Author's Note: Are you having fun? Let me know if you are!

Disclaimer: I'm not making any money off of this, so it doesn't matter that I don't own "Gilmore Girls" or "Ed."

"Welcome to the Independence Inn!" Lorelai announced as she held the door open for Ed. "Michel, could you have one of the bellboys take Mr. Stevens bags to the Presidential Suite." Ed followed Lorelai over to the desk.

"I don't need the Presidential Suite," Ed said quickly as someone took his duffel bag and he watched Lorelai register him.

"It's on us, of course," Lorelai ignored him.

"No, I can't let you do that."

"Please. It's the least Sookie and I can do for inconveniencing you. Besides, it was open tonight anyway," Lorelai told him as she handed him a key. "And don't forget to come down for dinner, Sookie is a fabulous cook."

Ed paused. "Well, I really hate to eat alone."

Lorelai shot a glare at Michel when he let a chuckle slip out. "Well, the dining room is always busy, so-"

"I was wondering if you would have dinner with me," he said bluntly.

"Oh, well, usually I just grab a bite at the local diner," she said.

"Sounds good. Meet you there at six?" Ed offered as he started to back away from the desk.

"I really-"

"Six it is. Bye Lorelai." She silently watched him walk away and up the stairs.

"So, you have a date with a strange man in that horrid little diner," Michel observed. "Sounds very desperate."

"Thank you for pointing that out, Michel," Lorelai sighed as she began walking to the kitchen. "Coffee?"

"I just made a fresh pot," Sookie told her. "Hey, thanks for helping me out this morning. Ed seemed really into you."

" Please don't start, Sookie," Lorelai said quickly as she took a drink of coffee.

"Why? He's a nice guy. He's pretty cute-"

"He's from Ohio, Sookie!"

"Well, you just haven't had a date in awhile…Christopher is with Sherry now, right?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yes."

"And, you know, Ed isn't going to make me pay for his taillight."

"So you let him take you to dinner."

"I don't know how Jackson would feel about that."

"Excuse me, I have work to do," Lorelai said as she walked back into the lobby. "This day just keeps getting better and better."

Ed had been walking around Stars Hollow for most of the afternoon and finally headed over to the diner at ten to six. He assumed that this was the diner that Lorelai meant since she had been inside before the accident, although the William's Hardware sign threw him off for a second.

He came inside and glanced around, noting the cozy atmosphere. He didn't see Lorelai there yet, and decided on a table.

"Know what you want?"

Ed glanced up at the teenage boy standing next to him. "Oh. No, actually, I'm meeting someone here so I'll just have some coffee for now. Thanks." Ed was a little surprised as the kid walked away without even nodding. But he was distracted when he heard the door chime and saw Lorelai walking in.

"Lorelai, hey!" Ed called and stood up.

"Oh. Ed. You're here," she said as she walked over. "I thought you were kidding."

"Of course not. Please, allow me." Lorelai was quite surprised as he came over to pull out her chair.

"Boy, I just had a flashback of a DAR summer cotillion," Lorelai mumbled. She tried to smile as Ed sat down. "So, how is the suite?"

"Oh, it's great, but I've been walking around town all day. This is a really great place. How long have you lived here?"

"Um, about fifteen years."

"Do your parents live here?"

"No, they live in Hartford, I grew up there."

"Coffee?" Lorelai and Ed noticed Jess holding a coffeepot.

"Oh, yes, please. Jess, um, this is Ed Stevens," Lorelai said quickly.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Ed said brightly as he held out his hand. Jess nodded a little before pouring the coffee.

"Ed is just passing through," Lorelai continued. "In case you were wondering."

"I wasn't really." Jess walked away.

"Friend of yours?"

"He knows my- friend," Lorelai said slowly, then realized how insane she sounded. "I mean, I know his uncle. Who is my friend. And owns this diner, actually."

"Luke?"

"Yes."

"What's with the hardware store sign?"

Lorelai smiled. "That's kind of sweet, actually. His father owned this building and had a hardware store. And even after he died and Luke turned it into a diner, he kept the sign up."

"That is sweet."

"Yeah. That's sweet, old Luke."

"Jess!" a gruff voice rang out from above and suddenly there was a clambering on the stairs. Luke appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "You, get upstairs."

"You're making a scene," Jess said casually as he placed an order on the counter.

"You're skipping summer school?" Luke asked as he walked over. "What are you thinking? They're giving you another chance and you're going to just throw it all away again? You're grounded. Upstairs, now!" Jess rolled his eyes as he started to walk upstairs. Luke followed him, yelling rules about no television or music or books.

"Like I said," Lorelai sighed. "Sweet." Ed had to chuckle at little at the coincidence. "So…this is kind of weird."

"It is?" Ed asked as he set down his coffee.

"Well, yeah. I don't even know you."

"That is why I asked you to have dinner with me. Go ahead, ask me anything."

"Anything?"

"Sure."

"What do you do?"

"I'm a lawyer. And I also own a bowling alley."

"That's kind of cool," Lorelai said, smiling a little. "How long have you lived in…Stuckeyville, is it?"

"Yeah. Well, I grew up there. I came back two years ago."

"To save the family bowling alley?" Lorelai kidded.

"Well, I had just lost my job and my marriage had just fallen apart so I decided to go back to my roots."

Lorelai frowned. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea."

"It's okay. I told you to ask me anything." He leaned forward. "Have you ever been married?"

"Oh. Well, came close, but I couldn't go through with it," Lorelai shrugged.

"Not the one?"

"I guess not."

"Ready to order?" Luke asked and Lorelai blushed when she saw him.

"Luke, hey, this is Ed Stevens. He was just passing through town-"

"Drifter?" Luke asked accusingly.

"I prefer wanderer, actually," Ed joked, but Luke didn't laugh.

"Ed is a lawyer from Ohio," Lorelai explained. "And I will have the usual."

Luke glanced at Ed. "I'll have the same," Ed answered quickly and let out a breath when Luke walked away. "What's with that guy?"

"Probably just realized he's been wearing flannel since before the grunge movement," Lorelai replied as she sipped her coffee.

"Is there something between you two?" Ed asked.

"Oh my gosh. Not a day goes by someone says that to me, and not a day goes by that I tell them Luke and I are just friends."

"Well, even if you won't admit it, there's an energy there. Have you two ever dated?"

"No, that would be too weird. Besides, if it didn't work out I'd never get coffee again. We had this…stupid fight a few weeks ago and I nearly died from withdrawals."

"You come here everyday?"

"Unless Luke and I aren't on speaking terms, probably more than once."

"Interesting," Ed mumbled as he took another drink of coffee.

Ed and Lorelai were walking around town after they'd eaten, and somehow steered themselves in the direction of Lorelai's house.

"I had a very nice time, Ed," Lorelai told him as he walked her up to the porch. "And you are really sweet guy."

"It shows when I'm with a really great girl." Then he said what she was thinking. "But I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Yes."

"You know, I'm not in a big rush to get out of here. In fact, I can stay as long as I want."

"But you'd have to go back eventually. And I have a really complicated life that you don't want to get into."

"Lorelai, how do you know unless you let me in?"
She paused. "Inside?"

"In your life." Ed smiled. "And yes, if that included letting me inside your house then-"

"I can't. There's a rule about having boys in the house."

"What?"

"And even though Rory's not here, I think I should still respect those rules."

"Who's-"

"Would you just kiss me and get it over with?" Lorelai demanded. Ed was very confused, but even he couldn't turn up the chance of kissing Lorelai. It was very long, but innocent and sweet. When Ed pulled away, Lorelai opened her eyes.

"Okay. Come in," she said quietly and opened the door. Ed walked in the foyer slowly and glanced around.

"This place is really nice," he said politely as he walked into the living room. Lorelai strode past him and went to the mantle. She picked up three frames and then brought them over to Ed.

"This is me when I was nineteen, I was working as a maid at the Inn. Rory was only three," she said, thrusting them into his hands. "This is when we moved into the house, Rory was eleven." She handed him the last one. "This was at Rory's sixteenth birthday party last year."

Ed looked up at Lorelai. "Rory is…your daughter?" he asked.

"Yes. She's my daughter. She's at a youth leadership program in Washington D.C. for the summer. She's seventeen."

"Wow. That's a great age. But, um, aren't you a little…young to have a seventeen year old daughter?"

"I got pregnant when I was sixteen. I never married Rory's dad, although the idea has crossed my mind more than once since I said no the first time."

Ed handed the pictures back to Lorelai. "You do have a pretty complicated life."

"I warned you."

"But I'm not scared." She looked up and saw he was serious. "And even if this is just friends or maybe a few amazing days together, I think both of us need to take that chance." He leaned forward and kissed her again. After he pulled back, he said, "Goodnight, Lorelai Gilmore. You know where to find me." He smiled, and then walked out of the house.

Ed was wide-awake when he returned to his hotel room, feeling satisfied and alive, so he sat down on the bed and dialed Mike.

"Hello?"

"Mike, hey!"

"Ed, where are you now?"

"Connecticut."

"You told Molly you were in Connecticut this morning."

"I was. Still am."

Mike chuckled. "I had no idea the state was so captivating."

"I was in a little car accident, my car won't be ready until tomorrow."

"Oh man, are you alright?"

"It was nothing, Mike. But, oh, I have something to tell you." Ed paused dramatically. "I met a woman."

"A Connecticut woman?"

"She is…amazing! She's smart and funny and beautiful and-"

"Sounds pretty amazing, but what are you doing, Ed?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're not actually pursuing this woman."

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Well, for one, she's a Connecticut woman, and you are an Ohio man, my friend."

"Thank you for the geography lesson."

"And remember why you took this insane little journey? Weren't you following someone we know? Who was it, oh yeah, the love of your life, Carol Vessey?"

Ed shook his head, and began to pace around the hotel room. "I was not following her. She went west- with Dennis mind you- and I went east. And I went on the road to find something, something to make me forget about Carol."

"Do you mean someone?"

"Look, I thought you liked hearing these things, you liked to live vicariously though me, old married man, but if you're just going to rain on my parade-"

"Well, I like hearing the juicy details. Not the emotional crap."

"That's my boy!" Ed laughed.

"So, gimme the juicy details!"