Author's Note: Thanks once again for all the reviews. I updated this chapter to fix a few grammatical mistakes. Thanks for pointing them out. I do proofread but I've been writing so much lately sometimes things fall through the cracks. I hope you are enjoying this so far. I've got a pretty good idea where I'm going with it now, which is good for everyone! I still don't own Gilmore Girls or this lovely song by Clay Aiken. Yes, I admit it, I like Clay Aiken and the song also fit well. Enjoy!

I Will Carry You by Clay Aiken...

You should know now

That you're not alone

Take my heart and we will find

You will find your way home

When the stars go blind

And the darkness starts to flood your eyes

When you've fallen behind

I will carry you

Carry you

The following morning Lorelai went to the Dragonfly to compare notes with Sookie and Michel about the test run. They had talked for three hours about improvements and positive comments they received from their friends and family. Michel had to leave to take his dogs to the vet and Sookie and Lorelai talked in the kitchen.

"So, I was hoping we'd get a chance to talk about something," Sookie said as she rinsed out a cup.

Lorelai suddenly got very paranoid. How did Sookie know about her and Luke? She hadn't told anyone about Luke and they had been so careful on their date their date last night.

"How is Rory? Is she upset, is she happy?" Sookie continued oblivious to Lorelai's panicked expression.

"What?" Lorelai gulped.

"You know, about Dean. It's all over town," Sookie continued. "It's quite the scandal!"

Lorelai almost choked on her tongue. 'How do they know about Rory and Dean?' she thought to herself.

Sookie finally noticed that Lorelai wasn't responding, but instead looked panicked.

"Honey I didn't mean to upset you," she said walking over to Lorelai and placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"No, um, I just didn't know it was all over town," Lorelai said evasively.

"Oh yeah, Patty couldn't stop talking about this morning. Poor Lindsey. I mean I think the whole town thought the marriage was on the rebound, but to have Dean tell her he still loves Rory is, wow!" Sookie said.

Lorelai was confused. She didn't know how much information Sookie had. Although she had told Luke what had happened between Rory and Dean she wasn't sure she wanted rehash the topic with Sookie as well.

"Sookie, what else is everyone saying?" Lorelai asked trying to get more information.

"Oh you know," Sookie said going back to washing dishes. "Just that Dean should have just left her instead of telling her he loved Rory. I mean that's gonna be weird for her. How is she, you never said? Did Dean even tell her he was in love her? Poor girl, she just gets home from school and she gets caught up in all this," Sookie babbled on.

"Uh, actually Rory went to Europe with my mother," Lorelai informed her. "They left yesterday. It was kind of last minute," Lorelai told Sookie.

"She went to Europe? With Emily?" Sookie asked surprised. "Oh so she probably doesn't even know about any of this! Maybe it's better this way. You might want to tell her before she gets back though," Sookie told Lorelai.

Lorelai pieced together the conversation and realized that Sookie didn't seem to know about Rory and Dean sleeping together. "Thank God for that," Lorelai thought to herself.

"Yeah," Lorelai said feeling sick to her stomach all over again. "I'll have to tell her before she gets back. So are Dean and Lindsey getting a divorce?" she fished.

"Oh who knows?" Sookie replied. "I just feel bad for Rory. I mean the poor girl doesn't need the guilt of breaking up a marriage when she has already moved on and hasn't looked back," Sookie babbled. All of the magic of the previous night with Luke flew out the window in one mere conversation. Rory had been gone a sum total of 28 hours and already the town was agog with the gossip of her and Dean.

"Yeah," Lorelai agreed half-heartedly. "Well maybe it's a good thing she's away then." Lorelai studied the walls of the kitchen. She didn't want to continue the conversation. Everyone must have thought Dean was a horrible husband, which he was, but the fact that Sookie seemed to feel bad for Rory was what made it worse. Lorelai definitely wasn't in the frame of mind to feel bad for Dean, but Rory was just as guilty as he was.

Secretly though Lorelai was a little relieved that Luke was right. Dean was in love with Rory. It didn't make her feel better, but at least she knew that he didn't just sweet-talk Rory into bed. When he said his marriage was in trouble it really was. He really was in love with Rory. Lorelai clutched her arms around her waist. She really didn't want the whole town talking about Rory and Dean. Too many people talking would mean it was easier to figure out what really happened. Rory being out of the country didn't help matters either. It made her look guilty-guilty of loving Dean, or at least sleeping with him anyway.

"Hey Sookie, I'm gonna go grab some lunch, okay?" she asked as Sookie dried off a plate.

"No problem," Sookie smiled. "I might need your help later though. I have my list of potential firees down to five."

"No problem," Lorelai said forcing a smile. "I'll be back to help you figure out who we need to let go."

Lorelai walked out to her Jeep and bathed in the sunshine. She needed to clear her head. She needed to find out what the town was saying about the Dean and Rory situation. But, maybe most of all, she needed to see Luke. Being with Luke the night before had made Lorelai almost forget all her problems with Rory and her parents. She needed to see him to reassure herself that things were going to be okay. Lorelai walked into the diner shortly after the lunch rush had slowed down. Luke was behind the counter as usual. He glanced up and when he saw her his face lit up. Immediately he realized he needed to keep it cool so he just formed his mouth into a tiny grin, unnoticeable to anyone except Lorelai. She tossed her purse on the counter and smiled at him. "Hey there sailor," she said.

"Hey," he said trying to be nonchalant. "The name's Ken actually," he added quietly so only Lorelai would hear him.

Lorelai giggled and leaned in on the counter lowering her head. "Nice to meet you Ken, they call me Barbie," she replied in a whisper.

"So," Luke said standing up straight. "What can I get ya?" He thought it was a shame their little game had to end so soon, but there were people scattered throughout the diner.

"Coffee is good," Lorelai said sitting up straight in her stool.

"Just coffee?" Luke asked concerned. "It's lunch time."

"I'm not really hungry," she said.

Immediately Luke knew something was wrong. If she had just eaten, Lorelai was hungry. If there was a blizzard, Lorelai was hungry. If Lorelai was sick, she was still hungry. For Lorelai not to be hungry something major must have happened.

Luke suddenly realized that the town had been particularly chatty this morning. He usually didn't pay attention to the gossip and this morning was no different. He had seen Miss Patty rush in and talk to at least ten people before she left, but he didn't pay much attention. He realized he should have because Miss Patty must have been talking about Rory and Dean.

"Oh my God, they know don't they?" Luke asked lowering his voice again. "They know about," he whispered "Rory and Dean?"

Lorelai nodded weakly. "They know a little, but not the whole story," Lorelai whispered back.

Luke leaned in to talk to her again and realized how stupid it was to be whispering to each other. He grabbed her hand over the counter and pulled her around and behind the counter. She followed and they ended up in the storeroom where they could talk freely.

"Okay, so what do they know?" Luke asked leaning on a table.

"Oh, Luke, I'm so glad I can talk about this with someone," Lorelai let out as she started pacing the floor.

"I don't know how much they know, but apparently Dean told Lindsey their marriage was over."

"Well he should have ended it before all this but at least he isn't stringing her along anymore," Luke said.

"Yeah, well apparently Dean, brilliant relationship expert that he is, told Lindsey he was leaving her because he was still in love with Rory!" Lorelai exclaimed.

Luke's face fell. "Yeah, that isn't good," Luke agreed. "But you know how Stars Hollow is Lorelai. Today this will be the big news and tomorrow Taylor will decide to have everyone repaint their houses and it won't be news anymore," Luke tried to reassure her.

"But Luke, if they know this part of the story, how long is it going to be before they put all the pieces together?" Lorelai asked.

"Come here," Luke said opening his arms. Lorelai for once obeyed without argument. She wanted to feel Luke's strong arms around her again. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head on his chest letting out a deep breath.

"Luke, what if Taylor doesn't decide to have everyone repaint their houses tomorrow?" Lorelai asked.

"We're talking about Taylor. How long do you think it will be before he comes up with another stupid idea? Besides," he reasoned, "there's a town meeting tomorrow."

Lorelai looked up at him and smiled a sad smile. "I don't think I've ever looked so forward to a town meeting in my life," she said.

Luke planted a small kiss on her forehead and patted her back with his hand before letting her go. "I'm sure it will all work out," Luke said. "That Dean is some piece of work," Luke added thinking about how Dean had giving him a speech about his relationship with Nicole.

Lorelai pulled away from him and leaned on the table next to him. "Yeah, I know," Lorelai said. "I'm so sorry for every horrible thing I ever said about Jess," Lorelai admitted.

"Thanks," Luke said dryly. "It's good to know you approve of my nephew over an adulterer."

"Oh, Luke, that isn't what I meant," Lorelai tried to back track.

"It's okay," Luke said with a wave of his hand. "I know what you meant. I know where you were coming from with Jess too," he admitted.

"Thanks for the pep talk," she said as she walked toward the storage room door. "Is it better for us to go back out together or separate?" she asked suddenly.

Luke looked at her for a moment. "I don't know. You're supposed to be the expert on clandestine affairs," he said.

"Well if I go out before you they might think that you're still putting your clothes back on," Lorelai reasoned. "But if we go out at the same time they'll naturally assume we've been engaging in a little afternoon delight," she said slyly.

"So, which is it?" Luke asked her.

"Let's go together. You'll be known as the town stud," she grinned.

"Lorelai there are about five people out there. Five people who we're not on a first name basis with. I think it'll be okay," he told her.

"Okay," she said turning with Luke following closely behind her. "Wait!" she turned suddenly and stopped Luke with her hand on his chest.

"What now?" he asked.

"Just this," Lorelai replied pulling Luke's face toward her and kissing him passionately. She raised her hand and playfully twirled a piece of Luke's hair in her fingers knocking off his baseball cap. His hand quickly found her waist and he pulled her closer to him. Lorelai pulled away and smiled at him. "See you in a minute," she grinned like the Cheshire cat as she walked through the curtain back into the diner. Luke had to look around and pick up his discarded baseball cap. He placed it on his head smiling to himself as he went back to work.

The town meeting came and went. Although there was a heated discussion about mandatory planting of the town flower in everyone's front yard it seemed the hot topic of conversation was Rory and Dean. Lorelai had hoped that Kirk might run naked through the town meeting, thus ending Rory's reign as Queen of Scandal, but nothing remotely gossip-worthy happened.

Dean, Lindsey and both their families had managed to stay away from the town meeting, which made it all the more easy for people to talk about them. Lorelai got both sympathetic glances and inquisitive stares, which she knew, were all about Rory and Dean's feelings for her. Stars Hollow had always been a vacuum, but it was never more apparent than now.

Luke and Lorelai met at the meeting and sat next to each, which wasn't unusual. He helped her field the questions Miss Patty and Babette bombarded her with before the meeting. 'How does Rory feel about this? Where is Rory? Why did she go to Europe?' and the like. By the time Luke unlocked the diner to get Lorelai a cup of coffee she was exhausted.

Lorelai walked slowly to the counter and threw herself on a stool, burying her head in her arms on the counter. Luke poured her a cup of coffee and set it inches from her hand.

"Here," he said pushing the mug closer.

"Thanks," came her muffled reply through her arms.

"You're welcome," Luke said cutting a piece of pie for her.

"Do I smell pie?" Lorelai asked still not looking up.

"You'd have to look up to see," Luke evaded.

"You're teasing me," said Lorelai's muffled voice.

"Maybe, but if you don't look up you'll never know," he continued to tease her.

Lorelai finally lifted her head and Luke slide a plate if apple pie toward her. This seemed to lift her mood because she grinned slightly.

"If I'd have known that having the day from hell would get me coffee and pie without a fight I'd have done it years ago," she said digging in to her tasty dessert.

"Yeah, well don't get excited because this is a one-time thing," he said leaning on his arms on the counter.

"That meeting was brutal. You promised me Taylor would make everyone paint," she pouted.

"I know," he said. "I figured the flower thing would have caused more of a fight," Luke explained.

Lorelai shrugged. "You did your best," she said soothingly. "I especially like the part where you stood up and tried to rally the town to overthrow Taylor's regime. It was very Colonel Peron of you," she said with a smile.

"You know me, I love a good military coup," he replied with a small grin.

"Although I don't think the bourgeoisie are ready for your strong opposition to Taylor," Lorelai laughed.

"Yeah well I don't know if they're ready for you either, Evita," Luke quipped.

They laughed for a minute and Lorelai finished off her slice of apple pie.

"I'm sorry about this," Lorelai said.

"It's okay, it's only toxic to your body, not mine," he said picking up her plate.

"No, I mean I'm sorry that things are starting out like this for us," she said. "We finally figured out what we want but then there's this whole Rory and Dean thing going on. I feel like I'm not being much fun," she apologized.

"You're fine," Luke said. "Great, even, so don't worry about it. The thing with Rory and Dean happened and you're doing fine. We're doing fine," he reassured her.

"Really? You're not just saying that?" she asked.

"I'm sure. We are great," he said looking her in the eyes.

"Good," she replied and smiled. "So what are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Oh I'm going out," he said.

Lorelai's face fell. She was hoping that she could spend more time with Luke. There was a carnival in Hartford that she was hoping to guilt him into taking her to.

"With who?" Lorelai asked.

"I have date," he replied. He said it so seriously that Lorelai had to wonder if he really had a date.

"With who?" she practically exclaimed.

"This woman I know," he said softening. "We've been having a very top secret affair you know," he said.

Lorelai reached over the counter and hit him, not so much playfully, but hard.

"Ow," Luke said as he leaned back off the counter. "What was that for?" he asked.

"You deserved it," she said and stuck her tongue out at him. "I thought you seriously had a date for a minute."

"Lorelai be serious," he chuckled.

"I am," she said. "Now that you've read your manly little book you're much more of a take-charge guy. Women like take-charge men."

"I am? They do?" he asked surprised.

"Of course," Lorelai said.

"Good to know," he said pondering her comment.

"Well just for that we are going to a carnival tomorrow," Lorelai told him. "It's in Hartford. I'll meet you at 7 p.m." she said standing up.

"You think I'm gonna go to a carnival?" he asked surprised.

"Yep, I do," she said walking toward the door. "See you at 7 p.m." she said and closed the diner door behind her before Luke even had a chance to argue with her.