Author's Note: Hello again! I planned on updating this far sooner, but studying for finals and the holidays took a toll on my muse more than I would have liked for it to. That being said, I have some time now and hope to get another chapter up sometime this weekend, provided everything goes as planned. To those of you who put up with me during the writing/waiting process and willingly (well, somewhat willingly) listen to my complaints (you know who you are), I thank you and I owe you one.

I hope you enjoy it and as always thanks for reading!

Luke was in the hospital for several days before the doctor allowed him to be released. True to her word, Lorelai was there to pick him up. She took him to her house and strange as it was, it didn't occur to her until after she'd made sure he was comfortable how uncomfortable it could've been. Feeling thankful for the fact it was later in the evening and he was tired due to the medications, she was able to avoid conversation and simply head to bed herself.

But then the morning came and several things hit her in quick succession. First, the fact the sun was far too bright. Second, she remembered Luke was somewhere in her house. Third, there was the smell of something cooking in her kitchen.

It didn't take her long to throw back the blanket and make it downstairs. In reality she knew who it was but the sight of him standing there scrambling eggs in her kitchen like it was the most normal thing in the world was a little hard to take in.

"You're supposed to be taking it easy. Where did you even find any food in here anyway?"

"I am taking it easy," Luke replied as he flipped the spatula in the pan. "I just wanted to try and thank you for all the help you've been giving me. I know it can't exactly be easy."

"Yeah, well-" Lorelai laughed in an attempt to shake it off until the smell of what he was cooking brought her to her senses. "Bacon? I didn't have bacon."

"I realized that when I opened your fridge and found a can of frosting, a half-gallon of expired milk, and something that vaguely resembled lettuce. I called Caesar and asked him to bring a few things before opening up the diner." Luke replied with a shrug.

Lorelai backed up until she felt the chair against her legs and she sat down, shaking her head slowly as she watched him. She knew she had work to worry about but for the moment she was taken off guard by Luke's doing something so seemingly simple without being provoked. It probably should have felt weird, and she had to admit that in some ways it did, but it didn't stop her from wishing it wasn't.

Her morning at work was spent fielding reservations and helping Sookie with perfecting plans for a party that would be at the Inn that weekend. Despite Sookie's well-intentioned questions about Luke and how they were handling things, Lorelai kept quiet. She didn't need to spill everything she was thinking out in a moment of weakness. Locking herself in her office for an hour during lunch didn't help, so she turned her attention to reorganizing some of the rooms upstairs that weren't occupied.

That night, despite Luke's insistence otherwise, Lorelai brought dinner home rather than having him deal with cooking again. He swore he'd be fine with it but she knew making breakfast had taken a toll on his strength even if he hadn't told her.

"You really didn't have to do this, you know. Babette was over about an hour ago trying to get me to eat some sort of soup she swore would cure me sooner. How did she even know I was here anyway?"

Lorelai shrugged while handing him the salad she knew he preferred over the burger and fries she'd gotten for herself. "She must've seen us walking in last night. It's not that big of a deal."

Luke paused, his fork caught in midair. "You don't think she'd jump to certain conclusions?"

"If she does, I can set her straight. It's not that big of a deal. Just eat your salad."

"So I can take medicine that makes me groggy and I can fall asleep with a kink in my-" Luke stopped, dropping his fork on the coffee table as he winced and grabbed his neck.

"I offered you the room upstairs and would have gladly helped you up there. Here, let me-"

"No, no. I'm fine." Luke insisted, pushing her hand away. "I'll take something later."

Lorelai eyed him suspiciously but decided not to push it for the time being. She knew the way he got when he didn't want to admit to needing help. Together they sat and finished their meal with next to nothing to say. She tried cracking a few jokes just to get a reaction but it was no use. "Here," she said after they had finished up. She moved to pick up the remaining trash on the table only to have him stand defiantly beside her. "Luke, I said I would get it."

"I'm perfectly capable of walking into the kitchen, Lorelai. I did it several times today with the brace on while you weren't even here. Now please, let me through before this gets more awkward than it already is." Luke replied, clenching his teeth together to fight off the surge of pain that began radiating through his body. His injuries from the accident had started to heal, but accidentally sleeping through the time he was supposed to take his medication wasn't making him feel any better about that.

"Okay, you know what?" Lorelai snapped back before tossing the take out bag she had been holding back on the table. She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath before looking back at him. "Yeah, this is a little awkward, and I'm sorry for my part in that. The truth is, I don't know what made me tell the doctor that you'd be staying with me when you got out of the hospital, but I opened my mouth and the words just started spilling out, and I knew that once I said them there was no taking them back. You're hurting and I am walking on eggshells here to not hurt you even more than I already have. So for crying out loud, will you just let me help you like I told him I would?"

"Lorelai-"

"No, let me finish, okay? Because if I don't say this now I'll never say it." She replied before running a stressed hand through her hair. The words had been building in her from the moment she agreed to help him recover for a few days and the more they were around each other, the more things kept bubbling up. "The way I woke up this morning and you were making breakfast in the kitchen like nothing ever happened? That was a little weird and I wasn't sure how to react. You can't just…you know?"

Luke watched with his brows furrowed as she started pacing. He could practically see the gears turning in her head as she gave him a look that he'd seen too many times to not know what it meant. "Lorelai, I'm tired, so can you just tell me what it is you're talking about?"

"You can't act like nothing happened! Luke, you were in an accident, okay? I am trying to be your friend here, and yes I suppose a large part of that is due to the fact that I feel incredibly guilty over the way I ended our relationship, but it's also because I still-" Lorelai stopped, frustration seeping through her as well as a certain sense of panic at what she'd almost said.

"What?" Luke asked as, with a slight sense of difficulty, he made his way over to where she was standing. "You still what?"

Her mouth hung open and she started shaking her head slowly. She glanced over at the table and smiled, finding what she believed to be a way out. "I still need to clean the table. That…that is what I was going to say."

Luke caught her arm before she was able to step away. He waited, expecting her to pull away. "Really?"

"I just…"

She could have lied or better yet, shook his grip off before walking away. Even then, she could have told him the truth. Words struggled with each other inside of her, each one fighting for a way to make sense with the others in her head, but rather than saying them she grabbed his shirt and pressed her lips to his. It was a moment of panic when for once she couldn't figure out what to say and decided to kiss him instead. When he relaxed rather than pushing him away, Lorelai gave up all pretenses that anything was normal about the situation.

To say he was taken off guard at first would be an understatement, but wasn't it always that way whenever it came to her? Luke wound his non-injured hand into her hair and let himself do the thing he'd been fighting against for weeks. He kissed her, letting the moment last longer than it probably should have, until the need for air forced him to pull away.

The floor. The coffee table. The stack of mail unopened sitting across the room. Lorelai looked at anything but him because in that moment she wasn't sure what would happen if she did.

Before he had time to react she was moving away from him, cleaning up the remnants of their meal. With her back turned to him, Luke watched her move to the kitchen and waited in the same spot for her to return. "Lorelai."

"I…am going to go upstairs and take a shower, and just go to bed. I'm sorry for yelling earlier. Just-" Lorelai paused, taking the first two steps at once before turning back towards him. "remember your pill this time, okay? And yell up if you change your mind about the bed. I meant what I said when I told you I'd help you."

Luke opened his mouth to reply but she was already halfway upstairs. He sighed and walked back to the couch, sitting down in defeat. He turned on the tv, finding a movie on a random station he couldn't care less about. The only thing Luke cared about in that moment was taking his mind off of Lorelai and the situation they found themselves in. It was a fruitless attempt because a few minutes later he leaned his head back onto the couch cushion, closing his eyes as he heard her moving around upstairs getting ready for bed. Opening his eyes, Luke glanced over at the empty spot on the couch and he wanted nothing more than for her to be sitting there beside him.