A/N: Hello everyone and thank you so much for your reviews, follows and favorites! They make my day every time, so keep them coming!

Once again, and this time for the last time, a big hand to my Beta GMWJavaJunkie, who has a real life (imagine what that would be like) and is because of that unable to help me for now on.

Disclaimer: As much as I enjoy playing with the characters, that's all I'm doing. Playing. So they're not mine.

Water bottles and One Gorgeous Woman

"I hate these giant water jugs", Lorelai grumbled.

"I think this rolls pretty well", Rory said as she gave the bottle a firm push and it rolled couple yards forward.

"It's not the rolling, it's the lifting. I'm not Karyn Marshall."

"I don't think you need to be Karyn Marshall to pick it up."

Lorelai stopped pushing the jug and turned to look at her daughter. "Have you tried to pick this up?"

"No"

"There you have it then."

"Let's just ask Morey, he's done it before", Rory said.

"He's not home. He and Babette left to go snorkelling two days ago."

"Babette went snorkelling?"

"Yeah. She said she's never done it and what better time than the present. If I'd live with 'what's better time than the present mentality, I'd have nothing done."

"You do live that way mommy," Rory pointed out.

Lorelai smirked. "Oh, darling daughter of mine, there's a lot I have not done because there's a mini me in my life", she said and sat on the stairs, sighing. "So, any other ideas for someone with enough physical strength to lift up the water jug?"

Rory shrugged. "Luke."

Oh, right, Lorelai thought. Why hadn't I come up with that? Luke could lift the water jug. She could just call him... No, go to the diner and ask if he had time to come and help her with something. The sooner the better. Today. Right now.

#####

"Hey, Burger Boy!" Lorelai shouted as she and Rory stepped through the doors of the diner. Behind the counter though was only Caesar, who looked up and blushed slightly.

"Hey, Lorelai", he greeted. "Rory", he added as he noticed the other Gilmore.

"Is the man behind the curtain?" Lorelai quipped.

"What? Oh, you mean Luke. Yeah. I mean no."

"Which is it?"

"He's in the storage."

Lorelai thanked him and went straight to the storage. She knew that Caesar wouldn't stop her. He seemed to lose words when Lorelai was around. Cute little boy. He was so lucky that Luke had picked him up after he had finished his school.

Luke, however, wasn't so happy to find Lorelai stepping into the storage.

"Out", he said the moment he saw her.

"But I -"

"Out."

"I'm not even touching anything."

"Keep walking", he said and steered her out of the back room.

"Why are being so secretive? You have a Fabergé Eggs in there?"

Luke frowned at her as he shooed her to the diner. "The insurance company doesn't pay anything that happens to you in the storage", he scowled at Caesar, who quickly escaped to the kitchen. "So, coffee?"

"Yes, please, and a pair of strong arms."

Luke took two cups, poured coffee into one and mixed Rory's drink. "Where do you need strong arms?"

"Oh, you know, lifting me heroically to the horseback before galloping to the sunset with me", Lorelai said and batted her eyelashes.

When she was acting like that, there was no way to communicate with her. So Luke turned to Rory, who smiled at his eye-roll.

"We need someone to change the water jug", she said.

"Oh, okay, I can do that."

"Yeah?" Lorelai asked, getting more serious now that she had had her coffee.

"Sure. Tonight?"

"Tonight?" Lorelai was surprised. She wasn't expecting him to come so soon. "Er. Sure. Tonight. At six?"

#####

Luke rang the doorbell. But after he heard a few yelps behind the door he swung it open. Lorelai stood on the other side. She flashed a glorious smile when she saw Luke.

"Hey, Luke! Good, you're here! You're a man, right?"

She stepped aside to let Luke in.

"Last time I checked", he answered

"Tell me, what do you, as a man, think of this outfit?"

She was wearing a night blue dress with a few sparkles like stars in the sky. The dress left her knees uncovered and it had spaghetti straps. She was also wearing black shoes with about three inches heels and her hair was in loose curls. Luke tensed his jaw.

"Hm", he said and turned his eyes away before he'd say or, worse, do something he hadn't thought through.

"Hm?" she repeated, eyebrows up. "Rory!" she shouted over her shoulder, making Luke jump. "Luke said 'hm'!"

"It's Luke!" Rory shouted, "What were you expecting?"

"Good point!" Lorelai shouted back like Luke wasn't there at all. Then she turned back to him and flashed her brightest smile.

"So", she said. "What does 'hm' mean?"

"Lorelai..."

"I'm serious! Was it a good or a bad 'hm'? Was it like 'hm, could be worse' or like 'hm, couldn't care less'? Just please don't tell me that it's 'I don't know what to say without hurting her feelings so I'll just say 'hm''."

"I don't recall you calling me here to ask me how you look", Luke said drily to change the subject.

"No, I called you to change the water jug. Were dying of thirst in here", she flipped her hair and Luke's stomach did a somersault. He walked past her to the kitchen and Lorelai followed him.

"So, the 'hm'? Because I still have half an hour time to change if this dress is worth just a 'hm'."

"Lorelai, do you really need someone to tell you that you look gorgeous? Because I really don't think you need any boosting up. You could wear... I don't know, my clothes, and everyone would still turn to look after you. Why do you need me to tell you?"

Lorelai looked at him a bit surprised of the volume his words came out with, but also of the words themselves.

"You think I'm gorgeous?"

"I'm not going to say it again."

"You think I'm gorgeous", Lorelai repeated, tease in her voice. "Rory! Luke thinks I'm gorgeous!"

"I heard!" Rory answered. "And I think Babette heard it as well!"

"Oh, gees", Luke muttered.

The doorbell rang. Lorelai jumped.

"He's early!" she said. "Damn those men, they never learn that when I say six thirty, what I really mean is six forty-five the earliest!" while speaking, she grabbed Luke by arm and pulled him after her. He had just enough time to close the tap before Lorelai lead him into Rory's door, opened it, pushed him in and closed the door. Luke, too stunned to react, watched as Rory tiptoed to the door and opened it couple of inches. Both of them listened as Lorelai walked to the door and opened it.

"Heey", she said cheerfully. "Is it six thirty already?"

"I'm actually a bit early", a low voice said. "Are you ready?"

"Mostly", Lorelai said. "Just give me a minute."

She approached the kitchen and Rory pushed the door almost close, but pressed her ear against the door. Luke raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

"Rory", Lorelai whispered. "Rory, I know you're listening."

Looking guilty, Rory opened the door.

Lorelai smiled at her and then looked at Luke. "Sorry, I thought I had time to help you with the jug."

Luke, who thought that there was no way Lorelai had had any plans of helping him, especially looking like that, only shrugged.

"I can manage on my own."

"Rory can help you."

"I don't need help."

"She can hand you stuff."

"Isn't your date waiting for you?" Luke asked roughly. Lorelai looked at him for a good five seconds like she didn't know what he was talking about. Then her eyes grew larger.

"Oh!"

As she rushed back to the door, Rory turned and rushed across the room and leaned as close to the window as she could. Not really knowing why, Luke followed her and looked as Lorelai, now having a light jacket over her shoulders, walked to the car with a tall and blond man. The man opened her the door.

"Are you -?" Luke started, but Rory shushed at him. They watched as the car drove off. Then Rory turned from the window and sat back at the table. Luke cleared his throat and Rory turned to look at him.

"Are you spying on your mother?" he asked.

"No", Rory said.

"Looked like it."

"In spying there's an assumption that the target doesn't know they're being watched."

Luke shook his head before leaving Rory in her room and going to do his task.

#####

After changing the water bottle Luke washed his hands and noticed that the door of the closet under the sink didn't close completely. He kneeled to watch the hinges and noticed one of the screws was a bit loose. He stood and went to collect his toolbox from the truck, saw the wall coat rack was on the floor, leaning against the wall. He thought that he could put it on the wall while he was there. It was a small job, it wouldn't take more than five, ten minutes. So he took his toolbox and knocked on Rory's door.

"Do you have an extension cord?" he asked.

"Sure", Rory said, jumped down from her chair and went to the closet next to the stairs. She opened it. The first thing Luke noticed was that it was almost empty. It was probably because the girls had lived in the house for such a short time that they hadn't had time to collect unnecessary things to their closets. But the lack of stuff was a painful reminder to Luke about the financial situation of Gilmores. While Rory looked for the extension cord, Luke looked around the closet. He noticed the small marks on the side of the closet. He leaned closer. They were Rory's height in different ages, starting from one year and four months and ending in twelve years.

"How do you have these things in here?" he couldn't help asking. "You've lived here less than a year."

"Mom wrote them down before we moved, so she could move them in here. She said it'd make the house more homey."

Luke could only appreciate the imagination of Lorelai. Who else would do something like that?

"Where do you need the cord?" Rory asked suddenly. "I don't think lifting a water bottle needs anything more than muscles."

"I thought to put that coat rack on the wall."

Rory looked from the rack to Luke and bit her lower lip. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

Then again, it was a stupid question.

"I think mom would ask if she needed help", Rory shrugged. "At least you shouldn't do it without asking her first."

"Okay", Luke agreed. "I won't put the rack there today." But another day he would.

Rory smiled. "You want something to drink?" she asked.

"Sure."

Rory went to the fridge and opened it. "Hmm. We have orange juice", she picked up the carton and shook it. "Oh, no. We don't", she put the apparently empty carton back to the fridge. "Milk? No, there's just enough for coffee tomorrow", she opened the freezer. "Ooh, we have ice-cream! I wonder what's wrong with it", she looked at the package with a frown.

Luke, who felt uncomfortable after seeing how empty their fridge looked, spoke up. "How about water", he said. "I know you have water, I just changed the water bottle."

Rory closed the fridge door and looked a bit ashamed. "I would've wanted to offer you something better."

"Water's fine", Luke said.

"We do have coffee", Rory remembered.

"I don't drink coffee."

Rory looked surprised. Then she laughed a bit. "Don't let Mom know that."

#####

Luke had used more time to think about the Gilmore situation than what was healthy. The house was practically falling apart. And since Lorelai was stubbornly independent and would never ask for help, Luke needed a plan to help them anyway.

When Rory came in the following Monday, Luke gave her her drink and bent closer.

"When's your mother's birthday?"