I apologize for the delay of this chapter, but life sometimes gets in the way. As always, I appreciate any feedback and thank you all for the many positive comments I have received that have encouraged me to finish this.

Ch. 10: Present, Past and Future

Lorelai was not used to sleeping next to a man, but she knew it was something she could easily enjoy on a regular basis. She looked over at the alarm clock and noted it was nearly 3 a.m. Luke's body was still warm next to hers, probably from her blood inside him. That thought really turned her on. As he continued to make light snoring sounds, she examined his tanned and muscular arms. She thought the faint blue patterns looked almost like light tattoos, and she wondered if they meant anything. She made a mental note to ask him later about them. As her hand moved along Luke's chest, he began to stir.

"Huh," Luke said, opening his eyes and turning toward Lorelai.

"I was just thinking about what it's like to sleep next to someone," she said, kissing him. "It doesn't suck."

Instead of responding verbally, Luke kissed her back and pulled her closer.

"Did I tell you that no man has ever slept here before the other night?"

"No, you didn't. Really?" Luke stroked her arm lightly with his fingers and tried to comprehend what she just confessed. "So why was I the exception to the rule?"

"I don't know," she replied. "It just seemed right. Plus, have I mentioned you have a tiny bed?"

"I think you might have mentioned it a few times."

"Anyway, I want to be near you all the time and I don't know why. Is that normal? Is that what happens with this biting thing? Am I under a spell of some kind?"

Luke sat up. He could feel a very uncomfortable conversation starting.

"Well," Luke began. "It's different for everyone. I do know that the stronger feelings a person has for someone, the more passionate they become…and that works both ways."

"You mean, if you really like the person, you are even more attracted to them after you do the Carrie Osculum--"

"The Caerimonia Osculur. Just call it The Kiss. It makes things easier and you don't have to manage Latin."

"I took Latin in high school, but the only thing I remember is Da mihi sis cerevisiam dilutam, or I'll have a light beer."

Luke laughed and began to lightly rub his hand along Lorelai's leg.

"I can tell you that I was already incredibly attracted to you before The Kiss. Afterwards, I just wanted to get you into bed and keep you there for a week. Unfortunately, I think people would have noticed."

Lorelai laughed in agreement and pulled him closer for another kiss.

"Yeah, I think you're right." she replied. "But I think I know what you mean. You were definitely intriguing to me before we met because you are such a mystery to everyone in town. You know: part hermit, part hottie. I thought you were cute when I first saw you up close, but when I saw you in the city that night all dressed up and you kissed me, I was addicted. I thought you might be serious trouble, and I'm not sure I've done a total reversal on that yet--"

"Have I been trouble?" Luke asked as his hand had moved to make circles on her stomach and Lorelai's breath caught for a second. It always amused and intrigued him to hear what others thought about him. Although he could read people's thoughts, he enjoyed Lorelai's candor.

"A little bit," she replied, looking away for a second. "It's hard keeping secrets and hiding all this from Rory. She knows something's up. Then I had to ask my mother to let Rory stay with her for the night. I haven't asked my mother for a favor since I needed money to buy a pair of maternity pants when I was too fat to wear my jeans."

Luke was taken aback by Lorelai's honesty about her mother, but he was moved by her sacrifices to be with him. He often only thought of his burdens, but never considered the burdens she could face to be with him.

"I'm sorry," Luke said as he kissed Lorelai on the temple. "If you want our relationship to come out, I'm okay with that, but you cannot tell Rory I'm a vampire. I shouldn't have even told you."

"You're right. She doesn't have to know about that, but I think I do have to tell her we are seeing each other. I don't think I can keep you a secret for much longer. Hey, what would have happened if you hadn't told me? How do you bite people without their knowledge?"

"It's pretty easy, actually," he said as hand now traveled along her sides lightly. "Once a red blood allows a Blue Blood like me to get close to her, she gives permission. Blue Bloods choose their familiars very carefully, and do not take the Kiss lightly. We choose people who both appeal to us as well as people we can trust. Most vampires have a prior relationship with a familiar because you don't want to create a bond to someone you don't really like. That's why I'm usually very particular in who I choose and keep it out of Stars Hollow. Besides you, I've only ever bitten one person in town since I graduated from high school."

"Who was it?"

"I can't say. It's too embarrassing."

"Babette? Miss Patty?"

"No."

"Come on, Luke. You can tell me. It can't be that bad. I'm sure she was very cute."

"It was Kirk."

"Kirk? 'Lives with his mother and wants to be you' Kirk?"

"Yes. Why do you think he wants to be me? Wait, That's one of those questions I don't really want an answer to. I was really desperate one night and Kirk was the only person around. He was very cooperative and now I can't get rid of him."

Lorelai began to laugh hysterically.

"That explains so much--" Lorelai said between her laughs as she got on top of Luke and used her legs to pin Luke's arms down. "You have to tell me what happened or I'm not letting you up."

In a flash, using what Lorelai could only describe as amazing strength, they had switched places on the bed with Luke using his body to pin Lorelai down.

"Do you really want to hear this story?" Luke asked as he began to plant kisses down Lorelai's neck toward her chest. "It's not really the best foreplay."

"I don't care," Lorelai said in the form of a moan. "I have to know this story."

"Well," Luke said as he removed his lips from Lorelai's chest and rolled off of her. "This was about four years ago. My girlfriend and I had just broken up, and she was my only familiar at the time. I was lonely and depressed and I had stopped feeding. Unfortunately, my condition sometimes requires me to feed more than other Blue Bloods because my human side and my vampire side are constantly in flux. I had been so busy with the diner just opening and under a lot of stress and was starting to weaken. I hadn't found anyone new yet, so I got desperate."

"I can't believe you drank Kirk's blood. I feel kind of sorry for you. I mean…Kirk? Desperate doesn't even begin to cover it."

"Not half as sorry as I felt for myself," Luke said with a laugh. "Kirk was hanging out in the diner, hoping I would give him a job, and I asked if he would do me a favor. Unfortunately, he said yes. Let's just say the world of Kirk is something I will always carry around inside me and it a very scary place."

"I can't even imagine what that is like," Lorelai responded as she put her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. "So, you and Kirk, huh? Should I be jealous? Does he have something I don't?"

"A few things and I don't want any of them. It's bad I can't get him out of my diner most days, because I'm forced to relive in my mind the many, many nights he gave his mother pedicures."

"I'm sorry I brought it up," Lorelai said as her lips found his. "Let's think about more pleasant things."

Lorelai found the spot on Luke's neck that she had bitten the night before. She noticed it had already healed over. She began to kiss and suck on it again and Luke tensed up.

"Luke," Lorelai said as her voice lowered. "Did you like it when I bit you last night?"

"Yes," he replied as his breath caught because she had returned to the spot. "I liked it a lot."

"I know you can't bite me for a few days, but would you like me to do it again?"

"Yes," his breath was barely a whisper. "But don't break the skin. If you do, I don't think I could control myself."

"Okay," she said without removing her mouth from the spot, then began to apply more pressure and use her teeth. When Luke finally pulled away from her, the spot was a bright red.

"That's a good one," she remarked as her lips found Luke's and he pulled her on top of him. "Now let's see what you have for me."

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"Luke," Lorelai said as she put her head on his chest, feeling her breath finally start to return to normal. "Tell me another story. I think I deserve one after that."

"Okay, what do you want to hear? I have to warn you I'm not much of a storyteller, and no more Kirk stories."

"Tell me a love story," Lorelai said as she pulled a t-shirt over her naked body and rearranged the bed sheets to cover them both.

"I don't know many of those," he responded as he began to absently play with the end of the sheets.

"Tell me the story of your parents." Lorelai moved closer to him to rest her head on his chest.

"I already told you that."

"No, you didn't. You told me how they met. Tell me about them. I want to hear their love story. I know you know it."

"How do you know I know it?" he said, pulling up so her head dropped back onto the pillow.

"I don't know why I do, but I feel it," she said as her head returned to its previous position.

"I do. For some reason, Liz and I retain many of our mother's thoughts and memories from this life and her previous ones. It made history a breeze in high school. Okay, you really want to hear this? It doesn't have a happy ending."

"No real love story has a happy ending, Luke. There's no such thing as happily ever after unless you're dead."

Lorelai lifted her head to kiss Luke, hoping it would give him the incentive to give her what she was asking for.

"All right, but just remember you've been warned."

"It can't be that bad a story, Luke. You were a product of that story."

Luke smiled and kissed Lorelai again, then started to speak.

The first winter my father spent in New York City, he was 19 and homesick, but my grandfather insisted he stay and work. He needed the money, and my dad's family was never particularly religious, so he did as he was told. When he wasn't attending Columbia, he was working construction. When he wasn't working construction, he worked part-time for a catering company as a waiter.

Dad really hated working parties because he felt so out of place at them. He didn't enjoy being treated like the gum on the bottom of someone's shoe, but the pay was good. Most of these parties were hosted by Blue Bloods, but my dad didn't know that, of course. My dad didn't even know what a Blue Blood was. They were just stuck-up rich people with money to burn.

My parents met at a Christmas charity ball, where all the guests had to wear red, green or white. My dad was a waiter and wore all black. Usually he served food at these events, but about halfway through the party he was pulled to cover the bar. Another interesting trait about Blue Bloods is that alcohol has almost no effect on them, so they drink a lot. At this particular event, a young Blue Blood named Charlotte Carver had gotten into a fight with her mate. His name was Sam Fuller and they had been bonded in one lifetime or another for over 1,000 years. The mosaics of veins in our arms help Blue Bloods identify their mates in the next life. My mother's matched Sam Fuller's. Since I'm a new soul, I don't think anyone has marks that match mine. Anyway, she decided to get back at him by taking up with the first Red Blood she could find. That Red Blood was my father.

She went to the bar to attempt to drown her sorrows, but she once told me she liked the look of the bartender instead. She always said there was something about his eyes, how kind they were. They drew her to him. After she drank about seven martinis, Dad refused to serve her any more, so she asked him to escort her home. My dad didn't have a car, so he offered to walk her the 30 blocks home even though he knew he would lose his job for it. Dad always said he fell in love with my mother the first time he saw her. He said she looked very beautiful that night in a white dress, like an angel. He said, however, she seemed very down-to-earth, sweet, yet very sad. He thought she was a prisoner of her circumstances.

They never made it to her very nice apartment on the Upper East Side, but somehow ended up in his tiny studio apartment in Morningside Heights. My mother and father became lovers that night, and then my mother took him as her familiar. He didn't remember that part. He just knew he was madly in love with her. The thing that neither of them was expecting was that she fell in love with him as well.

Before they had met, my mother had several familiars, but as she continued to see my father, she slowly began to see less and less of them until she only was seeing my father. My father was so in love with my mother, he could barely concentrate on school. Somehow, he survived the semester with his grade point intact. My father knew she was involved with someone, but he still did not know the truth about Mom, although he had asked her to marry him about seven times. My mother's relationship with her mate began to significantly deteriorate as well. They could not stop fighting until she finally decided to break her bond with him.

This was especially dangerous because no vampire had ever broken the bonds of union before. Charlotte Carver and Sam Fuller had been bound for three years in this lifetime. Before that, they had been joined in multiple past lives, including crossing the Atlantic on the Mayflower. They had always found each other and worked together to keep the interests of Blue Bloods safe from others. Sam did not believe her at first and just thought she was going through some weird infatuation with a Red Blood, as would happen occasionally. He knew she was serious when she and my father went up to Maine and married in a church, thus pledging her union before God and fully breaking her bond to her vampire mate.

Before my parents married, my mother had to tell my father the truth, so he could make the choice for himself. My parents had been seeing each other more than a year. My father had been her only familiar for eight months, but he still had never figured out why he was so tired or why the red marks on his neck never seemed to go away. In his tiny apartment while they were lying in bed, my father proposed again. Instead of just laughing as she normally did, she said she would marry him, but first he had to know the truth and decide for himself if he could really be a part of her life.

He took the truth in pretty much the way you did, except without the passing out. Then my dad told her, he wouldn't have cared if she was a space alien, that he would love her until the day he died and still wanted to marry her as soon as possible. The first night of my father's spring break from school, they left for Maine to be married, which they were five days later in a church in Kittery. When they returned, my mother was all but banished from everyone she knew and loved. Things were very hard for them at first as her family attempted to cut her off financially as well, but her conduit had set up a trust solely in her name that no one else could touch. They were able to move into a much nicer brownstone near Columbia. My parents were pretty happy together for their first year of marriage. My dad finished his second year of college, and my mother began to build a new life for herself. Things changed again when my mom discovered she was pregnant, as that was something that was supposed to be impossible and had never happened to a Blue Blood. She immediately ran away to Maine without telling anyone. It took Dad two months to find her. He was incredibly happy about the baby and convinced her it was going to be all right. They spent the remainder of the summer in Maine, but Dad had to return to New York for his junior year at Columbia. Dad told me she was so scared about not only having a child but what the others would do to her or to their baby. Each weekend, he would drive to Kittery to be with her until early Monday morning when he would go back to school. This continued until November 1, when he forced her to return to New York to give birth because he was afraid she would go into labor and while alone in the middle of nowhere.

My mother stayed hidden in their home until she went into labor with me a few weeks later. Word of my birth spread quickly and my mother was called before the coven. Many members of the coven wanted to have me destroyed immediately. Apparently, I was an abomination to both worlds and should not have existed. Fortunately, my mother was able to argue for my life, but had to promise to raise me within the coven if I began to exhibit any Blue Blood traits. Eleven months later, my mother was pregnant again with my sister. My parents kept it a secret as long as they could, but she was called before the coven again. My parents knew their family would be at risk if they stayed in New York, so they decided to move back to his home in Stars Hollow, which was far enough away from New York to stay out of danger, but close enough to retain the promise my mother had made. Once Dad finished school and Liz was born, my parents packed us up and moved to Stars Hollow. We moved into our house and Dad began working construction to get the money together to buy the land and build the hardware store. He refused to use my mother's money, insisting it be put into a trust for me and my sister.

When I was a child, my mother would often call me "her little miracle." I thought this was crazy. What was so miraculous about me? I couldn't do anything special. Liz still bugged me constantly. I still had chores to do and Dad still made me work in the hardware store, but whenever I came into the room, her face would automatically light up with a smile. She made me feel special every second I knew her, and we were very happy in Stars Hollow. The hardware store was successful, everyone in Stars Hollow loved my Mom, but it all changed swiftly.

When I was 12, there was a change in leadership of the coven, and Sam Fuller took leadership. His first order of business was to call my mother to New York. He wanted to have Liz and me destroyed, and had gained support this time. The coven was still angry at my mother for leaving and forced her to choose between her life and ours. She chose to leave this life as she could not bear to see her children destroyed. She knew if we began to exhibit vampire traits, the coven would have to accept us and if we did not, they would leave us alone, so she left us.

That night, she came into my bedroom, kissed me on the forehead and said she would see me again soon. After she left my room, I never saw her again. The next morning, my dad said there had been an accident and Mom was gone. Afterwards, my dad was never the same. He took care of us as best he could, but he never smiled in the same way again. He threw all of his energy into the store and into us kids. When the time came and I started acting weird and the blue marks appeared, he followed my mother's bargain and took me to New York to join the coven, where I learned the ins and outs of being a vampire. I also learned what had really happened to my mother. I have never really gotten over losing her, and I hope she comes back to this world before my time here ends.

When Luke stopped speaking, Lorelai looked up and noticed the tears in his eyes. She put her arms around him and kissed the tears from his face before finding his lips and kissing him. Luke returned the kiss before she pulled his head to her chest so he could hear the steady beat of her heart. It only took a few more minutes before both had fallen asleep again.

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Lorelai could not believe she was 30 minutes late to pick up Rory, but after she and Luke had fallen asleep, they both had slept through the alarm even though Luke had sworn he didn't need one to wake up. When she pulled out of her stupor, she noticed it was already 8:45.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Lorelai stammered as she ran around her room looking for clothes to wear. "My mother is going to kill me and she might have already sold Rory to another family. I'm never going to hear the end of this."

"Will you just calm down," Luke said as he rolled over, making no effort to get out of Lorelai's bed. "She'll understand."

"Oh, that's right," she said as she dropped to the floor to find the jeans she had been wearing the night before and pulled them on. "You don't know the emotional blackmail that woman is capable of. She'll hold this over my head until Rory gives her great-grandchildren or I become a member of the DAR."

Lorelai found a camisole, then pulled a t-shirt over it. "I have to go. Let yourself out."

Luke grabbed her arm and pulled her over and down to him for a kiss. "Don't forget that Kirk is coming over to clean. I have to get up and make him some pancakes. Don't drive too fast."

After almost breaking the sound barrier and brushing her hair at stops, Lorelai got to her childhood home and noticed she was only ten minutes late. Before she even had a chance to knock on the door, her mother opened it with a look of pure contempt on her face.

"I can't believe you're late, Lorelai. You knew I had plans today. What are you wearing? You look like a bum. Your socks don't even match."

Lorelai looked down and her feet and blushed.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I overslept and I got here as fast as I could. Is Rory ready?"

"Rory is not here, Lorelai. She's not going home with you."

Emily turned her back to Lorelai and began to admire her hair in the mirror.

"What do you mean 'she's not going home with me'? I'm her mother. She's mine. You can't keep her from me."

"I know what you're doing, Lorelai. We didn't raise you to become a familiar to some worthless half-blood. If you wanted to join the coven, you should have just come to see me yourself."

Emily turned around to reveal a set of fangs. Lorelai screamed…and woke up back in her bed next to Luke. The clock read 5:30.

"What?" Luke said, practically jumping out of bed. "What's wrong?"

Lorelai was breathing heavily and almost sobbing. "Nightmare," was the only word she said before laying back down with her back to Luke.

Luke moved close to her and spooned her, kissing the spot on the neck he was so fond of now. "It's okay, I won't let anything happen to you."

"What about Rory? Will you let anything happen to her?"

"I promise. As long as I'm alive, I'll keep you both safe, no matter what happens. Now go back to sleep. You don't have to be awake for about two hours."

Lorelai easily fell back asleep in Luke's arms.

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Lorelai arrived at her parents' home at 8:56 to make sure she was on time, but not so early that she'd hear about it. Fortunately, Rory was ready to go and the only interaction with Emily was a request for them to join them for a Labor Day dinner. Lorelai could not think of an excuse to get out of it, so she accepted with the forced smile she had used so many times during her years living in Hartford.

Once they were safely ensconced in their Honda, Lorelai tried to figure out a way to tell Rory about Luke.

"So," Lorelai began, "did you and Grandma have fun?"

"I ate some weird bird with green beans and mashed potatoes, then we sat in the living room and read. I went to bed at 9:30, then the maid woke me up at 7 for breakfast. What did you do?"

Lorelai took a deep breath.

"I went on a date. Now, before I tell you who it was with, you have to promise not to freak out."

"Are you dating Mr. Doose? If so, I can't make that promise."

"Gross," Lorelai said with a shudder. "You couldn't pay me to date Taylor. I went out with Luke last night. Actually, it was our second date."

"Luke? From the diner?"

"No. Luke Skywalker from Tatooine. Yes, Luke from the diner."

"How did this…those were his shoes in your quilt!"

"Yes, they were his shoes. We watched the meteor shower the other night, and I accidentally put his shoes in the quilt. I really like Luke, and I thought it was really important for you to know. He's going to cook us dinner tonight."

Rory didn't say anything for a few minutes, but stared out the window. Lorelai was becoming increasingly anxious that this had been a bad idea.

"So, what do you think about this?"

"I don't know," Rory said as she turned to face her mother and a smile came across her face. "Does Luke know how to make fried chicken?"

"I'm sure he does, and if he doesn't, I bet he'd figure it out for you."

"Okay, then I guess I'll give him a chance."

Lorelai felt a wave of relief wash over her as they continued the rest of their trip home in companionable silence.

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It had been three days of missing work before anyone thought to visit the home of Bethany Roberts to see if she was all right. Serena Townsend, Bethany's colleague at Columbia, arrived at the townhouse to find the door unlocked and the place a mess. As she went from room to room, she finally found Bethany in her bedroom. Judging from the smell in the room, Serena was sure she had not left it in several days.

"Bethany, all you all right?"

As she moved closer to her, she could hear Bethany muttering the same words over and over again.

"I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to…."