Author's Note: Thank you for the kind reviews of this story. I wasn't sure how it would be received since it clearly sounds like an alternate reality fan fic. I should have mentioned in the first chapter that I don't own Gilmore Girls nor the puzzling idea of Luke having a ten-year-old daughter. They are the property of ASP and Co. However, since she put this somewhat unsavory idea in our heads I am playing in her reality for a moment.

Winds of Change

Lorelai wandered around the town aimlessly for hours. Her first stop was Weston's and after the pie and coffee didn't help her mood she ended up at the movie theatre. Kirk, sensing her current state, hadn't bothered charging her and entrance fee. She knew it would only be a matter of time before the town heard about Lorelai's mood and talk turned of her relationship being over once again. However, the question was valid. Was Lorelai's relationship over? The easy answer was no, but now that Luke had a daughter it was certainly different.

She made her way back home well after midnight and expected Luke to have gone to bed. Surely he took her exit as some sort of tantrum and he'd gone to sleep to punish her. However, when she entered the foyer she saw the back of Luke's head and he sat in front of the television watching a baseball game.

"Hi," she said removing her coat.

"Hey," Luke replied turning off the television and turning toward her.

"I'm sorry I left," she told him. "I just needed a minute."

"You needed a few hours, but it's understandable," Luke replied.

"Yeah," Lorelai said taking a seat next to him on the couch.

"I shouldn't have answered the phone," Luke offered. "I just gave April my cell number and it was the first time she used it. I didn't want to start off on the wrong foot."

"Right," Lorelai nodded. "I don't want you to start off on the wrong foot either."

"I appreciate that."

"I'm sorry for how I reacted. I guess I never thought about you having children. At least, you having a kid was always pretty closely linked to me having another kid anyway. I didn't mean to imply that I was--"

Luke put up a hand to cut her off. "I know. You don't have to apologize. I've been dealing with this for a few weeks and I kind of dropped it on you at once. That wasn't fair."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. The news that Luke had a daughter was shocking enough, but to find out that he'd known for a few weeks and not told her was another matter altogether. However, Lorelai knew how easy it was to keep a secret. She'd done it before and she was, at the moment, doing it again for no other reason than to keep things simple between them.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked tucking her hair behind her ears.

"I wasn't sure," Luke said. "I didn't really know if it was true and I didn't want to throw the possibility out there if there was no reason to. Then, when I found out for sure, I was in shock. It was like it was real and I knew it was real, but if I didn't tell you I could still chalk it up to a really weird dream. Does that make any sense?"

"Yeah, it does," Lorelai offered. "When I was pregnant with Rory I knew for weeks. I had a feeling and then I took the test and all the signs were there telling me I was going to have a baby, but I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone. Saying it out loud made it real."

"That's exactly it," Luke replied.

"So what does she look like?" Lorelai asked. "Does she look like you?"

"I don't really think she does," Luke said. "She has dark hair. It's kind of wavy and crazy looking. You know how kid hair looks. She's really smart. She's really into science. She hates my peach pie so that puts her in agreement with about 40 percent of Stars Hollow."

"Myself included," Lorelai quipped. "So she's been to the diner?"

"She stopped by today," Luke said quietly. "It was the first time, other than the time she came and took a sample of my hair anyway. She asked if she could come over every Friday to visit."

"So you're having your version of Friday night dinner," Lorelai tried to make light. "Without the guilt and blinding migraines of course."

"I suppose," Luke agreed. "Although I think I've got the guilt thing covered. I didn't have any idea she existed. I've missed so much."

"Have you talked to her mother?"

"No. I wouldn't even know what to say. Anna was a friend to me at a time when I was really lost. The night we…well it was obviously a one-time thing and we both agreed that it was nice, but we weren't looking for anything. I just can't believe she never said anything."

"Luke," Lorelai said hesitantly. "I don't want you to get upset, but if this little girl had to test 3 different men to find her father, maybe you should run your own DNA test."

Luke gave Lorelai a hard look. "I know you'd never run from your responsibilities, but you're awfully quick to accept the findings of this test. I just think you might want to make sure before you make commitments to this girl."

"She's my daughter," Luke said tersely.

"Okay," Lorelai sighed. "If her test is good enough for you then it's good enough for me." Lorelai didn't believe what she just said, but for now it would save an argument and for the moment that was what she cared about.

"Thank you," Luke said.

"So, where do we go from here?" Lorelai asked. "Do you want me to go with you to talk to Anna? Should I meet April?" The name April sounded funny coming out of Lorelai's mouth. It was as if it was a foreign name.

"I want you to meet her," Luke said. "I know I have to talk to Anna, but right now she hasn't really made any attempt to contact me. April has her uncle drop her off right now."

"Have you met him?"

"No."

"Okay, well just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it," Lorelai said softly.

"Well, April is supposed to come to the diner on Friday for dinner. She said she'd stop in around four and I was thinking you could be there?" Luke asked hesitantly.

"I'm there," Lorelai affirmed.

"Thank you," Luke said. "Well I've got an early day tomorrow so I'm gonna head on up to bed."

"Okay, I'm just going to finish up a few things down here," Lorelai said. She watched as Luke went up the stairs and waited until she knew he was settled into bed before she switched out the light and shed a few tears over the loss of the life she was beginning to know. She knew deep inside that everything was changing and she could either adapt or be lost along the way. After a few minutes of tears she resigned herself to the change and resolved to move forward with Luke and his daughter because she loved him. She decided that the time for tears was over and she'd never Luke know that she once wept for the life they almost had.

Luke nervously cleaned the diner as he waited for April to show up for her second Friday visit. After talking things over with Lorelai he knew that he would eventually have to talk to Anna. He also knew he had to talk to April and find out what she was looking for from him. It seemed like she was interested in knowing him, but did she really need a father? He had already missed so much time.

Lorelai knew that April would be at the diner around four o'clock and Luke let her know that if she wanted to stop by it might be nice. He had filled three awkward visits with April, but now that Lorelai knew about her existence he thought she might be a great ice-breaker. She was good with kids and they seemed to like her. Luke thought it was probably because they made similar mentalities. Lorelai had asked him on more than one occasion to make her M&M pancakes and that in itself seemed like a juvenile request.

The bells above the diner jingled and Luke turned to find April standing in the doorway. She wore a light blue backpack that looked to be full of books.

"Hi," Luke said as the girl walked up to the counter and hopped on a stool.

"Hi," April replied. She took the heavy bag off her shoulders and tossed it on the counter.

"Looks like you have quite a few books there," Luke commented.

"I've got some catching up to do," April said. "I was sick on Tuesday and Wednesday."

"You were sick?" Luke asked concerned. "Are you okay now? Should you be home in bed? Have you seen a doctor?"

"You sound like my mom," April said rolling her eyes. "I just had a cold and I'm fine now." She grabbed a menu from the counter and began to read it over.

"Well you're having chicken soup," Luke said taking the menu from her. "Chicken soup, crackers and, if you're still hungry, a fruit salad."

"Yuck," April said.

"It's good for you," Luke insisted.

"Can we bargain on the carrots?" April asked.

"Bargain on the carrots?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, I hate carrots," April explained. "My mom usually makes a deal with me on the veggies. Like, I'll eat two pieces of broccoli in exchange for an extra scoop of ice cream for dessert."

"No wonder you're sick," Luke muttered.

"I'm not sick, I'm fine," April said. "So, how do you feel about straining the carrots out of the soup?"

"Not good," Luke said sternly.

"How finely chopped are they?"

"The carrots?"

"Yes."

"They're chunks."

April turned up her nose and sighed. "If I can have a milkshake with it you've got yourself a deal."

"Strawberry only," Luke said.

"Triple Chocolate, extra large," April countered.

"Strawberry and you can have a side order of fries," Luke replied.

"Deal," April smiled as if she'd just won a contest.

"So you're really feeling better?" Luke asked.

"I'm about 98 percent," April replied.

"Good."

Luke went into the back to get April's soup and he was surprised how easily the feeling of being alarmed came to him. When Jess lived with him he got easily upset, but the only time he'd felt alarmed was when Jess was in the car accident. Other than that, he was at an age where he could take care of himself and he knew what he needed. April seemed so young and much more fragile.

"So, I have a friend that's probably going to stop by a little later," Luke told April as he placed the bowl of soup in front of her.

"A lady friend?" April giggled.

"Yes, a lady friend," Luke affirmed. "Her name is Lorelai and she's my fiancée."

"You're getting married?" April asked suddenly not as chipper as she seemed before Luke mentioned Lorelai.

"Well we haven't set a date yet, but we are getting married," Luke said.

"Do you love her?"

"Very much," Luke said quietly.

April just nodded and focused on her soup. Luke watched as she picked around the carrots.

"I think you might like Lorelai," Luke said. "She doesn't like carrots either."

"They're not so bad," April said making a face as she said it. "If you like carrots maybe I will eventually. We have the same genes right?"

"Sure," Luke agreed. "I'll let you in on a little secret though. I didn't start to like carrots until I was about 18."

"Good to know," April said, her mood beginning to brighten.

With Lane and Caesar working Luke didn't have worry about too much and he took the opportunity to chat with April for a bit as he waited for Lorelai to show up. He glanced at the clock after a while and noticed that it was almost five and he knew April would be getting ready to leave soon.

"Sorry," Lorelai yelled as she breezed into the diner, throwing her purse on the counter. "Sorry, sorry, sorry." She took a breath. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Luke said with a grin.

"The damn stove that Sookie had delivered mere weeks ago after the fire decided to crap out on her and she ended up having to cook her main course at home. She commandeered a cart and Michel, of course, was not happy about it, but Sookie had to cart between her house and the inn for the last hour and I've been on the phone trying to figure out how the hell you return a Viking stove from Canada, not that we haven't had this problem before, but anyway, I'm late and I'm sorry. You must be April."

April looked up at Lorelai incredulous. Luke's fiancée seemed to have more energy than most children in her class.

"Lorelai, this is April," Luke started the introductions. "April, this is my fiancée Lorelai. I should warn you that she normally talks just as fast even when she isn't frazzled."

"Hi April," Lorelai said catching her breath. "It's so nice to meet you."

"You too," April said shyly.

"So," Lorelai continued to speak as she took the stool next to April. "Luke told me that you found him through some DNA testing? That's quite complicated for a girl your age."

"It wasn't that hard," April said as she sucked down the remainder of her milkshake.

"You know, I have a daughter too," Lorelai said. Luke picked up on a hint of sadness in her tone. Although Rory and Lorelai had talked at her birthday party things were far from okay between then two. "She always liked science, but I don't think she ever attempted DNA testing."

"How old is your daughter?" April asked.

"She just turned 21," Lorelai said.

"21? That's old! You don't look old enough to have a daughter that old," April told her.

"Thank you. I like her already," Lorelai told Luke. He gave her a small wink and excused himself to check on Caesar. It seemed like Lorelai and April were getting along and he hoped that would continue.

"So are you two having fun out here?" Luke asked when he came back to the counter.

"I was hoping I could get a Monte Cristo sandwich," April said giggling.

"A Monte Cristo, huh? That was on my old menu," Luke explained. "I discontinued it a while ago."

"You might want to rethink that," April said laughing and glancing at Lorelai out of the corner of her eye.

"What?" Lorelai asked guiltily when Luke gave her a look of admonishment. "You have to cater to the masses."

"Three years and you won't let the Monte Cristo go," he replied.

"Yeah and you love me for it," Lorelai smirked. "Good job kiddo." Lorelai high-fived April and it was clear that the two were now bonded in sisterhood.

Luke hid a grin and looked up as the bells above the door jingled and he came face-to-face with a memory from eleven years ago.

"Luke Danes," said the voice.

"Anna," Luke gulped, the smile fading from his lips.

"Mom," April yelled as stood up from the stool and ran over to her mother. "Hi."

"Hi April," Anna replied. "Your uncle said he brought you here last week and the week before and you didn't tell me about it."

"She didn't tell you about it?" Luke asked.

"No, she didn't tell me about it," Anna replied looking Luke in the eyes.

Lorelai turned and surveyed the now infamous Anna Nardini, mother of Luke's child. She was taller and she had long black hair that was pulled into a ponytail. Her green eyes looked tired and her skin was as pale as porcelain.

"Sorry," April said. "I meant to tell you."

"Not now April," Anna said not looking down at her daughter, but instead staring straight ahead at Luke. "Can we talk?"

Luke cleared his throat and wiped his hands on a rag quickly. "Yeah, we can talk," he replied. "Lorelai, would you mind sitting here with April?"

"I wanna talk too," April said showing her actual age for a moment.

"How about if you and I sit here and doodle all over this menu?" Lorelai asked April. "It took Luke years before he found all the comments I wrote in his menus."

"I have an apartment upstairs," Luke said. "We can talk there."

Anna followed Luke's outstretched arm and Luke leaned over to Lorelai and quietly whispered, "Thanks."

When they got to the apartment and Luke shut the door he was still unsure of what to say. Luckily Anna beat him to it.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"What the hell am I doing?" Luke asked.

"It's been eleven years," Anna said. "I thought we agreed that what happened between us was nothing special. It was a one night thing. We were two people who were a little lost and that was that."

"That was fine, but you had kid and never told me about it," Luke said feeling the anger well up in him.

"She isn't any of your concern," Anna replied.

"She's my daughter," Luke protested. "She's ten years old and I never knew she existed until she came into my diner and yanked out a fistful of my hair."

"Well I didn't know anything about that," Anna defended herself. "If I had I wouldn't have allowed her to go running around the suburbs. My brother helped her with that little project."

"You had my number," Luke said. "You knew I had a diner in town. Why didn't you ever tell me that I had a daughter?"

"How could I know you'd have the same phone number you had ten years ago? Also, in case you didn't read April's little science project, there were other possibilities for her father. Quite honestly I was shocked that it was you. I didn't think you were a real possibility."

"Aren't I lucky?" Luke mumbled sarcastically. "You had a responsibility to tell me about her. I can't believe you did this. I missed out on so much."

"Look, don't get used to April coming here okay? In case she didn't mention it she has a father who loves her very much."

"What do you mean she has a father? Are you married?"

"Yes, and I have been for seven years. Bill is the only father she's ever known and he loves her."

"Then why was she doing school projects to find her real dad?"

"April is a very smart, very special girl. Her father was having surgery and he had to donate some of his own blood beforehand. April was asking questions and studying for the science fair and after studying blood types she realized there was no way Bill could be her father. She was questioning me as her mother for a few weeks until I told her the whole sordid story of her conception. It was a fluke that all this happened."

"I'm sorry you think this was a fluke, but now that I know she's my daughter I want to be involved in her life. I think she wants that too."

"She doesn't know what she wants. She's ten years old," Anna said. She sighed before she continued. "Look, you were always a nice guy. You seem like you have a really nice life going for you here. Why would you want to add a stranger's kid to the mix?"

"Because she's my kid too," Luke said simply. "I want to know her."

"Just leave it alone," Anna said more forcefully. "She doesn't need you. She's wrapped up in this romantic fantasy where Bill isn't her dad and she has a real dad in another town. She'll grow out of it."

"Why should she? She wants a dad and I can be there for her."

"I don't doubt that," Anna replied. "I just don't think it's a good idea for her to get too attached. It's confusing and upsetting for the whole family. Bill and I have children. April is a precocious girl and it's upsetting for her brothers to hear about her real dad. If you leave it alone, then maybe she'll leave it alone."

"She asked to see me," Luke informed Anna. "I didn't seek her out. She came in here one day talking about how I could be her father. I showed up at that science fair and saw my picture with a bright red circle around it pronouncing to the world that I was a deadbeat dad, but I didn't have a clue that there was even a possibility of me having a kid. Now you want me to pretend it didn't happen? You want me to be the guy who sends a birthday card with twenty bucks in it and doesn't acknowledge her existence for the rest of the year? Well I'm sorry to disappoint you but I'm not that guy."

Luke was furious and he could feel the anger coursing through his veins. He couldn't believe the nerve of Anna. It had been ten years and he hadn't thought of her once and now she was trying to dictate the terms of his life.

"I appreciate that you're trying to do the right thing," Anna said calmly. "But Luke, please listen to me when I tell you that this isn't going to help April. She's going to be confused."

"She's a smart girl. She knows hot to DNA test for Pete's sake," Luke interjected.

"I know," Anna agreed. "But she's too young to know what she really wants. I just think it would be easier for everyone if you let her go."

"She wants to come see me," Luke said. "Your brother brought her here."

"Well that is between me and my brother. Don't think I haven't had a chat with him about this."

"I'm not going to tell her she can't see me," Luke said. "If she asks me if she can come over I won't tell her no."

"Okay," Anna replied defeated. "There's obviously nothing I can say right now to make you change your mind."

"You're damn right," Luke replied calming down.

"I'm going to go down there and take April home with me. I'm going to tell her that I'd rather she didn't contact you anymore."

"Fine," Luke said crossing his arms across his chest. "But when she calls or stops by I'm not turning her away."

Anna gave him a long, hard look and saw that he was being honest. "Fine," she replied icily. "It's been great catching up Luke." Her tone dripped with sarcasm.

"Same here," Luke called as Anna exited the apartment door. "Although a reunion about nine years ago might have been more helpful."

By the time Luke had composed himself and made it down the stairs Anna and April were gone.

"That chat went well I take it," Lorelai said when Luke emerged from upstairs. She had seen Anna fly down the stairs and take April very quickly from the premises.

"She told me she didn't want me to see April again," Luke fumed. "She said it would be better for everyone if I became Incredible Disappearing Dad. Can you believe that? I'm trying to do the right thing in all this and she tells me to stay away."

Lorelai could see how upset Luke was about the conversation with Anna and she didn't know what to say. Part of her wondered if it would be easier for April and Luke to pretend they didn't know about their relation.

"Maybe you should give it some time," Lorelai said.

"Give it time?" Luke looked at her like she had two heads.

"You have to admit that this whole thing has been kind of sudden. I mean can you really even do an effective DNA test in a week?"

Luke began to get irritated all over again. It seemed that every time he brought up his daughter Lorelai found a way to dissuade him from believing the DNA test.

"I'm sorry Luke," Lorelai tried again. "I know you don't want to hear this, but Anna is the girl's mother. She's raised her for ten years. This has got to be weird for her."

Luke stared at her in disbelief for a moment. Ever since he'd told her about April he'd known she was happy. He couldn't say he was either, but he needed her support, not her admonishment. "You know what? I get that you don't want me to have a kid. You don't have to keep trying to not so subtly tell me that you don't trust the DNA test. You don't believe the test, but I do. I know it might be hard for you to accept that there are guys out there who would actually like to be a part of their kid's lives because Christopher was always so good at playing the absentee father, but that isn't me."

"Hey," Lorelai shot back at him. "That was low and this is not about Chris and Rory. I know you're upset but you have no right to bring that up right now. Maybe you should take a look at why you're so quick to accept this girl out of the blue before you turn the focus on me."

Lorelai stood up and threw her purse over her shoulder. "Don't wait up for me because I might not be home," she said angrily as she stormed out of the diner. She fumed as she walked down the street. The crisp fall air felt cold, but her face was so hot she didn't notice. She had gotten a block from the diner when she heard her phone ring. She rolled her eyes and dug through her purse.

"What?" she said snippily.

"Not the hello I was looking for, but I'll take what I can get," the voice said.

"Speak of the devil," Lorelai said softly. "How are you Christopher?"

"Since we talked three days ago? Great," he answered in that suave, child-like, vintage Christopher way.

TBC