'I guess there'll be an Emily Gilmore Pavilion here someday,' Lorelai smirked to herself. Hell, she might have to put one up herself. Her mother had outdone herself making sure that Luke had the right room, the proper care, and that things were taken care of at both the Inn and the Diner. Lorelai winced, remembering the previous night's conversation with Sookie…whom Emily was apparently driving insane. Although, once Lorelai considered Emily's actions a little longer, she realized that Emily was probably making sure that Luke and his medical care wouldn't embarrass the DAR façade she always maintained.
Speaking of façades, Lorelai hated to admit it, but she hadn't looked very human the past few days. Her hair thanked her, though, for taking care of it this morning, and she planned to enter Luke's room in a renewed, happier mood, and that included treating him to her famous hair flip.
After waiting for the elevator, Lorelai rode up to the Fourth Floor, where Luke's room now was. She had gotten used to being in the ICU with Luke, holding his hand, making sure he was never alone when he awoke. He'd been in and out of sleep. As she turned the corner into the room that Luke (and she) would call home for the next few days, she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight before her. She was surprised that it was even happening; she couldn't imagine what the phone call that led to the sight before her eyes must have sounded like.
Little April was seated at the head of Luke's bed, where a nurse was also busy tending to the equipment. To the side, by the bathroom door, a group of women huddled: Emily, Rory, and a woman about her age. The three were clearly having an enjoyable conversation, and Lorelai guessed, based on the resemblance, that the third woman was Luke's former lover, April's mother.
The nurse, just finishing getting various lines and tubes untangled, was apparently being quizzed by April. Lorelai, glad her appearance had been tended to, walked quietly into the room, squaring her shoulders and making sure she had a smile on her face.
The hair flip would have to wait for later.
"And then I had to fire her, because she simply didn't know a crème brulée from a crème a la Irena," Emily was saying, while the woman she assumed was Anna laughed hysterically. She looked up, and called out "Lorelai" as she noticed her daughter.
Lorelai felt somewhat annoyed by all the hustle and bustle in the room. She looked into Luke's eyes, first winking, then silently mouthing "Hi handsome," to him, and sat down at the edge of the bed. She wanted everyone to go away; she wanted to touch Luke, to let him know that she was still his, still all in. Most of all, she wanted to get him home. She remembered how much he hated hospitals.
Luke, for his part, smiled as she strode in; the pain in his abdomen remained at a low thud thanks to Lorelai's constant monitoring of his pain medication.
"Hi," Lorelai addressed April, "long time no see."
"Lorelai…" Luke attempted to interject.
"The not-strangler!" April noted.
"You must be April…" Lorelai continued.
"Yep."
"Lorelai…" he tried again, his nervousness obvious.
She let him interrupt. He was injured, after all.
"Lorelai, April…I'd like you to meet each other…"
"Hi, I'm April, Luke's daughter." April extended her hand to Lorelai.
"And I'm Lorelai, Luke's fiancée…" Lorelai ignored April's hand, opting instead to reach out and give her a quick hug. "Have you met my kid, Rory, over there?"
"Yeah. She goes to Yale."
"I know," Lorelai laughed, looking over at a still-nervous Luke. "Is that your mom?" she whispered conspiratorially.
April nodded in the affirmative.
Luke cleared his throat. He'd noticed the glances that Anna had shot Lorelai's way.
Lorelai gave Luke's hand a squeeze, leaned over and placed a quick kiss on his cheek, and rose, walking over to Rory, Emily, and Anna.
"I see the other two Gilmore girls have made your acquaintance," Lorelai stated, extending her hand to Anna, "I'm Lorelai. The middle Gilmore Girl."
Anna and Lorelai exchanged brief but awkward pleasantries.
"So our boy Luke here has really gotten himself into some trouble," Lorelai noted. "I'm glad April is able to be here. How did that happen?"
-----
Anna Nardini had not liked it when Luke's employee called her to let her know that Luke was out of town. But a day later, when a woman named Emily Gilmore called her, explaining that Luke was her future son-in-law and was hospitalized after an accident, she was truly surprised. She'd had no idea that Luke was seeing anyone, let alone, engaged. Each time she'd been in Stars Hollow to pick up April, Luke had been either working, or was alone with April in the diner. And Luke had been available for every holiday and special occasion thus far. Actually, it all made sense now--that he hadn't disclosed this woman's existence. She'd wondered why he hadn't invited April up to his home.
April and Anna walked determinedly into the hospital, and up to the Fourth Floor. The woman who'd called had assured her that Luke was past the critical stage. When she entered Luke's room, she was surprised to see that it was filled with flowers. Luke had never seemed like a flower type of guy--in fact, he'd never once given her flowers.
There were two women in the room--a young brunette and an older brunette who reeked of social privilege and class. This must be the Emily Gilmore who'd called her. As she entered the room, the woman she assumed was Emily Gilmore rose to greet her.
"Hello, Miss Nardini. I'm sorry to have to meet you under these circumstances." Emily suddenly became aware. "And this must be the child…"
"Yes, I'm Luke's kid," April chimed in.
Rory defused a potentially awkward situation. "And I'm Rory. Emily's my grandmother and Luke's going to be my stepfather."
"Have you known Luke for a long time?" Anna asked.
"Years," Rory replied, smiling fondly, "For at least ten years. My dad…well he wasn't able to be around when I was growing up, but Luke was always there…" Rory's voice trailed off as it occurred to her that this news was probably something she shouldn't share with the Nardinis.
"Luke, how are you?" Anna turned her attention to Luke.
Luke shrugged, embarrassed to be the center of all this attention.
"Hi April," he addressed his daughter, "sorry I had to miss our lunch…"
"You look awful. What's in this?" April asked, fingering one of the IV lines.
"So Miss Nardini, I understand that you are the proprietress of a boutique?" Emily pulled Anna back into conversation with Rory and her, hoping to ease some of the tension in the room.
-----
Lorelai selfishly wanted to be alone with Luke. She didn't begrudge the fact that his daughter was with him, but she had so much to say to him now that he was beginning his recovery. She stayed seated on the bed, holding Luke's hand and still having difficulty taking her eyes away from him, watching him and his daughter, searching his face for evidence that this Luke, the father, was different from her Luke.
She felt partly responsible for his accident, for their argument the day of the accident. That argument seemed so stupid now, she thought. She'd come so close to losing him. She fingered the ring on the chain around her neck.
He was still her Luke.
TBC