When Luke got out of bed Lorelai groaned. He didn't mean to wake her up. He had hoped that he could leave without her noticing. She needed her sleep.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep." He said then turned to walk to the bathroom. Before he left the bedroom, she spoke again.
"You're going back to the diner today." She sounded upset.
Luke stopped walking and turned to face her. "I could probably take one more day off if you need me to stay here." He offered.
"No, it's okay. We agreed that you should get back today."
Luke gave her a small smile then turned back around and walked out of the room. He didn't really want to leave but he figured some time alone might be good for Lorelai. Richard's death had been really hard on her, hard on all of them including him. It had been three days since the funeral and Rory left the day before. She was allowed more time off, but she decided to throw herself back into her work to distract herself. Lorelai, Emily and Luke didn't really approve of Rory doing this but they couldn't tell her what to do.
Rory's absence had affected Lorelai, it added to her grief. Luke was there to pick up the pieces. Rory promised that she would visit on weekends when she could. Lorelai was hurt but she didn't tell Rory this. Luke had taken several days off work after Richard's death and Lorelai made him promise that he would go back today. He was hesitant to leave her but he vowed that he would be back early.
After he took a shower, Luke returned to the bedroom and got dressed quickly. When he walked over to his nightstand to pick up his watch, Lorelai stirred and reached for him.
"Lorelai," He said gently. She was making it hard for him to leave.
"I'll be fine I just wanted a hug and kiss goodbye." She pushed the covers off and got out of bed. Standing in front of him, she pressed her face his chest. His arms came around her and he held her tightly.
When she didn't move for a minute, he began rubbing her back. She was usually pretty affectionate, especially when they were alone, but she wasn't usually clingy. He pressed a kiss to her temple.
"I'll be home early."
"Okay but I'm gonna come for lunch maybe." She whispered back.
She had skipped breakfast a lot during the past few days. Her appetite wasn't there and she just didn't feel like doing much. He made sure she ate something every day.
He kept rubbing her back until she pulled away.
"Get some sleep, you need it." He urged.
She just nodded and tilted her head, wanting a kiss.
He pressed his lips to hers; giving her a sweet, long kiss.
"Bye." She whispered.
"Bye." He let her go and turned to leave.
She watched him go then got back in bed. She rolled over to his side of the bed and pressed her face into his pillow, breathing in his scent. She missed him already but she knew he had to go. After an hour of tossing and turning, she managed to fall asleep and stay asleep for a couple of hours.
Later, Luke looked out the window of the diner and saw Lorelai. He was relieved to see her as she hadn't really gotten out of the house since the funeral. The bell above the door chimed as Lorelai walked in. Babette and Miss Patty were sitting at a table and as soon they saw Lorelai they gestured for her to come over.
Lorelai walked over to their table.
"Lorelai honey, I'm so sorry for your loss." Miss Patty said. Babette had already shared her condolences.
"Thanks Miss Patty." Lorelai had gotten used to saying thank you.
"Sit doll," Babette gave Lorelai a sad smile and patted the chair next to her.
"Ah no that's okay. I was just going to sit at the counter, have lunch and then leave." Lorelai didn't make eye contact with them.
"Oh that's okay, we understand." Patty also gave Lorelai a sympathetic smile.
Lorelai didn't say anything before she walked over to the counter. She didn't want to talk to anyone but Luke. He understood her better than anyone there did.
Luke walked around the counter to come greet her. He gave her a quick kiss and rubbed her arm.
"Hey. Did you get some sleep?" He asked.
"A little," She shrugged.
He urged her to sit. Once she was sitting on a stool, he went back behind the counter and stood in front of her.
"What can I get you?"
"Um coffee of course and hmm… chili fries and a burger I guess."
He nodded and turned to pour her coffee and give Caesar the order.
While her food was cooking, he chatted with her. She asked if anything exciting had happened at the diner and he told her no.
He put his hand on top of hers and brushed her knuckles with his thumb. She met his gaze.
Her cell phone rang at that moment and she pulled her hand away. She actually got up and left the diner without answering the phone. The rule of no cell phones in the diner had not changed in the age of smartphones.
It was Rory. Lorelai answered on the fourth ring.
"Hey honey."
"Hi Mom. I just thought I'd call to check in."
"I'm fine. Everything's getting back to normal."
"Mom…" Rory wasn't buying it.
"Ok maybe it's not, but it will be."
Rory was silent.
"Luke went back to the diner today. I'm there now for lunch."
"Oh that's good."
"Yeah and I saw Miss Patty and Babette in the diner and Miss Patty shared her condolences." Lorelai said at the same time Rory said: "Mom."
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry for leaving so soon. I shouldn't have."
"Rory you already apologised. I get it. You're dealing with this your own way and I respect that."
"But you need me and Grandma needs me."
Lorelai didn't know what to say to that. Yes, it would be better if Rory was here but she understood why she felt like she needed to go back to work. Richard wouldn't want them sitting around moping too long.
"And I need you. I'm coming back this weekend and I'm staying." Rory continued.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I was wrong to leave so soon." Rory said quietly.
Lorelai couldn't help but smile. "Okay." She said gently.
"How's Grandma?"
Lorelai hadn't talked to Emily since last night. She was a wreck and Lorelai didn't really know how to console her. They talked on the phone for a bit before Emily excused herself, told Lorelai that she needed to try to get some sleep.
"She's coping as best she can I think. I'm letting her have her space."
"We're going to visit her when I get there." Rory said defiantly.
"We will and I'll phone her tonight."
"Okay. I'll see you soon."
"See you soon. Love you."
"Love you too. Bye."
"Bye."
Lorelai took a breath and stepped back into the diner. She returned to her seat to find a plate of food and a mug of coffee in front of her. Luke was taking a customer's order at a table. Lorelai started eating.
"That was Rory." Lorelai told Luke when he came back behind the counter.
"How is she?" He asked a look of concern on his face.
"She's okay I think. She's coming back this weekend and she's going to stay for a while."
"That's good." Luke was pleased to hear that. He knew the three Gilmore woman needed each other at a time like this.
Lorelai kept eating while Luke worked. When she finished, she waited for him to have a free minute before she told him that she would be heading back home.
"I'll be home in a few hours. I'm gonna pick up a few things from Doose's later, do you need anything?"
"No." Lorelai answered simply. She leaned over the counter. Luke kissed her cheek.
"Bye doll." She said gently.
Luke frowned as he watched her walk off. She wasn't her usual quirky self and that upset him. He understood that she needed to grieve and that that would take time but he wished there was a way he could help her.
When Lorelai called Emily that night, there was no answer. She left a brief message on the answering machine. Lorelai was worried about Emily but she pushed those worries away when Paul Anka sat in front of the couch and whimpered.
"Aww what's wrong buddy? Daddy will be home soon."
Luke hated it when she referred to him as Paul Anka's dad but Lorelai knew that the dog had wormed his way into Luke's heart. However, Luke would never admit that.
Paul Anka put his head on top of Lorelai's feet. She bent down and scratched behind his ears. After flicking through the channels aimlessly, Lorelai sighed and turned off the TV.
Luke walked in a few minutes later. He was carrying a couple bags from Doose's. Lorelai got up and took a bag from him. They walked to the kitchen and put away the groceries silently.
After Luke took his boots off, he asked if Lorelai wanted lasagna for dinner. She told him that would be fine.
Luke started to prepare the food. Lorelai lingered in the kitchen.
Once he had the lasagna in the oven, Luke sat at the table next to her.
"You okay?"
"Hmm? Yeah, I'm just thinking, nothing to worry about babe."
Luke didn't want to press her. He knew she would open up to him if she wanted to talk.
Later that night, when Luke came out of the bathroom after brushing his teeth, Lorelai pulled him into a deep kiss.
He kissed her back then pulled away. Seeing the pleading look in her eyes, he touched her cheek gently. This had happened before, on the night of the funeral. They made love and Luke knew it was a comfort to her. He wanted to be able to comfort her so he didn't object to it.
He kissed her tenderly and pulled back again. Looking at her, he made sure she really wanted this. She nodded slightly and pulled on his shoulders. They kissed and slowly made their way to the bed. Clothing was stripped and they landed on the bed softly.
Luke took her hand in his, feeling her engagement ring press into his hand. Lorelai pulled him closer and he pressed his lips to her neck. She put a hand on the back of his head and guided his lips back to hers.
Afterwards, they stayed snuggled together for a bit before they said goodnight and tried to sleep. Lorelai woke up in the middle of the night after having a nightmare. Luke remained asleep, obvious to her fears. She took a sip of water and told herself to calm down. She couldn't fall back asleep that night.
Author's note: Thank you for reading. As I said in the summary, this takes place in 2015 so I guess it would be right before the revival takes place. I'm going with the spoiler that L/L are engaged and not married.
I'm still writing Come What May but it's almost done, there will be five more chapters at the most. The idea for this story came to me and I wanted to try to write it. Please let me know what you think. I plan to write more chapters later.