Chapter 1: Most Beautiful Creature

Luke Danes tapped his foot deeper into the accelerator, speeding back to Stars Hollow in some halfway land between blind panic and a hazy fog. He supposed this must be what someone feels like if they had something fall out of the sky and hit them in the head. Only there had been no Chicken Little to give him any kind of warning. Man, did he wish he had had at least some of that. Man, did fate really love to mock him.

He was a father... that little girl in the godforsaken bike helmet was his daughter...

Seeing his face (it certainly wasn't his best picture; he'd had school portraits that looked better) circled on that tri-fold board, and her name proudly printed across the top, his mind had whirled back close to fifteen years, to a time when his father had recently departed this Earth and so had Rachel and he had no one and was not yet content to be so alone. That tall drink of water, Anna Nardini, had waltzed into town from nearby Woodbridge and swept him into bed. A few weeks of shared pain, turning to each other... but it hadn't lasted.

Except in the form of this little girl. An enduring legacy in the last place he had expected to leave one.

Luke was pulling up beside the Diner now. He hopped out of the truck before the vehicle had even slowed to a complete stop, the stick shift barely snapping into PARK, such was his haste to get out. For there he saw her, coming up the sidewalk, passing Dosse's infernal Candy Shoppe. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and the love of his life. She was heading towards the diner, to see him, presumably.

Lorelai Gilmore's face brightened into a beaming smile when she saw him. Luke sprinted towards her, seizing her hand and dragging her into the back lot of the diner.

"Luke, what... Mmmm..." Luke silenced her with the strongest kiss he could muster, kissing the breath out of her body again and again. He needed her. He needed her and her pop culture references and her mile-a-minute brain and her goddamn hair flip right now like he needed air to breathe.

"Well, good morning to you too, mister," Lorelai giggled when he finally let her up. "What's going on?"

"Lorelai, do you love me?" Luke scanned her face pleadingly.

"Sure, the way I also love George Clooney whenever he bends over..."

"I'm being serious: do you love me?"

Lorelai's eyes peered at him searchingly, filled with concern and deep affection, her one hand gently resting on his chest. "I love you more than I've ever loved anyone. Except maybe for Rory, but I think you guys are tied." She frowned at him. "Babe, what is it? You're scaring me..."

Luke took a deep breath. If they were going to get married, there could not be any secrets. They had to be completely honest about their pasts... and whatever came with that. "I have a child," he got out.

Lorelai's baby blues blinked at him for a moment, not understanding. And then, comprehension dawned, and she put a hand to her mouth in disbelief. "Oh my God, you finally reproduced!"

The way she said it, Luke braced himself for the inevitable mockery of all mockerys, vintage Lorelai Gilmore teasing, crowing about how the man who once professed to hate every kid on planet Earth save for Rory Gilmore was now a father himself. Surprisingly, this did not happen, although it did take a moment for the million-watt grin to leave her face. Lorelai now rubbed his arm soothingly. "What's the little tyke's name?"

It happened without him thinking. Luke's face widened into a genuine smile, almost a lovesick one. He had only ever smiled like that at the gorgeous woman in his arms. "Her name's April. She's twelve. She's so beautiful."

"When did this happen?"

"Her mom's an old fling of mine from back in the '90s."

"'90s? What part of the '90s? Cause you know, that was quite an acid trip of a decade. Lewinsky. OJ and the Bronco. Ross Perot. Every boy band ever. It was jammed..."

"Let's go with the 'Read my lips' part of the '90s," Luke deadpanned.

"So, Drinky McDumbass's Daddy was President?"

"Yup."

"Wouldn't be prudent," Lorelai threw her voice to sound crinkly.

"Huh?" Luke frowned.

"Watch Dana Carvey on SNL; you'll get the reference."

Luke slipped his arms about Lorelai's waist. Smirking, she draped her arms about his neck and kissed him chastely. "Would you... like to meet her?" he asked tentatively.

"Babe, of course I do. I'm gonna be her stepmother, after all." She played with the nape of his neck. "I bet she looks a lot like you."

"God help me," Luke's voice rumbled low in his throat. He kissed Lorelai soundly, pouring his appreciation at her understanding into the kiss. "God, I love you, crazy lady."

For once, Lorelai didn't come back with a joke. "I know," she whispered. Stepping out of the embrace, she dialed her cell. "Rory? Get down here! I have news! Like, real news! News that would make your Yale paper and CNN and Fox and MSNBC all spontaneously combust! Yeah, OK, see you!" Clicking the phone shut, she turned back to her boyfriend. "So... how did this 'Who's Your Daddy' reunion happen anyway?"

"Aw, jeez..." Luke groaned.

"Too soon? Still Dirty," Lorelai grinned. "Ok, enough: tell me, tell me!"

"So, this little girl comes tearing into my diner wearing this crazy bike helmet. Starts yammering on about a science fair and DNA tests..."

"So you can bike down from Woodbridge this evening?" Luke beamed into the phone receiver. "OK, and I'll make sure you can get back. I'll drive you back myself before your mom gets worried. All right, April. I... I love you." His heart leapt at saying that for the first time to his child. "Bye." He hung up and turned back to serving coffee for his customers, all the while anxiously looking at the clock and counting down the minutes until he would see her again...

That evening, the Diner was closed and empty except for Luke and April. The father was wiping down the counters, while the daughter sat at one end, absorbed in a book. A sudden knock shook both out of their reverie. Luke smiled broadly when he saw who it was. Bounding to the closed door, he opened it to usher the Gilmore girls in.

"April," he called over his shoulder. "Come here, I want to you meet some folks."

April trotted over, straightening her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Luke flung an arm around Lorelai. "This is my fiancé, Lorelai Gilmore. She's going to be your stepmother. And this is her daughter, Rory, your soon-to-be stepsister."

April held out a hand politely and shook with both Lorelai and Rory. "Pleased to meet you." But for the first time since he had met her, Luke noticed that her usual confidence was gone. A clear vulnerability now shone on her face. Indeed, she now turned to her father and pronounced, "Wow, Daddy: they're really pretty. Prettier than me, anyways." Her gaze dropped to her feet.

Luke stared at her, transfixed. He wasn't sure where this was coming from, but he had a hunch. Did April think there was no room for her? Sure, Lorelai and Rory were pretty astounding women, but that didn't mean April wasn't also.

Luke now knelt before his daughter, hands grasping her shoulders. "Yeah, they're both great to look at, sure, but... to me... you're the most beautiful creature I've ever seen," and his voice whispered with a deep, emotionally crippling intensity. Luke felt like he was about to cry. Was this what it was like to be a parent? To fall in love instantaneously and feel like the sun rose and set on your child's shoulders? That nothing was more perfect? He had never felt this wave of... unconditional love for anyone. Well, maybe for Rory. And maybe for Jess. But those cases were different... weren't they?

Behind him, Lorelai and Rory were frantically dabbing at their eyes. "I refuse to ruin my mascara!" Lorelai squeaked.

Luke now pulled April in for a hug. "Start talking: what do you like to do? What makes you tick? I want to know everything!"

April smiled shyly. "I like science. And I'm on my swim team at school."

Luke vowed to buy every single book on swimming and swim meets that he could get his hands on, watch every Michael Phelps video in existence. He wasn't going to miss a single meet! And he knew he would have to start watching those science shows - every program from How to Universe Works to Sid the Science Kid. April was wicked smart, that much was clear - Rory-level smart. She definitely did not get that from him; that had to be all Anna.

"Oh, and Mom and I are big-time Democrats!"

Luke burst out laughing, tickled and enchanted by this young, precocious girl. Behind him, he heard Lorelai chuckle. "Don't worry, kid - we all bleed Blue too, even your Daddy." Her gaze now shifted to Luke. "Honey? Can I talk with you for a moment? Upstairs?"

"Come on, April - you can help me study," Rory offered, knowing her college textbooks would keep them both busy, as Luke and Lorelai headed up to the loft. As soon as they were alone, Lorelai yanked Luke to her and gave him a bruising kiss on the mouth, nearly bashing her tongue down his throat.

"I love you, Luke Danes," she whispered into his lips, her voice strangely hoarse, and he trembled in her embrace. He leaned back out of the kiss, eyes wide.

"You really don't mind? What I said?"

"Why would I mind? Babe, if you had given any other answer, I would have had to kill you and hide the body. She's a part of you, Luke, so I can't help but love her just as much as I love you. Besides," and she grinned impishly, "I always wanted another child. A sibling for Rory to play with. She may be quite a caboose, and she may not have popped out of me, but hey, I'll take it."

Luke kissed her deeply. "I love you, crazy lady."

"I love you, too."