Disclaimer: Lucky # 10, but still no money rolling in
Author's Note: This fic was in me for a while. I've read several stories that have Luke becoming an instant father, and the authors did a great job on them. What I did was take the events of season 6 using Luke's same daughter, his same ex and put them in at an earlier time-where he and Lorelai were still friends. It's definitely AU, but some events are the same. It's not a regurgitation of the show. I have to say that. Maybe a few words here and there may be familiar, but I didn't just copy big chunks. I'm not a fan of that at all. I'll just toss a general warning in here saying that it may not be appropriate for younger readers and leave it at that. Love you all.
It's All So Simple
The day was going smoothly for Luke. The diner was just under capacity for most of the day, and surprisingly, there were no moments during that time when he found himself ready to explode on a customer, namely Kirk. He was in a mechanical state. If someone needed coffee, he'd quickly walk to retrieve the coffee pot and top off that customer's drink. If a bill was requested, he'd calculate the total, rip off the slip and hand it over before heading off to complete another task. That was how his day had been going. It was almost as if he was on auto-pilot, doing his job without any signs of aggravation.
Nearly forty-five minutes after dinner had begun, the crowd finally thinned out. Three of the nine tables in the diner were occupied, and only one person sat at the counter.
Luke stood behind the counter and took a deep breath. It was the first time that he was not moving or doing. He looked down the counter at the older lady who sat drinking a cup of coffee while she worked on a crossword puzzle. He looked at her for a moment, distantly sharing in her obvious serenity. She looked up at him and smiled, and he gave her a courtesy smile before looking away. He grabbed his towel from underneath the counter and began to wipe the counter, moving salt shakers and ketchup bottles as he did so.
Bells resonated suddenly around the diner. Luke looked up briefly, and seeing who it was, he abandoned his towel and instead reached down to grab the large blue mug. He grabbed the coffee pot and sat the mug flat on the countertop before filling it to the brim.
"This is getting too easy, Luke. It's like you've given up on me." Lorelai climbed onto the stool in front of where he had placed the mug.
Luke turned and sat the pot back on the machine. "What do you mean?" He asked.
She took a sip, releasing a sigh of unadulterated appreciation at the liquid bliss. "You don't lecture me anymore on the dangers of coffee. We don't go back and forth anymore. I just come in and you pour. What's that about?" She asked taking another sip.
"How many times do I actually win in the back and forth?" He asked. Lorelai shrugged knowingly. "You want coffee, there's your coffee," he said dully as he resumed his task of wiping the counter.
She set down her mug when nearly half of its content was ingested. "It was nice to know you cared, is all," she stated.
He tossed her a glance. "Okay, starting tomorrow, I'll start back talking just to hear myself talk while you go back to ultimately getting your way by annoying me to no end." He stopped and looked at her.
She smiled. "That's all I'm asking for," she said satisfied.
"You're impossible," he muttered.
"You're an enabler," she said.
"I can always take the rest of this--" He acted like he was about to take her mug, and she leaned back as she brought it from her lips.
"No need to get drastic," she said with furrowed brows. Luke shook his head and started placing all the counter's condiments back in the original location.
"Okay, then. I just won't let you have any more."
"Alright, Mr. Bumble, you win. Forget I said anything."
Luke stepped back and sighed, admiring his strategic placement of all the items. "Oliver Twist, right?" He asked looking at her.
Her eyes widened. "I'm impressed."
He almost smiled. Almost. "Don't be. I still have millions of outdated references to review before being able to follow you in any conversation."
"You do alright."
"Yeah," he said doubtfully. "I bet I do."
She smiled.
"Food?"
"Sure," she replied.
"What can I get ya?"
"Burger and curly fries."
Luke wrote her order on the pad and peered at her over the top of it. "That stuff'll kill ya," he said on cue.
She smiled wide. "But, boy oh boy, what a way to go."
He shook his head before heading into the kitchen.
The bells above the door sounded again, announcing another presence in the diner.
Lorelai turned around and saw a young girl standing just inside the door, looking around the diner. The contraption she had on her head had Lorelai rearing back slightly in confusion as she continued to look at her.
After a few more seconds of browsing, the girl came to stand in front of the counter two stools from the one Lorelai occupied. "Hi," Lorelai said sweetly, causing the girl to take notice of her.
"Oh, hi," she answered back.
Lorelai smiled. "I like your head gear there," she said pointing briefly to it.
She removed it. "Yeah, it's just something I put together. The ones in the bike aisle offer no real protection. Unless, of course you ride and fall on a rubber pallet," she said knowingly.
Lorelai nodded hugely. "I know what you mean. Definitely not for the serious bike riders. I like the way you think. Plus, if you ever find yourself in an impromptu game of football, you'll be all set," she said shrugging.
"That'd be weird," she said with a confused expression.
"Weird, yes, but while everyone else, me included, is running and ducking from the pigskin, you'll be the envy of everyone, my friend."
"You're weird," she said smiling.
"And you're my inspiration," Lorelai said winking.
"Everyone else just thinks I'm some kind of a freak."
Lorelai waved away her comment. "What do they know? They're too busy getting hit in the head with footballs."
The girl laughed. She turned back toward the counter. "You know, usually I don't talk to strangers because they may try to kidnap me, tie me up, and possibly put me in a some type of enlarged cage..." Lorelai's eyes widened at the girl's words, as well as her matter-of-fact tone, "...but you are really easy to converse with. If you're a kidnapper, there are a lot of kids out there that don't stand a chance."
"Um, thank you?" Lorelai said with amusement. The little girl only laughed again. "Don't worry, I'm completely harmless. I have a daughter myself, and I warned her about the dangers of talking to strangers too, although, I tried to leave out, uh, cage details."
"Most parents do. That's what television's for. I call it the tel-it-like-is-vision."
Lorelai chuckled. The girl definitely had an addictive personality. "Well, Stars Hollow is the exception. Trust me. Everybody knows everybody."
She nodded. "Yeah, that's what my mom said."
Lorelai looked out the diner's glass door at the girl's bike. "Are you new in town?" She asked.
"No, just visiting," she said looking straight ahead. Lorelai followed her gaze and saw her looking at Luke through the square opening in the wall. He was too busy on the grill to notice.
"You're alone?" Lorelai asked, concerned.
She turned and looked at Lorelai. "Oh, don't worry. I'm only here for a minute. And, I have..." She looked down at her watch, "...exactly one hour and three minutes before the sun sets making it harder for over-worked drivers to see me on their way home from work, and I have one hour and thirty four minutes before traffic slows making it more difficult for anyone to see or hear my cries for help if the situation arises," she said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
Again, Lorelai's eyes widened. "You're very thorough," she said, silently worrying about the girl's true safety.
"Thank you."
At that moment, Luke came from the back. "Two more minutes on your fries," he said already looking around for something to busy himself with. He spotted the little girl. "Where's your parents?" He asked looking at her sideways.
"Well, my mom's in Woodbridge, and my father...well, that has yet to be determined," she said.
Luke frowned. "Do you have change?" He asked.
The girl looked briefly to Lorelai before turning back to him. "Excuse me?" She asked.
Luke sighed exhaustedly. "Are you planning on buying something and then paying for it with a handful of change that you've saved up from your piggy bank?"
"Uh, no. I have a bank account. Do you own a piggy bank?" She asked confusedly.
"No, I don't own a pi--." He sighed. "Do you want to order something?"
"No thanks. I've eaten."
Luke looked at her for a moment. Tried not to get annoyed. "Then, why are you here?" He asked. Lorelai looked at her too, awaiting her answer.
"Follicles," she said casually.
Luke looked relieved. Progress. "Oh, well, we don't sell popsicles," he replied.
Lorelai looked at the girl strangely. "She didn't say popsicles, Luke."
"Yeah, I said follicles," she said more clearly.
Luke's face scrunched up. "What is that?"
She waved Luke over, and he threw a glance at Lorelai who was looking as confused as he was. He released a huge breath before trudging nearer to her. He stopped short of the counter, standing about one and a half feet from her. She climbed on the stool and reached over, quickly yanking a piece of hair from his head.
"Ow! What the...?!" Luke exclaimed grabbing the side of his head.
She studied the piece of hair in her hand before taking out a plastic baggie. "This is a perfect sample. I pulled it just right."
Luke's forehead crinkled in anger, and he looked at Lorelai like she would know what was going on. She took her cue from him. 'Uh, Sweetie...what-what was that for?"
"I probably should have explained myself a little better, huh?"
"Better? You didn't explain anything! Why'd you pull my hair?"
"I'm sorry about that. I have a science project coming up at my middle school, Martin Van Buren next Thursday. Long story short, one kid always wins it. I hate him, and I refuse to let him take another victory. My plans for this year's fair involve my uncle, who's an accomplished lab tech, hair samples from three exes of one Anna Nardini, and one positive DNA test." She held up the baggie. "Title: 'Who's my daddy?" She said brightly.
Luke and Lorelai both stared at her, mouths open, words lost.
She continued. "Okay, sorry about the hair pulling," she said putting her helmet back on. "I have to go now. Math isn't always precise, so I'm going to get a jump start on those sleepless workers." She flashed a smile and was out of the door before either could utter a word.
A full minute passed before Lorelai was able to look away from the spot that she'd been looking at since the girl's departure. She looked at Luke, and he slowly lifted his eyes to meet hers.
Her lips moved as she tried to find something supportive to say. "At least she's not using it for voodoo," she said shrugging.
TBC...