Chapter One -o- Without Her

"Thank you." Lorelai said looking up at him. No mater what, no mater where in her life she was, there he was.

"Oh, it's no big deal." He said shaking his head shrugging his shoulders lightly.

"Luke..." She sighed shaking her head slowly.

"I just...I just like to see you happy." And even now, after everything they had done to each other, all he wanted was to make her happy. She wasn't sure who moved first, nor did she care. All she could think about was that fact that his arms, his safe, warm, loving arms, were wrapped around her waist and he was kissing her. It was a soft, slow, getting to know you kiss and it made Lorelai's heart soar.

When he pulled away there was a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. It was a good smile, an 'everything is going to work out' smile and so she smiled back.

-o-o-o-o-

He had a cup of coffee and a donut sitting on the counter for her when she walked in. He could see she had been crying and knew Rory, sitting on a plane somewhere, probably looked the same. She looked at the cup and then up at him and he could see the just barely restrained tears behind her eyes. She sat down on the stool and just looked at the cup, not saying a word, and not drinking. Everyone in the diner was watching her, and Luke knew she wouldn't want them to all see her if, and when, she broke down.

"Caesar, the diners yours for a bit." He called over his shoulder as he made his way around the counter. He put his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.

"Come on, I'll make you a cup of coffee." He said and she looked up at him a little confused then down at the cup in front of her. "I'll make you a special cup of coffee." She nodded her head and Luke led her towards the stairs to his apartment. He gave a quick look over his shoulder and every single head in the place was watching them.

She sat down at the table in the kitchen and just folded her arms in front of her and laid her head down on them. He wasn't surprised when, a few seconds into his coffee making, he started to hear small sobs coming from her. His first instanced was to go to her, to comfort, but he thought it would be good for her to get it all out, so he made coffee. He added a few things to it before he walked over to the table with his special coffee for her and tea for him, and sat down next to her. She sat up a little and looked at him as she whipped her eyes. He had his patient face on and it made her smile just a little.

"I know it's silly." She said when she was sure she could speak without crying again. "It's not as though I'll never see her again."

"But it's hard." Luke said and she nodded her head momentarily surprised by the understanding behind the words.

"April?' She asked and he nodded his head.

"Every time I have to send her back to her mother it kills me." Lorelai took a deep breath nodding her head. She picked up her coffee and took a sip then pulled the cup away and looked at Luke in shock.

"Is there..." She trailed off and took another sip. "Whisky in this?" The look of utter shock made Luke laugh as he nodded his head.

"I thought you might need the kick." He shrugged and she took another sip.

"It's not bad. I may drink it like this all the time." She smiled playfully at him and he knew she would be ok. It would be hard on her, but she'd get through it, and he'd be sure he was there to help her the whole time.

"Well, that certainly would make life interesting; especially with how much coffee you drink in a day." Luke joked back making her smile.

"Forget in a day, how about in the morning, I'm be wasted by noon." She laughed at herself as did Luke and then she sighed.

"Thank you." She said reaching across the table to take his hand. "You're always looking out for me, for us." They sat in silence for a few seconds, just thinking, and watching each other.

"I just like to see you happy." He said echoing himself from the night before. Lorelai nodded her head a sappy smile on her face. She set her coffee down slowly and reached out and put her hand on his cheek, running her thumb over the stubble that made her smile.

"You need to shave." She told him her voice soft as his eyes met hers.

"Yeah," he agreed with a small smile.

This time when she kissed him it was a little more fevered, a little more need than the night before. She was, in all her ways, trying to tell him how sorry she was, how much she'd missed him, all in that one kiss.

She pulled away slowly when she heard footsteps on the stairs outside his door. He had a smile on his face that she was sure matched her own. She slowly removed her hand and giggled when Caesar called out for Luke.

"Luke?" He called again as he knocked on the door. "Taylor is downstairs and he-

"I'll be down in a second." Luke called none of his usual gruffness in his voice as he watched Lorelai.

"Ok, but he's talking about putting up some kinda poster and I just thought you'd-

"In a minute." Luke called out, they waited and finally they heard the sound of his feet retreating. "So, feeling better?" He asked smirking at her.

"Uh-huh." She said nodding her head. As much as she loved the look he was giving her, soft and sincere, she had to ask, she knew it would disrupt it, even if just a little, so she hated to do it.

"Where...where do we go from here?" She asked finally after a few seconds. He drew back a little looking at her with a keen eye. Finally, after what seemed forever, he sat forwards again and smiled brightly.

"Dinner, then a movie, maybe, I hear they're playing Pippi Longstocking." Lorelai smiled at him, her heart swelling with pure joy at the thought of sitting back and watching Pippi with Luke again.

"Ok," she said nodding her head again. "It's a date."

"I'll pick you up at say, 8?" He asked and she nodded her head again, seemingly speechless, so unlike her. "I better go see what Taylor wants." He said standing.

"You mean you're going to go down there and find out what he wants, torture him a while, then tell him no?" She asked and Luke laughed then nodded. "Cool." She said following out behind him. "Can I watch?"

-o-o-o-o-o-

Rory sat in the plane with her hands in her lap trying her hardest to keep her composure. They had been in flight for almost an hour now and she was just getting herself pulled together. She had silently refused anything to drink when they flight attendant had been by, but now she was dying for some water. But, barring that, it had been a pretty good flight so far. She had the whole aisle to herself, and that was always good. She had room to stretch out, if she wanted and room to put her bag up so she could get to her books.

"Excuse me?" She said smiling slightly up at the attendant who was walking by. "Could I get some water?" She asked and the attendant smiled brightly at her.

"Of course. Feeling better?" She asked pulling a cup out of her cart.

"Yes." Rory said nodding her head. "I'm just, going away from home, for a very long time."

"That can be hard." She smiled at her. "Here you go." She handed her a cup with ice and a bottle of water.

"Thank you." Rory said pulling out the tray and setting the water down. She turned to her bag and pulled out her book, something she had been meaning to read again, for a long while now. She pulled out her book mark and smiled at the old pages, and the slightly wrinkled cover. She flipped through it a little smiling at the hand writing in the margins. Sometimes a good book was all you needed to calm the nerves. She settled back in her chair, as much as she could in couch, and smiled as she began to read.

She was well into her book when a shadow fell over the book. She continued reading, hoping whoever it was they would go away.

"Good book?" No such luck Rory thought sighing. But she stopped reading, something about that voice. "Is this seat taken?" She rolled her eyes as she remarked her page and closed her book.

"No it's not, but- She stopped mid-sentence when she finally looked up and realized why the voice sounded so familiar.

"So now, what are the odds that we'd be on the same plane?" He asked a cocky smile on his face as he looked down at her. It seemed to her that no matter where she was or what was going on her life, there he was. She shook her head as she set her book down on her lap.

"Not very high." She said trying to keep the smile off her face. Though she was a little unsure of way she was so happy to see him, she was happy. "Where are you headed?"

"Here and there." He smiled at her as he pulled something out of a bag he had been holding and handed it to her. "I wanted to give you that."

"You got on the same plane as me to give me a book?" Rory asked looking down at the book. She read over the title and author and her smile brightened. "You wrote another book?"

"Well, I had to do something with my time. And I was going to send it to you, but how shocked was I when I hear such a familiar voice floating back to me from the front of the plane." Rory rolled her eyes and smiled up at him as she pulled her bag off the seat and put her book into it setting it in front of her.

"Look at that." She said looking down at the empty seat. "This seat isn't taken."

"Well then, I'll just have a seat and talk to the pretty girl next to me." He said a slightly different look on his face. "It's good to see you Rory." He said as he sat down next to her.

"It's good to see you too Jess." Rory said crossing her legs unable to keep the smile off her face.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Lorelai looked at the clock as the doorbell rang at eight on the dot. She smirked as she ran down the stairs pulling her left shoe on.

"I'm sure we've had this conversation!" She called out as she raced over and pulled open the door with one hand while she slipped the other shoe on with the other.

"I know, 8:00 means 8:15 and any earlier is a crime in any court." He held out the bunch of tulips to her a smile on his face. "But I thought this once maybe you'd overlook the crime and let me in?" Lorelai laughed as she took the flowers and nodded her head.

"Just this once," she warned and he nodded his head solemnly. "You brought me flowers." She told him taking them from him and smelling them.

"Yeah," he said nodding his head a look on his face that Lorelai couldn't quite place.

"I," She paused still searching his face for something. "I should put these in water before we go."

"Of course." He agreed nodding his head stepping into the house. She turned and walked back towards the kitchen. She pulled a vase from the top of the fridge and walked over to the sink. She turned on the water and watched as it began to fill. As she watched, her mind wondered back. It felt like it had been years ago she had stood outside her inn wrapped in Luke's arms as he kissed her.

'What are you doing?' She'd asked as he stepped forward towards her.

'Would you hold still?' He asked finally pulling her into his arms. It had felt so natural, so right. Like, why had she been waiting? Why had she never seen him before? Everything had been so right, for a while. And then April and Christopher, god what a mess of things they had made. Both of them had made mistakes, some, worse than others. But, she was sure, with time and the rebuilding of trust they could work that out. They could fix everything that had gone wrong. She took a deep breath and smelled something familiar.

"The water is overflowing." He whispered into her ear and shivers raced down her spine. She looked up and could now feel him at her back; his close proximity was making her breath short. She reached out and turned off the water, trying not to let her hand shake as she did it. She turned slowly from the sink to find that he was less than a foot from her, his coat was gone, did he plan on staying here for a while?

"Staying a while?" She finally forced out on a shallow breath. Finally she realized what it was she'd seen in his eyes earlier, it was want, something she hadn't seen there in so long.

"Lorelai." Something in the way he said her name, husky and soft made her take a step back, into the sink.

"I've been thinking." She said looking up into his eyes, he was smirking at her.

"Have you?" He asked stepping towards her again, leaving little to no room between them.

"We should take this slow." She said looking at his hand as he ran it down her shoulder. She shivered then her eyes shot back up to his eyes.

"Slow." Luke said nodding his head as though in agreement. "Slow is good."

"Dirty." Lorelai told him without thinking and he leaned down towards her.

"I mean, with everything that's happened, I just think, slow would be a good idea." She told him as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Yes, working past all of that is a good idea." He agreed as he yanked her towards him. His mouth descended on hers as though he was a man who hadn't drank in years and she was a big glass of water. He pulled back for a moment and Lorelai took the opportunity to voice her concerns again, though quite feebly now.

"Because rushing back into things to fast could…" She trailed off as he place small kisses down her neck making her head spin. She cleared her throat and tried to focus her mind. "It could…"

"Yes?" He asked before he went back to kissing her neck just below her ear.

"It could jeopardize this balance we seem to have…" She sighed and smiled as he pulled away from her. "Built." She finished and he nodded his head, though she was sure he was not agreeing with her now. He kissed her again, this time slow and gentle, running his hands through her hair.

"Lorelai," he said pulling away after a few seconds.

"Luke," She said, loving the way his name sounded on her lips.

"Slow?" He asked looking her in the eyes. She studied him for a moment; letting herself get lost in his beautiful eyes. She may have told Chris she didn't love him, may have even believed it herself back then, but she was wrong, dead wrong. She loved this man holding her in his arms more then she'd ever loved any man, ever. Screw slow.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and used the leverage to pull herself up to meet his lips. Nothing could be more right than kissing Luke Danes in her kitchen.

"I love you." She said pulling back slightly shocked by herself. She had not meant to say that, how it had slipped passed her mind and out her lips she didn't know. She opened her mouth to try and cover that and he smiled covering her mouth with his figure.

"I love you too." He told her and her eyes went wide with shock again. At that moment, Lorelai was sure she could fly if someone asked her too. "God how long I've loved you." He pulled her close to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He held her for a long while before he pulled her back and looked her in the eyes.

"No more screwing up." He told her, though it sounded more like a promise, and she smiled and nodded her head as tears welled in her eyes. "No more secrets. No more broken promises, I love you, Lorelai Gilmore, and I always will."

"Luke." She said as though unable to say anything else. She smiled and nodded her head as a tear slid down her face. "Ditto." He laughed and nodded his head. She pulled him back down to her and kissed him, pulling forth all the love, passion and happiness she felt at that moment. They could move forward, and they could work through anything.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Rory sat on a bed in a cheap hotel looking at the to-go menus in front of her. She'd had another press conference today, what a spectacle that had been. So many voices, so many people, so many flashes and microphones, she'd loved it. She set all but one menu down and picked up the phone when there was a knock on her door. She sighed and wondered who it was. One of the girls, Casey, had invited her out to dinner, had almost not taken no for an answer, and Rory was afraid it was her back to collect her. She looked at her laptop, she had a story to write and couldn't go out and drink and eat. She was saying it over and over in her head ready to defend her refusal when she looked through the peep hole.

She unlocked and opened the door slowly as though still a little unsure of what she was seeing. He was standing there, as though she'd been expecting him. He flashed her a smile and walked into the room. He was holding two takeout bags, one to the place she'd been about to call and one to the ice-cream shop down the street.

"So, is there a freezer in here or are we eating dessert first?" He asked looking around the small room. She pointed to the far corner where she had a tiny itty bitty kitchenette. He hadn't said anything about what he was doing here, and, on the plane, she'd never thought to ask. He began to put things away then looked up from his task and smirked.

"You're going to let all the cold air out." He pointed out and she blinked then nodded her head closing the door. It was about 80 degrees outside, at 7:30 at night.

"What are you doing here?" She finally managed to get out after he was done putting the ice-cream away. He stood back up and looked at her, and all of a sudden she could see him, so many years ago, standing by a small pond, looking so lost and unsure of himself.

"Well, I know how you are." He said smiling at her now, lifting up the bag. "Hungry?"

"No, I mean, yes, I am. But, what are you doing here?" She asked again referring to this place. There was something in his face that made Rory take a step towards him.

"You weren't on that plane on accident, were you?" She asked, her voice sounding more accusing then she'd meant it too. The look on his face said it all; he'd been there on purpose, waiting for her. There was something about that she found very, flattering.

"How did you know?" She asked finally. She wasn't sure she wanted him there, she wasn't sure she wanted anyone around right now.

"Luke, he..." He stopped and set the food on the table. "He calls me every once and a while. He told me about your job. And..."

"Yes?" She asked sure she knew where this was going. He couldn't possible still have feeling for her, could he? Well, it didn't matter either way, because she wasn't in love with him anymore. She didn't have any of those kinds of feelings for him.

"And he told me about Logan." Rory nodded her head. She wasn't mad, still flattered in fact. But when she looked up and meet his eyes she realized she was fooling herself, or trying to. She may not be in love with him anymore, but there were still feelings there.

"Oh." She finally settled on not sure what else to say. "Ok."

"I didn't, I mean, I'm not here too..." He shook his head and stepped towards her. "I just thought you might need a friend, other than the crazy Paris. And, since I just finished this last book, I could take a break and-

"Follow me around the great US of A?" She mocked lightly smiling at him.

"Something like that." He shrugged his shoulders and put his hands in his pockets and Rory recognized his defensive pose. She smiled and nodded her head, maybe it would be nice to have him to talk to, but she couldn't really let him follow her around, he must have things to do.

"Jess, I really appreciate the offer, but surely you must have-

"Nope," he interrupted her shaking his head. He looked down at the ground then back up at her. She crossed her arms over her chest and smirked at him, waiting.

"See, that book?" He said looking to his book sitting on her bed side table. "It did a little better than I thought it would, a lot better in fact."

"What do you mean?" Rory asked as she walked over to the book and picked it up.

"I mean, it got picked up, someone's publishing it, like a real publishing house." Jess told her a small smile working his way onto his face. "They're actually paying me to publish it."

"Wow Jess, that's great, really." She smiled big at him. She always knew he could do anything he put his mind to, knew he had great things in him. "But I'm sure you can't afford to spend tons of money hopping from state to state while I-

"500,000 dollars." Jess said stopping Rory's babbling. Rory blinked once and then stared at him. He couldn't mean...that was what they had paid him?

"Half a million dollars?" She asked barely able to get it out.

"Yeah," Jess said nodding his head as a huge smile bloomed over his face. "Can you believe it? I was sure Jack had put someone up to it when I first got the call, then, the lawyers and paper work, and I'm still in shock a little." He said shaking his head softly. "Did you ever think I would go so far?" He asked chuckling.

"Yes." Rory said in all seriousness. "Jess, I always knew you could go far if you tried. I am so happy for you."

"Yeah, and they want to reprint my first book." Jess laughed lightly walking over to her, he reached out for the book with a smile on his face. "Did you even open it on the plane?"

"No." She told him shaking her head as she handed it over. He flipped the book over, so it was right side up for her, and opened it to the dedication page. Rory looked down at the page for a moment, back up to him then back to the page.

All I have I owe to her. Thank you.

Lorelai Leigh Gilmore.

Rory read it over twice before she looked back up at him again. Jess saw there were tears in her eyes and hoped that was a good sign. One of the tears slid down her cheek and he instinctively reached out and wiped it away. After a minute she smiled at him and the tears were gone.

"That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever done." She told him running her hand over the page. "But Jess, you did this on your own. You don't owe me anything."

"Yes I do, you, you were the only one who could get through to me. I don't know where I would be now if not for you." His face was so serious, Rory didn't think it was true, but she was touched none the less.

"Well, thank you." She told him taking the book from his hands. "But you don't owe me anything. You saved me; I don't think I would have gone back, to school, if it hadn't been for you. So, thank you." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. Jess just nodded his head as she walked away from the beds towards the bag of food on the table.

"So, what's for dinner?" She asked looking over her shoulder at him. "Jess?" She smiled at him as he looked up at her.

"Sorry, what?" He asked walking over to her as she pulled things out of the bag.

"Never mind, this looks good." She smirked at him as she went to work sorting through the food.

-o-o-o-o-

Lorelai batted at the sunlight filtering in through the window as though trying to shoo away a bug. Gradually she opened her eyes then shut them tight again against the harsh light. She started to sit up when she realized there was a weight across her stomach. She risked opening her eyes again and looked down at the arm, and following it to the face she blinked as the night before came rushing back to her sleep drenched mind. She laid back down slowly so as not to wake her sleeping companion. Luke, with his arm draped over her, was sleeping next to her. Something she had been sure she'd never see or feel again. A happy little sigh escaped her as she looked over at the sleeping Luke.

They never did make it to that movie last night and Lorelai smiled at the memories. He had always been a heavy sleeper, unless he had to get up early for deliveries. She'd never minded waking up to watch him sleep for a while. She smirked at him as his eyes fluttered open. He rolled his neck then smiled lazily at her. He lifted a hand and ran his fingers through her hair slowly. She reached out and touched his face then leaned over and kissed him lightly.

"Morning." She whispered not wanting to disturb the wonderful mood that seemed to have settled on both of them.

"Morning." He whispered back finally resting his hand on her hip.

"Well, I've got to say." She said taking a deep breath. "That was a great first date." She looked up and met his eyes and he smiled at her as he too remembered their first night together. Lorelai laughed when her stomach grumbled. Luke shook his head and smirked.

"What?" She asked sitting up a little. "I didn't get dinner last night, or a movie. I'm hungry." Luke nodded his head as he sat up.

"Well then, I know just the place." He said wiggling his eyebrows as he climbed out of bed. Lorelai just watched as he walked his naked self over to the chair where one of them threw his shirt last night. He pulled it on over his head and looked back over at her.

"You coming?" He asked then rolled his eyes at the smirk on her face. "Dirty," he said with her nodding his head as she laughed. "Very cute, you hungry or not?"

"Hungry." She said sitting up then climbing out of bed. A part of her, for some unknown reason, was feeling shy and wanted to take the sheet with her. But she resisted the urge as she walked to the closet. She pulled out her robe and threw it on then turned and smiled at him.

"You get dressed; I've got a call I've got to make." Luke told her as he walked over to her. He pulled her close and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you." Lorelai still shocked at hearing those words from him again just smiled at nodded her head. Then she watched as he walked out of her room in his boxers and shirt. She blinked and a second later she ran to the stairs.

"Luke," She said and he turned and looked back up the stairs.

"Yeah?" He asked looking so totally wonderful in her house again.

"I love you too" She told him leaning down the stairs to smile at him. He smiled back at her and nodded his head before he turned and walked over to the phone. Lorelai walked back to her room feeling as though life had finally shifted back and was on track again. When she got back to her room she looked around and saw her phone sitting on her desk. She smiled as she hurried over and picked it up then sat down on her bed.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Rory was jolted awake by the most annoying sound in the world. It took her a few seconds, and a few rings, to realize it was her phone. She fumbled around a little in the darkness of her room but finally got the phone on.

"Hello?" She said into the phone her voice a little groggy.

"Rory?" Her mother sounded very excited about something. "Rory oh man, I can't believe you're not here. How is everything?" Rory cleared her throat of leftover sleep and smiled.

"I'm good." Rory said smiling at her mom, though she couldn't see her. "I miss you."

"Miss you too kid." Lorelai told her wondering if she should say anything yet, would that jinx it? "So I have some news."

"Well, that would explain why you're calling me at 6 o'clock in the morning." Rory said smiling at her mother's gasp.

"Is it really that early?" She asked and Rory laughed.

"Yes, so what's so important?" Rory asked as she settled back into her pillows.

"Rory, he's back." Lorelai told her and Rory searched her mind for the reference, but couldn't find it and finally had to ask.

"Who's back?"

"Luke." She told her and Rory could practically see the smile on her mother's face.

"What?" Rory asked sitting up now. "What do you mean he's back?"

"I mean, we kinda went on a date last night, or, well, we were going to, we never really made it to the date part." Lorelai gushed and Rory rolled her eyes at her mother's innuendos.

"And, you're sure?" Rory asked knowing her mom would know what she meant.

"I am." Lorelai said nodding her head as she stood and started to try and dress one handed. "I know I said the other day I was tired of waiting for him, but, Rory, its just-

"I know mom." Rory assured her nodding her head. There was a shriek on the other side of the phone and a crash. "Mom?"

"I'm ok, I fell. It's hard to get pants on with one hand." She told her and Rory laughed.

"Yeah, I could see that." Rory agreed nodding her head. "I've got news too." Rory said about to tell her mom who was running around on the campaign trail with her. But something in her stopped her.

"Oh yeah?" Lorelai asked sounding very interested. Rory shook her head then spit out the first thing that came to mind.

"I don't have to share rooms with anyone." She said rolling her eyes at her stupid cover.

"Oh." Lorelai said sounding, disappointed in that news. "Well, that'll be nice."

"Yeah," Rory agreed nodding her head. "Well, I'm going to let you go so you can dress. I have to shower anyway, there's a rally today."

"Well, good luck then." Lorelai said and Rory smiled.

"Thanks mom. Tell Luke I said 'Hi.' I love you." Rory told her trying not to miss her too much.

"Love you too kid. Have a good day." She said smiling as she pulled her pants up.

"I will." Rory told her pulling the covers off. "Bye mom."

"Bye Sweetie." Lorelai said hanging up the phone.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Rory walked over to her little bathroom and ran her hands through her hair. She was thinking about cutting it again, not to short, maybe to her shoulders. It was just a hassle waking up every morning and having to do something with it. She reached over for her comb and saw a note sitting next to it. She recognized the loopy hand writing at once, though it seemed the hand writing had grown up a little along with the writer.

Rory,

I had fun last night. I'll see you in the morning.

Jess

Rory smirked at the short and to the point note then set it down. She turned on the shower and stripped down then climbed in. She had stayed up far too late last night, talking with Jess and then writing her story about the press conference. As she showed she wondered why she didn't tell her mom about Jess. She was after all almost 23 years old; plenty old enough to decide who she hung out with. And it wasn't like Jess was the bad boy; hate the world teen now anyway.

She'd told her mom she owed a lot to Jess to getting her back on the right track and back in Yale. Lorelai had been thrilled when Rory had shown her the book Jess wrote. And she was happy to hear he had grown up. So, why didn't Rory tell her that she was hanging out with him? Rory shook her head and put the thought away for later. She had to get ready for the day and she needed her head in the right place for that.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Oh, I love the cook here." Lorelai joked as they pulled up to the parking at the Dragonfly. Luke chuckled and nodded his head. He reached over the seats and put his hand on her lap. Lorelai looked over and meet his eyes. They were bright and shiny, and very serious. He took a deep breath then looked across her to the inn and then met her eyes again.

"Lorelai, last night, everything I said, I meant it all." He told her and she wondered where this seriousness had come from. All the way here they talked and joked and now he was so serious.

"I did too Luke." Lorelai said decided to match his seriousness, even if she didn't know where it had come from.

"I think, we suffered from a failure to communicate." Lorelai nodded her head in agreement. "I don't want that to happen again."

"Me either." Lorelai agreed nodding her head again. "We can do this."

"Ok." Luke said leaning across the truck to kiss her. "So, last night, when you said we should take it slow?" He smirked at her now and Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"I think it's a little late for taking it slow." She said winking at him with a suggestive smile on her face.

"Yeah," Luke agreed nodding his head. "I'm glad you agree." He told her and he leaned back and got out of the truck. She opened her door and got out too. Luke took her hand as they walked into the Inn. A few people looked up from their books when they walked in, but most went back to what they were doing.

"Lorelai!" Lorelai looked up as Sookie came running, as fast as a pregnant women could, into the lobby. "I'm so happy to see you!" She said then looked at Luke. "Oh! Luke, good to see you too. Come on, I had them set up a table in the dining room."

Lorelai smiled at everyone as they walked back to the table Sookie set up for them. There were candles and flowers, and the table was set off from the rest of the dining room. Lorelai smiled up at Luke as they sat down. She pulled her napkin off the plate and set it in her lap. Luke had a funny little smile on his face that Lorelai couldn't quite read.

"So, you set this all up?" She asked noticing that there were no menus.

"No, I just called, Sookie set it up." He told her smirking. Lorelai rolled her eyes with a big smile on her face.

"You're so funny." She told him looking up when a waiter set down a plate in front of them. "Oh! Wow." She said reaching out and taking one of the tiny little cinnamon rolls Sookie was famed for. She smiled at him when he took one too.

"Oh, Rory says 'Hi'" She told him after she finished her second cinnamon roll.

"How is she?" He asked smiling at her.

"She's good, she has a rally today, and she sent me an e-mail with her first story in it. You can read it when we get home." She told him having no problems gushing about Rory, not that she ever had.

"That's great." Luke said nodding his head. "What's the story about?"

"Well, the campaign and stuff. There was a lot of politics and stuff in it. I hate that stuff, but the story was so well written." Lorelai said smirking.

"Well, it was written by Rory." Luke said and Lorelai smiled at him.

"Yeah," she agreed nodding her head with a sappy smile on her face. They ate, and talked for almost two hours before Lorelai realized what time it was.

"Don't you have to be at the diner?" She asked as she twirled her last piece of waffle in her syrup.

"Nope, took the day off." He told her reaching across the table to take her hand. "I'm all yours, all day."

"Hmmm." Lorelai smiled nodding her head. "I like the sound of that."

A/N- SO, ok, I know everyone and their great aunts have taken a shot at the 'After the end' story. I just really wanted to write it. So, I hope you like it; it's going to be a silly, mostly fluffy, sometimes troublesome story. Thanks for reading. Oh! And if anyone interesting in being a BETA let me know. :-)