This chapter is inspired by Luke and Lorelai's fight in the diner in "Summer." When Lorelai goes on about having an affair and "Who would it be with?" my gut reaction was that he was going to throw Christopher in her face. But he didn't. It seemed to be completely behind them in the past. So this came about. It's also inspired by the pre-engagement scene in "Fall." This time when Luke thought she was going to bail, he fought for them instead of letting her (supposedly) walk away.

It was hard.

They both knew this was what they wanted. After everything they had been through – especially in the past year – to be trying this again, it had to be what they both wanted more than anything.

It was.

But it was hard.

Luke knew, when he started considering this, that he'd have a big demon to overcome. Christopher. After all the years, the jealousy, the disdain – it had finally gone the way he'd always feared with Lorelai and Christopher and yes, he knew he was partially to blame. Had he not shut her out, pushed her away, let her walk away that night- it never would have happened. But no, he did not care for it, at all, and yes, he was going to have to get over it. He knew that before he kissed her that night. In fact, he'd already forgiven her for it.

Lorelai knew that she was going to have to live with the past, with all that had happened, she was going to have to learn to trust that he wouldn't hide big life changing things from her, she had to trust that he wouldn't shut down and push her away again the next time life threw him a curve ball.

After she dropped Rory off at the airport, she was exhausted. She hadn't slept much the night before – with the party running late, her adrenaline running after her reconciliation with Luke, the sadness of knowing she would be saying goodbye to Rory the next morning – too many emotions, with a late bedtime and an early wake-up call. She'd spent much of the night thinking of one or the other of the two people who were most important to her in the whole world. And yet, despite her exhaustion upon return from the airport, she found herself going straight to Luke's.

She knew he would be working, but it didn't stop her from wanting just a glimpse of his face and a cup of his coffee to comfort her after sending her daughter off into the real world.

He greeted her immediately, as if he had been keeping an eye out for her presence that morning. She smiled as he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. Half the town had found out about their not-exactly-private kiss the night before, and she assumed that the other half had found out this morning, being that both Babette and Patty were in the night before crowd. Luke seemed to have figured the same, as he didn't seem to think twice about the quick PDA. Maybe he just didn't give a damn anymore.

"Woo hoo!" came a cheer from Babette in the corner. Luke rolled his eyes, Lorelai grinned, and she felt nothing but relief.

"Coffee?" Luke asked. She nodded.

"The biggest one you've got," she added, settling in at the counter.

"So, how did it go?"

"She got on the plane. She's on her way. I'm exhausted."

Luke served her her coffee – and then another coffee- and kept her company all the while, Cesar and Zach running the place expertly around him.

Lorelai finally declared that she should go home, but Luke could see the dread on her face, knowing she felt it would be empty without Rory.

"Hey, do you want to – you can rest upstairs if you want. Watch TV or something. Come back down for lunch in a bit. I'll be here."

Oh, this man, Lorelai thought. What had she done without him? How had she walked away that night? How had she ever thought that she could marry anyone else? He was the one. He was the one who got her, who could see into her soul when even she couldn't.

She nodded. "Okay." She dared to look up into his eyes. "Luke, later. Can we… talk?" He nodded. "We need to talk, now. Before this goes on too long. It's now or…" her words haunted her and she stopped suddenly.

"Now or never?" he teased. "Now works for me. I'll be up in a bit."

She was thankful to not have to return home just yet, but she hadn't really thought about returning to Luke's apartment. She opened the door and was hit with a million memories at once – and relief, that no longer did they have to be bittersweet. The place had changed – it had more color, and April had clearly taken up residence in the corner of the apartment that used to be Jess's.

She flipped down on Luke's couch and flipped on the TV. She wasn't sure how long passed, but next thing she knew Luke was there and it was evening outside.

"Lorelai? Hey. Lorelai?"

She mumbled and blinked open her eyes. "What time is it?"

"6," he said. "Are you okay? I came up here around 3 with some food but you were out cold."

"Thanks," she said, pulling herself up into a sitting position. "Sorry. It's been an eventful few days. I haven't slept much. Haven't slept very well in the past year, actually," she realized.

"You hungry? I can heat up the food I brought up before. Or I can make you something new."

Lorelai shook her head. "I'm okay."

"You need to eat something."

"I will. I'm okay right now." She folded her hands and looked down to her lap. "Luke…"

"Look, Lorelai," he cut her off. "Let me just say something." She nodded her agreement. "We told each other we're sorry in the maze. I know you're sorry. You know I'm sorry. It's about more than that now."

She nodded. "Yeah. It is."

"I am sorry for what I did to you, Lorelai. I am. I lied to you about April. I shut you out. I regret it. And not just because I lost you. When I needed you – for the character reference – I realized, I need you. I need you to help me with this. If I could go back in time…"

"But you can't," she finished. "I know. I know, because neither can I, and if I could, I would change what I did… that night… in an instant."

"I forgive you," Luke exhaled. "I do. I already forgave you, or we wouldn't have come this far. We have to forgive and just… forget. Well, not forget. We shouldn't forget what we did to each other. I learned from what I did to you. But we have to forget what the other person did to us. Or else this will never work. I'm telling you right now, I forgive you. And we're leaving it in the past. I don't want to be the guy that throws this back in your face. Let's go forward. If we're going to do this again, we have to agree to let this be the past. It's done."

Lorelai nodded her agreement. "I forgive you, too. It's history."

A long silence engulfed them before Luke added, "Say whatever you need to say. It's now or never," he teased with a smile.

She laughed a little, but spoke up. "It hurt, when you shut me out. I was your fiancée, Luke. And you let me in more when I was your friend. We have to be those friends, first. You have to still see me as the Lorelai that you called when you were in jail and you needed a ride. The Lorelai that you come to when you bought a building. The Lorelai that you trust. The Lorelai that you let in."

"I know," he agreed softly. "And you have to let me know when I'm inside my head, Lorelai. You have to see me as the Luke you always had no problem telling the ugly truth to. The one you told to go to hell in the middle of the town square." The both shared a soft chuckle over that. "You're not going to lose me like that. And next time I will not let you walk away. I won't."

She nodded her agreement, and leaned in to kiss him gently. "Luke?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you. I don't know when I fell in love with you. Long before we were even together, I think. But whenever it was, it's never – I haven't stopped. Even when – I was… married. Ask him if you want. I'm sure he's got plenty to say about that fact. Sorry," she apologized immediately. "I shouldn't have-"

"It's okay. It's part of your life now. Our lives. I love you, too."

Lorelai grinned, everything seeming to fall back into place with those words.

"Okay. Let's do this. Third time's the charm, Babe."