Alright...I have been asked about a potential "Raging Fire" sequel pretty much since I finished it. And after much consideration and lots of thinking...I have finally come up with a storyline! Hopefully it is worth the wait. Here is the first chapter. I will try and update as often as possible. I will still be working on "Luke and Lorelai: A Playlist" at the same time so keep checking that!

Like "Raging Fire" this is based on a Phillip Phillip's song, this one is the song "Searchlight". If you haven't read "Raging Fire" check that out or if you need a brief synopsis...it took place after Lorelai wrote the reference letter for Luke in season 7. Christopher did not take it well and attacked Lorelai. This story is five years later.


Lorelai stood in front of the stove stirring the pasta in the pot. Her body was going through with the actions but her mind seemed to be a million miles away. This wasn't anything new…it had been like this since she walked away from Luke outside his Diner on that terrible night in May.

Sighing, she tried to remind herself that this was the way her life was now. She was married to Christopher, he was her husband and she was his wife. It still felt strange to her, after all this time; after all they had been through to actually think they had actually gotten married. She had given up that dream a long time ago, and if she was being honest with herself it was the last thing she wanted. Sure, she wanted to be married but not to Christopher, she wanted to be Mrs. Lorelai Danes not Mrs. Lorelai Hayden.

But…everything had blown up in her face and she had made a choice that had changed her life forever. Now she just had to learn to accept it…there was obviously no going back now. When she heard the footsteps coming down the stairs she took a deep breath and once again she tried to force a smile on her face, the same thing she had been doing for months now.

"Hey, dinner's almost ready!" Lorelai called as she moved about the kitchen to try and find a strainer, "What do you want to drink?"

"What the hell is this?" Christopher's voice boomed through the kitchen causing her to jump and turn back to him.

"What is what?" She asked holding the strainer to her chest, her eyes fell down to the letter clutched tightly in his left hand. "Oh. That…" She took a deep breath and tried to take a step closer to him, "Chris I-"

"Why would you write this letter?" He asked closing the distance between them, "I mean Jesus Lorelai…" He looked down at the words again, "Once Luke Danes is in your life…he's in your life forever?" He looked back up at her menacingly, "How is that supposed to make me feel?"

"Chris I…I just…" She stepped back, feeling afraid of the anger that seemed to be bubbling up inside of her husband, "He was in trouble. He was going to lose April and I felt bad…I mean he already lost so much time with her and I didn't want him to lose anymore…"

"Why do you even care?" Chris yelled at her, "Why do you care Lorelai? You're with me now aren't you?"

She swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat, she had known Chris for a long time but she had never seen him this angry before. "Of course I'm with you…"

"Then why does it matter what happens to him?" He asked stepping all the way up to her again, he was just inches from her face, "Why does it matter?"

"I…I just…" Her hands started to shake when she realized she was backed up against the counter and had no way of getting away. "I wanted to help…he…he helped me a lot with Rory and-"

He rolled his eyes and started to pull away as he paced the room, "Oh here we go. Here comes the lecture about how perfect the Diner guy is who was there for all the stuff with Rory that I missed."

She shook her head as she placed the strainer down behind her, she grasped the counter top for strength, "I didn't mean it like that. I just felt like…I felt like I owed him…" She winced at her words when he turned back to her and closed the space between them again, "Chris I-"

"Do you still love him?" He asked glaring down at her with such anger, Lorelai felt every fiber of her body screaming at her to run but she knew she couldn't.

"Chris please-" She whispered softly as the tears started to fill her eyes.

"Do. You. Love. Him?" He ground out each word as he leaned in closer to her.

"I…" Her heart was pounding in her chest, she knew what the answer was but she couldn't tell him. "No. Of course not."

"Do you love me?" He asked leaning so close she could feel his hot, angry breath against her face.

She swallowed the lump in her throat again, "Of-o-of course I do. You're my husband."

Christopher snickered, "But he was supposed to be your husband first wasn't he?"

She bit her lip nervously, "Chris don't…"

He laughed bitterly and stepped back, "This is just great. This is fucking fabulous!"

"Please…" She whispered as she pushed herself away from the counter as she tried to reach for him, "Luke and I broke up, okay? It's over. I was just trying to help him with April. It didn't mean anything. We are together now. You and me. We're married."

He reared away from her hand, "But you wish it was him here don't you?"

Her heart was screaming yes but she adamantly shook her head, "Of course not!"

"You know…I've known you for a very long time Lorelai. You forget that I can read you like a book." He said stepping towards her again.

"Look let's just…let's forget about this okay? I promise after this letter I will not do anything for him. I won't even talk to him!" She yelled as she stepped back again bracing her hands behind her waiting to feel the counter dig into her back.

"And how the hell is that going to work Lorelai? We live in the same freaking town as the guy!" Chris yelled as he lifted the letter between them and glared down at her, "We have to stay in this fucking town because you won't leave and I know it's not because of the Inn! I know it's because you don't want to leave him. I'm not stupid."

She shook her head, "It is because of the Inn! And because this is where Rory grew up and-"

He laughed bitterly, "Rory's a big girl now Lorelai. She doesn't need to stay in the house she grew up in forever. She doesn't even live here!"

Lorelai gasped for a breath, trying to think of what she could say to calm him down. "Christopher please…please calm down. You're starting to scare me…"

He ignored her as he pushed her back against the counter, "She doesn't live here but I know she wishes it was Luke you married instead of me too. I'm her actual father and yet she still wishes that stupid Diner guy was here in this house. Do you know how that makes me feel Lorelai? Do you?"

"I'm…I'm sorry okay? Luke has been a big part of her life for a long time. I'm sure it is difficult for her to just cut him out the way she has had too. You can't be mad at her for that." She said trying to plead with him to understand.

"Who has it been harder for Lorelai, you or Rory?" He asked tauntingly, "How much do you miss him, huh?"

She flinched as she felt his right hand grab hold of her waist as he continued to push her against the counter, "Chris please stop…"

His lips were against her ear as he continued to yell at her and his hand dug harder into her hip making her gasp in surprise and fear, "Do you wish it was him who was here with you tonight? Do you wish it was him who was touching you when we make love? Is that it? Do you picture him when I'm inside of you?"

The tears were falling freely now and she tried to push him off of her but it was no use. "Stop. Please stop!"

"Answer me Lorelai!" He said shoving her back against the counter again making her shriek, "Do you wish it was him when I kiss you? Do you wish it was him holding you at night?" He asked as other hand crushed the letter against her other side. "You want him Lorelai? Not me?"

She could barely breath now she was so afraid, she wanted to run and get as far away from his as she could but she knew she couldn't fight him off. "Chris-" She chocked out as he continued to shove her back, digging the hard surface into her lower back. "You're hurting me. Please…please stop."

"I bet you are thinking your precious Luke would never do this aren't you?" He said pulling back just enough to look her in the eyes. "Is there anytime you aren't thinking of him?"

"Stop! I'm not thinking about anyone else! You're my husband!" She yelled hopefully as the tears spilled down her cheeks and onto her shirt.

Chris glared at her as he pulled all the way away finally letting her go, "Don't you forget that."

He lifted his hand and before she could even react his full hand came in contact with her face making her scream in pain. When he pulled it back he didn't even try and apologize when she lifted her own hand to try and soothe the stinging against her red cheek. He lifted his hands again and she jumped as he shoved her back and she knew her back would be bruised in the morning along with her face.

Lorelai Gilmore Danes woke with a start. She gasped as she sat up in bed and put a hand over her racing heart. Her husband Luke rolled over beside her but continued to snore, he wasn't disturbed by her actions. She wiped a hand over her sweaty forehead and tried to keep calm. She hadn't dreamed about that terrible night in years...and yet here she was five years later dreaming about the night that had changed her life completely.

She swallowed hard and went to lie back down in bed when she noticed the top of a curly head at the foot of her bed. The worry from her bad dream began to float away and she smiled and pulled herself out of bed. She scooped up the young boy and he giggled but made sure to keep quiet as to not wake up his father.

She brought him out to the hallway before speaking to him, "Morning Jack Jack."

Little five year old Jack smiled up at his Mom, "Hi Momma."

"How long have you been awake?" She asked running a hand through his unruly hair.

"Not long." He said swinging his legs on either side of her, "Can we wake up Lise?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded, "I'm sure she's already awake. Come on." She put him down on the ground and smiled as she heard the pitter patter of his tiny feet running across the hall to his baby sister's room.

Sure enough one year old Elise was sitting up in her crib staring up at her Mother with her wide blue eyes. "She's up!"

Lorelai smiled and leaned over Jack and picked up her daughter and nuzzled her against her cheek, "Hello beautiful girl."

"Breakfast!" Jack called and smiled devilishly at her, "Daddy's asleep...can we have cocoa puffs?"

She smirked, "Well we both know I'm not cooking so yes."

Jack smiled and ran down the hallway to make his way down the stairs towards the kitchen. Lorelai carefully held her daughter as she made her own way down the stairs. She thought back to the dream she had had and it made her think about how much had changed since then. The night Christopher had attacked her had been one of the hardest nights of her life. She had never been so scared, and she had never expected to be in that situation to begin with. Christopher had done a lot of stupid things in his life, but she never dreamed he would have the ability to physically hurt her.

The whole process was a bit of a blur. But through it all Luke had stood by her despite the fact that they had had a terrible break up prior to Christopher hitting her. It still amazed her how Luke was able to put the past behind him and keep her steady so she wouldn't break apart. After the trial and things had settled down, they had built their dream house, gotten married and Lorelai gave birth to a healthy baby boy they named Jack William Danes. It was a difficult birth and Lorelai was told she most likely wouldn't have more children after that.

Though it was hard to hear, Luke and Lorelai had made peace with the news and were happy with their life. They had Rory, April and little Jack, and most importantly they had each other. But three and a half years later, Lorelai and Luke got the shock of their life. Lorelai was indeed pregnant. For nine months Luke watched every step that Lorelai made to make sure that both her and their baby would be safe. And finally, when she was ready, little baby Elise Katherine Danes was born.

Luke wasn't surprised it was a girl and he couldn't have been happier. When she found out she was pregnant prior to their wedding, Lorelai had told him she had dreamt of having a little girl with him. When Jack was born, neither of them were disappointed because he was the light in their life. But all along, little Elise was in the back of Lorelai's mind and of course she came into the world to surprise them all.

With Elise on her hip, she reached into the cupboard and took out the secret stash of cocoa puffs that they kept hidden from Luke. On days when Luke actually slept in, they took out the cocoa puffs because of course Lorelai was never one to cook. Not much in that part of her life had changed.

She placed the bowl of cereal down in front of Jack and he hopped up on the seat as he shoved a spoonful in his mouth, "I wish Daddy slept in more!"

Lorelai laughed and ruffled his hair, "You love his pancakes too."

She couldn't understand a word that her son said as he shoved the food in his mouth. She just shook her head and laughed as she put Elise securely in her height chair. She went to the fridge to get food for her but her mind was jumbled she didn't hear Luke come into the kitchen. She jumped and yelped when he put his hands on her hips.

"Hey...just me." Luke said with a frown as he turned her slowly and let the fridge close behind her, "You okay?"

She blinked quickly and plastered a smile on her face, "Yeah sorry! Just uh...haven't had any coffee yet. Must be half asleep."

Luke frowned but nodded slowly, "Well you had enough energy to give Jack that crap for breakfast." He said with a grumble.

Lorelai smiled, "Hey...everyone deserves a little sugar in the morning."

Luke smirked, "Speaking of which…" He leaned forward and kissed her gently, "Good Morning."

"Morning." She said placing a hand on his arm, "I didn't hear you come in last night. The kids were off the wall...I fell asleep with them."

Luke smiled, "I could tell it was a wild night. Jack's room looks like a tornado flew through it."

She smiled, "I didn't have the strength to clean it all up. I'll do it after you guys leave." She turned towards the counter and grabbed at the coffee pot, "What time does April's flight come in?"

"She is supposed to land by noon. We'll probably head out soon. Dinner here later, right?" He asked reaching into the fridge to get his juice, "I talked to Rory yesterday. She said she can't make it tonight but she'll be here tomorrow."

Lorelai nodded, "Yeah. She got behind on work and had to postpone until tomorrow. But April will be here all week so we have plenty of time."

Luke nodded, "Maybe we can go out on the boat one of these days. I think it's supposed to be pretty nice on Wednesday. Might as well take advantage of it since Labor Day is coming up."

"Which means our anniversary is coming up…" Lorelai said smiling as she ran a hand down his back. "What did you get me?"

Luke rolled his eyes, "It's always presents with you…"

"He got you-" Jack started to yell but Luke sprang into action and covered his mouth.

"Jack! You promised you wouldn't tell!" Luke said with a laugh as he held his son close.

She smirked at him, "You expect a five year old a secret? Not your smartest move babe…" She walked over to him and knelt down beside her son, "You can tell me later, okay?"

Luke groaned, "Jack...we made a deal."

Jack swallowed his cereal, "Sorry Mom. Dad said he'd let me have lucky charms for a whole week if I can keep the secret from you! That's going to be hard to beat!"

Lorelai scoffed, "Using sugary cereal to bribe our son! I wouldn't never have expected that of you sir!"

Luke rolled his eyes, "Seems to work with you...besides he didn't know what it was but he happened to find it. He has your ability to find all secretly wrapped presents."

"Good boy." Lorelai said patting his head as she stood up she was about to speak but Elise started crying in her seat, "Oh shoot…" She turned around, "Hey little one...I'm sorry! Daddy distracted me! Blame the bad man!" She said pointing at Luke.

Elise frowned and pointed at Luke, "Bad Da!"

Everyone except Luke laughed and he walked over to pick up his daughter, "Hey...don't be mean to Daddy. Don't teach her that…" Luke said holding Elise close, "I'm a good Dad."

"Bad Da!" Elise said pointing at him again, "Bad Da!"

"Lorelai…" Luke said with a slight laugh as he glared at his wife and held Elise out in front of him, "Fix it."

Lorelai smiled and leaned into her daughter, "Daddy is a very good Daddy okay? Momma was joking. Give him lovies."

Elise's pout turned to a smile and she leaned forward and gave Luke a sloppy kiss, "Goo Da!"

Luke chuckled and kissed her back, "Thank you pretty girl."

"Goo Da! Goo Da!" Elise chanted as she leaned against him.

"Mmmm...that makes me think of Gouda cheese. Do we have any?" Lorelai asked turning towards the fridge, "Yes!"

Luke groaned, "Guess I'm making you an omelette?"

"If you wanna be a goo husband yes!" Lorelai said with a smirk.

"You're nuts." Luke said handing her the baby and walking out the kitchen, "You feed her. I'll feed you."

"Can I crack the eggs Daddy?" Jack asked as he threw his bowl in the sink and ran to his side at the fridge.

"You got it Jack Jack. Grab me a bowl and a whisk, okay?" Luke asked as he took the eggs, bacon and cheese out of the fridge.

Lorelai smiled, grabbed Elise's baby food and settled her down in her seat once more. "Alright pretty girl...let's get you some fed too."

Lorelai took a deep breath as she fed her daughter and watched her son and husband in the kitchen. Those memories of Chris attacking her began to slide away because life today was much different than those dark days. It was only a dream...nothing more to worry about.


Around 10:15, Lorelai was up in Elise's room changing her and getting her dressed for the day. She placed her down on the floor where she would play with her toys as Lorelai cleaned up. But watching her daughter brought up more questions and concerns about her dream. Jack had reached an age where he was asking a lot of questions. Recently he had begun to ask about why April and Rory didn't live with them full time. This in turn brought on the question as to why April had a different Mom and why Rory had a different Dad.

Jack had met Anna many times. But of course he had never met Christopher because he had been locked up for the last five years. When he asked about Christopher, Luke often just said that he lived far away and Jack so far seemed satisfied with tha answer. But Lorelai was beginning to wonder how long that answer would suffice for her son.

Luke knocked on the door and walked in, he noticed the far off look on his wife's face again. She hadn't noticed that he had come in and his worry from earlier suddenly returned. He walked into the room, smiled at Elise and knelt down in front of Lorelai who was now sitting on the rocking chair in the corner of the room.

"Hey…" Luke whispered placing his hands on her knees, "What's going on in that head of yours?"

Lorelai snapped out of her daze and tried to smile at him, "Hey...sorry. I slept funny last night. Must be out of it still."

She leaned forward, pecked his lips and stood up to start placing Elise's pajamas in her hamper. Luke watched her for a moment and noticed how her shoulders were slouched and the usual light that she always omitted was missing.

With a heavy sigh, he pulled himself up and turned her around to face him. "Something is bothering you. I can tell. Just tell me. You mad at me about something?"

She shook her head and smiled at him, "No. I'm not mad at you."

Luke nodded, "Okay...well then what is it? You can tell me anything…"

Lorelai sighed and placed her hands on his chest, she looked down at the space where his heart was and shook her head, "It's nothing. You should go. I don't want you to be late picking up April. We can talk later."

"Lorelai…" Luke said softly as he pulled her close, "I don't like that you're hiding something from me." He said with a frown, "I have a few minutes...just tell me."

"I don't want to upset you before you leave. April is visiting and I want you to be happy. It's really nothing." Lorelai said trying to pull away but he pulled her closer still.

"So instead you want me to worry all day?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

She sighed and licked her lips before she began to talk, "I just...had a weird dream last night."

Luke nodded slowly and tried to keep her talking, "About what?"

She hated bringing up Christopher in any aspect, but especially what he had done to her. Luke had been so good to her through the whole process. But she also knew that deep down Luke had a lot of unresolved anger towards Chris and was always looking for ways to express it.

"About…" She bit her lip and then continued, "About that night...the night that Chris…"

Luke let out a breath and began to rub her sides soothingly, "You haven't had dreams about that in years...have you?"

She shook her head, "No. I haven't...I think that's why it through me for a loop."

He nodded, understanding what she meant, "Do you think you should go talk to your counselor again?"

After Lorelai had given birth to Jack, she had become very afraid of anyone and anything hurting him or anyone in their family. At first it was manageable. And then it got to a point where she was unwilling to leave the house with Jack. With Luke by her side she had agreed to go talk to someone about the issue and soon realized she had a lot of unresolved pain and fear from her traumatic encounter with Chris.

After about a year, Lorelai stopped going to see someone. With Luke's urging, she had continued again after Elise was born just to make sure everything was settled and she had for a few months until they settled into a comfortable routine.

Lorelai shrugged, "I don't know...I mean I think I'm fine. It was strange...but it felt so real."

"I wish you had woken me up." Luke said sadly, "You know I'd help...it was only a dream though. That was a long time ago...we have a great life now."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around him, "Yes we do. And I know...I'm okay. I promise. Just wasn't expecting it."

Luke leaned his forehead against hers, "You know I will never let him hurt you again."

Lorelai closed her eyes and breathed him in, "I know babe. I know."

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly on the lips, "You sure you don't want to come with us to the airport?"

Lorelai sighed, "Wish I could. But I need to get to the Inn for a few hours. Since I'm taking the time off this week while April is here I want to make sure I get everything squared away there."

Luke nodded, "Okay...but you'll call me if you need me, right?"

She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him again, "Right." She turned back to Elise, "I gotta get this little one over to Babette's. And you need to get on the road. If you are late Jack will never forgive you. You know how serious he takes his April and Rory time. Every second counts."

Luke smiled as he watched her pick up their daughter, "He's already sitting on the couch waiting. He won't stop bouncing up and down."

Lorelai smiled, "He is so like me in that way."

Luke rolled his eyes, "Don't I know it."

She bounced Elise up and down slightly as she smirked up at him, "You know I'm going to get it out of him at some point...there are no surprises in this house."

Luke smirked back, "How do you know that what he saw wasn't just a diversion present?"

"A diversion present?" Lorelai said with a gasp, "You don't trust your son!"

Luke laughed and shook his head, "No. I don't. Which is why I planted that gift for him to find and the real thing is hidden somewhere you will never find it."

"Wow. I am seriously offended for Jack right now. I'm feeding him nothing but lucky charms on the days you have him. That'll teach you a thing or two." She said poking his chest.

Luke laughed as he leaned into kiss her, "Goodbye crazy lady." He leaned over and kissed Elise, "Goodbye little one."

"Bye Da!" Elise said waving a gentle hand at him.

"Drive safe!" She called and he winked at her, "Oh and bring me back some Boston Cream donuts from that place in Boston I like!"

"No." Luke called as he ran down the hallway, "I'm not waiting in that line."

"Ugh...you're so not getting lucky tonight mean man!" Lorelai called back to him.

"We'll see about that…" Luke called back, "Goodbye!"

Lorelai smiled and nuzzled Elise's nose and whispered, "You're Daddy is the best."

"Goo Da!" Elise squealed in her Mother's arm.

Lorelai laughed and kissed her cheek, "That's right baby. Goo Da!"

Lorelai gathered all of Elise's things and her own bag. She made sure that Paul Anka had enough food and water and then went to the car to strap Elise in. She drove off to Babette's and walked up the front steps, the door opened before she even knocked.

"Where's that little princess?" Babette called as she greeted them, "Come over here doll face!"

Lorelai smiled and handed Elise over to Babette, "Thanks again for watching her Babette."

"Oh you know I love spending time with this little peanut! I can't believe how fast she is growing." Babette said giving Elise a kiss on the cheek.

Lorelai smiled, "I know! It's crazy."

"Is Luke on his way to get April?" Babette asked as she rocked her back and forth.

"Yes. Jack is with him. April will be here all week. I'm really looking forward to it. April will be heading to college this year which is crazy. It will be nice to spend some time with her before she heads off. We may not see her again until Christmas." Lorelai said with a frown.

"Is she getting excited for school?" Babette asked.

"I think so. Probably a little nervous too. But she's so smart...she's going to do great." Lorelai said with a smile.

"Well good." Babette said, "You get to work. Me and this little one will be just fine, won't we sugah?"

"Baba!" Elise yelled, "Mowey!"

Lorelai smiled and leaned forward to kiss Elise's cheek, "You be a good girl. Mommy will be back in a few hours to get you. Call if you need anything! Thanks so much Babette!"

"Anytime!" She lifted Elise's hand, "Wave goodbye to Mommy!"

Lorelai smiled and gave a small wave at her daughter and friend before walking back to the car. She got in and started to pull out of the driveway. As she pulled out in front of her old home, she slowed down the car and glanced out the window. That house held so many amazing memories for her. It was her first real home with Rory and would always be special to her.

But it was also the place where one of the hardest and scariest moments of her life had taken place. The moment Chris hit her, something in that house changed for her. She knew that no matter what she couldn't' stay there. Luke had built her her dream home which she now lived in with him and her children, and she planned on living their for the rest of her life. But something would always draw her back to this place.

With a heavy sigh, she drove past the house and to the Dragonfly. She spent the next few hours keeping busy at work not wanting to dwell too much on her dream and the thoughts threatening to creep up in her mind. By four, she knew that Luke Jack and April would be home shortly so she wrapped up at work, checked in with Sookie and Michel and then made her way back to Babette's. She picked up Elise, said her thank you's to Babette and Morey and headed home to prepare for the arrival of the rest of her family.

She was up in April's room while Elise took a short nap making sure that everything was in order when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was her father. "Hey Dad. What's up?"

"Lorelai, hello. Are you home by any chance?" He asked her.

"I am. Luke is on his way home from the airport with Jack. They were picking up April. She is staying with us for the week." Lorelai said.

'Oh that's right. I forgot she was coming this week. I don't want to intrude...but there is something I wanted to talk to you about. And I'd rather do it in person. I went by the Inn but Michel said you had already left." Richard said.

"Well I'm home. Come on over. I'm sure Jack and April would be happy to see you." She said.

"Well good. I am pulling into the driveway now. See you in a moment." Richard said as he hung up.

Lorelai looked at the window and saw her Dad pulling into the driveway. She walked out of April's room and down the stairs to the foyer. She was just opening the door as Richard walked up the porch steps.

"Hey." Lorelai said leaning up to hug him, "Come on in."

Richard smiled and stepped into the house, "Where is my granddaughter?"

"She fell asleep on the way home. I figured she'd be up late tonight so I'm letting her nap a little. You're welcome to stay for dinner with us if you want." She said with a smile.

"Thank you...I'll think about it." He nervously rubbed his hands together and stared at he for a moment, "Can we go into the living room?"

Lorelai swallowed hard, she could tell something was wrong. "Okay. Can I get you a drink or anything?"

Richard shook his head, "No thank you. I'm fine."

Lorelai nodded and led him towards the living room, she waited until he sat down and she sat down across from him. "So...what's going on?"

Richard took a deep breath, "I got a call this morning...from your lawyer."

"From my lawyer?" Lorelai asked curiously, "You mean…"

He nodded, "The one that handled the case with Christopher."

Lorelai felt her heart start to pound in her chest, "Oh…"

"Lorelai he is being released due to good behavior...he gets out next week. You'll be getting a letter in the mail soon. But I wanted you to hear it from me first." He said quickly.

Lorelai felt the tears burning in her eyes and she tried to remember to breath, "Wow. Um...okay. I mean I knew that this would happen eventually. It's not the type of offense that would warrant a life time in jail. Um...so what do we do now?"

"Well I am having the team draft up a new and more effective restraining order. I don't want him coming anywhere near you or Rory." Richard said.

Lorelai nodded, "Okay…"

Richard stared at his daughter for a moment and tried to read her expression, he knew this wasn't going to be easy for her. "What are you thinking?"

Lorelai sighed and pushed some hair behind her ear, "I had a dream about it this morning...I didn't know why. I haven't had bad dreams about it in years…"

Richard frowned, "I know this is hard…"

Lorelai rested her elbows on her knees, "I don't know…"

"He will not hurt you again." Richard said more firmly.

Lorelai smiled sadly at the tears welled up in her eyes, "You sound like Luke…"

Richard smiled, "Well he is just as protective as I am. We will do everything we can to keep you safe."

Lorelai nodded, "I know Dad…"

Richard opened his mouth to say something but the door opened quickly, "Mommy! April is here! April is here!"

Lorelai wiped at her eyes and stood up quickly, "She is!"

April and Luke walked into the living room behind Jack and April ran to Lorelai, "Lorelai! It's so good to see you."

Lorelai wrapped her arms around her step-daughter and hugged her tightly, "Look at you beautiful girl. Stop growing!"

Luke glanced at his wife and saw her eyes were red, then he turned and saw Richard sitting on the couch, "Richard...were we expecting you?"

Richard stood up and smiled at Luke trying to look calm, "Oh no. I just decided to stop in."

Luke nodded slowly, "Oh. Well that's great. Do you want to stay for dinner?"

Richard looked over at Lorelai, "Lorelai?"

She swallowed hard and glanced at April for a moment, "Hey Jack...you wanna take April up and show her the new shelves you and Daddy built for her?"

Jack jumped up and down, "Yeah! Come on April!" He pulled at his sister's hand and began to drag her towards the stairs.

April glanced at her father who just gave her a tight smile to assure her that everything would be fine. When he knew they were safely upstairs away from the living room, Luke looked over at his wife and his Father-In-Law.

"What's going on?" Luke asked as he stepped closer to Lorelai.

Lorelai sighed, "Turns out that dream of mine was a bit of an omen…"

Luke frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Christopher is being released next week." Richard answered quickly, "I got the call this morning."

Luke took a deep breath and felt his heart pounding in his chest, "Already?"

Lorelai sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, "It's been almost six years...I suppose it's about time. We knew he wouldn't be away forever."

"He should be." Luke said angrily, "He had no right to do what he did. We should fight this. There has to be something we can do."

"Luke…" Lorelai said swallowing hard as she tried to keep the tears in, "It is what it is…"

"That's not good enough!" Luke said shaking head, "I don't want him anywhere near you."

"I am going to have a new restraining order drafted. We will add Rory's name and the rest of the kids if you would like. We will make sure everything is iron clad as soon as possible." Richard said.

Luke scoffed, "I don't like this. That bastard deserves to rot for what he did!"

"I agree with you completely. And if I had it my way he would. But unfortunately that's not the way the justice system works Luke." Richard said sadly.

Luke sighed and stepped closer to Lorelai, he took her hand in his. "I swear on my life that nothing is going to happen to you. Okay? I'll kill him before he causes you anymore pain."

She tried to smile at him as she placed a hand on his cheek, "Babe I know...but I don't want you to do anything stupid. I need you here...the kids need you."

Luke nodded, "I know. But…"

Lorelai shook her head, "No. No but's Luke. I need you to promise me you won't do anything stupid. I love you so much for wanting to protect me...but you need to stay away from him."

Luke was quiet for a moment as he thought about what she said, "Lorelai…"

"Luke she's right. As much as I'd like to go and ring his neck...going after him is not going to do any good for anyone. We need to trust that the police and the restraining order will keep us all safe." Richard said.

Luke sighed and pulled Lorelai into his arms, "I won't do anything…"

"Promise me." Lorelai whispered into his neck, "Please Luke…"

He closed his eyes tight and nodded, "I promise."

She let out a gentle breath and nodded against him, "Thank you."

He kissed the side of her head and rubbed her back, "I love you."

"I love you too." She sniffled as she pulled away slowly and wiped at her eyes, "God...okay. I'm not going to do this right now. I don't want to ruin April's visit."

Luke nodded, "She's going to want to know what's going on. And Rory will be here tomorrow...we have to do tell her."

Lorelai nodded, "I know...but what about Jack? He's going to have questions...he already asks about Christopher sometimes."

Luke sighed, "I don't know...I've never really figured out how to explain it all to him. He's too young. I don't want to scare him."

"I don't think we have to tell him much." Richard said, "If you want, Emily and I can take Jack and Elise for the day at some point so you can all discuss it."

"Maybe." Lorelai said with a sigh, "Does Mom know?"

Richard nodded, "Yes. And she's not happy. She's at home looking in every legal book I have. She's determined to find a loophole to all of this."

Lorelai smiled, "Well tell her thank you for me…"

Richard nodded, "I will. I appreciate your invite for dinner. But I think I am going to head home and make some phone calls. I want to make sure this restraining order gets made as soon as possible. I really just dropped by so we could have this conversation in person."

Lorelai nodded, "Well thank you Dad." She leaned over and hugged him tightly, "Thank you for everything."

He hugged her tightly, "Everything will be alright. I'll make sure of it."

Lorelai smiled as she pulled away, "I know you will."

Richard smiled and reached out for Luke's hand, "Call me if you have any questions and concerns. I'll make sure you know any new information as soon as I hear it."

"Thank you Richard." Luke said shaking his hand, "We appreciate it."

He nodded, "I'll see myself out. Give Elise a kiss for me and we'll see you soon." He gave them a wave and then walked out of the house and to his car.

Lorelai waited until she heard his car pull away before turning back to her husband. She saw that his jaw was tense and she could see the veins in his neck popping out. She sighed and walked back up to him, she placed a soothing hand on his chest. "Breath…" She whispered.

"I hate him. I fucking hate him." Luke said through gritted teeth, "For all these years I've tried to ignore it all...put it behind us." He sighed, "But I can't...I can't Lorelai…"

She swallowed hard, "You made me a promise Luke. You can't go after him. I need you right here with me. And if you do...you'll get in trouble and I can't handle that." She felt the sob grow in her throat as her hands began to tremble, "Please…"

Luke sighed and pulled her into him again, "Hey…"

"Please don't leave me…" She said hugging him tighter, "Please Luke.."

"I'm sorry…" He whispered into her hair, "I don't want to upset you...I just…"

She nodded against him, "I know Luke. I know. But...you can't do anything about it."

He sighed and closed his eyes tightly, "I know you're right...but it's hard."

She pulled away to look at him, "We will figure it out..just like we always do. Right?"

Luke nodded slowly trying to look confident, "Right…"

"Look...April is only here for the week. And we have time to figure this out. Let's try and enjoy our time with her...Rory will be here tomorrow. We'll tell them together and then just...see what happens." She said swallowing nervously.

He lifted a hand and stroked her cheek gently, after all this time the image of her bruised and broken face still haunted him from time to time. "Lorelai…"

She smiled and leaned against his touch, "It's okay...I'm okay."

He let out a shaky breath and nodded slowly and leaned forward to kiss her, "I love you."

She rested her forehead against his and smiled at him, "I kind of had a feeling…"

He couldn't help but laugh, "Lorelai…"

She smiled and nuzzled his nose gently, "I love you too."

"Mommy! Elise is up and she stinks!" Jack called from upstairs.

Lorelai laughed as she pulled away, "At least we have plenty of little one's to distract us…"

Luke laughed, "I'll take care of Elise. You go make sure that Jack hasn't completely exhausted April yet."

Lorelai smiled and walked towards the stairs, but Luke grabbed her hand as she stepped on the first step. "What?" She asked softly.

"Everything is going to be okay." He whispered to her, and she wasn't sure if he was trying to convince her or himself.

She smiled and swallowed the tears threatening to bubble up again, "I know."

He nodded once, lifted her hand to his lips to give it a gentle kiss and then let her walk up the stairs. He took a moment to compose himself before walking up the steps. He knew he had made a promise to Lorelai...but something in the back of his mind made him think that for once he wasn't sure he could keep his word.


I have it all planned out after this so I will try to write when I can. Hope you are interested still! :)