Disclaimer: I do not own anyone who you might recognize. Mickey and Elizabeth are owned by Lindsay. Owen is owned by me.
A/N: Thanks to Sarah for being such a great beta-reader. And thank you, Lindsay, for coming up with the whole idea and then brow-beating me into writing it. Good call by you.
xoxoxo
After Mickey received the good news about her G.E.D. everything seemed to change for the better – even the weather got nicer. It was March, sure, but in the quiet stillness of an evening, Mickey could feel that the temperatures weren't as low as they might have been. Snow came and went but more often than not it went. Slowly, over the next couple of weeks, Connecticut melted and by April all that remained was a verdant green landscape that seemed to capture everyone's imagination. Spring was a time of possibilities and the entire town seemed to feel it.
Kirk stood up at the April town meeting and grandly proposed to Lulu. It would have been the most romantic thing Mickey had ever seen but Kirk tripped as he tried to kneel before his ladylove and ended up sprawled on his stomach across the floor. With E on her lap and Owen beside her, Mickey felt the laughter bubble up in all of them. Only E let loose with it. Mickey noted that Lorelai held her own laughter in admirably, but Luke, who'd been sitting beside her, seemed to always be sitting beside her, quietly smiled in a rather broad and satisfied way.
Lulu said yes, of course, and that was the end of the meeting that night. The wedding was set for late summer and it would be held in the gazebo, like most town weddings and events.
That Spring Mickey continued to see Owen differently. He suddenly made her heart flutter painfully whenever they spoke. Her arms broke out in goose bumps and her spine shivered. It was almost difficult to be in the same room with him, except that not being in the same room with him made life seem a little dull and gray around the edges. This was entirely unlike the feeling she'd had when she'd first noticed E's father, someone she hadn't thought about in ages.
On the night of Kirk's engagement, Mickey lay on her side in bed and gazed at her sleeping daughter. E had graduated from the bassinette to a real crib not long ago and she'd taken to it like mad, although she continued to demand the pukey plaid shirt that had never been returned to Luke. It had become her woobie. The room was still except for the soft breathing of the infant and it was dark but for the small night-light plugged into a wall socket. Their room was tiny to begin with so a bed and a crib made Mickey feel slightly claustrophobic, but she knew it wouldn't be long before the baby was a toddler and then a little kid, needing her own room. Mickey's heart was gripped by something suddenly.
Almost a year ago she'd given birth to E and she'd seriously believed that her life was over. How wrong she'd been. How much she adored her child – this beautiful little creature with hair that had turned from blonde to dark red hair and eyes the same coffee color as hers. Watching something that's come from you grow and explore and learn was just too much some days. It was better than being in love.
This made Mickey think of Owen. Did she love him? She couldn't take her eyes off him whenever he was near. She couldn't get enough of the smell of him, even though she'd investigated his shower things and couldn't find anything that would account for his godlike scent.
On the other hand, what on earth could he want with her? Mickey thought back to the night of their "date", the movies they'd seen the weekend after she'd gotten the G.E.D. letter. They'd seen "Psycho" and "Notorious" and though they were alone for the first time in…maybe ever, nothing had happened. She'd tried to insist on paying for the tickets, but Owen wouldn't hear of it. She'd tried to pay for popcorn and drinks, but again, he wouldn't allow it. They'd found seats in the relatively empty theater/bookstore and watched the movies. That's it.
If she affected him the way that he affected her, he was damn good at hiding it. Face it, Mickey thought to herself now. He's just not that into you. She nodded in the darkness, trying to accept this as fact. Okay, so what now? she demanded with some hostility. Now, she answered herself, you get over it. Get over him. Plenty of other fish in the sea.
Mickey rolled her eyes and flopped onto her back, hoping sleep would come soon. Sunday was her day off so she didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning, but she knew that E would be up at the same seven am whether she had to be awake or not.
Sure enough, when E called to her mother at seven the next morning, Mickey groaned. "Not yet," she said pathetically. "Give mommy five more minutes. Please?"
"Maaa!" E called, standing herself up by holding onto the crib rails.
"Sleep!" Mickey answered.
"Maaa!" E shrieked louder.
"Ugh!" Mickey said. "Fine, fine, fine." She heaved herself off the bed and crossed the space to her daughter in one step. Lifting E from the crib, Mickey stepped back to her bed and settled herself and E under the covers. The change of scenery interested E for a while. Tendrils of Mickey's dark ginger hair had come loose from her braid during the night and E made grabs for them. Clutching the hair in her tiny fists and then pulling seemed to be a wonderful new game but it didn't allow Mickey to go back to sleep.
"Why do you torture me so?" Mickey asked E affectionately.
"Da-na," E replied.
The girls were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Mickey, who was wearing just a t-shirt to sleep in, made sure she was under all the covers before she called, "Come in."
The door creaked open and both mother and daughter looked to see who was invading their early morning time together. Owen poked a sheepish head in the door. "I wasn't sure you'd be awake, but I heard E so I took a chance," he told her.
"Come on in," Mickey said as E tried to sit up and lift her arms to Owen at the same time. Owen closed the door behind him and walked over to E's side of the bed and gently sat down. Mickey moved back a little and pulled E to her so that Owen had some room. He was still in his pajamas too, she saw, loving the soft flannel bottoms and worn t-shirt. His dark blond hair was messy from sleep and his gray eyes seemed very gentle this morning.
Stretching out on the other side of E, Owen propped his head onto his elbow and said, "I've got something to tell you."
Mickey's heart flipped over in her chest and she thought there was a moment when she'd stopped breathing. Lifting her own head onto one hand, she said, "Yeah?"
"I'm going to be going back to school."
The sentence hung between them for a second before Mickey blinked and said, "Back to school?"
"Yeah. It's time."
"Are you going home?" Mickey asked, pulling back slightly and clutching E protectively.
"No, I've applied for pre-med at the University of Connecticut's School of Medicine and got in. But I'll be living on campus. I'll come back to visit, though, and I'll be here for the summers."
"Oh," Mickey replied, hoping she didn't sound as defensive and hurt as she felt. E was looking warily from one grown up to the other.
"I just didn't want you to hear about it from someone before I told you. We're friends, right? I thought you'd be happy for me." His tone was slightly accusing, but Mickey didn't care. All she could think was that they were being abandoned. Again.
"When do you leave?"
"I start Fall Semester, so I'll be here through the summer."
"Where is the University of Connecticut's School of Medicine?" Mickey felt as if she were choking on each word.
"Farmington. It's about half-way between here and Hartford."
"So you could commute if you wanted," she offered helpfully.
"If I had a car, which I don't and can't afford."
Mickey nodded, understanding. "Congratulations," she finally said in a stiff voice. "I'm happy for you."
"You should be," he told her. "Watching you work so hard for just a high school diploma is what inspired me."
Mickey nodded again, hating the G.E.D. It was what had brought them closer and now it was going to make him leave.
That afternoon, Mickey wheeled E over to Luke's for lunch. Lane was manning the counter while Luke pointed an empty table out to Mickey. She headed in that direction and as she unbuttoned her jacket, Luke appeared with something she'd never seen before.
"What is that?"
"It's a high chair," he said dismissively.
"I can see that, but what is it doing here?"
"I…I bought it," Luke told her in a hushed tone. "For the kid." He gestured to E who was still strapped into her stroller.
Mickey knew Luke had never felt entirely comfortable with children and she also knew what things like this cost. This act of kindness on top of the news that Owen would be leaving soon was simply too much and Mickey hung her head as the tears began to dribble down her cheeks.
"Whoa," Luke said. "Stop it right now, or I'm takin' it back."
With a short laugh, Mickey sniffed twice and wiped her face before looking up at him. "Okay," she said. "I'm done."
"Good, I'll be back to get your order," he said as he walked away.
Mickey undid the stroller straps, took off E's blue jacket and matching hat and mittens, and then lifted her into the high chair. Once settled, Mickey extracted from the back pouch of the stroller a few toys to keep E occupied while she looked at the menu. As promised, a few minutes later, Luke returned with an order pad.
"Well?" he asked.
"I'm going to have the Chef's Salad with the house dressing and water. E will have a peanut butter and jelly on white, no crusts, please."
"Got it," he said, "Chef with the house and a p.b. an' j. Comin' up."
Luke left them again to put in the order and Mickey pulled a book out of her bag. Rory had been very generous with her library and ever since reading had become something that wasn't mandatory, Mickey found that she actually liked it. As she opened the borrowed copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, Mickey kept one eye on E as she played with her toys.
Luke returned after a few minutes with their food and Mickey saw that without asking, he'd cut the sandwich up into little bite-sized pieces for E. "Thanks," she told him warmly.
He nodded quickly and stood back as Mickey handed one of the small pieces to E. The baby examined it, pulled it apart, licked the peanut butter, then the jelly, made a face, squealed, and then stuffed both pieces into her face, getting more on her cheeks than in her mouth. Mickey smiled and waited for the chewing and swallowing to stop before handing her another piece.
As Luke saw that this was a little ritual, he sat down beside Mickey at the table to watch. The kid was something else that was for sure. "She sure does grow like a weed, huh?"
Mickey smiled and nodded. "I know. It's hard to believe that she's ten months old."
Luke watched Mickey feed her daughter as the salad she'd ordered sat untouched. "Here," he said. "Let me feed her so you can eat, too."
"That's okay, I don't mind."
"But you must be hungry, too, right? Lorelai's right, you need to put on some weight and you're too pale." Luke commandeered the half-eaten sandwich from Mickey. "Eat," he ordered as he handed the next piece of peanut butter and jelly to E.
Mickey smiled at him and dumped her dressing onto the salad. Luke's food was always good and she ate until she was stuffed. As she watched Luke feed E, she was reminded that Owen would be leaving and her face fell a little. E stuck her tongue out at Luke and he seemed to get a kick out of it. He turned to Mickey and caught her expression. "What's the matter?" he asked, immediately concerned.
"Nothing," she said.
"Come on, out with it."
"Really, it's not that big a deal."
"Spill," he demanded.
"Well," she began. "Did you hear that Owen is leaving?"
"No, is he?" Luke asked, unconcerned. "Where's he going?"
"Back to college, but here in Connecticut."
"Good for him," Luke said, turning back to E.
"Yeah," Mickey echoed quietly. "Good for him."
Luke heard the tone of her voice and slowly turned back to Mickey. Catching her eyes, he stared at her for a beat and she blushed. "It's ridiculous, I know. He was just so nice to me and he's great with E and I'm going to miss him," she finished lamely.
"I'm sure he'll be back."
"He said that too. He said he'd visit on weekends, but once he's there he'll get busy, you know. Med school is time consuming."
Luke glanced away and thought about this. Before he could say anything, she continued. "Besides, I sort of feel like I'm not allowed to miss him."
"Why?"
"Because," she said, self-consciously, "look what happened last time I liked a boy. I'm not a very good decision maker when it comes to things like this."
"Maybe you weren't way back then, but I'm sure you've learned a thing or two."
"Maybe," she said. "Anyway. He's leaving and that's it. We'll be fine."
"Have you given any thought to college?" Luke had been meaning to ask ever since the good news of the G.E.D. had reached him.
"Me? God, no. How would I pay for it? How would I get there? Who would take care of E? There's homework and reading and what would I even major in?"
The list of questions she had told him that she'd been thinking about it, too. "There are always loans available to students," he began. "And you could take the bus or another form of public transit. I think we would all pitch in to help with E. And as for homework, you'd just do it. The major would be your choice, but I always thought you'd go to culinary school. Like Sookie."
Mickey was taken aback by his reply. Luke seemed so sure that this was possible, could it be that she was missing something? He made it sound so easy.
"Culinary school," Mickey repeated seriously. "I'll think about it."
