Thanks to all who reviewed — I know it's slow going thus far, but I promise you that the story will remain true to its roots as part of the Reunion Smutficathon. Eventually ;)

And as always, a thank you is due to llano, for keeping me in line here :)

February 21, 2007

Three weeks later, Lorelai sped along the highway in Chris' little Volvo, cursing her dead cell phone battery. It was bad enough that she wasn't going to be able to meet Luke, but now she couldn't even call him to let him know. She might not have thought so much of it a few weeks ago, but lately, she really had to admit, she was actually looking forward to their little Wednesday coffee meetings.

Luke would always have her coffee waiting, even the odd danish in the past couple weeks. And then they'd just sit and talk. Nothing of real substance, of course, but he'd relay little anecdotes about April, or give her the play-by-play of having Zack take over for Lane in the diner. For Lorelai's part, there was always some sort of quarrel between Michel and a random guest to entertain with, and she'd even confessed that Sookie had been growing anxious to expand her repertoire and take the reigns on her own project, so the two of them were toying with the idea of opening a restaurant separate from the Dragonfly. As such, the recent renewal of their 'friends' status left Lorelai with the impression that Luke seemed more than willing to offer what advice he could, happy for both Sookie and Lorelai for doing so well with the Inn. For the most part, 'friends' actually seemed to be working pretty well.

Granted, though things were going well, they were still in no danger of running out of awkward moments. Case in point — the week before. Lorelai had no idea what had possessed Luke to invite his sister and her family over to his place on Valentine's Day, but when she and Paul Anka had arrived last week, that's just who they'd been greeted by. For a split-second Lorelai had the fleeting notion that maybe, just maybe, Luke hadn't been 100 comfortable seeing her on that particular holiday and had felt that they'd need some sort of distraction. For another split-second, she'd almost felt guilty at the thought that something like that was even a possibility. But she'd quashed those feelings as quickly as she could.

Besides, that couldn't have been the case anyway, as had become painfully obvious not long into the visit with Liz and TJ; if Luke had been going for a safe diversion from all things Valentine, he would have been smart enough to know that his sister was not the one to have around to provide such a service.

Liz always meant well, of that Lorelai was sure, but tact was not her forte. Nor was it TJ's, so, after Lorelai having been coerced into sharing the couch with Luke, and then into taking Doula on her lap, Liz had pointed out how adorable the three of them looked together, like a little family — a comment which, even on it's own, made a stammering, red-faced Lorelai want to melt right into the couch cushions as she'd explained that she had her own family, Chris and Rory and Gigi. TJ, of course, had decided to follow that up with the oh-so-blunt comment of 'Hey, what's the story with you two anyway? If you guys didn't split up, my little Doula here could have had herself a cousin already.'

Oh yes, good times there were last week, Lorelai snorted at the recollection as she headed for the Stars Hollow exit ramp. Even after Luke had, stumbling horribly over his words, steered the conversation back towards less touchy subjects, the topic of April had come up. Liz, again letting something slip, had asked how April was warming up to the idea of New Mexico. After Luke's initial deer-in-the-headlights moment, he'd reluctantly explained his custody ordeal with Anna to Lorelai.

That he'd neglected to share that part of his life with her, despite the many mentions of April in their conversations, saddened Lorelai. She'd had to remind herself that he didn't have to tell her anything. It just would have been nice. It just would have been nice to have been included. To feel that Luke still felt he could tell her things. Long before they'd been anything, when the specter of romance between them was little more than her mother's insinuations about the Ice Man at Rory's party, or ill-fated attempts at poker games, or unwelcome, and largely unacknowledged, feelings of jealousy at the appearance of a certain photographer on her way back from the other side of the world, Luke had been her friend — someone to vent to, someone to mock their crazy town with, someone to commiserate with, someone to just talk to. He was on the verge of losing his kid for God's sake — you should be able to talk about things like that with your friends…

Even a week later, Lorelai still felt a twinge of dismay over the fact that Luke hadn't felt comfortable telling her about what was probably the biggest issue in his life at the moment. That dismay was tempered, however, by Lorelai reminding herself that she wasn't exactly an open book to Luke when it came to things like Chris and the horrible wedding/party/extravaganza Emily insisted on planning for them. Ok, she admitted to herself, so the 'friends' status might still be a little shaky. But you had to take what you can get, right?

Which was why, as she neared the center of Stars Hollow, Lorelai made the snap decision to tell Luke face-to-face that she wouldn't be able to stay for coffee. The last thing she wanted was for him to be waiting for her, thinking that her not showing up was some sort of punishment for the slight weirdness that was last Wednesday.

Pulling hastily into a parking spot near the diner, Lorelai yanked the key from the ignition and turned to face the back seat.

"How you feelin' kid? Two seconds inside, I promise, and then we'll gone home and watch TV all night, okay?" she asked with forced brightness.

Gigi smile sweetly from her car seat, nodding with enthusiasm, "Okay."

"Good," Lorelai grinned weakly. "Don't get out 'til I come open the door, okay?"

Though she gave her arm a good scratching as she did so, Gigi obediently remained seated until Lorelai was able to reach in the back door to her.

After unbuckling the car seat, Lorelai grabbed her stepdaughter's hand. She lead Gigi across the street and around to the back door of the diner as stealthily as she could, doing her best to avoid being noticed, but even Gigi knew something was up. Tugging on Lorelai's arm as she clomped up the stairs in her winter boots, the little girl hissed secretively, "Where are we going?"

"I just have to talk to a friend for a minute," Lorelai shushed her hurriedly as she knocked at the door of Luke's apartment.

Luke, however, was not who greeted her when the door opened. Lorelai's eyes went wide as she exclaimed in surprise, "April!"

"Lorelai, hi!" April grinned, "Dad told me you might come." Gesturing inside, she added, "He brought doughnuts up this time."

Despite the mention of doughnuts being something that normally would have caught her attention, Lorelai barely heard a word. April hadn't even finished speaking when Lorelai exploded with a cry of "Shit!" Absentmindedly taking in the respective ages of her present companions, she muttered a quick revision to "Oh, sorry… Crap!" as she hastily yanked Gigi as far from the older girl as the small hallway and looming, descending staircase would allow.

April just looked on curiously, obviously perplexed by the outburst and Lorelai's apparent sudden urge to practically push Gigi down the stairs. "Lorelai?" April ventured hesitantly.

"Have you had chicken pox?" Lorelai looked up, demanding an answer from April even as she dragged Gigi behind her. "Gigi, back up sweetie."

April scoffed, "Oh I had chicken pox a long time ago. Really bad case too, so I highly doubt I'll be susceptible to another bout, even if she is contagious," she reasoned, pointing in Gigi's direction. "That is what you meant, right?"

Luke chose that moment to appear from within the apartment; out of nowhere he was lurking behind April, wiping off a mug with a dishrag and sounding ever so befuddled by the bits of conversation he'd caught. "Contag-" he began, until he spotted Gigi, "What the…?"

"Luke." Lorelai shot up from where she'd been crouching down to corral Gigi. "Hi," she blurted out stiltedly. She failed to continue, which elicited a curious stare from Luke. "I can't stay, I-" She started again, a rather rambling explanation following, "My cell died, so I couldn't call. Ok, well, I guess I could have called from home-"

With Lorelai no longer forcibly restraining her, Gigi took the opportunity to venture out from behind Lorelai's coat. Her nose raised as haughtily as a four year-old's could be, she marched up to Luke, brazenly demanding, "Who are you?"

"Uh… Luke," Luke stammered, visibly thrown by the interruption and the fact it was a confrontation he'd probably never expected to have. He cleared his throat, and addressed the child again, "I'm Luke."

Oh, the awkwardness, Lorelai cringed inwardly. It was hardly an introduction she'd ever expected to hear either. "Gigi, come on," she urged, reaching down once again for the child's hand, "Let's g-"

But finished sizing up Luke, Gigi was already moving on. She sauntered over a few steps and placed her hands on her hips to stare down April. "Who are you?" she asked again.

"I'm April…" the elder girl replied. And playing along proficiently, she eyed Gigi with mock suspicion, inquiring right back, "Who are you?"

"My name is Georgia Hayden," Gigi declared proudly.

Moving on and trying to be friends again was one thing, but even Lorelai, for all her vehement proclamations to all the world that she had moved on, was unsettled by the disjointed foursome that had assembled there at Luke's door. Coffee with Luke and talking in the abstract was miles away from the physical presence of the two girls who unwittingly brought to mind memories of all things gone wrong. Why, why, why, why, Lorelai's brain screamed, had she chosen today to be the day she left half her IQ at home? She didn't have to bring Gigi there to tell Luke they couldn't come. In the good old days, people used landlines. Rumor had it, they still worked even when your cell battery was dead. She could have just called him once she and Gigi had gotten home. Stupid stupid stupid, she chastised herself. Incredibly, stupendously, insanely stupid. Apparently coming to see Luke once a week had integrated itself into her routine better than she'd realized.

"Gigi, come on," Lorelai ordered, wanting more than anything to put to rest the on-edge feeling she'd had since April had opened that door. With a pained expression she fought to hide, she apologized profusely. "Luke, I'm sorry," she said, genuinely upset that the Wednesday meetings that had been going so well had gotten screwed up, "I can't stay." Grabbing for Gigi's hand, she spat out the rest of her excuse, her face twisting in discomfort under Luke's curious gaze. "We got a call from her school today, the whole pre-k is on pox alert. Spent all afternoon at the pediatrician's waiting room, and she's got it. A whole six spots already, but there's more coming." She gave a helpless shrug, gesturing out in the direction of the town square, "We've got pre-emptive calamine waiting for us in the car, and that really gross oatmeal stuff, and…" Lorelai's voice trailed off as she realized that it might be overkill at that point. Finally, she offered sheepishly, "I should get her home."

Luke didn't get a chance to respond, for Gigi's mind was not nearly as focused on her illness as her stepmother's was. Rather, she had zeroed in on what April had mentioned upon their arrival. Wrapping her arms around one of Lorelai's legs, she plastered on an angelic smile and looked up, proclaiming, "I want a doughnut."

"Gigi, no," Lorelai admonished with a sigh. "We're going home," she reminded her as she worked to pry the little girl from her leg.

She'd almost managed to free herself from the little girl's inordinately tight grip when she heard Luke speak up hesitantly. "She can have one," he offered.

Lorelai's gaze flew up to Luke's face as she protested immediately, "Luke…"

"You're already here," Luke pointed out logically, adding, "We've all had chicken pox, and you…" He let out a little chuckle as he made a point of letting his eyes drift down to where Gigi was still clinging to Lorelai's leg with a death grip. "Well, you look like you could use the coffee."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks," she muttered. If Luke could take the awkwardness, why couldn't she? And who was she to deny a sick kid a doughnut or two when in a few days, who knew if she'd feel like eating much of anything? With a defeated groan, she managed to free her leg and squatted down to look Gigi squarely in the eye. "Gigi, you sure you feel okay?" she inquired, "No itching yet?"

Gigi shook her head vigorously in confirmation, "Nuh uh."

"I give up," Lorelai conceded, dropping her chin melodramatically to her chest, "You win." Giving Gigi nudge on the back, she steered her towards the apartment. "Go on, kid." As Gigi scampered away after April, who had gone to retrieve the doughnuts in question, Lorelai stood up slowly. Rather than dwell on the rather odd turn the afternoon's events had taken, she forced out a weak joke, feigning annoyance as she slipped past Luke as she warned him, "Doughnut for a sick kid? See If I ever listen to your health food rants again."

Luke just chuckled, closing the apartment door behind him as he followed her inside.

Lorelai quickly shed her coat, dumping it, along with her purse, onto one of the chairs in the kitchen. As Luke went about preparing her coffee, she couldn't help but let her gaze wander across the room, to where April and Gigi had absconded with a box of doughnuts and the TV remote.

"Crazy," she murmured under her breath, "crazy."

She hadn't expected Luke to hear, but nevertheless, he appeared behind her, asking, "What?" When Lorelai didn't reply right away, he followed her line of sight as he set her coffee on the table. "Oh, those two."

"Yeah, I mean, last year if ever I thought I'd be in a room with my stepdaughter and your daughter, I'd have thought they'd be the same thing." The words fell from Lorelai's mouth before she even realized she was speaking aloud.

Hearing herself, Lorelai cringed immediately. For weeks, she'd been so good at avoiding all things related to 'The Great Luke and Lorelai Implosion of '06' — where had that come from? It wasn't meant as a dig at Luke, nor, on the other side of things, any sort of self-pitying 'woe is me' for having made her bed and slept in it — with Chris, she mentally added wryly. It was just an observation that slipped out of its own volition, probably brought about by the odd juxtaposition of Luke's new parenting situation with her own. But that hardly meant that she was looking forward to Luke's reaction, whatever it was.

He hadn't really responded to the comment, so tentatively, wincing exaggeratedly, Lorelai peered over her shoulder with a soft "Sorry, it just…"

She didn't know exactly what she was expecting from Luke — regret? anger towards her? something else? — but oddly enough, he displayed little reaction at all, merely staring blankly at the two girls and their doughnuts as he absently dunked his tea bag in the mug he held.

There was a bit of a delayed reaction to Lorelai's words on his part, but eventually Luke came out of his daze, shaking his head and brushing her off with a less than telling "Hey, no, it's fine," as he moved to sit down at the table.

He didn't say anything else, however, and as Lorelai pulled out her own chair she couldn't shake the feeling that her thoughtless comment had, in fact, affected him somehow. After another moment or two of the stifling silence, she knew it was up to her to rectify the situation, so she forced out the first thing that came to mind. "Uh, so how's Liz?" she asked. "I heard from Mrs. Cassini that they stopped in again before they left town over the weekend?"

The inquiry, at least superficially, did the trick, and Luke came back to life with a snort of mild disbelief. "She's great," he replied, shaking his head slightly before adding, "TJ's apparently going to branch out into pewter sculptures he was talking about."

Hearing words come from Luke that weren't an admonishment for her previous slip of the tongue meant Lorelai had to be quick to take a gulp of coffee in order to mask the relief she was sure was written all over her face. Grimacing instead at the still too-hot drink, she nodded deliberately, recalling the pewter mention from the previous week.

"Sculptures he's gonna make himself," Luke revised, adding the stress with a skeptically raised eyebrow.

"Wow," Lorelai gasped, practically choking on her coffee as she laughed at the thought. "I'd love to see how one of those turns out."

"You and me both," Luke echoed. "Oh," he exclaimed suddenly, plucking a photo from beneath a magnet on the refrigerator, "and here's a picture Liz remembered to give me. I guess from when they stopped by Philadelphia to see Jess a couple weeks ago."

Lorelai reached for the print, giggling almost immediately after laying eyes on it. "Oh my God," she gushed, "never thought I'd see the day. Jess and a poofy pink bundle of little baby girl. But that's so sweet," she smiled, looking back up at Luke. "Was that the first time he saw his sister?"

"I think it was, yeah," Luke confirmed, eyeing the picture as Lorelai placed it on the table between them.

Still gazing at the image, Lorelai couldn't help but muse aloud, "Look at her, they've both got Liz in them…" And, actually curious as to how Liz's elder offspring was faring as of later, she asked, "How is Jess? I know Rory told me about the book last year, but since?"

With the air of a proud dad, Luke reached for the picture, replying, "He's good. Still at that store, and he said he's working on writing something else."

"That's great-" Lorelai started, genuinely glad, largely for Luke's sake, that Jess was actually turning out to be pretty successful. But as she spoke, she caught sight, out of the corner of her eye, of Gigi on her tiptoes and reach for one of Luke's precariously placed trophies. "Oh, Gigi, leave the trophies alone sweetie," she called out.

Not as quick to make the transition to parent mode as Lorelai, it took Luke a moment, but it eventually occurred to him to call over to his own daughter. "Hey, uh, April," he cleared his throat, "why don't you try, I dunno, playing a game or something?"

April peered over the end of the couch, her expression doubtful to say the least. "You have games?" she inquired skeptically.

"You could play Twister with the table cloth," Lorelai piped up, shooting a grin in April's direction.

Luke sent Lorelai a rather stern look of warning before turning back to April with much the same expression. "What about checkers or something? I have checkers," he pointed out to April. He didn't wait for an answer before facing Lorelai again, apparently suddenly realizing his own lack of experience with 4 year-olds. "Does she do checkers?" he asked, wearing a confused expression as he gestured over to where Gigi stood.

"Yeah," Lorelai assured, smirking, "and she usually beats both me and Chris." Glancing over her shoulder, she turned her attention to her stepdaughter, "Gigi, you want to play checkers with April?"

Gigi nodded in the affirmative, so after a few directions on locating the set from Luke, the two girls were quickly engrossed in a game as the parental units of the group looked on.

Still a surreal sight, Lorelai had to admit, but perhaps it was for the best. She and Luke had seemed to have been making progress on the friends front, and now there they were with April and Gigi getting along as well. She had to think it boded well for solidifying that friendship status. The next thing would just be to have Luke and Christopher able to stand in the same room with each other without all hell breaking loose. That would probably take a fair bit longer, Lorelai conceded to herself. But they could get there eventually, right? So she could hope, anyway.

Reverting her focus back to the checkers game underway across the room, Lorelai nudged Luke, who seemed to have zoned out as well. "She's pretty good with her," she reported, impressed by April's taking to Gigi. "Has she gotten to see Doula at all? Or does she have other cousins or anything?"

"Nah, she hasn't been around when Liz and TJ are. But I gave her some pictures from last time they were here." Luke brushed off the question, though Lorelai suspected he would have liked to have his kid get to know the rest of her family.

"Too bad," Lorelai commented softly.

"Yeah," Luke agreed. "I could tell her to try the baby sitting thing, but I think she's still a little young or something, I dunno," he shrugged. "I don't think it matters anyway. I guess Albuquerque is really science oriented or something, so I don't think she'll be doing it down there either." With a slight roll of his eyes, he informed Lorelai, "She's already been researching any sort of science programs she can find. Even the baseball team is some science thing — the Isotopes? She told me she'll bring me a hat."

Lorelai grinned, "Cute. Sounds science-y," she remarked, her smile transforming to a mild frown, "Not that I remember much about science…"

"Since when do you need to know about isotopes? Or anything science?" Luke chuckled.

From the good-natured swat on the arm Lorelai sent in Luke's direction as she feigned hurt over the comment, as the kids continued with checkers, the two adults fell into the easy banter and conversation that had come to embody their 'Coffee Wednesdays.'

Talk of the tentative plans for location scouting for Lorelai's and Sookie's restaurant; of speculation about what, exactly, TJ's pewter sculptures might turn out to look like; of Taylor's latest grand idea to use ski hill snow guns to make Stars Hollow snowy despite the relatively snow-free winter in order to boost tourism…

Through more than one coffee refill, not to mention an excursion over towards the coffee table by Lorelai to snag what was left of the doughnut stash, Luke and Lorelai just kept right on talking about whatever came to mind, with Lorelai, at least, basking in the knowledge that, despite the potential awkwardness the afternoon's situation had initially presented, things were going really well.

Until, that is, she just happened to catch a glimpse of the clock on Luke's microwave across the room. "Oh God," she yelped, "I had no idea how late it was. Crap," she muttered to herself, Chris was going to be home soon. She didn't even pay attention to Luke's confused utterance of "What?" Quickly gathering up the array of doughnut sprinkles she'd littered across the table, she yelled across the room, "Gigi?"

"She's asleep," April informed the two adults flatly, not even moving her gaze from the TV screen for half a second.

Lorelai groaned, dropping her head down to her forearm on the table for dramatic effect. "Great. That kid is dead weight," she groused. "I can barely carry her anymore, never mind with stairs." Pulling herself to her feet, Lorelai began gathering her things, calling out to April, "Hey April, just wake her up for me? We've gotta head home."

Luke quickly stood as well, grasping Lorelai's wrist to stop her. "No, hey-" he started, before seeing April lean over towards Gigi's end of the couch. "April, leave her!" he hissed as loudly as having a sleeping kid in the room would allow. Before she knew what was happening, Lorelai found herself with Luke still holding her forearm, insisting, "I'll bring her."

Lorelai shook her head, gently easing her arm from Luke's grip to slip on her coat and pointing out, "She's just going to wake up in the car anyway."

"Then I'll walk her to your place," Luke countered.

"Luke, I have the car," Lorelai protested, "I have to-"

Luke wasn't backing down, however, challenging her objection with "Then you drive, we'll meet you there."

Lorelai was fighting a losing battle, she knew, but that didn't stop her from letting out another plaintive, "You don't have to-"

"It's fine," Luke assured, again ignoring her feeble protests. Crossing the room to where the girls were, he gave April a tap on the shoulder. "You're okay for a few minutes while I walk them home?" he asked quietly.

April let out a short "Yup" — all she could manage while thoroughly engrossed in what appeared to Lorelai to be one of those horribly disgusting shows on the Learning Channel about blood and guts and surgeries.

Judging by the grimace on Luke's face as he caught a glimpse of the TV, Lorelai could tell he wasn't impressed by the program either. "Ok," he responded, regardless. And turning to where Gigi lay curled up, he whispered a soft, "Come'ere kid," as he lifted the little girl gingerly off the couch. As he settled her against his chest and draped her abandoned jacket over her shoulders, he gave April one last wary glance, instructing, "You should get ready for bed too."

April replied with an "Uh huh…" that to the trained ear was clearly her version of 'Whatever, Dad.' Lorelai would have been amused by Luke being a part of typical father-daughter interaction had she not been so fixated on the sight of Luke — Luke — standing there before her with a sleeping Gigi in his arms. 'What's wrong with this picture?' anyone?

So dazed by the unexpected sight was Lorelai that she barely even noticed when the sight itself was no longer in front of her. Only when April, who had apparently reached a commercial break in her show, lifted her head from the arm of the couch and asked pointedly "Shouldn't you go too?"

Jerking her head in the direction of the door, Lorelai just managed to catch a glimpse of the unlikely pair heading towards the stairs. "Right," she nodded, "Right. See you later April!" she called behind her as she grabbed her coat and purse, dashing out the door.

By the time she reached the street downstairs, she could just make out Luke's form striding in the direction of her house. Like a dousing with a bucket of icy water, the realization hit her that, on the off-chance that Christopher was home already, Luke beating her home could be a very bad thing. She wasn't exactly sure how Gigi would react either, if she woke up in the street, in the dark, with Luke carrying her.

Needless to say, Lorelai didn't linger at the diner's back door any longer. As quickly as she could, she made her way over to the Volvo, ducking Taylor's disapproving glare as she sped away from the square.

Luckily, the Jeep, which she'd traded to Chris at the pediatrician due to the Volvo having the only car seat, was still not in the driveway when she pulled up. Lorelai let out a quick sigh of relief before jumping out of the car and hurrying off in the direction Luke would be coming from.

She was nearly halfway back to the diner before she rounded a corner and caught sight of Luke. Thankfully, Gigi looked to still be asleep despite Luke shifting her uncomfortably in his arms.

A grimace crossing Luke's face as he once again hoisted Gigi higher on his torso jolted Lorelai into action from where she'd stood. Scampering up to the approaching pair, she apologized lamely, "Sorry about this. You didn't have to-"

"About what?" Luke replied flatly, a harsh whisper as he brushed past her. "It's fine."

"You, her," Lorelai stammered from where she'd been left behind, still refusing to believe that Luke could ever be 100 percent okay with anything having to do with Christopher. Regardless of him offering up doughnuts and board games, it had to be uncomfortable for him to be dealing with Gigi. And not just uncomfortable in the sense of lugging a 40 pound kid across Stars Hollow. Jogging up behind Luke, she reiterated, "This. It's weird."

Luke merely reiterated his own stance. "It's fine," he repeated.

"But it's weird," Lorelai insisted, determined to get Luke to appreciate how much she appreciated what he was doing.

"Fine," Luke sighed in exasperation, casting a weary look over Gigi's back at Lorelai. "If you say it's weird, then it's weird. I give up."

Taken aback by Luke's snide reply, Lorelai slowed momentarily. "Fine…" she echoed numbly. But determined to make her point, she once again picked up the pace and asserted, "I'm just saying you shouldn't have to-"

This time it was Luke who stopped in his tracks. With yet another sigh, he slowed his determined gait and turned around to face Lorelai. "I don't have to," he stressed, "I want to."

Out of reflex, Lorelai scoffed, "No, you don't."

Luke set his jaw and studied Lorelai intently for a moment before taking off without a word. Barely ten steps away, however, he whirled back around, hissing at Lorelai in disbelief, "You think I have a personal vendetta against a sleeping four year-old with chicken pox?"

"No, I just-" Lorelai spluttered, wide-eyed.

"Lorelai," Luke cut in, exasperated at first, but his tone and expression softened quickly. "Before…" He paused momentarily, as if to search for the best word, finally spitting out, "everything, you were a friend. You are still that." With as much of a shrug as he could manage with Gigi's head on his shoulder, he added, "You always will be. And if my friend's kid falls asleep on my couch, I'm gonna help her get the kid home."

Lorelai's mouth fell open, though she found herself closing it just as quickly, for she had no idea what to say to that. It was the first time she'd actually heard Luke articulate the fact that the two of them, were, finally, what he would consider friends. Moreover, how far he was willing to push himself into uncomfortable territory to hang on to that friends status was more than she had ever expected when she started going to see him for coffee once a week. A watery smile the most she was able to manage, Lorelai choked out a soft, "Thank you…"

Luke gave half a nod in return, the slightest hint of a grin toying with the corners of his mouth.

From there on, the trio made their way to Lorelai's house in what was arguably the least awkward silence they'd shared in a long, long time. Were she to go out on a limb, Lorelai might have even described it as something akin to amicable.

Still, as they approached the porch stairs and were faced with the prospect of Luke possibly having to enter the house, a decidedly unsettled air took over. Christopher probably wouldn't take well to Luke being there when he came home, that much Lorelai knew, and Luke probably wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to have to make an appearance in the home that was supposed to have been his either. So it really didn't matter what Lorelai's view of the situation was — not that she knew exactly what it was anyway.

Running up the steps ahead of Luke and Gigi, she pulled her keys from her purse, fumbling with them as she sought to hastily unlock the door. "Lemme just…" she trailed off, the explanation not really necessary.

Luke tipped his head in acknowledgement, waiting obediently on the porch as Lorelai ducked inside to shed her coat and shoes.

Lorelai appeared in the doorway and reached for Gigi, carefully plucking the sleeping girl from Luke's arms. "I got her," she assured Luke, who was less than well versed in the handling and transfers of small children. Situating Gigi in her own arms, Lorelai smiled gratefully at Luke, "Thank you."

"No problem," Luke replied as he reached out to ensure that the jacket draped over Gigi's shoulders was still secure. "No problem."

And without another word, he gave Lorelai a half-hearted smile and turned to leave.

Though Lorelai knew her arms wouldn't hold out all that long with Gigi draped over her upper body, not to mention the fact that it was less than warm outside, she lingered in the doorway. "Luke," she called out suddenly, causing him to pause at the bottom of the stairs expectantly. Of course, she had no idea what she'd meant to say when she'd let his name slip from her mouth. So she just spat out the truth. "Today was… nice," she finished stiltedly.

Luke looked down for a second, hooking his thumbs in his belt loops. When he finally lifted his face back up towards Lorelai, his smile was considerably wider. "Yeah, it was."

To be continued…

About the restaurant thing… This was written before there was a mention of Baby Melville (Belleville?) #3, so Sookie's still on her diaper countdown in my books.