A/N: Here it is! The long-awaited sequel to 'Then I Did'. Hope y'all enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I know, I know. You've heard it all before. They're not mine. I'm not bright enough to come up with these characters myself. The credit for that goes to Amy Sherman-Palladino, who rocks my socks.
(6 months later)
Lorelai sat on the airplane, staring out the window at the European countryside below her, and thought. She realized how… boring, for lack of a better term, the job had become. Landing in foreign countries had lost its thrill. The constant travel became monotonous. All the long flights were tiring.
Traveling on business really wasn't glamorous. Her father had always said so, but she'd never quite believed him. She definitely did now.
Many of her trips were spent in conference rooms, most of which were right down the street from the airport. If she did any sight-seeing at all, it was out the window of a rental car as she sped on the left side of the road, which took more concentration than she'd thought, to visit inns.
As soon as she landed in France that night, she called Mike Armstrong to give him her two weeks notice. She told him it'd been fun, but the job just wasn't for her. He agreed to let her go back and manage the Dragonfly.
Sure, he'd sounded disappointed, but Lorelai had no doubt that he had an idea for her replacement brewing in the back of his mind. She hung up, already thinking about what she'd do when she got back.
The final two weeks of her job sped by quickly. Before she knew it, she was back home in Stars Hollow. The first thing she did was drive up to Yale to visit her daughter.
She knocked on the door of Rory's dorm the evening of her return. Rory pulled it open, and upon seeing her mother let out a shriek and proceeded to nearly tackle her.
After they had both calmed down, they settled themselves on the couch.
"So?" Rory asked.
"So what?"
"Very mature."
"I try."
"So, why are you back? I thought you were in Europe until Christmas."
"I quit."
"You what? Why did you quit? You loved that job!"
"I did. I just missed…" Lorelai trailed off, saddened.
"Missed who?" Rory asked.
"You." She recovered with as real a smile as she could muster. And hey, it was true. Just not the word she'd planned to finish her sentence with.
"Oh." Rory replied, knowing full well that her mother had not intended to say what she had. "So what are you going to do now?" She inquired, thinking it was best to change the subject.
"I'm going back to the Dragonfly."
"Really? That's great."
"Yeah. It is." Lorelai agreed. She knew things weren't great.
But being back was certainly a step in the right direction.
After a long chat with her daughter, Lorelai returned home. She turned the key, stepped in, and flipped on the lights.
Lorelai walked into the living room and turned in a slow circle. The house seemed… empty. Had it always felt this empty?
Her job had taken her mind off her loneliness. This last time the house was this quiet was the day Rory left for Yale. And she had managed to avoid staying in the then seemingly huge house by staying with Jason as often as possible. After that, she'd warded the emptiness with Luke.
That was the first time she'd allowed him to really enter her thoughts since she stepped through security, never looking back. She had feared that if she'd gazed over her shoulder, or even glanced behind her, she'd turn and run right into his arms and be too scared to leave. After that day, she'd forced herself to keep her mind off him, managing to bury herself in her work from day one. The only time she'd ever even entertain the idea of going back was when she was at the airport, and she'd always end up convincing herself to get on the 'right' plane and truck off to her next destination.
But now?
In the emptiness of her house, she couldn't keep the thoughts of him away. There was nothing for her to occupy herself with, and it didn't help that the house held reminders of him everywhere.
Lorelai ran upstairs and managed to change into pajamas, the pair that least reminded her of him, and burrow into bed before the tears came.
And once she started crying, she couldn't stop.
Luke lay in bed that night, unable to fall asleep. This had happened nearly every night since she had left. One year, seven months, and three days ago. He wasn't proud of the fact that he knew exactly how long it had been. And no way did he want to relive that day.
He had watched her disappear through the security gate. He kept staring long after she had gone. Actually, he was there for quite awhile. Luke didn't realize the time until he was nearly mauled by a small child running amok though the airport. Once he had been jerked out of his stupor, he checked his watch. When he saw the time, he cursed, which had resulted in dirty looks from the neighboring citizens with small children. Embarrassed, he had fled the airport and returned to the diner to help Caesar with the dinner rush.
Since then, he'd tried without success to erase her from his mind. Eventually, he just gave up, knowing he'd never forget. So at night, he let his mind wander and let memories of her run through his mind.
Lorelai awoke and washed her face to clear any evidence of last night's breakdown. She walked into the kitchen and fixed herself some tea. And there she sat, consuming her new form of caffeine and thinking.
She managed, after a lot of talking to herself, to convince herself to go to the diner. After all, Luke did deserve to know she was back. She'd rather him hear it from her than the gossip mill. So she grabbed her purse and began the journey to the diner.
Lorelai arrived at three in the afternoon, meaning that the diner was nearly empty. The only person inside was Kirk, sitting at a corner table, staring blankly out the window. She took a deep breath and stepped through the door.
Luke, back in the kitchen, heard the bell jingle over the door, signaling that a customer had entered and sighed. He was in a particularly bad mood today. At least he was in the kitchen. Had he been in the diner, he'd probably have scared the person with the rate his head shot up every time he heard that annoying bell. He hadn't been able to stop. There was always part of him that thought maybe, just maybe, it was her.
And every time he was disappointed.
By the time he'd sauntered out of the kitchen, Lorelai had taken a seat at the counter. Upon seeing her, his eyes widened. He blinked a few times, just to make sure she was real. He wondered if he should pinch himself, to be positive that he wasn't dreaming. But he realized if this somehow happened to be real, it would make him look crazy. So he walked over and grabbed the coffee pot. Strange how easily this came back to him.
He turned to face her, coffee pot in hand. She dismissed him. "No thanks. I… I don't drink it anymore." Lorelai didn't have the heart to tell him that she'd stopped drinking her beloved beverage because it reminded her of him.
Luke was shocked. There were a lot of unpredictable things about Lorelai Gilmore, but he never imagined that she'd stop drinking coffee. He set the coffee pot back in its place.
"So you're back?" he asked her.
"Yeah, I'm back. For good."
"Really?" It couldn't be real. It just couldn't be. Sure, in his dreams she came back. But he never once even considered the fact that she would come home. He had just assumed that he'd never see her again, and that would be that.
"Yeah. Really."
"Where're you gonna work now?" Luke asked her. He wanted to keep the conversation going; keep her there as long as he could.
"Mike's letting me work back at the Dragonfly."
He nodded. "That's good."
"Yeah."
Well, he'd tried. They fell into an awkward silence.
"You, uh, want something to eat?" He asked. This tactic could never fail. Lorelai Gilmore was always hungry.
She nodded. "I'm starving."
"I'll get you a burger." And with that he treaded back into the kitchen.
Cooking bought him some time to think and to process. Lorelai Gilmore was back. He repeated this phrase over and over in his head, trying to wrap his mind around the concept.
Lorelai Gilmore was back.
And, damn, he hated admitting it, but he'd missed her.
A lot.
TBC... most likely. So review with your thoughts please!