Rory was beginning to get an uneasy feeling as she led Max through the corridors. She couldn't allow him upstairs, but she couldn't exactly lock him in a hall closet either, she still had classes to go through. She had a feeling that her recommendation letter might not a take a forced confinement very well.

But this was for her mom and Luke, so she figured that she would keep the option open anyways.

Max was beginning to feel that he was unwelcome. It didn't appear that Rory was leading him anywhere near the residential rooms. Looking around he didn't see any sign of Lorelai. The only evidence of her being there was her car in the parking lot next to the truck that he had opened his door on.

But he wasn't in the mood for remorse. He needed to see Lorelai as soon as possible, and Rory didn't seem to have the intention of actually helping him.

"Where are we going Rory?"

His voice tone still hadn't softened and burned Rory's ear with the frustration emanating from it.

"Umm."

Her reply was rushed and nervous. She didn't know what to do. Her mother was upstairs and apparently with Luke. She could only hope that all Luke was doing was comforting her mother. "If it were anything more…and if Max stopped following her…deciding to investigate for himself-" Rory quickly ended the thought there. That wasn't going to happen, she wouldn't let it. Her mother had to be happy and so did Luke, but she wanted Mr. Medina to be also, she just didn't know how to accomplish it.

Lorelai sat on the bed with her head pressed to Luke's chest, a tear escaping down her cheek.

"You know why I'm here, now why are you?" Luke looked down at her, afraid of her answer, afraid that she ran because she did indeed love Max, but had gotten cold feet.

Lorelai closed her eyes tightly as she heard the question that she had just been asking herself before she had drifted in the first place. The answers were lost to her still, but "they had to come sometime right?"

Believing that she might find it if she spoke, she did.

"I don't love him."

Luke pulled her closer after hearing this. The position they were in felt unreal. Any day before this, he would never believe that he would have to come after her, that he would be left to pick up all the pieces. It's not like he had never had to do it before, she had needed him several times before but never like this. He had never gotten to hold her in this way. He felt her silent tears submerge his shirt. It felt as if he were being cleansed of everything that had happened before, the memories of the day that he found that he loved her, the moment that he found he wasn't his to have, and the second that he had found that she never would be, the day that she had gotten engaged. All that was leaving now. He had his chance sitting right there before him, clinging to him, asking him. Wanting the comfort that he wished to give. Now finding himself running his hand through her hair, he decided that he couldn't miss this chance.

Lorelai felt the weight of his silence.

She had lied. Only a half lie but a lie never the less. She had never loved Max, not now and not then. He was a comfort, a settlement, a shoulder. She thought she might have loved him, that she could have loved him in time. It just wouldn't sit. That's still wasn't why she had left.

She couldn't have loved Max because without even knowing it, she had already been with some one else. It hadn't even been something intentional, it just happened like it was meant to. Nothing stuck in her mind on how it even occurred. Nothing seemed like any relevance until he brought her that chuppah. All of it had happened, bringing her closer to him but none of it had really struck her until then. She had always had a soft spot for him, not only had he given her coffee but so many other little things, not that coffee was a little thing, no not at all.

"There's nothing else?"

Luke broke through Lorelai's thoughts. He may not have ever said much unless he was ranting, which had become frequent in the recent days, but every time he did speak it always made you want to hold on to it. He always seemed to mean what ever he shared with the rest of the world, what ever he shared with her. His opinions of growth had been taken to heart that day and made her think that she wanted Luke to be the one that find out if his own words were true. If they could "evolve" at the same pace. "They had done so this far, why not longer?" The thoughts had gone on to long, the chance was slipping and she could feel it, his grip was slipping with it.

The question still lingered, her answer held on to her breath begging to be released, but nothing came. Nothing came. She couldn't say anything. She shook her head at this in disbelief as she looked up him.

"Was it because of me?" He had meant their conversation the day before she had left but it didn't feel that way.

"Nothing else mattered."

With her answer she lifted slightly off the bed and met with him, connecting softly, trying to tell him everything, explaining years with a one hand held and the other now tracing over the hand at his side.

Max had had enough of being lead to nowhere. They had seemed to be going in circles with Rory's failing smile before him, trying to take him every which way, avoiding explaining.

"Rory I'm going upstairs to find Lorelai, whether I have to knock on all the doors or not is entirely up to you, but I need to know what's going on."

"I'm sorry Mr. Medina, but I can't let you see her right now. She's not in the best position for you to talk with her." It wasn't exactly a lie. No matter whatever exactly was going on up there.

With that Rory pulled her teacher into an open room that seemed to be meant for luggage storage, almost tripping over the cat that sat in front of it.

"So I'll wait, I'll get a hotel near here and come in the morning." He seemed to have calmed down at this point.

"That sounds like a good idea." It wasn't the time that had probably been needed but a night was better than a matter of minutes.

Ladonn was making the rounds in the hallways, making sure that all of the guests that were up and about would know that they were going to begin singing along with the piano music again. Thinking that she had heard something she turned the corner to see Sammy laying in front of a partially opened door.

"Oh there you are Sammy, lying in front of that door again. I know it's your favorite place but someone's going to trip over you." While she bent down to pick him up music began to emanate from the main room, silencing whatever had drawn her there in the first place. "Looks like they've started without us." Ladonn shrugged under Sammy's weight and closed the door before her, causing a click. "Come on Sammy, we can't keep everyone waiting." The cat seemed to grimace at the high squeaks coming from his owner, looking back at the door over her shoulder.

"What just clicked?" Rory inquired while trying not to look back at the door behind her, afraid of what she might find.

Luke paused after the break in connection between them. He contemplated giving into the childish urge of pinching himself as he watched Lorelai lowering herself back to her previous position on the bed.

"Nothing else mattered, but you."

Hearing these words Luke lost all thought he might have possessed under different circumstances, the singing that had rose in the background hadn't even fazed them. Meeting her again he lost himself as she responded. Nothing meant but her.

-TBC-

A/N:I'm sorry that this one was shorter than I intended but it just seemed like I should break there. The scene between Luke and Lorelai was probably what seemed like made it last forever on this end. I had Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata playing in the background, which set its slow mood, if you didn't perceive it that way. Thank you to all the reviewers thus far. I'm not sure how much longer this fic will continue but I hope that you guys liked it, I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it myself. I know that Lorelai seems really sad and mixed up, but I always pictured her as such after giving up something that should have been good for her, the right person or other wise…

If I don't catch all of grammar errors, I'm sorry to say that they're like Jess, please tell me, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to fixing them.

RORY: Maybe, like, you could limit the reports to just significant sightings. If you see him a hundred yards away, disappearing around a corner, I really don't need to know that. If he comes up to you and spits in your face, report that.

LORELAI: Permission to spit back?

En