The Incredible Rising Lorelai

By Gigi

Author’s Note: This takes place after Lorelai sinks into Luke, crying in The Incredible Sinking Lorelai’s

A/N 2: Lorelai’s POV. Lorelai and Jason are not together in this

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. They belong to ASP and the WB.

Chapter 17: A Little Emotion

A/N: Sorry it took SO long! I have been SO busy! Here it is! Fairly long, but not my longest chapter!

I wake up to my cell phone ringing like crazy. I really need to turn the volume down on that thing! I grope around for my cell, finally finding it on my nightstand. “Hewoh?” I slur out.

“Lorelai, is that any way to pick up the phone?” are you kidding me? I just woke up!

“Mom?” I sit up and look at the clock. Oh CRAP! It’s almost dinnertime!

“Yes, this is your mother! Who else would this be?” I JUST woke up! How am I to know that my mother would be calling me when she’s downstairs?

“Mom, I’d love to stay and chat but I need to go. I kind of dozed off for longer than I thought, and I need to get back to my guests!” I try to evade. But no! Emily Gilmore must suck every ounce of willpower I have left to go down and face Luke and the rest of the town. Great, now I sound like her talking about Gran.

“Well, fine, I’ll just talk to you when you get down!” Oh, my god! Will she give it a rest?

“Looking forward to it! Goodbye, mother!” I hang up. Horrible woman! I feel like screaming. I get up and trundle to the bathroom. I should probably wipe the tear stains and mascara runs.

Once I look presentable, I emerge from my sanctuary, hoping not to run into Luke. Subconsciously, I fix my hair to hide the ever so visible bruise. Every single time I do that, I come to hate Christopher more and more. So right now, I guess the only…ex boyfriend…of the three I can talk to without throwing a fit is Max.

I can’t believe Luke is my ex boyfriend now. Wait. Is he? Are we broken up? I can’t say I’m happy with him right now, but that doesn’t mean I wanna lose him! I’m gonna be distracted until we figure this out! Oh, please don’t let the town put up ribbons again!

I start down the hallway, hearing the click-clack of my heels on the maple floor. I turn the corner and, as if my thoughts summon him, Luke is standing there, his head on the wall. I hope he can’t see me. Well, I’m standing in the middle of the hallway. He’s bound to see me! But his head is against the wall, and…wait, is he crying?

“Luke?” Shoot! Why did I just say that? Now he’ll definitely see me!

Luke’s head shoots up. Yep, I’m right. He’s crying. Tear stains cover his face. He opens his mouth to talk, but, all of a sudden, I get cold feet. I’m afraid of what he’s gonna say. He’s right: I’m scared of commitment. He’s going to apologize, and I’ll feel horrible for treating him so badly. I run past him and down the stairs, seeking refuge in my office.

Closing the door behind me, I take a deep, shuddering breath. I catch a glimpse of me in my mirror on the wall. Since when do I need exponential amounts of make up to hide my pale, pale face? I’ve only thrown up twice since I found out I’m pregnant! I just have to say that!

Holding my hand to my mouth while my cheeks rapidly fill up, I swing the door open and run to the bathroom. Everybody at dinner can see me fly past with my hand clamped to my lips, trying to contain the contents of my mouth until I reach a toilet. I fall at the toilet and retch into the bowl. Oh, I’m going to love being pregnant. It’s going to be just dandy!

All of a sudden, I feel someone pulling my hair back. Their hands brush against my face briefly, and I immediately know it’s not a woman. It’s Max.

Why do I remember what his hands feel like? It’s been three years since I last kissed him…wait, no. Strike that. It’s been two. I keep forgetting that one time at the Chilton Bicentennial when I kissed him in the coat room. Though this is so not the time, this calls for a dirty!

Oh, god, this is so embarrassing. Max, standing here, holding my hair back, knows full well why I am throwing up, yet he is still being the same sweet guy I fell in love with three years ago. Wait, he doesn’t know why I’m throwing up. There’s no way he could have, unless Miss Patty or Babette told him while I was asleep.

I finish heaving and wipe my mouth off with a piece of toilet paper Max hands me. Still on the floor, I turn around to him and give him a small, shy smile. “Thanks,” I whisper.

“Lorelai, what’s wrong?” Max asks, sincerely concerned. Apparently, none of the town gossips got to him.

“What do you mean?” I stupidly ask, trying to stall the inevitable as long as possible.

“Why are you on the floor, throwing up?” Max clarifies.

“Hey, I’m not throwing up anymore!” I quip. Max shoots me a stern look. He knows me too well. He knows when I start babbling like that, I’m worried about something.

“Lorelai, are you sick?” He is so sweet! Why did I leave him again? Oh right, I didn’t love him anymore.

“No, I’m n-not sick. I’m—I’m, uh, pregnant.” Way to state the obvious! Well, I guess it isn’t that obvious.

The words seem to hit him like a brick. “Wow…who’s the father?” is all he can manage to say.

“Uh…Luke…” I mumble, suddenly very interested with the floor.

“Yeah, I figured you guys are together. Especially because of the fight you two just had.” Max’s face softens at realizing I’m about to start the waterworks again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry. You guys will make up, don’t worry!” He goes down on his knees beside me and starts to comfort me as I collapse in his arms, weeping.

I can’t believe what I’m doing. I’m lying on the bathroom floor in my ex-fiancé’s arms, bawling my eyes out, while Max is being a complete gentleman and letting me explode all over him.

“Lorelai,” Max says after a good ten minutes soothing me. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” I guess I owe him that much.

“Well, okay,” I concede. Wow, this is going to be one uncomfortable conversation. “When I got to my room after sorting out the Kirk problem—”

“What Kirk problem?” Max interrupts. Wow. I haven’t even completed a sentence and he already has questions!

“Kirk wanted just about everything taken out of his room. Don’t ask,” I warn as Max opens his mouth to, no doubt, ask another question. “Anyway, when I got to my room I had a package and a letter on my desk. They were both anonymous. And I opened them and inside the boxes—the box had another box and letter and so on—was an engagement ring and a letter from Luke asking me to marry him…I guess he was trying to top your thousand daisies when you proposed to me.

“Anyway, I go tell Sookie and we’re talking about how I think I love Luke,—” Max’s face visibly tightens at this— “and how I used to love Christopher. You know, oddly, your name didn’t come up more than once.—” For some strange reason, Max’s face brightens at this.—“and I say I don’t love him anymore. Right as I say that, Luke comes in and he thought I meant I didn’t love him anymore and all hell breaks loose!” I finish in a rush and bury my face in Max’s shirt again, crying…again.

Max’s arms wrap around me protectively, just like right after we got back together and Rory disappeared and reappeared at my mother’s house. I felt so safe then. Actually, I feel safe now, just like how I do in Luke’s arms. What are you doing, Lorelai? You can’t fall in love with Max again! You love Luke! Remember that! God, that voice sounds so much like Rory and Sookie.

But I can’t seem to stop. I just sit there, in Max’s arms, and cry. His shirt must be completely soaked through by now. Now, I’m not sad. I’m mad! I start to rant.

“Just look at you! You’re being all nice and comforting to me when I treated you horribly! And I’m just exploding all over the place. You must be so uncomfortable because not only am I crying about another guy, but I’m crying even more because I’m pregnant! And I hate being pregnant! I hate the mood swings and food cravings and the throwing up! I don’t want to remember what I looked like when I was pregnant with Rory! I was fat!” Wow, I have got to shut up! I bury my face in Max’s shirt again. But I’m not crying. I’m just looking for solace; for comfort.

“Shh, Lorelai, it’s all going to be okay. You will love being pregnant, and when your child is born, it’ll all be worth it.” God, how can he stand this? I was horrible to him! He loved me and I ran away. Like mother, like daughter, I guess.

“Children,” I correct. Max looks at me incredulously.

“What?” He splutters out. I sit up and wipe my tears from my face. Getting up from my spot on the floor, I straighten my skirt and start fixing my makeup in the mirror.

“I’m not having a child. I’m having children. Twins, to be exact,” please don’t let him be mad!

“Wow, uh, congratulations!” Max says half-heartedly.

“Yeah, thanks…” I trail off. “Oh crap, what time is it?”

“Uh, 7:15,” Max looks at his watch.

“Shoot! I was supposed to be at dinner 15 minutes ago! Now, everybody will think I have been throwing up for half an hour!” I hide the bruise on my head, yet again, and rush out of the bathroom before turning back. “Hey, could you maybe wait thirty seconds before you come out? Great! Thanks!” I leave again.

Emerging into the dining hall, I put on a happy face; exactly the opposite of what’s really going on inside. Max comes out beside me a few seconds later and whispers something in my ear.

“Lorelai, meet me after dinner. It’ll just take a second.” He gives my arm a light squeeze and goes to sit with Lulu, Kirk, and Taylor.

Next on the Incredible Rising Lorelai: Lorelai and Max meet after dinner. Lorelai has her first verbal encounter with Luke ever since the big fight. Rory and Lorelai have the fight of the year (cough Raincoats & Recipes! cough cough)

A/N: Dude! All you Max-haters out there! Don’t worry! Lorelai and Max don’t get back together! This is a Java Junkie fic all the way! They just become friends. So no hate comments about Max, please!

A/N 2: This is not gossip, it’s a fact: Lauren Graham and Marc Blucas have broken up after AT LEAST 5 months of dating. I don’t know exactly when they did, but it was confirmed on Ellen today ( 3 day!)