"Catch me? What the heck do you mean, catch me?" Lorelai asked.

She was shocked Rory wasn't entirely happy with the fact that Lorelai Gilmore had actually thought about getting back together with Luke.

"Let me talk, and then you can think about it... and then I might drop you. I mean you really need to have a serious talk with Luke. You two didn't fight over something stupid, like potholders or something. You fought about what you told each other, and what you chose not to tell each other. There are some underlying issues that need to be worked out. Just because you cried, and you said you were sorry, and you 'made up,' that doesn't mean that everything's well in Whoville." Rory explained.

"Huh?"

"Mom, you two have some issues to get over. What happens with April? What happens with Dad? What happens now that you got married, and ran off to Paris with Dad?"

"Are you taking Luke's side?" Lorelai gasped.

"No, I'm being practical Rory. Remember, you said you liked that? Maybe you need a resident therapist, you know, so you can talk stuff out? I can help you," Rory offered.

"I don't quite have enough room to lie down, I'm in the closet right now," Lorelai gently reminded Rory.

"Okay, well you can sit upright and listen to my advice, then."

Lorelai sighed. "Fine. I just want to know how to officially patch things up."

"First, you talk to Luke, in private. You need to work through all the issues you had. I mean, don't cover them up and apologize, you need to address them and really work out a plan for this kind of stuff."

"Okay," Lorelai agreed.

"Second, you need to prioritize. What are you willing to do to get Luke back? Then you need to set boundaries, and then you need to work out some sort of compromise with these issues. I mean, what if you wanted more kids? You know how Luke is about jam hands…"

"All right. I'll talk to him."

"I think it would be wise, you know, working out all of the issues, instead of pushing them aside. I'm proud of you," Rory said.

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Is this a do or die type thing?"

"Honestly? Yes. You need to clean up the mess. Good Luck. Call me when it's over, and I suggest you stop by when he's closing. He'll be ready to listen then, I hope."

"Got it," Lorelai insisted. "Thanks. Sometimes I need a reality check."

"Anytime. Talk soon," Rory replied.

Lorelai emerged from the closet and hung up the telephone.

"Well, well, well, Lorelai decided to come join the rest of us hard workers. Maybe she'll be able to help run the inn now," Michel announced sarcastically.

"Shut up, Michel," Lorelai said, putting on her jacket.

"Ooh. I am so scared. Shut up… what an amazing comeback."

"Michel, leave Lorelai alone!" Sookie said as she tried to break up the war of words. "Are you leaving, Lorelai?"

"Yeah, just for a little while, though. I'll be back."

"Lorelai, you really look stressed out. It's seven, you can really head home now, I'll handle Michel," Sookie offered.

"All right, but I'm staying later tomorrow," Lorelai insisted.

Lorelai left the inn and headed to Luke's. She wasn't prepared for the talk, she just knew she had to do it. For some reason or another, she was extremely nervous... she wasn't in her normal Lorelai Gilmore state. Part of her hoped Luke wasn't even in the diner. Maybe they could get along like they had for the past few days for a little longer. She didn't want to ruin things.

She wasn't so lucky. She was really dreading seeing Luke, and unfortunately for her, Luke was starting to wipe down the counter as Lorelai walked in.

"Hi," she said, standing by the door.

"Hi."

"Listen, can we talk… in private? When you get a chance, I mean? You don't have to drop everything…"

"Caesar! I'll be back, I'm going out!" Luke called into the kitchen.

"Can we go to my place? I think we'd have the most privacy there, like we really could get any at all…"

"Sure," Luke agreed.

Lorelai tried to run her speech through her head as they walked. It wasn't going very well, though. What she wanted to say wasn't coming out gracefully, and it wasn't profound.

Lorelai unlocked the door and invited Luke inside. They sat down on the couch and Lorelai took a deep breath.

"So you know how we made up… the other night?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, I remember."

"Well… I think before we… you know, start a relationship again… romantic, or otherwise… we need to work some stuff out."

Luke crossed his arms. "Is this going to start another fight between us?"

Lorelai shook her head. "It's not meant to. We just have to talk about issues we had… before. We can't just sweep them under the rug, and let them snowball into dust bunnies and take over."

"Dust bunnies?" Luke repeated.

"It's a metaphor. Just go with it."

Luke repositioned himself on the couch. "If you insist. The dust bunny thing will just make it hard for me to take you seriously... okay, talk."

"I lied to you, Luke. I didn't tell you about Christopher… until afterward, but I should have told you beforehand. And I didn't talk to you about April. I just went to see Anna, without your permission. I screwed up."

"Lorelai, we both screwed up, we've moved on," Luke interrupted.

"What happens if someday, we're married, hypothetically, and I have a problem… or if I'm upset with you about something? Are we always going to clam up and pretend everything's fine? Are we going to keep secrets from each other anymore?"

"No, I think we've learned from that mistake," Luke replied, raising his eyebrows in surprise at how concerned Lorelai was.

"You have a kid, Luke. And you didn't tell me… I know you only knew for so long, but I should have known as soon as you knew!"

Luke put his hand on Lorelai's knee. He tried to comfort her, but he didn't know what to say. They were both at fault. They were both wrong, and stupid, and selfish, in a way. There was no use in blaming anyone, because that would just start another fight.

"I know. I'm sorry for that. How can we fix this stuff? You know, we both lied, we both kept secrets… it's not going to be simple. But I want it fixed, Lorelai."

Lorelai sighed. "I do, too, Luke. But it's not that simple. You are a part of April's life, and I want to be a part of her life, too. Are you going to keep me out of that?"

Luke shook his head. "No, Lorelai. It's going to be different. I have a relationship with April now, and it's not like I'm defending what I did before or anything. I know I was wrong, and April is going to get to know you. And I promise not to keep things from you anymore."

"I seem to recall a 'no secrets' promise we both made and we both broke," Lorelai insisted.

"Well, how am I going to get you to believe me, that I'm done with this keeping things from you..."

"Luke, you're not the only one who messed up here. I did, too. And now I have to deal with Christopher, he's Rory's father… my now ex-husband. God, I was pretty stupid."

"I have Anna to deal with, too. She's April's mother… that's baggage just like you have."

"How do we fix this?" Lorelai asked, putting her head in her hands.

"Well, for one thing, I know I promise that I tell you absolutely everything. I'll tell you what my bread supplier wore this morning, if you want to know."

Lorelai cracked a smile. "That's a little too much information."

"Well, about Anna and April, I mean."

"And I'll do the same about Christopher," Lorelai offered.

"Should I make a contract, and sign it in blood?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, that would hurt… and besides, I think maybe it's better if we work on being able to trust each other again. We don't need bodily fluids to prove our honesty."

"Good point," Luke agreed.

"One step at a time, though. I think we both have work to do. You know, to gain the other's trust back."

"I agree," Luke replied.

As Luke and Lorelai continued their discussion on the couch, the doorbell rang.

"Were you expecting someone?" Luke asked.

"No, I wasn't. I wonder who that is," she said.

Lorelai got up to answer the door, and there stood Emily Gilmore.