Outside snowflakes swirled through the early gray morning as a strong March wind caught them and hurled them around the building. Luke watched the people far below him bend into the fierce wind as they fought their way into work. The wind and the stinging snowflakes didn't bother him from his viewpoint on the 8th floor. He was cushioned snugly in an overstuffed easy chair, filled up with warmth from the inside out.

In his arms he held his son.

He'd worried, just a little, that he wouldn't be up to this task. He worried yesterday when Lorelai's water broke and he knew that the waiting time was over. He worried late last night when they'd driven to the hospital, Lorelai's patience finally at an end. She'd been determined that she was going to have the baby, now. And sure enough, as soon as they had gotten here, her contractions sped up and within an hour they were calling for the doctor. Her horror stories regarding her lengthy labor with Rory notwithstanding, this little guy had slid out with a minimum of fuss. He'd looked around, scowling, ("Just like his Daddy!" Lorelai had pointed out), sighed, and then had cuddled up on Lorelai's chest, going back to a satisfied sleep.

Even as he marveled and rejoiced and thanked God, he'd harbored a little pocket of worry. Then they handed the baby to him, and he didn't worry anymore.

It seemed that his arms had been made to hold his son. They weren't too big. They weren't too rough, or clumsy. His arms had known instinctively just how to cradle him. He'd known just how to tuck him against his chest. He just knew.

And now he watched, as his son slept in his arms. He watched the fuzzy blue blanket rise and fall over his tiny chest, amazed at the miracle of breathing. His index finger rubbed over the perfect little cheek, touching softer skin than he'd ever imagined. He traced over the impossibly minute fingers, each with its own even smaller fingernail on the end.

He was head-over-heels in love with this perfect little baby boy. His heart was melted completely.

A movement made him look towards the bed. Lorelai's bright eyes blinked at him.

"How long was I out?" she asked softly.

"Not long," he assured her. "Maybe an hour…" he glanced at the clock. "Maybe two," he admitted, having totally lost track of time.

"I didn't want to sleep that long," she pouted. "I didn't want to miss anything."

"You needed the rest," he reminded her.

"How much has he grown?" she demanded. "Have you already signed him up for Little League?"

"Not yet," Luke smiled. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Hmm." She leaned back, satisfied. "Did you get a hold of everybody?"

"Yeah." The baby startled in his sleep, and Luke rubbed his hand over the little blue knitted hat on the tiny head, comforting him. "Rory said she had to go to her first class, but she'd email the rest of her professors and be here as soon as she can. She can't wait to meet her brother."

Lorelai smiled. "You make the prettiest picture," she told him, pointing at her two guys. "Was Rory mad that we didn't tell her he was coming?"

"Maybe a little," Luke conceded, "but I think she's just happy he's here and you're OK."

"And she didn't have to deal with any of the creepy hospital stuff," Lorelai speculated knowingly. "She's a lot like you with that."

"I did OK," Luke pointed out.

"Yeah, you did good," Lorelai agreed. "Did you call my parents?"

"Your parents will be over later, probably after your mother cleans out the Babies 'R Us Superstore in Hartford. She made some comment about finally knowing if she should buy pink or blue."

An evil grin graced Lorelai's face. "It didn't hurt her to have to wait."

Luke grinned back. "I called Anna." he continued. "April had a big math test today, so she's not going to tell her until after school, but then she's going to bring her straight over here. Anna said to tell you she's really happy for us."

"I'm happy too," Lorelai said with conviction.

Luke looked from the bundle in his arms to her. "Are you ready for him?"

She held out her arms eagerly. "I thought you'd never ask."

He carefully raised himself from the chair and slowly made his way across the small space to her bed. Gently he slipped the baby from his arms to hers.

"Hey there, Handsome," Lorelai crooned, stroking her baby's face.

"Do you feel good enough to move a little bit?" Luke asked.

She looked at him suspiciously. "What do you have in mind?" she questioned, wiggling her eyebrows.

He rolled his eyes. "I just want to…Can you move forward a little bit?"

She smiled and nodded, and he helped her to scoot down the bed just enough so that he could get behind her. He angled his long legs off to the side, pulling her back against him. He wrapped his arms around hers that were holding the baby. He sighed with pleasure.

"This is what I've been waiting for," he said softly into her ear.

She rubbed her head back against him. "This is nice," she agreed. "It may even be perfect."

They basked for a moment in their new little family unit, wanting for nothing.

"So Sookie is probably baking a cake and making a 7-course meal right now," Luke told her, continuing to fill her in on his phone calls. "She said she'd spread the word for us."

"Good," Lorelai murmured. All she really cared about was currently in her arms.

The smitten new parents watched their son with amazed intensity. They held their breaths when his little mouth opened and closed.

"So cute," Lorelai said. "So soft. Did you ever feel anything so soft?"

"No," Luke agreed, once again letting his finger stroke the little cheek. "How did you do it?" he asked, suddenly.

"What?"

"Let Rory go." He swallowed hard. "I'm already so protective of him. I can't imagine letting someone else hold him. I can't imagine letting him out of my sight. How can I possibly let him climb on a jungle gym? What am I going to do the first time someone's mean to him? How can I stand it when some girl breaks his heart?"

"Oh, Luke," she chuckled. "It's not easy. At least we'll be able to commiserate with each other when he goes through the rough patches. And as for the letting other people hold him, I know it's hard to believe right now, but there will come a day when you'll be ecstatic that someone else wants to take care of him for a while."

"Not gonna happen," he said stubbornly.

"Just wait," she laughed.

Once again the baby stirred and they watched him raptly, only breathing again when he settled back into a sound sleep.

"Lorelai." He sighed against her hair, not sure how to start talking about what else was on his mind. "Did you ever think…" He trailed off.

"What?" she prodded.

He sighed again, knowing she was probably going to make fun of him. "It's just…if Paul Anka hadn't died that night…" He felt her stiffen in his arms, and he tightened his grip around her. "I mean, it was such a coincidence. June 3rd."

"Yeah," she whispered sadly.

He nodded. "He passed away, and you called me. If he hadn't died that day, I don't know how long it would have taken us to finally talk to each other again. I mean, we're both pretty stubborn."

"And we were both pretty hurt," Lorelai added, quietly.

"Yes, we were." He closed his eyes, relishing the feel of her against him. "But you called me, and I came over, and we ended up making this little guy." He opened his eyes and smoothed his hand over the baby.

"We did," she confirmed, with awe in her tone.

"So sometimes I wonder…" Luke trailed off again, uncomfortable with what he was about to say. "I mean, it's such a miracle that it all turned out the way it did. And he was such a weird dog. Sometimes I wonder if he…if he planned this."

"Luke," she chided him. "I'm the one who makes up fantastical stories, not you."

"I know," he said, ducking his head.

"Silly," she teased him, but fondly.

They were perfectly happy to gaze at their little miracle until someone tapped on the door. A nurse popped her head in.

"Everything OK in here?" she asked.

"Great!" Lorelai told her.

"Aww, so cute!" She said, taking in the sweet picture they made. Luke started to get off the bed, but she stopped him.

"No, stay right where you are. Do you have a camera?"

"In the bag there on the stand." Luke nodded towards it. "In the front pocket."

The nurse found the camera and quickly tried to get the shot.

"Oh, yeah, I bet I look great," Lorelai grumbled, even as she smiled for the picture.

"You look like a mommy in love with her new little boy," the nurse told her firmly, and snapped the picture.

"Thanks," Luke told her as she put the camera back down.

"My pleasure. I was wondering if you had a name picked out? If you do, I can go ahead and get all of the birth certificate stuff filled in."

"We do," Luke said at once. "His first name is Samuel."

"That was Luke's father's middle name," Lorelai informed her.

"That's nice," the nurse said, grabbing up the clipboard she'd laid down in order to take their picture. "Is it spelled the usual way? S-A-M-U-E-L?"

"Yes," Luke said.

"Middle name?" the nurse continued.

"Paul," Lorelai said. She looked backwards over her shoulder, just enough so that she could wink at Luke. "That's my father's middle name."

And little Samuel Paul Danes opened both of his deep blue eyes, scowling at his parents as they had their little joke. He sighed then and relaxed, one eye slowly closing and then opening again.

Almost as if he was winking back at them.

Almost as if he was in on the joke.