A/N: Lyrics from Dashboard Confessional's "Hands Down."

Disclaimer: I do not own and I am not affiliated with Gilmore Girls or Amy Sherman-Palladino.

This night is wild,

so calm and dull,

these hearts they race from self control.

Luke had lead Lorelai upstairs to his apartment, where she promptly kicked her shoes off and pulled in to his bed. With the slightest of hesitation she pulled back the covers as she shrugged her jacket off and slid between the covers. He slid beside her and pulled her close, she snuggled and readjusted herself to contour their bodies together.

Lorelai held her tears in the best she could; every so often a few would slip out and absorb into Luke's flannel. Luke did his best to keep his composure, after all she was here now and that was all that mattered. He pulled her closer as he felt a lump forming in the back of his throat.

"I love you too," he whispered into her hair. They slept for hours, making up for a month's worth of sleep. Neither moved for fear that the other one would slip away again. Luke slept lighter than usual, her every twitch and snuggle alerted him to the fact that she was there.

The words are hushed,

lets not get busted.

Just lay entwined here,

undiscovered.

Lorelai woke around 3am disoriented. She struggled to untangle herself from Luke's arms and immediately upon doing so, he also awoke.

"Where are you going?" he asked alarmed.

"Shh, I need to change out of these clothes," she explained gesturing to her work clothes. Luke sat up and noticed that he was also wearing jeans and his baseball was resting on his pillow. She smiled at their disorder; to her it was perfect.

He pulled off his flannel and offered it to her; she accepted and disappeared into the bathroom long enough for Luke to pull of his jeans and set the alarm.

"You saved my toothbrush," she stated.

"Uh, yeah, well… it's yours."

"I saved yours too."

He wasn't sure what to say, it was late and his mind was groggy with sleep. He sat on the edge of the bed, studying his socks and wondering if any new socks had visited Lorelai's house. He mentally chastised himself for thinking such a thought, although Luke had thought many thoughts similar to this one. It was a punishment of sorts, he imagined that he deserved the worst after pulling out on his promise that he was 'all in'.

Lorelai couldn't take the silence; her body ached to climb back in bed and sleep, but her heart ached to make things good with Luke.

"I missed you," the words flew out before Luke could stop them.

She sat next to him and laced her fingers through his, "I missed you too."

"I can't make you choose between me and your family, Lorelai," he said.

"You're not asking me to choose," she replied.

"Your mother hates me, we both know that. I hate the way she treats you, I can't stand by and let her hurt you."

Lorelai took a moment to consider this; it touched her deeply that he stood up for her – he was her hero. He pulled her out of the deepest holes, he fixed her house, he made her coffee, he loved her despite her flaws and hello kitty alarm clock.

"My mother would love nothing more than to marry me off to some blue blooded, high class, Hartford lawyer," she agreed, "but my mother doesn't run my life; I do. I say how much coffee I drink before 9am, I decide how to raise my kid, and I choose who I love."

"But she's your family," Luke protested.

"No, Luke, you and Rory are my family."

Luke paused to consider this for a moment, his free hand rubbed at his knee, trying to make sense of it all. With caution he raised his eyes to meet hers; they were bright and shinning in the moon light that trickled through the curtains.

"And Christopher. He's your family too?"

Her eyes flashed anger, she stood up and let his hand fall onto the bed beside him. She paced in front of him several times, wringing her hands as she tried to gather coherent, rational thoughts.

"Christopher is – Chris is…" she trailed off and stopped pacing.

My heart is yours to fill or burst.

To break or bury, or wear as jewelry,

whichever you prefer.

"I wanted you to deck him," she deadpanned. "Hell, I wanted to deck him… I still might," she added as she trailed off again. He could see the agitation in her features, he reached for her hand and pulled her in front of him. She stood uneasily for a minute before she allowed her eyes to meet Luke's.

"Christopher will always be family. I will always have to see him as long as he's Rory's father," she smirked at the thought. "I want to hate him, I really do, but I can't because of Rory. As long as she wants him in her life, I have to respect that and that means he's in my life too."

"I understand," Luke said firmly.

"I was stupid, I should have told you where I was, but I let Rory lie for me. I didn't realize then that it was because she saw through his charm, she knew he had feelings for me. I was an idiot to believe that Christopher and I could just be friends. She wanted to protect both of us, Luke," her voice began to break as she dropped to her knees to look at Luke eye level. "You have been the greatest father to Rory. I think on a certain level, her and I both feel guilty because we wish you were her father. You've always been there for her, Luke; you've never let my little girl down and that means more to me than anything."

Luke felt the tears and tasted the salt; he hung his head embarrassed to be crying in front of Lorelai. She giggled and wiped at his cheeks playfully. "Don't cry," she whispered.

My hopes are so high,

that your kiss might kill me.

So won't you kill me?

So I die happy.

"I'm so sorry, Lorelai," he whispered hoarsely. Lorelai smiled, "I'm sorry too."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Luke." She leaned him and kissed him lightly; the feel of her lips against his sent shivers throughout her. He pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss as she moaned softly.

Breathe in for luck,

breath in so deep,

this air is blessed,

you share with me.