A/N: I actually dislocated my finger writing this chapter. I wish I was kidding. Writing fanfic sent me to hospital, and now two of my fingers are taped together. I'm such a dork. :)

This will probably be the last update for a while (hence the fact it's bumper-sized), at least until my Big. Fat. Exams. are out the way. Getting into University beats writing this.

This one is for Scazydramaqueen282, for guessing it first. ;)

Part IV:

When Lorelai left the house next morning, she was almost blinded by the sun reflected in her car windows. When on earth did it get so damn bright?

She checked her phone, which happily told her she had ten minutes to get her ass to the Dragonfly before the guy looking for their infestation arrived and she was officially late. Leaving it to Michel was definitely a bad idea. He wasn't fond of workmen or anyone in manual labour, really. It was better not to leave this one to chance.

"Mornin', Sugar!" Babette's husky timbre cut through her thoughts like a knife. "Ain't it just gorgeous out here?"

She was lounging on a deckchair in the morning sun in the front garden as if it were a beach in the Bahamas. It wasn't as if it were that warm, the sun had barely burned away the morning dew. Lorelai took in the whole picture, a little surprised. Babette in fluorescent pink shorts wasn't a sight she was used to this early in the morning.

"The hills are alive," Lorelai responded, shading her eyes with her hand to get a better look. Morey was standing on a second chair, busily hanging brightly coloured eggs on already heavily laden branches. For once his sunglasses were actually coming in useful, rather than just being a fashion accessory.

Yup, it was definitely Easter alright. So far the most she and Rory had done in celebration was a bout of egg decoration last night, and they had put some blossom covered branches from a tree in the town centre into a vase on the kitchen table.

The organisation at the inn was fortunately a little further ahead, and she had the egg hunt for the youngsters all planned out for tomorrow. Sadly she still had yet to persuade Michel to wear Easter bunny ears. She intended to continue work on that one later, possibly just to see how many different colours of purple she could make his face go.

"Spring is a-springin'. I love this time of year, all that new life bustin' out all over. Easter is like, that time. Andrew said a whole load of his chicks are popping out at the moment, I'm heading over later to see 'em." She seemed to have entirely missed Lorelai's discomfort over the whole discussion. It was hitting just a little too close to home.

"We're just getting everything set up," Babette waved a hand at Morey, still standing on the other chair, now apparently waiting for his next instructions.

"This is where your supermodel height must be so handy. Morey, move that red one a little to the left will ya!" Morey obediently searched and relocated the egg in question. "I just can't quite reach, not that I object to this job mind you."

"Looks like a good deal to me," Lorelai pulled open her car door nodding in Babette's direction, and dumping her bag into the passenger seat. Being sociable just wasn't working for her the last couple of days.

"Tell me about it, see ya later toots." Babette went straight back to her directing with barely a pause. "That thin branch next to the one with the orange is lookin' a bit bare sweets, maybe a blue one?"

Lorelai's head was doing that same whizzing round in circles thing it had been doing last night, and it wasn't a feeling she liked very much. It just ended up making her feel oddly disorientated.

Denial's not just a river in Egypt, wasn't that the phrase.

III

Lorelai marched into the kitchen at the inn when she arrived, the exterminator completely forgotten. Grabbing a mystified Sookie by the elbow, she dragged her out the back door of the kitchen. Their actions followed in amazed fascination by the five or so confused kitchen staff.

"Hey," Sookie protested as she was pulled bodily out the door. "My hot cross buns will be cinders," she started, pointing backwards as they moved.

Lorelai didn't even wait until they were outside to start talking. She'd had the whole drive there to come up with something good to say, and that still didn't seem to have helped her coherency. "I mean it could be nothing, but first my mother with the glowing, then Babette with her spring is springing new life, growing things and eggs a popping all over the place," she paused to take a breath, letting go of Sookie's arm and pacing between the table and the porch rail, "and my mother never says that sort of thing."

"I thought Babette said that?" Sookie queried, completely unnoticed by Lorelai who was still rambling. She hadn't seen Lorelai this awkward in a very long time.

"The world is telling me something. In fact, it's downright screaming it in my ear." She jabbed at the side of her head with a finger in frustration. The whole situation had done nothing but give her a headache so far.

"Uh," Sookie nodded, not really sure what she should be saying at this point, "okay?"

Today was really not going her way, and she had to share at some point, now seemed as good time as any. Lorelai did a quick scan for anyone hanging around before announcing, "I'm late," to an utterly bewildered Sookie.

Sookie waved a hand at her dismissively, "pfft. Of course you aren't, stop worrying."

"No, I'm late," She kept her voice lowered, folded her arms across her body and leaned back against the banister behind her.

"No, honey, it's Saturday, and eight fifty-five. We don't open for breakfast for a good five minutes." Sookie grinned reassuringly and made as if to go back into the kitchen. Lorelai could be a little neurotic at times, she was used to it by now.

She unfolded her arms, biting her lip. "Okay, Sookie, you really aren't getting this. I'm not late, I'm late. Over two weeks late."

It took a good three seconds for the words to make it through her brain and coalesce into something that made sense. "Oh, oh!" She gasped and let out an overexcited squeal launching herself at Lorelai and almost squeezing the breath out of her friend.

"Sookie, Honey. I'd like to escape with all my ribs in tact thanks," Lorelai wheezed out.

"Oh, right, sorry." Sookie released her apologetically. Once she'd let go Lorelai managed to take a step away to get her breath back. "I'm so happy for you! How long have you known? This is so exciting. Did you tell Luke? What did he say?"

Lorelai sighed rubbing the bridge of her nose distractedly with her fingers. Sookie's jaw dropped, "it is Luke's, right?"

Lorelai took her hand away from her face and stared, rather offended. "Why is it every time I get pregnant, or even think there is the slightest chance I might be pregnant, people ask me if it's my partner's? Do I have Hobag stamped on my forehead or something?" she waved wildly at herself.

"No. No, honey," Sookie looked alarmed. "It's just you don't seem happy, this is normally a happy thing."

"I will be happy, once I stop panicking. Then my brain will slow down enough to be happy." She resumed her pacing, "It might not be anything, but if it is, this is big, very, very big, and I am not… good with big."

"You two want this though, right?" Sookie put the tea towel she had been holding down on a bench.

"I know, I know, it's stupid. We've talked about having kids. We've discussed the whole idea before, with a positive outcome I should add." She paced back and forth across the veranda tensely.

"Then… this is good?" Sookie questioned, tipping her head.

Lorelai pulled a face, "but, that was before--" she waved her arms in apparent explanation, "before." It was a good thing Sookie was fluent in her frantic sign language.

"Ah, April?" comprehension dawned. Luke's daughter had become something of a sore point as far as Lorelai was concerned. It wasn't surprising, really. He'd hidden her presence from her for so long, and now with his compartmentalisation. Lorelai did the separate worlds thing with her parents, but when Luke did it to her with April it was completely different. They were close, and the instant separation hurt her.

Lorelai nodded once, and resumed her pacing. "I have no idea what her impact is on the whole situation. It's not like I've even met the girl for more than a couple of seconds, and I haven't even thought to bring it up with Luke since. I didn't think I'd need to. Not yet anyway."

Shaking her head Sookie, waved her back into the kitchen, and went to dig her buns out of the oven. "I don't think that's going to make him any less receptive to this kind of news. It doesn't change how he feels about you one iota."

Lorelai followed her, eyeing one of the kitchen staff carefully. He made a quick exit, deciding that remaining was probably not a good choice. She didn't appear to hear Sookie's encouragement, or if she had she didn't show it. "Also, I have the perfect wedding dress that is really not going to be perfect soon, as it might not fit in a couple of months." She ran her hands over her abdomen experimentally, as if trying to picture it.

"I did calculations, this means what I think it means... I'm six weeks pregnant already. Six." Lorelai was looking freaked again.

"Yeah," Sookie nodded a quiet smile on her face. Just because Lorelai was still panicking, didn't mean she couldn't be happy for her already. She had a funny feeling the whole thing would work out. They'd got this far after all. She picked up a knife and started to slice a carrot. It was a good job she could multitask. Friend counselling and cooking went together surprisingly easily.

Lorelai took a deep breath. "December. Test." Pausing she added, "Talk to Luke."

Sookie nodded again, "not necessarily in that order, and preferably, before you completely lose that ability to speak in full sentences that you love so much."

She started to make her way back to the front desk. "I can't," Lorelai spun back to Sookie.

"What?" Sookie stopped dicing and jerked her head back up to look at her friend. "Why not?"

Lorelai frowned, "because in this town, I take a test and the news is going to get to Luke before I do. That would be bad." Her mind had already been over the whole situation, and she was surprised the thought hadn't come to mind before, it was one of the first things she had thought of the last time.

Much as she loved living in Stars Hollow, she really didn't want the entire town finding out yet, especially not before she'd hashed the whole thing out with Luke. She rubbed her fingers together, and tried to think of a worse scenario than that. He was a pretty private person, and would almost certainly not be happy about finding out that she was pregnant through the town gossips rather than her.

"I managed. Twice," Sookie pointed out. "Although, having said that, I have you and Norman Mailer so..." She shrugged. "If you're that bothered go to Woodbridge, or Hartford even."

There was a long pause, and when it became obvious Lorelai wasn't going to respond, Sookie continued. "Well, what are you standing there staring at me for? Go." She twirled a hand in the direction of the door, and waited for her instructions to be followed.

III

Lorelai carefully checked the road for traffic, gripping a football sized parcel tightly to her stomach. Rory was swinging her own, far less conspicuous plastic bag by her side.

She hadn't entirely understood her mom's sudden desire to coat the egg in several layers of tissue paper, tape and cotton wool, but considering her mood the last day or so she just left her to it. If Lorelai wanted to be eccentric and overprotective about inanimate objects who was she to stop her?

Rory snorted in amusement as she watched her rub the tape more firmly onto the ball-shaped object. "I can't believe you spent half an hour wrapping that thing up. You realise that it's going to take you a good fifteen minutes to get it back out again?" She glanced back at Lorelai, who was now tucking some tissue paper closer around the package in her arms. "Possibly longer if you don't have a pair of scissors."

"It's worth it. This baby," she said, patting the package, "is my most precious possession right now. It's going to win me Best Dressed Egg, and if it doesn't Taylor better find himself a bodyguard, sharpish."

Rory shook her head wearily. "You are way too competitive."

"It's a competition, what good is it if you're not competitive?" Using one arm to hold the parcel to her stomach she started fishing in her purse for something

"What are you doing?"

She continued to poke around in her bag, "looking for my phone."

"You want me to hold the Holy Grail there?" Rory reached out to take the egg-package, only to have Lorelai move it very quickly out of reach.

"No way, I entrust Alfie to no one." Lorelai patted it protectively tucking it under the opposite arm.

"You're a special kind of weird," Rory stated. She backed off again, leaving her mom to deal with it on her own.

"I know." She pulled a face, but also seemed almost proud. "Aha, got it." She waved the offending item at Rory before dropping it back into her bag.

"Was there a point to that exercise?"

"Of course," Lorelai said. "Sookie said she'd call once she was done with lunch at The Dragonfly. Wanted to make sure I wasn't going to need psychic powers to find out what time she'd be here."

"Could you have waited the two minutes to Luke's?"

"That would mean I'd be twenty feet further from home." Lorelai seemed scandalised at the very idea.

"It's a wonder I turned out as normal I did," Rory shook her head in good humoured despair.

"You keep telling yourself that," Lorelai muttered, cradling her egg between her hands.

The bell over the door jangled, announcing their entrance. Lane wandered over, a steaming jug of coffee in her hand, she looked pretty cheerful. "Afternoon, you want coffee?"

"Ah, you have to ask?" Lorelai said in mock amazement.

Lane grinned, filling two large mugs. "It's always a good idea to check, just in case you've been brainwashed overnight."

"Tip number one for working out when mind altering aliens have visited the Gilmore household."

Once both cups were filled to the brim she motioned at the package on the table. "You transition into making brightly coloured parcel bombs?"

"That is Mom's egg." Rory explained, smiling as if to say 'oh yeah, seriously'.

"Wow, did it come out of an ostrich, or do you really like scotch tape."

"She named it Alfie." Rory nodded, trying to hide her smirk, "apparently Alfie is an egghead name. I wouldn't know."

"Alfie is a great name, and it's just well protected, that's all." Lorelai said in defence.

"She used up an entire pack of cotton balls on that," Rory supplied.

Lane's eyes widened, but she decided not to comment. "Okay, anything else?"

"It was not a whole pack, and can we get a couple of donuts and two burgers?"

"Coming right up," Lane responded spinning on her heels and heading back to the counter.

Lorelai leaned back in her seat surreptitiously, trying to get a look into the storeroom without it being too obvious what she was doing. She wasn't really very good at subtle.

"I don't think he's here." Rory informed her, leaning into the table.

"Huh?" Lorelai hurriedly turned back to her table companion. Her mind had been entirely elsewhere, and Rory knew it.

She smirked, "Luke. I don't think he's here."

Frowning, Lorelai took one last lingering look around the diner and gave up. She didn't say anything, and drank some of her coffee instead. She had a momentary thought that she probably shouldn't be drinking it, but it was fleeting. It was coffee, and she was Lorelai, one simply did not go without the other.

Taking in her distraction, Rory tried to drag her back into conversation. "You have a tactic in mind for winning this afternoon?"

"Yup," Lorelai nodded, "I'm just gonna roll it."

"I don't think anyone else is going to have that idea," Rory deadpanned. Squeezing conversation out of her, was like blood out of a stone, and so suddenly too. She'd been rambling like crazy when they'd left the house. Yet the moment they'd sat down she'd clammed up for no apparent reason.

Lorelai didn't appear to notice her sarcasm, and nodded again, not really paying any attention.

Lane returned with the donuts a couple of moments later. Lorelai looked up from the table as the plate was pushed under her nose. "Hey Lane, where's Luke?" she asked, waving a finger in the direction of the counter as she spoke.

"Errand, I think." She shrugged, "I'd have thought you were more likely to know what he does when he's not here than I am."

She sighed, and tried to look cheerful. "Yeah, well."

Lane tried to look reassuring, "he should be back pretty soon."

When the bell jingled she turned quickly to see if he was back and instead watched a heavily pregnant blonde and a man she assumed must be her husband walk in. Lorelai decided enough was enough. It was obvious that today was just out to get her, and she wasn't having any of it.

"Yeah, no. I'm… I'm going to go. I'll uh, see you at the big event." She grabbed her parcel and the donut, and patted Rory's shoulder as she left.

Rory watched her go, a little bothered by her sudden exit. She really wasn't herself at the moment.

"Is she okay?" Lane asked, watching the back of Lorelai's head as she retreated down the street.

"Uh, I think she will be. She's having one of those days, or weeks. It'll sort itself out. In the meantime, mood swings, oh boy."

Lane looked apologetic, "I think I touched a nerve."

Rory shook her head, "it's not just you."

"Oh, by the way, your outfit is on order for the wedding. It's a traditional horror of a bridesmaid dress. I hope you're prepared."

"I thought you said you'd work on that," Rory did not look happy at the idea of a Mrs Kim selected wedding outfit. The last possibility they'd looked at was horrendous, had felt like someone had laced her into a straight jacket.

"Yeah, I tried and failed. It's about as unattractive as they come."

Rory shrugged, "well, the thought was there, and it's difficult to argue with Mrs Kim. You work out where it's happening yet?"

"No, but every pastor within a ten mile radius is now scared of taking us on."

"Uh-oh," Rory frowned, it seemed like wedding preparations were going about as well as could be expected under the circumstances.

Lane nodded in confirmation at the look on Rory's face. "My mother is in her element," Lane explained. "Rating different churches and pastors is a fun pastime for her. I think she ranks them in her sleep." She rolled her eyes, "any normal person just counts sheep."

"Did she actually leave you any organisation to do?"

"I have to pick a 'suitable' dress for myself, and that's it. Although actually, that is surprisingly not as easy as you'd imagine. I'll be going to my wedding looking like a nun if she has her way."

Rory pulled a face. "Oh, that's not flattering."

"Apparently, a wimple covers all manner of things. Like my hair, and bare neck, and any other body parts that my grandmother would consider provocative and therefore, bad."

"Grandma Kim is coming to your wedding?" Rory looked amazed. She'd been hearing stories of Lane's grandmother for years, but she'd never turned up in Stars Hollow. That could make for an interesting day.

"Oh yes. The entire Kim clan is invading. The streets will be unsafe for smokers, loud people, anyone with pierced ears, wearing a knee length skirt, or eating chocolate, for at least three days."

"Chocolate?" she queried, not liking the idea of one of her food staples under scrutiny by the Kims'.

"—is of Satan," Lane finished, her tone very matter of fact. "They really frown on extravagance."

"Okay, that is now officially off my gift list."

Lane nodded once, "that's probably wise. Okay, enough talk of my family. Your life is probably infinitely more exciting. Your week's high point was?"

"Jess turned up at Yale." Rory supplied, taking a sip of her coffee in an attempt to disguise her response.

"Again?" Lane's jaw dropped and Rory suppressed her smirk at the comedic value of her expression.

She nodded, "I'm not quite sure how I feel about that yet." It was the truth, she'd seen him in Philadelphia, but that had been so brief and she was still processing the whole thing. It had been a week since that, and she was still processing. So what if she liked to take her time over this kind of thing.

"Well, you're not with Logan… right?" Lane sat down on the chair that Lorelai had vacated, this was going to be one of those important conversations, one that you can't have standing up.

"Right," Rory paused considering what Lane was getting at. "No."

"No, what?" She shrugged, with that blameless look that is so very in at the moment.

"No, to what you're suggesting." Rory pointed a finger accusingly at her friend, and Lane raised her hands in another show of innocence.

"I'm not suggesting anything, just subtly reminding you of your situation." Lane knew exactly what she was hinting, but she was hardly about to reveal that to Rory right now.

"I am not getting back with Jess." She nodded, in a show of finality and looked back down at her coffee. She spoke with far more conviction than she felt.

"Never said you were." There was a long pause while Rory said nothing, and Lane waited for her to elaborate. "So… why did he come?" She kept prodding. Rory had to let something slip eventually.

She took a deep breath. "Don't know, don't care."

"You care." Lane stated, the look on Rory's face told her she was almost certainly right. "You're going to have to talk to him eventually, and the sooner you do, the better you'll feel about the whole thing."

Rory stayed silent, there was something annoying niggling in her head, that told her Lane was probably right. She didn't really like that idea. It meant she was going to have to bite the bullet and talk to him. Putting her feelings into coherent sentences really wasn't her strong point.

Rory sighed, "You're right. I hate that you're right, but you are."

"It's a newfound talent," Lane deadpanned.

Rory grinned hopefully, "—you feel like sharing it with me?" It was a talent she really could do with right about now, and was annoyingly absent from her repertoire.

She smirked back, "and lose my custom? No way."

The diner was almost empty by the time Luke returned. He looked a little surprised at the complete lack of people. The only occupants were Lane and Rory, still chatting at a table by the door, and Caesar in the kitchen.

"Egg rolling lull," Lane said, by way of explanation. The diner would normally be packed at this time of day. It was right at the end of the lunchtime rush.

"Oh, right." Luke seemed utterly bewildered by the idea that people would voluntarily waste their time decorating eggs, only to roll them down a hill and probably break most of them anyway. It seemed completely pointless to him. Then again, in Stars Hollow pointless and somewhat inane, was often the name of the game.

"Mom went looking for you," Rory added. "Did you see her?"

"Uh, no… She wasn't still on that egg rolling kick was she?" He was obviously still thinking about the man-egg discussion of the night before, and the very real possibility of getting dragged into another crazy town event.

Rory chuckled knowledgably at the look on his face, "I think you're safe on that count."

"Well, if you see her again, tell her I'm here all afternoon." He nodded at Lane, "go roll eggs. Just because I don't want to waste my time pushing breakfast food down a hill doesn't mean you can't."

"You sure?"

He nodded, and waved a hand dismissively at her thanks. Internally he was labelling them all completely insane, even if he didn't say it.