Chapter 3: His Girls

That evening, by the time Luke had finished the whole sorry tale, both Lorelai and Rory Gilmore were sniffling and frantically dabbing at their eyes.

"Oh, my God!" Lorelai hiccuped. "You finally reproduced!"

"That poor kid!" Rory wailed. "She just lost her mother, and the only thing I've lost is my mascara!"

Lorelai turned to her soon-to-be husband. "Are you saying you want April to live here, with us?"

"Yes. That is exactly what I'm saying." Luke looked from one woman to the other. "Would you both be all right with that?"

Rory nodded eagerly. "She can take my room. I don't care if you have to throw out the rest of my stuff and put it in the garage!"

Luke chuckled through his throat threatening to clog up. "I doubt that will be necessary, princess."

"Luke's right, sweets. We have the guest bedroom upstairs. It shouldn't be that difficult to convert into a bedroom. A paint job, perhaps, in April's favorite colors."

Luke immediately pounced. "You are not going to get paint chips and have Paul Anka pick out the shades!"

"Whoever said I was?" Lorelai asked, pointing to herself with mock innocence.

"Since you tried to make us live in a tomato by painting every square inch of the living room fire-engine red," Luke deadpanned. Rory giggled.

All three stood up from the kitchen table and warmly embraced. "I love you both. So much," Luke got out.

"Luke, she's your daughter," Rory pointed out. "What did you think we were going to say? No?"

"I shouldn't have doubted it," Luke smiled. He kissed Rory's forehead. "I love you, baby."

Rory returned to her room to call Lane, while Luke headed into the living room, Lorelai following. "I'll have to discuss with Steve if April can still stay at her school. I'll only transfer her from Martin Van Buren if I absolutely have to; she's had enough upheaval as it is..."

"Was she pretty?" Lorelai suddenly blurted out.

"Hmm?" Luke turned his head a fraction as he concentrated on filling Paul Anka's food bowl.

"Anna. Was she pretty?"

Luke replaced the giant bag of dog food, standing up slowly. After a long moment, he admitted, "Yes. In an Ashley Judd kind of way."

Lorelai quirked an eyebrow in interest, even as her mouth also upturned into a smirk. "You're learning fast, Butch," she teased, praising his pop-culture reference.

"But... she wasn't beautiful... like you."

At his compliment, Lorelai blushed furiously, before sidling up to her boyfriend and kissing him gently. Luke gazed at her, his eyes heavy with love.

"Are you sure you're all right with this?"

"Of course I am! Luke, April is your daughter. She's a part of you, and I love you. Ergo, I have to love her; I can't help it!"

Luke smiled and pulled her closer against him. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"Hmm. So I've been told." Lorelai ran her fingers through his hair, under his ballcap.

"Well, one good thing has come out of this for us."

"What's that?"

"You and I are finally equals, in a way. We've both sired daughters, just with other people."

Lorelai considered this. "Does that bother you?"

"God, no! Look, you know I despise the bastard, but Christopher gave you Rory, and without Rory..." He couldn't finish the thought, the possibility felt so incomplete and wrong. After a moment, he ventured: "Does it... bother you? That I had April with Anna?"

"Absolutely not!"

"It's just that... I almost feel... unfaithful somehow. Does that make any sense?"

"Not really," Lorelai chuckled. "But then again, when have you ever made sense?"

"Don't push it," Luke growled, though his eyes betrayed his amusement.

"What are we talking about?" Rory asked as she wandered in from the kitchen, off from her phone call with Lane.

"Mr. True Blue here is wondering if having a daughter with another woman makes him unfaithful somehow."

"Are you kidding me, Daddy Luke? It was a long time ago, and this woman never told you! How could you be...?"

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. Just... you know I will always still love you, right, Rory? And your mom?"

Rory smiled. "Of course. As long as you give me pancakes whenever I want them."

Luke smirked. "You got it, kid."

The following week, Luke received a call from Steve Nardini. He and April had just returned from New Mexico, and Steve was hoping to bring April to Stars Hollow to meet Lorelai and Rory. Luke readily agreed, arranging for the introductions to be made at the old Independence Inn, what he thought would be neutral territory. The two parties met in the lobby of the old hotel (Lorelai still had a key).

Lorelai stepped forward with a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Nardini." "Steve, this is my fiancé, Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter, Rory," Luke introduced.

"Pleasure's all mine." Steve looked between the Gilmore girls. "My goodness, I can see the resemblance! It's uncanny!"

Luke beamed at Rory with pride. "Yes, she is very much her mother, but she has some hints of her father in there that add to her beauty."

Lorelai and Rory's mouths both dropped open simultaneously, even while Rory's face blushed scarlet.

"Who are you and what have you done with Luke Danes?" Lorelai demanded.

"Yeah, and where the hell do I look like my dad? Aside from similar left earlobes?" Rory chimed in.

Luke studied his stepdaughter closely. "Shape of the face, cheekbones. Your smile. Nose, a little bit."

"You should have been a geneticist," Steve cracked to Luke dryly.

Rory, meanwhile, took in her stepfather's compliments. "Thank you," she replied meekly.

Luke now moved to introduce his family to April. "April, sweetie, this is Lorelai. She's going to be your stepmother. And Rory is going to be your new sister."

April was unusually withdrawn, but still polite, as she shook hands with each of the girls. "Hi. It's nice to meet you."

Lorelai beamed, trying to put the child at ease. "It's so wonderful to see you finally, April," she soothed softly. "You're so pretty, like your Daddy."

Both father and daughter simultaneously flushed crimson, as Luke felt the need to mutter, "I am not pretty."

"Oh, yes, you are." Smiling in bemusement, Lorelai - ever the hostess - moved to change the subject. "Why don't we all move into the kitchen? My friend, Sookie, has put some lunch on the table..." The girls moved towards the dining area, but the men hung back.

"Wow, that Rory! You said she goes to Yale? She's perfect," Steve gushed.

Luke couldn't help but let out a bark of a laugh. "I can assure you that Rory is not perfect. No one is. But she's a damn good kid."

"I'll say! Impeccable manners. Lorelai must have won the lottery, raising her!"

"Not quite, Steve. Loreai had Rory when she was 16. I once had to rush into a room to keep Rory from making out with a boy. And she recently stole a boat."

Steve's eyes widened. "You're making that up!"

"Oh, no I'm not. You wanna know what I'm also not making up? Until Rory was ten, she and her mom lived there." And he pointed out the window to the potting shed on the back lawn. Now Steve almost fell over.

"They lived... in that? A shack?"

"Lorelai started as a maid here when Rory was a baby. Worked her way up to running the place."

"Wow," Steve breathed. At that moment, Lorelai emerged from the kitchen. "You are an amazing woman," Steve went out of his way to tell her sincerely. Then he went to find his niece. Lorelai approached Luke, smile crinkled in amusement.

"Did your pseudo brother-in-law just make a pass at me?"

"Hardly. I don't think he swings that way," Luke dryly confided.

Intrigued, Lorelai's eyes gleamed. "Ooh, we should totally set him up on a blind date with Taylor! And start a betting pool on whether they kill each other or go for a roll in the hay!"

"There will be no betting pools! And we're not setting anyone up on a blind date with Taylor!" Luke growled. "I wouldn't wish that pompous windbag on any woman, never mind a man! Steve can do way better than him."

Lorelai pouted. "You're no fun!"

Luke jerked his head back to the kitchen. "How's April doing?"

"She's a little shy, but starting to open up, I think. Really quite the science nerd. Rory's engaging with her."

Luke smiled gratefully. "God bless that girl."