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. :)

13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

. . . . .

. . . . .

Lorelai's eyes were wide as she looked from Rory to Sookie to Luke, digesting the pieces of information she had just received. Out of nowhere, she was hit by a wave of dizziness, her eyes fell closed, and she collapsed to the ground.

Luke's eyes widened and he dropped her cup of lemonade on the grass. "Lorelai!" he exclaimed as he fell to his knees beside her, a deeply concerned look on his face.

Rory gasped and clasped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, my God... did she just pass out?"

"She'll be okay, it happens," Sookie said, feeling just as anxious but trying to exude calmness for Rory's sake. "People faint all the time."

Luke squeezed Lorelai's hand. "Lorelai, wake up, come on," he urged.

"She's waking up," Sookie eagerly said, pointing at Lorelai's face. She comfortingly rubbed Rory's shoulder. "Look at her eyes."

Lorelai's eyes fluttered open, and when she saw everyone staring at her, it took her a moment to realize that she was on the ground.

Rory leaned down over her mother. "Mom, are you okay? You fainted."

Lorelai nodded a little as she replied, "Yeah. I'm fine. I hope it was a graceful fall, at least."

"Are you okay to sit up?" Luke asked her. She nodded and he helped her sit up, and then he rubbed her back gently. "Are you sure you're okay? Did you hurt anything?"

"No, no, I'm good," Lorelai insisted, and then she glanced around. "Where's the boy?"

Josh was oblivious to his mother's current situation and was still crawling on the grass heading toward the cake table. "He's right there, I'll get him," Sookie said, rushing toward him.

While a lot of the partygoers were spread throughout the yard and didn't notice the fall, a few concerned guests who were nearby were now gathered around them.

As Luke helped her to her feet, Lorelai announced, "I'm fine, everyone. Probably just dehydrated... it's hot out here."

"You sure you're okay?" Gypsy asked.

"Did you bump your head?" Mrs. Kim asked.

"Do you need some ice?" Andrew asked.

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I'm okay... thanks, everyone. Just feeling a little stupid." She smiled as she waved everyone off. "Now, go enjoy the party, I promise I'm fine."

As people started to scatter and go back to what they were doing, Lorelai looked around. "My parents didn't see that, did they? Because my mother will add that to her list of reasons why outdoor birthday parties pale in comparison to the elegant indoor parties at Chateau de Gilmore." She mimicked Emily's voice as she added, "You don't ever see anyone fainting at one of our parties now, do you Lorelai?"

"Well, I think you're safe," Sookie replied, holding Josh in her arms. "I passed them when I was coming out of the inn a few minutes ago. They were both heading inside to get out of the heat."

"Which is exactly what we should be doing," Luke said. "Let's get you into the air conditioning for a few minutes. Maybe we can sit in your office?"

Lorelai could tell that he was concerned, so even though she felt fine, she knew that taking a little break would make him feel better. "Okay. Just for a minute, then we have to do the cake."

"Sookie, can you hold down the fort for a few minutes?" Luke asked, and then nodded toward Josh in her arms. "With him and the party?"

"Yup, I got it," Sookie quickly replied with a nod. "Take your time. I'll make sure everything's ready for us to sing and cut the cake."

As Luke and Rory started walking with Lorelai toward the inn, Rory asked, "Shouldn't you go to the hospital or get checked out or something?"

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea," Luke added.

Lorelai shrugged. "I feel like it might be a waste of time. I don't think they're able to do anything for a fainting spell. Fainting just happens sometimes."

"Mom, they can do some tests and make sure there's nothing else going on. Your body's telling you something," Rory said worriedly. "You should get checked out. What if something's wrong with the baby?"

"Shhh," Lorelai calmly said, glancing around nonchalantly to make sure no one heard that.

Rory winced. "Oh, sorry," she whispered.

"Honey, trust me, if I felt like something was wrong in any way right now, I'd go to the hospital," Lorelai said. "But I feel fine, I'm not in any pain, and I have a doctor's appointment in two days... I'll mention it to her then, I promise. But it's hot out here, I've been on my feet a lot, I haven't really been eating or drinking enough today... I really do think I'm just dehydrated." She glanced over at Luke, adding, "In fact, hon, can you go grab me a bottle of water?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Luke quickly replied. "I'll meet you inside."

Luke headed toward the drinks, and Rory and Lorelai continued walking toward the back door. Rory stopped Lorelai before they walked inside, looked back at Luke to make sure he was out of earshot, and then whispered, "Was it because of what I said, Mom?" Rory asked her. "It is, isn't it? You were so shocked that I made you pass out!"

"Honey, it wasn't because of what you said," Lorelai said softly. "But I do still wanna talk about that with you, okay? Not in-depth creepy details, but you know... just basic stuff."

Rory nodded. "Okay."

"But it'll have to be later because Luke's definitely not gonna leave my side the rest of the party," Lorelai said, smiling. "I know him, he's gonna be on high alert."

"We all are," Rory said. "I mean, come on... it was terrifying to see you crumble to the ground."

Lorelai rubbed Rory's arm. "Sorry to scare you like that."

"I forgive you," Rory said. "Just promise if it happens again, you'll go to the hospital, okay?"

"I promise," Lorelai said, holding up her hand. "Scout's honor." She cocked her head to the side as she added, "Now, just one question to hold me over until we can properly discuss things... you're okay, right? Emotionally, you know... everything's good? Because if we need to talk right now, we can lock ourselves in my office for a little while and talk."

Rory shook her head. "No, that's not necessary... everything's good," she confirmed. "I'm good."

"Okay, good," Lorelai said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "We'll talk later, then."

They walked into the inn and headed toward Lorelai's office, and within moments, Luke joined them with bottled water for both girls.

"People are talking about the fainting," Luke said as he sat down. "A few people stopped me to ask if you were okay."

"Oh, great, so the news is making the rounds, lovely," Lorelai said, and then she took a long sip of water. She swallowed it down, and then exhaled a deep breath. "Okay, the last thing I remember before wiping out is that Mia now knows about the pregnancy and the new inn? Am I remembering that right or was that just a dream?"

Luke grimaced a little. "You're remembering that right."

"And how exactly did that happen?" Lorelai prompted him.

"Well, somehow the pregnancy news slipped out when she was talking with Sookie," Luke replied. "I'm not sure how, you'd have to ask her. But Mia came up to me right after that and said she heard some news, and like an idiot, I assumed it was about the new inn, so I mentioned that and she looked shocked."

"So, within a matter of minutes, 2 of my 3 most trusted confidantes spilled both of my big secrets," Lorelai stated.

"Pretty much," Luke confirmed, nodding.

Lorelai patted Rory's hand. "Well, a special thank you to the other of my most trusted confidantes for not slipping up."

"You're welcome," Rory replied proudly.

"Are you angry?" Luke asked.

"No, of course not," Lorelai assured him, waving it off. "It was an accident, it's no big deal. I just have to talk to Mia and sort things out."

"She seemed understanding," Luke offered.

"Of course she did, she's Mia," Lorelai replied. "Mia's always understanding. I just don't want her to be upset that it didn't come from me."

"Right," Luke replied. He watched her finish up her water bottle, and then asked, "Are you sure everything's okay? Just close your eyes and make sure that nothing hurts or feels weird."

Lorelai obliged, and she closed her eyes for a few seconds. When she opened them, she declared, "Okay, in my moment of reflection, I've discovered that I do have one teeny tiny problem - a very full bladder."

"And that's it?" Luke asked. "Everything else is fine?"

"Yes, I promise." Lorelai stood up from her chair. "I'm hitting the ladies' room, I'll meet you guys outside."

The three of them left the office. Luke and Rory headed back outside, and Lorelai walked to the bathroom in the lobby. As she was heading into a stall, she saw Mia coming out of one.

"Oh, hey," Lorelai greeted her, feeling a little nervous.

"Hi, there," Mia replied. "Great party."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." She walked into the stall and closed the door, but continued talking. "Listen, I want us to have a chat after we cut the cake, okay? I know you heard about the new inn and you know that I'm expecting again, and I feel really bad that you didn't find out those things from me directly, and I want us to discuss them while you're here in person."

"Don't worry about it today, Lorelai," Mia replied, pausing to wash her hands in the sink before continuing. "I mean it, you should just relax and enjoy the party. Maybe we can meet up tomorrow and chat, I'm not flying out until tomorrow night."

Lorelai exhaled a sigh of relief. "Okay. Yeah, that sounds good... thank you."

"Congratulations, by the way," Mia said. "I knew it wouldn't be long before you two brought another beautiful kid into the world."

Lorelai smiled to herself as she replied, "Thank you."

"I'll see you outside," Mia said, and she left the bathroom.

Lorelai relaxed a little and took a few deep breaths, and then she heard a toilet flush. Her eyes widened - she hadn't realized there was anyone else in the bathroom. She heard another stall open and high heels walk across the bathroom floor, and she hoped to God it wasn't someone from the party.

Lorelai finished up and exited the stall, and cringed when she saw Emily waiting for her, arms folded haughtily across her chest.

Lorelai swallowed nervously as she walked over to the sink. "Oh, hi, Mom. Fancy seeing you here."

"I can't believe you, Lorelai," Emily said, shaking her head.

"What?" Lorelai replied nonchalantly before she started washing her hands.

"You know what," Emily snapped, speaking loudly over the running water. "Are you pregnant again?"

Lorelai calmly reached for a hand towel and dried her hands, then dropped it into the linen basket. She turned to face Emily and admitted, "Yes, I am."

Emily shook her head in disbelief. "Let's put aside the fact that your son is still practically an infant so the timing of this isn't something to be desired by any means, and let's focus on the fact that you failed to mention this life-changing news to your own parents."

"I failed to mention the news to anyone, Mom," Lorelai clarified. "It's still very early - our first doctor's appointment is this week, and we were going to tell you and Dad after that. Luke and I have only told Rory, Sookie, and Jess."

"And the wonderful Mia, it seems," Emily added, unable to hide the bitterness in her tone. "The woman my own daughter wishes was her real mother gets all the news before her actual mother."

"No, we did not tell her about the baby," Lorelai replied adamantly. "She knows because Sookie accidentally mentioned it to her this afternoon, but we weren't planning to tell her for a few months... it was a total accident."

"Which part - telling her, or the baby?" Emily retorted.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "The baby was not an accident, Mother. Luke and I both wanted another one and we made a conscious effort to create one, so yes, this was a planned pregnancy and we are both very happy about it."

"Well, it just seems ridiculous having kids so close together," Emily told her. "You're purposely making things more difficult for yourself."

"Just because something happens to someone that you wouldn't have wanted to happen to you doesn't make it ridiculous," Lorelai told her. "Yes, we are aware that these kids will be very close in age and that we're going to have our hands full, but it's what we want, Mom. And since you clearly recognize that it could in fact be a difficult situation at times, don't you think your support could be more appropriate here instead of criticism?"

Emily sighed. "I just don't understand why you -"

"Mom," Lorelai interrupted her, and then exhaled a deep breath. "I'm not going to argue with you in a women's bathroom in the middle of my son's first birthday party. I don't have the energy for it. If you haven't heard - and you will soon because it's the talk of the party out there - I just fainted outside because it's hot and I'm dehydrated and parties can be stressful, and this discussion really isn't helping."

Emily's eyes widened and her demeanor softened ever so slightly. "You fainted? My goodness. Are you all right? Shouldn't you call a doctor?"

"I'm fine, I drank some water, I cooled off in the air conditioning, I'm going to take it easy the rest of the day," Lorelai said. "So, if you wanna continue to berate me, an adult woman, for choosing to have another child with my husband, then can we carve out some time another day? Because I'd really like to just get back to the party."

Emily huffed out a breath and pursed her lips. "Fine."

Emily walked over to the door and was about to open it when Lorelai softly added, "Mom, I have never wished that Mia was my mother. She helped me when I was a confused teenager, and she's been a supportive boss and friend since then. She didn't replace anyone in my life, and she never will."

Emily had paused at the door, her hand on the handle, and she was completely still for a moment. She didn't realize how much she needed to hear that from her daughter until the words were actually said. She glanced back over her shoulder at Lorelai and gave her a little nod before exiting the bathroom.

Lorelai exhaled a sigh and leaned her palms against the counter as she looked into the mirror over the sink. "Who wants a regular old boring party where everything goes smoothly?" she asked her reflection. "That's so overrated."

She took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom, and was surprised to find Luke waiting for her outside the door. "Oh, hey," she greeted him.

"Hey. You were taking a little long, so I was starting to worry," Luke said. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Lorelai's lips curved into a smile. It was yet another reminder that no matter what happened, no matter what drama life brought, she had someone standing beside her making sure she was okay.

She took a step closer to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

He hugged her, and when she didn't release him right away, he hugged her tighter and rubbed her back. "You okay?" he asked.

"I'm okay," she whispered, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for checking on me."

. . . . .

. . . . .

They sang to Josh and cut the cake, and sat down at a table to enjoy dessert and to repeatedly answer inquiries from guests about the fainting episode. When they were done eating, Lorelai suggested that Luke accept Kirk's cornhole challenge.

"Nah, I don't think so," Luke said with a shrug.

"Why not? Take a 15 minute break from doting on Josh and worrying about me, and go have some fun. You like cornhole, you're good at it."

"But - "

"And I promise that I will sit on the sidelines and watch you play," Lorelai continued. "For two reasons - one, so you can keep an eye on me like I know you want to, just to make sure I'm not off fainting somewhere. And two..." She leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "You get extra sexy when you're in competitive mode, and I wanna see it."

Luke smirked. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. Plus, I want you to win us some free car washes."

Luke smirked, and then he reluctantly agreed, "Okay, fine. A quick match."

Lorelai clapped her hands excitedly. "Yay. Thank you."

Ten minutes later, Kirk and Luke were squaring off in a one-on-one match, and a crowd had gathered to watch them play. Lorelai was sitting on the grass watching with Josh, but when he kept trying to crawl away, Rory and Mark volunteered to follow after him as he explored the grounds.

Kirk's attempts to smack talk Luke only made Luke more determined to win, and he kept racking up the points. Once Luke claimed victory, Kirk sulked off and went to indulge in more desserts. As another match was starting up with some new players, Emily and Richard came over to say goodbye.

Lorelai and Luke walked them to the front of the inn, and while they were waiting for the valet to bring the car around, Emily gave a stern nod from Lorelai's face to her stomach to Richard.

Lorelai quickly picked up on the request, and then quietly whispered something into Luke's ear. He nodded in agreement, and she cleared her throat. "Um, Mom, Dad," Lorelai started, and they both looked at her.

"Yes, Lorelai?" Emily replied.

Lorelai linked her arm through Luke's. "I just wanted you to know that I have a doctor's appointment on Monday because Luke and I recently found out that..." She put her hand on her stomach. "... well, we're expecting."

Richard's eyes widened and he let out a small surprised laugh. "Goodness! Already?" Lorelai could tell he was shocked, but his eyes conveyed that it was a pleasant surprise.

"Yup, we're expanding the brood already," Lorelai replied.

"Well, that is certainly a surprise," Emily said, pretending the information was new to her.

"It is indeed," Richard said, smiling, and he extended a hand toward Luke. "I guess congratulations are in order."

Luke shook his hand. "Thank you."

"Thanks, Dad," Lorelai replied, and then looked at Emily.

"Yes, congratulations, that's lovely news," Emily added. She sounded sincere, but Lorelai honestly couldn't tell if it was genuine or not.

"You must be excited," Richard said.

"We are," Lorelai confirmed. "We're very excited."

"Well, you'll have to let us know how the appointment goes," Richard said, clasping his hands together.

"Yes, keep up posted," Emily said.

"We will," Lorelai said.

"Now, remember, we're heading down to the Cape this weekend," Richard reminded them.

"And you're still planning to come down the following weekend, right?" Emily asked hopefully. "You'll feel well enough?"

"Yes, I'm sure it'll be fine," Lorelai replied, and then asked, "And we're still all set to stay at your house for a few days when we get back from Cape Cod, right? You know, while our house is being painted?"

"Yes, of course," Emily replied. "We certainly can't have you staying in a paint-fumed house while you're pregnant."

"Okay, great, thanks," Lorelai replied.

"That'll be a big help, really," Luke added.

The valet pulled up with the car, and Emily and Richard said goodbye. Luke and Lorelai watched them pull off, and then looked at each other.

"Well, much like the ending of The Usual Suspects, this day is not going as I'd expected it to go," Lorelai said. "But that's life, right?"

"Yup. That's life." He put his hands on her waist and his voice softened. "You know, you were out for... what, only 10 seconds? Practically nothing, but it felt like hours." He shook his head slightly. "My heart was pounding, I think I stopped breathing that entire time. I was freaking out, Lorelai... just looking at you on the ground waiting for your eyes to open, I was about to lose it."

Lorelai frowned and squeezed his forearms. "Sorry I worried you."

Luke shook his head. "Not your fault, don't apologize. But man, things like that remind me that one of my biggest fears in this world is..." He paused a moment because he almost didn't want to say it out loud. Finally, he breathed out and softly finished with, "...losing you."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side and smiled at him adoringly. "That is a depressingly sweet sentiment, hon... thank you."

He smiled and pulled her into a hug. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She kissed him, and as they separated, she reached for his hand. "Okay... let's go wrap up this party."

. . . . .

. . . . .

After the party, they carted the presents home, and Rory and Mark unloaded them while Luke and Lorelai tended to a crying Josh. They calmed him down, and as Lorelai was holding him, she sniffed his hair and wrinkled her nose. "He smells like a kid who's been outside sweating for hours."

"He is a kid that's been outside sweating for hours," Luke reminded her. "We've all been outside sweating for hours."

Lorelai sniffed her arm and made a face. "Ugh, you're right. We smell gross." She nodded toward the bathroom. "Can you start a bath for him? I don't want him to go to bed smelling like this."

"Yup," Luke replied, and he headed to the bathroom.

Rory and Mark brought the last of the gifts in from the car. "This is all of them," Rory said.

"Thanks for doing that, guys," Lorelai replied.

"You're welcome," Mark replied. "Is there anything else you need help with before I head back to the inn?"

Lorelai looked confused. "You're leaving already? It's still early. You can hang out here for a little while if you want."

"We're actually gonna go to a movie at 8," Rory told her. "But we both wanted to freshen up first."

"Oh, okay," Lorelai replied, and then said to Mark, "Thanks for your help. Will we see you tomorrow before you head back home?"

Mark glanced at Rory for the answer. "Uh, yeah, I think so, right? I don't know what's on the agenda for tomorrow yet."

"I was thinking a tour of the town, and maybe lunch at the diner," Rory said. "Time to introduce you to the wonder that is a Luke's burger."

"Finally," Mark said. "I hear it has quite the fan base."

Lorelai smiled. "It does. Well, if you wanna come by in the morning, we can have breakfast and hang out a little. We can throw Willy Wonka on the TV for some classic upbeat songs about spoiled, selfish kids. What better way to round out Josh's birthday weekend?"

"Only if we cover his eyes during the boat scene," Rory said. "I'd like to prevent him from having the same nightmares I did after being exposed to it way too young."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, fine. What do you say?"

"Sure," Rory replied.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me," Mark replied with a nod. "Thanks."

Luke walked out of the bathroom, and Lorelai filled him in on the plan before they said goodbye to Mark.

Once he'd left, Rory started heading toward her bedroom, calling over her shoulder, "Let me know when he's done in there. I wanna jump in the shower before I go... I smell like sweat."

Lorelai smirked. "Yeah, we noticed we all do." Realizing this was a chance to finally talk to Rory alone, Lorelai handed Josh over to Luke. "Can you take care of bath time? I desperately need to eat something."

"Yeah, sure," Luke replied, eyeing her curiously. "You okay?"

"I feel fine, just hungry," she assured him. "And he doesn't need a long bath, just enough to get the smell off him."

"Got it," Luke replied.

Luke headed into the bathroom with the baby, and Lorelai walked to the kitchen. She grabbed a bowl of grapes from the fridge, then headed into Rory's bedroom and shut the door.

"You have time for a quick chat while Luke is busy?" Lorelai asked.

"Sure." Rory had been looking in her closet for something to wear, and she walked over to Lorelai.

They sat down on the bed facing each other, the grapes between them, and both picked at them for a moment.

Finally, Lorelai patted Rory's knee and said, "Sooo... talk to me. You had a new life experience, a big one, how do you feel?"

"I feel good," Rory replied with a nod.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Everything was fine," Rory replied. "We took it slow... he was patient and really sweet. I felt comfortable with him, you know? He makes me feel comfortable."

"Good, good." Lorelai hesitated a moment before asking, "So... was it planned? Did you know this weekend would be the weekend?"

Rory shrugged a little. "It wasn't planned, exactly, but it was something that was hypothetically referred to beforehand," she said. "We were talking on the phone a few days ago about his visit. I made a comment about how I hoped he wouldn't be too lonely in his room at the inn, and he asked if I would visit and keep him company. I said maybe, and we were kind of flirting back and forth, and it kind of became this possibility in both of our minds that things might go further."

"But you didn't decide on the phone that it was definitely happening," Lorelai deduced.

"Not really."

"So, if you had told me that you were kind of talking about it, I would have spent the entire week wondering about something that might not have even occurred."

"Yes, exactly," Rory replied. "And you had three days in a row of Josh's birthday stuff, so it didn't seem like something I should bring up and add to your stress."

"I get it." Lorelai popped a few grapes into her mouth, and then asked, "So, stupid question, I know, but I need to hear the answer... you were safe, right?"

"Of course," Rory replied with a nod.

"I know you've been covered for a few months, but that doesn't protect against everything," Lorelai added. "So, always, always, always be extra safe, okay? I can't tell you that enough."

"We will," Rory assured her. "I promise."

Lorelai smoothed her hand over the blanket on Rory's bed. "Okay, so, good, you were safe. And then afterwards, everything was good? He was cool, you were cool, everything was cool?"

"Yeah, we were fine. I stayed for a little while, we talked. We watched a little TV, that wasn't a lie this morning," Rory said. "And then he walked me out to the car."

Lorelai gave an impressed nod. "Wow, most guys would've said goodbye at the door to the room. Nice touch by Mr. Mark putting in the extra effort."

Rory smiled. "I thought so."

"And everything was good today? The way you talked, the way you got along?" Lorelai wrinkled her nose as she added, "He didn't seem different at all?"

Rory shook her head in response. "No. You saw him, he was totally the same."

"He seemed to be," Lorelai agreed. "But in terms of the one-on-one stuff between you and him today, that was the same?"

Rory thought it over for a few seconds. "Yeah. We chatted and joked with each other like we normally do. He'd hold my hand when we were walking somewhere together. He kept asking if I needed a drink or more food, things like that. He was sweet." Rory thought a little more, and then a small smile appeared on her lips. "Everything felt a little more intimate. Like when we were holding hands, or hugging, or whatever... like we were closer, you know?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I know that feeling. That's a good feeling."

"Yeah, it is." Rory picked up a grape and bit into it, looked at the center of it, and then ate the rest of it. She reached for another grape, delicately pulling it from its vine.

Lorelai watched her for a moment, noticing she looked pensive. "What's on your mind?"

Rory shrugged. "It's just weird that a few years ago, I thought Dean would be my first, and it ended up being someone else completely different."

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "Life can be funny that way."

"It's also weird that I was with Dean for so long and wasn't ready, and have only been with Mark for a few months and felt very ready."

"You guys obviously have a deeper connection," Lorelai said, and then waited a beat before adding, "That, or you're just getting looser as you get older."

Rory gasped and then laughed. "Mom!"

"Kidding, kidding," Lorelai said, smiling as she rubbed Rory's knee.

Rory looked toward the door, and then back at Lorelai. "Did you tell Luke anything?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I didn't."

"Are you going to?" Rory asked.

"Well, I'm not going to voluntarily offer up the information that his stepdaughter is officially open for business..."

"Appreciate that," Rory interjected.

"But if for some reason - and I know this is gonna sound creepy - it comes up in conversation..."

Rory made a face. "Why would it?!" she exclaimed.

"I don't know!" Lorelai exclaimed back, throwing up her arms in a shrug. "He might ask if you guys are serious or if I think you've taken things to the next level, et cetera et cetera, something like that," she explained. "So, if it does come up that way, I'm not gonna lie to him, but I'll be as vague as possible, okay?"

"Okay. The vaguest of vague would be appreciated."

"You got it." Lorelai heard the bathroom door open down the hall. "Oh, sounds like bath time is finished." She looked at Rory and said, "So... listen, I'll leave it up to you to decide how much of this new aspect of your life you wanna share with me, but I am here if you have any questions or need advice or just want to talk, okay?"

"I know you are."

"No matter what else I have going on with work or Josh or Luke or little baby to come," she said, patting her stomach. "I'm still always here for you 24 hours a day." She shrugged and nonchalantly added, "Even if you are now a mature responsible adult and don't need me as much as you used to."

Rory smiled. "I'm always gonna need you, Mom."

"Good." Lorelai leaned forward and hugged her. "I love you, kid."

"Love you, Mom," Rory replied.

Lorelai climbed off the bed. "Okay, I gotta go help Luke put the boy to bed."

"Okay." Rory glanced at the clock. "I'm gonna jump in the shower. I have to leave soon."

Lorelai picked up the grapes and started to walk out the door, then turned around to look at Rory. "I'm not going to ask you what exactly your plans are after the movie, but just let us know if you're gonna be out really late, okay? I know you're an adult, but we still worry."

Rory nodded. "Okay. I'll text you when I know how late I might be."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." She blew Rory a kiss before walking out of the room.

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next day, Rory and Mark hung out at the house for a little while before heading out to explore the town. Shortly after they left, Lorelai went to meet with Mia while Luke stayed home with Josh.

Lorelai had suggested a coffee shop in Woodbury so they could talk freely without worrying about other people overhearing their discussion. She wasn't ready for the town to know she was expecting yet.

Lorelai walked into the coffee shop and found Mia sitting at a table, and Mia stood up to greet her with a hug. "Sit, sit," Mia said, gesturing to the chair across from her.

They both sat down, and a waiter came over to the table. They ordered coffee, and then Mia suggested they get slices of cake to celebrate the exciting news.

The waiter left, and Lorelai nervously looked at Mia like a child waiting for a parent to scold her. "Okay, let me have it," Lorelai said, grimacing slightly. "Yell at me, call me ungrateful, tell me how much you hate me."

Mia cocked her head to the side. "For which part, dear? For you expanding your beautiful family, or for you deciding to start making strides toward your dream of your own inn?"

"Both."

Mia smiled. "I'm not mad at you. I'm happy for you, I'm proud of you."

"I'm really sorry I didn't get the chance to tell you myself," Lorelai reiterated.

"Hey, it's not your fault your husband and best friend have big mouths," Mia pointed out, smiling.

Lorelai smiled. "Very true."

"So, let's talk about this baby, huh? When are you due?"

"February," Lorelai replied. "Exact date to be determined, but I have my first doctor's appointment tomorrow."

"And you - "

"And it was not an accident," Lorelai added, sitting up straight in her chair somewhat defensively. "I know people are gonna think it was because Josh is only 1, but no, it was planned. We wanted another kid, so we voluntarily stopped all the processes in place that were preventing another kid so that we could, in fact, create another kid. Which we did, as we'd planned to."

Mia's eyes widened a bit. "Okay, that's good. But I was just gonna ask... you haven't told anyone yet?"

Lorelai settled down and relaxed in her chair. "Oh. Sorry."

"Someone's in defensive mode, huh?" Mia asked.

"I'm just prepared to constantly hear about how close in age they are," Lorelai replied. "But to answer your question - no, only Rory, Sookie, Jackson, Jess, and my parents know, besides you."

"Well, I'm very excited for you," Mia told her.

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks, so are we. We know it's gonna be a lot of work, but we're prepared for that."

"Oh, I don't doubt you talked about it before you voluntarily stopped the processes in place that were preventing a kid," Mia teasingly said.

Lorelai's smile widened, and she nodded. "You're mocking, but yes, as a matter of fact, we did."

The waiter brought their drinks and cake, and they took a few moments to each take a bite.

Mia wiped her face with her napkin, and then rested it back in her lap. "So, tell me about this special grandmother inn fund? Luke tried to fill me in, but the poor guy was so nervous about having spilled the secret, he was talking in circles and wasn't really making much sense."

Lorelai smiled and took a sip of her coffee to wash down her cake. As she set the mug down, she said, "By the way, if Luke asks, this is decaf."

Mia smiled. "He knows you better than that."

"True." Lorelai exhaled a small breath and then explained to Mia the terms of the money Trix had put aside for her inn. She finished with, "So, I don't technically have to open an inn by the three year mark, but I'd be an idiot not to try to get something going and use that money while I have access to it. And if I'm gonna get it started, I might as well jump right in with full force, right?"

"Yeah, it's something you should take advantage of," Mia agreed. "I definitely would. And that seems like that's what your grandmother wanted, to help motivate you to jump in."

"Yeah, I think so." Lorelai ate another bite of cake, and then asked, "So, where's your head at with this news?" She gritted her teeth. "You're gonna sell the place, right? That's what you said a few years ago when I mentioned us opening our own inn."

With an apologetic look, Mia nodded. "Yes, that would be the plan... I won't lie to you about that. And I know it'll be just as hard for you as it'll be for me."

Lorelai frowned and nodded. "Yeah, it will. But I get it."

"But look, I don't want you to think about that yet," Mia said. "I'm not gonna go out and sell the inn tomorrow. I'll give you time to get settled with the new baby without ripping your income out from under you. You just let me know when you and Sookie decide what your timeline is gonna be for the new inn, and we'll figure things out."

Lorelai seemed surprised by that. "Really? You'd be willing to wait it out and work with our timeline?"

Mia smiled and reached across the table to pat Lorelai's hand. "Lorelai, you're the reason that inn has been running so successfully for years," she told her. "I've waited this long to sell, another year or two isn't a big deal. As long as you keep it running as smoothly as you've been doing, and keep that budget in check, I don't have an issue waiting."

Lorelai smiled. "You got it." She exhaled a deep sigh of relief, and put her hand on her chest. "And thank you, seriously. I feel like a weight has been lifted."

"You're welcome." Mia took a sip of her coffee, and then asked, "So, just to make sure, you don't have any interest in buying the Independence Inn yourself, right? Because I'd give you and Sookie a much better deal than I'm planning to give those cigar-chompin' businessmen who keep knocking on my door."

Lorelai sucked in a deep breath as she thought about it, and then slowly exhaled. "Wow. That's so tempting."

"But..." Mia prompted her.

"But we've always had this plan to start from the beginning, you know? To start with a blank slate and build up something with our own design and put our own style into it," Lorelai said. "That's part of the dream, to start at the ground floor and challenge ourselves to make a name for ourselves."

Mia smiled and nodded understandingly. "Then that's what you should do," she told her. "And you two will do it spectacularly."

Lorelai grinned. "Thank you. We've learned from the best."

"Do you have a place in mind?"

"We have our eye on the old Dragonfly Inn, but Fran didn't seem too interested in selling it the last time we checked," Lorelai said, and then shook her head confusedly. "But it's just been sitting there abandoned for years, why wouldn't she want someone to put some love into it?"

"I don't know, dear."

"If she doesn't agree to sell it, then I guess we're gonna have to look for property in other towns," Lorelai said with a shrug. "Not ideal, but we'll make it work."

"Keep working on her, show her what your vision for the place is... she may come around eventually."

"We'll try," Lorelai replied, and she finished up her last few bites of cake. She sipped some coffee, and as she set it down, noticed Mia was watching her and smiling. "What?"

"You look happy," Mia observed. "Not just a regular happy, but that annoying 'completely in love and satisfied with where my life is right now and where it's going' type of happy that drives other people crazy."

Lorelai laughed. "I'm sorry, I'll try harder not to flaunt my happiness."

Mia smiled. "No, flaunt it... I like seeing you like this." She reached over and rubbed Lorelai's arm." I've seen you at many different stages of your life, Lorelai, and in many different moods... but this one... this one might be my favorite."

Lorelai grinned. "Yeah... it might be my favorite, too."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Two weekends later, Lorelai, Luke, Josh and Rory went to visit Emily and Richard in Cape Cod. They arrived mid-morning on Saturday, and after a tour of the first floor, they headed upstairs to the second floor. Emily showed Rory to her room, and then showed Luke and Lorelai to the larger guest room where a crib had been set up next to their bed.

They settled in and got ready to go to the beach. Lorelai changed Josh into his bathing suit and matching swim shirt, and then she and Luke slathered him up with sunscreen. The entire family headed to the beach, where Emily and Richard had already arranged for chairs and umbrellas to be set up for them.

Luke spread out a large blanket and dumped out the bag of sand toys they'd brought for Josh. Rory turned on the video camera, as instructed by Lorelai, to record Josh's first introduction to the beach.

"Are we ready?" Lorelai asked Rory.

"Yup." Rory had the camera aimed at them, and she pushed a button to start recording. "We're rolling."

"Okay, here we are," Lorelai announced to the camera as she held Josh in her arms. "Josh's first time at the beach... Cape Cod, August 2004. Let's see how he likes it."

She slowly lowered him down until his feet touched the sand. He dug his toes into it, and when he felt steady, Lorelai let go of him so he was standing on his own. "What do you think of that Cape Cod sand, Joshy?"

"He's thinking it feels exactly like the sand in the Stars Hollow Park sand box," Luke muttered.

"Shh," Lorelai hushed him, and then squatted down next to Josh and ran her hand in the sand. "Look... you're surrounded by a giant sand box."

Josh leaned down to run both of his hands through the sand, and then picked some up and let it fall through his fingers back to the ground. He smiled excitedly at Lorelai and did it again.

Lorelai grinned. "You like that, huh? Is that fun?"

They watched him play with the sand for a minute, and then took him down to see the water, with Rory still manning the camera. Luke stood behind Josh and held both of his hands as they waited for the tide to come up. When it did, Josh jumped a little at the coldness of the water and started whimpering, and Luke immediately lifted him up into his arms.

"It's okay, buddy," Luke told him, rubbing his back. "You're fine."

As Josh pointed at the water and made a face, Lorelai squeezed Josh's feet. "Was that too cold? Did it scare you?"

"Come on, let's try it again," Luke said, and he walked him closer to the water. He dipped Josh quickly down into the water and then pulled him back up. Luke did it a few more times, and each time Josh giggled when he was pulled back up into Luke's arms.

They filled his bucket with water and carried it back to their seating area. Lorelai and Luke sat with him as he started playing with the sand and splashing his hands in his bucket. After putting the camera away, Rory sat down next to Richard, and soon they were both reading books. Beneath her sunglasses, Emily had her eyes closed and was listening to the sounds of Josh playing and the relaxing background noise of the ocean.

After awhile, Luke stood up to stretch his legs, and Lorelai suggested the two of them go for a walk. Rory put her book away and moved down to the beach blanket to play with Josh, and Lorelai and Luke headed off.

Lorelai laced her fingers through Luke's as they walked along the water's edge. "This is nice, right?" she said, sounding surprised. "Like, weirdly nice?"

"Yeah."

"My parents are so relaxed out here, it's kind of strange."

"Yeah," Luke agreed. "I just keep waiting for your mom to say something like, 'are you sure you want him dumping sand on his legs like that'?"

"Yes! Or, 'Lorelai, should a pregnant woman really be wearing a bikini?'" Lorelai asked, mimicking Emily's tone of voice.

Luke smirked and squeezed her hand. "If she asks that, I'm answering yes... because you look good." He gave her a wink and a nod of approval as he added, "Damn good."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you, kind sir." She glanced down at her stomach. "I have to show off my hotness as long as I can because it's gonna go away soon... I'm already starting to show."

"A little bit," Luke replied, eyeing her midsection. "But you're still hot when you're pregnant."

"Nuh huh," Lorelai replied, shaking her head. "I'm going to be all fat and gross and you're gonna hate me and - "

She abruptly went silent when Luke stopped walking and pulled her closer by her hand. They stood face to face, and he put his hands on her waist. "I know you're exaggerating for dramatic effect and you know you are not actually going to be fat and gross and that I'm not actually going to hate you, but I still feel the need to correct you."

"Oh, yeah?" Lorelai replied as she casually wrapped her arms around his neck. "You disagree with my declaration?"

"Yes." He leaned in and kissed her gently. "You're beautiful and sexy, and will be for this entire pregnancy, and I will constantly remind you of that."

Lorelai smiled and kissed him again. As she pulled back, she said, "Thank you. But you are going to hate me when I hit that point in the pregnancy where I feel super uncomfortable all the time and you realize that you're not gonna be getting any for awhile, right?"

Luke smirked and shook his head. "No, I'm not." He squeezed her waist. "Contrary to popular belief, I still love you even when you're not regularly putting out."

Lorelai feigned a surprised gasp at his statement. "Wow, listen to that mouth on you, Luke Danes!" She smiled and kissed him. "You get more and more like me every day."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I know. I gave up trying to fight it."

Lorelai grinned as she took his hand and led him along the beach. "Are you excited about our upcoming Hartford vacation?"

They'd be staying at Emily and Richard's house for a few days while the painters worked at their house. Luke and Lorelai had both taken Monday and Tuesday off. On Monday, they decided they'd stay in and relax and enjoy the pool. On Tuesday, they would go furniture shopping. On Wednesday, Lorelai would go to the inn in the morning for work, and then meet Luke and Josh back at their house in the afternoon so Luke could go to the diner.

"I'm excited about relaxing on Monday," Luke replied. "Not so much about shopping on Tuesday."

Lorelai smiled. "Come on, it'll be fun picking out new bedroom furniture."

"You know, I told you, I don't mind staying at the house with him while you go do it alone," Luke reminded her.

"I don't want to pick out something you don't like," Lorelai said. "It's your room, too."

"I'm gonna be fine with whatever you pick out, it doesn't matter to me."

"Luke, listen," she said, squeezing his hand. "The old bedroom was all my stuff - my paint color, my furniture, my crap all over the place. I want this new bedroom to be ours. It's brand new, and we're gonna have new memories in it and grow old together in it, and I want it to feel like we designed it together, okay?"

Luke nodded understandingly. "Okay, yeah. We'll pick it out together."

They walked a little further down the beach before she said, "You know, while we're out shopping, we should keep an eye out for sales on things for the baby's room. I know we still have a few months, but we'll need a lot of stuff."

"What do you mean a lot of stuff? We just need a crib and a dresser," Luke said.

"We can't just stick a crib and a dresser in a room and call it a day," she told him. "We need more than that in there."

"Well, we can move the rocking chair in from Josh's room," Luke suggested.

"We each might be rocking a kid at the same time," Lorelai pointed out. "He still likes to be rocked."

Luke rubbed his forehead and exhaled a sigh. "So, we need a second rocking chair?"

"We'll look for one on sale," she said. "Or maybe we can find a used one."

"What else do we need?"

"Well, we're going to have toys and books in there, so we need storage for the toys and books. Plus, we need lighting and décor and ambiance."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Right, ambiance. Babies love ambiance."

"No, I love ambiance," Lorelai corrected him. "Bad ambiance gives a negative vibe and will make the nursery an unhappy place. But if the nursery vibe is pleasing and relaxing, it makes the baby happy and that makes me happy, and don't you want the woman who carried your child for 9 months and then had it ripped from her body to be happy?"

Luke glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow. "Well, what am I supposed to say when you put it like that?"

Lorelai grinned. "I knew you'd come around." She reached up and pinched his cheek.

Luke playfully swatted her hand away, laughing. "Yeah, yeah, you win that one," he said. "But there's something else we need to talk about that might not make the woman who carried my child for 9 months happy."

Lorelai looked at him with intrigue. "What?"

"Well, I think it's time we talk about maybe..." He inhaled sharply through his teeth before hesitantly finishing with, "... trading in your Jeep."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Luke!"

"Come on, Lorelai," Luke said. "It's time. You know it's not practical for us anymore."

"It still runs fine!"

"But it's not practical," Luke repeated. "We can barely fit the car seat in the back, and when we do, it's near impossible to get Josh in and out of it. That's why we usually take my car everywhere."

"So, we can still do that," Lorelai pointed out. "Yours will be the baby car. We'll get you a little yellow sign that says 'Babies on Board.' It'll be adorable."

Luke cocked his head to the side. "That's not gonna work... we might each have to take a kid somewhere separately, or my car might need to go in the shop or something. We're gonna have two small kids to tote around everywhere. Shouldn't we have two cars that can comfortably fit those two kids and all of their junk without a ten minute struggle to actually get each kid in the car?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I guess, sure, some people would agree with that, but do we wanna be like them? Don't we wanna be unique?"

Luke exhaled a sigh and shook his head amusedly. "All right, we don't have to decide this today... we have a few months for you to go through the five stages of grief for this topic before we need to take action."

"Well, just so you know, I'll probably spend an exorbitant amount of time in the denial phase."

"I figured," Luke replied. "But seriously, though, it's something you need to think about, okay?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, I promise that I will one day think about this topic that makes the woman who carried your children - children, plural, mind you - for 9 months very unhappy."

Luke smirked. "Thank you."

. . . . .

. . . . .

After a few more minutes of walking, they turned around and headed back to the rest of the family. Rory was sitting with Josh on the sand. She was digging a hole with a small shovel, and Josh was amusing himself by pushing sand back into it.

"Oh, good, you're back," Emily greeted them.

"Is everything okay?" Lorelai asked as she sat down on the blanket. "Was he being a handful?"

"Oh, no, everything's fine," Emily replied.

Luke handed Lorelai a bottle of water from the cooler. "Here, hydrate."

"Thanks." Lorelai opened up the bottle and took a long sip of water. "So, what'd we miss here?"

"Well, your father and I were just discussing something," Emily said, glancing at Richard, who nodded.

"Yes?" Lorelai prompted her.

"We decided that we don't want you to feel uncomfortable staying alone at our house this week, so we thought it might be easier if we joined you," Emily said.

Lorelai's eyes widened and she glanced at Luke before looking back at Emily. "Uh, what do you mean, Mom?"

"I mean, we'll leave the Cape with you tomorrow night and head back to Hartford for a few days to keep you company while you're there," Emily said.

"And then we'll head back here when you leave," Richard added.

Lorelai's eyes widened further and she stammered, "Oh, that's - you don't - I mean, that's totally not necessary."

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Luke added.

"We don't mind," Emily said.

"But why interrupt your vacation?" Lorelai asked. "You and Dad should stay here and relax, and we'll just have a quiet few days at the house, nothing to worry about. I promise we'll watch Josh like a hawk, he won't break anything or touch anything, if that's what you're worried about."

Luke nodded in agreement. "He will not be touching anything he shouldn't be touching."

"Hell, we might not even let him out of his room, that's how careful we'll be, so you don't have to worry," Lorelai added.

"Yup, we'll lock him up if we have to," Luke said, and then he glanced at Lorelai before adding, "And I'll make sure she doesn't touch anything either."

Lorelai frowned at him. "Hey."

"Sorry, I'm just not sure if they're more concerned about Josh or you," Luke muttered.

Lorelai looked back at her parents. "And I promise we're not gonna have a party or invite people over or anything," she said. "It'll just be the four of us there, and Rory will be at the paper most of that time. And Luke and I are just going to relax at the house with Josh on Monday, and then Tuesday we're going out shopping, so we won't even be there most of the day, and then we'll be out of there on Wednesday, so it seems like a waste for you to make the trip there and back." Lorelai had been speaking quickly, and she paused to catch her breath, and then added, "See, we'll be fine. Nothing to worry about."

Emily cocked her head with uncertainty, and then glanced over at Richard. "What do you think, Richard?"

"Well..." Richard said, and he glanced at Rory. "I think you were right. That was fun."

Rory grinned. "I told you."

Lorelai and Luke shared a look of confusion, and then Lorelai asked Emily, "Wait, that was a joke? You were just joking about coming back with us?"

Emily smiled and leaned back in her chair. "Yes."

"I may have suggested it would be a fun prank," Rory said with a devilish smile. "Just to see your reaction."

"And boy, was it," Richard added with a hearty laugh.

Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. "Wow. Walk away for twenty minutes and you all get in cahoots against me."

"Trust me, Lorelai, we're well aware you would rather be alone at the house without us around to get in your way," Emily said. "So, you go right ahead and treat that as your vacation, and we'll stay here and enjoy ours."

"Thank you," Lorelai replied, and then she leaned in closer to Josh. "You still love Mommy, right? Because apparently your sister doesn't... she likes to see pregnant women suffer."

"Aw, come on," Rory said apologetically. "It was just a joke, no harm done."

Lorelai waved it off. "I know, I forgive you." She pointed at her, adding, "But I never forget."

"Oh, I know you don't," Rory said.

"So, your official due date is February the 20th, right?" Emily asked.

"That's right," Lorelai replied, and she patted her stomach. "My little winter baby to go with my autumn and summer babies."

"It could be a Valentine's Day baby," Rory pointed out.

"Yeah, it could be. I wonder what the ratio is of babies conceived on Valentine's Day versus babies born on it," Lorelai mulled.

"We don't need to know," Emily said, quickly ending that discussion. "Will you be finding out the sex of the baby before it's born this time?"

Lorelai's eyes widened a little, surprised by the question. "Oh, wow, um... way to throw a curveball at us, Mom." She glanced up at Luke. "We haven't talked about that yet."

"No, we haven't," Luke said, and he sat down next to her on the blanket.

"Do you wanna find out this time?" Lorelai asked him.

Luke thought it over for a moment and then he shrugged. "Yeah, I think I wouldn't mind knowing ahead of time. What about you?"

"Yeah... me, too. I wouldn't mind knowing either," Lorelai said. "Plus, we'd know if we have to go buy a bunch of new baby clothes, or if we could just pass down most of Josh's old manly stuff."

"Well, if it could potentially save us some money and shopping time, we should definitely find out," Luke declared.

Lorelai smiled. "Okay. I'm in if you're in."

"Let's do it," he said.

Lorelai turned to look at Emily. "Yes, I think we're gonna find out this time."

"Yes, I heard, Lorelai," Emily replied. "I'm sitting right here."

"That's exciting," Rory said. "When can you find out?"

"Um, let's see..." Lorelai thought for a moment, trying to remember how many weeks along she was. "I think in another 6 weeks or so."

"So, around the end of September," Rory said.

"Yup," Lorelai replied, and then she watched Josh try to stand up on the sand. "Oops, we got a runner. Let's see how far he can get."

They all watched as he took a few steps on the sand, and then stumbled and fell down.

"Not very far," Richard declared with a laugh.

"Good try, buddy," Luke said. "It's hard to walk on sand."

Emily stood up from her chair. "I'm going to head back to the house and make sure Rosalie is starting lunch."

"I'll go with you, Emily," Richard said, standing up.

"We'll head back in a few minutes," Lorelai said.

Richard and Emily left, and the others hung out on the beach for a little while longer before heading back to the house for lunch.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Over the next few weeks, the construction on the house finally wrapped up. Luke and Lorelai moved back upstairs into their new master bedroom suite, and Josh settled into his new larger nursery. The second nursery was still pretty bare, but they had a few months to get it ready.

They moved Rory back to Yale at the end of August and got her settled in to her new dorm room with Paris.

Lorelai continued to hide her pregnancy from the town, using loose clothing and strategically carried purses to try to hide her growing stomach. However, by early September, it was getting harder to hide.

They decided that instead of telling people, she would just stop hiding it and let them figure it out for themselves. On the Saturday before Labor Day, she threw on a dress, one that hugged her visible baby bump, and went out to run some errands in town. She made her way from the dry cleaner to the bank to the market, and tried to optimize the number of people who saw her. She went out of her way to say hello to people, to draw their attention her way, but no one noticed or brought up her expectant figure.

When she arrived home, Lorelai walked through the baby gate into the living room. Luke was tightening the loose doorknob on the side door, and Josh was playing with some toys on the floor in front of the coffee table.

"How'd it go?" Luke asked.

Lorelai sat down on the couch. "Well, nobody said anything, so I'm not really sure. I didn't see Patty or Babette, which would've made things much easier... they would've noticed, commented, and spread the word to the town in ten minutes flat."

"Well, a few more outings like that, and everyone will catch on." Luke walked over and sat down next to her on the couch. "If not, we can just come out and say it. I mean, we don't have to wait for them to notice."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I can't just be like, 'hey Taylor, how much are the extra large marshmallows? By the way, I'm pregnant'," she said. "That's not as fun as someone picking up on it and watching that confused look in their eyes as they wonder if it's true, and then they hesitantly ask and I pretend that I'm not pregnant so they feel guilty for calling me fat, and then I tell them I'm just kidding, and we laugh and hug." She tapped the side of her head. "I have it all worked out in my head on how it's supposed to go."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Geez."

"I want to see how long it takes people to notice. That's one of the main characteristics of small town life, that everyone knows everything about each other. Well, this is a test to see how well they pay attention to us."

"I'd prefer that they didn't pay any attention to us."

Josh finally noticed that Lorelai had returned home, and he stood up and toddled over to her. "Ma!" he declared, excitedly smacking her knee. "Ma!"

Lorelai smiled. "Hi, little man," she cooed as she picked him up and sat him on her lap. "Look at you, my little expert walker." She kissed his cheek. "I love you."

"He's getting faster," Luke said. "I left the gate open earlier when I went to get him a drink and he took off toward the kitchen like a racehorse."

Lorelai grinned. "He loves escaping, he gets so proud of himself." She glanced toward the entryway. "Oh, shoot, I got him more apple juice, but I left the bag from Doose's in the car."

Luke stood up from the couch. "I'll go get it."

"Thank you," Lorelai said.

As Luke walked past them, Josh reached for him and said, "Dada!"

Luke rubbed Josh's head. "Dada will be right back."

Luke headed outside, and Lorelai picked up one of Josh's books from the coffee table and started reading it to him. When the house phone rang, Lorelai ignored it and kept reading.

Luke walked back into the house and heard the phone ringing. "Should I get that?"

"The machine will get it." Lorelai resumed reading and Luke headed to the kitchen to unload the bag.

After a few more rings, the answering machine clicked on, and Rory's voice filled the living room. "Hey, Mom, it's me. I just got an alert from the Stars Hollow website that a new story was posted in the gossip column. It's um... well, I think it's about you. It doesn't mention any names, but it's titled 'Plump or Pregnant?' and it talks about a Stars Hollow female who was seen out in town today carrying some extra weight. It also says that she recently had a baby, so the debate is on whether she's reproducing again already or if her junk food habit is finally catching up to her." There was a brief pause. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's you. Call me back."

Lorelai had been staring at the answering machine from the couch and Luke had been listening from the entryway to the kitchen. Once Rory had hung up, they smiled at each other from across the hallway.

"Okay, I guess it did work," Lorelai said.

"I guess so. Someone out there was paying attention."

There was a knock on the side door, and Lorelai glanced at it. She saw Babette's face in the window, and then smiled at Luke. "Gee, I wonder what in the world Babette's doing here."

"It's a mystery," Luke said sarcastically as he walked toward the living room.

Lorelai waved Babette into the house. "Come in, Babette!" she called.

Babette quickly stepped into the house. "Hey, dolls."

Luke was standing on the other side of the baby gate. "Hey, Babette. You need to borrow something?"

"No," she replied as she walked over to the couch. "Just stopping by to say hello." As she sat down next to Lorelai, her eyes were focused on Lorelai's stomach, which was blocked by Josh on her lap. "Wanted to see how my favorite neighbors are doing."

"We're doing pretty good, Babette," Lorelai replied, and then she looked over at Luke. "You would say we're doing pretty good, right, hon?"

"Pretty great, actually," Luke replied.

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Yeah, pretty great sounds about right." She turned back to Babette. "We're pretty great. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm good, doll, thanks," Babette replied, and then she reached toward Josh and squeezed his knee. "And how's this cutie doing?"

"Oh, he's great, too," Lorelai replied, and knowing that Babette couldn't wait for Lorelai to put Josh down, she added, "He's a pretty good walker now. You wanna see it?"

"I would love to see it," Babette replied with wide eyes. "Put him down, let me see it!"

Lorelai smiled and set Josh on the floor. "Go see Daddy, honey. Where's Daddy?" Lorelai pointed toward Luke.

Luke reached his hands down over the baby gate. "Come here, buddy." Josh made eye contact with Luke and started heading toward him. "Good job, come here."

"Good job, Joshy," Lorelai said encouragingly, watching him walk away.

When Josh reached the gate, Luke picked him up and tickled his belly, making him giggle. "Good job."

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Lorelai asked, turning to look at Babette.

"Yeah, yeah, that was great," Babette distractedly replied while staring intently at Lorelai's stomach. "Are you pregnant or just gaining weight?" she bluntly asked.

Lorelai let out a laugh and checked the clock. "Wow, you lasted longer than I thought you would."

"Same here," Luke agreed. "Good job, Babette."

Babette eagerly looked back and forth between the two of them. "Well, which one is it?!"

"Yes, I am pregnant," Lorelai told her.

Babette gasped. "Really?" She disappointedly slapped her knee. "Darn, I had my money on the gaining weight."

Lorelai smirked. "Sorry."

"Well, that's still exciting news, doll," Babette said, and she leaned in to hug Lorelai. "Congratulations, both of you."

"Thank you," Lorelai replied.

"Yeah, thanks," Luke echoed.

As she pulled back from Babette, Lorelai said, "Now, before you run off to make all your calls to pass the news along - make sure you tell everyone that it was planned, it was not an accident. We want everyone to know that yes, this was a conscious choice to expand the family."

"Are you sure?" Babette asked, clearly unconvinced. "Because it seems awfully soon since the last kid."

"One hundred percent sure," Luke replied. "It was fully discussed beforehand."

"And you can also tell people it's due on February 20th," Lorelai added.

"Okay, got it," Babette said. "Pregnant, totally planned, due on February 20th." She stood up from the couch. "I better go before I forget. Congratulations again."

"Thanks," Lorelai replied. "And thanks for spreading the word."

"Bye, Babette," Luke said, and he said to Josh, "Can you wave bye... wave bye-bye."

Josh held out his hand and opened and closed his fist a few times.

"Good job," Lorelai said, smiling.

Babette waved back to him. "Bye, cutie." She walked over to the side door and let herself out.

Lorelai leaned back against the couch. "Well, mission accomplished," she said to Luke. "Now we just let the news spread like wildfire."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few weeks later, Lorelai and Luke were in the examination room at Lorelai's doctor appointment. Dr. Palmer walked in, smiling. "Hello, you two," she greeted them.

"Hi, there," Lorelai said as Luke nodded hello.

Dr. Palmer glanced down at the chart in her hands. "I see the nurse took your weight and blood pressure. Both look good." She looked at Lorelai. "How are you feeling? No more fainting issues?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Nope, I've been doing good staying upright."

"Good, good," Dr. Palmer said. "Any back pain, stomach pain, anything I should know about?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Not really."

"Have you felt any movement yet?" Dr. Palmer asked.

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah, a few times over the past week or two."

"Not every day, though," Luke added. "That's normal, right?"

"Yes, that's normal for this stage," Dr. Palmer confirmed. "The movement will become more frequent over the next few weeks." She put the clipboard down and clasped her hands together. "Okay, I'm gonna look you over, and then the technician, Marla, will come in and do your ultrasound, and I'll be back in to discuss it."

"Okay," Lorelai replied.

Dr. Palmer looked from Luke to Lorelai. "Have you decided if you wanna know the sex? I remember you didn't find out with the last pregnancy."

They both nodded. "Yes, we want to know this time," Lorelai confirmed.

Dr. Palmer smiled. "Okay. We may be able to see that today if baby cooperates."

The doctor examined Lorelai, and then she left the room. They waited a few minutes for the technician to come in, and then the ultrasound was started.

Luke held Lorelai's hand as they both stared intently at the baby's image on the screen. When they heard the swishing of the baby's heartbeat, Lorelai looked at Luke with a wide smile as happy tears formed in her eyes.

"I love that sound," she said.

Luke squeezed her hand. "Me, too."

They both looked back at the screen as Marla moved the paddle around Lorelai's abdomen. "Are you able to tell the sex?" Lorelai asked.

Marla smiled at them. "Looks like the baby is giving us a pretty good view. Dr. Palmer will confirm it for you."

Lorelai's heart started to race a little and she smiled. "Okay." She looked at Luke and raised an eyebrow. "We came in here with an 'it' and we're leaving with a 'he' or 'she.'"

Luke smiled and nodded. "Yup."

Marla finished up the ultrasound and left them alone to wait for the doctor, which she said would probably be in about ten minutes. Lorelai was sitting up on the exam table, her legs hanging over the side, and Luke was standing behind her gently rubbing her shoulders.

"How're you feeling?" Luke asked.

Lorelai glanced back at him over her shoulder. "Weirdly nervous," she admitted.

"Me, too."

Lorelai looked down at the sonogram in her hand. "What do you think? Can you tell?"

"Well, it kind of looks like Josh's did," Luke remarked. "But I can never tell what anything is in these pictures, anyway."

"It would be cute to have another boy and they'd be super close in age and bond over the same things and be best friends," Lorelai said.

"Or they'd hate each other and rip each other's heads off," Luke offered.

"Or that," Lorelai agreed.

"Or a girl would be cute because Josh could be like this protective older brother and take care of her," Luke said. "You know, protect her if someone's picking on her."

Lorelai pointedly cleared her throat. "Ahem. Or she could end up being the protective little sister and take care of him, and also kick his ass when he gets out of line."

"That, too," Luke agreed, smiling. "And probably a likely possibility with your genes."

"I take that as a compliment, so thank you," Lorelai said.

The door opened and the doctor walked into the room. "I'm back," she greeted them, smiling. "Marla says everything went well?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yup, all good here."

"Good, good," Dr. Palmer said. "I reviewed the images, everything looks normal. I don't see anything that's a cause for concern at this point."

"But you're going to be monitoring things closely because of my age," Lorelai interjected. "Go ahead, you can say it, I'm used to the speech."

Dr. Palmer smiled. "Yes, we will keep a close eye on things as a precaution."

"Am I your first patient to have a kid at ages 35 and 36?" Lorelai asked curiously. "That's gotta be some kind of record."

"It's a unique situation, for sure," Dr. Palmer confirmed with a nod, and then she looked from Lorelai to Luke. "So, do you still want to know what you're having? Because we did have a pretty good view."

"Ooh, good job posing for the camera, kid," Lorelai said as she patted her stomach, and then she looked at Luke. "You ready to find out? Last chance to change your mind. Once you hear the news, you can't un-hear it."

Luke nodded and reached for her hand. "I'm ready."

Lorelai looked at Dr. Palmer. "Yes, we wanna know."

"Okay." Dr. Palmer looked down at the sonogram on her clipboard, and then smiled at them. "It's a girl."

Lorelai's eyes widened and her lips curved into a smile. "It's a girl?" She looked at Luke. "It's a girl."

Luke was smiling, and his eyes were lit up with both surprise and happiness. "Wow." He shook his head slightly. "Wow." He leaned in to kiss her and squeezed her hand. "We're having a girl," he said softly.

"We're having a girl," she whispered, smiling brightly.

. . . . .

. . . . .

To be continued...

Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading! Wishing everyone a great holiday season and a happy new year! I'll be back with more updates in 2020. :)