Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah. I don't own it. You don't own it. The CW, or ABC Family, or someone like that - they own it (along with ASP, of course). So, unless I have some huge inheritance pending, ownership will never be mine. I do own the DVDs though. Does that make me some sort of partial owner - kinda like I have shares? No? Well, it was worth a shot.

O Father of Mine

April Nardini tapped her pen on the table, trying to concentrate on her homework. For the first time she could remember, it wasn't working. All she could think about was the conversation she had had with her friends in the cafeteria that afternoon.

"What?" Cynthia asked. "So you're saying you have no idea who your dad is?"

April shook her head. "Nope. Mom's never talked about him, so I didn't ask."

"But... what are you going to do about the Father's Day dance?" Jodie piped in.

April just shrugged. "I'm not going. It's no big deal."

"Maybe you can borrow my step-dad," Cynthia suggested. "I'm taking my real dad, so he'll be free."

April smiled. "Thanks, but I'm fine. You guys go."

"I think you should ask your mom. You should at least know who the jerk is who left you. Who knows? You could have brothers and sisters."

"I'm fine with just me and my mom, guys. Really."

"Mom?" April called, looking to where her mother was folding laundry in the living room.

"Yeah hon?"

April walked towards her mother, knowing that this wasn't a casual conversation that could be just yelled between rooms. "I've been thinking..."

"A dangerous pastime."

"I know." She smiled at her mother's banter. "I want to know who my father is." She said it quickly before she lost her nerve.

Anna looked around uncomfortably. "Sweetie..." she started before trailing off.

"Mom, I'm old enough to be able to handle it. Whoever this guy is, I won't be upset that he doesn't want to know me. I just want to know who he is – for me."

Anna bit her lip. "Honey, I'm sorry. I don't know who your father is. So I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to." She looked at the ground, ashamed.

"Oh." April's face sank. She looked at her mother for a minute before returning to the dining room, and her waiting homework.

April was smart. She knew all about the birds and the bees. She knew how grown up relationships worked – or were supposed to work. And she knew that something was wrong that her mother didn't know who her father was. She had never had reason to think badly of her mother before, and the knowledge that Anna had been sleeping with more than one man at the same time was a pretty big thing.

It was the night of the Father's Day Dance, and April was home alone. Her mother had said she was meeting friends for dinner, but April knew that she was on a date. She always sang in the shower when there was a man in her life, and this evening, April had been treated to a loud rendition of "Like a Virgin".

All her homework for the weekend was finished, and she didn't really like watching TV, so she was finishing off a piece of vegetarian pizza, trying to decide what to do for her upcoming science project. It wasn't due for two months, but it never hurt to be over-prepared.

The mystery of her father was still bugging her, even though she knew that she wasn't lacking in anything from her mother. It was more a scientific thirst to know where she came from.

She thought about her two problems – the science fair; and her father, intermittently.

"Eureka!" Suddenly she knew how to solve both problems at once. She could find out who the candidates for her paternity were, and do a DNA test for her science project. Her uncle worked in a lab, so she was sure that he could help her with the actual testing part. An actual DNA test would be sure to beat stupid Samuel Pilotski. He had won for the past three years, and was April's nemesis.

The hard part would be to find out who the possible suspects were. She considered just asking her mother, but Anna had been very cagey about the subject, so April decided to start some detective work of her own first. She knew that there were boxes of stuff up in the attic from before she was born. Surely there would be letter or diaries or ... something that helped her.

By the time Anna made it home it was almost 11pm. It was past her bedtime, but April sat very quietly in the living room, four small piles of papers laid out neatly on the table in front of her. She heard giggling and talking out on the porch, and then silence for a few minutes, while she presumed there was kissing going on. Ten minutes after the car had first pulled up, her mother came through the door, a silly grin on her face. The grin quickly faded when she saw April staring at her.

"April, why aren't you in bed?" Anna stuttered, obviously unsure how to approach being caught with a man by her 12-year-old daughter.

"Mom, sit down." Anna obeyed, a questioning look on her face. "I know you said you didn't know who my father was, so I've done some investigating..."

Anna sighed. "Not this again. Just let it go, April."

"No Mom. I won't just let it go. Now, I just need confirmation from you that I'm on the right track."

"Honey, please don't do this. There are very good reasons why I decided to raise you by myself. None of those guys would be any good for you. You're just going to get hurt."

"Mom. I am old enough to make that decision for myself. This is a science experiment. I really want to beat Samuel Pilotsky this year."

"Baby, please. This is destined to work out badly. He won't be a good father, and you will have gotten your hopes up for nothing."

April looked at her mother suspiciously. "You have a pretty good idea who it is, don't you?"

Anna cringed. "I can't be sure."

"Well, I have no delusions of suddenly having a daddy, okay. Please help me with this."

Anna sighed again. "Fine. What then?"

"Right," April started, very professionally. "I have found four possible subjects."

"And how did you find these... subjects?" Anna asked her.

"I went through the stuff in the attic," April said, matter-of-factly.

"April!" Anna yelled. "That stuff is private!"

April ignored her mother's outburst. "As I said, I have found four subjects. What I need from you is confirmation that you were, in fact,... involved... with them at the time I was conceived, and information on anyone else you were... with."

"Fine," Anna gave in.

"First we have a James Wilson-Smith. I have a letter from him to you, dated June 1992, telling you that he was going to be back in town in July, and he'd love to 'catch up' as he put it."

Anna just nodded.

"Next, I have a photo of you and some guy, looking very cozy at some festival. It's date marked 3rd of July 1992 – also about the time I was conceived." She handed Anna the photo.

"God, April. You're very unemotional about this."

"It's science, Mom," she told her, rolling her eyes. "So who's that?"

"Uh... that's Luke," Anna muttered.

"And does Luke have a last name?" April prompted.

Anna sighed again. "Danes."

April grinned. "Great. That eliminates subject number three – several reminders in a 1992 organizer about dates with this Luke guy."

"Good. What's the last one?"

"This one seemed a bit more cryptic. I have a receipt from a bar in Litchfield dated 23rd July 1992, with 'Call me, Mark' and a phone number scribbled on the back. You know, you really are a pack-rat. Now, are you going to tell me who these guys are, or should I do some more research?"

"No, I'll tell you. James was a boyfriend from college. We had broken up when we graduated, and he moved to Chicago. I started dating Luke not long after, and we had been together for about six months when James came back into town. Luke broke up with me when he found out I'd cheated on him with James. I was pretty upset, so I went to this bar to drown my sorrows. That's where I met Mark, who was just a one-night thing. You're too young to know all these details about your mother, honey."

"No it's very good information. Was there anyone else I don't know about?"

Anna looked shocked. "No, sweetie. There was nobody else round that time. I'm not a complete slut!"

April raised her eyebrows at her mother's frankness. She picked up a notebook, and wrote in it. "So we have a James Wilson-Smith, Luke Danes, and Mark...?"

Anna thought hard. "Gilbert? Galway? Gallagher?" she mused. "Yes, Gallagher, like the guys in Oasis. There was a lot of Oasis playing that night, and we laughed about it."

"Do you know where these guys live?" April asked.

"Well... James lives back here in Woodbridge, but I haven't seen him for a while. Luke lived in Stars Hollow. I presume he's still there. Had just opened a diner when I was with him. Mark... well at the time he lived in Litchfield. I was too drunk to remember any details though."

April was satisfied with the information she had received from her mother. She had thought it would be like pulling teeth, getting anything about her love life out of her.

"Now, go to bed. It's really late," Anna commanded.

"Sure." April stood up to leave. As she reached the door, she turned back to her mother. "Thanks Mom. I really appreciate your candor."

"That's okay, sweetie. Goodnight."

April hung up the phone and looked at the notes she had taken from the call. Her uncle had been very helpful. He had instructed her how to get a sample from each of the men, and how to keep the samples uncontaminated. She would cycle down to the science store in town to get some tubes to keep the samples in tomorrow. It had been surprisingly easy to find addresses for each of them. All three had been listed when she called directory, and all still lived close enough for her to visit without having to have her mother drive her. She knew her mother well enough to know that Anna wouldn't want to face these men.

She started to write a draft objective and introduction for her report, making sure to keep a completely scientific mind, and not think about the greater implications of these tests. In a few days, she would know who her father was. She would have a medical history. She would have relatives - whether she actually met them or not, they would exist. She would be able to see where she got her nose, her eyes... all the things that she had noticed were nothing like her mother's.

She shook her head firmly. 'Concentrate,' she told herself. 'It's just like every other experiment you've done. Be professional. Who it is doesn't matter. It's the process that's important.'

April could tell her mother was in a bad mood. She presumed that it had something to do with the DNA tests, as she had been acting weird ever since April had first mentioned wanting to know her father. It was for this reason that she kept quiet all through breakfast.

Today was the day that she planned to get hair samples from each of her possible fathers. If she was honest with herself, she was a little nervous. She knew there was every likelihood that one, or all, of these guys would tell her to get lost, and not even provide a sample. She was hoping that her tenacity would win out in the end – she had no other option but to make this project a success.

Anna approached her from behind, kissed her on the top of her head, and headed off to the store. For once, she didn't ask April what she had planned for the day. They both knew exactly what she was planning, and neither wanted to discuss it.

She cleared her empty bowl into the sink, and fastened her specially-made helmet. She patted her jacket pocket to check she had the three sample tubes, and started her journey. She had decided that she would go to see James first, then all the way over to Litchfield for Mark, and then to Stars Hollow on the way back. It would be a long day of riding, but as it was all in the name of science, she had no complaints.

April took in her surroundings as she rode into the tiny town of Stars Hollow. She decided it was cute. She easily saw a yellow sign swinging in the wind, which said 'Lukes'. Across the road, in the square, was a wooden bench, and it is there that she steered towards. Parking her bike, she sat on the bench, and tried to prepare herself. She had already had two stressful experiences getting the samples.

When she arrived at the apartment of James Wilson-Smith, it took several minutes for him to answer the door. She could smell alcohol on his breath, and he seemed very agitated when she tried to explain why she was there. He had grumbled as he handed over a piece of hair, and muttered that it had better not come out as him being her father.

She had almost been relieved when she arrived in Litchfield to find a pretty house with a white picket fence, which belonged to Mark Gallagher. However, when she said she was doing a DNA test to find her father, he had suddenly gotten very defensive. He pulled her away from the door.

"Fine," he had whispered. "Here's your piece of hair. But I don't want my family to find out if it is me. Make sure your mother knows that. She won't be getting any money from me either."

April had just nodded and left quietly.

Now she sat staring at the busy diner across the road, and started to think that her mother was right. This was really a lot harder than she had thought it would be. And now here she was, about to subject herself to what would likely be another dismissal. She could see a guy behind the counter, who looked like he owned the place. He was running orders, yelling at the other staff, conversing easily with the customers. He belonged there – he fit. And that would make him Luke, like the name on the sign. Like the name in her mother's organizer. She studied him closer. He was tall, and from her vantage point seemed strong – like he did lots of outdoor work. But at the same time, he seemed like someone who would give great hugs. She watched as he started yelling again at someone just out of view, and a few seconds later, an awkward skinny man fell out the door.

"I'll be back, Luke. Trust me. When you actually listen to me, you'll hire me on the spot," the unusual looking man yelled at the closed door. She saw Luke start to stomp towards the door, and the other man ran away, arms and legs flailing wildly.

She considered waiting a bit until the lunch rush was over, but she was expected to be back home in an hour to help out in the store.

Taking a deep breath, she made her way into the diner. She forced herself into 'science-mode', and pulled open the door.

As he stood in front of her, shock evident on his face, she took in his vibe. Normally, her science brain wouldn't allow for the prospect that someone could have a 'vibe', but this man did. Because it so contradicted the facade he was projecting to the world, it was very noticeable. He obviously wanted people to see him as gruff, annoyed, unapproachable. Maybe it was Anna's influence, but April could sense a good, caring person underneath everything.

Her eyes were drawn to his eyelashes, which seemed to go on forever, much like her own, and the shape of his nose – a nose she had seen in the mirror every morning. Suddenly, she just wanted to get out of there. So, taking matters into her own hands, she pulled a piece of hair out of his head. She took a second to check that she had gotten the root, and then walked as calmly as possible back to her bike.

She put her helmet back on, and rode quickly out of the town, almost knocking a pedestrian over in her haste. Once she was no longer around other people, she stopped to breathe.

It was him – she just knew it. He was her father. Obviously, she would still do the DNA test – it was for a project after all – but it wasn't really necessary. In a way, she was glad it was him. He had been the only one to not get angry at the prospect of having a daughter.

"Mom?" April called as she entered the store.

Anna emerged from the storeroom, and wiped her hands on a cloth. "Hey Sweetie. I've got tons of inventory to do if you're interested."

"It's Luke, isn't it?"

Anna's eyes shot up in panic.

"I saw him, Mom. It's him, right?"

Anna became resigned. "Most likely."

April nodded at the confirmation. "Right. Good." Without another word, she picked up a folder from behind the counter, and went into the storeroom to start the inventory.

April slumped on her stool, and stared at her project. Her not-winning-first-prize project, which had been her life for the past two months.

He came. He hadn't known the results – she wasn't going to go down there and tell him – and he came. He had no reason to come down here, to take time out of his obviously busy day and drive to her school to see her project.

He was her father, biologically speaking. That fact had completely astonished him. When he had seen his own picture up there on the board, he had looked incredibly pale. She had watched his expression like she was watching the clogs in his mind turn. Obviously he hadn't done the math, because it wasn't until he read the cover of her report, and saw her name, that he worked it out.

Then he had looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time. She supposed that in a way he was. Before, when she had come into the diner, she was just some random kid. Now, she was his daughter.

She had made it clear she had no expectations of him. He didn't have to buy her icecream. He didn't have to stay and see the science fair. He didn't have to do any of that stuff. But just the fact that he had offered calmed her slightly. It made her realize that if he had known, he wouldn't have been the deadbeat father that everyone thought.

"I had a visitor today," Anna told April as she walked through the door.

"Yeah?" April barely looked up.

"Luke."

That got April's attention. "Luke? As in… my…." She broke off, not wanted to say the word around her mother.

"Yip. The one and only."

"Let me guess how that went. A bit of 'how dare you', a handful of 'I don't owe you anything', and a dash of 'what do you expect from me'?" Secretly, April knew that it wasn't true.

"Quite the opposite in fact. He wants to get to know you."

"Huh."

"But only if that is what you want. There is no pressure on you, honey." Anna came and wrapped her arms around her daughter. "I told him in no uncertain terms that it was completely up to you, and if he hurt you in any way…."

"It's fine, Mom," April interrupted. "It might be good to know where I came from." She smiled gently at her mother, and continued on with her homework.

The fractions swam around on the page, and all she could think, over and over, was 'I have a dad'.