A/N: Happy New Year to all of you! I hope your holidays were as great as mine were. There's a reason I didn't update until now. First of all, before the holidays, I had a paper to finish. Even though I started early enough, in the end it always takes a lot of time. I wonder why… But I finished it, and I'm more than happy with the result. I turned it in yesterday and my trainee supervisor was impressed when she just hold it in her hands. I guess that's one thing for layout. Hopefully she'll like the inside as much as the outside, but I guess I have to wait a few days before I know for sure. And if she approves of what I've written I can give it to my teacher when he comes for the end evaluation two weeks from now.
I started writing this chapter right after I finished the other one, ready to write another holiday chapter. The plan was to post it on Christmas morning, but unfortunately that didn't quite worked out. In my last chapter I wrote how important it is to celebrate Christmas with your family. And at first I was planning to stay in Norway with Christmas, and to celebrate it with my friend and her parents, who were coming over. But more and more I felt like going home, so one day I decided to buy a ticket. I didn't anyone at home, besides my sister and her boyfriend. My sister promised to pick me up at the airport, and her boyfriend, who lives half way between the airport and our house, would step in the train with us. So on Friday the 23rd I stepped in a plane once again and flew to Amsterdam. My sister was already waiting by the exit and we took the train to a town close from our home. Normally my mother picks my sister and her boyfriend up, but this time she told my parents that our brother would pick us up instead, because she had a Christmas present and it wasn't fun if my parents wouldn't see it together. So my mother accepted it and stayed up waiting for them to come home. She and my father were in the living room watching TV while my sister, her boyfriend and my brother walked in. I walked in as well, unbeknownst to them of course. I waited in the living room for the sign my sister would give me. Impatiently, of course. First they told a whole story about the train (some idiot tried to jump in last minute and got stuck with his leg between the door what gave us a 20 minute delay) they asked if they wanted to have their Christmas present now. At that moment I literally jumped into the living room surprising both my parents. Shock was registered on their faces as their mouth dropped open, and after it sunk in they both started crying. Without a doubt one of the best moments ever! So, I thought that being home, away from work and with my paper finished, I'd have enough time to finish my chapter, but really that didn't work. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my parents and my friends, and therefore everything else, including this chapter, went into the background. Soon the deadline I set in my mind passed and the same for my other deadline, new years eve. And before I knew it I was back in a plane towards Oslo. And from that moment I spend as much time as possible finishing this chapter, making it extra long in the process. Of course the theme stayed the holidays, but I hope that this once again will bring the holiday spirit back, since we have to wait for almost a year now. In a way nice that the calm in life is back, but on the other way also sad, because it definitely is a special time! And I can write forever, but since this note is almost a page long already, and the story itself is long enough, I'll stop after saying 2 more things. First of all, because it took me so long to finish this chapter, I decided to leave it unbetad. To my beta I want to say, I will send you the next chapter and I hope you're not angry I posted this one without your wonderful feedback, which I highly appreciate by the way, but my readers deserved a new chapter and waiting even longer would definitely set off the theme of this chapter. Then second, as always, I want to thank all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter. My new years resolution is to start replying to reviews, because I like it when people do it to the once I post. So leave a signed review or your email address if you want some of my crazy comments ;)
Chapter 8 Holidays spend as a family
24th of December, early afternoon
Lorelai was wearing old clothes and had a rolled up tea towel wrapped around her hair. She had the whole house to herself. Luke had taken Lucan to the diner, and Rory and Warren went to the lake for a walk. She was in the kitchen, refilling a bucket with water and soap. She wanted the house to look perfect. It wasn't the first time her parents were coming here, but it was the first time they were staying over. And she didn't want to give her mother any reason to pull a fight. The following evening and day meant too much to her.
With a sigh she picked up the bucket and walked to the living room, starting the dust the desk and everything on, and then moving on to the photo's hanging on the walls. She already cleaned the entire upper floor, and the living room was the first room downstairs she started with. There were many things left to do before her parents came, and she wasn't closed to being finished. Luke had offered to help her, and even told her it wasn't necessary to clean everything, but she refused. When he mentioned that she hated cleaning she replied that it was true, but she was a maid once, so she knows how to do it. And once in a while it is necessary to clean thoroughly.
When she finished the living room, she moved over to the kitchen. She just started cleaning the doors of the cabinets when Luke walked in. "Hey."
"Your home early." She didn't look up from her work.
"I came to drop of Lucan. I have to drive to Hartford to pick up some things for dinner."
"Can't you take him with me." She put pressure on her rag, trying to remove some grease.
"He's been kind of cranky. I'll put him to bed and he won't be any trouble to you. I promise."
"You've said that before. You promised to take care of him today Luke. I have to get the house clean."
"The house looks fine."
"No it doesn't. Upstairs, yes, living room, besides the floor, yes, but I just started with the kitchen, and I still have to get Rory's room and the toilet done."
"Rory's room?"
"That's where my parents are staying Luke. Rory and Warren will be sleeping on an air mattress in Lucan's room, and he will sleep with us. You already know all of this."
"I do. But why are you stressing so much? Your parents have been here before, and it's not like the house is a mess. Plus, you hate cleaning. For years you cleaned your house with spit and the sleeves of your shirts."
"I was a maid Luke. I know how to clean. We've been through this earlier this morning."
"I know you were a maid, but I still don't know how."
"Hey, I was the best maid Mia had. I cleaned the rooms in half the time the other maids did, and good if I might add."
"Then what happened?" He had a smirk on his face.
She knew that he was teasing her, but she was too annoyed to play along. "When I worked myself up I had cleaned so much I didn't like it anymore. But do you mind leaving me alone, you're distracting me. You better go to Hartford now before the stores are closed."
"What about Lucan?"
"Put him in bed, but if he's cranky you won't hear the last of it."
"You're the best." He walked towards her and placed a kiss on her sweaty forehead.
"Yeah yeah, now leave."
"Bye." She heard Luke yell 5 minutes later.
"Bye." She yelled back, right before she heard the front door close. She was finished with the cabinets and went on to the stove. Lucky for her Luke cleaned it every night after he cooked, so it wasn't too much work. After the stove she cleaned the counter and the sink, the kitchen table, and then moved on to Rory's room. She dusted everything, even the outside of all her books. And then she let herself fall down on the bed. 'What was she doing?' Cleaning was one thing, but it was like she was obsessed. But still she couldn't stop. Sitting down didn't feel good, and she had to continue. She couldn't stop before the house was completely clean.
An hour later she turned of the vacuum cleaner and started to mop the kitchen floor. She sat down on her hands and knees and cleaned the floor step by step. Once again she asked herself what she was doing. After the floor was done, she ended up in Rory's room, and started making up the bed. She made sure there was not a single wrinkle. She had to redo the bed at least 5 times before she was satisfied.
Lorelai sank down on the floor in front of the bed, waiting for the kitchen floor to dry. She started thinking when the last time she cleaned the house this thoroughly was. And suddenly she knew. 'But it's not possible.' She thought to herself. 'It's not possible.' She closed her eyes and tried to think of another time. There wasn't any.…
She stood up, suddenly not caring anymore about the still wet kitchen floor. She almost ran up the stairs and into Lucan's room. The little boy was still asleep. She didn't had the heart to wake him up, knowing he would be even more cranky than he already was before. Lucky for her the front door open and she heard Luke's voice calling her name. She ran downstairs. "Can you look after Lucan for me?"
"Sure, but where are you going?"
"I just have to buy something."
"And you couldn't tell me before?"
"Sorry. I didn't thought of it then."
"Fine. Is he still asleep?"
"Yeah. He looks pretty beaten so he won't be any trouble soon. You can focus on whatever you want, which is probably dinner. See you later." She planted a kiss on his lips and turned around to get her coat.
"Don't you want to change?"
"No time." She put on her coat and picked up her purse, digging for her car keys. "Bye."
"Bye." When the front door closed in front of him he stood still in surprise, not knowing what got into Lorelai all the sudden. He raised his shoulders and walked into the kitchen to put his groceries away.
24th of December, late afternoon
Lorelai walked back into the house around 4.30. She took in a deep breath through her nose, and inhaled scents that were coming from the kitchen. With a smile she hung up her coat and her purse, and walked into the kitchen, carrying a brown paper bag. "What smells so good?"
"Oh hey." Luke looked up from whatever he was cutting. "Where have you been?"
"I had to pick this up." She showed him the paper bag.
"What's in it?"
"Wouldn't you like to know." She gave him a devilish smile.
"Lorelai." He sighed.
"Oh, someone's curious. Come and give me a kiss and I'll tell you."
"Why don't you bring me that kiss?"
"Because you want to know what's in this bag."
"Fine." He put his knife down and walked to his wife. He tried to give her a quick kiss, but she wouldn't let him pull away. "Wow." It was the only thing he could get out a few minutes later, when she finally let him go. When he caught his breath he asked. "Where was that for?"
"Here." She handed him the paper bag.
He opened it, taking out a box. He raised his eyebrows. "But?" He looked up at his smiling wife. "What is it?"
"Can't you read?"
"Yes, I can read. But what does it mean? Did you?"
She nodded.
"Are you?"
She nodded again. "Open it."
He opened the box and took out the stick. He looked at it and saw two pink lines. "You're pregnant?"
"That's what the test says."
"But I don't understand. You got your period like 3 weeks ago?"
"That obviously wasn't my period. It wasn't the same as it usually was, but I did not realize it until know. Sometimes you can bleed a little in the first month, that's totally normal. It doesn't have to happen, but sometimes it does. Of course we still have to go to doctor Elder to confirm it, but I bought three test, did all three of them and they all said the same. I brought only this one to show you, the rest I threw away."
"You're pregnant." It wasn't a question now, it was a statement.
"Yes."
He took a step forward and enveloped her in his arms, hugging her tight. "We're getting another baby."
She just nodded and pulled away a little so she could kiss him again. When they pulled apart a few tears had appeared in her eyes. "I'm sorry I did the tests without you, but I couldn't wait until I was home. I drove all the way to Hartford because I didn't want anyone in town to know. There are enough rumors already. And I know I should have told you before I left, but I didn't want to get your hopes up too."
"It's okay. I'm happy Lorelai, and you told me immediately anyway."
"So you're not angry?"
"How could I be?" He kissed her again. Then they heard crying coming from the living room, where Lucan was sitting in his playpen. He was obviously feeling left out.
Lorelai walked towards her son and picked him up. "You're going to be a big brother. But it's a secret so you can't tell anyone yet."
"Dadadada." Was all he said back.
"Yeah your dada knows."
"What does his dada knows?" Rory asked, when they walked in.
"That Lucan is a very big boy. How was your walk?"
"It was great. The lake is completely frozen and with the snow the sight was beautiful. Although it was very cold. Do you think we can convince Luke to give us some coffee?"
"You ask him. I'm going upstairs to take a shower."
"You don't want coffee?"
"I didn't say that. I'm just behind on my schedule and I want to be ready when your grandparents get here. And since we all have to shower, it's just easier if I go first. Then I can feed Lucan while you're taking a shower."
"Fine, go."
Lorelai handed Lucan to Rory and walked upstairs. "So, what does your daddy know huh?"
"Dadadadada." Lucan responded.
"Don't try to get any information out of him." Luke said. While Lorelai talked to Rory and Warren, he hid the box with the pregnancy test somewhere in the kitchen, in a place he knew they wouldn't find it.
Christmas eve"Luke, can you open the door?" Lorelai yelled from upstairs.
"Fine." He walked towards the front door and opened it. "Hello Richard, Emily."
"Hello Luke."
Luke stepped aside to let his in-laws inside. "Lorelai is still upstairs, but she's almost ready."
"Can we put the presents under the tree?"
"Yes, of course. You do that, then I'll check up on dinner. It should be ready within 10 minutes."
When Luke walked towards the kitchen, Richard and Emily walked into the living room. They were putting the presents under the tree when Lorelai walked downstairs with Lucan in her arms. "Hey mom, dad."
"Hello Lorelai."
"I think dinner is ready in a few minutes. Did you put your presents under the tree?"
"We did Lorelai."
"I hope you kept our deal."
"I did Lorelai."
"Good." They all smiled. Lorelai couldn't help but feel nervous. This was the first time in a very long time they will spend Christmas as a family.
"Hey grandma, grandpa." Rory walked in the room.
"Rory. What a wonderful dress you're wearing."
"Thanks grandma."
"Hello Rory. Warren." Richard smiled.
"Dinner is ready." Luke called from the kitchen. Lorelai felt relieved. Her parents were in the house for at least 5 minutes already and all they said was hello.
They all walked into the kitchen and took seats at the big kitchen table. They replaced Lorelai's old table with a new one during the summer. With only Rory and Warren there were enough seats, but they couldn't have any other quests. And knowing it wouldn't take long before Lucan was big enough to sit at the table in a high chair, they decided to buy a new one. They haven't bought a lot of new furniture since Luke moved in. Most of their stuff was a mix of the things Lorelai had and the things Luke had, but slowly pieces of furniture were replaced with things they both liked.
"That smells absolutely wonderful Luke." Emily sounded honest.
"Hopefully it will taste that way too."
"I'm sure it will." Richard and Emily were sitting at the heads of the table, Luke and Lorelai on one side, with Lucan next to Lorelai in his high chair and Rory and Warren at the other side.
"Richard do you want the honor?" Luke was holding a knife to cut the turkey.
"I feel very honored son, but that is your job. You do it."
"You sure?"
"Absolutely."
"Thanks." Luke cut the turkey and put some on everybody's plates. Besides turkey there were beans and carrots and sweet potatoes and a lot more. When everybody had enough on their plates they started eating.
"I can't remember the last time we spent Christmas eve together Lorelai." Richard said.
"It must have been when I was 16. A few months later I ran away from home.
"No it wasn't." Emily said.
Lorelai looked up.
"You know it just as well as I do Lorelai. Your father decided to spent Christmas in Paris that year. The last time we spent Christmas as a family was the year before that. You wanted to spend Christmas with some friends that year, but we didn't allowed you. We always spent Christmas as a family and that year wasn't going to be different."
"I remember. Rory was only a baby and slept most of the time. I ordered a pizza from the only place that was open on Christmas eve and watched movies all night while Rory was sleeping most of the time. Then on Christmas morning I gave her a present. I made her a teddy bear out of her first clothes. It became her favorite toy when she was older. And the Christmas the year before I wanted to spend with Christopher and some of our friends but you wouldn't let me. And neither would the other parents. But anyway, I believe I was terrible that night. I was looking for a fight and it didn't took long before you sent me to my room. First I was happy, but it didn't took long before I started feeling guilty. But it was already too late. I ruined Christmas that year."
"It was your favorite time of the year."
"I'm so sorry mom."
"What happened, happened. It doesn't matter what happened in the past, all that matters is that we're together now. My wonderful daughter, her husband, my beautiful granddaughter and her boyfriend and my grandson. I never saw what you liked so much about Christmas Lorelai. From when you were 2 years old you started looking forward to Christmas all year long. On Christmas eve you sat down in front of the tree, singing Christmas carols as loud as you could. We tried to get you to bed early, but that was an impossible job. You were too excited, not tired at all. I don't think I ever saw a girl that had as much energy as you, especially with Christmas. Besides your birthday that was definitely your favorite time of the year."
Lorelai smiled and squeezed Luke's hand as she listened to her mother.
"Then on Christmas morning you were supposed to sleep in until 9. But you would ran into our bedroom at 6 o clock yelling 'mom, dad, wake up, it's Christmas'. We would try to send you back to bed, but that was an impossible job. I would get out of bed and bring you back into your room and you would pout and whine until I finally gave in. So a little after 6 in the morning we had to drag your father out of bed and go downstairs to the living room and open the presents. Then when all the presents were open we'd go back upstairs to shower and dress you in the most beautiful dresses. And you would protest that you did not want to wear a dress. You wanted to wear jeans and a warm sweater and put on your ski boots and go outside to play in the snow."
"But you never let me."
"No I didn't." Emily took a bite of her turkey. "This really is wonderful Luke."
"Thanks Emily."
Later that nightLorelai had taken Lucan to bed. The little boy was so exhausted that he fell asleep in his high chair. And while Lorelai put her son in bed, the rest cleaned up and prepared the living room for the movies. Richard was sitting in the arm chair, Emily was sitting on the right side of the couch, Luke on the left, and Rory and Warren were sitting on some pillows on the floor, their backs resting against the couch. Lorelai smiled as she saw her family together, and then sat down in the middle of the couch, snuggling up against Luke. "Let's start the first movie."
During the movie Emily glanced at her family once in a while. She noticed how Luke and Lorelai were exchanging smiles every now and then, how Richard was totally caught up in the movie and how Rory leaned into Warren and was slowly falling asleep. And once again she was thinking how lucky she was to spend Christmas with her family.
25th of December, early in the morningLorelai slowly opened her eyes. The room was still dark and she knew it had to be early. She turned around to face Luke and knew he was still asleep. He was snoring softly and his breath was still even. The moonlight entered the room through an opening in the curtains and she had to push herself up to see the time. 6 o clock. She smiled as she remember her mothers story, knowing not much changed since she was little. It wasn't that she always woke up around 6 on Christmas morning, but definitely a lot earlier than she normally would. Carefully she moved a hand to her stomach, not quite believing that she was pregnant again. For months this was her dream and now it finally came true. And there couldn't have been a better time. This most certainly was the best Christmas present she ever had. Although that made her think back of the year before, when Luke proposed on Christmas eve and Rory's surprise visit. She couldn't tell what was better and decided it was equal.
Luke felt someone staring at him and slowly opened his eyes. A small smiled appeared on his face as he looked into the eyes of Lorelai. He could see that she was smiling even if he only saw her eyes, he did not need to see the rest of her face. But he moved his eyes so he could see the curves of her mouth and all he could do was lean in for a kiss. She wouldn't let him pull back, just like the day before. Her arms went around his neck and she hold him tight against her. When the need for air came she slowly let him go, although her arms stayed in the same position. "Morning." She whispered because Lucan was asleep in their room. It was too early for him to wake up too.
"Morning." He whispered back and kissed her once more although this time she let him go immediately.
"Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas." He turned around to see what time it was. "It's a little after 6."
"I know."
"Then why are you awake? We agreed to have breakfast at 9.30 and open the presents after that."
"I know. I just woke up and started thinking about what my best Christmas present ever was. But I couldn't name it."
"Mine was the bike I got when I was 9. I desperately wanted it but I never expected I would get one."
"Hey." She hit him playfully.
"What?" He looked innocent.
"I couldn't pick between the one I got yesterday and the once you gave me last year. So I decided that I'm equally happy with all three of them. Our engagement, Rory coming home from London and now the baby."
"Yeah, those were good presents too, but I really wanted that bike you know."
"I guess that's the dream of every nine year old boy."
"Maybe it is. We'll have to wait a few more years before we find out."
"Thank God. He's growing up fast enough as he is. It's hard to believe that he was still in my stomach a year ago. And now he's already 10 months old, he can sit up, he can crawl, he's trying hard to stand and he can say dadadadadada."
"And next year we'll have a little baby to celebrate Christmas with us. Can you believe that?"
"Hardly. I had to take all three test before I started believing it was true. But we really have to make an appointment with Doctor Elder to be completely sure."
"We can call her tomorrow and see when she has an opening for us."
"That would be nice. I'm sure it's busy around the holidays."
"We'll find out tomorrow."
"Dadadadadada." Lucan's voice sounded from corner of the room.
"Great now he's awake already too."
"He just knows it's Christmas hon."
"He's soo your son." He stood up and walked to the corner of the room to take his son out of bed. Luke stopped in front of the bed, leaning forward a little. "Hey buddy, it's too early to be awake. Try to get some more sleep."
The baby lifted his hands in the air "Dada."
"Yeah that's right. "Dada." He picked up the boy. "Who am I?"
"Dadadadada."
"No, dada."
"Dada."
"So he does know how to say it." Lorelai sat up in the bed, the sheets tightly around her.
"Who's that?" Luke pointed at Lorelai.
The boy just smiled in response.
"Mama. Can you say that? Mama" Luke pronounced the word very slowly.
"Dadadadada."
"Sorry, I guess he likes me better." Luke walked towards the bed and sat down with Lucan in his lap, who immediately wriggled out of his fathers arms and turned to his mother.
"No he doesn't. Dada is just easier to say than mama, isn't it my boy."
"Dada."
"Let's go downstairs and feed this little boy here. Then we can take a shower and give this boy a bath and we'll be ready before the others are even awake."
"That would be a first."
She stuck out her tongue and handed Lucan back to Luke so she could get out and put on her bathrobe.
They walked downstairs together and Lorelai sat down on the couch with Lucan, while Luke walked into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for his son. She left out the lights so the only light filling the living room was that of the tree. Lucan loved the lights and the shining of the ornaments and could look at it for a long time. Whenever he was crying in his playpen and they didn't had the time to pick him up, they would turn out all the lights except the one of the three and the little boy would calm down immediately, pulling himself in a sitting position and he would stare at the tree in amazement.
Lorelai heard footsteps coming from the kitchen and turned around, expecting to see Luke. She was surprised to see her mother instead. "Good morning Lorelai."
"Hey mom. I'm sorry, did we wake you?"
"Oh no, don't worry." Emily sat down next to her daughter.
"Luke's in the kitchen making breakfast for Lucan. 9.30 is too late for him. Especially now he's awake this early."
"Of course. We don't want him starving."
Lorelai smiled. "No we don't."
"So tell me something."
"What?"
"What's up with you? You were gloating the whole evening yesterday."
"I was just happy that we were finally spending Christmas all together, as a family."
"Maybe that was a part of it, but it wasn't all. Are you pregnant?"
"Shhhhh…. I found out yesterday." Lorelai whispered. "I was cleaning the house before you came, but it was completely obsessive, not in a normal way. First I thought it was because I wanted everything to be perfect for you and dad, but later I realized that I did it before. When I was pregnant with Lucan I was completely obsessed to have the house clean. I don't think Luke ever saw it, although he must have noticed that the house was suddenly clean instead of… well not."
"But the Christmas party is only 3 weeks ago. You said you had your period?"
"I thought I had, but apparently it was something else."
"You did a home test?"
"3. I'll be calling my gynecologist tomorrow for an appointment to find out for sure. But honestly, I don't think that test is necessary."
Emily pulled her daughter into a hug. "I'm so happy for you Lorelai. I know how much you wanted this."
"Thanks mom." Lorelai smiled when her mother let her go. "Just don't tell anyone just yet, not until we really know for sure. I want to tell Rory first, and then I'll tell dad."
"Of course, I'll keep it a secret."
Then Luke emerged from the kitchen with Lucan's breakfast and from the look on his face Lorelai knew he heard the entire conversation. "Hey mom, do you want to feed your grandson?"
"I would love to."
Lorelai put Lucan in Emily's lap, making sure one of his arms was behind her back. "Hold his other hand with yours and hold the plate in that hand too, you can hold the spoon in your other hand. If you leave his hands free, you will be covered in oatmeal soon."
"Thanks."
Lorelai stood up and walked to Luke, whispering. "I hope you don't mind that my mother knows."
"Of course not. It means a lot to her that you told her right away."
She nodded.
In the half hour following, everybody emerged from the other rooms. Richard walked in about 10 minutes after Emily did, and it didn't took long before both Rory and Warren came walking down the stairs. They decided to have breakfast first, and to open the presents after that. Lorelai was surprised to see that her mother kept her promise and didn't spent to much on Christmas presents. After opening the presents they drank tea and coffee and then one by one went upstairs to take a shower.
It was already noon when everybody was ready. Emily was the last one in the shower and surprised everybody when she walked in the living room wearing a pair of jeans and a warm sweater.
"What are you wearing mom?"
"I'm going outside to play in the snow."
"What?"
"It's too cold to wear a dress outside. Come on, why don't you change yourself and come outside with me?"
Still in shock Lorelai stood up, and Rory followed her example. "Can I borrow something mom?"
"Sure, come up."
The girls walked upstairs together. "Hey mom, what's gotten into grandma?"
"I have no idea kid, I have no idea." Lorelai had a huge smile on her face. "But ever since I was a little girl this is all I wanted to do at Christmas, and this is the first time my mother will let me so I won't ask any questions."
"You always took me outside in the snow at Christmas when I was little. Now I know why."
"Come on, let's change."
Back downstairs everybody was wearing coats. Even Lucan was dressed in his ski suit. Lorelai smiled. "So we're really going to do this?"
"We're really going to do this."
They walked outside and noticed how the snow was still falling down hard. Lorelai stopped on the porch as the rest walked into the garden. Only Emily stopped next to her daughter. "Thank you mom."
"For what?"
"For yesterday, for today. This Christmas has been amazing so far."
"I have to thank you Lorelai. You are the one who invited us over. I can't tell how much it means to me."
They smiled to each other and watched how Richard threw a snowball at Rory and how Warren picked up some snow and threw it in Richard's face. Luke was standing at the side with Lucan, who was laughing at the scene in front of him. Then Lorelai walked into the garden herself, picked up some snow and threw it at her mother who was hit by surprise.
"Hey." Shock was written all over her face, but not for long. Emily took a few steps forward, kneeled down to pick up some snow and threw it towards Lorelai. Soon everybody was caught up in a snow fight, not caring who they were hitting with the cold snow. After 15 minutes Luke walked in to feed Lucan and put him in bed, since he was becoming tired. When he walked back on the porch half an hour later, they were still outside. And it didn't took long before Lorelai threw a snowball in his face. He ran towards her, picked up some snow and put it in her neck.
"Hey, that's cold." She took off her scarf to remove the snow from her neck and threw it on the floor. Then she put her arms around his neck. "Where was that for?"
"You threw snow in my face."
"So, do you have any idea how cold it is to have snow in your neck."
"I think so, although it's been a while." He smiled and leaned in to kiss her.
During the kiss he didn't notice how Lorelai carefully pushed him backwards towards the porch railing, or how everybody stopped their snow fight to look at them. It wasn't until his back hit the railing he felt something cold and wet in his neck and realized that Lorelai tricked him. There was enough snow on the porch railing so she could get to him without kneeling down. She let go of him fast and ran away while everybody continued their own fight.
28th of December"Mrs. Danes."
Both Luke and Lorelai stood up as they walked into doctor Elder's office. "Hello Lorelai, Luke."
"Hey."
"Where's your son today?"
"He stayed with my daughter Rory and her boyfriend."
"I see. Do they know where you are now?"
"No, actually they don't. They think we have an appointment at the bank. We just wanted to be completely sure. The only one we told is my mother."
"Alright. Well, let me ask you a few questions first and then we'll do a blood test, okay?"
"Yes, that's fine."
"Okay. When was your last menstruation?"
"I thought that was a little more than 3 weeks ago, but it wasn't the same as normally. Less blood, not so many cramps, and a few days late."
"So you don't think it was a menstruation?"
"I thought it was, but now I don't anymore. So no."
"When was the last time before that?"
"The month before. I'm very regular normally, so I guess that's about 7 weeks? I don't remember the exact date."
Dr. Elder wrote down some notes. "Have you been having other symptoms? Nausea for example?"
"I haven't thrown up yet, but I've been having this obsession with cleaning. I didn't even thought about being pregnant until I remember the last time I had this obsession, which is when I was pregnant with Lucan. Although I didn't had it until my 6th month or so, but my mother was coming over for Christmas so that explains it, kind of."
"I see." She laughed. "Anything else?"
"I don't know, it's just… I feel pregnant you know. It's hard to explain."
"I know, a lot of women say that. And I experienced it myself so I definitely understand what you're talking about. Let's do that test to be sure."
Lorelai nodded. "How long do we have to wait for the results?"
"Normally a day, but it's pretty quiet around the holidays. Most people wait until after New Year before they come here, so I can send the blood to the lab and ask them to take a look at it right away."
"That would be great."
The doctor stood up and pulled the needle car towards Lorelai. "Can you role up your sleeve for me?" She pulled a chair in front of Lorelai and sat down.
Lorelai rolled up her sleeve and suddenly felt a little dizzy. She tried to shook it away. It wasn't as if she was afraid of needles, although she wasn't too fond of it either.
"You okay?" Dr. Elder noticed that Lorelai suddenly turned a little pale.
She nodded. "Just a little nervous I guess."
"No need to be. But Luke, why don't you hold her hand?"
Luke pulled his chair closer to Lorelai's and took her left hand in his, as the doctor put a strap around her right arm to stow the blood. When she found a good vein she cleaned the spot with an alcohol swap and took a needle out of it's sterile package. "Okay Lorelai, here comes the needle."
Lorelai closed her eyes as she felt the needle enter her arm. Luke squeezed her hand. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Luke, not needing to see how her blood filled the tube. "You're doing great." He whispered in her ear. Lorelai gave him a small smile in return.
"Okay, that's enough. The doctor put a small bandage on top of the needle, and then pulled it out. Then she put a piece of tape on top of the bandage and lifted Lorelai's hand towards her elbow. "Luke if you let go of Lorelai's hand, she can put a little pressure on the bandage to stop the bleeding." She put the tube in a plastic bag and wrote an order, putting it in the bag as well. "I'll leave you two alone for a little while and get this up to the lab. I don't have another patient until an hour for now so you can just stay here if you like. I'll be back in a few minutes.
"Thanks." They watched how doctor Elder walked away.
"You okay?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't know what got into me. I really are not afraid of needles. I swear."
"I know." He kissed her. "I know."
15 minutes later doctor Elder walked back in the room, although it seemed much longer for both Luke and Lorelai. They looked up at her with expecting looks on their faces.
Doctor Elder sat down. "I got someone to look at the sample right away. Congratulations Lorelai, you are pregnant."
"Really?" A big smile appeared on her face.
"There is no doubt."
Luke took Lorelai's hand in his and squeezed it, letting her know how he felt.
Doctor Elder opened her drawer and picked up a chart. "Even though an ultrasound has to confirm it, I think it is safe to say that your last period indeed was not a real one. In that case you are about 8 weeks pregnant right now and your due-date will be the 10th of August. I want you to make an appointment in about 4 weeks from now so we can schedule an ultrasound. When I do the ultrasound I will measure the diameter of the baby's head, the belly and the length of the baby and that will give us good information on how far along you really are."
"Do we have to make the appointment on the way out?"
"You can do that, or if you don't know your schedule yet, you can always call to make an appointment in about 2 or 3 weeks."
"I don't think that is necessary. Since we are both business owners we can leave whenever we want."
"I wouldn't do that to fast if you want the business to keep running okay."
"I don't think that would be a problem, but I'll keep it in mind." They all laughed.
"For the next few weeks I want you to take it easy. Don't overdo and make sure you take enough rest. I'll prescribe you some vitamins I want you to take 3 times a day. Besides that make sure you eat healthy and lower your caffeine intake, preferably to zero."
"But I thought you said that the risks weren't much higher?"
"They are not. These are things I tell all my patients after we confirmed a pregnancy. All we want is for you and your baby to stay healthy during the pregnancy and make it a happy time for the both of you. And now you brought up our last conversation, do you want me to repeat anything about the chromosome tests?"
They both shook their heads. "No, I don't think that's necessary."
"I will give you some prospects which explain the tests, the benefits and the risks very good. I want you to read them and discuss it together. If you want to take the test, remember that one of the tests is done at 11 weeks. If you decide to do that test you have to call me in 2 weeks to schedule an appointment. Before we'll do the test, I'll do an ultrasound to confirm you are indeed 11 weeks pregnant. And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to call me."
"We will. Thank you. But I don't think we want to do the test. Luke?"
"I don't think the results would make a difference for us."
"That's your decision. I just want you to consider it carefully because after 16 weeks, it's not possible to do either of the tests anymore, and I don't want you to regret not taking it."
"We'll talk about it."
"Good. Do you have any other questions so far?"
"No I don't." Lorelai said, looking at Luke.
"Me neither."
"Good. Then I'll see you in a few weeks." She stood up and picked some prospects out of the rack. "This are the prospects I was talking about. And you already have my telephone number in case you have any questions."
"Thank you."
An hour laterLuke and Lorelai walked into the house. Rory and Warren were in the living room, watching a movie. "Hey."
"Hey." Rory picked up the remote and turned the TV off. "Lucan is still asleep."
"Good. Hey hon, can we talk?" In the car Luke and Lorelai discussed that it was best if she told Rory herself, and that he would tell Warren.
"Eh… sure… We can go to my room?"
"That's fine."
They walked into Rory's room and sat down on the bed. "Mom, where have you been? You didn't had an appointment at the bank, did you? Is everything alright?"
"Slow down. You're right. We didn't had an appointment at the bank. We had an appointment with doctor Elder."
"Isn't she your gynecologist?"
"Yes she is. Do you remember that I told you I though something wasn't normal with that period I had around grandma's Christmas party?"
"Yeah. Mom, what's wrong? Are you sick?" A worried expression appeared on Rory's face immediately.
"No honey, don't worry. I'm definitely not sick."
"You're pregnant?" Rory started smiling.
"Yes, I'm pregnant."
"Oh mom, that's great!" Rory hugged her mother. "That's really great! I hope that I'll get a sister now, then I'll have a brother and a sister. That would be so cool!"
"You have to wait until August. My due-date is August 10."
"So when did you find out you were possibly pregnant?"
"When I was cleaning the house for Christmas eve. I was cleaning the house in this obsessive way, and first I thought it was because grandma came over, but then I realized that I did this when I was pregnant with Lucan. So when Luke came back from doing groceries I told him to look after Lucan who was still asleep, I drove to a pharmacy in Hartford and took 3 tests. They were all positive."
"Why did you wait so long to tell me." Rory sounded hurt.
"Because I was afraid it wasn't true. I wanted to be completely sure that I really was pregnant before I told anyone. The only one I told was Luke."
"So that's why he was smiling all night."
"Yeah, I think so…. Hey hon, you're not mad right?"
"No, I'm not mad. I just… I wish you told me right away. I know how much you wanted this and I would have been happy for you. I really would have."
"I know. But hon, if you were happy and it turned out that I wasn't pregnant after all, you would have been disappointed too. It would have been hard now to get Luke disappointed, and myself for that matter, but I don't think I could have handled it if you were too."
"But I would have been there for you mom."
"I know you would. I love you Rory."
"I love you too mom. And I really really am happy!"
"Me too." Lorelai pulled her daughter in a hug.
"Let's go back to the living room, before Luke and Warren start wondering if we sneaked out of the bedroom window."
"Let's do that." Lorelai smiled and stood up, pulling Rory with her.
31st of December, late in the evening
Luke and Lorelai decided to go to the towns New Years Eve party. It was, of course, located at town square. There was a band playing in the gazebo, and a dance stage was set up in front of it. There were tables and chairs so every guest could sit, and there was enough food for the whole town. Miss Patty made her famous New Years Eve punch, and most people brought their own drinks besides that. Taylor promised a major spectacle with fireworks at midnight and even though Luke would have preferred to stay home, Lorelai really wanted to go out. Lucan was asleep in his stroller, wearing a ski suit and was covered by a thick blanket so he wouldn't get cold. Midnight was coming closer, and Lorelai tried to convince Luke to dance with her. But of course, he wouldn't give in.
"Come on hon. Only one dance. You know how much I love this song."
"You've been saying that for the last ten songs Lorelai. Besides, someone has to stay with Lucan."
"He's asleep and there are enough people to watch him. Come on Luke, please?" She looked at him, her eyes begging.
"Fine." He was surprised he stood up this long.
"Yes." She smiled as she stood up, taking his hand in hers, leading him to the dance floor. It was a slow song so she put her arms around his neck, leaving no space between the two of them. Slowly they started moving into the rhythm of the song. They danced in silence for a while, until Lorelai couldn't keep still any longer. "I love dancing with you."
"You've said that before."
"I know. But still it is so much work to get you to dance with me. Why is that? Don't you love dancing with me?"
"I can think of something more fun to do."
"What, more fun than being this close?"
"In the center of town, surrendered by a few hundredth people? Absolutely"
"You're no fun, you know that right?"
"That's the word out there. But really, I don't care."
"Why not?"
"Well, why would I?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."
"See." He smiled.
"But really, I like it. Us being together with hundredths of people surrounding us, but it still feels like we are alone somewhere."
"How can you block out all those people?"
"Easy, by looking into your eyes."
He smiled and didn't know what to say.
"Wow, I got you speechless." She smiled and kissed his lips lightly. "Can you believe that one year ago we were at the Dragonfly, standing in front of the aisle, ready to exchange our vows."
"Amazing that it's only been a year. Somehow it feels so much longer."
"I know. But in a way, it feels like it was just yesterday too. You know?"
"I do." He smiled again.
"Let's go for a walk."
"What?"
"Come on." She pulled her arms away from his neck and slipped her hands in his. She walked to Rory and Warren. "Come with me."
"Where are we going?"
But Lorelai didn't answer. While she pulled Luke with her, Rory and Warren followed. She walked to Lucan's stroller and pushed it forward with one hand.
"Lorelai."
"Just trust me." She checked her watch. "7 minutes until midnight."
"Then why are we leaving the party?"
"Because. Just continue walking okay?" They walked fast and in silence, not understanding Lorelai's sudden behavior. Lorelai finally stopped when they reached the lake. Normally this place was completely silent, but you could hear the festivities of the town going on. There were just too many people making too much noise. But even though it was more private. "This is perfect." Lorelai smiled.
"What are we doing here mom?"
"We'll go back to the party in a few minutes. I just want to celebrate this moment with my family alone, away from all those people." She checked her watch again. "2 minutes."
"Why didn't you just say so?"
"There wasn't enough time to talk. I knew I'd explain it later."
"Uhuh…"
"Last year at this exact time Luke and I were putting rings onto each others fingers. From then on, New Years Eve isn't only about celebrating a new year, but also about our anniversary. And we will go back to the party soon and celebrate with the town into the early hours, but I just wanted a few moments alone, just for us."
Luke put an arm around Lorelai as Warren did the same with Rory. Lucan was still asleep in his stroller.
"10 seconds." And she started counting back. "7.. 6.. 5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1.. Happy New Year."
She kissed Luke as in the background they heard the fireworks starting. Pulling away from Luke she pulled her daughter into an embrace. "Happy New Year honey."
"Happy new year mom!"
Then she let go of Rory and pulled Warren in a hug. "Happy new year."
"Happy new year Lorelai."
After Warren she leaned forward into the stroller, kissing Lucan's cheek, being careful not to wake him. "Happy new year honey." Standing up Luke put his arm around her shoulders again. They stood still and watched how the fireworks filled the sky above the town as Lorelai placed a hand on her stomach and whispered "Happy new year baby."