Disclaimer: I do not own nor do I have any association with the Gilmore Girls or any of its characters. Dreaming about them is a totally different thing…
Chapter 27- Fathers
Present Day
Lorelai lay in bed as she watched Luke sleep. She watched the gentle and steady rise and fall of his chest. He slept closer to her now. When Jess returned, he slept as far from her as he could without falling off the bed. Now he slept in the middle of the bed, his body touching hers. They were lovers again, but both feared it was just sex for their partner- neither voiced their concerns. Lorelai put her hand on his bare chest and moved it across and back, gently rousing her husband out of sleep.
Luke let out a moan as he slowly woke. "Hey," he greeted with a smile. "What time is it?"
"Six," Lorelai replied. "You better get up before you're late."
"Trying to get rid of me?"
"I'm trying to get you to feed me."
"Because that's all I'm good for. Food and sex."
"Oh Luke. No. You forgot abut the coffee." Luke chuckled and leaned over to kiss Lorelai. "What about the diner?" she asked between kisses.
"They can wait an hour." Just as things were starting to heat up, the sound of the doorbell rang through out the house.
"I better get that."
"What? Lorelai. No. Come on. This isn't as fun without you."
"It'll only take a minute."
"So will this." Lorelai shook her head and smiled as she threw some clothes on. Luke groaned and fell back into the pillows. "You have one minute. Any longer and I'm going after you."
"One minute." Lorelai gave him a kiss before leaving the room. She hurried to the front door. She was shocked to see who was standing on the other side. "Dad? What are you doing here?"
"Lorelai, that is no way to greet a guest," Richard scolded.
"Sorry. Hi Dad. What are you doing here?"
"Well good morning to you too."
"Dad."
"I was in the neighborhood…"
"In Stars Hollow?"
Richard looked down at his hands. "I was going to go to the cemetery."
"Oh. Well, um, would you like to come in then?"
"I would like that." Lorelai stepped aside to let Richard into the house.
"What's that?" Lorelai asked, pointing to the book in her father's hand.
"It's a book Lorelai."
"I know it's a book Dad. What book is it?" Lorelai's body stiffened when Richard showed her the book. "Dad, this is Danny's favorite book."
"I know," Richard said sadly as he touched the cover. "He used to ask me to read it to him every chance he had."
"Dad, what are you doing?"
Richard sniffled a little and then stood tall, tears eminent in his eyes. His body language was saying he was being strong, but his eyes told a different story. "I am going to read to my grandson just as I had many times before."
"Dad…"
"Lorelai, please. I…I want to read to Daniel. I was in the neighborhood and I thought I'd stop by to see you first." Lorelai wasn't sure how or when it happened, but she found herself hugging her father, crying into his clean, pressed shirt. He stroked her hair and held her as she cried.
"Lorelai, who was at the…" Luke trailed off when he saw father and daughter. They pulled apart and Lorelai wiped away the tears in her eyes. "Richard. Hello. I didn't realize you were coming over."
"It's a spur of the moment visit," Richard explained.
"Oh. Um. Ok. I'm…I'll just be…yeah." Luke headed back upstairs to the bedroom. Even after knowing Richard and being married to his daughter for twenty years, Luke still felt uncomfortable around Richard at times. Well, you would too if the first time you met you wife's father was when he walked in on you having sex with her.
1985
Luke was laying on his bed with his eyes closed, slowly drifting off into sleep when the bed suddenly shook. He groaned and peeked through one eye to see Lorelai beside him. After school, Lorelai had gone to work and Luke had baseball practice. He was resting while she put Rory down for her afternoon nap in the nursery.
"She's asleep," Lorelai informed.
"That's nice," Luke said, his eyes still shut. He felt her lay beside him, her head resting on his arm, her arm on his chest, and one of her legs between his. Suddenly, her hand started making circular motions on his chest and then began to move south. "Lorelai, your hand."
"What about my hand?"
"I know what you're trying…" His eyes flew open when her hand found it's way down his pants.
"What were you saying?" she asked innocently as she touched him.
"Lorelai," he groaned. "We can't."
"Oh, I beg to differ. I think we can and this part of you seems to agree with me."
"We just put Rory down."
"We'll be quiet." Luke chuckled. "What?"
"You? Quiet? Yeah right." Lorelai playfully punched Luke's arm and he just started laughing.
"We'll see how funny this is when you're sleeping alone tonight," Lorelai said threateningly as she got off the bed.
Luke grabbed her arm and stopped her from leaving. "Come on babe. I was playing around. Don't leave."
Lorelai smiled and jumped on top of him. She leaned down and kissed him. "I would never, ever leave you Luke Danes."
"Promise?"
"I promise." She kissed him again, sealing their agreement. She faked a shocked gasp when she felt his hands on the exposed skin between her jeans and shirt. "Why Lucas, whatever are you doing?" He just smiled and rolled them over so he hoovered above her. "But what if someone catches us?" she asked, still faking innocence.
"Hold your tongue," he said as he leaned down for another kiss.
Present Day
"Luke," Lorelai giggled as Luke wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and started kissing her neck. "Luke, stop."
"Why?" he asked, knowing very well she didn't want him to stop.
"The kids are gonna be home any minute."
"It's about time we taught them about the birds and the bees."
Lorelai turned around and kissed him quickly on the lips. "We already gave Kelly 'the talk' and Mikey's too young for it."
"You act like they've never walked in on us having sex. Mikey's seen us twice, Kelly four times, and Rory…poor kid. I lost count after twelve."
She took a step back and mocking pointed a disciplinary finger at him. "Lucas Danes, you better behave or you're not getting 'dessert' tonight."
Luke threw his arms in the air in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. I'll be a good boy…for now."
"Mom, Dad, you guys home?" they heard Rory call. A minute later, she walked into the living room with Jess following closely behind. "Hey, you guys are here."
"We do live here babe," Lorelai teased.
Rory rolled her eyes. "I'm just surprised you guys are here at this time. What? You guys don't work anymore or something?"
"Ah, the joys of owning your own business," Luke replied. "I opened so Caesar's closing."
"And I like to annoy Michel," Lorelai smiled. "Seriously, Dad and I were cleaning up before Grandpa got here. He's 'in the neighborhood' so he's coming for dinner. Come on. We need to clean your room because Lord knows anything that goes wrong in the world is Mommy's fault. Luke." Lorelai nudged in Jess's direction as she and Rory headed to Rory's room.
Luke nodded and watched as Jess pulled out a book from his back pocket and sat on the couch to read. Luke cleared his throat to catch his nephew's attention. "With Richard coming to dinner, it means you need to clean up. And I'm not just talking about your room. You are to dress appropriately- Friday night dinner attire."Jess grunted in response. "I'm serious Jess. You better be on your best behavior tonight."
"So does Richard know you and Lorelai are separated?"
Luke's expression fell as his face turned pale. "Wh…"
"Richard, your father-in-law, does he know you and his only daughter are separated?"
"Jess…"
Jess shut his book and looked up at his uncle. "I mean, it's obvious. When I got here, you and Lorelai looked like you couldn't stand being in the same room together. Now you two put on this act like you're all lovey-dovey, rainbows and sunshine. Next thing you know, you'll be singing Carpenter songs."
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"The hell I don't. I know disasters when I see it. Look at Liz's track record."
"Jess," Luke said in a low voice so Rory and Lorelai wouldn't hear. "Whatever you're thinking, quit. Lorelai and I are fine. She's been moody because…well, you know why. It's been a year and she's hurting. Look, I don't want her to get anymore upset. Not after I've worked this hard to get her to be happy again. So just drop it ok?"
Jess examined his uncle's face. Something was still off about this whole situation. "Fine."
"And not a word of this conversation to Lorelai or your cousins."
"My lips are sealed."
"Good. Now go upstairs and clean your room."
"Why? It's not like Richard's going to go up there."
"Go!"
Jess rolled his eyes and sighed as he headed upstairs. Luke let out a sigh. Great, now Jess was suspicious. He just hoped there wouldn't be anything to be suspicious about when this was all over. Jess knew there was something up and he knew Rory knew. But he, unlike Rory, wasn't going to pretend not to see it.
1985
William looked up when he heard someone enter the store. "Why Mr. Gilmore," he greeted with a smile. He stood and shook Richard's hand. "I didn't realize you were coming today. We didn't have an appointment did we?"
"Oh no," Richard replied. "Floyd asked me to come by to verify the blue prints before you and your son began construction."
"I apologize, but I don't have them with me at the moment."
"Oh?"
"Luke took them home. He likes to look over his projects. Study up on them and such."
"Really, why that's one smart boy you have."
"Indeed he is. You know, I bet they're at the house. We can go over there and get them out of his room if you'd like."
"If it's not too much trouble."
"No trouble at all. Come along. Jerry! You're in charge."
"Oh, should I drive?"
William shook his head. "That's alright. I live within walking distance."
"We're going to walk?"
"If that's ok with you."
"I guess we can. I've been meaning to look around town since the last time I was here."
"Very well then. Let's go."
William and Richard walked out of the store. They made small chit chat as they made their way through town. William pointed out all the important places in town to Richard, adding a little story here and there about how the Danes family knew the owners of the establishments. By the time they reached Peach Street, William had pointed out nearly the whole town.
"Your family seems to be prominent fixtures in town," Richard remarked.
"The Danes family was one of the first families to live in Stars Hollow," William said proudly.
"The town must be proud of Luke then."
"Oh they are. You know, Luke is going to be the first Danes and person from Stars Hollow to attend an Ivy League school."
"Speaking of which, I know Luke has his heart set on Harvard, but I think he should keep his academic options open. I mean, Harvard's a long way from here and I do believe you mentioned him having a girlfriend."
"Yes, he has one." Your daughter, he added mentally.
"I'm sure she'd love to have him closer and I'm sure you would too. Has he considered Yale?"
"I'm not sure."
"It's a lot closer than Harvard."
"That it is."
"I'm not sure if I've mentioned that I'm a Yale alumni. I hope you don't mind, but I made a few calls, pulled some strings, and put a good word in with the admissions office in Luke's favor."
"You did?"
"I hope that's alright. He just seems like a great young man and I thought I'd do him a favor."
"No, no. That's great. Thank you Richard."
"You're welcome."
"Oh, this is my house." William and Richard headed down the path toward the Victorian style house. "It's probably upstairs in his room."
They headed up the stairs toward Luke's bedroom, thinking they were just imagining the faint noises in the background.
Inside Luke's bedroom…
Lorelai let out a soft pant and Luke continued his motions. She dug her nails into his back as he brought them closer to the edge and just as they were about to reach their climax, the door swung open and both teens turned their heads in fear of just being caught. Lorelai's eyes widened in shock and fear as she saw her father staring back at her.
"Lucas!" William yelled in anger having just walked in on his son having sex.
"Dad!" Luke said in shock.
"Dad," Lorelai said just as shocked as Luke.
"Lorelai," William said with a hint of disappointment.
"Lorelai!" Richard yelled angrily.
"Daddy," Lorelai said.
"Richard," Luke said.
Lorelai looked questionably at her boyfriend. "Richard?"
"Get off my daughter!" Richard's voice boomed through out the room.
Luke quickly rolled off of Lorelai and they sat up, covering their bodies with the bed sheets. Before anyone could say anything, Richard angrily stormed out of the room with William following shortly behind him. As soon as their fathers left the room, Luke and Lorelai quickly tossed some clothes on and ran after them.
"Daddy," Lorelai called as she chased her father out the door in one of Luke's flannel shirts and a pair of his boxers. "Daddy, wait! Daddy, please! Talk to me."
"How could you?" Richard asked angrily as he turned to face his daughter. "How could you go about having relations with…with…" He was too angry to finish his sentence.
"Daddy, please don't be mad."
"It's too late for that. Have you even thought about Rory and what this would do to her?"
"Of course I have! Rory means everything to me and so does Luke."
"And what does Luke have to say about Rory? Or does he even know about her?"
"Of course he knows about Rory! And he absolutely loves Rory. He adores her like she was his and she loves him too."
"What about you?" Richard asked, his voice softer now.
"I love him Daddy. I love him with all my heart and he loves me too. He makes me happy. I'm happy. Don't you want me to be happy?"
"Yes Lorelai. I want you to be happy. I also want what's best for you." With that, Richard turned and walked away from his daughter. He got in his car and drove away.
Back at the Danes house…
Luke hurried down the stairs in nothing more than his boxers and was about to chase after Lorelai, but stopped when he saw his father standing at the bottom of the stairs with his arms crossed over his chest. "Dad, I…" Luke started.
"Do you know what you may have done?" William interrupted. Luke opened his mouth to speak, but William continued. "You may have just cost us a job Lucas!"
"Dad, I'm sorry…"
"How long have you been having sex under my roof?"
"Huh?"
"How long!" Luke looked away. "God damn it Luke! Do you have any respect for me at all!"
He looked up at his father again. "You know I do!"
"This is one hell of a way for you to show it!"
"Ah come on! You knew Lorelai and I were having sex."
"Not under my roof when I'm not home!"
"You had to have known…"
"Don't you dare go there Lucas! What the hell has gotten into you? Huh? You're being reckless. You may have just cost us a job and a relationship between a father and his daughter." Luke lowered his head in shame. "You're not thinking anymore. Richard went through a lot of trouble to get your application to Yale and this is how you repay him?"
"He put my application in at Yale?"
"Yes! He thought he'd do something nice for you!"
"I didn't ask him to!"
"You're not even being grateful he did this. He was thinking about your girlfriend, which he just found out was his only daughter. He thought you would like to be closer to her."
"I didn't know. I didn't think…"
"No. You don't think. Not since this relationship with Lorelai started getting serious." Luke raised a brow, wondering what his father was leading to. "Even before then you were getting into trouble. Don't think I don't know about your fight with Ivan Gleason. Two of your grades are slipping and you're getting sloppy at work. Then there's Rory. You need to think about that little girl too."
"I do think about her…"
"I don't want to see her or Lorelai hurt. Rory's getting attached to you and if anything were to happen and she were to loose you…do you know what that would do to her? You're the only father she knows. You need to start rethinking about this relationship and where it's headed. You need to ask yourself if this is worth it. You need to do the right thing."
Luke feared his father was going to tell him to break up with Lorelai. "I'm not leaving her," he stated firmly. "I don't care what you say, I'm not breaking up with Lorelai. I love her."
"I know you do," William said. He reached into his pocket and held something in the palm of his hand. "I just don't want you to hurt her." William took his son's hand and placed the object in his hand, closing Luke's hand around it. Luke stared at the fist containing the object. "I'm not telling you to break up with her son. I'm telling you to do what you think is right. And I know, you think this is right."
"Dad…I don't…I don't get. Why…why did you give this to me?"
"Because I want to see you and Lorelai…and Rory happy."
"But why now?"
"Because Luke, I'm dying."
Next time on "The Broken Road": In 1985- Richard invites Luke and Lorelai to have dinner at the Gilmore residence. Familiar faces show up at the dinner. Lorelai is concerned about Luke's odd behavior. Present Day- When Rory goes to the cemetery to visit William's grave, she sees Jess and over hears him talking. Patty runs and idea by Luke and Lorelai about their anniversary.
A/N: Again, I'm sooooooooooo sorry about the long wait. It's just been really crazy with work and the holidays. I'm desperately trying to fit in writing time, but it's few and far between.
