"I need you to push down and hold it, Lorelai. Good job. Five, four, three, two, one and breathe," said Dr. Rosen. She looked up to check the monitor. "Okay, you have about 30 seconds until your next contraction."

Lorelai lay back breathing heavily as Luke kept his arm wrapped around her left thigh and his tightly clasped hand in hers. "You're doing great. He's almost here," said Luke as he stared at his wife in awe.

They had only arrived at the hospital an hour earlier after being awakened by Lorelai's water breaking. Dr. Rosen was right. This being Lorelai's second pregnancy put her labor on the fast track. By the time they got to the hospital, she was already five centimeters dilated and the epidural was administered almost immediately before it was too late. Ten minutes after the drugs hit her system, Lorelai was calm, cool, and collected. And tired. It was one in the morning by the time they arrived to her labor and delivery suite. As quickly as she was about to fall asleep, the doctor came in to check her cervix and Lorelai was already at ten centimeters.

"Good," she breathed. "Hotel Utero is about to close its doors for good." Because of the epidural, her labor pains were minimized down to what felt like stomach cramps and a whole lot of pressure. She could deal with that. It was also extremely comforting to not have to go through this alone. Luke was amazing. If he was terrified or disgusted, he wasn't showing it. He grabbed her leg when the doctor instructed him to and hasn't let go since. She grabbed ahold of her other thigh as the doctor ordered her to start pushing once again.

"Good girl. I can see the head. Keep pushing, Lorelai." Dr. Rosen glanced up to make sure Lorelai was ready.

With one final breath, Lorelai pushed down as hard as she could until she felt the pressure release and heard the loud wails from their newborn son. Luke turned towards her, his eyes watery with emotion, and through her exhaustion, Lorelai smiled back. She watched as Luke cut the cord and Eli was brought over to a neonatal scale to be wiped down, measured, and weighed. They swaddled him tightly and placed a soft, pink and blue striped beanie on his head before finally introducing him to his mommy.

Lorelai cradled Eli in her arms and whispered, "Happy birthday, my little Valentine. I'm so glad you're here." Lorelai's due date was actually February 15th, but as luck would have it, and much to Lorelai's excitement, he was born on Valentine's Day.

She carefully pulled off his hat to take a peek at the dark brown wisps of hair underneath. She put her lips to his forehead and inhaled the scent of him. Blue. He definitely smelled blue. After placing soft kisses on both closed eyes and then his nose, Lorelai looked over at her teary-eyed husband. "Look what we made. Do you want to hold your son?"

Luke nodded, unable to form the words. He bent down and scooped up their tiny baby before reclaiming his spot on the chair next to Lorelai's bed. "Hi, little guy," said Luke softly. "I'm your daddy."

Lorelai smiled at the sight of her little family. She could feel exhaustion taking over, but she wanted to savor this moment for as long as possible.

"You're almost done, Lorelai. All that's left is for you to deliver the placenta." Dr. Rosen turned to Luke and added, "If you want to walk with the nurse down to the nursery, you can. They'll get Eli all cleaned up and run some tests to make sure he's 100% in the clear."

Luke looked unsure at the thought of leaving his wife, but he also wasn't ready to part with his son just yet. Lorelai made the decision for him.

"Go, hon. I'll be fine. I'll see you two in a little bit." Lorelai held her arms out to signal she wanted to see her baby one more time before he was taken away. She placed tiny kisses on his cheek and watched as Luke carefully placed him in the hospital-issued bassinet.

Luke looked down at his wife as if seeing her for the first time. He cupped her face in both his hands and kissed her deeply. With their foreheads pressed together he whispered, "I love you so much."

Lorelai kissed him once more. "I love you, too. Keep an eye on my little man."

Thirty minutes later, Lorelai was recovering and waiting for her guys to join her. The door opened and in walked Luke cradling Eli in his arms. Lorelai smiled. "You look good with a baby. So, tell me his stats."

"He is nineteen inches long and weighs six pounds eleven ounces. They said everything looks good so far." Luke carefully handed Eli to his mother and took a seat on the couch next to the window.

Lorelai lay him down on the bed in front of her and unwrapped the receiving blanket. He wore only a diaper and little, blue hospital booties on his feet. She took in the sight of her tiny little boy before reaching around and untying her hospital gown. She pulled it down to her waist and carefully scooped Eli up to rest him on her chest.

Luke stood and helped her pull the gown up and over the baby, covering the both of them like a blanket. "Are you going to feed him now or do you want to wait until he wakes up again?"

"I'll wait. I just wanted to feel his skin against mine," said Lorelai softly. "Did you call Rory? It's three in the morning, but she said to call her anytime."

"Yeah. I called her while they cleaned up Eli. She's on her way. Did you want me to call your parents?"

"I'll do that. I want Rory to meet him first." Lorelai rocked her baby slowly side to side as she listened to his little grunts and whimpers. It wasn't long before he started squirming, moving his head from side-to-side as if he was searching for something. "Are you ready to eat, E-Man?"

Luke watched as Lorelai expertly cradled their son into position underneath her left breast. It took Eli only a few seconds to latch on before he started suckling away. Luke grabbed the receiving blanket and wrapped it around his son's little body as best he could without disturbing him.

Lorelai watched Luke carefully for any signs of disgust and to her surprise he actually looked fascinated. She relaxed immediately and began to enjoy the strange, yet wonderful, feel of her baby boy nursing for the first time.

"Does it hurt?" asked Luke, trying not to stare too hard at his wife's exposed breasts.

"When he first latches on it's pretty intense, but after a minute, it just feels like gentle tugging." Lorelai looked down at Eli and watched his little jaw move up and down. His fists were balled up tightly and his left one rested on the valley in between her breasts. She lifted it up and placed a light kiss on his teeny, tiny knuckles just as her daughter entered the room.

"Hi. Oh, my God. He's so tiny," whispered Rory as she perched gingerly on the edge of Lorelai's bed. She held her hand out in front of her and quickly looked away. "Woah! I guess we can see now who wins the 'Whose boobs are bigger' argument of 2000."

Lorelai chuckled as she pulled her gown up slightly. "Sorry. I was doing skin-to-skin and he decided he was ready to eat."

"No, it's fine. Do your thing. How are you feeling?" asked Rory unable to look away from her tiny brother.

"I'm still a little woozy from the epidural, so I can't feel any pain if there is any. I'm sure by the end of the day I'll be feeling sore." Lorelai lifted Eli to her shoulder and patted his back until he burped softly. "Good job, E-Man."

Rory and Luke watched as Lorelai switched Eli to her other breast with ease. Once he was nursing again they looked at each other and shared a smile.

"So, Luke. I see no bandages on your head. Does that mean you made it through without passing out?" teased Rory.

"He held onto my leg for dear life, that's for sure," chuckled Lorelai causing Luke to blush slightly.

"It wasn't so bad," said Luke trying to act nonchalant.

"Have you called grandma and grandpa yet?" asked Rory

"Not yet. I wanted you to be the first one to see him." Lorelai looked down to see that Eli had fallen back asleep, his little mouth open. After another successful burp, Lorelai placed him down in front of her so she could pull her gown back up. She swaddled him tightly and motioned for Rory to come closer.

Rory sat next to her mother and opened her arms as Lorelai carefully placed Eli inside, reminding her to support his head. She stared down at her baby brother in complete adoration. His round cheeks and pouty lips like their mother. Luke's long eyelashes and fingers. Eli was the perfect combination of the two most important people in her life. "We know he's a Valentine's Day baby, but what time was he born?"

Lorelai smiled. "2:14."

"You're kidding? That'll be easy to remember. 2:14 on 2/14. Wow…" Rory placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "Happy birthday, little brother."

A few hours later Lorelai was fastening the snaps on the flannel onesie she made for Eli when Emily and Richard knocked lightly on the door. They entered the room and smiled at the sight of Lorelai with their new grandson.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" asked Emily quietly. She and Richard took a seat on the couch.

"So far, so good. I'm starving, so Luke went down to the cafeteria to see if they had anything." Lorelai smiled down at her little guy dressed in plaid. She slid his booties back on as well as his hat before re-wrapping him in his blanket. "Come meet your grandson."

Emily quickly stood and took her proffered grandbaby in her arms. She swayed from side to side slowly for a moment before resuming her spot next to Richard. "He's beautiful, Lorelai. He has your lips and God help us all, hopefully not your mouth."

Lorelai rolled her eyes but smiled at her mother's inability to resist a playful jab. She thought seeing her parents with her son would be bring back lots of old memories from when Rory was born. That panicked feeling she used to get when her mother would order the nanny to take Rory so Lorelai could rest or study or pretty much breathe. She felt only love as she watched her parents smile and talk softly to Eli. The scene in front of her filled Lorelai with warmth as she leaned back against her pillow and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

She awoke feeling groggy and sore. Her eyelids were heavy, but she forced them open anyway. Panic quickly set in when she realized the room was empty. She looked over at the clock. 12:30 PM. No wonder her breasts felt full and achy, she missed Eli's feeding. Eli. And Luke. Where was everyone? The curtains were drawn, so there was very little light in the room. She felt for her cellphone that was on top of the side table but knocked it onto the floor. She grunted her frustration and whipped the blanket off of her. Before she could stand on what would most likely be wobbly legs, the door to her room opened and a nurse followed by Luke came in pushing the bassinet.

Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her baby all bundled up and snoozing away inside the bassinet. Luke rushed to her side when he realized she must have been in a panic.

"What the hell? Where did everyone go?" asked Lorelai not willing to let Eli out of her eyesight.

"I'm sorry. You fell asleep and I knew you were exhausted, so I didn't want to wake you. They took Eli to have his…circumcision done." Luke watched Lorelai's widen. "It went good. They put a numbing cream on him first, so I don't think he even felt anything."

Lorelai's eyes filled with tears at the thought of her precious baby in any sort of pain. "Bring him to me. I miss him."

Luke carried Eli over to Lorelai. When he had returned earlier with her breakfast, he was surprised to see she had fallen asleep while her parents were still there. It was somewhat awkward at first, but the baby proved to be a welcoming distraction and a topic of conversation he didn't mind discussing. Lorelai had just finished feeding Eli before her parents showed up, so he ended up sleeping peacefully for the few hours that she had fallen asleep.

"You look exhausted, babe. Lie down. I got this," said Lorelai as she pulled her gown off once again to feed her son.

"Okay. Just for a little while. Don't let me sleep too long." Luke sat down on the small couch and scooted so that the back of his head rested on the back of the couch. After only a few minutes, his soft snores could be heard and Lorelai knew he was out cold.

After Eli's feeding, Lorelai pulled her legs up and rested him on her thighs with his butt on her tummy. This was her first moment alone with her baby. His tiny fingers wrapped around her pinky and slowly he started to open his eyes. Dark blue, sleepy eyes stared back at her and her heart completely melted.

"Welcome to the world, Eli Lee Danes," whispered Lorelai. She smiled as she watched his tiny legs kick out looking for that resistance he had been used to for so long. "You did a lot of that when you were in mommy's tummy, didn't you?"

Eli was still wearing the flannel onesie that Lorelai had dressed him and she mentally kicked herself for falling asleep before seeing her parents reaction to the outfit. Looking at him now, Lorelai couldn't get over the amount of love she felt for this tiny person. "You, little man, are the best thing to ever come from a drunken night. I was so upset by the thought that you weren't planned and what if that meant I loved you less, but I couldn't be more wrong. I'm going to love you so much, sweet baby boy, that no woman will ever be good enough for you." Lorelai pulled off his booties and brought both of Eli's bare feet up to her lips to kiss them softly.

The next afternoon Luke was creeping along the interstate as other cars whipped by honking their horns.

"Hon, you have to at least go the speed limit," Lorelai called out from the backseat of the Audi. "We can't take two hours to get home or else you'll have to pull over so I can nurse your son on the side of the road."

"I'm sorry, but the snow on the road is making me nervous," grumbled Luke as he gradually began to pick up speed.

Forty-five minutes later they arrived home to a porch filled with balloons and flowers. Lorelai carried Eli's carseat as Luke grabbed their bags.

"Wow. It's like Princess Diana's memorial out here. Where did all of this come from?" Lorelai set down the baby carrier next to the front door and plucked a card from a bouquet of red roses. "Congratulations on your little Valentine. Love, Miss Patty. Aw, how sweet."

"Okay we can ooh and ahh over this mess later. Let's get him inside." Luke unlocked the door and quickly ushered his wife and child inside. They removed their coats and he made a beeline for the fireplace. He wanted to light a fire in hopes that it would warm up the house quicker than turning on the heater.

During the remodel, one of the first things on Luke's list was to replace the central air and heat in Lorelai's house. There was no way he could live in a place where the only source of warmth during the frigid, East coast winters was a fireplace and an oven.

Lorelai placed Eli's carseat on top of the coffee table before gently easing herself down on the sofa. "Man, I'm so tired. And hungry. And gross. I really need to shower."

"Is he okay in there?" asked Luke as he pointed at his sleeping son.

"Of course he is. Trust me, babe. Rule one of Parent Club is never, ever, under any circumstances, wake a sleeping baby. Now, as much as I would love to lounge around in these sweatpants all day, I need to get cleaned up. You want me to take him or are you okay?"

"Go shower. We'll be fine." Luke offered her his hands to help pull her up off the couch. When she stood, he pulled her in for a hug. "Are you happy?" he whispered into her hair.

Lorelai looked up at him and smiled. "The happiest."

They shared a soft, lingering kiss before Lorelai grabbed their bags and headed for the stairs. Luke stood there unsure of what to do. He looked around the room and then down at Eli. He shrugged before grabbing the carrier and moving it to the floor. "Sorry, but that was making me nervous."

Lorelai smiled at the faint sounds of ESPN highlights coming from the downstairs television. She turned on the shower and began to undress. At two days postpartum, Lorelai looked like she was only a few months pregnant. It was an odd thing, but she actually missed her bigger, pregnant belly. Or, more-so, she missed having Eli all to herself.

Luke watched as Eli's tiny feet kicked up from underneath his blanket. He lowered the handle on the carseat and unbuckled his son, lifting him out carefully. Even with the fireplace on, the room still had a chill, so he grabbed the blanket from inside the carseat and wrapped it around the baby. Luke sat back down with his leg crossed so that he could prop Eli on top of his lap. His little eyes opened and Luke couldn't help but smile.

"Welcome home, buddy. I hope you like it here. I know it's not as small and cozy as your mom's stomach, but trust me. It won't be long before she starts filling it with crap again. But what she eats, you eat. Right? I think that's how it works. I'll try my best to keep some kind of nutrition in her diet. For your sake, at least. It's probably too late for her." Luke chuckled. He noticed a slight grimace on Eli's face that quickly turned into somewhat of a whimper. After unwrapping the blanket, Luke brought the baby up to his shoulder. He patted his butt gently before realizing Eli had a wet diaper.

After her shower, Lorelai felt like a new woman. Clean and relaxed and…shit. She could hear Eli's tiny wails and the sound of Luke's soothing voice trying desperately to calm him down. Lorelai quickly dressed in a pair of leggings and her favorite Luke flannel and made her way downstairs.

"Hey," she said softly. "What happened?"

Luke held his crying son against his shoulder as he bounced him up and down gently. "He started squirming in his seat, so I took him out. Then I noticed he felt a little wet, so I undid the snappy things on his clothes to change him and he started hollering."

"He's probably cold in here. Babies don't like to be cold. Bring him upstairs, it's warmer." Lorelai led the way upstairs and down the hall to Eli's nursery. She instructed Luke to place the baby down on the changing table. The panicked, hurt look on Luke's face broke her heart, but she had to make sure he could handle things on his own. "He's going to cry until he gets used to this, Hon. It doesn't mean he loves you any less."

Luke watched as Lorelai grabbed a clean diaper, a warmed wet wipe, and a tube of A&D ointment. He grimaced as Eli's cries intensified once Lorelai undressed him completely. They worked as a team: Luke pulled the dirty diaper off as Lorelai slid the clean one on. He watched carefully as Lorelai applied the ointment to the area of Eli's circumcision just like the nurses had showed them. She tossed the diaper into the Diaper Genie and his discarded clothes into the hamper. Luke dressed Eli in a pair of footed pajamas that zipped up the middle and his cries finally ceased.

"Oh, buddy, I'm so sorry," said Luke softly as he lifted up his son and cradled him to his chest. He chuckled as he watched Eli root around in search of Lorelai's breast. "You won't find the goods here."

Lorelai took a seat on the rocking chair and motioned for Luke to hand the baby over to her as she unbuttoned her flannel. Soon the room filled with the sound of Eli's soft little grunts.

"That's definitely your kid. Whenever he's eating, he's happy," said Luke as he watched them for a moment. "Speaking of which, I'm gonna go whip something up. Any requests?"

Lorelai smiled happily. "A cheeseburger sounds amazing. With tater tots. And a boysenberry pie."

Luke shook his head in disbelief. "Unbelievable. Just when I thought I saved you from the Dark Side."

"I like to think of it as temporary insanity. Now, scoot! Before your kid sucks the life out of me."

Lorelai watched Luke leave the room and then turned her attention back to her son. "One thing you will learn quickly about your daddy, kid. He will grumble and complain when he doesn't agree with you, but with a little effort, he'll give in to what it is you want. Especially when it comes to you and me. And you know why?" Lorelai gently rubbed her son's round cheek with her index finger. "He loves us more than anything in this whole world. Don't ever question that."

Lorelai smiled as her son's dark blue eyes, that were so much like his daddy's, looked up at her. At that moment, Eli was only hers again and she knew they had a lifetime of little moments together like this to look forward to. In less than a year, Lorelai had become a consultant for a major corporation, a wife to an amazing man, and a mother for the second time. Sometimes, a change of plans is exactly what a person needs to realize that there is so much more to life than they could possibly imagine. Unplanned does notmean unwanted or unloved. It means that there are times when life knows what you need before even you do.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the love this story has received! I think this has been my favorite one to write so far and I am bummed about saying goodbye to it. I won't do an epilogue just in case I do consider writing a sequel. I'm not entirely sure that I will (I don't ever want my stories to overstay their welcome and get dragged out), but if I can think of enough storylines (or feel free to leave suggestions in a review or DM me) it could happen. Have a wonderful weekend, guys! :)