After it Fades

Chapter 9: The Prodigal Daughter Returns

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or the characters; they belong to the wonderful creators of Gilmore Girls.

Summary: My version of what happens after the screen fades to black…

A/N: Thank you guys so much for all of your amazing reviews. They really made my day, I'm so glad you liked it.

I lied and said I'd post this on Sunday or Monday- but I woke up early and I just figured I'd post this. So enjoy, and please review!

Lorelai ran into the house, holding as much food as she could carry. She kicked the door closed behind her, because she had no free hands. She dropped her keys on the ground and kicked off her shoes, and then hurried into the kitchen before she dropped any of the food on the ground.

"Rory! Rory!" She called as she went into the kitchen and dropped everything on the kitchen table.

"In here!" She heard Rory's voice call from the bedroom beside the kitchen- her bedroom.

Lorelai opened the door slowly, as if she was afraid to see what was inside the room. When the door was open and she saw what was Rory was doing, she grinned at the sight in front of her. Rory was putting her books on her bookshelves that Luke had made for her. The bookshelf had been a little empty ever since she had left for the Gilmore's mansion, but now it seemed to be overflowing with books.

"I think Luke's going to have to make you a bigger bookshelf." Lorelai commented as she sat on Rory's bed, admiring her daughter.

"This is OK, right?" She asked gesturing at the bookshelf.

"Of course, it is Rory." Lorelai said confidently.

"Luke won't mind?" Rory asked.

"I'm sure he won't." Lorelai said.

"You'll ask him, right?" Rory asked.

"Sure, I'll ask him. But I know he'll be thrilled." Lorelai said.

"It's just to be until I go back to Yale." Rory stated. The statement made goose bumps go up Lorelai's arms. Rory was going back to Yale. She didn't know if she could possibly be any happier. She had Luke, and now she had Rory.

"And when you visit… a lot." Lorelai added.

"Of course." Rory agreed.

"So, I brought supplies." Lorelai said getting up and leading Rory into the kitchen.

Rory smiled and grabbed the Luke's To-Go cup and took a huge sip from it.

"Oh my God… I forgot how amazing this coffee is. I've been having withdrawal pains for months." Rory commented.

Lorelai smiled.

"I got French fries, donuts… the works…" Lorelai said.

"It's so good to be home." Rory told her.

"It's good to have you home." Lorelai said.

Rory smiled and then sat down at the kitchen table. Lorelai sat down across from her.

"So, what have I missed? Tell me everything." Rory said.

"Well… I don't know, where should I start?" Lorelai asked.

"Luke…" Rory said. "You're marrying Luke." Rory said as if Lorelai didn't know.

"I am." Lorelai said with a big smile.

Rory smiled at her mother. She knew she was happy. She was so happy.

"It's really happening, isn't it?" Rory asked, not as if she doubted the marriage… It was more of an observation, a statement.

"It's really happening." Lorelai said.

"Have you set a date?" Rory asked.

"Not yet." Lorelai said.

Rory frowned. "Why not?"

"We- uh just wanted to wait…" Lorelai said, not very comfortable with the conversation.

"Why?"

"I just… I wanted you to be there. I wanted to know you would be there." Lorelai said truthfully.

Rory frowned even more at the comment. "I would have been there."

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know."

"Mom, I would have been there. I would not have missed it for the world."

"I just wanted you to be there through all of it, you know? I wanted you to help me pick out the dress and be my maid of honor… I wanted you be there the night before the wedding, so when I can't sleep I'll have somebody to talk to… I didn't want us to be fighting at our wedding." Lorelai said.

"Well, what about now? You'll set the date now, right?" Rory asked.

Lorelai smiled at the concern she was showing. "Duh." She told her.

Rory smiled. "So… soon?" Rory asked.

"I hope so." Lorelai said.

Rory just stared at her mother. She couldn't help but smile at her like an idiot. "This is so great, Mom. I'm so happy for you." Rory said.

"Thanks."

"No middle-of-the-night, road trips to Harvard this time, alright?" Rory said.

"Not unless Luke is coming with us." Lorelai smiled.

"I'm sure he'd just love the moving flower room." Rory said referring to the B&B they had stayed at.

"Oh yeah, and the bird watching… We all know how much Luke loves bird watching." Lorelai said.

Rory laughed and then started to look around the kitchen, as if she was studying it very carefully.

"So I see you didn't change the kitchen in all of this construction." Rory said.

"Well did you see the napkin holders?" Lorelai asked gesturing towards them.

"Oh… a bigger cow." Rory smiled.

Lorelai smiled. Rory was back.

Lorelai woke up, later that night. She turned over to find herself lying beside Rory on the couch. She glanced over at the clock. It was 2:30 AM. She slowly got up off the couch and climbed the stairs up to the bedroom.

She opened the door expecting to see Luke sleeping there, but the bed was still made and Luke-less.

She frowned and went back downstairs. She looked outside to see if Luke's truck was in the driveway, but it wasn't. She grabbed her jacket and scribbled a note for Rory, then got her keys and left.

She pulled up in front of Luke's, grabbed the spare key and opened the door. She felt her way around the dark diner. When she made her way to the curtain behind the counter, she turned the light on so she could see the stairway. She went up the stairs and opened the door.

The light was still on in the apartment. He had fallen asleep on the couch. Lorelai went over and sat next to him. She ran her fingers through his hair and traced his jaw with her finger.

His eyes fluttered open a few seconds later. He looked up at her and she gave him a warm smile.

His eyes wandered to the clock and he looked to see what time it was.

"What are you doing here? It's late."

"It's early." She corrected him, taking his hand. "Why didn't you come home?" She asked him.

"I figured you and Rory wanted some alone time, to uh catch up. I figured you'd want some time alone with her…" He said. That was lie, a big lie. The truth was, it didn't really have as much to do with Rory as it did with April. He wanted to tell Lorelai. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her everything. He wanted them to tell each other everything, just like he had said before. But, he couldn't tell her. Not tonight. Tonight she was happy. Tonight, Rory was home and he didn't want to ruin that for her.

"Luke, I wanted you to come home." She said with a smile.

He wanted to come home, too. He wanted to hold her and watch her fall asleep. But he couldn't. He couldn't do that, not when he knew he was lying to her- keeping something from her. He'd feel too guilty.

Lorelai saw it in his eyes. Something was wrong, she could tell.

"Hey, you OK?" She asked.

He looked at her. She looked worried and he hated that. He hated making her worry.

"I'm fine." He said putting his hand on her knee and rubbing it a little bit.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yeah." He lied.

She studied him for a minute, and then let out a very small sigh. "I don't believe you." She said.

He opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing…" He said. He hated lying, especially to her.

"Luke." She said sternly, and he knew she wasn't going to buy it. "You can tell me, you can tell me anything." She said.

And that was it, he couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't pretend, he couldn't lie, not anymore.

"Jeez, when I made that whole 'we have to tell each other everything' speech, I didn't think it'd come to haunt me… not like this." He said.

"What?" She asked softly, her eyes suddenly becoming very worried.

"This is so unbelievable." He continued.

"What is? I don't get it." She said.

"I just- I didn't want to ruin your night, that's all. Rory is back and it's supposed to be happy… I didn't want to ruin it." Luke said.

"Luke, what's going on?"

"I wasn't hiding it, I just didn't want to ruin your night." He said.

"OK." Lorelai said. "Just tell me." She said.

He took a deep breath, preparing himself to tell her everything.

"Not tonight." He begged. "Please, just not tonight." He said.

"Luke, you're scaring me." She said.

"Jeez, Lorelai. That's the last thing I wanted to do." He said.

"Are you sick?" She asked.

"No, no I'm not sick." He said.

"I don't get it. What's wrong?" She asked.

He pulled her head onto his shoulder and stroked her hair. He kissed the top of her head.

"Do you still want to marry me?" She asked softly after a minute or two.

He pulled away from her and looked her straight in the eye. This was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn't want her to worry, to doubt him, to doubt them. He didn't want this to be happening. He didn't want any of this. He just wanted things to be OK.

"Of course I still want to marry you." He told her, making sure she understood that.

"Then, what is it?" She asked. "Please Luke, just tell me." She begged him

He took another deep breath.

"This girl came into my diner, and she was wearing this crazy helmet and she wasn't ordering anything and she kept following me around…" He said. "Then, she comes and tells me she needs some of my hair- with the roots and everything… She said she was doing this science fair and she wanted to win this year. She's taking hair from 3 men and trying to figure out which one is her father…" Luke said, waiting for Lorelai's reaction.

He couldn't tell what she was thinking or feeling or anything, she was just sitting there, waiting for her to continue.

"Then, suddenly, the next day I found myself map questing her school." He said.

"You don't have a computer." She said. He sighed, thankful that she said something- even that.

"I used yours." He said, hoping she wouldn't be mad.

"Oh." She said. "OK…" She said, wanting him to keep going.

"So, I went to the school and the science fair was going on, and I just wandered around the room trying to find that girl… I don't even know why I did it." He paused for a moment. "And when I saw her, she was sitting on this stool, in front of a huge poster with pictures of three different men. And my picture was circled…" He paused, again looking for any kind of reaction. But Lorelai was just sitting there, waiting for more.

"She said I was her father and she gave me this long essay that explained the whole thing and I don't even understand it… What is this, Lorelai? How did this even happen? I didn't even know about her… and how do I even know if I'm actually her father. How can I just believe a 12 year olds science report?" He said.

She didn't answer and he looked over at her, watching as her shoulders dropped and she took a few breaths.

"Wow." She said.

"I know- I just." He didn't get to finish.

"Who- who's the mother?" She asked praying to God it wasn't Rachel. It couldn't be Nicole's if the girl was 12, but it could definitely be Rachel's and that scared her.

"You don't know her. Her name is Anna…" Luke said.

Lorelai nodded, biting her lower lip. She wasn't sure what to say, this was definitely the last thing she'd ever expect.

"Does she look like you?" Lorelai asked.

Luke sighed, thankful that Lorelai hadn't run off or gotten angry. He squeezed her hand and wrapped his arm around her.

"Not really." He said.

"What's she like?" Lorelai asked. Ask questions- it was the only thing she knew to do.

"I don't really know… smart, I guess." He said.

"I want to meet her." Lorelai told him, resting her head on his chest.

"You will." He said.

There was a long silence. Luke wanted to know what was going on her head. What was she thinking? He just needed a clue.

"What are you thinking?" He asked.

"I don't know." She answered.

He sighed, and ran his fingers up and down her back.

"Do- do you still want to marry me?" He asked

She nodded, and whispered a "yes."

He pulled her even closer to him, holding her as tightly as he could, and running his fingers through her long, soft hair.

"April 12th?" Lorelai asked.

"What?"

"Do you want to get married April 12th?" She asked, taking her arm and wrapping it around his side.

"OK." He said. "April 12th." He sighed. Lorelai knew everything and she still wanted to get married. It's not as if he expected her to bolt- he just wasn't sure, she hadn't been sure about any of it. He wasn't sure if April was his real daughter or how that entire situation would play out, but he was marrying Lorelai. That- he was sure of.

Lorelai smiled. She had Rory, and she had Luke. Things were complicated now. They always got complicated. But it was going to work- she was going to make sure it worked.

How was it? Not my best, I know… but it was hard to write. I thought about making Lorelai really sad or cry or whatever, but they don't even know if he's actually April's father, so this is how I did it… Plus, it's 3:30 in the morning and they are tired. Lol. I don't know.

The eppy was good- weird, but good. I knew about the daughter thing all along, but she wasn't quite how I imagined. The way she acted towards Luke, I'm thinking that she doesn't really get how huge this is… Maybe she doesn't really need him in her life or something, or doesn't really think he'll be in her life… I don't really know what I'm talking about so sorry if this doesn't make sense… The whole Christopher fight was funny with Sookie and Jackson, and the Desperate Housewives comment was hilarious. Bedroom set disgusting… Umm soo happy that Rory is home, finally! Yeah, so I can't wait until next week… and I can't wait to see how this whole daughter things plays out, and also the whole Chris being rich thing.

So anyway, please review?