Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters, just the story idea.

A/N:  This is a rather long chapter, but I didn't want to skip a Friday night dinner and go right to the mall trip – I love a good Richard and Emily scene.  Again, thanks for all the kind words and encouragement.  They definitely have been the steam behind this fic.

On Friday evening Lorelai stopped at the diner for a coffee on her way to her parents'.

Luke was nearby taking an order from a table with a woman who looked to be in her early twenties.  Lorelai eyed the woman as she giggled at something Luke said.  Lorelai couldn't quite overhear anything, but it was fairly obvious that the tramp was hitting on Luke. 

Luke smiled at the tramp before walking away and smiled wider when he saw Lorelai at the counter.

"Got yourself a girlfriend?" she asked teasingly.

Luke's smile vanished and he rolled his eyes.  "Be serious," he replied.

"Okay, seriously.  How old is she, twelve?  Is she with her parents or did she ride her two-wheeler all the way from home?"

Luke listened as he poured her a coffee to go.  "Are you kidding?  Because I would love it if you were kidding."

Lorelai stared at him and then took her coffee.  "I guess I'm kidding.  But, you know, she was definitely interested in you.  Are you sure you wouldn't rather be not-dating someone more her age?  More flexible, less baggage…."

Luke looked at her very seriously and said, "There is no one in the world I'd rather be not-dating than you."

"Okay," said Lorelai with a half-smile.  "I'll call you when I get home. Do you still want to do the mall this weekend?"

"Absolutely.  I'm there."

"Okay.  Bye."  Lorelai gave him a long kiss goodbye and hoped the tramp was watching.  Hands off, it said.  He's mine.

Lorelai arrived at her parent's house ahead of Rory and debated whether or not she should go in.  After several seconds, she finally pushed open her car door and made her way to the doorbell, all the while taking huge gulps of the coffee. 

Lorelai smiled at the new maid she led the way into the living room.  Richard and Emily met her there and Lorelai was pretty sure their faces fell a little when they saw who it was.

"Hello," she said with a little too much cheer.

"Oh, Lorelai," said Emily.  "It's you.  We thought it might be Rory since she arrived first last week."

"Sorry to disappoint," said Lorelai a bit testily.

"Not at all," replied Richard.  "What can I get you to drink?"

"White wine, please." And keep 'em coming, she thought to herself.

Richard moved to get the drinks.  "Emily?"

"The same, Richard."

"So how are you both?" Lorelai asked.

"We're fine," said Emily.  "What's new in your life?  How's your cat?"

Lorelai smiled, softening a bit.  "Lulu is fine, thanks.  Actually – " The doorbell cut her off.

"It's Rory!" cried Emily as Richard left the drinks and they both flew to the front door.

"Hi!" Rory called as she made her way into the house.  Richard and Emily met her in the foyer leaving Lorelai to trail behind.

"Mom!  Hi!"  Rory gave Lorelai a tight hug before they walked back into the living room arm in arm.

The conversation centered on Rory and Yale until halfway through dinner when Rory said, "So, Mom.  How are Luke and Lulu?"

Lorelai gave a smile, but it faltered when Emily said, "Oh, yes.  Lorelai.  Do tell us about your cat.  That will be just as interesting as hearing about Yale."

Straightening her shoulders, Lorelai decided to battle sarcasm with more sarcasm.  "You know, I bet it will be.  Lulu is great.  She's been putting on weight, which is excellent.  Being a street cat doesn't usually pay well and she was having a hard time making ends meet.  After rent, well, who's got money for food, right?"

"Lorelai, really," reproached Richard.

"Just trying to spice things up.  I know that I can't possibly compete with Rory for stimulating conversation or anecdotes involving the Ivy League."  Lorelai tried not to sound bitter.

"Mom, it's okay," tried Rory.  "We want to hear about what's going on with you."  Lorelai tried not to feel as if she were being humored.

"Rory, your mother never fails to astonish me," said Emily.  "All right Lorelai.  You've made your point.  How are things?"

Lorelai sat silently for a moment.  Three pairs of eyes were focused on her and she suddenly felt bogged down under the weight.

"Things are good.  Fine.  Lulu is fine.  Luke is fine.  Sookie is fine.  Everybody's fine," she answered lamely.

"Well, fine," said Emily.  "Are you seeing anyone nice?"

"Um, yeah, actually I am."  Why had she said that?  Lord, it had just slipped out. 

Rory put her fork down.  "Oh, how nice.  Anyone we might know?" asked Richard.

"Yes, you know him."

"Well, are you going to keep us in suspense?  Lord, I hope it's not that Stiles boy.  Didn't you meet him at that auction last summer Lorelai?  Please tell me it's not him.  His parents can only be described as abhorrent.  Richard, do you remember that dinner party…when was that?  Five, ten years ago…?"

"Mom!  It's not the Stiles boy.  It's Luke the diner man."

"Luke!  Well, so there is something going on between you two," exclaimed Richard. 

"I knew it!" cried Emily.  "Ha!  I wondered how long that would take.  For heaven's sake, Lorelai, it certainly took you long enough."

"Excuse me?" said Lorelai.  "Took me long enough?  How dare you!"

"How dare us what?" asked Emily.  "And why did you lie to us last week?  Obviously you knew about this then."

"How dare you treat my life as if it were a television show to be mocked and laughed at."  To herself, Lorelai acknowledged the irony that she and Rory were usually the first to mock anything.  This felt too personal, though.  "Yes, I knew about it last week, but the relationship was just over a day old.  I wanted to walk around in it for a while before I allowed you both to pick it apart."

"Both?" asked Emily coldly.  "So Rory knows about it already.  I see.  We're the last to know as usual."

"Mom, don't you think you're over-reacting just a little?"

"Lorelai, you have to understand that we want to be a part of your life," explained Richard.

"Well, you have to understand that when I open the door for you to come in, it's not nice to slam it closed again."

Emily sulked in her chair.  "So," tried Richard, "you've been seeing each other just over a week, then?"

"Yes," answered Lorelai.

"And will you be bringing him by for dinner some day?" Emily wondered aloud.

"Eventually, if things work out, that is a possibility," acknowledged Lorelai.

"Good.  We'd like to get to know him better.  He seems like a very hard-working young man," Richard noted.

Lorelai nodded.  "He is.  He's great.  So, Rory, your birthday is coming up!"  Luckily, this brought the conversation back to Rory and Lorelai relinquished the spotlight gratefully. 

As they walked to their cars at the end of the evening, Rory said, "Well, that definitely could have been worse."

"Rory, when that's the best thing you have to say about something, then you know it was pretty much crap.  God, I can't believe I was stupid enough to tell them."

"At least they didn't tell you how wrong it was.  They were supportive, they just didn't like being the last to know."

"Yeah, point taken.  Listen," said Lorelai, changing the subject again, "for your birthday this year, I know it falls in the middle of the week, so you probably can't come home, but I want to have a day just for us one weekend and I'd like Luke and I to take you to dinner one night."

Rory smiled.  "Absolutely.  I did try to rearrange some stuff, but I really can't miss this one class and staying over wouldn't work.  I'm sorry."

Lorelai shrugged, trying not to care.  Her baby was so busy these days.  "It's okay.  I figured you wouldn't be able to, so that's why I'm suggesting you and me and one day of fun and then one night dinner, the three of us.  Sound good?"

"Sounds excellent!  I can't wait."  They embraced and then went their separate ways.

Lorelai could hear Lulu mewing on the other side of the door as she inserted her key into the lock and opened the door. 

"Hi, baby!  How's my girl?"  Lulu loudly expressed her unhappiness at being left alone all evening long.  "My goodness you're a mouthy one, aren't you?"  Lorelai kicked her shoes off in the entryway and tossed her purse and keys near the door.  As she stepped toward the kitchen Lulu pressed up close to her legs and purred. 

As Lorelai dialed the number to Luke's she headed upstairs to change her clothes. 

"Luke's," he answered.

"Hi, I'd like to order a pizza for delivery please.  I want a large pie with everything except cheese because it makes me gassy, and it'll be going to 37 Maple Street, and if you show up wearing anything but a thong, don't expect a tip."  Lorelai paused and waited.

"Could you do me a favor and never do that again?" 

"Hey, I could have gone the exotic dancer route.  I'm sure all the customers would have loved to see your face get all red as I described to you exactly what I was wearing – oops – or rather, what I wasn't wearing."

"Lorelai," he warned.

"Okay, fine.  Are you coming over soon?"

"Yup, Caesar and I are closing up now.  I'll be over in a little bit."

"Okay, see you then."

"Okay."

Lorelai paused.  It would be so easy to say it now, as they hung up the phone.  Just a quick 'I love you.'  But it would change everything.

"Lorelai?"

"Uh huh?"

"Anything wrong?"

"Nothing.  I'll see you in a little bit.  Bye."

"Bye."

They hung up.  Lulu jumped up to the bed and attacked a pair of pants that Lorelai had left there that morning.  The kitten was hilarious.  Her ears and paws were too big for her body and she was wonderfully graceless.  She'd never seen a cat miss so many jumps.  Lorelai sat down on the bed and scratched behind Lulu's ears.  "Okay, you got me," she said.  "I have a love spot for you and I think I've got one for your daddy, too."  Lulu squinted her eyes at Lorelai and purred loudly.

"How do you think he feels?  Should I ask him?  Has he said anything to you about me?  Could you pass him a note in gym class?  What if he says it's too soon?  What if he wants to date women like that tramp in the diner tonight?  What if Nicole comes back and tries to steal him away?  Why am I asking you these questions?  You're not my shrink.  That's Rory's job." 

Lorelai stood and finished changing into pink cotton pajamas with pictures of chocolate cupcakes on them and went back downstairs.  In the kitchen she opened the fridge and pulled out the almost-empty can of Redi-whip.  As she shook it up, she pulled a spoon out of a drawer her lips curved into a smile as she thought about what they'd done with the stuff the other night.  She squirted some whipped cream onto the spoon and shoveled it into her mouth. 

"Mmmmm," she said as she wandered into the living room. 

On the couch she ate spoonfuls of Redi-whip as she channel-surfed and waited for Luke to arrive.  Lulu joined her moments later and sniffed suspiciously at the whipped cream before bounding to the door expectantly.  Lorelai knew Lulu had heard something outside.  Sure enough, Luke knocked a few seconds later and she jumped up to let him in.

"Hi," she said as she opened the door.

"Hi," he answered, sounding tired.  He saw the can in her hand and smiled.  "A repeat performance?  I don't think there's enough left unless you bought more."

She laughed.  "No, this is just a little midnight snack."  She gave him a kiss and he pulled her into a warm hug.  She buried her nose into his neck and breathed deeply.  "You smell good."

Luke chuckled.  "I smell like a fry cook."  He pulled back.  "Nice jammies."

Lorelai spun around to show them off.  "Thanks.  And you don't smell like a fry cook.  You smell like you."

"And what does that smell like?" he asked skeptically.

"I don't know.  Like Luke."

"Very enlightening.  How were your parents?"

"Ugh," sighed Lorelai.  She walked into the kitchen to deposit the Redi-whip back into the fridge as she said, "Driving me crazy as always.  They want to spend some time with you."

"Me?  Why, what for?"  Luke was stunned.  Clearly, she'd brought them up at dinner tonight.  She hadn't told him she was going to and now she acted like it was the most natural thing in the world.  He followed her into the kitchen.

"To get to know you better, why do people normally want to spend time with other people?"  She replied.

"I gathered that much.  Why do they want to spend time with me specifically as opposed to, oh, I don't know, say Kirk?"

Lorelai stood with her back to the sink and her hands propped up behind her on the counter.  "Well, I guess because I told them we were…seeing each other."

"Oh," answered Luke casually as he slowly drifted nearer to where she stood.  "And how did that go over?"

"Better than I had hoped, actually.  My mother threw a fit, but it was only about a 4.6 on the Richter scale.  My father tried to get me to see her side of it and once again failed miserably."

Luke sighed.  She was being Lorelai: talking too much, without really saying anything.  "So they were unhappy?"  He asked tentatively.

"No," allowed Lorelai, "they seemed genuinely pleased.  I think my mother's quote was, 'It's about time.  I wondered how long it would take you.'"

Luke let out his breath.  That was definitely progress.  Emily suspected that Lorelai had strong feelings for him.  "So why was there fighting?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes.  "Because Rory knew before they did.  They think they're the last to know everything.  You'd think they would have figured out by now that it's reacting like this that makes me not want to tell them anything."

Luke stood before her and rubbed her shoulders.  "Well, at least they weren't horrified at your taste."  She looked up at him. 

"That's true.  At least they've met you before and like you.  It won't be such a shock when you see them again."

"I think it'll be fine."

Lorelai toyed with the hem on his flannel.  His fingers moved from her shoulders to the collar of her pajamas and then to the back on her neck.  It was incredible how normal and right the casual touching that went on in a relationship felt between them.  She moved her hands up his shirt, past his stomach, to his chest.  "Did you have a good evening?"

Luke leaned in and caught a wiff of her perfume.  "Mm hmm," he answered, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around her upper body.  His chin pressed against her temple and she hugged him back.  Her hands rubbing his lower back and then moving lower.  "Do you know something?"

"Hmm?" he asked.

"You've got the nicest, firmest butt I've come across in a long time," she said and her hands moved down and squeezed.

Luke chuckled and said, "I'm glad you approve.  I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm partial to yours as well."

"Really.  You don't say.  Why don't you follow me upstairs and I'll show you what else I like about you and then maybe you can reciprocate."

"Lead the way," he replied happily.