2 – The end of the world as we know it

"Good morning, daughter of mine." Lorelai's voice came over the line, sounding surprisingly chipper.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine." Rory replied. "What's with the happy voice?"

"Why, I can't be happy?" Lorelai asked, sounding offended.

"No, you can, I'm just surprised is all." Rory told her mother. "You sounded anything but happy last night, what changed?"

"Nothing changed, I'm just a really good actress." Lorelai replied, dropping her act. "So, did he call yet?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, a couple of minutes ago." Rory confirmed.

"Wow, took him long enough." Lorelai noted. "I was sure he'd call my cell last night, but nothing."

"Maybe he wanted to give you your space." Rory suggested. "You know, like you asked him to."

"I know I asked him not to call me, but I didn't expect him not to call me."

"Do you want him to call you or not?" Rory asked.

"Yes... no... I don't know." Rory could hear how confused her mother was. "I just don't know what to do anymore, Rory."

"Well, talking to him might be a good start."

"No, I can't talk to him. I need... I need to figure this out by myself, without him or anyone else interfering." Lorelai said.

"OK, but you know I'm here if you need me, right?"

"I know, hon, and I appreciate it."

They were quiet for a moment before Lorelai spoke again.

"He has a kid, Rory." She half whispered.

"I know, but it's not the end of the world." Rory tried to comfort.

"It's the end of the world as we know it."

"You're exaggerating, and stop quoting R.E.M." Rory joked.

"I know it's not the end of the world, I mean I have a kid too." Lorelai continued.

"I was aware of that fact, yes."

"It's not the him having a kid part that I'm mad about, it's the fact that he lied to me, he kept this from me for two months, Rory. Two months!"

"I know he lied to you mom, but try to see it from his point of view too." Rory tried. "I mean, he must have been afraid of how you'd react when he told you, so he took the easy way and just put it off."

"And that was so much better." Lorelai said sarcastically. "What if he just didn't tell me because he figured this thing between us wouldn't last anyway, so why would I need to know his daughter?"

"Mom, this is Luke we're talking about." Rory reminded her. "The Luke who's been in love with you for almost a decade, do you think he'd just give up on your relationship like that?"

"I guess you're right." Lorelai admitted. "But then why didn't he tell me?"

"OK, let's look at it this way." Rory started. "Let's say you find out something that could potentially affect the relationship you have with Luke, something you had absolutely no control over. You would hesitate to tell him, wouldn't you?"

"Well, I guess." Lorelai admitted. "But why would this have to change anything between us?"

"Mom, come on."

"No, I mean, I know it'll change things, but our relationship doesn't have to one of those things." Lorelai explained. "There will just be another person in our lives, but that doesn't change the fact that we love each other and that we're getting married."

"I know that, and you know that, but maybe Luke doesn't." Rory suggested.

"Maybe he thought that you'd reconsider the whole relationship because of this, and he didn't want to lose you."

"You really think he'd think that?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't know, it's just a possibility."

"Yeah..." Lorelai said, sounding deep in thought.

"Listen, I've gotta get to class, but call my cell if you need me, OK?" Rory said.

"OK, but I'll be fine." Lorelai assured her. "I think I'll just hang out here a little, get lunch and then maybe drive back."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you gave me a lot to think about, kid."

"Glad to be of service." Rory said before hanging up.

Getting out of bed, she quickly got dressed and found her carkeys. For what was, maybe, the fifth time in her life, Rory had lied to her mother. She didn't have any classes that day, but she sure had something to do.

Luke didn't feel up to facing the good people of Stars Hollow, so he decided to spend the day at Lorelai's house... hopefully soon their house. He called Lane, who agreed to work extra the whole day, and then called the diner to let Caesar know that he wouldn't be in.

He locked the phone in a drawer to keep himself from calling her, knowing he wouldn't be able to contain himself if the thing was right in front of him.

Wanting to keep busy, he started with cleaning the dishes in the kitchen, and then vacuumed the entire downstairs, scaring Paul Anka in the process, causing the poor dog to hide under Rory's bed.

Having put the vacuum away, Luke looked arund for something else to occupy himself with. He was about to do some laundry when he heard the front door open and closed, and rushed through the house.

"Lorelai! I am so sorry, I never should have..." He cut himself off when he found Rory in the hallway, looking apologetic.

"Wrong Lorelai. Hi!" She pulled off her jacket.

"Rory, did you tell me you were coming home today, I must have missed it."

"No, this was a spur of the moment kinda thing." Rory assured him.

"Oh, OK." Luke nodded, and then realized they were standing in the foyer. "Sorry, let's go into the kitchen, I'll make you some coffee."

"No, I've got it." Rory got the coffee out of the fridge and started the coffee maker, then sat down at the table were Luke was already sitting.

"So..." He started, not sure what to talk about.

"So..." Rory repeated. "I talked to mom before, after you called."

"You did? Is she OK? What did she say?"

"Whoa, Luke, hold on there." Rory stopped him. "I talked to mom, and I think she's done with whatever it was that she needed to do, because she said that she'd be home later today."

"She did? Oh, thank God." Luke sighed in relief.

"Now, that doesn't mean that everything's fine." Rory continued.

"I know, we have a lot to talk about." Luke agreed.

"Yes, you do." Rory nodded. "She's really upset about the fact that you lied to her."

"I know, I don't even know why I did it." Luke shook his head. "I was going to tell her the day I found out, but that was the day that the two of you made up, remember?" Rory nodded again.

"And you didn't want to spoil the moment?"

"Exactly. And then, it just got harder and harder the longer I waited." Luke explained. "And I think I was afraid that she'd reconsider the engagement if she found out, that she wouldn't want to marry me anymore."

"That's what I thought too, and I told mom that." Rory said. "But why would you think that?"

"I know it's not rational, but... I don't know." Luke ran a hand through his hair. "I guess I spent so much time loving her from a distance, thinking of her as unattainable, that it still hasn't completely sunk in that she actually wants to be with me. I'm afraid that she'll wake up one day and realize that she's been making a mistake all this time, and that she's never been in love with me, that it was just, I don't know... a fling."

"Oh, Luke." Rory's heart went out to him, just like it did to her mother. Why couldn't those two just realize that they truly loved each other? "Your and mom's relationship is so much more than just a fling. Trust me, I've seen her having flings."

"I know, somewhere I know that." Luke said. "It's just that the insecurity has a way of overshadowing that."

"Tell me about it." Rory agreed. They sat in silence for a few moments before Luke spoke.

"So, why did you come home? Not that I'm not glad to see you."

"I thought you might need a little help." Rory said, a conspiratory look on her face.

"Help with..." Luke wondered.

"Well, now that I've talked to you, I have a very unique perspective into this situation." Rory started. "You didn't tell mom about April, right?" Luke nodded. "You didn't tell her because you were afraid that she'd break the engagement off, and mom thinks that you didn't tell her because you were having second thoughts about getting married."

"What?" Luke asked in astounishment.

"She said that maybe you didn't tell her because you thought that there was no reason for her to even know about your daughter, because you wouldn't be together much longer anyway." Rory revealed.

"She thought that? I made her think that I didn't want to..."

"I guess you both jumped to all kinds of conclusions." Rory summed up.

"So, what did you want to help me with?" Luke asked, still not sure about what Rory meant.

"I thought that maybe you could show mom that this didn't have anything to do with you not wanting to be with her anymore." Rory said. "And then I remembered, that you didn't really get to propose."

"No, your mom did, why?"

"Well, here's what I thought we could do..."