Thank you for the wonderful and encouraging reviews. You guys rock. I'm especially pleased to hear you girls out there were thinking the same thing about short haired, leather glad, want to lick the man from head to toe like a postage stamp, Luke Danes.

This chapter has some dialogue, which I borrowed from the original episode written by the brilliant, Daniel Palladino. I'm just using it for the purposes of this story. Please don't get mad. I give credit, where credit, is more than rightly due.

Bon Appetite!

Rusty

"Breakfast, we have to make breakfast…" Lorelai told Sookie late that night, early that morning. Frankly, she wasn't sure about anything. She was currently just trying to come up with any means of altering this extreme situation they were all being put through.

As she paced in the cold night air, her arms pulling her jacket as close to her body as possible, she went through the lists in her head of all the proper procedures she had learned before receiving this job, about what to do in an emergency such as this.

The problem, besides the fact that her inn had caught fire, was that all she could think of was food and sleep.

When Sookie found Lorelai setting up station at Miss Patty's studio a half an hour later, she was still trying to frantically sort things out.

"Lorelai?" Sookie asked from the door of the studio.

"Just a second, Sook. Okay, so Michel the computers are on there way…What about the phones? Do we have phones coming?"

Michel, as usual was very annoyed.

"Yes, everything is coming, just trust me."

"This from the man, who ten minutes ago was trying to find another job? What kind of trust is that?"

"The same trust that I learned from the woman who told me two months ago that I was going to get a raise. And have yet to see such an increase in salary, since said mention of such raise."

"Just get everything up and working, okay?"

"Fine."

Just then two very familiar women entered the room.

"Hey, doll face. We just heard the news. We're here to help." Babette rasped shoving a fist toward her in a very take-charge manner.

"Oh, Lorelai this is just absolutely horrible. It reminds me of the time that Milton Berle…" Patty began but was quickly cut off by an impatient Lorelai.

"Babette, Miss Patty, thanks for your concern, and the inappropriateness of Milton Berle to cheer me up, but you really don't have to be here right now, we'll be just fine. You can go back home and go to bed."

Babette stepped up and protested.

"No way. We're going to do everything we can until you're on your feet and runnin' again like Marty Glickman in the 'Nazi' Olympics, sugah."

Lorelai smiled. She was truly touched by the town's devotion.

"Thank you."

"What can we do Lorelai?" Patty asked moving to stand by Michel and Babette.

"Well, when the computers get here Michel and Babette can figure out what to do with those…Miss Patty you're the designated receptionist. Here's when your acting skills come in handy."

"Oh, honey, I wont let you down." She assured grabbing her hand and patting it in a very comforting way.

"I know you wont. And thank you, the both of you. It really means a lot to me." Her voice dripped with sincerity.

"Anything for you sweetheart." Babette declared pulling Patty over to the table and chairs that were already set up.

As Lorelai turned to leave the studio, she was quickly stopped when someone grabbed her arm.

"Do not leave me alone with those two. They are beyond annoying. All they do is gossip. And ask stupid questions. Shitzus are more intelligent those women."

"That's why I left you with them. I figured you had a lot in common with them."

"I cannot promise you that there will not be any bloodshed today."

"I'm going to come back and check on you in twenty minutes. So, behave. And have fun!"

She smiled and sauntered out of the room.

Michel turned to Babette and Miss Patty who were whispering secretly while staring directly at him.

"Oh goody. This will just like a day at the circus. Stuck with two elephants." He mumbled to himself.

Meanwhile, Sookie and Lorelai had made their way outside and were talking about how they were going to make such a large breakfast, with no kitchen.

"I can't make that kind of food at my tiny little house!" Sookie explained pointing to the mounds of groceries on the sidewalk, while the kitchen staff milled around them.

"Can we cook half at mine, half at yours?" Lorelai suggested.

Sookie shook her head.

"Ah…no. See that just screws up the flow of the food and the flavor. We have to do it in one kitchen."

"Well, where is there a kitchen large enough in this town to cook all that food?"

Sookie smiled waiting for Lorelai to understand what she was insinuating. When she did, she instantly shook her head and waved her hands in disapproval.

"Oh, no. He won't go for that? He would freak out and you know it."

"Well, you and him are such good friends. And believe me Luke could never say no to you." Sookie attempted to reason.

Suddenly, the events that occurred last night went running through Lorelai's mind. Her, Luke, kissing, couch…She had been so occupied with the fire that she hadn't even given it a single thought.

And now, she understood, that asking him for this favor could be extremely awkward under the given circumstances.

Sookie's voice broke through her cloud of thought.

"C'mon Lorelai. We don't have any other choice. You know that, I know that, and I'm sure Luke would figure it out once you suggest it to him. Otherwise, we're really going to disappoint the Poe Society. And they're going to tell the Hemmingway Society, who will tell the Dickinson Society, and before you know it we're out of business, and holding up cardboard signs. Mine will say 'will cook for food' yours will say...something insanely dirty I'm sure. But…we just have to make this work. Besides, you're the one that promised them the best breakfast of their lives."

"FINE! I'll ask him, but don't get mad at me if he throws us out on our rear ends!" Lorelai brushed a small piece of hair that fell from her ponytail, out of her eyes

"So, don't even ask him." Sookie stated shrugging her shoulders and smiling a wicked grin.

"What?" Lorelai cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Just barge in there and take control. What is he going to do?"

"Throw us out on our rear ends?" She narrowed her eyebrows and stared at her friend intensely.

"There's too many of us. Besides he wouldn't throw out a pregnant woman. That's just bad taste." Sookie pulled the tie on her sweater as she drove her point home.

"You're right. Let's go." The two women stood up straight and began their short walk over to Luke's.

"C'mon guys. Grab those bags! We have a breakfast to make." Sookie exclaimed leading the way.

Luke was refilling a customer's cup when all of a sudden Sookie and a bunch of guys burst in with dozens of grocery bags.

"Morning!" She chirped holding the door open for the never-ending parade of brown paper bags.

"What…What is this?" Luke threw his hands back in bewilderment.

"Phase two!" Sookie pointed the guys toward the kitchen.

"Phase two?" Luke was still perplexed.

"Into the back guys, march!" Sookie headed toward the kitchen taking charge right off the bat.

"Hold on those guys can't go back there." Luke attempted to stop them, but held back as Lorelai entered the diner.

Lost in thought, Lorelai was trying her hardest to figure out the best way to set up this breakfast, and to avoid Luke.

"Ah, were in luck. Lots of empty places. Go on and take your seats guys." She let the Poe Society into the diner and made into the center of the diner.

"Lorelai, what is this?" She was surprised he wasn't freaking out; she was also surprised how stressed and nervous she suddenly felt.

"We had a fire."

"Where?"

"Weston's bakery!" Sookie said randomly.

"You're kidding." Luke wondered why he hadn't heard about Weston's catching fire earlier. After all it was only about a block away.

"They'll have fresh blueberries." Sookie quickly went back into chef mode and kept trying to get the kitchen set up.

"Weston's caught fire?" Luke really wanted to be filled in on what was happening now. He was going out of his baseball cap with worry.

"No the inn." Lorelai explained moving toward the counter.

"You're inn?"

After that Luke became really lost as they kept moving his things, and setting up stations.

He just kept his focus on Lorelai and hoped that things were going to be okay. He noted that she didn't look so good.

"I'm an island."

"Luke, I'm sorry about all this but I'm not anticipating the inn catching fire ever again so it's a one time only thing okay?"

"Like I have a choice?"

"You do, say the word and we go."

"Stay, cook, eat…I'll be upstairs." He declared and headed toward the curtain.

"You're a doll."

He heard her say it and when he did, he could help but smile. Things didn't seem to be too uncomfortable between them but he did notice that something had changed. She seemed quieter to him. But maybe it was just his imagination.

Lorelai had made her rounds, checking on the kids and Rory, seeing how Michel, Babette, and Patty were doing. By the time she had made it back to the diner everyone was just beginning to eat his or her breakfast.

Sookie came out of the kitchen as her friend walked through the diner door.

"They are just loving this breakfast! I think everything is going as well as it could be, don't you?"

"Yeah…It is…"

Sookie noticed that she wasn't quite herself.

"Are you okay? You want some breakfast?"

"Nah, I'm not very hungry. I'm just going to pop upstairs for a second. Maybe get a moment of peace before I have to pull a Sally Field in 'Sybil'."

"Okay honey, just let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks Sook."

When she pushed aside the curtain and made her way up the stairs she felt something bubbling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know why she felt this way. She and Luke had been friends for years and the thought of him had never made her this nauseous before.

Looking at the door in front of her with, 'William's Hardware: Office' etched in the glass, she took a moment before she somehow found the courage to knock. A mere second later the door opened to reveal a stunned and a, dare she say, equally nervous Luke.

"Lorelai."

"Hi." She looked down at the ground.

"Hi." He found he couldn't move.

"Um…" Her eyes met his for a brief moment before she looked down at the ground once more.

He became aware of his incredible rudeness and gave her an invitation.

"Oh, did you want to come in?"

Luke pulled the door open wide and stepped to the side as she made her way into the room. She looked around much like she did last night, before she turned around and faced him. Her hands were clasped in front of her, and Luke thought for a moment that she looked like an innocent and insecure girl, two adjectives and one noun, with which he never used to describe the person in front of him.

He wanted to kiss her again. To bring back the outgoing, vivacious, fiery woman he knew so well. Also, he felt the overwhelming urge to rekindle the flame that blazed and smoldered last night in the same room in which now they stood. But he knew with the current conditions and in such a situation that it was a completely inappropriate action and direction to take.

What he found particularly odd was that she didn't even look at him. She just stared at the floor and shuffled her feet.

She was debating whether she should take the step forward. That one-step that was nearly impossible but completely necessary to fulfill her current desire. Desire. She desired Luke?

Luke took a moment and turned around and closed the door. He figured if she wasn't going to say anything he might as well find something to calm down his nerves, and give him a slight distraction.

When the he let go of the doorknob and he heard it click in place, he let his hand fall off of the brass handle before he turned around.

He hadn't even made a full 180-degree transition when he felt moist lips, and a warm body against his own.

He didn't even register what was happening until he felt cool hands gliding up underneath his shirt to find the muscles and hair of his stomach and chest.

And when the realization set in, he caved. Folded like a cheap pup tent.

He really couldn't say no to Lorelai Gilmore.

Her tongue made its way into his mouth as she propelled him backwards until he was against the door. She took advantage of the situation and pulled her knee up to his hip and pressed herself into him. They both moaned at the contact and Luke let his hand slip down to grasp her knee and keep her in place. Then his hand began to slide up her thigh while his other hand went to grasp the other one. With both hands near her buttocks he applied the slightest pressure causing her to jump up and hitch her knees at his waist. He quickly reversed their situation and pushed her against the glass, grinding his hips against hers. He kissed his way down to where her shoulder and her neck met, and was pleased that the long sleeved shirt she was wearing allowed him to take such an action. She made a noise some where between a moan and a yelp.

"Luke…"

Hearing his name only caused him to moan into her neck and suck harder.

He felt the need to brand her as his own.

"Luke…I…"

That's when the blood rushed back into his head. He realized that now was not the time to be doing this. She was upset. Confused. With the inn, with their relationship. Sex now would ruin everything. Even though he wanted her more than he had ever wanted anything in his entire life. Even more than a Lou Gehrig rookie card.

He let go of her legs and stepped away from her when her feet had finally touched the floor.

"Luke…"

He walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and pulled out a bottle of water.

"Don't…It's fine." He wanted to help her forget it. It was just another rare moment of weakness from the indestructible Lorelai Gilmore.

"I just…" She wanted to fix what was beginning to break between them.

"We don't have to talk about it…" Frankly, he couldn't talk about it. Not when he was feeling aroused, and confused, and jittery. It was all too much to handle right now. For the both of them.

"Yes, we do." She knew what it was like to just gloss over things. To let them fester and then explode once they reached the surface.

"No, not now. Just go back downstairs. You still have a lot of stuff to figure out." Alone, he just wanted to be alone. It was the only solution.

"Luke…I just…I knew you would make me feel better…Make this all go away. If only for a little while. I just, I'm sorry."

He could tell she genuinely was.

"Hey, forget it. No matter what happens, Lorelai. You and I will always be friends."

She watched him take a sip of his water and sit down at the kitchen table. She could tell he was mad at her. He was slouching in his chair and he couldn't even look her in the eye.

"I'll see you later?" She needed to find some hope that there would be reconciliation. That they could hash it out and find a common ground.

"Yeah…later."

As she made her way downstairs she found herself more distressed then she was before. Her moment of peace only stirred chaos. Not only was she still figuring out what to do about the fire. She was now hurting her best friend.

She just hoped she could sort it all out.

A/N: All right! This chapter was a little on the dramatic side…I still think it's okay at a T rating. If any of you were offended at all or thought it was too steamy. Let me know. I'll change it right away. I promise there will be more comedy in the next chapter. I'm just trying to establish a flow with the dialogue and I'm still not sure quite where I'm going to lead the characters. Please bear with me. Patience after all is a virtue. And you're all Angels right…Oh, wait I forget that we're the junkies…Oh, well. Deal!

If you'd like you can post a review. It does encourage me. I especially love suggestions. After all you're the readers and kids I just aim to please.

I'll leave you with another random quote! An invisible ten-dollar bill to whoever can name the TV show I got this quote from!

We're circling each other like Venezuelan flamingoes engaged in a complex mating dance.

I thought this one fit nicely with the L/L relationship.

Rusty