08x02

Crazy Days and Lucky Pennies

Early September was one of the best time of the year in Stars Hollow. The trees in town had begun fading from bright green to a pale, golden yellow. The hills in the distance were a blur of deep greens and golds. The repetitive choruses of "…lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer…" floated over the down square as Lorelai made her way towards the crowds of people enjoying the festival.

When she pushed open the door to the diner, it was almost empty. Luke was standing by the cash register, flipping through some receipts. He glanced up and offered her a small smile in greeting before going back to his papers. Lorelai dropped her purse on the counter and sat down on the stool in front of her. She stared at him intently; several seconds passed before he glanced back up at her.

"No."

Lorelai stuck out her bottom lip.

"Please?"

"No."

"But Luke-"

"You already had two cups this morning and I know damn good and well you had some when you got to the inn."

"But…" Lorelai sighed, frustrated. "Don't you love me?"

Luke took a long, deep breath.

"Fine," he grumbled; Lorelai smirked, satisfied with the twitch at the corner of his mouth. Luke turned and grabbed a clean coffee cup, setting it down in front of her before filling it up. She lifted it to her mouth, breathing in the sweet scent before taking a sip.

"Mmmm."

"You have a problem."

"But you do love me." She grinned sweetly from behind the mug. He glanced back up from his receipts and grinned.

"You bet I do." Lorelai's heart fluttered and she smiled while she sipped her coffee.

She felt movement next to her, and glanced over to see Kirk, dressed in a shabby pinstriped suit.

"Lorelai." He perched on the stool next to her, briefcase in his lap.

"Uh, Kirk."

"I have some business to discuss with you."

Lorelai glanced over at Luke, who was watching the exchange with a raised eyebrow.

"Um, sure. What's up?"

"Well, as you know, Lulu and I will be getting married in the spring."

"Yep, at the inn. I just met with Lulu this morning."

"Yes. Well, I want to give Lulu the wedding she wants. And it…well, it hasn't been cheap. She has very expensive taste."

"I can't give you any more discounts, Kirk. I'm sorry."

"That's not what I'm asking." Kirk straightened his back in an attempt to be professional. "I was wondering if you have any positions available."

"I'm…sorry?"

"At the inn. It doesn't really matter what, I'm pretty flexible. I just need a little extra income until after the wedding."

"Kirk…I'm not looking to hire anyone right now, I'm sorry."

Kirk hesitated, then stuck his hand out. Lorelai slowly did the same; he gave her a firm handshake, nodded curtly, thanked her for her time, and left without another word. Lorelai gaped at Luke, who rolled his eyes.

"This town is fucking crazy," he muttered; Lorelai grinned and brought her coffee up to her lips again as he grabbed his notepad and made his way towards a newly-filled table.

"Sooo," Lorelai sang, after Luke came back from delivering a few plates of food.

"More coffee already?" he said, rolling his eyes. Lorelai opened her mouth to say "No!" but first glanced down at her almost empty mug.

"Actually, yes please." Luke sighed and shook his head, muttering something about caffeine overdose while he reached around for the pot. "But also, I was wondering…what time can you get out of here tonight?"

"Why…?" Luke said, voice dripping with dread. Lorelai picked up on it and grinned.

"The festival! Duh." Luke groaned.

"Lorelai…"

"Come on Luke, please? My parents are out of town so I have nothing to do tonight. Plus, I've gone with Rory for the last…I don't know, since they started doing this. I don't want to go alone. Please?"

"Dad, come on!" April hopped up onto the stool next to Lorelai, back from re-filling the napkin holders on the tables. "I'm going home in two days. I need more of the Stars Hollow experience before I go!"

Lorelai lifted her hand and gestured towards April.

"See? The women have spoken. You're outnumbered, Danes."

Luke sighed in defeat.

"Fine. I'll have Caesar and Zach close."

April's face lit up. She thanked him, slid off her stool, and announced she was going to the library before hurrying out of the diner. They watched her go, then Lorelai turned back to Luke with a smile.

"Thank you," she said. He just shrugged.

"I didn't really have a choice."

"Of course not. But thanks for acting like you do, at least." She sipped at her freshly poured coffee. "Really, though. Thank you. It's only been a few months since she left, but it feels like so much longer. I've never gone this long without seeing her…at least when we weren't talking, I still saw her a few times…" She trailed off with a sigh.

"I know." He gave her a small smile, and she glanced down at her watch.

"Crap. I have to get back to the Inn. Mind if I take a muffin?"

Luke grabbed a small bag and lifted the cover on the muffin display. She pointed to one – a giant, delicious-looking lemon poppy seed with icing dribbled all over the top of it – and he dropped it into the bag while she slurped up the rest of her coffee.

"Meet me here after work?" he asked, handing her the bag. She nodded, leaned over the counter for a kiss goodbye, and left.

She could hear it before it burst through the kitchen door. Michel's high-pitched shrieking and Sookie's stubborn arguments came hurling towards the front desk, where Lorelai had been peacefully snacking on her muffin from Luke's and finalizing the schedule for the month of September. She sighed.

"It's been such a great day! Don't take this away from me!" she muttered to no one in particular, as Michel stormed out from behind the staircase.

"This is an outrage." He stomped behind her, shuffling things around on the shelves behind the desk, as if he thought it looked like he was working. Lorelai knew him too well. She could sense his victim card from miles away.

"I think you'll survive." Sookie, who had followed him, rolled her eyes. Lorelai shot her a questioning look. "There's no carrot cake."

"Fridays are my cheat days. What day is it today, Lorelai?"

"It's Friday, Mich-"

"Exactly!" Michel huffed. "Every Friday, I have one slice of carrot cake for my mid-afternoon snack. Sookie makes it particularly for me. It has reduced sugar, no gluten, and is only ninety-seven calories. So, just moments ago, I walked into the kitchen, and do you know what I did not find?"

Lorelai raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, I'm going to guess carrot ca-"

"Carrot cake! There is no carrot cake today, she says! I have no carrots today, she says!

By this point, Lorelai can hardly understand the thick, French accent taking over his rambling, something that happened quite often when he was upset.

"Michel, I told you! Jackson's carrot crop wasn't that great this year – those kids he hired last year, they were awful, I swear – and he had to go out of town this weekend to buy some from a friend of his out of state. I couldn't make the bread this morning! I'm sorr-"

Sookie stopped abruptly, her hand immediately landing on top of her giant belly. Lorelai eyed her curiously.

"…Sookie?"

"Oh no."

"Sookie, what's wrong?" Lorelai pushed Michel aside, ignoring his babbling, and stepped out from behind the desk. Sookie screwed her face up inpain.

"Oh no, no no no. Not now. Not yet. Not for another – ahh!" She grabbed onto the side of wall for support.

"Michel, you're in charge until I get back. Sookie, let's go." She placed her hand on Sookie's shoulder, ready to help her to the Jeep parked out back. She looked up at Lorelai, terrified.

"Jackson's hours away! I can't do this now!" Lorelai ushered her towards the kitchen door, and she reluctantly followed. "And the kids, I need to call Jackson's mom and have her pick them up! I was going to leave early to get them tonight, they wanted to go to the festival so bad! And-"

"Sookie! Don't worry about it! We'll get everything taken care of," Lorelai said, as they passed through the kitchen. "Julio!"

One of the kitchen staff poked his head up from the onions he was chopping, took one look at Sookie, and nodded.

"Everything's on the board for dinner tonight, and lunch tomorrow. Now, you need to make sure you-"

"Sookie!" Lorelai laughed. Sookie sighed, hesitating, then finally followed her out of the back door.

"Luke's."

"Luke? It's me."

"Lorelai…hey, what's up?"

Lorelai paced, too anxious to sit.

"I just wanted to let you know, I probably won't be able to meet you and April tonight. I'm at the hospital."

"What!?" She wanted to laugh at the unnecessary panic in his voice. "What happened, are you okay? Is-"

"Luke, relax. It's Sookie. She went into labor a few hours ago. She's a couple weeks early and Jackson had to go out of town for the weekend – something about carrots, I don't know – so I'm staying here with her. It should still be a little while."

"Oh. Well I'll let April know, then…"

"I'll call you later, okay?"

After hanging up with Luke and unsuccessfully trying to call Jackson again, Lorelai knocked on Sookie's door and let herself in. Sookie was scribbling furiously on the notepad she found in the table next to her bed. She glanced at Lorelai hopefully when she entered.

"Anything?"

"Voicemail again, sorry hon." Sookie sighed, frustrated.

"I'm gonna kill him! He has to be here! I told him, I'll just get some at Doose's this time, it would be fine. But he insisted…"

Lorelai sat down on the end of the bed and patted her leg comfortingly. It didn't seem to be working.

"He will be here."

"This is his fault!" Sookie growled in anger and then went back to her notepad.

"Whatcha got there?" Lorelai peeked over the edge, unable to make out anything on the page.

"Instructions. I need you to give this to Julio. It's for dinner tomorrow." She ripped off the page, folded it in half, and handed it to Lorelai. "I'll email you the menu with more instructions for the rest of the week. He has everything from there out, but I need you to make sure he gets it. Okay?"

"Sookie, we've been over this," Lorelai said, chuckling with amusement. "Julio was trained by the best…you. We've all been preparing for this. Everything will be fine."

Sookie tossed the notepad down on the table and sighed.

"I hope you're r-" She stopped, screwing her face up in pain. Lorelai let her squeeze her hand until the contraction passed.

"The doctor was in here while I was on the phone, right? What'd she say?"

"Eight centimeters already! Where the hell is my husband!?"

The door suddenly slammed open, and a red-faced, out-of-breath Jackson burst through. The doctor closely followed.

"Jackson! Thank god…"

Lorelai removed herself from the bed so Jackson could take her place.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't get a cell signal in-"

"I'm going to kill you!"

Lorelai snuck out of the room while a team of nurses flowed into it, preparing to take Sookie down to the delivery room. Lorelai gave her a squeeze of the hand and told her she'd be waiting when she passed, and then she was alone.

It seemed like ages that she sat there, with nothing to distract her besides a monotonous game of Snake on her cell phone and a copy of US Weekly that she was certain had also been there the night Martha was born. She knew Rory was busy tonight, and had already texted her at least ten times updating her on Sookie's status.

She heard movement at the end of the hall and looked up excitedly, expecting to see Jackson. Instead she saw Luke, looking lost and holding a giant cup of what she desperately hoped was coffee.

"What are you doing here!?" She stood up and greeted him with a kiss. He held out the cup in his hands.

"I thought you could use this." She grinned greedily and nodded. She snatched it away from him and took a big gulp. He rolled his eyes as she sighed with content.

"I knew it was a good idea to keep you around!" She sat back down in the seat she'd occupied for at least the last hour, and he took the one next to her.

"How's Sookie? Have you heard anything?" Lorelai shook her head.

"Jackson got here about a couple hours ago and they took her right after that. Haven't heard anything since." Luke nodded, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. Lorelai gave him an amused look. "Really?"

"I don't like hospitals," he muttered.

"We're in the maternity ward! It doesn't count!"

"It's still a hospital."

"But there are no sick people here!"

"It's still a-"

"It's a girl!"

Jackson appeared around the corner, wide-eyed. Lorelai stood up, grinning.

"Congratulations again, Daddy!"

"They just moved her to a new room, you can come see her if you want." Luke appeared at Lorelai's side, and they both followed Jackson down the hall and into a room at the end of it. When he pushed the door open to let him through, Sookie was lying in bed, gazing lovingly at the tiny bundle of pink in her arms. Lorelai quickly approached the bed, tears prickling at the corner of her eyes.

"Oh my god, she's so beautiful!" Sookie grinned proudly at Jackson. "Can I…?" Sookie nodded and handed her the bundle. She cradled the tiny, soundly-sleeping baby in her arms, admiring her perfect little face. "Hi there, little girl! I'm you're Auntie Lorelai," she cooed.

"This is Penelope Lorelai Belleville," Sookie said

Lorelai glanced up at her and grinned.

"Oh, Sookie…"

"We were having a hell of a time trying to decide on a name. Jackson brought up Colgate again-"

"It's my great-grandmother's name!" Jackson argued from where he'd been sitting on the bed next to her. Sookie waved him off.

"Once we decided on Penelope – Penny – we needed a middle name. And I thought…it was obvious. Lorelai. It was perfect."

Lorelai dropped her gaze back to the baby in her arms, and smiled down at her.

"I love it. I'm honored."

"Another thing," Jackson glanced at Sookie and she nodded.

"We have something we'd like to ask you and Luke."

Lorelai turned her head around to find Luke, who had been standing awkwardly by the door. He perked up at the mention of his name and took a few steps towards Lorelai.

"Yeah?"

"Well…I know my mother is going to insist," Jackson started. "We'll need to baptize Penny too."

"And, well...we'd love it if the two of you would be her godparents."

Lorelai grinned over at Luke, who was gaping at her with pure shock.

"Well?" She asked him; he gulped and took a deep breath.

"Well…" he repeated; Lorelai chuckled at his reaction to the situation. "I mean, yeah. Of course," he said finally.

"You heard the man!" Lorelai turned her attention back to Penelope, who had stirred slightly, and was now blinking up at her. "Just ask your sister, kid. I'm the coolest godmother around. Just wait…I'm going to spoil you rotten."

"So?"

"So."

Lorelai glanced up at Luke as they walked through the town square, hand in hand. It was lit up brightly with games and food booths. The gazebo shone brightly in the center of it all, covered in string lights. April had taken Martha and Davey on some of the small carnival rides on the other side of the square, leaving the two of them to wander around on their own.

"So," Lorelai said again, squeezing his hand. "What do you think?"

"What do I think about what?"

"Penny." Luke didn't respond. "You seemed a little…hesitant."

"Geez, I don't know…" he sighed. "It's just a lot of responsibility, you know?"

"What are you talking about?" Lorelai laughed. "It's a baptism, not an adoption."

"Yeah, but you're responsible for them! If anything happens to Sookie and Jackson, Penny's ours!" Lorelai raised her eyebrow at him, amused. "Think about it, Lorelai. I'm already Steve and Kwan's godfather – at least, I think I am, they never really made it official. You're Martha's godmother. Plus we have our kids, and April, and Rory-"

"Luke!" Lorelai grinned; her heart fluttered when he said "our kids;" he didn't seem to have noticed. "Unless a meteor wipes out the entire northern half of Stars Hollow, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Luke took a couple deep breaths while he came down from his rant, and gave her a long, hard look.

"Fine." Lorelai rolled her eyes, but still grinned up at him. "She is pretty damn cute," he mumbled.

"She is," she agreed. They stopped to get some of Maury's salty nuts and Gypsy's lemonade, then continued their walk through the festival.

"Okay, so…" Lorelai said, after they walked in silence for a few minutes. She popped a nut in her mouth. "It's been three months."

"It has." They ascended the steps of the gazebo and took a seat on one of the benches before Lorelai continued.

"A pretty great three months, if I do say so myself."

"I agree." Luke leaned back and looked down at her while she sipped her lemonade. When their eyes met, his lips curved into a smile.

"What are your thoughts, thus far?"

Luke studied her carefully before responding.

"My thoughts…are that, you look beautiful tonight." Lorelai shrugged in mock agreement.

"It's going well though, you think?"

"I do think." Lorelai smiled.

"I think so too," she said. "I'm glad we took our time, talked everything out. Got to know each other again."

"I think we covered that pretty well on the first day," Luke replied, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"And there's still so much you don't know about me."

Luke offered her a crooked grin and pulled her towards him. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he kissed the top of it.

It had been going well. They hadn't tackled all of their problems right away, but instead gave themselves the summer to work things out. There had been a lot of arguing, a lot of crying (well, only on Lorelai's part, as far as she knew), and a lot of things brought up that both of them would have liked to forget.

But now, things were good. They were different. When April had arrived two weeks ago, Luke hadn't tried to keep her from Lorelai. He invited her to accompany him to the airport to pick her up, and the three of them even had a classic Gilmore Movie Marathon. Since April had been helping out in the diner almost every day, Lorelai got a chance to actually spend some time with her.

Yes, it was definitely going well.

Author's Note: Sorry this update took so long...I'm in my final semester of college and the last few weeks have been ridiculous. But thanks for all of your reviews! I definitely wasn't expecting that, and they were all very sweet, so thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.