Hello my dear readers.I am glad to see you again :)!

I haven't updated in over 6 months and I'm terribly sorry for that! I suck.
But I'm not as talented as some other writers (like Mags and Oh-no-she-di'ent, you guys roooock!) and my creativity is lacking.

A huge THANKS to Audrey for betaing and putting so much effort in my stories although it's summertime ;)

But well, here it is, Chapter 8! Enjoy and have fun!

P.S. This chapter is dedicated to Kathrin (Copop) because she ALWAYS reviews and is happy when I update!

Chapter 8: Dinner at the Gilmores

"Come on, Burger boy. Don't slow down, we wanna unpack our new treasures." Lorelai opened the front door of the Crap Shack and walked into the living room with a little bounce in her step. Luke followed her a few paces behind, shopping bags in each hand.

"Of course she plays the 'I'm pregnant' card only when she's supposed to lift a finger." He mumbled snuffling.

"What did you say, hon?" Lorelai asked sweetly as she rubbed his flannel-clad shoulder.

"Nothing. Just glad to be your pack horse, that's all." Luke put the bags on the coffee table and put his hands on his hips as he took a deep breath. "Good. Now you don't have money for food or bills anymore but your kid has toys and clothes from A to Z."

Rory came into the living room from her bedroom after hearing the arrival of her mom and Luke. She took one look at the multitude of packages in the house and whistled.

"Geez mom, what did you do? Buy out Babies r us? Luke, I thought you of all people wouldn't allow that." She joked.

Luke just shook his head in defeat.

"I know. Isn't it great?" Lorelai smiled and started rummaging through the bags. "He is going to be the coolest kid in Stars Hollow."

"Because he has onesies that say 'Freshly pressed' or 'As god created me he wanted to show off'?" Luke scoffed, causing Rory to giggle.

"No, because he's the son of the golden couple of Stars Hollow." Lorelai kissed him on the cheek and added sweetly, "And he was made with love." Luke cleared his throat and dropped his head a little.

"So you're really sure it's mine?"

Lorelai paused for a moment and turned her head towards him. "Luke." A sigh left her mouth and her eyes were dark with sadness. "Please don't start again."

Luke opened his mouth to say something but Lorelai put a finger on his lips. "I already told you that no matter what happens, you are the one I love and you will be a father to our child. What Chris did today is more than unbelievable and cruel but yet somehow like him. Maybe he's bluffing to drive a wedge between us; but we're not weak or anything, we'll fight him. It will be a long and ugly fight but I know we'll win. You know why? Because we love each other and our baby will have a strong and loving home here with us, okay? Please don't doubt your relationship to the baby or me. It hurts when you say that." Lorelai sniffed and wiped away a tear that escaped her eye.

"And on that note, I'm going back to my room to study. I'm going over Lane's later to go through some new cd's I got for her since I'm not going to Friday Night Dinner because of the mass of study stuff I have to learn." Rory turned and closed her bedroom door behind her.

Luke slung his arms around Lorelai's waist and kissed her temple. "I don't doubt it. I'm just … I don't know… insecure …no, that's not the right word…afraid maybe. These last months have been the greatest of my life. I am so lucky to have you as my girlfriend and to have your trust with the baby. I wouldn't trade my life for anything. But remember, like you said, Chris has a lot of contacts and money and because of that he tends to get what he wants. You, the baby," He kissed the top of her hair as they swayed a little in the silence of the room, "I'm sorry I keep bringing it up. You're right as usual and I'm a jerk; sorry." he said. Lorelai looked up and kissed him softly.

"Don't be sorry. I'm just as scared as you." They kissed again. "And just so you know, you're not just a jerk, you're a cute jerk." They both chuckled as they swayed in comfortable silence.

"Don't you think we should call your parents?" Luke asked out of the blue Lorelai furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Why would we do that?"

Luke wiped the remains of her tears away and took her hand, guiding her to sofa. "I really think we should talk to them. They need to know about Christopher's master plan."

"But-"

"And they have good lawyers who can help if it comes to that."

Lorelai tried to get up but Luke kept her hand firmly in his, signalizing her to stay calm.

"Luke, are you nuts? You of all people…Why them? We can make it without them, we don't need their help."

Luke shook his head as he stroked her hand. "You know that I'm the last person who shouts 'Hurray' when it comes to your parents but I think that we have the best chances if we get one of their lawyers and have them on our side."

"But you know lawyers too and they're good."

"Yes they are good but what we need is 'great'. Lorelai, we have to play hardball if we want to beat Chris at his own game. You know, get some high-class lawyer who's been doing this for years and charges a lot of money."

Lorelai shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you're seriously suggesting this. 'We don't need your parents' money' isn't that what you've always said?"

Luke sighed. "I know and I still stand by that, believe me, but the thing we have now with Christopher…it's too important. It's about the baby, an innocent little boy who doesn't belong to an irresponsible guy like him. He belongs to the Gilmore Girls."

"And Danes." Lorelai said sternly.

Luke smiled affectionately.

"Yes, and Danes. So, are you okay with this?"

Lorelai played with Luke's hand as she thought about it some more. "I don't know. I guess we don't have much of a choice. If we don't ask them for help they'll be mad and insulted, but then again, if we ask them for help, they'll be judgmental and snobbish; so, we might as well ask them."

Luke smiled and kissed her hand. "Great. Now unpack your overpriced goods and I'll make us some dinner. Lasagna okay?" He asked

"Yes." Rory shouted from her room.

Luke laughed. "Boy, that kid has freakishly good hearing."

"I heard that!" Rory shouted back.

Lorelai giggled, nodding vigorously and smiled. "Lasagna sounds great. And it was not overpriced. Our little prince deserves the best we can give him; parents, big sisters, clothes, the works."

Luke got up from the couch, went into the kitchen and started taking ingredients out of the fridge.

"It's still overpriced."

"No, it wasn't."

"Yes it was."

Luke paused for a moment to return to the living room and looked into Lorelai's eyes.

"We okay?" He asked tentatively.

"We're good." Lorelai smiled as she rubbed her round belly. "Oh, our little prince is demanding our attention again. Come here, Luke."

Luke crossed the room and put his hands on her belly. He could feel little movements inside and a small foot kicking against his hand.

"It feels amazing, it's a miracle."

Lorelai put her hands on his and nodded. "It feels a little strange too. But a very nice strange. Kiss?"

Luke obeyed and kissed her softly on the mouth and then turned to her belly to give him the same attention. "You're quite a character, buddy."

"Yes he is and now back to your duty, Lasagna king."

Luke saluted, "As you wish, my queen."

Lorelai petted her stomach and whispered softly. "Your daddy is the best, he learns fast."

"I think I'm going to be sick."

"No, you're not. Just ring the doorbell." Luke and Lorelai stood in front of the Gilmore mansion, their hands clasped together.

"But I'm feeling lightheaded, maybe the baby's coming." Lorelai said dramatically.

"Stop that. That's not funny, it's far too early and you know it. Let's just ring the bell." Luke stepped forward and rang the bell. "Take a deep breath; everything's going to be fine."

"But remember what happened when we told them about Little Lucas? It was weird and not something I want to do again." Lorelai shuddered at the memory of that evening 3 months ago.

(flashback)

Emily opened the door as a frightened Luke and nervous Lorelai stood before her.

"Hello Lorelai." Emily nodded at her and turned to Luke with a stiff attitude. "Luke."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Gilmore." Luke extended his hand which Emily didn't take but rather looked at with a slight look of disgust.

"Yes, I'm delighted to meet an almost complete stranger, who was introduced as Lorelai's boyfriend over the phone yesterday. Granted, I have partially met Luke before, but never in such a formal capacity." She said sweetly and Luke brought his hand down and shot a scared look towards Lorelai. "We'll have our drinks in the living room." Emily moved deeper in the house.

"I know, Mom." Lorelai said loudly and Emily stopped with a sigh.

"You do but your boyfriend doesn't. I just want to introduce him to the proper manner of a Friday night dinner." She explained remarkably slow as she continued towards the living room.

"I think he knows, Mom."

"Really? Well good then." Again, the sweet tone that was alarming.

"She doesn't like me, does she?" Luke asked his face pale and his hands sweaty.

"No, but she has to cope. But I like you if that helps." Lorelai kissed him on the cheek as they entered the living room.

"Hey Dad." Richard looked up from his book, a surprised look on his face. "Hello Lorelai."

"Um Dad, this is my boyfriend, Luke Danes. You may have seen him once or twice. He was at Rory's birthday party and drove me to the hospital that night."

Luke extended his hand again but this time his action was returned. "It's nice to meet you sir." They shook hands and Richard smiled and nodded.

"You too, Luke. And please call me Richard. I was just surprised because I didn't know you would be coming."

"You mean mom didn't tell you?" Lorelai looked at her mother with furrowed brows.

"I'm sorry Richard. I forget to tell you that Lorelai called yesterday and told me that she's bringing her boyfriend to dinner tonight."

"You love the sarcasm today, don't you?" Lorelai scoffed as she sat down.

"I don't see a problem, Lorelai, do you?"

"No, of course not." She said aloud and added with a whisper to Luke, "She's the problem."

"I beg your pardon, Lorelai?"

"It's nothing, Mom. I'll have a Coke." Lorelai said with a fake smile.

"A coke? Since when do you drink something that's non-alcoholic?"

"Since I read that alcohol is bad for your complexion and we wouldn't want that, now would we?"

"Where did you read that?"

Lorelai put a finger on her chin as she thought about it playfully. "Cosmo, I think."

"Ah well. And you, Luke? I'd offer you a beer but I'm afraid we don't have it stored these days."

"I'll have the same as Lorelai." Luke answered clearing his throat.

"How predictable." Emily answered and rolled her eyes as she turned towards the cart.

Richard noted Emily's attitude and turned towards Luke. "So, Luke, I believe I heard something about you owning a diner?"

"Yes, I own the diner in Stars Hollow, it used to be my dad's hardware store before he died and I took it over." From behind Emily snorted.

"Then I heard right. Is it successful?" Richard asked his hands folded in his lap.

"It's the most popular place in town and the only place that makes heavenly coffee." Lorelai answered proudly and gave his hand a squeeze.

"And it's all covered? Insurances and all?"

"I believe it's all covered, yes."

"Insurance is very important and not to be taken lightly." Richard lectured with a serious face.

"I know. It's all good." Luke answered, getting more and more uncomfortable.

"Have you ever thought about franchising your diner?"

"Uhm…"

"Dad, please stop the cross-examination." Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"It's not a cross-examination, Lorelai. I'm merely interested in your boyfriend's life."

"Business life you mean." She muttered under her breath

"Lorelai, don't act childish. It's just a small-talk or are you confused Luke?"

Luke sat up a little and cleared his throat again. "No. No, I'm fine."

Emily set their glasses of coke on the table and sat down next to Richard. "Cheers." She said with fake cheerfulness. Luke sipped his drink and made a face with made Lorelai chuckle.

"Is something wrong with your drink?" Emily asked.

"No. It's just tastes alcoholic, I guess."

"Oh I'm sorry; I thought you said you wanted Whiskey in your coke."

"Mom, he didn't say a thing about Whiskey."

"I could have sworn he did. Then I have to apologize. Well next time, if there is one, I'll have a beer waiting for you."

"Nice one, Mom." Lorelai countered with a shake of her head.

"Lorelai, I think you're imagining things today."

"Yeah, must be because I forget to take my medication today. I knew something was wrong." Lorelai said snapping her fingers in mock annoyance.

"Everything's a joke." Emily rolled her eyes. "So, Lorelai, you told me over the phone that you have to say something to us. Seeing as how we've met Luke again in a formal setting and were told he is your boyfriend and he is now sitting in front of us, I'm guessing it's not him."

Lorelai sat up. "Well it has something do with him. Kind of."

"Oh my god, you're not getting married, are you?" Emily shrieked and Richard's eyes were wide open.

"No, we're not getting married. That would be horrible." Lorelai said with mock horror.

"Lorelai." A sigh from the elder Gilmores. "If you're not getting married then what is it?"

"Well…..." Lorelai stopped and looked over to Luke who gave her an encouraging nod. "I'm pregnant."

"Seriously, Lorelai. I told you that it's not all about jokes."

"It's not a joke, Mom."

There was suddenly an uncomfortable silence in the room and Richard and Emily looked at each other, their mouth hanging open.

"Are you serious?" Richard asked with a low voice.

"Yes, of course I am. Why would I joke about something like this?"

After another silent moment Emily composed herself. "You're getting married."

Luke looked confused and Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Mom, we're not getting married but we're having a baby. You should listen more carefully."

"Lorelai don't be saucy. I heard you and now I'm telling you that you are getting married."

Now it was Lorelai's turn to be shocked. "So you're saying that we should get married?"

Emily shook her head and looked over to Richard who hadn't said a word since the bomb was dropped. "You must get married, Lorelai. You're pregnant and you cannot repeat what you did 17 years ago."

"But we don't want to get married."

Luke shot a glance to Lorelai that was filled with hurt and anger.

"Lorelai, you're pregnant. You're pregnant with you're diner man's child and you thought we would simply congratulate you and say, 'Well done, Lorelai'? You can't be that naïve."

Emily's words cut Lorelai to the quick and Luke thought it was his turn to add some thoughts to the discussion.

"Mrs. Gilmore, Richard. I know you're shocked and I know you don't approve of me but I can assure you that I will take care of this baby and not run away like Christopher did. I understand that you have your concerns but a marriage is not something we or anyone else should be forced into."

"Well, Luke, those are nice promises you've made but I heard similar words from Christopher some years ago and we all know how that turned out. You must get married, period."

Lorelai took a deep breath and took Luke's hand. "We aren't getting married, period. If you want to be involved in this baby's life then don't destroy what we established this past year by forcing us to get married. I love Luke, yes but we don't need a license to prove that. He will be there for me and the baby. He won't run, okay?"

For a change Richard was the one to answer. "Your right Lorelai. It's your decision and we won't interfere. We're glad that you came to us to tell us right away and Luke seems like a very fine man."

Emily snorted and turned to her drink as Lorelai and Luke stared at each other astonished.

"So you're okay with the pregnancy?"

"We can't change that, now can we? And if you promise to include us in your and the baby's life, then I don't see a problem. To tell you the truth, I'm pretty happy to be a grandfather again." Richard smiled genuinely. Even Emily was surprised at Richard's declaration but was unable to say anything against it.

"Now if we have discussed everything, I suggest we have our dinner." Richard stood up and a stunned Lorelai, Luke and Emily stayed behind. Slowly as they all got up to walk to the dining room, Emily walked past the two, mumbling "You better keep your promise. Both of you".

(end flashback)

"Yes, it was weird because they didn't scream at us or kick us out like I thought they would; but they've accepted it and now they're even excited about it." Luke said as he smiled at Lorelai.

"Well Dad is for sure, Mom is still playing it cool." Lorelai snorted.

"She is happy too, you know it."

"Yeah yeah, Mr. Optimistic."

A maid opened the door and took their coats.

"Hello, Susi." Lorelai greeted the maid.

"My name is Roberta." She answered quietly.

"Oh I'm sorry, Roberta." Lorelai said quickly and then whispered to Luke. "I thought that was Susi."

"No, Susi was two weeks ago." Luke said matter-of-factly.

"Well thanks for the info, swank."

Luke rolled his eyes and gave Lorelai a kiss on the cheek. "Sorry, Crazy Lady."

"You'll get a chance to make it up to me later." She grinned saucily as she took his hand in hers.

"Looking forward to it."

"We're in the living room," Emily called from behind.

"Thanks for the memo, Mom. We were about to go upstairs and have dinner in the guest room." Lorelai called back and Luke sighed.

"I see the hormone clock is on 'witty' tonight, although it's a nice change compared to 'touchy' or 'angry'." Emily countered with a fake smile which earned her a chuckle from Luke and Richard.

"I'm glad to see you too, Mom. Hi, Dad!"

"Hello Lorelai. How are you today?" Richard asked as he smiled at her very round belly.

"Well apparently I'm witty today but other than that I'm feeling fine."

"That's always good news. And how is he?"

"Luke is fine as well." Lorelai smirked as she sat down on the couch.

"I meant the baby, Lorelai. You're really witty today."

"The baby is doing great so far." Luke answered instead as he shook Richard's hand warmly. "And how are you doing, Richard?"

"Besides some annoying insurance clients, everything's well. Thanks for asking."

"Good now that we're clear that everyone's fine, we can have our drinks. Lorelai, coke? Luke, beer?"

"Yes." Both of them answered as Luke joined Lorelai on the couch.

Five minutes later the four of them had their drinks and the talk steered towards Rory.

"Rory sends her apologies that she can't accompany us tonight," Lorelai said. "But she has finals coming up and is already stressing herself out with her personal time management planer."

"She shouldn't work so hard, she's smart. I bet she could pass without studying that much." Emily replied, proud glistening in her eyes.

"That's what we tell her all the time but since we have something important to talk to you about tonight, we decided that it was okay for her to stay home with her books."

Richard and Emily shared a concerned look. "Is something wrong?"

Luke sat up a little as he spoke. "Yes…well, kind of. Uhm, we need your help actually."

"What's wrong?" Richard asked, quickly falling into his work manner.

"We need a lawyer." Luke continued as he changed gazes between Emily and Richard.

"Does it concern the diner or the house?"

"No." Luke stopped and urged Lorelai to continue.

"As it turns out, we have to fight for child custody."

"What?" Emily and Richard asked in unison. "Luke, do you have a child with another woman?" Emily shrieked but Luke shook his head.

"No, Mom. It's about the baby. We didn't tell you the whole story when we first told you about the baby." Lorelai said quickly and continued before either of them could answer. "Before I got together with Luke, I made a mistake. I slept with Christopher."

"You did what?" Again a shriek from Emily.

"Mom, please let me finish. Yes, I slept with Christopher; and it was a few days later I realized and acted on my feelings for Luke. My pregnancy was totally surprising and not planned at all, as you can probably imagine. Unfortunately for us, the time of the procreation does not say who the father is. I mean, I know that it's Luke's, I can just feel it. After I told Chris about the possibility that he could be the father, I made it clear that he won't have a say in the baby whatsoever. After that, we didn't hear from him for months but two days ago we received a letter from his attorney stating that he's fighting for sole custody."

"But that's absurd," Richard exclaimed. "He didn't care enough for Rory to call her even once a week but now he wants sole custody of an unborn child that might not even be his?"

"Yeah, we're pretty upset too and that's why we came here to ask for your help."

"Of course we will help you." Richard said, nodding vehemently. "Won't we, Emily?"

Emily sat in her chair in silence and played with the glass in her hand.

"You slept with two men at almost the same time?" She regained her speech again.

"It was not like that. Christopher was a mistake, a very big one. Luke and I came together because we had a fight about him. It was emotional and we fell for each other so fast. We are happy and no matter what the DNA test says, Luke and I will be the Mom and Dad to our little boy. I hope you support us, Mom. We need you to support us." Lorelai said with a plea in her voice which was very unlike her and it astonished Luke and Emily that she was so willing to win this battle that she asked for help that much.

"Okay, Lorelai. We will support you. Christopher is not capable of handling a child; he isn't even able to hold onto a job for longer than a few weeks." Emily said with a roll of her eyes as she tried to hide the moisture that has filled her eyes.

"Thanks, Mom and Dad. This means a lot to us." Lorelai smiled as she too fought back tears.

The men noticed the atmosphere and cleared their throats. "I think dinner is ready." Richard said as he stood up and took Emily's hand to lead her into the dinning room. Luke and Lorelai stayed a little behind and Luke kissed her softly on the lips.

"We will win this. We've got your parents to cover our backs and that's big." He whispered into her ear as she sniffed.

"I know and I'm happy. I guess I just didn't expect this."

"We'll be all fine, I promise." Luke kissed her one more time then took her hand and lead her to the dining room like Richard did with Emily.

"Boy, I'm hungry." Lorelai said and Luke chuckled.

"Well, I am eating for two now, remember?"

"Yes, and you remind me of that every chance you get."

Lorelai laughed softly. She knew that as long as she had Luke on her side, she know they could overcome anything.

Phew.I hope you survived it well ;).If you did please leave a review, 'cause I love them :)