Chapter Text
As she stared down at the two undeniable pink lines, she couldn’t believe it. Lorelai Gilmore was pregnant. Out of wedlock, again. Almost exactly sixteen years after the first time it happened.
Lorelai’s hands shook as she held the test. She hadn’t felt this scared since, well, sixteen years ago. She was going to be a mother again at 32. 32 was young, in all respects. 32 was a perfectly normal age to have a child. But most people who were pregnant at 32 were married or at least in a long-term relationship. But Lorelai, for the second time in her life, was single and pregnant.
With a guy who hadn’t been able to look her in the eyes since that one fateful night a month ago.
Her eyes welled with tears. She closed her eyes tightly, hoping to keep them from falling and ruining her perfectly done makeup. No, she wouldn’t cry this time. She would be strong because she knew from prior experience just how capable she was of being a good mother even when the time isn’t right.
Instead she found herself wondering what it would be like to hold a little bundle in eight months, if her calculations were in fact correct. She’s always wondered what Rory would be like as a big sister. And she would at least have her at home for a little over a year by the time the baby came. She wouldn’t be alone this time. Not completely, at least.
Was it going to be a little boy? Maybe another little girl? Lorelai didn’t care which one. She just wanted a healthy, happy baby. A baby that she didn’t even know existed until five minutes ago when the stick turned. So many questions were flying around her brain at warp speed. Would the baby look like her with dark hair and sparkling blue eyes? Or like the father? Would the father want to be an active part in his or her life?
Lorelai’s stomach lurched at the thought of having to tell him. She was about to turn his life upside down. This innocent, unsuspecting guy was about to etch a permanent mark in her life whether he wanted to or not. Well, a more permanent mark than the one he already maintained.
And she would have to tell Rory. Sookie. Her parents. Shit, her parents. She was going to be a disappointment in their eyes all over again. Poor screwed up Lorelai got herself pregnant again.
Lorelai sighed, popped the cap on the end of the test and hid it in the bottom of her purse. She had to buy it two towns over where no one would know who she is and she hid in the bathroom of the Independence Inn to take the test on her break.
She started to suspect she was pregnant early this week. The all too familiar exhaustion and nausea began to rear their ugly heads. She thought maybe she was coming down with something, at first. But as the week dragged on, the symptoms never wavered. And yesterday when she walked into the kitchen in the inn, she felt the strongest craving for the apples Jackson had brought in that morning. That’s when she knew. She hadn’t craved an apple like that since the last time she was in this particular predicament. The pregnancy test was just a formality at this point.
Still, the shock of a positive result was palpable. She knew what the test would say, but she hadn’t really let herself accept it until that moment in the off chance she was wrong and just randomly craving fruit for the first (well, second) time in her life.
She was working late tonight, which was a welcome distraction. The inn was busy with an upcoming wedding so Lorelai dove headfirst into her work, not even thinking about the tiny little baby growing inside of her. Sookie needed help with the dinner menu. She needed to end an argument between Michel and an inn guest who dared to question him and his expertise. This needed to be signed. That needed to be signed. The bed in room 2 needed to be remade. The sheets needed to be folded. She drowned herself in her work until 8 pm rolled around and it was time for her to head out.
She wanted nothing more than to head home, put on her pajamas, and watch a movie with her beautiful daughter, but that had to wait because she needed to make one very important stop. She needed to tell the father before she did anything else. He would never forgive her if she waited to tell him. He already may never forgive her for the bomb she was about to drop on him.
The nerves ate at Lorelai as she went through the motions of getting in her jeep and driving to the place where she knew she was sure to find him. It was a short drive, barely enough time to prepare herself for what she’s about to do. She barely had time to digest the news herself and now she had to put that on someone else. It was terrifying.
When she arrived at her destination, she parked her car and closed her eyes with a sigh. Her stomach rolled and she wasn’t sure whether it was from nerves, guilt, or pregnancy. It was now or never, she told herself. He needed to know. With another deep breath, she pushed open the door of her jeep and crossed the street with quiet, timid steps. The crisp Connecticut night gave her the jolt she needed.
The bell that rang when she opened the door had never sounded louder than it did in this moment. Without even looking up, the gruff voice she had come to know so well barked out “We’re closed.”
She shut the door behind her and the gentleman finally looked up and met her eyes.
“Luke. We need to talk.”