Charlie's 15
"What are you drinking?"
"Coffee," Charlie replied as she pushed one book away from her and pulled the other towards her
"You hate coffee," Lorelai pointed out to the 15 year old.
"I also have finals. Finals out weigh my hate of coffee," she assured her mother as he took a pull from the cup and grimaced.
"Oh! Baby's first coffee!" Lorelai said. "The only time I was ever prouder of you was when you took your first step."
"Mom," Charlie complained. "Shakespeare," she said gesturing to the text book. Lorelai sighed and rolled her eyes, remembering Rory's adventures with the English lit class at Chilton.
"Speaking of Shakespeare, how are your grades in that class?" she asked cautiously. "At mid term they weren't all that great."
"They're fine."
"Fine by Rory standards or fine by my standards?"
"By my standards. Do you want me to study or not?" she asked, becoming irritated.
"Fine, I'm going," she said as she backed out of Charlie's room.
"Close the door!" she called and Lorelai did just that. Charlie sighed as she looked back to her text books. Inside she was freaking out. She needed at least an 85 on this final or her average was going to dip to a 75 in English Lit.
She hadn't meant to skip that many classes, it was just that Danny Peltonien was so cute and he was her first boyfriend. She sighed hard and took another pull of the coffee. "Stupid boys," she muttered as she went back to her cramming.
Luke yawned as he crept down from the bed room and headed to the kitchen for a quick cup of tea before he headed to the diner for the day. He paused for a moment when he noticed the light still coming from under Charlie's door. He knocked lightly and stuck his head in.
"Did you sleep at all?" he asked when he saw the various paper balls and coffee cups that littered the floor.
"Not yet," she said, not looking up from what ever she was doing.
"How much trouble are you in, Charlie?" he asked as he came to sit down on the bed. He watched as she hesitated. "Are you failing?"
"No!" she said quickly as she turned around. "I just. . . I really screwed up," she finally admitted. "I really, really screwed up and by the time I figured it out, finals were a week away. I did all the extra credit I could, but I really need to ace this exam." Luke studied her for a moment.
"Okay," he said as he stood up.
"Really? You're not gonna tell mom?" she asked hopefully.
"No," he said. "You always come through when you need to, and if you don't, she'll find out as soon as your report card comes home."
"You're not mad?"
"I'm disappointed," he said as he pulled her out of her chair and wrapped his arms around her. "But, you always seem to learn from your mistakes, so I don't think this is going to happen again, is it?"
"No," she said as she hung on to Luke. "It's not. Thanks Pop," she said quietly. She and Rory had started calling him Pop shortly after he and Lorelai had married. Luke stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head before he pulled away.
"Get back to work," he said. "If you need to escape later today, the apartment is all yours."
"Thanks," she said with a nod as she stepped away and went back to her desk.
Luke watched her for a moment longer before he left the room and closed the door again. As he made himself tea, he made a fresh pot of coffee and when it was ready, he filled a thermos.
"Here," he said as he handed it to Charlie. "I added some Ovaltine, make it taste better," he pointed out.
"Thanks," she said with a smile as she took the thermos.
"No problem," he said as he ducked out again and headed to the diner.
Lorelai's pregnant with Charlie
Lorelai groaned as she heard the knocking on the front door. She moaned as she hauled herself out of bed and stomped down the stairs.
"Keep your shorts on!" she growled as she finally got down and opened the door. "Luke?" she asked when she opened the door.
"Hey," he said as he came in.
"You're drunk," she pointed out as she guided him to the couch.
"You're pregnant," he pointed out as they both collapsed on the couch.
"Thanks, I hadn't noticed that yet," she said sarcastically. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.
"Where's Rory?"
"At Lane's. Why are you here?" she asked again as she got up from the couch.
"Because I am," he replied with a smile. "Where are you going?"
"To make you some coffee," she said as she slowly got up from the couch and wandered to the kitchen.
"Don't drink coffee," he slurred.
"Yes, yes, instant death," she said as she went about her business anyways. "I am too tired and too pregnant to deal with a sick drunk. So, I say again, Luke, why are you drunk?"
"Rachel's gone," he said.
"What?" she asked as she peaked around the corner at him.
"Said she couldn't stay if I had a thing for someone else."
"You player," she said, trying to cover her disappointment. "Who's the lucky lady?"
"No lady," he said. "She doesn't know what she's talking about. What are you doing?"
"Making you coffee," she repeated as the coffee finished brewing. "Here," she said as she walked slowly back out to the couch.
"Thanks," he said as he took it and took a sip. "Horrible."
"Keep drinking," she said as she leaned against him, closing her eyes.
"You tired?" he asked.
"I'm always tired," she muttered as she got comfortable against him.
"Lorelai?"
"Yes Luke?"
"I'm sorry I came. I'm drunk."
"Yes, you are," she said with a smile as she patted his leg.
Luke groaned as he woke up the next morning. His head was pounding and he felt like he had been eating cotton for the last 8 hours.
"Hey sailor," Lorelai called to him as she dropped a bag of taco's in his lap. "Eat up."
"This is death in a bag," he told her as he tried to get his bearings.
"No, this is hang over food. Have this and I'll get you some water," she assured him.
"You're chipper this morning," he said as he unwrapped one of the tacos.
"I got another 7 hours after you passed out. Thanks, by the way."
"For what?" he asked around a mouthful of taco.
"For not throwing up. I appreciate that," she said as she handed him a glass of water.
"I wasn't that drunk," he said slowly.
"Luke, you showed up on my door step at 1 am, going on and on about Rachel being gone and you could not get over the fact that I was pregnant." She watched as Luke blushed slightly as he finished off the taco and the glass of water.
"I should go," he said as he stood up. "The diner . . ."
"Right," she said as she plucked the second taco from the bag and handed it to him. "Finish this, or you'll regret it."
"I already regret this," he said as he held it in his hand.
"Eat it! I speak from experience. And drink another glass of water or two!"
Still pregnant
"What do you want?"
"You go first," Rory said.
"I don't know what I want," Lorelai said, still reading the menu.
"Go first. I don't want to order then loose my appetite."
"Why would that happen? Is that even possible?" Luke asked.
"It is," Rory confirmed.
"It's not that bad," Lorelai countered.
"Asparagus and white chocolate with a side of olives? You don't even like olives in your martinis!" Rory said.
"I had that one time!"
"And I had to watch you eat it. Order!"
"Fine. I want. . . An omelette with jack and cheddar cheese, home fries and a side of bacon."
"There's nothing wrong with that," Luke pointed out.
"Wait for it," Rory said, sitting back in her chair and waiting.
"I also want a chocolate milkshake and could you blend in some avocado and orange?"
"Really?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said with a nod and a smile.
"Dry toast?" he asked Rory.
"Yeah," she answered as she sipped her coffee. "If you say anything I will move this coffee cup under your nose."
"Mean!"
"Deal with it," she said. "Do you know how hard it is to survive until lunch on toast?" Lorelai shrugged as Luke brought out the food.
"Yum!" she said as she dug in. Luke looked at Rory and jerked his head towards the counter. She got up and followed him.
"Real food," she said as she saw the pancakes and bacon waiting for her.
"Separate tables may be advisable at this point in time," he whispered to her as he poured her a fresh cup of coffee.
"I whole heartedly agree," Rory said as she dug in with a gusto.