Author's Note: A typical weekend at my house involves me sitting at the computer in the family room, trying once again to find the right words for a tender scene between Luke and Lorelai. Meanwhile, I hear the TV click on in the other room and the walls begin to slightly shake when the sound system kicks in. "You! Shall! Not! Pass!" Gandalf the Grey thunders. Swords clang. Orcs and men and elves die. Over the carnage Lorelai leans in closer to me, a small wrinkle of doubt clustered between her eyebrows. "But maybe he didn't mean it as a date thing," she confides to me. "Maybe he just needed to get out of the house, and since I'm currently one of the women sitting home, thinking 'If only I could find a man like Aragorn,' he picked me."
So it was probably only a matter of time before I wrote this story. Oh, and Mr. Tolkien, sir? I'm very, very sorry.
The best thing about the end of the day was that her complete exhaustion kept the terror at bay.
Tonight Lorelai stumbled tiredly into the kitchen on her well-used feet and her hip smacked against the edge of the counter. She was so tired that it took a few seconds before the pain hit. When it did she rubbed at the sore spot below her left hipbone distractedly as she rummaged through the cupboard for something to eat.
This feeling of terror was something she'd experienced before. When she'd first gathered up Rory and all of the possessions she could hold and ran from Hartford she'd been terrified. Her intelligence might not be quite on her daughter's level but she was smart enough to know how perilous her decision to run had been. However, she was young then, and cocky, and confident that she could keep the very bad things from happening to them by her sheer force of will.
But then shortly after her third birthday Rory got sick. Really, really sick. Her fever had climbed higher and higher one panic-filled night. When Lorelai thought now about feeling scared, that was the night she remembered. She remembered the blue-hued lights in the emergency room, and her little girl's flushed face, and Mia's arms holding her back when they wheeled Rory away from her.
Terror and parenting went hand-in-hand, she learned.
Now she found herself in a horror show of her own making. Sometimes she was actually thankful that the Independence Inn had burned. She knew now that she would have never had enough courage to plunge into opening her own business without that shove of necessity.
The fact that she was responsible for so many other people bludgeoned her every minute of every day. She had to do this because she had to. She had no choice. Somehow she had to get money to complete this inn of their dreams. Construction needed to be finished and guests welcomed. An income stream was needed. Bank accounts needed to be filled.
This time it wasn't just her and Rory. This time Sookie and Michel and a dozen other employees were tied to her ability to somehow make this work.
So many problems. So many fears. But right now she just needed to stay on her feet long enough to find something to eat. If her body stopped working the whole Dragonfly scheme went out the window.
Terror, she thought, pulling out a forlorn box of Pop Tarts. I haz it.
She was too tired to even put the pastry into the toaster. The ancient graham cracker coating crumbled in her hand but she stuffed the pieces into her mouth anyway, chewing without tasting. It was convenient that her appetite had fled at the same time her money for discretionary items like food had dried up.
Lorelai collapsed onto a chair while gobbling up the rest of the antique Pop Tart. Now that the food was hitting her stomach she realized that she was hungry. The idea of a hamburger from Luke's made her mouth water. But Luke was out of town and she was broke and too tired to make the trip to the diner anyway.
Even the little bit of stale nourishment raised her spirits slightly. There were options, she knew. There were still her parents and their checkbook if she absolutely had no other choice. And there was the house. Someday Rory wouldn't need this house to come home to because she'd have her own place. She could sell the house and use the money for the Dragonfly. If she had to.
And…there was Luke. It was a thought she'd not deeply examined, but somehow she knew he'd be there if she needed him. It was a warm, soothing thought in the midst of her fears.
Besides, she thought, her head starting to droop down to the tabletop, it's not like there's some evil overlord trying to take over Connecticut or something. I'm just trying to start my own business, which is something that happens everyday. I just need to keep my little troubles in perspective.
With a yawn she shuffled upstairs, her eyes only half-open.
While pulling on her pajamas she stopped and ran her tongue over her teeth. The Pop Tart had left a terrible taste in her mouth, like she'd been chewing on old dirty cardboard. She went into the bathroom, anxious to brush her teeth.
Well, I guess I answered that question, Lorelai thought, rinsing her mouth. It is possible for Pop Tarts to go bad.
Hours later Lorelai woke up with a roiling stomach and a pounding head. She wanted to stay asleep but the discomfort wouldn't let her. Groggily she started downstairs, thinking that there might be some 7-Up in the refrigerator to help settle her stomach.
She tried to keep her eyes closed as much as possible. Disoriented, she found herself at the front door. Sure, why not? she thought, with her hand on the doorknob. A little fresh air can't hurt.
The second the door opened she was hit with a stream of blinding light, causing her to put a hand over her face to try and block it. She stepped out onto her front porch, wondering how the sun could be shining so brightly in the middle of the night.
And then sounds and light and sense of space altered all around her.
Birdsong that she'd never heard before sang in the air over her head. Light filtered through giant trees that she'd never seen before. Boards that she'd never felt before were under her feet.
Her eyes grew used to the sunlight. They registered the plum-colored sleeve ending in a point over her hand. The sleeve was edged in a floral ribbon that looked handcrafted. Lorelai looked down at the long dress covering her from her shoulders to the leather slippers on her feet. A heavy chain of wrought silver cinched the dense fabric around her hips.
She turned around quickly, trying to get her bearings, and her waist-long hair spun out around her.
"Whoa." She grabbed a fistful of dark hair and examined it. "Nice extensions," she muttered approvingly.
Slowly she revolved, taking in the spires and elaborate carvings that now decorated her house. Her neighbors' houses had vanished in a sea of ancient gray trees. The street was little more than a dirt path.
The steady clip-clop of a horse's hooves came from somewhere up the path. Soon the horse appeared, bearing a dark rider. The man sat tall in the saddle, his unkempt hair and beard showing the long days that had been spent in travel. His shoulders were broad under his leather jacket. A sword was in easy reach in a scabbard strapped to his back.
"This is such a great dream," Lorelai whispered to herself, drinking in the sight of the rough but handsome scoundrel heading her way.
She took a closer look at the noble steed. It was Cletus. And the rider…
"Luke?" She bounced up and down, laughing. "Luke! Is that really you?"
Luke hurried Cletus' last few steps and then dismounted, striding over to take her by the shoulders. He pushed her to the side until they were both mostly hidden from view under one of the tall pine trees.
"Lady, you know the dangers of being out in the open like this. These are not the days to tempt those fighting for power. Where is your father? Where are your guardsmen?"
Luke's speech was strangely formal. His hands were firm and he kept her from ducking out from under his grasp. The whiskers on his face were thick but not thick enough to hide the worry lining his face. His hair hung down lankly to his shoulders. He smelled of horse and dust instead of hamburgers and fries.
"Luke!" She laughed again at his seriousness. "What's going on?"
His eyes swept over her laughing face and the worry on his eased a bit. His hands on her shoulders gentled. "Only the Lady Lorelai insists on calling me by a mere portion of my given name. I confess I've missed hearing it."
Lorelai cocked her head, trying to puzzle out his speech. "You surely don't mean that you want me to call you Lucas, do you?"
"Well, it is my name," he said with a slight shake of his head. A brief smile turned up the edges of his mouth. "How would you like it if I only called you by a scrap of your name? How would it sound to your ears if I merely called you 'Lor?'"
The smile left Lorelai's face. "That doesn't sound right at all," she said with feeling.
"Then you take my meaning." Luke's arm settled around her shoulders and he walked her over to a vine-covered structure. Lorelai spied Gilbert's head peeking out from under a trail of white blossoms and realized they were standing under the chuppah.
"As much as it worries me to find you alone, I admit it pleases me to have a moment out from under your father's eyes." Luke's forehead dipped, briefly touching against hers, and Lorelai swallowed down an astonished gasp. She sensed that Lucas and Lady Lorelai had a more intimate relationship going on than the one she shared with her Luke.
She watched as Luke straightened and pulled out a thin silver chain from under the neck of the leather tunic he wore. He drew the chain over his head and caught the delicately carved amethyst hanging from it in his hand.
Her eyebrows arched. "Exploring your feminine side there, Lucas?"
He gave her the exasperated look she knew so well and she felt warmly satisfied that not everything had changed between them, even if they were now living in some sort of magical kingdom.
Luke slipped the fine chain over her head and the amethyst settled between her breasts. "Your offer of this protection to me was much appreciated, but I rest better knowing it is shielding you."
"This protects me?" Lorelai picked up the mauve stone and looked at it skeptically.
"It ensures your life. It enables you to live out your days as the rest of your people do. I would not want to deprive you of any of the time given to you. I don't mind my own numbered days as long as I know you will still be alive."
"So I'm like immortal? Cool," Lorelai said happily, letting the necklace drop.
Luke shifted and suddenly he seemed much closer to her. His hands looked clumsy and rough but they were surprisingly gentle as they lifted up her long hair and settled the chain around her neck. One of his fingers stroked along her ear.
"Oh my God!" Her hands shot up to her ears. "I've got the ears? The pointy ears?"
"Your ears are perfect." His voice was low and husky and his fingers continued to trace over the sensitive tips, confirming his assessment. His touch had her quivering and breathless and she was not at all surprised when he bent to kiss her.
His arms wrapped around her waist and she clung to his shoulders, letting him pull her close. He drew on her bottom lip and teased her with his tongue, and in the midst of the blood pounding in her head she realized that although this might be her first kiss with Luke, it certainly wasn't his first kiss with her.
He released her reluctantly and she called upon every bit of strength she had to remain upright on her wobbly legs.
"I've missed you," he sighed. His eyes turned muddy with concern and he closed them, stopping her from seeing his fears. He rested his head against hers. "'Tis good to be back. The roads away from here grow darker each passing week."
"Stay here then." She didn't know what was going on but all at once she was frightened for him. She didn't want him out in the darkness with nothing but a pre-Industrial Age sword between him and whatever evil power was lurking around. She wanted him to be safe with her and her magic necklace. "Stay with me," she wheedled, knowing just how persuasive that smile of hers could be.
Luke smiled back and lightly kissed her forehead. "For a bit," he promised. "I need to confer with your father and the other members of the council. The fiery eye of Tayloron sees further with each conquest and he becomes more dangerous the longer we wait to strike. The plan to save the ring needs to be put into motion soon, or we lose all advantage."
"Um…OK." Lorelai nodded madly, not having any idea what he was talking about.
Luke stepped out from under the chuppah and picked up Cletus' reins. "Were you going somewhere?"
"I was going to go see Sookie." Lorelai watched with extreme approval while Luke swung his fine form up into the saddle. The tight leggings and high boots were really workin' for him.
"I'll take you." He reached an arm down to her. "It's not wise for you to be out on your own. These are dark and dangerous days, Lorelai." He helped to pull her up and settled her in front of him, one arm holding her tightly. "Promise me that you'll remember my regard for you and how much I want you safe."
Lorelai twisted herself around so that she could partially see his face. "I'll promise if you do, Luke. I want you safe, too."
His pleasure in her words bloomed in his smile. "I aim to have many years in your arms, Lady. My treasure will be found in watching our children run freely without the fear that has marked our lives so far."
Her heart fluttered at the excellent idea of making little pointy-eared babies with Luke. Why had that possibility never occurred to her before? She leaned back against him and lost herself in a sweet little fantasy world while he nuzzled her neck and urged Cletus over the path.
A version of the Dragonfly was soon visible in a clearing. The quaint rambling building sported round windows and the railings on the porch came together to make a sphere in front of the entry. More blooming vines trailed over and around the porch, spilling yellow trumpet-shaped flowers everywhere. Golden gourds and bright pumpkins peeked out from rows in the thriving garden beside the inn.
Sookie was shelling peas in a rocking chair on the porch and she jumped up when she saw them approaching, hustling over to meet them.
"Welcome!" she trilled at them, clapping her hands in delight. "Oh, 'tis good to see you again, Lucas!"
Luke smiled at Sookie and helped Lorelai slide down to the ground. "It's my pleasure to be back, Mistress Bellville." He held Lorelai's hand tightly for one more moment. "I trust that the Inn is running smoothly? No more of the dark strangers scaring off the good townspeople?"
"Come in and see for yourself," Sookie invited him. "I pulled a pumpkin pie from the oven not more'n an hour ago. I believe I remember that being a favorite of yours. Could that entice you to come in and set a spell?
Lorelai looked at him hopefully but Luke shook his head. "First I need to relay the findings from my reconnaissance to Hartfordshire. Perhaps you could be prevailed upon to save a piece for my enjoyment later."
"Certainly, good sir."
Luke nodded his head respectfully to them, cast one last special smile in Lorelai's direction, and then directed Cletus over to where a cluster of men and elves were in animated discussion just down the dusty roadway. Lorelai heard them greet him with shouts of welcome.
"You look adorable." Lorelai grabbed her friend's arms and pulled them away from her body so that she could admire her. Sookie's snowy-white chemise showed off her collarbones and bare shoulders. A black bodice laced up her front while a vivid green skirt swirled over her legs. Her auburn hair curled around her shoulders and bright blue flowers were tucked behind her ears.
"Ooh! You've got the ears, too!" Lorelai said, pointing at them.
Sookie's sunny smile flashed at Lorelai. "Yes, but unfortunately I've got the hobbit feet instead of the elegant Elfish variety." She picked up her skirts, showing Lorelai a pair of square-toed, sturdy feet.
Lorelai giggled and looked around curiously. "Isn't this the craziest thing ever?"
"It's crazy," Sookie agreed. Her mood turned more somber and her arm snaked around Lorelai's waist, urging her up onto the porch. "But Lorelai, you need to realize that just because this is dream doesn't mean there's no evil here. You need to be careful."
"That's what Luke said." Lorelai's attention went to hobbit-baby Davey, who was playing on a blanket spread on the porch. He was absolutely the cutest thing she'd ever seen, what with his curls and round, rosy cheeks. She plopped down to coo over him. Sookie fed her pumpkin scones while she peek-a-booed with Davey. The fear of the unknown evil that had been tickling her spine disappeared along with the mead in her cup.
From out of the corner of her eye she swore she could see a laughing little boy running up and down the path. He had Luke's hair and chin and her eyes and once he turned and smiled straight at her, making her heart swell up in love and pride. She tried to sweep the warmth building in her chest aside. Surely it was just the potent mead creating visions in her head.
Angry shouts shattered their pleasant afternoon. Before they could stand and turn they heard the stinging clang of swords striking against one another.
Sookie gasped. "Oh, no!" She swooped up Davey and skittered to the door. "Lorelai, come inside! Now!"
Lorelai put a hand up to her brow, trying to see down the road. Her heart froze over as she saw Luke in the middle of the fighting. "No," she said, refusing to believe what her eyes told her. Her foot dangled down the first step.
"Lorelai, you can't!" Sookie's grip on her arm was painfully strong and Lorelai felt herself tugged to the door. "You can't help! All you'll do is to distract Luke, and that's the last thing he needs now!"
She clung to the doorframe, watching the swords flash and parry. The fear was back and overpowering in its strength. Her heart was in her throat as she followed every move he made against his opponent.
"Is that Dean?" Lorelai recognized the tall figure but she couldn't reconcile his presence in the battle. "Dean's fighting Luke?"
Sookie cradled a shrieking Davey against her and peeked under Lorelai's shoulder. "Deanomir is no longer a trusted member of the fellowship. He's been corrupted by Tayloron. He fights to cement his own power now."
At that moment a gangling figure scuttled into the path of the fight. It was Kirk, but he was dirty and dressed in rags. He crawled on his hands and knees instead of walking upright. His attention seemed to be focused on something in the grass in front of him instead of the two men doing battle beside him.
"Kirkum! Look out!" Luke shouted, while Deanomir's sword sung through the air over Kirk's bowed head.
The split-second it took to shout a warning was all Dean's sword needed to find its way to Luke's neck. Luke dropped to his knees in one moment of pure, heart-stopping horror. The abrupt silence was even more terrifying than the previous sounds of the frantic fighting.
Lorelai shook off Sookie's clutching arm with ease. Nothing could keep her away now.
"Dean, what did you do?" she scolded in her best mother-voice as she passed him. She was amazingly calm, because surely nothing bad had really happened.
Dean flicked a look of disdain at her as he pushed his sword against the tall grass, cleaning off the blood. "I look to secure my future, Lady. You would do well to do the same." He picked up his scabbard and strode leisurely to his horse.
Luke was lying on his back in the grass. She knelt beside him. She touched him and instantly recoiled, her hands coming back slick from the blood that had spilled over his leather tunic.
"No," she whispered. She thought she was shrieking. She thought she could feel herself screaming. But she was numb and cold and the screams were trapped deep inside her chest.
Luke focused his eyes on her. They were clear and warm and as blue as the suddenly cruel sky above them. "It's all right," he choked out to her.
"No. No, it's not," she insisted, feeling the panic coming on. Decades of movie viewing suddenly came to mind and she yanked up the skirt from around her legs, tearing off a swath of petticoat. She bundled it together and held it against his wound, hoping that somehow it would hold his blood inside his precious body. "We'll get help. You'll be OK," she told him, praying that was true.
He managed to get a hand up against her face. He smiled, and the smile was full of love. "I can imagine no better end." His eyes tracked back and forth between hers. He cupped her cheek and she leaned into his hand. "To see your face. To hear your voice." His breath escaped in a sound of ultimate satisfaction. "I love you, Lorelai."
Luke's hand dropped down to his chest. His eyes slowly closed, saving her from doing even that one final task.
"No! Luke! No!" She was screaming now. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be true.
The necklace. She remembered the necklace. She tore it off her neck and pressed it against him frantically. "Here. It's yours. I don't want it, Luke. Please, please, oh, please, Luke! Please, oh, please…How can I ―" A sob tore out of her, crumpling her to the ground. "How can I live in a world where you aren't? How can I live when you didn't even know I loved you back? Oh, Luke, please! Please, please, please…"
Her heartbroken cries continued, long after Jackson and Morey came out to try and pull her away.
The door behind Lorelai opened without warning and she fell backwards, flat on her back. "Ow," she said, rubbing her head.
"Lorelai?" She looked up into Lane's concerned, upside-down face. "What are you doing here so early?" The girl offered a hand to help her up.
"I need to see Luke." The words tumbled out of her. "I need to see him right now."
Lane's eyebrows pinched together in concern. "He's not here, Lorelai. You know that. You know he's still on his fishing trip."
She bowed her head, defeated. Of course she knew that.
"He's supposed to get back sometime today," Lane added, trying to sound upbeat. "Do you want some coffee while you're here?"
"No. No coffee. Thanks anyway, Sweetie." No need to waste her few disposable pennies on Luke's coffee when Luke wasn't even here to make it. She tried to find a smile for Lane. "Listen, could you call me when he does get back?"
Lane was still looking troubled. "Are you OK, Lorelai? Do you need help?"
Lorelai took a deep breath. If she kept up this looney-tunes act, Lane would be calling Rory in no time.
"I'm fine," she insisted, doing her best to sound optimistic and positive while heading for the door. "I'll see you later, Kiddo!"
Sad and empty, Lorelai left the diner and took a few steps down the street before stopping and leaning up against a storefront. She'd awakened from her vivid dream in the dreadful post-midnight hours, trying mightily to perform CPR on a pillow that had been soaked by her tears. Knowing it was all a dream was one thing, but putting her fears to rest about Luke was quite another.
The familiar sound of a pick-up's tailgate being slammed shut brought her head around. Her spirits soared into the stratosphere when she saw him standing beside the truck.
She started running. She'd once vowed to never run again in her life but that was all forgotten now. "Luke, Luke, Luke," she chanted, just under her breath.
He looked up just in time to see her launching herself at him. Luke braced himself against the side of the truck and let her run into him.
Decorum and propriety went by the wayside. She scrambled up his body like an eighth-grader trying to scale a rope in gym class, locking her arms around his neck and her legs around his narrow hips. Her nose tucked into his neck and she breathed in the sweaty, fishy smell of him. He smelled wonderful. He felt wonderful. And for the first time in a very, very long time, she felt wonderful too. Her worries and fears disappeared, leaching away as his mere presence calmed her.
His hold on her never wavered, but after a few moments she felt his chest shaking and realized he was trying not to laugh.
"Uh, Lorelai, are you OK?" he finally asked, his tone the familiar wry one she was so used to hearing.
"I'm fine," she reassured him, her voice still muffled by her face being pressed against him.
He chuckled but tried to turn it into a throat clearing. "Guess you really missed the coffee, huh?"
"I missed you," she said sincerely, hugging him even tighter.
"Hey. What's going on?" A firm hand gripped her chin, tipping her face back so he could see her. Luke's face was creased with worry. The chuckle was long gone.
Instead of answering she looked him over. He had on a brown fishing vest that she'd nearly mistaken for the leather tunic that other Luke had worn. His hair was long and scraggly, hanging lankly down his neck.
"Your hair's long," Lorelai told him, her fingers lightly combing through it. "I've never seen it this long."
"Well, you know, fishing trip," he explained, still looking at her like he was afraid she was having a breakdown. He shifted her slightly, getting a better grip "Figured I'd hit the barbershop once I got back."
Lorelai nodded. "Where's your hat?"
The smallest of smiles started to lift the edges of his mouth. "Full of smoke and bug spray and fish guts. It needs washed before I can wear it again."
Lorelai's fingers gently scratched through the thick whiskers on his face. "You've got a beard."
"Not really," Luke protested. "Just, you know, fishing trip. You don't shave on a fishing trip."
"Oh," Lorelai said, seriously. Her hand continued to smooth over his face. "Say, Luke, do you know how to fence? Or ride a horse?"
"What? No!" He was nervously looking at her like she really was crazy.
"No? No to which one?" she asked anxiously. "Or no to both?"
"No to both," he snapped, his patience coming to an end. "Lorelai, what is this about?"
"I'm just glad you're back," she said. Her fingers moved to his ears. She tucked his hair back behind them and then with the lightest of touches traced over his ears. She could feel his heart picking up speed as it beat against her chest. "Your ears are perfect," she informed him, and then she kissed him.
She pulled on his bottom lip and teased him with her tongue. And although she knew this first kiss was a surprise and a revelation to him, it wasn't to her. She'd kissed him before, if only in her dreams. She smiled as she kissed him because she knew what to expect. Luke held her to him so tightly and then he barely turned, pressing her up against the truck. The kiss lasted a long time, as well it should, considering it had been brewing for so many years.
Reluctantly she straightened her legs and dropped down to the ground. "Really glad you're back," she whispered, giving him a last hug before attempting to step away.
"Wait." Luke grabbed her arm. He looked like he didn't know whether he should laugh or rant at her. He sighed, shook his head, and then reached into a pocket on his vest. "I've got something for you."
Lorelai saw a flash of silver and recoiled. She squeezed her eyes shut, terrified that it was going to be the magic necklace that didn't work.
"Liz made it just for you," Luke explained. "I wasn't that far from where she was set up with that clown act she travels with, so I stopped by to see her."
She cautiously squinted at the necklace and saw blue and white beads with dangling silver dragonfly charms hanging down at regular intervals.
"Oh!" Her finger shot out to touch it. "It's so pretty! Luke, it's beautiful."
"Yeah?" He looked pleased.
"Yeah," she said softly. She turned, lifting her hair so he could fasten it around her neck. She fingered one of the dragonflies as she turned back around. "Thank you. And thank Liz. Tell her that I…I l-love it," she faltered, tripping over the one word that mattered the most.
He looked flustered too. "She told me to give it to the most important woman in my life. I, uh, I guess that's you."
She arched her eyebrows at him. "You guess?"
Luke's foot shuffled against the ground and he looked down at it, but she could see the big grin on face. "I know," he admitted.
Lorelai reached for his hand and laced her fingers through his. "I know too," she told him, her face beaming with a smile of her own.
They continued to grin goofily at each other, their linked hands swaying slightly between them. Finally they broke away self-consciously.
Lorelai took a few steps away. "Listen, I have to go to the Dragonfly for a few hours to check on the sink and the wiring and about a dozen other things. But later, say around 11, I should be at the house. Do you want to come over? You know, so we can talk about some of this?" Her hand waved at the space between them.
"I'd like that a lot." Luke's eyes were resting on her with a warmth she could feel down to her toes. The smile on his mouth maybe wasn't full of love exactly, but it was close. Really, really close.
"Oh, and hey, Luke?" she called back over her shoulder as she started on her way. "Don't shave yet, OK?"
"Really?" He rubbed at his face incredulously.
"Really," she confirmed with a wink and then hurried down the street, her skin flushing when she thought about those whiskers brushing against it.
For the first time in months Lorelai went off to work with pure happiness in her heart. She knew without a doubt that she'd found The One. And she had a feeling that pretty soon the one ring would be on her finger to prove it.