Wow! Great reviews guys! Yes, yes, I know that most of you have seen the writing on the wall, but I trust that you'll keep reading.
Luke quickly turned off the alarm before it really had a chance to start purring loudly. He squinted at the bright, early morning sun that was starting to come through the gauzy curtains Lorelai had over her bedroom window. After a moment, he rolled over, intending to snuggle up to the warm body of his girl friend for a few moments before coaxing her awake with the promise of coffee.
"You're up already?" he asked her quietly when he saw her sitting up in bed, staring at the playpen at the foot of the bed.
"What?" she asked distractedly, slowly turning her gaze towards Luke. He looked at her long and hard for a moment and took in the strained look on her face and the dark circles under her eyes. He was also more than a little surprised to see that her hair was still in the pony tail she had thrown it into last night. She never woke up with her hair still in her pony tail.
"Did you sleep at all last night?" Luke asked quietly as he sat himself up in bed as well. He frowned a little as he watched her scrub her hands over her face.
"Of course," she replied after a moment, offering him a tired smile.
"Every time I rolled over, every time I woke up, you were either up, getting up or just walking back into the bed room. Did you sleep at all?" he asked her again, even though they both knew the real answer. She hesitated and pulled the elastic out of her hair.
"I kept thinking that I heard a car pulling up, or some one walking up the drive way," she explained quietly. "And I didn't want to wake you up because you have to work and you're not really happy that I agreed to look after her, or that I still talk to him. . . " Lorelai trailed off as Luke pulled her into his side and he brushed some of the limp hair away from her face. "He still hasn't phoned," she changed the subject. "He left his kid with me over 12 hours ago and hasn't come to get her or called to say where he is. I'm about a half step away from freaking out," she told Luke as she pushed away from him.
"Maybe he just got in so late that he decided to call in the morning," Luke reasoned. She pulled a little further away from him as she stared at him, more than a little surprised at his response.
"You're defending him?" she asked, shocked that this was happening.
"I'm trying to keep you from freaking out," he explained patiently. She took a deep breath and a look of concentration fell over her face. "I'm gonna go make some coffee, you stay here," he told her, dropping a kiss on the top of her head before he slid out of the bed, running a hand through his hair to straighten it slightly.
"Diapers," she suddenly blurted out as she pulled her knees up to her chest.
"Excuse me?" he asked, stopping in the door way and turning to look at her.
"There are only 2 more in the bag he packed. We're out if he doesn't come by noon. Sooner if there's an incident." Luke blinked at her for a moment as he watched her quickly jump out of bed and head over to where she had left the baby bag. She quickly started to rummage through it, taking stock of what exactly Chris had packed.
"I don't want to know what an incident might in tale," he said quietly, shaking his head a little. "Coffee?"
"Yeah, coffee good," she said as she continued to dig through the bag in front of her. 2 diapers, the half full container of Cheerio's, a few books, fewer toys and 2 changes of clothes was all she found in the bag. She pulled an outfit out of the bag and hung onto it as she walked over to the playpen and looked down at GG. "Where the hell is your father, kid?" she asked quietly as she tried to formulate a plan for the day.
Luke hadn't said much else on the subject before he left for the diner. Sure, he had quizzed Lorelai on what exactly a year and a half year old could and would eat, but other than that? A whole lotta silence filled the Crap Shack. After Luke left, Lorelai grabbed the contact list Chris had left her and the phone and started phoning the numbers again. She got the same run around she had gotten the night before, Some didn't answer, some were answering machines and some were voice mail. Glancing over at GG who was flipping through an old magazine Lorelai had given her, she couldn't help but sigh and grab the phone again.
"Hey kid!" she said brightly after dialing a very familiar number.
"Hey, I'm running late," Rory said as she balanced her cell phone between her ear and shoulder as she grabbed books and shoved them into her bag as she rushed around her room.
"Um, so, strange question, but, have you heard for your dad recently?" Lorelai asked, trying to sound confident and like nothing was wrong. Lorelai fiddled with the little items that littered the desk next to the phone base.
"No, why?" she asked as she finally pulled on her coat, grabbed her keys and headed towards the door.
"Just wondering," her mother replied. Rory paused as she thought about her mother's tone, something was off, but she couldn't place it. "Never mind," Lorelai said quickly. "I'll call you later tonight, to check in, ok?"
"Sure," Rory said as they quickly hung up. Still thinking about the rather strange conversation she'd just had with her mother, Rory stepped up to the coffee cart to place her order before she rushed off to class.
"Don't move," Lorelai warned GG as she wrestled the car seat Chris had left into the jeep. She had no intentions of walking to the inn with the toddler on her hip since she knew from experience that the little girl probably wouldn't be able to make the walk to the inn.
GG sat quietly on the front stairs as she watched Lorelai battle the large car seat for a while. Eventually, she wandered back over, still rubbing her elbow where she had smacked it on the door frame. "Come on," Lorelai said as she held out a hand. GG jumped up and grabbed it, allowing Lorelai to lead her to the jeep and strap her into her seat.
"Who's you're friend?" Sookie asked when she saw Lorelai and GG come into the kitchen at the Dragonfly. GG's eyes grew wide as she took in the flurry of activity in the kitchen. Eventually, she focused her attention on Sookie.
"This is GG," Lorelai said as she headed to the coffee maker. She counted down in her head as she placed a coffee mug on the counter before she grabbed the coffee pot and poured herself a cup.
"EVERYBODY OUT!" Sookie called quickly as she quickly began rushing around the kitchen, shooing the workers out to take a break before she cornered Lorelai. Lorelai leaned casually against the counter as she calmly sipped her coffee as she and the little girl watched as Sookie herded her kitchen staff out before she turned on her heel and hurried over to the pair.
"That's not English Sookie," Lorelai pointed out calmly as Sookie blustered and stuttered as her arms waved around wildly in her attempts to get out a sentence.
"You're holding Christopher's baby?" she finally got out, still pointing wildly at GG.
"I am," Lorelai confirmed. She watched with mild amusement as Sookie rapidly switched from pointing wildly at Lorelai and the toddler to pulling the bowl of fruit in front of her. Lorelai pushed away from the coffee maker and headed closer to Sookie as she began to pull grapes and strawberries from the bowl as she cut them in half.
"And why do you have Christopher's baby in your arms?" she asked, a sly smile on her face as she eyed the pair again for a moment before she turned back to the fruit. Lorelai relaxed a little when she saw Sookie's attention return to what she was doing. She really didn't feel like having to deal with Sookie getting stitches or possibly having her finger reattached.
"Because I couldn't find a sitter," she replied truthfully. The little smirk she only sort of hid behind the coffee cup was not lost on Sookie. She glared at Lorelai for a moment before she heard her heave a sigh. "He called a couple of days ago, begging for a sitter," Lorelai explained, Sookie already knew about the call after Sherry had left. "And, stupid me, I agreed to do it."
"And Luke didn't mind?" the chef asked as she pushed some of the cut up fruit towards the girls.
"He wasn't pleased, but we worked out a compromise," she said. Another sly little grin came over her face, one that Sookie recognised. "Anyway," she said, starting her story again. "He had a business meeting in Hartford, he was supposed to be back last night and. . . "
"He's not," Sookie concluded as she moved on to cutting up an apple.
"He's not," agreed Lorelai. "I have called every number on the contact list he left me multiple times and every person on that list either hasn't seen him since last night or they aren't answering. I even called Rory this morning, I think she's on to me, and I think I might even call my mother this afternoon," Lorelai said, sounding like the word left a bad taste in her mouth. She made a face before she offered GG a grape half. The toddler looked at it for a moment, but soon turned her attention back to taking in the kitchen.
"Whoa," was all Sookie could say when she heard the last part. If Lorelai was voluntarily getting her parents involved, things were serious. Lorelai shook her head a little as she ate the grape half.
"Yeah, whoa indeed. I can hardly wait to hear the lecture that will accompany that phone call, but I'm running out of options." The pair both paused what they were doing and looked at each other for a long moment.
"And nothing from him?" Sookie asked as she pushed the apple slices off of the cutting board so they mingled with the other things she had cut up. Lorelai quickly sat the toddler on the prep table when she began reaching for the fruit. Lorelai shook her head as she grabbed a piece of strawberry.
"Hey, I need some advice on baby items," she commented, changing the subject to one that was less painful. "She has exactly 1 diaper left and I have a sinking feeling I'm going to have to feed her for at least one more night. Ugh, I'm probably also going to have to do laundry too," she grumbled.
"Ah, let me leave some instructions and we can go right now," Sookie said as she swept the fruit into a container. She handed it to Lorelai and quickly headed out to usher her staff back into the kitchen. Lorelai watched Sookie give orders for a moment before she headed out to the front desk to inform Michel that she and Sookie would be gone for a while. The French Man and the toddler stared at each other for a moment before Michel had enough and stalked to the back office for a moment. As Lorelai enjoyed his displeasure, GG quickly began reaching for the container that Lorelai was holding.
"Ok, ok, relax," she said as she opened one side of the container and handed it to the little girl. She took the container and inspected the contents carefully before she reached in to pick out a piece of apple.
"Ok," the chef called out happily, brushing her hands down the side of her jacket. "Let's go."
"Michel! Cover the desk!" Lorelai called out as the three of them left the inn and headed for town.
"Can I say how glad I am that it's sunny today?" Lorelai asked with a smile as she set GG on the ground and let her wander a head of them. Sookie smiled as she nudged GG back onto the path. The little girl was too busy picking the strawberries and apples out of the grapes to really pay attention to where she was going.
The walk to town, while taking longer than it usually did, was a nice one. GG seemed to enjoy the walk and listened well to the adults who called out to her every now and then when she got too far a head of them.
"We should do this more often," Sookie commented as they strolled towards town.
"What? Stroll around, policing an almost 2 year old?" Lorelai asked with a smirk. Sookie sent her a look that caused Lorelai to start laughing. "I'm sorry," she said as she sobered up. "Do what more often?"
"Just take a walk, see the world, hang out. Do. . . This!" she said enthusiastically with a large smile as they picked up their pace so they could catch the little girl before they met up with the main road.
"Fine, we will take more time to walk through nature," Lorelai agreed as she took the container from GG and grabbed her hand. She battled Lorelai for a moment before she finally picked GG up. "Cheer up," Lorelai said as she gave her a little tickle. GG giggled and fidgeted and quickly forgot that she wanted to walk as she began pointing to things and naming them as they walked along.
As expected, the trio faced more questions and stares from the people of Stars Hollow as Sookie gave Lorelai a crash course on the on how baby products had changed since the 1980's.
"How has she been?" Sookie as she and Lorelai stood in front of the shelves of diapers, ignoring Taylor and the others who were trying to be subtle as they spied on the trio.
"Fine," she responded. "From what I can gather, she's has a pretty steady stream of nannies from day one, so being left with a random person doesn't seem to phase her. How much do you think she weighs?" Lorelai asked as she held the toddler out. Sookie took her and held her for a moment.
"Get the 4's," she said as she settled GG on her hip.
"He so owes me for this," she said as she grabbed the package before they headed to the register. The pair shared a smirk as they watched everyone in the store immediately go back to what they had been doing.
"So, tell me again, what happened to Sherry?" Sookie asked.
"Sookie, we've been over this, several time," Lorelai pointed out as they paid at the register and sent Taylor several dirty looks.
"I know, I know," she said as she looked hopefully at Lorelai. With a roll of her eyes, the brunette began to spill out how Sherry had gotten the job offer in France, packed her bags and left a note with the nanny before she left. "And then Chris called you for help?"
"Yeah, but he picked it up fast," Lorelai reasoned as they headed back to the inn.
"What?" Sookie asked as they paused out side of Luke's. Sookie watched as Luke focused on them and she watched a dark look pass over his face for a moment. She could only assume that was from seeing GG.
"Nothing, let's go," Lorelai said as they kept walking. "I have no idea what's going to happen if she's not gone by tonight." Lorelai quickly explained the awkward conversation they'd had about her agreeing to baby sit in the first place. "I understand why he doesn't like Chris, or the fact that we talk, but I dunno. I just couldn't say no to this. You know, Rory told me once that I was always waiting for him, waiting for him to get his act together and I didn't really believe her at first, but now I think I do. Why else would I agree to baby sit the baby that broke us up for good?"
"Well, now that you realise that, I bet you could walk away from him forever now," Sookie offered, trying to be sympathetic while stomping down the urge to exclaim 'Well duh!'. "Hey, I hate to bring this up, but. . . "
"Yeah?"
"What if he doesn't come back?" Lorelai stopped walking suddenly and Sookie carried on for a few more steps before she realized she was alone with the baby. She turned and headed back to stand with Lorelai. "Honey?" she asked when she saw the blank look on Lorelai's face.
"He wouldn't," Lorelai said after a moment, shaking her head a little. "He left me and Rory to raise her, he's been her father for nearly 2 years he wouldn't just up and leave her now," Lorelai insisted. She and Sookie looked at each other for a long moment.
"Yeah, you're right," Sookie said, waving the thought away as they started to walk towards the Inn again. "I don't know why I said that." Lorelai offered Sookie a grin of agreement, but as they turned off the main road and back onto the small lane that led to the Dragonfly, Lorelai's mind couldn't stop wondering if maybe Chris had dumped his kid on her. She cast a quickly glance at GG again, the grin reappearing on her face as she ran a hand down the back of the toddlers head before she turned the conversation to lighter topics.