A/N: Okay, so I didn't really know where to go with this, so I tried. I'm sorry if it's not great, and if you imagined better, well then all the more power to you and ignore this.

After a while, the two girls got up and walked back to their booth, arm in arm. Lorelai took the time to prepare for her act – one she was now an expert at. Pretending Everything Was Fine. Honestly, I shoulda won an Oscar for this by now! She braced herself, and erected her defences, making them as strong as the Great Wall of China. Rory took the time to glance at her mother, worried about how she was going to deal with this, and also trying desperately to think how she could help. Before either of them knew it, the festival was over and the booth was packed up. Lorelai internally sighed, but the sharp glance from Rory indicated that it was not as internal as she thought.

"Just go and talk to him Mom. I'll be at home if you need me. Remember, he loves you." And with that, she gently pushed her Mom in the direction of the diner, leaving Lorelai no choice but to face him. No running this time was the implied message, and Lorelai received it loud and clear.

Standing outside of the dimly lit diner though, she took a moment. It was always harder to hide her emotions from Luke, he knew her too well. Hiding things is what got us here in the first place. Again. But it's not fair to him. This isn't MY problem; he made sure of that she thought spitefully. She heaved one more sigh, made sure the wall had no peepholes, and walked in. She made a beeline for the counter and sat down, waiting for Luke.

Luke was upstairs in his apartment when he heard the bells. He knew who it was; he just wasn't sure what he should do. Should I tell her I overheard her and Rory? Should I let her put up the walls? How do I deal with this? This wasn't in the book… He sighed and made his way downstairs, not surprised to see Lorelai in her spot on the counter. He was surprised however to see the hunched shoulders and the timidness that she radiated. He automatically took out her cup and filled it with coffee, setting it down in front of her. Without looking up, she took it and drank. Here we go they both thought at the same time. However, the diner remained silent long after the coffee had been drunk. The empty cup was being continually turned by Lorelai's nervous hands. She had been silent too long, and that worried him.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, concern filling his voice. That made her look up, but as soon as she did her eyes flew back to the coffee cup. That was safer.

"Yea… I'm fine" Her tone betrayed her though. Damn this is too hard! Why is this so hard? Why can't I be there for him? Before she could make it stop, words trickled out of her mouth.

"What's her mom's name?" she quietly asked. Luke was surprised at the question, he knew she wasn't fine, but decided to go along. She'll tell me when she's ready.

"Anna"

"What's she like?" Oh boy Luke thought. Where is she going with this?

"Well, she's … nice I guess. I met her after Rachel broke up with me the first time. We didn't go out for long, I mean, she's a nice person, it's just, she wasn't it. We didn't even end it really, or at least I didn't consciously end it. We just sorta….stopped seeing each other." He quietly replied, now wishing that either she'd look up at him, or he at least had something to do with his hands. Instead, he settled for leaning against the counter, playing with his fingers. Lorelai still hadn't looked up, and a fair bit of silence passed before the next hesitant question came.

"Are you…are you going to go back to her? To be a family?" This was said even quieter, with tears lurking close in the background.

"No! No Lorelai I'm not leaving. Why would you ask that?" Luke was shocked at this. Even with the overheard conversation, he thought he had made his intentions clear. This was completely out of left field. He stilled the spinning coffee cup and grabbed at her hands. When they touched, she made an involuntary gasp and tensed, but didn't pull her hands away. Eventually he got an answer, typically longwinded.

"When Rory was growing up, sometimes, like Father's Day and her birthday, I really wanted Chris to be there. To be a family. The whole package. And now, with April… you're Christopher. No no" at this her head was shaking back and forth, causing the first round of pent up tears to slide down her cheeks. "I mean, you're in Christopher's place. I know you're not like Chris, you're there, and dependable, and trust worthy, and always want to do the right thing and…" she trailed off, no longer being able to continue. Luke freed one of is hands and gently placed it on her chin, forcing her to look up.

"Lorelai I'm not leaving. It didn't work between me and Anna. She didn't tell me about April because she didn't even know for sure if I was the father. We're too different. I want to be here, with you. I'm not leaving." He enforced his statements by gently wiping the tears away. But yet again, he was in for a surprise. Angrily, Lorelai freed her hands and pushed him away.

"So then if you're staying why did you jump at postponing the wedding? Why didn't you trust me to help you with the April situation? Why did you say YOUR place? Am I Nicole?" She was sobbing now. Luke had known this was coming; this was what she said to Rory on the bridge. But he still didn't know how to comfort her without pushing her away. But I have to try.

"No, Lorelai, you're not Nicole. When I said my place, I meant the diner. I knew we had to talk, and this seems to be the place where we have serious conversations. Lorelai, do you remember the night that Rory came back? When you came in here?" Confused by the change in topic, and also by his tone, Lorelai stopped crying and looked up, nodding slightly and urging him with his eyes to continue.

"That night, that night was the night I found out about April. I was planning on telling you right away, but then you bounded in, and you were so happy. I hadn't seen you that happy since she left. And I knew that if I told you then, that it'd wreak it. It'd wreak your happiness that night, and you deserved to celebrate. So I didn't tell you." At this, the waterworks had started again, but this time it was Lorelai who reached out and grasped his hands, holding them so tight to make sure he'd never go.

"After a while, after having Rory back was normal, it just got easier to not tell you I guess. It was a hard topic to bring up. Then the wedding plans started, and I felt that I was holding something back. I mean, I WAS holding something back. We were supposed to tell each other everything, and I couldn't tell you that I had a kid! What does that say about our relationship? Why couldn't I tell you? What's wrong with me?" Luke slipped into rant mode, and now Lorelai understood. She understood what he meant when he said it was all too fast. She understood and now was her chance to be there for him. She took her hand and cupped Luke's cheek, forcing him to look into her teary eyes.

"Luke, Luke it's not your fault. It's nobody's fault. I understand. You didn't tell me about your daughter because mine had just come back. I get it. I'm so sorry that you couldn't tell me. It is a hard topic to broach, I get that too. I'm here. I'll help. Let me help. You can tell me anything, no matter how hard it is or when, okay? I'm there for you. Its okay, Luke." She got up off the stool and slowly made her way around the counter, hugging him and whispering "It's going to be okay." This comforted Luke more than anything else, and they stood there, healing the wounds, showing that they were there for each other. After a while, Luke pulled back to look in her eyes, and said

"I'm not holding back now." Hope had begun to shine in Lorelai's eyes, but she cautiously replied

"Are you sure?" Luke just looked at her and nodded. Confidence was prevalent in his expression, and joy.

"June 3 sounds like a good day for a wedding" he replied. Lorelai's face lit up with joy, and then they kissed, sealing the deal and one step closer to June 3.

End