A/N: My thrid update today. Are you sick of me yet? I just can't seem to stop. Anyway, never fear, this should get us over the hump. Thanks for sticking with me!

When Mimi met Katie

That night, Rory told Lorelai that Luke was home. She confirmed that Jess had gone back to his mother's, and related what they had talked about. Lorelai waited in vain for the phone to ring, but it never did. She had said in her note that she would wait for him to tell her when he was ready to talk, knowing that Luke needed time to process things. For the next few days, in an unprecedented show of patience for Lorelai Gilmore, she waited. She did go into the diner for coffee because she didn't want to add more gossip to the rumors already flying around. When she saw him, they kept their conversation polite, using those time honored favorites 'Good morning.' 'How's it going?', and the ever scintillating 'Wow, busy today, huh?'. Rory watched her mom struggle to keep an optimistic outlook on things. Luckily, Lorelai was in the throes of final exams at business school, and therefore, had the perfect excuse to bury herself in the books for hours.

With Lorelai's graduation day fast approaching, Rory decided to take matters into her own hands. She slipped a typewritten note to Luke with the date, time and place of the graduation ceremony, and watched carefully as he read it, nodded and placed it in his shirt pocket. On the day of graduation, Luke could not bring himself to miss this important event in her life, no matter how bad things were between them. He slipped into the auditorium clutching a bouquet of red roses, hoping to snag a seat near the back. Rory saw him, and stood to wave him over to where she was sitting with Sookie and her grandparents. Luke greeted them warmly, but was thankful that the ceremony started before any conversation could be expected. After Lorelai received her diploma, he hung back while the others offered their congratulations, and snapped pictures with the graduate. Finally, she turned to him, her eyes bright with tears. "You came." She said in a breathy voice.

"Of course." He replied, "Here, these are for you." He said handing her the bouquet. She took them and buried her face in the fragrant blooms. "I'm very proud of you." He said in a hoarse voice.

"Thank you." She said, blushing. She leaned in to grasp his hand urgently, "Can we talk?" she implored.

He shook his head, "Not yet." He saw her face cloud over. "Soon." He promised in a whisper. Just then, Richard clapped Luke on the back asking if he was joining them for the celebratory dinner. Luke politely refused, saying that he was needed at the diner. Taking one last look at Lorelai, he kissed her chastely on the cheek, and said "Congratulations."

The tension in their exchange was not lost on Emily Gilmore. She had sensed before that evening that something was going on between Lorelai and Luke. Oddly, the triumph she thought that she would feel upon having it confirmed was overshadowed by the sadness she felt when she saw the pain in their eyes. For once in her life, Emily decided it was best not to interfere.

The rest of the week passed without word form Luke, and Lorelai was beginning to give up hope. Sookie's wedding was in two days, and she immersed herself in helping her friend handle the last minute details. That Friday night, instead of having dinner with her parents, Lorelai was at Sookie's trying to keep the happy smile glued to her face for the duration of the rehearsal dinner and party. Needing to take a breather, Lorelai stepped out onto the porch. She was sitting on the steps, trying to decide what to do about Luke, then she heard the guests inside the house humming the wedding march to Sookie and Jackson for some reason. Hearing the tune, Lorelai's eyes filled with tears and she felt all hope draining from her body. I have to know. She thought as she felt the tears falling from her eyes. I have to know if it's over. I can't wait any longer. Lorelai stood, wiped her eyes, and started walking toward Luke's.

The diner was closed, but as she approached, she saw him standing at the counter sorting the day's receipts. She spied the coffee pot resting on the counter, almost as if he was expecting her. She took it as a sign.

The bells jingled as she entered. "We're closed." Luke growled without looking up.

"I know." She said softly, "Look, I wouldn't even have come here at all but I had a really crappy night and I really, really need a cup of coffee. Just pretend I'm not me." She said as she poured the coffee and sat down at the end of the counter, crying softly. Luke tried his best to ignore her. "This is the second time I let myself do this." She said with a sniffle.

"Do what?" he asked, not daring to look at her.

"Think I finally found it." She replied

"Found what?" he asked patiently.

"Love, comfort, safety." She trailed off staring into her coffee cup.

"Ah" he said, catching her drift.

"I mean, first with Max, which of course, I screwed up, and then with you, which of course, I screwed up again. And the worst part about it? I can't even talk to my best friend about it, because my best friend is you." She said, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "I just," she paused to take a deep breath, "I just need to talk to my friend Luke and ask him… ask him how do I fix this?" Luke looked up from his receipts, and stared out the window, his jaw working, furiously trying to hold back his tears.

Lorelai continued speaking softly, not checking to see if he was really listening. "I thought maybe we could do it. Maybe we could really be a family, in the stupid, traditional 'Dan Quayle, golden retriever, grow old together, wear matching jogging suits' kind of way."

He looked over at her, his eyes filled with a mixture of love and pain, but she continued blindly. "I mean, I'm lucky, I know. I have a good life. I just. . .I feel like I'm never gonna have it. . .the whole package, you know? My life just feels so empty without you there sharing it with me. I just want the whole package."

Luke cleared his throat and said gruffly, "You'll get it."

"How do you know?" she asked hopefully.

"I know." He said with quiet conviction.

She raised her tear stained face to meet his eyes, "Will you ever be able to forgive me?" she whispered.

Luke stared down at the counter, gathering his thoughts. Finally he said, "Lorelai, I already forgave you. I'm just trying to figure out how to forgive myself."

"What?" she asked, stunned by his assertion.

He looked at her and said "I love you Lorelai. You know that. I love you and I love Rory, but I had an obligation to Jess, to my family. And, I let my love for you make me do something that I know in my heart was wrong." He said quietly, his voice filled with remorse. "I don't know how to get past that."

She moved over to him, grasped his arm and looked at him pleadingly. "I was wrong. I was so wrong to make you choose. Bring him home, Luke."

"What?" he asked, not believing what he had heard.

"Bring him home." She stated emphatically. "Call him. We will go get him tonight. Just bring him back so that we can make this right for all of us."

"Call him?" he asked slowly.

"Yes!" she said moving toward the telephone, "What's his number?" Luke rattled off the number automatically, still trying to catch up with her. Lorelai pressed the receiver to her ear as the phone rang. Finally she heard Jess answer. "Jess? It's Lorelai. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry about everything. We want you to come home. To Stars Hollow. Will you come? Luke, Rory and I could drive down and pick you up tomorrow if you want…"