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

Author's Note: Thanks again to jesouhaite for beta-reading this chapter. It is much better for her feedback. I had written most of this before So…Good Talk, but had a hard time wrapping it up after ASP's very different approach to the reconciliation. I continue to appreciate everyone's reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Luke awoke with a start, not realizing that he had dozed off. The sweet scent of Lorelai's shampoo and her warm breath on his arm reminded him where he was and he smiled as he looked down at her sleeping in his arms. It felt good to hold her again, especially after such a tense night. She had put it all on the table and he felt more than a little regret for his silence. He could tell that his tendency to rush to conclusions and his lack of words had hurt her, but she had said it all anyway. Her admission had made him feel both more complete and yet somehow smaller at the same time. He'd always thought of her being the one afraid of relationships and yet…he was the one holding back. Since the beginning of their relationship, he'd relied on his actions to show her his feelings, but now he realized there were some things too important to be left to interpretation.

She was sleeping soundly and judging from how tired she had looked these last couple of days, she needed it. He also wasn't quite sure it would be a good idea for him to wake up at her house in the morning. Slipping out from beside her, he laid her head gently on a cushion before covering her with a blanket. She stirred just a bit so he rubbed her shoulder until she settled again, then placed a soft kiss on her forehead. He found a piece of paper and pen, and thought for a moment before writing a short note. After leaving it on the coffee table he let himself out, hoping he would get a chance to make up for his silence.

The bell jangled above the door, but since it was the breakfast rush, Luke didn't look up right away. It wasn't until all conversation suddenly stopped that he turned around and saw her in the doorway, clearly not expecting to be the center of attention of the entire diner. The sight of her, here in the diner, made his stomach quiver. He gave her a smile and she returned it tentatively as she made her way slowly to the counter and sat down.

"Hey."

"Good morning. Welcome back. Coffee?" he asked, a little too eagerly.

Lorelai was flustered, "Um…No…I don't think so. But, a donut I will take," she added brightly, as she nervously twisted a lock of hair with her finger.

"Okay, here you go," Luke swallowed his disappointment and forced a smile.

"Thanks. Uh Luke?"

"What?"

"Is everyone still staring at us?"

He glanced around the diner, glaring at the wide-mouthed patrons, willing them to look elsewhere, which they gradually did. "Not anymore."

"Good."

"Are you okay? It was a rough night."

"You mean the part where I poured my heart out to this amazing guy and he didn't respond or the part where I cried about my mommy and he held me till I fell asleep?"

He felt a pang of guilt at her statement, but attempted to keep it light by saying, "So there was an amazing guy, huh?"

"Yeah, he brought me dinner and we talked and the only thing is…"

"What?"

"I can't figure out if he was there as my best friend or as my boyfriend." She looked down to avoid his eyes as she finished the statement.

"Would it be possible for him to be both?" he ventured slowly.

She lifted her head to meet his eyes and a small smile appeared on her lips. "That would be perfect," she breathed.

He let out a sigh of relief and asked, "Did you get my note?"

"Yep. I folded it up and put it in my wallet. I think I will keep it there for a while."

"Good," he said with a grin, meeting her eyes for a moment, both of them too overwhelmed to speak.

Gypsy broke the silence. "So, you two are grinning like idiots. Does that mean you are finally back together?"

Luke looked at Lorelai questioningly. She gave a small nod and Luke said, "Yeah, I guess we are."

"Excellent. Andrew owes me twenty bucks!"

Lorelai opened her mouth in shock as Luke said, "Aw jeez!"

"Andrew bet against us?" Lorelai asked, looking insulted.

"It was a time thing. He said less than a month and I said more, but you actually had to get back together for me to collect."

They glanced at several people exchanging money before Luke said, "Okay, anyone involved in paying off or receiving a bet, leave now!" He looked around sternly, until he heard Lorelai giggling and saw her pointing.

"What?"

"Kirk is trying to pay off himself. He couldn't even decide how to bet!"

Luke tried to be exasperated, but finally chuckled. "So," he said, "are you busy tonight?"

"Well I was planning to sit at home alone and try not to think of you, unless you have a better offer."

"Can I take you out for dinner?"

"Where?"

"Anywhere you want."

"Wow, such power," she teased. "Hmm…I know."

"Where? And please tell me you are not thinking of Al's."

"No, I was thinking more about Sniffy's Tavern," she said shyly. "We can start over and do it right this time."

"That sounds great. How's 7:00?"

"Great. Hey Luke…?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I have some coffee?"

"Hey Buddy, you'll never guess who called me and asked for a table for two tonight."

"Oh, I hate when you do this. How am I supposed to know?"

Maisie came around the corner, into the kitchen, looked at him with a smile in her eyes and said, "Just guess."

He looked at her for a moment, wondering who she would be happy to see. "Wait, it couldn't be Lucas could it? Has that boy found himself another girl already?"

"We're talking about Lucas, Buddy. He doesn't move on easily, and you saw the way those two were together. He couldn't be with someone new."

"Well that means… I've got to get working on planning their dinner then!" as he excitedly began fussing around the kitchen.

Maisie watched him and chuckled, thinking how glad she was to be seeing Lucas tonight. It had been almost a month since she had seen him last. He had come in alone, which was not unusual. Even after he started dating Lorelai and they began coming to Sniffy's periodically, he still sometimes came by himself, though not as frequently as he had in the past. The most recent visit was different, however. There were shadows under his eyes and his shoulders drooped. He cast wistful glances at the table he and Lorelai always shared when they came together. After that, he hadn't been back.

For the first couple of weeks, Maisie didn't think much about it. Lucas sometimes went two weeks without stopping by, but then it stretched to three weeks. Maisie had called Liz, who informed her that yes, Lucas and Lorelai had broken up and Lucas was very cranky about it. It was typical of Liz to think no more about it than that, Maisie thought bitterly.

She knew from the moment they walked in the door that night that there was something different between them. Lucas carried himself with a confidence she hadn't seen in ages and Lorelai was radiant. Their fingers were intertwined and her other hand was wrapped around his arm. The most startling difference was Lucas' wide smile.

As they sat and ate their dinner, Maisie marveled at how intently focused they were on each other. She had noticed before the strong connection that they had, but now she had the sense that they were also completely aware of each other in a physical sense as well. Unlike the tentative first date touches that had told her right away how much they were attracted to each other, tonight there was constant physical contact. Lucas held her hand for a long time at the table, gently doing small circles with his thumb. When he let go of her right hand so that she could eat, he rested his on her knee and she held it with her left hand.

Lorelai was animated and talkative and Lucas seemed content to sit back and listen to her speak. For a while they seemed satisfied to just be with each other, but Maisie was not surprised when they declined dessert and coffee. They became quieter, their conversation changing from playful banter to something a bit more serious. The need and desire that was hiding beneath the surface of their interactions became more apparent. Maisie watched them as they left, relieved that Lucas had found his way back to this woman who could bring out his smile.

As they walked to his truck, Luke wrapped his arm around Lorelai's waist and let his thumb slowly caress her back. When Luke began to open the door, she turned to face him and then they were kissing. He didn't know who started it, just that it was full of need and desire. His hands slipped under her shirt to touch bare skin and she shivered. She ran her fingers across his stubble and around to the back of his neck. He broke away just long enough to kiss under her earlobe and trail kisses down her neck. She leaned into him and moaned, "Oh God, Luke." Then he was back to her lips and her mouth. This time she broke away and said breathlessly, "Take me home."

"So you want me to drop you off at your house?" he asked jokingly between kisses.

"I was thinking more along the lines of you taking me to your place."

"Well, if you insist," he answered huskily.

The drive back to the diner seemed much, much longer than the actual 15 minutes. Lorelai kept her hand on his leg, rubbing the inner seam of his jeans, in spite of his repeated reminders that he was driving and that she was dangerously distracting. They walked quickly through the not-quite-empty diner without even considering a stop for coffee. Luke led her into his apartment wordlessly, and shut the door as Lorelai wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a long, deep kiss.

Being surrounded by the smell and feel of her released all of the emotion he had been hiding for over a month. He could sense her need as strongly as his own and it made both of them almost frantic. Shirts were removed, bodies were caressed and kissed as they tried to make up for lost time.

Luke felt Lorelai reach to unbutton his jeans and he held her hands to stop her. "Lorelai, wait. I..."

"Please Luke, no more talking…want more kissing… more clothes taking offing," she pleaded in between kisses.

He lost himself for a moment, then pulled back, holding her shoulders. "Lorelai, I need to say it." He felt her stiffen and saw a look of panic, then realization in her eyes.

"You said it in your note."

"I need to say it out loud." He paused and took a breath. "I love you and I'm sorry if I ever gave you reason to think otherwise."

Her expression softened further after hearing the words he had held back for so long. "I love you too," she whispered. She reached her hands up to his face and kissed him softly, caressing the sides of his face with her thumbs. He pulled her in closer, deepening the kiss as she ran her arms over his shoulders and down his back. Though no longer frantic, the urgency returned and the rest of their clothing was quickly removed as Luke pulled Lorelai toward the bed.

Afterwards, Lorelai lay in the curve of Luke's arm with her head resting on his shoulder. "So this is what it's like to be in love?" she whispered.

"Yeah."

"Luke, I…this is amazing. I could get used to this."

"Me too," he said softly as he leaned over to kiss her.

"Wait." She jumped up, "We need to celebrate."

"Isn't that what we were doing?"

"No. . . well yeah, but I remember you had some wine in here somewhere. Champagne would be more appropriate, but being in a relationship is about making compromises, right?" She looked up at him with a grin, and he chuckled. Finding one of Luke's flannel shirts on the floor, she pulled it on. "This smells good, but it isn't quite right. Where is mine?"

"Yours?" he asked as he raised his eyebrows, but then he pointed to one of the boxes stacked across the room. She walked over to the box and searched through it until she found the blue plaid shirt. He drew in a breath as she slipped out of one shirt and into the other.

She hugged her arms around her and said, "Much better. Now, let me find that wine."

Later, after Lorelai had talked him into far more wine than he would ever choose to drink on his own, she headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Luke lay back on his pillow with his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

"Hey, Luke?" the quiver in Lorelai's voice startled him.

"Oh shit," he muttered to himself as he jumped out of bed.

He found her in the bathroom, staring at four small holes in the wall. "You took down my shelf."

"I just put it away. It reminded me of you." She didn't say anything, so he lifted his hands and placed them on her shoulders. "What's wrong? You said you put stuff away too."

"I know. It's just…it was attached to the wall." Her voice cracked just a bit and he could see her blinking back tears.

"I'm sorry."

"No, I am. It's stupid."

"No, it's not stupid. It hurt me to take it down."

Lorelai turned around in his arms and kissed him gently on the lips. "I'm sorry. Minor freak-out. I'm assuming that you put away my toothpaste?"

"Yeah, I'll get it." He rubbed his hands down her arms and kissed the top of her head before turning toward the door. Then he stopped, looked back and said, "Hey, I'm looking forward to putting it back up." He was rewarded with a soft smile.

When she returned from the bathroom, Luke looked up from the bed and his heart leaped at the sight of her in the familiar flannel. She climbed in beside him and placed her head on his shoulder, her hand on his heart and tucked her knees under his. "So did you miss my crazy toothpaste breath?"

"I missed everything about you." He placed his hand behind her head and pulled her in for a deep, soft kiss, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. She ran her hand up his chest and around his head, pulling him closer and running her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck.

"I missed everything too," she murmured against his lips, as they continued to kiss, continued to touch. This time was deliciously slow. They took their time rediscovering each other's favorite places with soft touches and kisses and quiet murmurs of love and affection. There were still some questions, but they were together and for now, that was enough.

To be continued.