14 – Let me tell you about Stars Hollow
"What's taking so long?" Rory complained to her grandfather. They were sitting in the waiting room at the hospital, waiting to hear what was going on in the delivery room. Luke had gone into the room when he got there a little earlier, but nobody had comebackoutyet.
"You have to be patient, having a baby can take a while." Richard replied calmly.
"But they took her into the delivery room, isn't that where they deliver the baby?" Rory asked.
"It won't be over just like that, it can take hours still." Richard said.
At that moment, Emily came into the waiting room, pulling the hospital scrubs off.
"Is everything OK?" Rory rushed up to her grandmother.
"It's a boy." Emily revealed, practically beaming. "You have a little brother!"
"It's a boy?" Rory repeated. "I'm a big sister!" She threw her arms around her grandmother, who hugged her back.
"Everything went fine, your mom's just resting." Emily said, pulling out of the embrace.
"Can I see her?" Rory asked.
"We should probably let her rest." Emily reasoned. "She's had a tough day."
"I guess I can come back tomorrow." Rory agreed.
"Why don't you stay with us tonight, so you won't have to go home to an empty house, and we'll come back here first thing in the morning?" Richard suggested, having joined the women.
"OK, that sounds good." Rory nodded. "Can we see the baby before we leave?"
"Of course we can." Emily replied. "The nurse just took him to get cleaned up and weighed and everything. Luke will bring him out when they're done."
"Well, I am going to go and call the club." Richard anounced. "They'll need time to get the cigars in order. I have a grandson!" He took off down the hallway, Emily and Rory staring after him.
"He sure is excited." Rory noted.
"He always did want a grandson." Emily stated.
"Hey!"
"Oh, after your mom had you, of course." Emily hurried to add.
"Thank you." Rory looked up as someone came into the waiting room, finding Luke in front of her. "Hey, there you are!" She took a couple of steps forward, her eyes on the bundle of blankets in Luke's arms.
"I would like you to meet someone." Luke said, pulling the blanket aside a little. "This is William Richard Gilmore-Danes."
"Richard?" Emily asked. "I'll never hear the end of it."
"How come it's Gilmore-Danes and not the other way around?" Rory wondered.
"We just thought it sounded better." Luke replied. "Would you like to hold him?"
"Is that OK?" Rory asked, looking up at Luke with a questioning look on her face.
"Considering the fact that you will be doing a lot of baby sitting in the not too distant future, I'd say it's required." Luke said, helping Rory to get the baby settled in her arms.
"Hi, William." Rory cooed. "Aren't you just the cutest baby in the world?"
"And it begins!" Luke complained.
"I expect you'll be hearing a lot of baby talk in the future." Emily said. "You might as well get used to it."
"I guess." Luke shrugged. "Listen, thanks for the help in there. I don't know what I would have done without you."
"You would have been fine." Emily assured him.
"Maybe, but still. Thank you." Luke repeated.
"You're welcome."
"Grandpa, look, isn't he just the cutest?" Rory exclaimed at that moment, as Richard came back into the waiting room. "And his middle name's Richard, after you."
"Really?" Richard asked, looking touched. "Well, I'd say that's one of the cutest babies I have ever seen." He added after taking a good look at William. "He's right up there with you and your mom."
"Grandpa!" Rory blushed a little.
"Do you mind if I hold him?" Richard asked, and Rory shook her head. Richard took William from her, holding him as a professional. "Well, hello there, young man. Welcome to the family."
"Someone who doesn't speak baby talk, hallelujah." Luke exclaimed.
"There's no point with baby talk, really, it just stunts the baby's speech development." Richard replied.
"Tell that to them." Luke indicated Rory and Emily.
"Women." Richard shook his head.
"Exactly." Luke agreed.
"Hey, we're right here." Rory said, trying to sound annoyed. She was really pleased that Luke seemed to be getting along with Richard.
"Yes, Richard, really." Emily complained.
"I was only saying." Richard defended himself, giving William back to Luke. "We should get going."
"Yes, we should." Emily agreed.
"No, stay, I'm sure Lorelai wants to see you." Luke said.
"Lorelai needs to rest, and you two need time to get to know this little guy better." Richard replied. "We'll be back tomorrow morning, bright and early."
"OK." Luke agreed. "Could you maybe drive Rory home, it's pretty late."
"I'm staying with Grandma and Grandpa tonight." Rory told him. "I'll come back with them in the morning."
"OK, good, I don't want you driving home by yourself."
"Don't worry." Rory assured him.
"Could you call everyone?" Luke asked and Rory nodded.
"I'll call Babette, she'll have the word out in no time." She said.
"OK, great, so I'll see you tomorrow, then." Luke replied.
"See you tomorrow." Rory agreed, and they left the waiting room, Rory and her grandparents heading for the exit and Luke going back to Lorelai's room.
xxxxx
Lorelai opened her eyes as she heard the door open.
"Hey." She greeted as Luke entered the room, William in his ams.
"Hey." He replied, walking up to the bed.
"Wanna come to mommy?" Lorelai held her arms out for her son, and Luke put William in them. "Where's everybody?"
"They went home, I said you probably wanted to see them but they thought you needed the rest." Luke explained, sitting down in the chair next to Lorelai's bed. "They'll be back tomorrow."
"I wanted to see Rory." Lorelai frowned.
"You'll see her tomorrow." Luke replied. "You should probably get some sleep, anyway."
"I'm not tired." Lorelai yawned, proving her point.
"Sure you're not." Luke said sarcastically.
"OK, maybe a little." Lorelai admitted, holding William up for Luke to take him. "Are you going home?"
"Nah, I thought I'd stick around." Luke replied, taking William from her.
"You don't have to." Lorelai told him, yawning again.
"I want to." He assured her, and Lorelai nodded.
"OK. Night."
"Good night."
xxxxx
Lorelai wasn't sure what had woken her up, but she was awake now. She didn't think that she had been asleep for long, because she could hear Luke talking to someone, so it couldn't be that late. Turning around in the bed, she was about to see who Luke was talking to when he spoke again.
"So, I guess introductions are in order, huh?" He paused for a moment. "Well, I'm your dad, if you hadn't figured that out. That's your mom, over there. She's asleep right now, you wore her out a little. The older couple before, they're your grandparents, your mom's parents, Richard and Emily. They're really good people, they just hide it well." He chuckled a little before continuing. "They're the only grandparents you have, because my parents died a long time ago. They would have loved you. I'll show you pictures when you're a little older."
Lorelai dared to open her eyes a little. Luke was sitting in the chair he'd been in when she fell asleep earlier, but he was turned slightly away from the bed. He had his feet up on another chair, and she could see William in his arms.
"You also saw your sister before, Rory. Well, one of your sisters. Your other sister, April, will be here tomorrow, she's looking forward to meeting you. That covers pretty much the closest family. Then there's your aunt Liz, she's my sister, and her husband, your uncle T.J. He's a nut case, so don't pay too much attention to him. They have a daughter, your cousin Amanda, she's two months old.
You're probably gonna figure out that our family is a little weird sooner or later, so I might as well explain everything now. Your sisters are really only your half sisters. Your mom had Rory when she was sixteen, and Rory's dad, Christopher, wasn't really around much when she grew up. He is a little more now, though, so you'll probably see him from time to time, and his daughter, GiGi, too. She's Rory's half sister, which makes her your... well, nothing, I guess. But she's kind of family. And April is my daughter, but I didn't know that until about a year or so ago, when she did a science project to find out who her dad was. Her mom, Anna, will probably be around a lot, she and Lorelai are friends now.
Then we have your aunt Sookie and uncle Jackson. They're not really family, but Sookie and your mom have been friends for a long time. They have two kids, too, Davey, he's three, and Martha who's one and a half. You'll probably go to school with them later on. So, moving on to the crazy town we live in. Let me tell you about Stars Hollow. The number one rule, do not do anything that Taylor tells you, no matter how tempting it is to agree to get him to shut up. Rule number two; watch out for Miss Patty, or she'll eat you alive. Also don't tell her, or Babette, your neighbor, anything that you don't want the entire town to know within the hour. And Kirk, don't even get me started. The best thing to do is to avoid him completely, but that'll probably be hard, so what you want to think about is..."
Lorelai smiled a little and let sleep take over again. Luke had it covered for the moment.
xxxxx
"Mom!" Rory exclaimed, rushing to Lorelai's hospital bed.
"My baby!" Lorelai replied, hugging Rory close.
"No, that's your baby, remember?" Rory said, indicating William who was asleep in his crib.
"You will always be my baby." Lorelai told her.
"Good to know that I'm not out in the cold now." Rory joked.
"Never." Lorelai assured her.
"So, how are you feeling?" Rory asked, sitting down in the chair next to the bed.
"Pretty good." Lorelai nodded. "A little sore here and there, not getting into details..."
"Thank you."
"But over all, pretty good." Lorelai concluded.
"You still want me to talk you out of it if you ever decide to have another kid?" Rory wondered.
"That was in the heat of the moment." Lorelai replied.
"Just checking." Rory said. "Speaking of, where is Luke?"
"How is that a speaking of?" Lorelai questioned.
"You know, kids, Luke, seemed appropriate." Rory shrugged.
"Rory..."
"Fine, dropping it." Rory surrendered. "So, where is he?"
"He went to get some breakfast, apparently the hospital food is just for the patients." She explained.
"Who would've thought?"
"Well, not me." Lorelai agreed. "So, he'll probably be gone for a while, considering that there's not a lot in this place he would even consider eating."
"The health freak strikes again." Rory noted.
"If he would only join us mortals and eat a cheesburger every now and then."
"And how is my new brother?" Rory changed the subject.
"He's just great, aren't you?" Lorelai leaned over and picked William up. "You're just perfect, yes you are."
"OK, I'm starting to get Luke's point of view on the baby talk." Rory stated.
"Don't you take his side." Lorelai complained. "I am your mother, you always take my side."
"Sorry, mother." Rory mocked.
"Oh, look, he smiled at me!" Lorelai announced, holding William up so Rory could see.
"He's not even a day old, I doubt he can smile yet." Rory shook her head.
"He smiled at me, I'm telling you." Lorelai insisted. "You're special, aren't you? You're going to be even smarter than your sisters."
"Well, he's got good genes." Rory concluded.
"So, where are the grandparents?" Lorelai asked, putting William down in his crib. "They didn't come with you?"
"Oh no, they're here." Rory replied. "They just got held up in the gift shop."
"They didn't?" Lorelai frowned. "Didn't you tell them not to get anything? They can do that when we get home."
"I tried, I really did." Rory defended herself. "There was no stopping them."
"Great."
"You can just throw away whatever you don't want to bring home." Rory suggested.
"Yeah, I guess." Lorelai agreed.
"Or maybe not..." Rory started when the door opened to reveal a cloud of what appeared to be hundreds of balloons, all blue.
"How is my grandson?" Richard exclaimed, dropping a couple of huge teddy bears on the floor and rushing to William's crib.
"Who's the most beautiful baby in the world? You are, yes you are!" Emily joined her husband at the crib after having released the balloons in the room.
"Jeez, guys, feeling the love here." Lorelai said from the bed.
"I'm sorry, Lorelai, we're just excited." Emily apologized, turning to her daughter. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, the doctor said everything's healing nicely." Lorelai replied.
"Gross, mom." Rory complained. "I thought we agreed on the no details policy."
"She asked." Lorelai defended herself.
"I didn't want a play-by-play." Emily said.
"Neither of us did." Rory agreed.
"What, you want me to shelter you from the real world?" Lorelai asked in fake shock. "Do you want me to tell you that babies come from the stork? Because that might cause a problem when your husband says, sometimes in the veeery distant future, twenty, thirty years from now, 'hey, let's have kids'."
"OK, first of all, I doubt I'll wait thirty years to have kids, considering that it would be pretty much physically impossible by then, second of all, I know where babies come from, I just don't want a detailed description." Rory replied.
"Fine." Lorelai surrendered. "You just be happy that I didn't get someone to video it."
"I will be forever grateful."
"As will all of us." Richard said, joining the three women by Lorelai's bed. "Now, I need a little help in the testosterone department, and this one is a tad too young still. Where's Luke?"
"He just went to get something to eat a little while ago, he'll be back soon." Lorelai told her father.
"He stayed here last night?" Emily asked.
"Of course he did." Richard stated in an obvious voice.
"He didn't want to leave his son, mom, so yes, he stayed." Lorelai said dryly.
"I didn't say that he shouldn't stay, I was just surprised." Emily retorted. "He does have a diner to run, after all."
"He also has employees." Lorelai replied.
"So, where did he sleep?" Emily wondered.
"They brought in an extra bed for him." Lorelai explained.
"That's great, so, did anyone see the documentary about whales last week?" Rory said out of the blue, getting surprised looks from her mother and grandparents. "Just trying to change the subject."
"Did a circus explode in here?" Came Luke's voice from the door.
"There you are, thank God." Richard said. "I was drowning in estrogen."
"And it's about to get worse." Luke announced. "I just talked to Anna, and she and April will be over in a little while."
"Oh my God, I totally forgot about them last night." Lorelai realised. "And Sookie, did you call her and Jackson? And Liz, you have to call Liz."
"I called Sookie and Liz last night, and then I called Babette, so she could tell the town." Rory reassured her mother. "Sookie said she'd come by around ten, and Liz is coming later this afternoon. I told Babette to tell the town to wait until you guys come home."
"Oh, OK, that's good." Lorelai visibly relaxed. "Thanks babe."
"So, what's with all the balloons?" Luke asked.
"Mom and dad went a little overboard." Lorelai explained.
"Is it so bad to be excited about our grandson?" Emily said in an annoyed voice.
"No, mom, it's not." Lorelai replied. "I'm sorry."
"Well, OK then." Emily nodded.
"Where's my godson?" Sookie came rushing into the room.
"Hey, Sook." Lorelai returned the hug Sookie gave her.
"Oh, he's the sweetest thing!" Sookie gushed, focusing on William in the crib.
"Hey, Lorelai." Jackson said.
"Hey Jackson, she drag you out of bed?" Lorelai gave him a sympathetic look.
"She was so excited, she hardly slept all night." Jackson replied.
"Shush you." Sookie glared at her husband.
"Maybe we should wait outside, it's too crowded in here." Emily said, looking at Richard.
"Why don't you stay, Emily, Luke and I will leave for a moment." Richard replied. "I have a couple of cigars with our names on them." He added, quietly enough so that only Luke heard him.
"We'll be back in a little while." Luke told Lorelai, who nodded.
"Now, we're not allowed to smoke these in here, but I talked to this nice nurse last night, and she told me that there's a balcony on this floor that we could use." Richard said as he closed the door to Lorelai's room behind them, handing Luke a cigar.
"This is very kind of you, sir, but I don't really smoke cigars." Luke tried to argue.
"Nonsense, you have a baby, you smoke a cigar. It's tradition." Richard waved it off. "And it's Richard. We're family now, after all."
"OK, maybe I'll try it. Richard." Luke replied.
"That's my boy."
xxxxx
"So, your dad seems to be getting along with Luke OK." Sookie noted. Emily and Jackson were arguing over who William looked like the most, Lorelai or Luke, so Lorelai, Rory and Sookie could speak in private.
"Either that, or he's about to off him." Lorelai joked.
"I'm serious." Sookie replied. "It's good, right?"
"It is." Lorelai agreed. "I just wish Cruella over there could join in on the festivities."
"I think Grandma's coming around." Rory said. "She was actually civil to Luke last night before we left."
"Really? Will the wonders ever cease?" Lorelai mumbled.
"You know, you might want to give her a chance." Rory suggested. "She's really been trying these past fewmonths, and I think that if she just gets a chance to get used to Luke being back in our lives, she'll be fine with it."
"Yeah, maybe you're right." Lorelai agreed, looking over at her mother and Jackson, who were laughing about something. If someone had told her a year ago that her mother and Jackson would be having a conversation, let alone laugh together, she would have sent them straight to the looney bin.
Maybe people could change.
xxxxx
Luke was sitting in the waiting room down the hallway from Lorelai's room. Liz, T.J., Amanda, Anna and April were in there, gushing over William and talking way too much baby talk for his liking, so he had taken refuge in the waiting room for the time being.
"Hey." He looked up as he heard April's voice.
"Hey, why aren't you in there, getting to know your little brother?" Luke asked.
"I'll get to know him eventually." April said, sitting down in the plastic chair next to the one Luke was sitting in. "I kinda wanted to talk to you."
"OK, what about?" Luke wondered.
"Well... I don't have to, if you don't want me to." She started. "I just thought... I mean, William, is going to be calling you dad, right?"
"Yeah, I mean, I guess so." Luke replied, wondering if the conversation was going where he though it was going.
"So, maybe... maybe I should start calling you dad, you know, so you'll get used to it?" She suggested, looking down at her shoes.
"If you want to, of course you can." Luke told her, feeling his heart swell a little.
"OK, good." April nodded.
"Good."
"So, there's another thing I was wondering about." April continued after a little while.
"What's that?" Luke asked.
"Why haven't you and Lorelai gotten back together?" She looked up at him.
"That... I don't know, we're just... we're not at the same place that we were when I left, we can't just pick up where we left off." Luke tried to explain.
"But you're still in love with her." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
"Sometimes that's not enough." Luke replied.
"It should be."