Though the windows were open, allowing a pleasant early evening breeze into the room, the atmosphere in Luke's apartment was stifling. Lorelai stood by the door, wishing she was anywhere else. Luke however, was taking charge of the situation, and while crossing the floor to the kitchen, he pointed to the couch and commanded, "Sit."

She had seen him in this mood often enough to know that it was in her best interest to do as told. She waited there, stealing a glance at his back to see what he was doing. It surprised her when he turned and delivered a mug of coffee into her hands. She took a cautious sip and lifted her eyes to him, still standing over her. "Thank you," she spoke softly, afraid to say any more.

"Why? Why do you always do this to me? What did I do to deserve this?"

Her heart lurched at his words, and suddenly she understood his point of view; why he had been so angry when he came to her house; why he had called; why he had pushed her to talk as soon as she came back to town. She locked her gaze on her cup, no longer able to look at him. "This is a big deal," she replied, her tone still barely more than a whisper.

"You think I don't know that? But you don't see me running away and avoiding the issue!" He hadn't moved from his position, his arms crossed over his chest, hands tucked in securely.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to do that to you. I just have so much going on right now..."

"Don't make excuses Lorelai! I don't want to hear it."

She looked up at him, a glimmer of defiance shining in her eyes. "It's not an excuse Luke! Do you have any idea what's happened in the last two weeks? The timing couldn't have been worse. I couldn't deal with it."

"Is it ever going to be good timing? There's always something to use as an excuse. But I took the chance, and I don't care how bad the timing is, because I'm not going to wait any longer."

"What does that mean?"

"It means we are not leaving this room until we figure this out."

She turned her head away from him, letting her eyes wander over the various objects on display. The life jacket hanging by the door; the bookcase filled with old trophies and framed photos; the now unoccupied single bed that once belonged to Jess. She realised that there was so much she didn't know about him. This place was filled with memories, and she wanted to learn them more than anything.

She inhaled deeply, preparing to continue the conversation, knowing what her first question had to be. "Why now Luke? What changed for you to want this now?"

He crossed in front of her to sit at the opposite end of the couch, his body turned towards her. "I got tired of waiting. You have no idea how long I've wanted this."

Lorelai closed her eyes against those words, leaning forward and covering her face with her hands for a moment. She hadn't been prepared for that. "Do you have any idea how much pressure that is?"

"Why does there have to be pressure? It should be easy," he stated calmly, knowing that the more worked up he got, the more freaked out she would become.

"Have you thought about this at all? Have you considered the consequences if it doesn't work?"

"Believe me, I've put enough thought into this for the both of us. I don't care about the consequences right now, because if I did, I wouldn't be here fighting for what I want."

She turned her face to him, staring at him silently for a second. "Why me Luke? You know me better than my kid sometimes, but you still want this? I thought I drove you crazy!"

A smile appeared on his lips briefly. "In more ways than one," he responded, "I just know that I need you in my life."

"Stop it!" she exclaimed, suddenly leaping from the couch to pace the floor.

"Why?"

"Because I can't handle this right now. Because I still don't know if we're doing the right thing. Because Rory has her own seriously major problems, and I have to be her mother and help her through it, and I don't know how to fix it this time, because it's not something I can make go away with a few loud sentences, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do to make it better, and the inn is open, and my ex-boyfriend seems to have turned into stalker-from-hell, and my parents might be getting divorced and I don't know what to do about it, and I feel like my whole life has turned into a five thousand piece puzzle, only none of the damn pieces seem to fit!" As each word came out of her mouth, she tensed a little more, another tear filled her eyes, forcing the ones before it to spill over her cheeks. Luke stood, listening intently as he moved towards her. He watched her in silence, his face filled with nothing more than tender concern.

"You should have told me," he reprimanded her gently.

"And you," she continued as if he'd said nothing, "here you are being Mr Perfect, and I want this more than anything, but I'm afraid. I keep thinking..."

"Don't think about it. What do you feel?" He was standing so close, she could feel the heat from his skin warming her own. She licked her suddenly dry lips, nerves rattling as his hand made contact with her cheek.

"I feel..." she attempted, but the look in his eyes distracted her and she had to close her own to concentrate on what she had wanted to say. "I feel..." she tried again, but she was cut off, his lips pressed against her own, tasting her, enveloping her.

She let him take control, let him possess her. She felt the tingles of desire as his free hand made contact at her waist before sliding across her back and up into her hair. God that felt good. Safe, cradled in his strong arms.

With Luke holding her this way, she knew there was no way she could ever lose her balance. There was no way she could fear sharing herself with him. The only falling Lorelai would be doing from this moment on, was for Luke.

---

TBC

Please please review! It took me so long to finally get this scene into some sense and on the page. It's been fractured and rattling around in my head since I began this story, so it feels great to finally have it all down on paper!