Many Years Later (Will is 17 and Sam is 13)
Luke returns home from work in the early afternoon. He left Caesar and a couple of other employees in charge of the diner. He was starting to feel more and more exhausted at the end of each work day. He was approaching the age of sixty fast, and his body wasn't as flexible or as fit as it was before. April and her husband had given him two grandchildren and Lorelai was always teasing him by calling him an "old grandpa. Rory and Jeremy had decided that they didn't want to have kids, but they were content in their marriage. Lorelai accepted this, but she still wanted to be a grandmother someday.
Luke walks into the living room and finds Sam asleep on the couch. She should be in school, so he is confused as he saw her leave for school this morning. The front door opens and Luke waits in the living room as footsteps make their way over to him.
"Oh hey, you're home early." Lorelai walks in, carrying a bag from Doose's.
"Yeah, I was feeling pretty wiped out. Why isn't she at school?" Luke points to Sam.
Lorelai smiles gently. "Well, she called me from school and um she got her first period… so I told her she could come home she wanted to. I guess she must have fallen asleep." She reaches out and brushes some hair off of Sam's face.
Luke's face turns a bit red. He had never really dealt with female body things with April. He remembers that she never wanted to talk about anything embarrassing with him.
"Isn't she a little young to, uh have that?" He asks Lorelai.
Lorelai turns to him and smiles at his nervous look. "No not really. Some girls can get it for the first time as early as nine or ten. I went to Doose's to get her what she needs. She'll be fine; every girl has to go through this."
Luke blinks and doesn't say anything. He is a bit overwhelmed by how fast both of their kids are growing up. Will is already in his senior year of high school and Sam may have just become a woman in a way.
Sam opens her eyes suddenly and looks up at Luke and Lorelai.
"Hey honey. How are you feeling?" Lorelai asks her.
Sam looks between her parents, she blushes lightly and keeps her eyes on Lorelai as she mutters: "I'm fine."
"I got everything you need at Doose's." Lorelai passes the bag to Sam and she places it next to her.
Luke notices that she seems uncomfortable about him being there. "Do you need anything else? 'Cause uh I could go get you something." He says quickly.
Sam just shakes her head.
"Are you sure because I could go get you some ice cream or something?" Luke says with a smile. He wouldn't normally offer to buy the kids sweets, but he kind of felt like the situation called for it. Sam was more like Lorelai in the sense that she enjoyed eating a lot of junk food, whereas Will enjoyed healthy food like Luke. However, Will's personality was more like Lorelai's as he was more of an extrovert and he was eccentric and witty. Sam was introverted like Luke, she was kind-hearted and she was also stubborn and a little grumpy sometimes.
Sam glances at Luke. "Well, I guess you could get me some Milk Duds." She smiles softly at him.
"Sure thing sweetie," Luke smiles at her again before he walks away.
Luke returns a half hour later. He gives Sam her Milk Duds and she thanks him. He starts doing some housework while Lorelai talks to Emily on the phone. Emily had moved to an apartment in Hartford after she had sold the house. She visited the Gilmore-Danes house once a week for dinner and to just talk. She had only been on a couple of dates with other men, but she didn't ever want to feel like she was replacing Richard, so she decided to stop dating and stay single.
When Will returns home from school, he shouts: "I'm going to go the park with the guys to practice." As he runs upstairs to his room to grab his baseball equipment, he still played baseball. It had become more of a passion for him, and Luke and Lorelai had supported him. They were happy to attend all his games, but they also wanted to make sure that he stayed on top of his schoolwork.
"I thought I told you that you had to clean your room and start writing that essay before you could go out." Luke stands at the bottom of the stairs and calls out to Will.
Will comes running downstairs carrying his bat and mitt. "I'll do it when I get back, I promise." He pushes past Luke.
Luke reaches out and puts a hand on Will's shoulder to stop him, "No. You'll stay here and do your schoolwork and clean your room. Baseball isn't a priority, and it can wait."
Will's brow furrows. "I can't believe that you don't trust that I'll do it when I get back." He mutters.
"It's not that. It's just that your mom and I would both like to see you focus on school a little more so you can bring your grades up a little. I know you love baseball, but it can wait while you take some time to concentrate on homework." Luke replies. Will had acceptable grades, they just weren't as high as Luke and Lorelai thought they could be.
Will sighs. "Fine, but we can't all be like Rory and go to Yale. Or like April and win awards for amazing discoveries…" He walks past Luke again and heads upstairs.
Luke stands still for a few seconds. "Will, that's not what…" He stops when he hears Will's bedroom door shut.
Later in bed that night, Luke and Lorelai discuss their day.
"So is Sam... okay with everything?" Luke asks a bit hesitantly. He, of course didn't understand what she was experiencing and he just wanted her to be comfortable.
Lorelai smiles warmly. "Well, she isn't having fun, but she's handling it fine."
Luke nods and shifts in the bed to get more comfortable. Lorelai reaches out and touches Luke's bald head gently. Luke flinches. He's a bit embarrassed that he's lost his hair, but Lorelai has assured him again and again that she doesn't care and that his looks don't matter to her.
"Will seemed to be a little upset at dinner; did you talk to him about school today?" She asks. She had left the house for a couple hours earlier to spend some girl time with Sookie.
"Yeah, he wanted to go play baseball, but I told him he had to stay home and work on homework and clean his room. He didn't exactly take it well." He tells Lorelai.
"Hmm. He knows that all we want is for him to be successful and have fun. I mean, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, but Will can't only focus on baseball." Lorelai says with a thoughtful expression.
"Right. He said something like 'we can't all be like Rory or April' and I wanted to tell him that's not what we expect of him, but he went to his room so I just let him be." Luke responds. He wonders if he should have talked to Will, but sometimes he knows it's best to just leave him alone.
Lorelai presses her lips together. "Yeah, we want him to be his own person. He shouldn't have to feel like he isn't as smart or as Rory or April. We love him for who he is as an individual, he doesn't need to be like them to make us proud… we should have a talk with him tomorrow."
"Yeah, we should. He should know that we just want him to be happy and we want him to succeed." Luke agrees.
Lorelai nods. "Let's go to sleep, Grandpa. It's past your bedtime." She says in a sarcastic tone.
Luke smirks. "Goodnight, crazy lady."
"'Night, hon." She gives him a quick peck on the lips then settles on the bed.
Luke turns off the lamp and relaxes next to her.
Author's note: Thanks for reading/following/reviewing. Reviews are always appreciated.
I am so excited that the revival is confirmed. I am hoping that Luke and Lorelai will either be already married or get married. I want them to have a kid or two, but I'm not sure that we'll get to see that… what are your hopes/feelings about the revival? Feel free to comment about it in your review or send me a PM.