6 – Honorary Gilmores
"So, what do you think?" Rory asked, taking a step back.
"It looks great." Lorelai replied, turning to April. "You like it?"
"I love it!" April announced, wiping a strand of hair from her face, whilegetting a stripe of paint on her cheek in the process. Lorelai wiped it off.
"You sure you want purple?" Lorelai asked for the fiftieth time. "Cause we could go with pink, or blue, or maybe green, that would be nice..."
"Lorelai!" April cut her off. "I LOVE IT!" She emphasized on every word.
"OK, good." Lorelai said, nodding.
"Now, you, out!" Rory ordered, practically shoving her mother out of the room.
"I was just looking." Lorelai defended herself.
"Doesn't matter, paint fumes are bad for the baby." April reasoned, following Lorelai and Rory into the living room. "I read about it."
"I know, but we have, like, every window open." Lorelai complained. "Can't I paint just a little?"
"NO!" April and Rory replied in chorus.
"But it's the nursery, I want to help paint the nursery." Lorelai whined.
"You can paint the finishing touches after the baby's born." Rory told her, and Lorelai decided to settle. She didn't want to do anything to endanger the baby, after all.
"Now, you sit down." April pushed Lorelai onto the couch. "I will bring you some lemonade and then Rory and I will start on the nursery, OK?"
"OK." Lorelai agreed grudgingly. "You do know I'm just pregnant, not a cripple, right?"
"Yeah, yeah." Rory said, following April into the kitchen to get something to drink.
Lorelai leaned back on the couch, her hand coming to rest upon her stomach where a small, but noticeable, bump had formed over the past couple of weeks.
Tom and his guys had finished the house a couple of days before, almost on the dot four weeks after they started construction. The girls had spent the previous day painting April's room, and were now going to continue with the nursery. Lorelai was put on strict supervision from a safe distance, since both April and Rory were convinced that the fumes from the paint would hurt the baby. Since Lorelai wanted to contribute to the nursery, and also wanted a little blue in it if the baby was, like she thought, a boy, and some pink for a girl, they had decided to add the final details after the baby was born.
"Here you go." April said, handing Lorelai a glass of lemonade.
"Did you make this?" Lorelai asked, glancing at Rory.
"Uh huh." April confirmed, and Lorelai took a sip.
"Tastes great." She said, earning a glare from Rory.
"I resent that." She said, frowning.
"You take after me, hon." Lorelai smiled, and Rory stuck her tongue out at her "Watch it, missy, you don't want to be a bad influence on your little sister, now do you?"
"I'll be scarred for life." April said dryly, walking up the stairs, Rory following closely behind.
"Call if you need help!" Lorelai yelled after them.
Rory and April had gotten really close over the past month, despite the fact that Rory was now back at Yale and only came home on the weekends. They were both excited about the new addition to the family, and spent every moment possible suggesting names or shopping for stuff for him or her.
Lorelai smiled to herself. Things had really turned out much better than she could have ever expected. What surprised her the most, was the fact that she and Anna had gotten almost as close as April and Rory. They had found that they had a lot in common, and enjoyed spending time together, with or without the kids, something Lorelai wouldn't have thought possible less than two months earlier.
Things were actually going pretty good in general. Lorelai was getting along better with her mother than she had in... well, ever. They had lunch together once or twice a week, since Emily wanted to keep herself updated on Lorelai's pregnancy. The weekly dinners were now more of a social engagement that Lorelai was actually looking forward to, than the obligation they had been just months ago.
The only downside was, of course, that she still hadn't been able to tell Luke about the baby. She knew that Liz still tried to get him to call her, since she told Lorelai every week that he was as stubborn as ever. Rory had also said that Lane was putting in her two cents whenever Luke called with instructions for the diner, and she strongly suspected that Anna gave him a piece of her mind every now and then.
But he still didn't call. Not that she really expected him to. But she still hoped, against hope, everyday that that day would be the one when he would finally break the long silence and pick up a phone.
Sighing, Lorelai pushed the thought to the side and took another sip of her lemonade. April sure got her cooking skills from her dad, though Anna wasn't too bad in the kitchen either.
Lorelai reached for the remote control and turned the TV on. The girls would probably take the whole day painting, she might as well keep herself busy.
xxxxx
"Hey, how're you guys doing?" Lorelai asked, coming into the nursery several hours later.
"We're done." Rory announced, looking around the room that was now painted a crisp white. They were adding borders and some other stuff later.
"Wow, you should consider a professional career." Lorelai joked, admiring their work.
"Good to know I have something to fall back on, if the journalist thing doesn't work out." Rory replied, closing the bucket of paint.
"We could start our own firm." April contributed.
"Gilmore/Nardini Inc." Rory nodded. "I like it."
"Yeah, yeah, should I order the pizza or what?" Lorelai asked impatiently. Her stomach had been growling for the past hour. They were having a slumber party to celebrate the 'new' house and to introduce April properly to the Gilmore family.
"Someone's testy." Rory teased.
"Hormones." Lorelai replied automatically.
"You blame everything from sleeping late to burning the toast on hormones." Rory noted.
"Yeah, well, when you have to carry around a kid for nine months, you'll be allowed a little complaining too."
"How considerate of you." Rory replied, leading the way downstairs. "What do we want on the pizza?" She asked, picking up the phone and dialling the pizza place.
"Pepperoni." April immediately answered.
"So, half pepperoni, half mushroom?" Rory gave her mother a questioning look.
"I want gummy bears on mine." Lorelai replied, and Rory raised an eyebrow at her.
"I don't think they have that." She said, not missing a beat. Lorelai's weird food cravings had long ago stopped surprising Rory and April. "You'll have to add your own."
xxxxx
"So, have you thought about names yet?" April asked later, as they were all slumped down on the couch or the floor, watching 'The wizard of Oz'.
"Well, actually..." Lorelai started.
"You have? What are they?" Rory instantly sat up on the floor, and April crawled up on the couch next to Lorelai.
"I was thinking, for a boy, William Richard." Lorelai revealed.
"After Grandpa?" Rory asked, and Lorelai nodded.
"What's William for?" April asked, and a shadow crossed Lorelai's face.
"William was your grandfather's name." She said, looking at her hands.
"Right, William's hardware." Rory nodded. Seeing the look on Lorelai's face, she continued. "I like it. And what about a girl?"
"I know it's a boy, so I don't really have to think about girl names." Lorelai replied.
"Oh, come on." April said.
"Fine, for a girl I thought Victoria Leigh... do you have a middle name?" She asked April.
"Anna, after my mom."
"Perfect, so Victoria Anna Leigh, after all of us, and your mom and mine." Lorelai finished.
"It's pretty." Rory said.
"Yeah." April agreed, turning her attention back to the movie, a frown on her face.
"What's wrong, kid?" Lorelai asked.
"Nothing." April shrugged off.
"Oh no, that's a something face." Rory pushed.
"It's really nothing." April started. "I just... is the baby going to be a Gilmore, like you guys?"
"Oh, I get it. You're afraid that because you're not a Gilmore, the baby won't be as much your sibling as it will be mine?" Rory asked, and April nodded.
"It's silly, I know." She said, slouching her shoulders.
"It's not silly." Lorelai shook her head. "And you don't have to be related to us to be a Gilmore."
"You don't?" April looked up.
"Of course not." Rory agreed. "See, there are honorary Gilmores."
"Honorary Gilmores?" April frowned.
"Yup, people who are family even if they're not really blood relations." Lorelai explained.
"Who else is an honorary Gilmore?" April asked.
"Well, Sookie and Jackson and the kids." Lorelai started. "And Rory's dad, of course, and Babette and Morey, and you and your mom, and..." She cut herself off, but both April and Rory knew what she had been about to say.
"And my dad, right?" April asked carefully, and Lorelai nodded slightly.
"At least he used to be." She looked at the TV, hoping the girls would let the subject drop. To her great relief, they both watched the movie and didn't say anything else.
xxxxx
"Rory!" Lorelai called through the house, slumping down on her bed.
"What?" Rory asked, coming into her mother's bedroom.
"I have nothing to wear." Lorelai declared and Rory looked around the room where every surface possible was covered with clothes.
"And this is just a new style of interior design?" She joked, sitting down on the bed next to Lorelai.
"Nothing fits." Lorelai said grumpily.
"Oh." Rory said in a knowing voice. Lorelai had put off shopping for maternity clothes, since she said there was no such thing as cute maternity clothes. Apparently, in her fifth month, the pregnancy had caught up with her clothing size.
"What do you mean 'oh'?" Lorelai demanded, tears rising in her eyes. "You think I'm fat, don't you?"
"No, mom, I don't think you are fat." Rory calmly reasoned. Her mother's moodswings were familiar ground to her by now. "But this was bound to happen eventually. We talked about it, remember?"
"I know." Lorelai admitted, fingering the sweat pants she was wearing. "I'll go shopping tomorrow. But I still have nothing to wear."
"Wait just a minute." Rory said, leaving the room. She returned a moment later, a black, knee length skirt in her hands. "Try this on." She handed the garment to Lorelai.
"This has an elastic waist." Lorelai noticed with a frown. "I have sworn not to wear anything with an elastic waist til I'm 70 years old."
"Will you just try it? You can't even tell." Rory said, looking through the pile of clothes for a top.
"Fine." Lorelai agreed, pulling her sweat pants off and putting on the skirt. It fit, though it was a little tight around her stomach.
"That looks great." Rory assured Lorelai, handing her a shirt she had found and Lorelai slipped it on, looking at herself in the mirror.
"I look hideous!" She exclaimed, covering her face with her hands.
"You look amazing, mom." Rory tried. "You can hardly tell anything."
"Yes you can, it's right there!" Lorelai indicated her growing stomach.
"What are you going to do, lock yourself in the house for the next four months?" Rory wondered, and a small smile spread on Lorelai's face.
"Can I?" She asked, and Rory shook her head.
"You do know that it will get worse, right?" Rory said. "I mean, you have done this before."
"Maybe I suppressed the memories of gaining wait?" Lorelai suggested, but Rory just laughed.
"Did you suppress the memories of giving birth too?" She asked, and Lorelai visibly paled.
"Did you have to remind me?"
xxxxx
"Hi, Liesel, nice to see you." Lorelai said as the maid opened the door. She had now been in the Gilmore household for two months, and seemed to be staying.
"Good evening Miss Gilmore, Miss Gilmore." She smiled at them.
"How many times have we told you to call us by our first names?" Lorelai scolded her.
"About one less than Mrs. Gilmore has told me to call you both Miss Gilmore." Liesel joked, turning to lead them into the living room.
"Lorelai, Rory, wonderful to see you." Emily stood to give her daughter and granddaughter hugs.
"Hey Grandma." Rory replied.
"Hi, mom."
"Lorelai, you look lovely. Is that a new skirt?" Emily asked.
"No, I don't, I look like a whale." Lorelai whined, and Emily shot Rory a quick look. She hurriedly shook her head and Emily changed the subject.
"So, drinks?" She walked over to the drink cart.
"Martini with a twist, please." Lorelai said, earning a stern look from Emily. "I was only joking. I'll have a glass of apple juice, if you have it."
"I'll have a coke, Grandma." Rory added, glaring at her mother.
"Lorelai, Rory." Richard greeted, coming into the living room. "You're here."
"Hi dad." Lorelai said, smiling at her father.
"Hey Grandpa." Rory gave him a hug.
"How is Yale, you keeping busy?" Richard asked, sitting down opposite Rory and Lorelai.
"Yeah, they're already going on about the finals, and they're two months away." Rory complained slightly.
"It's always good to be prepared." Richard said.
"Here you are." Emily said, handing Lorelai and Rory their drinks.
"Thanks Grandma." Rory replied, sipping her soda.
"Yeah, thanks mom." Lorelai repeated, taking her glass.
"So, is everything done with the house now?" Richard asked as Emily sat down next to him.
"Other than the final touches on the nursery, everything's done." Lorelai confirmed.
"Why don't you just find out if it's a boy or a girl so you can finish the room?" Emily asked.
"Because, one, I want it to be a surprise, and two, I want to be able to paint a little in the nursery, too." Lorelai explained, shooting Rory a glare. "Since Hitler and Mini-Hitler won't let me paint while I'm pregnant, I'll have to do it after the baby gets here."
"We're only doing it for your own good." Rory defended herself.
"Yes, really, Lorelai, you shouldn't be painting in your condition." Emily added, and Lorelai rolled her eyes.
"I know, I get it, can't I just complain a little?" She said.
"A little? Saying that you complain a little would be like saying Julie Andrews sang a little in 'Sound of Music'." Rory countered, and Lorelai gave her the evil eye.
"Shouldn't you show your mother some respect?" She said, her voice indicating that she was really joking.
"I will when you stop whining every five seconds about every little thing." Rory retorted.
"I'm pregnant, I think I've earned the right to complain."
"You haven't had a leg amputated."
Lorelai decided to answer that comment by sticking out her tongue, and Rory quickly followed her lead.
"Really, girls, are you five?" Emily asked, frowning.
"Sorry, mom, just a little mother-daughter spat." Lorelai smiled at Rory.
"Yeah, we'll cut it out now." Rory added.
"So, how is the pregnancy going?" Emily wondered. "Everything OK?"
"Everything's fine, so far." Lorelai replied. "The doctor says that everything is going according to the schedule."
"Good, good." Emily nodded. "You never can be too careful, especially at your age."
"Geez, thanks mother." Lorelai replied dryly.
"Oh, I didn't mean it like that and you know it." Emily said. "I just meant that the older you are, the more chances thereare of complications."
"I know, mom, I'm just kidding."
"I'm just concerned about you and the baby." Emily continued, obviously not ready to let the subject go just yet. "I am his or her grandmother after all, can't I worry?"
"Of course you can, mom, and I appreciate it." Lorelai's voice softened. "I was actually wondering if maybe you'd like to go with me to my next doctor's appointment?"
"Really?" Emily asked, looking surprised.
"Yeah, it's this Tuesday and I'm having my second sonogram, so I thought you might like to go." Lorelai said, suddenly feeling insecure. It had seemed like a great idea to ask her mother to go with her to the doctor at the time, but now she wasn't as sure anymore.
"I would love to." Emily smiled at her daughter, and Lorelai returned the smile.
xxxxx
"Really, how long are they going to keep us waiting?" Emily complained. The nurse had told them that the doctor was running a little late, due to some family problem, and they had been waiting for twenty minutes.
"She'll get to us eventually." Lorelai tried to calm her mother.
"You should see Richard's friend, Eric Milhouse, instead." Emily said. "At least he knows how to treat the patients.
"Thanks for coming with me mom." Lorelai said, a little sarcastic. Emily looked at her.
"I'm sorry, I just don't like waiting." She said.
"I know what you mean." Lorelai agreed, looking around the waiting room.
"You're uncomfortable." Emily stated, and Lorelai squirmed in her chair.
"It's just... all the happy, lovey-dovey couples everywhere." She said quietly.
"You're feeling lonely?" Emily asked, and Lorelai shook her head.
"Not really, I mean, I know I can do this, I have before." She said. "It's just... that's how it's supposed to be, mommy, daddy and baby. Why can't I ever get that?" She had tears in her eyes and wiped them away.
"You will." Emily replied, putting an arm around her daughter's shoulders.
"You don't know that." Lorelai said.
"Yes I do." Emily insisted.
"How?" Lorelai asked.
"Because despite the fact that I have only met Luke a few times, I always knew how much he loved you, even before you did." Emily explained.
"Yeah, well, not anymore." Lorelai stated.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Emily said. "Love like that doesn't just go away."
"No, I managed to drive it away myself." Lorelai replied. "I hurt him, mom. A lot."
"You hurt each other." Emily corrected. "I saw how much pain you were in those last couple of months before he left. I firmly believe that if you two could just sit down and talk everything through, things would work out."
"I thought you didn't like Luke?" Lorelai said.
"He's grown on me." Emily admitted. "But mostly, I've realized that he made you very happy, and I would want nothing more than to see you that happy again."
"Thanks, mom." Lorelai leaned her head against her mother's shoulder.
xxxxx
"So you're sure you don't want to know the sex?" The doctor asked a little later, as she rubbed the gel onto Lorelai's stomach.
"Positive." Lorelai replied, leaning back on the examination table.
"OK, then. Here we go." The doctor turned the monitor on and found the baby quickly. Rapid heart beats filled the room.
"Is that normal?" Emily asked concerned.
"It's very normal." The doctor smiled. "So, there's your baby. Quite a bit bigger than last time."
"Yeah." Lorelai mumbled, her eyes firmly on the screen, a smile forming on her face. Her baby.
"There's the head, and the arms. It's moving around a lot too. Have you felt any movement yet?"
"No, not yet." Lorelai shook her head.
"It should be any day now." The doctor told her.
"Isn't it amazing, mom?" Lorelai said. Not getting an answer from her mother, she looked over at Emily, finding her completely focused on the screen. "Mom?"
"What?" Emily seemed to snap out of a daze, turning to Lorelai.
"I said isn't it amazing?" Lorelai repeated.
"It's extraordinary." Emily agreed, looking at the screen again. "Could we have another picture?" She asked the doctor.
"I'll print a couple of photos for you, and if you'd like, you could have a tape too." The doctor smiled.
"We'd like that very much, thank you." Emily said.
"Yes, thank you." Lorelai agreed, thinking of the baby book she had at home. It was almost half full already, she had taken pictures of everything that was remotely related to the baby, including Rory and April painting the nursery. She just hoped she'd have a chance to give the book to Luke in a not too distant future.
AN: Since you've been such good reviewers, I decided to update a little sooner than I had intended. I know a lot of you are wondering when Luke is comig back, and to you I have good news. This is the very last chapter before Luke comes back. So, I guess the only question is, do you want more?