Luke and Charlie walked out of Yankee stadium with their heads held higher than a 7-1 defeat should permit. But it wasn't so much about the score anymore. They had met at the hotel, shared dinner, beers and hot dogs. Stood, stretched and sang for the 7th inning and cheered the Red Sox off the pitch like they had just won the pennant. They walked slowly, shoulder to shoulder through the bustling crowds not caring that the 8 block stroll to the hotel would take nearly five times as long as it had done earlier in the evening. They chatted idly, reminisced about college, friends and courses. Spoke about their current lives but it wasn't until they were nearly at the hotel before Charlie broached the subject of Lorelai.

"So…you asked her out?"

"Yeah."

"And it went well?"

"Yeah."

"And its still going well?"

"Yeah. Why all the interest?" Luke asked looking at his firmed sideways.

"I just want to make sure she is not going to waste." Charlie chuckled. "She is something else Luke," he said and he let out a low whistle.

"Yeah, she is."

"Okay, ok, I'm backing off."

"Backing off implied you had a chance." Luke caught his friends gaze. "You don't."

Charlie laughed and patted Luke's shoulder. "C'mon, you can buy me a drink." He pushed Luke towards a bar across the road form the hotel. "Its the least you can do."

Luke woke up in Charlie's hotel room alone. He stretched under the cool sheets and yawned as the memories from the night before came tumbling back to the forefront of his mind. One drink turned into two, into three and ended up with them leading a sing song in the bar that would rival the New York Symphony choir. Well thats how he chose to remember it. In reality he vaguely remembered some patrons of the bar tossing crumbled napkins at them, cherries and ice form there drinks and in one case a whole glass of water in their direction. But it didn't tsp them from continuing.

He tossed the sheet off himself and padded over to the bathroom. Charlie had already told him he would be gone early and he had full use of the facilities if he needed it. Luke showered quickly and wrapped a towel around his waist before picking up the phone and calling the diner.

"Luke's," Caesar answered almost immediately.

"Hey Caesar, its me, Luke."

"Ah Boss, how goes it in the big apple?"

"Fine. I'll be back in the diner in a couple of hours. How is everything there?"

"Great, morning rush lasted until nearly eleven but the lunch crowd haven't started yet."

"Ok, thanks for this Caesar."

"No need to thank me Luke, I'm sure your appreciation will be reflected in my pay check and bonus!"

"See you soon."

Lorelai stood out in the garden of the inn and watched the final touches being put on the film stage. The chairs had been laid out with a wide patch directly in front of the screen for those who wanted to bring picnic blankets and lie down to watch. Behind the screen the concession stand was set up and she could smell the popcorn from the test run from where she was standing and she couldn't help the thrill of excitement that coursed through her. She wrapped her arms around herself and tried to keep the smile from curving her lips so completely but it was no use even trying. Sookie came up behind her and tapped her shoulder.

"Excited honey?"

"Crazy excited. Ridiculously crazy insanely excited."

"What time are we expecting everyone to be here for?"

"I'm guessing at about 5 people will start to trickle in." She glanced at her watch and saw it was just after 5. she wondered if Luke was back from the city yet and if he had enjoyed his night out. She had mixed him. Missed falling asleep with him, missed rolling over in her sleep towards him and missed waking up next to him. Nothing seemed to work and she had spent the night restless with interrupted patchy sleep. No way was she going to go through that again tonight so she was looking forward to using all her womanly wiles to get him to sleep with her tonight. She was wearing the baby blue chiffon skirt she knew he loved, from all the times she had caught him staring at her when she wore it before, and on top she had a deep red tank top with a film reel icon on the chest and loose film from the reel twirled around her body. The top hugged her curves, and she knew it made her look good as she brushed her hands down the front of it and looked over herself.

"You look great." Sookie nudged her with her elbow then winked and smiled before walking back to the kitchen.

Lorelai was about to turn towards the hotel when two hands came over her shoulders and squeezed them. She smiled, covered one hand with her own and leaned back into the chest behind her then turned her head for a kiss only to see Charlie standing there smiling down at her.

"Oh Charlie, sorry," she stepped away from him and moved out of his reach. "I thought you were Luke."

"No, just me."

He stepped closer to her and put an arm over her shoulder, forcing her to turn towards the stage. "It looks magnificent doesn't it?" he said and he held his arm over her shoulders, pulling her to him tightly.

"Um, yeah, its going to be brilliant."

"Do you have your speech ready?

"No speeches, just a quick introduction." She looked away from him and tried to step back but he held her firmly against him. "The Goonies need no introduction from me."

Charlie chuckled and turned a little to face her. "Any instance where you are standing on stage would be more than worth it."

"Yeah, um so thanks Charlie, for all your help with this." she patted his chest as if to signal she was ready to be released from him.

"It was nothing." he turned to face her more fully and forced her to face him.

"I dunno what Luke might have told you, if anything, he can be quite monosyllabic when he wants to be but um-"

"He's told me some things, but nothing definitive."

"Oh, ok, well it is. Definitive I mean."

"Really?" He pulled her in for a hug and rubbed her back then leaned back and pressed a kiss to her lips.

Lorelai stood stock still, shock racing through her from her lips where his were pressed against her to her toes then raced up to her head in an explosion of realization. She pushed her hands against his chest and pushed him back but he held onto her steadfastly and pulled her in for another kiss.

"Charlie!" she pushed him back, this time managing to break their connection completely.

"What?" He reached up to brush her lips with his thumb but she batted his hand away then rubbed her lips with the back of her hand. "Its just options Lorelai."

"Options? Get the hell away from me." she backed away, her hands planted on her hips as her anger bubbled up to near uncontrollable standards.

"Don't be like that," he reached out for her but she backed away again.

"Get the hell away from me," she said her teeth clenched her lips barely moving then she turned on her heel and stormed off.

She hurried into the kitchen and stormed across the inn to her office leaving a wake of anger in her trail. Sookie watched her progression and moved to follow her after hearing not only the kitchen door slam,but the hall door and the office door too. She hurried to the office and knocked lightly then pushed the door open and stepped in to see Lorelai pacing in the small 8ft by 10 ft room.

"What's goin on?" Sookie asked. "What happened?"

"He kissed me. The nerve! he kissed me!"

"Oh honey you have been seeing him for a while now, you went away together, don't you think he should be kissing you?"

"What? Who?' Lorelai offered her a quick glance but continued to pace.

"Luke. He was here a second ago, looking for you."

"No, not Luke, Charlie."

"Bad date charlie?"

"Lukes friend charlie."

"He tried to kiss you?"

"Not only did he try, he bloody succeeded, twice!" Lorelai had her arms waving around as she spoke, her anger bubbling continuously and showing no signs of depleting. "Wait.. what? Luke was here? Where is he?"

"I dunno, he came into the kitchen a few minutes ago and asked where you were. then the next thing I know you stormed through here like a bull in a china shop."

Lorelai felt a horrific sinking feeling course through her body and she brushed past Sookie through the inn to the car park where she just caught the tail end of his truck peeling down the drive, kicking up a cloud of dust as it moved.

"Shit…" she uttered and she hurried into the inn to grab her phone, but realizing he didn't have a mobile she tossed it back onto her desk. She grabbed her keys instead and hurried out to her car only for Taylor to grab her arm and bring her over to the stage to introducing the movie. Lorelais mind was whirling as she looked out at the crowds seated before the screen. She thought back to what she had planned to say and tried to remember it all. she thanked everyone for coming, and told a story of when she first saw this movie, then encouraged everyone to check out all the movies showing over the weekend. She talked about the gala on sunday night and explained how it was for charity and there were still some tickets left if anyone was interested. Even though she could hear her voice speaking and she knew what she was saying, it was all very ethereal and out of body as she finally finished her speech and Taylor directed her to a seat in the front with the rest of the festival organizers. She spotted Rory sitting with Lane on a blanket with fries and burgers and wished she was sitting with them instead. then when Charlie approached and sat into the empty seat beside her she realized she wanted to be so far away from this place she could barely sit still.

"What are you doing here Charlie?" she whispered at him as the starting credits to the movie began to scroll up the screen.

"My company had a heavy hand in making this happen. I'm just here to represent."

"A heavy hand," she snorted and looked away from him.

"Lorelai, I'm sorry if I offended you. I didn't think my trying to kiss a beautiful woman would be offensive."

"You know I'm seeing Luke."

"I knew you guys were dating."

"And you still tried to kiss me?"

"You're not married Lorelai!" he said with a laugh, loud enough to elicit a "shush" noise from Taylor. Charlie leaned in closer and whispered at her. "You didn't enjoy it? You could have stopped me."

"Stopped you? I didn't realize it was happening until it was over."

"Please, you leaned into that second kiss."

"Charlie, if your delusional mind wants to think that then fine, but just leave me alone."

She half turned on her chair to face away from him and concentrated on the movie. At one point she thought she might be able to get away but Taylor leaned towards her and handed her a bucket of raffle tickets.

"Will you pull out the winning ticket at the end?"

"Taylor, this is your festival, you should really have the honor," she said with a smile she hoped was convincing.

"Lorelai you begged me to have the opening movie here in the inn, and you begged me to let you run it, so you can do just that." he left the bucket on her lap and walked off in the direction of the concession stand.

Lorelai looked up at the screen and watched as the goonies cheered the pirate ship that sailed away and knew she would be out of here in a little under fifteen minutes at the latest. She looked at her watch and realized it was now just over two hours since she saw Luke storming off and she dreaded to think what levels his mistaken fury had risen to in that time. Every minute she hadn't followed him she knew it had raised another notch. She hurried up to the side of the stage the bucket in her hand and waited until the credits started to roll then she bounded up the steps and applauded along with the crowd. She cheered with them and encouraged their enthusiasm then quietened them down and announced it was time to pull the winning ticket. She made a show of digging through the bucket and pulled out a small pick ticket.

"Pink E125!" she called out and there was a resounding shriek from the back of the area. Everyone turned to see a small blond teen hurrying up to the stage and jumping up beside Lorelai.

"It's me, its me!" she cried out as she waved her winning ticket.

"Whoa, calm down there Verucia Salt," Lorelai said into the mic which elicited a few laughs from the crowd and a "whoop" from Rory and Lane. "Whats your name?"

"Beverly Timmins."

"Well Beverly Timmins, you won a pair of tickets to the gala on sunday night, a free ticket to the Black, White and Read cinema and a voucher for free popcorn for the rest of the festival."

"No way!"

Lorelai handed her over the bag branded with the inn logo and the girl hugged her tightly before turning back to the crowd and waving the bag around. She jumped off the stage and Lorelai clapped and laughed with everyone else then said thanks to everyone for coming, reminded them about where they could by movie tickets then waved them off. She came off the stage and passed the bucket of remaining tickets back to Taylor then gave him a gruff salute and hurried over to where Rory and Lane were packing up from their snacks.

"Hey honey, are you ok to get home without me?"

"Yeah I was going to go over to Lane's anyway and hang out for a bit if thats ok."

"Sure honey thats fine." She placed her hand on her daughters head and kissed her temple.

"Everything ok Mom?" Rory asked.

"Yeah I just gotta see Luke before I go home."

"Cant wait til tomorrow huh," Rory said with a chuckle. "You got it bad Lorelai Gilmore, you got it real bad!"

"I sure do honey. See you later."

Lorelai hurried to the diner and parked her jeep outside it then raced to the door and tried it but it was locked. The blinds were pulled and it was very dark inside. She jogged round to the back door and tried it but it was also locked. Stepping back from the building she looked up to his apartment and saw that the lights were all off. His truck was parked in the alley way so she knew he was either at home sitting in the dark or hadn't gone far. She was about to go back to her jep when she remembered where he kept the spare key. She fished it from the top of the door frame and pushed the door open, cursed the bells for signalling her entry and closed the door behind her.

"Luke?" she called out into the darkness and stood still in the middle of the diner as she awaited her eyes to adjust to the darkness. When they did she spotted him standing in the doorway to the kitchen his large frame filling the space and making her feel tiny. "Luke, listen to me."

"Get out."

"No. Luke you have to listen to me. Dont push me away." she took a few steps closer to him and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Get out."

"Will you please wait, let me explain."

He stepped out from behind the counter, brushed past her gruffly and opened the door. "Get. Out." Each word was punctuated with raw fury and it killed her to hear the hurt in his voice.

"It wasn't what it looked like. I can't imagine what it looked like but it wasn't that. I can assure you."

He bowed his head and scrunched his eyes shut as if her mere words and presence was causing him pain and that very thought was what got her feet moving towards the door. She paused a moment before stepping over the threshold as if all this would be over the second she walked out of the diner. "Luke...I love you."

He looked up at her when she muttered those words but even this did nothing to salve the hurt he was feeling, the fury he was keeping at bay.

She watched the tumult of emotions play over his features then saw as it hardened into a blank slate she could no longer read. She stepped out of the diner and was still on the steps when the door was shut resolutely behind her. She walked to her jeep, her mind and body moving slowly as if through treacle. Somehow she made it home and found herself sitting on the couch. Shock enveloped her and kept her rooted to the sport unable to think, or process exactly what was happening.

After Luke closed the diner door behind her his mind flashed back to the scene she presented at the inn. From his vantage point on the porch outside the kitchen he could see Charlie put his arm around her. he watched as she smiled and relaxed into him, rubbed his hand, his chest and laughed at whatever he had said. He wanted to chalk it up to a casual friendly relationship and was about to step off the porch when he saw them kiss.

His eyes widened and he felt his jaw slackened. His initial reaction was to hurry over there and pull Charlie off her but when they shared a second kiss instead he turned on his heel and left. His heart thundered against his ribs and he was having some trouble breathing. He clenched his teeth and gripped the steering wheel of his truck to tightly he was barely able to release it when he parked outside the diner moments later.

He stormed in and was greeted by the memory of what they had done at the counter the night before and it made his blood boil. Was this all a game? was he merely a stepping stone to something better? Was he simply a pawn for her? No, he couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe she would be so callous. but all evidence pointed to the contrary. Luke paced the small confines of the diner practically waiting for her to burst in here to try to explain what had happened, what he had seen but with every passing moment that she didn't appear he realised there was no need to explain. he had seen what he had seen and that was that.

Slowly he walked over to the door and locked it.

Now standing in the wake of her exit Luke shook his head, and took a few deep breaths. His heart which was overworked and crumbling in his chest was now pounding a slow heavy beat that thundered in his ears. He went up to his apartment but found it too small and confining. He needed to keep busy. He fished the box cutter knife out of the drawer and went down to the store room.

Lorelai woke up from her daze and ambled up to her room. She shed her carefully thought out outfit and stepped into a pair of cotton shorts. She fished through the laundry basket for a clean top but when her hands brushed against the soft flannel she pulled it out and slipped it over her head. It was fully buttoned and swam around her body. She wrapped the fabric around her self and inhaled his scent. And as if it was some sort fo energy drink she felt a bolt of electricity explode inside her. She grabbed her sneakers and pulled them on without opening the laces. She ran downstairs and grabbed her keys and out the door, slamming it behind her. In her haste she ran past her jeep and only realised she was running at full speed when she reached the square and didn't stop until she got to his door.

She saw him walking from the store room to behind the counter as she approached and walked in through the door. When he opened his mouth to speak she held up her hand for silence and she was surprised when it worked.

"No. Don't." She took a step forward towards him. "Don't kick me out again. Just let me talk." She wondered if he stayed on the other side to use it as a barrier between them. "What happened with Charlie wasn't how it was supposed to go. I'm sorry you had to see that and walk in on me with…him but it wasn't what you think it was. Taylor asked me to take over for the festival, and I couldn't get him off my back. He wouldn't take no for an answer! Next thing I know I'm working with Charlie and he was your friend and he was great to work with but its not like you think it is at all Luke. He came over to me, I thought it was you! He tried to kiss me...I guess he succeeded, but it was not welcome, it was not welcome at all. It's all some massive misunderstanding that I know, I just know some day we are going to look back on and laugh. Not today obviously," she said when she noticed how pale and angry he looked.

He seemed to be moving from one foot to the other in an attempt to keep himself from bolting across the diner and forcibly removing her. She took another step closer and continued on her tirade before he spoke, figuring this was going to be her only chance.

"I didn't kiss him. He kissed me. And if you had stuck around long enough you would have seen me push him away. Trust me it was all very Scarlet O'Hara!" when he didn't react she lost her resolve, took another step closer and tried again. "Luke, please, don't shut me out, don't just settle for whatever is put in front of you, fight me, fight for me!"

He looked like he was about to talk. She saw him lifting his hand and was holding a red rag, but she wasn't sure what it meant, then without warning, he swayed to the right and fell out of sight behind the counter.

"Luke!" She raced over to where he was lying and only then realised his hand was haemorrhaging blood enough to cause it to puddle where he had been standing and now where he was lying. "Jesus…hold on!" She snatched the phone off the wall and knelt beside his head. She dialled for an ambulance and gave the address of the diner then hung up, grabbed a fresh towel and wrapped his hand again, this time with a tighter binding and moved it so it was above his head. She lifted his head onto her lap and brushed his hair out of his eyes as they waited.