A/N: Bonus weekend Chapter!
"Wow, you look amazing!" Sookie said as Lorelai walked into the kitchen a slight spring in her step as she hurried over to the coffee machine.
"Thanks. So do you!" Sookie had changed into a long black, pink and white dress with an empire waist and a white shawl, and she twirled in front of Lorelai for effect.
"Did you wake up sleeping beauty?"
"I went to wake him but he was already up and showered."
"How is he doing?"
"I think he's fine. It would be best when Doc Shelton can check him out but there are no major alarms for trauma. From what I can tell, with my 15+ years of medical tv show viewing."
"I'm sure he is fine, and all the better for you looking after him."
"The cake Sookie," Lorelai said, changing the subject abruptly. "Its amazing."
Sookie turned to admire the 5 tiered cupcake wedding cake she had made complete with bride and groom toppers. She had made marble colored frosting and arranged the cupcakes in a flowing spectrum from top to bottom. "It is pretty good huh."
"You really outdid yourself." Lorelai came over to hug her friend. "It almost seems a shame to break it up."
"I know!"
"Okay," Lorelai drained her coffee, took a breath and put her hands on her hips. "Time to get out there and kick this thing off."
"I'll keep setting up the dining room to be sure everything is ready for dinner. I'll see you out there soon."
Lorelai busied herself greeting guests and seating them in the reception room then helped the bride with final touches before taking her place at the back of the room to watch it all play out. The few friends and family that did make it seemed pleased and excited with the intimate setting, which was of course enhanced by the copious amounts of champagne that had been shared before the ceremony. One of the waiters was at the side of the room playing a soft melody on the guitar and another was collecting empty glasses from seated guests.
"So, which side is it for people who got lost in the slow, crashed their truck and had to get a lift back to the inn. Bride or Groom?"
Lorelai turned to see Luke standing beside her a crooked smile on his lips. She was right. Those clothes fit him perfectly, if a little snug, but Lorelai looked him up and down and decided, no, they fit perfectly. She noticed he had ditched the sling but he hand rested in his pocket so she figured she'd let it slide for now.
"Hmm I guess you should sit on the grooms side."
"With the other guys who got lost in the snow?"
"The bride has more family that made it, you can help me even it out a bit."
Luke smiled. "The place looks amazing." he said with a gesture to the reception room which had been decorated with white and silver ribbons and balloons.
"Thanks. Its not quite where I hoped it would be, but it looks pretty good."
"Pretty good?" Luke scoffed. "Its fantastic. With little resources and no notice, frankly I'm very impressed." Lorelai blushed under his compliments and scrutiny and she looked away. "Anyway, it looks like its about to start, I better go sit."
Lorelai nodded and watched as he wandered down the centre aisle and took a seat three chairs in on an empty row at the back. When the guitar stopped playing and then started the wedding march everyone stood up and faced the rear of the room to watch the bride make her entrance. Lorelai stepped aside to give her the full entrance and only came back into view when she was half way down the aisle. When she reached the top, the minister gestured for everyone to sit down and Luke did so with a glance over his shoulder. When he spotted Lorelai still standing in the arch, he gestured at her to join him. With only a seconds hesitation she nodded and went over to him. She sat next to him and smiled then turned her focus back to the couple at the top of the room.
The ceremony was simple and filled with laughs. The grooms uncle was the minister and knew more than enough embarrassing stories to keep everyone engaged but clearly really loved the couple. He asked the congregation to share thoughtful compliments and everyone who knew the couple shared a story or a memory. By the end of the ceremony everyone had laughed and cried and cheered. Luke glanced over at Lorelai as she carefully dabbed her eyes with a watery smile and nudged her. Embarrassed she glanced back at him but looked away just as quick.
"Lovely ceremony," he whispered. Lorelai nodded. She glanced at her watch and realised it was time for her to get the next stage ready.
"I better go make sure the set up is goin ok." She slid to the outer chair then paused and turned back to him. "See you in there?"
Luke smiled and nodded. Lorelai dipped her head then hurried out of the room before the bride and groom procession took place. Out in the dining room she found Sookie setting everything up and quickly dove in to help.
"You ok?" Sookie asked, when she spotted Lorelai's watery eyes.
"Oh weddings," she waved her hands in front of her own eyes. "They get me every time."
Sookie smiled and nudged her friend. "Me too. I had to avoid that ceremony or I'd be unable to see what I needed to set up in here.
Lorelai smiled back and went into the kitchen to arrange the waiters into a meeting line, armed with wine and champagne for the guests coming in to the dining room. She stood back and admired it all happening from a distance then as Luke entered her focus trained in on him and she followed him as he made his way through the room. He had taken a glass of champagne but she guessed it was for something to do with his hands, rather than the desire for a drink. There was one table marked with guests names and everything else had been labelled for friends and family and Luke quickly took a seat by the window. He wondered who the other stragglers would be and looked around the room to see if he could spot anyone who was not mingling. He spotted Lorelai almost immediatly. She stood by the kitchen door, directing wait staff as they poured in and out of the room. The dress she wore clung to her curves and Luke had to tear his eyes away lest he be caught staring.
"Hi, is this the intruders table?"
Luke looked up to see an elderly couple standing to his side. "Yeah, it is." He stood up and shook their hands then waited for the lady to sit before taking his seat again. "Luke Danes."
"I'm Brendan McQuaid, and this is my wife Elsie."
"You got stuck here with the snow?"
"Well we had actually booked in for a holiday, we come here every year."
"Oh, from where?"
"New York," Brendan said quickly as if he expected this question. "This is a breakaway from all the hustle and bustle of the city."
"It sure is." Luke sipped his champagne and looked around wondering if there were anyone else to join them. It was a table set for 5 so he guessed one more at least.
"What brings you here?"
"I crashed my truck."
"Oh, that was you?" Elsie gasped and her hand flew to her chest.
"Hmm?"
"We were in the drawing room yesterday when the staff came running in talking about your crashed truck." Brendan offered as a way of explanation.
"Oh I see. Well yep. That was me. My own fault. Shouldn't have been out in that weather."
"Lorelai looked after you I see."
"Yeah, she has been wonderful." Without thought, his eyes sought her out but she was not in the room.
"She is a wonderful host."
Before they could continue their conversation another stranger came to the table. "Hi, I think I'm supposed to sit with you."
Luke turned and saw a tall young woman wearing a business suit, clutch the back of the chair next to him. "Intruders table. For non friends or family."
"Yep, this is me so." She pulled out her the chair then paused and gestured to it. "Is anyone sitting here?"
"No, no it's free." Luke jumped up and helped her pull it out as best he could with one arm.
"I'm Lucy McCormack."
"I'm Brendan McQuaid, and this is my wife Elsie." Brendan said in what Luke realized was a well rehearsed line of introduction.
"Luke Danes."
Luke guessed she was in her early thirties. She was slim and fit from an obvious gym routine. Her dirty blond hair cascaded around her shoulders in wavy sculpted curls that he knew she had planned meticulously. Her make up was barely noticeable and her hands were neatly manicured. She wore a fitting business outfit, a short black skirt, white blouse and a black blazer and a pair of severe black heels that made her height almost equal his own.
"So, of all the gin joints in all the world, we ended up stuck here." Luke glanced over and wondered if she was making a derisive comment about the inn. For some strange reason he felt strongly protective of this place he had never been to before and was ready to refute any bad remarks.
"You're not here by design I take it?" he asked.
"Well I meant to come here, I just didn't mean to stay." She sipped her champagne. "I had a business meeting here yesterday morning, but by the time it was over, it was too late to leave."
"So you got stuck."
"Well if I had to get stuck somewhere," Brendan said with a chuckle. "This would be top of my list."
"Really?" Lucy scoffed. "Not a tropical island? Dubai? Venice?"
"No way!" Brendan said his chuckle turning into a belly laugh. "Imagine that Elsie, me and you in Dubai!" Elsie laughed too and shook her head. Luke couldn't help but smile and glanced over at Lucy who smiled too.
"I guess they like it here." she said almost conspiratorially as if it was both of them against the laughing couple.
"Whats not to like," Luke replied as he sipped his champagne.
"You too?"
"I've never been here before, but it is quite stunning."
"Stunning… if you mean I'll be stunned if the power lasts throughout the night then yeah."
Luke resisted rolling his eyes and instead just looked away. He spotted Lorelai making her way through the room, chatting idly with guests and ensuring everyone was seated comfortably and had everything they needed.
She had spotted him sitting with the elderly couple and then watched his reaction as Lucy joined them. It was then that she started to work the room and made her way over slowly. Talking briefly with the bride and groom at the top table she made sure they were satisfied with how everything was going so far then continued her journey around the room. She approached Luke's table from the side behind Brendan, and stood between him and his wife.
"And how is everything here?"
"Wonderful Lorelai!" Elsie gushed, clasping Lorelai's hand and holding it tightly between both of hers. "I love the decorations and that ceremony was beautiful."
"Thank you Elsie. Does everyone have everything they need? More champagne? Wine? Or…perhaps a beer?" she said that last part to Luke who had barely touched his drink. He smiled and nodded almost imperceptibly and Lorelai nodded back. "Dinner is buffet style tonight, and will be served shortly. The menu is on the card in the centre, but please don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything."
"Could I get a glass of red please?" Lucy asked. "Malbec if you have it."
"Certainly. I'll have one of the waiters bring it right out." Lorelai stood up straighter and Elsie released her hand. "There's plenty to go round, so please help yourself to the food."
She talked to two more tables before disappearing into the kitchen andLuke watched her progress the whole time. Brendan noticed his interest and nudged his wife but she had already noticed her herself. they smiled to each other. Brendan leaned over and kissed his wife then turned back to the table.
"So Luke, what do you do?"
"I um…" he wasn't sure about spilling his life story out to these strangers. Despite telling Lorelai almost everything there was to tell the night before, he wasn't usually one to share too much, hell anything. "I run a diner in a small town not far from here."
"Oh a diner!" Elsie exclaimed, clapping her hands together.
"How quaint." Lucy added, though it wasn't excitement that was dripping from her voice.
"Its a small diner, nothing special." Luke shrugged.
"Small town diner. Sounds so idyllic." Brendan said.
"What about you?" Luke said to move the topic away from himself. "What keeps you busy in New York?"
"I'm a tailor, and Elsie here is a seamstress."
"Wait…" Lucy put her champagne down on the table and leaned forward. "McQuid, you're McQuaid from Broadstone Tailoring?"
"Yes," Brendan said with a slight blush. "My fathers business really, but I took it over thirty years ago with my lovely wife."
At that moment a young waiter arrived with a glass of red wine for Lucy and a tall glass of beer for Luke. He put them down silently and disappeared and Luke looked around for Lorelai. She was stood by the kitchen door and lifted his glass up to her in a cheers motion. She nodded and smiled then turned back to directing the waiters.
"Wow, you're clothing is amazing," Lucy said.
"Thank you!" Brendan said earnestly.
"Its nearly impossibly to get an appointment for a fitting there," Lucy said to Luke as if he had been listening in awe like her.
"Huh?"
"This guys company makes the best suits. Rivals most European houses."
"Oh, stop." Brendan brushed the compliment away but he blushed and smiled at his wife. "We've had to cut back on our customers as we got older."
"You could always expand, get more staff and take on more customers." She nudged Luke again. "Hand tailored suits are making a comeback. You guys could make a killing."
"Oh, we've no shortage of customers, but we want to spend more time together, less time working."
"The good lord did not bless us with any kids to carry on the businesses, so we have prioritized other things."
"Seems a shame to let good branding like yours go to waste."
Elsie shrugged and sipped her champagne. "Seems more of a shame to work through what time we have left, when we have more than enough to live as we like." She glanced at Brendan who was watching her lovingly. "We just want to be together. We keep the business open because we love it so, but its no longer a driving force in our lives." Brendan leaned over and kissed his wife's cheek.
Luke smiled and looked at Lucy who looked shocked and confused. "So you intend to just close the business?
"We'll keep going, as long as it doesn't interfere with our retirement. We plan to take more trips."
"To more Inns like this?" Lucy scoffed.
"Oh yeah," Elsie responded enthusiastically not realizing she was bring sarcastic. "There is an amazing inn just outside Wilmington in Pennsylvania. We go there every summer too." She was excited as she spoke about the inn and the activities it offered. Lucy looked bored.
"Wow, sounds like an amazing retirement plan," Luke offered.
"Half retirement plan."
"When we fully retire we'll roll down to Florida with all the other nuts," Brendan said with a chuckle.
Luke smiled but Lucy looked horrified and it only made him smile more.
"And you Lucy? What do you do?" Elsie asked with an engaging smile.
"I'm a lawyer."
"Could have guessed that." Luke muttered, earning him a glare from her.
"I specialize in IP Law. That's intellectual property." She added as she sipped her wine and sat back into her chair. "I work mainly with writers, and artists to be sure they are covered for plagiarism."
"Oh, how interesting," Elsie said though Lucy shrugged away her words.
"I'm thinking of moving into patent law with a joint degree program from Princeton." She waited for the usual "ohhs" and "ahhs" that comment usually received but Brendan and Elsie looked at her blankly and Luke was watching something else across the room. "Anyway, thats me."
"Were you meeting a writer here yesterday?" Elsie asked.
"Yeah one of my clients lives in a cabin on bear creek lake and we meet here from time to time."
"Oh, is it someone I'd know?"
"I doubt it, he writes mainly crime fiction. Tim Shelton?"
"No, I don't know him. I usually only read romance books. Do you know him Brendan?"
"No, not much of a reader me."
"Well his last three books were on the New York times best seller list."
"Oh amazing."
Luke disengaged from the conversation and sat back in his chair. From this vantage point he could watch the room with ease as well as look out at the snowy vista behind him. It really was a beautiful inn and the decoration was so simple and clean but filled with homely, welcoming, comfort. Everyone seemed at ease and the reception was going wonderfully. He watched a line of waiters deliver the food out to the buffet table and uncover large platters of food before stepping behind the table preparing to serve. Lorelai went to the top table and offered table service to everyone there, then turned to the rest of the room and called for attention.
"Dinner is now served, please help yourself."
Before the crowd could get to the buffet, Lorelai gestured to three waiters who were stood waiting for her signal, before they dished out plates for the top table. She stood back and waited til those plates were delivered then ensured their drinks were full enough and retuned her focus to the rest of the room. Brendan and Elsie joined the queue and were followed shortly by Lucy but Luke sat back and watched it all happen around him.
"Not hungry?"
He turned to see Lorelai standing next to him. "I am, but I thought I'd wait for the actual wedding guests to get their fill first."
"Nice gesture, but there is plenty to go around."
"It smells wonderful."
"Let me get you a plate," she offered. "Might be a bit difficult with your injured shoulder."
"No, its fine, I'll manage. I'll just wait for the crowd to die down a little."
"No its no trouble." she went to move but he grasped her wrist and pulled her back.
"Really, its fine, I'll go up there in a moment." he smiled. "I only need one hand to carry a plate."
Lorelai smiled and she stood there a moment longer, his hand loosely grasping her wrist, his finger tips on the inside where she was sure he could feel her pulse hammering away beneath them. "I better get back to it."
"Oh, um, sorry." He let go of her arm and dropped his hand to his lap. Lorelai turned and walked away immediately disappearing into the kitchen. Luke watched her leave then when Brendan and Elsie came back to the table with plates laden with food, Luke realised how hungry he really was and joined the short queue.
Music started playing as the guests ate their dinner, and lowered in volume as the speeches started. The atmosphere in the room was joyous so by the time the tables were cleared and the cake was brought out, everyone cheered and clapped.
"Sookie walked with the two waiters who carried the cake and instructed them to put it on the top table before the bride and groom. They both stood up and loads of family members took out their phones to take pictures from multiple angles. The inn staff used this time to start moving tables aside, collapsing them against the wall and leaving a line of chairs around the room making a large dance floor. Luke stepped back from the revelry and leaned against the archway entrance with what was left of his beer.
When the music kicked off again, this time instead of soft wedding background music it was fast paced country rock music and he decided it was time to take his leave back to his room. But before he could leave, a waiter arrived by his side with a fresh glass of beer and took the near empty one off him, all without a word. Luke looked up and spotted Lorelai watching him with a smile from across the room by the kitchen door. He lifted his glass up at her and smiled back. She nodded in acknowledgement then turned and went into the kitchen.
"How's it all going out there?" Sookie asked as she finished up cleaning and watched Lorelai pour herself a coffee.
"Great. You really pulled it off with that buffet and cake."
"It was something else wasn't it!" Sookie leaned back against the counter and tossed the dishtowel over her shoulder then rested her hands on her hips.
"You should go out there and enjoy it a bit."
"I will, I just want to be sure everything is ready for a late night snack for these guests."
"Oh Sookie, you've already done too much!"
"Nothing major, just a few mini hotdogs and finger sandwiches." She hurried over to the large fridge store. "All ready to go, I just need to cook the dogs in a few hours."
"You are..WONDERFUL!" Lorelai exclaimed as she gathered her friend into a tight hug.
"We make a good team."
"We certainly do."
"How is our latest guest?"
"He seems to be doing fine."
"I saw you have him sitting with Lucy McCormack. Was that wise?"
"I didn't put them sitting there, I just put the table for non family and friends there. Naturally they both ended up there."
"Naturally."
"Brendan and Elsie are there too."
"Hmmm."
"Anyway I better go out and be sure its all going well." Lorelai drained her coffee, realizing only then this was her fifth cup of the day but shrugged it off and returned to the reception. The dance floor was in full use with guests line dancing in large and small groups, while a few others settled in the chairs that lined the room, chatting as best they could amongst the revelry. Lorelai scanned the room as subtly as she could to look for Luke but he was no where to be found. Neither, she realised, was Lucy.
Luke stood before a blazing fire in the drawing room next to the hotel entrance with one hand leaning against the mantlepiece, the other, with his injured shoulder, resting in his pocket. The music could still be heard in this room, but it was dulled enough to make it a more comfortable setting. He near untouched beer was on the mantle by his head and he lifted it to take a drink then replaced it on the mantle again.
"So this is where you're hiding."
Luke smiled and turned expecting to see Lorelai behind him but instead he spotted Lucy making her way across the room, her hips swaying way more than they needed to as she approached.
"Not hiding, just giving the family space to celebrate." He turned back to the fire and was surprised by Lucy's touch as her arm linked loosely through his, low where his hand was in his pocket.
"I know what you mean." She leaned against him but he winced in pain, maybe a little more than he felt, and extracted himself from her grasp.
"Sorry, I dislocated my shoulder, its still quite tender."
"Oh I'm sorry," She looked at his arm as if she expected it to be obviously injured. "Shouldn't you be in a sling?"
"It didn't go with the outfit," he said with a shrug from his other shoulder.
Lucy smiled. "Are you having me on?"
"No. I was in a crash yesterday."
"That was you?"
"Yeah, thats what everyone says. Did they make an announcement or something?"
Lucy chuckled. "Small inn."
"Anyway that was me, I dislocated my shoulder and took a bad bang to my head."
"Oh, how are you feeling?"
"Fine. Lorelai… or the Inn here really looked after me."
Lucy's eyes squinted a little as she watched him blush and he looked away to take another sip of his beer. "Good, to hear."
"Hey guys," Lorelai said from the door way. "Anything I can get for you two?"
"No thanks," Lucy said. "I think we have everything we need here." She looked at Luke who was only watching Lorelai, trying to read her expression, her body language.
She stood by the archway into the room, her hands clasped tightly in front of her and a smile was plastered on her face but didn't reach her eyes.
"Do you need a hand with anything?" Luke asked, stepping forward away from Lucy, towards Lorelai. "Clearing up the ceremony room or the reception area?"
"No, you're very good to ask. I've enough staff on site to make short work of it. Thanks for the offer though." This time when she smiled her eyes sparkled a little and Luke returned the smile.
"Well if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."
Lorelai nodded. She smiled at Lucy then turned and walked away.
"They have plenty of staff for that Luke, and you wouldn't be much help with your injury anyway."
"Well I'm going to go to my room. And sleep." he added when he noticed her lean towards him. "Nice meeting you."
He turned on his heel and walked away leaving Lucy watching after him, confused by what had just transpired. She was used to such swift and obvious rejection. She turned back to the fire, spotted his beer, took it from the mantle and returned to the reception room with the others.
Lorelai watched Lucy come back in alone and wondered if Luke was still in the drawing room, though based on the predatory stare Lucy was giving other men in the room, she doubted she would have left him alone. the reception carried on without a hitch and the second round of food before midnight was a huge success. Before the night was over, she found Sookie in the kitchen and grabbed her arm, she took her into the drawing room, handed her a glass of champagne and they both sat on the couch by the fire.
"We did it." They clinked glasses. "We pulled it off."
"It was a wonderful day."
"Your food was amazing."
"It was pretty good, huh." Sookie sipped her champagne making sure her pinky was lifted high.
Lorelai laughed and swatted her friends arm and they both laughed. they sat in silence for a few minutes more then Lorelai finished her drink and sat up. "I need to go find my bed and collapse."
"Your own bed?"
"Sookie."
"Or any bed?"
"Sookie!"
"Perhaps Luke's bed!"
"Sookie!"
"What, I'm just saying, maybe he needs another wake up call?"
"He's fine." She stood and put her hand out for Sookie's empty glass. "I'll put these on in the dishwasher then I'm going to go-"
Lorelai stopped talking as the room plunged into darkness, lit only by the dull embers of the fire.
"Damn, the power is gone."
"Shouldn't the generator kick in?"
"It should…" they both waited a little while to see if it would but as it became increasingly obvious that it wasn't going to, Lorelai sprung into action. "I need to get candles to the guests rooms. And then I need to go check out the ginny."
Sookie followed her friend into reception room where bewildered guests had out phones with the torch apps activated.
"Apologies folks, I'll get some candles and check out the generator. Please bear with us!"
Lorelai and sookie grabbed the candles and hotel match books from the store and started to hand them out to people who promptly started to light up the room.
"I've got speakers in my room, we can use them!" One person said as they hurried off to their room to grab them. By the time the room was lit up enough, the speakers were playing music again and everyone was back dancing. Lorelai and Sookie looked at one another and smiled.
"We better take these candles to the bedrooms so its safe when people are going to bed." She passed one box to Sookie and tossed a bunch of matchbooks in with them too. "You take the top floor I'll take the first." Lorelai said.
"Which floor is Luke on?"
"Sookie, not now!" they hurried off towards the stairs and Lorelai started on the first floor. She knocked on each door before opening it and letting herself in. She lit the fire at its lowest setting, to give enough light to see in the room, then set up a candle in a holder on the small desk with a matchbook next to it. She went into the bathroom and lit a tea light candle by the sink and repeated this in every room up to Luke's.
Outside his door she took a breath and idly brushed her hair back from her face. She reached up to knock, but before she could the door swung open and he stood there, barefoot, topless, in his trousers with the button undone, and her breath whooshed out of her lips with a sigh.
"Um, power's out," she managed to say.
"I noticed."
"I brought candles."
"Thanks." She didn't hand them over and simply just stared at him. "Do you want to give me one?"
"Um, yeah, sorry." her fingers fumbled in the box of candles and she struggled to grab one, then Luke reached up an took one for himself.
"Do you need a hand with this?"
"Hmm?"
"Candle service."
"No, its fine, I've only a few more rooms to go."
"Do you have a generator?"
"We do, but it didn't kick in. I'll go out and check it when I've made sure all the rooms are safe."
"Let me help," he said and he stepped back from the door. Lorelai watched as he crossed the room to the chair where his shirt was hanging off the back of it and carefully slipped into it with his injured shoulder.
"Really Luke, you don't need to-"
"I'm helping." He pulled on his socks and boots and struggled for a moment with the laces then simply pulled them tight with one hand and shoved the loose ends into the sides of the boots. "Okay, lets go." He came back to the door and closed it behind him, then took the box off her and gestured for her to lead the way. They went to three more rooms and Lorelai continued her set up routine. then they went down to the main floor where the bridal suite was set up with a private patio entrance. "Wow, this is the bridal suite?"
The room was easily twice as large as his, with a large four poster bed that was made up with a mountain of pillows. The fireplace was about the same as his but was adorned by a love seat and a plush rug. Luke watched as Lorelai crossed the room to the fire and turned it on to light up and heat the room. She then took two candles out of the box he was holding and set them up either side of the bed. She disappeared into the bathroom and Luke watched the flickering candle light appear shortly after.
She came back to his side and admired her set up. "There, that'll do right?"
"Yeah, it looks amazing."
Lorelai was proud of the inn. immensely proud. Everything, every single thing that adorned the walls, the furniture, the flooring, paints and decor were all her doing and she was immensely proud. but nothing like that wave of pride that washed over her at his words. She looked up at him and smiled.
"Okay, lets go check out the ginny."
"Lead the way."
They went back to the kitchen where Sookie had just returned. "Top floor sorted. I see you found help."
"He insisted." Lorelai said as she focused on putting the remaining candles into one box. "We're going out to look at the ginny, see if we can't get it working." She continued as she made to move towards the back door.
"Wait a second…" Luke grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "You can't go out in that."
"But thats where the generator is… in a small shed across the rear driveway."
"No," Luke looked down at her dress. "I mean that, you can't go out in that weather in that dress, even if its for a short while."
Sookie watched this exchange with interest, offering no lifeline to Lorelai, and instead enjoying her suffer under Luke's eyes.
"Oh, right, of course. I'll quickly go change."
"Also I'll need a coat, hat, scarves."
"Check the wet room, out the back door. I'll meet you there in a few minutes."
Luke let go of her arm and Lorelai hurried off. He turned to see Sookie leaning against the counter, watching him with a smile.
"I'll just go look in the wet room, for a coat."
She nodded and watched as he turned and left, not missing the blush that crept up his cheeks. Luke rummaged through the coats to find one that fit him, then pulled on a woolen hat and wrapped a scarf around his throat and covered the bottom of his face. He bent over and tucked his trousers into his boots and stood in time to see Lorelai coming through the door. She wore a pair of jeans and a thick knit jumper. She grabbed her coat and pulled on a hat and scarf too, mirroring his look. She went to the shelving by the door and grabbed two walkie-talkyie units. She shoved one in her pocket then gave the other to Sookie who was by the kitchen door.
Luke went to the door and looked out. The snow was falling heavily, with very little line of sight. "Which way?" he asked. She came up beside him and pointed in the direction of the shed.
"Its about 150 meters out there." Luke nodded and opened the outer door. He put his hand back to reach for her and she took it. He pulled her closer against him and they walked like that through the blizzard out to the shed. when they made it, he kicked the piled up snow away from the front of the door, then pulled it open and guided her through first. He followed and quickly pulled the door shut securely.
"Wow, its really coming down out there." He said as he pulled the scarf away from his face.
"I know, weather reports are saying it'll be like this for a few more days too."
"Days?" he looked at her with surprise.
"Yeah, looks like you're stuck with us a little while longer."
"There are worst places to be stuck." he said with a smile, and again Lorelai basked in a wave of pride. "Right, lets take a look here." Luke bent before the generator. He checked various parts and cables, muttering softly to himself as he went over a mental check list of options before finally finding a fault. "Ah ha."
"You found the problem?"
"Fuse."
"Its blown?" Lorelai looked around and found a large tool box. "Here," she said as she tried to lift it off a high shelf. Luke turned and saw her struggle and hurried over to help her. He stood behind her and reached up with his good arm to take the handle at the top. "Careful, its heavy," she warned.
"I can see that."
"There should spare parts in here for the ginny."
Luke opened it up and rifled through the various items in the box, pulling out various fuses to compare to the one he had in his hand until he finally found match. He replaced it in the ginny and closed the circuit cover then cranked the switch to get it started again and switched the power on. The ginny chugged to life and the chain started running. Luke looked over at Lorelai with a wide smile but before they could celebrate too soon there was a loud bang, and the new fuse sparked out and blew. Lorelai jumped in shock and grabbed at Luke, who grabbed her back and held her tightly against him.
"Jeez…" she muttered. "What the hell?"
"The fuse blew."
"The new one?" Lorelai looked up at him and he looked down at her and for a moment they just stared. Lorelai was the first to look away and she slowly extracted herself from his arms.
"Yeah, see if you can find another," he said as he took a step back over to the ginny. "I think the grounding isn't working here, but I can fix that."
Lorelai went back to the tool box and rifled through for another fuse to match the first blown one he had handed her and when she found it, she turned back to see Luke crouched over the circuit board and carefully examining everything there. She approached and put the light from the torch she was using into the spot where he was looking and he glanced up at her in thanks.
"Is there any copper wire in that box?"
Lorelai went back and found a spool of wire. "Yeah." he turned and caught the spool she tossed at him. "you need these too?"
He looked over his shoulder and saw her holding up a pair of wire cutters. "Yeah." She made to toss them over but his eyes opened in shock. "Don't!"
She smiled. "Joking." then walked over and handed them to her.
"Hilarious."
Luke quickly cut a length of wire and connected it to the circuit board by twisting it through the metal hole by the grounding plate. He wound the wire through the circuit board then connected it to the metal frame of the ginny and made sure it was secure. "There. Not ideal, but more than enough grounding. The fuse?" He held his hand out and she gently put the fuse into his palm. Luke tried to ignore the warm caress of her fingertips against his skin and instead focused on fitting the fuse in place. When it was done, he repeated the motion of resetting the circuits, cranked the switch and hovered his hand over the power button.
"Maybe step back a little…" he said and he waited for her to take a few steps back. "Here goes…" he pressed the power button and the ginny came to life. Luke scrambled back away from it and stood next to her. The ginny lights flickered in place for a moment then the signal light came on and Luke looked out the window to see the inn lit up again. "Its working."
"Oh thank god!" She jumped up and hugged him and he hugged her back with one arm, enjoying the press of her body against his, even through all the bulky outer clothing they were wearing. For a moment he held her against him but as he felt her pull away he released her completely. "Thank you, I'm not sure I could have fixed that myself."
"No problem, its the least I could do." he bent down to the ginny again and examined the gauges. "With rationing, we have enough fuel here for a couple of days, based on the canisters here." He shook the fuel canisters and was pleased to see they were nearly full."
"Hopefully it won't take that long to get the power grid back online."
"We should, um…we should get back." He pulled his scarf back up over his face and walked over to the door. When he was sure she was ready too, he made to push the door open but it wouldn't budge. He tried again but it was stuck.
"Whats going on?"
"Door is stuck. I think there is a build up of snow in front of it."
"Crap!"
"I can't even budge it," He slammed his good shoulder against the door but it was no use and a jolt of pain rattled through him that made even Lorelai wince.
"Careful, you'll hurt yourself."
"We need to get this door open." He slammed his shoulder against the door again but still it remained tightly closed. "I wonder if the lock froze over."
"Wait, the window, I can fit through that window."
"You can't crawl through that window Lorelai, its not safe, besides its a safety window, it won't open up enough."
"Then we can break it."
"And have you climb out over broken glass? No way!"
"Whats our alternative? Stay in here for the night?"
"Maybe someone can come out and clear the snow away from the door, you have that walkie talkie?"
"And risk someone else coming out in that blizzard? No, just help me with the window." Lorelai didn't wait for his response and instead she went over to the small window above the ginny. It was about 2ft by 1ft landscape window. He was right, it would only open a few inches, but she didn't mind breaking though it to get out of the shed.
She looked around for something to use to break the window and grabbed a hammer from the tool box. but before she could swing it at the glass, Luke hurried over and snatched it out of her hand.
"Hey!"
"Not like that."
"Instead he took off his hat and wrapped it a few times around his hand to protect it, then swiftly punched a hole through the window. He carefully cleared the rest of the glass, taking as much of it as he could into the shed, rather than out in the snow where she would be landing soon.
"I'll cover the ginny with a tarp to protect it from the cold. And we'll need to block that window with a tarp too." She prepared herself to climb out, using a the tool box as a stand to reach the window. Luke covered the ginny and fuel, then grabbed the hammer and a few nails and a folded up tarp, which he shoved in the front of his coat. "Ready?" he asked as he came up behind her to help her climb out.
"Yep," she said looking over her shoulder at him poised to lift her up.
"Go straight to the shed door, don't delay and clear the snow then come back inside ok?"
"Okay, lets do this."
She hefted herself up through the window and slowly squirmed out as best she could. Luke had his hands on her waist and helped her move out, then moved his hands down her thighs as she made her way through. Without thinking, he put his hands on her ass, and pushed her further, needing to get the leverage to help her out as quick as he could. Lorelai felt his fingers pressing into the top of her ass, and his palms push her cheeks out the window and she tried not to react in any way. Finally as her body made it through the window, his hands grabbed her shins and carefully helped her lower to the ground. When she was fully out, he stood on the tool box and leaned his head out.
"You ok?"
"Yeah!" she gave him a thumbs up and followed the wall of the shed and hurried to the door. By the time she had cleared up the snow and pulled the door open, Luke was standing inside and quickly pulled her in from the cold.
"You ok? you're not hurt?" He checked her arms and hands for cuts from the broken glass.
"No, I'm fine."
"Okay, wait here one moment, I'll secure this tarp over the broken window." He pushed the door open and hurried out. Lorelai watched from the window as he nailed the tarp over the broken window to stop the snow from getting in, then went to the door and met him for the walk back to the Inn. Again he pulled her close, held her hand against his chest and his arm over her shoulder as they trudged through the snow. When they made it to the wet room, Sookie greeted them with an excited clap.
"You did it!"
"It was Luke, he fixed it."
Lorelai smiled at him as they both undressed their outer gear. Luke pulled of his snow covered boots and ruffled his hand through his hair and Lorelai did the same. "Get in here, you both, I made you some hot chocolate, and go sit by the fire in the drawing room, I turned it up a notch for you both."
Lorelai saluted Sookie and smiled at Luke. Sookie unceremoniously shoved two large mugs of hot chocolate into their hands then ushered them out of the room. The dancing was still in full swing and the revelers had opted to keep the lights off and dance in the candlelight with the portable speakers playing random songs from someones phone. In the Drawing room, Sookie had left the candlelight on, and lit only one small lamp by the side of the couch. The fire was roaring and they both sat in front of it. Luke lifted his feet towards the heat and wiggled his toes.
"Oh that feels good." Lorelai smiled and matched his movements. He glanced over and smiled at her. She lifted her hot chocolate towards him, he clinked his mug against her and they both sipped. Immediatly Luke looked down at his drink then over at hers and frowned.
"Looks like she made these a little Irish."
"More than a little I'd say." He said after swallowing the heavily laced chocolate and trying not to react to the taste of the whiskey.
"I guess I am officially off duty so!" she said as she took another generous gulp.
Luke chuckled. "I think you did enough today."
"I can't thank you enough for your help."
"My help?" he shook his head. "After everything you did for me last night, and today?" He looked up at the fire. "Don't mention it. I'm not even close to paying you back."
"Oh, I get more?" she sipped her drink and glanced at him over the rim of her mug.
"Sure. You deserve it."
"Like what?"
Luke flustered. This wasn't the direction he intended on this conversation to go, though he didn't really have a direction in mind at all. "Well I could…help you dig out the snow in the yard." Lorelai made a so-so gesture with her mouth. "I could…fix that generator properly tomorrow."
"So you're saying its not fixed now?"
"Its working, but its not as fixed as it could be."
"Okay, getting better."
"Is there anything you'd like me to take a look at?"
"Well you seem quite talented, with your hands."
"I do?" he couldn't help the blush that crept up over his cheeks and hoped the light from the fire was enough to disguise it as he wondered where she was going with this.
"Perhaps you could help me with a few odd jobs around the Inn."
"Oh, yeah!" he let out a small laugh, not sure if he was relieved or not. "Of course."
"They are all indoor jobs, simple things like stuck drawers, squeaky doors, wonky bannister."
"Sure thing. I'd love to help out in any way I can."
"Deal." she held up her cup again and he clinked them together before they both took long sips. Luke let out a breath and rested his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. "Tired?" she whispered into the stillness after a moments silence.
"I dunno. I think so."
"You're head is ok?" she asked, a tinge of worry diluting her voice.
"Yeah, yeah, my head is fine. My shoulder aches a little, but its more my sleep cycle is just a little messed up after last night."
"Ah right, I know what you mean." she sipped her drink and looked back at the fire to stop herself from staring at his incredibly straight jaw line. "My body is bone tired, but my brain is wired!" Luke chuckled. "I reckon if I did go to bed I'd be too tired to sleep."
Luke rolled his head towards her to see if he could read her face, see what she really meant by that comment, but her face was distorted by the flickering flames. When she she turned to look at him and smile, he lost the run of himself and just kept staring. He felt the magnetic pull towards her even before he knew he was moving closer and he watched her eyes for realization of his desire to kiss her. Mere inches apart, he paused, as if allowing her a moment to confirm his action but before he could resume his journey towards her lips, a loud group of revelers came from the reception room to make their way upstairs.
Luke pulled back immediatly and Lorelai sat forward. She brushed her hair behind her ears then gripped her mug of chocolate tight between her knees. She waited for the quiet to return then took a deep breath and stood up. "Looks like everything is winding down. I better go see if I'm needed."
"Right, yeah." Luke stood up too and she held out her hand to take his mug. For a moment he thought she was asking to take his hand and he had to double take before be realised what she wanted. He handed it over to her and she smiled. "Sleep well Luke. See you tomorrow."
Luke simply nodded and watched as she hurried away. He wondered if he read that moment wrong. She seemed to escape pretty quickly after his failed attempt to kiss her but he was sure she wanted it as it was happening. He stood for a moment contemplating what he might have taken up wrong and decided his concussed and whiskey filled brain was just not up to the task. Instead he turned off the fire, and the lamp and went up to his room.
Lorelai helped the remaining guests find their rooms in the darkened hallways before returning to the reception room to clear up the last of the glasses with sookie and two waiters. She sent the waiters to bed and shortly after hugged Sookie and sent her up too. She went back into the drawing room, almost hoping to see Luke still sitting there but found it empty and her heart sank a little bit. She ensured the inn was securely locked for the night before slowly making her way up to her room. Another trail of discarded clothes joined the other two inside her door and she fell into the bed with a long tormented sigh. The cold sheets were a welcome to the scorching heat of her body, and she spread out across the bed with arms and legs akimbo. There was one thing she was wrong about anyway, her ability to sleep, as she fell hard and fast into a deep soothing sleep her body craved.