Disclaimer: It's still not mine and all that jazz

A/N: Again, it has been forever, but this entire story is written. I just feel like I'm so buy all the time I never have time to read fanfictions, much less post them! But I will finish this one…maybe in the next year. Enjoy!

Rory was laying in bed, unable to sleep. She looked at the clock and winced. It was pretty late; 3:45 in fact. It would be morning in a few short hours. Really, she should be able to wait that long. She closed her eyes again.

Two minutes later her eyes popped open again. She sighed and lightly touched Jess' back. He didn't move, so she poked his back again, a little harder this time. When he still made no movements, she poked his back twice in quick succession.

"What?!" Jess asked as he woke up. He rolled over to face her. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Rory admitted. "I was just wondering…do we have any pickles downstairs?"

Jess raised his eyebrows. "Pickles? Oh Rory, that's so cliché."

Rory sighed. "I know. I don't want to want pickles. But I can't help it! I'm going to dip them in vanilla ice cream if that makes it any better."

Jess wrinkled his nose and made a disgusted sound. "No, actually that makes it worse. Besides, we don't have any pickles," Jess told his wife. He started to get up from the bed.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked.

"Going to get you some pickles," Jess said.

"Doose's is closed," Rory reminded Jess.

Jess nodded. "I know."

"So, where are you going?" Rory questioned.

"I'll go to the next town over," Jess said nonchalantly.

Rory slightly smiled. "You'd go to another town to get me pickles!"

Jess nodded. "Because you're pregnant. I also know that if I don't buy pickles for you tonight, you'll be up all night wanting the pickles. Then, I'll be up all night by association, am I right?"

Rory giggled. "Probably."

"You are definitely going to have a girl," Jess said pulling his shirt on.

"Oh, really?" Rory inquired. "What makes you say that?"

"Because only a Gilmore girl would want a sweet pickle dipped in vanilla ice cream," Jess teased.

Rory couldn't help it. She had to laugh. "Oh, Jess."

When Rory heard Jess shut and lock the downstairs door, she shook her head. She shook it in exasperation at his locking the door and shook it in amusement at Jess' comment. She looked down at her belly and gently placed her hand on it. "So, is your daddy right? Are you an Amanda Lane?"

Rory smiled when she felt a kick from her little baby. "Are you sure you're not a Jonathan Lucas?"

Rory laughed when she felt another kick. "You're just trying to confuse me, aren't you?" There was another kick from her baby. Her laughter grew. "I think you just like to hear your mommy's voice."

There were two kicks in quick succession. Rory nodded her confirmation. "That's what it is. I understand."

Rory smiled. She really did enjoy feeling a little baby moving around inside her. She loved the fact that she and Jess had created this little life together. Though she still wasn't thrilled about the whole delivery process she wanted the baby out of her. She wanted to hold her little baby in her arms and smother it with kisses. She loved her tiny baby so much; she finally understood how her mom felt about her. She squeezed her eyes tightly and imagined holding her baby. She couldn't wait!

"I love you, Baby," Rory whispered. "Please get here fast!"

-%

"Was it really bad?" Rory wondered.

"You've heard my story for at least twenty-seven years," Lorelai yelled from the kitchen. "It was like doing the splits on a crate of dynamite."

Rory looked at Lane for confirmation. "Well?"

Lane shrugged. "I had drugs."

"Mom, didn't you have drugs?" Rory shouted to her mom. "You claimed that's why you named me Lorelai."

"I named you Lorelai because I am in love with my name, myself and just find myself absolutely fascinating," Lorelai said, coming into the living room. "I named you after myself in the hopes that you would be exactly like me. Imagine my disappointment when I realized you weren't as amazing as I was."

Lane laughed while Rory pretended to look hurt. "Gee, thanks."

Lorelai sat down in a living room chair. "Honestly, I thought it would be a cool tradition, naming my firstborn daughter after me. The hospital couldn't give me drugs. I was a minor. I was having a baby and all; I would be responsible for another life, but I couldn't yet be responsible for mine."

Rory chuckled. "Bitter much."

"I'm not bitter!" Lorelai claimed. "I just think it's stupid that I was about to be responsible for you and they wouldn't let me make my own decisions about whether I wanted an epidural or not."

Rory rolled her eyes while Lane chuckled. "Of course."

"Maybe it won't be so bad if I have drugs?" Rory questioned, rather than stated. "At least I'll get to decide about that."

"Don't be so nervous, Rory," Lane told her friend. "I really think you'll be fine. You'd be surprised. In fact, you'll probably forget about the pain right after you hold your baby in your arms for the first time. You may even forget about it enough to want to have another baby."

"You didn't," Rory challenged.

"That's not true," Lane argued. "I just haven't wanted another baby yet. Your mom did."

"Yeah, nineteen years later," Rory said.

Lane and Lorelai both rolled their eyes. "You're worrying way too much about this, Kid." Lane nodded her agreement.

"You have both been through this before," Rory persisted. "You know what to expect and I don't."

"Now see, if you'd just wanted to be around Sookie and me before we went into labor," Lorelai teased.

Rory slightly shivered, which just made her even more nervous. If that thought still scared and nauseated her, there was no way she was going to be able to get this baby out of her. She had no idea how she was going to survive.

"If you're that nervous, don't worry about it just now," Lane advised. "Just take it one day at a time. You have at least a month to think about it, maybe longer. As a rule, first babies don't come in a rush."

Rory's eyes widened. "Do first babies usually come premature?"

"I'm not sure," Lorelai said. "Why?"

Rory swallowed her nervousness. "Well, I don't think I have a month to think about it anymore. I would say I have a day, considering as how my water just broke."

Lane and Lorelai both gasped at Rory's announcement. Lorelai could see her daughter was nervous, so she quickly took charge. "Lane, I want you to go upstairs and pack a bag for Rory. I'll call Luke when we're in the car and have him swing by here and pick it up on his way to the hospital. Also, can you pick the kids up from school?"

Lane nodded. "You got it."

"Great. Call me when you get the kids and I'll give you a progress report and let you know if you need to bring them to the hospital or wait," Lorelai continued. "Rory, when we get in the car I want you to call the doctor and Jess and let them know what's happening."

Rory mutely nodded and Lane rushed up the stairs to follow Lorelai's instructions. Lorelai sighed, but slightly smiled. Nothing was ever dull when the Gilmore girls were concerned. Of course, that's why she loved being a Gilmore girl.

-%

"You called Jess?" Lorelai asked five minutes into the drive.

Rory nodded. "He was teaching. Hopefully he'll check his voicemail before his next class. Did you call Dad?"

Lorelai chuckled. "Yep. Being Luke, he quickly went into panic mode."

Rory smiled and shook her head. "Why am I not surprised." Her smile quickly turned into a grimace as she experienced a contraction. "Gosh, I hate this."

Lorelai pressed her lips together in a silent agreement. "I don't think anyone likes it."

As soon as Rory's pain subsided, she agreed. "I guess that's probably true."

Silence reigned in the car until Rory decided to break it again. "Do you think we could be serious for a minute here?"

"Of course," Lorelai responded to her daughter. She wasn't the most serious person, but she definitely could be and would be since her daughter asked.

"You and I have always been like best friends more than mother and daughter," Rory began. "That's the one thing I've always loved about our relationship. I wouldn't change that for the world. I mean, we've had fights, but we usually make up within a few days."

"I love that too," Lorelai agreed. "I wouldn't want to change it either."

"Maybe it's unreasonable, but I've always attributed our amazing relationship to the fact that you were so young when you had me and that we kind of grew up together," Rory admitted. She'd never told anyone that, then again, she'd never felt any need to…until now.

"I don't think it's unreasonable," Lorelai mused. "I mean, I think it's definitely one of the reasons, but I don't think it's the only reason. I was a great parent, after all."

In spite of her earlier request, Rory smiled. "You were. You were a fantastic parent. I'm worried that I won't be as great as you were. So I was thinking, maybe you could raise my kid for its first sixteen years?"

Lorelai laughed. A joke for a joke. "Rory, you're going to be a fantastic parent. I knew nothing about kids when I had you, I was all by myself and I had to wing it. The only things I didn't do were, well, basically everything my parents did. Thanks to Aaron and Emma, you have some experience with kids. Not to mention, you have Jess, who will help you all he can and you have some idea of what to do, thanks to your parent."

Rory nodded. What Lorelai said did make sense. "There's something else I'm worried about though, and I feel so shallow for wanting this, for even worrying about it."

Lorelai waited a few seconds, but Rory said nothing. "Are you planning on sharing with the class?"

"I want my child and me to have the same relationship we have," Rory finally admitted. "But I don't know how to make that happen and still be a parent. Not to mention, I'm at a more conventional age, I know a few things about kids and I have someone to help me. I have all that working against me; my baby and I don't have a chance."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Those things you mentioned, you do realize they're good things, right?"

Rory took a deep breath, willing her newest contraction to pass quickly. "That may be the case, but I can't help but think for my relationship with my baby, they aren't the best. The second time you had kids, you had all those things. You and Emma—I'm not saying you don't have a good relationship with her—but you two are more mom and kid than best friends."

Lorelai didn't say anything for a few seconds. Her eldest daughter had a pretty valid point. She had never really thought about why she and Emma weren't best friends. The more she thought about it though, the more she thought it just might be because she was older. "Is it bad that I don't have anything to say to that?"

Rory sadly smiled. "No. It just means that my thinking was correct. My kid won't and I won't be able to have the great relationship we had."

"Don't jump to conclusions," Lorelai cautioned her daughter. "Just because I don't have anything to say doesn't mean you're right. Regardless of what I may have told you for your past twenty-eight years, I'm not all knowing. Be optimistic."

"I would be more optimistic if it wasn't my kid," Rory told her mom.

"I wouldn't worry though," Lorelai tried to console her daughter. "I know two things for sure. This kid is going to be loved like crazy, and not just from you and Jess. And if it's a girl…we will do everything possible to make sure it's a Gilmore girl in every way!"

Rory laughed. Yes, she was going to make sure any daughter of hers would be a Gilmore. She suspected Jess wouldn't have it any other way, no matter how much he complained about her and her habits. "Jess thinks it's going to be a girl, but I have to disagree."

"Really?" Lorelai questioned. "Why?" She had heard Jess' predictions about a girl and heard his reasons, but she had yet to hear about her daughter's disagreements.

"Gilmore girls are never on time for anything, much less early," Rory joked, closing her eyes, trying to speak through this contraction. "And this child, well it is trying to get here as fast as possible." Rory bit her lip. "I hope everything's okay. Technically I'm not due for another month!"

Lorelai smiled and squeezed her daughter's hand. "It will be over soon, Kid." Lorelai subtly put a little more pressure on the gas. She might as well try to get to the hospital faster so Rory could get an epidural sooner. Not only that, but if the nurses needed to do anything to ensure the little baby's safety, Lorelai wanted that to happen as soon as possible.

Is it a girl? Is it a boy? Is it twins, regardless of what the doctor said? And what will the name be? Obviously we're getting close-ish to the end and I will try to post the next chapters this weekend, though I can't make any promises. Leave me a review if you're still with me, please? And you can speculate on the baby and it's names…even though Rory and Jess kind of have those figured out, Jess didn't make any suggestions when they were picking them, maybe he has some now? Anyway, leave a review please and thanks so much for reading!