Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, but finals are coming up. Blech. Not fun, my friends. Anyway, things should get more regular soon. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Ten: All around…

"You're terrified of him?" Lorelai gaped, indignation flushing her face, "Mother, he's a sixteen year old boy, not Hannibal Lecter. Jack couldn't hurt a fly."

Emily said nothing, studying her Prada shoes.

"Fine," Lorelai scoffed, tossing her now empty coffee cup into the trash can with an angry flick of her wrist, "I'm going to go see my granddaughter. Please, don't go anywhere near my son."

With that, Lorelai practically stalked off.

"Piano Man to Baby Boy. Over," Will mimicked the sound of radio static, rekindling the walkie-talkie call signs of their boyhood. (Lorelai and Luke were Crazy Lady and Burger Boy, respectively.)

"Piano Man is crazy. Over," Jack echoed, rolling his eyes and sitting up straighter in bed as his brother entered the hospital room.

"How are you feeling? Over."

"Well, they're giving me some excellent drugs, so I'm feeling quite nicely, thank you," Jack put on a good face for his brother, recovered from his emotional encounters with his parents.

Will playfully deflated. "You're supposed to say 'over'."

"Oh, sorry. Like I said: the drugs."

"Right," Will grinned, slipping his tux jacket off of his shoulders and onto the back of the chair beside Jack's bed. His collar was undone, and the violet bowtie hung untied. Will took a seat and took a deep breath. "Hi."

"Hi," Jack grunted. "How was the party?"

"All right. Julia was there."

"Ah jeez. Do you have to go after my lab partner? You're gonna break her heart."

"Hey! I object."

"You're not a lawyer."

Will grinned a little at their easy banter, then turned serious. "Hey, Jack? This isn't you fault."

"So you talked to them," Jack sighed and looked away.

"No, I know you."

"Will…"

"Stop. I don't want to talk about it any more. Want to hear about how Jamie Forrester almost beat me to a pulp?"

"What? Why? And you can't get in another fight, Will: Mom and Dad'll kill you."

"Exactly. That's why he would've beaten me to a pulp."

"What'd you do to him?"

"He felt I had insulted his girlfriend."

"The freshman?"

"Exactly!"

"You just can't stay outta trouble without me."

"That's why we come as a set pair, brother. The big lug asked why it was all right for me to date my younger brother's friends, but not for him to date his brother's."

"We're twins," Jack deadpanned, 'duh' in his voice.

"Exactly!"

"But why would you pick a fight with Jamie, Will? The guy's like ten feet tall."

"Well… I didn't have complete control over my faculties…"

"Will," Jack breathed, half sigh, half scold. "Please tell me you didn't drive here. Tonight isn't the night for me to hear that."

"Of course not! Lane drove Nat and I here."

"Natalie?" Jack visibly perked.

"Down, boy. She allowed me to come in first. Very sweet of her. She was at the party, all worried about where you'd gotten off to…"

"Stop there with the teasing. How's Mom holding up?"

"Shaken, not stirred."

"You always have fancied yourself Bond."

"No: Danes, Will Danes."

Jack rolled his eyes, and Will broke out into an easy grin, content to lighten his brother's load, just as he had been doing for as long as he could remember. He stayed a few more minutes, discussing the finer points of Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, the boys' favorite novel. Will had just finished it for the eighth time. Then Natalie appeared in the doorway, knocking softly.

"Alright. I know how to take a hint. You two have fun, now. Jack, enjoy your Lady Ashley."

"Ouch, Will," Natalie grinned, "I should be offended."

Will grinned and exited the room as Natalie took his place beside Jack, their fingers entwined.

In the waiting room, Will found a barely held together Rory nursing a cup of coffee in a flimsy plastic chair.

"Where's everyone else?"

"Laylee's sleeping, finally. Mom's sitting with her. Grandma and Grandpa went home for the night. Luke and Lane are in the cafeteria. Oh, and you're so totally busted; Luke's not an idiot."

Will looked sheepish.

"Figured as much. How are you holding up, Sis?" he asked as he bought himself a bad cup of coffee from the nearby machine, dropping his tux jacket onto the chair beside her in the deserted waiting room.

Rory looked up with her large, doleful eyes, melting at her little brother's empathetic gaze. At the first quiver of lip and drop of tear, Will grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet against his chest, wrapping his arms around her while she sobbed into him.

Over the course of the last ten years, Jack and Will had come to an unspoken agreement: Jack was to take over Sally's role in Laylee's life as playmate, mentor, and father-figure, and Will was to take over their hero's place as Rory's balance, confidante, and protector. While Will played with Laylee and Jack protected Rory, their point positions remained the same.

"They're alright. She's alright. Everything's going to be fine. Take a deep breath for me, sis, please," Will murmured soothingly into Rory's hair, kissing the top of her head.

Rory continued to sob, soaking his shirt and vibrant vest.

"Sis, you're going to make yourself sick with all that gulping."

A few minutes later, Rory squeezed Will tight, then pulled away, wiping fiercely at the tears on her face.

"Guess we've switched positions, huh?"

Will smiled at the reference to all the times she had rocked him while he cried over childhood frustrations.

"What goes around comes around. Wanna talk about it?"

"I know she's going to be okay, but I just keep going back there. To the screaming sirens and the frenzied Italian, only half of which I understood. Being pushed through the hallways of a crowded foreign hospital to a room… where he… And Coop told us Laylee was fine, but I just kept thinking that maybe I would walk into that room, and… her sheet would be up, too."

Will enveloped her again, and she buried her face into him. "I was worried, too. All Dad said was 'everyone's alive'. What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Rory laughed a little, if only to make her brother feel better.

"Rory, we need to talk about Jack."

Big sister looked up at little brother with those same sad eyes, only this time they were tinged with guilt.

"You don't blame him, do you, Sis?"

Rory swallowed. "I don't want to. But yeah, a part of me does. He was behind the wheel. And she shouldn't have been in the front seat."

"Yeah, but how many times did you actually sit in the back of the Jeep growing up? Jack usually makes her sit in the back; it just so happens that this one time he didn't had disastrous consequences. He saved her life."

"I know. But I just…"

"You can't let him know that you feel like that. At all. He is beating himself up inside, thinking about how he failed the family 'cause he let the baby get hurt."

"I'll try my best, Willy," she assured him, using the pet name only she got away with. Miss Patty and Babette sometimes called him 'Willy', but he didn't like it when anyone but Rory let the affectionate dubbing slip out.

"If you feel like taking it out on someone, pretend I'm Jack. I'll even wear a hat backwards and find some flannel, if you want."

Rory laughed through her shaky sniffles, swiping away the rest of her tears. "I'm sure there's plenty of flannel in the house."

"Oh, God, yes, unfortunately."

"You know, your blanket growing up was flannel. Mom made it out of one of Luke's old shirts. Wrapping you in it was the only way to put you to sleep when your dad wasn't there to rock you."

Will smiled, remembering. "And Jack's was one of Mom's old shirts with a dragonfly on it. 'Cause God forbid he fall asleep without being able to smell his mommy." Rory laughed lightly, and Will hugged her again. "Everything's going to be okay, Sis."

Luke pushed his way into his granddaughter's hospital room, pausing a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. The lights were dimmed, and little Laylee slept on her back, right arm (hot pink clad) slung high on her chest. She was to be discharged in a few hours, after her first course of pain medication ran through; the doctors wanted to be sure she didn't have an adverse reaction. In a chair next to Laylee's bed was Lorelai, asleep as well, in a position that could not be comfortable. He crouched (a position not so comfortable for him and his aging knees either) next to his wife, running his fingers through her hair and gently whispering for her to wake up.

She did so with a start, grimacing as she moved the neck she'd kept at an odd angle.

"Are they okay?" she asked, her voice raw with sleep and barely above a whisper. She immediately looked to Laylee.

"They're fine," he assured her lowly. "That just didn't look too comfortable. And I wanted to tell you that Will and Natalie got here a few minutes after you came in here. Lane drove them."

"Lane?" she questioned groggily. "Why didn't he just drive them in his Accord?" He looked at her pointedly, and Lorelai groaned. "That boy... How bad?"

"Not very. Seemed like just a drink or two. What kind of punishment are we talking about?"

"Well, he did do the responsible thing and have someone else drive..."

"Earlier curfew?"

"Nine o'clock unless he's with one of us."

Luke nodded. "Ever notice it's almost always Will?"

"Ever notice he's the most like me? At least he doesn't sneak out every night. Where do you think he was drinking?"

"Natalie admitted there was a party at the Forresters' tonight, and that's where Will told me he was. Dean and Lindsay are out of town, and the younger ones were spending the night at the Makepeaces'. As far as I could tell, she was sober."

"Of course she was; the kid's Sandy pre-makeover."

Luke smiled gently. "How are you holding up?"

"Been better. But tonight could have been so much worse, so I'm not too bad. You? And sit down in a chair before I have to get a forklift to get you back up."

Luke complied, lifting a nearby chair up and setting it down next to hers. "I guess I'm 'bout the same. They're both safe. Jack's a little ticked that he can't practice or play for a week, which puts him out of the South Litchfield game, but he'll pull through alright. Laylee's forearm's fractured, but she'll be out of her cast in early December, and she's excited because she has to type everything now and make all her boys carry stuff for her. We're real lucky."

"Amen, Brother Danes." She teared up a little, but swallowed the emotion. "When Coop showed up, I was so sure..."

"Hey," he soothed, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Don't even think about it."

"How's Rory?"

"She's with Will, talking about some book. Apparently, Max is taking over Will's English class next quarter, and he's already handed out the reading list. Will's excited."

"Just as long as he avoids all fistfights."

"She seems to be keepin' it together pretty good. Gotta be hard after Salvatore."

They sat for a moment in the dim light, studying their granddaughter and remembering their almost son-in-law. Then Luke cleared his throat and spoke again.

"Your parents left right after you came in here."

Lorelai sighed. "I don't think we're going to dinner tomorrow." She glanced at his watch. "Or tonight, rather. I just can't stand to even look at my mother right now. She says this is all Jack's fault!"

"Lorelai, there's nothing you can do about your mom right now," he soothed. "This will all blow over by next week. Your dad already said he's not expecting us tonight, since none of us have slept. Except this one." He motioned to Laylee, now curled around her arm like a baby bird protecting a broken wing.

Lorelai laughed lightly. "This one could sleep through anything once she's out. Like you."

Luke smiled gently.

"This isn't Jack's fault," Lorelai asserted, now serious again.

"I know. And we'll make sure he knows."

"Luke, I'm sorry."

"About what?" Luke questioned, confused by his wife's apparent non-sequiter.

"Blaming Jess. That wasn't his fault, either."

"Lorelai, that was twenty years ago."

"I know, but I never really apologized. I mean, I said I was sorry for yelling at you…"

"And telling me to go to hell…"

She purposely ignored him. "But not for blaming Jess."

"I'll be sure to tell him he's in the clear next time he calls."

"Luke…"

"Apology accepted?"

"Better. So what's the game plan? It's two in the morning."

"Well, Laylee gets discharged within the hour, so Lane's volunteered to drive Natalie, Rory, and Laylee home then."

"One of us needs to go get the car then, too. So we can drive home in the morning."

"I'll go. Jack's a mama's boy; he'll want you here."

"Well, he's got good taste, if I do say so myself…"

"You would. I'm gonna go fill everyone in, pry Natalie from Jack." He stood, going over to Laylee's bed and dropping a kiss on the child's forehead. "Want me to send Rory in?"

Lorelai nodded, and Luke paused to kiss her temple gently before exiting.

"'Evening, Burger Boy. Fill 'er up," Laylee grinned late Tuesday afternoon, climbing (as best she could with a sling confining her hot pink right arm) onto her usual stool (the second one from the till; the first was Nonna's). She pounded on the counter with her good hand, demanding attention.

"No," Luke deadpanned, mimicking her lean over the counter by propping his chin up on one hand like she was.

"Well, good. That stuff's absolutely disgusting. Mint tea, please. Herbal."

"That I can do," Luke grinned, glad the arm was in no way slowing her wit. "How's your arm feeling?"

"Itchy," she answered, sneering towards the offending appendage. "How's your face?"

"Fine…" Luke answered, confused.

"It's killing me!" Laylee giggled.

Luke sighed and rolled his eyes, sliding her mug towards her. "You seen your uncle?"

"Um, which one?"

"The crazy one."

"He's making out with Julia behind the gazebo."

"And the other one?"

"Making out with Natalie on the other side of the gazebo," Laylee answered over the brim of her cup, sticking out her tongue in disgust.

"We'll collect them on the way to the town meeting, okay?"

Laylee nodded. "Cheese burger?"

"Already up," Caesar called from the window. "Heard your voice, estrella."

"Gracias, Tío Caesar," Laylee grinned. "Te adoro."

"Since when do you speak Spanish?" Luke asked.

"Oh, I have my secrets, Luka."

"I've been teaching estrella since she was little, boss."

"Tío Caesar, you ratted us out! Now he knows I'm two-and-a-half-lingual."

Luke raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Two-and-a-half?"

"Yeah: English, Italian, and kinda Spanish. They teach it in school, too. Tío Caesar, will you proofread this paragraph I wrote esta tarde?"

"Claro, estrella. Send it over."

Luke shook his head and passed the paper through the window to his cook.

"Locos," he sighed, "Los dos."

"Hey! You hablas español, too!"

"Eat your burger."

"Sí, abuelo."

"Lucy! I'm home!" Lorelai cried as she entered the diner.

"Hi," Luke grinned, leaning over the counter automatically to kiss her hello. Laylee dropped her burger and covered her eyes with her good hand.

"Eww!"

"Oh! Hello there, Mini-Me. How's the arm?"

"Itchy. How's your face?"

"Ohh-ho. I am not answering that. You've stolen that from the master."

"Luka fell for it, again."

"Not again, hon. You really need to work on that."

"Will do. Did you know our granddaughter speaks Spanish?"

"Of course. It's the twenty-first century: everyone speaks Spanish."

"Right. Of course."

"Claro," Laylee echoed. "Luka, did you preorder the baby pumpkins yet from Uncle Jackson? Halloween is in fourteen days."

"I just took care of it," Lorelai responded.

"How many did you get?" Laylee asked.

"Two hundred."

"Perfect," Laylee grinned. "I can't wait! Luka, is April coming up for the game?"

"I dunno. Why don't you call and ask?"

She fished the cell phone out of her Nonna's purse and found the number of the hospital where April worked. The phone rang twice before a receptionist answered.

"Yes, hello. Is Dr. Nardini there? Mhmm. This is Laylee Gilmore. Yep, sure." She moved the phone away from her mouth and informed her grandparents: "I'm on hold."

Luke met Lorelai's eyes and grinned. Laylee returned the mouthpiece to its original position, signaling to them that April had picked up on the other end.

"Hi, April, it's Laylee. How are you? I'm great. Luka, Nonna, and I were talking about the Halloween Pumpkin Series and wondering if you were driving up from the city for the game. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, I definitely think my team's gonna win this year. Uh, no, I don't know who that is yet. Yep, sure, you can be on my team. I'm gonna be a captain, so I'll pick you. Alright. Yep, I'll tell Luka. Mhmm. It's hot pink. Who told you? Of course. He's got the biggest mouth in the world. Not sure how he's related to Luka with that mouth of his. Yep, okay. 'Bye, April, see you soon."

She clicked off the phone with a flourish and plopped it back into her grandmother's purse, finally sensing her grandparents' gazes on her.

"What?"

"You talk too much," was all Luke said before moving off to take a few orders before they had to leave for the town meeting.

Laylee giggled and looked to her grandmother, who just smiled.

"So, are you gonna play in the Pumpkin Series this year, Nonna?"

"Oh, no. I'm just the umpire. Who're you picking for your team?"

"Well, I promised April I'd pick her. She's not half bad. I can't decide on Jacky or Will, though. Thank goodness they can't be on the same team."

"The most important rule I've ever invented," Lorelai agreed. "Well, both have their good points. No one can hit like Will, and no one can throw like Jack."

"Hmm. I think I'll go with Jacky, 'cause I like to play catcher during the Pumpkin Series, even if it's with my left hand. It's a messy job."

"Sounds like a great plan, Laylee. Are you inviting Connor to play this year?"

"Yup. And Jake, I think. Maybe Nicholas, too. Depends on how many people we need. Who's the other captain?"

"I think it's Luke's turn."

"Oh, goody! I like beating Luka."

Lorelai laughed. "How was April?"

"Good. She's been on call for three days straight. Remind me not to be a doctor."

"Will do. And did you do all your homework before you came over?"

Laylee stuck out her tongue, but answered in the affirmative. "Caesar's proofreading my Spanish homework now."

"Good. Your mom set down the rules, and they're important."

"I know," Laylee sighed. "Jack told me he had the same junk when he was my age."

"Oh, yeah. But he was even worse. He used to sit in his room and throw his baseball against the door instead of doing his homework. Over and over and over. Like that kid in Hook."

"Annoying."

"Tell me about it, Mini-Me."

"He threw his baseball against the door over and over and over. Like Jack in Hook."

"Smart aleck."

"Hey! The kid in Hook's name is Jack, too. Freaky."

"Eat your burger," Lorelai unknowingly echoed her husband. Even she got exasperated with the craziness that was Laylee. "It's almost time for the meeting."

"What's on the agenda, ya think?"

"Painting the gazebo black and orange for Halloween," Lorelai teased.

"Ah! No!" Laylee cried, "They… they can't do that!"

Laylee didn't take well to change; she was the perfect Stars Hollow resident.

"She's kidding," Luke assured her, sliding her Spanish paper over to her as he emerged from the kitchen with jacket in hand. "You ladies ready?"

"Coffee?" Lorelai asked. Luke handed her a to-go cup.

"Snacks?" Laylee questioned. Luke grabbed a bag of fries from where he had left them on the window.

"Oh, Lukey takes such good care of us," Lorelai grinned.

"Order! Order! I officially call this meeting to order. On the first order of business… Really, Lorelai, can you not be on time for a single meeting? You're setting a terrible example for those children."

"Sorry, Mr. Doose!" Laylee sang, plopping down on Luke's lap. "We had to pull Jack and Will off of their girlfriends."

"Ah jeez," Jack groaned, beet-red.

"Thanks, Laylee," Will added sarcastically.

"Which brings us to our first order of business: the propensity of the young people to display affection in the town square."

"Huh?" Jack and Laylee said in unison.

"He wants us to stop sucking face in the gazebo," Will translated.

"Taylor, they're young and in love. Leave them alone; it's not their fault you're old and lonely," Miss Patty defended.

"It is pretty gross," Laylee put in.

"You're ten," Will argued, "Touching a boy is gross for you."

"Taylor, you can't make a rule about this. Move on," Luke urged, frustrated. He leaned over to his wife. "Why are we here again?"

"So we can be here when they are discussing our sons' tongues down girls' throats."

"Oh, gross," Laylee stuck out her tongue.

"Hush you. Next order of business, Taylor!"

"I don't remember these being Danes family meetings," Taylor directed to the clan spread across the back bench. "We will close the matter when I feel it is closed."

"Move on, Taylor," Miss Patty agreed.

Taylor sighed as the rest of the town echoed the sentiment. "Fine. Second on the agenda is the next month's fundraiser for new instruments for the elementary school. Any suggestions?"

"We could have a concert," someone called from the crowd.

"Of course!" Miss Patty seconded the idea. "We have many talented musicians in the town. We could put an ensemble together. Lane, honey, you would be willing to help set it up, right?"

"Sure," Lane agreed from the middle somewhere. "What kind of music are we looking for?"

"I can rap!" Kirk volunteered from the front row.

"No thanks, Kirk," Will called from the back.

"Will! You have to perform with Morey," Lane announced, as if struck by sudden inspiration. "Dueling pianos!"

Will blushed. "I'm willing if you are, Morey."

"Sounds cool, cat."

"We can put together some backup as well," Miss Patty said. "Natalie? Would you sing for us?"

"Oh, yeah. Ya've got the prettiest voice, sugah!"

Natalie turned bright red as everyone turned to look at her. She squeezed Jack's hand. "Umm, sure. I guess."

"Excellent, that's settled. Lane, you will be in charge. When would you like to have the first organizational meeting?"

"Everyone can meet at the store next Friday, if you want. Three-ish?"

"Anyone interested in volunteering (which I hope will be all of you) should meet at the music store on Friday the twenty-seventh. This matter is now closed." Taylor gave Lorelai a pointed look; she was too absorbed in French fries and giggling with Rory and Laylee to even notice.