Long ago, in a Hollow far, far away, this is where we left off…

He put his hand on her arm, stopping her just in case she had it in mind to walk in on her own. "I might not be the most romantic guy in the world, but even I know how I'm supposed to do this," he announced, putting one arm around her waist and another under her thighs. He picked her up and carried her over the threshold.

Lorelai wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling in delight. She made a small humming noise of sheer happiness and kissed his cheek.

Luke leaned back against the door to close it. He wasn't ready to put her down yet. He wasn't sure if it was the joy and relief of finally being married, or because of all of the night's booze, but he felt like he could fly. He felt like Superman. He felt invincible. He felt…amazing.

He playfully tossed her in his arms, a huge smile on his face. "Have you gained weight?" he teased her.

To his dismay, Lorelai's face changed, losing the happy glow. She struggled to get out of his arms, to put her own feet down on the floor. "Um, yeah…I have," she admitted, twisting her hands together nervously.

Luke was staggered. He never dreamed his supremely confident, well-adjusted bride would take his words seriously. "Lorelai…Sweetheart, you know I'm just joking, right? Even if I thought it was true, I'd never say something like that to you!"

She still looked stricken. "But it is true."

He had no idea how to handle this. "Then…whatever little bit of weight you're talking about must have gone to all of the right places, because you look incredible." He stepped close to her, and reached out to stroke her face, trying to be soothing. "Tell you what," he suggested, dropping his voice into a sexy whisper, "why don't you take off your clothes and let me see if I can find that little bit more of you? Maybe it's someplace I haven't kissed yet."

"I just don't want you to worry…"

"I'm not worried –" Luke immediately began to protest.

"…because whatever weight I gain, it will all be gone in about nine months."

And Superman, who had felt so invincible only moments before, found himself sitting on the floor as his legs buckled underneath him.

Practice Makes Perfect

Everything was…fuzzy. And…white.

Fuzzy.

And so white.

Luke stared and blinked, and blinked again, and after a moment or two he comprehended that the blurry white landscape before him was actually Lorelai's wedding gown, the tulle and satin seeming to move in shiny waves as she paced, spun on her heel, and paced some more.

More of his senses slowly came back. The roaring in his ears blessedly stopped. He became aware that for some reason he was sitting on the floor.

Memory was the last to return, and as soon as it did, his body snapped to attention, once more in shock.

He tried to swallow, but his mouth was too dry. "You're –?" His voice came out in a croak and he stopped abruptly, as any additional words refused to follow. He shook his head to clear it, took a breath, and tried again with the same result. "You're -?"

The fuzziness cleared, but the white became more intense as Lorelai stopped in front of him. She bent to see him, her eyes blazing. "No. I'm not," she said tightly.

"You're not? But – but, you said –"

"I know what I said, Luke." She huffed in annoyance, straightened up, and resumed her irritated pacing.

"Wait. I don't –" He scrambled to his feet, holding onto a bedpost until the wooziness passed. "I don't understand. You just said –"

"I'm not pregnant. Lucky you, you're off the hook," she said scathingly.

He was still shaking his head, hoping that this shake or the next was going to somehow clear his confusion. "But –"

She whirled around. "Luke! I drank like a fish tonight! Do you really think I'd have one drop of alcohol if I thought there was even the teeniest chance I might be pregnant?"

He forced himself to think that through logically. "No," he said slowly.

"Damn right no," she muttered. Hands on her hips, she turned away, obviously agitated.

"But you said you were." He felt steady enough to take a step away from the sturdy four-poster. "Why in the world would you say that?"

"Actually, I didn't say it. I implied it," she pointed out condescendingly. She shrugged, not looking at him. "Thought it'd be funny."

Down in the depths of him flint hit steel and the spark traveled straight up his spine, making his jaw automatically set in anger. The remaining cobwebs vanished in a building mist of fury. "You thought it'd be funny?" he repeated, the words clipped, as he stared hard at her.

"Yeah," she acknowledged, unashamed. "You zinged me about my weight, it was the only comeback I could think of."

He tried once more to take a breath, to mitigate his irritation. He struggled to find the words. "You thought that telling me you were pregnant was…was some kind of a…a joke?"

"Yes, Luke, it was a joke," she said smartly. "I know that's a hard concept for you to grasp."

Fuming, he watched her flounce angrily across the room again. "Let me get this straight. You lie to me, and yet you're the one who's mad about something?"

She rolled her eyes. "I didn't lie to you!" she scoffed.

He crossed the room swiftly, wanting to look her in the face. "Really? You deliberately tell me something that's not true, and that's not a lie? What is it, then?"

"I already told you! It was a joke!"

"Some joke," he muttered venomously.

"Yeah, well…" Her gown swished as she turned from side to side in chagrin. "At least I know where I stand now, buddy."

"What's that mean?" he demanded.

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all! Just, you know, I thought we had a partnership here. I thought we were on the same page with everything!"

"Hey, me too," he said sarcastically. "And I foolishly thought that included not lying to each other!"

She growled and clenched her fists. "For the last freakin' time, not a lie! I was teasing you, Luke, teasing you!" She started to turn away, thought of something to add, and swiveled back around. "And you know what else? There was a guy who looked a whole lot like you, standing up in front of the church with me just a couple of hours ago, and he promised to love me no matter how many stupid things I did."

"Stupid's one thing," he informed her coolly. "Shitty's another."

"Shitty, huh?" She stepped closer, her nostrils flaring. "You know what's shitty? Making me believe I could trust you, that you'd be with me no matter what happened. That no matter how crazy or off the rails things got, I could depend on you for support. That it'd be you and me, through thick and thin." Hearing her last word, she paused, smiling bitterly. "Forget the thin part."

"Wait. Are you…?" Luke rubbed at his head, thinking he couldn't possibly be interpreting her words correctly. "Are you mad at me because I'm not jumping up and down for joy about this baby that doesn't even exist?"

She scowled at him, nodding curtly.

"Dear God." Flabbergasted, he sat down on the bench placed at the end of the bed. "You really are a piece of work, aren't you?"

She stormed over to him, flapping her hands in fury. "Look, I already had a guy who disconnected himself from the whole fatherhood thing and I did just fine. If you want to follow him out the door, just say the word."

Furious, Luke jumped to his feet, getting in her face. "Don't you ever – and I mean ever – compare me to him or I'll –" With a jaw-clenching effort, he stopped himself from finishing the sentence.

"Or what?" she taunted him. "You'll leave?" She pointed over her shoulder. "There's the door."

"Don't tell me what to do!" he roared. He stomped to the other side of the room, threw aside the drawn curtains, fumbled momentarily with the lock, and finally managed to slide open the door to the suite's private patio. He wanted to slam the glass door shut behind him, but the sliding mechanism refused to allow him that satisfaction.

From inside their room, he heard something hit the wall and bounce off as Lorelai shrieked in frustration.

The cold air smacked him in the face, physically cooling him off if nothing else. He struggled to breathe; to calm down; to think. Long minutes passed as the cold and the silence sedated his mindless anger. He was able to focus on something other than the awful words they'd just hurled at each other.

For example, he thought about the fact that this was their wedding night. And that he and his bride, the woman he loved more than life itself, had just experienced the worst argument they'd ever had. And, instead of trying to make it right, his first response had been to run out the door.

"Gah! Damn it to hell!" he groaned, burying his face in his hands. Two seconds later he was at the door, sliding it open as fast as he could.

Lorelai was standing right there, stopped in the middle of reaching for the handle on her side. Her face was pale and her eyes huge and fearful, all traces of anger gone. "Luke, I'm sorry." She began to wring her hands. "I'm so sorry."

Instead of speaking, he reached for her and drew her close, incredibly relieved when she immediately embraced him back.

"That was so stupid," she murmured to him, still clutching him tightly. "Unbelievably stupid." She pulled away incrementally, just enough to see his face. "Can we blame the booze?"

"Come here," he suggested, taking her hand and leading her over to the bench. He sat down, but she remained standing, studying his face.

"Are you still mad?" she asked worriedly. "Because I wouldn't blame you if you were. Let's face it, I, of all people, should understand that you don't joke around about being pregnant. It's never been a crowd-pleaser." She grimaced. "Not my best material."

He thought about that, sighed, and then tugged at her hand again. "Come here," he urged. Once she settled beside him, and he had his arm around her, he felt more confident in replying. He considered how best to explain what he was feeling. "I'm…tired," he finally stated.

Lorelai chuckled. "Yeah," she agreed. "Tired, exhausted, drained. Way too much stuff happened today, and it's all up in here, swirling around and around and around…" The sentence faded off as she circled a finger around her head.

"You're not wrong about the booze. Made it easier to fly off the handle."

"Booze and stupidity. Never a good combo. Unless you're writing a country song."

Luke smiled at her comment, and then knew what he needed to say. "I like your jokes, you know."

She turned to look at him, her eyebrows rising. "Really?"

"Yeah, I do. Most of the time, anyway. You're a funny girl."

"I'll alert Barbra Streisand."

He smiled again. "Here's the thing, though, Lorelai. I love you, and I trust you, and I believe you." He put his hand on her left one, his thumb moving across her rings. "So when you tell me something, no matter how ludicrous or far-fetched it is, my first instinct is to believe you." He shifted a little bit so he could look at her. "If you'd tell me that Mrs. Slutsky is outside, hanging upside down from the light post, or that the fish at Doose's are so fresh they're swimming down the aisles, I'm going to realize pretty quickly that you're joking. But when you tell me something that could be true –"

Lorelai took in a sharp breath. "Like I'm pregnant," she muttered.

Luke nodded. "Then I'm going to automatically believe you."

She nodded, looking distressed. "Again, Luke, I'm so sorry. My joke-o-meter was completely out of whack tonight."

"I know you're sorry. But let's face it, this'll happen again."

"Again! Are you the one joking now?" She sat up straight. "No way! Even I'm not that stupid!"

"I don't mean this exact thing, but I know you. You'd turn everything into a joke if you could, and sooner or later, there will be something else that I'll think you're dead serious about, and I'll fall for it. So what I think we need to do is have a plan for it. When you get ready to pull my leg about something that could be real, you need to give me a sign."

"A sign? Like 'here's your sign?'" She imitated the comic they'd recently seen on TV.

He grinned. "Maybe more like one of those smart-assed smiles of yours, or a wink or something."

"Maybe not that. I'm an awkward winker."

"Yes, I'm well-aware." He gave her shoulders a squeeze. "I don't care what it is, just give me a warning so I know not to take what you're going to say as gospel."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I can do that. Even though it will probably mess up my delivery."

"You'll survive." Luke put his hand under the curls still hanging down her neck, wanting to feel some skin. "So now that we've put that to bed…what do you say about getting us there too?" He inclined his head behind them, indicating the big four-poster just waiting to welcome them into bliss. He leaned over and softly kissed her cheek. "Let's get started on what we're supposed to be doing on our wedding night."

To his surprise, Lorelai crossed her arms and looked down, chewing her lips. "I know if I was smart, I'd just let this go. Leave well enough alone. Especially tonight."

"What?" he asked, instantly concerned.

"It's just…the baby thing." She raised her head and turned to look at him frankly. "Luke, do you not want a baby?"

"What! Of course I do!" he insisted.

She was still watching him closely. "I know that's what you've said in the past, when we've broached the topic, but that's sure not the way your face looked a little bit ago."

"That's hardly fair, to judge me when I was in shock," he muttered.

"It was more than shock. You looked pissed, Luke. Angry. Like it was the worst news in the world."

"No, that is not true." He was shaking his head vehemently. "I'm looking forward to…" He paused, searching for words.

Lorelai quirked an eyebrow. "Impregnating me?"

He had to chuckle. "Definitely."

She smiled, but didn't look convinced. "I remember, the first night you spent with me, you made it seem like you couldn't wait for us to start –" She stopped, rethought her words. "Expand our family."

Luke nodded, remembering the night, agreeing with what she said.

"But yet, tonight, a little bit ago…" She pointed at his face. "That wasn't thrilled delight I saw."

"No. I guess not." He sighed, saying goodbye to his anticipation of taking his new bride to bed. At least she didn't seem angry anymore, and he had to admit, talking about these sorts of important issues was probably the most sensible thing they could do, be it on their wedding night or any other night. "I do want us to have a baby. You know I do. I want to have all of those experiences that you've already had with Rory, only this time, I get to share them. I want that very much. It's just…"

"Maybe not right now?" Lorelai suggested.

He nodded again. "Yeah. It just seems like we've been caught up in a whirlwind ever since that day Rory walked in to get you a cup of coffee. There's just been so much. Getting to know each other, the crazy stuff with Rachel, then convincing you that I loved you –"

"Didn't take much convincing."

"Took enough," he said wryly. "Then the wedding planning took over…I guess I was looking forward to having time for just us, to get used to living together, to just be…us, I guess."

Lorelai nodded slowly. "I get that," she agreed. "It would be nice to take a breather, to only deal with normal life for a while."

"Or as normal as life can be, with you."

"Wow. Sounds like someone doesn't want to get lucky tonight after all."

Luke grinned. "You married me. I'm already the luckiest guy in the world."

Lorelai hooted at that and hugged his arm. "You can be one smooth talker, when you want to be." She snuggled against him. "So, what's the game plan here? How long do you want to wait before we make a little rugrat to join the household?"

"Geez, I don't know. A year, maybe?" He shrugged. "I really didn't have any sort of timetable or anything."

"We'll know when it's time?"

"Sure. I suppose."

"I just don't want to wait too long. I'm not 16 anymore."

"Could've fooled me."

She laughed again. "Don't go overboard, trying to stay on my good side."

"Every side is your –"

"OK, OK!" she chuckled, turning and snaking her arms around his neck. "You know, as much as I don't like having you mad at me, you are one sexy dude when you're all irate and smoldering."

"Is that so?" He encouraged her to straddle his lap, holding her steady as she got comfortable. With all of the wedding gown material in the way, it wasn't as satisfying as it might have been, but he wasn't complaining.

"Um, yeah. Sexy. Hot. Mine," she whispered, leaning forward to nuzzle his neck.

"For better or worse," he agreed, zeroing in on her neck, too.

"And I like this, us being on the same page."

"As it should be." He tipped her face towards him and kissed her deeply.

Lorelai moaned in delight. "So what do you say, hot stuff? Wanna take me to bed and practice making a baby?"

"I thought you'd never ask." He stood up with her in his arms, making her squeal, and carried her over to the welcoming bed.

And this time, he knew better than to say anything at all about her weight.

The next four weeks passed by in a blur. A happy blur, but a blur nonetheless. The Inn and the diner continued to fill up the majority of their time, and there was always something going on with Rory and school. Lorelai planned to take a few business classes when the semester started in January, part of Mia's master retirement plan, which meant that many of her nights were spent looking through course catalogs, finding old high school transcripts, SAT scores, and her GED certificate, in preparation to be a student again. Luke had moved in with girls some months back, but there was still some adjusting to do for them to find a comfort zone with a household now numbering three. And somewhere in there, he and Lorelai had even managed to find a few days to take a quick trip to a windswept beach on Cape Cod, sort of a mini-honeymoon.

Luke had also experienced his first parent/teacher night. It was a heady experience for him, to be introduced as Rory's stepfather, to proudly print his name down as an official contact. He couldn't keep the smile off of his face.

Things were good, really good. Still just as busy as before the wedding, only now busy with different things. Luke began to see that this was the new normal for life with Lorelai and Rory. By the time each weekend rolled around, Luke was ready to find some quiet time, a chance to enjoy a small pocket of calmness.

On this particular Friday night, he needed that calmness more than ever. When Luke pulled the truck up to the garage, he was fighting a headache and exhaustion. Jolene had called in sick, so he and Larry and the part-timers had to pick up the slack. Taylor Doose had been in three separate times, and each time Luke had to grit his teeth to keep from telling the irritating buffoon to get the hell out of his business. It had been a long, frustrating, tiring day.

Wearily, he climbed down from the truck, and his left foot instantly sank into a mud puddle. "Damn it," he muttered, too tired to even put much heat into the comment. He shook his foot as he trudged to the back porch, not wanting to track mud in through the front door. To rub more salt into the wound, he'd been meaning to pick up a couple bags of gravel to fill in that rut for weeks. Somehow he just hadn't found the time to do so yet.

He nearly tripped crossing the small porch. That same damn board he'd replaced last summer was curling up on the end again. He glared at it balefully, knowing that eventually he was going to have to rebuild the entire thing to fix whatever the underlying problem was. Luke sighed as he added one more thing to his mountainous to-do list. He toed off his boots and left them outside the door, deciding he'd clean them off later.

For the first time ever, as his hand connected with the door handle, he wished that the girls weren't home. It would be so nice to have maybe five, ten minutes to himself in a quiet, darkened house. Nice to have a small breathing spell before the chaos erupted again, maybe time for his aching head to recuperate.

That wasn't to be, however. He walked into a bright kitchen full of empty containers and take-out boxes scattered on the counters. Music was playing, as usual, but not as loudly as on most nights. At least it didn't sound as if the TV was on, too, which normally added to the racket.

Thank God for small favors, he thought, taking off his hat. He rubbed at his forehead, where the hat's band had been all day, before he began to wash his hands at the sink.

"Oh, you're home," Lorelai suddenly said, sounding breathless.

Luke briefly looked over his shoulder, nodding at her as she stood in the kitchen entrance, before grabbing for the Tylenol bottle and shaking a couple of tablets out. He filled a glass with water from the tap and gulped the pills down, noticing as he did so that things were cooking on the stove. In fact, if he wasn't battling the headache, the kitchen's aroma would have smelled pretty enticing.

"You cooked?" he asked, dumbfounded, turning to look at her again.

"Oh! Well, I…I put things in pots and turned on the stove." She seemed either hyped up or nervous, he couldn't tell which. "Sookie technically did the cooking."

He took a step closer to the stove, trying to determine what was being warmed up. "What's the occasion?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just Sookie working out some kinks in a recipe."

He knew she was lying, but he didn't feel like confronting her yet. "This the magic risotto?" he asked, pointing to one pan.

"Yeah. Well, at least a variation of it."

Luke turned a little farther and saw that the small kitchen table was set for a romantic dinner for two. "It's just us? Where's Rory?"

Lorelai tried to smile and he could tell from the weakness of it that she nervous, not excited. "Thought it'd be nice to have an intimate night with my guy for once."

"Is Rory with Lane?" He tried to remember if there was anything written on the calendar; if he'd been told something about her plans and just forgot.

"No."

Luke waited, but Lorelai didn't add anything else. "So where is she?"

Lorelai glanced heavenward, bit her lips, and then forced out the answer. "Hartford."

He couldn't have heard that right. "Hartford?"

She nodded.

"What's she doing in Hartford?"

Lorelai looked down at the floor. "She's spending the night with my folks."

"She's what?" he barked.

"You heard me," she muttered.

"Let me get this straight." He took a step or two closer to her, his hands on his hips. "After all of the drama we've had over this, all of the times you and your mom have tangled about letting Rory stay with them, all of the discussions you and I have had over whether or not it's a good idea, and you just up and do it, without even mentioning it to me? Lorelai, what the hell!"

She wouldn't look at him, but her stance stiffened. "Just seemed like it'd be a good night to try it."

"And you didn't think you should even talk to me about it first?"

"Sorry," she sniffed. "Didn't realize I needed your permission for my daughter to visit her grandparents."

Luke reached his boiling point. "There it is! That's the truth of it, isn't it! All of the stuff you've fed me about raising her together is just a load of crap, isn't it? When it comes right down to it, she's your daughter and you're always going to be the one in charge! Should have known." He stomped back over to the sink, hurt and angry.

"Seriously, I didn't think it was that big of deal," Lorelai said, sounding annoyed. "I just wanted her out of the house in case there was yelling. Thank God I was wrong about that," she added on sarcastically.

Alarm bells started to ring in his aching head. He looked with now-worried eyes at the fancy meal, the perfectly set table with the tall white candles in the center, ready to create ambiance when the overhead light was turned off. He looked again at his nervous wife. "Why is there going to be yelling, Lorelai?" he asked, forcing his voice to be deathly calm.

The fight left her abruptly. She chewed her lips for a moment, then pulled a chair away from the table and collapsed down onto it. She hunched her shoulders, staring at her knees.

"Lorelai?" he asked again, with as much sternness as he could muster.

She turned slightly to face him, putting her hands flat on the table, and sighed. "I think…" She briefly shut her eyes. When she opened them, she seemed determined to forge on ahead. "Luke, I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant."

All of the irritations of the day merged into one hot point of fury. He picked up the towel he'd used to dry his hands and smacked it against the counter. "You know, this bit wasn't funny on our wedding night, and it sure as hell isn't funny now!" he snapped.

"It's not a bit, Luke," she said dully. "Look. No smart-assed smile. No awkward wink."

His eyes swept over her unhappy face. "You want me to believe this is true. You honestly think you're pregnant?" he challenged her.

She merely nodded, saying nothing.

Stymied, he grabbed the dish towel and gave it a twist, before once again tossing it on the counter. "I thought we agreed to wait a year, didn't we?"

Lorelai sighed again. "Babies don't have timetables, Luke. They don't play by our rules."

He began to pace, needing something physical to do. "How the hell did this happen?"

A weak smile played over her lips. "Well, maybe you missed this in sex ed, but the only way to effectively not get pregnant is to be 100% celibate, and, well…That certainly hasn't been us, has it?"

Those words brought his pacing to a halt and a slight flush to his face. It was true that he and Lorelai had been incredibly inventive and flexible about where and when they could enjoy their marital privilege. The whole past month had been one big extended wedding night. He turned to look at her.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and then picked up a napkin, beginning to pleat it nervously. "Luke, I am sorry. I know…I know this isn't what you wanted. I don't even know what went wrong. I know this is too soon, and…" She chanced looking over at him, frozen to his spot in front of the sink. Her eyes grew bright with tears and she blinked hard, trying to keep them contained. She gave him a sick looking smile. "Wow, and here I thought I'd never have a worse night than when I told my parents I was pregnant with Rory." She was trying to joke, even while keeping tears at bay.

Everything stopped for Luke. Lorelai kept talking, but he didn't hear anything. He looked around again at their cheerful kitchen, set up for a celebration. He looked at his sad, fearful wife, the person he loved more than anyone or anything else in this world, scared to tell him what was probably the most wonderful news he'd ever receive.

"Stop," he said abruptly, holding up his hand to her. "This isn't – we're not doing this."

Lorelai bristled. "Yes we are! It's not like we have a choice about it!"

"No, no, no!" He held up both hands, shaking his head. "I mean, this isn't the way we're doing this. This is not going to be the way we remember this night."

"What?" She shook her head, flummoxed.

"We're doing this over." He nodded decisively, already beginning to edge over to the back door. When he got there, he swiftly turned back, pointing at her. "Do-over, OK? Let's just…do this over, please?"

"Luke?!" Lorelai shouted after him in confusion, but he'd already shut the door.

He walked to the porch railing, wrapping his hands around the rough wood, trying to get a handle on his emotional upheaval. The cold air felt good, and he instantly remembered their wedding night and his escape to the patio. He shook his head at himself and his inability to deal with anything without a cooling-off period. He didn't remember his feet being this cold, though. Then he realized he was outside in only his stocking feet.

One more breath of cold air, and he went back to the door.

"Hi, I'm home," he said feebly, feeling a little foolish. Not knowing what else to do, he went to the sink and started washing his hands again.

Lorelai was standing, staring at him, her arms crossed over her chest. "Hi," she said blankly.

"Something smells good," Luke said, nodding at the stove. "You cooked?"

Lorelai shook her head skeptically, not yet fully invested in the play-acting. "Sookie sent some stuff home for us."

"Wow, so I don't have to cook tonight, huh? That's great," he said hollowly, wiping his hands with the poor mangled towel. He pointed to the table. "Just us? We get a night to ourselves?"

Lorelai's chin tilted up. "Yep."

"Where's Rory tonight?" he asked, with no edge to his voice.

Lorelai shrugged, maybe a little bit more on-board with the ruse. "Hartford," she announced, unapologetically.

He did his best to smile. "Guess you finally caved about the overnight."

"Well, you know the indomitable force that is Emily Gilmore," Lorelai said.

"Yeah." Luke looked around, not sure how to continue. He walked closer to Lorelai. "So, uh, it kind of seems like maybe you've got something to tell me," he suggested hopefully.

Tears sprang back into Lorelai's eyes and she pressed her lips together as she turned her head away from him.

"Oh, Lorelai." He put his arms around her and pulled her to him. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He rubbed her back comfortingly and kissed her head. "Just tell me again. Please?"

She nodded, now seemingly committed to the do-over, and took a deep breath. "Luke…I think I might be pregnant," she said in a small voice.

He nodded back at her, then took her hand and led her back to the table, urging her to sit down on the chair again. He sat down too, then leaned forward and took both of her hands in his. "Tell me why you think that," he requested, as calmly and quietly as he could.

"Well…" She briefly looked around the room and took another big breath before looking at him. "I'm late, obviously."

Obviously? he thought. Was he supposed to know that? But then he realized that he sort of did.

"How late?" he asked, in that same calm, nonjudgmental voice.

"It was supposed to start on your birthday, but it didn't, and I was so glad it stayed away, because I was able to give you that extra-special birthday gift, remember?" She gamely gave him one of her awkward winks.

He briefly closed his eyes as that memory warmed his heart – and other parts of his body. "Yeah, I remember."

"Anyway, I was so concerned about the timing of it, that even when it didn't start, it sort of seemed like it had because I'd made such a big deal about it in my mind. And then…" Lorelai shook her head, trying to make it seem logical. "We've just been so busy, that somehow I was able to forget it hadn't started. I just got back on the crazy merry-go-round known as our life and didn't think about it again."

"OK," Luke murmured, accepting her explanation at face value. "So you're late."

"More than late. Almost two weeks, Luke. That's like…not even a thing."

"OK," he repeated. "Anything else that makes you think it's a baby?"

"Yeah." Lorelai licked her lips and nodded. "This morning I realized how fuzzy my head is."

"I'm sorry. Your head…is fuzzy?"

"Yeah. Like stuffed with cotton."

"And that means…you're pregnant?" He was trying so hard to follow this.

Lorelai pulled her hands away from him and motioned to her head and then the rest of her body. "It's like I'm still thinking, but the whole process is super slow. Like I'm just floating underwater, no matter how hard I try to speed things up. And I feel like…my body's not completely mine anymore, you know?"

"No," Luke said, giving up. "No, I don't know."

"It's like I'm not in control. It's like I'm sharing my body and somebody else is calling the shots."

He shook his head. "I still don't see why this weird feeling means you're pregnant."

"Because the only other time I felt like this was when I was first pregnant with Rory."

"Oh," he said slowly. He finally realized that she had in-depth experience to fall back on and he didn't. "And that's how you felt with her?"

"Exactly the same. It's like the baby just zaps everything out of you that she needs, and leaves you with a head stuffed with cotton and a body controlled by aliens."

Luke smiled faintly. "She?"

Lorelai smiled back. "Or he," she conceded.

He sighed, bending towards her again. "But this isn't for sure, right? You're not 100% sure?"

"Well, no. I guess not," she allowed, beginning to look worried again. "Not 100%. But Luke -"

He cut her off. "So what's the next step?"

She studied his face. "I bought a home pregnancy test on my way home from Hartford this afternoon."

"And what did it say?"

She shook her head. "I didn't take it yet. The package says to do it in the morning for the best results."

He fought down the urge to grin, as a risqué response to those instructions floated in his brain.

Lorelai picked up on his thoughts. "And yes, if we had managed to not 'do it' a morning or two, we might not be in need of a home pregnancy test now, you dirty birdie." She lightly smacked his hand, pretending to reprimand him.

His brain was chugging right along. "So in the morning, we'll do the test, and then we'll know?"

"Well, pretty much, I guess."

"These things are reliable, right?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Something like 97%, I think." She snorted. "About the same failure rate as birth control, so make of that what you will."

He reached for her hand again. "Can I ask a favor, then?"

"Um, sure?"

"Can we…sort of table this for tonight?"

She looked startled. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, can we mostly ignore it for now? Let's enjoy our nice meal, our night alone, and deal with anything else in the morning?"

"Deal with it? Luke –"

He spoke over her objection, shaking his head. "I don't mean…Look, Lorelai, I just don't want to jump ahead of ourselves. I'd like more to go on than your cotton-stuffed head. So until we know more, can we just treat this like a normal night?"

She still looked uncertain. "I guess. But Luke –"

"Thanks," he said hurriedly, cutting her off again. He picked up her hand, brought it to his mouth, and kissed one knuckle. "Thanks for giving me a second chance with the news, too."

Lorelai smiled at that. "Yeah, you had a good idea with the do-over. The second time was definitely better."

He stood up, taking a moment to bend over and kiss the top of her head. "Hungry?" he suggested.

She smiled again. "I could eat," she agreed.

"Good. Let's get some of this magic risotto on a plate," he said, and started towards the stove.

Of course, saying they were going to make it into a normal night was one thing; actually turning it into one was something else again.

The risotto was eaten dutifully; not savored. Conversation didn't flow. Dishes were washed and dried in near silence. For once, Luke was actually grateful for the constant music playing in the background, because it made the quiet between them less obvious.

They went into the living room and he clicked on the TV while she turned off the stereo. They settled onto opposite ends of the couch and Luke automatically gave her control of the remote. Lorelai went through some channels and finally left it on a movie neither of them paid any attention to.

Several times Lorelai seemed on the verge of saying something, but each time she reconsidered and leaned back further into the couch cushions, keeping to herself. Luke kept trying to will his mind into blankness.

A commercial came on, startling both of them with the sudden increase in volume. The ad was for a baby shampoo. Both of them were riveted to the screen, where an adorable toddler with bright blue eyes was playing with the bubbles in her dark curls. It wasn't until the commercial ended that both of them began to breathe again.

When Lorelai glanced at him he held open his arms. After she'd scooted next to him he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer. He kissed the top of her head as he ran his hand through her own dark curls.

"You understand, don't you? I do want that." He pointed at the TV screen. "But I hate uncertainty. I hate knowing things could go the other way." He tipped her head up so he could see her face. "I don't want to start to trust we're getting that" – he nodded towards the TV, even though it now showed police chasing down a suspect – "and then find out it was all make-believe."

She put a hand on his shoulder and studied his eyes. "Yeah, I get that. And don't worry, I do know that about you."

"That's why, for tonight, I really don't want to think about it or talk about it. I know you think I'm Debbie Downer –"

"Or actually, her lesser-known but much cuter and sexier cousin, Danes Downer."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I just don't want to wake up to crushing disappointment."

She jumped on that statement immediately. "But you would be disappointed?"

He momentarily hesitated about how to answer and she smiled triumphantly, apparently reading it all on his face. "Then we're good," she said smugly, and cuddled up against him.

He sighed and leaned his head down on hers.

"Luke?" she asked, a few minutes later.

"Yeah?"

"Are you really not thinking about it?"

"No," he admitted, sighing again.

She laughed in delight, snuggling deeper against his chest. "I love it when we're on the same page."

He had to smile. "Yeah, me too."

"What?" Luke asked groggily, hours later. When they went to bed last night, he didn't think he'd ever be able to fall asleep, but obviously he had at some point, because now something had awakened him. "What's going on?"

Lorelai was standing on her side of the bed. "Shh. Go back to sleep."

"What time is it?" he asked, still confused, thinking that maybe he'd missed the alarm going off.

She turned to look at the clock. "About 4. Go back to sleep, babe."

"Wait." Things were starting to come back to him, and he struggled up onto his elbows, in order to see her better. "Where're you going?"

"I need to go potty; I can't wait anymore," she said quietly, heading for the door. "I'll be right back."

"Wait," he said again. He heaved his legs out of the bed and struggled to his feet, wobbling slightly. "You're going to do it now?"

"For best results, yes." She took another step towards the door, but stopped when he starting walking too. "Whoa, there, buddy. You're going to watch me pee on a stick?"

"Um…" Luke halted, rubbing at his forehead. "No?"

"Good answer," she praised him. "Now get back in bed," she urged him. "I'll be right back."

He didn't, of course. He sat on the edge of the mattress, nervously waiting as the minutes ticked by.

She didn't seem surprised to see him there when she returned. "Now we wait," she said, shivering. She sat down next to him.

Luke pulled the quilt up around her. "You're just going to leave it alone in there?"

"You think it needs an audience?"

"No, I just…" He shrugged, unable to express his true feelings.

Lorelai laughed and hugged his arm before standing up. "Come on. Let's go wait in there."

He grabbed his wristwatch – the one that had once been his Dad's – from the bedside table, and then took a handful of the quilt dragging behind Lorelai, helping her to navigate through one doorway and into the bathroom. Inside the small room he dropped the bathmat and several of the towels on the floor, trying to make a slightly padded spot to sit upon. He settled down on the terry cloth and then reached up, guiding her down to his lap. She tucked the quilt around them both.

"Twenty minutes?" he asked, looking at his watch.

"Yeah, about that."

He nodded and placed the timepiece on the edge of the bathtub behind them.

For a minute or two they shifted against each other, trying to get comfortable, too drowsy to talk, too nervous to even think about catching an extra few winks.

Luke tried to clear the last of the sleep from his throat. "Last night you said something about when you told your folks about Rory."

"Mm-hmm," she sighed.

He bent his head to her ear. "I'm sorry that my reaction was so bad it made you think of that."

"It was a shock for you, Luke. I understand. And unfortunately, I'd cried wolf once before."

"But still…I'm kicking myself for it. I'm sorry it made you think of that other night." He hugged her a little tighter. "I take it they were mad?"

"So mad." She glanced up at him, curious. "You really want to hear?"

"If you don't mind telling."

"No, I don't mind. It just takes me a little while to get back into that mindset."

"Take your time." He tried to find an easier position for his back against the bathtub.

"Well, I'd known for a couple of weeks." She paused, reconsidering. "Truthfully, I'd known for longer than that, I just didn't want to know. But the second my debutante dress wouldn't zip, I knew. I stewed around for a while before I finally got the courage up to walk into a random drug store and pick up a test kit, then it took me a few days more before I was brave enough to use it. But when the stick turned pink, I wasn't the least surprised."

Luke thought about them this morning, huddled together on the bathroom floor, waiting for the results. "Was Chris with you?"

"For…what?"

"To do the test."

A laugh broke out of her. "No!"

He didn't understand why that seemed far-fetched to her. "Why not?"

"Why would he be?" she asked, mystified.

"You didn't want him there?"

"I…" She shook her head. "He had no idea."

"No idea?" It took Luke a minute to decipher that comment. "That you were pregnant?"

"Yeah."

"You hadn't told him?" He was more than shocked.

"Not yet, no."

"Why not?"

She shrugged. "Um, I don't know, exactly." She leaned back against him, thinking. "I guess I wanted time to think it through, to have a plan in place before he got involved."

"Lorelai! He was already involved!"

"Well, yeah. Technically, at least."

Luke swallowed down his protests. "So you told him after you did the test?"

"Um…it got…complicated, after that."

"Go on," her urged her, prepared for further shocks.

"OK. So the stick turned pink, and I couldn't hide behind my denial anymore, but I didn't have a clue what to do next, or how to tell my parents. I actually ended up confiding in a maid. Lousia. She'd found the empty box in my bathroom before I had a chance to make it disappear." Lorelai smiled fondly, in remembrance. "She actually had some good advice. She told me about a free clinic downtown, that I could get to on the bus. She urged me to go to my parents right away, that they'd probably be more sympathetic than what I feared." She turned her head and grinned at him. "I said, 'My parents?' and she had to agree that she might be wrong about that."

"But you told them then."

"Yeah. Although – probably not in the best way, now that I look back on it."

"Why? What happened?"

Lorelai sighed. "Well, we were arguing. Not unusual, in my household. It was at dinner. They were adamant about what I needed to do during the coming summer that would look good on my college applications, and just as adamant about which colleges I would be applying to. And I just couldn't take it anymore. So I told them, oh-so-coolly, that they could shove all of their master manipulations where the sun don't shine, because I was pregnant, and none of it was happening."

"Oh, Lorelai," Luke said sadly.

"Yeah." She stared off into the distance. "It got really bad, after that." She cleared her throat. "Mom was livid. Absolutely furious. And Dad…Dad was just…broken. He was so disappointed in me." Her voice trailed off to a whisper.

"Sorry," he whispered back to her, hugging her tighter.

"After the initial meltdown, they got on the phone to the Haydens immediately, so I never had the chance to break it to Christopher privately."

"Whoa," Luke said, stunned again.

"Maybe that's why he always seemed so distant from what was going on; why he was willing to do whatever any of the parents suggested." Lorelai looked regretful. "In my defense, I was only 16. Not that well-versed in relationship do's and don'ts."

Luke rubbed her arm while they both silently reviewed what she'd said so far.

"Could I ask you something?" he asked after a minute or two of contemplation.

"Sure."

"Did you…" He hesitated. "Did you get pregnant on purpose?"

"No!" She sat bolt upright on his lap. "God, no! Of course not! Why would you say such a thing?"

"Because it sounds like you were dead-set against doing whatever your parents wanted you to. And you love to shock them. You love to turn everything they hold dear upside down."

She took a deep breath and thought about that. "You're not wrong." She leaned back against him again. "I do love to throw convention into their faces. And I remember I was especially desperate at that time of my life, to figure out a way to get out from under their control. But I hope…" She shook her head slightly. "I hope I wasn't that stupid, even subconsciously."

There was another spell of quiet before Lorelai spoke again, her voice low. "It wasn't on purpose this time, either, in case you were wondering."

Luke drew in a sharp breath. "I'm not," he assured her, bending his head to give her a kiss. "That idea had not crossed my mind. That wasn't my intention in asking you. I was just genuinely curious."

"OK." She seemed to accept his motivation at face value before smothering a yawn and snuggling against him.

"So could I ask you something else?"

"Wow, look who gets all talky sitting on the bathroom floor at 4 AM. Sure, shoot."

"When you found out you were pregnant, you never thought about, well…other options?"

"No," she said curtly, no longer snuggling. But then she turned to glance at him. "Truthfully, yeah, of course I thought about it. I've always been all about choice. But when it came right down to it, it wasn't a choice for me."

Luke nodded, understanding.

Lorelai leaned her head on his shoulder. "Amazingly enough, it was my mom who fought down Straub Hayden when he suggested that. She was an absolute tiger."

"Good for her," Luke said softly.

"Yeah." She closed her eyes. "Emily Gilmore for the win." After a moment or two she roused herself. "Is it my turn now?"

"For what?"

"To ask you a question."

"Uh, sure, I guess."

"OK, then. Boy or girl?"

Luke chuckled. "Well, since I've been trying really hard not to think about questions like that…"

"Well, think now. I want an answer."

So he thought, a smile slowly coming to rest on his lips. "It'd be hard to turn down another little girl like Rory, wouldn't it?"

Lorelai was smiling too. "I certainly wouldn't."

"I mean, I've seen her baby pictures. Do you really think we could be that lucky again?"

"How often do you look in the mirror, Pretty Boy? Yeah, this kid should be all sorts of adorable, unless one of us has an Uncle Sasquatch hiding in the basement somewhere."

For the first time, Luke allowed his imagination to run over his common sense. He sat up straighter, dislodging Lorelai a bit, much to her displeasure.

"But a little boy," he began, suddenly seeing a vision. "A little boy, who'd want to play catch with me, maybe fish, too…" He took a deep breath. "That would be amazing, wouldn't it?"

Lorelai turned around, putting her arms around his neck. "Amazing," she agreed. She fluffed his hair with his fingers. "Hey, do they make baseball caps for babies?"

"You will not," he stated firmly.

"Oh, you know I will." She looked critically at his head. "Now that I think about it, that old one of yours is looking pretty ratty. I should get you a new one. Blue, I think. To make those gorgeous eyes of yours pop."

"Yes, that's just what I need," he said dryly.

"Hey, what time is it?" Lorelai reached behind him and snagged the watch. They both looked at the face.

"Time," he said, barely able to get the word out.

Lorelai moved to her knees, then reached up to where the indicator was balanced on the sink's edge. She returned to his lap, keeping the important side of the stick turned over so that neither of them could see the result yet.

"Ready?" she asked him, breathlessly.

"No," he murmured.

She waited a beat. "Ready now?"

Luke squeezed her arm, then nodded.

She flipped the indicator over. The result was plain to see.

Lorelai gasped. "Oh, wow!" She bounced a little bit in excitement, covering her mouth with her free hand. "Wow!"

For a moment, Luke forgot how to breathe.

Lorelai twisted around and flung her arms around him. "Congrats, Daddy!"

He hugged her back, fiercely. Protectively.

She pulled away, once again anxiously studying his face. "Luke, are you really OK with this?"

He reached for her hand, pulling it to where he could see the indicator again. He needed the confirmation again. He ran one finger over it, almost reverently, before encircling her in another crushing hug. He found her lips and kissed her.

"I'm OK." He snorted a laugh of disbelief when he heard his tame response. "I think I may be ecstatic," he clarified, still said in his usual dry way. But he couldn't stop hugging her, showering her with kisses, his actions revealing much more than his words.

"I'm glad. I'm so glad." She sighed then, still looking searchingly at him. "Can you tell me, though, what you're thinking, right now? I just need to hear whatever's in your head."

"I just wish –" He had to stop and clear his throat. "I wish I could call my mom and let her know." He shook his head a tiny bit, happy and sad at the same time. "She'd be over the moon."

Lorelai's face crumpled. "Oh, Luke. Oh, Sweetie!" She hugged him in the same fierce way that he had her, just moments before. "I wish that, too," she said, her voice choked with emotion.

"But I am happy, Lorelai. I'm so, so happy."

"Me too." She smiled at him lovingly and patted his face. Then she laughed.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. We're just quite the pair. You'd give anything to be able to tell your mom, and I'd give anything not to tell mine."

He laughed at that; he couldn't help it. It was so true.

"And before you ask, we're not telling her right away," Lorelai said, waving a stern finger at him.

"Whatever you say," he agreed, having no desire to tangle with Emily Gilmore either.

Gingerly, Lorelai got to her feet, the long sitting spell on the floor leaving her stiff and clumsy. She reached out a hand to him and he took it, but also used the bathtub for leverage, not wanting to put too much strain on her.

"Is your bottom sore?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him, her hands trailing down to that part of his anatomy. "You need a massage?"

"Maybe." He held her, felt her shivering again. "Let's get back in bed, get you warmed up."

She looked up, surprised. "Don't you have to get work? You've got time to sleep some more?"

"Who said anything about sleeping?" he asked slyly. He literally swept her off of her feet as she shrieked in delight. "I think we've got some celebrating to do," he suggested, skillfully maneuvering them out of the tiny bathroom and down the hall to their bedroom.

Right before he crossed over the threshold, he very cautiously gave her a small toss in his arms. "And for the record," he told her, "it doesn't feel like you've gained an ounce."

Lorelai chuckled in approval. "Look who's become a funny guy."

"Only for you," he said, and took her to bed.