Yes, my kind readers, I'm still alive! Lol! I haven't forgotten about "A Mother's Love". I'm taking a break to focus on life at the moment. I want to let you know that I am up for auction! Yes, you can own me! Well, maybe not me per se, but a story written by me...just for you. Go to my profile for more info. So if you want me to write you a story, then bid on me. It's for a good cause, and if you win, YOU get to post the plot challenge for me! So go for it...you know you want to! Thanks so much to everyone who's read and reviewed my stories in the past. You are awesome! So please tell me how you like this one to. Should I keep it as a oneshot, or continue writing some more chapters? I haven't decided.

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Gilmore Girls is owned by Amy Sherman-Palladino. I'm just here to entertain you! Some dialog is taken from the episode "Bon Voyage". Enjoy!

Home

I can't believe it's finally here. I knew it would come eventually, but I thought I'd have more time to plan it. Today is the last day I get to spend with Rory before she leaves and goes off into the real world. It just happened so fast though. One minute we were planning our summer of roller coaster riding from state to state, and the next, she announces she's not only got a job, but that it starts in three days! I'm stunned! Floored! I mean…I'm so happy for her, but I'm not ready for this! I mean, I'm ready, God I've known since she was little that she would one day leave mommy and go off into the big world. It's just all so sudden.

I tried to keep busy yesterday. After all, there was a ton of stuff to do before I took her to the airport. Thank God for distractions! So much to pack, so much to buy. We did laundry and I even ironed her clothes! The only things I iron are my dress clothes and work clothes, if I can even remember. Most of the time, I wash it, dry it, and stuff it into my drawers or shove them on hangers. I figured that things would fit more neatly in Rory's giant suitcase if I ironed everything. Rory, being Rory, was more than pleased at my sudden organizational skills when she came home from spending time with Lane. That's my anally organized little freak!

I couldn't help but marvel at my baby, as she went over her to do list for the millionth time, checking off items as she went down the list. She had that thoughtful yet serious look on her face as she tapped the end of her pencil against her teeth. Rory's to do lists were as legendary as her pro/con lists. She'd been making lists since she first learned how to write. My idea of making lists is scribbling something down on a Post It note so I wouldn't forget. The only problem with my system is that half the time I can't read what I wrote in the first place, not to mention they usually end up crumpled and stuck to some squashed candy bar in the bottom of my purse.

At one point, Rory even asked me how I was managing to hold it together. Was she really wondering why I wasn't freaking out? Did she want me to just lose it and blubber all over her like a baby? I could see the anxiety on her face. Her large eyes looked so sad. I had to look away. I told her that it was too soon, that we had time. I didn't want her getting upset yet, cause then I'd lose it. I had to be strong.

So I sucked it up and shoved my emotions down, keeping a steady lighthearted banter going between us. My heart sank when she finally decided to go to bed. I lay in my own bed, staring at the ceiling. It was too damn quiet! I ran my hand along the cool sheets next to me. I was alone already and Rory hadn't even gotten on the plane. Luke should have been beside me. He should have been snuggled up against me, holding me as I cried in his arms. How could I be so stupid? How could I ruin the only real love I'd ever known? I couldn't think about that. My baby was leaving home soon and these last moments were precious. I couldn't sleep so I got up and went downstairs to grab a snack. When I reached the kitchen. I decided that I wasn't hungry. I noticed the door to Rory's bedroom was opened a bit. She usually closes it at night. Was she expecting me to come and say goodnight to her?

I stood in the doorway for a moment, gazing into the darkened bedroom. I could see that Rory was on her side, her back facing me. I stepped into the room as quietly as I could and eased onto the bed. She looked so peaceful. I can remember all the times I'd spent just like this, watching her sleep, first in her crib, curled up in a little ball. Sometimes I'd pick her up and she'd snuggle into my neck. I miss that sweet baby smell! I watched her sleep the night before she started kindergarten, Colonel Clucker clutched under her arm. She looked so tiny to be going off to school, but she was so ridiculously smart, even then.

I watched Rory as she slept. Things were changing now. There would be no more visits from Rory when she needed a break from school. The room was going to be empty. She wasn't my little girl anymore. She was all grown up and I had to let her go. I could feel my throat constrict with the sobs I swallowed back. I took in a ragged breath and pulled the duvet up over her shoulders. Stupid tears! I promised Rory I would be okay and now I can't stop the tears from falling. It's not fair! We were supposed to have more time. I left the room and ran back upstairs. I didn't want Rory to wake up and hear me bawling like a baby.

And now today is my last full day with her. She'd wanted to say goodbye to everyone but couldn't seem to reach anyone. Nobody was answering their phones? How is that possible? This is Stars Hollow! Patty and Babette were both in the diner when we announced that Rory was leaving for her new job in three days. I figured the entire town would be beating down our door trying to say goodbye to Rory. Oh well, if they weren't coming to us then we would go to them.

This sucks! It's raining. Why today, of all days, does it have to rain? We're driving into town. Rory wants to make the rounds, starting with Sookie. As we pull down the street, heading toward the town square, I almost drive off the road! It looks like Rory is going to get to say her goodbyes after all! I pull the car to the side of the street and park. This is insane! Jackson and Zack are running toward the Jeep with umbrellas. As I open my door, Jackson holds the umbrella over my head, and I get a good look at the amazing scene before me.

There, in the center of the square, is a tent of some kind. It's all different colors and huge! Under it is practically the whole town. As Rory and I run with Jackson and Zack under the umbrellas, I can hear the cheers of all our friends. They're all here to say goodbye to Rory. They set up a farewell party for her in the pouring rain. Only the crazy, wonderful, people of Stars Hollow would have a party in the rain, under a huge …what is that?...a tarp?…a bunch of shower curtains? Oh my God! Are those raincoats sown together?

Rory looks like she's about to fall over. Everyone is surrounding her to hug her. I spot my parents in the crowd. I can't believe Emily and Richard are here. This has to be Sookie's doing. She has Mom's cell phone number. Not to mention, she can be pretty persuasive when she wants to. I'm sure she got everyone on board. And they all managed to pull this off without me finding out! Man I must be distracted! I'm usually the first person to know when things are going on. I joined my parents, watching in awe.

"I can't believe they did this for her," I say to Dad. It just blows me away how everyone is fawning over Rory.

"I don't think this is all for Rory," Dad replies, looking kind of wistful. "I think this party's a testament to you, Lorelai, and the home you've created here. I regret that you needed…"

"Richard," Mom interrupts. He regrets that I needed what? Why do you always do this Mom?

"Now, let me finish Emily," Dad replies. "I regret it, and we've…recent experiences have taught me…"

"Oh, please don't become one of those 'I've had a heart attack, let me express my every thought' types," Mom interjects again. Jeez, Mom, let him finish already.

"Not every thought, Dear, just one," Dad responds, looking right at me. Are those tears in his eyes? "It takes a r…a remarkable person to inspire all of this."

Did my father just compliment me? Okay, now I'm gonna cry! I can barely maintain eye contact with him. I've never seen him look at me like this before. He does love me! And all this time I thought Rory was the golden child who could do no wrong! Okay, Lorelai, hold it in. You can't fall apart yet! Especially not in front of your parents!

"Thanks, Dad," I manage to croak out, too overwhelmed to say more.

"Okay, that's enough," Mom says, ruining the moment. "It's not as though the two of you are saying goodbye."

I can feel the pain in my chest, as everything sinks in. This really is my last day with Rory for a very long time. Taylor gives a speech about how the town birthed Rory and something about amniotic fluid and spanking her bottom? Ew! Okay, now I'm queasy. Mom looks kind of green standing next to me as well. Only Taylor can manage to make such a gross analogy during a speech. Not even Rory's actual birthing process was as gross! He then announces Rory and my baby takes center stage. She looks a bit flustered from all the attention.

"Thank you, Taylor, for that very unique tribute," Rory says with a little nervous giggle. She looks out at the crowd gathered under the huge makeshift tent. "Um…I love this place. I…I just loved growing up here, and I love all of you. And thank you so much for doing all of this. It's amazing. I just…It's so…Oh! I'm on the verge of gushing, so I'm gonna stop myself here. I don't want to gush, except one more thing…to my mom, who is just everything to me and everything I am and who I'm gonna miss so much."

The lump in my throat is so huge that I swear I swallowed a softball! All I can do is nod slightly and smile. I can hardly see her through the tears, but I need to keep it all under control. It's Rory's party. She's the star, not me. I'm so proud of her that I could burst. That's my girl up there! And she's looking right at me, her eyes just as teary. I just want to run up and wrap my arms around her and squeeze and never let go. That young woman before me is so ready to take on the world. She's gonna do great things. She has her whole life ahead of her. And I'm gonna to miss her so much.

The party is amazing. I feel like I've hardly had a moment with Rory. She's one popular girl. Despite the rain, there's music and a makeshift dance floor. Kirk is the dee jay. He's actually not bad. In the midst of all of this is Luke at the grill, cooking up hamburgers and hot dogs. He seems happy. I knew he wouldn't let Rory down. I'm sure Sookie asked him for his help and he did it, cause that's just the kind of guy Luke is…dependable. He's dependable and so hot. Gah! Why am I thinking like this? It's over between us. I made sure to kill that relationship and bury it deep.

But that smile…I've missed that smile so much. Luke is smiling and flipping burgers at Rory's farewell party. God, I want to go over and talk to him. We've been talking more since I started going back to the diner, but things aren't the same. When he went with me to help me pick out a new car, there was the old bickering Luke. I thought I had a chance. He was grumbly and grouchy and I was like…yes! That's my Luke! He even found another Jeep just like mine so I could have the engine put in mine. I didn't want to part with my Jeep and he made sure I didn't have to. I thought that maybe we were friends again.

But why would he want to be friends with me? I hurt him. I hurt him by sleeping with Chris and I can't take that back. Then I go and do something even more stupid by thinking that Chris was the one for me. I married him! Yes, I love Chris and I always will. He's my oldest friend and Rory's dad. I thought that I could have that whole package, that wonderful family life with him, but I couldn't. My guilt over how I treated Luke just kept eating away at me. No…I wouldn't want to be friends with me either, if I was Luke. Things have changed too much this past year. I don't want to think about this right now.

Maybe I'll just make small talk with him. I grab a paper plate and stand in line for one of Luke's juicy burgers. And suddenly Emily is there. Man, she's got impeccable timing! She's still yammering on about me putting in a spa at the Dragonfly. Where would I put it? In the stable with the horses? There's no room to put a spa and I don't want to add on. It's too expensive, and I certainly don't want to be indebted to my parents any longer. Now she's talking about putting in a tennis court! Please! Okay, I must appease my mother, if I'm ever to get out of her clutches long enough to grab something to eat.

"How about we discuss this at dinner on Friday?" I suggest, hoping to cease her prodding.

"Oh, so our Friday night dinners are going to continue then?" she asks, genuinely surprised by my statement.

"Well, we might as well," I respond. My mother actually looks relieved. "I've gotten used to it."

"All right. That sounds fine," Mom says, and then adds, "but don't be late and don't wear jeans."

"When have I ever worn jeans to dinner?" I reply. I love messing with her head.

"Well, I don't know, it could very well be Rory who enforces the dress code. I'm just saying that jeans are not appropriate."

"Fine, spandex and a tube top it is," I state. I'm kidding, of course, but it's so much fun to watch that vein bulge in her temple. The quick death glare she shot me was so worth it.

Rory comes over to say goodbye to her grandparents. Suddenly these people, who have been the bane of my existence all my life, morph into kind, loving old people. Rory is their second chance I guess. Seeing the tears in my mother's eyes, as she says goodbye to Rory, just about breaks my heart. Why couldn't she show me that kind of love?

"It's an honor to be your grandmother, Rory Gilmore," Emily says, her voice catching. Maybe once Rory is gone, my mother will show me some of that love. And maybe monkeys will fly out of my butt! I choke back the urge to laugh at my own stupid thoughts. I have to do something! All this warm fuzziness from my parents is kind of freaking me out right now! Luckily, Rory walks them to their car and I have a chance to grab one of Luke's burgers before they're gone. Wrong again! Here comes Sookie.

"Hey," she says walking over.

"Hey," I reply. I'm still watching Rory walking away with my parents.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Sookie says, looking around her. The rain had stopped and the cool evening brought a chill to my body.

"It's so beautiful," I respond. I look around and don't see Luke. He's not at the grill. "I can't believe you pulled it off."

"No, I just did all the baking," Sookie says, getting antsy. "This was all Luke."

"What?" I'm looking across the square, where I spot Luke coming out of the diner with something in his arms.

"He made me promise not to tell you, but I don't care," Sookie says excitedly. "This is all Luke. He did all of it. He's the one that came to me and said, 'let's do the party', and then he planned the secret town meeting, everything."

"Really?"

I'm only half listening as Sookie is rambling on about the rain and Luke gathering all the tarps, tents, and raincoats and staying up all night. Wait! Did he actually SEW all of them together into this ginormous cover? Why would he do that? This man cares so much about Rory that he pulled together this elaborate party overnight and stayed up all night sewing tarps together so we wouldn't get wet! This has to be the most loving thing he's ever done. Does he still love me? My stomach clenched with nerves, as I excused myself and walked away from Sookie toward the diner.

My attention is so focused on Luke walking up the street with a bag in his arms that I barely register Kirk. I said hi to him as I pass and he shouts something about his eardrum. Taylor was saying something about Luke and cleanup. I did hear Babette ask if I wanted to make a Morey sandwich with her on the dance floor and muttered a reply, but all I could think about was Luke. As I cross the street, I can see he's carrying a bag of charcoal for the grill. My heart is pounding in my chest. He sets the bag down when he sees me walking over.

"Hey," I say softly. Hey? Way to go Gilmore! You can talk circles around anybody and all you can say to the man is 'hey'?

"Hey," he says back. We both sigh. Those eyes! My God, I'm lost in them.

"Thank you," I state as sincerely as I can. I can barely breathe. His eyes are focused on mine and for once I don't see pain or anger in them.

"It's…no big deal," he replies. Oh, Luke, but it IS a big deal! A very big deal!

"Luke…," I begin. I want to say more, to express all that I'm feeling right now, but the words won't come out.

"I just…like to see you happy," he says softly. He's looking at me so tenderly, with a small smile, and it makes my breath catch in my throat.

My head is reeling! This man standing before me is my Luke, the man I will love forever. I can see the love in his eyes and my heart just shatters, the walls I've built around it crashing down. I feel open and raw. Our eyes remain locked on each other's for a moment. How is it possible that I can love someone so much that it hurts? I want to laugh and cry and jump up and down squealing with joy all at once! In that briefest of moments we both know…this is it.

Before I have a chance to fathom this moment, we are drawn together, arms embracing tightly, lips pressed in the most tender of kisses. I can feel the warmth spread throughout my body, as we deepen the kiss. We are lost in each other and nothing else matters. Luke brushes the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs as he pulls away. His eyes are wet too and his smile is breathtaking.

"Luke…I…" I sigh, hesitant in saying what I need to say.

"Lorelai, I understand," he nods, turning to face the crowd under the tarp. "It's your last night with Rory. Go be with her. I'll be here when you get back from the airport."

"Are you sure?" I ask. "I'm really gonna need you. I've been getting such a headache from holding back the tears and trying to be so strong for Rory. When she finally leaves, I'm gonna fall apart."

"I'll be waiting," he says softly, cupping my face with his warm hands. He leans forward and kisses me again and my stomach growls, breaking the moment. I giggle, realizing that I still haven't gotten to eat yet.

"Sorry, I was trying to get one of your burgers but, every time I went for the food, I got pulled away. I still haven't eaten."

"Well, you're in luck then cause I was just about to get the grill going again to feed the vultures," Luke snorted. "Man can they eat! Go hang out with Rory. I'll bring you a plate of food."

"Thanks," I reply, the look in my eyes conveying so much more. "For everything. You came through yet again for us and made this day so special."

"You're welcome," Luke responds, smiling that smile I've missed for so long. He places one more soft kiss to my lips and bends to pick up the bag of charcoal. We walk back to the party together.

"You do realize that Patty and Babette have been scoping us out the entire time, right?" I remark with a laugh.

"I figured as much," Luke acknowledges with a grin. "The news of our reunion will be all over town by morning."

"Forget morning, within the hour," I comment, as Hello Magazine strolls up to us to get the scoop. "It looks like I'm gonna be tied up for a while."

"I'll come find you with your food," Luke nods, avoiding the rapidly fired questions of Patty and Babette and heading toward the grill.

The rest of the evening just drifts by. I am floating. Even Rory notices the change in me. Of course, I have to fill her in on all the details as soon as we get home, leaving out the not so pure thoughts that were running through my head as I kissed Luke. When I finally get into bed, all I could think about was Luke sewing tarps with his bare hands and pulling together that wonderful farewell party overnight. I'm still in awe that he really did that. I close my eyes and drift into thoughts about our first kiss tonight. Suddenly, there's a thump and a warm body next to me.

I open my eyes as Rory snuggles up next to me. I stroke her hair and kiss her forehead. Neither of us say a word. What is there to say? Instead we let our actions speak what we could not. This was my last night with my girl. She was really moving on with her life. It was all going to change now and she understood that. The fact that she climbed into bed with her mommy just proves how close our bond is. I reassure her with hugs and kisses to her cheek, as she holds onto me. She falls asleep first, leaving me to listen to the sound of her breathing. I could swear that our heartbeats are in unison. I drift off to sleep, knowing that tomorrow would be one of the hardest days of my life.

When morning came, I couldn't stop chattering like one of those annoying monkeys at the zoo. I plastered on a smile and focused on how happy I was that Luke and I were back together. Rory and I ate at the diner. Luke opened it up for us at five-thirty this morning. It was quiet and the coffee was the best I've ever tasted. Luke's smile shone like the rising sun, as he kept the coffee coming. I needed to see that smile and feel the comfort in it.

Now I'm standing at the security point, waiting as Rory slowly weaves her way through the line to pass through. I hate that I can't see her to the gate! I can't watch her board the plane. It's just as well. I'm fighting the tears now. It's Rory's turn. She throws herself into my arms for one last hug and promises to call often and write and e-mail. She's crying and I can't hold back any longer. We say our goodbyes and I rush from the terminal, desperately seeking the refuge of the Jeep. I manage to pull myself together long enough to drive back to Stars Hollow.

I can't go to the diner. I don't want to have to answer questions. I pull into the driveway of the Crapshack and head for the security of my home. When I enter the house, who is standing in my living room but Luke. He's really here, just like he said he'd be. He must've left right after the breakfast rush. I fall into his arms, sobbing like the world has ended. He holds me for a long time, as I cry my eyes out, and whispers comforting words in my ear. Luke is here and it feels so right, so perfect. He cups my face and brushes away my tears, kissing me with such tenderness, and I know that in his arms, I am home.