Chapter 7: The Father

Gratefully taking the girly, light-pink cell phone from Lorelai, Jess walked out of the room holding Clara's brother's number carefully. When he was far enough down the hallway to be surely out of earshot, he dialed. It rang three times, and then a child's voice greeted him.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is Andre there?" Jess asked, regretting his choice of words the moment they were out of his mouth. The kid was so young, and was probably one of Andre's twin boys that Clara had told him about.

"I'm Shawn," he replied proudly, not answering the question. Jess closed his eyes and considered for a moment what best to say next.

"Hi, Shawn. Is your dad there?" he asked, his voice suddenly in "little kid mode," something he wasn't aware he spoke. He didn't get ridiculously high-pitched like some people did when talking to young children but his voice got softer and gentler in a way, and his sentences a bit slower. His voice was suddenly shifted into an "I'm on your level" type of tone; it came naturally without him really planning for it.

"No," the kid answered simply. Jess tried to keep his patience and carefully considered what to say next.

"Okay. Well is your mom there... or a babysitter or any... grownup at all?" He really hoped this kid did have an adult taking care of him. Children as young as this one clearly was shouldn't be left alone; it was illegal for a reason. Never mind what Liz may or may not have done when Jess had been about that age. Luckily the kid answered with what Jess had hoped to hear.

"Yes."

"Okay, great. Can you please put that person on the phone for me?" Jess replied. He tried to ignore the feeling that this process was akin to pulling teeth. Why did any adult watching him even let him answer the phone in the first place?

"Okay," the kid replied, and Jess listened carefully, waiting for a new voice to come onto the receiver.

"Hello? This is Pamela."

"Hi," Jess greeted. "I really need to speak with Andre. Do you have a cell phone number I could call or something?"

"So, Clara," Lorelai asked back in the hospital room. "If you don't mind me asking... who is the... um... you know... guy who got you pregnant?" She was too curious to resist asking this fourteen-year-old girl. She felt a little bad for prying, but for what it was worth she tried to ask it as nicely as she could, leaving all assumptions and judgment out of her voice. "Do you... live with him?" she added cautiously in a quiet tone.

Clara bit her lip but nodded slightly and closed her eyes.

"You don't have to tell me," Lorelai added gently, worried she might be upsetting Clara too much. Lorelai's worry increased dramatically when she noticed a few tears start to stream down her face.

"Aw, I'm so sorry for asking!" Lorelai apologized. "I let my curiosity get the best of me sometimes," she explained. She felt so bad seeing Clara cry and wanted to just give the girl a hug.

"No, it's okay," Clara quietly said, looking back up at Lorelai for a moment before closing her eyes again. "Promise not to tell anyone?" Clara breathed.

"I promise," Lorelai whispered back. Keeping her eyes closed, Clara started to explain.

"My dad died when I was really little, before I can remember... and about a year... and a half ago my mom died too," she told Lorelai, barely audibly. "And so I... I live with my stepfather now," she said, even quieter.

Lorelai barely had time to comprehend the tragedy of this young girl's life before realizing what the last part actually meant. The father of her baby... was her stepfather?!

"Oh, no..." Lorelai said back to her, shaking her head, hoping it wasn't true - that she'd misinterpreted Clara somehow. Clara opened her eyes and looked up at Lorelai. She nodded ever so slightly, trying to confirm Lorelai's thoughts.

"He didn't... start... until after my mom was dead," she added, wanting to convey more of the story to Lorelai if possible. Just then she experienced another contraction though, forcing a pause in her story. Lorelai took her hand and tried to help her through it in whatever way she could, still in shock about what she'd just learned.

Jess hung up the phone, thinking it had gone smoother than he'd thought it would. Andre's wife seemed very reasonable and kind. He trusted that she'd tell her husband everything about his sister, and that not only Andre but his whole family too would be coming here to meet Clara in the hospital as soon as possible. She hadn't been willing to give Andre's number away to a stranger, so Jess had just explained the whole story to her and when he'd finished, she didn't accuse him of being the father or any of the other things he'd been afraid might happen during the call. She seemed to actually appreciate how important to Clara this would be, and she seemed to really care.

Smiling to himself and proud of what he'd just accomplished, he headed back to the hospital room. He saw the door was still open and figured that meant it was still safe to reenter. Lorelai and Clara were deep in a very quiet conversation, however, he realized as soon as he walked in. They stopped as soon as they noticed his presence and he immediately felt like he'd intruded upon something intimate and important.

"I'm sorry," Jess said. "I can leave... if you want me to," he added, gesturing with his thumb toward the door he'd just walked in through. Lorelai looked at Clara, asking her silently what she wanted Jess to do.

"No, it's fine," Clara replied. "Did you talk to my brother?" she asked.

"No," Jess answered nervously, hoping it was okay that he'd told Pamela everything. He realized now, standing in front of Clara, that he may have betrayed her trust and done something she didn't want him to do. "I know you specifically wanted me to tell your brother, not your brother's wife... but I told her everything, and she said she would come with Andre and their kids as soon as possible and meet you here in the hospital."

"Oh wow. Thank you," Clara said with a smile, to Jess' relief. "Yeah I don't mind Pamela knowing, don't worry," she added.

Then she had another contraction, and during it, her doctor walked back into the room to check on her. Clara looked up at the woman who had introduced herself earlier as Dr. Simmons, and as Lorelai observed the young girl's face, she noticed that Clara looked both more scared and more comforted at the same time somehow, which Lorelai figured made sense. Doctors in general were there to help. They made you safer; this doctor in particular was here to make sure Clara and her baby both survived the dangerous ordeal of childbirth without complications, if at all possible. But the doctor also was the person who might tell her if something was wrong. Even though, logically, if something was wrong it'd be wrong whether or not the doctor verbalized it to her, and the sooner the doctor was aware of any problems or potential complications, the better for both her and her baby... it was always scary when the potential to receive such news was more immediate.

"We'll give you some privacy," Lorelai told Clara, looking at Jess to make sure he was on the same page. He nodded.

"You're in good hands," Jess added. "And we'll come back right after Dr. Simmons leaves, alright?"

"Sounds good," Clara replied with a meek smile. She seemed so nervous.

"You can relax," Dr. Simmons could be overheard saying to Clara as Jess and Lorelai exited the room. "I just need to check how dilated your cervix is."

Once outside, Jess and Lorelai looked at each other awkwardly. Lorelai had found out a new big detail about Clara's situation that Jess didn't know, but she couldn't tell him about it since she'd promised Clara she wouldn't tell anyone. Jess didn't really have anything new to say. Lorelai already knew what had happened on the phone with Andre's wife. So they stood in awkward silence, waiting. Jess was fairly content in the silence, although tempted to pull out the book stowed in his jacket pocket at the moment. Lorelai was busy thinking though, and decided, after only about a minute or so, to ask Jess a question that she knew she shouldn't be asking.

"So... Jess." She pursed her lips, knowing she shouldn't say the words she was about to say but unable to resist the temptation. Jess looked at her curiously, waiting.

"Yes?"

"Do you still love my daughter?"