See Chapter 1 for Summery and Disclaimer

A/N: WOW! I've made it to Chapter 5 and I still have yet to write my paper. I better get cracking' Good thing it's due on Tuesday. I still love all my reviewers. You guys are all peaches. This chapter is dedicated to screaming truth for giving me direction and lukelorelai-en for making me laugh.

Chapter 5: It's Too Late Baby…

Lorelai tossed her keys on the desk, avoiding the answering machine for a few moments longer. She had just returned from the Hartford airport after seeing Rory off. She was having separation anxiety already. Six whole weeks without her daughter, her best friend, her confidant, would be torture. After hugging Rory tight, and slipping her a 5 spot for trashy magazines, she watched her baby walk off with Paris and enter the security line with a heavy heart. For the first time in her entire life, she would have the house to herself for a long period of time. It was very strange. It already felt empty without Rory.

Lorelai slipped into the kitchen and pulled coffee from the freezer. It was Luke's blend, a birthday gift from her favorite diner owner. She mechanically spooned the coffee onto the filter and poured the water in. The house was quiet, too quiet. Time for music.

She couldn't ignore the blinking answering machine light for much longer. Rory made her promise that she would wait to open the mail and check the messages until she had left. Music first, then pain.

Carole King seemed like nice alone music. It was a CD she liked, but didn't listen to very often. More of a guilty pleasure, like Barry Manilow. She slowly walked over to the answering machine, slightly swaying and humming along to It's Too Late. Her finger hesitated before she pushed the play button, knowing who most of the messages would be from. Here goes nothing…

You have 24 new messages

Terrific!

"Lore, we need to-" BEEP. Message Deleted. "That felt good," she said aloud, to no one in particular, except for maybe Carole.

"Lorelai, I'm sor-"

"Lore, please call-"

"Rory, have your mom-"

"Lorelai, it's your mother," GAH! Her mother's voice scared her and made her drop the mail in her hand. She was expecting all the messages to be from Christopher, but having Emily call was an unpleasant surprise. "I just wanted to remind you that your father and I will be at the Vineyard all summer, so Friday Night Dinners are cancelled until we return. I didn't expect you to remember with all the cocktails you had at the wedding. Rory, have a wonderful time in Washington. Your grandfather and I are very proud. Oh, and bring Christo-"

Lorelai half listened, mostly deleted the rest of her messages, singing loudly with Carole on the chorus, "But it's too late baby, now it's too late." Maybe if she could sing loud enough, Christopher would hear all the way in Boston…

A few stragglers remained at the diner at 8 after the dinner rush. Luke didn't feel very busy. He let Jess and Caesar off early and handled the tables himself. Kirk was sitting at the counter, slowly nibbling a grilled cheese.

"Luke, can I have a quarter-caf?"

"Sure thing, Kirk." He inwardly smiled, remembering Lorelai's comment about four-fourths not caring. It was what he always thought of every time Kirk ordered a quarter-caf. Funny how some memories are triggered just like that.

He hadn't been able to get the dream from last night out of his head. It was now a permanent entity. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't piece together the events of a few nights before. Luke couldn't tell if the dream was a ghost of actual events, or if it was a fantasy.

His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing diner bells. As always, he looked up, not surprised when Lorelai walked through the door.

"Coffee, coffee, coffee!" She stated exuberantly, taking a seat near Kirk.

"How many cups have you had today?"

"Not nearly enough."

"That means you've had too much. How about some tea?"

"Try a quarter-caf," Kirk said, adding his two cents to the ever present bickering between the two friends.

"How 'bout just he coffee?" She asked, trying her best to become cute and doe-eyed.

"Fine, but don't think I always give up this easily." Luke walked over to the counter and poured her a cup. Taking both pots in hand, he refilled Kirk's mug, and glared at Lorelai when she held out her mug after only taking a sip.

"Please, sir, I wont some mo"

"Drink what's in there, then I'll give you whatever you want."

"Dirty! And heartless."

"Jeez."

After awhile, Kirk paid his bill and left the diner to return home to his mother. Lorelai was the only one at the counter. Silently, she lifted up her mug to show that it was empty. Luke sighed and rolled his eyes, but filled her mug.

"Angel!"

Another couple left the diner, and Luke decided to start his closing up ritual by counting his drawer. He was finding it hard to look Lorelai straight in the eye after the dream. She looked intoxicating that night. Her hair was loose and curly, and she was wearing nice jeans and a turquoise button-up shirt. He was curious as to why she was still at the diner, reading a magazine. Usually, with the exception of Friday nights, she would be at home by this time.

"You're here late tonight."

"Well, my house is a tad foreboding with no one else in it."

"Ah, you saw Rory off to Washington today. I almost forgot."

"Do you mind if I stay until you kick me out?" She asked, baby blues pleading. She suddenly felt more comfortable around Luke after the other night. A week ago, she never would have asked Luke if she could stay because she was lonely. Then again, a week ago they were still fighting. Something about that night had changed both of them, but she couldn't remember or place her finger on a particular transition. There was that dream from the night before. It made her fidgety remembering how close they were. Stop it, Lorelai! It was just a dream. Both signs of her brain had waged war against each other on this subject. Then, how do you explain the burn on your hand? She had pushed any thought of the dream out of her head all day, when she was with Rory, or listening to her messages, or working at the inn. Now, it was coming back in full force, ready to bite her in the ass.

"Yeah, sure. Do you want to help me close? Then we could have a beer." He couldn't turn her away with a look like that. Plus, he enjoyed her company. He could push thoughts of the dream aside to spend time with his lonely, daughter-less friend.

As a sign of confirmation, she stood up and abandoned her magazine. To test the waters, she stepped behind the counter. For the first time in the 5 or 6 some odd years that she knew Luke, he didn't growl at her. Instead, he handed her a wet rag. "Clean off the counter and the tables and I'll clean the grill."

Seeing it as a sign to leave, the last couple of people paid their bill and exited the diner. The two friends worked silently, but comfortably. Lorelai had been here so many times that she seemed to automatically know what to do. She bustled about, wiping off the surfaces and putting the chairs on top of the tables. When she had finished that task, she moved on to close the blinds. She had always been bad at closing blinds, the exact reason why there were no blinds at her house. "Luuuuuuukkkkkeee!" She called.

"You beckoned?"

"I can't close the blinds," She said helplessly. Luke chuckled, then pulled the cords and the blinds fell into place.

"I did that! You have misogynistic blinds!"

"No, you just can't close them."

It didn't take long to finish up their chores for the night, and Lorelai felt at a loss. She didn't want to go home quite yet. She secretly hoped Luke would let her stay longer. To test her friend again, she picked up her purse and magazine.

"Hey, I owe you a beer."

Lorelai's eyes lit up and she ditched her stuff on one of the tables, sitting down at the counter once again. Luke went to the storeroom and came back with two cold ones. For the second time in a matter of a few days, he sat beside her at the counter. They drank in a comfortable silence for awhile, when Lorelai remembered the night of Jackson and Sookie's first date. She and Luke played 5-card draw, and she kicked his ass! They never played again, obviously not remembering their drunken attempts from a few nights before.

"Hey, Luke. Remember that night when I came here after that awful double date and we played poker?"

"Yeah," he said tentatively. He remembered that night well. He had foolishly almost asked Lorelai out. That felt like so long ago. It was pre-Rachel returning, pre-Lorelai's engagement to Max, and pre-Jess coming into his life. So much had changed that he thought of that moment as foolish. They were friends, no matter what he had felt in the past. No matter what he dreamt…

"Do you still have those cards?"

Luke got up and went behind the counter and produced the cards, winning a big smile from Lorelai. "Wait just a minute." He said and went upstairs. Jess had the music up and he was reading on his bed. Ignoring his nephew, he grabbed the mason jar of coins on his dresser and made his way back down to Lorelai.

After returning to his seat, he shuffled the cards. He grabbed a handful of coins and gave them to Lorelai. After placing a pile in front of himself, he put the cards in his hand. "Five card draw, nothing's wild."

"You got it sailor" she mock saluted, speaking in her sexiest bimbo voice.

"Jeez," he responded, dealing the cards. He tossed a penny in the center and made sure she did the same. He watched her look at her cards, corners of her mouth drawn down and brows furrowed. She shook her head and put four of her cards down. "Four, please."

He had seen her do this the last time. She had an awful poker face. He gave her four cards, taking two for himself and watched her have the same reaction. He had a pair of kings, not a great hand in the scheme of things, but he wasn't too concerned about winning.

"Four more."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because that's cheating."

"Fine, jeez Maverick."

He made her start the betting, frivolously tossing coins on the pile. He met and upped the bet a few times, until he called, laying down his pair.

"Oh, you are good Brett," Luke sighed, and began to scoop up his winnings, but she placed her hand on top of his. "But, not good enough."

She laid down three of a kind and then squealed with delight as she used both hands to put her winnings into her pile. How the hell did that happen? She asked for four cards. Lucky son of a gun.

They played more rounds, more types of poker. They had another beer. Things were going well, both were enjoying themselves and each other's company. After awhile, Luke noticed a white scar on Lorelai's hand. No, it couldn't be. That was a dream. Luke grabbed her wrist while she was in mid-shuffle. He had to know, had to make sure.

"What did you do?"

The diner bells jingled and the unsuspecting couple jumped apart. Jess meandered into the diner, muttering something like "It's about time." Luke wasn't sure what to think anymore. Would he have gone through it? Did Lorelai want to kiss him. He wasn't so sure anymore. He grabbed a rag to dry his hands and handed it to Lorelai.. "Want another beer?"

He went back behind the curtain to grab more beers. He needed to get away from her, he needed to catch his breath. What the hell did he almost just do?

Lorelai paced in the diner, hand close to her chest. She had come to the diner for a cup of coffee and they ended up bitching about their failed relationships. What the hell almost happened? Would she have kissed him? Did he want to kiss her? She wasn't so sure. Way too many drinks tonight.

Luke return with the beers. She was lying on the floor and he sat down next to her.

"Truth or Dare?" She asked. He was confused, they were done with this game. "Truth."

"Did you just try to kiss me?"

"Yes." No sense lying, she would know. "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." Lorelai wasn't sure why she responded with a dare. She was still trying to digest what Luke just said.

"I dare you to kiss me."

"Um, I burned it on the toaster this morning." Bad lie, Lorelai. He's going to see right through that.

"You made toast this morning?" Luke didn't believe a word she just said. It was entirely possible that it happened the other night, but she didn't remember. Hell, he couldn't even tell if the dream was real.

"No, uh, it was a pop tart."

"But, you ate breakfast here this morning, with Rory." Oh God, he knows I'm lying!

"That was pre-breakfast." Good cover, you might get him on this. He let go of her hand and allowed her to deal.

"That's an odd angle to get a burn from the toaster." Damn!

"Ok, the name of the game is five card draw. Tens are wild."

Luke smiled, and picked up his cards. She doesn't know.

It was late, and Lorelai decided it was time to go when Luke yawned. She gathered up her stuff and turned toward Luke.

"Thanks for keeping me company. I should probably get home. This was fun."

"Yeah, it was," Luke said, slightly disappointed, but not showing it. "We should do this again sometime."

"Yeah, I'm going to be lonely for six whole weeks. I could use the company."

"Okay, we'll make plans later."

"Sounds good." Luke walked her to the door, and turned off the lights.

"Oh, hey," Lorelai said, a light bulb going off inside of her head, "You said that you had never seen Casablanca the other night. Rory is gone, and Sookie will still be on her honeymoon. Do you want to have a movie night with me. We usually have them on Fridays," That wasn't asking him out, was it? It's casual, between two friends. Just like tonight. The only problem is, Luke and I have never hung out like this.

"Yeah, okay. That sounds like a plan. Want me to bring some food?" He was a little surprised that Lorelai had asked him over like that without wanting something fixed. They had grown closer lately, so it was starting not to seem that unusual.

"YES!" She said a little too loudly.

"Okay, I'll see you on Friday then."

"Yes, Friday. Or before then, because, let's face it. A girl's gotta eat and drink coffee."

"Oh, yeah," Luke said, chuckling uncomfortably, "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Lorelai said. Luke held open the door for her. She tried to walk out, but forgot about the slight step and nearly fell. Luke caught her by the arm and she laughed.

"You okay?" He asked, laughing slightly.

"Me? Yeah, fine, good. See you tomorrow."

"Night Lorelai."

"Goodnight Luke."

A/N: I really don't have time for a long one, since I should be writing my paper. I at least have it all outlined out, so I just need to fill in the blanks. I am such a procrastinator! Hope you liked the slightly more L/L action. Anyway, I really did win all that money. Still hording it until I decide what to spend it on. Has anyone else preordered Season 5 yet? My cousin and I usually do that, then watch it together when I come home for the weekend. Reviews/ criticism/ suggestions welcome and wanted.