The next morning, Lorelai was awoken by the sound of her cell phone ringing. She was surprised that Luke's alarm or Owen hadn't woken her. It was a little after eight A.M. She rolled over and reached for her phone which was on her nightstand.
"Hello?" She answered without looking at the caller ID. She hoped it was the hospital, updating her on Rory's condition.
"Hi Lorelai, I hope I'm not calling too early." Logan answered.
Owen suddenly woke up and started crying.
Lorelai quickly got out of bed. "No, you don't have to worry about that when I have a newborn baby here."
"Right… I wanted to ask about Owen, how is he?"
Lorelai told Logan to hang on a minute while she picked up Owen and put the phone on speaker.
"Well, he just woke up and I'm about to change his diaper then he'll need to be fed." Lorelai said quickly.
"Oh and how were his first two nights at home?"
"Fine," Lorelai said casually.
"Oh good. So uh I've got my other job interview today but I'll come back to Hartford tomorrow and visit Rory and then I'll head to Stars Hollow to see Owen if that's okay?"
"Sure." Lorelai said as she started to change Owen's diaper.
"Okay. I'll just text you tomorrow then. Thanks." Logan said.
"Great. Bye Logan." Lorelai ended the call.
She finished changing Owen's diaper and let out a sigh of relief. Logan had been in the back of her mind the past two days. She was wondering when he'd be able to visit Owen.
Lorelai and Luke had agreed that she would stay home one more day before Luke would take over. Then they would stick to their schedule next week.
"How about some breakfast?" She said to Owen as if he would respond.
She made a bottle and spent the next few minutes feeding him. After that, she decided to go for a walk to the diner. The house felt strange without Luke and she felt like having pancakes at the diner.
Ten minutes later, she had Owen in his stroller and she was off. Her phone rang again as she was walking.
"Hi honey. I'm just checking in again. How's Owen?" It was Sookie.
"Hey Sook. We're fine. A little lack of sleep is nothing."
"And what about Rory? Any change?"
"No. Do you still want to come visit with me tomorrow before work?" Lorelai managed to convince the hospital to allow Sookie to visit Rory in the ICU.
"Of course. I can meet you at the hospital around eight o' clock." Sookie responded. "Michel will be at the Inn bright and early. I made him promise."
"Great. I'll see you tomorrow. Take care."
"You too,"
Lorelai ended the call and continued walking to Luke's. She was stopped once again when Miss Patty walked up to her.
"Oh Lorelai! I wasn't expecting to see you. Is this Rory's little boy?"
Lorelai smiled softly. "Yep, this is Owen." She pulled back the stroller cover so Miss Patty could get a better look.
"Oh he's adorable." Miss Patty gushed.
Lorelai smiled again but that smile fell when Miss Patty asked about Rory.
"Her condition hasn't changed." Lorelai murmured.
"Oh I'm sorry dear." Miss Patty put a hand to her heart.
They were silent for few seconds.
"We're all praying for her. I hope you and Luke are doing alright with this little one. Babies are a handful… or so I've heard."
Lorelai nodded. "We can handle him. It's tough, but we also have Owen's father involved so…" She trailed off.
"That's Logan right?" Miss Patty asked.
"Yeah,"
Miss Patty raised her eyebrows. "I remember when he came to town and Rory showed him around. He seemed like a nice boy. Not bad on the eyes either."
Lorelai nodded again. "Well he isn't abandoning Owen or Rory so he's in our good books. He's going to visit tomorrow."
Miss Patty smiled softly. "Well you and Luke let me know if you need anything."
"We will, thanks Patty." Lorelai flashed a smile then continued walking.
When she finally made it to Luke's, she let out a sigh of relief. A man who appeared to be a tourist was leaving the diner and he held the door open for her as she pushed Owen's stroller inside. She thanked him quickly then hurried over to the counter when she spotted Luke behind it.
"Hey." She called out.
Luke's was filling the coffee maker and his back was turned to her. Once he heard her voice, he turned around.
"Lorelai?" He didn't notice how close she was before he called out her name.
"Hi." Lorelai turned the stroller around and took a seat on a stool.
"What are you doing here? Is something wrong? Is Owen all right?" Luke was clearly distressed.
Lorelai frowned. "Oh, no. Don't worry. We're both fine. I just wanted a Luke's breakfast at Luke's. It's a beautiful day out so I decided to walk here, test out the stroller.
Luke let out a breath and his expression softened. "Oh okay." He muttered.
His hand was resting on the counter and Lorelai placed her hand on top of his and squeezed gently.
He smiled softly. "What would you like for breakfast?"
"Pancakes and bacon please," Lorelai replied.
"Comin' up," Luke turned back around and went to the kitchen to give the order to the cook.
Lorelai reached into the stroller and gently tickled Owen's toes and caressed his cheek. He seemed to be completely content.
Luke went back to filling the coffee maker and turned it on. There was only one other customer at the diner, a woman eating at the other end of the counter.
Lorelai looked around and noticed that they were the only people at the diner. "Woah, it's dead in her."
Luke frowned, "It's one of those weird lulls. I don't know where everyone is."
"Well I ran into Miss. Patty on the way here."
"Oh?"
"She met Owen and asked about Rory."
Luke just nodded. A couple other townies had been in there yesterday and asked about Rory too.
"Remind me to tell you to get a hold of April on Facebook." He said. April was currently in Germany. She didn't make it last summer and was there now for a couple weeks. She was also planning to go to The Netherlands.
"Sure." Lorelai responded. She was looking at Owen again.
"How was Owen this morning?"
"Good. He drank like a champ. Oh and Logan called. He's coming to visit tomorrow."
"Here? Stars Hollow?"
Lorelai nodded. "He's going to the hospital first and then he'll come visit. He said he'll text, but I'll be at work tomorrow and you'll be with Owen. Can I give him your number and tell him to text you instead?"
"You know I don't like texting."
"Then I'll tell him to call instead."
"Okay." Luke agreed.
Lorelai quickly sent a message to Logan. Her food was ready a few minutes later.
Luke noticed that she was eating slower than usual.
"So, I'll close early tonight and be home by eight." He said.
"Oh? Are you sure you want to do that? I don't mind being home alone with Owen."
Luke gave her a look. He knew she could handle Owen, but he thought an extra set of hands would be helpful too. And they could eat dinner together too.
"I'm sure." He said simply.
Lorelai gave him a grateful smile. She didn't admit that the house felt empty without him. She figured he already knew that. He could read her like a book most of the time.
The diner stared to get busy about ten minutes after Lorelai had finished eating. She stood up and turned Owen's stroller around so that he faced the counter.
"We better get back home." Owen had fallen asleep and Lorelai hoped he would still be sleeping by the time they got back home.
"Okay. Bye buddy." Luke leaned over the counter and looked down at Owen.
"Bye babe." Lorelai leaned over the counter and they kissed each other's cheeks.
Later that night, Luke returned home a little earlier than he said he would. He found Lorelai and Owen asleep on the couch. Owen was on Lorelai's chest.
Luke reached down and gently rubbed Lorelai's knee. This woke her up. She looked up and saw him.
"Hey." She whispered.
"Hey." He whispered back.
Lorelai glanced down at Owen who was still sleeping. She kissed the top of his head.
They watched Owen for a minute before Luke spoke again, "Do you want dinner? I can whip up something."
"I don't want to move and wake him up."
"Hmm… well I'll cook and maybe by the time it's ready he will have woken up."
Lorelai blinked then nodded. Luke left the room and headed to the kitchen. Lorelai shut her eyes again and tried to get a little more rest.
A few minutes later, the home phone rang. The sound woke Owen and he wailed.
"Ugh." Lorelai grumbled. "Shh it's okay baby." She slowly sat up and cradled Owen.
"I'll get it." Luke called from the kitchen.
"Thanks hon." Lorelai continued to try to calm down Owen.
"Hello?" Luke answered the phone on the fourth ring.
… "Okay she's right here." He said to the person on the other end. He walked back over to Lorelai.
'Who is it?' She mouthed to Luke as he held out the phone to her.
'Your mother,' He mouthed back.
Lorelai bit her lip. She didn't feel like talking to Emily. Owen was still crying.
Luke gestured for her to take the phone. She did, but she didn't hold it to her ear. Luke held out his arms, offering to take Owen.
Lorelai sighed but she handed Owen to Luke and after he walked back into the kitchen, she answered the phone.
"Hi Mom," Her voice was toneless.
"Hello Lorelai. I just wanted to let you know I visited Rory today and there's no change… I didn't see you or Luke at the hospital. Did you visit today?"
"No. We took Owen home the other day, remember?"
"Oh that's right. How is he?"
"He's good. Your typical newborn, keeps us up in the night."
"Are you getting enough sleep?" Emily pondered.
"No. I just said he keeps us up."
"I know Lorelai, but are you and Luke sharing the responsibility of caring for him? Or is it all too much for the both of you?"
"Of course we're sharing the responsibility and he's getting the care he needs. What do you think that Luke and I are incapable of caring for our grandson?" Lorelai suddenly became irritated. She didn't need to hear Emily's concerns right now.
"No, Lorelai. I just know it must be hard to care for a newborn at your age… and with Rory still in the coma showing no signs of recovery, you must worry." Emily's voice broke.
Lorelai let out a shaky breath. "Of course I worry about Rory, but I put all my energy into caring for Owen. Luke and I have a good system going, a plan." She told Emily about their work schedules.
"All right. I'm sorry if I sounded alarmed. I am allowed to worry about my daughter, son in law and great grandson, you know?"
"I know Mom." Lorelai said gently. "I'm sorry if I got a little defensive. This is overwhelming and I know you're just looking out for us."
Emily let out a deep breath.
"How are you Mom? Sorry I forgot to ask."
"I'm all right. I was thinking about your father today and I had a bit of a breakdown but, I'm okay now."
"Oh Mom, I'm sorry." Lorelai said sincerely. "I know Dad would have loved to meet Owen and he would be your rock… he would be a huge comfort right about now."
"You're right." Emily said gently.
"I still miss him every day, you know?" Lorelai choked.
Emily took a few seconds to respond. "I know." She said softly.
They were silent for about twenty seconds.
"I better go. I need some sleep. Take care Lorelai. I hope you can get at least a little bit of sleep."
"I will. And Sookie and I are visiting Rory before work tomorrow, maybe we'll see you there."
"Maybe. I was thinking I'd come see Owen."
Lorelai didn't want to tell her about Logan's plan to visit. "Sure. Okay… good night Mom."
"Good night Lorelai."
Lorelai got up and hung up the phone. She entered the kitchen and frowned when she didn't see Luke there.
"Luke? Where'd you go?" She didn't notice him walk by when she was on the phone.
"Upstairs. I need some help." He shouted down.
Lorelai rushed upstairs as fast as she could.
"Oh my god," She exclaimed when she got upstairs to the nursery.
Luke was bent over the changing table. He had a wipe in one hand and a clean diaper in the other. Owen was naked and he was filthy. He clearly needed not only a diaper change, but a bath.
"There's just so much of it… I don't know where to start." Luke murmured. He was clearly disgusted.
Lorelai stepped up next to him. She started giggling as she looked at Luke's face then back at Owen.
"It's not funny!" He snapped.
"It's a little funny." Lorelai bit her lip to try to stop giggling.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Can you help me please?" He was frustrated and a little ashamed. He felt bad that he had to ask for her help. He couldn't do that tomorrow when he would be left alone with Owen.
"Of course, but this is more than a dirty diaper, he needs a bath."
"Oh." Luke huffed.
Lorelai gently picked up Owen and carried him to the master bathroom. Luke started to follow, but she told him to bring the little baby bath they had purchased. He searched the nursery for it and finally found it a few minutes later.
Fifteen minutes later, Owen was clean and Luke started preparing dinner again while Lorelai fed Owen. After they ate, Luke and Lorelai sat down in front of the TV and watched an old movie that was on. They didn't really pay attention to it though, as Owen was distracting.
"So now that you know how to properly change a diaper and handle him in the bath and make a bottle, do you think you're ready for tomorrow?" Lorelai asked.
"I think so." Luke said confidently.
Lorelai smiled at him then moved closer. She shifted Owen in her arms then leaned back and rested her head on Luke's shoulder.
Luke kissed her hair. "Love you." He whispered.
Lorelai grinned. "Love you too."
They sat in a comfortable silence for a bit before Owen whimpered.
"Aww what's wrong sweets?" Lorelai cooed.
Luke gently took Owen from Lorelai's arms without saying a word. He held him close.
Owen stopped whimpering almost immediately.
"Aww he loves Grandpa. You two will be fine tomorrow." Lorelai said.
"Mm hmm," Luke murmured. He pressed a quick kiss to Owen's cheek.
Lorelai couldn't help but make an 'aww' noise again. She never imagined Luke to be that affectionate with a baby although she had seen him cuddle Doula before. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt sad all of a sudden. She regretted them choosing not to try for a baby again after her miscarriage years ago. But she kept that feeling of regret hidden from him.
"I'll put him to bed while you take a shower." Luke offered.
"Okay." Lorelai rubbed his arm affectionately then touched Owen's hand gently. She headed upstairs and Luke followed shortly after.
Meanwhile, Logan was packing his dress clothes in his suitcase. He was preparing to travel back to Hartford the next morning. Once he had finished packing, he ordered room service and sat on the bed to watch some TV while he waited for it.
There was a loud knock at the door and he knew it couldn't be the food he had just ordered. His curiosity got the best of him and he decided to open the door instead of just ignoring it and hoping the person would go away.
He gasped when he saw who was waiting on the other side.
"Mom?"
Author's note: This is the longest chapter yet.
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