Title: Where the heart is, Chapter 3
Author: Gluglug
Spoiler Warning/Timing: Fourth Season (Ep 4.11 In the Clamor and the Clangor)
Rating: PG-13 (for language)
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.
A few hours later, Lorelai looked around at her very clean house. Since she was unable to get back to sleep since before daylight, she decided to do some household chores; laundry, vacuuming and dusting. Lorelai wasn't big on housecleaning but occasionally she got the cleaning bug. Then the phone rang, she looked at her watch - it was noon, she hoped it wasn't Luke trying to weasel his way out of his shoveling chores.
"Hello?"
"Hey Lorelai, it's me." Lorelai heard Jason's slightly effeminate voice on the other end of the line.
"Oh, hey sweetie," she said absently.
"I'm just calling to check in - I hope you're not mad at me about last night?"
"Mad? Oh, no Jason. I'm not mad, you were right to take me home. And I shouldn't have ranted at you about my issues with Luke."
Jason bristled at hearing his name but tried to be supportive. "Did you talk to him yet?"
"No, not yet. But he's due here in a few minutes to shovel my walk."
"Hey, I wish I could shovel your walk." Jason said suggestively.
"Dirty!" Lorelai giggled. "Luke just owes me a favor, that's all."
"Well, then I should let you go. I just wanted to make sure you were coming with me to the museum benefit next weekend."
"Of course I'm going. I just bought a new dress for just the occasion - it's lethal, just the way you like it."
"Can't wait to see you in it, I'll call you later this week." Jason said.
"Talk to you then."
"Bye Lorelai."
Just as Lorelai hung up the phone, she heard a knock at her door. She opened it and there was Luke, standing there in his new blue parka, carrying a shovel.
Lorelai looked at her watch and frowned. "It's 12:20, you're late."
"Well hello to you too. I said I'd be here around noon. Anyway, Lane was a little late for her shift, so I had to wait. Apparently her mother found a bunch of CDs under her floorboards and had a fit. Lane is now grounded except for working at the diner and going to class."
"Well thanks for the latest update on "As the Kim's House Turns." Lorelai said, with a trace of sarcasm in her voice. "Poor kid - having to be the upstanding Korean college student by day and then being a badass drummer for an indie rock cover band by night." She paused and looked pointedly at him.
"It must be hard living a double life, huh?"
Lorelai hoped that Luke would get the veiled meaning of her words, but it was apparently lost on him and he changed the subject. "So do you want me to get started? I need to get back to the diner in a couple of hours."
Lorelai nodded. "Sure, do you want me to help?"
Luke thought he was hearing things. "YOU want to help?"
"Well it might go faster if I help you, I have a shovel in the garage." The truth was she felt a little bad taking advantage of Luke like this, even though she was kind of mad at him.
Lorelai put on her coat and followed Luke outside. She went to her garage, grabbed the shovel and then directed Luke towards her Jeep. "Why don't you dig out my car first and then do the walkway. I'll do the steps."
"Okay." Luke said as he started scraping some snow off her windshield. "This will be the third car I've dug out today - first Nicole's, then my truck and now your Jeep."
Lorelai bristled at the mention of Nicole. "So how are things with the wife?"
"Fine."
"What does that mean, Mr. Brevity?" Lorelai said as she threw some snow onto her lawn.
"It means what it means, that things are fine." Luke tried to maintain a neutral tone. He had noticed that Lorelai seemed a little annoyed - she couldn't have heard the news, could she?
"So you have nothing to report, no news or anything?" Lorelai prodded.
Luke stopped shoveling around Lorelai's tires and faced her. "Well, there is something."
"I knew it!" Lorelai exclaimed.
"I've added Nicole's favorite dish to the menu." He gave her smug smile.
Lorelai did not return his smile, instead she threw her snow shovel onto the icy ground. "Dammit Luke! Stop playing games, I know that you are moving to Litchfield with Nicole!"
Luke sighed, the jig was up. "Who told you?"
"If you must know, it was Babette. But it doesn't really matter who told me, Luke, does it? I want to know why I had to hear it through the Stars Hollow grapevine instead of you!" Lorelai yelled.
"Will you lower your voice, please? I don't want the grapevine reporting that you and I are having a screaming match on your front lawn!" Luke said angrily.
Lorelai was incensed. "I will not lower my voice. This is my house and I can yell as much as I want!"
Luke refused to play along, he was not in the mood to have this play out in front of Lorelai's house. "I'm leaving, we can continue this conversation when you've calmed down."
"But you haven't finished digging my car out." Lorelai protested.
"Too bad, you should've thought of that before you started yelling at me." He grabbed his shovel and the one she had thrown on the ground and put them in the back of his pickup.
"What do you think you're doing Luke? You're taking my shovel - how the hell am I supposed to finish this?"
"Get your own shovel."
"But that is MY shovel."
"No, it's MY shovel, I brought it here three years ago and you never gave it back. I'm taking it back."
"Why do you need two shovels Luke? Oh wait..I get it, so you can shovel more bullshit!" Lorelai practically spat at him.
Luke didn't reply, instead he started his truck and pulled away from the curb.
Well that went well, he thought to himself as he headed back to the diner. He instantly regretted what had just happened. Although he was kind of relieved he got out of shoveling her walk, she did have a point. Why did she have to hear it from anyone but him? Why had he been afraid to tell her he was moving? She was his friend, after all and probably his closest confidant, at least until a few minutes ago.
Maybe, Luke admitted to himself, just maybe by telling Lorelai about moving in with Nicole would finally make it REAL.
Lorelai went back into her house and slammed the door. She and Luke had some arguments over the years, but this one was a doozy. It was almost as nasty as the fight they had the night of Rory's car accident, which resulted in them not talking for three months.
Lorelai didn't want to wait another three months but she was not going to speak to Luke again until he apologized. She had behaved childishly, but so did he. Why was he being so impossible and just why did his relationship with Nicole make him act this way? Lorelai didn't have the answers and she wondered if even Luke himself knew why.
Lorelai decided that she was not going to waste more time being upset with Luke. She was hungry and needed to go the market. But first things first, she headed over to Babette's to see if she could borrow her shovel.
TBC
Author: Gluglug
Spoiler Warning/Timing: Fourth Season (Ep 4.11 In the Clamor and the Clangor)
Rating: PG-13 (for language)
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.
A few hours later, Lorelai looked around at her very clean house. Since she was unable to get back to sleep since before daylight, she decided to do some household chores; laundry, vacuuming and dusting. Lorelai wasn't big on housecleaning but occasionally she got the cleaning bug. Then the phone rang, she looked at her watch - it was noon, she hoped it wasn't Luke trying to weasel his way out of his shoveling chores.
"Hello?"
"Hey Lorelai, it's me." Lorelai heard Jason's slightly effeminate voice on the other end of the line.
"Oh, hey sweetie," she said absently.
"I'm just calling to check in - I hope you're not mad at me about last night?"
"Mad? Oh, no Jason. I'm not mad, you were right to take me home. And I shouldn't have ranted at you about my issues with Luke."
Jason bristled at hearing his name but tried to be supportive. "Did you talk to him yet?"
"No, not yet. But he's due here in a few minutes to shovel my walk."
"Hey, I wish I could shovel your walk." Jason said suggestively.
"Dirty!" Lorelai giggled. "Luke just owes me a favor, that's all."
"Well, then I should let you go. I just wanted to make sure you were coming with me to the museum benefit next weekend."
"Of course I'm going. I just bought a new dress for just the occasion - it's lethal, just the way you like it."
"Can't wait to see you in it, I'll call you later this week." Jason said.
"Talk to you then."
"Bye Lorelai."
Just as Lorelai hung up the phone, she heard a knock at her door. She opened it and there was Luke, standing there in his new blue parka, carrying a shovel.
Lorelai looked at her watch and frowned. "It's 12:20, you're late."
"Well hello to you too. I said I'd be here around noon. Anyway, Lane was a little late for her shift, so I had to wait. Apparently her mother found a bunch of CDs under her floorboards and had a fit. Lane is now grounded except for working at the diner and going to class."
"Well thanks for the latest update on "As the Kim's House Turns." Lorelai said, with a trace of sarcasm in her voice. "Poor kid - having to be the upstanding Korean college student by day and then being a badass drummer for an indie rock cover band by night." She paused and looked pointedly at him.
"It must be hard living a double life, huh?"
Lorelai hoped that Luke would get the veiled meaning of her words, but it was apparently lost on him and he changed the subject. "So do you want me to get started? I need to get back to the diner in a couple of hours."
Lorelai nodded. "Sure, do you want me to help?"
Luke thought he was hearing things. "YOU want to help?"
"Well it might go faster if I help you, I have a shovel in the garage." The truth was she felt a little bad taking advantage of Luke like this, even though she was kind of mad at him.
Lorelai put on her coat and followed Luke outside. She went to her garage, grabbed the shovel and then directed Luke towards her Jeep. "Why don't you dig out my car first and then do the walkway. I'll do the steps."
"Okay." Luke said as he started scraping some snow off her windshield. "This will be the third car I've dug out today - first Nicole's, then my truck and now your Jeep."
Lorelai bristled at the mention of Nicole. "So how are things with the wife?"
"Fine."
"What does that mean, Mr. Brevity?" Lorelai said as she threw some snow onto her lawn.
"It means what it means, that things are fine." Luke tried to maintain a neutral tone. He had noticed that Lorelai seemed a little annoyed - she couldn't have heard the news, could she?
"So you have nothing to report, no news or anything?" Lorelai prodded.
Luke stopped shoveling around Lorelai's tires and faced her. "Well, there is something."
"I knew it!" Lorelai exclaimed.
"I've added Nicole's favorite dish to the menu." He gave her smug smile.
Lorelai did not return his smile, instead she threw her snow shovel onto the icy ground. "Dammit Luke! Stop playing games, I know that you are moving to Litchfield with Nicole!"
Luke sighed, the jig was up. "Who told you?"
"If you must know, it was Babette. But it doesn't really matter who told me, Luke, does it? I want to know why I had to hear it through the Stars Hollow grapevine instead of you!" Lorelai yelled.
"Will you lower your voice, please? I don't want the grapevine reporting that you and I are having a screaming match on your front lawn!" Luke said angrily.
Lorelai was incensed. "I will not lower my voice. This is my house and I can yell as much as I want!"
Luke refused to play along, he was not in the mood to have this play out in front of Lorelai's house. "I'm leaving, we can continue this conversation when you've calmed down."
"But you haven't finished digging my car out." Lorelai protested.
"Too bad, you should've thought of that before you started yelling at me." He grabbed his shovel and the one she had thrown on the ground and put them in the back of his pickup.
"What do you think you're doing Luke? You're taking my shovel - how the hell am I supposed to finish this?"
"Get your own shovel."
"But that is MY shovel."
"No, it's MY shovel, I brought it here three years ago and you never gave it back. I'm taking it back."
"Why do you need two shovels Luke? Oh wait..I get it, so you can shovel more bullshit!" Lorelai practically spat at him.
Luke didn't reply, instead he started his truck and pulled away from the curb.
Well that went well, he thought to himself as he headed back to the diner. He instantly regretted what had just happened. Although he was kind of relieved he got out of shoveling her walk, she did have a point. Why did she have to hear it from anyone but him? Why had he been afraid to tell her he was moving? She was his friend, after all and probably his closest confidant, at least until a few minutes ago.
Maybe, Luke admitted to himself, just maybe by telling Lorelai about moving in with Nicole would finally make it REAL.
Lorelai went back into her house and slammed the door. She and Luke had some arguments over the years, but this one was a doozy. It was almost as nasty as the fight they had the night of Rory's car accident, which resulted in them not talking for three months.
Lorelai didn't want to wait another three months but she was not going to speak to Luke again until he apologized. She had behaved childishly, but so did he. Why was he being so impossible and just why did his relationship with Nicole make him act this way? Lorelai didn't have the answers and she wondered if even Luke himself knew why.
Lorelai decided that she was not going to waste more time being upset with Luke. She was hungry and needed to go the market. But first things first, she headed over to Babette's to see if she could borrow her shovel.
TBC