A/N: One-time vignette inspired by theScenes from Next Week's Episode following 'A Messenger, Nothing More'.

By the time I finished this story, the next episode had aired and the writers did such an excellent job and went farther with their relationship than I did here that it seemed like the story was moot. But in re-reading it I still liked it so here it is for your enjoyment (I hope).

The First Date

Lorelai couldn't believe that she was actually on a date with Luke. She tried to recall how long she had known him simply as 'Luke' and she wondered when he transformed into this sexy man walking next to her.

As they walked down the main street of Stars Hollow the world seemed to disappear for Luke as he softly reached out for Lorelai's hand which was resting at her side. She looked surprised, but quickly intertwined her fingers in his, feeling how nice it was to be touching. The night was cooler than expected and Lorelai realized that fall was upon them. Luke's touch was even better in the cold because she felt warmth radiate from his fingertips.

The night had gone well and Lorelai was extra happy that Luke had suggested dinner in Hartford instead of under the watchful eyes of the folks from Stars Hollow. But the night was drawing to a close and neither wanted it to end so Lorelai proposed that they leave Luke's truck at the diner and that he could walk her home. Thus they began walking down the main street of Stars Hollow.

Suddenly the peaceful street was overrun with throngs of people. They were cheering, decked out in the Stars Hollow High School colors, and carrying pompoms. Luke and Lorelai realized that the Friday night football game must have just ended in a victory. They tried to rush to the edge of the road so as to not get run over, but got caught up in the crowd. Lorelai decided to stand still while the people continued past her. Her plan seemed to be working until the coach went by followed closely by two teammates carrying a full cooler of ice cold water. They raced up behind the coach about to tip the cooler over his head when one of them tripped. The cooler's contents were no longer projected at the coach, but landed directly on Lorelai. Before she could react, before she could scream in surprise, the crowd was gone. They had passed her and continued their cheering out into the night.

Dripping wet, Lorelai began shaking from the cold water and the chill of the night. Luke was at her side in seconds, having gotten separated during the commotion. However she was not relieved to see him as he burst out laughing at the sight of her. "This ... is ... not ... funny. I don't even like football," Lorelai exclaimed.

"Well, you should like it, it's a great sport. It builds teamwork and really pulls a community together," Luke responded still smirking.

"Whatever, Butch," Lorelai couldn't resist using Luke's high school nickname. After all

he had been an all-around athlete. "I'm freezing," she managed to added while her teeth chattered.

Luke shifted gears, he'd had his laugh, but now he had to help Lorelai. They hadn't gotten far from the diner so he suggested they return there for her to put on dry clothes and warm up. Without verbally agreeing to the plan, Lorelai began walking back toward the diner. Luke took her through the empty diner and up the stairs to his apartment. "Take a hot shower and I'll get you something warm to wear."

Still without uttering a word, Lorelai followed Luke into the bathroom where he had turned on the shower for her. Even in her miserable state she felt something electric being this close to Luke and especially in the close confines of his bathroom. He left the small room and closed the door behind him.

Quickly Lorelai stripped and stepped into the shower. It took about five minutes for the shivering to stop and she relished every minute of the warm water running over her. She wondered if Luke was waiting for her in the apartment so she finished up the shower and grabbed a towel. With the towel firmly wrapped around her she cautiously peeked her head out of the bathroom. She couldn't see Luke, but called out his name to be sure he wasn't there. She felt strange being in Luke's apartment and she was tempted to rummage through his drawers, but she didn't think that Luke had too many secrets that she didn't already know so she let the thought slide from her mind. The air smelled stuffy and hot and she realized that Luke must have turned on the heat for her, probably the first time it'd been on since summer.

Looking around, she saw a pile of clothing Luke had laid out for her. On the top was a note, 'I'm downstairs, I'll be up soon.' He had even signed it, 'in case I didn't know who it was from?' Lorelai thought to herself while shaking her head. She picked up the flannel shirt he had picked out and she held the cloth close to her nose. It held his scent, the scent that was unique to Luke. Suddenly, she longed to see Luke, to match up the scents and the thoughtful deeds with the face she was falling in love with. With urgency she pulled the clothing on over her bare skin and rushed down the inside staircase to Luke.

She burst out of the door hiding the staircase from the diner and stood absolutely still. Immediately she turned around and raced up the stairs, trying not to hyperventilate on the way. She hadn't been thinking, her thoughts of Luke had pushed aside the real world and for her, tonight, there was only Luke. But in the real world was the diner, full of townspeople done with their cheering who were now eating, talking, and staring at Lorelai dressed in Luke's clothing, emerging from Luke's apartment, freshly showered. She tried to guess who had seen her and how quickly word would spread, but her guess was nothing compared to the chain reaction she had caused downstairs.

Babette had been sitting at the counter gossiping to Miss Patty about what she had observed during the football game when movement in the corner of her eye caused her to look up. She saw Lorelai, hair wet, eyes shining, barefoot, wrapped in a flannel shirt that she knew was not Lorelai's. She tapped Miss Patty on the arm and pointed, but she was not quick enough. Miss Patty turned and stared at the door as it swung shut. But the damage had been done, Lorelai had left too late, for Babette had seen her and immediately relayed the sight to Miss Patty. The two moved apart to spread the word to the full diner and all eyes stared at the spot where Babette had seen Lorelai. That is until Luke walked into the diner from the kitchen. There was an eerie silence in the room and Luke felt oddly conspicuous, but couldn't understand what could have happened while he was in the kitchen. Slowly the talk began again and the noise level rose.

The phone rang and Luke picked it up, "Luke's."

"Luke, it's me, but don't ..." Lorelai rushed to speak.

"Lorelai?" he interrupted.

"...say my name," she finished.

Again, Luke felt several pairs of eyes staring at him. "What's going on?" he asked her.

"Umm, I kind of forgot that there was a diner downstairs and I think that someone might have seen me come down dressed in your clothes," Lorelai explained.

As he heard her words he glanced around the diner and finally their actions began making sense. Speaking softly while pulling the phone into the kitchen he replied, "Someone might be an understatement. I think the whole town must have seen you."

"What!?!" she yelled into the phone. As Luke pulled the receiver from his ear in pain he saw that all eyes now turned upward as they too had heard her exclaim and now knew that the rumor was true. Quickly, he hung up the phone and dashed up the stairs to calm Lorelai down.

Inside his apartment, Lorelai was freaking out and breathing into a paper bag. Luke wondered what the big deal was, he knew that nothing had happened between them in his apartment and assumed the town would too. Lorelai, being more in tune with how the town gossip worked, knew that the mere fact that she was seen in his clothes coming out of his apartment was enough for the gossip to fly.

In a rash moment, with her only thought being to avoid the crowd downstairs, Lorelai opened the second story window and climbed out onto the roof. Luke protested, but was unable to stop her. Lorelai looked for the easiest and least conspicuous place to lower herself to the ground and escape to the safety of her own home. Unfortunately, Lorelai, being a rather clumsy person, stepped awkwardly and lost her balance. Luke tried to scramble out to catch her, but before he could she had rolled off the roof and over the eaves at the front of the building.

The diners were forced to stop their gossiping as they heard strange noises coming from above them and not the kind of noises they were gossiping about. Suddenly, they heard someone cry out and a thud. Looking out the front window they saw Lorelai, still clad in flannel, crouching in the street. Before they could even react, Luke had rushed past them and out the front door. Quickly, Babette got up from her seat, followed closely by Miss Patty and they, along with the crowd from the diner, surrounded Lorelai outside. Luke had reached her and pulled her to her feet. Miraculously, she appeared uninjured, beet red from embarrassment, but uninjured, until she tried to walk inside the building. Putting her weight upon her right foot she nearly fell down, but Luke was there to catch her. Without hesitating he picked her up in his arms and carried her into the diner. He put her down on a chair and called to Caesar to get some ice. He propped her foot up on another chair and turned his attention to her. "Seriously, are you alright?"

Lorelai looked around the room, she knew that this night would give the town fodder to speak about for weeks, but she realized that it was okay. She had had a wonderful night and it had ended in being rescued by a gorgeous, sexy man who only had eyes for her. But being her normal, Lorelai-self she declared, "Well, I'd probably feel better if I had some coffee."

Laughing, Luke shook his head and left to fulfill Lorelai's wish.