Okay, due to people telling me I just had to continue, I am. Yay! To Emiiily, I can't believe you didn't think your story was good. I love your story. It's the best fanfic I've ever read. Also to pamelamorganhalpert you are right Luke will be older than Lorelai but not as much as you thought. The age difference Luke and Lorelai is going to be the same as it was on the show, so about 2 ½ - 3 years. So sit back, relax and enjoy Ch. 2
Ch. 2: PI's, coffee, and the Truth
Richard was eating breakfast and reading the paper when Emily came downstairs and entered the dining room. The minute she walked in Emily froze. Lorelai's not here eating breakfast.
"Richard.." she asked.
"Yes, Emily." He said never looking up from his paper.
"Have you seen Lorelai?"
"Why no I haven't." He still kept his eyes focused on the paper.
"She must still be asleep. It's 7:30 and she is still sleeping, she is going to be late for school….again." Emily said as she started back up the stairs.
The sound of Emily screaming, "RICHARD!" erupted through the house and nearly gave Richard a heart attack. "Dear god." He muttered as he went upstairs to see what had caused Emily's outburst.
"Emily, what's wr-" he asked as he made his way to where Emily is standing.
"She's gone." Emily simply whispered as she stare into the dark room.
"What?" he clearly didn't understand.
"Lorelai is gone." She said as she gestured to the room with the still made bed and various missing items.
"What do you mean gone?"
"She's gone, her bed is still made, some of the awful clothes she refuses to get rid of are gone. What happened Richard?" she was becoming frantic. "Was she kidnapped? Is she being held for ransom? We're never going to see her again." She cried as she began pacing the room.
"Emily calm down." Richard said as he grabbed her hand. "I will call up a colleague of mine who happens to know a private investigator. We will get to the bottom of this and we will find her."
"Oh, Richard. I can't even imagine where she could be."
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Lorelai woke up around 8 AM and wondered why she was in a building smaller than her bedroom. The events of the night came flooding back to her. "Oh my god! Chris, the bus, the inn, the stick." She said looking down at her stomach. "That's right, I'm pregnant." She said with a little smile.
She then got dressed quickly and made her way inside the inn. She saw Mia at the front desk and made her way up to her. Mia looked up and smiled. "Hello, dear sleep well?" she asked nicely.
"Yes, very well." Lorelai realized that was the first night in over a month that she didn't have recurring nightmares about babies in coming out dresses.
"That's nice, now how about we talk in my office?"
"Yes, that sounds good."
Mia and Lorelai were sitting in Mia's small but cozy office.
"So, tell me how old are you?"
"Eighteen." Lorelai answered quickly.
"Mm hmm." Mia knew this girl was lying but decided to let her go a little longer before she busted her.
"Where are you from?"
"Well, I'm from….Woodbury." Lorelai remembered hearing it over the bus speakers last night.
"Oh, well why do you want this job?" Mia hoped this question would cause the girl to be honest.
Lorelai paused. She didn't know what to say. She wanted to be honest with this woman, but at the same time wanted to keep her identity safe. "Because…I really need this job. I can't even begin to tell you how much I need this job. I don't get along with my parents and I am in a little trouble. I just need a job so I can earn money. That's really it."
Mia smiled at the mysterious girl. "Now that's the first honest thing I've heard from you."
"What?" Lorelai was confused, she thought her lies were believable.
"Dear, I have lived long enough to tell when things are from a person's heart and when they are completely false." She said as she walked over to Lorelai. "And I also have a teenage son." She smiled when she said that.
Lorelai smiled at the kind gesture. "So I guess you want the truth?"
After some thought Mia answered. "No."
"What?" This woman was still surprising her.
"I don't want to force you to tell me about yourself so when the time comes you can tell me." Lorelai was amazed. This woman wasn't trying to force her to say anything. "Now you need a job, so I can start you as a maid right now. Maybe after sometime you can work your way up."
"Well, I need to find a place to live."
"How about you stay in the potting shed?"
"Really?" Lorelai liked the little room but didn't expect to live there.
"Sure, I haven't used that shed in years and I think it could be nice for you. We can talk about paychecks later. You start tomorrow 9 AM. Any questions?"
"Just one."
"Yes?"
"Where can you get a decent cup of coffee?"
Mia laughed at the question but replied nicely. "Well, there is a diner in town with some of the best coffee I've ever had. It's called Luke's, now to get to town…."
Emily and Richard were having a less than good morning. After calling the private investigator and having him come over right away to search Lorelai's room, Emily shut herself in her room and Richard took to going for the scotch. After twenty minutes the PI came out of Lorelai's room to talk to Richard and Emily.
"Well, I didn't find anything out of the ordinary, but I did find one thing." He said as he pulled out a plastic bag. "Is your daughter sexually active?" he asked.
Emily and Richard disagreed right away. "Of course not." They yelled in unison.
Emily was first to compose herself. "Lorelai is only 15, there is no way she could be sexually active. Don't you agree Richard?" she asked as she turned to Richard.
Richard was a scary sight to behold. His face was almost turning red as if he was about to explode, but because of his height it made him look even scarier.
"Richard calm down." She said as she turned her attention back to the PI. "Why are you asking this?"
"Because…." The PI began as he pulled the item out of the plastic bag. "Of this." He said when he showed them the pregnancy test he found in the trash.
Emily and Richard stared at the test but remained in denial. "What is that?" Emily asked quietly.
"This is a pregnancy test and by the looks of it, your daughter is pregnant."
To Emily and Richard, their worlds stopped. The news that their daughter was pregnant made them both feel like they were frozen.
After what seemed like hours but was only moments Emily asked, "I'm sure you're mistaken. Lorelai and I tend to have some disagreements from time to time, more like everyday, but there is no way she could be pregnant.
Putting the test back in the bag, the PI asked, "Has she exhibited any signs of pregnancy?"
"Well, no not that I…." Emily thought back and remembered. "The dress!" she exclaimed before falling onto the couch in the living room.
"What dress?" the PI asked as he sat down next to her. Neither noticed as Richard took the scotch bottle and disappeared into his study.
"Her coming out dress." Emily said. "Her coming out is at the beginning of May and she was supposed to get her pictures taken two weeks ago, but her dress was too small. I assumed the dressmaker got the measurements wrong and sent her dress back."
"Uh huh." The PI had been writing notes down and turned towards Emily, "So, do you have an idea of who the father is?"
"Well, Lorelai is dating someone, but this boy is wonderful: model student, responsible. There is no way he is the father.
"I'll still have to talk to him, so what is his name?"
"Christopher Hayden, but he is a very smart boy, I have full confidence he is the victim here."
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While everyone else was at lunch in Christopher's English class, he was busy making out with Bitsey Montgomery in the room.
"So Chris.. where's Lorelai?" she asked as he moved to her neck.
"Don't know, don't care."
"But she's your girlfriend."
"Not anymore, I dumped her, that's probably why she's gone. She's still at home crying her eyes out. Or she's on the street somewhere. "Let's not talk about her. I just want to think about you." He said as he started sucking on her neck. The voice on the loudspeaker interrupted them. "Christopher Hayden to the Principal's Office. Christopher Hayden to the Principal's Office."
"Now what!"Chris snapped as he jumped off the desk and made his way to the door. My ex-girlfriend is already pregnant, what else could happen!
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Lorelai was walking through town, just enjoying the spring afternoon. She was feeling great. I have a home, a job, now if only I could find some coffee. Her eyes glanced over the town. She noticed a grocery store, bookstore, dance studio, a bakery, but her eyes stopped on the giant yellow coffee cup that said Luke's. That must be the diner Mia was talking about. I have to try this incredible coffee.
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Luke Danes felt like his head was going to implode. This was the busiest lunch rush he had had since opening the diner back in September. He heard the door jingle and yelled, "Take a seat, I'll be with you in a minute."
He turned back to getting the plates and ran them to the table when he heard a voice behind him yell, "hey, you in the flannel, I need coffee!"
"Sit down, I'll get to you when I can."
"See, that doesn't work for me, I haven't had coffee all day, and now I seriously need a pick me up and I need it NOW!"
"Okay, do you see how crowded this place is? I need to give these people their orders before I can get to you!"
"Yea, but my friend said you have the best coffee so I can't leave until I have your coffee and I need it NOW!"
Luke had had enough, he slammed the plates he was carrying down on the table and turned around to face this annoying stranger. "Look, you need to shut…"
That was all he got out, when he turned around all he saw was a beautiful girl and a pair of blue eyes. He felt like everyone had disappeared and it was just him and this girl.
Lorelai felt like the wind had been knocked out her. One minute she was ticking the flannel guy off and now she was staring into his deep blue eyes. She knew she had to break the stare, so she said, "Sorry, I'll just take a seat." Then sat down at an empty stool at the counter.
Luke went back to grabbing food and delivering it. He saw the mystery girl grab a newspaper that had been lying on the counter and glanced through it. A few minutes later he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see the same blue eyes again.
"Hey, when's your birthday?" she asked cautiously, afraid to set him off again.
"Uh, November 6." Why does she want my birthday?
"Great, thanks." She smiled and Luke was almost blinded by her beautiful smile. She then returned to the stool and seemed to be writing something on the paper.
After a few minutes Luke went over to the counter and got the girl a cup and poured some coffee in it.
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Lorelai saw the flannel guy go behind the counter and gave her a cup and filled it with coffee. Lorelai gave a sly smile and asked, "Everyone else got their orders?"
Flannel guy answered back, "Yep and now you get your order."
"Lorelai smiled shyly and took a sip. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed.
Flannel guy looked up at her with a worried look on his face, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I think I'm in heaven! I mean seriously, this is the best coffee I've ever had! What's your secret?" she asked.
"Nothing." He said matter of factly while wiping down the counter.
"Nothing? You were just born with this incredible talent of making coffee?"
"Pretty much."
"Wow." Lorelai was noticing how cute this guy really was. He's really muscular, and I bet without the ball cap, he looks even cuter. Her thoughts were interrupted when she looked at the clock. "Oh no!" she said standing up and grabbing her bag. "I'm late."
"What?" the flannel guy asked.
"I need to get back home." She said as she took a long sip of her coffee. "Hey, could I have a to go cup?"
"Sure," Flannel guy grabbed a cup and filled it then put a lid on it. "Here you go."
"Thanks." Lorelai smiled warmly at Flannel before she remembered. "Oh, yeah, how much?" she asked as she searched for her wallet.
"First one's free."
"Thanks, and here's something for you, keep it in your wallet, one day it'll bring you good luck." She said before walking out the door.
Luke looked down at what mystery girl had given him and it was a horoscope. Oh, that's what she was writing on. He looked and under Scorpio he saw she had written 'You will meet an annoying woman today. Give her coffee and she'll go away.' Luke smiled at that and continued wiping the counter, hoping that this woman wouldn't go away forever.
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"He WHAT!" Emily screamed at the PI as he told her the news she knew wasn't probable.
"He is the father." The PI was exhausted. He had spent all day searching rooms, calming parents and questioning teachers and students. "He said that he and Lorelai had sex around January 10 and she came to his home last night and announced that she was pregnant with his baby and was running away.
"How do you know he's telling the truth? Does he know where she went?"
"Mrs. Gilmore," the PI was losing his patience. "Mr. Hayden said she disappeared before he had a chance to respond. She just walked in, said what she needed to say and left. Mr. Hayden said he couldn't talk her out of it. She doesn't even want him to help her."
"That makes sense. Lorelai always has had an independent mind. So are you going to go looking around for her now?"
"Mrs. Gilmore, it's 9 o'clock at night. I have spent all day on this case. I will continue tomorrow but I will leave for the night and be back in the morning. Good night." And with that the PI was gone for the night.
Emily then decided to get ready for bed seeing the exhausting day she had had. Richard had not come out of his study so Emily was all alone. Just like the night before, Emily tossed and turned, nothing but nightmares filling her dreams.
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Mia heard a knock on her door and looked up to see her newest maid in the doorway. "Why hello dear, come in."
"I'm 15."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm going to turn 16 in a few weeks, but yea, I'm 15."
"Oh I see," Mia said as she stood up. "You're telling me the truth. Go ahead." She said with a smile.
Lorelai took a deep breath and began telling this woman her secrets. "My nameis Lorelai Gilmore, not Lorie Smith. I'm almost 16, I'm from Hartford, my family is really high society, with cotillion, coming out, and prep schools. The reason I need this job is…because…..I'm pregnant."
The last piece of news shocked Mia. "You're pregnant?"
"Yes, the father is my best friend when we were kids. We started dating last spring and back in January, we…you know and I found out I was pregnant and I ran away. My parents don't know. I told my boyfriend, well I guess he's my ex-boyfriend now, and I left. I need this job so I can support myself and my baby I can't go back home because my parents will make me get ..rid of it and there's no way I could let that happen." Lorelai was crying by the time she finished.
Mia felt awful, she had no idea what this girl was going through. "It's alright dear." She said pulling her into a hug. "Don't worry, you'll be alright."
After a few minutes Lorelai composed herself. "That's why I lied to you. I know my mom has already hired a private investigator to find me but I don't want to leave, I like this town. I thought I was just going to keep up the lie, but in town I started talking with someone and they made me feel like myself again. For a few minutes I forgot about being pregnant and running away. I just felt normal." She finished with a smile.
Mia noticed how Lorelai looked genuinely happy, not scared like she was last night. "You should get some rest."
"Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll see you in the morning." Lorelai said as she started walking out of the office. "Thank you Mia."
Mia just smiled at where the young girl had been standing crying her heart out over what had happened to her in the last few weeks. Mia was touched that Lorelai had opened up so quickly, but Mia wondered just who this 'someone' was and hoped they stayed a positive influence for Lorelai.
Okay, Ch. 2 is done. You all know the drill: R/R. It will make me really happy!
