A/N: I know, I know, its been a year since I updated. But if anyone still wants to keep reading, I am declaring now that I am making it my summer resolution to finish this story! The last few chapters have corresponded with episodes in season 7, and that's the way they will continue (more or less). This chapter takes place around the time of Just Like Riding a Bike.

Chapter 14: What She Doesn't Say

When her car died and she got the bad news from Gypsy, she did not tell Luke. It was not a conscious decision, perhaps, but for some reason, she just did not think to immediately share that particular news with him. Keeping the secret once she failed to tell him – that was a conscious decision, Luke decided, or a series of them as she hid her automobile crises.

Of course, Luke could tell something was wrong when she started 'carpooling' with Sookie to the Dragonfly. Then as her bicycle suddenly made a reappearance from the dark recesses of her garage, even more warning bells went off.

But in the end, the truth came out the way it normally does – Kirk let it slip one morning in the diner. He had found out from Babette, who heard it from Miss Patty, who got it directly from Gypsy. With the cat out of the bag, the only thing left for Luke to do was determine why he was the last to know when Lorelai needed a new vehicle.

"I was going to tell you," she insisted unconvincingly from the passenger's seat of his truck. After confronting her with his knowledge, she had guiltily agreed to go looking for a new car, justifying that now he knew, he could drive her to Hartford and help her find something suitable.

"Why didn't you tell me when it happened?" he demanded.

"I was on the phone with Rory. What did you want me to do – hang up the phone with Rory so I could call you? 'Hey, honey, have to go now because the car died. Have to call Luke to let him know, then Gypsy and a tow company.' What good would that have done?"

"I don't know, I could have picked you up," Luke pointed out.

"I got a ride with the tow truck guy. He was very nice, by the way, and he had that whole plumber's crack thing going on. If things don't work out for us, I might just run away with him to Maui."

"I'm not joking about this, Lorelai."

She threw up her hands. "I didn't tell you right away. It's not like I was never going to tell you. And it's not like it was a big deal anyway."

"You need a new car," Luke argued. "You've been riding your bicycle to work every day this week. That's not a big deal?"

"No! Unlike, say, finding out about a kid you never knew about, I'd say it's not that big of a deal at all."

"So THAT'S what this is about? I didn't tell you about April so you're not going to tell me when stuff happens to you?"

"It's not like that," Lorelai insisted, her voice becoming more desperate. "I just… I didn't want you to worry. I didn't want it to be another thing you had to take care of."

By this time, they had reached the car dealership and had left his truck. A salesman started towards them, but upon noticing the heated argument, the man diverted to different potential customer.

"Why would I mind helping you out when your car broke down?" he asked in confusion.

"You have a diner to run. At least that's what you always say. Personally I don't think you work there. I think you sit in the back and do sodoku all day-"

"Lorelai…" he growled.

"Luke," she threw back, exaggerating his irritated inflection.

He sighed deeply, putting his hands on his hips as he regarded her for a long moment. Sometimes the woman infuriated him past the point of all logic or reason, something he thought only Taylor could really do. But it truly hurt him to know she did not share something so important in her life, and for no good reason that he could see.

"Just pick out a car," he grumbled in resignation.

Thus began the day from hell.

Four hours later, Lorelai was still car-less. Luke's patience had continued to grow thinner and thinner until it reached a gossamer level. Their argument had led to griping which led to sniping, and finally to actual fighting. Buying a car based on a feeling, tiles being too big for the bathroom, SUV's with inferiority complexes, milkshakes, her purse… All of it proved to be just too much, and they drove home in silence.

Oddly enough, Lorelai seemed inordinately pleased with the day as he dropped her off at her house, more so than he had seen her in a long time. This contradiction, coupled with her still insufficiently explained failure to share the car-dying news, alternately infuriated and mystified him. So that evening when Liz showed up with baby Doula in her stroller, Luke had to force himself into a better mood for the sake of his sister and niece.

"What's got you all riled up?" Liz asked.

"Nothing. Lorelai – the engine in her car quit and she has to get another one."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. That's such a pain."

"How'd you hear about it?" he asked, curious.

"Let's see… oh, T.J. told me. I think he heard it from one of the guys at the hardware store. You know that anything having to do with you two is big news all over town, right?"

"Big news… right. And I didn't hear about it until three days after the fact."

"Lorelai didn't tell you?" Luke shook his head. "Well, she must have had her reasons."

"Something about not wanting to bother me – I don't want to talk about it right now anyway. What can I get for you?"

Liz looked at him appraisingly for a moment. "You know what you need, big brother? You need some time all alone with your little niece."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I'm not babysitting."

"Oh, come on. Just for an hour?" she begged. "I really need some time to myself today."

"Where's T.J? Shouldn't he be able to watch her for a while and give you some time to yourself?"

"Luke, I love T.J. but he doesn't always do well by himself when it comes to watching Doula. Besides, she likes you. She's always so happy after she comes to visit you. I'm telling you, you're a natural with babies…"

If asked, Luke would have blamed Liz's complimentary statements for her ability to convince him of anything, including watching his niece for the afternoon. But deep down, he knew that he gave in to her because he genuinely enjoyed the baby. He liked watching her sleep. He liked feeding her. He was not a big fan of the whole diaper changing procedure, but he had quickly learned that it was not the end of the world either. Actually, with Doula's relatively quiet nature and friendly personality, Luke quickly found himself thinking about having another child with Lorelai.

Any child of theirs would probably have Lorelai's beautiful blue eyes and dark hair, not to mention her addiction to junk food. But he felt confident that he could impart some healthy eating habits if he was around from day one.

Day one.

Luke really liked the thought of experiencing fatherhood from the moment his child was born. Sure, he had Doula, but it simply was not the same to see your niece once a week for a few hours and to take care of a baby every day of its life. Even with April, he had been spared most of the hard stuff. She arrived on his doorstep a perfectly health, bright, vivacious twelve-year-old needing only a little attention, some money for necessities, and a few answers to questions even he was not entirely sure about.

But a baby… a baby would need everything. The thought both scared and excited him, mostly because while he could picture himself with the theoretical child, he also saw Lorelai standing right next to him, doing what she did best – being a mother.

Doula must have sensed his inattention, as she began to cry until he picked her up and began rocking her back and forth. "What do you think about having a little cousin?" he asked the baby, who merely sniffled at him in response.

Later that afternoon after Doula had been picked up and Luke had gotten a chance to think about things, he finally had a plan to put into action.

To say that Luke was surprised when Jackson opened Lorelai's door later that night would be as much an understatement as saying Lorelai simply felt disappointed when the coffee ran out. But to his credit, he merely asked for her, nodded through Jackson's description of the most disgusting dinner ever conceived, and refrained from any comments on the man's wardrobe. Thankfully, Lorelai came to the door in relatively short order, shooing Jackson back to the couch in some kind of bizarre mommy-child scenario.

"Hey, what's going on?" she asked, sounding more cheerful than she looked. Dark circles had made a reappearance under her eyes, and he could tell by the casual way she tied her hair back that her usually vivacious energy was in short supply.

Taking a deep breath, Luke launched into the speech he had already carefully prepared. "Okay, here's the deal. I borrowed Kirk's computer, and Zach got me on this Craigslist thing, and I found a 1999 jeep wrangler for sale. The guy actually doesn't live too far from here, so I went to see it. It looks like its in pretty good shape. So I ran the VIN number. It's got a clean history – no accidents, no failed emissions. And the guy said he kept it up pretty good, and there's nothing really wrong with it. So I took it for a test drive, and it drove fine. So if you want to keep your old car, for whatever crazy feeling it gives you, okay? Then buy this guy's car and send it to Gypsy. She'll take the engine out, put it in the old car, which makes absolutely no sense because you'd basically be paying the same amount of money to fix your old car as you would be paying to get a new one."

As he recounted the afternoon's events, Luke watched as Lorelai's face melted into a smile so genuine, all the effort in the world was worth it just to see her so happy.

"But I'd still have my car," she said with a grin.

"Yeah, Gypsy said it'll take about two weeks to finish. Here's the number of the guy, Larry. That's his name. I already negotiated him down 1,500 bucks. Tell him you're Lorelai, Luke's friend. He'll know."

"Thanks, I will." She stared at him for a moment, and he could see the moisture developing in her eyes. "Luke…" she started.

He held up a hand in response. "It's okay."

"No, it's not okay. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I… I don't know," Lorelai confessed, and for the first time that day, she seemed as confused about the circumstances as he did. "Actually, my first instinct was to tell you, to call you right when it happened so that you could come help me. But…" Her eyes narrowed for a second as she continued, "I guess I just didn't want you to rescue me. I wanted to prove that I could handle things on my own without needing you there all the time."

"So it wasn't about April?" he asked.

"Not consciously…" Luke heard the hesitation in her voice, that subtle inflection which betrayed her doubt.

"I know that you're strong," he told her. "You are the strongest person that I know. But it's okay to ask for help sometimes, especially from me."

Sighing deeply, Lorelai stated, "Luke, you're more than just the person I run to for help. You're the one who has always been there for me – when I needed the money for the inn, or when my dad was in the hospital, when Sookie went on early bed-rest and couldn't cook-"

"Lorelai," he tried to interrupt. But she was on a roll.

"-or when I was crying in the yard and Morey called you or when I had termites under the house or -"

"Lorelai," he attempted again, this time breaking through.

She looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"I will always be here. You can always come to me," Luke assured her.

"That's not my point," she insisted. "My point is that I always run to you when I need something and I wanted to show I could do things on my own."

"So you don't like it when I help you?" he questioned.

She rolled her eyes in irritation. "No, of course I like it when you help me."

"Then I don't understand."

"Luke, I'm just…" she trailed off, frustration and annoyance written in every line of her face. "Nevermind, don't worry about it."

"Hey," he said forcefully, gently gripping her shoulders so she had to face him. "You've been acting weird for a couple of weeks now. I wish you would just tell me what's been bothering you."

Lorelai looked up at him, her eyes misty with unshed tears. "I don't know what's wrong," she stated quietly. "I just get these ideas in my head, and I can't get rid of them. They keep twirling around like clumsy ballerinas that bump into everything. Maybe Miss Patty trained them, I don't know. I'm sorry, Luke."

Within the span of a few minutes, her façade had crumpled and she stood before him completely vulnerable. Luke did not know any more than she what was bothering her or how to help. Or even if she wanted help anymore.

"Maybe you're just going through something right now," he suggested. "You've been under a lot of stress lately, plus Rory's about to graduate…"

"Yeah, maybe that's it," she allowed, although he could see the misgivings reflected in her eyes.

"Come on, lets go eat pizza and chicken nuggets with Jackson," he said, wrapping a protective arm around her.

"You're really going to eat with us?" she asked excitedly, her previous emotions quickly hidden once more. "Yummy pepperoni and sausage and greasy garlic and…"

"Maybe I'll just have a glass of water and watch the two of you destroy your arteries."

"Spoilsport. That's okay, I got you a salad anyway, just in case."

"Just in case?" he asked, conscious of the half-grin he wore.

She shrugged. "Yeah, well, I figured you might show up. You've got a pretty good track record with these things."

He followed her into the house, and even as he asked about Jackson's presence and feigned horror at the stockpile of junk food they had accumulated in the living room, Luke's mind preoccupied itself with worrying about Lorelai. Something was definitely off with her, and he had no any idea what it was. She had certainly been suffering from stress, from the divorce onward. And the inevitability of Rory graduating and leaving town drew ever closer. But somehow, he had a feeling that none of that truly explained Lorelai's odd behavior. No, something else caused her uneasiness and her doubt.

As they slipped beneath the covers of her bed that night, Luke made it a point to wrap his arms around her and hold her tightly. No matter what happened, he would not lose her again.