Lorelai sat in her usual spot at the counter, sipping on her coffee and bugging Luke. They had built a routine in the months since the diner opened. She came in every time she was around to pick up Rory, drank her coffee, and bantered with the cranky owner. It was an unusually busy day, but Luke still made time between delivering plates to tables and barking at his chef to berate Lorelai for drinking too much caffeine.
"You bounce off the walls already, you don't need any more," Luke said as he poured her a second cup.
"How do you think I got this chipper demeanor?" Lorelai said. "It certainly wasn't genetic, no sir, it was cultivated carefully."
"One of these days your heart is going to stop altogether and I'm gonna be there to tell you I told you so," Luke said, shoving his order pad in his waistband and crossing his arms.
"Watch it, Burger Boy," Lorelai said, pointing her finger at him. "And if you've got time to criticize my coffee intake, you have time to get me a donut."
Luke handed her the pastry, leaning up against the back counter despite the rush of the diner. He watched her tear into it like she hadn't eaten in days which he knew wasn't true seeing as she had devoured a plate of fries not ten minutes before. Luke shook his head, adjusting his hat so he wouldn't look like he was just staring at her. He forced the thoughts he was having about how bright her eyes were from his mind.
"Isn't Rory's birthday coming up soon?" Luke asked, his back to Lorelai.
"Yeah, the eighth," Lorelai said.
"She likes stuffed animals, right?"
"What?" Lorelai laughed.
"You know, if I got her a bear or something, would she like it?" Luke asked. "I mean, what three year old doesn't like stuffed animals?"
"I can't imagine you buying a stuffed animal," Lorelai said.
"I've bought stuffed animals before. My nephew loves penguins, I got him a penguin," Luke defended, turning back to face her. "That wasn't my point."
"Yes, she likes stuffed animals," Lorelai said. "You don't have to get her anything, though, Luke."
"'Course I do, it's her birthday," Luke said. Lorelai's eyes met his, a soft, genuine smile replacing the smug grin she got while mocking him, sending his heart into overdrive for a few seconds before the phone rang, interrupting the moment.
Luke cleared his throat, grabbing up some empty plates. He picked up the phone roughly, cradling it between his ear and his shoulder as he scraped the leftover food into the waste bins. "Luke's Diner, whatcha want?"
"Oh yes, very professional," Lorelai said. Luke waved her off.
"Luke, it's Wendy from the Inn, is Lorelai there?" the voice on the other end said shakily.
Luke handed the phone to Lorelai without another word. He busied himself with wiping the counters as she listened to Wendy.
"Oh my god," Lorelai said, her hand going to her mouth. "Is she alright?"
That got Luke's full attention. "Is who alright?" He asked, only to get waved off by Lorelai.
"Yeah, I have the van, I'll be there in thirty," Lorelai said, handing the phone back to Luke. She picked up her purse and keys shakily, tears starting to form in her eyes. "Mia fell, she's in the hospital."
"Jesus, is she alright?" Luke asked.
"She's unconscious right now, I need to go to Hartford," Lorelai was nearly out the door when she turned back, cursing under her breath. "I need to pick up Rory. I don't want her at the hospital, she'd be terrified."
"Go, I'll pick her up," Luke said without a pause. "I'll keep her here until you get back."
"Are you sure?"
"I said go, Lorelai."
Lorelai pulled into the hospital parking lot, her heart beating out of her chest. She had never liked hospitals, but she had to go in. Since she had arrived at the inn, Mia had acted as a mother to her.
Lorelai burst through the doors of the hospital, rushing to the desk. "I'm looking for Mia Bass, she fell down the stairs and was brought in on an ambulance."
"One moment, I'll find where she's at," the kindly nurse said, getting up from the desk and walking off. Lorelai nodded to no one in particular and slumped into the first chair she saw. She rested her head in her hands, trying not to worry out of her mind.
"Lorelai Victoria Gilmore," Lorelai's stomach churned as she heard an all too familiar shrill voice.
"This day just keeps getting better," Lorelai sighed. She refused to look up, hoping her mother would pass on by thinking she got the wrong girl.
"Lorelai, what are you doing here?" Her mother asked, now standing directly in front of her.
"Oh hi, Mom," Lorelai said with the most sarcastic smile she could muster. "I heard the coffee here was great, thought I'd check it out."
"That's not funny," Emily said, her hands on her hips.
"Of course it's not," Lorelai said. "I'm at a hospital, do you think I want to be here?"
"Then why are you?" Emily asked. "Is Rory hurt?"
"Rory's fine-,"
"Then where is she?" Emily demanded.
"I didn't want to bring her here," Lorelai said. "My friend picked her up from preschool."
"Why didn't you pick her up?"
"Why do you think, Ma?" Lorelai asked, gesturing around her at the waiting room. "I don't need to explain to you what I do with my daughter."
"I am still your mother, Lorelai," Emily chided.
"Yeah and?" Lorelai said. "I haven't taken a dime from you since I left and I'm eighteen. You don't get a say. What are you even doing here?"
"Your father and I had a meeting with the director of the hospital, you know we donate here." Emily answered. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she studied Lorelai. "That's what you wear in public now?"
Lorelai looked briefly at her outfit. Of course her mother would say something; Emily has forced her into pressed skirts and heels for as long as Lorelai could remember so as soon as she got control of her life, Lorelai wore the exact opposite. Today's choice was a pair of ripped up jeans, Doc Martens she had obtained at the thrift store, a Sonic Youth t shirt cut into a crop top, and a flannel several sizes too big that, if she recalled correctly, she had borrowed from Luke a few weeks ago on a particularly chilly afternoon and had never returned.
"Obviously not," Lorelai said. "Normally I've got my nipple tassels."
Emily's face drained of all colour. "Lorelai!"
"Miss?" The nurse said, poking her head back into the waiting room. "Mia Bass is awake and ready to see you."
"Thank God," Lorelai said. She nearly ran from her mother, not even saying goodbye.
Pulling up to Luke's, Lorelai felt herself finally take a breath she didn't know she had been holding since the hospital. Mia was fine despite a broken leg and a mild concussion, but Lorelai still felt a pit in her stomach. Though, she was sure it wasn't from her friend's fall, but from the encounter with Emily Gilmore. Lorelai hated how small her mother made her feel. It had been hard to raise Rory by herself, but there wasn't a day where Lorelai regretted leaving.
Lorelai stepped out from the hotel van, pressing her back against the door as she shut it for support. She looked through the window at the diner, smiling as she spotted Luke with Rory on his hip while he took orders, making her giggle every time he bounced her. Lorelai smiled in spite of the uneasy feeling she had.
"They told me I'd find you here."
"Why does this keep happening," Lorelai cursed the sky, any hint of a smile wiped from her face. "What are you doing here, Christopher?" She asked, her blood all but frozen.
Her ex boyfriend didn't look much different than he had the last time she had seen him. The only difference was she wasn't nearly as enamored with him as she had been when he was just the cute boy in her math class and not the dead beat father of her toddler.
"What are you doing here, Lorelai?" Christopher asked. "You're raising our daughter in a potting shed?"
"She's my daughter," Lorelai corrected with venom. "Aren't you supposed to be backpacking in France or something?
"I came to see Rory," Christopher said.
"Like hell," Lorelai said. "You made it very clear you didn't give a shit."
"I asked you to marry me!"
"You did not," Lorelai said. "You said 'guess we should get married now', and only because our parents made you. That's not what I wanted. And besides, after I said no, you dropped off the face of the earth, you didn't even see her again for six months."
"You broke up with me, Lorelai," Christopher said. "I gave up Princeton for you."
"That's so not what this is about," Lorelai laughed humorlessly. "What, the stress of thinking about having a kid you didn't take care of was just too much for you and you couldn't go to school? And just because we broke up, it doesn't mean you're suddenly off the hook for having to see your daughter."
"So let me see her now," Christopher said.
"Not a chance, asshole," Lorelai said. "It's way too late, you're not coming anywhere near her."
"We'll see about that," Christopher said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lorelai asked.
"Ask my lawyers."
Lorelai's heart dropped into her toes, her breathing all but stopping. "They won't let you, you're not even on the birth certificate."
"Paternity test will fix that really quick, Lorelai."
"You can't take her," Lorelai nearly yelled. She was sure everyone in the diner could hear her but she didn't really care. "You've seen her three times since she was born."
"Is there a problem?" Luke asked, stepping out of the diner. He lined himself with Lorelai, staring down Christopher as if he already knew he didn't like him. Lorelai's eyes flashed back inside, seeing Rory on the lap of a worried Babette. She was grateful Luke hadn't brought Rory outside.
"Who's this?" Christopher asked. "Your new boyfriend?"
"I'm the guy who's gonna kick your ass if you don't get the hell out here right now," Luke said, his voice calm, as if he were just taking his order. Lorelai wondered how many fights Luke had been in.
Christopher looked up at him, seeing Luke was older, larger, and probably could carry out his threat. "You're really slumming it, Lore," He said. "Expect a call."
He backed off, going back to his car on the other side of the street and taking off. As soon as he was out of sight, Lorelai nearly dropped onto the sidewalk, but Luke grabbed her, holding her to him as she started to sob. If this were any other time, Lorelai would make fun of his soft side, but instead she just cried into his chest as he patted her back.
"Who was that?" Luke asked after a moment.
"Rory's father," Lorelai said, her breath still ragged. "He wants custody."
"He can't do that, can he?"
"I'm a single mom who lives in a shed," Lorelai said. "He has money, he can do whatever he wants."