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. I'm actually posting this before she goes through it because she's a busy woman and hasn't had time to look it over yet. Once she has, I may update. And thank you, Lindsay, for coming up with the whole idea and then brow-beating me into writing it. Good call by you.
xoxoxo
The summer passed quickly. The inn was booked solid for the first extended period of its existence and in conjunction with that Sookie gave birth to a little girl who was named Madeline. With the extra business and the loss of one member of the team, if only for a short while, everyone worked harder. It was difficult for Mickey to plop her now-active toddler in a playpen during working hours but there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't afford day care and imposing on someone to care for E without payment was out of the question. She still had her pride, after all. As a result, though, guilt crept into her heart and made itself at home. Was she doing the right thing with school? she asked herself late at night when the inn was asleep and E breathed quietly just a few feet away. Bettering herself was great but it meant more time away from her daughter and in a situation where people would be looking after her for free. Could she really justify the money she would be paying for school? She wasn't sure.
The Fourth of July came and with it the town fireworks display. Taylor was like a despot when it came to town events whether he was Town Selectman or not. He ran the proceedings and Mickey and E watched from a blanket with Sookie, Jackson, Davey and little Madeline. During the course of that night Mickey caught a glimpse of Luke and Lorelai talking off to one side. It was dark but the lights from the sky illuminated them every once in a while and Mickey smiled. They seemed to be getting closer and closer.
Allowing her eyes to drift away from them, they soon settled on a very different couple altogether. Owen and Rory were sitting on a blanket with Lane and Zach, seemingly absorbed with one another. They weren't paying any attention to the sky in fact. Bitterly, Mickey's lips thinned and she looked away feeling left out.
A few weeks later, July was a distant memory and August was upon them. Halfway through the month Rory packed up and went back to Yale for her third year. Apparently she and Paris would be getting an apartment off campus this time around and she wanted to get everything set up for them. A week later Owen packed up, said his goodbyes, and had Jackson drive him to Farmington to start med school. He said he'd be back on most weekends but Mickey was skeptical. Farmington was as far as Yale was and they rarely saw Rory much on the weekends, just special occasions like birthdays and holidays.
Finally, her day came, too. The classes she'd chosen were held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, one at seven and the other at eight, so she kissed E good-bye and with strange things fluttering around in her stomach, caught the six o'clock bus to start her very first day…well, night…of college.
Meanwhile, back at the Dragonfly, Lorelai grabbed E and the bag Mickey had prepared for the baby and headed home. Luke was supposed to be meeting her there. The brand-new car seat/carrier snapped into the back seat of the jeep and Lorelai listened to E babble as they pulled into her driveway. Lugging the carrier, the diaper bag, her own briefcase and purse into the house was a bit of a nightmare but she managed.
Once inside she dropped everything but the carrier and headed upstairs. She needed to change into play clothes. Setting the baby still in the carrier on the bed, Lorelai took off her suit coat and hear the front door slam. "We're upstairs!" she yelled, knowing it was Luke.
"Okay!" he called back and started up, thinking she was asking him to join her and E.
Lorelai unbuttoned her navy blouse and tossed it on a chair. As it landed she heard from behind her a very masculine voice say, "Oh, no." Spinning around in just her dress slacks and a black bra she came face-to-face with Luke who was trying not to stare. "What are you," she began in a horrified tone.
"I thought," he began, "when you said…that you wanted…I mean, I don't…. I'm sorry," he finished gazing at the ceiling. "I'll be downstairs," he stated before turning and all but running back down to the first floor.
Lorelai was still in shock. My underwear. He's seen me in my underwear. Good underwear, too, not that it mattered. Jesus. Turning to E she said, "Not at all embarrassing, huh? Christ."
Wearily Lorelai finished changing into jeans and cotton top, then pulled her hair into a ponytail and brought the carrier downstairs. Luke was sitting on the couch, sitting up as straight as possible with his hands folded neatly in his lap.
"Did you bring food?" she asked, trying to break the tension.
"It's in the kitchen," he told her staring at the wall.
"Great. Will you take her and I'll go get it?"
"Uh-huh," he said standing up.
Lorelai left the room for the kitchen and Luke went over to where E was still strapped in the carrier. Undoing the clips and straps, he lifted her out carefully and brought her over to the couch where they sat on the floor. Grabbing the bag still by the front door he opened it and pulled out the toys he knew she liked. Together, they talked nonsense and played while Lorelai did her thing in the kitchen.
Finally steeling herself, Lorelai put the food on plates and headed for the living room. What she saw made her heart melt into a little puddle at her feet. Luke was sitting on the floor with his back against the couch and his legs spread. E was sitting between them and they were both bent over pile of blocks that was quickly taking shape. He was wearing his traditional jeans, plaid and boots while E was finally dressed like a girl. She wore jeans, too, but they were paired with a pale pink cotton shirt with a green frog on the front. Her hair was getting long enough now that Mickey had started putting little clips in it and the pink, combined with the red hair and pale complexion was simply adorable. Luke, she admitted to herself a teensy bit grudgingly, was also adorable.
Giving herself a mental shake, Lorelai said, "Dinner's ready," as she strode into the room.
Luke and E looked up and E's face broke into a wide, toothy smile. "La-la!" she called.
"Yes, Lorelai is back," she replied as she settled down nearby. Luke had brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for E with no crusts and cut up in little bite sized pieces. Lorelai handed a bib to Luke who fastened it onto the baby without speaking. Smiling shyly at him, Lorelai handed a piece of the sandwich to E who pulled it apart and offered the jelly side to Luke saying, "Du?"
"No, it's yours," he said looking down at her. "You eat it."
She looked back down at the sandwich and stuffed it into her mouth, getting half of it on her face. "You know what?" Lorelai asked him, forcing his eyes to meet hers.
"What?" he asked, his voice a little rusty.
"You're nothing but a big old softy who loves jam-hands."
Luke blushed and Lorelai watched the heat creep up his face and neck. "Can we keep it our little secret?" he asked, wishing she'd stop staring at him. He already felt embarrassed enough after walking in on her.
"Deal," she replied, handing another bite of sandwich to E and smiling just a little at the wonder of it all. Here was a man who had been her friend all of her adult life and now, all of a sudden, she wondered why it hadn't upset her more that he'd caught her in her underwear. After the initial surprise she had to admit that she'd taken pleasure in the fleeting look of appreciation that had crossed his face before mortification had settled in.
He had appreciated the view. Her view. It was a very interesting thing, indeed.
