Editor's note: This story came about after reading DSLeo's "Dark Roman Whine" and wanting to read more stories where Luke winds up in Europe with the girls instead of going on the cruise with Nicole. The story title comes from the Pointer Sisters' "Jump (for my Love)" because I was horribly stuck on a title and this song came up on my Spotify playlist and seemed to fit. The chapter titles come from episodes of "Babylon 5." Everything is canon up to the end of season 3 then goes wildly AU.

Chapter 1: Points of Departure

Luke couldn't decide which was worse – hospitals or airports.

OK, really, by far the answer had to be hospitals. All those body parts and fluids and those strange smells that were a mixture of industrial cleaner, death, and anything the human body could emit. He'd spent more time than he'd wanted at the hospital, had seen his father wither away in a hospital bed until he wondered if leaving him with a gun or an overdose of drugs would be kinder than watching the shell of the man he'd become die.

But airports. Airports were a different type of torture, especially since 9/11. There was all that security to get through now, taking off the shoes, going through a metal detector, dumping your stuff in an assortment of bins and trying to retrieve it all again. There were dealing with all the people, the boredom, and that didn't even begin to describe the flights themselves. Luke also hated flying, and there were different levels to that hatred. The big jets, oh those were fine. Even the regional planes weren't terrible. But the puddle-jumpers like the one they'd taken from Hartford to Newark? Luke wished he'd been clubbed unconscious instead of having to deal with that tiny, tiny plane where they had to sit in weird places to make sure the weight was distributed evenly. He spent the entire hour-long flight gripping the armrest tightly and hoping Nicole didn't notice.

And then came the next fun part of airports – delays. Thanks to storms out west, flights were delayed left and right. They'd barely stepped up to their connecting gate when the attendant gave them an apologetic look and $400 flight vouchers. "I'm sorry, we just don't know when your flight will be leaving," she said.

Nicole scowled at her, but Luke steered her quickly toward a nearby restaurant. "There's nothing we can do," he said, knowing there was a time for venting and now wasn't it.. "Look, let's just get a drink. It's not all bad." And a bit more time to forget he was about to be shoved onto another metal tube and hurled across the country, but damn it, he agreed to this. Three weeks of traveling, because he had wanted to at least try with Nicole. Because a small part of him was envious that Lorelai and Rory were traveling Europe when he couldn't remember the last time he'd taken a break longer than a few days. And even then, it was either going to the cabin or into New York to see Liz. He wanted to try, because Lorelai hadn't stopped him, and he couldn't wait forever.

Three hours away from home, and he already ached to go back, remembering why he hated to travel so much. Or maybe it was the company. No, he wasn't being fair. He liked Nicole just fine. She was intelligent, steady, and dependable. There was no reason for him not to go on this trip. He toyed with the water glass the waiter set in front of him and tried to ignore the twinge of wrongness in his gut.

"Don't get engaged."

The echoes of dream Lorelai bounced around in Luke's head like a song stuck on repeat, less annoying than an endless round of "Small World" but still enough to throw him off his equilibrium. He found himself studying the sea of people milling about them, expecting the crowd to part and Lorelai and Rory to emerge. But that was ridiculous considering they'd left the country well before he had. The Gilmores weren't expected back for another four weeks at least, and he'd be home safe and sound by then. And not leaving Stars Hollow for a long time, he decided.

Nicole heaved a sigh and tossed an annoyed look at their gate. "Well, it's a good thing we built in extra time into this part of the trip," she said and pulled a large binder out of her bag. "There's got to be wi-fi here somewhere. I can go ahead and sign us up for activities."

"Activities?"

"That's what one does on a cruise."

Considering he'd been waffling up to the point where he loaded the suitcases in the truck, Luke realized he hadn't bothered to look up to see what they would exactly be doing other than sleeping and eating and sex, not that there had been much of that lately. His desires had taken a different turn in the weeks since the Independence Inn burned and Lorelai had sought shelter with him and Jess, confessing her dreams in the middle of the night. The dates with Nicole were still nice, but he had lost all interest in sleeping with her. It was why he agreed to this cruise, and because Lorelai had urged him to go. He didn't want to lead Nicole on, and Lorelai and Rory had been right. A cruise screamed commitment, and if it went well, perhaps … who knows? But if two people couldn't co-habitate in a tiny cabin for a few weeks, it didn't speak well to the future at all.

"Don't get engaged."

Luke shook off dream Lorelai's voice once more accepted the brochure from Nicole and absently paged through it. Not all of it was bad. There was a fishing excursion, and that was intriguing. For a few moments, he regretted not bringing his own supplies, but quickly realized it wouldn't be practical. The craft beer sampling wouldn't be bad either. He grinned at the one activity where sled dog puppies would be brought aboard the ship. Lorelai and Rory would love it. He would have to get pictures for them.

And you're not supposed to be thinking of Lorelai while on this trip, a small part of his brain reminded him.

Shut up, the rest of his mind shot back.

There was an axe-throwing competition, and if there was anything Lorelai would goad him into, it would be that. Then she would insist on doing it, and then he'd have to save her from herself and everyone else around them. There were storytellers and different shore excursions and it wouldn't be so bad. There would be some tours of local B&Bs, and he made a mental note to grab a small notebook and take notes for Lorelai for the inn. It wouldn't be bad to take some notes for Sookie as well, regarding the food. He'd have to keep his eye out for interesting books for Rory and something kitschy for Lorelai and …

"Aren't you listening?"

For a moment, he fully expected to see Lorelai sitting across from him, and somewhere that rational part of his brain was hitting itself against the wall. Nicole. It was Nicole sitting there, appearing to have successfully transferred her annoyance at the delay from the airline workers to him. Lorelai wasn't here, she was in Europe, she didn't stop him from going on this trip.

But you can stop yourself, that other part of his brain reminded him.

"Sorry, I was just … these are all really good." Luke offered Nicole a half-hearted smile and started to hand the brochure back.

"Aren't they?" Nicole had her laptop out and was signed into the cruise ship's website. She waved away the brochure. "I've just signed us up for a couple's yoga class."

He blinked and leaned forward, wanting to confirm the absurd suggestion he'd just heard. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Yoga! It'll be fun. Make you limber and relaxed."

He quickly waved her away. "Oh no, you're doing that one on your own."

"Why not?"

Because, Luke thought, Lorelai had broken her leg attempting to do yoga. The town spent weeks helping to take care of her and made sure she and Rory had food and could get around. It had been the first time he'd spent a serious amount of time with her outside the diner. He and Sookie had made sure her kitchen was stocked, and it was his first time really inside the Crap Shack. Then his toolbox had come along with him and he'd found himself making repairs to the old house. Then Lorelai had named his toolbox like she did everything else, and it felt like he'd belonged somewhere for the first time since his father died.

Luke sighed and stared back at the brochure. Oh, who was he kidding? He certainly didn't belong here.

Nicole kept rattling off a list of other activities that had nothing to do with the ones listed on the brochure he held, and it felt like he was being pushed into further into a skin that wasn't his. Dances and formal dinners and endless amounts of buffets that surely were the reason why the world hated America. Spa appointments and casinos. Live singers at little onboard jazz clubs. The more Nicole spoke, the more his gut churned, nearly turning into full-blown nausea.

At their departure gate, a time flashed onto the board. 45 minutes to departure, boarding in 20 minutes.

"Finally," Nicole said in triumph and closed the laptop. "I'm going to the bathroom."

"I uh … good idea. I'll just meet you at the gate?"

"Yes, that's a plan." She bussed his cheek and walked away. Luke settled the bill and escaped.

Instead of the restroom, he found himself wandering through the little shops lining the terminal between the gates. He could see Lorelai ducking in and out of them, spending ridiculous amounts of money on the same thing she could buy outside of the airport just because they were in the airport. He found himself drawn to one display with an outrageously pink handbag with glittering stones of various sizes sewn onto it. A large daisy was appliqued to the side. It was hideous. For the first time that day, he grinned. Lorelai would love it.

Luke had taken a step toward the store entrance before remembering that he couldn't do this. He couldn't begin to explain to Nicole why he was bringing a present for Lorelai on the plane. She was persona non grata in Nicole's book, and he really didn't want to spend a nearly six-hour flight across the country arguing over his best friend.

The phone in his pocket began buzzing and he fished it out. He didn't even want a cell phone in the first place, but Nicole had talked him into it for the trip. He'd only kept it turned on in case Jess or Liz needed him or in case there was any last-minute problems at the diner that Caesar needed his help for. The number on the display wasn't familiar and was unnaturally long. Probably someone trying to sell him something. He nearly shoved it back in his pocket, but gut instinct had him answering it instead. "Yeah? Who is this?"

"Luke!" Lorelai's voice, scratchy and more scared than he'd ever heard it came over the line. The only other times he'd heard her sound close to this scared was when her father had been admitted to the hospital, the night Rory had gone missing, and when Rory and Jess had gotten in their accident. "Oh thank God, I found you. I didn't know who else to call and Caesar gave me this number when I called the diner, and I'm so glad you have a cell phone now."

"What's wrong?" He'd taken two running steps before remembering that he was in an airport and she was in Europe, and they had just announced his plane was boarding. Luke swung around to see Nicole walk out of the bathroom and scan the terminal for him. He quickly dashed around a corner and out of her line of sight, walking in the opposite direction of his gate as he talked. "Are you OK? Is Rory OK?"

"Rory's fine. My purse was stolen. They didn't get my passport or my cash, that's all on me. But my debit card, my credit cards, my cell phone. All of those are gone and we only have enough cash on us for a few days." Her voice was high-pitched and panicked, but she wasn't in tears. He figured Rory had to be in earshot. "I was wondering if you could get some money wired to us until I can get a new debit card out here."

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Why didn't you call your parents?" He angled the small carry-on bag he had with him until he reached the front pocket and pulled out a thick sheaf of paper. He'd stuffed it in his bag at the last second, not even sure why he'd done so. The very detailed itinerary had been all Rory's doing. It was a compromise between Rory's need to schedule everything and Lorelai's spontaneity. There was a list of dates, hostels, and embassies. Rory had passed them out to everyone she deemed important before they left: Sookie, Babette and Morey, Patty, Lorelai's parents – and him.

Lorelai's laugh was short and bitter. "I'm not calling my parents. I would never hear the end of this. Never. We have enough cash for a couple days, but after that Rory's going to have to become the orphan child who sells flowers on the street corner."

"I am not," he heard Rory protest in the background, and it made him smile despite everything.

"I've spent the past hour calling the credit card companies and the bank, and thank god the charges they attempted can be reversed. I am never going to prank call fraud protection again."

Luke nearly walked into an airline worker pushing a person in a wheelchair. He quickly mouthed an apology as he skirted to one side, weaving through a family with several small children that looked to be on the verge of having a meltdown. "OK, OK … you're in Paris?"

"Just got here from London maybe five hours ago." Lorelai gave another bitter laugh. "We'd barely gotten checked into the hostel when a quick tug, someone else's fingers in my pocket, and my purse and phone were gone. I managed to chase down the guy with my phone, but he'd already passed it off."

"You chased down the thief? Geez, Lorelai, you coulda gotten hurt!" Or worse, and the thought chilled him to the bone.

"I'm fine," she waved it off. "Got Rory's itinerary, huh?"

"Told you it would come in handy," background Rory said.

Luke heard his name being paged over the loudspeaker and pulled the phone away from his ear long enough to hear it be called a second time. He glanced at his watch. The plane. Shit.

"Did I hear your name? What's … oh my God. You're at the airport!"

He stared down the terminal toward the gate, then turned away again. "Lorelai, it's OK."

"The cruise with Nicole. I'm so sorry, I forgot! All the time differences and the dates and the travel, and I'm sorry. I should let you go. Nevermind. I'll call my parents or Sookie and …"

"Lorelai," Luke yelled as loudly as he dared into the phone, but it seemed to be enough to cut into her babbling. "I'll get you the money, that's not a problem. You can wait a few hours for it, yeah?"

"Yes, but Luke …"

"No buts," he ordered. "I'm not gonna leave you and Rory stranded in Paris. I'll have it wired to a bank close to your hostel. Same one that's on the itinerary?"

"Yes," Lorelai said with audible relief. "Oh my God, I owe you big for this. I owe you so big. There's an HSBC near the hostel and the staff speaks English. Just give them the hostel address and Western Union should be able to find it."

"OK. Go back to your hostel. I'll wire it there through Western Union. Go to bed. It'll be waiting for you in the morning."

"You are the actual best. Just know I owe you the biggest hug as soon as I get off the plane and get back to Stars Hollow." Her voice dropped to a near whisper. "I'm probably going to cry all over you, just a warning, because I'm not crying in front of Rory."

"I know you're not," he said gently, wishing more than anything at that moment to give her that hug. "Get some sleep."

"You try to as well." He could feel her smile over the phone. "Have a safe flight. Say hi to Nicole for me."

The call disconnected as Luke heard his name over the loudspeaker once more. He shoved the phone back in his pocket and found himself staring up at the large bank of screens in front of him. He had wound up in front of one of the departure and arrival boards. He saw his boarding flight to Seattle. Then he noticed about two screens to the left the row of flights leaving for Paris. One was leaving in the next 90 minutes.

The thought that crossed his mind was so unlike him that he recoiled in denial. Then it repeated itself, a bit louder and a lot more insistent. No, Luke insisted, he couldn't do what his gut was urging him to do. He wasn't that kind of guy. He thought of his girlfriend and the woman who haunted his dreams. He thought of couples yoga classes, of Lorelai's scared voice, of a nameless punk who'd stolen her purse and he really itched to punish, of endless buffets and sex he didn't want to have and everything rolled into and out of his mind all at once.

Was he willing to settle? Or did he want more?

"You're the one who has to live with your actions," his father once told him. "You have to look at yourself in the mirror in the morning. Can you live with what you're about to do?"

Yes, I can, Luke thought, and walked back to his gate.