It's Always There

Author's Note: This story is the third in a trilogy, following It's Right There and It's Still There. For anyone who hasn't read the two previous stories (or needs a refresher), you can scroll down to the end of this chapter for a quick recap.

This story opens on Halloween 2003, which is a few weeks after the ending of It's Still There.

. . . . .

Chapter 1

. . . . .

Lorelai walked into the nursery and glanced around the room. "Where did you put it?" she called. "I don't see it."

"I think I stuck it in the closet," Luke called back.

Lorelai walked over to the closet and pulled open the door. "Aha! There you are." She reached for the plastic pumpkin bucket sitting on the top shelf as she called, "Got it!"

Lorelai returned to the master bedroom, swinging the pumpkin back and forth on her finger by the handle. "I found your pumpkin, little boy," she announced to Joshua, who was lying on the bed as Luke buttoned up his outfit. "Now you can collect lots of candy, are you excited?"

Luke observed the baby for a moment, then looked over at Lorelai. "He doesn't seem affected by that news in the least."

Lorelai set the pumpkin down on the bed. "Well, good. The longer he stays oblivious to this whole annual candy collection process, the longer I can claim full access to the end results."

"I have a feeling that you'll still claim full access to it even when he does become aware of the process."

Lorelai scoffed. "Well, duh. What kind of parents would we be letting our kid rot his teeth on sugar and junk? It's up to us to protect him from a lifetime of dental issues by eating all of his candy."

"Of course." Luke picked up Joshua from the bed. "Okay, he's ready to play ball."

Lorelai grinned and leaned in close to the baby. "Aw, you look so handsome," she cooed before kissing him on the cheek.

It was Josh's first Halloween, and Lorelai and Luke were taking him trick or treating in Stars Hollow before heading to Hartford for Friday night dinner. Lorelai had found a baseball player uniform while out shopping, complete with a stuffed bat and ball, and knew it would probably be one of the few costumes she could come home with that Luke would be excited about. And she was right, he loved it.

"You know, I should have looked in the adult section for a matching one for you," Lorelai said to Luke. "I love a man in uniform."

Luke held the baby out toward her. "You've got one right here."

Lorelai gasped happily as she took the baby from Luke. "Yes, I do. I do have a handsome man in uniform, don't I?"

"You ready to go?" Luke asked.

"Yup. Grab the pumpkin."

It was unusually warm for October and they didn't need jackets, though Lorelai tucked the baby's into the bottom of the stroller just in case. They started trick or treating through the neighborhood as they made their way toward the town square. They spent a few minutes at most of the houses chatting with neighbors, and Luke had to keep reminding Lorelai that they had a schedule to stick to.

As they walked through the town square on their way toward Sookie's house, they stopped to have their picture taken in front of the gazebo, festively decorated with orange twinkle lights, jack-o-lanterns, and fake cobwebs.

When they arrived at Sookie's, Luke lifted Joshua out of the stroller and they walked up to the porch. Lorelai rang the bell, and when Jackson answered the door, he immediately invited them into the house.

He led them to the living room where Sookie was on the couch. "Sookie, you have special visitors," Jackson announced.

Sookie smiled when she saw them and slowly stood up to greet them. "Hey, guys!" she said cheerfully.

Lorelai hugged her and then gently rubbed Sookie's belly. "Happy Due Date! How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. I'm just lying around waiting for something to happen," Sookie replied, and then exchanged a hug with Luke before reaching for Joshua. "Let me see this little guy."

Luke hesitated for a moment. "Are you sure? He's getting heavier, and you're... you know..." He glanced down at her stomach. "...really pregnant. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I can handle it," Sookie assured him, and Luke handed the baby to her. "Look at this cute little ball player," she cooed to the baby, and then looked at Lorelai. "It looks strange to see a Danes boy wearing his hat the right way."

Lorelai smiled and ran her finger over the baby's tiny baseball cap. "I'm sure his Daddy will have it turned around by the end of the night."

The doorbell rang again, and Jackson went to tend to the trick or treaters. Lorelai and Sookie sat down on the couch, and Luke sat down in an armchair.

"So, what's going on?" Lorelai asked Sookie. "No signs of labor yet?"

Sookie shook her head. "Nope, nothing." She patted her stomach. "This little guy apparently didn't want to share his birthday with Halloween."

"Doesn't he know how great that would be?" Lorelai asked. "Free candy on your birthday for life!"

Sookie shrugged with confusion. "I tried to explain it to him, but he's not listening." She shifted Joshua in her lap as she said to him, "Maybe you can try talking to him, huh? Get your friend to come out... tell him how much fun you've been having outside of the womb."

Joshua gurgled as he distractedly glanced around at his surroundings.

"Odds are probably high that he inherited my persuasiveness, but he hasn't really showcased it vocally yet," Lorelai said apologetically.

"He's working on it," Luke added.

Sookie smiled and passed the baby to Lorelai as Jackson returned to the living room. "So, did you hang your caramel apples this year?"

Lorelai frowned and shook her head. "No, we didn't. This year, we're one of those houses that leaves a bowl of candy on the porch so trick or treaters won't get mad at us for not being home and come back later to throw eggs at our house."

"The more proactive ones carry the eggs with them while trick or treating so they don't have to make a return trip," Jackson said.

"That makes more sense," Luke said. "That's how I would do it."

Sookie shook her head slightly at the men, then looked at Lorelai. "Oh, your parents are finally back from Europe, right? Is that where you're going?"

"Yeah, Rory's meeting us at their house tonight for Friday night dinner," Lorelai replied.

Luke glanced down at his watch. "Speaking of which, it's almost six."

"Okay, we should probably start walking home," Lorelai said, and she stood up with Joshua. "Sorry to cut the visit short, Sook, but call me if anything happens... there are still a few hours left on his due date."

"I wouldn't hold your breath for any action tonight, but we'll call if there is," Sookie promised.

They left the house and walked home, stopping briefly at the diner to grab a cup of coffee. They drove to Hartford and arrived a little before seven, noticing that Rory's car wasn't there yet. Lorelai grabbed the diaper bag, Luke grabbed the carseat, and they walked up to the front door.

Emily answered the door, and the maid was standing beside her holding the bowl of Halloween candy. "Hello, hello," Emily greeted them, smiling.

"Hey, Mom," Lorelai replied. "Welcome back. How was your trip?"

"Oh, it was wonderful. Your father and I had a lovely time." She stepped aside and they walked into the house. As Emily shut the door behind them, she said, "Let me see that handsome boy's outift."

"Okay. Luke, show her what you're wearing," Lorelai told him.

Emily and Luke both rolled their eyes. Luke set the carseat on the floor, and Lorelai unbuckled the baby and lifted him out.

"Here he is, our little ballplayer," Lorelai announced, turning him in her arms to face Emily.

"Oh, that's just darling," Emily gushed. "Look at that little hat." She reached for the baby and Lorelai passed him to her. "He looks so much bigger after just a few weeks."

"Yeah, babies grow faster than I remembered," Lorelai said. The maid had set the bowl of candy on the hall table, and Lorelai started rummaging through it. "Hm, full size bars, nice."

"Those are for the trick or treaters, Lorelai," Emily admonished her.

Lorelai gestured toward the baby. "I brought one, he just can't say trick or treat yet." She grabbed a Snickers bar from the bowl and held it up. "Are you really going to deprive him of his deserved treat just because he can't speak?"

Emily exhaled a sigh. "Fine." She started walking to the living room, and Luke and Lorelai followed behind her. As they sat down on one of the loveseats, Emily sat on the other with the baby.

"Where's Dad?" Lorelai asked.

"He's finishing up something for work," Emily replied. "And Rory called to say she was running a few minutes late. Apparently there's a Halloween parade causing a traffic issue in New Haven."

"Oh, okay, I was wondering where she was," Lorelai said as she tore open the Snickers bar.

Emily cocked her head to the side. "Really, Lorelai? Before dinner?"

Lorelai frowned. "I'm starving and it's Halloween... you're allowed to eat candy at any point in the day today." She gestured toward the baby. "Focus on Josh, that'll distract you."

Emily glanced down at the baby. Lorelai broke off a piece of the candy bar and offered some to Luke, who politely shook his head. Lorelai popped the piece of candy into her mouth, and then tucked the rest of the bar into her purse beside her.

Emily suddenly looked over at them. "Oh, goodness, I didn't offer you drinks. Where are my manners? Here, let me give him back to you."

As Emily stood up from the couch, Luke quickly stood up himself. "No, you sit, Emily. I can get the drinks," he offered.

"Oh, no, I couldn't let you do that," Emily said.

"Sure you can, Mom," Lorelai said. "I mean, you have a guest eating a chocolate bar before dinner, so the night's already gone to hell. You might as well let all traditional protocols fly out the window at this point."

"I certainly will not," Emily said firmly. She walked over and handed the baby to Luke, who sat back down next to Lorelai.

They gave Emily their drink requests and she walked over to the drink cart. While she was there, the doorbell rang, and she called, "Giada, get the door please!"

They could hear the chorus of 'trick or treat' as the maid answered the door. Emily fixed their drinks and brought them to Luke and Lorelai, then went to check on dinner and to retrieve Richard from his study.

Lorelai took a sip of her drink, and then set it on the coffee table as she pulled the candy bar back out of her purse. She ate another piece, then put the bar away before reaching over to wipe some spittle from the baby's chin. "He's gonna be hungry soon."

Luke nodded in agreement as he sipped his drink. "And then he'll probably pass out."

The house phone rang and stopped after a few rings, and then the doorbell rang again.

"Geez, it's like a circus around here tonight," Lorelai commented.

They heard the maid open the front door, and then a few seconds later, Rory walked into the living room. "Hey, guys. Happy Halloween."

Lorelai smiled as she turned to look at her. "Hey, kid."

"Hey, Rory," Luke said.

Lorelai stood up to hug her daughter, and then Rory leaned down to greet Joshua. "Aw, look at that cute little baseball player," Rory said.

"Now, don't get confused... it's actually just a very realistic costume," Lorelai said as she sat back down next to Luke. "He isn't actually in the real NBA or anything."

"That's basketball," Luke said with an amused smirk. "But good job referencing an actual sports league."

"Thank you."

"Well, he looks really cute," Rory said.

"I know, he's really nailing this 'adorable baby' thing perfectly," Lorelai said, and she gestured to the chair next to the couch. "Sit down."

"Where's Grandma and Grandpa?" Rory asked as she sat in the chair.

"Well, we haven't seen your grandfather tonight yet, and Mom disappeared a few minutes ago," Lorelai replied, and then she suddenly gasped. "Ooh, maybe for Halloween, they arranged some sort of murder mystery dinner where they both disappear and we have to find out what happened to them."

"Yeah, that sounds just like them," Rory said dryly, and Luke chuckled.

They heard footsteps coming swiftly down the hall, and they all glanced toward the doorway of the room. Emily appeared, clearly annoyed at something, and announced, "Well, this evening is officially a disaster."

"Why, what happened?" Lorelai asked. "Is this because I ate a Snickers bar?"

"We just got a call from Marta Locksley from down the street," Emily said.

"Ooh, is she a descendant of Robin of Locksley?" Lorelai asked.

Emily ignored her and continued, "And she told us that the Richmonds who just moved in a few months ago are giving out king size candy bars." She huffed out a sigh. "Can you believe the nerve?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes with confusion. "So are you."

"No, we are giving out full size," Emily corrected her. "Full size. That's what the neighborhood agreed upon, and now here come these new neighbors handing out king size candy bars, making us all look cheap."

Lorelai gasped and clutched her hand to her chest. "Oh, the horror!"

As Luke stifled a laugh beside her, Emily shook her head disappointedly. "This is not funny, Lorelai. This is a blatant disregard for the rules of the community. Richard's on the phone right now contacting some other neighbors."

"How long before the Richmonds are run out of the 'hood for their horrendous actions?" Lorelai asked.

"Hopefully by Christmas," Emily replied, and then her eyes widened when she saw Rory. "Rory, hello... did you just get here?"

"Hey, Grandma," Rory replied. "Yeah, just a few minutes ago. Sorry about the candy bar issue."

"Thank you," Emily replied. "We'll get through it, even if we have to play dirty."

"It's the Gilmore way," Lorelai remarked.

"How was your trip?" Rory asked Emily.

"Oh, just wonderful," Emily replied as she sat down on the sofa. "We'll tell you all about it, and I want you to tell us all about school once your grandfather joins us."

"Okay."

Joshua started fussing in Luke's arms, and Lorelai looked over at him. "Oh, looks like he's getting upset about the candy bar fiasco," she said.

"Is he okay?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, he's just getting hungry," Luke replied, shifting the baby in his arms.

"I'm on it," Lorelai said, standing up. She grabbed the diaper bag and went to the kitchen to make his bottle.

While she was gone, Richard finally emerged from his study and joined everyone in the living room, and Rory started filling them in on the goings on at Yale.

When Lorelai returned with the bottle, she walked over to Luke and gestured for him to stand up. "Come on. The fit that Mom threw the last time we were here when she thought she saw a drop of formula on the couch has officially turned this into a no-feeding room."

"Well, they're very expensive couches, Lorelai," Emily said.

"I know, Mother, I get it," Lorelai said. "We'll take him up to the nursery. It's fine."

"Oh, Emily, they can at least feed him in the front room," Richard said. "Hardly anyone uses that furniture anyway."

"They're antiques," Emily reminded him.

"It's okay, Dad, the gliders in the nursery are really comfortable," Lorelai said. "We'll be down in a little while."

Luke and Lorelai went upstairs to the nursery, and Luke settled into one of the gliders and started feeding the baby. Lorelai sat in the other glider and started rocking a little. "They really are comfortable," she remarked.

"They are," Luke agreed, and then he nodded toward the door. "You can go back down if you want. You barely got to talk to Rory."

"It's not fair for you to be up here all by yourself with no one to talk to," Lorelai said.

"Trust me, I really don't mind," he assured her. "I'd rather you be down there with her in case they start hammering her with questions and she needs you to divert the conversation to something else."

Lorelai smiled. "You're looking out for her."

"I try."

Lorelai stood up from the chair, brushed her finger gently across the baby's cheek, and then leaned down to kiss Luke. "Call me if you need me," she said.

"Okay."

Lorelai returned downstairs to the living room where Rory was talking to Emily and Richard about the Yale Daily News. Lorelai settled back down on the couch and picked up her drink from the coffee table.

"Mom, I was just telling Grandma and Grandpa about my next writing assignment," Rory said. "A new ballet is opening at Yale next week, and I have to go see it and then write a review."

"Cool," Lorelai said. "So, I guess you don't have to have actual ballet knowledge to review a ballet?"

Rory smiled and shrugged. "I guess not... I'll wing it, just like the lacrosse article."

"You winged the hell out of that one," Lorelai said. "It was pretty amazing."

"Yes, it was," Richard agreed. "I have no doubt you can handle any assignment they throw your way."

Rory shrugged humbly. "Well, thanks. I'm just gonna keep doing my best and hope that my editor likes my work. He's nice, but he can be hard to please."

"Oh, I'm sure he already sees your talent," Emily said.

"Definitely," Richard agreed, and then he turned toward Lorelai. "Now, Lorelai, what's new with you? You've been back at work for a few weeks now, right? How's that been working out?"

"Pretty good," Lorelai replied. "Mia was really accommodating with letting me make up my own part-time schedule. Michel fills in for me when I'm not there, and he got a little bump in pay to make up for the extra coverage, so that keeps him from complaining about it."

"What is your schedule?" Emily asked.

"It fluctuates. I usually go in for a few hours in the morning each day, but it depends on what's going on. If there's an event or meeting at the inn in the afternoon that I want to be there for, I'll switch it up a little. Same thing on the weekends - if something important is going on, I'll make it a point to be there on site."

"And who's looking after the baby while you're at work?" Richard asked.

"Well, it's a tag-team effort right now," Lorelai replied. "Stars Hollow doesn't have a daycare, so we signed him up for one in the next town, but they don't have an opening until January."

"I've never been very big on the concept of daycare centers," Emily said. "Not a lot of one-on-one time for the children when they're all grouped together like that."

"It'll only be for a few hours a day," Lorelai said. "For now, our friend Maisie watches him three mornings a week, and Mrs. Cassini from town watches him the other two mornings."

Emily narrowed her eyes. "Mrs. Cassini? Does she not have a first name?"

Lorelai wrinkled her nose a little. "Yeah, but I feel weird calling her by it. I've always just called her Mrs. Cassini."

Rory nodded. "Yeah, everyone in town calls her that."

"Anyway," Lorelai continued. "They both agreed to help out until daycare starts, and we have a couple people on call in case one of them can't make it. Plus, they come to the house so we don't have to rush to get him ready to go out in the morning."

"Oh, well, that's very convenient," Richard said.

"Yeah, it's been great," Lorelai said. "And I love working part-time... I get to spend a lot of time with the little dude and still be involved with stuff at work. It's perfect."

"You mentioned quite some time ago that Luke's been working less, too, right?" Richard asked. "I believe you said he tries to be at home on nights and weekends as much as he can?"

Lorelai gave Rory a confused look before she replied, "Uh, yeah... why?"

"Well, that must mean he's had to hire some more help at the diner," Richard said. "Which means he's probably taking home less income."

"Where are you going with this, Dad?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, he's working less, and you're working less, and I can imagine with the costs of a new baby and the daycare and Rory in Yale, you must be experiencing quite an uptick in your annual expenses," Richard said. "This drop in both of your incomes won't be too detrimental in the long run, will it? You've taken all of that into account?"

As with any probing inquiries she didn't want to discuss, Lorelai tried to brush it off quickly. "Yeah, we've figured it all out, Dad," she assured him. "Don't worry about it."

"I can review your annual budget if you want, make sure everything looks stable, maybe make some suggestions," Richard said.

"He has quite a knack for managing finances, Lorelai," Emily added. "Remember back in the Spring when he helped Luke invest some of that birthday check your father gave you?"

"It wasn't a birthday check, per se," Richard corrected her. "It was an investor's check that just happened to come about around her birthday."

"A check that was the result of a good investment made 35 years earlier," Emily declared, and looked pointedly at Lorelai. "See how good he is."

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, he's good, he's got a knack. We'll definitely come talk to you if we need any advice or want to tap into that knack again, Dad... I promise." She stood up from the couch. "I'm gonna go check on the boys upstairs, why don't you guys tell Rory about your trip?"

Lorelai headed back up to the nursery and entered the room with a sigh. "Okay, well, you were right about someone getting hammered with questions, but wrong about which girl."

Luke had Josh against his shoulder, gently rubbing his back to burp him, and he narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean? You got hammered?"

Lorelai settled into the empty glider next to him. "Well, maybe hammered is a bit of a stretch, but I did get some questions."

"About what?"

"About my work schedule and who's watching him when I'm at work and if working part time is going to eventually drive us into the poor house," Lorelai replied. "What with Rory in Yale and the costs of a baby, et cetera, et cetera."

"What did you say?"

"I said that we're fine, that we had it figured out," Lorelai replied. "Which technically isn't a lie - we have it temporarily figured out... until the next bill for Yale comes in."

"I'm sure they know we're not gonna get very far into Yale without their help," Luke said. "They were probably just fishing to see how far we could get."

Lorelai nodded, and was quiet for a moment as she fidgeted with her bracelet. She brought her gaze back to him and asked, "And we think probably just one more semester without it being too much of a hit, right?"

"Yeah, we can swing the next one," Luke replied. "But we're gonna need help with the fall semester."

Lorelai took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "Right." She cleared her throat and adopted a movie-announcer voice. "Coming in the summer of 2004... the long-awaited sequel to 2000's blockbuster hit Lorelai Asks Her Parents for Money will be arriving in theaters... Lorelai Asks Her Parents for More Money and Hopes They Don't Laugh in Her Face."

Luke smirked. "Is that just a working title or are you really committed to that?"

"How's this sound?" Lorelai asked, and put on a fake smile before cheerfully saying, "Mom, Dad, I know we haven't even scratched the surface yet in repaying that insanely large amount I borrowed for Chilton, but can you also loan me another hundred fifty grand for Yale, give or take a few thousand?"

Luke nodded approvingly. "There you go, you've already nailed the speech. Now we can just relax and practice it until June."

"I hate this, and I hate that they probably already know it's coming... they're just sitting back and waiting for the day we have to beg for their help." Lorelai exhaled a sigh. "There aren't any other options?"

"The other options are that Rory applies for a loan, or we apply for a loan," Luke said. "Either way, we'll be borrowing money from somewhere, but in those cases, end up paying twice the amount back because of the interest."

"Yeah, but we'll still have our pride," Lorelai said, and Luke cocked his head to the side. She sighed again and nodded understandingly. "I know, I know. We'll do it, we'll ask them for Yale money. But can we not think about it for another 6 months at least?"

"Sure."

"Thank you." She reached over and rubbed Joshua's back. "He's sleeping. Did he burp?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Should we put him in the crib yet or do you think he'll wake up?"

"Hey," a voice softly said, and they looked over to see Rory standing in the doorway.

"Hi," Lorelai said. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. The maid just announced dinner, so Grandma wanted me to see if you'd be down soon or if they should keep it warm." Rory nodded toward the baby resting on Luke's shoulder. "Is he asleep?"

Lorelai looked over at him. "Yup. The kid has no idea how lucky he is to get to sleep through these dinners."

"I'll put him down in a minute," Luke said. He reached for the empty bottle that he'd nestled beside his leg and offered it to Lorelai. "Can you take that?"

"Yup." Lorelai took the bottle from him, then stood up from the chair and walked over to Rory. "They didn't harass you with questions when I left, did they?"

Rory shook her head. "No, they were just talking about some of the places they visited on their trip. Grandma said she can't wait for me to see them all in person someday."

Lorelai scoffed and folded her arms across her chest. "Are you serious? I can't believe her!"

Rory looked confused. "What? Why?"

"She's gonna try to plan a Europe trip with you before we get to go on ours together. She's laying the groundwork now."

"How is her being excited about me visiting Europe laying the groundwork for anything?" Rory asked. "It was just a casual comment."

"My mother doesn't make casual comments," Lorelai said. "She's always got something up her sleeve."

"She does not," Rory said. "She knows you and I have a plan to go together."

"Well, she's systematically going to make you forget about that plan," Lorelai said, and she held up one finger. "Step one, she's gonna try to turn you against me for postponing our trip." She held up two fingers. "Step two, she's gonna try to turn you against Luke for knocking me up and leading to the aforementioned trip postponement." She held up three fingers. "Step three, once she's satisfied that you sufficiently hate us both, she'll swoop in with some first class plane tickets, and soon you'll be standing on top of the Eiffel Tower talking to her in French about how you can't believe you and I used to be best friends."

Rory blinked a few times and then shook her head in disbelief. "Does your mind ever turn off, even for just a second?"

"No, it doesn't," Luke answered for Lorelai. He had just placed Joshua in the crib, and walked over to them. "Seriously, never."

"I know how my mom's mind works and she would absolutely try something like that," Lorelai insisted.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," Rory said. "We have a plan, and I've already told you that I'm completely fine with our big trip being on hold for a few years. It gives me time to add more places to the list. So, even if she is concocting something, it won't work, okay?"

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good."

"See, everything's fine, nothing to get worked up about," Luke said. "Ready to head down?"

"Yeah, I'll turn on the monitor." Lorelai walked over to the dresser, turned on the baby monitor and grabbed the receiver. "Okay, let's go. But if my father mentions our finances or if my mother mentions Rory going to Europe, we're all simultaneously faking a stomach bug and will need to leave immediately."

"Well, one of us has to be okay to drive and to take care of Joshua," Luke pointed out. "Plus, we have two cars here."

Lorelai sighed. "Fine, Rory and I will get sick, you'll drive us all home and take care of us, and then we'll come back to get Rory's car when we're feeling better. Everyone got it?"

"Got it," Rory replied.

"Yup." Luke put his hand on Lorelai's back and guided her toward the door, muttering, "Let's go get you another glass of wine."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few days later, on Tuesday afternoon, Lorelai was in the master bedroom chatting with Rory on the phone while the baby napped in his nursery. After they hung up, Lorelai went to use the bathroom, and after she washed her hands at the sink, she stared into the mirror to look herself over.

She was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. Her eyes looked tired, and the bags under them were starting to show beneath the concealer she'd applied that morning. She made a face at how blah she looked and headed back to the bedroom.

Her eyes drifted to the nightstand, and the vase of flowers that Luke had brought home for her the day before. Just because, he'd said with a shrug when she'd asked what the occasion was.

He'd called that afternoon to see what he should pick up for dinner, and she didn't mention that she was having a bad day, but he could probably hear it in her voice. It had been a stressful morning at the inn, and then Joshua was cranky that afternoon, and she was feeling overwhelmed and tired and more worn out than usual.

And then he arrived home with dinner and flowers, salvaging her Monday. After dinner, he took Josh to visit Babette and Morey for a little while so Lorelai could have some time to herself. She had taken a hot shower and went to bed early to sleep off her bad day.

Lorelai glanced at the clock on the nightstand... Luke would be home from work in about an hour. While he had not once complained about regularly coming home to an exhausted wife in a t-shirt and sweats, she decided tonight she would greet him in something a little nicer.

She stood in front of the closet and surveyed the dress choices for a minute before deciding on one. She changed into it, did her hair, touched up her makeup, and spritzed on some perfume.

She carried a pair of heels downstairs and headed into the kitchen. She made some coffee and started cleaning up, putting away dishes, wiping the table. When she heard Luke pull up out front, she slipped into her heels and smoothed the front of her dress.

A minute later, she heard the front door open and close. "Lorelai?" Luke called softly, aware that the baby was sometimes napping when he got home.

"Kitchen," Lorelai called back.

Luke walked to the kitchen with bags he'd brought home from the diner for dinner, and he stopped abruptly when he saw her all dressed up.

Lorelai smiled. "Hi."

"Hey," he replied, and then narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you going out somewhere?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Nope. Just wanted to put on something nice."

"Okay." Luke set the bags on the table and stepped closer to her. "For any particular reason?"

"Well, I saw myself in the mirror earlier and got this sudden feeling of guilt that you work all day and then you have to come home to me looking like a tired schlub, so today I decided to go for the tired babe look instead." Lorelai paused a moment and then added, "Which I now realize has that whole '1950s wife needs to look presentable for her husband when he gets home from work' vibe that I hate, but let's ignore that."

Luke smiled, and then said, "You have never looked like a schlub, ever." He stepped up to her and put his hands on her waist as he added, "But you do look extra babe-ish tonight."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."

Luke kissed her, and then pulled back and cocked his head to the side. "But you work all day, too... nonstop," he reminded her. "You work your butt off at the inn and then you come home and take care of Josh... you never have a break."

Lorelai shrugged a little. "Yeah, well..."

He squeezed her waist. "If you wanna fancy yourself up for you, if it makes you feel good, then do it," he told her, and then shook his head. "But don't worry about me... I'm happy coming home to you no matter what you're wearing."

Lorelai smiled and leaned in to kiss him. When she pulled back, she said, "Thank God, these are killing me." She kicked off her heels and then let out a sigh of relief. "Much better."

"Good... just be comfortable," he told her.

Lorelai smiled. "Comfy wife, happy life?"

"Something like that."

Lorelai glanced down at her dress. "I do like getting a little dolled up for something besides Friday night dinner."

"Well, then, doll away," Luke said encouragingly. "Want me to go throw on a suit?"

Lorelai smiled. "No, let's eat before he wakes up."

They sat down at the table and started to eat dinner as they filled each other in on their days.

"The newspaper gave Rory two seats to that ballet she needs to review for the paper," Lorelai said. "She asked if I'd wanna go with her, and maybe grab some dinner beforehand. It's Thursday night. I told her I'd check to make sure you didn't have anything going on that night and would be home to supervise the baby to make sure he doesn't throw a wild party and cause mass chaos like he's one to do."

Luke smiled. "I will be home and will keep the boy out of trouble."

Lorelai smiled. "Cool. Thank you."

"Yup." He shoved a forkful of food into his mouth, and after he'd swallowed, he asked, "Any update on Sookie?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Nope, and she's getting mighty antsy about how stubborn her baby is."

"It's only 4 days late. It'll come when it's ready," Luke said.

"Yeah, I tried telling her that, she didn't go for it," Lorelai said. "She was sarcastically commenting about how nice it must've been for us that Josh actually arrived on time."

"Technically two days early," Luke said with a smile. "You throw that in her face?"

Lorelai smirked. "She would've strangled me through the phone."

"They talked themselves out of the at-home delivery idea, right?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, they really liked the maternity ward when they came to visit me, so..." Some faint whimpers started to come through the baby monitor, and Lorelai glanced toward it on the counter. "Someone's up," she said in a singsong voice.

"I'll get him." Luke wiped his lips with his napkin and left the kitchen.

A few moments later, Lorelai heard the sound of the nursery door opening on the monitor, and she glanced over at it with a smile.

"Hey, buddy, did you have a good nap?" she heard Luke whisper softly over the monitor. "Come here, let me see you." There was a pause as Luke presumably lifted him from the crib, and then he said, "Do you need to be changed? I think you do. Let's get you changed and then we'll go see your babe of a mom."

Lorelai's smile widened. She loved listening to Luke talk to the baby. All signs of his usual gruffness would disappear, and he became gentle and soft-spoken in a way that seemed to come so naturally to him.

When the boys finally entered the kitchen a few minutes later, Luke said to Josh, "There she is... we found Mommy." Lorelai grinned, but before she could say anything, Luke dryly added, "Yes, I know, that sounds adorable when I say it."

Lorelai nodded earnestly. "It really does."

Luke sat down at the table, cradling Josh in one arm. Lorelai reached over and smoothed her hand gently over Josh's leg. "How's my boy?" she cooed. "You were a good sleeper. How about you try doing that overnight, huh?"

Luke kissed the top of the baby's head. "He's getting better. He sleeps longer than he used to at night."

"A little bit," Lorelai agreed. "He's getting there."

Luke ate a forkful of food, took a sip of his drink, and then said, "I was just thinking maybe I'll invite Jess over for dinner on Thursday."

"Oh, yeah, good idea... then you wouldn't have to eat alone. You could have a guys' night."

"If he's not working that night," Luke said. "I saw him today for a minute. He said school's going okay, and he's taking shifts at the bookstore whenever he can fit 'em in. So he's keeping busy."

"Good, that's good," Lorelai replied. "Is he still seeing Jill?"

Luke shrugged. "I didn't ask."

"Of course not... you're not as nosy as I am."

Luke smiled. "No, I'm not." He looked down at Joshua for a moment, and then looked back at Lorelai. "So... has Rory mentioned meeting any new guys at school yet?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, she hasn't, and trust me, I'm just an antsy about her getting involved with college guys as you are."

Luke nodded in agreement, but added, "She's a good kid, she'll make smart choices."

"Hopefully." Lorelai started distractedly poking at the food on her plate.

Luke watched her for a moment. "What are you thinking?"

Lorelai brought her gaze to him and replied with a shrug. "I don't know."

"Lorelai."

Lorelai exhaled a soft sigh. "I'm just thinking overprotective mom thoughts again. I know that she's an adult, but it's scary thinking of her being out there in the world on her own, not knowing what she's doing or the new people she's interacting with."

"I know, but she'll be fine," Luke assured her. "It's Rory... she's smart, she's kind, she's - "

"Impressionable," Lorelai interjected.

"It's not like she's gonna start running around with a bad crowd," Luke said. "Plus, it's Yale... they probably don't even have a bad crowd."

Lorelai smiled. "Good point. I can probably stop picturing an Animal House situation here."

"Probably."

She wrinkled her nose a little as she asked, "So, should I stop worrying about college guys?"

Luke shook his head. "No, they're definitely trouble and we should be terrified," he confirmed.

Lorelai smirked. "Big help, thanks."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Later that evening, after Lorelai settled the baby in his crib for the night, she returned to the master bedroom. Luke was lying on his back on his side of the bed, and she turned on the baby monitor on her nightstand before climbing into bed next to him.

Lorelai rolled onto her side to face him and seductively stroked his arm. "So... are you feeling frisky?"

Luke looked over at her with surprise, and after a moment of hesitation, he replied, "Yeah, if you are."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes with confusion. "Uh, that was kind of an unenthusiastic response. We don't have to if you don't want to."

"I want to," he insisted.

"I'm pretty sure you flinched."

"It wasn't a flinch," he disagreed. "I was just surprised because you seemed tired and I wasn't expecting you to suggest it, that's all." He leaned in and kissed her. "Trust me, there's enthusiasm. I want to if you want to."

"Okay." Lorelai rolled onto her back and rested her head against her pillow, and then looked over at him. "But can I ask you one thing first?"

"Yeah."

"Do you feel like you can't initiate sex anymore?" she asked him.

Luke's eyes widened slightly, surprised by the question. "Um, well..."

"Because you haven't tried to since Josh arrived on the scene," she continued. "I've noticed that I'm the one who brings it up." She reached over and gently ran her fingers through his hair. "So... do you feel like you can't? Are you afraid to?"

"No, I'm not afraid." Luke rolled onto his side to face her. "But... you just had a baby three months ago."

"Yes, I did," Lorelai agreed. "A really cute one."

"Very cute. But you're hardly sleeping, you're busy all day, you're tired all the time... hell, we both are. I just figured that the ball should be in your court for this, that I should give you some space and just wait for you to bring it up."

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "Okay, I get that, that makes sense. And I appreciate it, I do... a lot. You're amazing."

Luke knew she had more to say, and he prompted, "But?"

Lorelai sat up on the bed and turned her body to face him, and thought for a moment about how to best explain it. "Well, the basic gist is that while my husband does a thousand things a day to make me feel good and happy and loved, there's this pretty awesome vibe that rushes through me when he's trying to seduce me."

Luke smirked. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," Lorelai confirmed with a nod. "I feel desired and sexy and wanted, and I haven't really gotten to feel that vibe in awhile, and I kind of miss it. You know, Cheap Trick said it best... 'I want you to want me.'"

Luke sat up on the bed and faced her. "You are desired and sexy and wanted... I want you all the time. Seriously... all the damn time." He leaned in and kissed her gently. "Plus, think about it... I'm on board when you initiate, and you've never had to give me the 'it's okay, it happens to all guys' speech, so there shouldn't be a question of whether or not I want you."

Lorelai smirked. "Yes, your performance is always top-notch, no complaints here about that. And I don't mind initiating, but... once in awhile, I'd like to be on the other side."

Luke nodded understandingly. "I get it. I just... I thought I was being respectful or whatever by leaving it up to you. It seemed like the right thing to do." He shrugged and added, "I guess I probably should've talked to you about it instead of just deciding to step back... I'm sorry, that's my fault."

Lorelai affectionately ran her hand over his cheek. "Don't apologize. You were being respectful and kind and amazing, and I love you for it."

Luke kissed the palm of her hand. "I love you, too. And if you want me to start initiating again, I will. But I don't want you to feel bad telling me when you're not in the mood. I don't want you to feel pressure."

"If I'm not in the mood, I will say no," she promised. "And that will probably happen occasionally, but I want you to still feel like you can initiate it. I want us to get back to how we were pre-baby."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Pre-baby? That's ambitious."

Lorelai smirked. "Well, not in terms of the rabbit-like frequency." She patted his hand. "Sorry, I don't see us getting back to that level in the near future, but maybe someday."

Luke smiled. "It's okay. Our bodies are probably too tired to handle that now anyway."

"Yeah, tell me about it. This is our life now - we have transitioned from being the hottest couple in Stars Hollow to the hottest, most tired couple in Stars Hollow... and probably of all the surrounding counties, and possibly all of Connecticut, because let's be honest, we're very attractive."

Luke smirked. "No argument here." He took her hand into his and squeezed it. "So, what aspect of pre-baby life are we trying to get back to?"

"The part where we didn't overthink things," Lorelai replied. "We both felt comfortable initiating, we said no when we weren't in the mood, and we didn't take a rejection personally. Simple as that... the basics of any loving relationship."

Luke nodded. "Okay. We can handle the basics."

"Good." She leaned in and kissed him softly, and then pulled back. "And just so you know, having this discussion now is going to help prevent devastating marital issues in the future, so it's actually more productive than you realize."

Luke's confusion was apparent. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, let me ask you - how long were you planning to..." Lorelai made air-quotes with her fingers. "...leave it up to me?"

Luke froze for a moment. "I don't know, I didn't really think that far ahead."

"Right, you were probably just going to be patient, play it by ear, see how things progressed, see if maybe we got less tired over the next few months," Lorelai surmised, and then she added, "Which, spoiler alert, we won't."

Luke smiled. "I know."

"And then the months start going by, and then a year goes by, and then bam, it's 2 years later, and you're still just hanging in there, waiting for me to initiate it every so often, and you start to feel ignored and frustrated and resentful, and then you start looking for a lady on the side, and then we've got a really messy, emotional, disastrous situation on our hands."

Luke's eyes were wide as he muttered, "Wow."

Lorelai nodded fervently. "Yeah, exactly."

Luke shook his head a little, unsure of how to respond to that. "Okay, well, enough said - we'll get back to pre-baby basics."

Lorelai smiled. "Glad we're on the same page." She was quiet for a moment, and then asked, "So, did I just ruin the mood by bringing this topic up?"

"By telling me you want me to try to sleep with you more often?" Luke asked. "Uh, no, you upped the mood."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good."

As she lay down on her back with her head against the pillow, Luke moved closer to her beneath the covers. He kissed her, then moved his lips to her ear and whispered, "So... you wanna get frisky tonight?"

Lorelai's lips curved into a smile. "While that technically shouldn't count as you initiating because I already asked, I'll let you have it."

Luke smiled. "Thank you," he said, and he pressed his lips back against hers for a passionate kiss.

. . . . .

. . . . .

To be continued...

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Quick recap of It's Right There (IRT) and It's Still There (IST):

IRT starts right after episode 2x14. Lorelai asks Luke out and they begin dating. Luke eventually moves in, proposes, and they get married on Sept 1, 2002. IRT ends with them returning from their honeymoon and deciding to start a family. IST focuses on them trying to have a baby, going through Lorelai's pregnancy, and welcoming a son named Joshua on July 22, 2003.

Rory graduated as valedictorian of Chilton, and at the very end of IST, she was just starting Yale and found out Paris was one of her roommates. She dated Dean until the middle of IST, and then broke up with him. She was single at the end of IST.

Friday night dinners continue with Emily and Richard. Luke and Lorelai have started paying them back for Chilton. Richard started his own consulting firm (he has no business partner). Trix moved back from London to Hartford.

Jess lives in Luke's old apartment, works at the Stars Hollow bookstore, and decided to go to a local community college at the end of IST. He and Rory did not date. He started dating a classmate named Jill in IRT. He drives Luke's old green truck, gifted to him after Luke bought a Ford Explorer for himself.

Sookie and Jackson got married in IRT, and Sookie got pregnant in IST about 3 months after Lorelai did. She was still pregnant at the end of IST. Lorelai and Sookie still work at the Independence Inn with Michel.

It is mentioned in IST that Lane wants to pursue being a drummer, but the band members were not introduced in either story.

Chris lives in Boston with Sherry, they do not have a child.

That's a really basic summary of the stories, which were both written while GG was originally airing on TV (IST during late season 2 to early season 3, and IST during late season 3 to mid season 4.)