Recently, I've been in a bit of a Gilmore Girls phase, and there are so many ways I want season 6 to be different (and season 7 to be completely redone from scratch). So here's a product of that.
It's very unusual for April to not share her science project with her mother. At first, Anna doesn't think much of it. April's twelve, she's entering puberty and leaving the age where she'll tell mommy dearest everything. And maybe it's supposed to be a big surprise to Anna as well, something really special. Either way, Anna doesn't ask much. She doesn't understand most of the science anyway. Maybe April just figures that it'd be easier to tell her all about it when it's finished.
But then April starts to ask if she still has her old diaries and letters from when she was younger. Twelve years younger, to be more exact. When Anna asks what she needs it for, April very evasively says that it's for her science project before she changes the subject to cell mutation and parting, and Anna just tunes her out and helps her find the letters and diaries.
Anna doesn't figure out what the science project and the letters have to do with each other until she one day sees some diary entries splayed out on the coffee table, with red markings around three names: John, Luke, and Dave. Anna's three big romances in life. Curious, she takes a closer look at the things on the table, and that's when she finds out exactly what April wants to do for her science project. She wants to find her father.
"April!" Anna calls out. "Come down here!"
April comes bouncing into the living room a moment later, and Anna holds up the preliminary draft for the experiment. She doesn't have to say anything, April blushes immediately and starts mumbling incoherently. "April," Anna says, and April closes her mouth. "Are you trying to find your father?"
"Yes," April replies sheepishly.
"Honey, why didn't you just ask me?" Anna asks. She feels a little hurt that April didn't come to her with this.
"Why should I?" April asks confusedly, which also confuses Anna a little bit.
"If you want to get to know your father, all you had to do was say so and I'd try to work something out," she replies. "Although I'm a little surprised. You've never expressed an interest in wanting to get to know him."
"That's not what this is about," April says hurriedly. Anna frowns. Now she's really confused.
"Then what's it about?" she asks, and for some reason, she feels a little apprehensive.
"It's just for the science fair," April says. Anna blinks. That's the reason? She considers sitting down to take the news better, but then she realizes that she'll be mad in a minute, so sitting down would be a waste.
"Excuse me?" she says. April just blinks. "Could you explain that again?"
"Science is so political these days, the beauty of science isn't enough to win the fair anymore. There has to be a twist, and preferably a personal one," April says, sounding a little bitter. "I have to win this year, because I have to beat Samuel Palotski, and the only way to do that, is find some sort of twist in science. I figured this was perfect. It's personal, dramatic, and with a good scientific background."
"You wanted to find your father to win a science fair?" Anna asks incredulously. She can hardly believe it.
"Uh, yeah," April says, sounding confused. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"Of course there's something wrong with that!" Anna shouts. April jumps and takes a step back. "You're intending on going out and telling three people that they might be a father! That could change their lives hugely."
"Why would it change their lives?" April asks. "I'm not asking them to have anything to do with me. That's not what I want."
"But what if that's what they want?" Anna asks, and April looks like she just realized she missed a variable. "You can't control that. You can't just tell someone they're a father and then say you want nothing to do with them. They might want a relationship with you. And while I wouldn't mind, you have to find your father for the right reason! Not just for a science fair to beat Samuel What's-his-name."
"Palotski," April says.
"Whatever," Anna brushes her off. "But don't you see that you can't do this? I never told your father about you, and I would be happy to go on like this for the rest of my life. Now, if you really want to meet your father, then I will try to contact him and figure something out, but you can't do this."
"But I wanna win!" April says loudly and defiantly.
"Find another project!" Anna says adamantly. "This could change not only our lives, but someone else's life as well. Unless you really want to see your father and get to know him, then you are staying away from those three men."
"But –"
"The end!"
April's face turns red again, this time with anger, and she stomps upstairs in an angry huff. Anna sighs and collapses in an armchair.
They don't speak for days. Not really, anyhow. They communicate when it's necessary, such as when Anna informs April that it's time for dinner, and when April goes to bed. It's all very cold, but still civil enough for it to be bearable. Anna can tell that April is mad about her ruining the science project, but this is not one where Anna is going to apologize. April will have to get over it, because Anna is not budging. The girl didn't think the situation through when she started her project. This time, Anna is right, April is wrong, and April is going to be the one to break the ice.
The only time they really talk with each other is a fight, so it's not so much talking as it's shouting. Anna finds out one evening that April is carrying on with her project, and although she's only done the theoretical parts so far, and hasn't tried contacting any of the men yet, Anna gets mad, because she told April no. She even finds out that April had begun tracking down Dave. April throws a fit when Anna takes away her notes and repacks all of her own old diaries, so that April can't continue, but Anna still doesn't budge.
"I told you very clearly that the only way you are going to find out who your father is, is if you actually want to know, and not because you want to win a science fair," Anna says sternly before walking out of April's room, closing the door behind her. She can hear April scream and throw something in her room, but even though Anna doesn't like the fight, she doesn't go back into the room.
The next morning, April has calmed down, but continues not to say anything during breakfast. She leaves for school early, which suits Anna fine, to be honest. April will get over her precious science project getting ruined eventually.
That night, Anna sits down on her bed with her old diaries and letters. She was a sap back when she wrote them. The boys were, too. Well, John was, Dave tried, Luke was always too macho to ever do anything sappy. He hardly ever wrote her letters, as well. It had all been part of his charm.
Anna knows that Luke is April's father. She also knows that he hates kids, but has a fantastic, if not overwhelming, sense of duty and responsibility. He'd probably want to try and be April's father. Anna never told him about April because she knew he wouldn't be thrilled. And in the midst of the craziness it was to unexpectedly be pregnant, she wanted to at least have the freedom to be happy about it, without feeling guilty or weighed down by the knowledge that her boyfriend didn't want the kid. Although technically, when Anna found out she was pregnant, Luke was her ex-boyfriend. And maybe it's not fair of her, but Anna had her reasons to never tell Luke.
Anyhow, what's done is done, it's in the past, and there's nothing Anna can do about it now.
The next morning at breakfast, April finally breaks the ice.
"I found a new science project," she says with a mouthful of cereal.
"That's great, honey," Anna says with a smile. "Chew your food first. So what's the new project about?"
On Monday, June 5th, Anna flips through the daily edition of the Hartford Courier, and sees an article that makes her very happy that she stopped April from finding her father for a silly junior high science fair.
It's a small article, with a picture, that tells a little about the marriage that happened between two of Stars Hollow's most beloved citizens: Luke Danes marries Hartford high society girl Lorelai Gilmore, the co-owner of the new Dragonfly Inn. Stars Hollow's most popular couple have finally tied the knot.
Anna can't help but smile at the picture. Luke looks so incredibly happy, next to his beautiful, radiant, blushing bride. They look perfect together. Luke and Lorelai Danes. He's in a tux, looking slick and styled like Anna has never seen him before, and she's wearing a dazzling cream and blush wedding dress. With them on the photo is also a young girl who looks to be in her early twenties, wearing a pretty yellow dress that matches the yellow daisies in the wedding bouquet. She looks a lot like Lorelai. Underneath the photo, it says Mr. and Mrs. Danes, plus the bride's daughter Rory Gilmore. They look like a happy family, all with wide smiles on their faces, and Anna is happy knowing that Luke is doing so well. And she's happy with her decision to never tell Luke about April, and her decision to not let April go out and find him to win the science fair. There's no doubt that it could have caused problems for the wedding and the happy couple.
Anna takes a pair of scissors and cuts the article and the picture out of the newspaper, and she puts it in an old photo album. It's a photo album full of various mementos and memories, fun stuff, sad stuff, sweet stuff that has happened over the years. Not necessarily things that have happened to Anna or April, but also things that have happened to people they hold dear. And Anna may not have seen Luke in years, but she still holds him dear, somewhere in her heart. It's good that he's so happy. Anna wants him to be happy, him and his Mrs. Lorelai Danes, and his new step-daughter.
On Monday, April 24th, a good five years after Anna read the article about Luke's wedding, she reads another article in the Hartford Courier. She doesn't realize that it has anything to do with Luke, but as she skims the paper, she comes across a small article about a wedding: author and publisher Jess Mariano marries Hartford Debutante of 2001 and DAR member Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore in her home town of Stars Hollow. The bridesmaids, both maids of honor, were the mother of the bride Lorelai Danes and the bride's best friend Lane Van Gerbig, while the best man was Luke Danes, uncle to the groom.
Anna blinks. Luke's mentioned in another article. As she reads a little further, she feels her heart warm a little bit when she reads that the ring bearer was Lorelai and Luke's 4-yearold son William Richard Danes. Luke has kids. His own kids, with his wife, kids he decided to have and wanted and love, not a daughter he never planned to have. And that makes Anna happy. Knowing that Luke is doing so well makes Anna happy.
She cuts the article out and puts it next to the article about Luke and Lorelai's wedding. There's a picture to each article. In one, it's Luke and his new family, his new wife and step-daughter. In the other, it's the stepdaughter as a beautiful, smiling bride, in a beautiful white dress, with lace and tulle, next to her new husband, Luke's nephew, in a straight tux, smiling widely, but crookedly.
And Anna is happy knowing that Luke's life is as complete as it is.
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