Luke trailed Lorelai home by a mere matter of minutes, so that she'd barely taken her coat off when he came in behind her.

"It matters in our family," he said quietly so that she blinked and asked him to repeat what he'd said.

"It matters," he said, pulling her towards him. "Loving people matters, Lorelai. If it didn't, you wouldn't have run out of the diner a few minutes ago. It matters to you, and it matters to me. You broke up with Jason because you love your family."

Lorelai set her jaw stubbornly.

"That was a long time ago. And I didn't just break up with Jason because of my family."

"You didn't?" Luke asked doubtfully.

Lorelai hesitated. "I knew it wasn't right, Luke. I knew that he and I weren't right." She brushed the topic aside. "Jason isn't the point. What my family did to you – what my mother did to us – was inexcusable."

"But you miss her."

Lorelai avoided his eyes.

"What I've wanted has never mattered," she muttered, turning to walk away from him.

He caught her by the arm.

"Are you going to keep running away from this?" he asked softly.

"Luke, please!" she begged him.

"Lorelai, you can put on a brave face for the rest of the world. You don't have to with me."

Lorelai didn't comment. She crossed her arms in front of herself and studied the ground.

"Lorelai…" He tipped her chin up and made her meet his eyes.

"Please," she whispered.

"Baby," he whispered back. He wouldn't break the gaze.

Lorelai's chin trembled and he pulled her close, letting her hide her face against his shoulder as he stroked her hair and held her tight.

"I'm so tired of fighting with her," she mumbled against his shoulder. "I just want to be able to live my life."

"I know." He waited for her to compose herself and when she pulled back, he smiled reassuringly at her.

"Maybe you should just talk to her," he suggested.

"Why?" Lorelai asked stubbornly.

"Because," he sighed. He took her hand in his and led her over to the couch. They sat down together and he kept her hand in his, stroking it with his thumb. "You wouldn't be forgiving her for her, honey. You'd be doing it for you. You need to get past this."

Lorelai shook her head. "I'm tired of trying so hard, Luke. I'm never going to be the daughter that she wants. I don't want to be that woman."

"You don't have to be," he told her.

Lorelai stared at him in disbelief.

"No. You don't understand. If I go back to her now, she'll think she's won. She'll think that if she pushes hard enough, or guilts me long enough, I'll back down. The second that happens, she has the upper hand, Luke. She'll never stay out of our relationship."

"Are you planning on giving up on us?" he asked her quietly. Lorelai's eyes rounded and she shook her head.

"No! Absolutely not!"

He smiled reassuringly. "Good. Neither am I. As long as we remain open and honest with each other, there's nothing Emily can do to us."

"The only way I can have a relationship with her is on my terms," Lorelai said firmly.

Luke nodded.

"She won't go for that."

"She has to, Lorelai. You're holding all the cards now."

She considered this in silence for a few minutes before turning to him.

"Thank you," she said simply.

His brow furrowed. "For what?"

"For saying what you did earlier, about how it matters to this family." She blinked rapidly and he squeezed her hand.

"I just want you to consider it, Lorelai. For your sake, not hers."

She frowned.

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that there comes a point where you have to cut your losses? Maybe my mother and I have reached that point."

He reflected on this for a moment before he spoke.

"Do you think you're there?" he asked in response.

Lorelai chewed on her bottom lip.

"I don't know if I can do this for the rest of my life, Luke."

He nodded grimly. "You know what's right for you, Lorelai. You should know, though, that forgiveness doesn't mean that you have to welcome her back with open arms."

Lorelai nodded.

"I used to wish that I'd find out that I was adopted," she reflected wistfully. Luke pulled her against him and they slid down until they were lying together on the sofa.

"I wished that I'd find out that I was really the maid's daughter," she laughed. "Or my nanny. She was strict, but she'd sit with me when I was sick, and she'd tell me stories and sing to me."

Luke wordlessly stroked her hair.

She looked up at him.

"They didn't abuse me, Luke. It wasn't like that. But I hardly knew them. My mother would give these lavish parties for some charity foundation or another, and I'd be left home with the staff. Then, when they came home, my mom would come into my room before she went to bed. I'd keep my eyes closed, but I could smell her perfume, and she'd just stand there for a minute, and then she'd mutter about whatever toys I'd left lying around. She'd turn out my light and go to bed, and then in the morning, I'd get ready for my day and not see her until tea time, because she stayed in bed all morning due to exhaustion from the endless parties."

Lorelai sighed heavily and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry. You don't want to hear all this."

"Yes, I do," he said patiently and firmly. "I'm listening, Lorelai."

Her heart swelled at his words, and she fought to keep her emotions in check.

"I always thought that when I grew up, we'd finally grow together. At least a little bit." She paused. "It never occurred to me that we'd grow further apart."

"I'm sorry," Luke told her sincerely.

"Tell me about your family," she whispered urgently.

Luke smiled.

"I've told you before."

"Tell me again," she said, and opened her eyes. They were bright with anticipation and Luke couldn't say no to her.

"I miss them," he sighed. "More now than I ever have, maybe."

Lorelai turned her head to look at him.

"Why?"

Luke shrugged.

"I think maybe they'd know what to say in a situation like this."

"You know what to say," Lorelai whispered.

He shook his head. "I can't fix it for you, Lorelai. I can't heal it." Gently, he placed his hand over her heart.

"Oh, Luke. " She lifted her head and kissed him urgently. "You have no idea, do you?"

He didn't reply.

"I love you."

"I love you, too," he whispered hoarsely.

"Do you know how important that is for me?" she asked him.

He nodded.

"Yeah, I think I do."