After two days of hell that involved multiple meetings with Taylor about the availability of the town square a long list of rules that Luke would have to follow to make sure the party would be well organized and not in violation of any town ordinances, Luke finally got the green light to go ahead. He had to point out to Taylor several times that it was a surprise party and that he couldn't say anything to anyone until the time was right. After many discussions and debates, Taylor was finally convinced to keep it a secret.

During those two days, he was constantly on the phone either talking to Taylor or telling Rory about the progress of the "negotiations". A couple of times, Lorelai had walked into the diner during the calls and Luke had either had to hang up or start talking about shipments and orders that needed to be made.

Now, during one of those lulls, he is once more on the phone with Rory. "Yep, we're good to go. Have you come up with anything?" he asks her.

"Well, I've got a couple of ideas but we'll need help from someone in Stars Hollow. Why don't you ask Sookie to help too?"

"Do you really think she'll be able to keep it a secret from Lorelai? Because frankly, I don't think so."

"I know, she'll be too excited" she sighs acknowledging that Luke is right. "Every time she sees mom she'll start bouncing and giggling and mom will suspect something." She sighs again.

"Are you sure I can't help with whatever you need?" he tries again.

"Luke, believe me, some things need a woman's eye…"

"Damn!" he interrupts her.

"No need to be offended, Luke." Rory misinterprets.

"No, it's your mom. What is she doing here at this time?"

"Don't panic Luke, she'll think something is wrong."

At that moment, the door opens and in comes Lorelai. Seeing he is on the phone she waves at him and settles at the counter.

"Okay, good, I'll call you back," he says uneasily.

"What, no orders today? I'm disappointed," Lorelai teases him

"Uh yeah… bye." Luke hangs up the phone and plasters a smile on his face before turning to Lorelai.

"Hey," he says, leaning to place a kiss on her lips.

"Hello to you too! Another order?" she asks while gesturing to the phone.

"Nah, they just needed some clarification; they couldn't understand my writing," he tries to explain while busying his hands by filling a cup of coffee.

"Then why the need to call them back?" she asks insistently.

"Huh?" Luke is clearly confused

"When I walked in, you said you'll call them back," she says, beginning to look slightly worried.

"I did? Force of habit. So, what brings you here?" he tries, hoping to change the subject, but kicking himself about his choice of question.

"Slow day at the inn; nothing to do, so I thought I would come by and see you. Am I interrupting something?"

"What? Of course not!"

Seeing that they are alone in the diner, he moves to Lorelai's side, leaning on the counter next to her. He takes one of her hands in his, stroking her soft skin.

"It's good you're here; I could use some company until the lunch rush starts."

His soft caresses and his words make her soften and they stay there talking and making plans for the night till the lunch crowd starts coming in.

XXX

That same night, Luke is cooking dinner while waiting for Lorelai to come from the Dragonfly. They were supposed to spend the whole evening together, but an emergency call from Michel meant that Lorelai had to leave Luke and head over there. That's how he finds himself alone in the crap shack making dinner and waiting for her. He must admit it's nice to have some time to think without interruptions.

Rory had called earlier in the afternoon, telling him about some ideas she'd had. She wanted Luke's input on flowers and decorations, but he had requested more time to think about it, since he had no idea what the proper decorations were for a wedding shower. So, now that Lorelai has gone out, he reads the notes that he had taken while Rory was talking, trying to make some kind of decision. He doesn't want to leave it all to Rory, but he finds himself unable to decide whether lilies or daisies would fit better and whether the tables should be covered with tablecloths that match the colors of the flowers or not. Hearing the front door open, he quickly folds the paper and places it in his jeans pocket and returns back to cooking.

She enters the kitchen and plops down on a chair with a heavy sigh.

"What was it this time?" he asks while leaning on the kitchen counter.

"Can I kill him?" she asks.

"Uhm, no," he responds with a smile on his face.

"Can I at least fire him?" she counters.

"You need him," he tries to reason. "What happened?"

"You want to know the big emergency? Why he made me go there?" she asks, getting agitated again just recalling the incident.

"I'm all ears."

"Well, brace yourself for what's to come, because it was huge, an enormous event he couldn't deal with by himself, something that…"

"Lorelai," he cuts her off. "Point please."

"He saw a maid eat one mint out of the basket we use for our turn down service," she says while getting up, clearly irritated now.

Luke waits for more, but Lorelai just stands there looking at him.

"And?"

"That's it. He saw a maid eating a mint and wanted me to go all the way over there to tell her not to do it again!"

Trying to hide his laughter, he turns to check on the food, but Lorelai immediately sees it.

"Oh no, don't laugh, mister! He made me go all the way down there while I could have been here spending time with you!" she pouts, walking up to him and playing with the hair at the base of his neck.

He turns to her with a smile now evident on his face, hugging her tightly. "We still have all night."

XXX

Later, they are sitting cuddling on the couch while watching a movie as Lorelai requested. Luke had complied because she brought out the big weapons: the pout and the trauma of her earlier encounter with Michel.

Luke is sitting there playing with Lorelai's hair, but while his eyes may be on the screen his mind is drifting to party plans and flowers.

"Do you want to turn it off?" she asks, noticing his behavior.

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, for once you haven't complained about my constant comments, and when I talked to you, you didn't answer."

He's been caught, and he knows it, so he tries to cover up. "Maybe I fell asleep."

"But you kept playing with my hair," she pushes.

"Okay, you got me, I wasn't paying attention to the movie." he replies, hoping she won't ask why.

"Is something wrong?" The worry is evident on her face and it makes him feel terrible about having to lie to her.

"Just tired; nothing unusual." he says and leans in to place a kiss on her cheek. They stay like that, their faces just inches apart. Lorelai doesn't know why; maybe it's because of their current position, but when she speaks, she finds herself whispering.

"Do you want to turn it off?"

"Nah, you earned it, especially after dealing with Michel. But, I wouldn't object to a little break," he says with a glint on his eyes.

"Break huh?"

"Yep"

He is leaning closer towards her, if possible, and their foreheads are touching. They can feel each other's breath growing more and more rapid as they both expect the kiss that's to come. They are looking deeply into each other's eyes, smiling with the anticipation they both feel. Finally, Lorelai, not being able to hold out any longer, makes the first move and parts her lips, touching them to his. Luke smiles through it but when he feels Lorelai's tongue trailing along his lips, he eagerly complies.

After a while, Lorelai breaks the kiss, which leaves him panting for breath. When he moves to continue on from where they left off, she pulls back with a smile on her face.

"Nuh uh! The movie, mister!"

"But…" he tries to come up with something.

"Them's the rules, babe," she replies.

"Like we haven't already broken like ten of them," he grunts.

"Doesn't matter. Now shush and watch."

"Mean woman," he growls, but the smile on his face betrays him.

Not convinced by his excuses, Lorelai keeps her attention on him instead of the movie. And after a while, she sees it: the moment he stops paying attention to the movie and his mind drifts elsewhere.

She is worried because he still doesn't mention anything about April around her, but on the other hand, and as far as she knows, she hasn't visited her father since they came back from the trip.

So, the rest of the movie is spent like that: Luke trying to figure out the party plans and Lorelai watching him and worrying that he is closing himself off again.

XXX

Early the next morning, he receives a phone call in the diner that upsets him and makes him really antsy. He is waiting for it to be late enough that he can call Rory without the fear of waking her up.

When the phone rang in the diner, Luke was busy stocking the supplies in the storeroom and he almost tripped and fell on his way to answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Luke, hi!"

"Oh, hey, April. It's a little early to be calling; is everything alright?"

"Yeah everything is fine, just preparing to go to school, you know."

"Right, so how are you? I haven't had the chance to talk to you since we came back."

"Good, busy at school, but good. Listen, do you remember a conversation we had on the trip?"

Luke tries to remember but comes up empty. April catches on his silence so she goes on.

"About my birthday," she specifies.

"Oh yeah, now I remember. Next week?"

"Yes. So, are we doing it there or not?"

With all that was happening with Lorelai, he had completely forgotten about the birthday party he was supposed to organize.

"Of course we'll have it here."

And that's how he finds himself in this situation: having to organize two parties in one week.

He can't take it anymore; he doesn't care if Rory is still sleeping or not, the diner is empty now and he needs someone to hear him vent.

"Morning, Luke" she replies with the second ring.

"Hi, Rory. Did I wake you?" he asks cautiously. He knows how a sleepy Gilmore girl must be treated.

"No, I was on my way to class. Tell me, have you decided on anything?"

"Ah about that…" he starts. "We have a problem."

"What kind of problem?" she asks, her tone changing. She is defensive and ready to blame him if she senses that he is backing down.

"I forgot about April's birthday, and it's in one week. So, while we were on the trip she asked me to organize her party this year, since her mother can't do it. And guess what? She wants it to be held here in the diner; something about it being different to all the other parties she's been to. But, Rory, I can't organize two parties in one week!" He is in ranting mode and he is pacing the floor, going from one end of the counter to the other. "I have no idea about party stuff! When it comes to Lorelai, I might manage, since I know what she likes and I could come up with something that won't totally suck, but April? What do I know about parties for teenage girls? Nothing, that's what! I'm going to need your mother's help for that party, but I can't have her around too much or she'll get suspicious about her party!" He takes a deep breath, ready to continue, but when he hears Rory giggle from the other end of the phone he stops.

"Please tell me what you find so funny about this situation," he demands.

"The situation's, not funny - you freaking out and ranting, that's so funny," she continues to giggle.

"I'm glad that one of us is having fun," he grumbles.

"Aw, sorry, Luke, but you should have listened to yourself."

"Any solution you might have?" he asks, trying to make her focus on what matters.

Sobering up, Rory responds. "Actually, I think April's party is a great opportunity for you."

"It is?"

"Yep. You just said so yourself; you need mom's help to organize it."

There was silence on Luke's end.

"Oh boy, do you need me to spell it out for you? April, mom getting to know each other, and you showing her that you trust her around your daughter? Connecting the dots here? That you're willing to let her help with April."

Again silence on Luke's end.

"Please tell me you were listening?"

"Yeah I was. I'm just surprised I didn't make the connection myself."

"At the first show of trouble, you panic. You were scared that something might go wrong again."

"Thanks, Dr Phil," he tries to joke with her.

"So, panic attack over?"

"Almost. Just one more thing; I still don't think I can organize two parties."

"So, we cancel the wedding shower," she says with certainty. "Mom will be far more thrilled to help with April's party, than attending her own. "

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I'm sure, and you should be too. Mom doesn't care that much about the big gestures, she just wants to know that you trust her and you are willing to include her."

Luke is now convinced, and relieved that he only has one party to plan.

"Okay, but I'm still setting a wedding date, and I'm not backing out of this one."

"Good, that one she'll really appreciate. And…"

Luke abruptly cuts her off since Lorelai is just entering the diner. "Uh okay, thanks. Bye!"

Of course, Lorelai notices that once again when she enters the diner he immediately ends whatever conversation he has over the phone, but this time she doesn't say anything.

XXX

Later, when she goes back to the Dragonfly, she heads straight to the kitchen and ignoring Michel's protests.

"Did I forgive Luke too easily?" she asks Sookie the moment she sees her.

"Huh? Where did that come from?" Sookie asks, bewildered.

Lorelai sighs and sits down on a stool. "Almost every time I step foot in the diner, I find him talking on the phone; and before you say he's making business calls, he hangs up when he notices I'm there. Especially today - he couldn't hang up fast enough!"

"Aw sweetie, I bet it's nothing and you are overreacting," Sookie tries to reason with her.

"Am I, Sookie? Let's see…" Lorelai is getting aggravated and starts listing all the things that Luke has done over the past few months.

"First, he hides the fact that he has a daughter for TWO months, then -after I accidentally find out- he still doesn't introduce us and starts leading a separate life with her, bonding and going away on trips! He comes back, hears my drunken speech, we fight; don't have the time to talk for two days, and when we finally do talk, I forgive him and we make up," she finishes.

"Yes, but you forget the part where he took care of you after your drunken speech. He brought you meals every day and made sure you were okay. And what about the bracelet? He bought it when he supposedly didn't care! Lorelai the guy worships you! Yes, sometimes he closes himself off, but you have to make him open up. Don't let him get stuck in his own mind for too long," her friend advises.

"Okay, I get that, but it still doesn't explain the phone calls and the whole hanging up when he sees me," Lorelai says, gesturing wildly to make her point.

Sookie growls before she gives her answer this time. "What did I tell you just now about TALKING?" she emphasizes.

"Sure, yeah, I should go in there and ask him straight up," Lorelai says, sounding unconvinced.

"That's what I've been telling you all this time," Sookie says, losing her patience with her friend.

"And what if the phone calls are indeed diner related and there is no hidden agenda?"

Silence on both ends after this question.

"See, not that easy now, is it?" Lorelai says.

XXX

Later that afternoon, she leaves the inn with practically no work done, since her mind kept wandering to Luke and to what he might be hiding. She decides to head to the diner for an early dinner and the chance to talk with Luke, and maybe broach the subject of the phone calls.

Once the diner is in view, she can clearly see him behind the counter, again talking on the phone and smiling. She doesn't have to think about it twice, she quickly turns around and heads home.

XXX

That same night, when the diner is finally closed, Luke heads back to their place. The first thing he notices is that Lorelai's jeep isn't in its usual spot; then, the darkened house. The door is locked, another sign of Lorelai's absence.

"Lorelai?" he calls, but he doesn't expect any answer.

XXX

Rory gets back to her apartment after an exhausting day spent on classes and the Yale newspaper. What she finds when she opens the door, is something she doesn't expect.

"Mom what are you doing here?"

tbc