A/N: Thank you to everyone who's reading and reviewing. It was said in the first chapter, but I wanted to make sure that I covered all my bases. I do not own Gilmore Girls. I have borrowed some dialogue from "That Damn Donna Reed" that is not mine. I have used similar scenarios presented in season one, also not mine! No copyright infringement intended… I have nothing to give you, so I'm not even worth suing. Enjoy the chapter.

(And thanks to R.M. Jackson for the beta. I owe you some Mike's garlic bread.)

Lorelai and Rory sat on the couch at the Crap Shack, watching whatever show that was on. Neither could find the remote, but neither wanted to look for it, so the documentary about spider bites was the night's entertainment. Out of the corner of her eye, Lorelai could see Rory sitting on the couch, her knees huddled to her chest.

"I'm so sorry," Rory blurted out.

"We've been through this, Rory, you get a free pass on this one. A golden ticket, a free tote bag with your purchase, free parking in Monopoly, if you will. Just don't do it again. Your guilt trip is enough punishment for the two of us," she said, raising her eyebrows and producing the remote from behind a throw pillow she had been leaning on.

"Okay, thank god you found that," Rory said, letting out a sigh of relief. She leaned back against the arm of the couch. "If I had to see one more disgusting spider bite, I would have clawed my own eyes out."

"Before getting up to change the channel, wow, that's determination," Lorelai replied, leaning back and beginning to browse through the choices of television programming they had for the night. She pressed the 'up' button on the remote, not really paying attention to what she was looking for, as she thought about what happened in the diner earlier that evening. Dropping the remote beside her, she turned to face Rory.

"Wow, COPS?" Rory asked. "I mean, I'm a definite fan of mocking the guy who got caught in a big rig dressed in a leopard leotard, but you and I never watch this unless there's nothing else on."

Lorelai fished the remote out of the crack between the couch cushions. She turned the television off, took the ponytail out of her hair, and turned to Rory. "I was hoping that leopard suit man would be on, but it's just the guy who wants the cop to do his eyebrows, I'm rather disappointed myself. So, I was in the diner tonight when Mrs. Kim had a panic attack."

"Is now when I get punished?" Rory asked. "I know plenty of behavioral psychologists that wouldn't agree."

"First of all, how many of them are actually living to contest my methods? Second, I'm not punishing you. It's not all about you, Rory," Lorelai said with a smirk.

Rory nodded. "Okay, continue."

"I went to the diner, like you suggested. Luke and I got to talking, and we were having a usual Luke-Lorelai conversation. Lots of 'why am I doing this?' and 'because you can't say no to me' and the like."

As she reached up to scratch her shoulder, Rory's expression of curiosity became one of confusion. "What in the world does this have to do with me?" she asked.

"Well, I want your opinion," Lorelai continued. "We were talking, and Luke said something like 'we should do this again.' I came back with a comment about bringing nail polish next time…"

"I'm sure Luke would go for that one," Rory said with a giggle.

"And when he started to explain, it hit me that maybe he was trying to ask me on a date," Lorelai said, gesturing with her hands to express the importance of the word 'date.'

Rory straightened up. "Huh. Interesting."

"That's all you have to say? Have I taught you nothing?" Lorelai asked, tucking her left leg underneath her.

"You think he would have asked you on a date?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Sure sounded like it. He wasn't asking me if I wanted fries with my cheeseburger."

"But you just broke up with Max," Rory continued, tilting her head slightly to the side. "Like, two days ago. You're still processing this."

"Of course I am," Lorelai replied. "I think it's because I'm more aware of everything at an inopportune time. Like when you have a cold and someone asks you to smell a flower."

"Interesting metaphor," Rory said with a nod, looking down at her bare feet and wiggling her toes. "You really think Luke was trying to ask you out?"

Lorelai picked up the remote control. She slid the cover to the battery compartment in and out of it, trying to think of what she really wanted to say in response to Rory's question. This wasn't any guy she was talking about, it was Luke. She put the remote in her lap and shook her head. "Yes… no… I don't know. I think I'm going insane."

Rory smiled. "You're already there."

"Ha, ha," Lorelai said, dragging out her mock laugh and rolling her eyes. She took a sip of coffee from the chipped purple 'coffee addict' mug and placed it back on the table.

"Well, tomorrow, you should go back to the diner and check if things are normal. If things are normal, you're still in post-breakup mode. If he tries again, he's obviously interested. I'm still trying to comprehend this," Rory reasoned, downing some popcorn and licking her fingers.

"You and me both," Lorelai said, picking up the remote once again. "There's nothing on tonight."

"I know, I was thinking of crashing early," Rory replied. "I'm getting a headache."

Lorelai smiled. "Feel better, sweets."

"I will, goodnight," Rory said, leaning over to hug Lorelai before getting off the couch and walking to her room.

Lorelai sat on the couch, picking at the end of the throw pillow that the remote was hiding under. The TV was on, but she wasn't watching. Letting out a sigh, she shut off the TV and grabbed the blanket on the back of the couch. She curled up underneath it as she closed her eyes and willed the stinging feeling in her gut to go away. She hated breakups. The gnawing feeling in her stomach sealed the deal, she was single, and she was totally and completely aware of it. It was like her situation mocked her every time she closed her eyes.

Sometimes, she could see the breakup in slow motion in her dreams, hearing the sound the copy of Swann's Way made when she pushed it into Max's chest. Other times, Max's pained and confused expression was the focus of her post breakup nightmares. Either way, she hadn't slept well since the split, and she didn't anticipate a good night's sleep on night number two.

After a period of sleep interrupted by her discomfort, Lorelai opened her eyes the next morning to find her legs resting on the back of the couch, but she was facing the coffee table. Letting out a groan, she tilted her head from side to side, trying to get the stiff neck she had to go away. Lorelai squinted as she trudged into the kitchen, willing herself to find a coffee filter to make a pot of coffee. She rubbed her temples as she tried to focus on the whereabouts of the coffee filters instead of the breakup dream she just had.

"Good morning, sleepyhead. Headed to Luke's this morning?" Rory asked, rubbing a towel through her wet hair.

"Mmmhm," Lorelai replied.

"Good. I'll be down in twenty minutes, I just need to blow dry my hair and grab my books," Rory replied, walking into her room.

Lorelai abandoned the search for the coffee filters and forced herself to get to her room and get dressed. Slowly, she opened her closet and pulled out the first appropriately matching outfit she could find. Lorelai knew that the day would be difficult; she was hardly conscious and a stiff neck did not help her focus. She ran the hairbrush through her hair, not bothering to put any product in it, brushed her teeth, put on some makeup, and headed downstairs to find Rory waiting by the door. She sat on the last stair, squinting her eyes in attempt to focus while she slipped her shoes on.

"Twenty minutes does not mean twenty six minutes," Rory teased, opening the door for Lorelai.

"I haven't had any coffee," Lorelai explained. "I fell asleep on the couch last night."

Rory nodded. "I saw you all sprawled out on the couch and wondered if it was a drunken attempt to be painted by Jack."

"Every time you watch that movie, Rory, it is the same. The ship will always sink, and you have no control over it," Lorelai explained. "Stopping the movie right after the only scene that Michel will watch does not mean that Jack and Rose will live forever."

"I'm stunned," Rory replied sarcastically. "You ruined my imaginary 'Jack and Rose spend the rest of their lives together' story."

Lorelai nodded. "Sorry to tell you this, but Santa Claus isn't real either."

"Mom, quit ruining every childhood dream I have in one conversation, will you?" Rory teased.

"The story of Jack and Rose isn't from your childhood," Lorelai pointed out.

"Okay, I need coffee," Rory said, opening the door to Luke's and picking a table. "And you need confirmation that this Luke thing is all in your imagination. Where is Luke?"

Lorelai glanced over at the counter, watching as Luke came out of the kitchen carrying two plates of pancakes. Her breath caught in her throat for a second when she saw Luke. Was she nervous? She shouldn't be nervous. Everything was going to be exactly as it was the days before. Luke was Luke, and she was simply being irrational.

He grabbed the pad of paper from the pocket of his jeans and removed the pen from behind his ear. "You ready to order?" he asked in his usual tone.

She glanced at Rory, who gave Luke an appreciative smile. "Coffee and pancakes, please," Rory said, placing a textbook on the table in front of her.

Luke looked to Lorelai. "Is this going to be another fight over who wants to order what at breakfast? Because you can't order what she orders, because that means you're copying her, but you thought of it first anyway, because you were born first?"

"You remember that fight incredibly well," Lorelai pointed out.

He crossed his arms. "It was yesterday," he explained, letting out a sigh.

Rory giggled. "She'll have the same, please."

Lorelai nodded, turning toward Luke. "It's okay for us to be the same today. I declare it mother daughter pancake bonding day."

"You're ridiculous," Luke grumbled, walking back toward the counter and disappearing into the kitchen.

Smiling, Lorelai walked up to the counter. She leaned on the counter, standing between two empty stools, grinning as Luke turned around. "Jeez, Lorelai, you scared the hell out of me!" he snapped.

She folded her hands and popped her right foot in the air. "I just wanted to thank you for last night. Sorry I was such a head case."

"You weren't a head case, you just need to find someone else to talk to," Luke insisted.

Lorelai sighed. "I would have talked to Rory, but she was too busy giving Mrs. Kim more reasons to hate me. I'll bet she has a list longer than Senator McCarthy's blacklisting in the 1950's. And she'll do more damage, too."

"She can be scary," Luke agreed.

"So, everything's cool? I feel bad for being pulled out of here so dramatically last night. While you were helping me. And I didn't thank you, so that's why I'm here."

"You're here to eat, the expression of gratitude was extra," Luke replied.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Nothing's genuine from me, it's all motivated by caffeine or junk food, I get it," she said sarcastically, sauntering back to her seat. Everything was slowly falling back into place. Things with Luke were normal, and she was able to concentrate on the post-Max healing process.

After some introspection, some sleepless nights, and the stage of acceptance, Lorelai was back in the game after awhile. Rory noticed the subtle improvements as time went on, and Lorelai was noticing changes herself. She walked into the inn on a cool Monday morning, stopping at the front desk.

"Michel," Lorelai replied. "I saw you minimize that window. While I'm sure your lack of social life is getting to you, it's not appropriate for you to be selling yourself as a sex object at work. Are we clear?"

"But I…"

"Michel, seriously, if you want to be objectified while you're at work, you're going to be working somewhere else, got it?"

"Yes, Lorelai, I understand," Michel grumbled, walking away from the desk and muttering under his breath in French.

Sookie emerged from the kitchen, wearing a grin on her face. "Hey, Lorelai, you're in early."

"Figured I'd get some work done and head home early. Actually, I'll stop by Luke's and meet Rory at home. Rory's got a meeting with Paris after school, so I'll bring her food. She'll definitely need it. What brings you out into the great foyer?"

Sookie smiled, patting Lorelai's arm. "You seem happy."

"Happy? About?" Lorelai asked, turning to grab the mail from her mailbox.

"Did you get a date?" Sookie questioned. "Or do you have someone in mind? You just seem happy for the first time in a little while."

"No, no dates here, unless it's living vicariously through the ladies who used too much hairspray on 'Love Connection'," Lorelai replied, putting the mail down and typing a password into the computer.

Sookie nodded. "Well, you're just… really cheery today."

"Just call me Sunshine," Lorelai replied with a laugh. "What's up, Sookie, what do you need?"

"Let me know if we get any order changes, we have those really indecisive psychologists booked for lunch today," Sookie insisted, making her way back into the kitchen.

The rest of the day was productive for Lorelai. She managed to book the inn for the entire month of May, hire a maid who was able to be on call during the weekends, and was able to set up a firewall to prevent Michel from accessing his dating profile at work.

Finally she decided that her first decently productive day since her breakup with Max was coming to an end. She grabbed her jacket and her purse, and drove to the diner to get some food for her and Rory.

Lorelai sat at the counter, putting her coat on the stool next to her. She looked around the diner to find no sign of Luke. As she listened to the noise coming from the kitchen, Lorelai was staring at a faded patch of paint on the wall. She smiled as Luke finally approached her, knowing exactly what to do to ensure that her productive day remained as such.

"So, coffee, a cheeseburger with extra cheese, chili fries, and a paint job on the diner," Lorelai insisted.

Luke wrote Lorelai's order down, but looked at her and rolled his eyes. "I'm not painting the diner."

"Aww, that's too bad," Lorelai replied. "You could write secret messages in the primer, and have people uncover them years and years from now, when Luke's is a site for archaeologists who love to dig up that kind of stuff."

"No," Luke barked back, pouring Lorelai some coffee.

Lorelai gave him a smile. "I'd even help you paint. It could be so much fun, you have no idea what you're missing out on. Plus, I'm sure Taylor would stop harassing you about it, and then you can hold it over his head that you did something to please him. No more fliers in the window battles."

"Great point, Lorelai," Kirk added from across the room.

"Shut up, Kirk," Luke replied, disappearing into the kitchen.

Lorelai turned to Kirk, who was carrying a notebook and a light-up pen with him, scribbling notes as he observed the interaction between Lorelai and Luke. "Kirk, what are you doing?" Lorelai asked.

"I'm writing down material that I find important to publish in my memoir," he replied, leaning back in his chair. He fell flat on his back, and sheepishly picked up the chair and sat down in it once again. "Is there anything you'd like to say on record, or should I change your name to protect your identity?"

Lorelai raised her eyebrows, turning to Kirk. "Why would I want my name changed to protect my identity?"

"I've gotten all the dirt about everyone," Kirk replied, placing the pen and the notebook on the counter. "You and Luke have a chapter."

Lorelai gulped the sip of coffee down, coughing as she took a breath and realized it had gone down the wrong way. Trying to ignore the burning feeling she felt from swallowing her coffee incorrectly, she looked to Kirk. "A joint chapter?"

"Well, you're together almost every day. A lot of your interactions have changed my life in one way or another. So I saw it fitting to add you into his chapter."

She coughed once more, taking a breath and laughing at herself for her coffee ordeal. "You'd put Luke and I into a chapter together, but not Rory?"

Kirk nodded. "Rory has been an influence to me in her own way."

"Here's your cheeseburger," Luke said, placing the plate in front of Lorelai.

She turned to face Luke, flashing him a smile. "Would you mind making one for Rory, too, to go? I'm taking it with me for when she gets back. Oh, and did you know that we're a part of Kirk's memoirs?"

"He asked to interview me earlier," Luke replied in an unenthusiastic tone.

"And I presume the interactions went wonderfully," Lorelai replied sarcastically, taking a bite of her cheeseburger. "So when do you want me to come by and help you paint?"

Luke shrugged. "How's Friday? After your dinner with your parents, I mean."

"Friday's great," Lorelai replied, shoving several chili fries into her mouth as she spoke. "Shouldn't we have a meeting first? You know, to decide paint colors, and whatnot?"

"I have some color samples upstairs. Taylor handed them to me one day and I never got a chance to throw them out."

Lorelai laughed. "Well, Taylor's good for something, isn't he?"

Kirk scurried out of the diner, leaving his half eaten dinner on the table. Luke grabbed the dishes and walked them back into the kitchen. "The amount of food that guy wastes could feed a starving country," he mused.

"Paint samples, mister," Lorelai said, pointing to the stairs that led up to Luke's apartment.

Luke walked upstairs and emerged a few moments later with a few rings of color samples. Lorelai let out a squeal as he dropped them in front of her on the counter. "Ah, look at this blue, you should paint the diner blue, it goes so well with your eyes," Lorelai teased.

"Or we can decide not to paint the diner at all," Luke suggested.

She sighed. "Fine. How about this color? It looks similar to the color you have on the walls now, but it's just a little brighter. Not a drastic change for you, the president of the 'I hate change' club."

"You're vice president," Luke said, taking the paint sample and analyzing it for a moment. "Looks fine to me."

"Unless you want to go funky in here, and then we can do this color," Lorelai said, waving a red square in Luke's face.

"Or, like I said, we can leave it just the way it is," Luke repeated.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll mark the back of it for you so when you pick up the paint you won't forget which to order."

"You know, I still think there's a spot on the wall somewhere where my dad took an order one day when he ran out of paper," Luke mused.

Lorelai completed her drawing to mark the paint sample that she and Luke had chosen. "Really? Where?" she asked.

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. Behind the counter, maybe."

Lorelai let out a soft giggle. She noticed Luke's certainty despite how nonchalant he was about the entire situation. She slipped off the stool and walked around the counter.

"Next to the door. On the right side," Luke pointed out.

Lorelai sat on the floor and Luke sat down next to her, watching her as she read the message out loud.

"Oh. Huh. Here it is: 'Three hammers, Phillips-head screwdrivers –'"

"And three boxes of nails in assorted sizes," Luke finished.

"Oh," Lorelai replied.

"I've seen it from time to time," he explained as the two shared a laugh. They sat in silence for a moment before Luke looked at Lorelai. "Yeah, well, I guess it is time for a little spruce."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, it is. But let's not spruce this particular spot."

"That sounds good," Luke agreed.

"Okay," Lorelai said.

The two looked at each other and Lorelai felt a chill go down her spine. She was glad that she had learned a little something about Luke through the writing on the wall. She was taking in the moment she just had when Luke started to get up, hearing voices outside the door.

"Oh, jeez," Luke muttered.

"No, no, don't get up," Lorelai insisted.

Luke looked at Lorelai, annoyed. "But if I don't get up…"

"They'll go away. They'll go away, trust me. Shh," she said, crouching down behind the counter and waiting for the townspeople who had gathered outside of the door to go away. After Taylor rattled the doorknob, knocked on the window, and gave his predictions for what the diner would look like upon completion of the paint job, he and the rest of the sightseers left.

"Thank you," Luke said.

"You're welcome," Lorelai replied. She took a deep breath and ignored the tingly feeling in her spine once again. "I should go," she whispered.

"Okay," Luke agreed.

Lorelai thought quickly, searching for something to say to avoid leaving the conversation on an awkward note. "Ah, so. It's going to be great."

"Oh, I'm sure it is," Luke said with a nod.

"See ya," she said, getting up and grabbing her belongings.

"See ya."

The next day, Lorelai and Rory were at Doose's as Lorelai explained the events of the night prior. "So then he basically said, 'oh, it's behind the counter, maybe' or something to that effect. He knew where it was the whole time, and it was weird because he tried to act so casual."

"You're still reeling from the sex in the diner scene of that movie we watched the other night," Rory insisted. "You're taking it much too literally."

"But Rory, I know there's something up with Luke. What it is, I have to figure out. But there's something going on," she said, paying Taylor for the groceries as they exited the market. A motorcycle pulled up in front of the two, and Lorelai stood for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Nice shirt. Take it off," the man on the motorcycle said, taking off his helmet.

Lorelai gasped. "Christopher."

"Dad!" Rory squealed, running over to hug Christopher.

Lorelai watched the two for a moment, letting out a small sigh. This was definitely going to complicate her life. First Luke in the diner, and now Christopher, showing up in Stars Hollow. She shook her head in disbelief. She was only one person, and her life was getting too dramatic for one person to handle outside of a soap opera.