Ch. 12: Decisions to Forget

Luke awoke and felt like he had been run over by a bus. Every part of his body ached, especially his leg. The pain was making him wish he hadn't let Bethany shoot him for real. He could have made her just drop the gun, but he had felt guilty about his cavalier treatment of some of the women in his life. He knew he would probably be fully healed in a couple of hours. The pain in his leg took a little from the guilt he felt at his behavior.

When he was younger, and the physical attributes of his powers were explained to him, Luke went through a period of taking extreme chances. He had been stabbed in a bar fight, jumped off the roof of a three-story building, and been hit by a few cars. With each accident, young Luke took greater and greater risks until he broke several bones and punctured a lung in a hang gliding mishap. After that, his dad found out and ordered him to stop putting himself at risk.

Luke rolled over and found Lorelai asleep in the chair. He thought about waking her, but she looked so peaceful he decided to let her sleep a little longer. He let the drugs take over him again and fell back asleep.

Lorelai woke up with a pain in her neck and a heavy heart. The previous evening had been one of the worst of her life. Watching a strange woman shoot Luke was almost too much for her to bear. It brought back memories of the stupid things Christopher did as a teenager, like wrecking his brand new car an hour after receiving the keys.

She didn't want Rory to be in any type of dangerous situation. If anything happened to Rory, Lorelai knew she would probably not survive it. All she could think about was another crazy woman tracking Luke down to Stars Hollow, attempting to shoot Luke, but instead hitting Rory. The thought caused Lorelai to suck in her breath and fight back losing control.

She looked over at Luke sleeping in the hospital bed, and part of her couldn't help but love him. He didn't look like he had been shot. She didn't even think he looked like he was in pain of any kind. Part of her wanted to pull back the sheet to see his wound as she had never seen a gunshot wound before, but the other part of her brain said she was being gross. As she mentally chastity herself for her own morbid curiosity, Luke made a little groaning noise and started to move.

"Luke?" Lorelai whispered, moving closer to the bed. She found his hand and squeezed it gently.

"Hey, you're still here," he said. "What time is it?"

"It's about 8 a.m. How are you feeling?"

"I've felt better," he said as pulled himself into a sitting position and pulls his legs over the side of the bed. "Let's see the damage."

Luke gingerly pulled the bandage loose from his thigh and there was no evidence of a wound at all.

"How is that even possible?"

"I heal really quickly. Can you help me up?"

Luke put out his arm, and Lorelai took possession of it and pulled him off the bed. Luke, dressed only in a hospital gown, began to slowly shuffle around the room to test his leg while Lorelai admired the view and tried not to giggle considering the seriousness of what happened.

"Nice ass there. It would have been a real tragedy if anything had happened to it."

"I'm glad to see you are concerned for my overall well being," he responded as he walked to the closet to pull his clothes from the previous evening. "Where are my pants?"

"They cut them off of you. The doctor said they would get you something to wear home."

"Can you go ask?"

"Sure," she replied, leaving the room.

Instead of heading straight to the front desk, Lorelai walked to the bathroom. Once inside, she began to feel her not-so-steely resolve begin to crumble. She splashed some water on her face and took some deep breaths. After she gained her composure, she stepped out of the bathroom to find a nurse to get Luke pants.

When she returned about ten minutes later, Luke was sitting fully dressed, save for his pants and shoes on the bed.

"Hey, what took you so long? I was getting kind of cold here."

"Sorry," she replied. "The nurse couldn't find a pair in your size. She also called for a car to take us back to your place."

"All right," he said. "Let me get my pants and shoes on and we'll get out of here."

Luke dressed quickly, and he and Lorelai entered a town car to return to his loft. The silence in the car was very noticeable.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked.

"I'm just having thoughts. I've just been thinking about what happened last night."

"I'm sorry you had to be there to see that. I've never had anything like that happen before, and now that I know what a gunshot feels like, I don't think I'll let it happen again."

"What if she had followed you to Stars Hollow and come to my home? What if Rory was home? Could you have stopped her from getting hurt?"

"Lorelai, I'd never let anything bad happen to Rory. I was in complete control of that situation. I could have made Bethany drop the gun and sing "Memory" from Cats ."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because, part of me felt like I deserved it. Sometimes, I'm not the best when it comes to breaking up. I usually just erase their memories since it's easier than dealing with broken hearts. Actually, with the exception of Rachel, I've erased the memory of every woman I've been with since the age of 20."

"Luke, no one deserves to get shot."

"At that moment, I did. I know you can't understand that, but all I could feel was her pain, and the guilt was too much at that moment. The pain eased the guilt."

Lorelai sighed and responded, "That might be the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

Luke laughed.

"Yeah, but it made sense at the time."

The car stopped in front of Luke's building, and they got out of the car and went inside. Luke went straight to the refrigerator and pulled out two beers. He opened them and handed one to Lorelai, who drank a quarter of the bottle in the first swig. Luke matched her drink for drink. They stood in the kitchen finishing their beers, both afraid to speak. Lorelai finally could not take the silence.

"Luke?"

"Yeah?" His voice was barely whisper. He already knew what was coming.

"I can't do this." Lorelai's voice was near breaking.

"I know."

"I just --"

"Lorelai, I understand," he said as he took her hand and kissed her temple. "I know that Rory is the most important thing in your life and you have to put her first. I only have one request."

"What?"

"Spend one more day with me. One last day."

Lorelai shook her head in agreement.

"Afterwards, I'll take care of everything. No one in Stars Hollow will even remember that I was more than the guy who pours your coffee."

"What about me?"

"That's your choice, Lorelai. If you want to remember, you'll remember. If you want to forget, just say the word. You do understand that Rory cannot remember?"

"I understand. Do I have to decide this moment?"

"No, but please tell me at the end of the day?"

"Yes. So how do you want to spend our last day together?"

"I have a few ideas," Luke said with a slight smile as he pulled her close to him. "I never got to show you my bed here, did I?"

"No, I don't think we got to see that particular part of this beautiful apartment. I guess we could start there."

Lorelai was fast asleep in Luke's bed, while Luke held her from behind and gently ran his hand up and down her arm. He knew it was probably the last time he would perform the Caerimonia Osculur with her, the last time he would make love to her, and it broke his heart. She was such a life force that he knew he would crave her as long as he lived. He would miss her jumbled mind that could also be very logical, especially when dealing with matters concerning the inn and Rory.

Although she had not told him her decision, Luke knew she had reached her decision. She was going to ask to have their memories removed. Frankly, he couldn't blame her.

He thought if he had seen a crazy person try to shoot the person you love, he might not want to keep those memories either. He thought about waking her up and making love to her again, but the evening had been perfect, and now, he just wanted to fall asleep beside her one last time.

Luke put his face into Lorelai's hair and inhaled. He wanted to remember her smell, hoping it would get him through the long, lonely nights ahead. He still remembered the last broken heart from Rachel and the consequences of it. He didn't want that to happen again. He pulled Lorelai close to him and drifted off to sleep.

When he woke, Luke found himself alone in bed. At first, he thought Lorelai had skipped out on him, but then he heard the shower running and breathed a sigh of relief. They were going to have to return to Stars Hollow, and everything would change.

As Luke got out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants, he heard the shower shut off. He briefly considered going into the bathroom to say good morning, but instead went into the kitchen to make Lorelai breakfast.

"Is that bacon I smell?" Lorelai said as she exited the bathroom wearing Luke's robe. Her hair was wrapped in a towel, and Luke thought she looked incredibly beautiful.

"Yup, along with pancakes, hash browns, toast, orange juice, coffee and Danish."

A thermos sat next to a plate heaping with breakfast foods.

"Where did you get coffee and Danish?"

"I went out a few seconds ago. You better drink it while it's still hot because I can't make more. How was your shower?"

"Very refreshing. You have excellent water pressure," she said as she sat down and looked at the food. "You know, I'm not very hungry."

"You need to eat it will give you more energy, and I think you're going to need it today."

Lorelai picked up a piece of bacon and began to chew. Luke sat on the opposite side of the table and watched her eat. Although they had many things to discuss, he wanted to enjoy their last few moments together.

"You already know, don't you?" she asked as she swallowed a pancake bite.

"Yeah, I know."

"I'm sorry, Luke. I think it would be too much –"

"It's okay, Lorelai. I understand. If you had been any other woman, I would have done it anyway. I just wanted you to have the choice because you were never just any other woman to me."

Lorelai got out of her chair and walked around the table to Luke. She placed her hands on his face and kissed him on the lips. He returned the kiss and pulled her into his lap. He carefully released the towel holding her damp curly hair.

They stayed like this for a few more minutes before he pulled his lips away, touching his forehead to hers and sighing.

"Lorelai, do you regret –"

"Not for a minute, Luke. I just think the timing isn't right now. I have to put Rory first. Maybe after she's done and off to Harvard, I can think about what I want. Does that make sense?"

"I'd like to think if I had a child, I'd put him first over everything else. That's what my parents did. I just wish my sister would do that every once in a while."

"I'm sure you'd make a great father someday."

"Yeah, well," Luke responded as he got to his feet, taking Lorelai with him. "We're going to have to leave soon if we want to be back to Stars Hollow for the town meeting tonight."

"You want to go to a town meeting?"

"Not really, but I have to. Someone has to keep Taylor and Harry in line, and I have business there tonight. I need to ask you a favor about tonight's meeting."

"Anything."

"I need you not to come to tonight's meeting, but I need you to send Rory and Sookie."

"I don't understand, Luke."

"Just trust me. I'll bring Rory home after the meeting. Then we can say a proper goodbye afterwards."

"Okay," she said as she put her arms around his shoulder. "But I'm very curious."

"I'll tell you all about it tonight," he replied as he gave her a gentle peck on the lips. "Why don't you get dressed while I clean this mess up?"

"All right," she said as she returned to the bathroom.

Luke cleaned up breakfast, showered, and dressed before Lorelai was ready to return home. The drive was relatively silent as Lorelai fiddled with the radio stations and Luke mostly tuned into Lorelai's thoughts, which shifted as frequently as the she switched the station. He knew she was having second thoughts about her decision, and he knew that a few words from him could persuade her otherwise, but he refused to sway her decision in that way.

As they parked in Lorelai's driveway, Luke hauled Lorelai's many pieces of luggage to the back porch.

"Where's Rory?"

"Sookie probably took her to the inn with her. She had to work today. I'll go get her in a minute."

"Don't forget –"

"I won't. She and Sookie will be at the meeting tonight and I won't be."

"Okay. I better go check on the diner. Hopefully, Kirk didn't try to commandeer it while I was away. I'll see you tonight."

"Bye" Lorelai said as Luke got into his truck and left.

Luke had to use his powers of persuasion to convince Taylor that he was supposed to be on the evening's agenda, but had been left off accidentally. Luke was the last item of the evening, and that was perfect since he knew everyone would want to hear what he had to say. He had also extended personal invitations to Babette, Miss Patty, Gypsy and East Side Tillie to make sure the most important gossipmongers in town would be present as well.

Sookie and Rory arrived shortly after the meeting began, and as he had to sit and listen to an hour of petty squabbles and debates, Luke wished he had scheduled himself for earlier so he could have gotten it over with.

"That now brings us to a mysterious issue brought up by diner owner Luke Danes, who swears he filed the proper paperwork to appear on tonight's agenda, yet it cannot be found," Taylor said at the podium, gavel in hand.

"It's not my fault you lose everything, Taylor, but I will only take a moment of time."

Luke stood and walked to the front of meeting, but did not get on the stage.

"As many of you know, I have been in a resident of this town almost my whole life. I am a taxpayer, a business owner, and I try to stay out of everyone else's business."

"We know all this," Taylor said. "Just get on with it."

"Pipe down, Taylor," Babette said from her seat next to Morey. "We want to hear what the kid has to say. I bet it's about Lorelai. Are you plannin' on making an honest woman out of her?"

"Thanks, Babette. It is about Lorelai, but not that."

"So, you're not marrying her?" Miss Patty responded.

"First of all, we haven't know each other that long—"

The crowd groaned and a few people started to get up.

"Sit down," Luke said in a loud voice. Everyone immediately took a seat, including Kirk, who sat on Gypsy's lap.

"Everyone in here will listen to me very carefully. There is no Luke and Lorelai. There never has been. You just see two nice people who might make a nice couple someday. Lorelai is only a frequent customer at the diner, and you have not seen Luke date anyone since he broke up with Rachel six months ago. Is that clear?"

"Yes," the crowd responded in unison.

"I'm going to count to three. On three, you will remember nothing of the past few weeks' events regarding Ms. Gilmore and myself. If anyone insinuates that Lorelai and I are anything more than friends you will think they are crazy. Now, what else should I take care of while I'm here? Kirk, you will stop trying to break into the diner at night for pie. Taylor, stop fining residents for not turning on their porch lights by 7 p.m.. Anyone who comes into the diner will stop attempting to special order omelets with food that is not on the menu, and Miss Patty, you will stop pinching my ass every time I walk by you with a pot of coffee. Are you all clear?"

"Yes," the crowd responded in unison.

"Okay, then. One, two, three."

The crowd immediately came to life and Taylor began to bang his gavel.

"So, Luke what is so important?"

"Oh, um, beginning tomorrow, the diner is adding two new pies to the menu. I'll be giving away free samples to the first 50 customers beginning at noon. Please stop by and let me know what you think."

"That's it?" Taylor replied. "That's what couldn't wait? Really, Luke, you have no sense of business."

"Coming from you, Taylor, that's a compliment."

"If there's no further business, this meeting is adjourned," Taylor said as he banged his gavel.

Luke paid attention to the crowd, and it seemed as if his suggestion had taken hold. He knew the only true test was Rory. He walked over to her and Sookie.

"Hey, Sookie, Rory."

"Hi, Luke," they both responded in unison.

"Where's you mom tonight?"

"Oh, she said she had to do some stuff around the house, but wanted me and Sookie to come to the meeting to get all the news."

"That sounds interesting."

"So, Luke," Sookie interrupted. "What pies are you adding to your menu?"

"Um," Luke said, realizing he was going to have to bake about 10 pies in the morning. "I'm adding peach and blueberry. Make sure you come by for a slice."

"I'll do that."

"Hey, Sookie, is it all right if I walk Rory home. Lorelai left something in the diner the other day and I need to return it to her."

"Oh, sure. I didn't know Lorelai came in the diner that often."

"Mostly for breakfast," he said with a smile. "Rory, are you ready to go?"

"Sure," she replied as he followed her out of the dance studio.

The five-minute walk to Lorelai's was filled with Rory describing the plot of the latest book she was reading while Luke scanned her thoughts to see what her feelings were. The only thoughts he received were about unicorns and his cooking.

"And if you have a chance, I really think you'd like to read it," Rory said.

"Well, I'll keep that in mind but unicorns aren't really my thing," Luke responded. "Here's your house. Do you think you could go in and get your mom?"

"Sure," she replied.

Luke sat on the porch while Rory ran inside. He sighed as he hated to do what had to be done.

"Hey," Lorelai said as she walked out of the front door. "How was the meeting?"

"Fine," he said as she sat down next to him. "I don't think you have to worry about the town discussing our relationship."

"I got that impression when Rory told me that Mr. Danes, the diner guy wanted to see me."

"Yeah, she doesn't remember either."

Luke took Lorelai's hand in his and faced her on the porch.

"Are you ready? Are you ready to say goodbye?"