Author's note …Quite simply, the new season is bugging me. I'm sorry to say that I have kind of abandoned some of my other fics (my apartment didn't have internet last sem., so it was hard to keep up in the world of fanfics), but I just had to do this one… namely because I'm frustrated with what's been done with the show. The combination of the Lorelai/Chris marriage and the cheesy "I love you" "But I love you more" dialogue of Rory/Logan is making me sick. As it is not my show and I have absolutely no influence on its writers, I won't accomplish anything by bitching about it with my similarly addicted friends... but what I CAN do is to write my own version so Luke/Lorelai fans like me will stop wanting to rip Lorelai out of the TV screen and slap her across the face.

Lorelai's head was pounding. Too much vodka. Too much gin. Too much… what all had they drank last night? She couldn't remember.

It was warm in Christopher's apartment, but she shivered. His arm around her was too heavy. Normally an embrace like this made Lorelai comfortable, but this one was suffocating. She couldn't breathe. She realized that the arm wasn't too heavy – it was just the wrong arm.

"Good morning, Lor," Chris breathed. He kissed the side of her neck. Wrong, wrong, it all just felt so wrong. She had to get out.

Lorelai stood as fast as her hung-over body would permit, grabbing at her clothes as fast as she could. She had to get out of there. She had to get back home, back to Stars Hollow, back to Rory, back to last night so she could undo this horrible mistake…

But there was no way to go back. Lorelai realized with a sinking feeling that she may have burned a bridge, may have done irreparable damage to the floundering relationship she and Luke had tried so hard to sustain over these past few months. How could she do this to him?

"Lor? What are you doing?" Chris asked. "Come back to bed." He smiled and held his arms open.

Into them Lorelai shoved the sheet she'd been holding around herself; she was already fully dressed. "I can't, Chris."

Chris frowned. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Lorelai let out a hollow laugh. "I'll tell you what's wrong. I'm engaged, Chris. To another man. And I came here, and I slept with you. God, what is wrong with me?"

Chris shook his head. "I thought you told me that it was over with Luke."

"It was – is. I mean, I walked away. But I didn't say it was over, exactly. I didn't really break things off. For all he knows, we just had a fight, and I've come here and done this. God, what an idiot!"

"You have no right to yell at me for this. You came here, Lorelai. It was your choice," Chris said angrily.

Lorelai could feel tears pushing their way into her eyes. "I'm sorry, Chris. I have to go," she choked out, rushing out of his apartment so he wouldn't see her cry. If she cried, he would want to comfort her, that's the kind of guy he was now. But that would only make her feel worse.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

Rory rolled over and looked out the window. It was raining – of course. She'd crawled back into bed after saying good-bye to Logan. After tossing and turning for a few hours, it was apparent that she was wide awake for the day.

Rory stared at a clock on the wall, watching the second hand snap from one second to the next, working its way in an eternal circle. If she watched intently enough, she could almost see the minute hand move – or was that only her imagination?

Tick, tock.

Okay, this was insane, Rory realized. She had to get out of bed and do something. That was the kind of girl she was. The only way she was going to cope with her feelings of loss was – well, to ignore them, and make lists. Lost of lists. There were so many things she probably needed to do, but hadn't gotten around to, what with finals and party planning and all. What should be on the list? Cleaning up the apartment, of course. Taking the empty beer cans and rum bottles to the recycling center. Maybe buying some summer clothes. Okay. She could do this. She could stand up and get started on the list.

Tick, tock.

Rory shuffled into the kitchen and dumped coffee grounds into the state-of-the-art coffeemaker that sat atop Logan's counter. She stared at the liquid as it slowly trickled into the coffeepot, then poured a cup and sat by the window, watching droplets race each other down the window pane. I have got to go do something, she thought, but though her mind compelled her body to move, her feet wouldn't have it. She sat, motionless. What was she going to do? It was summer, and Logan was gone. The loss was palpable – probably because when Logan was here, he usually had an entourage of loud friends in tow, or he at least turned up his sound system. The apartment was dead silent, but for the clock, and an occasional weird noise from the refrigerator.

Tick, tock.

Maybe she could have a Stars Hollow weekend. That usually cured everything. Breakfast at Luke's, a browse through Andrew's bookstore, a "Soap" marathon with her mom, and maybe even a classic Taylor blowup thrown in there somewhere. And Lane was getting back from her honeymoon tomorrow. Rory made a mental note to visit Lane and ask for every minute detail of their vacation in Mexico – which, considering the fact that Lane had taken hundreds of pictures of just her high school prom, was likely to have been well-documented. First, of course, she'd stop by her home and see her Lorelai.

She called her house. No answer. Mom's probably out with Luke, she reasoned. Rory finally stopped dragging her feet, got herself ready, and headed out to her car. Even if her mom wasn't around, this heartbreak was something that only Stars Hollow could fix.

Rory arrived to find an empty house – empty, that is, except for Paul Anka, who was standing on the kitchen table. Rory knew better than to be surprised at this; she simply hunted for the dog's bowl. Just as she'd finished filling it with dog food, Rory heard the front door slam. "Mom?" she called out.

Rory circled into the family room – to see her mom, face tear-stained, sink onto the couch. "Oh my God, what happened, Mom?"

Lorelai shook her head, burying her face into her hands. "It's over."

"What?" Rory sat beside her mother and wrapped an arm around her.

"Me and Luke. It's over. It's all over and it's my fault."