Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the reviews. I love them all like children! I don't own Gilmore Girls or All Through the Night from the musical Anything Goes...

When dawn comes to waken me
You're never there at all.
I know you've forsaken me,
Till the shadows fall.
But then once again I can dream, I've the right
To be close to you
All through the night.

Richard rushed out of the diner like a bat from hell. He walked briskly toward his wife who had wandered across the street by a park bench. Emily had fully intended to make a swift exit, but upon exiting the diner she realized that Rory had chauffeured her to Stars Hollow and now she was uncertain of how she was going to get back to the inn at which she was staying. She was contemplating this dilemma when she heard footsteps behind her and she turned to find Richard staring down at her.

"You cannot walk away like that Emily," he bellowed.

"Keep your voice down Richard," she hissed. "We have nothing more to say."

"Maybe you have nothing more to say Emily, but I sure as hell do," he replied. He had lowered his voice slightly, but his agitation was still apparent.

"You're telling me that you'd rather be alone than married to me because you don't know who you are? That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life," he told her matter-of-factly. "You are a member of the DAR, you're on the fundraising committee for the hospital, you run the house and all my business engagements, how can you say you have no identity?"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand Richard," Emily replied taking a seat on the park bench. "For the last 38 years I have been Mrs. Richard Gilmore. Two months ago I saw you kissing another woman. A woman who you have had secret lunches with for years. So suddenly there's this panic inside of me that says I might not be your wife. You might want to be with another woman. And if you're with another woman and I'm not your wife than who am I Richard? What do I have?"

Tears were starting to well in her eyes and though she tried to stop them from spilling she couldn't. For months Emily had held on to these feelings and now they spilled from her like a fountain of emotion.

Richard could never take his wife's tears. He had always thought them a form of emotional blackmail, but this time it was different. This time his heart broke because he had caused these tears. This situation was his fault and he wanted nothing more than to fix it. He took a seat on the bench next to his wife.

"Emily, you are an intelligent, resourceful, beautiful woman. I wouldn't be half the man I am today if it weren't for you. And you have friends and functions that you're a part of. I can't be the thing that defines you," he said. His voice was soft and calming. The anger that had before had dissipated.

"But you are Richard," Emily said wiping her eyes. "You are the thing that defines me and the feeling of panic I felt when I thought you might not want me anymore..."

"Emily," he said quickly wrapping an arm over her shoulder. "I do want you. I made a mistake. It was probably the biggest mistake of my life. I hate seeing you in such pain and if I could take it back I would. I don't know what to do," Richard admitted.

This was the first time in his life that Richard felt powerless to do anything. He wasn't sure what Emily wanted. He knew he wanted to be with her. He wanted to make things right again, but he wasn't certain he could.

"I don't either," Emily acknowledged.

Suddenly they both heard music coming from Miss Patty's Dance Studio. They both looked across the street and saw people dancing and laughing.

"There must be some sort of festival tonight," Emily said sitting up straight and trying to compose herself. "Lorelai always says they have a festival for everything in this town."

"Actually it was for us," Richard said softly looking at his shoes. Emily just looked at him. "In addition to recreating Marty's I thought I could recreate the dance at—"

"the Hartford Recreation Center," Emily finished for him.

"Yes," he admitted sheepishly.

"Richard," Emily said. "I can't believe you remembered that."

"Well how could I forget the dance that made me fall in love with you?" Richard said. "I had seen you before and I thought 'who is that enchanting woman?' I never thought I'd see you in a social setting of course."

"I remember you were wearing a lovely navy jacket," Emily reminisced. "I had seen you around, but when you asked me to dance I was—"

"Scared," Richard chuckled.

"I wasn't scared," Emily protested.

"You were too," Richard teased her. "You didn't know who I was and you were nervous because you thought I was too forward."

"Well I'd heard you were engaged," Emily replied.

"Well," he said, "I couldn't take my eyes off you that night. I thought, 'This is it. This is your one chance to find out if love at first sight is real.' Of course I found out that it was true," he told her.

They sat there for the first time in months in companionable silence. Emily reflected on what Richard had said. She thought about all the trouble that had gone into recreating these special moments. Richard sat and silently hoped she would relent and at least tell him that she still loved him, that things could somehow be repaired between them.

Lorelai rushed to the window when she heard the door slam for the second time. Luke followed her and they moved the lace curtain to stare out the window.

"He followed her," Lorelai said stating the obvious.

"Maybe we shouldn't be watching this," Luke said not moving his eyes from the figures standing across the street.

"What do you think they're saying?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't know," Luke replied. "But your Mom doesn't look too happy," he noted as they watched Emily sag onto the bench. From the distance they couldn't see tears, but they saw her wipe her eyes.

"I can't believe what my Mom said about me. Can you believe she said she understood why I didn't marry Christopher?" Lorelai said pulling Luke down lower in the window frame.

"She did seem to understand," Luke agreed.

"Oh he just put his arm around her," Lorelai whispered excitedly. "Do you think that's a good sign?"

"Well I don't think it's a bad sign and she hadn't pushed him away yet," Luke whispered back. He suddenly realized they were whispering yet they were completely alone. "Why are we whispering?" he asked.

"I don't know," Lorelai admitted. "It seemed like the thing to do. They're just sitting there. Why are they just sitting there?"

"I don't know," Luke replied. "Maybe they're talking."

"I can't see any lip movement," Lorelai said.

"I can't either and why do I suddenly feel like I'm in a very bad episode of Laverne and Shirley," Luke replied looking at them crouched down behind a lace jungle.

"You're right," Lorelai said beginning to stand. "Wait," she said putting a hand on Luke's chest to stop him from backing away. "He's taking her hand. They're standing up."

"You think they're going to Miss Patty's?" Luke asked her staring out the window again.

"It looks like it," Lorelai replied incredulous. "Come on," she said taking his hand and pulling him toward the door.

"Where are we going?" he asked as Lorelai dragged him out the door.

"We're following them," Lorelai said simply. "We can partake in the dancing festivities. After all you waltz beautifully," she grinned.

"How is it that you always manage to get me mixed up in your harebrained schemes?" he asked rhetorically as she dragged him down the street.

"Hi Andrew," Rory said as she entered the bookshop.

"Rory," Andrew said looking up surprised. "What brings you here? I thought your Grandparents were having some big to do at Miss Patty's," he said.

Rory thought he sounded nervous and she found that to be slightly peculiar.

"Oh well I'm just stopping in for the book I ordered before I left. Sorry it took me so long to get it. My trip to Europe was kind of unplanned and it completely slipped my mind until today," Rory explained. "So I'm just here to pick up my Shelley anthology and then I'm off."

"You know you don't really strike me as a Shelley reader Rory," Andrew evaded her request.

"Well I have to read it for a class this fall, but after going to Europe I'm kind of interested in reading the rest of her work. So can I get it? I've kind of been waiting for it," Rory asked.

"I know," Andrew said. "I know and that's why it makes it so hard to tell you that it came in last week, but I sold it," Andrew admitted meekly.

"You sold it? Andrew I had you special order it. You said it would take three weeks and then you put it on the shelf?" Rory asked slightly irritated.

"I'm sorry," Andrew said quickly. "I didn't actually put it on the shelf. The hold shelf is behind the counter and this guy came in and saw it and he asked if he could buy it. I told him no, but then he told me that he would pay double what you were going to pay if he could get his hands on it now. I knew you were away and I broke down and sold it to him. I'm sorry, but I ordered you another copy right away. It should be here next Thursday."

"What? Well who is this guy that swooped in and stole my Shelley anthology?" Rory said very irritated.

"He's about your age. His name is James and he just moved here with his family," Andrew replied.

"And where can I find this guy?" Rory asked.

"Well last I heard he just got a job at Luke's," Andrew said surprised she hadn't already heard about him.

"Fine, thanks Andrew," Rory said slightly sarcastically. "So my book will be in next Thursday?"

"Yes, Thursday for sure," Andrew replied trying to make amends. "Don't worry about the shipping costs either," he offered.

"Thanks," Rory said as she left the bookshop. She walked to Miss Patty's slightly peeved about the book and vowing to track down this James and give him a piece of her mind.

Emily and Richard walked hand in hand to Miss Patty's. Lured there by the sound of the music and the lively festivities they decided to put their problems aside for a moment and just enjoy the evening that had been set up for them.

"Would you care for punch?" Richard asked when they arrived.

"Yes, I'd like that, thank you," Emily replied as she surveyed the dance studio. 'Lorelai must have set this up,' Emily thought. She knew Richard had connections and power, but this was Stars Hollow. So many of the faces were familiar to Emily because these people had been to Rory's 16th birthday so many years ago. Everyone seemed happy and gleeful as they danced away.

Richard returned with punch and a plate of appetizers. "We never got to the meatloaf," Richard said as he offered her the plate.

"Thank you," Emily said. "Did Luke make the food for this as well?" she asked him.

"No I believe this was the work of Sookie," Richard said pointing to Sookie and Jackson laughing in the corner while she bounced a baby on her knee.

"This was really very thoughtful of you Richard," Emily offered. "I must remember to thank Lorelai for her part in all this as well."

As if on cue Lorelai and Luke walked through the door of the dance studio and scanned the crowd. Lorelai spotted her parents against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't figured they would move their fight into a crowd of people, but she couldn't be sure. She took Luke's had and they made their way over to Sookie and Jackson.

"Okay, we've restored a visual and things are still okay," Lorelai said over her shoulder to Luke as they walked.

"Well they don't look like they want to kill each other. That has to be a good sign," he replied. Luke was scanning the room when he saw James refilling the punch bowl. "I'm gonna go make sure everything is okay with James. I'll meet you over there," he said letting go of her hand.

Luke walked over to the punch bowl and found James stirring. "So how's it going?" Luke asked casually.

"It's great Mr. Danes," James replied.

"Please, just stick with Luke," Luke told him.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting," James smiled slightly. "My parents have kind of ingrained the Mr. and Mrs. prefixes into my head permanently."

"No problem," Luke brushed it off. "I just wanted to let you know that your job description won't usually entail party work. This was just a favor, special circumstances, you know," Luke tried to explain.

"No problem," James replied. "I don't know many people in town yet so this is kind of helping me meet everyone," James replied congenially.

Rory had entered the studio and spotted Luke before she saw her mother so she walked up beside him while Luke was talking with James.

"Well I'm glad that this helps," Luke said. He noticed Rory had walked up and introduced her, "Speaking of meeting people, this is Rory Gilmore. I think you two are about the same age. Rory this is my new waiter James Harcourt."

"James?" Rory clarified.

"Yeah, nice to meet you," James smiled as he extended his hand.

"You too," Rory said not taking his hand. "James you don't happen to be a fan of Mary Shelley do you?" she asked pointedly.

"Actually I do," James said still smiling. His green eyes sparkled in the light and he moved his hand through his short brown hair. He had a dimple on his left cheek when he smiled.

"That's very interesting because I had an anthology on hold at Andrew's and he just told me that someone named James came in and stole my book," Rory said accusingly.

James's smile faded quickly when he realized Rory wasn't too happy with him. "Oh, sorry about that," he replied. "I didn't steal it, I paid twice what it's worth actually," he informed her.

"And what makes you think that you can just barter in a bookshop? It was my book," Rory said.

"Well you weren't in town. In fact, it sat on the shelf for a good week and a half before I made Andrew an offer he couldn't refuse," James retorted not giving an inch.

"Who are you the Godfather? Brando dies and suddenly you're in the running for his role? Money can't buy everything," Rory shot at him.

"Hey, guys wait a minute," Luke tried to interject, but James and Rory ignored him.

"You're right money can't buy everything," James replied. "But it can buy a first addition Mary Shelley anthology."

"How very elitist of you," Rory retorted.

"Elitist? I work in a diner. I'd say that is the antithesis of elitism," James replied matter-of-factly. "From what I heard you were off gallivanting in Europe for three weeks. Who sounds more elitist you or me?"

"Okay, guys really," Luke tried to interject again.

"I can't believe you," Rory said once again ignoring Luke. "I'm the farthest thing from elitist. My Grandmother took me to Europe and for your information I was a card swiper my second semester at Yale. I wouldn't say that was elitist would you?"

"Yale?" James asked, his angry tone had abated.

"Yes, I go to Yale," Rory told him. Her tone calmed like his did.

"I should have known. I go to Harvard," James said.

"Well I guess it's a good thing we won't have to run into each much after the summer is over," Rory said.

"Actually I commute," James told her.

"You commute to Harvard from Stars Hollow?" Rory asked surprised. The drive from Stars Hollow to Boston wasn't an easy one.

"Yeah, well my family kind of hit some money troubles so I'm working and commuting to Harvard. It saves on room and board. It also helps that I'm going to take classes three days a week instead of five," James said.

"So you two are good here now?" Luke asked. "You're not going to start a rumble? Cause if you're okay I'm gonna go," Luke said hoping they would at least acknowledge him this time.

"Yeah it's fine," Rory replied. James nodded in agreement and Luke walked back over to Lorelai.

"I'm sorry about the book," James offered. "If you really want it I'll give you my copy and just wait for the next shipment."

"No, it's okay," Rory said with a wave of her hand. "I'll just wait. I overreacted. I just take my books a little too seriously."

"I know the feeling, believe me," James said.

The music had slowed down and an old melody started to play. People started to couple up and dance slowly around the studio. It appeared that Lorelai had even managed to drag Luke out to the dance floor under mush protest of course. It was clear the wooing period which included Luke dancing was nearly over.

"Oh I love Cole Porter," Emily said softly.

Richard extended his hand and said, "Would you like to dance?"

Emily looked at him. She wanted to dance with Richard. She wanted to dance with him so badly, but she didn't want to get wrapped up in the emotion of being so close to him. Dancing with Richard had a way of making Emily drunk on his presence.

As if Richard understood what she was thinking he added, "It's just a simple dance Emily."

"Okay," she replied extending her hand.

They walked out to the dance floor and Richard, always the gentleman, kept Emily at arms length and allowed her to decide how close she wanted to get. Their hands intertwined and they swayed across the floor as if they were born to dance with only each other.

Richard lightly hummed while they danced and Emily found herself feeling more comfortable. She leaned in slightly and Richard responded in kind until her head was mere inches from his shoulder. Richard bowed his head in lower and hummed the lyrics to the song.

"I know you've forsaken me, till the shadows fall," he sang softly into her ear.

The tiny hairs on the back of Emily's neck stood up. The warmth of his breath on her earlobe reminded her of better times, simpler times, when they had only each other and it was all they needed.

"Richard," she said lightly as if to stop him.

"To be close to you all through the night," he finished despite her shallow protest.

The music continued to play and Emily decided to let things be as they were for the moment. She had to admit that although they fought she was seeing the old Richard again. The Richard who wouldn't abandon her for hours of work or important clients. She was seeing the Richard she fell in love with for the first time in years.

The music drifted away and a new song, more upbeat, started in its place. Emily and Richard stood on the dance floor, still together, as if they hadn't realized that the music had changed. It was Richard who finally broke the embrace.

"Emily," he started. "Despite what happened earlier I had a very nice evening with you. I'd like to do it again sometime if you're willing."

"Uh, yes, I think I'd like that Richard," Emily said surprised as he lead her of the dance floor.

"Good, how about Saturday evening?" Richard ventured.

"Okay," Emily agreed.

"Good," Richard replied and gave her a small smile. "I will see you then."

He started to walk away from her and Emily said, "Richard, where are you going?"

"I'm going home now Emily. It's a drive back to Hartford and I'd like to leave you before you get sick of me again," he said with a small gleam in his eye. "Rory will get you back safely. Good night Emily."

"Good night," she replied absently as she watched Richard leave the studio.

Lorelai and Luke were finished dancing and they saw Richard leave. Lorelai quickly rushed over to her mother to make sure she was all right.

"Mom, is everything okay?" she asked.

Emily turned her gaze from her husband's back to her daughter's face.

"Everything is fine Lorelai," she said. "Thank you for setting this up tonight. I realize now what was being recreated here and I appreciate it," Emily said humbly.

"You're welcome," Lorelai responded taken aback.

"I'm going to find Rory. Have a good night Lorelai," Emily said taking her leave.

"G'night," Lorelai called after her mother.

Luke came up behind Lorelai at that moment and wrapped his arms around her waist. He lowered his lips to her ear and asked, "Is everything okay?"

Lorelai watched Emily and Rory leave and smiled. Lorelai turned around and wrapped her arms around Luke's neck. "Everything is great," she grinned. "Have I told her how much I appreciate you doing this for me?" she said pulling him into a small kiss.

"Yes, I believe you did," he blushed trying to hide from the crowd around them.

"Have I showed you how much I appreciate this?" she said mischievously.

"Uh no," Luke lightly chuckled.

"Oh well it's about time I did," she said pulling Luke out of the studio and into the night.

They wandered out into the moonlit night hand in hand each wearing a sly grin and knowing that they were safe and together and in love.

TBC