Author's Note: So I've been planning this for a while. I'm ending some stories soon, and I really wanted to get my season eight 'what might have been' fic started sooner, but here it is. I know there are already ones out there...but I hope that mine is a little different. Mostly focusing on LL, such as their scenes in the "episodes"...but will involve some Rory-ness. Anyway, enjoy. And please leave me a review-it's very much appreciated!
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Gilmore Girls. But if I did, it wouldn't have ended so soon...
Chapter One: In A Different Light
The door to Luke's opened, a sincerely happy Lorelai walking through. Walking up the counter,. she waved to Miss Patty before sitting on a stool. "Luke...could I have some-"
"Already on it."Luke replied, turning quickly to pour her a cup. As he reached for one of the to-go cups, as was the norm for Lorelai these days, he heard her.
"Actually...could I have it for here?"Lorelai asked, afraid of the implications. They had talked here and there, and had aploigized for everything, but she had yet to stay in the diner for too long.
"Sure. It's no problem."Luke said, glancing over his shoulder. He placed the cup in front of her, shrugging. "So have you heard from Rory?"
Lorelai nodded, taking a sip. "She called about twenty minutes ago. She's loving Iowa. Really in the middle of all the reporters, and the asking of questions and such...Rory's all grown up."
"She's been grown up for a while."Luke replied, knowing what she meant.
"I know, Luke. But I just...we were supposed to spend the whole summer together. Me and her..rollercoasters and shopping and massive amounts of junkfood..fighting over which music to play. And now we're in different time zones, and she's there...I'm here, and-"
"Would you rather be there?"Luke asked, wiping down the counter.
"No, I um..."Lorelai replied, flashing a smile. "I like it here. It's good. Stars Hollow is good. Luke's is...definately good. It's good to be back here."
"Well, it's good to have you back."Luke said, watching the look in her eyes. "You know, at the diner. It's been so quiet in here without you...constantly begging me for liquid death."
"Back to liquid death, huh?"Lorelai asked, her eyes shining above the coffee cup. They hadn't talked about the kiss, much less the necklace he had given her, and she wasn't sure of how to approach it. Certaintly not in the middle of the lunch rush.
"Yeah, well..."Luke said, staring down at the counter, focusing on a ketchup stain someone had left. He hadn't gotten any sleep since Lorelai and Rory left that morning, and it showed as he fought to keep his eyes open.
"Luke..."Lorelai said, reaching out to stop his wiping down the counter. Her hand covered his, and she offered a smile. "Why don't you let Cesar handle it for a while? I'm sure him and Zach can man the diner while you sleep for a few hours."
Luke should his head, appreciating the offer. "I'll be fine. The lunch rush should be over in a bit. I'm surprisd you came in, actually.."
Lorelai frowned, not understanding what he meant. "Why? I mean, I figured it was okay to...to come in, you know. But I've been working you so much..I mean, you sewed all the tarps up for the party last night. And you opened early this morning..."She waved her hands in the air. "I don't know how to thank you."
He looked at her, shifting his feet. "Trust me, it's fine. I wanted to."
"You wanted to what?"Lorelai asked, hoping to get more out of him. Her hand reached up, toying with the necklace he had given her.
"Help. Like I said, I...like to see you happy."Luke said, a hint of a smile showing again.
Kirk cleared his throat from one of the corner tables. "Luke, I hate to interrupt the reunion that we have all been waiting for, but I need a mop of some sort..."He said, sounding worried.
"A mop?"Luke asked, sounding mad. "Why would you need a mop?"
"Well, you see...I had to move my glass of soda so I would have room on the table for my notebook. And when I did, the cup fell, consequently-"
"I get it, Kirk. I'll be right there..."Luke said, sighing. He looked back at Lorelai, who was smiling at him. For a moment, it felt like he was dreaming. She was there, in his diner. They weren't arguing, or avoiding each other, They weren't making stupid conversation about the weather. They were talking. It felt good. "Could we...I mean, you probably have to go.."
"Continue this later?"Lorelai offered, shrugging. "You bet. But listen, think about what I said...you should get some sleep."With that, Lorelai grabbed her purse, and left the diner, feeling somewhat more giddy than before.
Sookie was mixing a batter when Lorelai walked into the Dragonfly's kitchen. "Lorelai...what are you doing? I thought you had to take Rory to the airport today..."
"I did. I took her, but I couldn't just stay away from this place the whole day. It'll be one of the only things keeping me from going crazy while she's gone."Lorelai said, standing opposite of Sookie.
"I see. Care to elaborate?"Sookie asked, not wanting to press the issue too far.
"Elaborate? On what? On the fact that my only child is now hundreds of miles away, in a very competitive industry on the day that we should be heading away like we had planned all along?"Lorelai smiled sadly, shrugging. "I'm fine. Never been better, actually."
Sookie looked up from the batter, not believing her. "You don't sound too sure about that. What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Something...I don't know. One minute I feel perfectly fine, the next I feel like burying myself underneath a massive amount of blankets, completely ignoring the rest of the world."
"Oh, but sweetie...it'll be okay. Rory will come back to visit, right?"Sookie asked.
"Sure. She'll call, too. I'm just sad to see her go, you know? It's like the ending of an era."Lorelai said, drumming her fingers against the counter.
Sookie nodded, shrugging. "Well, Stars Hollow sure had a pretty good send off for her last night."
Lorelai nodded, remembering how surprised she had been when she found out Luke had been responsible. "It was great. I just...I can't believe he went through all the effort."
"Honestly? I can."
"Well, I can...just..."Lorelai sighed, reaching for some coffee.
Sookie cleared her throat, debating as to how to approach the subject. She didn't want to pry, but she could tell by the mere mention of Luke that something very big had change between the two. "What happened when you went to find Luke last night?"
"Nothing..."Lorelai said, staring down into her coffee.
"Nothing?"Sookie asked.
Lorelai shrugged, knowing there was no getting out of it.
"That's a nice necklace."Sookie said, smiling.
"Yes."Lorelai replied, watching as Sookie squeeled, excitedly clapping her hands. "Look, before you say anything...I don't know. I don't know if anything will happen, or if it has. I just want my life back, you know? The one where I could go into the diner without fear of my every move being watched, afraid that I'll blow like some ticking time bomb. Sook..we...when I went to look for him-"Lorelai said, finding the words unbelieveable as she said them. "Luke and I...kissed."
Sookie's spoon fell to the floor, causing a sound. "Oh, sorry...sorry I'm so...so clumsy. Wait-"She said, after picking it up. "You...you mean you actually kissed?"
Lorelai nodded, bringing her cup to her lips. Within seconds, she was enveloped in a hug. "Wow, uh Sook..."
"Oh, I knew it! I'm so happy for you guys. I mean, after the thing with Christopher, and the way you guys avoided each other I was afraid it wouldn't happen. But now it is..."Sookie said, squeezing her tight.
"Sookie...there is something I need your help with at the front desk. Lorelai is not here, and-"Michel stopped, watching them. "Oh good, you are here. Then perhaps you can help me with a customer who claims we have stolen his shoes..."
"Shoes? As in the one you wear?"Lorelai asked, free from Sookie's grasp.
"Yes, the ones that you wear. He says that he had forgotten them here when he went out, and when he returned they were missing."Michel replied, surveying the scene before him. "Have you heard from Rory? Is she enjoying Iowa?"
"Well, when she called all she had seen was the airport, but I'm guessing so."Lorelai replied. "Anyway, that customer..."
"Lorelai, wait..."Sookie called, wanting to say something before she left. "I'm so happy for you..."
Smiling, Lorelai looked back at her. "Me too, Sook. It's...it'll be different this time. I mean, I don't know. But we talked. Without all of the awkwardness. It was different...I ordered coffee for there, and I sat at the counter. I mean, that part wasn't different, but...Luke opened early so Rory and I could have one last breakfast before she left."
Sookie laughed, shaking her head.
"What?"Lorelai asked.
"It's just...you haven't been this happy in a long time. It's good to have you back."
Lorelai stared at the front of the diner, standing in the middle of the street. After leaving the Inn, she chose to go home and take a shower, pretending she didn't know the reason why. Luke never specified the time as to when she should come back, so she took it upon herself to come just before closing, when pretty much everyone else would be gone. She hadn't thought about it then, but as she stood watching as Luke cleaned off tables, she thought it might have been a bad thing.
If she had come back at dinnertime, she wouldn't have been the only one there. There would have been orders to fill, and she could easily slip out the door if need be. Instead, as she stared through the glass, Luke was the only one there. No Kirk spilling sodas, no Miss Patty commenting when Luke went into the kitchen. It was just her and him.
Luke turned towards the door and saw her. He waved, wondering why all she was doing was standing there. Truthfully, he was surprised to see her. He wasn't sure what terms they were on, she he took any time he saw her as carefully as he could.
"Sorry..."Lorelai said as he opened the door for her. "I didn't know if you'd still be here..."
"I'm always here."
"No, I mean...you're closing and..."
"Lorelai, it's fine. The coffee maker's still running if you want some..."Luke said, putting up some chairs. "I'll get it in a-"He said, watching as she went behind the counter. "You're not supposed to be back there."
"Hey, I'm helping you out, buddy. You have worked too hard today."Lorelai said defensively.
"Actually...after that soda spill Kirk had, the rest of the day was pretty easy. Although these two crazy boys came in with their mom..hyped up on sugar, but still asking for sweet stuff."Luke said, looking back at her.
Lorelai nodded, walking in front of the counter. She set her stuff down, wincing.
"You okay?"He asked.
"It's these shoes..."Lorelai said, wanting to help him clean up. When his back was turned, she quietly slipped them off. She knew that Luke would have objected, but the newfound ease in their relationship made her think for a minute that it would have been okay. Not wanting to push it, she slipped them back on, helping him with the chairs.
"I don't get why you do that. Buy shoes that you know will end up killing your feet. It's like intentionally injuring yourself..."
"Yes, that's true. But they looked good at the time, and how would I know if they'd hurt my feet?"Lorelai asked defensively.
Luke darted his eyes towards her, shaking his head. "Because they're skinny and your heel is three inches off the ground?"
Lorelai let out a laugh, shrugging. "I like to look good. It's one of those things I never got over from high school. Well, not that I remember or enjoyed much of high school, but..."She stopped, knowing not to approach the subject of what happened to her.
"You can talk about it, you know."Luke said, finishing cleaning up. "I won't get upset."
"No, I shouldn't. I mean, I guess that we should...or I should. I just-"Lorelai sighed, shaking her head. "I've been so stupid. All of the things that I said, and what I did..."
"It doesn't matter."Luke insisted, meeting her halfway through the room. "I was a jerk."
"Luke...we don't have to talk about it. There are so many things we could be talking about right now. I mean, not that I wouldn't want to talk about us, because I have spent the last year trying in vain to not talk about us. As much as it killed me, I did it. I did it for so many reasons, some of which I will never be able to understand, but..."
Luke's hand rested against her cheek. It felt good to touch her again, to feel the connection that they had.
"-And so I thought that it was gone. I thought that any hopes of us ever...ever being like we were again were gone. But what you did, Luke. What you did for Rory, and for me...thank you. Thank you for just...for being you. Setting anything you may have felt about me aside just for the sake of Rory. I know you two were close, I shouldn't have let what happened get between the bond that you two had."Lorelai said, watching as Luke looked at her. It felt real again. It felt good.
"So much happened, Lorelai. But I want you to know that I understand. That I...I forgave you a long time ago."Luke said, sighing.
Lorelai nodded, beginning to cry. "Could we...I mean, the way that you kissed-"
"We...we could..."Luke said, not knowing the right words to say.
"But so much has happened. Luke-"
Without saying another word, Luke pulled Lorelai close, eliminating any distance that was left between them. For that moment, he didn't care who saw, or what else happened. He wanted to hold her, to let her know that-somehow-everything would be okay. "I've missed you."
Lorelai nodded against his chest, reveling in the way her cheek felt against his warm flannel. In a world that was quickly changing faster than she could realize, it felt good to have the one person she had always had at her side again, knowing this time she wouldn't screw things up. "I've missed you, too."
