Chapter 3: He Gets Robbed

The months passed. Lorelai's stomach grew ever rounder and soon the whole of Stars Hollow knew that the couple they had been shipping for years were finally going to have a baby together. Luke asked Lorelai several times if she wanted to get married, for the child's sake, but Lorelai always explained that such a formality had never mattered to her. "It didn't matter to me when I was pregnant with Rory. And we already live together, isn't that enough? This baby will have two parents to love it and teach it."

At last, Lorelai's water broke. She was a tad early, but Luke was ready for anything. He drove her to Hartford Memorial Hospital, calling Rory on the way and ordering her to return from Yale.

After Lorelai was administered, Luke waited many hours. Rory showed up in plenty of time and held his hand as he nervously bounced in his seat and continuously glanced at the clock. As day passed into night, and then the wee hours of the morning, no one came. At last, a doctor approached the pair. "Lorelai is about ready to start pushing. Would you like to be there for the delivery?"

Luke and Rory followed him into Lorelai's room. Flanking her, each loved one held her hand as she screamed and wailed and finally pushed the baby out. The effort was great, and Luke was distressed to see that Lorelai was taking quite a bit of time to recover. Her vitals were growing weaker, and at one point, the doctors kicked Luke and Rory out into the hallway. When the doctors came to report progress, the diagnosis was bleak:

"Lorelai has lost a lot of blood, and brain activity is growing increasingly erratic. Her chances of living... are up in the air."

Luke and Rory were let back in to see Lorelai. The new mother was nursing her and Luke's infant son, but her strength and voice were weak. She looked resigned.

"I think I'm dying," she told her daughter and her lover. Luke burst into tears as his world began to spin like a top in reverse. He clutched at Lorelai's hand and bent over her, sobbing.

And indeed, a priest was soon brought in to deliver the Last Rites. Lorelai suddenly became inspired, despite her fading state.

"Father... marry us." And she gestured to Luke.

The priest officiated, and Luke and Lorelai sealed it with a kiss. Rory agreed to serve as a witness. Lorelai pressed her lips to her baby's temple. "Listen to your daddy." Then, she kissed Luke deeply one last time. "I love you," she whispered through her tears.

Rory was inconsolable as she and Lorelai said what was likely farewell. And then, the Diner, college student and wailing baby were ushered away.

The sun was just beginning to rise when Luke was sadly informed that his bride of only a few hours and the mother of his only child was dead.

The funeral was held in torrential rain, and the whole of Stars Hollow had gathered to say goodbye. Emily and Richard Gilmore were also present, as well as a shell-shocked Christopher Hayden. Rory's biological father offered to take his first-born daughter in, but Rory gently declined. She would be in college for another two, almost three years, and besides... "My place is here," she had told him. She was grown, an adult; it was not required for her to be in custody with her father.

Luke threw himself into his work at the Diner to avoid grieving for his beloved Lorelai as much as possible. He also devoted himself to raising their son, Luke Danes Jr. Rory stayed with him at the Diner on breaks, and assisted in the child rearing. Luke thought it sweet, but unnecessary.

One winter's night, he and Rory were in the loft. Rory was placing little Jr. in his bassinet and rocking him to sleep with a lullaby. "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep little baby..."

Luke Jr. giggled and reached for her, likely thinking that Rory was his mother. Luke tried not to tear up at the sight. He should be grateful that Rory was so giving and did not seem to drown in her own pain of what had happened to her mom.

Once the baby was asleep, Rory poured a pot of coffee and brought it to Luke. He accepted it quietly. "You know, you don't have to stay. Not that I don't love having you here, I do! It's just... you don't have to stay."

Rory gazed at him tenderly and knelt at the foot of his armchair. "I want to stay. He's my little brother. Half-brother, but still. You deserve to be happy, Luke. And you're grieving. If I leave... how do I know something won't happen to you?"

Deep down, Luke knew Rory was right.