Notes:

With spoilers starting to come out about GG, I'm going to again put my little warning in. Please please please, don't mention spoilers in reviews. Don't hint. Don't say it's going to be sad, or it's going to be great. I don't want to know. It's not that I don't want reviews, because I do, I love reviews, I just don't want to be spoiled. Thank you all, and on to the chapter.

sarahb2007 - I think it was Katie who wrote to me that her face was right in front of the screen as she was reading it. Kind of a funny image in my mind.

lukelover87 - Yes, I know it's an odd postpregnancy story, a little unusual for Luke and Lorelai, but I felt that this is where the story was leading. I'm glad it seems realistic to you.

rachel - I think a lot of it is that when things go wrong, even if it's no one's fault, Lorelai tends to blame herself. But Luke is there and she just needs to keep remind herself that things are different this time, Luke is there. And I think I responded to all the rest of that elsewhere.

javajunkie101 - They weren't forcing Luke to fill the prescription, they just suggested that if things got worse, it might a be a good idea.

LLfreak8285 - Yeah Gallaudet is a beautiful campus, but don't step off it or you'll be in the wrong neighborhood. I love that you said 'don't be a stranger', made me laugh.

Outside the NICU

Lorelai is standing there watching Olivia, holding a cup of coffee. As she takes a sip of coffee, she feels a hand on her shoulder. Lorelai jumps in surprise, almost spilling her coffee. Seeing Rory, Lorelai throws her arms around her elder daughter. "Rory! You should watch those hands, you almost caused the Great Coffee Disaster of 2003!"

"Mom, it's 2004," Rory reminds her.

"Oh, right," Lorelai realizes, wrinkling her nose. "I missed that."

"Well you had a busy beginning of the year," Rory comments. Lorelai glances back at Olivia.

"Yes, yes I did," Lorelai says sadly. She purses her lips. "So, how was Friday Night dinner?" Lorelai asks, looking over at Rory, who cocks her head as if to say that Lorelai should know how it was.

"It was… quiet. Gramma and Grampa are worried," Rory responds. Lorelai furrows her eyebrows.

"About what? What on Earth do Mr. and Mrs. Hirohito have to worry about? Are they having money problems? As if! Are they waiting in baited breath to find out if their daughter is going to live? Obviously not! And are they ashamed that they may have to admit they don't love their children? Well, that's – uh – actually that one is true," Lorelai realizes. Rory smiles. She pats Lorelai's arm.

"Gramma and Grampa love you, they just don't know how to show it," Rory tells Lorelai, who raises an eyebrow.

"Well they could try not treating me like I'm a leper," Lorelai gripes. Rory shakes her head, still smiling.

"And Mom, you know you love Liam and Olivia. You wouldn't be standing out here freaking out if you didn't. You wouldn't be worried about how to provide for them or how to raise them if you didn't love them. So just think about that one," Rory says. Lorelai frowns Rory reaches out and rubs Lorelai's arm. "Come on Mom."

"Rory, I just…" Lorelai scratches her forehead. "It was so easy with you. It was just the two of us so if you didn't love me and I didn't love you then we would have no one. But this isn't the same. They have Luke and you and April and all of Stars Hallow and your grandparents."

"Mom, I didn't love you because there was no one else, I loved you because you're you and you're great," Rory responds.

"I don't feel great. I screwed up, I created this situation. Olivia's in there because of me. Why didn't you ever warn me how much I suck at this? I mean I was eating all the wrong foods and doing all the wrong things up until the night you were born, why didn't you remind me of that?" Lorelai rants.

"Well, the fact that I wasn't born yet might have something to do with the fact that I didn't know about it," Rory replies. Lorelai huffs, a hand going to her hip, using the other to drink some of the coffee. "Besides, no matter what you did before I was born, I turned out just fine. And Luke told me the doctor said it wasn't unusual for twins to be born up to 9 weeks early and Liam and Olivia were only born 7 weeks early," Rory says in an attempt to assure her mother. Lorelai bites her lower lip and nods slowly. She reaches out, wrapping her arms around Rory, who puts her arms around Lorelai.

"Oh Kid, I don't know what I'd do without you. You did turn out just fine, no, better than fine, Kid, you can move mountains," Lorelai says, hugging Rory tight. Rory smiles.

"Thank you Dr. Suess," Rory answers. She is about to let go of Lorelai, when Lorelai squeezes her tighter. "Oh, still hugging, still hugging!" They giggle, remembering times past.

Lorelai finally lets her daughter go, sniffing and quickly wiping a finger under her nose. "Really, Rory, I mean it," Lorelai says seriously, tousling Rory's hair.

"Oh Mom," Rory says, blushing, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Oh Dad!" Rory exclaims, her eyes widening.

"Dad? I thought Luke was…" Lorelai glances over her shoulder and sees Christopher standing at the end of the hall with a small bouquet of flowers in his hand. "Christopher," she mutters. Then she turns her head slightly towards Rory. "Dad? You called him Dad?" Lorelai asks in a whisper.

"No, I – well yeah I did but it was – I was just surprised," Rory explains, also in a whisper. "Where is Luke anyways?"

"Luke – he's, he is…" Lorelai stops whispering as Christopher finally approaches them. She smiles brightly.

"Hey Gilmores," Christopher greets them with a smile.

"Hey you," Lorelai responds, almost joyfully. Chris glances over at Rory.

"Hey Rory," he adds, hoping she'll take his hint.

"Hey," Rory says coldly. Chris glances back at Lorelai, who presses her lips together, giving Rory a disappointed look. "What are you doing here?" Rory asks plaintively. Chris's mouth drops open, still surprised to get this treatment from Rory.

"Emily told me what happened," Chris answers, looking back over at Lorelai.

"She did?" Lorelai asks, a little surprised and a little sad at the same time. "She told you to come?" Chris sighs, reluctantly shaking his head.

"No, she didn't," Chris admits. Rory gives him a disgusted look.

"But you came anyways," Rory notes, clearly not seeming very happy with his decision. Chris purses his lips, realizing he's losing Rory more every second.

"Yes." Chris looks back at Lorelai. "I thought you could use a friend." Lorelai smiles softly.

"You're right, I do need a friend," Lorelai agrees. She and Chris share a one armed hug as Rory looks on in shock.

"You're just letting him go like that!" Rory exclaims. Lorelai looks over at her daughter with surprise.

"What?"

"I just can't believe you can just let it all go. I don't understand how you can just forgive him like that, after what he did!"

"He is your dad, Rory," Lorelai reminds Rory.

"No, Luke's my dad. Luke has never hurt you, physically or emotionally and he never would. And Luke loves me, he'd never let anything happen to either one of us," Rory contends. Lorelai draws in a breath slowly, glancing over at Christopher and then back at Rory.

"Hun, it happened to me, not you, I think I should be able to decide what to do about it. It happened a year ago, Sweets. It's all over. Things are completely different now," Lorelai says. Rory shakes her head in disappointment. Lorelai reaches out and rubs Rory's arm. "There comes a point when you just have to forgive and forget." Rory crosses her arms. "You live, you learn, or so says Alanis." Lorelai gives Rory a pointed look. Rory sighs, not really pleased that her mom's trying to force her into this. "Okay?"

"Okay…" Rory says. Lorelai watches Rory a moment, making sure that Rory's not going to explode. Rory looks over at Christopher, the distain still showing on her face.

"We're going to have to try to work through this Rory, I'm the only father you've got, Kid," Chris says to Rory, making her even more angry.

"You're not a father and you never have been, don't think you can start now," Rory retorts. Lorelai looks saddened and disappointed that Rory's reacting this way. She presses her lips together, trying to think of what to say to mend fences. Rory sighs, trying to figure out how to placate Lorelai without letting Chris gain any ground. "You know, I'm just going to go see Liam," Rory decides, thinking it would be best for her to just not to have to be in Chris's presence at this point. She glances over at Lorelai. "Where's my baby brother?"

"Luke took him back to Stars Hallow when he left to go make some money," Lorelai responds.

"Okay, then I'm going to go to the diner, are you going to come?" Lorelai glances over at Christopher, biting her lower lip she looks back at Rory.

"Later," Lorelai responds. Rory raises an eyebrow. "I promise, Luke's been making me come home at least to sleep." Rory nods.

"Okay, then I'll see you at home." They hug. "I love you Mom."

"I love you too, Sweets, to the moon and back," Lorelai whispers, hugging her elder daughter tightly. Letting go, she rubs Rory's arms, not quite ready for Rory to leave. Rory glances over at Chris.

"Bye Chris," she says softly, with none of the disgusted attitude she had before. Chris smiles softly.

"Bye Rory." Rory smiles at Lorelai, who ruffles her hair and then walks off. Lorelai watches Rory leave, almost wistfully. Chris rubs Lorelai's arm. She looks back at him.

"I meant what I said. I'm glad you came," Lorelai admits.

"Good, I'm glad," Chris responds. He hands her the flowers. "Congrats on the two little ones." Lorelai smells them.

"Thanks." Lorelai glances at Olivia and then over at Chris. "Let's sit." They walk over to the nearby bench and sit down.

"You okay?" Chris asks.

"Yeah..." Lorelai gives him a knowing look, then she shakes her head. "Actually no, I'm not. It's like everything is crumbling to pieces at once. Rory and you fighting. The twins." She shrugs, looking down at the flowers. "I don't really know…" Lorelai sighs glancing down at her hands, seeing the engagement ring on her finger. Then she looks up at Chris shyly. "I should tell you, Luke and I are engaged, we're getting married." She shows him the ring. Chris takes her hand, getting a good look at the ring. He seems very shocked.

"Wow," Chris manages. Lorelai presses her lips together. "Well, Lorelai, I'm happy for you. You're finally going to have it, the whole package. Mom, Dad, kids. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks," Lorelai says softly. She glances down at the ring, watching it sparkle, a small smile plays on her lips.

"You finally realized what I was telling you?" Chris asks. Lorelai looks up at him, confused. "I told you that you would eventually realize that you loved Luke."

"Oh." Lorelai glances back down at the ring, sitting back. "Yeah… yeah I guess." She takes a deep breath. Chris rubs her shoulder.

"Well good," Chris responds, not getting that Lorelai's answer wasn't necessarily certain. Lorelai scratches her forehead, lost in thought. Then she remembers their conversation and looks up at Chris.

"Hey, did you bring their gift?" Lorelai asks. Chris chuckles.

"Naw, I came right from work, so I didn't have time to stop home and get it."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you that, it'll be a surprise when I bring it up or you could come to Boston to get it."

"Is it a dirt bike?" Chris laughs.

"No, Lucy Shepard, it's not a dirt bike." Chris keeps laughing, causing Lorelai to laugh too. "It's good to hear you laugh." Lorelai nods.

"Yeah…" She thinks about it for a moment. "I really can't remember the last time I did that."

"Your son is fine though?" Lorelai nods.

"Yeah, Liam, he's doing great, he's already caught up in weight with other month old infants. But Olivia…" Lorelai shakes her head. She stands and walks back to the glass to look at Olivia. Chris follows her standing behind her.

"Which one is she?" Lorelai points. "She's beautiful." Lorelai nods. Chris and Lorelai are now standing in the same position as when Rory was born. "She's perfect. Just like Rory." Lorelai presses her lips together, staring at Olivia.

"Just like Rory," Lorelai repeats softly.