Title: Three's a Crowd
Author: Gluglug
Spoiler Warning/Timing: Late Fourth Season (post "Girls in Bikinis, blah blah)
Rating: PG - 13
Summary: What if Luke had gone into the townhouse to confront Nicole? And what if he brought Lorelai with him?
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls and all characters are property of The Dubba Dubba Dubba WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions and Amy Sherman- Palladino. They don't belong to me, just borrowing.
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"I guess that's it." Luke sighed, defeated.
"Yeah." They concurred.
"Well, at least I finally got to see your house." Lorelai shrugged, trying to see the bright side of things.
Luke stared up at the townhouse for a moment and had an idea. "Do you want to see it? I mean you came all the way here."
Lorelai noticed a glint in his eye. "Luke, oh, no, you're not thinking of going in there and...."
"Why not? I have a key and I want to show you those bookshelves I made."
"Something tells me we're not going up there to read."
"So do you want to?" He asked. "'Cause I'm going up there with or without you."
Lorelai sighed. "Only to prevent you from doing something stupid that'll put you back in the cell with your new boyfriend Bubba. And since I'm out 300 bucks already, I can't really afford to bail you out twice."
Luke headed up the front walk with Lorelai tagging closely behind. He unlocked the door and turned on the light in the foyer. Lorelai looked around at the living room which was tastefully furnished in a minimalist style. It reminded her a little of Jason's. It certainly didn't look at all like Luke's cluttered apartment over the diner.
"Nice place." She commented, feeling very uncomfortable.
"Would you like something to drink?"
Lorelai was thirsty. "Um, water would be good."
Luke went into the kitchen and turned on the light. He reached into the pristine white cabinet to retrieve a glass for her, poured the water from a pitcher and handed it to her.
Luke continued the tour. "So that was the kitchen, this is Nicole's home office and those are the infamous bookshelves."
"Sturdy." She commented, almost whispering.
Luke noticed that she was uncharacteristically quiet and he knew why. She was afraid he was a ticking time bomb and was unsure when he would blow. He put a hand on her arm to reassure her that he wasn't going to do anything stupid.
"Well, there's only one room in the place you haven't seen yet."
He turned the doorknob and flicked on the light. "And THIS is our bedroom."
Luke held his breath and looked at the bed. Nicole was asleep and she wasn't alone. She was wearing nightshades so the light hadn't disturbed her, but the man next to her stirred and sat up.
"What the hell?"
"Yeah, my words exactly." Luke said arms folded across his chest. Lorelai barely poked her head in the door, afraid of what was coming.
"Who are you?" The man asked.
"I'm Nicole's husband." Luke announced. "Who are you?"
"Husband?" The man's jaw dropped.
Upon hearing Luke's voice, Nicole stirred and took off her nightshades, thinking this was some kind of nightmare.
"Oh my god, Luke! What are you doing here? And why is Lorelai here?"
"Nicole, I think I'm the one who deserves some answers." He continued to stand there over them with his arms crossed. His voice was calm and authoritative.
The man also turned to Nicole. "Yeah, I'd like some answers, too. I had no idea you were married. You don't wear a wedding ring."
Nicole held her head in her hands, then reached for her bathrobe, put in on and got out of bed. "It's a long story, Michael. Luke is my husband, technically but we're separated."
"Separated? That's news to me, Nicole. I spent the night here two days ago and you mentioned nothing about us separating."
"Oh come on Luke, so we're not officially separated. But you hardly spend any time here so we might as well be. I've been feeling really neglected lately and Michael and I met at a legal seminar a few weeks ago and hit it off."
"So you're a lawyer." Luke asked staring at Michael.
"Michael Barnes, Esquire. I specialize in divorce law."
"Gee, how fitting." Luke snorted. "Will he be representing you during our divorce proceedings?"
Nicole shrugged, uncomfortably. "Luke, can't we discuss this at another time?"
Luke started to pace. "I want to discuss this now. I want to know why you had to sneak around with your lawyer friend, who by the way, has terrible taste in gym socks. If you're so neglected and unhappy, why couldn't you just tell me?"
"I tried to. Remember all the fights we were having? Didn't that clue you in? And I still want to know why she is here. Lorelai, stop hovering in the hallway and come in here. I'm sure Luke wanted to bring you in here anyway, so don't be ashamed."
Lorelai reluctantly walked into the room, her eyes downcast.
"What does that mean, Nicole?" Luke asked.
"Why were you bringing her here at one in the morning? Surely not to show her your craftsmanship on the bookcases you made."
Luke got her veiled meaning and started to lose his temper. "Nicole, I know what you're insinuating and you couldn't be more wrong. And even if we were, why would I be so stupid to bring her here when we could stay in Stars Hollow?"
"Because maybe you wanted to get caught." Nicole said, smugly.
"Nicole, you're so wrong. There is nothing going on with Lorelai and me. I'm not the one who's cheating here, so don't turn this around on me."
"Maybe not physical cheating, Luke. But I've always felt like there were three of us in this marriage. She's your Camilla Parker-Bowles."
Lorelai had enough. "Do not compare me to that horse-faced adulteress. And you're no Princess Di, either. And I doubt Prince Charles ever wore a flannel shirt, let alone a backwards baseball cap! Luke and I are not having an affair, emotional or otherwise. We're friends. And the reason I'm here, is because your poor husband wound up in jail tonight because he was so upset to find out that he was wearing Michael's socks that he took it out on his car. He got arrested and I had to come bail him out."
"My car? What did you do to my car? And what about my socks?"
"Your car is fine." Lorelai assured him, exasperatedly and then turned back to her target.
"But Nicole, how could you do this to Luke? He doesn't deserve this. How could you hurt him like this? Are you really a heartless bitch?"
Nicole wanted to slap Lorelai upon hearing this but she kept her cool. "No, I'm not a heartless bitch. But if you were married to a guy who was in love with another woman you'd probably do the same thing."
Luke was taking in the exchange between the two women in his life. He was touched that Lorelai had jumped to his defense and a little embarrassed that she revealed his moment of jealous fury.
But he was also shocked that Nicole had finally accused him of being in love with Lorelai. It was always lurking in the shadows but she was shining a light on his dirty little secret. He wondered what Lorelai was thinking.
Lorelai scoffed at Nicole and walked out of the bedroom.
"Lorelai, wait." Luke went after her.
"Luke, I think I should go. Coming up here was a mistake. I think I've only made things worse. I'm sorry I let it slip about your boxing match with Michael's SUV."
"It's okay. Thanks for coming to my defense. And for saying I'm nothing like Prince Charles." He paused. "And please don't listen to Nicole's accusations, she's only trying to justify her behavior."
Lorelai looked up at his pleading eyes. "I know."
"So you'll be okay here without me? I really should get home, it's been a long night."
"I'll be fine. I won't do anything stupid, I promise."
At that moment, Michael passed through, having hastily gotten dressed. He looked sheepishly at them.
"Um, it was nice meeting you both."
The pair stared at his disheveled state and Lorelai started to giggle at his inane comment.
"Yeah, buddy, make sure you're wearing your socks." Luke muttered.
Michael muttered an expletive under his breath and slammed the door.
"Well, on that note. I think I should be going, too. Now you and Nicole can really talk about this."
Luke sighed. "I'm not sure there's much more to say. But I'm going back in."
"Good Luck." Lorelai wished him as she walked out the door. -----------------------------------
Lorelai was in her Jeep on her way back to Stars Hollow. She was thinking about her evening and about the two men in her life.
She recalled how sweet Jason was trying to be in explaining his reasons for giving her the key to his place. It was obviously a big step for him and she felt somewhat proud and pleased that she was able to pass his "bolt" test. In so many ways, he reminded her of herself and how she usually was in relationships.
Neither had yet said the three little words that usually cement a relationship. She was sure with the key gesture that they were forthcoming from Jason. Would she be able to say them back and mean it? She really liked Jason, he was quirky, funny and had sophisticated taste. He was also pretty good in bed. But love?
Lorelai then thought of Luke and all he had gone through tonight. Poor guy, she thought. She was really glad that she was able to help him out and decided not to stay at Jason's tonight.
She wondered about Nicole's accusation. Luke was probably right, she was just trying to justify her behavior. Comparing her to Camilla, how rude. Still she did wonder if there was a grain of truth behind all the adulterous lies.
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Luke came back into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed.
"So." He said.
"Michael left, I'm sure you're happy now." Nicole shrugged.
"Nicole, in no way am I happy."
Nicole sighed. "So what do we do now?"
"Do you love him?"
"Do you love her?"
"Nicole, like I said before this is not about me, it's about you cheating on me."
"But you cheated first, Luke, in a way. You never really moved in here with me and you never wanted to wear a wedding band when I asked. You were never really committed to me, not in your heart."
"That's not true."
"Luke, it is true. I'm not the one you want to be with. I know that you love Lorelai and that she loves you, even though the two of you are so blind to the obvious. I saw the way she came to your defense tonight and the way she called me a heartless bitch. She obviously cares for you if she came out here to bail you out."
"Yes, she cares because she's my friend. Why can't you understand that a man and a woman can be friends?"
"Not when they look like the two of you. Luke, give me some credit here, I'm a lawyer and I know about people's motives." She sighed. "Listen, let's not make this any harder than it has to be. I can pull some strings and we can move this divorce along quickly. Then you and I can be free to be with the people we want to be with."
Luke felt relieved upon hearing this. "Is Michael the guy you want to be with?"
Nicole shook her head. "I don't know. I doubt he's the one, but at least I'll be able to find out." She paused.
"And I'm probably the last person you want relationship advice from but you should open your eyes and go after what you really want. Luke, you won't be able to be with another woman unless you get this Lorelai thing out of your system. You two need to be honest with each other once and for all. Find out if you have a future with her, because I don't want another woman to go through what I've been through. If I've learned anything from our marriage is that it can't work if one of the spouses' hearts belongs to someone else. Luke, just promise me that you'll think about this."
Luke looked at her, she really was being sincere. "Okay, I promise that I'll think about it. And I'm sorry that I couldn't be the husband you wanted me to be."
"Me, too." Nicole gave him a sad smile.
"I'm gonna get going. Hopefully you can get some peace and quiet now."
Luke left the townhouse and drove back to Stars Hollow, glad that this night was behind him. He had the answers he sought from Nicole. She was right, he didn't want to put another woman through the ringer with his denial. He had some new questions to think about and needed to find the answers.
Author: Gluglug
Spoiler Warning/Timing: Late Fourth Season (post "Girls in Bikinis, blah blah)
Rating: PG - 13
Summary: What if Luke had gone into the townhouse to confront Nicole? And what if he brought Lorelai with him?
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls and all characters are property of The Dubba Dubba Dubba WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions and Amy Sherman- Palladino. They don't belong to me, just borrowing.
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"I guess that's it." Luke sighed, defeated.
"Yeah." They concurred.
"Well, at least I finally got to see your house." Lorelai shrugged, trying to see the bright side of things.
Luke stared up at the townhouse for a moment and had an idea. "Do you want to see it? I mean you came all the way here."
Lorelai noticed a glint in his eye. "Luke, oh, no, you're not thinking of going in there and...."
"Why not? I have a key and I want to show you those bookshelves I made."
"Something tells me we're not going up there to read."
"So do you want to?" He asked. "'Cause I'm going up there with or without you."
Lorelai sighed. "Only to prevent you from doing something stupid that'll put you back in the cell with your new boyfriend Bubba. And since I'm out 300 bucks already, I can't really afford to bail you out twice."
Luke headed up the front walk with Lorelai tagging closely behind. He unlocked the door and turned on the light in the foyer. Lorelai looked around at the living room which was tastefully furnished in a minimalist style. It reminded her a little of Jason's. It certainly didn't look at all like Luke's cluttered apartment over the diner.
"Nice place." She commented, feeling very uncomfortable.
"Would you like something to drink?"
Lorelai was thirsty. "Um, water would be good."
Luke went into the kitchen and turned on the light. He reached into the pristine white cabinet to retrieve a glass for her, poured the water from a pitcher and handed it to her.
Luke continued the tour. "So that was the kitchen, this is Nicole's home office and those are the infamous bookshelves."
"Sturdy." She commented, almost whispering.
Luke noticed that she was uncharacteristically quiet and he knew why. She was afraid he was a ticking time bomb and was unsure when he would blow. He put a hand on her arm to reassure her that he wasn't going to do anything stupid.
"Well, there's only one room in the place you haven't seen yet."
He turned the doorknob and flicked on the light. "And THIS is our bedroom."
Luke held his breath and looked at the bed. Nicole was asleep and she wasn't alone. She was wearing nightshades so the light hadn't disturbed her, but the man next to her stirred and sat up.
"What the hell?"
"Yeah, my words exactly." Luke said arms folded across his chest. Lorelai barely poked her head in the door, afraid of what was coming.
"Who are you?" The man asked.
"I'm Nicole's husband." Luke announced. "Who are you?"
"Husband?" The man's jaw dropped.
Upon hearing Luke's voice, Nicole stirred and took off her nightshades, thinking this was some kind of nightmare.
"Oh my god, Luke! What are you doing here? And why is Lorelai here?"
"Nicole, I think I'm the one who deserves some answers." He continued to stand there over them with his arms crossed. His voice was calm and authoritative.
The man also turned to Nicole. "Yeah, I'd like some answers, too. I had no idea you were married. You don't wear a wedding ring."
Nicole held her head in her hands, then reached for her bathrobe, put in on and got out of bed. "It's a long story, Michael. Luke is my husband, technically but we're separated."
"Separated? That's news to me, Nicole. I spent the night here two days ago and you mentioned nothing about us separating."
"Oh come on Luke, so we're not officially separated. But you hardly spend any time here so we might as well be. I've been feeling really neglected lately and Michael and I met at a legal seminar a few weeks ago and hit it off."
"So you're a lawyer." Luke asked staring at Michael.
"Michael Barnes, Esquire. I specialize in divorce law."
"Gee, how fitting." Luke snorted. "Will he be representing you during our divorce proceedings?"
Nicole shrugged, uncomfortably. "Luke, can't we discuss this at another time?"
Luke started to pace. "I want to discuss this now. I want to know why you had to sneak around with your lawyer friend, who by the way, has terrible taste in gym socks. If you're so neglected and unhappy, why couldn't you just tell me?"
"I tried to. Remember all the fights we were having? Didn't that clue you in? And I still want to know why she is here. Lorelai, stop hovering in the hallway and come in here. I'm sure Luke wanted to bring you in here anyway, so don't be ashamed."
Lorelai reluctantly walked into the room, her eyes downcast.
"What does that mean, Nicole?" Luke asked.
"Why were you bringing her here at one in the morning? Surely not to show her your craftsmanship on the bookcases you made."
Luke got her veiled meaning and started to lose his temper. "Nicole, I know what you're insinuating and you couldn't be more wrong. And even if we were, why would I be so stupid to bring her here when we could stay in Stars Hollow?"
"Because maybe you wanted to get caught." Nicole said, smugly.
"Nicole, you're so wrong. There is nothing going on with Lorelai and me. I'm not the one who's cheating here, so don't turn this around on me."
"Maybe not physical cheating, Luke. But I've always felt like there were three of us in this marriage. She's your Camilla Parker-Bowles."
Lorelai had enough. "Do not compare me to that horse-faced adulteress. And you're no Princess Di, either. And I doubt Prince Charles ever wore a flannel shirt, let alone a backwards baseball cap! Luke and I are not having an affair, emotional or otherwise. We're friends. And the reason I'm here, is because your poor husband wound up in jail tonight because he was so upset to find out that he was wearing Michael's socks that he took it out on his car. He got arrested and I had to come bail him out."
"My car? What did you do to my car? And what about my socks?"
"Your car is fine." Lorelai assured him, exasperatedly and then turned back to her target.
"But Nicole, how could you do this to Luke? He doesn't deserve this. How could you hurt him like this? Are you really a heartless bitch?"
Nicole wanted to slap Lorelai upon hearing this but she kept her cool. "No, I'm not a heartless bitch. But if you were married to a guy who was in love with another woman you'd probably do the same thing."
Luke was taking in the exchange between the two women in his life. He was touched that Lorelai had jumped to his defense and a little embarrassed that she revealed his moment of jealous fury.
But he was also shocked that Nicole had finally accused him of being in love with Lorelai. It was always lurking in the shadows but she was shining a light on his dirty little secret. He wondered what Lorelai was thinking.
Lorelai scoffed at Nicole and walked out of the bedroom.
"Lorelai, wait." Luke went after her.
"Luke, I think I should go. Coming up here was a mistake. I think I've only made things worse. I'm sorry I let it slip about your boxing match with Michael's SUV."
"It's okay. Thanks for coming to my defense. And for saying I'm nothing like Prince Charles." He paused. "And please don't listen to Nicole's accusations, she's only trying to justify her behavior."
Lorelai looked up at his pleading eyes. "I know."
"So you'll be okay here without me? I really should get home, it's been a long night."
"I'll be fine. I won't do anything stupid, I promise."
At that moment, Michael passed through, having hastily gotten dressed. He looked sheepishly at them.
"Um, it was nice meeting you both."
The pair stared at his disheveled state and Lorelai started to giggle at his inane comment.
"Yeah, buddy, make sure you're wearing your socks." Luke muttered.
Michael muttered an expletive under his breath and slammed the door.
"Well, on that note. I think I should be going, too. Now you and Nicole can really talk about this."
Luke sighed. "I'm not sure there's much more to say. But I'm going back in."
"Good Luck." Lorelai wished him as she walked out the door. -----------------------------------
Lorelai was in her Jeep on her way back to Stars Hollow. She was thinking about her evening and about the two men in her life.
She recalled how sweet Jason was trying to be in explaining his reasons for giving her the key to his place. It was obviously a big step for him and she felt somewhat proud and pleased that she was able to pass his "bolt" test. In so many ways, he reminded her of herself and how she usually was in relationships.
Neither had yet said the three little words that usually cement a relationship. She was sure with the key gesture that they were forthcoming from Jason. Would she be able to say them back and mean it? She really liked Jason, he was quirky, funny and had sophisticated taste. He was also pretty good in bed. But love?
Lorelai then thought of Luke and all he had gone through tonight. Poor guy, she thought. She was really glad that she was able to help him out and decided not to stay at Jason's tonight.
She wondered about Nicole's accusation. Luke was probably right, she was just trying to justify her behavior. Comparing her to Camilla, how rude. Still she did wonder if there was a grain of truth behind all the adulterous lies.
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Luke came back into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed.
"So." He said.
"Michael left, I'm sure you're happy now." Nicole shrugged.
"Nicole, in no way am I happy."
Nicole sighed. "So what do we do now?"
"Do you love him?"
"Do you love her?"
"Nicole, like I said before this is not about me, it's about you cheating on me."
"But you cheated first, Luke, in a way. You never really moved in here with me and you never wanted to wear a wedding band when I asked. You were never really committed to me, not in your heart."
"That's not true."
"Luke, it is true. I'm not the one you want to be with. I know that you love Lorelai and that she loves you, even though the two of you are so blind to the obvious. I saw the way she came to your defense tonight and the way she called me a heartless bitch. She obviously cares for you if she came out here to bail you out."
"Yes, she cares because she's my friend. Why can't you understand that a man and a woman can be friends?"
"Not when they look like the two of you. Luke, give me some credit here, I'm a lawyer and I know about people's motives." She sighed. "Listen, let's not make this any harder than it has to be. I can pull some strings and we can move this divorce along quickly. Then you and I can be free to be with the people we want to be with."
Luke felt relieved upon hearing this. "Is Michael the guy you want to be with?"
Nicole shook her head. "I don't know. I doubt he's the one, but at least I'll be able to find out." She paused.
"And I'm probably the last person you want relationship advice from but you should open your eyes and go after what you really want. Luke, you won't be able to be with another woman unless you get this Lorelai thing out of your system. You two need to be honest with each other once and for all. Find out if you have a future with her, because I don't want another woman to go through what I've been through. If I've learned anything from our marriage is that it can't work if one of the spouses' hearts belongs to someone else. Luke, just promise me that you'll think about this."
Luke looked at her, she really was being sincere. "Okay, I promise that I'll think about it. And I'm sorry that I couldn't be the husband you wanted me to be."
"Me, too." Nicole gave him a sad smile.
"I'm gonna get going. Hopefully you can get some peace and quiet now."
Luke left the townhouse and drove back to Stars Hollow, glad that this night was behind him. He had the answers he sought from Nicole. She was right, he didn't want to put another woman through the ringer with his denial. He had some new questions to think about and needed to find the answers.