A Different Path
Chapter 13:
Disclaimer: It's still not mine :)
Summary: 'He'd slip some extra lettuce in her burger and she'd pretend not to notice.'… A story about Luke and Lorelai.
A/N: BTW, I have no idea if Rachel actually has a sister or whatever… but if by some chance, they say she doesn't in the show… just pretend she does. Alright? Gracias.
And, don't get excited guys, this chapter ain't so great. It's another filler, but not exactly my best. I just had to write it, to go into my next chapter, and I promise it'll be better.
Also, spoilers on the A/N at the bottom, so don't look if you don't want to be spoiled.
Rachel turned around, and Lorelai prayed that she didn't catch her staring.
"Lorelai! Hey!" Rachel said, gesturing for her to come sit beside her at the counter.
"Hi… Rachel." Lorelai said uneasily, as she took a seat next to her.
"I went by the Dragonfly." Rachel started. "You did it? It's your Inn?" Rachel asked with a smile.
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I did it… but, not without the help of Luke here." She added, wondering if Luke had told Rachel.
"I didn't do anything." Luke said from the kitchen.
"He saved the Inn, that one… my knight in shining flannel, that's what I call him." Lorelai babbled.
Rachel smiled. "Definitely… You know, one time I broke my camera- I was really upset because it was my first one, you know? It was really special to me… So, Luke went out and found all the parts so he could fix it… but, you know, it was pretty old… It must have taken him days, but he did it. Remember that Luke?" Rachel called.
"It didn't take that long." Luke said, from the kitchen.
"He's so modest." Rachel said.
"Oh, yeah, he is." Lorelai said.
Rachel nodded and took a sip of the coffee that was in front of her.
"So… uh Rachel, what brings you to the Hollow?" Lorelai asked, praying that it wasn't because of Luke.
"Well, I'm visiting my family for the week… My sister is having a party for her ten year wedding anniversary." Rachel explained. "Plus, there's always some good Kodak moments to be had around here."
Lorelai nodded.
"Kim?" Luke asked, who had just returned from the kitchen.
"Yup, 10 years, can you believe it?" Rachel asked.
"Wow… I remember going to the wedding. 10 years? Wow." Luke said, fumbling with the broken toaster.
"I know… and I can't believe it… and Lucy is almost 6!" Rachel told him.
"Ah, I haven't seen Lucy since she was 2." Luke said.
"She's 6 now, blondest hair I've ever seen… and blue eyes… beautiful… Actually, they remind me of Lorelai's." Rachel said, spinning on her chair and facing Lorelai.
Luke and Lorelai looked at each other, he smiled at her, but her expression stayed blank. Did Rachel know? Did Luke tell her?
"So how long are you in town for Rachel?" Luke asked.
"Just a week or two." Rachel replied.
Luke nodded.
Then, there was a moment of uncomfortable silence, which Rachel broke within a few minutes.
"So… What have I missed?" Rachel asked.
Lorelai looked at Luke, to see if he would tell her about them, but he was still fumbling with the broken toaster.
"Oh, not much…" Lorelai said, not taking her eyes off Luke.
Rachel followed Lorelai's gaze, and could tell that something was definitely up.
"OK…" Rachel said suspiciously.
"You know what? I better go, I told Kim I'd meet her for lunch." Rachel said.
Luke nodded again.
"Bye Luke." She said. "Bye Lorelai." She said.
"Bye Rachel." Lorelai called as Rachel went out the door. Then, Lorelai turned back to Luke and moved over to her stool.
"MMm… much better." Lorelai said.
"They're all the same, you know?" Luke stated.
"This one has my butt print in it." Lorelai said.
He rolled his eyes.
"Plus, it's closer to you." She said, batting her eyelashes.
"What about when I'm pouring you coffee? It's not closer than." Luke said.
"But when you're pouring me coffee, you're over there," she pointed, "and this is the best angle to look at your butt." She grinned.
He didn't say anything, and she wondered if he was mad at her. But, then he turned around and handed her a muffin.
"Thanks." She said graciously.
He nodded and went back to the toaster.
"So… Rachel's back." She said.
"Rachel's back." He repeated.
Lorelai sighed, and began to pick at her muffin.
"Lorelai! Hey." Rachel said, as she entered the Dragonfly. Lorelai was at the desk, while Michel was inspecting the shampoo bottles in the Bradshaw's room.
Lorelai looked at the red-haired woman, walking towards her and put on a fake smile for her.
"Hey Rachel." Lorelai greeted her.
"This place is amazing." Rachel said, looking around.
"Yeah, well." Lorelai shrugged.
"Can I have the tour?" Rachel asked.
"Oh, well…" Lorelai began.
"Please? I'd love to see everything you've done to the place." Rachel said.
"OK, sure." Lorelai said, leading her into the other room.
"So… this is where all the beautiful eating is done." Lorelai said, gesturing towards the dinning room. "In there is the kitchen." Lorelai pointed.
"Upstairs are all the rooms… I think they're all full at the moment, and the guests don't really like it when I play room raiders, so…" Lorelai said.
"I guess we should just stick to underwear drawers and baseball cap fashion shows." Rachel smiled. Lorelai smiled back, for real this time.
"And my office is over there." Lorelai said, continuing with the tour. "I even have one of those name plates… pretty cool." Lorelai said, kicking herself once she realized how stupid she must sound.
"That's the one thing I hate about my job… I don't get an office or a name plate." Rachel said. Lorelai couldn't tell if she was mocking, or joking.
"Yeah." Lorelai said, with a small, fake laugh.
They then went into the lobby and sat down on one of the couches.
"Comfy couch." Lorelai stated, as she made herself comfortable.
Rachel looked around the room for a few minutes, and Lorelai watched.
"You did a really nice job, Lorelai." Rachel said, turning to look at her.
"Oh, well… Thanks." Lorelai smiled.
"So… I know I already asked this, but nobody gave me much of answer… What happened while I was gone?" Rachel asked.
"Well… You know… the Inn happened, that was pretty big." Lorelai said, not sure if she should say anything about her and Luke. If Luke wanted her to know, he'd say something right?
"And Rory is in her second year of Yale." Lorelai said.
"Yale? Wow." Rachel said.
"Yeah." Lorelai nodded.
"Is that all?" Rachel asked.
"Well, add a few town meetings and some coffee… and that's about it." Lorelai said.
Rachel nodded. "How has Luke been?" She asked.
Lorelai froze. Was she asking because she wanted to get back with him or was she just asking because they were friends? "Well… uh, he's good." Lorelai said.
Rachel nodded. "Are you two… I mean, are you guys…" Rachel hinted.
Lorelai sighed, and then she nodded. She'd find out eventually, right? Nobody can keep a secret in this town anyway.
"You are?" Rachel asked. "That's great." She said.
"Yeah, yeah, it's great." Lorelai nodded, trying to fight the huge smile that was forming on her face. She didn't want to be bragging about it or anything, especially with his ex- girlfriend.
"So… how long?" She asked.
"What?"
"How long have you been together?"
"Oh, um, a few months…. I guess, since last May?" Lorelai said, not wanting to bring up the break up… or the pregnancy. Her and Luke had agreed to keep it their little secret for a while.
"Last May? Wow… I told him not to wait." Rachel said, not really meaning for that to be out loud.
Before Lorelai could ask about it, Michel came down the stairs. "I told you! This morning, there were 2 shampoo bottles… and now, there are none." Michel whined.
"The Bradshaw's have big hair, Michel." Lorelai said.
"It's a big shampoo bottle." He told her.
"They are allowed to keep the shampoo bottles, Michel." Lorelai said.
"Yes, one bottle, not a whole Pantene factory." He shot back.
Lorelai rolled her eyes and stood up.
"Excuse me." She told Rachel.
"Oh, sure… I better get going, anyway. I'll see you later?" She asked.
Lorelai nodded. "Bye." She said, before turning to Michel.
The bell above the door jingled and Luke looked up, thinking that it might be Lorelai since she usually came by right before closing. But, when he looked up he saw that he was wrong. It was Rachel.
"Hey." He offered. "Coffee?" He asked.
She nodded, and sat down at the counter, in Lorelai's seat again.
He slid the cup to her, and she took a sip. "Thanks." She said.
Luke nodded, and went back to counting receipts.
"So… You and Lorelai are together?" She asked.
He looked up at her. "Yeah, we are." He said.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked.
He shrugged. "I don't know. I figured you were only going to be around for a week or two, and you'd bug me about… you know, how long it took." Luke said.
"Well… I would have." Rachel said.
Luke nodded. "Exactly." He stated.
"Why didn't you tell her?" Rachel asked curiously.
"She was engaged." Luke said.
"Oh." Rachel said.
"Yeah, I kind of figured it wouldn't exactly be a great time to try anything." He said, getting uncomfortable with the conversation.
"Yeah." Rachel said. "So… what happened?"
"What?"
"With the engagement." She clarified.
"She called it off." He said.
"Because of you?"
"Nah." He said.
"So… almost a year." Rachel said.
"Yep." He responded.
"Do you think…" Rachel began.
"What?" He asked.
"You think you'll get married?" She asked.
He looked down at his receipts again. "I don't know." He said quickly.
"Well, do you want to?" She asked.
Luke was getting more and more uncomfortable with the conversation. "I don't know, Rachel." He told her.
"You do." She told him, looking up at him. "I think you do." She said.
He shrugged it off and concentrated on the old cash register that was giving him trouble.
"Do you think she does?" Rachel continued.
He ignored her.
"Luke?" Rachel asked. "C'mon, I think it's great." She told him.
Luke looked up at her, and leaned over the counter.
"She's pregnant." He told her quietly.
Rachel's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. That definitely wasn't what she was expecting.
"Pregnant?" She said, practically in a whisper because she was so shocked.
Luke nodded.
"Wow." Rachel said.
"Yeah." Luke shrugged.
"How far along?" She asked, not sure what else to say.
"Not too far." He said.
"Yeah… You can't even tell." Rachel said.
Luke nodded.
"So… Was that an answer to my marriage question?" She asked.
Luke shrugged, and went to take people's orders.
"Hey Pattie." Lorelai greeted Miss Pattie on her way to Luke's.
"Hey doll." Pattie said.
Lorelai was about to walk by her, when Pattie stopped her and began talking.
"Hey Lorelai, I heard that Rachel is back." Pattie said. "Is it true?"
"Yeah, it's true." Lorelai said, wondering what was up.
"Oh, great." Pattie sighed.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"I just hope she's not trying to get Luke back, you know?" Pattie said.
Lorelai gave her a funny look and was about to walk away, when Rachel came up to her.
"Lorelai!" She called.
"Speak of the devil." Pattie muttered.
Rachel ran up to them, and caught her breath for a moment.
"Rachel, honey, we haven't seen you around here for a while." Pattie said.
"Hi Miss Pattie." Rachel smiled.
"How are you darling?" She asked.
"Great, you?"
"Oh, I've been better." She said, glancing at Lorelai.
Lorelai shook her head, and focused on Rachel. "What'd you want to say, Rachel?"
"Oh, right, I just wanted to say congratulations." She smiled.
Lorelai's stomach dropped, and she froze. She wasn't saying what she thought she was saying, was she?
Pattie looked from Rachel to Lorelai in confusion. "Congratulations? Congratulations on what?" She asked.
"On the baby." Rachel said, before she even noticed the look on Lorelai's face.
"Baby?" Pattie asked. "What baby?"
"Oh God." Rachel said. "I'm really sorry… I- I didn't know." She said, nervously.
"It's…. um, it's OK." Lorelai said quietly.
"Lorelai, you're pregnant?" Pattie asked loudly, grabbing a few people's attention.
"Um… yes." She said, uneasily.
Miss Pattie smiled. She was practically beaming. "This is great. This is just wonderful… Why didn't you tell us darling?"
"We were… we were waiting for the right time." Lorelai said, feeling a little dizzy.
"Ooh, wait until I tell Tillie… Oh, and we'll have to throw you a baby shower! Does Sookie know?" She asked.
Lorelai nodded, still in a daze.
"Is it a boy or girl? How far along are you? Probably not too far, you're not showing… Oh, this is so exciting." Miss Pattie said.
"Excuse me." Lorelai said, quietly, before walking away from them and going towards Luke's.
The bell above the door jingled, as it always does. She walked in and sat in her seat, waiting for him to turn around and notice her.
"Hey." He said, after turning around.
"Hi." She said blankly.
"You OK?" He asked, putting his hand on hers.
"You told Rachel." She stated.
Luke sighed. "I know." He said.
"Why?" Lorelai asked. "I thought we were going to keep it our secret for a while… Remember that?" She asked, bitterly.
"I know… I know, I just- it… I don't know." He told her uneasily.
Her shoulders dropped, and she looked out the window. The whole town was gathered in the town square, where she had just been. Miss Pattie was telling everyone that news she just heard. Lorelai sighed.
"Rachel told Miss Pattie." She told him.
Luke looked up, and followed Lorelai's gaze to where the entire town was gathered.
"Yeah." He said, beginning to wipe down the counter.
She turned back to look at him. "Why'd you tell her?" She asked.
"She was just… talking… I don't know, it just came out." He said, not wanting to get into the real reason he told her.
"OK." Lorelai nodded. She placed her hands on her stomach, and watched as he wiped the counter.
Thoughts were running through her head, but she didn't want to think about anything now.
"I'm sorry." He told her, leaning on the counter.
"It's OK." She said gently.
He leaned in and kissed gently, then pulled away and smiled at her. She smiled back, and he went over to the coffee machine.
"Coffee?" He asked Lorelai.
"Yes." Lorelai said softly. She wanted to yell at him for being so stupid. She wanted to yell at him for telling Rachel. She wanted to yell at him for not keeping their secret. She wanted to yell at him for everything, but she couldn't. She didn't want to be that stupid, jealous, annoying girlfriend. She didn't want to make him mad. She didn't want to fight. She didn't want him to leave.
He slid a cup to her.
"We still on for tonight?" He asked her.
"7 o'clock." She stated with a somewhat, fake smile.
"Great." He said, touching her hand for a second, and then walking by her and going towards the register.
She took her coffee and took a sip.
What it just her or did it taste different?
She set the cup down sadly, and looked over to Luke who had a smile on his face. "Hey Luke?" She said.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"What'd you put in the coffee?"
"Nothing different." He said.
"It tastes different." She told him.
He shrugged. "Nothing different." He said again.
"Oh." She said. She looked down at the cup again, and then back at Luke.
"Luke?" She said again.
He looked over to her.
"I forgot… I have to work tonight."
Alright, so I know that was bad… and I know you guys had to wait so, so, so, so long…. But blame finals and holidays…
Next chapter will be much better, I promise!
Please review, though. Ideas would be nice… Suggestions, good, bad… you know.
And here's some spoilers from Ask Ausiello, even though I'm sure you all have probably read it by now…
Just incase you haven't.
OH, and look for an update on Kiss with Open Eyes sometime today or tomorrow.
Thanks.
GG spoilers from Ask Ausiello incase you haven't gotten the chance to read it yet:
Episode 13 — which is slated to air on Jan. 24 — marks the long-awaited return of Friday-night dinners at the Gilmore manse. This is the first time Emily, Richard, Lorelai and Rory will be alone in the same room together since the Big Split of '05 last May, so expect the Amy Sherman-Palladino-penned outing to be brimming with cathartic outbursts. And it's not just recent events that get dredged up during the meal-cum-melee, which goes on for a record eight scenes. At one point, Emily reopens a 20-year-old wound when she lashes out at Lorelai for getting pregnant and ruining her life.
Sean Gunn — and Kirk — will both be returning next season. Oh, and this just in: David Sutcliffe will be back for at least five more episodes this season.
So, yup that's it.
Please review!