Disclaimer: Don't own Gilmore Girls or the song "Judy is a punk" by the Ramones

AN1: After a looooong time I decided to write the final story of my little series. This is the first of three chapters. In my last story "The summer festival" I created a new character -Charles Seever- and I wrote that he had a crush on Lorelai. Now not to complicate things further (after all this is happy story) I decided to give Charles a potential girlfriend - Lisa (the pretty neighbor with a dog)
There's some stuff about Lisa and Charles but this chapter is mainly about LL.

Please R&R

It was a Thursday afternoon when Charles was standing on the porch of the Gilmore-Danes house. He was about to knock on the door when he saw Luke park his truck in their driveway. Charles walked down the porch stairs and met Luke at his car.

"Hey Charles." – Luke said as he climbed out of the truck.

"Hi. I was just looking for you. At the diner Lane told me that you're probably home."

"I was at Doose's." – Luke told him as he took two bags out of the truck. They walked together to the house and Charles took one of the bags out of Luke's hands to make it easier for Luke to unlock the door.

"Thanks. Why were you looking for me?"

"I wanted to ask you if I could borrow your toolbox."

"Sure. You need help with something?"- Luke asked him.

"Nope. I just promised Lisa that I'd repair her stove but then I realized that I have no tools and neither does she."

"Just let me put these in the kitchen and then I'll give you the toolbox."

"Thank you Luke."

"No problem." – The two men walked into the house and Luke closed the door after them. They made their way to the kitchen. When Luke opened the door they found Lorelai over the sink with her back to them. She was singing to a song that played on the mini cd-player next to her on the counter.

"…second verse, same as the first Jackie is a punk, Judy is a runt
they both went down to Berlin, joined the ice capades
and oh, I don't know why oh, I don't know why
perhaps they'll die, oh yeah perhaps they'll die, oh yeah"

"Lorelai." – Luke called her and she turned around to see Luke and Charles standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Hey, hon." – She said cheerfully, her voice deeper and raspier than usually. – "Hey Charles." – Lorelai greeted him too before turning off the cd-player.

"Lorelai, are you feeling better?" – Charles asked her. He knew that Lorelai was sick and staying at home to recover from the cold.

"Barely. This cold is so stubborn."

"Just like the person having it." – Luke said and then took the bag out of Charles' hand and put it on the table. Lorelai gave him a look.

"Are you saying I'm stubborn?"

"You are stubborn."

"Oh, yeah? And you are Mr. Flexibility."

"I can be flexible…" – Luke stopped mid-sentence. – "I think we had this conversation before."

"Yeah, just gender-flipped. Anyway, what are you doing home?"

"What are you doing up? I thought we agreed…" – Luke stopped talking and sniffed a few times. – "What's this smell?"

"Well, it's not me. I'm freshly showered." – Lorelai replied but she knew that she couldn't do or say anything to avoid the next question.

"Are you baking brownies?" – Luke asked unbelievably before going to the oven and opening it. When his assumption was confirmed he turned to her. – "What on earth inspired you to make brownies?"

"I was bored. I started looking through the shelves and found this brownies mix and the result is in the oven. Before you ask why there's a brownies mix in our house, I think it was Rory who bought it." – Lorelai explained and Luke just looked at her with raised eyebrows. Lorelai pouted at him.

"Did I already say that I was bored. You were at work, Rory is at Yale, Sookie is at work. I'm all alone in this house that I haven't left in days and all I'm…" – Before she could end her sentence she sneezed. Three times. Luke looked at her sympathetically and handed her a piece of a paper towel.

"I know you'd love to be somewhere else but you're ill." – He said in a soothing voice.

"I'm feeling better. That was just a…" – Then she sneezed again and Luke gave her the 'who-are-you-kidding-look'. – "I didn't sneeze before." – Lorelai said. –"Were you in contact with cats? Maybe there's cat hair on you and I'm reacting allergic to it."

"You are not allergic to cats." – Luke told her and rolled his eyes. – "You're having a cold. Come here." – He said and she stepped closer to him. Luke put a hand on her forehead. – "You're not as hot as last night."

"You know how to talk to a girl." – Lorelai deadpanned. – "I don't want to be sick." – She whined.

"I know."

"I hate it. I mean it's not even winter. It's September for God's sake. It's still warm outside and I'm ill. Why?"

"You really want me to give you an answer to that?" – Luke asked her.

"No. Your lecture from the other day was enough. Driving with open windows when your hair is wet is bad." – Lorelai said in a deeper voice, trying to mimic Luke but he ignored her.

"Did you take your medicine?" – She didn't answer but suddenly found her Tigger-slippers very interesting. – "Lorelai?" – This time she mumbled something. – "What was that?"

"I said no" – She said louder and looked up at him.

"Why not?"

"Because the doc said I should eat something before taking the medicine but I didn't have anything to eat since this morning." – Luke shook his head in disbelief.

"Why? I made you pancakes and put them in the fridge. All you had to do was warm the food up and eat it."

"I know and that's why I came downstairs but before I came here I went into the living room to get a movie. On the table I saw a Twinkie and I ate it. It tasted kinda stale and I felt a bit sick to my stomach. After the Twinkie I couldn't eat anything else." – Luke just stared at her, not saying a word. She stared back at him. – "Please don't leave me." – She said and he just shook his head again.

"Alright. I'll make you a fresh meal. I just need to give Charles…oh, my God. Charles." – Luke turned to Charles who was leaning against the door frame, bemusedly watching the banter between the couple. – "I'm so sorry." – Luke apologized.

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. Lorelai distracted me with her brownies…" – Luke heard her giggle and turned quickly to her. – "Don't say dirty."

"You make it too easy for me babe." – She said.

"Lorelai. Bed. Now." – he said sternly.

"But Luke we have a guest." – Lorelai teased him.

"Oh, jeez. Would you just go upstairs and rest."

"I don't want to. I'm bored and I've already watched and read everything that I could find in this house."

"First of all that's not possible. We have so many movies and books that we could open a bookstore and a video store. Secondly, I'll stay with you. I just need to give Charles the toolbox and call Lane and tell her that I won't be in today." – Luke said.

"Really?" – Lorelai immediately cheered up.

"Of course. Didn't I stay with you for the past three days?"

"Yes, you did." – She said and smiled lovingly at him.

"Go and find a movie for us to watch. Soon I'll be upstairs with some food."

"I love you." – Lorelai said and hugged him.

"I'll be right back."

"Okay." – Lorelai said and they all walked out of the kitchen. Lorelai started to ascend the stairs. – "Me and my brownies will be waiting for you." – She said and laughed when she heard Luke mutter something. Charles laughed along with her. – "Bye, Charles." – She called over her shoulder.

"Bye Lorelai. Get well soon." – He said.

"Thanks." – She told him before she disappeared upstairs.

Luke led Charles outside to the garage where he kept all of his tools. He grabbed the toolbox and handed it to Charles.

"You know what you're doing with the stove?" - Luke asked him.

"Yes, I learned a lot from my dad." – Luke nodded.

"Alright but if you come across some problem and can't dissolve it, give me a call."

"I'll be fine."

"Okay. Greet Lisa from me."

"I will. See you Luke" – Charles said and Luke and he parted. Luke went back into the house to call the diner and Charles made his way to Lisa's.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Charles knocked on Lisa's door and almost immediately she opened it.

"Your very own handyman is here."

"Hi. Come in." – She smiled at him and he walked in but not before noticing how good she looked in a pair of jeans and a green shirt. As soon as they entered the living room, Starbuck ran to them and sprung at Charles, almost knocking him down.

"Starbuck, old friend." – Charles said to the dog and petted the dog's head.

"Starbuck, down." – Lisa said, taking the dog by his collar and pulling him away from Charles.

"That's okay. He hasn't seen me in a while." – Charles told Lisa and watched Starbuck make circles around them. For the past two months it became a habit for Charles to take care of Starbuck when Lisa worked late or when she visited her parents in Maine.

"I think it's better if I get him outside or he'd make it impossible for you to work." – Lisa said and took Starbuck once again by the collar and led him outside to the backyard. Soon she was back sans dog. – "I really appreciate you doing this for me." – She said.

"It's no problem."

"Can I get you something to drink?"

"I'll have whatever you have."

"Beer is it then." – Lisa said and he followed her to the kitchen where he put down the toolbox.

"Thanks." – He said when she handed him a cold beer. – "So, what's wrong with the stove?" – Charles asked and put away the beer after taking a sip.

"I really have no idea. I tried to bake something yesterday but the oven just didn't get warm. At first I thought the power went out again but it became quickly clear that that wasn't the problem." – Lisa replied and Charles just nodded, taking some tools out of the toolbox. While Charles worked, Lisa chatted with him. She sat down on a chair and caught herself checking out his butt which made her blush immensely. She was glad that he was with his head in the oven and didn't witness any of it. To prevent herself from staring at his butt again, she changed chairs. After a few minutes of small talk Lisa started to tell him about the big Stars Hollow blackout of 2001.

"…Taylor freaked out and he was on the verge of declaring a state of emergency. Kirk was convinced that the blackout was the catastrophe that never happened when the new millennium began. All restaurants were closed expect for Luke's, Pete's Pizza Place and the Independence Inn restaurant 'cause they all have gas stoves. All of those places were packed with hungry people all day long. It was around noon and I was at Luke's when Lorelai stormed in, seeking out Luke immediately. She was talking so fast that one felt dizzy listening to her. I just heard words like 'no power', 'coffee maker' and 'no coffee in blood'. She begged him to make her coffee and he asked how he's supposed to do that 'cause there was no power at the diner either. Lorelai said that he's the Coffee God and that he could do wonders. He said no, he was too busy, the diner was full of demanding guests but she didn't listen. After five minutes of following him around the diner she went behind the counter grabbed an apron, tied it around herself and started to take people's orders. Luke asked her what she was doing and she told him that she was helping him in exchange for just one cup of coffee. He asked her how he was supposed to give her coffee, he couldn't even drive to the next town and buy her a cup 'cause the next town was without power too. In a very confident voice Lorelai told him that he'd come up with something and he really did." – Lisa said and laughed at the memory.

"Really? How?" – He asked curiously and pulled his head out of the oven to look at Lisa.

"Well, in the easiest way possible. He made coffee in the same manner people did before there were coffee makers and filters. Just instant coffee and boiled water."

"Ah, the solution so obvious but still not easy to see." – Charles said and went back to work.

"It's the machine age. Anyway, you should have seen her cheer when he presented her with a cup of coffee. Boy, it was so obvious that there was more between them then just friendship. I still don't get it why it took them so long to realize it." – Again Charles took his head out of the oven to look at Lisa, a confused expression on his face.

"They were not together back then?" – He asked

"Don't tell me you don't know the tale of Luke and Lorelai?"

"Can't say that I do. When I first met them I thought Rory was their child." – Lisa just shook her head.

"I thought you were friends with Luke."

"I am but he's not a chatty person and besides men don't talk about that stuff." – Lisa rolled her eyes.

"Right. If you want I can tell you the story or you could ask Patty. I'm sure she'd love to tell it to you." – Lisa said and laughed when Charles made a face.

"Five minutes with that woman are not healthy for a man."

"Okay, then I will tell you the story. Lorelai had Rory when she was sixteen. She was not happy at her home and when Rory was about one year old she ran away. She came to Stars Hollow and found a job at the Independence Inn. She worked first as a maid and worked her way up to the manager. The inn burned down a few years ago and later she and Sookie bought a very shabby Dragonfly Inn and restored it into that beautiful inn that it is today.

I don't know when Luke and Lorelai met. I guess it was like a decade ago but they got together not even two years ago."

"Really? I thought they were together for years."

"Nope. They were just friends all those years but everyone knew that there was more except the two of them. Or maybe they knew it too just denied it, I really don't know. Last year, it was the week before the summer festival, when they kinda shocked everyone. One morning Lorelai came down the stairs just clad in a flannel shirt. The people stared at her, she smiled and ran upstairs again."

"Where did she come in just a flannel?" – Charles asked confused.

"In the diner. Luke used to live in an apartment above the diner and she probably didn't know that there were people in the diner so she walked down and found herself in a really embarrassing situation. Some time later I heard that the relationship had started weeks before that incident."

"And they kept it secret for weeks? In this town?"

"Not really. That summer Luke was away for weeks helping Liz and TJ after they had an accident. Once it was out that they were together there was a town meeting just for that purpose."

"This town is so crazy that I'm not even hesitating to believe you."

"Taylor was afraid that in case of a break up that the town would be divided and months later they really broke up."

"Seriously?"

"Only telling the truth here. In the end it was Taylor who divided the town. He made the people choose between Luke's diner and Lorelai's inn. People wore blue or pink ribbons. I have no idea why they broke up but a few weeks later they were back together. Which was welcomed by the townies 'cause Luke was in a constant grumpy mood and Lorelai was looking sad every morning I saw her at Weston's. After the reconciliation they moved in together then got engaged and that's it. I let out a few things like Luke's ex-girlfriend coming back, Lorelai being engaged to someone else, Luke's failed marriage, Rory's broken wrist and Jess…." – Lisa told him one or two other stories about Luke and Lorelai but their topics soon changed and Lisa told him more funny stories about the townies, her childhood and her life before she moved to Stars Hollow.
Charles in return told her some stories from his past. Even after Charles successfully repaired the oven they sat at the kitchen table, talked, drank beer and laughed. It was the longest talk they ever had. Sitting across each other with beer bottles on the table between them, Charles watched her talk animatedly, a beautiful smile always present on her lips. He was falling for his beautiful neighbor and he knew it. He has known it for days he just didn't know what to do with his newfound feelings for Lisa. The last time he was in this situation was so many years ago, when he had fallen in love with his ex-wife. That was a long time ago. He did feel attracted to Lorelai when he had first met her. That had confused him more than anything. One day he felt attracted to her and another day the attraction was gone, making Charles wonder if there was attraction in the first place. He didn't dwell on that thought for long though. The school started and he was in full 'principal mode'. The more he settled into his new life the less he missed his old one. He did miss his parents and friends but Philadelphia wasn't that far away and he could visit them whenever he wanted. Besides he wasn't completely alone anymore. He became friends with Luke, Jackson, Mike - a High School teacher - and there was Lisa, who was sitting across of him, telling him a story about Kirk in a hot-dog costume. Charles glanced at his watch and saw that it was almost ten o'clock. He couldn't believe that he has spent almost four hours at Lisa's.
When Lisa noticed him looking at the watch she looked at her own and was equally surprised how late it was.

"Wow, I didn't notice how late it is." – She said.

"Time flies when you're having fun and I did have fun." – Charles said and smiled at her.

"I had fun too."

"I'm sorry but I have to go now. Tomorrow will be long day for me at work. Parent-teacher conference and other stuff." – He said as he stood up.

"I'm sorry I kept you up so long."

"No need to apologize. I really had a great time." – Charles said and she saw that he was sincere. He picked up Luke's toolbox and walked to the front door with Lisa following him.

"I really don't know how to thank you for your handyman services." – Lisa said when they reached the door. – "How about dinner? I'll cook something on my newly repaired stove." – She asked him and hoped he'd say yes.

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to but only if you want too. I don't want to talk you into something you don't want." – Lisa said quickly, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Then I'll come gladly." – Charles said and she smiled at him, feeling relieved.

"Good. How does Friday sound? I have the whole weekend off."

"Friday sounds great." – Charles answered, opened the door and walked out.

"I'll see you Friday and probably before too."

"Probably. Good night Lisa."

"Good night Charles." – He gave her one last smile before walking down the porch stairs. She watched him walk across the street to his house before she closed and locked her door.

AN2: I hope you liked the chapter. Next chapter is about the bachelor/ette parties and the third and last chapter is about the wedding.

I'm looking for a BETA. Anyone interested? If anyone is interested or you know someone who'd like to beta JJ stories please contact me via e-mail (the address is in my profile). English is not my first language and I'd really appreciate the help with the grammar. That's all I need the help with - grammar. It's a big pain in my a--

It'd be great if I could post the next chapter after it was 'betaed'.

I'm also working on another JJ story that's a bit AU. I'm going through the first 3 seasons of the show and rewriting it a bit, making Lorelai the one who's pining for Luke and Luke being the one who's oblivious to everything.

Thanks for reading
-Pandora-