2 – We're like Thelma and Louise

"Will you stop fidgeting?" Sookie asked in an annoyed voice.

"Sorry." Lorelai said, and dropped the hem of her shirt that she'd been playing with for the past ten minutes, ever since they sat down in Dr. Stevenson's waiting room. Sookie had, being the best friend that she was, agreed to go with Lorelai to the doctor's appointment. "I'm just a little nervous." Lorelai added, shooting Sookie an insecure smile.

"Oh, sweetie, it'll be OK." Sookie assured her, like she had numerous times over the past couple of days. "You've got me and Jackson, and Rory and the town, you're not alone."

"I know." Lorelai nodded. "I'm not even nervous about that." She admitted. "I think I'm more nervous that maybe it's... not really happening, you know? That the doctor will just take one look and say 'why are you here, you're not pregnant'. Because I've gotten used to this now, and I... I guess I really want it."

"Oh, sweetie, don't think that." Sookie tried to comfort. "I was there, remember? Nine positive tests."

"I know, but they can be wrong, they are sometimes, right?"

"Not nine tests." Sookie insisted. She could see that Lorelai was about to say something else, but at that moment a nurse came into the waiting room.

"Lorelai Gilmore." She called, and both Lorelai and Sookie stood up.

"I'm Lorelai." Lorelai told the nurse, who just nodded in the direction of a door at one end of the waiting room.

"Through there, please." She said, her eyes on the chart in her hand.

"Is it OK if my friend comes with me?" Lorelai asked, and the nurse nodded, leading the way into the examination room.

"You can change behind the curtain." She told Lorelai, indicating a curtain in

the corner and handing her a paper robe before leaving the room.

"Wow, she's not a people person, is she?" Sookie said, and Lorelai shook her head.

"I think she's missed her calling." She said, walking behind the curtain and beginning to take her clothes off. "Now, don't try to peek, I know it might be tempting." She joked, and Sookie laughed a little.

"I'll try to contain myself."

When Lorelai had finished putting the robe on, she pulled the curtain aside and jumped up on the examination table in the middle of the room.

"Think I'll have to put my feet up in those?" She asked Sookie, who didn't have time to answer because at that moment, doctor Stevenson walked into the room.

"Sookie, I didn't know you were coming here." She said, frowning as she looked at the file in her hand.

"Oh, no, I'm just here for moral support." Sookie said, shaking her head. "Nope, no more babies here, no siree."

"Alright." The doctor smiled. "And you must be Lorelai." She shook Lorelai's hand.

"That's me." Lorelai nodded. "And my daughter too, actually, see I named her after me 'cause, you know, guys do it all the time, but we usually call her Rory, so it won't get too complicated, and you really didn't need to know that."

"Not really, no." Doctor Stevenson laughed a little.

"Sorry, a little nervous." Lorelai said with a sheepish smile.

"Well, I'm guessing you've done this before, since you have a daughter?" The doctor asked, and Lorelai nodded.

"It was over twenty years ago, though, so if I get something wrong don't be too hard on me." She said, and the doctor nodded.

"OK, I'm going to take some blood to make sure that you're actually pregnant, and then I'll examine you to see if we can work out a date." Doctor Stevenson said, getting a syringe from a plastic bag. "Now, you've taken a home test, right?"

"Actually, I took nine." Lorelai said, getting a surprised look from the doctor. "Just to be on the safe side."

"OK. Now, this will hurt a little." Doctor Stevenson said as she wiped the bend of Lorelai's arm clean.

"Doesn't it always?" Lorelai joked, and then bit her teeth together as the doctor drew her blood.

"I'll just run this to thelab and be back in a little while." Doctor Stevenson said, and left Lorelai and Sookie alone in the room.

"Ouch." Lorelai said, holding onto the spot on her arm where there was now a bandaid.

"You do know there's going to be a lot more pain involved in this procedure, right?" Sookie asked, and Lorelai raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm only saying."

xxxxx

"Well, you are definitely pregnant." The doctor announced as she walked back into the room ten minutes later.

"Really?" Lorelai asked, a small smile starting to spread on her face.

"I take it that's good news?" The doctor asked, and Lorelai nodded.

"I think so." She said, allowing herself to actually think about it for the first time. She was having a baby. Luke's baby. The thought of Luke efficiently wiped the smile off her face. She had no idea where he was, how was she supposed to tell him?

"OK, so I'd like to calculate an estimated date for when the baby will get here." Doctor Stevenson said, pulling Lorelai out of her thoughts. "Do you know when the first day of your last period was?"

"May eleventh." Lorelai replied without hesitation.

"OK, then your baby should be here around... February fifth." The doctor announced.

"February fifth." Lorelai said to herself. "That's a good date, right?"

"It sure is." Doctor Stevenson agreed. "Now, if you'll lie back for me, I'd like to take a look at how it's going in there."

xxxxx

"So, you'll be back in a month for another check up, and a sonogram, OK?" Doctor Stevenson said a while later, as Lorelai was putting her clothes back on.

"Sure, I'll be here." She said, buttoning her skirt before walking out from behind the curtain.

"OK. And you remember what I told you? No caffeine and try to cut down on the sugar." The doctor instructed.

"I know, I've done this before." Lorelai replied.

"Just making sure." Doctor Stevenson smiled. "So, I'll see you next month."

"See you then." Lorelai agreed, and she and Sookie left the doctor's office.

They got in Sookie's car, and for the entire drive back to the inn, neither of them spoke. But when she pulled into the parking lot of the inn, Sookie turned off the car and faced Lorelai.

"You OK?" She asked, and Lorelai nodded.

"I am." She said, smiling at her friend. "I think I'm actually better than OK, for the first time in a while."

"Good, just making sure." Sookie said, getting out of the car. Lorelai followed her example. They walked up the driveway, and Lorelai noticed Sookie shooting her glances every few seconds.

"What?" She finally asked, stopping on the porch.

"I was just wondering if you were going to call him, now that you know." Sookie said, trying to sound casual but failing miserably. Lorelai sighed.

"I guess I should just get it over with." She said, getting her cell phone out of her purse. "Before I chicken out."

"You do that, honey." Sookie agreed, opening the door to the inn. "And remember, no matter what, I'm here."

"I know." Lorelai said, giving her friend a grateful smile before dialing the familiar number to Luke's cell phone. She waited for the dial tone, but instead there was a mechanical voice telling her that 'the number could not be reached at the moment'. His phone was turned off. Just to make sure, she dialed the number again, with the same result. Maybe the battery was dead... yeah, that was probably it.

OK. She'd just have to try again later.

xxxxx

"The number you have called can not be reached at the moment, please try again later."

Lorelai defeatedly flipped her cell phone closed and slumped down on the couch. It was Friday, and it had been two days since she was at the doctor's. Two days in which she had called Luke's cell phone more times than she could count. And everytime the same voice destroyed a little more of her hope of talking to him. Maybe he'd turned the phone off because he didn't want to talk to her. Maybe he hadn't even brought the phone with him. After all, did anyone use it besides her?

So what was she supposed to do now? She didn't have any way of reaching him.

Feeling the past couple of weeks getting to her, Lorelai laid down on the couch and pulled her knees up to her chest. She had told Sookie that she was tired, and needed to go home. And she was, she was so tired. Looking at her watch, she realized it was only three in the afternoon. She couldn't sleep now, she'd be up all night.

She needed to do something, though, because if she stayed on the couch in this position, she was sure she wouldn't be able to fight off the oh-so-tempting darkness.

Sitting up on the couch, Lorelai looked around the room, trying to find something to occupy her until Rory got home. Her eyes landed on the CD-player. Music, she needed music. She could never sleep when there was music on.

Determined, she stood up and walked over to her extensive CD collection. Looking through the titles, she found a CD that seemed to suite her mood. Taking the disc out of the cover, she popped it into the player and flipped through the songs, stopping on the one she had been looking for. Pressing the repeat button and turning the volume up as much as she could handle, Lorelai sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall behind her. She didn't want to be comfortable right now, she just needed to... she didn't know. As the music filled the room, she pulled her legs up to her chest and leaned her forehead against her knees, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. Paul Anka came over to her and laid down, his head on her feet in a comforting way.

Is this the New Year or just another night?
Is this the new fear or just another fright?
Is this the new tear or just another desperation?

Is this the finger or just another fist?
Is this the kingdom or just a hit n' miss?
A misdirection, most in all this desperation


Is this what they call freedom?
Is this what you call pain?
Is this what they call discontented fame?


It'll be a day like this one
When the world caves in
When the world caves in
When the world caves in


I'm singing this one like a broken piece of glass
From broken arms an' broken noses in the back
Is this the New Year or just another desperation?


You're pushing till you're shoving
You bend until you break
Till you stand on the broken fields where our fathers lay


It'll be a day like this one
When the world caves in
When the world caves in
When the world caves in
When the world caves in
When the world caves in
When the world caves in


There's nothing here worth saving,
Is no one here at all?
Is there any net left that could break our fall?


It'll be a day like this one
When the sky falls down and the hungry and poor and deserted are found
Are you discontented? Have you been pushing hard?
Have you been throwing down this broken house of cards?


It'll be a day like this one
When the world caves in
When the world caves in
When the world caves in


Is there nothing left now?
Nothing left to sing
Are there any left who hasn't kiss the enemy?
Is this the New Year or just another desperation?


Does justice never find you? Do the wicked never lose?
Is there any honest song to sing besides these blues?


And nothing is okay
Till the world caves in
Till the world caves in
Till the world caves in
Till the world caves in
Till the world caves in
Until the world caves in
Until the world caves in
Until the world caves in
Until the world caves in
Until the world caves in
Until the world caves in

As the song started over, Lorelai finally let the tears she'd been holding in since that first phone call fall. She didn't know why she was crying, not really. She was happy about this, about the baby. Sure, it could have happened under better circumstances, but she had done it before, andshe knew she could again. But the difference was, that this time she didn't want to do it alone. She didn't want to be the single mom who got sympathetic looks when she showed up for another doctor's appointment alone. She didn't want the other couples in the lamaze class to look at her with pity in their eyes. She wanted to be able to say "hey, I got someone who wants this just as much as I do, someone who is going to be there when I want weird foods in the middle of the night, or when I can't decide on what color to paint the nursery, or to hold my hand in the delivery room and tell me how great I'm doing". She didn't have that last time, and she hadn't really missed it. But she had always thought, that if against all odds she had another kid, it wouldn't be like this.

Trying to get the thoughts out of her head, Lorelai focused on the music.

Nothing like Switchfoot to cheer you up, she thought sarcastically to herself. But what difference did it make? There was no one there beside Paul Anka, she could allow herself to be weak with nobody watching.

xxxxx

"Mom?" Rory's voice was drowned in the loud music, so she turned it off, causing Lorelai to look up, a surprised look on her tear stained face.

"Rory, hey, when did you get home?" She asked, getting up off the floor and wiping the few tears that were still running down her cheeks away, trying to cover up the fact that she had been crying. Rory had, however, already noticed.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked, a worried frown on her face.

"Nothing, just a little tired." Lorelai tried to lie, but Rory knew her too well.

" 'Just a little tired'? Mom, that was The Blues, that's more than just a little tired." Rory insisted. Rory could count the times her mother had sat alone, listening to that song over and over again on the fingers of one hand, the last one having been just a couple of weeks earlier.

"Yeah." Lorelai now admitted, making her way to the couch where she sat down, pulling her legs up under her body."There is something else."

"Wanna talk about it?" Rory asked, sitting down next to her.

"Not really, but I think I need to." Lorelai said, knowing she had to tell Rory sooner or later, sooner being the best option. She just didn't know what to say, and she was also afraid that Rory wouldn't be happy about the whole thing.

"What is it, mom?" Rory asked when Lorelai had been quiet for a while. "You know you can tell me, right? No matter what it is, I'm here."

"You say that now..." Lorelai started, but Rory cut her off.

"No, always. We're a team, you and me, like Thelma and Louise or Bonnie and Clyde."

"You're comparing us to a couple of criminals?" Lorelai asked, but there was a small smile on her face.

"You get the point." Rory replied. "You can tell me." She repeated, emphasizing every word.

"OK." Lorelai said, taking a deep breath before continuing. "You remember how, when you were little, you'd nag and nag at me every Christmas and birthday about how you wanted a little brother or sister?"

"Yeah..." Rory replied in a wondering tone.

"Well, I know it's a little late, but..."

"You're pregnant?" Rory cut her off, and Lorelai nodded. "This is great!" Rory exclaimed, throwing her arms around her mother.

"Yeah." Lorelai replied in a not too excited voice, and Rory pulled back.

"Wait, are you not happy about this?" She asked. "Is that why you were crying before, you don't want it?"

"No, honey, never. I want this, I really, really do, it's just..." Lorelai didn't finish the sentence, but Rory seemed to understand.

"It's everything with Luke, right? That you two aren't together, him not being here?" It wasn't as much a question as a statement.

"Yeah." Lorelai confirmed. "It's just, I always thought that it'd be different, if I ever decided to have another kid. Not that I'm not happy about the way things turned out last time, it's just... I don't want to do it alone again."

"You're not alone." Rory assured her. "You've got me, and Sookie, and everyone in town, and Grandma and Grandpa..." At the mentioning of her parents, Lorelai let out a sarcastic laugh.

"I'm sure they'll be thrilled." She said, rolling her eyes.

"You don't know, they might surprise you." Rory replied. "And I'm sure Luke'll come back when he finds out."

"Yeah, that's just the thing." Lorelai said, her eyes on the floor.

"You're not going to tell him? Mom, you have to!"

"Of course I'm going to tell him." Lorelai replied. "If I ever get a hold of him."

"What do you mean?" Rory asked, frowning.

"Well, I've called his cell phone so many times over the past couple of days that he could probably have me arrested for stalking." Lorelai joked. "And all I've gotten is that annoying voice, you know, telling you the number can not be reached."

"That's it?" Rory said, staring at her mother. "His cell is turned off, so you just say 'well, whatever'?"

"No, but what else am I supposed to do?" Lorelai wondered. "I'll keep calling him, but I doubt he'll turn the phone on, he doesn't want anything to do with me."

"How do you even manage to get out of bed in the morning?" Rory pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a number. Apparently someone picked up, because she spoke. "Hey, Jess, how's everything?"

"You're calling Jess?" Lorelai whispered, trying to take the phone away from her daughter. Rory just got up and walked into the kitchen, Lorelai following. "You can't tell him!"

"I won't." Rory said, her hand covering the phone, before walking into her room and closing the door behind her. Lorelai pressed her ear against the door to hear what she was saying.

"Sorry, just my mom. So you were saying about the book... really, that's great... are you serious... of course I want to go, wait when is it... no I'm free... he's in London... I'm not lying... do you want me to go with you or not... OK, Saturday at five, I'll be here... listen, I actually have an ulterior motive to calling you... I'm sure your ego will recover... have you heard anything from Luke... no, he left town two weeks ago and we haven't heard from him... oh... no, I just, my mom really needs to talk to him, that's all... you'll tell him to call if you hear from him... oh, what's your mom's number... thanks... so see you Saturday."

Rory opened the door and Lorelai almost fell into the room.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to listen in on private conversations?" Rory asked, walking back into the living room.

"My mother taught me a lot of stuff I've managed to suppress." Lorelai replied happily, following Rory from the kitchen. "So, what'd he say?"

"You heard everything through the door, why are you asking?" Rory grabbed the remote and flopped down on the couch, turning the TV on.

"But I only heard your side of the conversation." Lorelai complained, sitting down next to her daughter. "And what's Saturday?"

"Jess has these tickets to Belle & Sebastian in New York this Saturday, and he asked me to go with him." Rory replied in a casual voice.

"What about Logan?"

"What about Logan? I can go to a concert with an old friend if I want to." Rory shrugged. "I thought you wanted to know what he said?"

"I do, so tell me." Lorelai requested.

"OK, so Jess hasn't heard anything from Luke since he saw him in Philadelphia." Rory said, noticing a shadow running over Lorelai's face at the memory of April's field trip. "He didn't even know that he had left town. But he promised to tell Luke to call you if he heard anything from him, and I got Liz's number." She handed Lorelai a piece of paper.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Lorelai asked, taking the paper and staring at it.

"You are supposed to call her, she might know more than Jess." Rory replied. "Or do you want me to do it?" She picked up the portable phone from the coffee table.

"No, no, I should probably talk to her myself." Lorelai took the phone from Rory.

"Good girl." Rory said, and Lorelai gave her a crooked smile.

"Do I get a cookie?" She joked, getting up and taking the phone with her into the kitchen. She dialed the number and waited, leaning against the counter.

"Hello?"

"Hey, T.J., it's Lorelai, is Liz there?" She said when she heard T.J.'s voice.

"Why?" He asked in a suspicious voice. He probably knew about the break-up.

"Can I just talk to Liz, please?" Lorelai asked.

"Fine." She heard T.J. call for Liz, and then the other woman's voice came over the line.

"Hello?"

"Liz, hi, it's Lorelai." Lorelai said, expecting the same treatment as she had gotten from T.J.

"Oh, hi Lorelai, how are you?" Liz asked in a friendly voice, surprising Lorelai.

"Fine, I guess... wait, you're not mad at me or anything?" Lorelai couldn't keep herself from asking. Liz laughed a little.

"No, and I'm sorry about T.J., he's just very protective of me, and, in extension, my family." She explained. "I know that it wasn't your fault, the break-up, there was just too much going on. I understand."

Lorelai let out a breath that she had been holdingin.

"Thanks, Liz, you don't know how much that means to me." To her annoyance, she could feel tears starting to form in her eyes again, and she angrily wiped them away.

"So, did you just call to chat, or is there something I can do for you?" Liz asked.

"I was actually wondering if you had heard anything from Luke?" Lorelai asked, and she could hear Liz hesitating for a moment. Lorelai realized Luke had probably told Liz not to tell her anything.

"I talked to him last week." Liz finally said.

"Last week? Is he OK? Where is he? Did he say when he's coming back? Did he mention..."

"Whoa, back up a couple of steps there, honey." Liz cut Lorelai off. "We didn't talk for long, he just called to let us know he wasn't dead or anything. Anyway, he sounded OK, you know, not great, but what do you expect? He didn't tell me where he was, and he doesn't know when he'll be back."

Lorelai was quiet for a moment, taking in everything Liz had just told her.

"He said he didn't know when he'd be back?" She then asked, her voice barely holding together.

"I'm sorry, hon." Liz said in a sympathetic voice. She didn't care what had happened between Lorelai and her brother, she still considered the other woman a friend. "I think he just needs some time to... deal with everything, you know? My brother's not the greatest when it comes to handling difficult situations like this."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Lorelai agreed, though she didn't really think so.

"Are you going to be OK?" Liz asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Lorelai told her. "Just... if you talk to him again, could you tell him to call me? I need to talk to him."

"Sure thing." Liz assured her. "You take care now, OK? And call me if you need anything, or just want to talk."

"Thanks Liz."

"Anytime." Liz hung up the phone and Lorelai did the same, sitting down at the kitchen table with the phone still held tightly in her hand. She heard Rory come into the kitchen, but didn't look up.

"So? What did she say?" Rory inquired, sitting down opposite from Lorelai.

"She talked to him last week." Lorelai revealed.

"And? Where is he?"

"He didn't say. All Liz said was that he sounded OK and that he didn't know when he'd be back." Lorelai told her daughter, and they sat in silence for a few minutes before Rory spoke.

"I'll ask Lane to tell him to call you, he has to call the diner eventually." She said, giving her mother an insecure look before continuing. "You know, there is someone else you haven't considered..."

"I've considered it." Lorelai cut her off, knowing who she was talking about. And sure, it made sense. Luke would want April to be able to get in touch with him. "I've considered it, and I just can't. Not now, anyway. I'll just give it a couple of weeks, and if I don't hear from him..."

"You'll call her?" Rory asked, and Lorelai nodded.

"I'll call her." She agreed, secretly hoping she wouldn't need to. She wasn't sure that she could.