Precious Ties: The Gift

Chapter 9: Settling In

"Twins...two babies?" Emily shook her head and sat in stunned silence as the news sunk in.

"Mom...Luke....that's amazing! Yay! I'm going to have two new siblings! ....So how have you been feeling about all of this Luke?" Rory asked happily.

"Well the ultrasound was quite a shock..." Luke admitted.

"He almost passed out!" Lorelai laughed.

"And you went completely white....the doctor had to tell you to breathe!" Luke recalled.

"But we've had time to process it and we are so excited....sure we are a little older than we were first time around but we are so happy to have this second chance at parenthood!" Luke said almost sounding emotional.

"We had talked about having a child before we were married," Lorelai continued despite Emily's obvious disapproval of her last statement. "We looked at the possibility of using a surrogate because Paris thought that I wouldn't be able to conceive...."

"But we proved her wrong and fell into the tiny percentage of people who do fall pregnant at this age.....so we were excited for one child....can you imagine how surprised we were when the doctor found a second heartbeat and then we saw the other baby! They are unexpected gifts we thought we would never have!" Luke finished and looked around the room at the emotional faces just as Ella was heard on the baby monitor.

"I'll go and get her Ace..." Logan offered, "you all should get into that Tirimisu ....well everyone except you Lorelai ...there might be something else you could have in the kitchen...I know how much you like your desserts!"

"Yeah...and after all I am eating for three!" Lorelai said heading off to the kitchen.

Emily followed her daughter to the kitchen, not knowing what to say. Part of her was excited - she had waited so long to welcome another grandchild into the family but had given up. Ella's arrival had filled the void but now this was going to be a second chance for her to get things right and be the kind of grandmother she should have been to Rory.  With each step she became determined to be supportive, to be there for her daughter and perhaps build a close mother/daughter relationship for the first time.

"Lorelai, I want to congratulate you...it's unexpected but I want you to know I will do anything I can to help......I will probably try to find a small home or apartment here so I can be closer to you...." Emily said deep in thought.

"But Mom you like it in Nantucket....what about your job at the whaling museum?" Lorelai asked, not sure how she would cope with her mother living close by again.

"It's been good but I don't need it anymore...I will admit it was fun but it was only for a season...."Emily stated reflectively. "I'll still go back to Nantucket for holidays but family is more important...I would think that between Ella and the twins, you could both use an extra pair of hands....I'm just happy to be there for you and Rory......if you want me...I'm not forcing myself on you Lorelai but ....I do want to be there this time....I don't want to miss out .....like I did with Rory."

There was a long pause as Lorelai contemplated her mother's words. Her mind kept flashing back to the breaking of her first pregnancy news all those years ago and even though they had a long way to go in their relationship, Lorelai had to admit that things were different now. She couldn't keep her mother from getting to know her grandchildren. She couldn't imagine all the finer points but she had to admit that it would be good to have an extra pair of hands available to help with the twins.