Most Impotant A/N of this fic: Guys, I know I didn't give you a heads notice, but this will be the last chapter of Always Be My Baby. I was going to break it into two chapters, but I decided that I should give you guys a nice, long chapter to finish it off. I really hope you enjoyed it. I've been working harder on this chapter than I have any other chapter in this story. And, not to worry, I am still doing a sequel. Oh, and so you know, the stuff in italics is events that happened in the past.

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She looked back on the past year. Her life had definitely been a roller coaster. The twins birth, the horrible fight with her mom, her and Luke's one year anniversary, her oldest daughters moving in with her boyfriend, finally starting to get serious. Then there was the twins first. Their first Halloween, first Thanksgiving, first word, first Christmas

So much had changed in one year than in all her thirty-eight years of living. She had gone from Lorelai Gilmore, crazy, caffeine addict whose relationships always failed, to the next phase in her life. The phase where she became Mrs. Lorelai Danes, mother of three, and a loving wife. She was still crazy and very much a caffeine addict, but her life seemed to have matured.

She still had her ups and downs in life. With her marriage, parents, Rory... just life in general. But, she wouldn't change any of it, ever. Everything that had happened, both the good and bad, she didn't regret. Now a days, she believed that everything happened for a reason. Every fight, every laugh, every tear, every smile... it was all meant to be.

"Lorelai? Did you find the candles?" a voice behind her said, breaking her train of thoughts. She turned her head to face her husband of a year and a half.

"Yeah." she said, turning back to the drawer beside the kitchen and taking out a package of birthday candles. "Right here." she told him, holding them up."

"Ok, come on. Everybody's waiting. They're about to start the countdown." Luke said and turned to walk into the living room.

Lorelai followed him, walking into their living room, which was packed full of people. It seemed as if every citizen in Stars Hollow was inside their house. There was Taylor, Kirk, Miss Patty, Babette, Morey, Michel, Sookie, Jackson, and their kids. Liz, T.J., Andrew, Kirk, Gypsy, Mrs. Kim, Lane, Zach, and Brian. Then, there was Rory, Jess, and Lorelai's parents.

Luke walked over to Rory and picked up Will. He headed over to the couch, sat down, and sat Will on his lap. Lorelai made her way over to her mother, who was holding Lauren. At the sight of her mother, Lauren smiled and reached her arms out to her.

"Momma." her little voice said happily.

"Come here, angel." Lorelai said, smiling and taking her daughter out of her mothers arms.

Emily looked at Lorelai and smiled. Lorelai glanced down at her and smiled back. Lorelai carried Lauren over to the couch, sitting down beside Luke and placing her in her lap. Rory took the candles from Lorelai and placed two of them on the cake, one for Lauren and one for Will. She lit each one and then took a seat next to Jess, who wrapped his arm around her.

"Ok, lets begin the countdown." Sookie said excitedly. "Ready?"

"Ten." everyone shouted.

xox

It had been three weeks since they last spoke to each other. Every since Lorelai walked out of her house, neither had contacted the other. Both were too stubborn and too proud to be the first one to cave in. But, soon it was all getting to be to much for Lorelai to handle. She hated the realtionship she had with her mother and didn't know how much longer she could let things go on like this. She knew Emily was way more stubborn than her and would give up shopping for a week before she let herself be the first to attempt to make peace.

Lorelai had been sitting outside the Gilmore mansion in her car for an hour, empty coffee cup in hand. She kept trying to think of excuses she could use to turn around and head home, but she knew that she had to do this. She sighed and opened the door of her car. She took her time walking up to the door. Ringing the doorbell, she stood nervously The door opened and a maid appeared.

"Hi, I'm Lorelai, Emily and Richards daughter." Lorelai told the maid.

"Come in. I'll take your coat." the maid said.

Lorelai walked into the foyer and took off her coat, handing it to the maid. The maid walked out of the room and a few minutes later, Emily walked in.

"Lorelai." she said, a little suprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, mom, I was in the neighborhood, and I thought I'd..." she began, but decided not to lie and beat around the bush and just come out and confess. "I came to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about, Lorelai." Emily said stubbornly.

"Mom, don't do this." Lorelai said, sighing and closing her eyes. "Please, just give me ten minutes. That's all I'm asking for."

Emily just stood there, a frown on her face. After a few minutes of silence, she replied with a quiet "Fine."

They made their way to the living room and sat down.

"Well, you said you wanted to talk." her mother said after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Yes, I did." Lorelai replied and then thought of how to start. "Mom, I came here to straighten things out between us."

"I don't understand, Lorelai." Emily stated.

"You know as well as I do that we have a very unstable relationship."

"Well, whose fault is that? If you hadn't always been so distant."

"Please, don't argue. I'm here to make things right, not worse." she begged.

"I just don't understand why you always keep pushing us away."

"Mom, ever since I was little, I felt trapped. You and dad had my whole life planned out for me. I didn't want that. I wanted to figure out my life for myself."

"We did what we thought was best for you."

"Forcing me to do things I didn't want to do was best for me?"

"You were brought up well Lorelai Victoria!. We gave you everything. You had what a lot of others wished they had." Emily said angrily, pointing a finger in her direction.

"Maybe I didn't want all that. And I see people like me everyday. The ordinary people who live life normally. Minus the balls, banquets, dinners, money, public schools, and so forth. And you know what? They couldn't be happier. Only those who are selfish want more than they have. Unless they have nothing, then that would be understandable." Lorelai said, trying to remain calm.

"Are you calling us selfish?"

"No! Well.. maybe.. I don't know. You and dad just want to the best. You don't even stop to look at the ordinary. Sometimes it's the normal, regular stuff that is the best. But, if you turn away from it, then you will never know. Money isn't everything."

"You could have had a wonderful life if you hadn't been so wild."

"I was a very confused and upset teenager, mom. It was never my intention to get pregnant. But, you know what? Getting pregnant was the best thing that happened to me. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have Rory, or Luke, or the twins. Mom, I have a wonderful life. I honestly believe if I hadn't been wild, then I wouldn't be happy. The life you and dad have just wasn't for me. I'm really and truly sorry if I hurt you both when I became pregnant and ran away. But I had to. I had to do it for myself."

"Why? Why did you have to?" Emily demanded to know.

"Because I wasn't happy, mom. I had to figure out myself, figure out my life. I need to find myself. I was a pretty messed up kid. I did everything I knew you and dad would disapprove of. I hung out with the wrong people. I was seventeen with a one year old baby. I wanted her to grow up differently. I didn't want her making the same mistakes I did. I feared if she lived the life I did, she'd turn out just like me. I didn't want her to feel trapped."

"Why didn't you just tell us?"

"Mom." Lorelai said in a "Come on." tone. "You and I both know that if I were to tell you all of this, you guys would have gone ballistic on me. You would have done anything to keep me home. I couldn't do that."

"Well then why don't you let us in your life now?"

"I'm not keeping you away from me."

"You're practically holding us at arms length."

"I just want to do this myself. Lauren and Will our mine and Luke's kids. We want to raise them ourselves. We appreciate gratefully you and dad offering to help, but this is our life. We want you both in it, but we want some space as well."

"What do you mean you want space?" Emily asked testily.

"I mean that I want to spend a few Friday night's at home, relaxing and spending time with my family. You don't understand how exhausting it is having work, twins, and rushing ourselves to get all the way down here in time."

"So you want to stop coming from Friday night dinners?"

"I just don't want to have to come every Friday. Every now and then is fine with us. Just because we won't come weekly doesn't mean we'll cut you guys off completely. You and dad are my parents and Luke's in laws and the kids' grandparents. You play a big role in all our lives."

"I'm just afraid you'll do like you did with Rory." Emily said quietly. "I missed her entire childhood."

"It's going to be different this time, mom. I've changed, and I want us to change. I don't like fighting with you. I want us to have a normal relationship as opposed to the one we've had for the last thirty-eight years."

"I want that, too."

"Well, then let's work on making it that way."

"How?"

"We have both got to stop jumping at each other's throats. And you and I are pretty stubborn. We can't be that way. And you've got to relax a little. Let us live our life and stop fretting over how you think it should be. We're fine and we're happy."

"Then just let us in your lives. That's all we want."

"Ok then."

"Good." Emily said and smiled.

The two chatted awhile longer. They discussed the issues they had with the other and tried their best to work it out. When Lorelai left, she looked at her watch and realized she had been there for an hour. She couldn't remember spending that long with her mother without one of them close to tears in the end. As she walked out of the house and to her car, she felt something inside of her that was different. She felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She finally felt content with her life. It all felt right, normal. She was happy.

After that day, the two had contained a fairly stable relationship. Everything seemed at ease. They still had their fair share of arguments, but it was never as bad as it had been. The one thing in her life that she wished were better was finally that way.

xox

"Nine."

xox

Luke and Lorelai took their usual booth at Sniffy's Tavern. Today was a special day for them both. A year ago today, both had stood under the Chuppah Luke had made and exchanged their vows to love one another for the rest of their lives. In honor of this day, they both decided to celebrate at the place where it all officially began.

"How about I bring out some spaghetti for you two?" Maisy asked.

"Spaghetti sounds great, Maisy. One of my favorites." Lorelai told her, smiling.

"Well, this special day causes for our finest meal." she said, pouring them both a glass of champagne and walking away.

"Can you believe it's been a year?" Lorelai said to Luke.

"I know. One hell of a year at that."

"You can say that again." she replied. "Definitely one of the best I've lived."

"I agree." he said smiling.

"Well, here's to us, the twins, Rory, and our accomplishment at surviving what is to be said the hardest year of your marriage. But, it was by far the best, and I hope for many more to come." Lorelai said, raising her glass.

"I'll drink to that." he said, clinking glasses with her and taking a sip.

And then Luke, who wasn't really one for public displays of affection, reached over and grabbed Lorelai's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Lorelai smiled and then gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"I just want to say thank you, Luke." she told him quietly.

"For what?"

"For making my dream come true. You gave me everything I wanted. I owe you."

"You owe me nothing, Lorelai. You gave me just as much as I gave you."

"Luke Danes, I think I've just fallen in love with you all over again."

Luke rolled his eyes and laughed. "I love you, too."

xox

"Eight."

xox

The doorbell rang and Luke got up off the couch to answer it.

"Rory, hey. I didn't know you were coming."

"Hey dad." Rory said, hugging him. "I didn't call or anything. I was hoping I could talk to you and mom about something."

"Yeah, sure. Come on in. Are you ok? You aren't in trouble are you?" he asked concerned.

"No, no. It's nothing like that." Rory assured him and made her way into the living room.

"Rory, hey! What are you doing here? Did I know you were coming? Luke, did you know she was coming?" Lorelai asked, getting up off the couch and hugging Rory.

"No, nobody knew. I came over here to talk to you guys."

"Oh, are you ok?"

"What is with everyone thinking there's something wrong?" Rory said, laughing a little.

"Well, you sound serious."

"Yeah, well.. hey, where are the twins?" she asked, trying to change the subject. She was a little nervous and needed just a few more minutes to gather herself together so she was well prepared for what she was about to tell them.

"They're taking a nap." Luke told her. "What is it, Rory? How serious is this?"

"Here, lets sit down." Rory suggested.

They all took a seat and Luke and Lorelai focused their attention on Rory. Rory folded her hands on her lap and stared back at her parents.

"Mom, dad, I came here today because I wanted you guys to know something."

"Rory, what is it? You're killing me. Just tell us." Lorelai begged.

"Ok." Rory said and took a deep breath. "Well, you guys know that Jess and I have been together for almost a year now."

"Yeah..." Luke said.

"Well, things are going pretty good for us. We're happy."

"Rory, what are you getting at?" Lorelai asked, confused by this conversation.

"You know I love Jess, and he loves me."

"Yes... oh my God!" Lorelai suddenly said. "Are you pregnant? Are you getting married? Rory!"

Lorelai became frantic and then Luke started to think the same. Rory definitely was giving off that impression. She said that this was "serious" and now she was going on about her and Jess' relationship. It all made perfect sense. And, right now, all Luke wanted to do was punch Jess in the face if Rory was pregnant. And, if they were engaged, well... he didn't know what to think. They were definitely too young right now.

"What? Mom, no! No! I'm not pregnant and I'm not getting married." Rory said, starting to panic and trying to get this straightened out.

"Oh thank God." Lorelai said, breathing a sigh of relief and Luke did the same. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry." she said apologetically.

"Rory, if it's none of that, then what is it? You've got us in a fog here." Luke said.

"What I'm trying to say is that Jess and I are ready to take our relationship to the next level. We want to get more serious."

"Ohhh.. serious... I see." Lorelai said.

"Mom! That's not what I mean!" Rory said, turning seven different shades of red.

Luke coughed and shifted uncomfortably. This was definitely not the topic he wanted to be talking about. To him, Rory was still a sweet, little ten year old girl who sat around Babette and Morey's old tree stump she thought was a fairy ring, peanut butter sandwhich in hand, waiting for the fairy to get hungry. He did not want to think of Rory engaging in... physical... activities. Especially with his nephew.

"So, what? You guys aren't that kind of serious?"

"Mom, please." Rory pleaded, shifting in her seat and looking at the ground. "It's not like that with Jess. We both want to wait."

"Aw, that's sweet. And smart."

"Yeah, well, when I say "serious", I mean we want to be more serious in our relationship. He asked me to move in with him." she said nervously, a little unsure about how they'd take the news.

"Oh, he did? So, did you?"

"Well, I want to, but I don't want to weird you guys out or anything."

"Honey, you're twenty-one, almost twenty-two. You're an adult now and you get to choose what you want to do in your life. You don't need our permission to move in with your boyfriend."

"Just as long as he treats you right. 'Cause God knows if Jess every tried to pull anything, I'd kick his ass." Luke added.

Rory laughed a little, feeling better about all of this.

"Well, I'm glad you guys feel that way."

"So, when are you going to move in with him?" Lorelai asked.

"Maybe this weekend."

"If you need help, just ask. I know how to pack a box. Had to pack hundreds of them when we moved your butt into Yale." Lorelai said.

"Mom, you shoved my stuff in a trash bag. We have pictures to prove it."

"Shush you."

"So, you're both definitely ok with this?"

"Yeah, it's fine with us." Luke said.

"Thanks you guys."

"No problem kid." Lorelai told her.

xox

"Seven."

xox

It was Sunday morning, 4:05 to be exact, and Lorelai crept down the stairs and into the living room. She saw her daughters silhouette figure in the moonlight, laying on the couch sound asleep. She made her way over to her quietly and scooted her over so she could lay beside her. The couch wasn't big enough for the both of them and Lorelai was practically hanging off the end.

"Mom?" Rory whispered.

"Hey you. Happy twenty-second birthday." she whispered back.

Even though Rory was at college, they still managed for their yearly tradition. Rory would spend the night and then head off early for school. Rory really enjoyed their little tradtion, despite the fact she was woken up at insane hours of the morning. She knew this was a special thing her and her mother shared, and she knew that it would only be between them. Lorelai wouldn't do this with the twins. Not that she didn't love them as much, but Rory was different. A lot different. Rory is the one who changed her life, for the good.

"Thank you, Mommie Dearest."

"Hey! Now that's not a very nice thing to say to the person who carried you for nine months and spent twenty-six hours in a very painful labor." Lorelai told her, feining hurt.

"I'm just kidding. You know I love you." Rory said, hooking her arm through her mothers.

"I know. I love you, too." Lorelai said smiling. "And, I can't believe that at about exactly this time, light years ago, I was lying in the exact same position. Only, I was.."

"On leave." they both said.

"Right!" Lorelai said.

And so Lorelai told the tale of Rory's birth. Rory closed her eyes and listened intently, enjoying every minute of it. She loved how her mother spiced it up by making it seem more dramatic than it actually was. But, that was her mother. Dramatizing everything.

"Rory?"

"Hm?" Rory asked sleepily.

"I want you to know that you are very special to me. You did a lot for me, just by being born. Had I not have gotten pregnant with you, I wouldn't have all of this. And for that, I thank you greatly."

"Mom, I know all that. And I love you, you're special to me, too. You've done so much for me. You were always there. You were a mom and best friend all in one neat package."

Lorelai kissed the side of her daughters head and closed her eyes. Together, both mother and daughter fell into a peaceful sleep.

xox

"Six."

xox

"Luuuuke! Pleeeease?" Lorelai begged Luke.

"Lorelai, I am not dressing my son up as a pirate." Luke said sternly.

"Aw, but why not?" she said, giving him puppy dog eyes.

"Because it's fruity and I'm not having my kid being a fruit cake."

"It is not fruity! Johnny Depp made a damn good pirate!" she stated.

"Johnny Depp also wore tight leather, purple pants. No, I am not letting you dress Will up as a pirate. End of discussion."

"You're no fun." she pouted.

"Lorelai." he said exasperatedly.

"Oh! How about Lauren goes as a princess, and Will goes as Prince Charming?"

Luke looked at Lorelai as if she were crazy.

"Ok, fine, scratch that. How about a witch and a vampire?" she asked.

"Now that I can handle."

"Finally! He actually agrees on something!" she said dramatically.

Luke just rolled his eyes as Lorelai picked out the material she needed to make the costumes in the store.

Two weeks later, Lorelai had finished the costumes. Stars Hollow High was hosting a Halloween carnival this year and Lorelai and Rory were really looking forward to it. Lorelai and Rory decided to go as Tom and Jerry for their costumes. They found their idea comical. Rory used to watch that show as a child and her and Lorelai would make up words to the show. They had re-discovered it last week when it had come on while they were watching tv with the twins.

Lorelai made their costumes by buying two leotards, gray and brown. Then she bought some material exactly like it and used it to make little skirts that she attached to the leotards. Then she bought brown and gray leggings to go underneath. To top it off, she attached tails to the end and bought mouse and cat ears.

Luke, of course, thought all of this was ridiculous. Rory and Lorelai had begged and pleaded and used their famous pouts to try and get him to dress up with them, but he flat out refused. He hardly ever turned down their pouts, but this was one of the rare occurrences when he did.

Halloween night arrived and Lorelai and Rory were currently upstairs getting ready. They applied matching black noses and whiskers, then put on their ears. When they were done, they got the twins dressed as well. Lorelai added a little fake blood oozing down Will's mouth to add a little more edge to his costume. As soon as Lorelai successfully got Lauren's witch hat on without having her knock it off, they were ready to go.

"So, you like?" Lorelai said, twirling around in her costume in front of Luke.

"You have way too much fun with this." he told her.

"Oh, come on. You know you think this costume makes me look hot." she teased, winking at him.

Luke rolled his eyes at her and then took Lauren from Rory.

"Come on crazy lady, let's go." he said and they all headed out.

All in all, they had a great time. Well, they meaning Lorelai, Rory, Lauren, and Will. Luke almost immediately went into rant mode about how dumb the town was and that they all needed to be locked up in a mental institution and such. Lorelai thoroughly enjoyed his rant and egged him on.

Everyone in town complimented Lorelai on her job well done with this years costumes. They all thought the twins looked absolutely adorable. This made Lorelai proud. When they arrived home, they had two bags full of candy that they said belonged to the twins. Which, of course, was a lie. Luke wouldn't let them have candy in his presence ever and he tried his best trying to convice Rory and Lorelai to throw it away, with no luck.

xox

"Five."

xox

Lorelai pushed the stroller that carried the twins into the diner on her lunch break. She weaved in and out of customers and parked the stroller at the end of the counter. She took the twins out and placed them in their high chairs beside the stroller. She looked over at Luke who was currently having the same argument with Taylor that he always had around this time of the year.

"Luke, really, a few decorations won't hurt. Just a turkey or two hanging from the ceiling or fake leaves taped on the windows." Taylor fought.

"No Taylor! Get out of my diner. I've told you year after year that I will not decorate my diner. You have absolutely no say in it. Now leave."

"You are absolutely impossible Luke Danes! I just do not understand you!"

"Leave Taylor." Luke growled. "I have a family to attend to, so I'm going to have to cut your incessant rant short. Have a bad day. Bye." Luke said and walked over to his wife and kids.

"Hey." Lorelai said.

"Hey." he replied, leaning over the counter to give her a kiss. "What would you like?"

"Coffee and a cheeseburger." she said.

"Go one day without the coffee."

Lorelai gasped. "You want me to go an entire day without the love of my life? Well, too bad. I've already had some this morning."

"Coffee daddy." Lauren said.

Luke and Lorelai whipped their heads in the direction of their daughter, both suprised.

"Did she just..?" Luke began.

"She said 'Coffee daddy'." Lorelai said, shocked. "My baby spoke her first words and one of them was coffee! I am so proud."

"And she said 'daddy'." Luke said, amused.

Lorelai turned and glared at him. "She was supposed to say 'mommy'."

"Hey, you had Rory and you still have Will left." he told her.

"Ooo! Come on Lauren. Say it again! Only this time say 'mommy'." Lorelai coaxed, playing with Lauren's hands.

Lauren smiled and giggled. "Coffee daddy!"

"No, Lauren, mommy. Say 'mommy'. And coffee." Lorelai tried.

Lauren just banged her hands on the high chair table and giggled. Luke was smiling happily. He walked over and kissed the top of his daughters head, which was growing curly, brown hair.

"Well, you heard her. Where's my coffee?"

Luke sighed and filled up a cup of coffee for her.

xox

"Four."

xox

"Lorelai, Luke, hello. Come in." Emily said when she answered the door.

It was Thanksgiving day and the Danes family was having lunch with the Gilmore's. Luke and Lorelai walked into the house, hanging up their coats. They made their way to the living room, where they saw Richard sitting, reading the newspaper.

"Hey dad." Lorelai said.

"Hello Lorelai." he said, looking up from his paper. "Hello Luke. How are you all today?"

"We're just fine Richard. And you?" Luke asked.

"Why I'm all right. Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy Thanksgiving, dad." Lorelai said.

Just then, Will started to cry. Lorelai bent down to get him, but Richard interjected.

"Here, let me." he said, walking over and unstrapping Will from his carseat.

"Here's a bottle for him." Lorelai said, taking a bottle out of the diaper bag and handing it to her dad.

Richard took the bottle and sat down, handing it over to Will. Will began to suck at the bottle and Richard gazed down at his grandson. He really adored him, and Lauren. Lorelai never really got to experience witnessing her parents as grandparents when Rory was a baby. She thought it was sweet how much they loved them.

"Mom, dad, hi." Rory said, entering the room.

"Hey Rory." Luke and Lorelai said, and Lorelai got up to hug her.

"Hey grandpa. Happy Thanksgiving." Rory said to Richard.

"Hello Rory. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too."

"How about drinks everyone?" Emily asked, coming into the room as well.

Emily made everyone their drinks and then sat down. They were all having a pleasant conversation, when Will dropped his bottle on the floor.

"Mommy." he said.

Lorelai, who had just taken a sip when he said that, choked on her drink and then coughed, clearing her throat.

"Hey said 'mommy'! My favorite son!" she declared.

"He's your only son." Luke said, laughing at her.

Lorelai crossed the room and picked Will up.

"Ha!" she said to Luke. "His first words were 'mommy'. I win."

"Win what?" he asked.

"I now have two kids whose first words were 'mommy'." she gloated.

Luke just rolled his eyes.

"You're crazy."

"Now say 'coffee', Will. Be like your sister." Lorelai said to her son.

"Lorelai." Luke said in a warning tone.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Do not encourage him to say that sinful word. It's bad enough you have Lauren saying it. Now she's gonna be a junkie just like you. I'm not going to have another one. Three is enough."

"Coffee is not sinful, it is Heavenly delicious."

"It's unhealthy for you and stunts your growth."

"You're impossible."

"No, you're impossible."

"I think your both impossible." Rory said, laughing at their crazy banter.

"I disown you, no longer daughter of mine." Lorelai joked. "You're not supposed to go against mommy."

Rory rolled her eyes at her crazy mother.

"You taught her that." she accused Luke.

"Taught her what?"

"To roll her eyes. You do it all the time. She learned it from you."

"I did not teach Rory to roll her eyes. She's twenty-two. She probably learnt that years ago."

"He's right mom. You're a nut, you know?"

"Mean."

"Ok, you three. Ready for lunch?" Emily asked, interrupting their crazy conversation.

"Yes!" Lorelai and Rory said.

They all ate in the dining room, enjoying their time. When they had finished with dessert, Lorelai, Luke, Rory, and the twins left for home. Near dinner time, Lorelai, Rory, and the twins headed over to Luke's to have their traditional Thanksgiving dinner there. Luke still had had to open the diner today, but Lorelai didn't mind. They arrived and all sat down together to eat.

xox

"Three."

xox

Two weeks before Christmas, Lorelai and Luke were decorating the tree with Jess and Rory. They were all having a good time. Lorelai and Rory were drinking hot chocolate loaded with a thousand mini marshmallows. Will and Lauren were currently entertaining themselves by playing in the tinsel.

Lorelai and Rory decided to leave the rest of the decorating to the guys and proceeded to wrap gifts.

"Soooo," Rory said. "What did you get me?" she probed Lorelai.

"You asked me that a hundred times since you got here and every time I keep telling you that you will find out Christmas day. My answer is not going to change."

"Aw, but I want to know now." she whined.

"You've been doing this every year since you were little. Shouldn't you have outgrown this phase a while ago?"

"I'm still a kid at heart." Rory said, smiling.

"Well, kid or not, I'm not going to give in."

"No fun." Rory pouted, putting a 'to' and 'from' sticker on her neatly wrapped package and signing it.

Lorelai looked over at the twins to see what they were doing, making sure they weren't near any of the hooks to hang the bulbs.

"Luke!" she said suddenly.

"Huh? What?" he asked, turning his head from putting the star on the tree.

"Look at Will." she said.

Luke looked down at his son and saw that he was on his two little feet, taking baby steps towards the Christmas tree.

"Is he walking?" he asked, suprised.

"Yeah, he's trying." Lorelai told him.

She saw Will start to fall and hurried over to pick him up. She stood him up and, holding his hands, walked with him. Will giggled and Lorelai smiled at him.

Lauren, who liked to hog all the attention, looked at Will and her mother. Rory watched as Lauren stood herself up and started making her way towards Lorelai and Will.

"Mom, look at Lauren." Rory said.

Lorelai looked over and saw Lauren slowly, and a little unsteadily, walking towards her.

"Luke, now Lauren's walking." she said.

Luke climbed down the ladder after successfully getting the start to stay at the top of the tree and laughed.

"She must be jealous you're giving Will all the attention and wanted to have the spotlight on her."

"What can I say? She is my daughter."

"That she is." Luke agreed. Lauren was in many way just like Lorelai.

Lauren fell down after a few steps and Luke picked her back up. Steadying her, he held her hands and walked with her just as Lorelai was doing with Will.

"Jess, get the video camera." Rory said.

Jess left the room, retrieved the camera, and walked back in. He turned it on and taped his uncle and aunt walking with their two kids.

xox

"Two."

xox

Christmas day had finally arrived. When everyone had woken up, they all sat in the living room, getting ready to start presents.

"Merry Christmas." Rory said yawning.

"Merry Christmas." they all replied back.

"Let's get our presents out of the way before we start with the twins." Lorelai suggested, sipping her coffee.

"Ok, I'll pass them out." Rory said, grabbing the nearest gift. "And as luck would have it, this one's for me." she said happily.

Rory tore at the paper and gazed down at her gift. It was a basket full of stuff from Bath and Body works.

"Aw, thanks guys." she said to her parents. "I really was in need of this stuff. I'm running low."

"Every girl needs the proper pampering materials."

"Hear, hear!" Rory agreed.

They all exchanged gifts, admiring what they got.

"Ok, twin time." Rory said.

Luke and Lorelai passed over a gift to each Lauren and Will. They helped them a little at tearing the paper off. After a while, the twins got the hang of it and began ripping at the paper.

"I think they like the paper more than they like their presents." Lorelai laughed, watching as the played in the wrapping paper.

They all enjoyed watching the babies as they played. They did a little walking, but not much. They were still learning.

"Hey, is that mistletoe above your heads?" Lorelai asked, holding some mistletoe above Rory and Jess' heads.

"Mom." Rory said and laughed. Her and Jess leaned in and gave each other a short kiss.

"Aw, now isn't that sweet?" Lorelai said.

Rory just rolled her eyes and tossed some paper at her. Thus, the wrapping paper war started.

xox

"One." everyone shouted.

With each number counted down, Lorelai thought of a memory from the past year. It was certainly a year to remember. She couldn't remember one where she'd been as happy as she had in this one.

"Happy birthday and happy New Year!" they all yelled as the clock struck twelve and they blew into their noise makers.

Everyone proceeded into singing 'Happy Birthday' to the twins. When the song had ended, Lorelai and Luke leaned over the twins and "helped" them blow out their birthday candles. Rory, who had had the camera ready, quickly snapped the picture and smiled.

Then, to everyone's suprise, the candles sprung back to life.

"What the hell?" Luke asked. "Did they just re-light themselves?" he asked Lorelai.

Lorelai laughed and said evily. "Yes."

"Lorelai! Did you buy re-light candles?" he asked.

"Maybe." she said, diverting her eyes and laughing.

They leaned over once more and blew them out. Once the candles had permanently been blown out, they cut the cake. Lauren and Will had it all over their face and everyone found it amusing. Lorelai had made sure to snap lots of pictures of them. After all, it was their first birthday.

"You're crazy." Luke told her.

"But you love me." she quipped.

"Yes I do." he said and gave her a kiss.

And for the last picture on the second roll of film, Rory had made sure to snap this one.

-----

A/N: Well, there it is. This was a verrrrry long chapter. Nineteen pages to be exact. lol I very much enjoyed writing this fic. You guys don't know how much. I appreciate all of my readers and reviewers. You are the ones who made writing this fic all worth it. So, the Tom and Jerry costumes... I don't know how I came up with that, I just did. lol I tried to make this chapter and this fic as much In Character as I could. I am in the process of fixing a few kinks in some chapters.

Well, some things that you should know about this story: I got the title when I was listening to this song on the computer while writing this.. Always Be My Baby by Mariah Carey was playing and I remembered that it was my favorite song when I was a little girl. I couldn't, for the life of me, think of a title for this fic, so I just decided to use Always Be My Baby.

Another thing: there will be a sequel. I'll try to get it posted as soon as I can. I've been working on this chapter since Saturday, so I don't think I'll be updating the rest of this week. Plus, I have family over and then I'm going down to my aunts for her Fourth of July bash. And I also have to take my Permit test today. I hope I pass! Then I'll finally be able to drive. lol

I'll also be in the process of writing three other new fics besides Always Be My Baby's sequel (which is yet to be titled). Once I've got the sequel going, I'll see if I have time to start the others. If not, I'll write and post them eventually. I hope you'll read them!

Once again, thank you guys soooooo much for reading! You are the reason this story got this far. Happy one year Anniversary! A year ago today I wrote this, and now a year later, I'm finishing it. Love you all!