Chapter 27: Guess Who I Ran Into?
It was Friday afternoon and Luke was depressed. The afternoon at the diner was slow so he found himself absentmindedly cleaning the same spot on the counter for the last ten minutes. Frustrated, he tossed the rag under the counter and looked for something else to do.
Unfortunately, the first thing he noticed was he needed to make a fresh batch of coffee. Of course thinking about coffee only made him think about Lorelai. He leaned back against the front counter and thought about Lorelai. About her smile when she was happy, and the way that the sun on a bright day would really bring out hints of red in her hair.
He loved the way her nose crinkled when she was happy. He missed her laughter and her screwy trains of thought that no one else could possibly come up with, but in her own unique way made perfect sense. He longed to hear her latest name for some whatsit that no one else would give a second thought to, but she felt obliged to name.
He yearned to see the look on her face when she talked about something she was passionate about, like work or Rory. Especially Rory. The way she lit up whenever her daughter was mentioned was a thing to behold. It was like there was a thousand-watt bulb behind each eye when ever Rory's name came up. He also missed the sadness she displayed when ever Rory left again. Not because it made her sad, he hated that, but because it was another fascinating aspect that made up the wonder that was Lorelai Gilmore. God, how he loved her.
He missed her so much; it left a hole in his soul. He had thought that loving her from afar was hard because of the empty feeling it left. However, having now experienced her love firsthand, then having it suddenly taken away was a hundred times worse. It was like an essential part of himself had been stripped from him and it was the best part.
He was desperate to see her, but she continued to refuse. He wanted to think that she had to give in eventually, but Lorelai's reputation for being stubborn was well deserved.
He closed his eyes as he thought about the events that had brought them here. It was no one's fault, just people being people. Then introduce grief, kindness, compassion, a generous amount of alcohol and a little bad judgment into the mix and it had become a recipe for disaster.
At least one thing had come out of the whole experience and that was clarity. He had been confused by his feelings after learning of Rachel's death. A perplexing jumble of grief, residual affection, obligation, and guilt that sent him headlong into confusion. But the prospect of losing Lorelai forced everything into perspective. Lorelai had always been the one he wanted to be with. Rachel had even seen that so many years ago. He would have never admitted that he believed in a soul mate, but now that he was faced with a hole in his, he was forced to admit that they existed at least to himself, and his was Lorelai.
He was desperate to get her back, but he couldn't get her to see him, never mind listen to his explanation.
Trying to shake off the depression, Luke started a new pot of coffee. After the coffee was brewing, Luke walked to the window to look out onto the sunny May afternoon. He glanced in the direction of Doose's Market just in time to see Lorelai duck into the store.
Luke's mind went into high gear. It was Friday afternoon, so she was most likely stocking up on junk food for the weekend. That meant that he had somewhere between five and ten minutes before she came out of the store.
He considered for a moment then made up his mind. He yelled back into the kitchen to Caesar, that he was going out on an errand, and then was out the door. He wasn't sure if this was a good idea or what the outcome would but at least he could do something.
Lorelai peered around the corner and looked up the street towards Doose's Market. She ducked back around the corner as she debated with herself if considering Doose's proximity to Luke's if she should risk it.
She leaned back against the wall of the building as she thought about Luke. God, how she missed the cheating, two-timing bastard. She missed the way he frowned at her when she asked for her third cup of coffee. She missed the way he smelt, whether it was just after a shower, or after a day at the diner. Luke and cheeseburgers were her all-time favorite smell.
Most nights she cried herself to sleep at night yearning for the feel of his strong arms around her as they slept. She even missed waking up the sound of his horrible singing coming from the bathroom as he showered in the morning.
But when she thought of the way he had cheated on her, it tied her stomach up in knots. Or maybe that was the chili dog she had had for lunch, causing her such pain.
Lorelai rubbed her stomach as she thought; I need to start eating better for the baby. Oh, God, the baby, what was she going to do? She knew if she told Luke he would go all noble and insist on marrying her. God, it would be like Christopher all over again. Well, she thought, I could always run away and start a new life. I did it before, why not now?
She chuckled silently as she chastised herself, because you're not sixteen, you now have roots and responsibilities. Besides, she thought, I don't run away from unpleasant situations. When she had left home before, that was to change the situation, not to avoid it.
She again looked in the direction of Doose's, as she felt another rumbling in her stomach. She thought for a second then decided, this is stupid, I shouldn't be afraid to go to the store, just because she might run into Luke. Besides, Rory was coming into town and she needed to stock up on supplies for movie night.
She pushed herself off the wall and headed around the corner. As she neared Doose's, she finalized the list of things to get. Another twinge in her stomach caused her to make a note to add something to calm an upset stomach. Just before she entered Doose's, she glanced in the direction of Luke's and decided that she didn't have a problem running into Luke, but there was nothing wrong with walking a little faster to reduce that risk.
Ten minutes later, Lorelai picked up the bags with her purchase from the checkout line. She stopped before walking out the door to glance in the direction of Luke's. Seeing the coast was clear, she opened the door and turned to walk in the other direction.
She walked two steps before she stopped dead in her tracks. Luke was leaning against the wall just past Doose's window. Luke stood up, smiled at her nervously, and said, "Hi, Lorelai."
Lorelai paused for a second, remembering her earlier decision that if she ran into Luke she could talk to him. She now realized that she was wrong. Without saying a word, Lorelai turned and started walking in the opposite direction.
"Lorelai, wait," Luke called after her as he hurried to catch up. Once Luke was abreast of her, he said, "Lorelai, please. Can we just talk?"
She stopped, turned to Luke and said, "I'm not ready to talk, Luke."
"I don't think we should put this off any longer," Luke replied.
"Now or later, I don't see how it will make any difference, Luke."
"Lorelai, just let me explain. Please?"
Lorelai considered for a moment then said, "Alright, I'll give you five minutes." Lorelai pointed a finger at him and said, "But that's only because I don't have any ice cream in these bags." She pointed with her shoulder and said, "Let me put these in my car."
Silently, they walked to Lorelai's car. Once the bags were inside, she crossed her arms and asked, "So, tell me, was it Rhonda?"
"Who?" Luke asked.
"The woman in your room, was it Rachel's sister, Rhonda?"
"Oh," Luke replied, "Rachel's sister's name is Regina, and yes it was."
"Is she pretty?"
"I don't know," Luke shrugged, evasively.
"You don't know if a woman is pretty?" Lorelai scoffed.
"Yeah, I guess she might be pretty."
Lorelai tried a different tact and asked, "Alright, does she look much like Rachel?"
Luke nodded and said, "She looks almost exactly like Rachel. When I first saw her, I thought it was Rachel."
Lorelai nodded and replied, "Then she's beautiful."
"So, what was it, Luke? One last fling with a surrogate Rachel? Or maybe you just wanted to be able to say you bagged sisters?"
"No," Luke denied. "It was nothing like that, you don't understand."
Lorelai felt a slight cramping, but she ignored it and said, "You're right, I don't understand why you would do something like this. Why would you do this to me?"
"Lorelai," Luke pleaded. "I didn't do anything wrong."
"Nothing wrong?" Lorelai asked. "So, since you were out of state, it doesn't count? Or maybe it was because you were mourning that makes it okay? Or since you said that once you got back you wanted to spend some time apart it makes it okay to sleep with another woman, because we were technically not really together?"
"Lorelai, I didn't sleep with anyone."
"Luke, just how big of a fool do you think I am?" Lorelai asked.
"I never said you were a fool," Luke replied.
"Then, why do you expect me to believe you? How can I believe that you didn't sleep with her when I found her asleep in your room, at seven a.m.?" Lorelai asked.
"Lorelai," Luke pleaded. "I did not sleep with her, I swear."
"Then why was your cell phone off?" Lorelai asked. "Was it because you didn't want me interrupting your little tryst?"
"I turned it off before the funeral on Saturday, and forgot to turn it back on," Luke explained. "I'm not used to having one, and I forgot. It had nothing to do with trying to avoid you."
Once again, Lorelai felt her stomach try and tie itself into knots, but she ignored it, saying, "Then, tell me, Luke, if you didn't sleep with her what was she doing asleep in your room?"
"Well, aaa…" Luke stammered. "She was sleeping."
"That's it," Lorelai said as she turned for the car. "I've heard enough."
"No, wait, Lorelai," Luke called as he stopped her with a hand on her arm, "You haven't given me a chance to explain."
Lorelai shook his hand off and said, "Luke, all I've done for the last ten minutes is listen to you explain, and the more you explain, the worse it sounds."
"That is not true!" Luke exclaimed holding a finger in the air. "You have been asking me questions, whose answers to make things sound worse that they were. You have not given me a chance to tell you my side."
Another cramp hit Lorelai, causing her to close her eyes a second and take a deep breath. Sounding like she was calming herself, she let out the breath, and then said," Alright, Luke. Go ahead and explain to me what happened."
Looking slightly relieved, Luke took a deep breath then began to explain, "Well, I think I told you that was going to go to Rachel's mother's house Saturday morning, to ride in the family limo."
Lorelai nodded so he continued, "Well I did, and as soon as I arrived, Regina latched onto me and didn't let go. I didn't know what to do, cause I didn't want to hurt her feelings so I did nothing. So, all day during the services and at the cemetery, she is hanging on me. Then just as we are about to leave the cemetery, Rachel's old college roommate gets there. She's late because of problems with the airlines."
"So we talk for a while, then Regina announces that she and I have plans for dinner and drinks, and invites Colleen to join us," Luke said.
Lorelai gasped and said, "Oh my God, Luke. There were two of them?"
"What? No!" Luke said. "You said you would let me explain, so do you mind?"
Lorelai nodded her head sheepishly and said, "Sorry."
"No problem," said Luke. "So, anyway this was the first I had heard of the idea and I thought it was a bad idea, but I didn't feel I could say no. So the girls come to my hotel and we have dinner in the restaurant, and then go to the bar for some drinks, and to talk about Rachel."
"While we are drinking and talking, Regina is sitting right next to me, in the booth. She keeps moving next to me, but I move away, until I can't go any further because of the wall, and this whole time Regina is getting pretty drunk. I'm worried about what might happen but I feel that as long as Colleen is there nothing can happen."
"Finally," Luke continues, "Colleen announces that it's time to go because she has an early flight, but of course Regina wants to stay. She says it's just for one more drink, and gives her keys to Colleen and says she'll take a cab home. Then, almost as soon Colleen is gone, Regina is all over me trying to kiss me and she's telling me that she's been in love with me from the times she used to visit Rachel, and that she wants to… you know."
Tightly closing her eyes, Lorelai turned away from Luke. They were quiet for a moment, before Lorelai asked, "So, that's when you slept with her?"
"What?" Luke asked. "No." Luke stepped close to Lorelai, putting his hand on her arm. When she turned to him with tears running down her face, he continued, "No, Lorelai. I told her that I didn't love her, that I was in love with you."
Lorelai looked Luke in the eyes and somehow knew he was telling the truth. Trying to blink away the tears, she asked, "You did?"
Luke smiled as he said, "Yes, I did. Then I said that I loved you so much that I didn't want to be with anyone else."
Tears continued to run down Lorelai's cheeks, as she put a hand on Luke's cheek, and said, "Oh, honey. Then, why was she in your room?"
Luke shook his head and said, "Before I even finished my speech, she passed out cold. I couldn't wake her up, and didn't know who I could call. Not being able to think of anything else, I took her to my room and put her in the bed, so she could sleep it off, and I slept on the floor."
Lorelai laughed, and asked, "You slept on the floor?"
"Yes, I did, and my back was screwed up for two days."
"So why didn't you answer the phone when it rang?" Lorelai asked.
Luke shrugged and said, "I was in the shower."
Lorelai wrapped her arms around Luke's neck, pulled him into a hug, and said, "Oh, Luke, I'm sorry."
"No, you just thought what any woman would have thought, if they find some other woman asleep in her boyfriend's bed," Luke said, returning the hug. "I should have never let it happen."
Lorelai pulled back and they exchanged a kiss, and then put their foreheads together.
"So, does this mean that I can come home?" Luke asked.
"Does this mean you want to come home?" Lorelai asked in return.
"I do if you do?" Luke answered.
"I do, too." Lorelai said.
Luke kissed Lorelai, and then said, "Let's go get my stuff."
Lorelai nodded agreement then they clasped hands and started walking towards the dinner. As they walked, Lorelai asked, "While we're there, can I get some coffee? I haven't had a good cup in days."
"Sure," Luke agreed. "I just made a fresh batch."
"Goo…" Lorelai started, but she stopped and put a hand on her stomach when she got another cramp. "Ow," she said.
"Are you alright?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, my lunch is just disagreeing with… OWWW!" Lorelai was hit with a harder cramp, causing her to stop walking.
Looking concerned, Luke asked, "Lorelai, are you okay?"
Lorelai shook her head as she said, "I don't know." Suddenly, Lorelai was hit with a massive spasm causing her to double over, "OWWWWWW!"
"Lorelai, what's the matter?"
Lorelai remained bent over, unable to answer till she was hit with a massive pain in her stomach that felt like she had been kicked. "OOOOOWWWWWW!" Lorelai's legs turned to rubber, and she sank to her knees.
"Lorelai!" Luke called, still holding her hand, and trying to keep the panic out of his voice.
Lorelai released his hand so she could lean forward to rest on her hands and knees, while still holding an arm across her stomach.
Lorelai grunted when her stomach once again tried to turn itself inside out. Luke knelt beside her and said, "Just lay down, honey." He helped her onto her back, and took hold of her hand. He looked around at the crowd beginning to gather and said, "Someone call an ambulance." When no one moved, he shouted, "Will someone call a goddamned ambulance?"
"What's going on here?"
Luke looked up to see Taylor Doose walking out of his store. "I don't know, Taylor," Luke said, "She just collapsed. Could you call an ambulance?"
Taylor pulled a cordless phone from his pocket, and as he began to dial, said, "Right away."
Luke looked down at Lorelai. With his free hand, he brushed away the hair that had fallen across her face, and then said, "The ambulance is on its way."
Lorelai looked at Luke with pain filled eyes and squeaked out, "It hurts."
"I know it does."
Luke released Lorelai's hand long enough to takeoff his flannel shirt, roll it up and put it under Lorelai's head. He sat quietly, holding Lorelai's hand, till she said, "Luke?"
"Yes?"
"I… I love you."
Luke leaned over and kissed her on her forehead, then said, "I love you, too."
Lorelai was gripped by a wave of pain causing her to squeeze Luke's hand painfully. Once the pain had passed, she said," Luke?"
"Yeah, baby?"
"Tell Rory I love her."
Luke looked back at Lorelai, unsure how to respond. After a moment, trying to sound positive, he said, "You can tell her that yourself." As he said that, he couldn't help thinking, Oh God, please don't let her die. Please."
It was Friday afternoon and Luke was depressed. The afternoon at the diner was slow so he found himself absentmindedly cleaning the same spot on the counter for the last ten minutes. Frustrated, he tossed the rag under the counter and looked for something else to do.
Unfortunately, the first thing he noticed was he needed to make a fresh batch of coffee. Of course thinking about coffee only made him think about Lorelai. He leaned back against the front counter and thought about Lorelai. About her smile when she was happy, and the way that the sun on a bright day would really bring out hints of red in her hair.
He loved the way her nose crinkled when she was happy. He missed her laughter and her screwy trains of thought that no one else could possibly come up with, but in her own unique way made perfect sense. He longed to hear her latest name for some whatsit that no one else would give a second thought to, but she felt obliged to name.
He yearned to see the look on her face when she talked about something she was passionate about, like work or Rory. Especially Rory. The way she lit up whenever her daughter was mentioned was a thing to behold. It was like there was a thousand-watt bulb behind each eye when ever Rory's name came up. He also missed the sadness she displayed when ever Rory left again. Not because it made her sad, he hated that, but because it was another fascinating aspect that made up the wonder that was Lorelai Gilmore. God, how he loved her.
He missed her so much; it left a hole in his soul. He had thought that loving her from afar was hard because of the empty feeling it left. However, having now experienced her love firsthand, then having it suddenly taken away was a hundred times worse. It was like an essential part of himself had been stripped from him and it was the best part.
He was desperate to see her, but she continued to refuse. He wanted to think that she had to give in eventually, but Lorelai's reputation for being stubborn was well deserved.
He closed his eyes as he thought about the events that had brought them here. It was no one's fault, just people being people. Then introduce grief, kindness, compassion, a generous amount of alcohol and a little bad judgment into the mix and it had become a recipe for disaster.
At least one thing had come out of the whole experience and that was clarity. He had been confused by his feelings after learning of Rachel's death. A perplexing jumble of grief, residual affection, obligation, and guilt that sent him headlong into confusion. But the prospect of losing Lorelai forced everything into perspective. Lorelai had always been the one he wanted to be with. Rachel had even seen that so many years ago. He would have never admitted that he believed in a soul mate, but now that he was faced with a hole in his, he was forced to admit that they existed at least to himself, and his was Lorelai.
He was desperate to get her back, but he couldn't get her to see him, never mind listen to his explanation.
Trying to shake off the depression, Luke started a new pot of coffee. After the coffee was brewing, Luke walked to the window to look out onto the sunny May afternoon. He glanced in the direction of Doose's Market just in time to see Lorelai duck into the store.
Luke's mind went into high gear. It was Friday afternoon, so she was most likely stocking up on junk food for the weekend. That meant that he had somewhere between five and ten minutes before she came out of the store.
He considered for a moment then made up his mind. He yelled back into the kitchen to Caesar, that he was going out on an errand, and then was out the door. He wasn't sure if this was a good idea or what the outcome would but at least he could do something.
Lorelai peered around the corner and looked up the street towards Doose's Market. She ducked back around the corner as she debated with herself if considering Doose's proximity to Luke's if she should risk it.
She leaned back against the wall of the building as she thought about Luke. God, how she missed the cheating, two-timing bastard. She missed the way he frowned at her when she asked for her third cup of coffee. She missed the way he smelt, whether it was just after a shower, or after a day at the diner. Luke and cheeseburgers were her all-time favorite smell.
Most nights she cried herself to sleep at night yearning for the feel of his strong arms around her as they slept. She even missed waking up the sound of his horrible singing coming from the bathroom as he showered in the morning.
But when she thought of the way he had cheated on her, it tied her stomach up in knots. Or maybe that was the chili dog she had had for lunch, causing her such pain.
Lorelai rubbed her stomach as she thought; I need to start eating better for the baby. Oh, God, the baby, what was she going to do? She knew if she told Luke he would go all noble and insist on marrying her. God, it would be like Christopher all over again. Well, she thought, I could always run away and start a new life. I did it before, why not now?
She chuckled silently as she chastised herself, because you're not sixteen, you now have roots and responsibilities. Besides, she thought, I don't run away from unpleasant situations. When she had left home before, that was to change the situation, not to avoid it.
She again looked in the direction of Doose's, as she felt another rumbling in her stomach. She thought for a second then decided, this is stupid, I shouldn't be afraid to go to the store, just because she might run into Luke. Besides, Rory was coming into town and she needed to stock up on supplies for movie night.
She pushed herself off the wall and headed around the corner. As she neared Doose's, she finalized the list of things to get. Another twinge in her stomach caused her to make a note to add something to calm an upset stomach. Just before she entered Doose's, she glanced in the direction of Luke's and decided that she didn't have a problem running into Luke, but there was nothing wrong with walking a little faster to reduce that risk.
Ten minutes later, Lorelai picked up the bags with her purchase from the checkout line. She stopped before walking out the door to glance in the direction of Luke's. Seeing the coast was clear, she opened the door and turned to walk in the other direction.
She walked two steps before she stopped dead in her tracks. Luke was leaning against the wall just past Doose's window. Luke stood up, smiled at her nervously, and said, "Hi, Lorelai."
Lorelai paused for a second, remembering her earlier decision that if she ran into Luke she could talk to him. She now realized that she was wrong. Without saying a word, Lorelai turned and started walking in the opposite direction.
"Lorelai, wait," Luke called after her as he hurried to catch up. Once Luke was abreast of her, he said, "Lorelai, please. Can we just talk?"
She stopped, turned to Luke and said, "I'm not ready to talk, Luke."
"I don't think we should put this off any longer," Luke replied.
"Now or later, I don't see how it will make any difference, Luke."
"Lorelai, just let me explain. Please?"
Lorelai considered for a moment then said, "Alright, I'll give you five minutes." Lorelai pointed a finger at him and said, "But that's only because I don't have any ice cream in these bags." She pointed with her shoulder and said, "Let me put these in my car."
Silently, they walked to Lorelai's car. Once the bags were inside, she crossed her arms and asked, "So, tell me, was it Rhonda?"
"Who?" Luke asked.
"The woman in your room, was it Rachel's sister, Rhonda?"
"Oh," Luke replied, "Rachel's sister's name is Regina, and yes it was."
"Is she pretty?"
"I don't know," Luke shrugged, evasively.
"You don't know if a woman is pretty?" Lorelai scoffed.
"Yeah, I guess she might be pretty."
Lorelai tried a different tact and asked, "Alright, does she look much like Rachel?"
Luke nodded and said, "She looks almost exactly like Rachel. When I first saw her, I thought it was Rachel."
Lorelai nodded and replied, "Then she's beautiful."
"So, what was it, Luke? One last fling with a surrogate Rachel? Or maybe you just wanted to be able to say you bagged sisters?"
"No," Luke denied. "It was nothing like that, you don't understand."
Lorelai felt a slight cramping, but she ignored it and said, "You're right, I don't understand why you would do something like this. Why would you do this to me?"
"Lorelai," Luke pleaded. "I didn't do anything wrong."
"Nothing wrong?" Lorelai asked. "So, since you were out of state, it doesn't count? Or maybe it was because you were mourning that makes it okay? Or since you said that once you got back you wanted to spend some time apart it makes it okay to sleep with another woman, because we were technically not really together?"
"Lorelai, I didn't sleep with anyone."
"Luke, just how big of a fool do you think I am?" Lorelai asked.
"I never said you were a fool," Luke replied.
"Then, why do you expect me to believe you? How can I believe that you didn't sleep with her when I found her asleep in your room, at seven a.m.?" Lorelai asked.
"Lorelai," Luke pleaded. "I did not sleep with her, I swear."
"Then why was your cell phone off?" Lorelai asked. "Was it because you didn't want me interrupting your little tryst?"
"I turned it off before the funeral on Saturday, and forgot to turn it back on," Luke explained. "I'm not used to having one, and I forgot. It had nothing to do with trying to avoid you."
Once again, Lorelai felt her stomach try and tie itself into knots, but she ignored it, saying, "Then, tell me, Luke, if you didn't sleep with her what was she doing asleep in your room?"
"Well, aaa…" Luke stammered. "She was sleeping."
"That's it," Lorelai said as she turned for the car. "I've heard enough."
"No, wait, Lorelai," Luke called as he stopped her with a hand on her arm, "You haven't given me a chance to explain."
Lorelai shook his hand off and said, "Luke, all I've done for the last ten minutes is listen to you explain, and the more you explain, the worse it sounds."
"That is not true!" Luke exclaimed holding a finger in the air. "You have been asking me questions, whose answers to make things sound worse that they were. You have not given me a chance to tell you my side."
Another cramp hit Lorelai, causing her to close her eyes a second and take a deep breath. Sounding like she was calming herself, she let out the breath, and then said," Alright, Luke. Go ahead and explain to me what happened."
Looking slightly relieved, Luke took a deep breath then began to explain, "Well, I think I told you that was going to go to Rachel's mother's house Saturday morning, to ride in the family limo."
Lorelai nodded so he continued, "Well I did, and as soon as I arrived, Regina latched onto me and didn't let go. I didn't know what to do, cause I didn't want to hurt her feelings so I did nothing. So, all day during the services and at the cemetery, she is hanging on me. Then just as we are about to leave the cemetery, Rachel's old college roommate gets there. She's late because of problems with the airlines."
"So we talk for a while, then Regina announces that she and I have plans for dinner and drinks, and invites Colleen to join us," Luke said.
Lorelai gasped and said, "Oh my God, Luke. There were two of them?"
"What? No!" Luke said. "You said you would let me explain, so do you mind?"
Lorelai nodded her head sheepishly and said, "Sorry."
"No problem," said Luke. "So, anyway this was the first I had heard of the idea and I thought it was a bad idea, but I didn't feel I could say no. So the girls come to my hotel and we have dinner in the restaurant, and then go to the bar for some drinks, and to talk about Rachel."
"While we are drinking and talking, Regina is sitting right next to me, in the booth. She keeps moving next to me, but I move away, until I can't go any further because of the wall, and this whole time Regina is getting pretty drunk. I'm worried about what might happen but I feel that as long as Colleen is there nothing can happen."
"Finally," Luke continues, "Colleen announces that it's time to go because she has an early flight, but of course Regina wants to stay. She says it's just for one more drink, and gives her keys to Colleen and says she'll take a cab home. Then, almost as soon Colleen is gone, Regina is all over me trying to kiss me and she's telling me that she's been in love with me from the times she used to visit Rachel, and that she wants to… you know."
Tightly closing her eyes, Lorelai turned away from Luke. They were quiet for a moment, before Lorelai asked, "So, that's when you slept with her?"
"What?" Luke asked. "No." Luke stepped close to Lorelai, putting his hand on her arm. When she turned to him with tears running down her face, he continued, "No, Lorelai. I told her that I didn't love her, that I was in love with you."
Lorelai looked Luke in the eyes and somehow knew he was telling the truth. Trying to blink away the tears, she asked, "You did?"
Luke smiled as he said, "Yes, I did. Then I said that I loved you so much that I didn't want to be with anyone else."
Tears continued to run down Lorelai's cheeks, as she put a hand on Luke's cheek, and said, "Oh, honey. Then, why was she in your room?"
Luke shook his head and said, "Before I even finished my speech, she passed out cold. I couldn't wake her up, and didn't know who I could call. Not being able to think of anything else, I took her to my room and put her in the bed, so she could sleep it off, and I slept on the floor."
Lorelai laughed, and asked, "You slept on the floor?"
"Yes, I did, and my back was screwed up for two days."
"So why didn't you answer the phone when it rang?" Lorelai asked.
Luke shrugged and said, "I was in the shower."
Lorelai wrapped her arms around Luke's neck, pulled him into a hug, and said, "Oh, Luke, I'm sorry."
"No, you just thought what any woman would have thought, if they find some other woman asleep in her boyfriend's bed," Luke said, returning the hug. "I should have never let it happen."
Lorelai pulled back and they exchanged a kiss, and then put their foreheads together.
"So, does this mean that I can come home?" Luke asked.
"Does this mean you want to come home?" Lorelai asked in return.
"I do if you do?" Luke answered.
"I do, too." Lorelai said.
Luke kissed Lorelai, and then said, "Let's go get my stuff."
Lorelai nodded agreement then they clasped hands and started walking towards the dinner. As they walked, Lorelai asked, "While we're there, can I get some coffee? I haven't had a good cup in days."
"Sure," Luke agreed. "I just made a fresh batch."
"Goo…" Lorelai started, but she stopped and put a hand on her stomach when she got another cramp. "Ow," she said.
"Are you alright?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, my lunch is just disagreeing with… OWWW!" Lorelai was hit with a harder cramp, causing her to stop walking.
Looking concerned, Luke asked, "Lorelai, are you okay?"
Lorelai shook her head as she said, "I don't know." Suddenly, Lorelai was hit with a massive spasm causing her to double over, "OWWWWWW!"
"Lorelai, what's the matter?"
Lorelai remained bent over, unable to answer till she was hit with a massive pain in her stomach that felt like she had been kicked. "OOOOOWWWWWW!" Lorelai's legs turned to rubber, and she sank to her knees.
"Lorelai!" Luke called, still holding her hand, and trying to keep the panic out of his voice.
Lorelai released his hand so she could lean forward to rest on her hands and knees, while still holding an arm across her stomach.
Lorelai grunted when her stomach once again tried to turn itself inside out. Luke knelt beside her and said, "Just lay down, honey." He helped her onto her back, and took hold of her hand. He looked around at the crowd beginning to gather and said, "Someone call an ambulance." When no one moved, he shouted, "Will someone call a goddamned ambulance?"
"What's going on here?"
Luke looked up to see Taylor Doose walking out of his store. "I don't know, Taylor," Luke said, "She just collapsed. Could you call an ambulance?"
Taylor pulled a cordless phone from his pocket, and as he began to dial, said, "Right away."
Luke looked down at Lorelai. With his free hand, he brushed away the hair that had fallen across her face, and then said, "The ambulance is on its way."
Lorelai looked at Luke with pain filled eyes and squeaked out, "It hurts."
"I know it does."
Luke released Lorelai's hand long enough to takeoff his flannel shirt, roll it up and put it under Lorelai's head. He sat quietly, holding Lorelai's hand, till she said, "Luke?"
"Yes?"
"I… I love you."
Luke leaned over and kissed her on her forehead, then said, "I love you, too."
Lorelai was gripped by a wave of pain causing her to squeeze Luke's hand painfully. Once the pain had passed, she said," Luke?"
"Yeah, baby?"
"Tell Rory I love her."
Luke looked back at Lorelai, unsure how to respond. After a moment, trying to sound positive, he said, "You can tell her that yourself." As he said that, he couldn't help thinking, Oh God, please don't let her die. Please."