Disclaimer: These characters are owned by the WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and Amy Sherman-Palladino.

Author's Note: This is the final chapter of this story. I want to thank all of the reviewers for your encouragement and the glorious snowy weather for allowing me to put off my grading and finish this. I hope you liked this spin on the season finale.

Patience

Luke was miserable. He was tired of the crazy costumes and weird way that people talked. He was tired of the unhealthy food and the middle ages and he couldn't get Lorelai out of his mind. The work at Liz's booth was too menial to occupy much of his brain, and for some reason, everything around here reminded him of Lorelai. He was surrounded by a playground for Lorelai's wit. There was nothing here without mocking potential. It made him smile to think of the fun they would have had if she were there. It would make this ridiculous place bearable.

He desperately wanted to call her. Just to say hello. He was supposed to be 'looking out for her,' after all. But if there was anything he knew about Lorelai it was that she ran when things got too overwhelming. She had asked for space and as much as he knew that might be her way of running away, he had to honor her request, at least for a while. But that was really the question, wasn't it? How long did he have to wait before a call would be taken just as a 'check-in and hello' and not as pressure to talk about what had happened between them?

Lorelai had spent the week immersed in the inn. It was her escape from everything she was avoiding thinking about. It was overwhelming and exciting and she couldn't wait for there to be real guests in the inn. The only thing that made her not able to fully appreciate it was that Rory and Luke were not here to see the official opening. She had spoken only briefly to Rory and though she admitted to herself that the trip would be good for her, it was still very hard to have her so far away during an unresolved fight. And Luke. At first it had been easy to keep him out of her mind for long stretches of time, but lately it seemed like everything reminded her of him. And now when she thought of him, it wasn't just about coffee, hamburgers, and conversation. Now her thoughts of him included the looks they had exchanged recently, the feeling of his hand holding hers, and the kisses. She reached into her pocket and touched the little piece of paper with the phone number on it. The phone number that she had memorized several days ago. At first it was enough just to touch the slip of paper and remind herself about the fact that he had done that for her, gotten a phone so that she could call him. Lately though, she had found herself picking up the phone and hesitating before putting it back. Because she was starting to realize that she missed Luke. A lot.
It was Saturday. A week ago the test run hadn't started yet, Jason was just some guy from Lorelai's past, and Luke was looking forward to a real date. And they had yet to kiss. He spent the whole day in an internal debate about whether or not to call. He had finished his dinner, if you could call it that, and was preparing for another lonely night, when the phone rang. He almost didn't recognize the sound. It had never rung before. Lorelai was the only one with the number. He just stared at it for a moment and then realized he better answer it because he had no idea how to retrieve voicemail.

"Hello."

"Luke, it's Lorelai. How are you?"

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm okay. Is this an okay time?"

Did she seriously think that it mattered whether it was a good time or not? "It's fine. It's really good to hear from you." He paused for a second, "I've been trying to decide whether to call you or not."

"Why didn't you?"

"I didn't know if you would want to talk to me. But then I did promise Rory I would look out for you, so one way or another, I was sure to screw something up."

Lorelai was touched by his concern. It was clear he had been debating this for a while, "Well, I guess I decided for you. It's really good to talk to you. You know, the inn is open for real now. We have actual guests."

"Congratulations. I'm really happy for you. How's it going?"

"Good, we managed to rehire enough of the kitchen staff that Michel scared away and we've got lots of reservations. How's the renaissance fair?"

"Well, it's kind of like being at Liz and T.J.'s wedding 24 hours a day, but without the good company," he said with a smile, remembering the night and especially their dance.

She blushed at his statement, "the wedding was really nice. That's when I found out you can dance," she teased.

"I was just thinking about dancing with you."

"Well, great minds think alike." There was an awkward silence, before Lorelai went on, "Hey, so there was a reason I called."

"Yeah?"

"I'm ready to talk, about us."

"Okay," he said tentatively. He had been hoping for and dreading this moment ever since he left Lorelai in her front yard last week. God, he wanted to be with her, but he dreaded hearing her say that she didn't want to be with him.

"Luke, are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I was just thinking."

"I have something to tell you, but can I ask you something first?"

"Sure." Lorelai sighed, a little relieved. She knew what she had called to do and she was going to get there, but somehow it would be easier if she understood how he had gotten there himself.

She took a breath and asked, "What made you decide to ask me out now? I mean, we've known each other forever. Why now?"

He sighed, thinking, 'Where is she going with this? Why can't she just tell me what is on her mind?' "You remember that day that you gave me the tour of the inn?"

"Yeah, and Shel the chicken man."

"Yeah, then," he paused, thinking about his arm around her as she fended off Sookie's matchmaking. "We were talking about relationships. You had just broken up with Jason and I had just signed the divorce papers. You said something about Dr. Phil books in our future." He stopped for a second. Was he really going to admit to this? Certainly she was going to put two and two together at some point. Might as well get it over with. He didn't get a chance to finish.

"Oh my god, the book! I just made that connection! Is that what you meant? Are you seriously telling me that Luke Danes, town stoic, read a Dr. Phil book?"

He loved hearing the joyful, mocking tone in her voice. He had missed that Lorelai, the Lorelai who hadn't yet been taken down by Jason's words. "Yes, I read a Dr. Phil book," he admitted reluctantly, knowing he would never live it down.

"Was it useful or interesting? Oh my god, this has such mocking potential and I am totally not on the ball -"

"Lorelai," his voice stopped her mid-thought., and then he paused before continuing, "it helped me figure out what I wanted."

"Which was?"

"To be with you." It was as simple as that. He could hear her intake of breath on the other end of the phone. When she didn't say anything, he went on, "It also made me realize that I couldn't just wait around for something to happen, that I needed to do something."

"Were you scared?" This was really what she wanted to know. He seemed so sure. She needed to know how he had gotten so sure. She needed to know that he was as afraid of risking their friendship as she was.

"Yes," he said, thinking about the time he had spent debating whether or not to ask her out, the mental pro and con lists he made that just boiled down to: Con – she might say no and Pro – she might say yes.

"So how did you get over that? What made you ask me out?"

"I imagined you with another guy."

"What?" she asked, a little afraid of where this was going.

"I just mean that I knew that even though you had broken up with someone, there would eventually be someone new, or someone old, and I couldn't stand the thought of seeing you with someone else. It made me realize that if I didn't ask you out when I did and someone else came along that I would regret it for a long time."

"Even if it risked our friendship?"

"Even then."

Lorelai's stomach clenched. He was sure. It was unnerving. "So that's all it took - imagining me with another guy, then you were sure?"

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean?" This was starting to sound a little creepy.

"I was afraid of ruining things, of you saying no, but I knew I needed to do something. So every time I was afraid of taking the next step I thought of you with someone else."

"What do you mean, every time?" Wow, he had been scared too, but he wanted her anyway.

"Lorelai, asking you out was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Right before I asked you to the wedding, I thought about you with Max and how you were going to marry him. Right before I asked you to dance, I thought about you with Christopher and right before I asked you to the movies, I remembered that fishing guy." At the mention of the fishing guy, Luke thought he heard a small chuckle. He went on. The last admission was the hardest, "And right before I kissed you, I imagined you getting back together with Jason." His voice was soft when he finished. She could tell it had been hard for him to say that.

"So that's what made you sure it was right? Thinking about me with other guys?"

Actually, imagining how I would feel if I saw you with another guy," his voice was raw now, his emotions exposed. Damn, he wished that they could have had this conversation in person. He wanted to see her, be able to look her in the eye while telling her this.

Lorelai was relieved to be having this conversation over the phone. She didn't think she could have looked at Luke and seen in his eyes the emotion that she could hear in his voice. She was quiet thinking about it.

Finally Luke broke the silence, "Lorelai, are you still there? What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about how sure you are."

"And it freaks you out?"

"A little. I want to be that sure, but I'm worried about screwing up what we already have."

"Just because I am sure I want to be with you doesn't mean that I'm not scared too."

Lorelai wasn't sure why, but somehow that made her feel better. If he could be scared and do this, maybe she could too. It was why she had called after all. She used Luke's trick and remembered the day he had told her he was married, and the relief when she found out he was getting divorced. She then remembered the day she had walked into the diner and seen Nicole, the day she found out that they had gotten back together. Okay, she could do this. "Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I've been doing a lot of thinking this week and a lot of it has been about you." He smiled hearing this, but didn't dare interrupt. "The thought of you and me together really scares me. But what I realized this week is that even though it scares me, I want it. I want to be with you. That part I'm sure about. The rest of it scares me…" she trailed off, then asked, "Luke, you're still there, right?"

"I'm here, I was just making sure I was hearing you right. I was, right?"

"What? Are you going to make me say all that again?"

"I wouldn't get tired of hearing it." Lorelai smiled at the sweetness in his voice.

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you last week. It's just that Jason made me question everything. I needed to know that I wanted this for the right reasons. I needed to know that this was different. And, I needed a little help with the being scared part."

"So did it work for you?" he asked jokingly.

"What?"

"Imagining me with another guy?"

"Nah, you and Brad Pitt weren't doing anything for me, so I had to go back to the feeling in my stomach when I found out you got back together with Nicole." Had she really just said that? Man, this phone thing was dangerous. It was too easy to say things that were hard to say in person. But maybe that was a good thing, at least now.

"Oh," he didn't know how to respond to that. Had he really been having an effect on her that long ago? Then he realized that he had known at the time that it bothered her, and she had probably known it too. It was just significant that she was admitting it now. "So what made you sure now?"

"I missed you."

"So that's it, all I needed was to go away?"

"Having you go away made me realize what was different about you. Jason used to travel and I would miss him when he was gone. I would be lonely and bored and spend more time with Rory or working on the inn. I missed having someone around. When you left I missed you."

It sounded like she was trying to tell him something significant, but he was confused, "I don't get it. How is that different?"

"I'm not missing you because I am lonely or bored. I miss seeing you. You are a part of my life and when you are not here I don't feel quite whole. It probably doesn't help that Rory is gone too, but I really miss seeing your smile, arguing about coffee and donuts and…"

"What?"

"I really, really want to kiss you again."

"Okay," he said with a wide grin. "I'm good with that. Any reason you couldn't have realized that before I left for the summer vacation from hell?"

"Well you are coming home at some point, right?"

"Not soon enough. So, you miss me huh?"

"Yeah."

"Me too."

"I am really glad you got a cell-phone."

"You have no idea."