Author's notes: My review count has decresed chapter by chapter recently, so if you do read this, please review as it helps motivate me and puts a smile on my face! Thanks to those that did review however :). 'Jeremy Shane'; 'coffee coffee and more coffee' I love the name Richie too!; 'chloe2007' Yeah, sorry the updates take longer than they should sometimes, just with work n'all. But will be bit better this time. I promise.; And thanks to 'Sarah', poor Luke indeed! I almost felt guilty writing it, for him to be so ambushed like that. But it's what usually happens when Christopher shows up.

Thanks for your reviews, and please...keep em coming! :) Enjoy!!

Chapter 9: Let it snow!

'Owww!' Lorelai cried out again as the nurses pushed her towards the delivery room. 'Hurry up!'

'Luke Danes?' a nurse called out to the small group.

'Yes?' he asked, rushing closer.

'Do you want to come into the delivery room?'

That suggestion gave Luke a queasy feeling inside, as he wasn't too thrilled at the idea of that.

'Please Luke' Lorelai grabbed his hand; her face sweaty and tears sliding down her face. 'Please' she pleaded.

The group watched as Lorelai and Luke disappeared behind the doors and it was then very still and quiet.

'And now we wait' Logan sighed.

The group all found seats to sit on in the waiting room nearby. No one was hungry and no one was in the mood for magazines. They just sat there.

--

Rory glanced up to see how everyone else were holding up. Logan and Richard were talking quietly about something while Emily just rolled her eyes at them. Christopher sat beside Rory, looking stressed and in shock. A little further down sat Sookie and Jackson, just holding hands and staring into space, probably remembering when their own kids were born. Rory sighed and suddenly felt very nervous…she was going to meet her little brother soon!

The minutes ticked by on the clock directly above them and soon hours began to tick by. Sookie and Jackson regrettably had to leave since their babysitter was only there until eight. Logan had to leave also as his father was expecting him and it would be hell on Earth if he didn't show up.

--

Another hour wandered by and Christopher even had to leave. He felt it was no longer his place to be there, even though Lorelai was there when Sherry had GiGi. But that was half the reason: he had to pick GiGi up from her nanny.

Liz, Jess and T.J showed up several times but as much as Liz wanted to stay, they just couldn't.

--

Rory, Emily and Richard were the last ones still there by ten at night. Rory had fallen asleep and Richard was pacing the room to calm his nerves, which was just irritating Emily and making her more nervous.

'Richard!' Emily hissed, trying not to wake Rory. 'Sit down, you're making me nervous' she said.

Richard frowned but did as he was told and sat beside her impatiently.

Emily rolled her eyes as Richard then began to fidget in his seat from nerves.

'Oh for heaven's sake! Go get me a coffee' Emily sighed, accidentally waking Rory. Richard gladly went to get a coffee, thankful for an excuse to wander around.

Rory sat up and stretched. 'Did she have him yet?' she yawned.

'No' Emily sighed. 'He's stubborn, just like your mother'

'Mum got it from you' Rory smirked, making Emily glare at her. She was right though.

They heard a baby's cry and footsteps, but it was just a nurse carrying two twins down the hallway of the maternity ward.

'Wow, I'm glad mum's not having twins' Rory said once she heard the volume of their cries.

'Yes, me too' Emily nodded.

'Your coffee' Richard handed it out to Emily but she no longer wanted it.

'Coffee!' Rory inhaled it's scent and took it from Richard happily.

'I hope the baby doesn't have that caffeine addiction' Emily said.

'Oh, he will' Rory nodded. 'If he's not born with the natural coffee instinct, then mum will probably feed him the coffee through a bottle until he adjusts' Rory smiled.

'Would she really do that?' Emily asked in shock.

'Kidding' Rory told her, although it wasn't entirely unbelievable.

'Oh great, now she's picked up on her mother's jokes' Emily rolled her eyes, which she had been doing a lot of lately. 'Why can't he take after his grandparents?' Emily complained.

'Mum would disown him' Rory sniggered at the thought of if her brother turned out like Emily Gilmore.

'What?' Emily asked, since she hadn't heard what Rory had said.

'Ah, nothing' Rory shook her head.

'You're more like your mother every day' Emily sighed again.

'Rory Gilmore?' a doctor asked as he left the room Lorelai and Luke had disappeared behind many hours earlier.

'Yes?' Rory jumped up from her seat.

'Come and meet your baby brother' he smiled but held up a hand up to Emily and Richard. 'You'll have your turn in a moment, please wait here'

'This is ridiculous' Emily growled. 'We have to wait our turn to see our own grandchild!'

--

Rory pushed open the door and saw her mother lying in bed with the covers up to her chin. She looked tired but a huge grin was spread across her face.

'Hey' Lorelai said.

'Hey' Rory replied and glanced around the room. She saw Luke sitting beside the bed with a small bundle of blankets, which was moving slightly.

'Luke, have you been crying?' Rory asked, trying not to laugh as she approached him. It was no secret to her that Luke was a big softie, deep down.

'No, maybe' Luke said, his eyes puffy and red. He stood up and handed Rory the bundle, which contained her newborn baby brother.

'Hey there little one' Rory said, feeling her own emotions flood to the surface as she looked down at the tiny face of her brother. 'I'm Rory, your big sister'

Baby Richie glanced in her direction and seemed satisfied to being in the arms of his big sister.

'He's gorgeous' Lorelai said a bit weakly. She wiped another tear from her cheek and reached for Luke's hand.

'He's perfect' Luke whispered as Rory sat on the chair with her brother.

After a few more minutes, Rory handed Luke back his son and went to get her grandparents.

Emily and Richard entered the room and the waterworks were on the moment they saw Lorelai and Luke. The couple were sitting side by side on the bed, the baby in Luke's arms while Lorelai held his tiny little hand.

'Mum, Dad…meet your grandson' Lorelai smiled at them as they approached the bed. Luke seemed reluctant to hand Richie over, but he knew if he didn't then Emily would probably take him by force.

'Oh look at him' Emily said, tears sliding down her cheeks. 'Richard look' she smiled, handing him to Richard.

'Emily I-' Richard complained but held his grandson in his hands carefully, crying so proudly.

'Dad' Lorelai caught his attention as Rory took the baby back. 'I know you don't know his name yet, but mum does so…' she took a breath, readjusting her pillows slightly. 'We thought so much about it but the middle name was easy. We're using William, after Luke's dad. And for his first name…we've decided on Richie, which is short for...Richard'

There are no words to explain the look that spread across Richard Gilmore's face at that moment; he actually had to sit down in order to process it all.

'Okay, enough sharing' Lorelai finally said and held out her arms to Rory.

Rory passed baby Richie to her and Lorelai held him in her arms happily.

'Lorelai' Luke said and nodded towards the window.

Lorelai glanced over as snow began to fall outside the window.

'It's perfect' Lorelai smiled, kissing atop baby Ritchie's head. 'He's perfect'

Two months later…

Lorelai groaned and rolled over, shoving Luke.

'Luuke' she said, shoving him some more but he didn't respond. Lorelai sighed and climbed out of bed, wandering down the dark hallway towards the crying that was coming from the nursery.

'Hey, Richie' she sighed, picking him up. 'Mummy and Daddy are very tired honey, you should be sleeping not screaming' Lorelai said, patting his back softly and tried to get him back to sleep. At least he'd gone quiet the moment she'd picked him up.

'Mmhm' Luke groaned, rubbing his eyes as he came into the room sleepishly.

'Oh good, daddy' Lorelai handed Richie to Luke and then wandered back to their room since it was Luke's turn to get up when Richie awoke at three in the morning.

Lorelai laid her head back onto the soft pillow and was asleep instantly...

As the sun finally shined through the bedroom window, Lorelai awoke from her slumber and got out of bed. As tired as she felt, Lorelai knew that she had to get out of bed, have coffee and head off to work. They had a major booking crisis at the Dragonfly recently that still needed to be resolved, besides that…Michel was away for the week on some family matter so Lorelai had to take over at reception.

Lorelai made her way downstairs and was greeted with the heavenly scent of coffee.

'Morning' she mumbled to Luke, where he was making her coffee with one hand while holding Richie close in the other.

'Hey' he said and gave her a kiss.

Lorelai smiled at Richie and took him from Luke so he could fulfill his duties of giving her coffee.

'Can you say: coffee?' she asked Richie. 'Cof-fee?'

'Don't teach him that' Luke sighed. 'And he's only two months old, do you really expect him to be able to talk yet?'

'Sure' Lorelai nodded, giving Richie back so she could drink her coffee. 'Whose turn is it?'

'Mine' Luke replied. 'Besides, you've got that thing at the Inn to deal with'

'Okay, well have fun' she said, giving him a kiss and then Richie. 'You boys behave yourselves' she joked and left.

Luke and Lorelai had made an agreement when Richie was born that neither of them would give up their jobs just because they had a baby. So Richie was taken to work each day. One week it would be at the Inn and the next week it would be the diner, but that was only roughly. Sometimes they took turns in days rather than weeks. But today, it was the Diner.

Luke had noticed that Richie seemed to enjoy his time at the diner more, although that might have had something to do with the fact that Michel had yelled at him for crying.

Richie lay in his little playpen that was placed beside one end of the counter while Luke worked. He usually had Lane serving people so Luke didn't have to leave the counter area.

'Oh, he's so cute!' Miss Patty smiled as she looked down at Richie. 'His dark hair, blue eyes…he looks like his mother. I bet he's going to be a real heartbreaker one day'

'Yeah, got her voice too' Babette agreed. 'I can hear his screaming from miles away, can't get it out of my head now'

Luke stood there going over notes and listened as the customers continued to come in and occasionally admire Richie, but the comments were the same: he was cute, looked like his mother and knew how to scream.

After lunch was over, Luke glanced down at his sleeping son and wondered just how much he was like Lorelai.

'You'll have to wait until he's a bit older to know just how much he takes after you' Lane said, interrupting his thoughts.

'Hm?' Luke asked, pretending not to know what she meant.

'Everyone saids he looks like Lorelai, and he does…but he can't talk yet, he can't walk yet…he doesn't have a hobby or a favourite band' she smiled.

'Oh, right' Luke nodded but that was some comfort. 'I know' he shrugged.

'So ah…how's the wedding planning going?' Lane wondered, knowing him enough to say that this was where she changed the topic.

'Ask Lorelai' Luke said. 'Apparently all she wants me to do it turn up on the day'

'Roses? Daisies? Tulips?' Sookie asked in excitement. 'And when is it again? I wrote it down but then Davey threw up and we had to take him to the hospital and…oh what a disaster!'

'June 3rd' Lorelai replied and turned to leave the kitchen. 'Oh, and daises' she smiled.

'Daises…Hm' Sookie thought aloud and then rushed to make a few modifications to the plans for the wedding cake.

Lorelai stood at the desk and noticed that there were no current customers waiting to be served, so she took out her planner and checked the wedding details. It was only a month ago that she and Luke decided to go ahead with the wedding. Originally they were going to wait until Richie was older, like about ten months. But now Lorelai was getting slightly impatient and insecure about the entire thing and Luke agreed they could have it sooner, plus…Lorelai had found the perfect dress.

With the wedding only a few weeks away…Lorelai was really beginning to feel the pressure and nerves of the entire ordeal. She knew Rory was coming home next week until after the wedding and her parents were going to be there. The important details such as the location, date, cake, guest list and decorations were all dealt with…it was just a matter of going through with it now. Lorelai had every intention to marry Luke as she was sure that she'd never truly been in love until Luke, but it didn't make her feel any less panicked.

Lorelai picked up the phone and dialed…

'Luke's' came the reply as he answered the phone.

'Hey, it's me. Ah…how's Richie?' Lorelai asked.

'He's asleep' Luke replied. 'Everyone thinks he looks so much like you'

'That's only because he's incredibly good looking' Lorelai joked.

'Lorelai?' Luke asked after a pause. 'Is everything okay?'

'Ah yeah, everything's…horrible' she groaned after giving up on her "happy" act. 'I can't wait until this wedding is finally over, who knew it was so stressful…and the planning! Urgh!'

'You've been planning weddings at the Inn for years' Luke reminded her. 'And it's only a few more weeks'

'Yeah I know, yeah…I'm okay' she nodded. 'Anyway, um…you better get back to work. Love you' she smiled.

'Bye' he replied, hanging up. He glanced around to see the diner was almost empty and Richie was awake now, getting bored.

'You do take after your mother' he sighed. 'Lane, we'll be back' he said and picked Richie up. 'Let's go see mummy' Luke told his son as he carried him outside where the sky had darkened slightly and seemed to be showing hints of possible snow.

Lorelai came down the stairs and tripped on a toy that had been left there. She picked it up and was about to go and to find it's owner but a small boy about six stood there shyly.

'Is this yours?' she asked and smiled at him, seeing he reminded her of Richie in some way. The boy nodded and bowed his head in guilt.

'It's okay, just try not to leave it where people walk, alright?' she told him, handing the toy to him. The boy smiled and then ran out of the room to the dinning room where his parents were. Lorelai watched him and then turned to see Luke approaching her with Richie.

'Hey boys' she smiled, giving Richie a kiss, only to have Luke pass him to her. 'Something wrong?' she asked since Luke hardly brought Richie by the inn.

'He was getting bored and I have no customers…other than Kirk' Luke replied with a shrug.

'Oh, okay' Lorelai nodded and placed her nose against Ritchie's, making him giggle.

'Lorelai' Michel's whining voice reached her ears as he approached. 'The guests are still annoying me, they want me to entertain them...what is he doing here?'

'Richie or Luke?' Lorelai asked, turning to face him.

'The baby' Michel frowned. 'I don't like babies' he pulled a face but then saw the glare Luke was giving him. 'I'm going now' Michel said and left rather quickly.

Lorelai handed Richie back to Luke as her cell phone rang.

'We better get back to work too' Luke sighed and carried Richie back out outside. He then paused as it began to snow. Lorelai's yells of joy was heard from inside since she had also noticed the snow and came running outside, hanging up her phone on the way.

'It's a freak snow storm!' she grinned. 'At this time of year and I still get snow?' she looked up at it.

Richie glanced up and started squealing madly, followed by giggles.

Lorelai picked him up and held him in the air to "embrace" the snow.

'He's going to freeze' Luke complained, trying to shield himself a bit from the snow. Just because Lorelai, Richie and Rory enjoyed the cold, wet snow…didn't mean he had to.

'This is a sign' Lorelai said, hugging Richie. 'You bring the world joy' she smiled, snuggling him. Richie smiled and looked up at the snow again, trying to reach it as he found it to be the most amazing thing he'd ever seen...

Author's notes: Okay so that's that chapter! :) Next chapter will skip ahead a few years but I need to update adap (possibly tomorrow) because the ending of this one and the next one are linked (even if it's years later, you'll know what I mean when you read it!). So if you read this before or after I update the next chapter...please review! Hope ya enjoyed it :). Any questions etc, let me know! I love to naswer questions tee-hee. Please review, will update asap! -Mel