Disclaimer- I only own Bella, nothing else unfortunately.
I'm from the UK so I've tried hard to make sure I'm typing Mommy instead of Mummy, etc, but if you notice words Americans wouldn't say, feel free to correct me, however if you know what I'm talking about, I hope we're not gonna fall out over such a thing.
Thankyou for all who read, favourited and set alerts for this; it's great knowing people wish to read more. A massive thankyou to those two who reviewed, I hope you keep reviewing and that more will join you- I'd love to know your views.
I didn't mean to leave this as long as I did, life and wrk got in the way; but hopefully I won't take weeks to add each part.
Okay, so on with the story- this picks up from where the last part left off, so we're continuing with the '5 days earlier' part and hopefully any gaps will get filled as we continue and catch up with the snippet i began with initially.
Again, Thank you all for reading and PLEASE review.
They'd only been driving for a little over 10 minutes when April glanced away from her netbook, after hearing a quiet sniffle from her step-mother. April gave her a sideways glace before muttering "oh boy" and closing the lid of her personal computer. "Pull over" she requested.
Lorelai jumped up a little at the sound of her demanding voice; she knew April was working on something for school and that some of their journey would commence in silence, she'd even stopped herself from turning on the radio as soon as they'd entered the car, anticipating that, given an hour to get on with whatever she had to do, April would give in to the excitement of the week ahead and what Lorelai would describe as 'a proper road-trip' would begin.
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at April, quickly glancing back up at the road as she turned a short corner."Huh?" she murmured.
"Pull over", April repeated, eyeing the silent tears that were still escaping steadily from her eyes. Lorelai furrowed her brow further, but quickly did as she was asked; pulling over at the side of the quiet road before turning to her step-daughter, who simply pushed her hand towards her, palm up, wriggling her fingers impatiently.
Lorelai glanced down at the teenager's hand and then raised her head to meet with her eyes; eyes which Lorelai considered to be very much like her father's- not in colour of course, but in depth; she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something about April's eyes that only made her think of those beautiful blue orbs of her husband.
"Hand over the keys; I'm driving" April told her with authority. When Lorelai continued to eye her suspiciously, April's expression softened. "We're only going to get into an accident with you driving in this state; what would Dad say then?"
Lorelai sighed a heavy sigh, quickly wiping away tears with the backs of her hands."I don't know why I'm so emotional; I guess it's the hormones." She made a move to unbuckle her seatbelt with shaky hands, when April took hold of one gently. Their eyes met again briefly and Lorelai forced a small smile "We've never been apart; not really. Luke's one thing, but Bella?"
"I know" April smiled. "Hey, we could turn back around; I'm sure Rory would understand. I mean, it's not like this is gonna be her only bachelorette party, she..."
Lorelai raised her hand "Alright" she interrupted, "I get it, I know. I'll be fine; it's just the hormones like I said. I'll be fine and they'll be fine... they'll be..."
"Fine" April confirmed, squeezing her hand quickly.
Lorelai inhaled deeply, quickly unbuckling her seatbelt and opening her car door. April followed her lead and the pair met at the front of the car. They shared a knowing smile and Lorelai mouthed the word 'thanks' to her.
Once back inside the car, April pulled the seatbelt across her body and waited for Lorelai to do the same. Lorelai forced a wide smile her way, before speaking in a mock-serious tone;"I hope you know how to drive my car...took me a while to get used to, ya know".
April shrugged, "This big thing, I'm sure we'll get along perfectly." She quickly turned on the engine and proceeded along the road. "Oooh, smooth!" she nodded in appreciation."Much better than driving Dad's truck or Mom's car."
Lorelai nodded "You really think your Dad would let me drive anything else when I'm escorting Bella on a daily basis?" she asked with a chuckle.
"You're absolutely right there." April agreed, turning onto a motorway after glancing down at the satnav, "I remember the argument you had over your jeep when you were pregnant with her."
"Yeah, I guess it's lucky the thing decided to give up on me when I was in my seventh month, or I don't know how we'd have resolved that one." She leant her elbow on the window and rested her head in her hand, gazing out the window of her baltic blue coloured Land Rover. "He's gotten better anyway..." Lorelai started, turned her head slightly as she spoke to April, "...He's taking his truck on this little trip they're taking tomorrow."
April shrugged "its fishing" she answered matter-of-factly."You're supposed to drive trucks when you go fishing...I wonder what she'll make of the fishing scene; camping and all that."
"Bella? She's a Daddy's girl" Lorelai grinned. "Anywhere he takes her, she'll love... He'll protect her from the bears and the dark and everything else little girls are scared of; I'm sure he'll even pack supplies for smores, even though she wouldn't know what she's missing."
April gasped in surprise "She's never tried a smore?"
Lorelai giggled quickly at how much she'd just reminded her of her own grown-up daughter before shaking her head, "When has she ever had the opportunity? She's 3; it's her first camping trip... I'm glad he gets to do this with her; even if it does mean I miss out on one of her 'firsts'" she ended her sentence with a soft smile.
Meanwhile, back in Stars Hollow; Luke stood in the foyer of their family home with their daughter. He looked down at her, clapping his hands together before quickly rubbing his palms back and forth. "Okay, it's just me and you now Miss Danes; I believe we need some sort of plan."
Bella looked at her Daddy, tilting her head to the side; seemingly deep in thought.
"We leave first thing tomorrow morning."He told her, listing everything they'd need in his head as he spoke. "Okay, Daddy's gonna grab the fishing and camping gear from the basement and then we'll clear out the fridge and make some lunch. Sound like a plan?" he checked. Bella nodded quickly, smiling up at her father with bright blue eyes.
The youngster watched as her Daddy opened the door to the basement and disappeared down the stairs; she rocked back and forth on her feet before nodding a small decisive nod and making her way to the large kitchen of their home.
With both hands, Bella pulled open the fridge and stood on her tip-toes to inspect the items inside. She pulled a container of left-over Chinese from the fridge, opened the top to smell its contents just as she'd seen her Mother do before screwing up her face and dropping it into the nearby bin.
After moving around a few items of fresh fruits and vegetables and taking a small bite of an apple, before placing it on the table; Bella grabbed a chair and pulled it towards the fridge to stand on. She immediately grimaced at the sight of packet of ripe cherry tomatoes and dropped them into the bin, quickly followed by an open pot of coleslaw and a few other items she decided she didn't like the look of.
Luke waltzed into the kitchen just in time to catch Bella standing on the chair, reaching as high as she possibly could for a pizza box on the top shelf of the fridge. He quickly launched forward, steadying his daughter by her waist with one hand and grabbing the box with the other. He smiled down at her sweetly before opening the box for the pair of them to inspect."How many days do you think?" he asked her.
"100?" she asked with a toothy grin.
Luke chucked "Knowing your mother, you're probably not far off" He dropped the offending box into the bin before reaching for his baby girl and placing her on his hip."I see you started without me..."
"I think I'm done. Everything disgusting and smelly is in the bin."She told him with a nod.
Luke pulled the chair away from the fridge with his free hand, stepping towards it and glancing inside. He grabbed an open carton of plain yoghurt and dumped that before placing his daughter gently on the floor."Good job Belles" he praised her. "What would you like for lunch?"
"Hmmm...What are you having Daddy?"
Luke looked behind him quickly, glancing at what was left in the fridge."A sandwich and a small salad, I guess"
"Me too!" Bella chirped, placing her hands on her hips and holding her head his.
Luke smiled down at his daughter, smoothing down her sandy blonde hair softly with his hand."You want a salad?" He checked with raised eyebrows.
Bella nodded "Lettuces and cucumbers! Cheeeseee sandwich please!"
Luke laughed at her cheesy grin, bending slightly to pick her back up, tickling the sides of her stomach."You are a cheese sandwich" he told her.
"Am not, am not!" Bella insisted between giggles.
"You will be the rate you're going." He chuckled, taking his offending fingers away from her stomach and settling her on his hip once more and turning to the fridge. He pulled out the lettuce, cucumber and cheese, placing them on the counter beside the fridge, before grabbing a bowl of leftover tuna and a jar of low-fat mayonnaise. He scanned the fridge quickly before turning his head to his daughter with a frown, "Didn't we have some tomatoes in here?"
Bella bit down on her lip mischievously before giggling softly and whispering "tomatoes are disgusting Daddy."
Luke glanced down into the bin and groaned a small groan of frustration."You really are your mother's daughter".