Three weeks later, Luke sat in the waiting area of the mediator's office. Lorelai sat next to him, chattering about something to break the silence. Luke glanced from Lorelai to the door, and back to Lorelai again. Anna and Lorelai were about to meet for the first time, and Luke imagined bloodshed. He let out a sigh. Why was he so concerned about this? Lorelai and Anna were grown women, and Lorelai could crack a joke to diffuse any situation. Things just may work.

Luke heard the door open and Anna walked into the office, giving her name to the receptionist and giving Luke a very forced smile. "Hello, Luke," she said.

"Anna. Hi," Luke replied. "Uh, Anna, this is my fiancée Lorelai Gilmore. Lorelai, this is Anna, April's mom."

Lorelai extended her hand. "Nice to meet you," she said.

Anna merely nodded in response, leaving Lorelai's hand outstretched. She glanced around the waiting area and shot a look at Lorelai. "I'm not sure they're going to allow you in the room," she pointed out.

"No, no, I won't go in. I'm here in case they need me. Mostly for cheerleading purposes, you know, but not like I'm cheering against… you… April's a great kid," Lorelai said, nervously fishing for a neutral subject.

"Yes, she is," Anna replied.

Luke rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I'm going to see if…"

"No," Lorelai practically shouted.

Luke gave her a confused look, and Lorelai cleared her throat. "Everything okay?" he asked.

Lorelai folded her hands in her lap. "Uh, I was just…"

"Is there something wrong?" Anna asked.

"No, uh, I just figured that, you know, they'd come get you when they needed you," Lorelai said.

Luke sat back down next to Lorelai as Anna sat across from the two. He could feel the tension rising. The silence was becoming more and more unbearable. If looks could kill, Lorelai would have been dead three times over, at least, and Lorelai was almost in full comeback mode, Luke knew it.

"Mr. Danes? Ms. Nardini?" a woman called from the doorway. Luke practically shot up from his seat and walked toward the door, startling Lorelai. Anna followed close behind. The two were led to a room with a long table between them. Luke was instructed to sit on one side and Anna on the other. Luke folded his hands and stared at Anna.

"What was with that?" Luke barked.

Anna raised her eyebrows. "She gave me a dirty look, I did nothing."

"You didn't shake her hand!" Luke defended. "That's the least you could have done."

"I don't know her," Anna scoffed. "Why should I like her? I don't know anything about this woman, I have a right as a mother to be concerned. Who knows if she's even permanent in your life? She could be a serial killer, Luke, I don't know her."

"You had it in your head before today that you wouldn't like her. That's just you, Anna," Luke said, shaking his head.

Anna rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I did not. She shot me this 'I'm watching you' look, and that was it."

Luke stood up from the chair, pacing in the small area between the chair and the wall. "You don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?" Anna shot back.

"I've moved on with my life," Luke replied. "But that doesn't mean that April doesn't have a place in it."

"What makes you think you deserve to have April as a part of your life?" Anna replied angrily. "She doesn't call you 'dad', you've met her on just a few occasions. That says nothing."

As Luke was about to fire back, the office door opened. A man, who looked to be in his fifties with thinning blonde hair, cleared his throat. Both Anna and Luke looked toward the man, embarrassed that he saw them fighting.

"Mr. Danes, Ms. Nardini?" the man asked.

"Yes," Luke replied.

"It looks as though this is going to be a rather short meeting," the man said, clearing his throat. "Before we start, I'm obligated by law to explain the process and any concerns I have. I am obligated to stop the meeting at any point in the negotiations if I feel that your personalities are too headstrong and unwilling to be flexible. To be quite honest, I don't think mediation will help you."

Anna groaned. "Great, so now I have to get dragged through a trial?" she hissed.

"The trial will be much simpler if you both put aside your misgivings and do what's right for your daughter," the man insisted. "Good day to you."

Luke was left standing. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "What now?" he grumbled.

"You call up your lawyer. You get anyone you can to make you look good. Good luck with that one," Anna snarled.

Luke shook his head. "No, I'm not going to tolerate this. I'm not letting you get the last word in this. I know hundreds of people who can make me look good," he insisted, storming out of the office. "Come on, Lorelai," he grumbled.

Lorelai got up from her seat and ran behind Luke. "High heels, hon, high heels," she protested.

"Well, don't wear the damn things, then!"

Lorelai stopped. "Luke, we really need to talk."

"What's there to talk about? I may lose a custody case," Luke insisted.

"Luke, that's not…"

Luke stopped and turned around. "Lorelai, I don't want to lose my kid," he practically whispered.

"Okay, hon, let's get you to the truck, we'll talk there," Lorelai pleaded.

He ignored Lorelai's plea, sitting on the curb. "You want me to spill how I'm feeling? Well, Lorelai, here you go. I'm feeling pretty crappy right about now. You don't understand. Not you, not anyone, not even Anna."

"Luke!" Lorelai gasped.

"You keep trying to tell me that everything's going to be okay. But, guess what? You don't know a damn thing," he bellowed.

"You're right," Lorelai said, standing up and shaking her head. "I don't know a damn thing. I guess I was wrong. See, I thought I knew that you were going to be a wonderful father, and that this would all work out. I thought that I could get you to lean on me and we could work together, and everything would be right again. But, you're right. I don't know. Not anymore," she said, throwing her purse over her shoulder and walking toward a brick pillar.

"Lorelai," Luke called.

"No, Luke. I'm taking a cab home," she shouted, her breath hitching in her throat.

"Let me explain…"

Lorelai held up her hand. "I won't understand anyway. What's the point?" she asked, wiping her tears and reaching into her purse for her cell phone as she walked back into the building.

Luke kicked a rock nearby, shouting select curse words as he seated himself on the cold pavement again. He was scared before, but this time he really was alone. He got up and got into the truck, sitting and making sure she got into the cab safely.

He shifted the truck into reverse and sat for a moment before realizing that he couldn't do it on his own. He knew that before, but this time, he took his anger out on Lorelai. Thinking back on the few minutes that had just passed, he shuddered. He was the world's biggest jerk.

Before Luke tried to fix the rest of the puzzle that was his life, he had to fix things with Lorelai. Otherwise, his world would crumble. He pulled out of the parking spot, thinking of ways he could fix what he'd done as he cooled down.