Author's Note: Huge thanks to Heather and Kelsey for being such amazing betas!

Lorelai sat sipping her coffee at Le Grillon. She grimaced as the strong bitter liquid made its way down her throat. "It's nothing like Luke's coffee," she thought before silently cursing herself for comparing the two drinks. She wasn't even drinking regular coffee. She believed that pressed espresso was the English translation. It was strong, not as satisfying, but she had grown tired of trying to find a decent cup of coffee. Anything with caffeine would have to do.

She had already finished her dinner. Yet another dinner where she tried politely to decline the endless supply of baguette bread that appeared on her table wherever she dined. At least three times a day, every day, she ate that bread. If she could go a whole year without eating or even seeing another baguette, it would still not be enough time. The still full basket had finally been whisked away when the waiter returned with her espresso.

She put down the small cup and looked across the Cours Mirabeau. The remnants of the market that was held there every Saturday were long gone. The proprietors had packed everything up, the paintings and the sculptures; all the lovely things Lorelai looked at every Saturday morning were all gone. Lorelai had toyed with buying her daughter a beautiful painting of a sunrise over the Cote d'Azur, but she had quickly dropped her fingers from the delicate canvas when she remembered that she couldn't even pick up the phone to call Rory. A gift was certainly out of the question.

A quick glance at her watch told Lorelai that it was time to make her way back to her hotel room. She never spent much time there, only returning when it was time to make her nightly call to Luke.

Luke.

Just the thought of his name brought a smile to her face. Everyone thought she was crazy for calling him every night. She went through practically a whole phone card every few days, but it was worth it. He was her only connection to the life she had left behind. Or put on hold, as she thought of it.

In all actuality, it wasn't even her idea to leave. It was Luke's. After everything that had happened with Rory, after her hasty proposal in his diner, he had convinced her that her "mulling" was for a reason. He didn't decline her proposal, nor accept. He just told her that she wasn't ready for his answer. And so, after many heartfelt conversations, tears, and promises, she finally relented. Before she knew what was happening, she was calling Mike Armstrong to request a trial period with the Durham Group. Soon afterwards, she was on a plane to Paris and then another shorter flight to Marseille Provence Airport. A short train ride later and she had arrived at her destination – Aix-en-Provence.

Aix-en-Provence was small. Not as small as Stars Hollow, but nowhere near as large as Paris. It was a prime location for her consulting work. All Lorelai had to do was hop on a train, and she could be in Cannes or Nice in a blink of an eye. Or, she could head in the other direction and be in Avignon in nearly the same time. But mostly, she remained in this small college town.

She was enjoying it. In a few months' time, she had finally stopped making a complete and utter fool of herself as she tried to order a cup of coffee. Her French left nothing to be desired, but she knew a handful of key phrases and could order her meals sufficiently - enough to get by if no one around her spoke a word of English. At the very least, all of her meetings were held in English, much to her relief.

Lorelai paused briefly to look down the street at The Great Fountain in La Rotonde, the circle that the Cours Mirabeau spilled into. If she turned in the other direction, she would see King René's Fountain. Soon after arriving, she had quickly learned why Aix was called "The City of Fountains".

She enjoyed this time of evening. The city had finally calmed from the influx of tourists it received during the day. She could hear the gentle splash of the water hitting the surface as it spluttered out of the extravagant fountains. Shortly, the area would no doubt be cluttered with university students as they headed out to the cafés and bars. She took another deep breath of the crisp late summer air before walking the remaining way to her hotel.

Upon arriving in her room, she dropped her purse and hotel key on the dresser. Grabbing the phone and her calling card, she kicked off her shoes and sprawled out on the bed. She ignored the indistinguishable words the operator said, informing her in fast French how to use the phone card. She had learned to just wait until the recording stopped and then dial Luke's number.

She didn't have to wait long for him to answer. He always picked up on the first ring, knowing that she was the one calling. She smiled as he answered gruffly. She loved hearing his voice. It brought instant relief to her tense shoulders. "Hey," she replied softly. "Rough day?"

A short laugh immediately greeted her through the phone. "Nah, it hasn't been too bad. I was just trying to get Kirk to leave, because I knew you'd be calling."

She heard a muffled noise, chuckling at the mental picture forming in her head. "Tell Kirk I said hi." She heard more muffled voices and finally the soft jingling of the bell over the diner door. "You alone?" she asked.

"Finally," he answered. "So how was your meeting this morning?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, you know. Same old thing. Kind of boring actually."

"You loved every minute of it."

"You know I did." Lorelai felt her cheeks turn red as she blushed over how well Luke knew her. He could tell exactly how she was feeling just from her words. Even when she tried to cover up a bad day, he could see through her steady voice. "But I'm going to be so bored this weekend. I have no meetings scheduled from Thursday afternoon until Monday afternoon. One of the girls from the group suggested I go to Paris for the weekend."

There was a long pause at the other end.

"Luke?" Lorelai finally breathed after a few moments of silence.

"You should go."

It seemed like his voice had floated to her over the line. She didn't recognize his tone. "What?"

"I mean it. You should go. You've been talking about how you'd like to spend some time in Paris since you got there. Now's your chance. You should take it," he said more evenly.

She nodded slowly in agreement. "I should. Someone should be able to help me arrange a flight up there. I don't want to spend that long on a train."

"You should go to the Eiffel Tower." After a few seconds he added, "At sunset. I hear it's beautiful at that time."

"Aww... Luke, you softy," Lorelai cooed.

"Promise me, Lorelai," he insisted. "Promise me you'll go."

"I will," she stuttered, surprised at his insistence.

"I'll want to hear all about it," Luke said as if sensing her hesitance. "Buy me a postcard."

Lorelai laughed. She had sent him a postcard for practically every day that she had been gone. "You only want one?" she joked. She heard him laugh at the other end of the line. It made her feel at home. He felt so close to her even though an ocean separated them. She snuggled into her pillow. "So what's going on in Stars Hollow? Kill Taylor yet?"

She spent the rest of the evening talking to him. It reminded her of the previous summer where her only contact with him had been over the phone. It was strange that over a year later, their relationship was once again reduced to phone calls. Despite this, each phone call was always the highlight of each day. Every night, when she returned the phone to its cradle, her day finally felt complete. However, every night, the soft ache in her chest seemed to grow more difficult to ignore. Tonight was no different. She sighed outwardly as she burrowed into the bed. She pulled the pillow close to her, partly wishing it was Luke that she was cuddling into.

At least she now had Paris to look forward to.

To Be Continued. Please review!