Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.

Luke did his best to keep that Jacob kid and his beat-up looking red bike in his line of vision. Lucky for him, where ever they were headed didn't seem to contain too many turns. He tried not to sprint after the kid, not wanting to chance letting Jacob realize he was being followed. The kid might think he was some sort of psycho and try to loose him. 'Hell,' Luke thought, 'I am some sort of psycho.' Trailing some kid on a bicycle really hadn't been on his list of things to do today but then again what about the day actually had? It had all been so insane Luke had given up making sense out of it. In fact, he was starting to chalk all the madness up to some crazy dream. He'd wake up soon, back in his dark, musty room, beer cans covering the bed, and one hell of a hang over. He was sure of it. But, he thought as his lungs began inhaling the smoggy New York air in sharper, quicker breaths, he couldn't shake the feeling he had somewhere deep down in his gut. He felt…well, he just felt close, which was something he hadn't felt in years. Close to finding her, close to finding himself, close to living. Maybe it was all dream, maybe he'd wake up and go back to his life of sensical nothingness, but until then, until he woke up, he got to feel close, and at this point it just felt so good to feel anything at all that Luke let himself pursue it, real or not.

He hadn't been keeping track too closely but his best guess was they'd traveled about seven blocks south of the coffee shop and three or four blocks west…or was it east? He ventured to take his eyes off the bike for a few seconds to study the sky and sun above him. No, it was west, he'd been right. Another two blocks south and one block west, with Luke always a safe block and half behind the bike, Jacob stopped outside a small red brick building in a residential area. It didn't seem to be the best part of town but Luke would have bet quite readily that it wasn't the worst part either. He remained on the opposite side of the street as he closed the distance between himself and the now parked bicycle. He kept waiting for the boy to go inside or make some sort of move so he could get closer to the building and figure out what it was but Jacob did nothing but wait outside the metal gate. Luke was running out of sidewalk space on his side of the street so he bent down behind a blue mailbox on the corner as if to tie his shoelace. From this angle he could see the building a little better and spotted playground equipment behind it. It didn't look big enough to be a school building but then again who was he to say?

"Hey mister, how long is it gonna take you to tie your shoe?"

Luke turned his gaze from the building to the source of the voice. Standing over him was a boy, not more than eight, maybe nine, with short dark hair and his hands on his hips. "Well," Luke stammered for an answer…stupid kid was going to blow his cover, this is why he didn't like kids, they without fail had the worse timing. "you gotta make sure it's nice and tight," he finally finished, tugging his laces extra hard for effect.

The boy's brown eyes looked him up and down. "Ya know, you oughta try the bunny method…it works."

"Uh," Luke didn't know what he was supposed to say to that. The bunny method? Was this a serious conversation? "Sure, I'll ah, I'll keep that in mind." There was a pause as the two continued to stare at each other-- Luke crouched on the cement, the young boy hovering over him. 'Go away kid,' Luke's mind begged, 'go away.' He gazed back down at his shoe and made a show of double knotting it thinking that maybe when he looked back up the boy would be gone. Tilting his head upwards he sighed—no such luck. "Do you need something kid?" he asked finally, glancing nervously in the direction of the building where Jacob still stood, coffee in hand.

"You're blockin the mailbox," the boy stated plainly.

Luke for the first time saw the white envelope sticking out of the boy's jeans pocket. Damn kid. "Oh," he said trying to figure out how to get rid of him, "well why don't you just hand it to me and I'll put it in when I'm done here?"

The kid shook his head. "I gotta do it."

"What you think I'm gonna steal you're letter?"

"It's important."

"Come on kid, gimme the letter."

"No. My mom said I had to do it."

Luke shot one last look across the street where Jacob still stood alone. "Alright," he sighed getting to his feet. He stepped aside and watched the boy jump for the top of the box. "Aw, jeez," Luke muttered. "You're gonna hurt yourself. Here," he said as he lifted him up by the waist so he could drop the letter in.

"Thanks mister," the boy said as Luke put him back down.

"Uh, yeah," Luke said still gazing at the mailbox. He had seen letters like that before…years ago when he would go visit Liz. They had something to do with welfare or food stamps or something…Luke couldn't remember exactly. He looked back at the boy with new found sympathy. "So how come your mom wanted you to mail it?" he ventured.

The boy shrugged. "She's sick again."

"Oh."

"I should get back to her," he gestured toward the building across the street.

"She's there?" Luke asked, puzzled.

The boy nodded. "We're living there right now." They both turned at the sound of the door opening from across the street.

"Ty!" a woman's voice called.

At the sound of his name the boy took off across the street, running up to the metal gate. Luke ducked back behind the mailbox. He was pretty sure his heart stopped.

"Ty, you know you're not supposed to go out alone, you need to ask me."

"I'm sorry…but hey, I had Justin and Matt order you more coffee!"

"Again," Jacob put in light heartedly.

And then Luke heard it. She laughed. He kept his back leaning up against the cool metal box, afraid to turn and look, as if even peering from behind the edge might get him spotted, or worse, make the scene across the street somehow disappear. As her laughter drifted up into the cloudless sky he struggled to breathe. No matter what happened in his life from here on out he knew he would never be able to erase the image of watching that door open and her step outside, brown curls blown back by the wind, voice as clear and sweet as ever. He had seen her. He could hear her. After two years of hell the woman that had put him there was just a few yards away.

"Yeah, well, I guess it is time for a little spruce." God, he never talked to anyone about his father. Why was he talking to her about all this?

"Yeah, it is" She paused ever so slightly before grinning at him. " But let's not spruce this particular spot."

He smiled back. Yeah that was why. She was crazy, she was goofy, she drove him nuts until he thought he might exploded and then she found ways just to annoy him more…and she was perfect. And that was why, that was why he would talk to her, tell her things he'd never told anyone, things he'd barely even said to himself. He would have bared his soul to her. But all he said in reply was, "That sounds good."

"Okay." She looked at him. He began to get up. They had been sitting on the ground it only made sense to get up…

"Oh, jeez…" he groaned as he saw Taylor and the town gathering outside his store front.

" No, no, don't get up." She was pulling him back down to the floor where she was still seated.

He didn't understand. " But if I don't get up—"

"They'll go away. They'll go away, trust me. Shh." She pulled down harder and this time he obeyed as Taylor continued rattling the doorknob and knocking on the window.

Luke inwardly rolled his eyes as he listened to Taylor rambling on " What are they doing? They should be in there. Just imagine it all in pastels. The whole thing." But with nothing to see the excitement soon died and one by one the Stars Hallow nutcases went back to their regular, crazy lives.

He couldn't believe it, they'd left. Just like that. He turned to her. " Thank you," he said softly, referring to Taylor but somehow…well somehow he knew he meant for more.

" You're welcome," she replied with a smile that could have melted him. His breath caught a bit and his eyes wouldn't let themselves be torn away from hers. He thought if he could stare just a few moments longer he really might see straight into her soul, they were that clear, that blue. And although he might have imagined it he was sure she was staring back at him. But then, as if on cue, he heard her whisper, " I should go." And he let her.

Sitting there behind the mailbox on some street in Brooklyn he didn't even know the name of Luke's heart raced. How many times had he done that? How many times had he just let her go? Let her go because it made sense, because he thought he had to, because he didn't know what to do to stop her? How many times?

He shifted his leg and felt the horoscope crinkle slightly in his pocket. Luck…he sure as hell needed luck. If it was going to come one day he prayed like hell it would be that day.

Her voice broke his train of thought as he heard it drifting over from across the street. "Thanks Jacob, sorry if they bothered you…"

"Nah, it's no bother."

"I do appreciate this though." He could hear her smiling, he could actually hear it.

"Long day?"

"No, no, not long…that makes it sound so unbearable." She laughed again. "Just a lot going on today. A lot of people going through a lot of really hard times…"

"Yeah, I'm actually glad I can't relate to that kind of pain," he said offhandedly. "Ya know?" he questioned after she didn't respond.

"Oh," she sounded like she had been lost in thought. "Yeah." Luke noticed she actually sounded sad.

"So you'll stop by on you're way home from work? I'll tell Jen to have your usual ready?" Luke heard him climb back on the bike.

"Of course," she responded, sadness covered up, if Luke wondered, it had really been there at all. She began off-tune, "You know, it's a five o'clock world when the whistle blows…"

Jacob laughed as he road off. "See you then Lorelai."

Luke glanced at his watch. He had until five o'clock.