Chapter 42: To Parent or Not to Parent?

Walking in the door Tuesday night, Luke shrugged off his jacket tiredly with a sigh, happy to be rid of the long work day he had. As he walked towards the kitchen, laughter spilled out into the hall, bringing a smile to his face. Standing in the door way, he observed Lorelai and Rory playing yet another round of "Guess What I'm Thinking"

"Ugh! We never get it right." Lorelai exclaimed, dramatically laying her head down on the table, much to Rory's delight.

"Because we're not mind readers, Mommy!" Rory answered, throwing her head back in laughter.

Gasping, she feigned surprise. "Nope! I refused to believe that. Twins can do it, and we're closer than twins, so I think we can definitely do it..." Holding up her fingers to her temples, she counted down. "Okay, think of a food. 1,2,3..."

"Pizza!" Lorelai called. "Burger!" Rory yelled.

Nonchalantly from the doorway, Luke called out, "Salad."

When both of them heard his answer, their heads immediately flicked towards him with a frown. "Ewww."

"It's not ew, it's healthy." Sitting the to go box of the leftover pie he brought home, Luke watched as smiles grew on both of their faces.

Pointing wildly, Rory spoke loudly. "That's not healthy!"

"Oooo," Lorelai cooed, her eyes brightening as he transferred the boysenberry pie onto a plate to warm up. "No it's not, but it's delicious."

"If you like a sugar coma on a plate, then I guess it is." Luke rolled his eyes. Turning back to them, he leaned against the counter. "So, anything interesting happen since I saw you guys this morning."

"Well, aside from Rory bringing back yet another perfect spelling test, it's been a calm day." Lorelai spoke, pride evident in her voice.

"Another 100?" He questioned Rory with a grin, speaking with mock disbelief.

"105! I got the bonus word, Leprechaun. It's spelled l-e-p-r-e-c-h-a-u-n." She spelled proudly.

"Awesome job, princess." Walking over, he high fived her. As the microwave beeped, he headed back over to check the pie. Finding it cold, he put it on for longer, chuckling at the sigh that escaped Lorelai's lips when he had to put it back in for longer. Flicking his chin at her as he turned around, he questioned her. "How about you? Any annoying guests or over-prodding town busy bodies today?"

"Nope. Not today... Did you do anything interesting today? Perhaps make plans for the really important event that's going on this week," She prodded, hoping to get a hint.

Feigning innocence, he smirked. "There's something going on this week?"

"It's mommy's birthday, remember," Rory exclaimed.

Winking at her, Luke threw out a nonchalant, "Oh yeah. I had no clue."

Her jaw dropping, Lorelai gasped. "No clue? So you've forgotten about the life changing day, that happens to be this Friday, that brought me, your amazing fiancée and love of your life, into this world."

"Huh, I guess Friday is important, then." He shrugged casually, pushing her buttons.

Turning her chin up and head away from him, she taunted, "Hmmm, well, I guess I'll remember that the next time you want to kiss this masterpiece." Gesturing to herself, a wide smile grew on her face.

"Aw jeez, Mommy," Rory exclaimed, throwing her head in her hands.

Lorelai had a further snarky comment to make to Luke, but immediately froze and turned to her daughter. Hearing her tone and her reaction, she couldn't help busting out laughing. "Aw jeez? Hon, you sound like you're taking after Luke." She smiled over at Luke, who had started laughing too.

"It could be worse." He shrugged. "I'm sure there are a few choice words that have slipped out that she could say."

"Like damn?" Rory spoke up.

"Rory!" Both of them gasped. Lorelai's hand flew to her mouth as she started to laugh harder.

Shrugging with a smile, she explained "It's a bad word that Daddy said! I know it's bad, so I don't say it."

"Well as long as you know you're not supposed to say it..." Lorelai shook her head. "I gotta say, hon, you never cease to surprise me." Taking her gaze away from Rory, she looked at Luke with teasing eyes. "Maybe we need to start a swear jar for you."

"Oh yeah, because I'm the only one who curses around here."

"Are you implying that I would do such a thing?"

As he looked at her knowingly, she couldn't help but crack a smile. Raising her hands in surrender, she ducked her head. "Fine, you're right... between you and me, we could probably fill the jar enough to pay Rory's college tuition."

"Or raise enough money to send you to the crazy house you should be in," Luke deadpanned. Hearing the timer go off, he stood up and walked over to microwave. Grabbing the plate with two pieces, he put them on separate plates with forks and slid them in front of the girls.

"I could've done that myself, you know... I know how to use a microwave." Lorelai smiled as she at her piece of pie.

Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. "And let you smoke up the house again? I don't think so."

"That was one time," she argued, pointing her fork at him.

"Really?" At her nod, he countered, "Microwave Popcorn, hot chocolate, leftovers from Al's." He counted off on his fingers.

Huffing, she sat back in her seat. "Fine. three times...but I can still do it."

"I know... I believe you. Just prove me wrong when neither Rory nor I are here just in case."He smirked. Leaning down by her, he planted a quick kiss to her lips. "Now, you guys stuff yourselves full of sugar, and I'm gonna go take a shower." Rory opened her mouth to protest but couldn't speak before Luke quickly continued. "But I'll be back down to read before Rory goes to bed."

At both of their smiles, he grabbed the ice cream from the freezer and sat it on the table. "Have fun making yourselves nauseated. I'll be back."

When Friday rolled around, the day was going far from what any of the Gilmore Girls or Luke expected. Wednesday morning, Lorelai woke up not feeling well, and by that afternoon she was in the doctor's office finding out she had strep throat and an ear infection. Since then, she'd been holed up in her room, trying not to get anyone else sick and, much to her disappointment, was unable to take part in the birthday celebration that Luke had apparently planned earlier that week.

Late Friday morning, after getting Rory fed and to school, Luke walked into the room to finish getting ready. Tucking his undershirt into his pants he saw Lorelai awake on the bed. "Hey," He spoke quietly, bringing her out of her reverie

"Hey."

Walking over, he grabbed her hand and kissed her forehead. "Happy Birthday, Lorelai."

With a small smile, she answered. "Thanks, babe." Starting to get cold, she pulled the blanket up higher. "This isn't fair. Today is the first birthday where I have a man to party with. But since I'm sick, I can't, and that means no birthday celebration."

Frowning sympathetically, he reassured her. "I promise, we'll celebrate when your better."

"But I want to go out. Birthday girls always get to go out... It's a rule." She responded hoarsely, coughing as she ended her argument.

"Well the only place you're going is back to the doctor if you get worse." At her pout, he shook his head. "Please, just rest and get better. We'll go out and do whatever you want. I promise I'll make it worth your wait."

"Fine." Crossing her arms, Lorelai looked up at him with a frown.

Releasing her hand after giving it another squeeze, Luke walked over and grabbed his belt, sliding it through the loops. Turning to her, he noticed her staring at him. "What?"

"I can't touch right now, but I can still look." She smiled feebly.

Rolling his eyes, he finished putting on his belt, stepped closer, and sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing her leg through the comforter. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright. I've been better. But, I am starting to feel much better than I did yesterday." Shifting to find a more comfortable position, she continued. "Thanks for taking care of Rory this morning...and yesterday...and the day before that."

"You don't have to thank me." He shook his head. "I've got Caesar opening the rest of the weekend too so I can be here in the mornings with her while you are still getting better."

"But what about for dinner? I don't want Caesar to have to run it all."

"Caesars cousin, Mateo, is gonna help. He's just out of high school but Caesar said he was a good kid, and he seemed good when he came in earlier in the week."

She had only been sick for two days. Obviously, Luke had been looking for help before her getting strep. Curious, she looked at him with raised eyebrows.

Able to read her mind, he shrugged. "I've been thinking about adding help for a while now to spend more time here. I'd already talked to Caesar about it a few weeks ago, and this is the best time." Looking down at where his hand was, he continued. "Since we're getting married, I figured I'd need to be around more for you and Rory and, you know, others..."

"You're adorable." Despite her sickness, she couldn't help but smile at the scowl he shot her. "And I really want to kiss you right now."

"Yeah, well, don't," He smirked, squeezing her shin. "Rory needs at least one of us to be functioning."

"Fine..." Lifting her hand to her lips, she blew a kiss his way. At his narrowed eyes, she smiled. "Okay, now you catch it."

"I what?"

"You catch it. I blew you a kiss, so you have to catch it. Like this." She went through the motions.

Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. "Lorelai..."

"Please, Luke. I'm sick," She whined quietly, poking out her bottom lip.

Under her pouty gaze, he broke. Using his free hand, he made the catching motion and brought his hand to his lips like she showed him.

She couldn't help but laugh, bringing a smile to his lips. "I can't believe you just did that..."

"I know. I can't either." Luke chuckled, amazed by the things he would do for her.

Burrowing further down into the bed, she looked at him adoringly. "I love you."

"I love you too." Standing up, he walked over to the closet and grabbed a flannel. "I think I'm going to head out, but I'll be back with Rory once school gets out. Call me if you need me."

Grabbed his wallet from the nightstand and turned to her. "I'm probably gonna run to Doose's when I pick up Rory so I don't have to leave her here all by herself with you later. Is there anything that you want specifically?"

"Is ice cream an option?"

"No. You're not supposed to have dairy if you have a fever."

"But I don't have a fever!"

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Luke spoke to her sternly. "Not right now, but you've had one in the last 24 hours... You're not getting any until you're at least a day free of fever."

Rolling her eyes, she sighed her defeat. "I swear you have an answer for everything."

"When it comes to your well-being, I do." He answered genuinely.

A grin tugged at her lips. Raising a hand, she waved him off. "Fine. Go to the store and get me the boring food, but I expect something amazing when we celebrate later to make up for this crappy birthday food."

"You got it." Luke smiled. Placing one last kiss to her forehead, he left, hoping that by the time he returned, she would be closer to being her normal self again.

Pulling up to the school later that afternoon, Luke noted how Rory slumped down the stairs wearing a frown. Meeting her at the end of the sidewalk, he observed her carefully. "Hey kid. Everything okay? Did you have a bad day at school?"

"I'm okay," She spoke unconvincingly. Taking his hand in hers, she walked with him to the truck, her eyes never looking up from the ground.

"Are you sure?" At her nod, he decided not to push, hoping she would bring it up later if something was really bothering her. Opening the passenger side for her, he helped her into the truck. "We've got to stop by the store to get some things for your mom. Do you want to come in with me or do you want to go in Weston's and talk to Fran?"

"I'll come with you…" She answered noncommittally. Looking over at him with pleading eyes suddenly, she questioned, "Can we get some ice cream? Mommy ate all the moose tracks, and I didn't get any."

Despite the fact that he wasn't really wanting to buy ice cream, after telling Lorelai he wouldn't earlier, the look on Rory's face had him submitting quickly. "Sure, Rory, but we're gonna make this our secret. Mommy doesn't need to know that we bought it."

"But what if she wants some," She questioned, eyeing him warily.

"Once she's not sick anymore she can have some, but right now, it's not good for her to have ice cream while she is sick."

"But I can give her some when she gets better?"

Smiling at her never-ending concern over her mother, Luke nodded. "You bet. I'm sure she'll love to share it with you when she is better."

"Okay."

Despite his purchasing of the ice cream she asked for, Luke noted that Rory's odd mood remained the rest of the truck ride home. Opening the door and carrying the groceries into the house, he watched as she walked ahead of him, depositing her stuff into her room. When she reappeared, she held a small, purple box. "Daddy?"

"Yeah, Rory," He answered, unloading things from the bags and putting them in their corresponding spots.

"Can I go see Mommy?"

Standing up straight and turning away from the fridge, he thought on it before shaking his head. "You can go, but don't go too far into the room if she is awake. There are still germs in there, and I don't want you getting sick."

"But it's Mommy's birthday! I made her a present." She frowned up at him. "I need to give it to her."

"I know, Rory, and if she's awake you can give it to her, but you dont need to get too close so you don't get sick." At her further pout, he continued. "And you don't want to get sick, do you?"

Sighing, she shook her head. "No..."

"I didnt think so." Walking over, he ruffled her hair. "Don't worry, she'll be better soon, but right now, she needs to rest as much as she can… You can go up there to see her but come right back down if she's asleep."

At his agreement, Rory ran out of the kitchen. Scrambling up the stairs, she ran quickly to their bedroom door. Frowning immediately, she saw Lorelai turned on her side, asleep. Her shoulders dropping, she sulked back downstairs and into the kitchen. "Mommy's sleeping." She spoke quietly as she walked up to Luke.

"I'm sorry, princess." He frowned sympathetically. "Why don't you do your homework and I'll start cooking. When we're done, you can run back up there and see if she woke up."

Sighing dejectedly, she moped over to her backpack. "Okay."

As he turned back to the stove to stir the sauce he had put on to cook, he heard Rory digging around in her bag.

"Look, I did it!" She exclaimed suddenly, holding up graded math worksheet proudly

Looking back from the stove, Luke saw the sheet with a 100 written on it in red pen. "That's awesome, Rory. Good job."

"Can I go show Mommy?" She asked hopefully.

"You just went up there, and she was asleep. Like I said, let's wait a little while, and then you can check again."

"But I want to show her now!" She whined

"Rory..." Luke warned. "No. Not right now. Just wait a little bit."

Huffing, the large frown from earlier returned. Shoving the sheet back in her take home folder, she pulled out the days homework sheets and begrudgingly began working on them.

The kitchen remained in silence for a while, except for the quiet rasping of Rory's pencil and the clatter of Luke's kitchen equipment. While he didn't show it, Luke was worried because the normally-chatty Rory was giving him the cold shoulder. Hoping that the spaghetti, her favorite meal that she requested earlier that morning, would cheer her up, he worked quickly to get dinner ready for her.

Putting the finishing touches on the dish an hour later, Luke scooped some into a plate and placed it in front of her with a large glass of iced tea.

Having put up her homework a long time ago after its completion, Rory held a book in her hands. Lowering the book, she looked at the plate he had set in front of her. "Daddy, I don't want spaghetti," She frowned at the plate. "I want a burger!"

Already back at the stove, Luke froze at her words, surprised that she was against what she had been so excited for earlier in the morning. Sighing, he set the tongs he was using to get the pasta out of the pot down. He wasn't sure what to make of her mood that had stayed around for the day, but he decided to stay firm. Turning back to her, he spoke calmly. "Rory, I made spaghetti because that's what you asked for after school, not burgers, so we're eating spaghetti. I'm not making a burger just for you."

"But I don't want it!" She exclaimed, crossing her arms in front of her defiantly

Having never really dealt with her like this before, Luke wasn't sure how he should deal with combative Rory. Drawing from the only parenting he had witnessed, he pulled the move his father had pulled on him years before when he was a child. "I'm sorry, kid, but it's not up for debate. I'm not fixing anything else, so you either take it or leave it."

"No!" She countered him, dropping her fork loudly on the table. Pushing the plate, she slid it across the table, almost over the edge.

"Rory!"

Ignoring him, she hopped from the chair and stomped off into her room, Leaving Luke to stare at her path in disbelief.

"What the hell," he mumbled under his breath. "You'd think she was a teenager or something."

Staring at the door she had slammed shut, he contemplated his next move. Scolding her for her behavior right then could make things worse but giving in would show that all she had to do to get her way was throw a tantrum. Deciding that giving in wasn't an option, he let the door remain closed and made a plate for himself, knowing that if she wanted to eat bad enough, she would eat what he made just for her.

Around 35 minutes later, as he was washing the dishes to clean up, Rory's door opened quietly, and she slipped out to the table.

Picking up the glass of tea Luke had left in her spot, she sipped of it before speaking up. "Daddy?"

"Yes, Rory?"

"I'm hungry."

Cutting off the water, he grabbed a towel to dry his hands and turned back to her. "Are you ready to eat now?"

"Can I have a burger?"

"Rory…" He warned her, much like he had done earlier.

"But I don't want spaghetti," She pouted again, crossing her arms in front of her.

"I already told you, kid, this isn't the diner, so you don't get to pick and choose. You either eat the spaghetti or you don't get anything else. It's your choice."

Whimpering, she slid back out of the chair. As she neglected to close the door, Luke watched as she dramatically flopped down onto her bed.

It took everything within him not to give in, but he started up the water in the sink again, hoping that he was making the right choice.

Marching up the stairs heavily a little while later, Luke walked into their bedroom with a groan. Slipping his hat from his head, he squeezed the bill of it in his hands before dropping it beside him.

"Everything okay, hon?" Lorelai spoke up, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Huh?" Surprised, he looked over at her quickly. Walking in, he hadn't even realized she was awake. "Oh, things could be better, but you don't need to worry about it. You just focus on getting better."

At her curious look, he knew he wasn't going to get out of this conversation without elaborating further. Sighing, he just shook his head. "I just don't know how you do this every day."

"Do what?"

"Work, spend time with me, parent Rory, and the million other things you do..."

Intrigued by his answer, she spoke carefully. "Work and spending time with you are easy. Taking care of Rory is work, but it's totally worth it." Noting his sunk shoulders, she asked him curiously. "Did something happen with Rory?"

"You could say that." He murmured.

Immediately stiffening, she eyed him inquisitively. "Are you gonna tell me, or are you just gonna keep it to yourself?"

"It's nothing really bad." He explained, laying back on the bed. "We got home, and she came up her to see you, and you were asleep. She asked about 10 minutes later to come back up here, and I told her she needed to wait a little longer, and she got mad but stayed put."

"Okay... Rory was a little moody, but I fail to see what went wrong here."

Shaking his head, he continued, "That's not all...When I tried to give her dinner, she refused to eat it, even though she specifically asked for spaghetti, and I told her that I wasn't making anything else. So, she got mad and pushed the plate across the table, almost off the other side. I told her she was either going to eat that spaghetti or she could go to her room and come out when she was ready to eat or have a better attitude."

"Did she come out?"

"She did, but she still said she wanted burgers instead of spaghetti, and I told her she either eats the spaghetti or she gets nothing at all. This is not the diner, this is home. She doesn't get unlimited choices. She didn't like that answer, so she went back into her room."

Narrowing her eyes at him, Lorelai straightened up before protesting. "What the hell, Luke?"

Caught off guard by her response, Luke questioned, "What do you mean "what the hell?""

"You sent my kid to her room for the night without dinner? What the hell is your problem?"

Of all things, he couldn't believe she was actually getting mad at him. Immediately going on the defensive, he glared back at her. "My problem is that I made spaghetti because she asked for it, but she wouldn't eat it! I'm not going to go out of my way to make another meal when there is a perfectly good one sitting on the stove just because Rory changed her mind. It doesn't work like that."

"Then give her something else!" She countered him, throwing an arm in frustration. "I'm sure there's some kind of leftovers in the fridge that she would want that wouldn't take long to make."

"That's not the point, Lorelai." He grumbled. Standing up from the bed, he began to pace. "It's not like I'm depriving her of food as punishment for doing something bad; she's choosing not to do it herself! She asked for spaghetti, and that's what she got. I'm not going out of my way to give her anything else. She needs to learn that just because she gets upset doesn't mean I have to cater to her every whim."

"The way you're going about this makes it sound like she's 16! She's not, she's 6!"

"And 6 is a fine age to learn! As much as we ask her input, she doesn't her run this house. She's still a child, and I am the adult. I make the decision!"

"And I don't like your decision. Do you really think I would do that if I was in your place?"

Freezing in place, Luke immediately turned and faced her angrily. "So I'm not allowed to parent by myself is what you're saying? I need to run everything by you?"

"Well, you're not her parent Luke!" Lorelai yelled back, the words slipping out before her filter could catch it. As soon as the words slipped out, she immediately regretted it. "Luke..."

Cutting her off, he stepped closer to the bed and spoke fiercely. "Like hell, I'm not, Lorelai, but right now, someone needs to be! You've been sick, and the only other "parent" she has is heaven knows where traveling the world like the careless prick he is! Unless you were going to drag yourself out of this bed and do it, I was the only option, and I don't have to be here!"

"I know you don't..."

Ignoring her, he continued on. "I've never taken care of Rory like this all by myself, and I've never seen you have to deal with her not eating because she always eats, so this is new for me! I have nothing to go off of, and since she was acting like a brat, I made a decision to do what I thought was best in the situation!" Beginning to walk out of the room, he stopped at the door frame and looked back to her with a stone-cold look. "I did what my father would do…" With that, he walked out the room without another word.

Walking forcefully down the stairs, Luke stopped at the landing before reaching the ground level. Staring out into the living room, he contemplated his next move. He didn't want to go back into the kitchen, at the risk of encountering Rory before he had time to cool off. He didn't want to go back upstairs either for the same reason, as he wasn't ready to continue discussing with Lorelai yet. Normally the couch on the front porch would be an option, but with it still being slightly day light outside, he didn't want to run the risk of encountering nosy neighbors.

With the only real place left to go being the living room couch, he made his way over and sat down, suddenly drained. In his mind, he knew he needed to go back upstairs and finish talking things out like adults, and he would, but not yet. He needed time to cool down.

Leaning his head back against the back, Luke closed his eyes as his mind spun. "Did I make the right decision?" "Does Lorelai not trust me to parent Rory?" "Am I going to have to fight her like this when we're married?" "Is she going to let me all the way into Rory's life, or do I only get to do specific things?"

As his mind ran wild with questions he couldn't answer on his own, he flipped on the TV, relieved to immediately find ESPN with a baseball game on.

But before he knew it, Luke woke up to it being dark outside and there was a shuffling in the kitchen.

Releasing a groan, he worked the kinks out of his neck from his unplanned nap before going in the room to see Rory grabbing a fork from the drawer and sitting down in front of the plate of spaghetti Luke had left out for her.

Wordlessly, he walked over to the fridge, grabbing the parmesan, and sat down beside her, planting a kiss to her hair on the way down. "Do you need anything else?"

"Can I have some more tea?" She asked, looking up at him earnestly.

"You got it…"

After returning to the table with her refilled cup, he watched as she eagerly ate the plate.

"What's going in in that head of yours?" Luke questioned, watching as Rory uncharacteristically didn't speak while she was eating.

As she spun another bunch of noodles around her fork, she looked up at him with a frown. "I miss Mommy."

"I know you do…" He responded honestly. "You're used to spending time with her, and you have been stuck with only me for the past few days… Is that why you got mad earlier? You missed her?"

Nodding, she slurped up the portion on her fork before swallowing and looked back up at him, continuing. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I was a meanie."

"It's okay, Rory." He nodded, squeezing her arm. "Just tell me the truth next time before getting upset."

"Okay…"

Before he knew it, she was moving around the last little bit of pasta on her plate in circles, a sure sign that she was full. "Are you done?" He questioned her.

"Yeah. I'm full now." She answered, dropping her fork lightly to the plate.

Taking the almost empty plate, Luke walked it over to the sink, getting ready to wash it. As the water warmed up, he suddenly shut it off, deciding that he could get to the last dish it in the morning. Walking back over to where Rory was sitting, he crouched down and asked, "I know you like to watch movies with your mom, but since she's still upstairs, do you think you want to watch some with me? It's not bed time yet."

"I'm not in trouble," Rory questioned curiously, looking at him with narrowed brows. "I don't have to go to bed early?"

Shaking his head, he answered, "Not this time. Just remember before you yell at me next time, okay?"

At her nod, he patted her leg before standing up. "Why don't you go get your pajamas on and pick out a movie. I'm gonna go change, and I'll come back down here to watch the movie with you."
As she disappeared into her room, Luke turned and headed into the living room to go back upstairs. Climbing the stairs, he thought about his conversation with Rory, satisfied that what he thought would happen all along happened, but now he had to hash the results out with Lorelai, and that was something he wasn't sure he was looking forward to.

Opening the door to the room, he was immediately greeted with Lorelai sitting up in bed, as she had heard him climbing up the stairs.

Before he even had time to process her being awake, she blurted out a quick, "I'm sorry, Luke."

"Lorelai," He sighed, walking over to the dresser and pulling out his sweatpants.

"No, Luke, hear me out," she begged, patting the bed beside her.

Shrugging off his flannel, he sat down heavily on his side, laying back against his pillow.

"I am so sorry, babe…" Lorelai started off again, hoping he truly understood how sorry she was. "I'm just not used to other people making parenting decisions regarding Rory."

At his lack of word response, she continued on. "And just because you did something that I wouldn't normally do doesn't mean that you were wrong. You didn't hurt her; you just handled it differently than I would have, and I should not have yelled at you for it."

Though hearing all her words and accepting her apologies internally, there was only one sentence he felt would suffice for an answer. "Lorelai, you've got to trust me."

"I do trust you..." She revealed genuinely. "You've never done anything to hurt Rory so far, and I know you'll do your best to keep it that way."

Taking her hands in his, Luke drilled the point. "I'd never do something that really is detrimental to Rory, and you know that. I'd never lay a hand on her, I'd never do anything unsafe. Sending her to her room without dinner by her choice is different."

"I know. I'm just not used to this." Tossing the blanket that was on her legs off of her, she sat crisscrossed and looked straight at him. "After earlier, I thought long and hard about it, and I realized that with us getting married, I'm going to have to get used to you making decisions with Rory, because you are right. Like today showed, I'm not always going to be around to approve everything you do."

"If you're around, obviously I'll let you lead with Rory because you were right, she isn't mine." He stressed, causing her to frown. "But if I'm all by myself, I'm going to go with my gut… Basically, if I haven't seen you deal with it, then I'll base my decisions off what my parents did, and judging by today, their methods didn't always match up with yours."

Taking a deep breath, she released it slowly. "Luke, I trust you, and I can't have you involved half way… If things like today happen again, I want you to do what you think is best because I know you have Rory's best interest at heart."

Sitting for a second, Lorelai picked at the lint of her pillowcase before continuing. "And I didn't mean to throw that "not being Rory's parent" thing in your face either… That was bitchy of me."

Without words, Luke just nodded.

"Nothing to say?

"I don't have anything to add... because it kinda was." He smirked, his teasing letting her know that things were on their way to being right in the world.

Her jaw dropping, she threw the pillow that was beside her at him. "Luke!"

Shielding his head with his arms, he laughed. "I'm glad you did though... It made us talk about something important. It's better that we figure things out about Rory now, rather than later, anyway."

"Yeah, because she's pretty much gonna be your daughter a few months from now... how do you feel about that?"

Smiling genuinely, he reached out to stroke her leg. "Pretty good."

"Even after her bratty moment today?"

"Yes..."

"You know, she has her bratty moments, but it sounds like she was in fine form today..." She spoke, a frown forming on her face.

"Apparently she was upset about that and took it out on the food… She misses you." He admitted. "She told me when she was eating her spaghetti a few minutes ago."

"She ate it?" Lorelai questioned. At his nod, she grinned. "Huh, well look at that. You were right." Looking down at the covers, her smile faltered as she admitted, "I miss her too. I haven't spent a birthday without her since she was in the womb."

Looking at the clock, Luke noted that it had been over two days since she found out she was sick. "You know, the doctor said you're not contagious after 24 hours on antibiotics... we may not be able to go out, but I'm sure she'd like to watch the movie with you."

Looking back over at him, her smile returned as she perked up. "You're right… and she hasn't really seen me since Wednesday... and it is my birthday."

"Go..." He whispered, pushing at her leg.

"You should come too..."

Shaking his head, knowing they needed time together, he declined her. "Nah, I'm gonna lay down. You guys spend time together."

Cocking her head, she questioned him. "Are you sure?"

Flicking his head at the door, he smiled small. "Yeah, you go have fun."

Not having to be told twice, Lorelai quickly changed into some germ-free pajamas and washed her hands before bounding down to the stairs landing. "Evening, sweets"

Rory, surprisingly entranced by the game that was still on the screen, perked up immediately at the sound of Lorelai's voice and scrambled off the couch "Mommy!"

Stepping down to her, she caught her in her arms, pulling her into a tight hug. "Hello, my sweet girl."

Looking up at her, Rory wore a blinding smile. "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you. It's a very happy birthday now that I get to see you." Planting a kiss to her cheek, she walked them over to the couch and plopped down, still holding Rory to her lap. "I've missed you, hon."

Leaning into her neck, she agreed. "I missed you too, Mommy. Are you feeling better now?"

"Im not 100% better, but I'm not contagious, so I can spend time with you." Feeling and seeing Rory jump with excitement, Lorelai laughed. "So, I guess it's okay that I'm watching the movie with you and not your Daddy Luke?"

Shaking her head, she squeezed her mother's neck tighter. "It's okay…" Rushing from her lap suddenly, Rory looked at her with widened eyes. "Can I get you your present first? I made you something!"

"Sure, why not? I like presents."

As Rory giggled and ran towards her room, Lorelai unexpectedly heard Luke clear his throat. Looking up to the top of the stairs, she found him leaning against the wall.

"What?" She questioned, noting the smile on his face.

"Nothing…" He answered, shaking his head. In a move that surprised her, she saw him bring his hand to his lips and throw her a kiss just like she had done to him earlier that morning. "Happy Birthday, Lorelai… Good night."

Smiling widely, she threw one back. "Goodnight, Luke."

A/N: Ugh... It took me almost 20 days to upload this chapter...

I don't know why I had such a problem with it, but I did. It's shorter than the others, and it may seem irrelevant, but I put it in for 2 reasons: 1) It ties into a conversation I have planned out in the next chapter and 2) I got a review a while back about the possibility of a parenting conflict between Lorelai and Luke (Sorry, I can't remember exactly who suggested it), and I thought that was a good idea. With them being such strong personalities, I knew there was no way everything with Rory's parenting would go completely perfect, so I wanted to throw a conversation in about it.

On the bright side, even though this chapter took me 10 million years to write, I started working on the other chapters after this one in the midst of my writer's block, so it shouldn't take as long for those! (YAY!) Anyway, sorry for the rambling note, I just feel weird not telling y'all about why things take so long... I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

XO S