Hey everyone! Thanks for the kind comments. I love hearing your thoughts and predictions.

This chapter is a little different, but I think you'll like it! It's a little shorter, but I'll make up for it in the next chapter. :)

August 3rd

6 Months, 0 Weeks, 5 Days

Size: Eggplant

RORY POV

"Okay, World's Greatest Reporter, let me give you the scoop before we start your weekend home: we don't talk about April or your dad or Anna or your grandparents," Mom lists as she pulls the Jeep to a stop in Luke's driveway. "We stick to conversations only about foods I can keep down, how we slept the night before, weather, the house, anything on Kirk is fair game - oh!" She turns the ignition off and turns toward me, her eyes lit, excited beyond belief. Instantly, I know she has something good to share. "Did I tell you Kirk moved into Luke's apartment over the diner?"

"What?" I laugh incredulously. "No! Kirk left his mom's house?"

She nods enthusiastically. "Remember how he sleep walks? Last night he streaked the town square for twenty minutes before ending his shenanigans by climbing on top of the gazebo and thumping his chest King Kong style!" She laughs at this, openly happy. It's the first time I've heard her genuinely laugh in months. "It took Luke, Jackson, Bootsy and five other guys to wrangle him down and then it took Luke an additional hour to convince Taylor and Fred and Barney to not press charges for indecency. Luke's installing an alarm on the apartment door that will hopefully jolt Kirk out of his sleep the next time his dreams take him outside."

"As in tonight?"

"Precisely!"

"So naturally we have to sit in the gazebo with donuts and wait for the show?" I ask, smirking.

"Oh! I have taught you well, my daughter!" Mom laughs with a huge smile, her eyes trailing my face. "Except, you get all the donuts. I will be sitting right next to you," she pauses for dramatic effect, rolls her eyes, and drops her voice an octave sarcastically, "Eating an apple."

"Your appetite still isn't back to normal, huh?"

"No. But Luke has food superpowers. Whatever that man makes, I can eat. He's getting way too much joy out of feeding me healthy foods."

"I bet," I smirk, taking note of how easy it is for her to bring Luke up. "But I'm glad to hear you're not starving. You should buy him a cape and design him an emblem that can be flashed in Stars Hollow's night sky whenever we need help."

"A blue cape with a blue backwards baseball cap it is!"

"He's back to wearing your hat?"

"Uh, no, but in all seriousness, Luke takes really good care of me. And, you don't have to worry about me, okay?" She pops into mother mode. "The last thing I want you to do is spend your time home worrying about me when you no longer have reason to be concerned," She reaches over to squeeze my hand. "Not anymore. I'm okay. I'm happy to have you home and I don't want us to waste time, okay? I just want to be with you."

It means a lot to both of us that I've come home for the weekend. Mom and I haven't had any real girl time in too long. Plus, it rained Fourth of July weekend and every weekend since. While most other small towns would just throw in the towel and skip over Fourth of July, all of Stars Hollow agreed to hold off on the holiday celebration until this weekend. Another kooky Stars Hollow thing which actually worked out in my favor as I can now actually be here for the fireworks.

"Okay," I nod and smile at her reassuringly before letting out a sigh of relief and then a chuckle. "I still can't believe Kirk left his mom's house. That's an entire part of his personality now erased. However will we live without Kirk and Mrs. Gleason stories?"

"I suppose the streaking stories will take her place."

We both laugh as I lean forward to look through the windshield to look at Luke's house. I have to get Mom back on topic. After all, I'm not just here for a weekend visit or the Fourth of August weekend. I need to see how things are progressing between Mom and Luke. Luke and I have conversations on the phone, a new thing that started once he called to tell me he went and got Mom after she broke up with Dad, but he's been vague in his answers in the last few calls we've had. He's informed me that she's eating and sleeping, but he doesn't seem to want to talk to me about how the two of them are getting along. So, deciding I needed to see for myself, I came home.

"I also can't believe Luke bought an actual house or that you're actually saying his name without having a spazzing fit," I glance at her as her smile fades gradually from her face. "So everything's going okay?"

"Oh yeah, it's been going great," She shrugs a shoulder nonchalantly before tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "We're hardly home at the same time. By the time I wake for work, he's usually already in the diner. Our schedules somehow work out that when I work late, he doesn't and when he works late, I don't."

"What a kawinka-dink," I mutter, seeing exactly what's going on.

"It's kind of our unspoken agreement," she says casually as if this is something regular people do. "The few nights we're both home at a decent time, we HGTV it up by shopping for the house, and nights when I'm home alone, I usually Johanna Gaines the house with our purchases. It's been fun transforming Batman's Cave into a comfy home. Luke has given me free reign and it's been a lot of fun. So far, he likes everything."

"Are you sure you're not nesting?"

"It's too early for that," she waves a hand in dismissal. "This is merely to help Luke. The place looked like a bachelor pad when I got here. All browns and tans and blacks. His furniture was sparse and too small. It was pretty sad and it was just a matter of time until he hung his billy bass fish above the fireplace. Sure, I like Bob Marley, but I don't want him serenading me in the middle of the night when I go downstairs for a drink."

"But things are okay with you and Luke?"

"Yeah. When I first moved in, it was really awkward, but now it's not. Our whole setup has been working really great."

"Other than not talking about anything of any importance?" I ask dryly. "No Dad, Anna, April, Grandma, or Grandpa?"

"Exactly!" She shoots a finger gun in my direction, all jokes. "And besides the one time when we went into a baby store together, we don't talk about the babies."

I look at her as if she's grown two heads. Leave it up to Mom and Luke to live together in the same house and not talk about anything of substance or what is about to radically change the rest of their lives in only three months. "I'm assuming you also don't talk about the break up?"

"Duh, of course not." Seeing where I'm leading the conversation, she slides out of the Jeep. I scoff softly to myself before hopping out. After rearranging my denim skirt, I meet up with her at the back. I do my best not to stare, but I can't get over the sight of the Lorelai Gilmore, my cool, lean, fashionista, beautiful stop-men-in-their-tracks mother, pregnant. Since the last time I saw her, she's popped and it's beyond obvious that she's pregnant. If the cute, yellow summer maternity dress wasn't clue enough, the affectionate hand that constantly returns to rest on her abdomen after being used would fill in anyone from any place on the planet. Or from the moon. Anyway, she's definitely still talking, making up excuses, "Luke and I are in a good place. We don't want to mess it up, you know? For the twins."

"Except you're not talking about the twins."

She exhales loudly as we come face-to-face. "Rory, please, just leave us to our system. It's working."

"It's unhealthy."

"Rory, please," she pleads, resting her hands on my shoulders. "Please do this for me. Luke and I will deal with our problems when it's time. We always do."

"You do?" I ask sarcastically. "I think Oprah and Dr. Phil would disagree. Maybe even Freud."

Mom's eyes flutter, a hint of pain sparking behind her protective shell, and I know my words hit their target.

"I hear you. I do," I say softly, now feeling badly. "But I think that maybe, just for once, you and Luke should try to do things differently. Try talking. Not just about the babies but everything that's transpired between the two of you. If not for the two of you, then for the twins. And me, because well," I shrug a shoulder. "I'm your favorite child," I scrunch up my nose dramatically. "At least for now."

"Fine, I'll think about it, " She lifts one hand from my shoulder to my cheek to pinch it playfully. "And you'll always be my special girl. There's no need to get jealous of your little brother and sister."

"I'm not jealous," I lie, pulling back and away. "And you promise? Like for real, don't just think about it the way you think about cleaning the house, where you dust one room and then get distracted by People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive and never come back to it, but really consider it? Maybe even bring it up to him, have a true heart-to-heart-"

"Rory-"

"Maybe he wants to talk but doesn't know how to start the conversation. We both know Luke isn't good at communic-"

"Fine, fine, fine!" she grabs onto my hand. "I promise to think about it. Now please stop waterboarding me with your concern." She pulls me into her side and wraps an arm around my shoulder just as Luke pulls up behind the Jeep in his truck. "Look who's home, Luke!"

Home? I blink several times at her choice of words. Mom talks like she and Luke never see each other and yet, here we are standing on Luke's lawn and Mom just called Luke's house 'home'.

"Hey! You made it!" Luke jumps out of his truck with a wide, affectionate smile. He makes his way over to the two of us and opens his arms wide. For perhaps the first time ever, I don't hesitate. I step forward, wrap my arms under Luke's, and hug him tightly, making sure to squeeze him just a little tighter toward the end, a silent 'thank you' for following through on what he promised me he'd do.

"Wow!" Mom says cheerily as we pull apart. She's watching us with a humored grin on her face. Her hands are clasped together and resting against her chin. "That was the least awkward hug the two of you have ever shared. Bravo!"

Oh. Crap.

"Yeah, well," Luke and I share a knowing look. Neither of us have told her about the promise made in the hospital or our secret calls. "Luke is the father to my little brother and sister. I figured I should know how to hug him."

Talk about awkward.

"Hey, so how was the drive?" Luke asks, clearing his throat. "How's the internship? How's Logan? Are you ready to start senior year?"

I laugh at his zillion queries while unzipping the back window. "The drive was fine, hardly any traffic. I'll tell you and Mom about the internship later. There's too much I want to share to give you a simple synopsis. Logan's doing really great. Yes, I'm ready for my last year, although the internship and living with Logan in the city has gotten me eager to get out into the real world," I go to grab my bag, but Luke steps up, pulling it up and out for me. "But what I really want to hear about this house!" I turn to face it. "So this is it? I can hardly believe you moved from your apartment and let Kirk move into it! Mom said your grandfather built this house?"

He smiles warmly at me as he holds my weighted bag easily and glances proudly toward the house that somehow went unseen by me for my entire childhood. The exterior of it is coming along. According to Mom, Tom's crew has been here everyday, working like little ants to prepare for painting. And apparently, because it is all the way across town, though it isn't very far, Mom has decided it should be painted the same exact color as the Crap Shack because both she and Luke fell in love with that color and it's already an approved color by the historic preservation, i.e. Taylor Doose. Plus, Mom nor Luke want to go through the process of getting a paint color scheme approved by Taylor ever again. The crew has been busy scraping off the old paint, replacing the rotted boards and by the looks of it, have finished rebuilding the porch. Apparently, according to Mom, there have also been pizza nights and Pop Tart mornings supplied by mom and accented by Luke's fake chagrined grumbles.

Mom has made it seem as though she and Luke hardly look at each other, but I see the lie in the ease the two have with one another. Everything seems pretty normal to me and honestly, I'm going to have to keep an eye on the two of them to make sure they're not sneaking off to make out. They're that comfortable with each other. Everything seems completely normal.

"Yeah, and it's almost done. We have just a couple more weeks until it'll be finished and completed."

Time to poke.

"Wow, that's cool. And to think that you're going to raise your own kids here, in the house their great grandfather built!"

And poke I did. I poked that ease right out of the two, like a kid pricking a balloon with a pin.

Yeah, they're definitely not sneaking off to make out.

Instead, they glance at each other nervously. It's most certainly a topic they don't talk about. I can't even begin to imagine Mom bringing up my suggestion of talking about their problems to Luke. Neither one could hardly deal with the one topic I brought up in an apropos time.

Mom openly glares at me.

"Uh, yeah," Luke rubs the back of his neck. "Well, I'm home to grab my drill. Kirk claims he can yank the alarm door sensor off the wall too easily if I just put up with a nail. He wants me to screw it in to be sure he won't be able to yank it from the wall without setting it off. As if that's not enough, he wants me to see if I can turn the siren up to make sure he's jolted awake if he tries to leave," Mom and I glance at each other, fully invested in the conversation as we follow him to the porch. "I can't wait to get the complaint call from the neighbors in the middle of the night."

"Why doesn't Kirk do it for himself?" I ask.

"Do you not remember how he installed an alarm in our house after you went off to school? Not only was it deafening, I had to hop around on Post It notes to not set it off. He didn't know what he was doing."

"Oh, I forgot about that disaster," I admit as Luke shakes his head. "It's probably good you keep to the alarm installing. What are you going to do if that doesn't work?"

"I was thinking a shock collar might work."

Both mom and I burst out laughing at the image, but Luke only shakes his head, clearly joking. "After I drill the sensor into the door frame, I'll be in the garage working. I won't be here to interrupt your girl time."

"Oh you're fine, Luke! I don't want you to feel like you can't come into your own house. You're welcome to join us for our junk food and movie."

"Yeah, well, truth be told, you'll be the only one eating the junk food," he leans toward me, whispering, "And maybe now would be a good time to join your mom as she begins to eat healthy. You know, eat an apple, get some fiber-"

"Nice try!" I cut him off, already imagining a trip to the market to stock up on my favorites. "But, seriously, you can join us if you want. Eat the healthy food with Mom."

"Ah, nah," He unlocks the door and steps aside to let us in first. "Your mom has really missed you and I want to give you two time to catch up."

When I enter through the front door, my white Converse covered feet come to an abrupt stop and Mom rams right into me.

"Ugh!" she groans and then with a gentle push, she guides me inside just enough so she can slip past me. My mouth falls open at the sight of the beautifully warm home. Every corner of it is carefully decorated. The furniture is bold, yet comforting. Decorations, thoughtful, yet not knick-knacky. Beautiful, yet comfortable. I glance over at Mom just in time to see her smile warmly over at Luke as we bottleneck in the entry.

"Wow!" I mutter as I take it all in. "This house is amazing!"

"You like it?" Luke steps to the side next to Mom so he can see my face.

"It's amazing," I whisper, taking in the hardwood floors and the airy rooms before my eyes land on the decorating. "Nice job on decorating."

"That's all Lorelai," Luke is quick to say. "She does an impressive job on being decisive and getting it done. We're nearly finished and it's only been a couple weeks. I've never seen someone buy so many things on one shopping trip as this lady right here."

"And to think, I'm a novice compared to my Mother," Mom points out. "You have yet to see my mother spite shop."

"Yeah! Now there's a sight." I laugh as I crouch to pet Paul Anka who's made his way to me.

"I'll take your word for it."

"Smart man," Mom smirks at him openly.

"The good news is we're almost done shopping," Luke says while placing his hands on his hips.

"That's not true."

Confused and shopping-weary eyes fall to Mom in confusion. "What else is there to buy? We've purchased entire stores! Every room is filled. My credit card won't even swipe anymore!"

"We still need to buy plants."

"We don't need plants," he grumbles.

"We do!" Mom insists. "It'll clean the air and you said something about a houseful of furniture and plants-"

"That was if there were no kids!" He looks down at her stomach where one of her hands is resting. "Clearly, there are kids!"

"Well, here's an idea - dream big! You can have it all!"

Mom says this so lightly and sarcastically, she doesn't notice the look of contemplation on Luke's face. And it's here, right here in this split second that it becomes so insanely obvious; Luke's 'all' still, I say this with one hundred percent certainty, includes Mom alongside the furniture and plants and kids.

Let me be clear: It's easy to see Mom's touch on the house. In fact, this house not only screams of Luke, but it also screams of Lorelai. It's a perfect mesh of their two personalities. It's a more mature, though still lively, design. Mom still managed to bring in her signature style. There are fun, unexpected touches here and there, alongside a few recognizable things that migrated from our house: the clown pillow, the monkey lamp, and the dancing rabbi. And for the very first time ever, because she's had a hand in decorating and isn't being pressured, I can actually see Mom living somewhere other than the happy house she raised me in. It doesn't take much to imagine the two of them living here together in this place with my two little siblings with furniture and plants and Paul Anka and me and April coming for a visit. Of course, that's if Luke finds a way to fix the whole April thing. Speaking of, where is April? Why have I of yet to hear anything about her?

I glance over at the two of them, they're both standing next to each other with goofy smiles, watching me take in the house. They're the same as they've always been. Luke in his flannel. Mom dressed femininely, her eyes sparkly. Their clothes complimenting the other. The whole scene could be pulled from a book or a scene in a movie. It's as if they're together and I'm their daughter coming home for a visit.

And then I see it.

Even after everything that has happened, I see them tied together by an invisible force. I see them pulling back together despite all the topics Mom claims to be off topic. Despite how hard Luke is fighting it, I can still see the way he gazes at Mom, like he did all those years ago when they were 'just friends' but he longed for more, and I see the way Mom puts up her blinders, pretending she doesn't see it at all. And I know, without a doubt, that if another woman so much as looked at Luke, she'd have a spazzing fit.

If only they'd sit down and talk.