Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Just a note, I don't lurk anywhere, but I'd love to if people are having fun discussions about GG! I just happen to think Luke's arms are really sexy! I don't own Gilmore Girls or this Beatles song, re-recorded by Fiona Apple...

Across the Universe by Fiona Apple...

Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,

They slither while they pass they slip away across the universe

Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind,

Possessing and caressing me...

Nothing's gonna change my world...

Sookie, Michel and Lorelai watched excitedly as their first few guests made their way to the dining room for dinner. The Nelsons arrived a few hours ago followed by the Linds, Millers, Carmichaels and Burgs. Sookie had been a ball of energy all morning and cooked more food than their guests could possibly eat, but it was to be expected.

"They've been here for three hours and no one has complained about anything," Michel said moving back into the kitchen. "I'd say that is a success."

"Michel, you sound almost positive! And you haven't even asked to go home early," Lorelai beamed.

"Well, don't get used to it," he replied in his thick accent. "I still reserve the right to leave early tomorrow."

"We're open! We actually have guests and things are going well. We're back!" Lorelai said excitedly.

Almost as if on cue Sookie dropped a platter of sauce on the floor, slipped on the sauce and landed firmly on her behind.

"Ouch!" she whined as a few of her kitchen staff helped her up.

"Oh yes, we are definitely back," Michel said with a well-timed eye roll.

"Now there's the Michel we all know and love," Lorelai said as she rushed to help Sookie clean up the mess.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Sookie giggled. "Good thing I made triple the amount of everything!"

"I'm going back out to the desk to wait for the rest of our guests," Michel said exiting the kitchen.

"He just doesn't want to help clean up," Sookie grumped.

"Oh Sookie you know Michel," Lorelai reasoned. "Everything smells great honey. You really outdid yourself tonight," Lorelai said sampling an appetizer.

"Thanks," Sookie smiled. "I'm glad you like it because you'll be eating the leftovers for a week!" She went back to stirring another pot on the stove. "Thank you Lorelai," Sookie suddenly said.

"For what?" Lorelai asked confused.

"Well I know there were times when I wasn't around and I didn't help out as much as I should have. You really kept us all together and you did a great job," Sookie said.

"Thanks Sookie, but I never would have been able to do this without you, and as much as I hate to admit it, Michel either. We did a great job," she smiled at her friend.

"Thanks," Sookie blushed. "So how's Rory's trip? Have you heard from her lately?"

"Actually no,"Lorelai admitted. "She called the other night and she was okay, but she hasn't exactly been the Great Communicator lately. We kind of had a fight before she left. We made up, but things have felt different," Lorelai admitted to Sookie.

"What did you fight about?" Sookie asked concerned.

"It was about a guy," Lorelai said. "It's usually about a guy when we fight," Lorelai told her. She figured she could be partially truthful with Sookie, but just not tell her all the details. "I caught her with this guy that isn't good for her and we kind of got into it."

"Someone worse than Jess? I can't believe that, you hated him," Sookie said.

Lorelai sighed. Never in her life did she imagine that she'd prefer Jess over anyone, let alone Dean, but there it was, that sad fact staring her in the face.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Lorelai said.

"Is that why she went off with Emily?" Sookie wondered.

"Sort of," Lorelai said. "She wanted to distance herself from the guy, maybe me, I don't know," Lorelai added uncertain. The simple fact was that Rory, although not outwardly mad at her, hadn't really called to chat or check in as often as she used to. Lorelai knew that was a sign that she still angry. Lorelai hadn't even gotten a chance to tell her daughter about Luke. It definitely wasn't a good sign.

"Well, maybe she'll be happier when she gets back," Sookie offered. "Everyone needs a break sometimes."

"Yeah," Lorelai said longing to change the subject. "Well you've done a great job tonight Sookie. I'm gonna go man the desk with Michel," Lorelai said.

"Okay, bye sweetie," Sookie beamed as she continued to prepare dinner.

Three hours later Lorelai felt exhausted. She was up with the roosters and now it was nearly 11 p.m. Her exhaustion was worth it however when she saw what a success the inn was. She decided to leave when she finally realized she had to give up some control and allow her night manager to take over.

Lorelai firmly closed the door to her Jeep and smiled to herself as she walked toward her porch. Her smile widened when she saw she had a visitor waiting for her on the porch.

"Hey," she smiled brightly.

"Hey yourself," Luke replied. He was sitting comfortably on the front step with a bottle of champagne with a balloon floating lazily from the neck of the bottle.

"How long have you been here?" she asked taking a seat beside him.

"Not that long," he admitted. "I called Sookie and asked her to give me a call when you were leaving."

"Smart man," Lorelai replied leaning over to give him a kiss, which he happily returned. "So, what's with the balloon?"

"Oh, this is congratulations on a successful opening day," he said picking up the bottle. He produced two plastic cups from behind him and popped the cork on the champagne. He handed her a cup and added, "Sorry, I'm not a champagne flute guy."

"It's okay," she smiled. "I think plastic has a certain understated charm," she added playfully bumping him with her shoulder.

"To a successful grand opening and the best damn inn owner I know," Luke said raising his cup.

"Here, here," Lorelai said clinking cups with him. They both sipped their champagne before Lorelai glanced again at the balloon. "Did you blow that up yourself?" she asked pointing to the balloon.

"As a matter of fact I did," Luke replied confidently. "And you also drew the smiley face in Sharpie on the balloon?" she asked suppressing a giggle.

"I get it. Pablo Picasso I'm not," Luke admitted.

"No, I love it," she said reaching around him and picking up the bottle to get a better look at his drawing on the balloon. She turned her face and the balloon toward Luke. "Look at how cute he is. I'll think I'll name him Jimmy. Hey, you should put his face on your menus!" she said excitedly.

"Okay, okay, mock me, that's fine," Luke said pretending to pout.

"Aww, I'm just teasing you. You know I live to irritate you. I'll think I'll let him float around upstairs next to Woodward," she said letting the balloon go to float around her head again. "Honestly I love it. It is very sweet," she said taking his chin with her hand and pulling it toward her. She planted a soft kiss on his lips, but quickly deepened it. Luke returned her affection eagerly, but suddenly pulled away and stood up.

"What?" Lorelai asked confused.

"Nothing," Luke said. Lorelai gave him a look and he added, "It's just that we're outside and your neighbor is Babette," he said emphatically.

Lorelai stood up and picked up the bottle of champagne. "Well let's go inside then," she suggested.

"I don't know," Luke said. "It's late and you were up early. You must be exhausted."

"Yeah, I guess," Lorelai said disappointed.

Luke walked up the steps and put his hands on Lorelai's shoulders. "It's not that I don't want to spend time with you, but it is late and I have a tendency to fall asleep on your couch," he added with a smile.

"Very true," she replied. Grinning slightly she added, "And narcolepsy is so unattractive."

"Thanks," he returned her smile. "Congratulations Lorelai, no one deserves this more than you," he told her.

"Thank you," she said taking his hand. "I couldn't have done it without you Luke."

"I'm sure that's not true, but thanks anyway," he replied. "I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Count on it and give Berstein Woodward's regards," she smiled back at him as he gave her a quick kiss goodnight.

"Will do," he smiled.

Lorelai opened the door to her house and sighed. It had been a great day. The Dragonfly had opened without a hitch and Luke had been with her to celebrate, however briefly. She had a feeling late hour of night had less to do with his departure and more to do with his fear of not being able to be with Lorelai in the way he wanted. But he was right. It was late and they had already had two unsuccessful attempts at furthering their relationship.

Lorelai hung up her coat and checked the answering machine. She had a message. She was suddenly very happy that Rory had decided to call. She couldn't figure out why she didn't call her cell phone, but she happily pushed the play button waiting to hear her daughter's voice.

"Hi Lorelai," said a voice that was not Rory. "I wanted to congratulate you on the inn opening. It looked great the other night and no one deserves more success than you. We left things kind of unresolved between us and I was hoping we could talk. I know you said you weren't interested, but I thought if I gave you some time you'd see that we make sense together Lorelai. I miss you. So give me call when you get in. I'd really like to talk to you," Jason finished.

Lorelai stood there staring at the answering machine shocked. Not only had Rory not called, but Jason had! Jason, who she told in no uncertain terms that it was over, was trying again to win her back--again. 'What is wrong with him?' she thought. She knew he wasn't used to being defeated, but she couldn't believe his nerve.

'And where the hell is Rory?' she thought. She hadn't heard from her daughter in days and her inn opened today. Today was one of the most important days in Lorelai's life and her own daughter hadn't even bothered to call to see how it went, offer her luck or congratulations. Lorelai took off her shoe and flung it angrily into the corner. She picked up the bottle of champagne that Luke brought and forcefully took a swig as she stomped up the stairs to her room for some much needed sleep.

Lorelai walked into Luke's a little later than usual. Although she was exhausted from the day before she had trouble sleeping, what with all the thoughts of Rory and Jason running through her head. She quickly sat at the counter and looked for Luke, who, unfortunately she saw no sign of.

"No, I need it as quickly as possible," she heard Luke's raised voice say. "Three weeks? Are you kidding me? No, forget it. I said forget it!"

Luke came out from around the corner of the kitchen and roughly slammed the phone down.

"Rough day at the office?" Lorelai asked startling Luke.

"Yeah something like that," Luke said tersely. "When did you get here?"

"Gee I'm glad to see you too," Lorelai replied sharply.

"Sorry," he said walking over to her behind the counter. "Sorry. I just found out that I can't get a new stove for at least 3 weeks! I can't very well serve sandwiches for the next 3 weeks. Look around, there's practically no one here."

Lorelai scanned the diner and noticed that he had a point. "Sorry Luke," she offered. "Have you looked everywhere?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "The problem is they're making industrial stoves a lot larger than I have space for so it looks like it's a special order situation. What am I gonna do?"

Luke looked a little panicked. Lorelai had never seen Luke look quite this distressed, at least about the diner. She felt bad for him and wished she could help.

"I don't know. Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked sympathetically.

"No, not really," he said. "Thanks though. After a moment of collecting his thoughts he added, "Coffee to go?"

"Please," Lorelai replied guiltily. "I'm really sorry about the stove Luke. If there's anything I can do let me know."

"Yeah, thanks," he replied handing her the coffee.

"I'll see you later?" she asked.

"Why? Do you feel like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner?" he asked half-joking, half-serious.

"If you're making it," she said winking at him.

"Then yeah, I guess you'll see me later," he replied. Her attempt to lighten his mood didn't quite work this time. He watched her walk out of the diner and pulled out the phone book again.

Lorelai was walking to her car when her cell phone rang. She quickly pulled it out of her purse and answered, "Hello?"

"Hi Mom," Rory said.

"Mom? Mom? I know someone used to call me by that name, but I can't quite remember who. I think I can almost picture her," Lorelai replied.

"Ha-ha," Rory responded. "How is everything there?"

"It's fine," Lorelai said noncommittally. She had been up the previous night thinking about Rory's lack of communication and she was irritated, especially since Rory hadn't yet said anything about the inn.

"Okay, "Rory said slightly bewildered. "Well we're in France now. Grandma and I are having a really good time. She isn't what you'd expect her to be. I even got her to buy a beret yesterday, and she wore it!"

"That's great hon," Lorelai said despondently. She suddenly had a pang of jealousy. As much as she wanted Rory to have a good time she was jealous that she was having such a good time with her mother. Lorelai and Emily hardly ever shared a civil conversation let alone a fun vacation.

"Yeah, we've actually had a lot of time to talk too. Grandma is pretty insightful. She helped me to see that things with Dean will eventually get better."

"You told Grandma about Dean?" Lorelai spit out aghast.

"Well I didn't tell her everything that happened, just the general situation and she was very helpful," Rory informed her.

"That's my mother, a regular Dr. Ruth," Lorelai said rather snidely.

"Are you okay?" Rory asked.

"Me?" Lorelai repeated. "I'm fine. I just have to get to the inn. You know my inn. The Dragonfly Inn. The one that has only been open a day," Lorelai told her.

Suddenly it dawned on Rory that the grand opening of the inn was yesterday. She felt horrible that she had forgotten to even call her mother to congratulate her or wish her luck.

"Oh my God, Mom I'm so sorry," Rory apologized. "I completely forgot that was yesterday. Did it go well? Was it great? Are you going to be in the next issue of Fortune's Power 500?"

"It was great," Lorelai said satisfied with herself. "Everything went off without a hitch. I wish my only child would have remembered, but she was off living it up on Emily Gilmore's fabulous European Vacation," Lorelai added hurt.

"Mom, I'm sorry," Rory said again. Her mother sure did have a way with the guilt.

"I know," Lorelai conceded. "I'm sorry too. It's just you're not here and you're having fun with my mother, which is a completely foreign concept to me. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself though sweetie."

"Thanks," Rory said. "So how is everything there?"

"It's good," Lorelai said. "You'll be happy to know that Dean is no longer the talk of the town," Lorelai added.

"Oh, well that's good I guess," Rory replied. "What happened? Did Kirk pull another Old School streaking run?"

"No," Lorelai said getting animated. "It was actually something about me that replaced you atop the gossip totem in Stars Hollow."

"What did you do?" Rory asked nervously. She silently prayed that her mother hadn't decided to kill Dean. That would definitely make her the talk of the town.

"Well hon, I'm dating Luke, officially," Lorelai said contentedly. "Of course Miss Patty and the rest of the town were slightly agog, as you can imagine."

"You're officially dating Luke?" Rory repeated.

"Yeah, we've seen each other every day since you left and it's pretty serious," Lorelai told her.

"So I've been gone a week and you're already seriously dating Luke?" Rory pressed.

"Yeah, is there something wrong with that?" Lorelai asked defensively.

"No, it's fine, great even," Rory said getting irritated.

"Really? Cause I'm detecting a hint of irritation your voice," Lorelai replied.

"It's nothing okay? Everything is fine," Rory lied.

"So you're not gonna tell me what's wrong? We're back to not telling each other things?" Lorelai pushed her.

"Nothing is wrong. I just can't believe you're seriously dating Luke. It seems fast and I don't want you to hurt him," Rory added quietly.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. I really appreciate it," Lorelai said sarcastically. "How many times did you tell me Luke had a thing for me Rory? I don't really think it's moving that fast."

"Well yeah Luke has always liked you, but you never seemed interested in him," Rory protested.

"I can't believe how little you know me. I'm with Luke now okay? We're happy. We love each other," Lorelai let out without meaning to say it.

"You love each other?" Rory asked surprised.

"Yeah we do," Lorelai responded.

"Well, great then," Rory said unenthusiastically.

"What is going on Rory? I thought you liked Luke?" Lorelai questioned her.

"I do. I do like Luke," she defended herself. "I don't know what's going on, it's just weird. I'm a continent away and you start officially dating Luke. It's weird," Rory said.

"Yeah, well I guess we're just in alternate universe world here because my Rory would be happy for me. She wouldn't make me feel bad for dating Luke. She wouldn't forget about my inn opening and make me think I'm not worthy to date Luke," Lorelai spat into the phone. Not ten minutes ago she wished that Rory would call her. Now she just wished she hadn't bothered.

"Fine," Rory said shortly. "I have to go."

"Fine, have a great time with Grandma. Live it up. God knows what kind of hellish mother you'll be coming home too," Lorelai responded coldly.

"Whatever, have fun with Luke. Just be sure you break his heart before I come home because I don't want to feel guilty about eating at the diner," Rory spewed venomously into the phone.

Lorelai heard the phone click and she knew Rory was gone. She was furious as she stomped to her car and jerked the door open with reckless force. She chucked her purse to the passenger's side and fought back tears as she started her car.

TBC