Luke reached forward and turned off the radio. He inhaled deeply and collected his thoughts. "Lorelai." he spoke softly. Lorelai opened her eyes and looked over at Luke. "I'm so sorry about what happened to you tonight." Lorelai began to interject, but Luke didn't allow it. "Don't." he replied quickly. "I know what you're going to say. I have something I need to tell you. I have loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you, Lorelai." He began to focus directly on the road and speaking as if he was practicing a monologue for a play. "I'm not sure who this Chris guy is, or what exactly he is trying to do. All I know is that he hurt you. I never want you to be hurt again." Luke paused. "When we get to wherever it is we're going, I want to know what happens next."

"We find a place to live... jobs..." Lorelai replied faintly, not fully understanding the depth of the conversation.

"I'm talking about marriage." Luke bluntly stated.

Suddenly, Lorelai's attention was caught. "Marriage? Luke, we're only sixteen."

Luke's eyes narrowed. "So, we can't get married because we're sixteen, but we can have sex together, runaway together, live together..."

"That's not what I'm saying." Lorelai defended. "Marriage is a huge thing." Lorelai's voice became higher. "That's a commitment for a lifetime."

"I'm willing to make that commitment, Lorelai." Luke retorted. "The moment I pulled into your drive way with a suitcase in the back of my truck, I was prepared to make that commitment. If you can't say the same thing about me, then maybe I really am crazy. Maybe I am an idiot for letting you drag me along with you."

"Drag you along with me?" Lorelai repeated. "Are you serious?"

"Well, this was your idea."

"No one forced you to come."

"You called me."

Lorelai's face stiffened. "I called you because I knew you would help me."

"I will always help you." Luke replied. "I'll do anything I can for you. But I want to know there is something more. Something larger than this."

"I don't know if there is." Lorelai answered honestly. "I hope there is..."

Luke sighed. "I'll wait for you as long as I can."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked as she leaned closer to Luke.

"It means, I won't wait around forever for you to figure out if you want to be with me or not. I don't want to take you away from your home and your family and go through all these life changing events with you, just to have you dump me for some other guy when we get to our safe haven."

"I see." Lorelai concluded. "Well, Luke, I can't give you an answer."

"That is an answer, Lorelai." Luke replied.

Suddenly, Lorelai saw a side of Luke that she had never met. A side that had needs. A side that was selfish and demanding. It became clear after that moment what she needed to do.

"Can you pull over at the next gas station?" Lorelai asked.

"Sure." Luke replied as he leaned forward and turned the radio on again, then he sank back into his seat and stared aimlessly down the dark empty highway.

Richard has slid off his slippers and was crawling into bed as Christopher finally built up his courage.

"Richard." he began. "I've been thinking."

"Oh, dear." Richard teased.

Chris chuckled. "Seriously, I have been."

"Well, about what?" Richard asked as he positioned himself in his tiny bed to become more comfortable.

"Pardon me if this is out of my bounds, but perhaps we should just..."

"Just?" Richard asked staring deadly across the room at Chris.

"Just let them be together." Chris finally announced.

Richard's eyes widened and his face became very serious. "Luke and Lorelai?" he clarified.

"Well, they've been out running us for days. It's obvious they want to be together. We could chase them for months and never catch them. And even if we did catch them, how could we bring them home, or keep them apart?"

Richard took a deep breath. "You really have been thinking." he replied. "Christopher, that is my daughter, my only child. It pains me immensely to see her run off with some renegade. I had such high hopes and dreams for her." Richard looked down at the floor and then allowed his eyes to rise back up to Chris. "I only want what is best for her."

"I understand that. I admire you so much." Chris replied. "I only hope I can become half the man you are and half the father." Chris sat down on his bed in front of Richard. "If she wants to come home, she will. I know you miss Emily. I miss my family as well. We shouldn't think of it as giving up, yet, we should consider it a sensible decision."

Richard slowly nodded. "She'll be seventeen soon. She's nearly grown, that one. I've tried to convince myself she will always need me, but she makes it clear every day that she doesn't."

"She'll always need her father, Richard. Everyone does." Chris smiled.

"You're a fine young man, Christopher." Richard smiled. "You'll make some lucky girl very happy."

Chris blushed. "Thank you, sir."

"Well, I suppose we'll leave for Hartford in the morning." Richard concluded.

"I really think it's for the best."

"I must say, I agree." Richard replied. "Good night, Christopher." Richard reached over and turned off the lamp that was sitting on his night stand. Christopher crawled under his own covers and soon drifted into a calm, self-satisfied sleep.

As Luke had promised, he pulled off at the next gas station. It was nearly 1:00 am and sleep was beginning to overpower him.

"We'll just rest here tonight. I need some sleep." he replied as he pushed the truck in park.

"Okay." Lorelai replied softly as she stepped out of the truck.

Luke leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes. Lorelai gazed at him from outside the truck. She gently reached in the back of the truck and pulled out her suitcase.

"Bye, Luke." She whispered as she headed down the long stretch of highway. Lorelai had never meant to cause Luke any problems or heartache, but apparently he was looking for way more than she was capable of giving. This way, he could go home to the small town he loved and she could go to wherever it was she needed to be. California would be a very long walk, it was time to find a new promise land. A place more accessible and less surreal. Wherever it was she going, she decided she needed no man to help her get there.