Hello, dudes!

This chapter is shorter than I wanted, but it was all my time allowed me to do.

Thank you very much to all of you who are sticking around and reviewing.

Nancy and Chloe, thank you for the lovely reviews (I'm sorry I couldn't answer them personally, but, you know, guest reviews).

Anyways, here is chapter three. See you on the other side (aka the end of the page)

PS: Contains spoilers for Lost season 5.

Chapter Three – Ode to the worms!

Previously...

"It wasn't the giving of the pen so much as the holding of the pen."

"Let's try this again."

"You held the pen like it was a frying pan." Lorelai said as if it was the obvious answer.

"Okay, that's it. We gotta get out of here." He said with a decisive nod and wave of his arm.

Before Luke could decide on any action, they heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Lorelai asked.

"It's TJ. And Liz." They heard from the other side.

"Never thought I'd be so glad to be locked in a room." Luke said and stretched on a chair.

"Hush you." Lorelai said. "I wish I could tell you to just come in, but we're kind of under lockdown here in case you didn't know."

"We know all about it! Patty filled us in." Liz said and slapped TJ in the arm. "I told you we should have asked for the key."

"Did she say Patty?" Luke asked confused.

Lorelai, just as confused, shrugged and shook her head negatively.

A couple minutes later, Lorelai and Luke heard Michel talking in the other side sounding annoyed, as usual. The door opened and TJ entered with Liz and little Doula on a stroller.

"Hey, bro!" Liz said and hugged Luke.

"Hey, Liz. TJ." He said hugging her back.

Lorelai quickly reached for Doula and started to play with the baby.

"Aren't you all big and grown up?" She said in a baby-voice.

"So, how have you guys been?" Lorelai asked Liz. "I haven't seen you in ages."

"I know." Liz agreed excitedly. "We've been good. I completely forgot what was like to have a baby on my hands. I mean, I think I spent way too much time high when Jess was this size."

"Liz!" Luke said in a warning tone. "Don't say that in front of her."

"Why not? Lorelai grew up in the 70s. She knows what it was like back then."

"I'm not talking about Lorelai." Luke hissed. "I mean Doula."

"She is not gonna remember that, Luke." Liz said dismissing Luke with a wave of her hand.

Luke raised his hands in surrender and the room fell into a silence.

"Okay, let's get this party started." TJ said and rubbed his hands together.

"Yeah. Liz, earlier, when you guys knocked, did you say Patty told you about us?" Lorelai asked and chuckled uncomfortably.

"She did. She called us just after the town meeting." Liz explained.

"Town meeting?" Luke asked confused.

"Jackson called a town meeting to talk about you two and we ended up with the first shift." TJ added.

"Shift?" Luke and Lorelai asked in unison.

"Well, you know, each one of us has got a time scheduled to come down here and talk to you." Liz said excited.

"Us? Who's us?" Luke asked annoyed.

"The town, of course!" Liz said confused. "Didn't Sookie tell you this was a thing?"

"What do you think?" Luke said annoyed.

"I can't believe her." Lorelai said in disbelief.

"She is your friend." Luke hissed.

"I know that." Lorelai said angrily.

"See? I told you this was a bad idea." TJ whispered to Liz.

"Hush you, TJ. I told you, this is just a case of a bad wormhole."

"What the hell is she talking about?" Luke asked.

"Well, she is your sister." Lorelai answered with a roll of her eyes.

"There's no way you guys can get back together. You're just not a good fit." TJ said motioning between Lorelai and Luke.

They looked at each other and felt a sting of pain showing in their eyes. Liz noticed the sadness going through them and decided to intervene.

"Listen up, you guys just need to find the right wormhole between the dimensions. You two are in two different space-time continuums. Luke, you're on a plane over here, and she's on this plane over there, and you were both never here nor there at the same time." Liz calmly explained putting her hands as far from each other as possible. She looked at both Lorelai and Luke and saw blank expression's on their faces.

"Let's try this again. Have you guys seen Lost?" She started to say, but interrupted herself. "Who am I kidding? Of course Lorelai has. Luke, what about you?"

Luke looked at his sister in confusion and just shook his head negatively.

"He has. It's the one with the island. You kept saying you wanted to send Taylor there, then I'd say it was too mean – even for you – and you'd say that I kept calling Rory to tell her I was scared of the smoke coming out of your truck because it was just too black and you'd roll your eyes and it was the end of it." Lorelai explained.

"Oh yeah. I remember." He agreed and chuckled at the memory.

Liz took a moment to see the happiness flashing their faces before continuing her explanation. "Anyways, during season 5, Kate, Jack, Hurley, Sun, Sayid, Ben and Frank go back to the island. Although they are all at the same place, they are not in the same time. I mean, Kate, Jack, Hurley and Sayid were in 1977 and the other were in the right time. Do you get what I'm saying?" She asked hopeful.

Lorelai looked at Luke as in a search for what to say, but he backed away immediately. "Uhm, I don't really watch the show."

"Liz, I think I got it, but why don't you tell us anyway. More for Luke's benefit than for mine because, as I said, I totally got it." Lorelai said softly.

"Ugh, you two are really made for each other. What I'm trying to say is: wormhole or black smoke, just find your way back to each other. You two are soul mates for God's sake."

Lorelai's first instinct was to laugh, but the part of her who wanted Luke more than anything didn't allow her to do so. Luke sat down and kept his gaze on his hands – looking at Lorelai was just too painful.

"Look, I really don't think you guys should be together, but if Liz says she feels it, then it must be true. And her explanation makes a lot of sense – it's just like string theory when you think about it. You two are just being stupid. Luke, Lorelai is hot."

"TJ! C'mom, man! Liz is right there." Luke warned his brother in law closing his hand into a fist.

"Liz is hot, too. I'm serious. She is gorgeous and you're just sitting there being stupid."

"It's not that simple, okay?" Luke yelled.

"Lorelai." Liz started softly. "What happened, dear?"

"I, uh, we had a fight, Big one. Huge, actually. It was a real show. There was a lot of screaming and I said… things. So did Luke, and I was sad and lonely then I went to..."

Lorelai started to explain, but before she could say anything about Chris, Luke interrupted. No matter how angry or hurt or upset he was, Luke would never want to put Lorelai on that position.

"Liz, it doesn't matter what happened. It is what it is." Luke said with a wave of his hand.

"That's not how these things work, big brother." Liz searched Lorelai's eyes for a sign of anything, but her gaze was directly to the ground.

"Yes, it is. We never belonged together in the first place. We tried, but it wasn't meant to be." Luke quickly glanced at Lorelai, but she was still staring at the floor. He swallowed hard, before adding in a chocked voice: "I'm not good enough for her."

Lorelai felt like her whole body had collapsed. A strange feeling went from the tip of her head all the way down to her toes. A single tear escaped from her left eye and a sob caught in her throat. But she didn't move an inch. After all those years, she still hadn't manage to convince Luke he was the only one for her. If she didn't have him, she would be alone forever. Her memory drifted away and landed on the first time Luke Danes voiced he wasn't good enough for Lorelai Gilmore.

Luke Danes' biological clock always woke him up at 6am. Before Lorelai, he would just get up and find something to do either in the apartment or at the diner. However, Lorelai taught him the art of remaining still until your body understood it should shut off again.

That morning, when Luke woke up though, he didn't try to sleep again. He looked around the bedroom and his eyes landed on the beautiful woman sleeping next to him. Lorelai's hair was all around her face and she had one foot hanging from the bed. He thought about changing her position so she would be a little more comfortable, but taking the chance of waking her up was just not worth it. Especially on a Sunday. So he just turned to his side and gazed Lorelai's sleeping figure, a huge smile on his face.

"I can physically feel you staring at me." Lorelai said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"I like looking at you." Luke said with a shrug.

"Staaaalkeeeer!" Lorelai said and pointed a finger at him accusingly.

"Do you sleep with all of your stalkers?" Luke asked and ran his hand trough her hair.

"Just the ones with exceptional good coffee." Lorelai answered rolling on top of him. Lukestarted tracing a line on her face with his fingers, as if to memorize every inch.

"Lorelai, I'm going to say something, but I don't wanna scare you or pressure you. Okay?" He asked softly. She furrowed her brows in confusion, but nodded her agreement anyway. Luke pecked her lips, then looked deeply into her blue eyes; so deep she was sure he could see her soul inside and out. He took a deep breath and said it, his voice the softest Lorelai had ever heard and the words, something that made her heart turn inside out.

"I love you, Lorelai Gilmore."

When she didn't say anything, he thought she was processing. And that was okay. He was sure he loved her and he wanted her to have the same certainty before saying anything. However, after a while, Luke started to get worried and all of his insecurities came to the surface. Ever since he met Lorelai, he saw her go from man to man and never get really stuck on anyone – unlike him, who pinned for her during almost eight years. She was always the one who broke hearts, but never allowed anyone to get close enough to break hers. Deep down, Luke always feared he didn't deserve Lorelai and sometimes, those feelings took the best of him.

"I'm sorry." Luke said and looked away. "I shouldn't have said it. I mean, it was just too good to be true. Maybe if we had started this sooner. But I was too stubborn. We've haven't been together very long. It's too soon.And now you're looking at me like I'm crazy and there is my answer. You're not saying anything. I'm gonna go, I'm sorry. I'm not good enough for you." Luke gently pushed Lorelai off of him and got up to look for his clothes. Lorelai blinked a few times to be sure she was actually awake and shook her head just in case she was still dreaming. Then, she looked at Luke dressing up and muttered an annoyed "unbelievable" before getting up and poking him on the shoulder. He didn't say anything, but Lorelai wasn't about to let the man she loved walk out just like that.

"You know what? You are right. You are stubborn andcrazy and I am stupid… But not for the reasons you just said. You are stubborn for getting this idea stuck in your head. You are crazy for just deciding to up and leave after one of your rants and before even listening to my side. But, most of all, I am stupid because I didn't say sooner that I feel the same way. I love you, Luke Danes. I. Love. You." He finally stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her. "You do?" He asked hopeful.

"I do, Luke."

"You're not stupid."

"And you are more than enough for me. If there is someone not enough here, it's me. But I won't give you time to get into that discussion just now." He pulled her in for a hug and they stayed like that for a few moments. "So, what are you waiting for?" Lorelai asked breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked confused.

"We just settled the who-loves-who-more debate, I'm naked in bed and you, mister, have an absurd amount of clothes on." Luke chuckled and started to remove his clothes again.

"Luke?"

"Yes?"

"Promise me something."

"Anything."

"Don't ever say that again, okay?"

"Never." He said and sealed it with a long, sweet kiss.

"You broke your promise." Lorelai said, slowly lifting her head, only to show the tears starting to fill her beautiful blue eyes. Luke shook his head sadly and said: "I didn't. It stopped being true."

"No, it didn't." Lorelai tried to protest.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe you."

"You're being stubborn again. And crazy."

"Was I crazy when you ran out one me and..." Luke trailed off, suddenly remembering they weren't alone in the room. Liz and TJ kept looking from Luke to Lorelai, as if they were watching a ping pong match – a really bad ping pong match.

"Yes, I ran away, Luke. Imagine how much it hurt to hear you say 'no' to my proposal."

"That was not a proposal, that was an ultimatum. And I don't remember my first 'yes' being invalid."

"It stopped being worth anything the moment you postponed our wedding." She said pointing her finger at him.

"I thought we had that discussion already." Luke barked back at her.

"We did. But I don't think it got through that thick head of yours." Lorelai yelled.

"Of course, it didn't. I keep telling him he shouldn't wear that damn cap all the time." TJ commented. Liz smirked, but quickly recovered and slapped her husband. "Shut up, TJ. They're having a thing."

"Speaking of the cap… Luke, what happened with the blue one? It was way better than that black. The blue one matches your eyes." TJ said nodding his head and then looking at Liz for approval.

"I agree with him, bro. The blue looked way better on you."

Luke sighed. The blue cap he had worn during six long years.

He didn't take it off when Rachel came back. He didn't take it off when she got engaged to Max. He didn't take it off after their fight because of Rory and Jess' car accident. He definitely didn't take it off because of Fish Guy. He didn't take it off because of Nicole. He didn't take it off the first time they broke up (mostly because he didn't even know they were broken up until that very scary message she left on his answering machine). But when she told him she slept with him, it was a no brainier: Luke had to remove every part of her from his life, or he wouldn't make it.

As soon as he got back from punching Chris, he unpacked the truck and started the project "Lorelai-less life". First, the TV was off the bedroom, all the chocolate went back to the diner, Paul Anka's leashes were shoved into the closet along with CD's, some clothes and beauty products. However, when it came to the cap, he couldn't bring himself to throw it away. The closet also didn't seem like a good option. After lots of thinking, he decided to put it in the store room. It made him remember of their talk about Rachel all those years ago, and all the times she ushered him in there with some lame excuse just to make out near cans of pickles. At first, he was totally against and called her crazy, but when Lorelai pointed out it would drive Taylor crazy (even though he would probably never know about it), he even suggested the idea a few times.

When the cap issue was resolved Luke thought it'd be easier to start putting the pieces (of his heart) back together. But he was wrong again. The moment he laid eyes in his wallet, the stabbing pain came back. The horoscope. No, that was just too much. At least for now. Luke decided to leave it there, at least for the time being. Maybe in a day or two he would decide what to do with it.

"I lost it." Luke said in a low voice, almost a whisper.

"What?" Liz asked.

"The blue cap. I lost it."

"How does one lose a cap?" TJ asked in disbelief. "Maybe a sock or even a shirt. But a cap? You never take it off."

"Well, I took it off and then I lost it. Can we just drop it?" Luke asked irritated.

Doula started crying and after two songs and lots of walking around holding her didn't have any effect. Liz and TJ really wanted to stick around longer, but their daughter didn't share their opinion. After establishing that the only thing capable of calming her down was a toy forgotten back at the house, Liz thought it was better if they just left before Doula got any worse. They quickly said goodbye and apologized for leaving so abruptly.

As soon as Liz and TJ closed the door behind them, the room felt into the most uncomfortable silence in the history of uncomfortable silences.

"Why do you need a pen?" Luke asked after a couple minutes.

"What?" Lorelai asked.

"Before Liz an TJ came by, you asked me for a pen." Luke stated motioning to the forgotten object sitting on the table.

"Oh, yes, the pen. I want to do one of those jail things."

"What jail things?"

"You know, people mark the days they've been incarcerated by making scratches on the wall."

"You're overreacting."

"Do you really think so?" She asked challengingly.

"How long has it been?" Luke asked, more to himself than to Lorelai.

"Honestly? No idea. Too long if you ask me."

"Too long, indeed." He agreed, and let out a sigh.

"It kind of reminds me of that little trip we took that time, remember?" Lorelai asked Luke with a big smile on her face.

"Just after we finished the renovations, right?" He said happily.

"Yeah. You were so done with TJ around the house all the time, then I joked we should just get away for a weekend and you were actually down with the idea." She said and moved to lay on the bed.

"And we went to that awful B&B just outside of New York and it rained the whole two days."

"And we pretty much couldn't leave the room because of those crazy people wanting to make a trivia night."

"Ugh, don't even remind me of them." Lorelai said and made a disgusted face. "The most annoying people ever. Luke laid down next to Lorelai and, without even noticing, they reached for each other's hands and intertwined their fingers.

They didn't look at each other. They didn't move. They just stood still and it was like the world stopped for them. It may have been a few seconds, a few minutes or even a few hours before their bubble was burst.

"Luke and Lorelai." Kirk's voice came from outside the room and they heard three consecutive knocks. "Luke and Lorelai" He said and knocked again. "Luke and Lorelai" He said and knocked for the third time.

Completely startled, they practically jumped away from each other. Lorelai ran to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She took deep breaths and washed her face, trying to recompose herself. Luke sighed and moved closer to the door.

"Yes, Kirk?" He asked annoyed.

"Can I come in?"

"If I say no, will you go away?"

Kirk didn't say anything, but Luke could swear he heard another man's voice.

"You're still there, Kirk?"

"Yes, I am. Luke, I'm sorry, but I can't just go away."

"Fine. Just come in."

Lorelai had her hand on the doorknob but jumped back when Luke shouted.

"Get out!"

"But you told me to come in," Kirk said confused.

"Not you, Kirk. You, I can handle. But him? Just get the hell out of here. Right now!"

Who would drive Luke so mad so fast? That's actually a pretty easy answer. Not exactly cliffhanger material.

Yes, I know Lost's season 5 was like in 2009, but I just thought it fitted so well with Liz's crazy theory.

And I tried to make a little TBBT joke with Kirk's knocking three times. Never mind that.

Hope you enjoyed. Looking forward to hear your thoughts.