Ok, thanks to everyone who sent me a review both good and so-so. Generally the reviews were positive so I am definitely feelin' the love.
I never did hear from anyone about the names of Lane's twins so have a good laugh over what I came up with.
And yikes this is longer than the last one—and I ain't done with them yet!
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own them but like to see the play together! Hee.
Yale and the Christening
Lorelai walked down the aisle of Dosse's market. She was taking her time running errands before going to the Dragonfly. Ever since she came back on Sunday and told her what had happened, Sookie had been bombarding her with subtle and not-so-subtle hints about her going to the diner.
Each day she had gotten closer and closer to Luke's but still hadn't made an appearance.
Luke had stayed true to his word and obeyed her request. He hadn't called or shown up at the house--yet. Even though she hadn't seen him, she could almost physically feel the change between them. He was waiting. She knew it. She wanted to give them both the time they needed. He knew it. She was almost grateful she hadn't seen him. If she had, her resolve to go slowly and doing things right might weaken. If she saw him….
"Hello, Lorelai."
Lorelai jumped and her shopping basket went crashing to the floor. She jerked out of her thoughts and turned around to face…Luke.
"Hi," she said breathlessly.
"You okay?" he asked. He seemed both concerned and amused by her reaction. He picked up the basket and handed it back to her.
She cringed inwardly, wishing she wasn't so klutzy every time she was around him. It reminded her of when their relationship first began to change from friendship to something more.
"I'm fine," she said brightly, "just…thinking." How in the heck did they keep showing up at the same place at the same time? She noticed he had a basket with a few items in it.
"Good," he gave her a tiny smile, hoping she had been thinking about them.
"What was that awful crash?" Taylor scurried down the aisle. As he spied the two of them he slowly came to a halt. "Oh, Luke…Lorelai."
"Taylor," Lorelai nodded.
Taylor looked from one to the other. "Is there a problem here?"
"No, Taylor, I just dropped my basket."
"Uh-huh," Taylor said skeptically. "Uh, you two aren't fighting here in the store are you?"
"Taylor," Luke literally growled at him, "we are not fighting. We just bumped into each other in your store."
"Well, maybe you two should stay in different aisles while you're here." Taylor couldn't recall seeing them speaking together for the past year so he was unsure of what the current state of affairs was between them. He had heard rumors for months but this was the first time he had seen them in one place. He didn't want to lose their patronage to his store, but he didn't want them to wreck it either.
Lorelai's eyes widened. "You are putting us in different aisles? Like putting us in corners?" she asked. After all this time, did the whole town think that they would come to blows?
"Just for your own good." Taylor said almost condescendingly.
"Taylor, so help me God…." Luke began. Everything they had said to each other about the townsfolk flashed through his mind. If Taylor, with his idiotic comments, somehow managed to get her to change her mind….
"No, its okay Luke," Lorelai heard herself interrupt as she spied Miss Patty walking into the store. "I am actually in a bit of a hurry." She caught his gaze and then moved her eyes in the direction of Miss Patty.
Luke followed her eyes, saw Patty and knew they only had about a minute before she would be coming over investigating, getting any information that she could gossip around town.
"Okay, then, well, I'll see you around," Luke said.
Lorelai walked to the next aisle and Luke turned to Taylor. "Get away from me Taylor," he warned. Taylor cautiously backed away and went to speak to Miss Patty.
Luke noticed Lorelai was still in the next aisle.
"Lorelai?" he whispered.
"Yeah, I'm still here," she replied quietly. She was staring at the breakfast cereals.
He grinned to himself, hoping he wasn't reading anything into her hanging around nearby. Then again, he hoped he was. "You, okay?"
"Yes," she said and Luke heard her sigh. "You were right about this town."
"Forget the town," he said. He was glad he at least got the chance to see her before one of the resident loons butted in.
"They aren't going to make it easy," she said in a low voice.
"I said forget the town. One of these days, we can tell them all to shut up and butt out." He let out a breath. "When are you coming back to the diner?"
Lorelai picked up a box and pretended to study the label. "I don't know. After Taylor…"
"Forget Taylor," Luke whispered back. "When?"
"Luke, I don't know. Soon."
"Lorelai…"
"Miss Patty at nine o'clock!" she whispered frantically. The last thing she wanted was another run-in with the townsfolk.
Before he could say anything else, Lorelai raised her voice "Hey Patty, how things going today?"
Luke walked down the aisle to the checkout before Patty could reply. He paid for his purchases, glowering at Taylor the whole time and left.
Lorelai watched him go, not realizing that Miss Patty was watching her watch Luke. After Taylor had told her that he found Luke and Lorelai in the same aisle, her antenna was twitching, knowing that she might be on to a juicy piece of gossip.
"So Lorelai dear, tell me how things really are."
Rory walked out of her economics class, stuffing her notebook in her bag. She tried not to think of the mountain of homework ahead of her. She just wanted to grab a coffee, pick a spot where Paris wouldn't find her and relax.
As she neared the coffee cart, she was surprised to see her mother sitting on the bench nearby. Her head was down, contemplating her coffee cup.
"Mom!" Rory called, trotting over to where she sat. She was deep in thought and didn't raise her head. "Mom?"
"Hey kiddo," Lorelai looked up. She smiled at Rory. "I was in the neighborhood and—"
"What's wrong?" Rory asked concerned. "Is it Grandpa?"
"No, no, your Grandfather is fine." Lorelai reassured her. "I just wanted to see my kid."
"What's wrong?" From all outward appearances, she seemed ok, but something had to be bothering her for her to visit without warning in the middle of a Wednesday.
"Nothing is wrong. Rory, I just really need to talk to you. Can we go to your apartment?"
"Paris…"
"Okay, how about the cafeteria?"
"Fine," Rory said, concerned. She led Lorelai to the cafeteria, where they got coffee and sat down.
"Mom," Rory said panicking. "I am freaking out here. Something is definitely up."
"It's just, well, I missed you kid," Lorelai confessed. "I know you have a lot to do and I want you to know how proud I am of you and…."
I've missed you too, Mom," Rory said. "I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I promise we'll spend some real quality time this weekend before the christening."
"You have a lot on your plate right now. I understand that. I just really need to talk to you now and this is a conversation that I didn't want to have over the phone."
"Mom," Rory touched her hand. "Talk."
Lorelai smiled at her daughter. Rory was daughter, friend, confidante all rolled into one.
"I need your advice, I guess. It's Luke."
"Luke?" Rory said in surprise.
"Yes. I know if I set foot in the diner, we'll get back together again and…."
"Uh, Mom," Rory said uncertainly, not sure if she should remind her that they had broken up, "I think I am missing something here. What makes you think Luke wants to get back together again?"
"Well, that's what he said on Sunday."
"What?" Rory's voice rose to high pitch. Several students from other tables looked in her direction. "What happened on Sunday? Blanks. As in fill in, please. Start at the beginning."
Lorelai proceeded telling her what had transpired from when she ran into Luke at the marina, to their test run of the boat and finally, their chance encounter at the market that very morning. She didn't leave a thing out. "And now, he's waiting for me, to come back to the diner, but I am scared. I need time to be sure it's right. If we get back together and it doesn't work this time…."
"Mom, its Luke. You and Luke." She shook her head. "Wow. Just when I think things can't get any more dramatic, they do."
"That's me," Lorelai quipped. "Drama queen of Connecticut."
"Mom…" Rory chided.
"Okay, okay," Lorelai said. "I just don't want to leap before I look. If it doesn't work out this time, I'll," Lorelai paused, "well I don't know what I'll do but I know it will be drastic."
"Mom," Rory remonstrated. "Stop it. You came to me to sort things out. Okay, let's start sorting."
"Oh my god," Lorelai groaned, "I walked right into this, didn't I? I am actually encouraging you to make up—"
"—a pro-con list." Rory finished for her. "Ooh, I haven't had a chance to do this in a while." She whipped open a notebook and made up a "Pro" and "Con" headings on a page. "Which do you want to take on first?"
Lorelai paused. "Con. Let's get the negative out of the way first."
"Ok, go ahead."
"Well," Lorelai began, "we've failed the last two times we were together."
"Not necessarily," Rory corrected. "Grandma was behind your first break up and a lack of communication was behind your second. It sounds like you guys have covered that one." Rory eyed her mother. "Of course, they say: Third time's a charm."
"Speaking of your Grandma, she is bound to be against us."
"Not necessarily," Rory corrected again. "She did go to Luke that time and tell him she wouldn't get in the way. She and Grandpa planned on buying you and Luke that house as a wedding present."
"Ok, maybe," Lorelai conceded then she grew quiet. "There's still your Dad. He may not be in your life right now, but sooner or later he will be back. Luke once said he thought he would always have a problem with him. He's your father and now he's my ex-husband."
"Well, okay, you have a point there," Rory agreed quietly. "Do you have any issues with April?"
"April, no. Anna, yes. She was pretty adamant about who spent time with April."
"Yeah, but now Luke has partial custody. I don't think she can dictate those types of terms anymore. What else?"
"Stars Hollow?" Lorelai asked. "As much as I love living in a small town, we can't make a move without one of them knowing about it."
"But that will all change, once you and Luke are together."
Lorelai eyed her daughter suspiciously. "You seem pretty positive about this."
"I am. And since we being positive, let's hit the Pros." She looked at her mother expectantly.
"Yes, I still love him," she answered her daughter's look. "And he still loves me." Lorelai grew thoughtful. "I love his strength, the support he has always given me. I love that he has always been great with you. I love that he may not always get where I am coming from, but he's willing to play along." Lorelai grinned, "Of course, I love the coffee, the fact that he's willing to feed me, and even though it will offend your ears, I love the---"
"Mom, don't! Eww gross!" Rory said appalled, knowing where the conversation was going.
"Hey, you wanted the Pros. That's a Pro. A big one," Lorelai said impishly.
"Mom!"
"Okay, okay," Lorelai stopped tormenting her daughter and grew serious again. "He'd be a wonderful father, jam hands and all."
Rory was furiously writing and let out a little laugh. "That one doesn't need explaining."
"So how did we do?" Lorelai peered at the notebook. Rory had faithfully written down each point under each column and had drawn lines through the Cons they had ruled out. Only Christopher remained on the negative side. The Pro list, however, was much longer. She looked at Rory when she saw her name at the bottom of the Pro list.
"You're on the Pro list," she stated.
"Yeah, what can I say? I'm all for it."
"Thanks kiddo." Lorelai hugged her.
"So when are you going back to the diner?" Rory asked.
"That is the question of the hour," Lorelai replied. She looked at her daughter. "I don't know. I'll go when it feels right."
"Okay," Rory agreed, knowing she didn't want to push her mother into anything, "when it feels right."
The next evening, Rory had just closed her last text book, finished with studying for the night when there was a knock on the door. Before she could even move, Paris shot out of her bedroom and moved swiftly to the door.
"Okay, I have spent all day fending off these losers who have to come to the door at all hours and I have had enough!" She stopped in front of the closed door. "Whoever you are, whatever you're selling, passing out, delivering or just plain casing the place, we don't want any. You hear me?" She yelled. "Scram!"
"Uh, hello," a muffled voice said, "do I have to leave if I want to visit with one of you?"
Paris flung open the door, but Rory couldn't see who was there. "Oh," Paris voice returned to normal, "I guess." She turned to face Rory.
Rory stood up, wondering who was there. The visitor stepped inside.
Her father.
"Oh. Dad." She didn't want to be rude, but she didn't want to talk to him.
Christopher stood uncomfortably under his daughter's gaze. "Can I talk to you?"
Paris grabbed her purse from the table by the door. "I need to head out anyway," she said, obviously making an excuse for them to talk in private. She shut the door and left.
"Should she be going out this late at night?" Christopher asked.
"It's Paris." Rory replied shortly. "She's like a Doberman. She'll be fine."
"Umm, okay." Christopher stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Uh, how are you?"
"How am I?" Rory repeated in disbelief. Something inside her snapped. "Gee, Dad, I am just peachy-keen! My Dad just suddenly shows up again like nothing ever happened after abandoning me and my Mother. I am great! Now leave!"
"Wait Rory—"
"No! We needed you when Grandpa had his heart attack and you were no where to be found. You were off sulking somewhere like a little kid!"
"I'm sorry—"
"Sorry doesn't cut it, Dad! You can make up for this. You can't make up for a lot of things! You've proven time and again that you can't be there for us!"
"Look, I don't know what your Mother told you…."
"She didn't tell me anything I didn't already know!"
"How is she?"
"No! You don't get to ask! You don't get to know! Not now, maybe not ever!"
"I am not here to upset you," Christopher began.
"Really? Not here to upset me? Well I am upset. Not here to ask about Mom?" Rory stepped forward "Then why did you come here?"
"I wanted to talk to you," Christopher paused, "about your Mother's letter."
"What?" Rory asked in surprise, some of her anger fading.
"Her letter to the court. The one she wrote for Luke."
Rory stood there dumbfounded.
"You do know what was in the letter, right?"
"Uh, yeah," Rory mumbled. She had no idea why he was bringing this up.
"Can we sit down?" Christopher asked.
Rory gestured towards the couch and she sat back down in her study chair.
"Look, Rory, over the years I have done a lot of stupid things. Now, especially now, I am finally realizing the full consequences of my actions." Christopher looked down at his hands. "I wasn't there for your mother. I wasn't there for you. I thought when your mom and I finally got married, we'd be a family and everything would be perfect. I was wrong. I pushed your mother into it and then I realized I couldn't be the kind of husband she deserved."
"Dad…."
"No. I have made the worst mistakes of my life with you and your mother. I'm not here to ask for forgiveness. I just wanted to know…."
"What?" Rory urged.
"Was Luke as great to you as your mother said in her letter?" He stared into her eyes.
Rory was surprised by the question. It wasn't a question she ever expected him to ask. Even though she was still angry with him, she was suddenly dreading the fact that she would hurt him. She paused then realized he needed to hear this. "Yeah, Luke was great." She smiled at the memories. "He'd make me special breakfasts on every first day of school and on my birthday. He'd let me spread my books out over the tables in the diner. He made me mashed potatoes when I had chicken pox. He even came to the funeral I had for my caterpillar."
Christopher let out a slow breath. "So he was like the perfect Dad?"
Rory smiled. "No, I don't think there is such a thing. And it's not like he did everything perfectly," Rory laughed. "I still have a box full of unicorns and monogrammed towels he gave me as presents."
Christopher smiled at her, but the smile was sad. "But you saved them. He was like a real Dad to you."
"Yeah, he was," Rory said with a wistful smile, remembering. "He was there for birthday parties, Christmases, special occasions. It wasn't anything special he did, he was just…there."
Rory looked over at her father, but he was staring at down at the floor.
"Dad, I don't mean to hurt you," Rory began.
"You didn't Rory. I did this to myself," Christopher said regretfully. "I'm just glad now that you and your mother had someone to depend on when you were growing up. You sure couldn't depend on me," he said under his breath.
"Dad, don't beat yourself up about this now," Rory begged. "Besides, you have your do-over with Gigi. It sounds like you have learned from your mistakes. Make it up to me by being a great Dad to her."
"Wow," Christopher said proudly, "you are really something."
"Mom raised me well," Rory admitted.
"And Luke." Christopher added.
"And Luke." Rory agreed.
Christopher paused uncomfortably for a moment. "Are they…have they, you know…gotten back together? Your mom and Luke?"
"Dad…" Rory began shaking her head.
"It's not what you think kiddo. I just want to see you and your mother happy. I realize now, I am not a part of that equation."
"Dad, I don't know." Rory would not betray her mother's confidence. "All I can say is 'I hope so.'"
Christopher smiled at her, a genuine smile. "I hope so too. Well," he said getting up, "it's getting late, I better let you get some rest."
Rory walked him to the door. "Bye, Dad." She impulsively gave him a hug.
"You know I am here for you now right?" Christopher asked as he hugged her back, amazed that this incredible person was a child of his. "It's taken me a while but I think I have finally gotten with the program."
"You have, and I know." Rory agreed.
"One more thing: Tell you mother, don't tell your mother, it's up to you. I think it's going to be a while before I work up the nerve to see her."
"I am thinking no, but we'll see." Rory allowed. "I don't want to upset her."
"Okay. Night." Christopher headed down the stairs.
"Dad," Rory called after him, "if you see Paris, send her back up."
"Are you kidding?" Christopher said, "I am counting on her to protect me until I get into the car."
"Night, Dad."
Rory closed the door and wandered back to her study chair. She was astonished at the conversation she had just had with her father. Finally it seemed like he was behaving like a father. Time would tell.
She spied her notebook that she had written the pro-con list in. She flipped open the cover and stared at the list for a moment. She picked up a pen and drew a line through her father's name. She nodded to herself and closed the notebook.
"So what are we going to do about Grandpa?" Rory asked as they walked down the street.
"I don't know, your guess is a good as mine," Lorelai shrugged, glancing into windows as they walked by. "Clearly he doesn't want to go back to work yet. We have to come up with something devious; we have to trick him into wanting to go back to a dreary day job that's only purpose is to suck all the fun out of life."
"I don't think Grandpa thinks his job sucks the fun out of life," Rory replied.
"Hey, he's an insurance man, how much fun can they be?" Lorelai shot back. "Here we are," Lorelai said as they entered Stars Hollow's one and only dress shop. The door chimed as they entered. "We'll check out what they have here first then head to the mall."
They both walked over to dress racks and started looking through the selections. Nothing looked promising.
"So far you've been masterfully steering the conversation away from the question of the hour: The diner. I assume you haven't been to Luke's yet."
"Not yet."
"We could have gone there for breakfast instead of Weston's or maybe lunch today."
"We have enough going on with the christening. I have to be back at the Dragonfly to greet a wedding party. When I go to Luke's, I want to spend as much time as I need to, the first time. I don't want to squeeze it into a schedule. No, it's been awhile since we've hit the food court. We'll do that later."
Kirk walked out from the back of the shop, carrying a dress.
"Ah, yes, ladies," he said in his best shop-clerk voice, "just let me take care of my customer and I'll be right with you."
Lorelai and Rory looked around the store, not surprised to see him there. Kirk pretty much worked everywhere. It appeared empty. "What customer?"
Kirk knocked on a dressing room door then lifted the dress over. "Try this one, April."
Lorelai froze. April was here? "April?" She asked weakly.
April came out of the dressing room, dressed in her regular street clothes.
"Hi Lorelai, Rory," she said as she handed the dresses back to Kirk. "I didn't like any of them and this last one—yuck."
"I didn't know you were in town," Lorelai admitted. "How are you?"
"Great," April replied. "I got lucky that the twins' christening fell on a weekend I was scheduled to be here. Dad promised me a new dress. He sent me on ahead. He should be here any minute."
Almost on cue, the door chimed and they all turned to see Luke walk into the shop. He stopped short when he saw the three of them together. Once again, their freakish sense of timing brought them together.
"Hey," he said smiling at Lorelai.
"Hi," Lorelai said, suddenly breathless.
Rory watched as Luke stared at Lorelai. She was pretty sure he had forgotten about her and April at that moment.
"Ah, hi Rory," Luke said finally dragging his eyes away from Lorelai to Rory and finally over to April, "Any luck?"
"No," April said, disappointed.
"Well," Kirk chimed in, "I think the green dress would work with the right shoes and handbag…."
Lorelai snorted in amusement. "We didn't have any luck either," she admitted. "We're going to check out the mall."
"Really?" April asked. She looked at Luke then decided to take the plunge. "Do you have room for one more?"
"April!" Luke exclaimed at her forwardness. "I can take you later."
"No," Lorelai heard herself say, "April can come along if she wants and if it's okay with you." Lorelai looked expectantly back at Luke.
"Well," the possibilities this opened up were too good to pass up, "I can't come with you now; I just took a quick break from the diner to check on you." He looked at Lorelai. "You'd really be doing me a favor."
"Consider it done." Lorelai stated suddenly feeling very elated. Luke was allowing her to spend time with April.
Luke grinned at her then pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. "Here," he said, handing her a credit card. "Don't go overboard," he said remembering the last time he had sent her out with his credit card to shop.
Lorelai took the card. "It looks new."
"You wore the numbers off the last one." He shot back accusingly. He took the card from her and gave it to April. "Maybe it safer here."
Both April and Rory laughed.
"And maybe when you're done buying out the mall you can come back to the diner for lunch." He looked pointedly at Lorelai.
Lorelai looked a little uncomfortable. "I have to be at the Inn this afternoon. We might not make it."
"Try," he said as he turned to go back to the diner. "Have fun ladies!"
"Ooh, that looks nice. Try it on!" April exclaimed.
"I've got a couple too." Rory chimed in.
"I think I am sticking with this one. I love the color."
April and Rory headed off to the dressing room area while Lorelai held the dress up in front of her. It was a beautiful blue shade that made her eyes look even bluer than they normally were. Lorelai turned back to the rack and spied a dress. She checked the size, then grabbed it and walked to the dressing room area.
"April? Here, I think this one will look great on you."
"Thanks Lorelai." April pulled the dress over the door.
Rory came out of the dressing room, wearing one of her selections. "How do I look?"
"Very godmotherly," Lorelai replied in a mock serious tone.
"Godmotherly?" Rory questioned.
"Yeah, I think I should kiss your ring."
"Too bad I'm not wearing one at the moment," Rory replied. She went back to change. "I think I'll get this one."
April walked out in the dress Lorelai picked out.
"Wow, you look great!" Lorelai exclaimed.
"Yeah, I think this is the dress for me." April stood in front of the mirror, turning around to look at herself from all angles.
"And you can wear your hair like this," Lorelai gathered her hair up at the sides so April had a curly fall of hair. "Just pin it up right here." She showed her how to secure it.
"Cool," April agreed.
Rory emerged fully dressed and looked at April. "Hey you look nice."
"Yep, it's a winner," Lorelai proclaimed as she let go of April's hair. "Go ahead and change and we'll meet you at the register."
"Thanks, Lorelai," April said.
Lorelai and Rory walked out of the dressing room area and up to the sales clerk. "We'll take these," Lorelai said smiling. They followed the clerk to the register. The clerk busied herself folding the dresses then stepped away for a moment. Rory observed her mother, still smiling.
"You look happy," Rory commented.
"It's been a good day," Lorelai returned. "I'm glad we had a chance to do this, all three of us."
"April's cool."
"Yeah, she is a great kid." Lorelai shook her head. "What a difference a year makes."
"How so?"
"Last year, Luke would have totally refused to let me even be around when he had April, let alone let me take her shopping by myself. Yeah, I think we have turned a corner here."
"Ah, there is your other daughter," the clerk said coming back over to them.
Lorelai and Rory turned to see April standing behind them looking startled.
"Ah, good you're ready," Lorelai stammered. She had been shocked when the clerk called April her daughter. She wondered how long April had been standing there.
"Actually this one will be paid for separately," April said quietly.
Lorelai and Rory exchanged glances as the clerk finished ringing up their transaction. The clerk rang up April's dress and they left the store.
"April?" Lorelai questioned softly. "You okay?"
"Yeah," April replied.
"You know how salesclerks can be. They automatically assume everyone is one big happy family."
"No, its fine," April assured her. "I just think I need to talk to my Dad about some stuff."
Lorelai and Rory exchanged glances again. "Rory, gives us a minute?"
Rory nodded and walked away to investigate a nearby kiosk.
"April, talk to me."
"Was I the reason you and my Dad broke up?"
"Oh, hon, no." Lorelai stated emphatically.
"I heard you say that Dad didn't want you around me."
"April, I think you should talk to your Dad about this first, but you are not the reason we broke up." Lorelai smiled at her. "I think you are a terrific kid and I have really enjoyed the time we spent together today and last year at your birthday party."
"But you said Dad refused to let you be around."
"He did," Lorelai admitted, "but not for the reasons you might think. April, this is an important issue and you need to talk to your Dad about this. If you want to talk to me about it afterward, he can tell you where to find me."
"Okay," April decided.
"C'mon, let's get Rory and hit the food court!" They both started walking over to Rory
"You really eat all that junk?" April asked screwing up her face in disgust.
"I'm sure we can find something healthy for you." Lorelai shook her head. "Man, you really are your father's daughter."
"Dude, this is gonna be the best party!" Zach exclaimed as he walked behind the counter of the diner. "I am so jazzed."
Yeah, you look it," Luke replied as he passed an order back to Cesar.
"Yeah, each night I tell little Michael and Steven that we are gonna party!"
"Uh huh," Luke stared at Zach. Sometimes Zach just seemed like a big goofy kid rather than the father of two.
"Yeah, they both kind of yawned at me when I told them. Of course, I was rocking them to sleep at the time."
Luke smiled at him. Zach's dad mode was a little sporadic, but it was kicking in.
"You never did tell me how you ended up with those names," Luke said.
"Well Steven for Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, and Michael for Mick Jagger of the Stones. We decided to we were gonna have rock and roll kids," Zach replied. "Oh but dude," Zach's voice dropped conspiratorially, "don't tell Lane's mom. She thinks we named them after saints."
"O-kay," Luke said slowly and shook his head.
The bell on the diner door chimed and Luke looked up to see April walk in alone carrying a couple of shopping bags.
"Hey," he said both surprised and confused, "I thought you all were coming back here for lunch." He looked out the window to see Rory behind the wheel of the jeep, looking in. She gave him a small wave and drove off.
"Lorelai had to be at the Inn, so Rory dropped her off first and then me," April replied. She gave Luke a sort of half smile then walked behind the curtain without another word.
"Zach…" Luke began.
"Dude, I am on it. Take your time," Zach said knowing Luke needed to talk to April.
Luke quickly mounted the stairs and entered the apartment to find April laying out her dress on the bed. He barely glanced at it.
"What happened?" he asked in dread.
"Nothing really," April replied. "I just need to ask you something."
"Go ahead," Luke wondered what was coming.
"Was I the reason you and Lorelai broke up?"
Luke was speechless for a moment. "Did Lorelai tell you that?" he asked gently.
"No," April said, "but I overheard her and Rory saying that you didn't want her around me last year."
"April, sit down," Luke said, keeping his anger under control.
"It's just that she was there for my party then she was gone. When my mom told me you had broken up, she didn't say what the reason was."
"What did Lorelai tell you?" he asked.
"She told me I wasn't the reason and I believe her, but she told me it was important that I talk to you about it first."
Luke felt his anger drain out of him. "April," he said with difficulty, "when you came into my life, I was totally unprepared. I was engaged to Lorelai and well, you've met Rory; she grew up with her Dad never being around." Luke pushed on. "I was angry at Rory's Dad for not being there for her, and here I was, not knowing you even existed and I wasn't there for you."
"That wasn't your fault Dad," April reminded him gently.
"Still, when I found out about you, I realized I wanted us to have a good father-daughter relationship. I thought this was something we needed to do, just the two of us."
"But not with Lorelai?"
"You gotten know her now; she is a force of nature. She's pretty hard to ignore once she's in your life and I wanted us," he gestured to April and himself, "to have the chance to get to know each other before I brought Lorelai in. I wanted us to have that father-daughter relationship so you'd want to come to see me, not Lorelai. She felt shut out of both our relationship and the chance to build a relationship with you. It was my fault that you two didn't spend more time together." He did not add the fact that Anna had shut Lorelai out as well. He would not play April against her mother because he knew she needed them both.
"Oh, Dad," April flung her arms around Luke's neck. "I've been coming here to see you. I have always wanted to see you and get to know you. You asked mom to be a part of my life and I want to be a part of yours. It doesn't matter who else is there, I'm here to be with you and I love you. Lorelai being around isn't going to change that."
Luke hugged his daughter. "I love you, April."
Eventually they pulled away from each other. "About Lorelai," Luke began, "how would you feel if she was back in my life, permanently?"
April looked at her father. "Are you seeing her again?"
"Well we're taking it slow, but I hope we are headed in that direction."
"I like Lorelai and Rory. As long as she doesn't hurt you, I think I can get used to the idea."
"Okay," Luke said relieved. "Now why don't you hang up that dress, which is very pretty by the way."
"Lorelai picked it out." April handed him back his credit card.
"Still has the numbers on it," he continued in relief. "Hang it up and can you go down and help Zach refill, ah, whatever needs refilling?"
"Sure Dad."
"I'll be back shortly. I have an errand to run."
Lorelai walked out of the dining room as Luke walked into the Inn. He saw her immediately.
"Can we talk somewhere?" he asked quietly.
Lorelai's heart sank. She had spent the afternoon worrying about April and now with Luke standing here demanding to speak to her, all of her fears were confirmed. She was afraid of what he would say. She led him to her office and closed the door, and indicated that he take a chair and sat next to him, rather than sit behind her desk.
"What were you thinking talking about our break-up in front of April?"
Lorelai paused. Her heart was sinking but she realized that Luke didn't sound as mad as she expected him to be.
"I didn't realize she was there," Lorelai admitted. "I was telling Rory how happy I was that you finally let me spend some time with her. That everything was going to be okay." She studied him closely. "You talked to her when she got back?"
"Yes, we had a long-overdue conversation, about how I am trying to be a good father and why I kept the two of you apart last year." He looked over at her. "We also talked about you and the future."
Lorelai caught her breath. She had expected him to be angry, very angry. "I thought you would be mad," she admitted.
"I was, but I realized April and I needed to talk about things, just like you and I did."
"So everything is okay?" Lorelai asked in disbelief.
"Seems that way," Luke confirmed.
A soft knock on the door sounded and Michel opened the door without waiting for an answer.
"Lorelai, the father of the bride—" He stopped when he saw Luke. "Ah, Flannel Man has returned to the Dragonfly."
"Michel," Lorelai stood up, "tell him I will be there in a minute okay?"
Michel left. Luke stood up too. "You're busy and I need to get back to the diner."
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." She led him out of her office.
"Tomorrow, then." Luke turned and left.
Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief but it was short-lived. Sookie came racing out of the kitchen and grabbed her arm. Lorelai turned to her, concerned.
"Tell me the two of you did it on your desk!"
"Sookie!"
Lorelai and Rory walked towards the church. "When is Logan supposed to arrive?"
"He should be here any minute."
"I'm surprised he didn't come yesterday."
"Well, I told him we needed some mother daughter time." Rory confessed sheepishly. "Which we did."
Lorelai linked her arm with Rory's. "Ah I am so happy I have my own sounding board whenever I need it. You've been the voice of reason these past few days."
"Hey it works both ways." Rory countered.
"Lorelai!" A voice called.
They looked up to see April and Luke standing in front of the church. April waved. Lorelai smiled, glad that April seemed to be more comfortable than she had been yesterday.
"Hi!" Lorelai greeted them. April looked pretty in her new dress and she had done her hair the way Lorelai suggested the day before. And Luke, whereas she always liked him in flannel, definitely looked very good in a suit even though she knew he probably wasn't comfortable. "You two clean up real good!"
Mrs. Kim rushed up to them. "Good. You are here. We get started now." She looked at the four of them in surprise. "You come together?"
"No, we're just standing here talking," Luke had not taken his eyes off Lorelai.
"We start now."
"Logan…" Rory whispered to her mother.
"There he is," Lorelai reassured her daughter as Logan jogged up.
"Sorry I'm late Ace," Logan apologized.
"You're here now," Rory grinned happily. "You know Luke and this is his daughter April."
"Nice to meet you." They shook hands.
"Start now!" Mrs. Kim demanded.
As they headed into the church, Luke caught Lorelai's arm. "Is it okay that April sits with you?"
Knowing that the majority of the town was inside and bound to speculate on this latest development, Lorelai wondered if it would be such a good idea. She looked up at him, not realizing how close they were to each other. "Uh, sure," she mumbled, unable to deny his request.
Luke nodded at April and he and Rory headed inside together, leaving Lorelai, Logan and April to enter together.
Lorelai literally felt the weight of the town's eyes on her as the three of them marched up the aisle to the row where Sookie had saved their seats. She sat next to Sookie, April sat next to her and Logan sat on the aisle. Sookie looked at her knowingly with a question in her eyes.
"Stop that," Lorelai whispered, nudging her in the side. Sookie just smirked.
The ceremony was lovely. Both Rory and Luke held one of the babies. Lane and Zach stood nearby beaming proudly at their children. Rory smiled at her mother and then looked to Logan, who was watching her every move. He winked at her and her smile got bigger.
Luke stood holding the baby, he wasn't sure which one, and looked out into the congregation and saw April and Lorelai sitting together. He was oblivious to anyone else in the church; he only saw the two of them. He caught Lorelai's gaze and smiled at her. He could tell from where he was standing that she was blushing and he smiled more broadly. April leaned toward Lorelai and whispered something to her. Luke saw her nod and before he had a chance to wonder what April had said, the minister began speaking and he turned his attention back to the christening and his role as godfather.
"Zach and I want to thank all of you for coming," Lane addressed the crowd her arm around Zach. "It means a lot to us that so many of you are here and have helped out. Twins can be a handful!" The crowd murmured in agreement. "We still have plenty of food left. Please enjoy yourselves!" She and Zach moved around their table.
"It was a lovely service," Lorelai told her.
"I know," Lane agreed. "I was just happy the boys cooperated." She looked around the table. Rory was holding Steven and Luke had Michael on his lap. Lane and Zach moved off to another table to speak to their guests.
Lorelai watched Rory play with Steven while Logan, tickled the boy under his chin. He giggled. Next to her April was holding a stuffed animal up to Michael while Luke gently bounced him. The boys were too cute.
"Mom," Rory whispered to her, sounding panicked. Logan had gone off to get drinks.
Lorelai leaned over. "What?"
"I think little Steven here took a dump."
Lorelai tried not to laugh. "Well, now that you're officially the godmother, you should go ahead and change him."
"Mom!" Rory hissed in terror. "I can't do this and I can't do it in front of Logan. Please?"
"Give him back to Lane."
"Mom, how's it gonna look if I hand him back to Lane just to change him?"
"How's it gonna look if you pass him off to me?"
"Not as bad," Rory decided.
Lorelai relented as she watched her daughter's distress mount.
"Fine," she said resignedly, "but you owe me—big."
"Thanks mom." She handed the boy over to Rory.
"Hey, little man," Lorelai cooed to the now-fussing baby. "Uh-oh," she said in mock surprise. "I think you've got a little surprise for me."
Lorelai got up and went over to the changing table that had been set up. She set the baby down and proceeded to undo his diaper. "Oh god," she said horrified, "you really went all out for Auntie Lorelai." She proceeded to clean up the baby.
"Uh move over," Luke said, "I think we have an emergency here. Unless you want to change him?" Luke asked hopefully.
"Nope, you break it, you bought it pal." Lorelai stated.
"Fine, move over," Luke said and they shared the changing table. He undid the diaper. "Aww jeez, what do these kids eat?"
"Knowing Mrs. Kim, it's probably something soy-free or maybe wheat germ."
"God, it stinks." Luke complained. He started cleaning up the baby.
"Suck it up, you're almost there." Lorelai urged him on. She finished putting on the diaper.
"Here," she leaned over and helped him finish. "There that wasn't that bad."
She picked up the baby and watched him do the same. "Pretty good for a rookie." She trailed off looking at Luke hold the baby. He seemed so natural doing it. "For someone who claims he can't stand babies, you're doing a pretty good job."
Luke shrugged and smiled at her. He had to admit she looked very much at home holding a baby too.
"You guys," Lane rushed up, "changing the boys is way beyond the call of duty."
"Man, you guys look like 'Leave it to Beaver' land," Gil came up to them. "You guys look like a family portrait! Awesome!"
"Gil." Lane said horrified noticing how uncomfortable both Luke and Lorelai had suddenly become.
"Seriously Lane, who are the parents here?" Gil went on.
"Zach…" Lane called out desperately.
"Hey dude," Zach steered Gil away, "your old lady was telling me about your oldest making…." Zach pulled Gil out of earshot.
"I'm sorry," Lane apologized.
Lorelai handed the baby back to her. She looked up and saw several tables watching them with interest. She didn't look at Luke. She let out a long breath and gave Lane a weak smile. "Don't worry about it."
Lorelai went back to the table. April had moved over a seat and was talking to Rory. She sat in April's chair. Luke stood talking to Lane. After a few minutes, Zach came over and took the baby from him. He wandered back to the table and sat next to her.
"Well, that was…different." Luke said quietly.
"We set ourselves up," Lorelai shook her head then looked at him. "What are we going to do about this town?"
"Mom," Rory interrupted, leaning forward. "Logan and I need to go back. We should be leaving soon."
Lorelai realized she had better say her farewells too. "Okay."
"Rory," April said, "what about that book you were going to loan me?"
"Oh, right. We can run over to my house now and I'll get it for you."
"Looks like we'll be saying our good-byes too." Luke observed. "C'mon April."
They bid their farewells and both Luke and Lorelai were aware that a number of people watched them leave. Logan said good-bye to them and got in his car to start back. As they walked to Lorelai's house, April and Rory walked ahead, leaving Luke and Lorelai to walk alone.
Lorelai was surprised at the companionable silence. She felt no awkwardness and actually enjoyed the leisurely stroll to the house.
As they mounted the steps, Luke told April, "Just get the book and we have to leave. Rory has to be at school and I have to open the diner early tomorrow."
"Okay, Dad"
Lorelai opened the door and Rory immediately led April to her room. Luke and Lorelai waited in the foyer.
"They get along well together, even with the age difference." Lorelai observed.
"Yeah," Luke agreed. "Thank you for taking her out to get her dress. I would have never survived a trip to the mall to go dress shopping."
"Oh, I think you would have" Lorelai said, "for April. She looks great."
Luke smiled. "She looks beautiful." He wasn't aware that he had moved closer to Lorelai. "But then again, so do you."
Lorelai turned to face him, suddenly realizing they were standing too close together. Without conscious thought, Luke placed his hands on her waist and drew her close. Lorelai placed her hands on his chest as he bent to kiss her.
Lorelai's head spun; her toes curled and then she was kissing him back. Her hands slipped up to his shoulders and one slipped into his hair as they sank into the kiss, gently exploring and delighting in each other. Luke pulled her even closer as the world seemed to fall away from them and all that mattered was this kiss.
"Okay, Dad I—" April stopped short and Rory was right behind her. They gaped for all of about a second, but it was clear that their parents were too involved with each other to notice anyone else. Rory pulled her back into her room. Rory and April eyed each other in silence.
"This could get interesting." April commented, realizing that her father was very serious about Rory's mother.
"You have no idea."
Finally Luke and Lorelai broke the kiss and immediately Luke leaned his forehead against Lorelai's. Both of them kept their eyes closed.
"Wow," she said trying to catch her breath.
"You can say that again," he said equally breathless.
"Wow."
Neither of them moved, they just stood holding one another, foreheads touching, eyes closed. Lorelai enjoyed the quiet comfort of his embrace and she knew Luke was enjoying it too. Suddenly, thought returned.
"Ah, I can't be sure, but I think we were busted by our kids," she said.
"Ah, jeez," Luke pulled back embarrassed that either of them had witnessed such an intimate kiss. He stepped back from Lorelai and turned to the door.
"April!" he called out. "Time to go!"
"Okay, Dad!" They heard them coming down the hall from Rory's room. Lorelai tried to keep from blushing like a teenager.
Luke looked casually over his shoulder and nodded to Rory. "Say good night April."
"Good night, April," she joked.
"Funny." He opened the door.
"Thanks again Lorelai, for all your help this weekend. Thanks Rory."
"Goodnight," Lorelai called as they walked down the steps. She closed the door.
"Well, well, well," Rory said triumphantly. "We can't leave you two alone for a moment!"
"Stop," Lorelai said but she found herself grinning like a moonstruck girl. "Don't you have to be back at school?"
"Oh I can stick around to for the details…."
"No."
"So when are you going back to the diner?"
Lorelai considered. "Looks like tomorrow is the big day."
"So, Dad, I guess you had a good time today?" April asked as they walked back into town.
"Ah," he wasn't sure about her tone. "Yeah, the christening was fun."
April glanced at her father and chuckled. "I wasn't talking about the christening, Dad. I was talking about Lorelai's."
"What?" he tried to shrug it off as a casual thing. "It was a harmless peck. No big deal."
"Dad, you are wearing her lipstick."
"Ah, jeez." He tried to wipe it away as April laughed.
tbc
