AN: PLEASE DON'T KILL ME. I know it's been forever AGAIN. I'm a horrible person. I never thought that college would keep me THIS busy. I'm constantly swamped with work, and I hardly find the time to write. On top of that I have a hard time deciding how I want to continue the story. I don't want it to get boring and with every chapter it gets more and more difficult to write. So if you guys have any ideas tell me in your reviews! I'd be happy to get an input from you guys, since you are the ones I am writing this for;) On this note I would really like to thank all of you who are reading and reviewing this. I know that there are a lot of people who are reading this but only a few of these actually review, which sometimes makes me wonder if people still like my story. About 50 people have me on their story alert but only about 15 review each chapter. so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW PEOPLE. I'd be happy if half of those 50 would review. The more reviews I get the harder I will try to update sooner. I do have some parts of the next chapter all I have to do is write it down.
Ok enough talking and on with the story
One more thing, this chapter has not yet been proofread and since it's almost one o'clock in the morning I have not reread the second part of this chapter. I'm really sorry if there should be any major errors in here
btw this chapter contains one sexual scene but nothing major just some making out ;)
ENJOY and PLEASE REVIEW
Previously:
Luke
walked into their bedroom and had to smile at the sight in front of
him. Lorelai was lying in bed with her reading glasses still on and a
book in her hand sleeping soundly. He quickly went into bathroom to
brush his teeth and change into his pj's. Then he walked over to
Lorelai's side and gently pulled the book out of her, placing the
bookmark on the page where her hand had been and put it on the
nightstand. Then he took her reading glasses of and put them on the
nightstand on top of the book. After he had switched her light off, he
climbed into his side of the bed and turned his light off as well. As
soon as he was settled under the covers, Lorelai moved over to him and
rested her head on his chest.
"Hey, you've been gone for quite a while. Is everything ok?" She asked him sleepily. Luke
put his arm around her shoulder and gently brushed his fingers over her
arm. "Yeah, everything's fine. She just wanted to catch up a little,
because we haven't had a chance to do that yet, since we got here." "Oh, ok." Lorelai said stifling a yawn. "Go back to sleep." he said and kissed her forehead, but Lorelai had already fallen back asleep. Luke pulled the covers over them and pulled Lorelai closer to him, who
immediately drew her arm across his chest and snuggled deeper into his
shoulder, in her sleep. Luke was lying awake for another half an hour,
thinking about the conversation he had had with his sister that
evening, until he too fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning Lorelai woke up a little before eight. She turned around to face Luke and saw him staring at ceiling. She propped her head up on her arm and gently put her hand on his chest.
Luke turned his head towards her, "Hey."
"Hey there, how long have you been up?" she asked drawing small circles on his chest.
"A while," he told her.
Lorelai scooted closer to Luke. "Hey, are you alright?"
Luke smiled down at her, "Yeah, I was just thinking."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Lorelai asked him gently.
Luke sighed, "Not right now."
Lorelai looked down on her hand on his chest. "Ok," she said in a small voice. She still had the feeling that Luke didn't want to open up to her, even though they've been in a relationship for quite a while and friends even longer.
Luke brought his hand to her face and gently turned her face back towards him, so he could look into her eyes. "Tonight, ok? I promise we'll talk about it tonight. I just need a little more time. It's nothing about you, or us, you have to trust me on that." Luke told her with a pleading look.
Lorelai gently pulled him towards her and kissed him softly. "I do, I trust you," she said to him sincerely.
"Ok, good."
Luke pulled her closer to his body and kissed the top of her head. Lorelai laid her head on his shoulder and draped her arm over his chest.
"This is nice," she said after a while.
"Yeah, it is," Luke agreed and gently caressed her arm.
"We haven't done this enough lately." Lorelai sighed.
"Yeah, I know. We've been pretty occupied lately.
"Don't blame yourself for that. I was the one abandoning you over the last weeks, and believe me I don't feel good about this fact."
Luke kissed the top of her head. "No, don't worry about it. I know how hard it is to get a business up and running. I've been in that situation myself. This was important and I totally understand that.
Lorelai smiled up at him. "I don't deserve you; you're too good for me."
"Yeah you do." He told her and kissed her reassuringly. "Just don't let it happen too often." He added with a smile.
"I promise you, I won't."
"Good."
"I've really missed you over the last couple of weeks."
"I missed you, too." Luke replied and leaned down to kiss her again.
"Are you going to the diner later?" Lorelai wanted to know when they pulled apart.
"Yeah, for a while, but I have to run some errands in the afternoon."
"Ok."
"How about you, are you going to the Inn?"
Lorelai sighed. "Yeah, but just for a couple of hours, so I can check up on everything and finish some bills that need to go out on Monday. Then I will come back here and relax a little, 'cause I'm officially off until Wednesday." Lorelai told him with a smile.
"Really?" Luke asked her in surprise.
"Yep. I figured that I kinda deserve this after all those extra hours that I have spent in the Inn over the last two months."
"You do deserve this. I'm glad you're taking some time for yourself."
"Me, too."
A little while later the two of them got ready for work. Lorelai was done first and was sitting in the kitchen drinking some coffee that Luke had made for her while she had been in the shower. Luke came downstairs and saw her reading the newspaper. He sat down opposite of her at the table taking a sip of the orange juice that Lorelai had poured for him.
"So do you want to have dinner with me tonight?" Luke asked her.
"What are you making?"
"Who said I was cooking?" Luke asked her with a smirk.
"Well, since I wouldn't even eat what I cook and you don't like to go out too often, I assumed that you were gonna make dinner."
"Good point." Luke admitted.
"I know," she told him with a broad smile. "I'm a genius."
"OK. I'll whip something up. How about you meet me above the diner at six?"
Lorelai looked at her watch, "yeah, sounds good. That gives me about five and a half hours to get things straight at the Inn."
"Good. So I'll meet you there tonight." He got up and put on his coat and scarf that were hanging over one of the chairs. He went over to her and bent down to give her a quick kiss.
"Bye."
"Bye, babe." Lorelai pulled him down for another kiss.
Luke walked out into the hallway looking for his hat. "Lorelai, have you seen my hat?"
Lorelai looked around the kitchen and spotted his hat on the counter behind her.
"Yeah, it's here." She told him and brought it to him into the hallway. She turned it around and put it backwards in his head, putting her arms around his neck in the process.
Luke grinned down at her and quickly put his arms around her waist, pressing her into his body in the process. Lorelai grinned back at him and pulled him down for a more than small kiss. Luke pulled her even closer and eagerly returned the kiss. Lorelai parted her lips and teased his lips with the tip of her tongue. It didn't take long for Luke to part his lips as well and to deepen the kiss, while moving them backwards, so that Lorelai was soon pressed up against the hallway closet. Luke's hat had fallen off in the process and his hands started to roam her body eliciting a low moan from her when stroking the side of her breasts.
"This way we'll never get to work," Lorelai said against his lips when they had to break for air.
"You're the one who started it," Luke told her trying to catch his breath.
"True, but you didn't stop me either."
"Who in their right mind would stop their beautiful girlfriend from a spontaneous make out session?"
Lorelai kissed him softly. "Thanks for the beautiful."
"You're welcome. I know I don't tell you stuff like that often enough." He told her and pulled her into his arms.
"No you do. And I'd rather have you tell me occasionally instead of telling me everyday out of habit like saying "bless you" when someone sneezes."
"That was a weird example."
"Yeah, well you know what I mean."
"Yeah I do." He told her and kissed the top of her head. "I'm gonna head to the diner now before we carry this too far."
"I wouldn't mind that," Lorelai grinned at him mischievously.
"I know, but we don't have time for this right now."
"Yeah, I know." Lorelai sighed and put her arms around his waist hugging him. "I had a great time in Maine." She told him sincerely. "Thanks for taking me with you."
"I'm glad you had a good time. You made it a lot easier to be around TJ."
"Oh come on, he's not that bad."
"Sure, and so isn't you're family."
"OK. Discussion dropped." Lorelai told him wanting to change the subject.
Luke smiled at her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I'll see you tonight."
He put his hat back on and walked to the front door.
"Bye, babe." Lorelai said to him and closed the door behind him.
THE DINER
Luke walked into the diner with his bags from the weekend.
"Hey boss," Lane greeted him with a smile.
"Hey Lane, how was the weekend?"
"Everything went well. We had two Thanksgiving shifts and a full diner yesterday. Nothing major."
"Good. Thanks for taking care of everything. I know Ceasar thinks he's in charge but I feel much better when you're here."
"Thanks boss." Lane said surprised at the unexpected praise. "I can use the extra money."
"Good, do me a favor and tell Ceasar that I'm back, in case he needs anything. I need t run some errands but I'll be back in a couple of hours. Lorelai is coming at six and we'll have dinner upstairs. So… you know…"
"You got it boss," Lane told him, knowing what he meant.
"Don't call me that, I feel old when you do."
"Ok, bo… Luke." Lane smiled at him. "I gotta get back to work."
"Yeah sure, I'm just gonna bring this stuff upstairs and then I'll be heading out again."
"OK." Lane told him and went back to work.
Luke brought his stuff upstairs and then headed out again.
DRAGONFLY INN
Lorelai walked into the kitchen of the Dragonfly Inn through the backdoor.
"Hey, Sook." She greeted her best friend who was standing at the middle island chopping vegetables.
"Lorelai." Sookie said excited dropping her work and hugging her best friend. "How was your weekend, honey?" Sookie asked and turned around to pour her best friend a cup of coffee.
Lorelai took the cup from Sookie. "It was great; we had a good time in Maine. A lot of snow, good food…"
"Good sex?" Sookie asked her with a grin.
"Sookie." Lorelai shushed her. "That's none of your business." Lorelai said slapping her friend's arm lightly.
"So it was good." Sookie said grinning at Lorelai.
"Change of topic, please."
"Ok, ok. So you had a good time."
"Yeah it was great." Lorelai storing staring off into space thinking about her past weekend with Luke.
Sookie looked at her best friend's face. "Honey, are you alright?"
"What?" Lorelai asked coming out of her daze.
"Come on." Sookie said taking Lorelai's arm and pulled her towards Lorelai's office.
"Sookie what are you doing?"
"Sit." Sookie told her when they were in her office. She closed the door and sat beside Lorelai on the couch in her office.
"What's going on?"
"What do you mean what's going on?" Lorelai asked her confused.
"What was that dreamy face about in the kitchen?"
Lorelai didn't respond.
"Oh, no." Sookie said shaking her head.
"What?"
"It's that time again, isn't it?" Sookie said.
"What time? Sookie what are you talking about?" Lorelai was getting more and more confused.
"You're scared. You're scared of going to far with Luke. You're scared that it could get serious. I've seen you do it. You did it with Christopher and with Max. You can't run again, Lorelai. You have to face your fears." Sookie told Lorelai gripping her arm.
"That's the thing. I'm not scared." Lorelai told her best friend.
"You're not?" Sookie asked her in slight disbelief.
"No, I'm not. It's weird I'm not scared at all. I'm not gonna run, belief me." Lorelai tried to assure her best friend.
"You sure?" Sookie wanted to be really sure.
"Yes I'm very sure. I've never been this certain about a relationship before. I… I think Luke's the one, Sookie. He's the one I could really imagine spending the rest of my life with."
"Oh, honey, that's wonderful." Sookie hugged her best friend. "I'm so happy for you. Wait does he know this?"
"I'm not sure."
"Well, you've gotta tell him then."
"I will. I just have to find the right time for it."
"But you will tell him won't you?" Sookie wanted to make sure.
"Yes I will Sookie. I will."
"Ok, good." Sookie smiled at her. "I'm gonna get back to work."
"Yeah, me too." Lorelai said and walked over to her desk and sat down.
Sookie walked towards the door, but before she went outside she turned around again. "Lorelai?"
"Yeah?" Lorelai said looking up from her work.
"I'm really happy for you." Sookie told her sincerely.
"Thanks, Sook."
Sookie went back to the kitchen, while Lorelai started to do some of her paperwork. She had a hard time concentrating on her work. She kept thinking about the conversation with Sookie and about her weekend with Luke in Maine. It seemed like everything was falling into place now. Maybe she was getting the whole package now.
Meanwhile….
Luke hadn't been at this place for a while. He was standing there in the cold, the letter from his mom clenched in his hand. He didn't know why, but he was a little scared to open it. He knew it would bring up old memories, feelings that he hadn't felt in many years.
He looked down at the two names in front of him, Margaret and William Danes. The letters were starting to fade a little after all those years. He didn't come to his parents' grave very often. He didn't need to. His parents were always with him in his mind and his heart, whether he went to cemetery frequently or not.
Luke had been standing there in the cold for a quite a while now, until he finally had the courage to open the letter Liz had given to him from his mom. He carefully opened the envelope, not wanting to rip it too much. He read the words in his mother's handwriting, almost holding his breath in the process.
My dear Lucas,
The fact that you are reading this letter means that you have found the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with, but unfortunately it also means that I'm no longer with you. I gave this letter to your father and asked him to give it to you along with my engagement ring in case I couldn't give this to you in person.
By giving you this ring a long tradition is continued in our family. The ring you are going to give to your girlfriend, if you haven't already done so, has been in our family for a very long. It once belonged to your father's mother, who had also received it from her husband's mother, and maybe you will give this to your own son to give it to the woman he truly loves.
My dear Lucas I am very happy that you are taking the step into marriage. I can only wish for you that you and your wife-to-be will lead a marriage as happy as your father and I did. Being married is not always easy. You will face ups and downs that will make you stronger when you manage to handle them well. Deep down in my heart I know you will make this woman you chose very happy. Always treat her well, I know you will. I wish I could see the two of you together, and get to know the woman that makes you so happy that you want to spend your life with her. Remember that I will always be with you and that I will watch over you.
One day when you have children, make sure to tell them about your mother, tell them that I would have loved them very much. I know that you will make a wonderful father one day. Children fulfill your life in a way that you have never experienced before. You and your sister were the fulfillment of our love. I hope that you will be as happy as your father and I are.
I will always be with you
Love,
Mother
P.S.: The second page of this letter is for the woman you chose to make your wife
Luke wiped away a single tear that had made its way down his cheek. He looked at the second page but didn't read it. He wanted Lorelai to be the first one to read his mother's words addressed to her. Luke put the pages back in the envelope and securely put it into the inside pocket of his jacket.
Luke stood at his parents' grave for a couple more minutes. He gently touched the gravestone and whispered a gentle "Thank you", before he turned around and walked back to his truck.
Back in the diner Luke went to his apartment through the backdoor of the diner. Once upstairs he walked to the small safe in the corner of the apartment and opened it. He put the envelope into the safe and took out the small velvet box that held the ring. He took out the box and opened it. There it was, his mother's ring he gently ran his thumb over the stone. He closed the box and put it back in the safe, closing it again.
Dragonfly Inn
It was a quarter to six and Lorelai was just finishing up her paperwork when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
The door opened and Sookie poked her head inside. "Don't you have a date with Luke to get to?" Sookie asked her and came into Lorelai's office.
Lorelai put the papers in front of her on a stack and took her purse. "I know I'm already gone."
"Good, have fun," Sookie said walking outside with her best friend.
"Thanks," Lorelai said giving Sookie a quick hug. "Bye, Sook."
"Bye, hon." Sookie said and watched her get into her jeep before going back into the kitchen of the Dragonfly.
Luke's apartment
Luke was putting the food on two plates, when there was a knock at the door.
He walked to the door and opened it. "Hey, I thought I told you that you didn't have to knock anymore."
"But what if you were running around naked in here?"
Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't run around here naked, especially not when I'm awaiting company."
"So you are running around here naked sometimes." Lorelai grinned at him.
"Crazy lady." Luke bent down and gave her soft kiss.
"I know." Lorelai smiled and kissed him back.
"Something smells good in here," she said as she pulled away. "What did you make for dinner?"
"A small salad, homemade lasagna and homemade cheesecake with ice cream."
"Nice. Did you make the ice cream, too?"
"Nope, that one I bought." Luke shook his head no.
"Aww, and here I thought you were the perfect guy."
"Well, next time I'll try harder."
"Ok, good."
"So you hungry?" Luke asked her when he put down the plates on the table.
"I'm starving." Lorelai told him sitting down at the table.
"Didn't you eat anything at the Inn?" Luke asked her and sat down next to her at the table.
"Nope, didn't have the time. I had too much work. I wanted to get everything done so I could take the tomorrow off, like I planned it."
"Did you get everything done?"
"Yeah I did."
"Good."
"Luke this is delicious," Lorelai told him after taking a bite of the lasagna.
"Yeah? Good, I'm glad."
"I forgot how awesome your homemade lasagna is. You should really make this more often."
"I don't always have the time to do it, but I will try to make it more often. But also we didn't have a whole lot of dinners together since the opening of the inn."
Lorelai put down her fork and let out a long sigh. "I know and I'm really sorry, I already told you that."
"No, Lorelai, I didn't mean this as an accusation. I just meant that you've been busy with the opening of the inn, which I told you I totally understand. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Luke took her hand and gave it a gently squeeze.
"I know, I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to snap at you like this. I guess I'm just a little stressed out, it was a hard day."
"It's ok."
"Thanks for being so understanding."
"Don't worry about it."
"C'mere." Lorelai said and pulled him towards her for a gently kiss.
"Eat up or you won't get any dessert." Luke told her when they pulled apart.
"You wouldn't dare to keep dessert from me." Lorelai grinned at him.
Luke thought about it for a second, "yeah, probably not."
After they had eaten up their main course, Luke put the dishes in the sink and got the ice cream out of the freezer. He put a piece of cheesecake on each plate and put a scoop of vanilla ice cream next to it.
"You wanna sit down on the couch for dessert?" Luke asked her with the plates in his hand.
"Yeah sure," she answered him and took one of the plates from him. They sat down on the couch and enjoyed their dessert.
Lorelai put her head on Luke's shoulder and sighed. "This was good. Thanks for making me dinner, honey."
Luke took the empty plate from her lap and put their empty plates on the couch table.
"You're welcome," he told her and put his arms around her shoulders.
Lorelai snuggled against his side and pulled her legs up on the couch.
The music they had put on earlier was still playing softly in the background and the two of them simply enjoyed this quiet moment together.
They were both looking out the window into the starry night. Luke was softly caressing Lorelai's arm while Lorelai had slung her free arm around his mid section, drawing little circles on his side.
After a couple of minutes Lorelai sat up straight on the couch. "Luke look, it's snowing." She said excitedly. "It's finally snowing."
Lorelai got up from the couch and walked to the window to get a better look of the snow falling outside.
Luke got up as well and stood behind her snaking his arms around her waist from behind.
"Look, it's beautiful." The snowflakes were getting thicker and thicker with every second and soon the whole town was covered in a white blanket that was glittering in the light of the streetlamps.
For a couple of minutes the two of them just there at the window looking out at the snow falling down on the town.
"You wanna go for a walk." Luke asked her.
Lorelai turned around a little so that she could look into his face.
"Seriously? You are willing to go out into the cold with all the snow falling around you?"
"Well, I know that you and Rory always go out for a walk during the first snowfall, but since she's not here right now I would be willing to fill in for her if you want me to."
Lorelai stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. "I would love to." She told him smiling up at him.
"Good then go get your shoes and your coat and we'll go for a walk. I'll be with you in a sec, I just have to find my gloves."
"Yay, hurry." Lorelai said jumping up and down slightly like a little kid and went to the door to put on her shoes and coat.
Luke made sure that she wasn't looking where he was going and quickly opened the safe. He got out the small velvet box and quietly closed the door of the safe again. He put the small box in his pocket and went to Lorelai to get his coat.
"Ready?" She asked him already half way out the door.
"Yeah, let's go." He told her and the two of them walked downstairs into the diner and outside in the snow.
TBC...
AN2: Soo, how did you like it? Good, bad, ok... tell me in your reviews. again this chapter was not proofread yet so don't attack me for any errors. Writing the letter was really hard. I took me quite a while to write it because I wanted it to be good. I'll try to update soon. I know, I know I've been saying this for the last couple of chapters, but maybe if I'll get a couple more reviews it'll give me some more energy to write ;) Can we make the 20-25? We'll see.