Author: Angel Grace

Rating: PG-13, for now

Pairing: Lorelai/Christopher

Summary: An AU fic that starts in 1984, in which Lorelai and Christopher marry at 16 and raise Rory together.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls and all related characters were created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, and are the property of Hofflund-Polone, Dorothy Parker Drank Here, and Warner Brothers Television. They are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made from their use.

Author's Note: Essentially, this will be a "what would have happened if Chris and Lorelai got married?" kind of fic. Things we know of Lorelai's pregnancy from episodes like "Dear Emily and Richard" may not necessarily apply here—that's why it's called AU. Many of the characters we know and love will be present in the story, although in different ways than we are used to on the show. The primary focus of this fic will be the relationship between Christopher and Lorelai. It will not, I repeat not, be a cheap ploy enabling Rory and Tristan to know each other from birth, become best friends, and fall in love. If that's what you're looking for, go away.

The Dish, the Spoon, and the Fork in the Road

By Gracie

Chapter One: The Plastic Stick of Doom

1984

Lorelai Gilmore barely made it through her fourth hour English Lit class. She had been dizzy and nauseous all morning, and now she made a beeline for the girls' bathroom.
Hunched over the toilet in the second stall, she pressed her hands to her clammy cheeks and took a deep, shuddering breath. What was wrong with her? It was still winter, so she supposed there could be some kind of flu bug going around, but none of her friends were sick, and she rarely caught anything when they were.
She inhaled again and tried to think clearly. Sometimes she got cramps and some wooziness just before her period, but it had never been this bad.
The stray thought made her freeze, and her next intake of air was sharp, panicky. Her period. When was the last time she had gotten it? Legs shaking, Lorelai forced herself to stand, then practically fell against the stall door for support. She was only sixteen—her cycle wasn't always perfectly regular. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized it had been far too long.
Shit! She couldn't be pregnant. What would she tell Chris? What would she tell her parents?
At the thought, she promptly threw up again.

Christopher Hayden sat directly behind Lorelai Gilmore in their trigonometry class, just as he had in every single class they shared since freshman year. When they first met, he was amusing himself in biology by twirling his pen through the layers of her long, dark hair. She had turned in her seat and grinned at him, the gum she deftly hid from the teachers peeking through her teeth.
He asked her to Homecoming that fall, and they had been dating ever since. He still didn't think of himself as a one-girl kind of guy, but there was something about Lorelai that made him stick around. After a while, the other girls stopped trying to get his attention, because whether he would admit it or not, he only had eyes for her.
Chris thought nothing of it when Lorelai slipped him a note during trig that afternoon. He waited until Mr. Wexler was facing the blackboard, espousing the wonders of the unit circle, and then carefully unfolded it.
"Meet me under the bleachers after school. Don't be late."
He grinned. It was typical Lorelai—not an invitation, but a royal command. On the other hand, who was he to complain? Under the bleachers was one of their favorite places for a little alone time, and he was always in favor of that.
He patted her on the back softly to let her know he would be there, and then tried to refocus his concentration on the class.
Christopher was waiting for her under the bleachers when Lorelai arrived that afternoon. She walked up to him, and spoke without preamble. "I'm late."
Automatically, he glanced down at his watch. "It's okay. I've only been here a few—"
She didn't let him finish. "No. I mean, I'm late. As in my period."
His eyes widened. "Are you sure?"
She rolled her eyes. "Am I sure I'm pregnant? No. Am I sure I haven't gotten my period in two months? Yeah, I'm pretty damn sure, Chris."
He paced his hands on her forearms, trying to soothe her. "Hey, cool it. I'm just surprised, that's all. I mean, we were always so careful."
Lorelai pulled out of his grasp and turned away from him. "Not careful enough." She turned back around, and he could see tears in her eyes. "What are we going to do?"
He reached out and pulled her back in for a firm hug. "How 'bout we find out if you really are pregnant first? Can't you get tested at that place where you got the Pill?"
She nodded into his shoulder, and her voice was muffled when she spoke. "I'll take one of those home tests first. If it's positive, I'll go see a doctor."
"Okay. Just let me know, and I'll go with you."
Lorelai smiled up at him with watery eyes. "Thanks. We're going to be okay, right?"
"Of course," he said. But deep in his heart, he wondered.
Locked inside her private bathroom, Lorelai stared down at the small plastic stick in her hand. Blue. The damn thing had turned blue. Panic mounting, she grabbed the box off the counter, praying she was remembering the instructions wrong.
She wasn't. She sank to the floor, still clutching the indicator stick. She couldn't stop staring at it. How could that little piece of plastic determine her entire future?
Struggling to calm down, she stood up and tried to think rationally. Quickly, efficiently, she wrapped the stick in toilet paper and shoved it back in the box. All evidence had to be removed from the house. She couldn't risk her mother finding it. She placed the box in the bag from the pharmacy, and then went into her bedroom, where she crammed the whole package in the bottom of her backpack. She would throw it in the neighbor's garbage as soon as she left the house.
She went back into the bathroom and washed her face in cold water. Then she carefully re-did her make-up, mindful to eliminate all traces of her tears. When she was finished, Lorelai gathered her coat and backpack and headed downstairs. She had almost made it to the front door when her mother's voice called out from the parlor.
"Lorelai, where are you going?"
"Over to Chris's, mom."
A moment passed, and Emily came out into the hallway. "What for? It's a school night."
Lorelai gestured to the backpack slung over her shoulder. "We have a trig quiz to study for."
Emily narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, studying her daughter intently. Finally, she said, "All right, but don't be late. I want you home before ten."
Lorelai rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yes mother."
"And put a scarf on; it's cold outside."
Lorelai stood shivering on the Hayden's front steps, waiting for the imposing wooden door to open. When it did, she managed a small smile for the petite young maid.
"Hi Anna. Is Chris home?"
"Yes, Miss Lorelai," she answered in her lilting accent. "Come in; let me take your coat."
"Thanks. Is he upstairs?"
"In his room, yes. Would you like me to go get him?"
"No, I'll go up."
"But Miss Lorelai..."
She gazed calmly at the timid maid, who couldn't have been more than five years older than she was. "It's important, Anna. And I won't be long."
"Yes, Miss Lorelai."
She disappeared up the stairs, and Anna went to hang up her coat. As she pulled a hanger from the closet, Francine Hayden stepped into the foyer.
"Anna, who was at the door?"
The maid spun around, startled. "Oh! Mrs. Hayden...it was Miss Gilmore, ma'am."
"Did she leave already?"
"No, ma'am. She went upstairs."
Francine frowned. "You and I will discuss this later. Right now, I believe I need to have a word with my son."
Upstairs, Lorelai could hear Bruce Springsteen through the door to Christopher's room. Taking a steadying breath, she raised her hand and knocked sharply.
The volume on the stereo went down, and Chris opened the door. "Lor! What are you doing here?"
"Officially, I'm here to study for the trig quiz we have tomorrow."
"We don't have a trig quiz..."
"Yeah, well, I didn't think, 'My home pregnancy test just came out positive, so I have to let Chris know he's probably going to be a father' would fly too well with darling Emily."
"Huh. Yeah. Probably not." He went and sat down on his bed, his eyes wide. "Shit. I was really hoping you were wrong about this."
"Like I wasn't? Will...will you still go with me to the clinic?"
"Of course," he said quietly. "When do you want to go?"
"Tomorrow after school? I just want to know for sure."
"Okay. We'll go tomorrow."
She came and sat beside him on the bed, leaning her head against her shoulder. "We're probably going to have a baby. What are we going to do?"
A cold voice rang from the doorway. "That, young lady, is a very good question."
Fear in their eyes, Lorelai and Christopher looked up into the furious face of Francine Hayden.

To be continued...