Wow…Being nineteen is harder than I thought it would be. Sorry I didn't update sooner. I've been taking my assessment tests and writing my essays for school. I start next month so I'm down to the wire now. To make it up to you, this chapter is going to be a little longer. I hope that it will suffice.
Thanks for all of the reviews! You guys are sweet as a Luke's Cherry Danish!
What time is it?
A groggy Luke woke up the next morning to find the sun already shining and an empty space next to him. When he rolled over to check the time he was surprised to find that he had slept in. Really slept in.
10:26am? How in the hell did that happen?
He immediately threw the covers off and jumped into the shower. As soon as he had the water running he remembered the conversation between he and his wife the previous night.
"I just want it to work out. It's all I ever wanted for her. I don't want her heart to be broken again. It's happened too many times. Dean, Logan, David…I just want her to happy."
"Me too, honey. Me too. I just want them both to be happy." He felt her kiss his chest, before she relaxed completely. 'Happy…together?'
"Do you think it will happen?" She whispered stroking his stomach.
He held her closer and sighed.
"Yeah…I do…I really do."
As he stepped out of the shower he found the white terry cloth towel on the rack, and wrapped it around his waist. He walked toward the sink and wiped the steam from the mirror. When he saw his reflection, he frowned.
That sleep didn't do me any good.
He noticed that he looked twice his age, and he quickly realized why.
I worry too much.
Pushing his way out of the overheated bathroom he went to the closet to begin dressing.
"Luke?"
When he turned around he found his dressed wife closing the door behind her and stepping closer to the bed.
"Hey. Why did you let me sleep?" He asked straitening the waistband of his underwear.
"Um…You looked like you needed it." Lorelai confessed her hand rubbing the small bump on her stomach. He recognized that something was wrong.
She looks nervous.
"Lorelai, is there something wrong? You look upset, and a little anxious." Luke made his way toward her and placed a hand on her stomach, ducking down to meet her gaze. "What's wrong?" He inquired once more, and became even more worried as she shook her head.
"It's Jess." Luke stepped back from her then and ran a hand over his frightened expression.
"What happened?" He questioned leaning back to sit on the bed. She moved to stand before him, running a hand through his hair.
"I don't know. He wasn't here when I woke up, and he still hasn't come back." She admitted letting out the breath she had been holding since she walked into the room.
He's gone. I knew it was all too good to be true.
"Is that why you didn't wake me?"
She nodded.
"I'm sorry, baby. I really am." She held his head in her hands and brought him to her stomach. She felt his breathing increase, and she realized then, that he was going to cry.
I can't do this. No, come on man. He's gone. Leave it at that.
He lifted his head and looked her in the eyes, tears on the verge of spilling.
"I have to finish getting ready." He stood up and turned away from her, before grabbing his T-Shirt off the end of the bed and pulling it over his head.
"Luke, don't let this fester. It'll only make it worse." She pleaded moving toward him and grabbing his shoulder.
He shrugged her hand off.
I shouldn't have done that.
He could feel the change in the air. She wasn't disappointed in Jess for taking off now. She had moved past that. She was disappointed in him, for ignoring the problem and pushing her away.
Why do I do this? Why do I hurt the ones I love?
"You're going to have to get over this, but you can't do it alone. You've tried that before, Luke. God dammit! You can't just push me away. I'm not the one who left. You know that, and I know that. So, don't treat me that way."
He turned to look at her now. Her eyes were glossy, and he instantly felt guilt punch him in the gut.
Who am I? I treat my pregnant, loving wife, like…like…god I'm an idiot.
"I'm sorry. I…I'm such moron."
He nearly ran to her, and swept her up in his arms.
"I love you so much."
"I love you too." She whispered in his ear. "Now let's go. We can't be late for the appointment."
Luke, Lorelai, and Rory sat in the waiting room of the doctor's office while soft jazz played in the background. Rory was looking at "Time" magazine, while Luke and Lorelai were holding hands and talking softly to one another.
"Did you talk to Rory about it?" Luke murmured into her ear. She looked at him and nodded her head.
"There's a pretty long story behind that. I'll tell you when we get home." He signaled that he was all right with that before looking back at the room in front of him.
I hate doctor's offices. The smell. The elevator music. The fake friendliness. They just want you money so they can add on to their beach house in Malibu. Damn doctors.
A nurse walked into the waiting room reading the chart in her hand before looking up at the trio.
"Lorelai Danes?"
Both Luke and Lorelai nodded.
"The doctor is ready to see you now."
The nurse led the three into the examination room. Lorelai, followed by Luke, with Rory trailing closely behind, entered the bright white room with slight trepidation.
As the nurse weighed Lorelai and took her temperature, Luke and Rory sat in the chairs in the corner smiling at her reassuringly.
This is what we've been waiting for. To see our baby. Our baby. Wow…
Just then the doctor entered the room. It was a woman probably in her mid forties. She was tall with short blonde hair, and immediately Luke was reminded of Nichole. He didn't know why, something about her resembled Nichole. He hadn't thought about his ex-wife since he started dating Lorelai, except for when she would ask Luke questions about his failed marriage.
That's my wife. Blunt as can be.
The doctor instantly greeted them and smiled a friendly and reassuring face.
"So, your about 15 weeks now and from the looks of the nurses notes here everything is going as well as it can. You've gained the ideal amount of weight, and you haven't had any pains at all, correct?"
Both Luke and Lorelai nodded.
"Yes, everything has been going very smoothly. Better than my first, that's for sure."
Lorelai smiled at Rory. Rory stuck out her tongue. They all laughed.
"So, this is your daughter?"
"Yeah, at least we think." The doctor laughed.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, I'm Dr. Smith." She shook Rory's hand.
"Nice to meet you too." Rory replied.
The doctor looked at Luke then.
"And this is Rory's and the baby's father?" The doctor asked looking back at Lorelai.
"Oh, no. Luke is just my husband and the current baby's father. I had Rory before I even knew Luke."
"I'm sorry. How presumptuous of me. Mr. Danes," She took his hand, "It's very nice to meet you."
Fake.
Maybe it's because she resembled Nichole, or maybe it's because she was a little rude, but Luke did not like this woman very much.
She is fake as fake can be.
"Yeah, you too." He responded shortly before looking away from her and out the window. Lorelai was the only one to actually notice her husband's impolite greeting, and she gave him a look of disapproval before she returned her attention to the doctor.
"Well, Mrs. Danes…"
"Please call me Lorelai." She smiled rubbing her stomach softly.
"Lorelai, I'm going to have you lay down and put your feet up. Then I'm going to lift your gown and start the ultrasound. Are you ready?" The doctor turned off the overhead light. Leaving just a faint glow from the light on the wall.
"Yep." Lorelai did what the doctor had asked as Luke and Rory watched.
"Mr. Danes, Rory, you can come over here and watch the monitor with Lorelai if you'd like."
They strolled over to Lorelai's side, and Luke took her hand as the doctor prepared the area with jelly.
We're going to see our baby.
Husband and Wife smiled at each other and at Rory before turning their attentions to the monitor. As the doctor moved the device around on Lorelai's stomach, Luke began to forget about Jess, and the fact that the doctor looked like Nichole, and focused completely on the screen in front of him. Soon the camera stopped and there on the monitor was the baby.
The doctor's finger pointed to the screen.
"There's the head, and a leg. There's a hand. Do you see it?"
Whoa…
"Yeah…I see it." Lorelai said, choking on the words as tears of happiness trailed down her cheek. "Do you see it, Rory?"
Rory nodded and grinned joining her mother in tears.
"Yeah…Look at the little hand." She pointed. They both laughed.
The girls then turned their attention to Luke, who was just staring in wonderment. Mouth agape, eyes fixated.
"Luke honey? Do you see it?"
He snapped out of his daze and stared at the tear stained face of his wife.
"Yeah…I see it." He smiled at her, and kissed her lips sweetly, before looking up at the screen.
A Baby.
The entire town was aware of the appointment and when the three entered the diner for a late lunch, they were immediately hounded with questions. The girls sat down at the table as they waited for Luke to put in their orders.
Patty and Babette joined them instantaneously.
"Hey dolls, how did it go?"
"Lorelai, no one could even tell that you're pregnant."
The girls talked with the two gossips, showing them the ultrasound pictures, and again reluctantly discussing names.
"What about Enrique for a boy?" Miss Patty suggested bobbing her eyebrows.
Lorelai laughed and declined.
"But why honey…You know he'll be a lover instead of a fighter."
"Yes, but Enrique Danes doesn't really fit."
Babette jumped in her chair.
"Ooh…how about Clint? I always did have a thing for Eastwood. That smoldering sexy glare of his. Rar! What a hunk."
Lorelai shook her head once more.
"I don't think so. I think if it's a boy it's going to be William."
Both women 'oo'd and ahh'd'.
"After Luke's dad? That's so sweet, honey." Patty stated patting her hand.
"Did you tell Luke?" Babette asked.
"We haven't really discussed names at length yet, but I'm sure he'll like it."
"Mom, he'll love the idea. Tell him when he comes back to the table." Rory suggested, noticing that Luke was in fact on his way over.
"We're going to go doll. Glad we could see the pictures."
"Bye, Babette. Bye, Patty." The girls waved as the two women went back to their own table by the window.
Luke handed each of the girls a glass of water, sat down on the chair next to Lorelai, and greeted her with a quick kiss.
"So, William, huh?" Luke smiled at her and gave her a playful knowing look.
"You eves dropper!" She smacked his arm, which caused him to laugh.
"I like it." He grabbed her hand and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles.
"You do?" She asked in a sing-song voice.
"Yes, I do."
William Danes.
"Are we going to name her Lorelai if she's a girl?" Rory joked before taking a sip of the water in her hand.
Luke and Lorelai both chuckled and shook their heads.
"We agreed that it's your name to use now. If you ever have a girl, be our guest and carry on the family name." Lorelai replied.
All three laughed but soon stopped when the bell above the diner jingled and they saw the man who was entering.
Jess.
Luke stood up and made his way toward his nephew.
"What's going on?" Luke asked angrily his hands grasping his hips tightly.
"Can we talk outside?" Jess pointed over his shoulder, and when Luke acknowledged his request they made their way through the door.
"Honey, I'll be right back." Luke stated opening the door with a jingle.
"Okay."
Yeah…okay.
Once outside the two men sat staring at each other silently, each waiting for the other to speak first.
"I'm sorry I left this morning. I probably had you freaked out."
Freaked out?
And that was it.
"Freaked out, Jess? Freaked out? I thought you took off again. No note, no 'Hey Luke I have to go pick something up at the market. I'll be back in a jiff'. Nothing Jess! You can't do this anymore. I'm not going to take it. I don't deserve it, and neither do the girls. Lorelai had to tell me. She looked sick just doing it. And then I was so pissed…that I treated her like shit, my own wife! What is it that you want from me Jess? If you don't want to be here than leave. Don't mess around with me anymore. I'm too old. I've been disappointed too many times and now when my life is going so well…I got to see pictures of my baby for the first time, and I've never been so happy. So, you can't come in here and just crap all over it! Not this time!"
Luke dropped his head and sucked in a breath. When he looked back up at Jess, he noticed that he had tears in his eyes.
Jess doesn't cry.
"I should've told you where I was going." He wiped away the one stray tear that spilled over. "I just wanted to surprise you. I thought you'd have more faith in me. After we'd talked."
Luke now noticed the plastic bag in his hand.
"I got this for you and Lorelai." He held it up to Luke.
Luke took it out of his hands, opened it up, and removed the item inside.
"Jess…"
It was a teddy bear with a backwards baseball cap and a flannel shirt.
"I thought that the kid would like a teddy bear just like its dad. I'm sorry I didn't tell you where I was going. I meant it to be a surprise."
He really has changed.
Luke put the bear back into the bag, looked up at his nephew, and quickly pulled him into an embrace.
"Thank you. I'm sorry…This is great. Thanks."
Jess nodded into his shoulder and patted him on the back before breaking the hug.
"Have you had lunch yet?" Luke asked.
Jess shook his head.
"Let's get something to eat then." He put his arm around Jess' shoulder and led him into the diner.
Later that evening, after everything had settled down, Lorelai, Rory, and Jess sat in the living room watching TV and talking while Luke prepared dinner.
"I can't believe I have to see my parents tonight." Lorelai snuggled her face into the pillow she had in her arms and pouted.
"You're the one who invited them over." Rory pointed out, flipping through the channels.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me. They hate me." Jess said leaning against the arm of the chair.
"Well, it'll be a great time for us to bond. We all get to be miserable." Lorelai stated, before suddenly getting exited and slapping the remote control out of Rory's hand before she changed the channel again.
"I want to watch this." Lorelai squealed clapping her hands in excitement.
The two twenty-somethings groaned in disgust.
"Mom this movie sucks!" Rory declared folding her arms in front of her chest.
"No it doesn't. It's a poignant tribute to surfers and FBI agents of all kind. Besides it has Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, and Gary Busey, you couldn't ask for more."
"It also has bad acting, lame action, and the cheesiest 'love story', known to man." Rory retorted.
"Exactly! It has every mockable feature in the book."
"What book?" Jess asked with a smirk.
Lorelai stumbled.
"The book."
"Called?"
"Mockable Movie Features? I don't know just watch the movie."
Rory looked at Jess, he returned the gaze and they both smiled shyly.
Just then Luke entered the room.
"Hey, better get ready. They'll be here in twenty minutes." When he noticed the TV his shoulders dropped and he sighed. "Lorelai, you better not get into that movie. You're not even dressed yet."
She leaned her head back, draping it over the couch, so she could look at him.
"I wont. I promise."
Yeah right.
"I already bought this movie for you and I swear if you go and get ready, we can watch it later tonight after your parents leave."
"You cross your fingers and hope to die?" She grinned at him.
"Yeah, all of the above…now go get dressed." He pointed over his should toward the stairs.
She hopped up from the couch and stood in front of him. Where she have him a flirty look, and a lingering kiss, before placing her hands on his chest.
"You're the best husband ever." She kissed him again, deeper this time. They broke the kiss when they heard a voice clear.
"We don't want to see that." Jess said, Rory's head bobbing in agreement.
"It's just wrong."
Lorelai rolled her eyes and began to walk past Luke.
That was when he felt her slap his butt. Hard.
"Ow!" He rubbed his bottom in pain as she gave him a seductive smile and laughed.
That woman.
He watched her walk up the stairs with dirty thoughts and a grin.
Fifteen minutes later Luke sat with the Rory and Jess in the living room with Lorelai nowhere in sight.
"Lorelai, hurry up. They'll be here soon." Luke yelled.
She takes forever. Especially when it's her parents.
"I'll be right there." He heard her echoing response.
The three sat in silence and anticipation.
A minute later the doorbell rang.
And the sound of Lorelai running down the stairs sounded throughout the house.
"I'm coming!" She shouted as the others made their way into the foyer.
"Is everyone ready?" Lorelai asked, smoothing out her dress.
They all nodded.
Here goes nothing. This I'll be a fun night.
Lorelai opened to door and instantly regretted it.
"You know you really should repave your walk. I almost fell because the cement blocks are uneven."
"Nice to see you…Mom, Dad." Lorelai mumbled through her toothy grin.
Yep…it's going to be a fun night indeed.
A/N: Hope you all liked this chapter. I should have the next one up before Monday. I get off of work at 2pm on Sunday so, I'm thinking I'll write the next one then. Here's a little teaser: Insane dinner party. Have a happy Saturday!
Rusty
