Chapter 14

. . . . .

. . . . .

It was the first Tuesday of November. Lorelai was sitting with Josh on the floor of the living room surrounded by a circle of wooden train tracks. Lorelai handed Josh a train car, watched him delicately line it up on the track behind the other train cars, and then handed him another one. "Here you go, dude. Good job."

When Luke arrived home from work, they were still on the floor playing with trains. "Hey," he said as he walked into the living room.

"Hi." Lorelai smiled up at him. "Welcome to Grand Central Station."

Luke smiled. "Nice track you guys built."

"Thank you," Lorelai replied. "I don't wanna throw anyone under the bus, but one of us put a lot more effort into the construction of said track than the other one did." She subtly nodded toward Josh. "This guy - not a great engineer."

"Yet," Luke emphasized. "He just needs some practice."

Lorelai suddenly gasped. "Oh, but look what he finally learned," she said, and she held up a train in front of Josh. "Tell Daddy what a train sounds like, Josh... how's the train go?" She leaned in closer and whispered, "Tell Daddy choo choo."

Josh excitedly said, "Too!"

Luke grinned. "Good job, buddy."

Lorelai smiled and rubbed Josh on the back. "Good boy." She reached out her hands toward Luke. "Can you help me up? I really have to go to the bathroom."

Luke helped her stand up, and she groaned and rubbed her back. "You okay?" he asked. "Is your back still hurting?"

"A little bit," Lorelai replied, and she leaned in to kiss him. "How was work?"

"It was fine," Luke replied. "Eric came in with Jenna for dinner. He and I are gonna meet up for a drink one night when Kelly gets back from her business trip."

"Oh, good," Lorelai said, smiling. "You guys haven't had a man-date in a while."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Please don't call it that."

"Sorry. Make sure you have an extra drink for me."

"Will do." Luke sat down on the couch and rested his hands on his knees. "In other news, I found out that my sister's coming to town next week."

"Oh, yeah? Any special reason or just a random visit?"

He looked up at her, exhaled a sigh, and forced himself to smile as he replied, "She wants to find a house to live in during the off-season when they're not traveling with the renaissance circuit."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Seriously? Wow. That's big news."

"Yup." Luke sighed and shook his head. "Big news. Big freaking news."

Lorelai hesitated for a moment. "Okay, I can see you don't look overly thrilled, so I want to be supportive and listen to whatever rant you have brewing..." She looked toward the bathroom and then back at Luke with a grimace. "But first, I really need to go."

Luke smirked and waved her toward the bathroom. "Go ahead... I'll wait."

"Be right back."

Lorelai headed out of the room, and Luke slid down onto the floor to play trains with Josh. Lorelai returned to the room, and grabbed some leftover Halloween candy from a bowl on the desk before she sat down on the couch.

"Okay, let me have it," Lorelai said as she started opening a piece of chocolate. "Tell me why you don't want your sister moving here."

Luke looked up at her from the floor. "Would you want your parents moving here?"

"Okay, enough said," Lorelai replied, and casually popped the piece of candy into her mouth.

Josh had abandoned the train track and was now lining up his trains in front of the staircase. He seemed to be okay working on it alone, so Luke stood up and sat next to Lorelai on the couch.

Lorelai rubbed his leg. "Talk to me."

"It's not that I don't want them moving here," Luke said. "You know I love my sister."

"Yes, I know."

"I love her, I'm her family, I'm always gonna be there for her," Luke continued.

"But..." Lorelai prompted him.

"But if she moves back here, I just worry that she's gonna go back to always depending on me for everything, to fix all her problems," Luke explained. "And you and I are gonna be juggling two young kids soon over here... I think my free time's gonna be spoken for without adding another dependent."

"Well, she has a husband now, a partner," Lorelai pointed out. "You're not the one who needs to rescue her anymore."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Please. Who do you think is gonna have to rescue them both when he fails trying to rescue her?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Maybe she's not going to need rescuing. She's different than she used to be, Luke. You've said it yourself, she's more responsible now."

"Yeah, I know, I just... I'm preparing for the worst."

"Well, if the worst comes to fruition, we'll deal with it then. Otherwise, think about how it might be nice to have some family around," Lorelai said. "It'll be good for our kids to get to know them, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess," he reluctantly agreed.

"Does Jess know about this whole thing?"

"Yeah, he's the one that told me. Liz called him this morning to let him know she'd be in town next week."

"What are his thoughts on this?"

"He seemed indifferent," Luke replied with a shrug. "I think as long as she still gives him his space and he still gets to be independent and live on his own and doesn't have his mom and TJ in his face all the time, he probably doesn't care."

"Good, so hopefully it'll be good for everyone," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, hopefully." Switching topics, Luke patted her leg and said, "Oh, hey, I was thinking... what about going to Sniffy's for dinner tonight? We haven't been there in a few weeks, I'm sure Maisie and Buddy would like to see us and Josh."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, that sounds good. Maybe we can stop at the store on the way, I have to pick up a present for Davey's birthday party this weekend."

Luke made a face. "Shopping, really? Ugh."

"I can just run in real quick, you can stay in the car with the boy," Lorelai suggested. "Sookie gave me some ideas of what to get, so it'll be fast."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Right. And in between picking out that fast present for Davey and walking back to the register, you'll pick up 17 things you don't need, and 2 hours later, come out with an entire shopping cart full of stuff."

Lorelai giggled. "Okay, yes, there is precedent for that, so I have no argument, but I promise you this time I will be in and out. That's why we'll go before dinner, because if I'm hungry, I'm gonna wanna hurry to get to the restaurant."

"All right, fine, but I'm setting a timer for 10 minutes. You go over that, no foot massage tonight."

Lorelai gasped. "Luke Danes, you wouldn't dare deprive your pregnant wife of her end of day massage, would you?"

Luke hesitated a moment before admitting, "Okay, probably not."

Lorelai smirked. "You know, this is probably a good time to remind you that positive reinforcement works better than negative. You should practice that now, it'll come in handy with the kids."

"So I should treat you like a kid?" he joked.

Lorelai leaned in close to him and breathily whispered, "Well, you do like when I call you Daddy in this voice."

Luke smirked and shook his head. "No, I don't, stop it. It's creepy now."

Lorelai smiled. "Back to the point... positive reinforcement. Like maybe instead of a negative result if I'm late, how about a positive result if I'm early? Like if I make it back in under 15 minutes, I get an extra special massage. And yes, we're going with 15 minutes, not 10 as you originally suggested." She pointed to her stomach. "Baby living inside me means slower walking and more time needed."

"All right, fine. Under 15 minutes means an extra long massage tonight, okay?"

Lorelai smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "Thatta boy." She stood up from the couch. "I'll get him ready to go."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few weeks later, at Friday night dinner, Lorelai and Rory were sitting across from Emily and Richard in the living room while Luke patiently followed Josh around the room.

Lorelai had her hands on her stomach. "She's kicking again. This little girl is so active, I can't even tell you," she said, shaking her head. "She's always moving around and I'm like, come on, take a nap or find some other hobby that does not include constantly kicking my bladder."

"Does it hurt?" Rory asked.

"No, just makes me have to pee every 15 minutes," Lorelai replied.

"Lorelai, please, that's not appropriate," Emily scolded her.

"Oh, sorry... it makes me have to pee every quarter of an hour," Lorelai corrected herself in a British accent, and then raised an eyebrow. "How was that, Mom... proper enough for you?"

Emily rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink. Before she could respond, they heard a banging noise, and they all turned toward it. Josh was slapping both hands on the sliding glass door.

"It appears someone wants to go outside," Richard observed.

"Yeah, someone who doesn't realize it's 30 degrees out there," Luke said, and he picked up Josh. "Not now, buddy... it's dark and cold out. Come on, let's go see what toys you have."

Luke rummaged in the diaper bag and pulled out some toys, and got Josh settled on the floor with them before sitting down in the armchair beside him.

Lorelai noticed a different vase on the mantle. "Is that new?" she asked, nodding toward it. "That vase."

Emily and Richard both turned to look at it, and Emily replied, "Well, it's new to the room, but not new to the house. It used to belong to my grandmother... my mother's mother, Kathryn."

"Aw, really?" Rory asked. "It's beautiful."

"Yes, we've had it upstairs in the hallway, but I thought I might change things up a little," Emily replied. "I remember that vase was in the living room of my grandparents' house, and it always had fresh flowers in it. My grandmother loved fresh flowers... always said they brought some more life to a house."

"As you can see, Emily has that same penchant for fresh flowers," Richard said, pointing out a few of the fresh bouquets in the room.

"Yes, I must've inherited that from my grandmother," Emily said, and she glanced wistfully at the vase. "I do miss her often, and fresh flowers make me think of her."

They continued chatting over drinks, and discussed plans for Thanksgiving the following week. When the maid announced dinner, Emily and Richard headed to the dining room. As Luke picked up Josh, Rory started cleaning up the toys on the floor.

Josh reached for Lorelai, and Luke said, "I can carry you. You're getting heavy for Mommy to carry in her condition."

Lorelai smirked. "Condition... like I have a disease." Josh whined and reached for her again, and Lorelai felt bad. "Aww, okay, come here," she said, taking him from Luke. "You know it's hard to say no to that face." She kissed him on the cheek as Josh hugged Lorelai's neck. "Let's go see what special treat Grandma made you for dinner."

Per Emily's request, Lorelai had provided a list of foods that Josh liked so Emily could make sure there was something for him to eat at Friday night dinners. And while Emily had made several disapproving remarks about the choices on the list, she'd been surprisingly accommodating in following it.

They walked to the dining room, and Lorelai put Josh in his high chair nestled between Luke and Lorelai's chairs. There was a small plate in front of him with a grilled cheese sandwich and some applesauce, and Lorelai said, "Ooh, look at what you get to have, Joshy. Looks good."

"It looks like food they'd serve at an orphanage," Emily remarked. "Or worse yet, a public school."

"The food at public school is worse than an orphanage?" Lorelai asked, shaking her head with confusion. "Have you not seen Annie, Mom? They just have pots of mush... sometimes hot, sometimes cold when Miss Hannigan's in a mood."

"Do orphanages even exist anymore?" Luke wondered out loud.

"I believe the foster system has replaced the typical orphanages that were established hundreds of years ago," Richard said.

"Yes, they did," Rory agreed. "I did a paper on it last year."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? You still have it? I'd like to read that."

"Yeah, I can track it down for you," Rory confirmed.

"Thanks."

"Boy, as fascinating as this orphan talk is," Lorelai commented dryly. "Is there nothing else we can talk about?"

"Well, yes, actually, your father and I want to share some news," Emily said, glancing at Richard. "Something we're very excited about - right, Richard?"

Richard rubbed his hands together. "Yes, indeed," he replied, and then looked back and forth at the others on both sides of the table. "You might not be aware, but our 40th wedding anniversary is coming up in February."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Wow, 40 years. I hadn't realized."

"Congratulations," Luke said.

"Yeah, that's amazing," Rory said.

"Yes, it is," Emily agreed. "And we've decided to throw a party so we can celebrate and renew our wedding vows."

"That's cool," Rory said.

"Yeah, very cool," Lorelai agreed. "But when exactly in February, guys? Because that's the month I have previous plans to expel a human from my nether region."

Emily shot her a look. "Lorelai, must you be so crude?"

"Uh, nether region is literally the least crude way I could've described it, Mother," Lorelai countered.

"You could have simply said 'give birth' instead of painting the visual," Emily pointed out.

"Okay, well, sure, I could have," Lorelai agreed with a nod. "But I do enjoy picking up a brush and painting a good visual now and then."

Emily sighed. "Anyway, yes, we did consider that February is your last month of pregnancy, but you're not due until the end of the month and the party will be in the beginning of the month, so hopefully she won't decide to make too early of an arrival."

"Yeah, hopefully, because if she makes me miss out on cake, I'm going to be very upset," Lorelai said, and she looked down at her stomach. "You hear that, little girl?"

"If that happens, I will personally bring you a piece of cake from the party to help prevent the lifelong grudge against my sister," Rory assured her.

Lorelai smiled appreciatively at her. "Thank you."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few weeks before Christmas, the town held their annual holiday procession. Lorelai had been selected to play the "before" Mary in the procession, an honor she was very excited about. And to keep the Mary's in the family, she convinced Taylor to let Rory play the "after" Mary.

While Lorelai and Rory were at Miss Patty's getting ready, Luke was at the diner with Josh trying to stay warm. Liz and TJ, having recently closed on their newly-purchased house in Stars Hollow just a few weeks earlier, were finishing up dinner at the counter.

Liz had a pamphlet of paint colors in front of her, trying to decide on a color for their bathroom. "I think we need to go with something calm," she said to TJ.

"So, what's wrong with the red I liked?" he replied. "I find red very calming."

"Red is not calming, it's intense and in your face," Liz argued. "We need a blue or a green or a beige in there."

"Boring, boring, and boring," TJ replied.

"The bathroom's supposed to be boring," Liz said.

"You said it's supposed to be relaxing," TJ countered. "Make up your mind!"

"Boring means relaxing," Liz replied, and then she turned around to Luke sitting at the table behind them. "Luke, what color is your master bathroom?"

Luke thought for a moment. "Uh, it's got some blue, a little yellow."

Liz gasped and patted TJ on the arm. "See, blue and yellow... very calming. Let's look at the blues again."

Luke fed Josh some Goldfish crackers and tried to tune out the conversation behind him. "How're you doing?" he asked Josh. "We're gonna go see Mommy and Rory in a few minutes, okay?"

The bell on the door jingled and Sookie walked in looking for Luke. She rushed over to him, said hello to Josh, and then sat down across from Luke. "Okay, we have a few minutes alone, talk to me," Sookie said. "What's the plan?"

Sookie and Jackson were going to help Luke with a Christmas surprise for Lorelai. Luke had been telling Lorelai that they'd get the nursery furniture in January, but he'd secretly purchased the set she'd picked out and it was going to be delivered to Liz's house in the next few days.

"Okay, you'll say that Jackson's going out somewhere on Saturday night, and invite Lorelai and Rory over with the baby for one of those... whatever you guys call it," Luke said.

"A girls' night," Sookie supplied.

"Yeah, and then Jackson will come over to help me at our house. My buddy John and Benny from the construction crew are gonna help out, too. We'll pick up the furniture from Liz's house, bring it back to our place, and get it upstairs and assembled," Luke said.

"You're gonna be able to get it all done in a few hours?" Sookie asked warily.

"I think so, we have enough hands, and I think only the crib and the changing table need to be put together," Luke said.

"Don't forget to put a sheet and a blanket in the crib," Sookie reminded him. "It'll make for a better reveal than just a plain mattress."

Luke nodded. "Rory's on top of that. She also picked out a couple of toys and a lamp... she said that would make it feel more homey or something," he said with a shrug.

"Good girl," Sookie said. "How are you gonna keep Lorelai out of the room until Christmas?"

"I'm gonna tell her I'm hiding her presents in there, and I'm gonna install a lock on the door just to make sure she doesn't try to sneak a peak," Luke said.

Kirk pushed open the door to the diner and strutted inside. "Well, well, well... look who it is."

Luke narrowed his eyes and looked at Sookie. "Who's he talking to?"

Sookie shrugged. "No idea." She turned toward Kirk. "What's up, Kirk?"

Kirk walked over to their table and eyed Luke. "Wasn't enough that you had one family member in the procession, you had to have two in it, huh?"

"What are you babbling about?" Luke asked as he passed Josh another goldfish.

"Lulu was in the running to play the 'after' Mary," Kirk told him. "And you ripped that dream right out of her hands. I hope you're happy with yourself."

"I had nothing to do with it, Kirk," Luke said. "If you have a problem with the procession, go talk to Taylor."

"I thought Lulu was playing an angel," Sookie said. "That's still a good gig."

"Are you kidding me?!" Kirk exclaimed. "Mary is the star of the show... she's the Lucy in I Love Lucy. No one else compares to Lucy! And now greedy Luke has two Lucy's in the show and I have none!"

Luke slowly stood up from his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "Kirk, it was Taylor's decision, so go take your whining to him. I wasn't involved." He pointed menacingly at Kirk as he added, "But if I find out you tried to take it out on Lorelai or Rory in any way, I'm suddenly going to be involved and you're gonna wish I wasn't. Got it?"

The confidence with which Kirk had entered the diner quickly dissipated and he muttered, "Got it." He glanced toward the counter, and then back at Luke. "Do I have time for a cookie before it starts?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Go ask Caesar. We're leaving now."

"Yeah, I see people starting to head over," Sookie said, looking out the window.

Kirk walked toward the counter, and Luke zipped up Josh's jacket and lifted him from the high chair. "Let's go, kiddo." He looked over toward the register and called, "Caesar, I'm heading out."

Caesar gave him a wave of acknowledgement. "Have fun."

"You guys coming to the procession?" Luke asked Liz and TJ.

"Yeah, we'll be right out," Liz replied.

Luke followed Sookie outside, and put Josh in his stroller parked out on the sidewalk. Luke glanced toward the group of people starting to walk over from Miss Patty's, and smiled when he saw Lorelai dressed in her costume. He hadn't been overly enthusiastic about her taking part in the event, but he did like that she was so excited about it. He could tell she was having fun.

Lorelai waved when she saw them, and as she got a little closer, she gestured to her costume. "What do you think? Spitting image of a virgin?"

Luke smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Yup, one hundred percent."

"Looking good, honey," Sookie said. "Where's the 'after' Mary?"

Lorelai gestured behind her toward the end of the line. "She's back there somewhere."

Luke searched the crowd and spotted Rory, dressed in an identical costume as Lorelai. "Oh, yeah, I see her."

Everyone walked toward the square, and Sookie, Luke, and Josh found Jackson and Davey in the crowd and waited for the procession to begin.

After the festivities and tree lighting took place, they had hot chocolate and snacks in the square, and eventually, many people ended up at Miss Patty's studio to chat inside where it was warmer. Luke was anxious to get home, but he knew Lorelai was having fun mingling.

They had taken Josh out of his stroller, and he was walking around the studio with TJ, who had offered to watch him. Luke kept glancing over at them to make sure Josh was okay.

"He loves kids," Liz said about TJ. "And they seem to like him, too."

"It might have something to do with that... um, young personality he has," Luke said, trying to phrase it as kindly as he could.

"Yeah, he has a playful vibe, kids can sense that," Lorelai added.

"Like you," Liz replied, nodding at Lorelai. "You know, you and TJ are a lot alike."

Luke flinched a little and muttered, "Well, I wouldn't say that exactly."

"No, really, they are," Liz insisted. "Their personalities are really similar... fun and playful and laid back. It's kinda funny that you and I are attracted to that same type of person."

Luke really didn't want to think about any similarities in whom he and his sister were attracted to. "Oh, you know what, I see Andrew over there, I wanted to ask him something," he said, and excused himself from the conversation.

Lorelai knew it was a fake escape and that he needed a little breather, so she stayed chatting with Liz for a few minutes before she excused herself to go find him.

She checked on Josh and TJ first, who were now playing with Davey in the corner of the room, and then stopped to chat with Rory and Lane for a minute. When she couldn't find Luke inside, she peeked outside and saw him sitting on a bench by the back door.

"Hey, you," Lorelai called.

Luke glanced over at her. "Oh, hey."

Lorelai walked over to him, pulling her coat tighter around her, and sat down next to him on the bench. "It's freezing out here. Are you okay?" Lorelai asked him.

"Yup, just taking a break from people," Luke replied.

"Sorry, this is probably a boring night for you. I know watching that same old procession every year isn't your favorite thing to do," Lorelai said.

"I didn't mind it so much this year," he replied, smiling at her. "Not when there were some new faces in it."

Lorelai smiled. "Good."

Luke put his arm around her, and she leaned against him. "How are you feeling?" Luke asked. "You've been on your feet a lot today."

"I'm tired," she admitted. "But Josh is having fun running around in there, so I don't wanna drag him away."

Luke glanced down at his watch. "Well, it's almost his bedtime. Why don't we give it another 15 minutes and then start getting ready to go?"

"Okay," she agreed. She rested against him for a few moments, and then sat up with a shiver. "But it's too cold out here... can we spend those 15 minutes inside?"

"Yeah. We've already left him alone with TJ for too long."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side. "Speaking of which, you should try to lighten up with him."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "Lighten up how? I didn't say anything bad to him or about him."

"No, but it's your tone, your facial reactions," she explained. "They clearly show that you're not the guy's biggest fan. And I know he may not always be the brightest bulb, but he's nice to all of us, and he has fun playing with Josh. He's a good uncle to him. I don't know why you're still iffy on him."

"Don't you think he's just a little much sometimes?" Luke asked. "When I'm around him for too long, he starts to grate on my nerves."

"First of all, when you're around anyone for too long, they grate on your nerves," Lorelai pointed out with a smirk. "You're not what one would describe as a people person."

Luke smiled. "No, I'm not."

"But the summary is - he's a nice person, he doesn't mean any harm, he makes your sister happy, he's gonna be around a lot... so, all signs point to 'be nice.'"

"I am nice," Luke replied.

Lorelai smirked. "I've seen Luke Danes be nice, and that's not what TJ's getting. You're giving him toleration at best." She squeezed his hand. "How about we start simple and try to not roll your eyes at half the things he says?"

Luke exhaled a sigh and reluctantly muttered, "Fine, I'll try to be nicer."

"Thank you." They both stood up from the bench, and Lorelai leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

Luke put his hands on her waist. "Come on, I think this favor of niceness deserves more than a kiss on the cheek in return, huh?"

Lorelai smiled slyly. She rested her hands on his chest and slowly slid them up to his neck. She pulled him closer and pressed her lips against his for a more passionate kiss. When she pulled back, she asked, "Better?"

"Mmhmm. What else you offering?"

Lorelai pretended to ponder for a moment. "Hmm, let me see... oh, I know. How about I give you another kid in two months, and a promise to try not to hold any grudges against you if my body does not completely return to its previous shape and size?"

Luke smirked. "I think you said the same thing during the last pregnancy."

"Well, I'm nothing if not consistent."

"Why would I get the grudge and not the kid that came out of said body?"

"Because you put the kid in there," Lorelai reminded him. "She had no choice in the matter. She's an innocent bystander here."

"Yeah, but you agreed that you wanted me to put a kid in there, so I think you would also be partially to blame for any issues that would result from it," he pointed out.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose as she thought it over, and then declared, "Nah." Luke smirked, took her hand, and led her toward Miss Patty's.

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Christmas Day, Josh woke up slightly before 7 and his cries alerted both of his parents through the baby monitor.

Luke stretched his arms up into the air, and then rolled toward Lorelai in the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and they exchanged groggy Christmas greetings before he murmured, "I'll get him."

"Thank you," she tiredly replied. "Bring him back in here so we can all go downstairs together."

"Okay."

Luke slowly got out of bed and headed to Josh's room. He changed his diaper, put back on his Christmas pajamas, and then brought him to the master bedroom.

"There she is," Luke whispered. "Mommy went back to sleep. Should we wake her up?"

Luke brought Josh over to his side of the bed and set him down next to Lorelai before getting back in the bed himself. Luke took Josh's hand and gently patted Lorelai's shoulder. "Merry Christmas, Mommy."

Lorelai opened her eyes and smiled. "Merry Christmas, Joshy." She pulled Josh into a hug and he rested his head on Lorelai's shoulder. "Aw, you're still sleepy, huh? Me, too. Let's snuggle."

Luke went into the bathroom while Lorelai lay with Josh. After a few minutes, Josh's morning energy kicked in and he climbed off the bed and started exploring the bedroom. Lorelai propped herself up in bed against her pillows to watch him.

Luke returned from the bathroom and stood at the foot of the bed. "You wanna take him down soon and let him see his presents?"

"Yeah, but we can't start opening until Rory's up," Lorelai said.

"We'll go start breakfast and wait for her," Luke suggested.

Lorelai nodded. "Okay." She pushed her blanket off and climbed out of bed, yawning. "Let me use the bathroom first."

Lorelai disappeared into the master bathroom for a few minutes while Luke amusedly watched Josh try to put on Luke's work boots.

When Lorelai was ready, Luke picked up Josh and he let Lorelai lead the way out of the room. As he'd hoped, the bow that he'd placed on the door to the new nursery caught her eye, and she looked back at him. "Did you do that?" she asked.

"Yup. Go check it out."

She gave him an intrigued look and walked toward the door. Luke followed behind her with Josh, and watched as Lorelai slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open.

Lorelai gasped. "Oh, my God!" The previously bare, empty room was now filled with beautiful furniture and a throw rug and a rocking chair, and she was having trouble taking it all in. Her eyes darted around the room from the doorway until Luke put his hand on her back and said, "You can go in."

Lorelai looked at him, smiling, and then stepped into the room. She walked over to the crib and ran her hand over the soft pink blanket lying on top of the pink and white crib sheet. There was a small stuffed bear in one corner of the crib, and a stuffed Hello, Kitty doll in the other.

Her smile widened as she picked up Hello, Kitty and turned to face him. "Oh, my God!" She held it up next to her face. "So cute!"

Luke smiled. "Rory said you would love that. She picked out the little things like that."

"They're adorable, I love them," she gushed, and she placed the doll back into the crib. She ran her hand along the edge of the crib, and then moved on to look at the changing table beside it. "This is exactly the set I wanted."

"I listen when you talk," Luke said, and then he shrugged and added, "Most of the time."

Lorelai smiled at him. "I'm impressed. This is amazing. When did you do this?" she asked, and then she answered herself, "Stupid question, it's the day you put the lock on the door to keep me out."

Luke smiled. "Yup."

"And I didn't even think it might actually be the room you were hiding, I just thought it was wrapped gifts you didn't want me poking into," Lorelai said.

"Good, so the surprise worked out," Luke said.

"It did," she confirmed, and she walked over and kissed him. "Hon, this is amazing... I love it, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Lorelai turned to look at the room some more, and she exhaled a few deep breaths.

Luke shut the door and put Josh down so he could wander around the room, and then asked Lorelai, "Are you okay?"

Lorelai turned to face him and waved it off nonchalantly. "Yeah, I'm good, just a little emotional. You know, hormones, hormones everywhere, nor any wine to drink."

"Emotional about the room?" Luke asked.

"Yeah," she admitted. "It's beautiful and I love it and I'm really excited about it. It just makes it all feel very real and very soon, you know? She's going to be living in this room soon. She's gonna pop out and move in and this room will no longer be vacant. We will soon have another person in this house." She shook her head in disbelief. "It's just a lot. It's gonna be different. It's gonna be hard. It's gonna be stressful."

"I know. We knew that going into it," Luke calmly said. "It'll be fine. I'm here, we're doing this together... it's not gonna all fall on you, I promise."

"I know," she said, quickly nodding. "It's just coming up so fast."

Luke ran his hands up and down her arms. "Come here," he said, pulling her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and they embraced tightly for a moment, and then he pulled back to look at her.

"It might be hard, it might be stressful, but it's also going to be amazing," he said softly, his voice calm and comforting. "It'll be an adventure... a fun, crazy, chaotic, amazing adventure."

Lorelai smiled and rested her hands on his shoulders. "You're either not stressed at all about this, or you're really good at hiding it to try to keep me calm, and I love you for it."

Luke smiled and kissed her. "I love you."

Lorelai closed her eyes for a moment. As she opened them, she declared, "Okay, I'm good... I'm fine. Sorry for the impromptu Christmas Day panic. I'm gonna shake it off now and stop letting the hormones get to me."

Luke smiled. "Okay, good... let's focus on Christmas."

"Okay, focusing on Christmas'" she agreed. "Rory and I have a bet going about how many times you're gonna point out how much I spent on Josh's presents."

Luke smiled. "Nice." He glanced over at Josh, who was reaching his arm through the crib slats trying to reach the stuffed bear. "Come on, Josh... let's go downstairs."

Josh looked over at Luke, who was holding his arms out, and he gave up on trying to reach the teddy bear. He walked over to Luke and raised his arms up, and Luke lifted him up.

Luke kissed his cheek. "Let's go see that obnoxiously giant pile of presents with your name on them."

Lorelai smirked and held up one finger. "That's one," she said, and she rubbed her hands together excitedly. "I'm so gonna win this bet."

. . . . .

. . . . .

2004 came to an end, and the beginning of 2005 was hectic as the arrival of baby girl Danes quickly approached.

They stocked up on diapers and bottles and other baby necessities that they weren't able to hand down from Josh. They bought and washed various sizes of baby girl clothes to hang in her closet. They bought a new carseat and stroller, and finally got to a point where they were confident that they had all the supplies they needed.

Lorelai finally became ready to get a roomier vehicle, and they bought a Jeep Cherokee that she was adjusting to better than expected. Luke had found a potential buyer for her old Jeep, but when it came down to actually selling it, he couldn't go through with it. He knew it wasn't practical to keep it forever just because it was sentimental to her, but he also didn't want to put her through that at the end of her pregnancy when emotions were at an all time high. So for now, her old Jeep was still parked at the top of the driveway, and it made her happy just seeing it there.

. . . . .

. . . . .

In early February, Lorelai, Luke, Rory, and Mark attended Richard and Emily's vow renewal ceremony while Josh stayed home with Liz and TJ. Lorelai was comfortable with them watching Josh, but Luke was less confident in their abilities to watch him for such a long period of time. He kept calling home to check on things, and had asked some neighbors to stop by and visit throughout the day.

Before the ceremony, Lorelai and Rory were relaxing on the couch in the dressing room. Rory was dressed already, but Lorelai was waiting until the last minute to put on her dress. Emily's hairdresser Lisette was finishing her hair at the vanity, and Pierre the makeup artist had just arrived and was setting up.

"You think the guys are okay out there?" Rory asked.

"I think Mark's okay," Lorelai replied. "Luke's the one who's going to have to avoid being seduced by cousin Marilyn, so I'm a little worried for him."

"Don't worry, he can take her," Rory said.

"Lorelai, you're sure you're going to be okay standing up at the altar for the ceremony?" Emily asked for the third time that week.

"Yes, Mom," Lorelai replied. "The ceremony's only 20 minutes long, I can handle standing for that long. The question we should be asking is, can I go that long without hitting the bathroom?"

Rory smiled. "It's doubtful."

"You should get dressed," Emily said. "I don't know why you're putting it off."

"Well, that ironically brings me back to the important topic of the day, the bathroom," Lorelai replied. "I'm gonna have to go like 3 more times between now and the ceremony, and I don't want to have to keep dealing with the dress in the bathroom."

Lisette had finished Emily's hair and was packing up her things, and she asked Lorelai, "When are you due, honey?"

"The 20th," Lorelai replied. "About two more weeks."

Lisette's eyes widened. "Wow, that's soon. Are you guys all ready?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah, ready and waiting. Her room's all ready, her tiny clothes are all washed and put away, we're set."

Lisette smiled. "So, you know it's a girl? You have a name picked out?"

"We do," Lorelai confirmed, and she glanced from Rory to Emily. "We haven't told anyone yet, despite the intense family pressure."

Rory smirked. "I'm curious!"

"We figured the gender isn't going to be a surprise, so we might as well keep the name a surprise," Lorelai said to Lisette.

"Good plan," Lisette said, and she turned to look toward Emily. "Emily, make sure you bring pictures of that little girl the next time I see you."

"I certainly will," Emily replied from the vanity.

Lisette turned back to Lorelai. "I'm gonna take off, but good luck with everything."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Lorelai replied.

Lisette gathered up her bags, they all exchanged goodbyes, and she left the dressing room. Pierre started working on Emily's makeup at the vanity.

Lorelai stood up from the couch, and Rory asked, "Finally putting on your dress?"

"No, I'm gonna go to the bathroom, and then I'm gonna go see how Luke's doing," Lorelai replied.

"I'll come with you," Rory said. "I wanna make sure Mark's okay."

Lorelai used the bathroom, and as she walked out, Rory stood up and said, "We'll be right back, Grandma."

"Ten minutes," Emily replied sternly. "I want her back here and changing into her dress in ten minutes."

Lorelai and Rory exchanged a smile as they walked out of the room. They wandered down the hall toward the staircase to the main floor, and Lorelai scanned the busy ball room as they headed down the stairs.

"I see them," Lorelai said to Rory, and then nodded toward the side of the room where Luke and Mark were sitting in a couple of chairs.

They started walking toward them, and when Luke saw them approaching, he jumped up from his chair. "What's wrong?" he asked concernedly. "You aren't dressed yet. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, calm down," Lorelai said, reaching out to calmly rub his shoulder. She looked at Mark. "If you haven't already noticed, this is going to be a stressful day for Luke. In addition to constantly worrying about how Josh is doing at home with Aunt Liz and Uncle TJ, he's also going to spend the entire day worrying that this party is too much excitement for me and is going to somehow initiate labor. So if you see him looking concerned about something, it's one of those two things."

Mark smiled. "Good to know."

"Well, can you blame me?" Luke asked. "You're due this month! Of course it's on my mind that you could go at any second."

Lorelai made a face. "Okay, don't say go at any second, please. That sounds like death, not birth."

"Sorry."

Rory sat down next to Mark. "Anything exciting going on down here?"

"Just talking, and trying to look busy when that one lady walks by," Mark replied, and then nervously glanced around for her. "I think she went to the other room."

"Cousin Marilyn?" Lorelai asked, and then looked at Luke. "Was she hitting on you?"

"Both of us," Luke confirmed. "Apparently she isn't selective when it comes to age."

Lorelai smiled sympathetically at both of them. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, no big deal," Luke replied. "We stuck together and fought her off."

"She said she wants both of us to save a dance for her," Mark added.

"Yeah, I didn't know there was dancing," Luke said, looking pointedly at Lorelai. "Someone failed to mention that."

Lorelai grinned. "Sorry. Must've slipped my mind."

"Sure it did," Luke replied with an unconvinced smirk.

Lorelai gestured to her stomach with both hands. "Come on, how much dancing do you really think I'm going to force you to do? I'm a million months pregnant."

They chatted for a few more minutes until they heard Emily's voice bellow from upstairs, "Lorelai, it's been ten minutes, get up here!"

Lorelai made a face. "Ugh, I have to go get dressed." She leaned in and kissed Luke on the cheek. "We'll see you in a little while."

"Okay." Luke watched as she and Rory headed up the stairs, and then he glanced at Mark. "It's gonna be a long day."

. . . . .

. . . . .

After the ceremony, everyone moved to the larger ball room down the hall.

As Rory and Mark went to find the table, Luke and Lorelai headed over to the bar. Lorelai ordered a club soda and Luke ordered a beer, and after they each sipped their drinks, Lorelai leaned in for a kiss.

It was more passionate than he'd expected, and it took him a second to realize why. Luke smiled through the kiss and pulled back. "You're trying to taste the beer."

Lorelai smiled. "No, I just like kissing you. Come here."

She leaned in for another kiss, and he obliged for a moment before laughingly pulling away. "Okay, you're cut off," he told her.

"Come on, I'm about to have two hundred people I don't know or don't like try to touch my stomach or make passive aggressive comments about how I'm awfully old to have another kid. I need something to help get me through it... I need a little of your beer essence."

"You have me to help you get through it," Luke told her. "You don't need alcohol."

Lorelai smiled at him, and before she could respond, she heard someone behind them call, "Lor!"

Luke and Lorelai both turned around and saw Chris walking toward them with Sherry. Lorelai had forgotten that Emily had mentioned they'd be there, and a quick glance at the surprised look on Luke's face told her he'd forgotten, too.

"Hey, you two," Lorelai greeted them. "Nice of you to come."

"It was so nice of Emily and Richard to invite us," Sherry said. "This is such a beautiful party."

"My mom's here, too," Chris added. "It was really hard to get her out of the house, but I think it'll be good for her to start socializing again."

Lorelai frowned. "Yeah, but I'm sure that's gotta be hard for her."

"Oh, right, sorry to hear about your dad," Luke added, remembering that his father had passed away only a few weeks earlier.

"Thanks," Chris replied. "It's been tough. Oh, and thanks for the fruit basket. Haven't gotten caught up on thank you notes yet."

"You're welcome," Lorelai replied, and she nodded toward the bar behind them. "You guys want a drink? Open bar."

"They have non-alcoholic things, too, right?" Sherry asked, eyeing Lorelai's drink. "I mean, I would assume that's non-alcoholic, but just asking because I'm not sure how stringent you are on the 'no drinking while pregnant' thing."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow and glanced at Luke before she replied, "Um, pretty stringent."

"If you don't count beer essence," Luke muttered under his breath just loud enough for Lorelai to hear, and she smirked and nudged him with her elbow.

"But yes, they have non-alcoholic stuff," Lorelai added, and then patted her stomach. "We're sticking with plain old club soda."

"Gotta be any day now, right?" Chris asked, eyeing her stomach.

"Your subtle attempt at telling me that I'm huge has been noted," Lorelai told him with a pointed look.

Chris laughed. "I'm just saying, I'm pretty sure I remember Rory telling me you were due in February."

"Yeah, a couple of weeks," Lorelai replied. "The 20th."

"Cool. Keep us posted." Chris put his arm around Sherry, and Lorelai noticed they shared a look before Chris turned to them and said, "Um, we have similar news to share... Sherry's actually pregnant, too."

Lorelai and Luke had the same surprised, wide-eyed reaction, and they were both quiet for a few seconds. Finally, Lorelai stammered, "Wow, that's, um... that's... wow. Congratulations!"

"Yeah, congrats," Luke echoed.

"Thank you," Sherry replied.

"Thanks," Chris replied, and then gave a quick glance around the room. "We wanted to tell Rory, too... have you seen her?"

Lorelai waved in the direction of their table. "Yeah, she's that way with her boyfriend, Mark."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Do we like Mark?"

Lorelai nodded. "We do," she confirmed.

"Okay, we're gonna go find them," Chris said. "See you guys later."

"See ya," Lorelai said, and after Chris and Sherry had walked away, Lorelai looked at Luke and exhaled a deep breath. "Wow. Didn't see that coming."

"Yeah, that was a surprise." Luke glanced over at Chris and then muttered to Lorelai, "Think he'll be more responsible with this one than he was with his first one?"

"Well, he's not 16 this time, so I would think so."

"You were 16, too," Luke reminded her. "And you did what you had to do. You took responsibility."

Lorelai shrugged and shook her head. "I know, hon, but I definitely don't want to have this conversation right now, okay? It is what it is, let's just be happy for them and focus on our own upcoming birth."

"Okay, sorry," Luke said, and he took her hand into his and squeezed it. "Always gonna have a little residual anger about that."

"You and me both, but time and place," Lorelai said. "Let's go find some appetizers."

They wandered around looking for servers with food trays, and eventually made their way over to their table to sit down with Rory and Mark.

"Hey, guys," Lorelai said.

"Hey," Rory replied. "You just missed Dad and Sherry."

"We saw them," Lorelai confirmed. "And heard the news."

"And you were just as caught off guard as I was?" Rory asked.

"Yup," Lorelai and Luke replied in unison.

They chatted at the table for a few minutes before a young blonde man walked up behind Rory and greeted the table.

Rory turned around, and was surprised to see a face from Yale. "Logan?"

"Just wanted to say hi," Logan replied, and then he nodded toward Mark. "Mark, good to see you."

"Yeah, you, too," Mark replied. "Didn't think we'd run into anyone from school here."

"My parents are friends with Emily and Richard," Logan explained.

"Oh, I didn't realize," Rory said, still looking up at him with confusion.

"My dad wanted me to come and meet some people," Logan added.

Lorelai unsubtly cleared her throat, and Rory quickly introduced her and Luke to Logan, adding, "We work together at the Yale Daily News, all three of us. Well, not together exactly, we all work on it in different areas, but we see each other there. So together in a sense, but not really together like we work on the same stories."

"Nice to meet you," Logan said to Luke and Lorelai, and then added to Rory and Mark, "I better get back to my table, but let's catch up later, okay?"

As he walked away, Rory looked confusedly at Mark, and then at Luke and Lorelai. "Weird, right?" she asked.

"Which part?" Lorelai asked. "That a young college student is attending a party to celebrate the anniversary of his parents' friends, or that you felt the need to over-explain what you meant by together?"

"That he's here," Rory replied. "It caught me off guard. I can't imagine going to some fancy party for some of Grandma's friends."

"You would if she asked you to," Lorelai pointed out. "If his parents run in the same circle as mine, then he's probably a trust fund kid and knows he needs to go along with what they want to keep the cash cow pumping milk."

"Maybe," Rory agreed.

"Do you guys like him?" Luke asked. "Was hard to tell."

"I don't mind him," Mark replied with a shrug. "His friends can be a little much, but he's okay."

"Yeah, he's fine, he's a good writer," Rory added. "I was just surprised to see him here." She glanced around the room. "If his parents are here, I'd like to meet them. His dad owns a couple of newspapers, he'd be good to network with."

"There you go, if you're gonna be forced to mingle with a bunch of people you don't know, at least you can try to get something out it," Lorelai said.

Within a few minutes, Emily and Richard entered the room to a round of applause. Richard gave a sweet speech and toast to Emily, and then they danced alone for a minute before the dance floor was opened to the guests.

Lorelai wanted to wait for a slower song, so she and Luke chatted at the table until one began. They made their way to the dance floor, and danced to two songs before heading back to the table.

"Honey, can you come with me to the ladies' room?" Lorelai asked Rory. "Because it's all the way down the hall, and if you don't come with me, Luke will just to make sure I'm okay, and he'll stand outside the door like a creeper and someone will eventually call the cops."

Rory smiled and stood up. "Yeah, I'll go."

"Thank you," Luke said. "Because I definitely would've done that."

Lorelai patted his shoulder, and she and Rory headed toward the door. As they walked into the hallway, Lorelai glanced at Rory. "Okay, spill it," Lorelai said.

"Spill what?" Rory asked, confused.

"What's the deal with that Logan kid?" Lorelai asked. "You got very weird when he came over to the table."

"There's no deal with him," Rory insisted. "We see each other at the paper, that's it."

"Rory," Lorelai said, unconvinced. "There's something you're not telling me."

Rory exhaled a deep sigh and looked over at Lorelai. "How do you do that?"

"Mother's intuition. I may be very much pregnant with baby number 3, but I'm still very much in tune with baby number 1."

They stopped walking when they reached the bathroom, and stood outside the door. "There's nothing going on. I just... I see him around a lot and he's nice to me, and I... I..."

"And you think he's cute?" Lorelai asked.

"Kind of." Rory covered her face with her hands and groaned. "Am I horrible?"

Lorelai comfortingly rubbed Rory's arms. "No, you're not... look at me."

Rory slowly dropped her hands and looked at Lorelai.

"It's perfectly normal to think that other people are attractive even if you're dating someone," Lorelai said. "And it's normal to like getting attention from other people once in awhile."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. But... there's a line to look out for," Lorelai warned her. "If you start to like getting attention from other guys more than the one you're dating, then... that's a problem you need to address."

"It's not like that at all," Rory insisted. "But I do feel guilty for even thinking someone else is cute. I mean, I love Mark... we're serious, we have fun, we're committed to each other, we're in a really good place. So why is someone else suddenly catching my eye?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, honey... maybe it's just a fluke, or maybe it's not. You can't always control who you have feelings for."

"I don't have feelings for Logan!" Rory exclaimed in a whisper. "I barely know him."

"Okay, don't freak out," Lorelai said calmly. "I'm just saying, sometimes things happen that you don't expect. Just take things a day at time, see how things unfold, figure out if it's a fluke or not." She shrugged as she added, "That's all you can do." Rory nodded understandingly, and they headed into the ladies' room.

They returned to the ball room, and sat through several meal courses while chatting amongst themselves and occasionally mingling with other guests. Rory and Mark visited Logan's table, and Rory was excited to chat with his father Mitchum for a few minutes. Lorelai and Luke danced to some slow songs after dinner until the photographer needed them and Rory to pose for family pictures by the cake.

The four of them left shortly after cake was served, in two separate cars. Lorelai and Luke needed to get home to Josh, and Rory and Mark were heading back to Yale.

As they started the drive home, Lorelai said, "So... not too horrible of an evening, right?"

Luke shrugged. "I guess not. Good food. Good beer. Minimal dancing."

"And good company?" she suggested, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Good company," he agreed. "Long day, though. I wouldn't have minded if you did go into labor and get us out of there a little earlier."

Lorelai smiled and patted her stomach. "Maybe we should've danced more... we could've jiggled her right out on the dance floor."

Luke smirked. "Emily would've lost it."

"Lorelai Victoria Gilmore Danes, do you have any idea how expensive this flooring is?!" Lorelai mimicked Emily's scolding voice. "You do not just give birth wherever is most convenient for you!"

Luke snorted a laugh and he nodded. "Nailed it."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Ten days later, Luke burst through the front door of the house announcing, "I'm here, I'm home, let's go!"

Lorelai was in the living room with Babette going over a list of babysitting items. "It's okay, I'm okay," Lorelai assured him. "Calm down, we have time."

She'd called him at work just 10 minutes earlier to let him know that she was having contractions and that they needed to go to the hospital soon. Babette had just arrived to stay with Josh until Rory got to the house.

Josh had walked over to the baby gate, and was reaching his arms toward Luke. He picked him up and greeted him, and then asked Lorelai, "What can I do?"

"Can you go make him something quick for dinner?" Lorelai asked him. "He hasn't eaten yet."

"Dinner, yes, I can do that," Luke quickly replied. "Gonna go make him dinner. Something quick."

As he walked out of the room with Josh, Babette commented, "He's even cuter when he's nervous and flustered."

Lorelai smiled. "I know." She took a deep breath and looked slowly around the room, her hand resting on her stomach.

"Are you okay, honey?" Babette asked.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. Just thinking about how things are going to be very different when I come back to the house in a few days as compared to when I'm leaving it tonight."

Babette reached over and rubbed her arm. "We're gonna be right next door ready to help out. Whatever you need."

Lorelai smiled appreciatively and leaned in to hug her. "Thank you."

"And don't you worry about Josh," Babette said. "Morey's gonna be here soon with his keyboard and he's gonna let him go to town. That little guy loves putting his hands all over Morey's keyboard almost as much as I love Morey's hands all over me, if you know what I'm saying."

Lorelai's eyes widened and she stammered, "Uhhhh, yup, crystal clear, Babette. Literally no way to misinterpret that one."

"Okay, good," Babette replied. She gestured to the paper in Lorelai's hands. "What else you got on that list there?"

They finished going over the list, and then Lorelai added a few things about Josh's nighttime routine for Rory. Babette sat in the kitchen with Josh while he ate dinner, and Luke went upstairs to get the hospital bag they'd packed a few days earlier. There were extra outfits for himself and Lorelai, their toothbrushes and other toiletries, some newborn outfits for the baby, some snacks for the hospital stay.

He brought the bag downstairs and she looked through it, decided she wanted different snacks, and then went to the kitchen to grab some. Finally, they were ready to leave, said goodbye to Josh and Babette, and headed to the hospital.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Over the next few hours, Lorelai got settled into a hospital room, and was poked and prodded and monitored while they waited for labor to progress. Rory arrived at the house to stay with Josh, and called them every so often to check in.

It was the middle of the night when the baby decided she was ready to arrive. Luke was at Lorelai's side gripping her hand while Lorelai's doctor and the delivery nurses were busy at the foot of the bed.

Lorelai was breathing heavily and her head was resting back against the pillow. "Oh, my God," she panted breathlessly. "I feel like I was just doing this not that long ago."

Luke smiled. "Because you were." He leaned down and kissed Lorelai's head. "You're doing great. You're almost there."

"Yup, we're almost there, Lorelai," Dr. Palmer said, echoing Luke's encouragement. "If you wanna try another push, you can..."

Lorelai nodded, and after a few deep breaths, she started another concentrated push.

"That's great, Lorelai," Dr. Palmer said. "We can see the head."

Luke leaned forward to try to see it, but he wasn't able to from his angle. "Allegedly the kid has a head," he said softly to Lorelai. "No visual confirmation of that yet, so I'm not sure if she's lying to us."

Lorelai smiled at him, and for a few brief seconds, was distracted from the task at hand. She squeezed his hand and said, "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said calmly, and then he encouragingly nodded toward the foot of the bed. "You ready to find out if our daughter actually has a head?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded, and after another long push, the doctor announced, "She's out! Your little girl is here."

Exhausted, Lorelai let her head fall back against the pillow - she was panting for breath and her eyes were closed. After a few seconds, she heard the baby's first cry, and it was like music to her ears. She excitedly lifted her head to look at the baby as tears welled up in her eyes.

She watched Luke cut the umbilical cord, and they both watched the nurses clean the baby.

Luke leaned down to kiss Lorelai's cheek. "She's beautiful," he whispered. He brushed her hair away from her face as he added, "You are so amazing."

A nurse carried her toward Lorelai and gently placed the baby on Lorelai's chest. "Congratulations," the nurse said warmly.

Lorelai gasped and put her hand on the baby's back. "Oh, my God, look at her," she said, grinning up at Luke.

Luke put his hand on top of Lorelai's. "She's so tiny."

"She's perfect," Lorelai whispered, and she leaned forward to kiss the baby's head. "I love you, little girl."

"All right, you focus on her, we're gonna take care of some things down here," Dr. Palmer said, settling back into the chair at the foot of the bed.

Lorelai nodded distractedly, unable to tear her eyes from the baby, and Luke was staring at them in amazement. The image of his newborn daughter resting against his wife's freckled chest took his breath away.

Luke gently ran his hand over the baby's head. "She has a lot of hair like Josh did when he was born."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I wonder if it'll get lighter like his did or if it'll stay dark." She looked up at Luke. "Do you wanna hold her?"

"In a little bit," Luke replied. "She looks pretty comfortable where she is."

The doctor finished up with Lorelai, and then took the baby for a few minutes to check her over. When the checkup was finished, she was wrapped in a blanket and handed back to Lorelai. The doctor and nurses left the room, leaving Luke and Lorelai with the baby.

Luke was sitting in a chair beside the bed, and he asked, "How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"

"I'm exhausted," she replied with a slight groan. "What time is it?"

Luke checked his watch. "Almost 4 am."

"Okay, that explains the fatigue." She rubbed her eyes and then asked, "Can you get my phone? Rory said to call right away, no matter what time it was."

Luke retrieved the phone, and then asked, "You want me to call?"

Lorelai shook her head, and then nodded toward the baby. "You should take her... get some bonding time in."

Luke put the phone down on her bedside table, and gently lifted the baby from Lorelai's chest and cradled her in his arms. Lorelai grinned at the sight. "She looks even tinier in your arms."

"I remember this from when I held Josh the first time," Luke said. "They're so light, it's like you're holding feathers."

"Yup. 8 pounds, 2 ounces of feathers," Lorelai replied, smiling.

As Luke sat back down with the baby, Lorelai called Rory to fill her in. They chatted for a few minutes, and they made plans for Rory to bring Josh to the hospital in the morning to visit their new sister.

. . . . .

. . . . .

It was almost ten when Rory arrived at the hospital with Josh. As they walked into the lobby and headed toward the reception desk, Rory saw Emily and Richard lingering nearby.

"Grandma, Grandpa," Rory greeted them, surprised. "Hey."

"Ah, there you are," Richard said. "Hello."

"Rory, hello," Emily greeted her, and saw her juggling some bags in one hand as she struggled to hold onto Josh's hand with the other. "Goodness, let us help you with that."

"Oh, thanks," Rory said, and she passed off the bags to Emily. "What are you guys doing here? I thought you weren't going to be able to make it until after lunch."

"Yes, well, your grandfather wisely decided that visiting his daughter and granddaughter in the hospital was more important than a business meeting," Emily said. "And you'd said you were going to visit at ten, so we thought we'd join you."

"We asked the receptionist if anyone else had gone up today, and she said no, so we figured you'd be here soon and decided to wait," Richard explained. "We thought you may need some help with Josh."

Emily gestured to the bags. "And we were right."

"Oh, wow, okay, thanks," Rory replied, wondering how Lorelai would feel about everyone arriving at once. "I'll just go check in at the desk. Can you watch him for a second?" Rory held out Josh's hand toward Emily. "Here Josh, go see Grandma for a minute, okay?"

Emily took Josh's hand and smiled at him. "Hello, Joshua."

"Here, he was playing with this in the car," Rory said as she pulled a toy train out of her pocket. "In case he needs a distraction."

Rory left Josh with them and walked a few feet over to the reception desk to check in. As the receptionist took her information, Rory quickly texted Lorelai to let her know they were all coming up together.

Up in the room, Lorelai was holding the baby when the phone buzzed, and she asked Luke, "Can you see who that is?" The phone had been buzzing all morning with texts and calls. Once Rory had shared the news with Babette that morning that the baby had arrived, it had spread like wildfire throughout the town.

Luke picked up the phone from the table and flipped it open to read the text. "Rory says she's here with Josh, and your parents are here, too." He looked at Lorelai. "Did we know they were all coming together?"

"No, and if it was planned, Rory would've told us sooner, so that must be a warning so we're not caught off guard," Lorelai replied.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and Lorelai called, "Come in."

The door slowly opened and Josh was the first one to walk into the room, and Lorelai grinned when she saw him. "Hi, Joshy! There's Mommy's boy."

"Hey, buddy," Luke said, walking over to get him.

Rory, Emily, and Richard filed into the room behind Josh, and everyone exchanged hellos and congratulatory greetings. The visitors set their bags down, and Luke picked up Josh and carried him over to Lorelai. Luke brought him close to Lorelai's face so she could give him a kiss, then pulled him back to show him the baby.

"This is your new sister," Lorelai said softly, shifting the baby in her arms so Josh could see her face. "You see her? Isn't she so cute?"

Josh pointed at the baby and tried to reach down to touch her face, and Luke pulled him back slightly. "No, let's not poke her eyes out on her first day," Luke said. "Can you wave hi? Wave hi to your sister."

Josh obligingly opened and closed his hand a few times in his version of a wave, and Lorelai grinned. "Good job." She reached out and ran her hand over Josh's cheek. "You're so cute."

Rory stepped up to the bed and leaned in to kiss Lorelai's cheek. "Hi, Mom. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, just tired, and sore, and uncomfortable, and hungry," Lorelai replied. "Other than that, I brought a human life into the world, so productive day so far."

"She's so cute," Rory gushed. "She looks so little."

"She's just a few ounces bigger than Josh was when he was born," Lorelai said. She looked at Emily and Richard standing at the foot of the bed. "Come on up, don't be shy."

Luke stepped back from the bed so that Emily and Richard could get closer to the baby.

"Oh, she's just precious," Emily said, getting her first good look of her. "Look at that angelic face, Richard."

"Angelic indeed," Richard agreed.

"Here, you can hold her if you want," Lorelai said, offering her toward Emily.

Emily happily took the baby from Lorelai and cradled her in her arms. "What's her name? Someone refused to tell us," Emily said, shooting a narrow-eyed look in Rory's direction. "Apparently, it's still a secret even after she's born."

"Sorry, Grandma. I thought Mom would wanna tell you herself," Rory replied.

"Well, then, do tell," Emily said to Lorelai. She sat down with the baby, and Richard sat beside her.

Lorelai smiled and gestured to the baby with both hands. "That little girl right there in your arms is... Olivia Kathryn Danes."

Emily's eyes widened and she looked at Lorelai. "Kathryn... like my grandmother?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yup. And that's your middle name, too, right?"

Emily was hit with a sudden wave of emotion, and she swallowed hard as she nodded. "Mmhmm."

"We thought it would be a nice way to honor your side of the family," Lorelai explained, and then she gestured between herself and Rory. "I mean, we've already got a couple of Lorelais to represent Dad's side, so it was time to hit up yours."

Emily smiled down at the baby in her arms, and then looked at Lorelai. "I think that's lovely. It's a beautiful name."

"For a beautiful girl," Richard added.

"Thank you," Lorelai replied.

"Will you call her Liv as a nickname?" Rory asked.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, or Livvy. Or Olivia Newton-John."

"Or Olivia Benson," Rory suggested. "Ooh, or Olivia de Havilland."

"There you go, lots of nicknames," Lorelai said, smiling.

Rory started going through the tote bag she'd brought, and pulled out a thermos and a paper bag. "Okay, I don't actually know if you can have coffee right after having a baby, but I brought some from the diner just in case, and also some donuts," Rory told her.

Lorelai gasped. "Ooh, thank you... you jumped right back into the favorite daughter spot."

Rory smiled and put them on her bedside table. "I also brought your phone charger and the camera that you forgot," she said, pulling them out of the bag. "And I put some film in it."

"Thank you, I can't believe we forgot the camera," Lorelai said, shaking her head disappointedly.

"Oh, and we brought you something also," Emily said, pointing to a gift bag she'd placed on the floor. "Richard, can you hand that to Lorelai?"

Lorelai opened up the gift from her parents and gushed over the cute outfits and baby toys. Rory took some candid photos, Luke kept a close eye on Josh as he explored the room, and Emily asked Lorelai about how the delivery went.

While Lorelai was filling them in on everything, a nurse came in for a checkup. She checked Lorelai over first, and then placed the baby in the bassinet for her own checkup.

When she finished, the nurse handed the baby to Lorelai before leaving the room, and Lorelai looked over at Richard. "Dad, do you wanna hold her?"

"In a moment," Richard replied, and then he nodded toward Rory. "I think her big sister should have a turn."

Rory smiled, and then held up her hands. "Let me wash these first, I have donut powder on them." She went into the bathroom to wash her hands, and then walked back out. "Okay, so, I'm not always good at this part... picking the baby up from someone."

"I'll help you," Luke offered. "Have a seat."

Rory sat down in a chair, and Luke took the baby from Lorelai and placed her into Rory's arms. Rory smiled up at Luke. "Thanks." She looked down at the baby. "Hi there, Olivia. I'm your big sister."

Josh had started playing with his toy train on the floor, and Lorelai grimaced. "He's playing on a hospital room floor. Does this make us horrible parents?"

"I'm sure he's not the first kid to do that," Luke calmly remarked. He grabbed a baby wipe and a few more trains from the diaper bag, then picked up Josh and walked him over to the desk area next to the bathroom. Luke sat down with Josh on his lap and wiped his hands and the trains with the baby wipe.

Luke started pushing the trains around on the desk. "There you go, Josh... play with your trains up here."

Rory glanced around looking for a clock. "I have to keep an eye on the time," she said. "I skipped my morning classes, but I can't miss my 4 o'clock class."

"You have time," Luke replied, checking his watch. "It's not even 11 yet."

"Who's gonna watch him this afternoon?" Lorelai asked.

"Babette," Rory replied. "I'm gonna try to tire him out and get him to nap before she gets there, so hopefully it'll be easy for her. I'll head back to the house after my class. Lane's gonna come over to hang out and help after her shift at the diner."

"Thank you, honey," Lorelai said appreciatively. "Really, that's a huge help." Luke echoed the gratitude.

"Did you hear from Sookie?" Rory asked. "She said she was gonna call."

"Yup. She's gonna stop by this afternoon," Lorelai replied. "And I think Liz and TJ will be coming up, and then tomorrow morning, Buddy and Maisie."

After a few minutes, Rory passed the baby to Richard, who held her for a while until she started crying. Luke took her from Richard and gave her to Lorelai to feed her, and then Richard and Emily headed out.

The baby fell asleep after she ate, and Luke put her in the bassinet. Rory stayed for a little while until Josh started getting antsy, and then they got ready to leave.

Luke lifted Josh up onto the bed so Lorelai could say goodbye to him. "Be careful," Luke said calmly, holding him over Lorelai so he wasn't putting any weight on her.

Lorelai hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. "Bye, Joshy. Mommy loves you. Be good at home."

"Can you give Mommy a kiss?" Luke asked, and Josh pressed his lips to Lorelai's cheek. "Good job."

As Luke pulled Josh away, Rory stepped in and hugged Lorelai goodbye. "Bye, Mom. Let me know if you need anything."

"You're doing enough helping out with him, thank you," Lorelai told her sincerely. "You've become quite the capable babysitter."

"I learned from the best," Rory replied, and she threw the diaper bag over her shoulder. "Ready, little brother?"

Luke kissed Josh goodbye before handing him over to Rory, and the two of them left the hospital room.

Luke walked back over to Lorelai, looking into the bassinet to check on the baby. "Still sleeping," he confirmed, and he reached for Lorelai's hand. "How are you? What can I do?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Nothing. I'm okay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna try to take a nap before Sookie comes," Lorelai said, and she looked over at the bassinet. "She should be asleep for a little while."

They both stared at Olivia for a few moments before Lorelai smiled at Luke and said, "I know I've said this already, but we make some damn good looking babies."

Luke smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yes, we do."

. . . . .

. . . . .

To be continued...

Author's Note: Hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy! Sorry for the delayed update, but much thanks to those still reading! :)