sure no one was nearby before she whispered, "Kirk didn't make an egg map."

Luke cocked his head to the side. "Seriously? No egg map?"

"No egg map," Lorelai repeated. "Kirk just told me himself."

"Taylor's gonna go nuts," Luke said before a small smile appeared on his lips. "Like insanely nuts."

Lorelai grinned and nudged him with her shoulder. "I thought you'd enjoy that."

"Made my day, thank you," Luke said.

"You're welcome," she replied, and she held up a small wicker basket. "Got the basket. He's in the baby category, so he needs to find 5 eggs to get a prize."

Miss Patty was walking toward them with a trail of dancers dressed like bunnies following behind her. "Hello, you two," she greeted them cheerfully. "Here come some Peter Cottontails."

"Looking good, bunnies," Lorelai said as they walked by, and then she glanced at the line forming next to the gazebo to get a picture with the Easter Bunny.

Luke followed her gaze and said, "Remember, we agreed, I'll go along with the Santa crap but we're not selling that Easter bunny crap to him."

"I know, I know, I'm just looking at the line," Lorelai told him. "And can we stop referring to all beloved holiday traditions you dislike as crap? That's gonna end up being his next word."

"Is that little guy saying real words now?" a voice asked, and Luke and Lorelai turned around to see a smiling Babette behind them. "Hi, guys."

Lorelai smiled. "Hi, Babette. Well, let's see, in the middle of long strings of babbling, we've heard some recognizable words like mama, dada, baba..."

"That's not a real word," Luke interjected.

"And occasionally we'll get something that sounds like papa," Lorelai finished.

"And for the record," Luke added, "even though he doesn't even know what any of these words mean when he accidentally mumbles them, he does tend to say dada the most."

Lorelai gasped. "Had to throw that in, huh?"

Luke smirked. "Well, I knew you wouldn't."

Babette turned around and yelled, "Morey! The baby says dada the most even though he doesn't know what dada means!"

From across the square, Morey called, "Okay!"

Babette turned back to them. "He's growing up fast, huh?" she said as she leaned down to peer into the stroller.

"Yeah, I came downstairs yesterday and he was reading the Wall Street Journal," Lorelai said. "And we don't even get the Wall Street Journal, so that meant he had to go out and buy it on his own first." She shook her head in disbelief. "Such an advanced baby."

Babette smiled. "Well, you let me know if you two wanna go out on a hot date any time soon, Morey and I will come over and sit with the little guy."

"You know, Lorelai's birthday is in a few weeks, so we might take you up on that," Luke said. "Maybe go out for dinner one night."

Lorelai smiled at him. "Good idea."

"Sounds good, dolls... just let us know when. Now get out there and find him some eggs before they're all gone," Babette said.

Babette walked back toward Morey, and Lorelai held up the basket to Luke. "Okay, let's go do this."

Luke lifted the baby from his stroller and they parked it off to the side by the church. They walked around looking for eggs, mingled with people, took some pictures, and eventually let Josh show off his crawling skills on the grass for a few minutes.

When Luke picked him back up, he looked at Josh's knees. "Got yourself some nice grass stains there, kid," he said proudly.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, having a son is gonna turn me into one of those moms in detergent commercials who complain about her boys doing sports in the mud and getting their clothes all dirty, isn't it?" She paused a moment and then asked, "Doing sports? Is that right?"

"Playing sports," he confirmed. "And yeah, maybe. But who knows, maybe he won't be into sports."

"Well, considering you were talking about signing him up for t-ball the day after he was born, that would be a bummer for you."

Luke shrugged. "It would be nice if he did, but I'm not gonna force it if he doesn't have fun doing it. I don't wanna be one of those dads."

Lorelai smiled. "And he just keeps getting more perfect every day. You're really gunning for that world's greatest dad title, huh?"

Luke smirked. "Come on, let's go get his prize."

They started walking across the square, and they ran into Dean and his sister.

"Dean, hi," Lorelai greeted him with a smile. "You home for the holiday weekend?"

"Yeah, someone would've hunted me down if I missed the egg hunt," Dean said, patting Clara's shoulder, and then said to her, "You remember Rory's mom?"

"Yeah," Clara shyly replied. "Hi."

"Hi," Lorelai said, smiling, and then asked Dean, "How's Southern Connecticut State?"

"It's going okay," Dean replied. "It's hard, but I'm getting through it."

"Good, good," Lorelai said.

"How are things with you guys?" Dean asked.

"Oh, they're good," Lorelai replied with a nod. "Tom just turned our downstairs closet into a bathroom, and it's amazing, but of course every time I use it, I feel bad for the upstairs bathroom who thinks I'm abandoning it."

"Of course," Dean replied understandingly, unfazed by Lorelai's habit of giving inanimate objects feelings. "But it probably appreciates the break... it's been working hard for a long time."

Lorelai smiled. "Good point."

"Is Rory here?" Clara asked Lorelai.

"No, she's not, but she's coming home later tonight," Lorelai replied.

"She was much nicer to me than his new girlfriend," Clara said, and then rolled her eyes. "Lindsay thinks she's Miss Perfect."

"Clara, stop, that's not nice," Dean told her.

"Let's go find more eggs," Clara whined, tugging on Dean's hand.

"Okay, we're going," he told her, and then said to Lorelai, "Duty calls. I'll see you guys."

"Bye, Dean," Lorelai replied.

"See ya," Luke added. As they walked away, Luke asked Lorelai, "Do he and Rory still keep in touch?"

"Yes," Lorelai confirmed. "When we were in Europe, she told me that they're still on good terms, and that they email each other once in awhile."

As they approached the prize tables, they saw Kirk standing on the sidewalk behind the tables looking nervously down at a clipboard. They stopped in front of him. "How's it going, Kirk?" Lorelai asked.

Kirk glanced at Luke and quickly hugged his clipboard to his chest. "Everything's fine here."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I know about the map, Kirk."

"It's okay, Kirk. He won't tell anyone," Lorelai said. "What's wrong?"

Kirk looked down at his clipboard. "Well, I've been keeping count of the eggs that have been exchanged for prizes, and we are way off the mark of what I hid."

"It's early," Luke said. "There are still a few hours to go."

Kirk rubbed his head with a pained look on his face. "This is a disaster. Taylor left me in charge of the egg hunt while he's away, and he's gonna kill me if he finds out I didn't make a map."

"He never has to find out," Lorelai said. "He's off on his fancy cruise, and when he gets back, just tell him that all the eggs were found and everything went smoothly."

"And what about a week or two from now when all the eggs start rotting?" Luke asked. "You know how bad one rotten egg smells, imagine dozens of them."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Good point," she said, and then turned to Kirk. "You know, you really should switch to plastic eggs, then we wouldn't have this problem."

"Well, it's a bit late for that!" Kirk exclaimed.

Josh jumped at his outburst and started whimpering. Lorelai cradled him to her chest and calmed him down.

Luke glanced around and saw people looking at them. "Nothing to see here. Everything's fine." He turned to Kirk. "Okay, you need to calm down."

Kirk took a few deep breaths. "Sorry. This is obviously taking an emotional toll on me."

"We'll help you figure it out," Lorelai said. "Wait it out, see how many are found, and let us know later how many eggs are left. You have a couple of days before Taylor gets back... we'll help you look for the eggs."

"You will?" Kirk asked.

"We will?" Luke asked her, narrowing his eyes. "Seriously?"

"Yes, we will," Lorelai said firmly. "Because we're nice people, and maybe if Kirk knows that he has some nice people willing to help him, he can relax a little and not give himself a stroke."

"I would really appreciate it," Kirk said sincerely. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Lorelai replied. "Just try not to scare our kid again with loud outbursts."

Kirk saluted her. "You have my word." He leaned toward them. "Don't mention this to Lulu, okay? I don't want her to know that I couldn't handle the egg hunt on my own."

"Sure thing, Kirk," Lorelai said. "See you later."

They walked over to exchange their eggs for a prize, and then headed over to the food booths to get a soft pretzel. They mingled for a little while longer, and then started walking back toward the church where they'd left the stroller.

They settled Josh into it and were just starting to walk home when they heard a voice call, "Luke!"

They both looked in the direction of the diner and saw Liz running toward them. Lorelai gasped and looked at Luke. "Did you know Liz was gonna be in town?"

"Not a clue," he replied.

Liz reached them and hugged them both as she frantically explained, "I went to your house, you guys weren't there, and then I went to the diner, and you guys weren't there, and then I was leaving the diner and I happened to see you walking, and then I started running this way, and now I'm out of breath." She put her hands on her knees and huffed to catch her breath. "Whoa."

"Okay, so, now that we're all caught up on the logistics, what's up?" Luke asked her. "I didn't know you were visiting this weekend."

"Well, I wasn't planning on it, but we were on our way to visit TJ's family, and I wanted to make a pit stop to share some really exciting news," Liz announced, and she held up her hand to show them her ring. "We're engaged!"

Lorelai's mouth dropped open. "Oh, my God!"

Luke's eyes widened. "Seriously? Is that for real?"

"Looks real to me," Lorelai confirmed, pulling Liz's hand closer for a better look. "It's beautiful." She leaned in to hug Liz. "Congratulations, that's so exciting!" She pulled back and elbowed Luke. "Hon, isn't that great?"

Luke rubbed his temple. "Yeah, it's great, really great," he said, and he leaned in to hug Liz. "Congratulations, sis."

"Thank you," Liz replied, and as she pulled back, added, "I was so excited to tell you. And guess what? We're gonna try to do it here in Stars Hollow!"

"No way!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Yeah, we're thinking a Renaissance theme wedding next month in the square."

"Oh, that'll be beautiful," Lorelai gushed.

"Next month, huh?" Luke asked. "That's fast. Are you sure you don't wanna maybe wait a few - " His voice trailed off when he saw Lorelai giving him a stern look, and he sighed softly before finishing with, "That doesn't give you a lot of time to plan, so let us know if you need help with anything."

Lorelai smiled proudly at him, and then looked at Liz. "Definitely, let us know if we can help."

"Thank you!" she said, throwing her arms around them both at the same time. "TJ and I would appreciate that so much." She gasped and kneeled down next to the stroller. "I didn't even say hi to the little guy. Hey, kiddo... you remember your Aunt Liz? She's getting married." She lightly tapped Josh on the nose. "And you're invited."

"So, where's TJ now?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, he's on your front porch," Liz replied as she stood up.

Luke and Lorelai exchanged a look before Luke replied, "What do you mean?"

"Well, when no one was at your house, I suggested we go try the diner, and he thought it might be a good idea to wait out front in case you came home."

"Well, let's go tell him you found us," Lorelai suggested. "We were about to head home anyway."

"You know where Jess might be?" Liz asked. "I wanted to tell him the news, too, before we get back on the road."

"He's probably at work," Luke replied. "We can walk over there."

"Okay, great," Liz replied, and they started walking toward the bookstore.

"So, Jess told me Jimmy got in touch with you a few weeks back," Luke casually mentioned.

"Oh, yeah, he tracked down my number somehow and called to ask about Jess," Liz replied. "Isn't that wild?"

"Yeah, wild, definitely wild," Luke agreed. "And, uh, now Jess wants to go out and visit him in California this summer. What do you think about that?"

Liz shrugged. "I think it's good, it's about time he gets to know him. And Jimmy's trying to make amends... he told me that it's one of the biggest regrets of his life, leaving us and not staying in touch."

"And he sounded sincere?" Luke asked her. "Like he really meant it?"

"I don't think he would've reached out if he didn't," Liz said, and she gasped when she saw Jess through the bookstore's front window. "There he is! I'm gonna go give him the big news."

As Liz ran off, Luke looked at Lorelai, who cocked her head to the side. "You're worrying again," she said in a singsong voice.

"I'm not worrying," he replied. "I just wanted her take on it as someone who knows Jimmy and who has recently spoken to him, that's all." He pointed to his face. "See, no worrying."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, just checking. Because when it looks like worry and it sounds like worry... I sometimes get confused and assume that it is in fact worry."

Luke smirked and leaned in to kiss her. "Well, you know what happens when you assume."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next day, they went to Emily and Richard's house for Easter lunch. When they arrived, Emily led them to the living room where two elegant white wicker baskets sat on the coffee table. One was for Josh, filled with some toys and outfits that still had their Nordstrom tags on them. The second basket was filled with assorted treats for the rest of them to share.

Richard took their drink requests and walked over to the drink cart. Emily began pointing out some of the gourmet candies she had put in the basket.

When Josh started to squirm in Lorelai's lap, she stood up with him and walked over toward the edge of the room. She placed Josh on the ground. "Okay, let's see where you go, little man," she said, and he immediately started crawling and exploring the living room.

"My goodness, will you look at that," Richard said, watching him from the drink cart. "I think he's even faster today than he was last week."

"Yes, he practices all day, every day, until he wears himself out," Lorelai confirmed. "He's a big fan of the 'let's make Mommy and Daddy chase me around the house' game."

"You used to play that game with your nannies," Emily recalled. "I didn't much care for it."

Josh crawled a few feet, and then stopped and glanced back at Lorelai, who smiled down at him. "Yes, I'm watching you. I'm going to save you from choking hazards and other dangerous situations, like if you get too close to the antique furniture and your grandmother tries to kick you away."

"Oh, stop that," Emily scolded her. "Do not make that baby believe I'm a villain."

"Yes, Emily can convey that on her own," Richard teased. "She needs no help from you, Lorelai."

Emily gasped and turned to look at him. "Richard Gilmore! What has gotten into you?"

"Oh, I'm just teasing you, Emily," Richard told her. "No one thinks you're a villain."

"Well - " Lorelai started.

"Something smells good," Luke interrupted loudly, trying to change the subject. "What is that, lamb?"

"It is, indeed," Emily confirmed. "Rory, how are things at school?"

"They're good," Rory replied. "My classes are hard, but I'm learning a lot."

Richard walked over and set a tray of drinks on the coffee table. "And how is Professor Fleming's class?" he asked as he sat down. "I hear he can be pretty tough."

"I hear the students love him, though," Lorelai commented. "Like, really love him."

Rory shot her a look, and then looked back at Richard. "He's a great teacher, and the class is really interesting."

"And is there anything new going on in the college dating scene?" Emily asked. "I bet there are a lot of prominent young bachelors vying for your attention."

Rory glanced uncertainly at Lorelai, hesitant to mention that she was seeing someone, and then back at Emily. "Uh, I've just been focusing a lot on school, Grandma."

"That's very smart," Richard said. "Especially in your first year when you're still getting used to a college workload."

"My friend Cassie Sullivan's son is a freshman at Yale, too," Emily told Rory. "They're a wonderful family, we've known them for years. I can try to get his number for you if you want. Ooh, or maybe I could invite them all over for dinner sometime to introduce you two."

"Mom, she's focusing on school right now, she doesn't need a matchmaker," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, but thanks anyway for the offer, Grandma," Rory said politely.

After a few minutes of guiding Josh away from expensive furniture and lamps and other décor around the room, Lorelai picked him up from the floor and walked over to sit down next to Luke. "Can you hold him?" she asked. "Let's see if we can stay stationary for more than a minute."

"Yup." Luke put his drink on the coffee table and took Josh from her. "You want to check out one of your new toys, buddy?" he asked, and he picked one from the Easter basket. "Look at this, isn't this cool?" He pushed a button on the front of the guitar-shaped toy, which caused it to light up and play music.

"The young sales lady at the store recommended that," Emily told them.

Lorelai smiled as she watched Josh stare at the blinking lights. "It's great, he seems to like it," she said, and then picked up her glass from the table and took a sip.

"Good, I'm glad," Emily replied, and then she looked over at Richard. "Richard, isn't there something you wanted to discuss with Lorelai?"

Richard raised an eyebrow with surprise before he replied, "Yes, Emily, there is. I was going to wait until after lunch, but I suppose there's no time like the present." He stood up from his chair. "Lorelai, might I have a word with you privately?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes and glanced curiously at Luke and Rory before she replied, "Uh, sure, Dad."

"We'll be right back," Richard said to the others.

As Lorelai followed Richard out of the living room, she heard Emily say to Rory, "You know, we also know the Campbell soup family... they have a boy about your age. I know you're focusing on school now, but maybe you two could connect when the semester's over..."

Lorelai and Richard walked across the hall to his study and he shut the door behind them. "Have a seat," he said.

Lorelai sat in the chair as he walked around to the other side of his desk. He sat down, opened up a folder, and flipped through a few papers. "So, I have something important to discuss with you," he said.

Lorelai started to feel nervous. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Richard replied. "As you know, we've been getting all of your grandmother's affairs in order, going through her important papers, her finances, things like that."

Lorelai frowned sympathetically. "Right."

"And we've come to find out that Trix was aware of her heart issues, and while she was on medication, she also had started to... one might say, make appropriate plans for the future."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Oh, my God. She kept that to herself? You didn't even know?"

"Not specifically that it was her heart," Richard replied. "She had mentioned some health concerns, but she didn't go into detail. I suppose she didn't want to worry anyone too much."

Lorelai frowned. "That's sad that she was dealing with that on her own, but that certainly sounds like Gran."

"That it does," Richard agreed.

"Maybe that's why she wanted to give us that money for Josh," Lorelai mused. "She was trying to find ways to help out before she left us." She sighed and hung her head. "And I argued with her about it... what a jerk I was."

"Well, what's done is done," Richard said. "And I've brought you in here to tell you that there is also another trust that was prepared for you."

"For me?" Lorelai asked, surprised, as she placed a hand on her chest. "Or for the kids?"

"For you, Lorelai," Richard replied. "Trix might not have said it often, but she liked that you've always been a hard worker, that you run that inn like it's your own. And she wanted to make sure you had the opportunity to have one of your own, so she set aside some funds for you to put toward that goal."

Surprised, Lorelai's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "What? Are you serious?"

"I am indeed," Richard replied. He slid a piece of paper across the desk showing her the amount of the trust.

Lorelai stared down at the number and blinked a few times. "I don't even know what to say. That's amazing."

"There is one caveat, though," Richard added, pulling the paper back from her.

"Caveat?"

"Yes. She has declared that the funds must be used for the intended manner within three years of the date of her passing, or they will no longer be available."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, the money just evaporates? What, does it explode like one of those dye packs in a bank robbery?"

Richard glanced down at the paper in front of him. "It says here that any unused funds remaining after 3 years will be donated to charity." He folded his hands on his desk and sat silently, waiting for her to process the information.

Lorelai stared down at the desk while she contemplated the news, her mind reeling with what this meant. Finally, she asked, "So, I have to open my own inn within the next three years or I lose the money?"

"Open it, no," Richard replied. "Invest in it, yes. It doesn't say the inn has to be opened, you just need to use the money towards your own inn in some way. Purchasing of land, construction, furnishings, et cetera. And you don't have to use all of it, you can use what you need, and then anything leftover will be donated when the clock runs out."

Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. "But why? Why would she put an expiration date on free money? It doesn't make sense."

"Well, I imagine it's because she didn't want you to keep putting this off and then never get to it," Richard replied. "This is her way of encouraging you to take some steps toward your dream... she was trying to light a fire under you."

"I can't do something like that in the next few years, though," Lorelai said exasperatedly, shaking her head. "That timeline's not gonna work... there are too many other things going on."

"Nobody is forcing you to do anything, Lorelai," Richard calmly pointed out. "Just because the money is there doesn't mean you need to use it. You can let it go and then just find other resources to open your inn when you're ready. She was just giving you an option if you wanted to use it."

"Yeah, but it's free money," Lorelai said. "I'd be a fool not to take it."

"Well, it's not something you need to figure out today," Richard said. "You have almost three years to think about it and decide what's best for you."

"Right." Lorelai exhaled a deep breath. "Wow. This is big. And unexpected. And generous."

"Indeed it is. My mother was quite a woman."

"Yes, she was," Lorelai agreed.

Richard was quiet for a moment, sadly looking off to the side, and then he finally stood up from his desk. "Well... shall we get back to the others?"

Lorelai nodded and stood up. "Does Mom know about this?"

"She does not," Richard replied. "She knew that I had something to discuss with you, but I was not at liberty to give her any specific information. It's a private matter, so it's up to you to decide whom to share this with, and when."

Lorelai nodded understandingly, and she followed him out of the study and back to the living room.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Later that afternoon, as soon as they were in the car ready to head home, Rory said, "Okay, come on, Mom... tell us."

"Yeah, I can't believe you made us wait that entire time," Luke said. "I was going nuts."

Lorelai smiled. "Sorry, I didn't want it to become the topic of conversation during lunch and get hammered with questions."

Lorelai then shared with Luke and Rory the news Richard had given her.

Luke's eyes were wide with disbelief. "That's incredible."

"So, while I was in the living room listening to Grandma humiliatingly rattle off a list of eligible bachelors my age who I should contact over the summer, you were getting handed a pile of free money?" Rory asked. "That was not a fair split."

Lorelai smirked and glanced into the back seat. "I know, I'm sorry. Why didn't you just tell her you're seeing someone?"

"Because that would've led to a lengthy inquisition and her wanting to know all about him and she'd want to meet him, and I'm not ready to deal with all that yet," Rory replied with a sigh. "Anyway, back to the money... that's amazing, Mom... really."

Lorelai nodded in agreement before turning back to face the front. "Yeah, it is. But three years... I don't know about that."

"Three years is a good amount of time," Luke told her. "Especially since I wouldn't have been surprised if she had given you a three month time frame just to really push you. Three years is generous for her, it gives you time to plan and sort things out."

Lorelai looked at him with an appreciative smile. He was pretty good at pointing out the bright side of things when she needed it. "Very true."

"It also gives you time to convince Fran to sell the Dragonfly," Rory said. "She didn't want to a few years ago, but maybe she's changed her mind by now."

"Especially after that health scare last year," Luke added. "She surprised everyone by pulling through, but it had to have put things in perspective for her."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, maybe." She exhaled a soft sigh. "My head is spinning a little. Let's get home. Rory has plans with Lane."

Luke started the car and looked at Rory in the rearview mirror. "Anything exciting?"

Rory shrugged. "We're just gonna catch up, maybe walk around the square and see if we can help find some missing eggs."

"How many did Kirk say were left?" Luke asked Lorelai.

"59, as of last night," Lorelai replied. "But I contacted a few people and asked them to help look if they have time, so hopefully the number is down by now."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Still can't believe he didn't make an egg map," he muttered as he pulled out of the driveway.

. . . . .

. . . . .

They went home and changed into more casual clothes, and then Rory headed out to see Lane. Luke and Lorelai spread a blanket on the front lawn, and they sat outside with Josh and some toys.

Lorelai looked at Luke. "So... what do we think about this whole inn situation?"

"Well, I think it's good, but you don't seem so sure," Luke said. "So, what's up, what's going through your head?"

"I think it's good, it's definitely good, but..." Lorelai exhaled a deep breath. "For a long time, Sookie and I have had this dream... this open ended dream... we wanted to someday accomplish. There wasn't a time frame on it, it was just this goal in the back of our minds that we wanted to reach someday, and we both knew when the timing was right, we'd go for it." She exhaled another deep breath before adding, "But now... there's a time frame on it."

"Yeah, but you said yourself not too long ago that you wanted to do it within the next few years," Luke reminded her.

"Yes, but I said that knowing that it didn't have to be done in the next few years," she replied. "If something came up or we needed to postpone it, we could, no big deal. But now I feel this pressure that I didn't have before. Like instead of waiting for the timing to be right, we have to somehow make the timing be right and seize this opportunity."

"Well, that's exactly what an opportunity is... it presents itself and you take it," Luke pointed out. "You're not always ready for it, but you jump on it when it comes around."

Lorelai nodded. "That's true."

"But, you know, if it's gonna add stress to your life, if you're not ready for this opportunity... you don't have to use the money."

"Are you kidding me?" Lorelai replied with a laugh. "Of course I have to. We can't just let that money fall through the cracks. We need it, and for once and probably the last time in our lives, there aren't any strings attached to it. Except, of course, for this 3-year thing. I'm like Richard Pryor in Brewster's Millions, except he had to spend the money in 30 days."

"And a hell of a lot more of it," Luke added.

Lorelai watched as Josh started to crawl off of the blanket and onto the grass. "Where you going, kid?"

Luke stood up to retrieve him and brought him back to the blanket. "We knew he wouldn't stay still for long."

Lorelai watched as Josh started to crawl away again, and then she stood up. "I'm gonna get him some Cheerios to snack on... that might occupy him for a few minutes."

Lorelai went into the house, and Luke let Josh crawl around on the grass for a minute. When she came back out, he brought him back over to the blanket. She held out some cereal on her palm and watched him try to delicately pick them up with his tiny fingers. "There you go, you got it," she said encouragingly.

Luke watched her for a moment interacting with Josh before he asked, "Do you still even want your own inn?"

Lorelai was surprised at the question. "What?" she asked, her eyes narrowing at him.

"Do you still want it?" he asked. "It's okay if you don't, you're not bound to it for life. You're allowed to change your mind."

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Because I would've thought you'd be a little more excited about this, that you'd already be calling Sookie and making plans."

"I am excited about it," Lorelai insisted.

"Not completely," he disagreed. "I know you, Lorelai... something's off."

"Well, I'm just processing it. There's just a lot to think about before I can actually be a hundred percent fully excited."

"Like?" he prompted her. "What are you concerned about? Let's talk it out."

"Well, first of all, like you said, I have to talk to Sookie about it, see if she's okay with that timeline," Lorelai said. "She's my partner, she plays a big role in this... we do it together or not at all."

"Okay, yes, what else?"

Lorelai was quiet for a few seconds, and then she nibbled on her bottom lip. "You're gonna think I'm crazy."

"That ship has sailed," he replied without hesitation, making her smile. She put a few more Cheerios in her hand and offered them to Josh, and then looked at Luke.

"It's stupid to even say this, but I really like the routine we have now," Lorelai said with a shrug. "I like doing mornings at the inn and afternoons at home... it's like we have the best of both worlds. The thought of disrupting that right now kind of makes me sad. I won't have that flexibility when I'm the boss."

"Why not? I'm the boss of the diner, and I've got plenty of flexibility."

"Your business is well-established," Lorelai pointed out. "It'll take us a few years to get everything running smoothly enough for me to relax and step back a little." She glanced toward the house. "Plus, we were gonna do some remodeling soon... so that throws another big project into the mix."

"Well, we can put that off if we have to," Luke suggested.

Lorelai quickly shook her head. "No, I think we should do it sooner rather than later... just to... you know, so we can... if there's..." She exhaled a little, frustrated with her sudden inability to create a proper sentence. "I just think it'd be good to get it done, you know?"

Luke's curiosity was piqued by her flustering, but he just nodded. "Yeah, okay."

Her gaze drifted to Josh, who had given up on the Cheerios and was now crawling toward the front porch. "I'm gonna have abandonment issues if you keep leaving me, kid." Lorelai said as she stood up from the blanket. "Where are you going?"

Luke and Lorelai both watched as Josh got to the bottom step and slowly started to pull himself up to a standing position. He smacked his hand on the wooden step and started babbling excitedly.

"Oh, you're so happy when you're standing like a big boy, huh?" Lorelai cheerfully cooed at him. They watched the baby stand at the bottom step for a minute, looking around, trying to decide what to do next, and when he started to try to climb up onto the step, Lorelai grabbed him. "Nope, you don't have those skills yet, dude."

She brought him back over to the blanket, set him down, and then threw one of his toys a few feet away on the grass. "Go ahead, I know you're gonna take off anyway, you might as well have something to crawl toward."

As expected, he took off crawling toward the toy. When he reached it, he sat down, picked it up, and started examining it.

Lorelai looked at Luke. "What if we connect some sort of leash to his ankle so that I can sit on the blanket and then just pull him back to me without getting up when he starts to crawl away? That's a solid plan, right?"

Luke smirked. "It has some flaws we'd have to work out."

Lorelai tapped her chin in thought. "Hm. I'll think of something else."

They both walked closer to Josh and watched him play with his toy. Finally, Luke cleared his throat and casually asked, "So... why sooner rather than later for the remodel?"

Lorelai turned to look at him. She cocked her head to the side as a small smile formed on her lips.

Just by the way he'd asked, she could tell that he knew exactly what she was thinking, and this was his way of initiating the conversation.

She was suddenly hit with a wave of nervousness. They hadn't discussed this topic in awhile, and although he'd made no indication that he had changed his mind about it, it didn't keep her from wondering if maybe he had.

"Well," she finally said, and then she glanced down at Josh and then back at Luke. "Because of that topic that we mutually agreed to avoid for awhile."

"Are you ready to un-avoid it?" he asked. "I am if you are."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah." She stared at him for a moment, hesitating to ask him what she needed to know, and then she finally spit it out quickly. "Have you changed your mind since our last discussion?"

"About wanting another kid?" Luke replied, and then shook his head. "No, I haven't. Have you?"

"Well, I've been thinking about it the past few weeks," she started.

That surprised him and he raised an eyebrow. "Few weeks? Why didn't you mention it to me?"

"Because I knew what I wanted, but needed to sit on my decision for a little while and make sure it wasn't something I was wavering on," she explained.

"Okayyy," he said slowly, waiting to hear more.

"And it hasn't wavered, and then today, when my dad sprung that 3-year thing on me, the first thought that popped into my head was... what about the kid?" she continued. "I started worrying about how having a timeline around the new inn would affect us having another baby." She smiled as she added, "So, that's when it hit me that I'm not going to waver on that decision. It's as solid as a rock. Or concrete. Or a rock that falls into freshly poured concrete and is cemented there for life. That's how non-wavering it is."

Luke let out a small laugh, and then smiled at her. "Yeah?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. And I don't mean that in the vague sense of someday I wanna have another one. I mean, if you're ready to have another one soon, let's go for it."

"I'm ready when you are," he told her. "It's up to you." Lorelai's lips slowly curved into a smile and they shared a tender kiss.

Lorelai glanced down to check on Josh, still content on the grass, and then she looked at Luke. "This is kind of crazy, you know?" she said. "He's not even a year old. People are totally gonna think the next one's an accident... we're gonna be the talk of the town." She rubbed her hands together excitedly. "That's gonna be fun."

Luke smiled. "Let 'em think what they want, as long as they still wanna help babysit."

"It'll be cute having them close in age, but it's gonna be hard," she said. "Having two kids so young... it's going to be chaotic and exhausting."

"I know." He stepped closer to her and put his hands on her waist. "It might be crazy and chaotic, but we're a pretty good team, we can handle it."

"Right." Lorelai draped her arms over his shoulders. "So, roadblocks officially down?"

Luke smiled and nodded. "Yup," he confirmed, and leaned in to kiss her.

. . . . .

. . . . .

To be continued...