Author's Note: As it seems, I'm answering my own request from my LL fic community.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

Summary: An re-write to the Luke/Lorelai make up of So… Good Talk. Emily never happened and something else changed his mind. Rating for language, among other things. Oneshot.

Shiver

Fluffy pillows surrounded the female as she sat in her bed; her back pressed firmly up against the headboard. Sure, it was uncomfortable, but it was the best position to hear the soothing sounds of the rain pounding against the roof and windows.

Eyes fluttering closed, she briefly allowed her thoughts to roam to Luke, but then immediately pushed them away. Just the thought of Luke these days made her eyes tear up, her voice falter, just like she was a hurricane, ready to strike at any moment.

Frustrated, Lorelai pushed the covers down off of her, and got up slowly from the bed. One glance at the clock on her bedside cabinet told her it was half past 2. Everyone would be in bed, not paying any attention to the major storm going on outside around him or her.

Lorelai, without a second thought, slipped into a pair of slippers and pulled on a tee shirt over the spaghetti strapped tank the was residing on her body. Hurriedly, she ran down the steps, almost falling down the last few as she did so.

'Damn you!' she yelled as she picked herself back up and continued on her way, only stopping when she was in the middle of her front lawn, staring up at the rain that was cascading over her.

With a small sigh of satisfaction, she did a little twirl; closing her eyes and letting the water wash over her. The cool water combined with her hot skin caused little streams of smoke to rise off of her, giving her an odd glow. She opened her mouth and let the drops tickle her tongue. For the first time in weeks, Lorelai let a smile grace her features. Granted, it was only a smile one, yet still a smile.

'Ahhh!' she screamed, letting out her frustration, her misery. Lorelai let her voice erupt from her throat as she screamed, stopped, then started again. She didn't care if she woke anyone up; for once she thought only of herself.

x-x-x

It was a quarter after two as Luke glanced at the clock from his bed. His large, king-sized bed, that he had gotten just for her. She had complained of the twin-sized bed, said it meant he wasn't open for commitment, and what did he do? He went out and bought the damn bed just so he would prove to her that this was different. That they were different. And he had proved one thing; but that wasn't it. He proved what a complete idiot he was to let her get away.

Sure, he heard stories about how miserable Lorelai looked and how pale she was. But that only made his mood worse. He was mad and angry that he had made her turn into someone she wasn't. She wasn't a miserable person; she was the peppiest person he knew.

With a groan, he glanced out the window and noticed the rain had only gotten worse. He couldn't remember the last time he had witnessed a storm so harsh in Stars Hollow. Hartford, yes, New York, yes, but never in Stars Hollow. His look strayed from the window to the picture frame sitting in front of it. The picture Lorelai had insisted they take, in the stupid booth inside of the movie theater they frequented. It showed himself with his arms wrapped around Lorelai's arms, her looking up at him, he looking down at her. Then, she had insisted that they get copies made, as it was their first photo as a couple. He had relented and drove her to the near-by copy store. Ever since it sat on the ledge by his window, a reminder of their love.

It dawned on him then, what he had to do. Staring at the picture, the look of pure happiness on his own face, the sparkle in her eye, he realized what he had to do. With quick movements he found some clothing and threw them on, planning on going straight over there. But that's when the phone call came.

"Luke, doll?" he heard Babette's groggy voice on the line as he answered.

"Babette? What's wrong?" he asked, suddenly alarmed and aware of the time.

"It's Lorelai! She's woken up the entire street! Outside in the rain, screaming her lungs out! We're afraid she going to get electrocuted, aren't we Morey honey?"

"Yeah…" came a mumbled reply.

"We haven't seen much of her lately so we were surprised to even see her, no matter the time! Awful, that's what she's been lately!"

"Okay…" Luke mumbled, finally finding his voice. He had felt a lump in his throat all throughout her entire speech, unable to cut her off. "I'll be right there…" he added quickly, hanging up and running out the door.

The rain sloshed on his windshield as he drove through the storm. He could barely see as his wiper blades moved back and forth making that squeaking noise he was accustomed to.

As he got nearer to her house he could see the outline of a figure, standing in the middle of a lawn. He pulled over in front of her house, exiting the truck quickly. He stopped in his tracks as he saw her closer. She was staring up at the rain, her arms spread out, and a small smile playing on her lips. She was soaked through and he could see her body through the white clothes she had worn. Luke continued to watch as she moved around, twirling on her toes, taking deep breaths as she wiped her hair out of her face.

"Lorelai!" he yelled through the rain, finally approaching her. A lightning bolt chose that moment to strike somewhere in the distance, illuminating her. She looked startled, her eyes wide as she squinted at him.

x-x-x

'Luke?' she asked softly, unsure if it was really him or just her imagination playing tricks on her. As he got nearer, she pushed her hand out in front of her, feeling his wet face as he towered above her. 'What are you doing here?' she whispered, looking down, suddenly aware that she was soaking wet.

"Babette called. She said that you were out here screaming and that she was worried."

'Oh…' Lorelai uttered in a small voice, trying to mask her disappointment.

As she stared up at him, she noticed something in the way he looked at her. Something in his eyes. It wasn't as cold as it had been the last time she had dared to look into them; there was warmth and concern. What scared her most was, that it was directed at her.

'You didn't have to come. I'm a big girl, Luke. I can take care of myself.' Her voice took on a tone of harshness. She felt him move closer to her, wiping a wet strand of hair out of her eyes.

"What were you doing out here so late, Lorelai? You could have been electrocuted!"

Lorelai noticed as his voice turned hoarse, the way his fingers were wrapped around her lower arm gently, holding her in place. She took in his words, noticing the effect they had on her, how deeply they reached her. She had missed his voice, missed him telling her constantly how red meat could kill her, and how coffee would stunt her growth. Unwillingly, she felt her arm relaxing in his grip, the feeling of safety returning to her.

'I wanted to be Natalie Portman in Garden State…' she said quickly, daring a glance in his direction, shuddering slightly from the light wind that had picked up. 'When her and Zach and that other dude just stand up over that cliff, and it's raining, and they're just standing there, screaming? I wanted to know what it felt like," she ranted, her voice picking up speed as she went along. 'I've never done it before. Just stood in the rain, screaming with all that I could. My mother would never allow it. I had tried to sneak out once in the rain, but she had her maid watch after me, so when I attempted my big break, she caught me. And of course, took me straight to my parent's room. Something I had tried very hard to avoid, believe me.'

"And how did it feel?" he asked, talking loudly over the rain, letting her arm go and stepping back from her.

'Exhilarating. Like it was just me and the rain, and I was talking to it and it was listening. Not much talking has been happening with me. Partly because no one would listen, and partly because it hurt too much,' she confided in him, taking a deep breath.

"Okay, so, I get it," she heard him say, watching as his eyes moved from her face to the wet ground. "I was holding you back. You never got to feel that way, exhilarated, because something was always holding you back. I guess it was me this time, right? You're mother was right…" he added, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself.

'What? Luke! No!' Lorelai exclaimed, horrified. 'You weren't holding me back! It was the opposite! I wanted to feel what I felt with you again. That's why I did this, not because I couldn't with you. Being with you made me forget all about this, because it was so great. What we had, it was amazing, and I just wanted to feel that again, feel what I feel when I'm with you…" she declared, sincerely, moving forward and taking hold of his hand, clenching it tightly to let him know she meant it.

As she tugged on his hand lightly, she felt it unclench, and witnessed his eyes beginning to rise to where hers was. She smiled gently up at him, noticing how his face softened as he stared down at her.

The rain had slowed to a drizzle around them, but the wind was as persistent as ever. It ruffled the not-as-wet pieces of Lorelai's dark hair and she shivered, goose bumps indenting her tanned skin.

"Come here…" he demanded, pulling her towards him and wrapping his arms around her. As he wasn't much drier than she was, it didn't do much to keep her warm, but she felt safer. She sighed into his shoulder as she felt his hot breath tickle her neck. She shivered again, this time in anticipation. Anticipation as to what was going to happen next. She hadn't felt that content since the last time he held her in his arms, and she missed it. She missed him in her life, her constant.

'I'm sorry…' she heard herself mutter into his shoulder, tears escaping her eyes. After weeks of hiding them, she let them flow into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry too…" he replied lifting her chin with his hand to look into her eyes. "When I said those things I… I don't know what I was. I was mad, and un-optimistic. I didn't know what I was saying and I didn't mean I was out. Please, you have to know that," he pleaded with her, his eyes begging her to understand.

'I know, Luke. Or, now I do,' she smiled up at him weakly, resting her head on his shoulder. 'Just… please, stay here. With me…" she whispered, looking up at him once more.

She sighed in relief as he nodded, and smiled as his lips came towards her, capturing them in a kiss. She moaned against his lips as it intensified quickly, weeks of bent up passion being exposed. As a roar of thunder sounded, they pulled apart, gulping for air.

'Wow,' Lorelai expressed, smiling up at him. 'Come on,' she whispered, taking his hand and leading him into the house.

As the bedroom door closed behind them, clothes went flying. Water dripped from their bodies as they stood by the bed, nothing between them.

"Lorelai…" Luke muttered as he felt her lips on his neck, his chest, and his face. He groaned as her felt her cold hands trail down to hips, his thighs, her thumb pressing into them as she held on to him.

"Oh, jeez," she murmured as she felt him press against her, him letting her feel what she was doing to him. Lorelai felt him grind into her and she uttered a small scream, pulling him closer to her, her mouth finding his.

Luke pushed her down onto the bed gently, him following her. His hands explored her body, the territory he had gotten to know long before, and he hadn't forgotten it. His hands drew circles around her nipples, causing them to jut out even more from all the attention. He heard her utter small moans as his hot tongue moved down her abdomen and onto her thighs. He heard her utter his name and removed his fingers from the grasp he had on her waist, moving them down into her. She became wet and sticky in an instance, her head spinning with no coherent thoughts.

'I love you, Luke…' she muttered in a small, exhausted voice as she looked up at him. She saw him stare at her for a moment then smile softly.

"I love you, too, Lorelai," he said gently, letting her flip them around so she was on top.

"Giddy up, horse-y!" she exclaimed as she situated herself so she directly on top of him, her arms on either side of him. She saw him give her the 'what the hell are you doing?' look, as he grabbed her waste and matched her movements, sitting up slightly. He entered her quickly, placing his hands on her breasts and massaging them as he turned them over again. He thrust into her, while massaging her, having an odd effect on her. Lorelai closed her eyes, feeling herself scream his name as she came, him following her, her name escaping from his lips.

'Luke?' Lorelai whispered, stroking his arm gently as they lay, tangled together.

"Hmm?"

'Just making sure you're real…' she replied, poking him gently in the arm. She smiled as she felt him push her hair out of her face and place a whisper soft kiss on her forehead.

"I'm real…"

"Good." Lorelai replied, in a content tone, cuddling closer to him.

For the time in many nights, she slept soundly. When she would wake up, she would hear Luke's deep breaths, his light snoring, and she would smile to herself. She'd place a kiss on his chest and fall back to sleep, shivering as she felt his breath on her neck, and remembered that she no longer had to worry about being alone.