Work Text:
December 1993
“Could they be any more adorable right now?” Lorelai asked Luke, grinning wide.
“Probably not,” her husband noted, pulling her closer and kissing the top of her head.
They stood by the door, watching Rory and Jess who were sat together on the couch, taking turns to read aloud from A Visit From St Nicholas, both for their own amusement and for the baby in the crib nearby.
Will was only a month old and currently sleeping, so there really wasn’t much point in the reading for his sake anyway, but Lorelai let them carry on. If it made her little girl and Luke’s nephew happy, then that was fine by her.
“‘And I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight,’” said Rory, looking at Jess with a grin.
“‘Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night,’” they recited together, closing the book between them and giggling madly.
Lorelai gave a quiet round of applause for the performance and Luke told them that they had done a great job.
“You think Will liked it?” asked Rory, throwing herself off the couch to come closer to the crib and peer inside at her baby brother.
“I think he loved it,” Lorelai promised her, strangely relieved to find the little one was awake now - Rory probably would’ve been upset to think he slept through her reading for him. “Come on, bubba, come say hi,” said Lorelai then, lifting Will into her arms.
She carried him over to the armchair and sat down with him cradled in her arms. Rory resumed her place on the couch by Jess, frowning when she saw the look on his face.
“What?” she asked him. “Why are you staring at my brother like that?”
“He’s so small,” said Jess with some kind of wonder in his voice.
“Don’t let him fool you,” Lorelai advised. “He has a heck of a grip in his hands and a huge about of room for air in his lungs.”
“Doesn’t he just?” Luke rolled his eyes, clearly recalling the crying in the night that Will was wont to do sometimes. “He’s pretty special though.”
“Yes, he is.” Lorelai smiled. “Hey, Jess, you want a turn at holding him?” she offered the little boy who was clearly fascinated yet.
“Yeah, you can hold him.” Rory grinned at him. “You can’t really say you met him properly until you hold him. I do it all the time,” she said smartly.
“Okay.” Jess nodded, even though he looked more than a little scared about it.
Lorelai got up and moved over to the couch, while Rory instructed Jess on how to put his arms and that he must always support Will’s head - that was very important.
“Listen to the little expert here,” said Lorelai of her daughter even as she gently lay her son into Jess’ arms. “You all good, kid?”
“I think so,” he told her, holding onto Will and being oh-so-careful not to squash him or drop him, clearly putting all his concentration on keeping the little boy’s head up just like Rory had told him.
“Will, this is Jess,” Rory said then, practically sticking her face in her brother’s own, her hair getting in Jess’ eyes in the process. “He’s our cousin and my very best friend in the whole world,” she said definitely.
Lorelai stepped back and grinned at the sight of the smile on Jess’ lips as well as the similar look on Rory’s face. They were the best kids in the world - along with Will, of course - and they clearly couldn’t love each other more.