CHAPTER FOURTEEN ~ LUKE'S SECRET

The next morning, a Saturday, Lorelai was getting ready to go to breakfast at the diner. She was a little nervous, because she had decided to wear a maternity blouse, instead of continuing to hide her pregnancy from the citizens of Stars Hollow. The shirt she had chosen clearly emphasized the baby bump—not that that was difficult, though, seeing as Lorelai was more than five months along.

"So you and Luke decided to make the official announcement, huh?" Rory asked as soon as she saw her mother.

"Well, I did. But Luke has been pestering me about it for a while now, so I suppose he had a role in it. I have a feeling a lot of people know already—they're not stupid—but it'll be like that thing celebrities do, you know? I'm going to confirm it."

"You and Luke practically are celebrities in this town," Rory teased.

"And I have to admit, I like it," replied Lorelai. "I don't think Luke does, though."

"In other news, water is wet," Rory deadpanned.

"Oh hush, you," commanded Lorelai. "Okay let's go. I'm hungry." She and Rory headed out to the car.

"It still feels weird not to be walking to Luke's, doesn't it?" asked Rory.

"It really does," agreed Lorelai. "I kind of miss it." She paused, and then grinned. "It was my only exercise, after all. But the new house is nice enough to make up for it, I think."

"And not being neighbors with Babette?" suggested Rory. "If you guys were still neighbors, she'd have found out about you being pregnant in about ten seconds."

"Very true," said Lorelai, nodding.

When they arrived at the diner, it was in the middle of the breakfast rush and so it was very busy. They went to sit at a small table in the corner. Luke waved at them from the kitchen, where he was busily flipping pancakes. Lorelai decided that was not enough of a greeting; she stood up, hand on her belly for support, and went up to the counter to talk to Luke. His eyes widened when he saw her closely.

"Has anyone commented on the you-know-what yet?" he whispered.

"Pregnancy, Luke. You can say it. It's not a dirty word," Lorelai smirked. "And no. Nobody's commented yet."

"Okay. Are you two ready to order?" Luke asked.

"Yes. I'm starving."

"Aren't you always?"

"More than usual, now. I'm eating for two," Lorelai said with a wink.

"Right, I'll be over in a sec," Luke promised. Lorelai kissed him and walked back to the table. She'd barely sat down when a group of townspeople gathered around, babbling excitedly.

"Lorelai! You're pregnant!" Babette exclaimed. "I knew it! Congratulations to both of you, toots."

"Thanks, Babette."

"So, how far along are you?" Lulu asked.

"Almost six months."

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Miss Patty chimed in.

"We're not telling."

"But you know?" asked Gypsy.

"Yes, we do. We actually just found out yesterday." Turning to Rory, Lorelai whispered, "I feel like I'm at a press conference!" Rory smiled.

"Do you know, Rory?"

"Yeah, but I'm not telling either. Just wait about three-and-a-half months and you'll find out for yourself," Rory said coolly.

"Please tell us," Lulu begged.

"Nope." Lorelai shook her head resolutely.

"Maybe Sookie will tell us," suggested Babette. Miss Patty's eyes lit up, which worried Lorelai more than a little. Sookie knew, of course, and she was very bad at keeping secrets most of the time.

"I don't think Sookie will let you down, Mom," Rory opined.

"And besides, it's not the end of the world if the town finds out whether our baby is a boy or a girl," Luke pointed out, coming up to the table with two plates of pancakes.

"We didn't order yet," Lorelai said when she noticed the pancakes.

"No, but you like pancakes, don't you? And these have chocolate chips in them," Luke replied.

"Chocolate chips!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Oh Luke, you're a darling. Will you marry me?"

"Shut up and eat your breakfast," Luke said, but he was smiling too.

A week later, Luke stood at the door of the gym at Martin van Buren Middle School, trying to pluck up the courage to go inside and find out if April was definitely his daughter. Every few moments, he took another step, which was often accompanied by a step backward. Then another adult approached him with a curious look.

"Are you sure you're at the right place?" the woman asked.

"This is Martin van Buren Middle School, right?" Luke asked. The woman nodded. "Then yes. I'm here to see my daughter."

"Oh, well, come inside then. What's her name?"

"Um, April Nardini?" Luke hated that it came out sounding like a question. He hurried to add, "It's a new thing. I mean, uh, I just found out…" The woman nodded kindly.

"Okay then. What grade is April in?" she asked.

"Seventh."

"Great. The seventh-graders are in the far corner, and the projects are ordered alphabetically."

"Thank you," Luke managed, and took off towards the corner. He walked down the first aisle. Abbott, Baldwin, Blake, Brennan, Davis, Everett, Goldman… then he walked down the next row… Harper, Huang, Ingram, Kirk, Lee, Nardini. This was it. He looked up to see April reading a book and not paying any attention to a couple of kids looking at her poster.

"Uh, hi, April," Luke said. The girl looked up in surprise.

"Oh! You came," she said with a smile. "Well, it's you."

"It is," Luke repeated. He sighed. "I figured." April cocked her head, looking curious, so Luke added, "You look a lot like your grandmother. My mother, I mean."

"That's cool," April said. "Maybe you could show me a photo sometime."

"Sure. So, do you have a report or something?" Luke asked.

"I do," April replied, reaching over to pick up a thick booklet.

"You wrote all of this?"

"Yep."

"Wow," Luke marvelled, skimming through the pages. "I think I'm gonna need a scientific-to-English dictionary for this one." He grinned weakly.

"I hear Norton makes a good one," April answered seriously.

"Ah. Thanks." There was a pause. Then Luke asked, "So, is your mom around?"

"No."

"Do you think she would be okay with me calling her later?"

"Well, uh, I don't really know. You see, Luke, my mom never told me much about you. Just your first name. But I snooped around a bit in the attic and found out about the diner, and I really wanted to meet you, plus I needed a science project so I figured I could combine the two."

"So she doesn't know you've met me?"

"She does now," April said hastily. "She's just not entirely okay with it. I think she wishes she could keep me all for herself."

"I see," Luke said. "Uh, I'd like to get to know you, April, if that's okay with you?"

"Sure," April shrugged.

"I guess I should get home then. You have a ride, right?"

"Yeah, don't worry," April assured him. "Bye."

"Bye," Luke replied, and left the gym. He drove back to Stars Hollow, stopping at Liz's place before going home.

"So I went to the science fair tonight," Luke said as he sat in Liz's living room. TJ was messing about in the kitchen.

"The science fair…?"

"My daughter."

"Right! Right. So it's definite?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, Luke, that's great!"

"I don't know about that. I haven't told Lorelai yet, and I don't know how she'll take it. But I really want to be a part of April's life, you know? I'm just worried Lorelai will say no. I'm worried Lorelai might be jealous of Anna or April."

"Are you jealous of Christopher?"

"Well, yeah, sometimes," Luke admitted. "But it's not the same thing."

"Essentially, it is. You just haven't known April all her life like Lorelai has known Rory. I think Lorelai will understand, but you just gotta tell her. Like, tonight."

"I know. Thanks, Liz," Luke sighed.

"No problem. TJ and I are coming to the diner for breakfast tomorrow so I'll see you then, okay?"

"Sounds good." Luke said goodbye to his sister and drove home. As he approached the new house—even though he'd been living there nearly three months, he still thought of it as the new house—he imagined possible scenarios for the telling-Lorelai-about-April.

"Lorelai," he called as he went inside. He got no answer, so he tried again. "Lorelai! Are you home?" Still no answer. Luke went upstairs to their bedroom, where he found Lorelai lying on the bed. She was asleep, her dark hair spread all over the pillow, her hands draped protectively over her belly. He smiled at that, and kissed her forehead. She looked too peaceful and sweet to wake up, he decided. So he changed into pajamas and got into bed himself, wrapping his arms around his wife.

Then it was Thanksgiving, and as usual, there was a hectic dinner schedule. First, at noon, there was Mrs Kim's luncheon. That went better than usual, because even though Mrs Kim disapproved of Logan, she no longer held Lorelai in contempt for being unmarried. Next was Sookie's, which was much more fun. Jackson had done the deep-fried turkey the past few years now, and it was surprisingly popular. Sookie was even okay with it, because she got to make turkeys her own way at the inn. Third was the Gilmores'. It was by no means fun, but nothing worse than usual. The society ladies who'd ignored or insulted Lorelai in years past now asked countless questions about the baby, which got tiresome but were better than digs about her scandalous past.

Finally, Luke, Lorelai, Rory, Logan, Liz and TJ gathered at Luke and Lorelai's house for a family Thanksgiving (Jess had been invited, but had declined). The evening was rounded off with charades. Rory and Logan spent twenty minutes reenacting the scene from Gone with the Wind where Scarlett falls down the stairs, and though one might think it would be awfully easy to recognize somebody falling down a flight of stairs, it wasn't. Lorelai thought it was because people had had too much to eat—and drink, in some cases. But everyone tried to guess, and laughed, and it seemed like everyone was having fun.

Luke was trying to enjoy himself, he really was. Of course he loved being with Lorelai and Rory and Liz; heck, he was even starting to like Logan. TJ, well, Liz loved him so Luke would tolerate him for her sake. But all that evening, he couldn't help but think about how April should be with them.

Logan, on the other hand, genuinely enjoyed himself.

"Thanks for inviting me today, Rory," he said later that evening. "It… it meant a lot." Rory turned to him, full of concern.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, my parents aren't big on holidays. We never had a real Thanksgiving dinner like that, with family. It was always my dad's colleagues and my mom's DAR friends, and people spent more time talking business than anything else. It was the same with Christmas, New Year, Easter, birthdays, you name it. So I guess what I meant to say was, I loved being here tonight. It was nice to feel like a part of a family where children aren't just pawns, and where the parents genuinely love each other," Logan explained. When he was met with silence, he immediately felt bad about his confession.

"You are a part of my family," Rory said after a moment. "Having you here tonight just felt right. Maybe that's weird for you to hear because we've only been exclusive for about seven months. But I have a good feeling about us."

"I have a good feeling about us too," Logan replied. "I love you, Rory."

"I love you, too," Rory returned immediately. Though it was the first time either of them had really said 'I love you' to each other, it felt completely natural. They both fell silent, and Logan thought Rory had fallen asleep. But then she spoke.

"You're coming to Stars Hollow for Christmas," she said. "Consider it your next lesson in How Much Fun Holidays Can Actually Be."

"I'd like that," Logan said with a grin. "Thank you, Ace."