This is actually something that I started writing last year, but I just had so much on my plate that I couldn't give it the attention I thought it needed.

"Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap." Lorelai chanted as she got ready.

She could hear Jason's voice from the kitchen. "I told you that you should've stopped at your place before coming over."

"It was twenty minutes out of my way, and you're not helping!"

"Sorry." He apologized. "Coffee?"

"To go, please. I'm late for work."

"Ah, so that's what the crap commentary was about. Do you want breakfast on the go again? It's not french toast, but I figure waffles would probably work the same way."

"Jason!" Lorelai shouted.

"Sorry, still not helping?"

"Hey, do you mind if I borrow a pair of socks?"

"That's fine. You know where they are?"

"I think so." Lorelai went to his dresser and started opening the drawers, and after a few tries, located his sock drawer, pulled out a pair, and sat down on the bed to put them on. But when she actually looked at the socks, she froze.

White with a gold stripe, and some kind of fruity padding in the toe.

She tried to dismiss it. How many guys must have these socks? Hundreds. Thousands, possibly. This had to be a coincidence.

Biting her lip pensively, she thought about something Luke had said in anger that night.

What, did you take my socks too?

Lorelai slowly pulled on her shoes and went back over the the sock drawer. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for. Any other time, any other guy, she wouldn't have thought twice about it.

The one pair that didn't match.

All white.
Red stripe.
No padding.

Jason came back in the room, and Lorelai instinctively grabbed the odd pair of socks, hiding them, and shut the drawer.

"Find what you needed?" Jason asked.

Lorelai's voice was strained, though Jason didn't seemed to notice. "Yup. Found exactly what I was looking for."

"Okay, well, I have to go. Your breakfast is in the fridge if you want it." He picked up his keys and his wallet and slipped them into his pockets. "Can you lock up on your way out?"

"Uh, sure." Lorelai said, still processing what she'd discovered. "Just, uh, one thing, before you go."

Jason turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

"Um…" She looked down at the balled up pair of socks in her hands, and held them up. "Uh, why do you- I mean, did you know that you had one pair of socks that don't match the others?"

"Really?" Jason asked. "You sure they're not yours?"

"They're mens socks. How did you end up with another man's socks?"

"I don't know, I didn't even know they were different." Jason shrugged. "Why is it important?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Jason, I'm gonna ask you a question and I need you answer it honestly."

"When haven't I been honest with you?"

"Jason."

He gave in. "Alright, I'll be honest, I promise."

"Have you dated anybody else since we started going out?" Lorelai asked. "Anybody at all that I don't know about."

"You mean other than Crystal?"

"Yes, other than Crystal."

"No."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "Really? Not even once? Coffee date, drinks after work, dancing at the club?"

Jason opened his mouth, then hesitated.

Lorelai felt her heart drop into her stomach, and she prompted him. "Jason?"

"Well," He said slowly. "In the interest of full disclosure, I did meet one woman."

"Oh. Uh… When?" Lorelai asked.

Jason, at least, had the decency to look nervous. "It- it was, uh… a few… weeks ago."

"You… yo-ou went out… with someone else, while we were dating." Lorelai said incredulously. "Did you sleep with her?"

"Well… yeah."

"I can't believe this." Lorelai walked out of the room, and started gathering her stuff from the guest room. "I can't believe that you dated someone else."

"I wasn't dating her!" Jason defended himself.

"You slept with her!" Lorelai shouted. She headed for the door and he followed her, talking.

"It was just sex, and it was before we were totally committed to each other, way before I ever gave you your own key to my apartment."

"Just sex." Lorelai repeated flatly.

Jason nodded. "Yes. And it was just the one time. And I didn't feel good about it afterward. To be honest, Lorelai, it was part of what made me realize I cared about you too much to screw this up."

"Well, too late."

"Wait, Lorelai-"

She started shaking her head slowly and held her hands up. "I can't- I can't stay here."

"Lorelai!" Jason called after her.

She ignored him, and walked out of his apartment. She walked out of the building and to her car. Before she knew it, she was on the highway. She found herself walking up to the diner without remembering how she got there, not even remembering where she parked her car, and sat on the stool at the far end of the counter, away from anybody else.

Luke walked up to her, holding a coffee pot, trying to get her attention. "Coffee?"

She just continued to stared at the counter, and Luke frowned. "Lorelai?"

"I'm not wearing my socks." Lorelai whispered.

He saw her jaw shake, as if she were trying not to cry. He set the coffee down and leaned toward her, talking quietly. "Lorelai, what's wrong?"

"I'm not wearing my own socks."

He frowned at her. It took him a few moments to make the connection.

I'm not wearing my socks.

I'm not wearing my own socks.

Oh.

By the time it hit him, a few of Lorelai's tears had landed on the counter. He glanced around the diner. No one would miss him for a few minutes. He took her by the elbow and directed her towards the stairs. "Go upstairs, I'll be with you in a minute."

"But, the diner-" She tried.

"Will be fine." He assured her. "Just go."

He sent her upstairs with a gentle push and went back to the counter, where he poured a cup of coffee and cut an extra large slice of pie. He didn't want to announce the the entire diner that something was wrong, so instead of shouting, he poked his head in the kitchen and told Caesar that he was going upstairs. Luke carried the coffee and pie upstairs into his apartment. Lorelai had taken a seat at the table. He set his offerings next to her and sat down across from her, waiting for her to speak.

"I found your socks." Lorelai said suddenly.

Luke was once again confused. "What?"

Lorelai reached into her purse and pulled out the pair of socks she had stolen from Jason's dresser and handed them to Luke. He just stared at them.

"They are yours, right?"

Luke's jaw hung open. "H-how-?"

"Jason. My boyfriend. My ex-boyfriend, he had them. Didn't even realize they weren't his socks until I pointed it out." Lorelai got up and started pacing. "Then he told me he'd slept with someone else."

Luke's face tensed. "He did?"

"Yeah." Lorelai said sharply. "Then he tried to say that it wasn't serious. It was a one time thing. That is was fine because he hadn't been totally committed to our relationship at the time."

Luke was too angry to even speak. He took several deep breaths before he could bring himself to look up from the table. When he did, he looked at Lorelai. She was standing still now, hugging herself and clearly trying not to cry.

He remembered how much it had stung when he'd found out Nicole had cheated on him. After everything, she'd been the one who wanted to keep trying. She'd wanted them both to keep trying. Then to turn around, turn to someone else…

And here, Lorelai was actually in love with the guy!

"C'mere." He took a few steps toward Lorelai, placing a hand on her shoulder and pulled her into another hug. Lorelai leaned forward and could no longer hold back her emotions. Luke held her as she cried.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be here." She finally said. "I don't even know why I'm here, I just…"

"I know." Luke said. "I know. It's not a good feeling when a relationship doesn't work out. With Nicole and I, we just... Well anyway, you know what happened. It still sucks."

Lorelai forced out a breath. "I…I'm fine. It wasn't like it was gonna be a forever thing anyway. Well, I mean… yeah, you're right it sucks to admit that it- it's over. But, god, why did it have to be her!"

Luke frowned. Wait, her? Meaning Nicole? What about her?

Lorelai noticed the look on his face, misinterpreting it. "Luke, I am so sorry just show up like this, with the socks and the crying… I'm really sorry."

"It's okay."

"No, but I mean, you told me the other night that it's over with you and Nicole and I just come over here and dump all over you with this news and my own sucky relationship-"

"Lorelai." Luke said firmly. "I'm glad you told me. At least now I can stop wondering who the sock guy is."

Lorelai nodded and laughed a little despite the lingering tears. "True."

Luke was glad to see that she was feeling a little better. At least for now. "And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry too."

"Well, thank you, that means a- Oh god." Lorelai rifled through her purse and pulled out her phone. "I was supposed to be at the inn. No!"

"What?"

"My phone would have to be dead. God, why does everything have to suck today!"

"Use my phone. I'll be downstairs."

"Thank you." Lorelai dialed, and Luke overheard her as he headed back down to the diner. "Hey, Sookie. No, I'm fine, just... had to make a stop on the way. What's up?"

I don't know when the second chapter will be up. Hopefully, before another year comes around.

The title is from the Mister Sandman song. I don't know how well people know the song, or if people would even connect the song lyrics, because even I think it's a little bit of a stretch, but it's the best I could come up with. For most of the last year, it's just been titled "Sockman". I thought this was preferable.