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Chapter 3
Charlotte smiled as she stood listening to Jack asking Jess about the baby.
"But will it be a boy or a girl?" Jack asked.
"We don't know yet." Jess said.
"I think it will be a boy." Jack said.
"Why do you think that?" Jess said smirking slightly.
"Because I was a boy." Jack said as if it was obvious. "And I want a brother to play with. Boys are better."
"Excuse me?" Charlotte said raising her eyebrows as she made herself known, walking in. "And why exactly are boys better, mister?"
"Because they are." Jack shrugged.
"We've got a real debater in the family." Jess smirked.
"I know you want it to be a boy but it could be a girl. You could be getting a younger sister." Charlotte pointed out.
"No, it won't be a girl." Jack said surely.
"But what if it is?" Charlotte said.
Jack frowned. "Then I won't like her. And I won't like you for having a girl."
"Jack!" Jess said sternly. "You don't talk to your mom like that. Apologise. Now."
"Sorry." Jack said meekly.
Charlotte sighed and sat down. "We know you're excited about the baby. So are we." She said softly, sitting down at the kitchen table with them. "But when someone has a baby, it's always going to be 50/50 whether it will be a girl or a boy. We may not find out until he or she is born."
"But if it is a girl, you're still going to be a big brother and you can look out for her like we will but also like we do for you." Jess said. "But I don't want to hear that you won't like her if you get a sister because that's not nice and we didn't raise you to be like that." He said firmly.
"Sorry." Jack said quietly.
"I have a younger sister, your cousin Doula." Jess told him. "It's pretty cool."
"It is?" Jack asked glancing at him in interest.
"Oh yeah! I wasn't sure I would be happy but I love Doula. Just like you'll immediately love your younger sibling." Jess nodded. "Except there is a difference."
"What?" Jack asked.
"You and your brother or sister will be closer together in age so when they're old enough, you'll be able to play with them. That would be cool right?" Jess said.
"Yeah..."
Jess nodded. "Good, now eat your breakfast." He smirked. He glanced at Charlotte who was smiling lovingly at him. "What?" He said self consciously.
"Nothing." She said. "Just that you're a great dad."
Jess ducked his head slightly. "Are you off to see your mom?" He asked.
"Yeah, in a minute." Charlotte sighed.
"It will be fine." He assured her.
"Last time I told her I was pregnant, we didn't speak for months." Charlotte said quietly.
"But that was different. You were younger then. We're older and we're married. We're stable." Jess said. "She'll be happy, I'm sure about it. Plus you know how much she adores Jack."
"Yeah I guess..." She said.
"It'll be fine." He assured her again.
"You're going to tell Luke, right?" She checked.
"Yeah, I'm going to take Jack over to the diner and I'll tell Luke then." He nodded.
"Ok cool." She smiled. She leant over and gave him a quick kiss. "eet you there later? We can hang out before the party."
"Sounds good." Jess said.
"Love you."
"Love you too." He said.
Charlotte walked into the inn and immediately saw her mom behind the reception desk. "Hey!" She said.
"Oh hi hon!" Lorelai smiled at her daughter. She watched her as she hovered quietly. "Everything ok?" She asked.
"Oh, yeah everything's fine." She said. "Actually, do you have a minute? Maybe we could grab some food in the dining room?"
"Sure! We're not that busy and Sookie's on her game today with the food." Lorelai said.
"Great." Charlotte smiled.
They were soon sat in the dining room with a plate of Sookie's food in front of them. Lorelai glanced up at her daughter and she could tell something was up. "Are you sure everything's ok?" She said.
"Yeah, everything's fine." Charlotte said hesitantly.
"Charlie..."
"What?"
"Come on, I know you inside out. Something's bothering you." Lorelai said. "You know you can talk to me about anything."
Charlotte sighed. "Well...I did want to get you alone as..uh..I have something to share with you. Some news." She said nervously.
"Some news?" Lorelai said cautiously. "Bad news?"
"What? Oh no, it's good news! Really good news. Well Jess and I think so." Charlotte said quickly.
"So it's to do with both of you then..." She said.
Charlotte went quiet and took a deep breath. "I...uh...I..." She tried.
"Charlotte, what's going on?" Lorelai asked softly.
"I'm pregnant." She finally admitted.
"What?" Lorelai said surprised.
"I'm pregnant. Again." Charlotte said quietly, glancing up at her mom nervously.
"Oh hon, that's amazing news!" Lorelai exclaimed, getting up and pulling her into a hug.
"It is?" Charlotte said letting out a relieved breath.
"Of course it is! I'm so happy for you both!" Lorelai smiled softly. She glanced at her daughter's relieved face. "Why, did you think I wouldn't be happy?" She said confused.
"Well...you weren't exactly thrilled the first time I told you I was pregnant." She said.
"Oh hon..." She said softly. "That was...well that was me being stupid. We were going through some stuff and I'm not proud about how I reacted then."
"Jack's excited." Charlotte smiled softly.
"I bet he is." She smiled softly. "And Jess?"
"He's so happy. I'd never seen him that happy before." She admitted.
"So when did you find out?" Lorelai asked.
"A few days before Christmas." She admitted. "But I wasn't hiding it from you. I just...I wanted it to be a surprise for Jess at Christmas and I wanted him to know first."
"That's understandable." Lorelai said.
"And then we wanted to tell Jack."
"Charlotte, it's fine." She smiled softly.
"So, you're happy?" Charlotte checked.
"I'm going to be a Grandma again. Of course I'm happy!" Lorelai smiled. "Come here." She said pulling her daughter in for another hug.
Meanwhile, Jess was at the diner sat at the counter. Jack had gone to sit with Zach and Brian who were in there as well. "So I've got something to tell you." He said as Luke walked up to him with some food.
"Yeah?" Luke said glancing at him. "What is it?"
"Charlotte told me something at Christmas. Some news." Jess said.
"What?" He asked.
"She's pregnant." Jess told him, glancing up at him.
"Pregnant?" Luke said surprised.
"Yeah..."
"Wow.." Luke said softly.
"Who's pregnant?" A voice said behind them.
Jess turned to see Sam there, walking up and sitting next to him. "Charlotte." He told his best friend.
"Charlotte's pregnant?" Sam said surprised.
"Wait, Charlotte's pregnant?" Babette suddenly said from a nearby table.
"How did we not know that?" Patty said.
"I'll go and make sure everyone knows!" Kirk volunteered.
"No, Kirk, wait!" Jess exclaimed but Kirk had already left. "Ah geez!" He groaned.
"Sorry." Sam said sheepishly.
"It's fine. It's not your fault." Jess sighed.
"So you're going to be a dad again huh?" Luke said.
"Looks like it." Jess nodded.
"You excited?"
Jess couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face. "Yeah." He admitted.
Luke smiled softly. "I'm happy for you. Both of you."
"Thanks." Jess said softly.
Luke glanced at Sam who was still sat there. "Is Mia ok?" He asked.
"Oh yeah she's fine! Rory's sharing some of her old books with her." Sam smirked.
Luke chuckled. "Yeah she definitely got her love of reading."
"I'm on a food run but I was actually wondering if I could ask you a favour?" He said.
"Depends what it is." Luke said.
"Can I have the keys to the diner tonight?" Sam asked hesitantly.
"Why?" Luke said confused.
"I want to cook Rory a meal this evening before we join the party. But I know she loves the diner food and I want it to be special." He said.
Luke looked at him for a moment. "You're going to ask her tonight, aren't you?" He said quietly.
Sam ducked his head slightly. "I was planning to, yeah." He admitted.
"Ask her what?" Jess asked.
Sam glanced at his friend and was surprised Charlotte hadn't told him already. He glanced round the diner and lowered his voice. "I'm going to propose to Rory." He told him.
"Seriously?" Jess said surprised.
"Yeah."
"Mate, that's great!" Jess smiled. "I'm happy for you."
"She has to say yes yet." He chuckled nervously. He glanced up at Luke. "I won't mess up the place, I promise. I'll make sure it's how you left it."
Luke looked at him for another moment. "How about I prepare some food for you guys and leave it for you just as I close up so it will still be hot?" He suggested.
"Really?" Sam said surprised.
"Yeah it's no problem. I know Rory's favourites." He shrugged.
"That would be amazing." Sam said. "Thank you." He said sincerely.
"Come by about 7 and the keys will be above the door. I'll leave the food in the kitchen." Luke said.
"Thanks Luke." Sam said gratefully.
That evening, Luke and Lorelai were at the party in the square, after Luke had left his keys for Sam and after Lorelai had dropped Mia off at Sookie's where Jack was as well.
"I can't believe he's actually doing it tonight." Lorelai said.
"I know." Luke said. "Do you think Rory has any idea?"
"I don't think so. She hasn't let on if she does." Lorelai said.
Luke glanced at her. "Do you think she will say yes?"
Lorelai smiled softly. "I think Rory's really happy with Sam, yes. The happiest I've seen her in a relationship. But it's her choice. I never know what she thinks." She said.
"He is a good guy, isn't he?" Luke agreed.
"Wow, a boyfriend you actually approve of." Lorelai teased.
"Hey, I liked Tristan!" Luke defended.
Lorelai smirked. "But Logan, you didn't."
"Yeah well Logan was a jerk." He said smirking slightly.
"Now that, I can agree with!" Lorelai laughed. "Look who made it!" She said gesturing over to Charlotte and Jess, who were happily chatting with Lane and Zach. "They look happy, don't they?" She said softly.
Luke smiled, looking over at them. "Yeah they do." He said softly. He glanced at Lorelai and saw an odd expression on her face. "Hey, you ok?" He asked.
"Yeah, I just...my kids are old." She said.
"What?" Luke said confused.
"I mean, I know they've been grown up for a while now but I think it's just hit me. I mean, Rory's going to get married and Charlotte's pregnant again. They really have their own lives now." Lorelai said softly.
"But they will always need you." Luke assured her.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to go all melodramatic. I just...I guess finding out that Charlotte's pregnant and that Sam's proposing tonight, it's weird." She admitted. "A good kind of weird though, of course. I am happy for them. I only ever wanted them to be happy." She said.
"I know." Luke smiled. "And hey, not all your kids are old. We've still got Mia."
Lorelai smiled at that. "Yeah we do." She said softly. "And you've still got April as well." She smiled looking over at her step daughter who had joined Jess and Charlotte.
"Yeah." Luke smiled. "Although she seems very grown up now." He joked.
Lorelai laughed. "Just don't beat up any boyfriends and you'll be good." She teased.
"Wait, what? Does April have a boyfriend?" Luke said.
"Let's go get some food." Lorelai grinned.
"Lorelai!"
"Come on!" She grinned at him walking off towards the food.
"Lorelai!" He exclaimed following her.
"So this was nice..." Rory smiled as her and Sam finished their meal.
"Yeah?" Sam said.
"Yeah." She nodded. "But I don't get it. They have food outside. Why did you want to eat here? After it's closed. And how did you get Luke to agree to it?" She joked.
"Well Luke didn't actually take that much persuading." Sam chuckled.
"And I'm guessing he didn't take much persuading about actually making the food as well?" She said smirking slightly.
"What?" Sam said surprised.
"I've been eating Luke's food for years. I know these things." She smirked.
"Ok, he did make it." Sam admitted sheepishly. "But only because I wanted it to be special and you know I'm not the best cook."
"Well that's true." Rory smirked.
"Hey!" Sam laughed.
"No but seriously, what's all this for? I haven't missed an anniversary, have I?" She said suddenly getting worried.
"No, don't worry. I just...well I wanted some time with you. Is that so bad?" He said.
Rory smiled. "No it's not bad at all." She said softly. "So you want to head outside?" She asked.
"In a minute." Sam said, subtly feeling in his pocket to check the ring was still in there. "I..uh..I did want some time with you alone but there is a reason for that..." He admitted.
"What reason?" She asked.
"I..uh..I wanted to do this when we were alone. Just you and me." Sam said nervously.
"Do what?" Rory asked confused. Her eyes suddenly widened when Sam nervously pulled out the small box with the ring inside. "Oh my god..." She said quietly.
"Rory, I love you so much. When my dad died, I thought I'd never be happy again. But then I met you and you brought my happiness back. These last five years have been amazing and I knew when I first met you and I still know now that you're the one for me. You're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with." He said. He nervously got up and took Rory's hand before getting down on one knee in front of her chair. "So...Rory, will you marry me?" He said.
"Sam..." She said softly, stunned. "I..." She said, not knowing what to say.
"Ok, that's fine." He said getting up.
"What?" She said confused.
"I know this is a huge decision for you and I know what you always do when you make big decisions..." He said pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil and placing it in front of her.
Rory looked down at the piece of paper and she couldn't believe her eyes. She glanced up at Sam with tears in her eyes. "A pro/con list..." She said softly.
"It's how you make all your big decisions. I know it makes you feel more sure about your decision." Sam said. "I know this is big but before you start writing, I just want to say that I know we've only been together five years but I feel like I've known you my whole life. You're it for me, Rory. You're all I want and I love you so much. I'll always be there for you whenever you need me and I promise I will never ever hurt you." He said sincerely. "So..uh..that's my pitch..." He said nervously, sitting back down. "Go ahead..." He said gesturing to the paper.
Rory glanced down at the paper and pencil before pushing it away from her and glancing back up at Sam. "I don't need it." She said.
"What?" He said surprised. "But you always do a pro/con list..."
"I don't need it for this." Rory said softly. "The mere fact that you even thought about this and was prepared to wait for me to write one tells me everything. I don't need a pro/con list for you, Sam." She said blinking back some tears. "Because...because you're it for me too. You're the one thing I am so sure about." She said tremulously.
"Really?" Sam said quietly.
"Ask me again." Rory said.
"Are you sure?" He said softly.
"Ask me." She nodded.
Sam slowly got up and got back down on one knee, holding out the ring. "Rory Gilmore, will you marry me?" He said.
Rory grinned and nodded, trying to keep her tears at bay. "Yes, yes I'll marry you!" She said.
Sam grinned and put the ring on her finger before pulling himself up and pulling her in for a kiss. "I love you."
"I love you too." She smiled. "Fiance." She grinned.
Sam laughed. "Sounds weird huh?"
Rory laughed. "A little. But it feels right."
Sam smiled. "Yeah it does." He said softly before kissing her again.
"Five, four, three, two, one!" Everyone counted down at midnight to bring in the New Year. Everyone cheered and the three Gilmore/Danes/Mariano couples all kissed lovingly, all excited about what the next year would bring.
So I hope you liked it! Please keep the reviews coming as I love reading what you think so thank you! :)