Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.

Chapter 27

The message played over and over in Lorelai's head as she headed to Silvano's. A part of her felt guilty about following Luke to his meeting, but another part of her wanted to strangle him. Nicole, Luke's ex-wife Nicole, had called and left a message for him. As if it weren't bad enough that the formally married couple was going to meet- secretly at that- for breakfast, Luke had initiated the meeting. He wanted to see her. It wouldn't have bothered her as much if it were the other way around, but it wasn't. How could he? What could they possibly have to talk about?

"Are you sure about this?" Nicole asked.

"I'm not going to lie to you Nicole. This is very difficult for me to do, so I would appreciate it if you wouldn't undermine me," Luke snapped.

"I'm not undermining you. I don't want to waste my time only to have you change your mind."

"Good because I don't want my time wasted either. I have a wedding to plan and sneaking around behind my fiancée's back to do something like this is very stressful."

"You didn't tell Lorelai?"

"Of course I didn't tell her! She's crazy enough without her knowing. She'd go completely berserk if she knew I was here."

"Ok, now I don't think I feel comfortable about this."

"You felt comfortable letting your lover leave his socks in my drawer when we were married. How is the sock man anyway?"

Nicole stared angrily at her ex-husband. "Let's just get this over with."

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

Nicole stared at the man across the table. He had changed so much since they were together. He was never one to openly express his feelings. He bottled up his emotions inside and only spoke in monosyllables. Now he was wearing his heart on his sleeve and using more than one word in a sentence. She tried their entire relationship to change him, but Lorelai was the one that did it.

Luke returned to his civility as they talked. They had been talking for about fifteen minutes when Lorelai walked into the restaurant and spotted them from the host's podium. Her heart broke at the sight. It was killing her to see them. She headed to the table. The whispers coming from the other people in the restaurant got Luke to turn around and see an angry Lorelai heading his way.

He slowly stood and prepared for the inevitable confrontation with his fiancé. "Lorelai," Luke said, trying to calm Lorelai down. "This isn't wh…"

Lorelai slapped Luke across the face before he could get the rest of his sentence out. The sound of the slap caused the other customers to stop and stare. Luke rubbed his cheek. He could feel the red hand mark forming on his face, burning his skin.

"How could you?" Lorelai yelled at him. He wouldn't even look at her. "We're supposed to get married in a month and here you are with your ex-wife! Here's a tip James Bond, if you're going to have a secret meeting, don't tell her to call our house!"

"It's not what you think," Luke softly said.

"Oh, that's original. If you're going to cheat on me, be a man and admit it."

"I'm not cheating on you."

"You're not? Oh, I'm sorry. My mistake. What was I thinking? Your ex-wife just called to set up a meeting that you wanted to have and didn't want me to know about."

"Please stop being so sarcastic so I can explain this to you."

"Lorelai," Nicole called. "This is one big mis…"

"Was I talking to you?" Lorelai snapped. "I don't wanna hear from you. This is between my fiancé and me. So stay outta this!" She turned back to Luke. "If you didn't want to get married Luke, that's all you had to say." She was near tears now. "You should have never proposed."

"I still want to get married Lorelai! God! Ju...ju...just let me explain!" Luke scratched his head as he tried to figure out how to say what he needed to. "You and Rory mean everything to me. I would never intentionally do anything to hurt either of you. You gotta believe me."

"Tell me why you're here."

He didn't respond. She shook her head as tears rolled down her cheek and took the engagement ring off her finger. "What are you doing? Lorelai, stop that. Don't do this. Don't…What are you…"

"If you aren't going to be man enough to tell me the truth, then I don't want this anymore." Lorelai threw the ring at Luke and headed for the door.

"Lorelai. Lorelai! Lorelai! Don't...don't walk out on me. Please don't walk out on me. Lorelai! Lorelai, please don't leave me!"

Her heart was breaking just hearing him. She couldn't take it anymore. Luke watched as the love of his life walked out of the door and possibly his life- forever. It registered in his mind that she was leaving him. Red flags were going up in his brain, but his legs didn't get the message until the doors closed and she was out of sight. He sprinted out the door just as Lorelai was speeding by in the Jeep. At first, he tried running after the car. A million questions ran through his head as he ran down the middle of the street. Would she understand if he caught up with her? Why didn't he just tell her the truth? Why did this have to be a secret? Was it worth losing her over?

Then it hit him. He lost her. He slowly came to a halt. What was he doing? He wasn't Butch Danes anymore. His body was no longer young. He was Luke the Diner Guy and his body was old and tired. It was funny. He woke up this morning feeling like he was twenty years younger, but now he felt like an eighty year old man awaiting death. Because that's what it felt like. He felt like he was dying. He just wanted to be prepared. How ironic.

Rory watched as Jess moved about the diner. She just wanted his answer. It wasn't a very hard question. It was yes or no. Simple as that. But then again, matters of the heart were never simple. She had learned that by experience. She never thought she would be asking Jess to start over. The day he showed up at Yale, she thought they were through for good.

After finishing his round, Jess put the coffee pot away and stared at Rory. She spotted him looking at her and made her way over to the counter.

"So this is what it feels like," he laughed to himself.

"This is what feels like?" she asked.

"To be Luke."

"Put a flannel shirt and baseball cap on and you'll get the full effect." Jess sighed. She didn't get it. "Do you think we can go upstairs to talk?"

"I think that's a good idea. Hey Lane!"

"Yeah?" Lane asked as she popped her head out of the kitchen.

"I'm taking my ten."

"Ok."

Jess and Rory went upstairs. He sighed as he shut the door behind him. He played this moment over and over in his head for two days.

"So," Rory prompted.

"So what?" Jess asked.

"Do you have an answer?"

"I do."

"And it is…"

Jess stared at her for a while, then took a deep breath before uttering a single word, "No."

"What?"

"I said no. I don't want to start over. Not now…not ever."

"But…why? I thought you said you love me."

"I do. That's why I can't start over. You don't wanna be with me. You wanna be with Logan."

"No Jess, I want to be with you. I love you."

"You loved me. Loved as in before but not anymore. You love Logan. I know you do. I see it in your eyes."

"I don't get it Jess. Why are you doing this?"

"Closure. We never had closure. We'll both need it to move on."

"No, this is more than closure."

"I don't want to start something with you and hurt you in the end!"

"We're not even together and you're talking about breaking up with me?"

"No! I'm not talking about breaking up with you!"

"Ok, I really don't see how you can be getting mad at me right now."

"I'm mad because you're not hearing me."

"I just don't understand what you mean by you don't wanna hurt me. I know you're not talking about physically hurting me, but you're not talking about breaking up with me. It's like you're planning ahead to leave me or something."

"Just not in the way you think," he mumbled.

"What did you just say? Jess, what aren't you telling me?" He was silent again. "Jess."

"I can't start over with you because…because…"

"Because what Jess?"

"Because I have cancer."

Max looked up at Rachel. They had decided to take a break from their usual breakfast at Luke's and take a visit to the inn instead. They found it right to keep the businesses of the two benefactors of their relationship up and running. Besides, Max wanted to have a real heart to heart talk with Rachel and with Patty and Babette at the next table, their business would be all over town in ten seconds flat.

"I'm surprised Lroelai isn't here," Rachel remarked. "She's been so busy with the wedding and all, she hasn't been to work a lot lately."

"Yeah, but Luke works all the time. It balances out. Sorta."

"Was this how it was when you were engaged to Lorelai? I mean, did she take a lot of time off to plan things out?"

"No. Actually, she worked more. If she wasn't at home with Rory or with me, she was at work. She planned the wedding in between everything. Did Luke work all the time when you dated?"

"Actually, he hid from me."

"What?"

"Toward the end of our relationship, he'd hide from me at Lorelai's house."

"Oh yeah. I remember meeting him for the first time because he left Bert at Lorelai's."

"Who?"

"His toolbox. Lorelai named it."

"I figured."

"Did you think things were going to end with Luke?"

"Yes. It was inevitable."

"How so?"

"He was in love with Lorelai. He wouldn't admit it, but he was. I couldn't compete with her and I'm glad I didn't. Did you know you and Lorelai were going to break up?"

"Not until she called off the wedding. That was pretty much all the closure I needed. Ever since that, I've been precautious about the women I date."

"Oh, of course. You don't wanna waste your time."

"Exactly." Rachel looked down at her plate, but Max never took his eyes off her. "What are we doing Rachel? Where's this relationship going?"

"I…I don't know."

"I'm not wasting my time am I?"

"I like to think not. Max, I want this relationship to go somewhere, but I haven't been in a real relationship since Luke. To be honest, he's a very hard man to get over. I didn't think I'd find a man like him until I met you. Can't we just wait and see where this goes?"

Max smiled. "You know, I was thinking the same thing."

Just then, Lorelai walked into the dining room from the kitchen. Rachel spotted her and called her over. "Lorelai." She noticed the heartbroken look on Lorelai's face. "Loreai, are you ok?"

"He was with her," Lorelai nearly sobbed.

"Who was with who?"

"Luke. He was with Nicole."

"Nicole? His ex-wife Nicole?"

"I don't know any other Nicoles. She called yesterday and left a message. He asked to see her."

"I don't believe it. What did he want to see her about?"

"He wouldn't tell me. I followed them to Silvano's and they were having breakfast together. When I asked him why he wanted to meet with her, he wouldn't tell me."

"Maybe he figured you'd get upset if he told you why he needed to meet with her," Max remarked. "Just because he's having breakfast with his first wife doesn't mean he's cheating on you. Maybe he knew you'd get jealous. And he was right. You're jealous, so hurrah for Luke."

Lorelai and Rachel stared at Max. He looked up and saw their faces. Perhaps he had said too much. "You know something," Lorelai accused.

"No. No. I know nothing."

"You know something," Rachel said. "Max, what do you know?"

Lorelai stared at Max. "You know why Luke called Nicole don't you?" she asked.

"Ok so he told me. I'm his friend and he needed advice. If I could, I'd tell you. But it's not my place," Max said.

"Lorelai," Michel called as he walked into the dining room. "May I have a word with you?"

"What is it?" Lorelai asked.

"I know you and Luke are having a fight, but I think you should give him a second chance."

"You don't even like Luke."

"Yes, but still. He may be a grumpy, annoying, barbaric lumberjack that can't put two words together to form a proper sentence, but he still loves you and you love him."

"He's here isn't he?"

"He's been following me around for half an hour. I can't take it. He's being pleasant to me. I want him to go away."

"Where is he?"

"In the waiting room."

Lorelai headed to the waiting room. Luke looked over his shoulder when he heard someone approaching. He sprang to his feet when he saw that it was Lorelai.

"Don't go. Please," Luke begged. "I just want to talk to you."

"Fine," Lorelai said. She noticed Luke's shirt was half in his pants and wrinkled. "What happened to your shirt?"

"I chased you for ten blocks while you drove away in the Jeep."

"What were you thinking?"

"What was I thinking? I was thinking I screwed up. I was thinking I should have told you from the beginning. I was thinking I was losing you. Then I realized I wasn't eighteen anymore and how ridiculous I looked. So I came here knowing you didn't have anywhere else to go. I knew you'd get mad. I knew you'd be upset if you knew what I was doing. I wanted to spare your feelings, but I should have told you. I mean, you were going to find out anyway. I called her and asked for her legal advice."

"Legal advice? Why would you need legal advice? You hate lawyers."

"I know I hate lawyers. I was golfing with your father one day and he started asking me all these questions about my future. He thought it would be a good idea to…plan ahead."

"We are planning ahead."

"Not in the way he suggested."

"What?"

"He wants me to be prepared."

"Prepared for what?"

"Anything and everything." Luke pulled something out of his back pocket. "I think this would explain things better than I can."

Lorelai took the paper from Luke and unfolded it. She gasped when she realized what it was. She continued to stare at the title on the top of the page. Last Will and Testimony of Lucas A. Danes.

Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": Luke, Lorelai, Rory, and Jess attend a black tie affair- which is really a vow renewal for Richard and Emily- at the former Independence Inn property. Luke and Lorelai run into more people they'd rather not see. In an attempt to get Rory back, Logan ends up coming to blows with a party crashing Dean- who drags Jess into the fight. The whole ordeal ends in a disaster.