Chapter Fifteen: Not-so-deep-in-denial
Author: Gluglug
Spoiler Warning/Timing: Late-Third Season
Rating: PG -13
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls and all characters are property of The Dubba Dubba Dubba WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions and Amy Sherman- Palladino. They don't belong to me, just borrowing.
Summary: Dr. Lieberman meets the infamous Luke Danes and Lorelai chats with Sookie about her love life.
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Luke walked nervously into Dr. Lieberman's office, he felt foolish talking about his very personal problems with a relative stranger.
Dr. Lieberman eyed Luke with interest. So this was the man that Lorelai denied she was in love with and Nicole had raved about. He certainly wasn't the type she found attractive, but she imagined there had to be some sort of rugged charm under the flannel.
Dr. Lieberman held out her hand. "Hi, Luke, it's nice to finally meet you."
Luke shook her hand, a little surprised. "You've wanted to meet me?"
"Well, Nicole has mentioned she's been dating you."
Dr. Lieberman purposefully left Lorelai out of the conversation. In truth, she had heard much more about him through her sessions with Lorelai then her casual conversations with Nicole. But due to doctor/patient confidentiality, she couldn't mention anything that Lorelai might've said. This was going to be an interesting session.
"So, Luke. What can I help you with today?"
Luke was hoping to get away with saying as little as possible, get a referral and get the hell back to the diner.
"Um, did Nicole say anything to you about why I made an appointment?"
The doctor shook her head. "No, I haven't talked to Nicole in a couple of weeks. Your paperwork says you've come for a consultation."
Luke stared at his hands. "Well, I was hoping to get a referral."
"Well, why don't you tell me what the problem is, and I'll see what I can do for you?"
Luke sighed. "Well, um, Nicole and I have been, um having problems in the bedroom."
Dr. Lieberman nodded. "Erectile dysfunction, I see."
Luke was surprised by her directness. "Well, I guess I can skip the stammering and stuttering then."
"It's a common problem, although usually in older men. In older males it's usually a physical problem and in men your age, it's usually due to anxiety or an unhealthy lifestyle."
"Well, I don't eat red meat. I also exercise, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and don't smoke. I have the occasional beer, but I stay away from hard liquor and caffeine."
"You sound like you take good care of yourself. I doubt your problem is due to diet, it's most likely anxiety. Tell me, have you ever experienced this before?"
"No, never, it just started a few weeks ago, I mean when Nicole and I started, you know, everything was working fine. But then recently it keeps happening and Nicole got fed up and asked me to talk to someone for the sake of our relationship."
"When did it start?"
"About a month ago."
"Did anything happen that might have been stressful for you? Like a job loss or family problems?"
"Nothing like that. Nicole has a theory, though."
"What theory is that?"
Luke looked sheepish. "Um, one night Nicole and I were in bed, having sex and someone walked in us."
Dr. Lieberman knew very well who that was.
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Lorelai returned to the Inn, still wondering about Luke's visit to her therapist's office. What were they talking about? Could he possibly be talking about her? Or was he having problems dealing with Jess, or maybe Nicole? Or was he having dreams about wanting to strangle Taylor with his bare hands?
Sookie noticed that Lorelai's head was somewhere else. They were supposed to be looking at wallpaper samples for the new banquet room and she had to say something to bring her back to earth.
"So, I think a Scottish plaid would look really nice, don't you? I was thinking of taking Jackson's kilt to the wallpaper guy and having him copy the pattern."
"Sure Sookie."
"Whoa, Lorelai. You're not listening to me. What's up?"
"Oh, nothing."
"Nothing? Lorelai, I've noticed a change in you over the past few weeks. You've been a lot calmer since you cut back on caffeine. Or are the sleeping pills making you day-dreamy?"
"I don't know, maybe both. Hey Sookie, do you think I should get back together with Alex?"
"Well, he's quite a catch, Lorelai. Handsome, funny, smart and he looks like he stepped off the cover of GQ." She paused and looked at her friend soberly. "But the question is, does he make you happy?"
"Well I had a great time with him and he's really sweet. There's just something missing that I can't put my finger on."
"You're not in love with him."
Lorelai snapped her fingers. "Oh, yeah, that's it."
"Then if you're not in love with him, then I don't think you should."
"Why? Not all couples who date are in love, right? It can be just for fun."
"Right. But Alex put your relationship on hiatus, as you put it, because he wanted to know where you were going. It's obvious that he wants more than a little fun, Lorelai. You don't want to lead him on."
"I guess you're right, Sookie. I just don't like being single."
"Well, you've never had a problem being single before, with your Ricky Martin-ing, and all. Maybe the reason you don't like being single is because a certain person is dating someone else right now."
This being Sookie, Lorelai knew it was coming but it didn't bother her as much given her discussion with Dr. Lieberman this morning.
She sighed. "You're talking about Luke, aren't you?"
Sookie nodded, incredulous that Lorelai brought up his name first. "Yes! Oh honey, after all this time has everything I said finally sunk in?"
Lorelai hadn't told Sookie about her therapy and didn't want to tell her that a shrink was responsible for her not-so-deep-in-denial response.
"I guess so. I've been thinking a lot about Luke lately and maybe my feelings for him aren't so platonic, after all."
"Honey, I'm so proud of you. This is great!"
"Why is it great? Luke has this good thing with Nicole. I don't want to mess that up for him."
"How do you know it's good? Maybe he's just biding his time. I mean like you said, not all couples who date are in love. And I'm pretty sure Luke still has a thing for you."
"Oh, I don't know. I can never tell with him. Sometimes I think I've seen something there one moment and the next it's gone. And then I wonder if I imagined it."
"Well there's only one way to find out, Lorelai."
"Oh Sookie, no, I couldn't. He'd hate me, ban me from the diner and then I'd have to take up permanent residency in your kitchen. Then you and Jackson would get sick of my Ozzy impressions and force me to take a permanent table at Al's Pancake World."
"Okay drama queen, you don't have to tell him today. Maybe this Nicole thing will run its course."
"She's not the common cold, Sookie. I think Luke is really into her, I mean he shaves and dresses up for her, voluntarily."
"I'm sure he'd dress up for you, too, if you asked him nicely. Or undress." Sookie giggled.
Lorelai blushed, thinking about her Luke dreams. "Sookie, can we not talk about this anymore? Let's talk wallpaper."
Sookie nodded. "Okay, wallpaper. But I'm not going to stop nagging you about Luke."
"That's okay, I'm used to it." Lorelai smiled wearily at her friend.
A/N: Okay, so I wrote a little of Luke's session, more from a Dr. Lieberman POV, I thought that would make the most sense. And I will resolve the R/J thing very soon, don't worry kids.
I've officially run out of Almodovar film titles for my chapters, so I'm winging it.
Author: Gluglug
Spoiler Warning/Timing: Late-Third Season
Rating: PG -13
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls and all characters are property of The Dubba Dubba Dubba WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions and Amy Sherman- Palladino. They don't belong to me, just borrowing.
Summary: Dr. Lieberman meets the infamous Luke Danes and Lorelai chats with Sookie about her love life.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
Luke walked nervously into Dr. Lieberman's office, he felt foolish talking about his very personal problems with a relative stranger.
Dr. Lieberman eyed Luke with interest. So this was the man that Lorelai denied she was in love with and Nicole had raved about. He certainly wasn't the type she found attractive, but she imagined there had to be some sort of rugged charm under the flannel.
Dr. Lieberman held out her hand. "Hi, Luke, it's nice to finally meet you."
Luke shook her hand, a little surprised. "You've wanted to meet me?"
"Well, Nicole has mentioned she's been dating you."
Dr. Lieberman purposefully left Lorelai out of the conversation. In truth, she had heard much more about him through her sessions with Lorelai then her casual conversations with Nicole. But due to doctor/patient confidentiality, she couldn't mention anything that Lorelai might've said. This was going to be an interesting session.
"So, Luke. What can I help you with today?"
Luke was hoping to get away with saying as little as possible, get a referral and get the hell back to the diner.
"Um, did Nicole say anything to you about why I made an appointment?"
The doctor shook her head. "No, I haven't talked to Nicole in a couple of weeks. Your paperwork says you've come for a consultation."
Luke stared at his hands. "Well, I was hoping to get a referral."
"Well, why don't you tell me what the problem is, and I'll see what I can do for you?"
Luke sighed. "Well, um, Nicole and I have been, um having problems in the bedroom."
Dr. Lieberman nodded. "Erectile dysfunction, I see."
Luke was surprised by her directness. "Well, I guess I can skip the stammering and stuttering then."
"It's a common problem, although usually in older men. In older males it's usually a physical problem and in men your age, it's usually due to anxiety or an unhealthy lifestyle."
"Well, I don't eat red meat. I also exercise, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and don't smoke. I have the occasional beer, but I stay away from hard liquor and caffeine."
"You sound like you take good care of yourself. I doubt your problem is due to diet, it's most likely anxiety. Tell me, have you ever experienced this before?"
"No, never, it just started a few weeks ago, I mean when Nicole and I started, you know, everything was working fine. But then recently it keeps happening and Nicole got fed up and asked me to talk to someone for the sake of our relationship."
"When did it start?"
"About a month ago."
"Did anything happen that might have been stressful for you? Like a job loss or family problems?"
"Nothing like that. Nicole has a theory, though."
"What theory is that?"
Luke looked sheepish. "Um, one night Nicole and I were in bed, having sex and someone walked in us."
Dr. Lieberman knew very well who that was.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------
Lorelai returned to the Inn, still wondering about Luke's visit to her therapist's office. What were they talking about? Could he possibly be talking about her? Or was he having problems dealing with Jess, or maybe Nicole? Or was he having dreams about wanting to strangle Taylor with his bare hands?
Sookie noticed that Lorelai's head was somewhere else. They were supposed to be looking at wallpaper samples for the new banquet room and she had to say something to bring her back to earth.
"So, I think a Scottish plaid would look really nice, don't you? I was thinking of taking Jackson's kilt to the wallpaper guy and having him copy the pattern."
"Sure Sookie."
"Whoa, Lorelai. You're not listening to me. What's up?"
"Oh, nothing."
"Nothing? Lorelai, I've noticed a change in you over the past few weeks. You've been a lot calmer since you cut back on caffeine. Or are the sleeping pills making you day-dreamy?"
"I don't know, maybe both. Hey Sookie, do you think I should get back together with Alex?"
"Well, he's quite a catch, Lorelai. Handsome, funny, smart and he looks like he stepped off the cover of GQ." She paused and looked at her friend soberly. "But the question is, does he make you happy?"
"Well I had a great time with him and he's really sweet. There's just something missing that I can't put my finger on."
"You're not in love with him."
Lorelai snapped her fingers. "Oh, yeah, that's it."
"Then if you're not in love with him, then I don't think you should."
"Why? Not all couples who date are in love, right? It can be just for fun."
"Right. But Alex put your relationship on hiatus, as you put it, because he wanted to know where you were going. It's obvious that he wants more than a little fun, Lorelai. You don't want to lead him on."
"I guess you're right, Sookie. I just don't like being single."
"Well, you've never had a problem being single before, with your Ricky Martin-ing, and all. Maybe the reason you don't like being single is because a certain person is dating someone else right now."
This being Sookie, Lorelai knew it was coming but it didn't bother her as much given her discussion with Dr. Lieberman this morning.
She sighed. "You're talking about Luke, aren't you?"
Sookie nodded, incredulous that Lorelai brought up his name first. "Yes! Oh honey, after all this time has everything I said finally sunk in?"
Lorelai hadn't told Sookie about her therapy and didn't want to tell her that a shrink was responsible for her not-so-deep-in-denial response.
"I guess so. I've been thinking a lot about Luke lately and maybe my feelings for him aren't so platonic, after all."
"Honey, I'm so proud of you. This is great!"
"Why is it great? Luke has this good thing with Nicole. I don't want to mess that up for him."
"How do you know it's good? Maybe he's just biding his time. I mean like you said, not all couples who date are in love. And I'm pretty sure Luke still has a thing for you."
"Oh, I don't know. I can never tell with him. Sometimes I think I've seen something there one moment and the next it's gone. And then I wonder if I imagined it."
"Well there's only one way to find out, Lorelai."
"Oh Sookie, no, I couldn't. He'd hate me, ban me from the diner and then I'd have to take up permanent residency in your kitchen. Then you and Jackson would get sick of my Ozzy impressions and force me to take a permanent table at Al's Pancake World."
"Okay drama queen, you don't have to tell him today. Maybe this Nicole thing will run its course."
"She's not the common cold, Sookie. I think Luke is really into her, I mean he shaves and dresses up for her, voluntarily."
"I'm sure he'd dress up for you, too, if you asked him nicely. Or undress." Sookie giggled.
Lorelai blushed, thinking about her Luke dreams. "Sookie, can we not talk about this anymore? Let's talk wallpaper."
Sookie nodded. "Okay, wallpaper. But I'm not going to stop nagging you about Luke."
"That's okay, I'm used to it." Lorelai smiled wearily at her friend.
A/N: Okay, so I wrote a little of Luke's session, more from a Dr. Lieberman POV, I thought that would make the most sense. And I will resolve the R/J thing very soon, don't worry kids.
I've officially run out of Almodovar film titles for my chapters, so I'm winging it.