Late afternoon, and Luke looked down at her, reliving the way their afternoon had progressed. Soft light and shadows played over the room he had remodeled.

Somehow, they were here now, together.

Somehow they had stumbled their way up to her room.

Somehow, they had tumbled onto the bed.

Somehow, he'd said 'love you' over and over.

And somehow, he decided to lie down next to her, just to, well, make sure she'd be OK.

Making sure she'd be OK, Luke wrapped his arms around her, so tightly.

Making sure she'd be OK, Luke carefully moved her new necklace aside, so as to better expose the softness of her throat.

Making sure she'd be OK, Luke nuzzled the hollow of her throat, reveling in the newness of what was once familiar.

Making sure she'd be OK, Luke's stubbled face rasped against the delicate skin of her throat; careful, yet eliciting her moan.

Making sure she'd be OK, Luke's lips suckled the skin just above the t-shirt she wore to bed.

Making sure she'd be OK, Luke's hands fumbled at the hem of that same shirt, and struggling, pulled it up and over her head. A man does get out of practice after more than a year alone.

Making sure she'd be OK, Luke's hand pushed aside one bra cup, exposing her breast.

Making sure she'd be OK, Luke's mouth closed around a nipple. Another moan.

Making sure she'd be OK, Luke reacted to her moan.

For today, just today, he would do anything to make sure she'd be OK. He would see her happy.

"Need you," he finally spoke, looking into her eyes.

"Want you," Lorelai responded, looking up at him.

His eyes were red-rimmed, bloodshot, and wild. His cap was missing, a casualty of his earlier ministrations. His lips and her nipple glistened from the same wetness from his mouth. She took a moment to fill her lungs with oxygen even as her inhibitions fled.

As she wordlessly put a hand out to touch him, to caress his face, he also took a deep breath. It was his eyes that she focused on as she completely removed her clothing. His body trembled in that way that only she could notice, as she drew down the zipper of her pants. His breath momentarily stopped as she slipped out of her pants and panties.

Mine, again, he thought as she next helped remove his jeans and boxers.

Without prompting, she lay back and confidently reached her arms out to him, and pulled him down towards her as he plunged into her, immediately and without hesitation--without any thought to her readiness. But there was no reason for him to even worry, for she almost immediately softly cried out. She was always ready for him, he remembered. And as always, she came hard and fast.

A few quick thrusts later, he followed her, and pulled out.

She drew his head against her breast and ran her finger through his hair. This was the man who had waited for her all this past year. This was the man she had chosen above...him. This was the man who...

"Luke..."

Startled, Luke Danes shifted in his chair, aroused from his dream.

"Luke..."

Lorelai was curled up atop the bed, having fallen into an exhausted sleep once Luke safely brought her home.

Luke struggled to his feet. "Must have fallen asleep...tired...from you know, staying up all night..."

"Why are you sitting over there?" Lorelai asked.

"I didn't want to...I didn't know if..."

"Oh Luke." She sighed and gestured with a shoulder, "C'mere."

Luke thought about what had happened a year before. "I slept with Christopher." When he'd looked into her eyes that morning, he was hit with a dull ache that had never quite gone away. But once he'd had time to reflect on his own failures, it began to subside. And when he walked into KC's Bar and heard her serenade, all his protective barriers fell by the wayside.

He sat down on the edge of the bed.

"C'mere," Lorelai said, louder and with more confidence and emphasis, and reached her arms out to him, just like in his dream.

"What?" she asked when he didn't immediately move towards her. "Is my breath that bad? Is it morning already?" she joked, with a slightly sheepish expression on her face.

"I just...don't know..." he waved his hand over the bed, "If this is such a good idea. Especially today, when Rory's just gone..."

She tugged at him until he finally acquiesced.

"It is. I missed you, my friend." Her eyes stared right into his as they curled up together.

"Well, I missed you, too. Well, except for all that eating and complaining and talking you always..."

"I'm so happy you're here,"" Lorelai interrupted him. "I want to start my future, Luke, my new life now that Rory's well and truly done. And I want to start it off right. With you. Right here with me."

He leaned in towards her. This time, they would do things right. Set a date.