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

Author's Note: Thanks to JeSouhaite and ecouteuse for the fabulous beta help.

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh…where are we staying?"

"Well…uh…" Luke had known that this conversation was coming, but now that it was here, he didn't know how to address it. "I've been staying in a tent."

"A tent. Huh."

"I got you a sleeping bag," he added helpfully.

"So…camping?"

"Yeah."

"Sleeping outside."

"Well, in a tent."

"Sleeping on the ground."

"I got you a sleeping bag…and a sleeping pad." He couldn't tell if this was going well or not.

"And you're going to be in the tent too?"

"Uh…if that's okay," he stammered, watching her reaction carefully. "I have my own sleeping bag."

"Yeah," she said slowly. "I think I'd rather that than being by myself. I don't want to be attacked by a bear."

Luke was stupefied. He couldn't tell if she was serious or not. "And somehow my being there is going to save you from a random bear attack?"

"Okay, not helping with the whole sleeping outside idea."

"Well I don't think that a bear has attacked a camper in these parts in at least two or three years." Yes, humor was definitely the way to go.

"Luke!"

"I'm kidding, this is really too populated an area for bears anyway. Now, coyotes, that's another matter." He'd missed the fun of teasing Lorelai.

"Luke!"

"Sorry, couldn't resist." He smiled and then looked straight at her. "Seriously, is this okay?"

"Yeah," she paused, "it's okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She giggled then. "Rory is never going to believe this." He watched her expression go from laughter to sadness in a matter of moments when it struck her what she had said. Luke knew there was more to Rory's trip than Lorelai was telling him. He hadn't felt comfortable asking her about it over the phone, but maybe he would have an opportunity this weekend.

But at not this particular moment, because she had already changed the subject, "Why didn't you tell me where we were staying? I've been wondering about it all week."

"You have?" he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Well, yeah," she admitted. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I know you're not a big fan of the great outdoors. I didn't want you to change your mind."

"You thought I might not come because of sleeping in a tent?"

"I wasn't sure how strong your dislike of the outdoors was."

"So that was the only reason, and it didn't have anything to do with 'We're spending a weekend together and we haven't had a date yet.'"

"There may have been a bit of that."

"Yeah, for me too."

"Lorelai, I don't want you to be uncomfortable. I'm not…expecting…"

"I know Luke. I know," she said in a reassuring tone. "So, should we go in? I'm excited to see this place. Your rants have me really intrigued."

"Well, the Faire is just closing up for the day, so you won't be able to get the fully nauseating experience until tomorrow."

"I'm looking forward to it. I hear there's lots of interesting food," she said with a grin.

He rolled his eyes, "Only you would think that."

As they walked through the gate, Luke watched Lorelai take in the scene, "Wow, look at all these people dressed up in crazy costumes, pretending that they lived hundreds of years ago, and doing it just because it's fun. This must be hell for you." Her words were teasing but her smile was warm. "Somehow you've managed to keep your standard uniform." Lorelai looked over at him briefly. "Too bad. I really wanted to see you in tights – or was it air pants?"

Luke shook his head firmly, "That is never going to happen."

"I can be very convincing…" she flirted.

"Never going to happen."

Lorelai shook her head in mock frustration and giggled. "So which way is Liz's booth?"

"It's down this direction," Luke said, gesturing toward the jousting field.

"Next to the apple doll booth, right?"

"Yeah."

"And that's a prime spot?"

"Apparently. Liz told me why, but honestly, I tuned out as soon as she said apple doll."

Lorelai looked up at him and laughed, then scanned the booths. "Oh, there they are. Hi Liz!"

Liz looked up and smiled widely, "You're here!"

"Yeah. It's good to see you. I love your costume."

"Isn't it great? I love how this dress pushes up my boobs and makes me look like a serving wench."

"Awww jeez, Liz. Can you not talk about your boobs in my presence? Or anybody's presence for that matter?"

"Oh, I love when he's embarrassed," Liz said as she looked at him that teasing smile she reserved for her older brother.

"Me too. Maybe we can torment him together," Lorelai turned and rested her hand on Luke's arm, "right?"

"Do I have a choice?" He never really did when it came to Lorelai.

"So you're here, visiting my brother?" Liz asked as Lorelai nodded shyly. "I guess you're his type after all, at least judging from the grin on his face when he's on the phone."

Luke felt himself flush and he looked at his feet. He heard Lorelai say softly, "I guess so."

"Apparently there was more going on at the wedding than I realized."

Lorelai giggled nervously, "There was more going on at the wedding than I realized." She gave Luke a pointed look that caused him to look away yet again.

"Well, I'm just glad that the celebration of my love for TJ was able to inspire you two to get together."

Liz turned as TJ hobbled up behind her. While her head was turned, Luke saw Lorelai struggling to keep from laughing as he grimaced at Liz's words.

"Lorelai, it's nice to see you!" TJ went to hug her, but was thankfully unable to between casts and crutches. "He managed to drag you up here? Go figure. I'm not sure what a girl like you sees in this guy, though. He's always cranky and refuses to get into the renaissance spirit."

Lorelai shot Luke a sympathetic look, "Well, uh…"

Liz broke in, "Oh TJ, give him a break. You know that we wouldn't have been able to be here if it weren't for Luke. He's been such a saint to help us out."

"Oh, Saint Luke. I like that," Lorelai teased.

"Oh yeah? That's sort of become his nickname around here," Liz said as she gave Luke a knowing look.

"Jeez Liz, cut it out." In an attempt to change the subject, he continued, "Lorelai and I were planning to go out for dinner. We can put up the tents before we go. Is there anything else you need?"

TJ replied petulantly, "Sure, you go out and have fun. We'll be here with our crutches and our broken bones. Don't worry a thing about us."

"Aww TJ, we can do just fine. Let's just go get some food while they're setting up the tents."

As Luke started pulling out the tent equipment, Lorelai laid a hand on his arm and whispered, "You know, she's right. You really are a saint."

"It's no big deal."

"Okay. If you say so." Lorelai shrugged then giggled.

"What?"

"Saint Luke, It's kinda cute."

"Whatever. Here, can you put that over there?" he said, handing her a bag of tent stakes.

"Lu-uke," TJ called as they hobbled away on their crutches, "make sure that you pound those stakes in really well. I had to lean over yesterday to hammer in a few loose stakes and I still have that stabbing pain in my back."

"More like a pain in my ass," muttered Luke.

"Oh my god, I'm starving," Lorelai said as they sat down at their table in the restaurant. "It took forever to put those tents up."

"Let me just say that I'm not surprised you've never been camping. Couldn't get those tent poles to cooperate, huh?"

"Says the guy with the oldest tent known to man. I can't help it if your tent poles won't stay together. Why can't you have the kind that are connected, like Liz and TJ have?"

"It's not like you had any luck with those either. There's nothing wrong with my tent poles. Now the person putting them together…"

"Hey, maybe I just have bad tent karma."

"Is there such a thing as good tent karma?"

"I guess I'll never know."

He grinned at her. "That's for sure." It had been amusing watching her try to help with the tents. He'd had to stop her when she almost drove a stake through his foot.

That earned him a glare, but her expression softened and she slapped his shoulder playfully. She looked at him a moment and then asked suddenly. "Hey Luke…are there facilities?"

"Facilities?" He was surprised by the question, though he should know better. She was the queen of the non-sequitur.

"You know, uh…bathrooms."

"Here?"

"No, not here. At the Faire."

He gave her a wicked grin. "There are some privies."

"Privies?" She looked really nervous.

"Yeah, well technically porta-potties, but because we're surrounded by the lunacy that is the renaissance faire, we're supposed to call them privies."

"Porta-potties. Huh. So, how do you…where do you…shower?" She hesitated. "Or do you?"

Okay, he needed to clarify that point right away. "There are showers and toilets with running water at the Faire grounds, just not for public use. Don't worry, we can use them."

"Okay. Good." The relief was evident in her face.

They spent a few minutes looking over the menu and then ordered: a chicken Caesar salad for Luke, a burger with fries for Lorelai, and beers for both of them.

"Don't you get tired of salad?"

"Don't you get tired of burgers?"

"No, especially not yours. Speaking of which, your being here is depriving me of my staple food products. Nobody else makes the burgers and pie exactly the way that I like them. And then there's the coffee."

"So you missed me cooking for you?"

"Well, yeah."

"Is that all you missed?"

"No there's some other stuff."

"Really? Like what?"

His heart skipped a beat when she put her hand on his arm and leaned in to kiss him. Luke couldn't help glancing nervously around restaurant, but when Lorelai noticed and pulled back, he silently kicked himself.

"Sorry," she said, clearly embarrassed.

He tried to reassure her. "Don't apologize. I was just surprised." He leaned in to whisper softly, "I missed you too."

Later, they had finished their dinners and were debating dessert.

"Are you really asking if I want dessert?" Lorelai teased. "You've got to be joking. Of course I do, and coffee too. I'm feeling really tired all of a sudden."

"You must have had a long day. Do you want to go back?"

"It was a long day. Actually, a long week, but I think I can make it through dessert."

"I can't believe I ever doubted. Still, the long drive probably didn't help much," he said with understanding. "I just hope you don't go back home more exhausted than you arrived."

"I'll be fine," Lorelai said, pausing before she continued, "Luke…Is it okay that I came?"

"Of course. Why?"

"On the phone you sounded nervous. I wasn't sure you really meant to invite me."

"I did. I was surprised you said yes, but I'm glad you're here."

"Good."

"Are you really okay with…everything?"

"By everything you mean the whole tent thing."

"That and…well that. I mean, have you ever slept in a tent before?"

"No. It's kind of ironic actually. I made it through my childhood as well as Rory's potential Girl Scout phase without any significant outdoor experiences and now that she's off at college, here I am…camping. I must like you." She glanced at him for a moment. "I do have a question, though. In this sleeping outside in a tent scenario, where does the coffee come from?"

"I've got that taken care of."

"Really?" She sounded impressed and Luke mentally congratulated himself for his forethought.

It was dark by the time they returned to the Faire grounds. Except for small groups of people talking near their campsites, everything was quiet as well. They went to the tent to get their toothbrushes before walking to the bathrooms. When he was finished, Luke waited outside for Lorelai.

As she exited, he asked, "Were the facilities satisfactory?"

She nodded, "Modern and clean. If only the tourists knew how much you're cheating."

He held the door open that led back into the 'official' Faire grounds and she fell into step beside him.

"It's pretty here. Lot's of stars," she said, looking up into the sky.

"I like this time of night. It's peaceful."

She looked at him then, as if making a decision. "Luke? There's no one around and it's dark. Can I kiss you now?" She was teasing him, but he could sense some leftover discomfort from the kiss in the restaurant.

"Earlier…I didn't mean that I didn't want…"

"It's okay Luke, I get it. So…?"

His answer was to take her face in his hands and kiss her softly, rubbing his thumbs across her cheeks and tangling his fingers in her hair. He ran one hand down her spine and held her tightly at her waist, while the other hand caressed the back of her neck. Lorelai reached around his neck and pulled him tighter while her fingers played with the curls of hair that stuck out from beneath his hat. This was the kiss they should have had the night of the test run, if Kirk had not interrupted them. It was slow, deep and endless. Eventually Lorelai pulled back to catch her breath. Her hands slid down off his shoulders and rested on his chest, where her fingers played with one of the buttons on his shirt. She was quiet, her eyes averted, focused on the button and her fingertips.

"Lorelai? Are you okay?"

She glanced up briefly at him, but then dropped her eyes to his chest again. "Yeah. It's just…It's you. I'm kissing…you."

"Yeah?" he asked, a note of concern in his voice.

She must have picked up on the tone in his voice, because she reassured him, "That's not bad. It's good. Really. It's just…I'm not making sense. I'm sorry."

"No, I get it." He said as he pulled her head into his chest. He took in the citrus scent of her shampoo and tucked a soft curl behind her ear. He thought he knew what she meant. It still felt a little unreal to be holding her. There had been several times since coming to Maine that he had woken up and thought that it had all been a dream. Each extra week that he stayed made him worry that she would change her mind. Now that she was here, he just wanted to avoid scaring her away. "Hey. I know you're beat. Do you want to go back and go to sleep?"

"Yeah, but wait just a minute," she answered as she wrapped her arms around his waist and held him. After a few moments, she released him slowly and they continued walking back toward Liz's booth, this time with Luke's hand resting softly on the small of her back.

"Liz and TJ must be asleep," Luke whispered when they got back to the tents. "Do you want to get…uh…changed? I can wait out here until you're done," he added quickly.

She nodded and ducked into the tent. A few minutes later, she poked her head out, "I'm finished. Do you want me to…?"

"No, that's okay." Once in the tent he took off his flannel and slid carefully out of his jeans and into a pair of sweats, while Lorelai politely averted her eyes. When they were both dressed, Luke looked at her, "I hope you're able to sleep okay. It seems like you could use a good nights sleep."

"Yeah. Well I guess we'll see if what they say about fresh air and sleeping is right. Good night."

"Good night." They both seemed to be hesitating. Luke leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead, then whispered, "Sleep well."

"You too."

Luke lay down and tried to relax, but he knew that sleep was a long way off. Lorelai had been right about his invitation. It had been an impulse and he had been as surprised about inviting her as he was that she agreed to come. It wasn't how he would have chosen for their first date to be. It was hard to know how to negotiate a whole weekend together, and he hadn't thought about how hard it was going to be to fall asleep next to her.

Now that she was here, the tent smelled different. It was the sweet scent of her shampoo that had enveloped him while they had been kissing. He was finding it very difficult to keep from reaching over and kissing her again. But here, in the tent, he was afraid about where that might lead, that it would push them too far, too fast, while they were still getting used to being with each other as more than friends. So he lay still, trying to pretend that he was sleeping.

It wasn't working.

"Hey Luke." Her voice was soft and tentative in the darkness.

"Yeah?"

"You were kidding about the bears and coyotes, right?"

"Yeah, I was kidding." Apparently they were both having trouble sleeping.

To be continued