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Chapter 9

It was a cold wintry Sunday in Stars Hollow. Luke was working at the diner. He had hardly seen Lorelai all weekend because she was working hard at the inn as they were holding an event there during the week. Luke was getting worried that she was overworking as she would often come home exhausted and go straight to bed. He was sort of relieved when the bells jingled above the door and Lorelai came in. "Hey!" She said rushing over to the counter. "Just a coffee to go please hon."

"Lorelai, have you eaten today?" Luke asked.

Lorelai hesitated. "I will. I just need to rush back for this meeting. I'll eat afterwards."

"Lorelai, it's already 3. You need to eat. I'm making you a burger." Luke said.

"I don't have time." Lorelai said.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. It's cold out. You need to eat." He said.

"God Luke, I'll come back after the meeting if you're that bothered! Now just give me that damn coffee!" She said irritated.

Luke sighed. "Fine." He said handing her the coffee.

"Thanks." She said and rushed out.

Rory and Jess were out keeping Alice occupied. They were on their way to the diner to get some food.

"Have you noticed anything different about mom and Luke?" Jess asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Rory asked.

"It's just they hardly spend any time together anymore. Mom always comes home late and then goes straight to bed and I keep hearing them arguing. Luke thinks she's working too hard." Jess said.

"Well she does have that event on this week at the inn. She wants it to go well." Rory said.

"Yeh I know. It's just I think she's been skipping meals which you know is not like her." Jess said.

Rory frowned. "Yeh that's true."

They walked beside the window of the diner and glanced in as they saw raised voices and saw Luke and Lorelai arguing again. "See." Jess said.

Lorelai then came rushing out.

"Hi mom!" Rory said. "You staying for some food? We're just heading in there now."

"Haven't got any time. Will get some later. I'll see you all then." Lorelai said rushing off.

"Ok, that was weird." Rory agreed.

They were about to head into the diner when they heard a commotion behind them. They looked and saw a couple of people standing over someone looking concerned. Rory's eyes widened when she realised who it was. "Mom!" She shouted.

"Why is mommy lying on the floor?" Alice asked quietly.

Rory looked at Alice's worried face. "She's going to be ok. Go and get daddy ok? Tell him to come to Dooses'. Tell him it's mommy, ok?" She said.

Alice nodded and ran into the diner. Rory and Jess then ran over to the group.

"Mom!" Rory exclaimed, racing to Lorelai's side.

Lorelai was just coming to. "Rory?" She said.

"What happened?" Rory asked.

"I..I don't know." Lorelai said confused. "I think I fainted or collapsed or something."

"You should go and get checked out." Jess said.

"No I'm fine. I just need a minute." Lorelai waved off his suggestion.

"No you need to go checked out." Jess said. "Please mom!"

"Lorelai!" Luke exclaimed running down the road towards her with Alice. "What happened?" He asked.

"She fainted." Jess said. "We need to get her checked out."

"I'm fine." Lorelai insisted.

"You're not fine!" Rory exclaimed. "Mom this isn't you! You don't skip meals, you don't work all hours and you never faint. You need to get checked out. Please!" She pleaded.

Lorelai looked at their worried faces and sighed. "Ok. But I swear I'm fine."

"Then they will say that. Come on." Luke said helping her up slowly. He looked at Jess and Rory. "You two watch Alice, ok? Call Sookie and tell her what's happened and that Lorelai's not coming back in today and then come meet us at the hospital." He said.

They nodded and helped him get Lorelai to the car. They then headed to the inn and explained to Sookie what had happened and she assured them that the inn was covered and to tell Lorelai she hoped she was feeling better. They then found the jeep and Jess drove off to the hospital.

Meanwhile, the drive to the hospital in the truck was quiet. Lorelai glanced over at Luke. "I'm sorry." She said quietly.

Luke looked over at her and his face softened. "It's not your fault. We're just worried about you. We want to make sure you're ok."

"I don't know what's happening." Lorelai admitted. "I get tired so much easier now. I used to be able to do long shifts and I'd be fine."

"I think you just need some rest. You've been working really hard recently." Luke said.

"What if something's wrong?" Lorelai asked quietly. "What if I'm ill or something? I mean I don't feel it but Rory's right. I've never fainted once in my life before."

"The doctors will know what to do. Let's wait to see what they say before you start to worry ok?" Luke said.

Lorelai nodded.

They got to the hospital pretty quickly and Luke explained the situation to one of the nurses who took Lorelai into a room to check her out. Luke sat outside in the waiting and put his head in his hands. He hated hospitals. He stayed like that for a few minutes when he heard Alice's voice.

"Daddy!" She called.

He looked up to see her running down the corridor towards him with Rory and Jess following behind. He smiled and pulled Alice up onto his lap.

"Is mommy going to die?" Alice asked quietly.

"No sweetheart. She's just not feeling too well at the moment. The doctors will be able to make her feel better." Luke assured her.

Rory and Jess walked up to him. "Are they checking her over?" Jess asked.

Luke nodded. "They said to wait out here while they do some tests."

Jess nodded. He saw Rory sit down on one of the seats not saying anything. He went and sat next to her. "She'll be ok." He assured her.

"This isn't like her." Rory said. "I can't believe I didn't notice something was wrong. What sort of daughter am I?"

"Hey, don't say that." Jess said putting him arm round her. "She hid it well. I only noticed the last day or so." He said.

Rory sighed. "She will be ok, though, won't she?" She asked.

"Of course. She's the toughest person I know." He smiled.

Rory smiled back. "Thanks Jess." She said quietly, leaning her head on her shoulder.

After about half an hour, the doctor came out. "Family of Mrs Danes?" He asked.

They all nodded and stood up. "Is she ok?" Luke asked.

"She has a low blood sugar level but she should be able to maintain that once she's had a good meal. She's admitted she's not being eating much recently." He said.

Luke nodded. "So is that why she fainted? She's been working long shifts. Is is because she's tired and stressed?"

"That's part of it, yes, but there is something else we found out." The doctor said.

"What?" Luke said, his heart sinking.

"Your wife's pregnant." He smiled.

"What?" Luke said stunned. He looked at Rory and Jess who looked just as shocked.

"We've done blood tests and it's been confirmed. Congratulations." He said.

Luke was speechless. "I didn't even think about that..." He said.

"Your wife's right through there. You can go and see her now." The doctor smiled. "The baby's healthy. Your wife does need to take it easy though."

Luke nodded. "Thanks." He said. He looked over at the kids.

"You go first. We'll come in a bit." Rory said.

"You sure?" Luke asked.

"Go see mom." Rory smiled. "Congratulations daddy."

Luke finally smiled. "Thanks."

Luke was sat next to Lorelai. "Did you know?" He asked.

Lorelai shook her head. "I mean I was a couple of days late but I didn't think much of it. I'm not the most regular person." She said. "I can't believe I'm pregnant. It explains so much. The tiredness, my mood..." She said.

"Yeh.." Luke said.

"We didn't plan this." Lorelai said cautiously. "I mean, I know we talked about having another one but we didn't say when. What do you think? Are we ready?" She said worried.

Luke took hold of her hand. "There's never a plan for this. We agreed we both wanted another. It's just come a bit sooner than we thought. But think about Alice. We didn't plan her and she's amazing." He smiled.

"You're not freaking out?" Lorelai asked quietly.

Luke smiled. "Why would I? I'm going to be a dad again."

Lorelai gave him a small smile. "Yeh.."

"You need to take it easy though." He said. "The doctor said you need to. If not for me, do it for the baby. You need to stay healthy. I'm not saying you have to stop at the inn altogether but please promise me you'll take it easy. Stop doing these long shifts ok?"

Lorelai nodded. "Ok." She said quietly.

Luke let out a relieved breath. "Thank you." He said softly.

Lorelai finally smiled a genuine smile. "We're having a baby."

"We're having a baby." He smiled and leaned over to kiss her.

So a bit of a twist there? Did you see that coming? ;) Please review and let me know what you think. I love reading your comments! Thanks! :)