"I...I just can't imagine how hard this must be for you..." Luke softly whispered into Lorelai's ear. He stood behind her, hands steadying her shoulders, and allowed her the dignity of shedding her tears without scrutiny. He wasn't quite sure if they were yet on the type of footing where Lorelai would allow him to see her being so vulnerable.
Lorelai shrugged and a tremor ran across her back as she looked out across the town square towards the horizon.
"She's gone, she's really gone..." she whispered, the airplane long since aloft. "But hey, thanks for getting me to stop in for some coffee," she added.
"Always," Luke murmured. Truth be told, he had paid both Kirk and nine-year-old Johnny, the brother of one of the girls on "his" soccer team, to keep a lookout for Lorelai's returning jeep. Couldn't quite trust Kirk to do that himself...
Still standing behind her, Luke tentatively lifted one hand and dared touch her hair. Of course, they had kissed the night before, a kiss so intoxicating that it felt like their first. No, Luke silently amended, better than their first. And Lorelai's hair--Luke couldn't help but inhale its fragrance--her hair was still as soft and lustrous as he remembered, and Luke soon began a rhythmic stroking.
"My baby's gone..." Lorelai softly continued.
"I know, I know. I can't imagine." Luke continued to quietly support and soothe Lorelai. "Take all the time you need..."
Without warning, Lorelai swirled to face him and captured his hands in hers.
"Oh Luke, I can't imagine what it must be like for you to give up seeing April every day."
"Well, ya...and now she's going to camp this summer, so we won't have our summer visit." Luke shrugged.
"Ah! The cancelled boat trip," Lorelai suddenly understood. "And the rest of the summer..."
"It's for the best. She really wants to go to that camp."
Lorelai smiled and squeezed his hands, encouraging him.
"And she deserves to. She's so smart...it's so hard to imagine that she's my kid, you know?"
Lorelai quietly laughed. "Tell me about it."
Still clasping hands, Luke cleared his throat and softly said, "Thank you."
Lorelai's eyebrow rose. "For the kiss last night? I mean, I told you once before, that your kiss was so impressive, that if there were frogs around..."
"I would not have custody of April if you hadn't written the letter."
"Oh. Don't worry about it. No big deal--anyone would have done that for you."
"Not anyone," Luke responded with significance.
"I meant every word..." Lorelai whispered. "You are a great dad. Anyone can tell that she adores you."
Luke shrugged, again. "I never meant to bring her between us. I tried...so many times...to tell you..."
Lorelai nodded, encouragingly.
"But each time, you just were so happy, and I couldn't bring myself to make you sad." His voice was almost inaudible. "I just want to see you happy."
"Luke Danes, you did what a father should do," Lorelai quietly assured him. "April's a very lucky girl."
"Rory's the lucky one," Luke amended, then noticed that Lorelai's eyes were once again tearing. "So, you want something to eat? The after-church crowd will be here soon, but it's still quiet inside." He nodded over his shoulder towards the diner door.
Lorelai laughed. "After that big breakfast?"
"Well, it's almost noon, and well, with you, I never know. You can be quite the..."
Lorelai gently poked him in the shoulder. "You're not going to call me a bottomless pit?" she asked with mock outrage.
Luke laughed. "The very definition...jeez, one day, I swear you're going to keel over from heart disease."
Lorelai pouted, then attempted a smile which was interrupted by a yawn.
"You tired? I could take you home..." Luke offered.
"No."
Luke waited a beat.
"Oh Luke, what am I going to do?"
"Lorelai, you can't stay out here all day," Luke sighed as he made one more attempt.
The tone of his voice must have caught her attention because she looked up at him and nodded.
"I feel lost...this really is it, you know?"
"We can do whatever you want to do for the next few days," Luke stated.
Lorelai stared at him. "But don't you have to...to take care of the diner?"
"I told you that Caesar's proving he can take over," Luke replied in response to her stare. His voice became low. "I just...I just thought that you might need...you know...some time...take some time..." He subconsciously pulled her closer. "...don't think you should be alone..." he continued.
Lorelai's eyes lowered as she realized just what Luke was trying to tell her.
For the first time since Sookie's revelation that Luke had arranged the entire Bon Voyage festival, Lorelai took a good, hard, objective look at Luke. The man was a true hero to her daughter--even defying Mother Nature with all the tarps. It suddenly struck her that he'd borne the entire burden of arranging the one thing that might make her feel the teensiest bit better about Rory's departure. He had to be dead tired, yet was still concerned about her.
"Luke." Lorelai's voice was husky as she raised her eyes again, to meet Luke's patient gaze. God, he was always so patient with her.
"Take some time, please..." he implored. "Take care of yourself..."
Perhaps he was right, Lorelai thought: time--to get used to her new state of being--was what she really needed more than anything.
"Well, since you went to all the trouble to show Caesar the ropes...can't let that go to waste!" she quipped, while at the same time, wrapping her arms tightly around him.
As if they'd never been apart for over a year, he automatically reciprocated. Standing at the diner steps in the late morning light with the smell of the previous night's rain still in the air, Lorelai marveled at how perfectly she fit into his arms, how perfectly they fit together. As his arms tightened around her, she relaxed into him, and realized something more. That empty, lost feeling she'd had for so many months now, ever since her ultimatum in this very same spot, was gone. In spite of Rory's permanently leaving the nest, she felt full. And for the first time, she herself finally understood exactly what she meant when she wrote that once Luke Danes was in your life, he was there forever: that she'd never really be alone again. Holding each other, she finally knew the truth: that Luke Danes had been holding her for years, even before they became lovers.
"Let me take you home," Luke said as he guided her onto the sidewalk.