A/n: Thanx to all who reviewed. You make me happy. :D Ok, I know that this is moving fast. But I didn't write about the whole two months. Anyway, hope you're all enjoying the story so far. Don't forget to review!
$&$
"I'll be right there." There was panic in her voice.
"No! I need to get away from home. I'll come to you." Lorelai had already made it to her tan jeep.
"Are you ok to drive?" Rory was pacing up and down her bedroom now.
"Yeah, I'm ok." She was trying to convince herself more than her daughter. "Promise me something?" She tried desperately, but to no avail, to keep her voice calm.
"What?" Rory knew better than to say 'anything' when it came to her mother.
"No matter what I do, or how much I screw up, you'll never hate me."
"Mom-" Rory started. She was cut off by her mother.
"Please?" Lorelai's voice was pleading.
"Mom, I could never hate you. No matter what you do." Rory couldn't believe her mother was really asking her this.
"Promise?" The tears were evident in her voice as more spilled down her cheeks.
"I promise." Tears were silently forming in Rory's eyes as she spoke to her mother, her best friend.
"So, I'll see you in about half an hour, ok?" Lorelai started the engine of the tan vehicle.
"Yeah. Mom, I love you." The tears in Rory's eyes fell, and she let them.
"I love you too, babe. Bye." Lorelai waited for Rory's answer of "Bye" before she ended the phone call.
Wiping away the trail of tears that had formed on her cheeks, Lorelai pulled out of the driveway and headed to Yale.
$&$
An hour later found Lorelai and Rory in the eating hall of Yale University. Rory stared at her mother as she finished her tale of the happenings of the last two months.
'Please don't hate me. Please don't hate me,' Lorelai chanted in her head.
"Do you love him?" Rory asked after just a minute.
Lorelai, confused by the question, asked in return, "Who?"
"Luke," was Rory's simple answer.
Lorelai bit her lip. "I…Yes, I do."
"And he loves you?" She was protective of her mother whether it be Luke or someone else, she had to make sure they would never hurt her.
Lorelai's lips curved into a dreamy smile. "Yeah, hon. He does."
Rory couldn't help but smile. 'Hm. They finally figured it out.'
Lorelai's smile faded. "But…"
Rory's wasn't far behind. "But? There's a 'but?'" 'Oh, no. This can't be good.'
"He's still with Nicole. And I can't keep this a secret any longer. It's…It's just too damn hard."
Rory could see the pain in her mother's eyes. This wasn't 'my new shoe broke' pain, or even 'Chris is leaving…again' pain. It was much worse. Rory had never seen so much raw passion in the elder Gilmore's eyes, and it scared her.
A thought crept into Rory's brain. 'We have to get away.' She shared her plan with her mother.
"What about Logan?" Lorelai questioned.
Rory sighed. "Logan and I have had an off and of relationship for three years. It's time to end it. For good."
Lorelai felt for her blue-eyed angel of a daughter. "We'll escape together. Just the two of us. Just like after high school. We'll be ok, hon." Lorelai reached to take Rory's hand in hers.
"Yeah. Yeah, we will." They were Gilmores. They were strong. They were wild. There was no man that could tame them. 'Except the right one,' Rory added mentally as she squeezed her mother's hand.
$&$
Lorelai knew she had to at least tell Luke. She couldn't just leave. As she entered the empty diner the bells jingled, making a loud echo. He looked up. The expression on her face told him, 'This is the end.' He went back to wiping tables. He didn't want to know why. The problem was, he already did. Pain. Pain that he had caused her. He didn't want to let her go, but knew it was inevitable.
"I'm leaving." She stated it simply.
He turned to face her once again. "You're not coming back." It was meant to be a question but came out sounding more like a statement. After all, he already knew the answer.
"I don't know." She couldn't bring herself to say 'no.' How long her heart would let her stay away was unknown to her. "But I can't keep doing this," she finished.
He nodded. 'Pain.' There was pain in her eyes. "Do you know where you're going?"
She shook her head. "No. But I wouldn't tell you even if we did."
Luke's eyes widened slightly. "We? Is he going with you?"
She saw the expression on his face change slightly and regretted this slip. "No," she reassured. "Rory and I are leaving after she graduates next week. He is moving his things as we speak."
He nodded. 'She left him.' "I finished moving my things last night. There is no sign I had any connection to her…except for the signed divorce papers on the coffee table."
This time, her eyes widened. "You left her?"
He simply nodded. "Why?" She knew it was a stupid question, but she wanted him to tell her that he wanted her.
"For you." He paused. "I never loved her. I knew that from the beginning. Just like I knew from the start that…I love you, Lorelai." It felt good to finally say it out loud. He made his way behind the counter.
She stepped closer, the click of her heels echoing through the empty diner. Now al that stood between them was the infamous counter. The boundary that had kept them apart. Supplier and consumer. They were so much more now, yet still separated by it.
Lorelai placed her hands on the glossy surface. "I know. And you know that I love you too, don't you?"
"Yes." His answer was simple. He had always been a simple man, not one for words. He did know, but it felt good to hear it. He reached across the countertop and took her hand in his. "Let me come with you. We can start a new life, together." He emphasized the last word of his statement.
Lorelai couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had come to say 'goodbye' to Luke, but she wanted to be with him so badly. She couldn't answer, not yet.
"What about the diner?" She couldn't bear the thought of him closing it down. It was his life. It was her home.
She didn't say 'no,' he caught this.
"I'll get someone to manage it," he told her matter-of-factly. "What are you doing with the inn?"
He was concerned about her. He always had been. She answered his question without hesitation. "I'll become a silent partner. Michel will be promoted to general manager, and someone will be hired to take his place."
'She's thought of everything. How long has she been planning this?' He looked at her with hopeful eyes. He needed an answer to his question.
"I'll have to talk to Rory." 'Maybe she can bring me to my senses,' she added mentally. "I'll let you know tomorrow?"
He just nodded.
"Bye, Luke," Lorelai said as she reached the glass door. "For now." Before he could respond, she was gone.
He smiled though, because 'goodbye' meant forever. She knew they were going to see each other again, and his heart skipped a beat.
$&$
A/n: So? Ok, I know on the show, Rory prolly wouldn't have taken the whole 'my mother is cheating on her husband with another married man' thing so well. But neither Luke or Lorelai would actually cheat on the show either, so it's all good. Please, please, please review! I'm trying to beat my record for reviews on one story, so any help would be appreciated. :D
