Disclaimer: I do not own nor do I have any association with the Gilmore Girls or any of its characters. Dreaming about them is a totally different thing...
Chapter 15- I still care
"So how'd your date go with Lorelai on Friday?" Kevin asked as they headed down the hall.
"Fun. A little eventful, but fun," Luke replied.
"I heard Coach Clark busted you two on the field," Jackson said.
"Were you guys doing something dirty?" Andrew asked.
"No. It was all one big misunderstanding. I took her to the field and coach caught us dancing," Luke explained.
"Were you horizontal?" Kevin teased.
"No! We were dancing. Regular, non-sexual dancing. I took her to Sniffy's for dinner, then…"
"You took her to Sniffy's? You don't take anyone to Sniffy's," Kirk remarked.
"She's not just anyone. She's special and I really like her," Luke said sheepishly.
"We can tell," Andrew said.
"And we're happy for you Luke." Kevin added as he patted his friend on the back. "So, you two crazy kids going out again?"
"Yeah," Luke replied. "We talked on the phone over the weekend, but we didn't exactly set a date to go out."
"Score," Jackson teased. "Hey, what did you dad have to say about Lorelai? I mean, he knows she has a kid right?"
"He knows. From what he's heard about her from me and Liz, he likes her."
"You talking about me?" Lorelai asked jokingly as she and the other girls walked up from behind.
"Of course!" Luke said sarcastically. "Because God forbid the world revolve around anything other than you."
"Glad you finally come to your senses Danes."
"It was bound to happen." Luke smiled at Lorelai. "Hey."
"Hey. I have a question for you. Since we get out early on Wednesday, do you wanna come over and help me get Rory's very first Christmas tree?"
"Ah jeez. I have baseball practice on Wednesday. I can come over afterwards though."
"Good. It's a plan."
"Oh this is so exciting!" Sookie squealed. "You two making plans and acting all funny. I love it!"
Luke stared awkwardly at Sookie for a moment. "So, Lorelai," he said turned toward Lorelai again. "Are you and Rory spending Christmas alone?"
"We're going to my parents' Christmas party next weekend, but we'll be at the inn on the actual holiday. Do you want to come over on Christmas Eve or something?"
"Actually, my family's coming to town Christmas Eve. I was kinda hoping you'd spend Christmas with me…and my family. You could, uh, meet my, uh, my…dad."
Everyone let out a gasp. "You're gonna introduce her to your dad?" Gypsy asked.
"Dude, you waited like a year and a half to introduce Rachel to him," Andrew remarked.
"And it was an accident," Sookie added. "She walked into the hardware store looking for you and you caved in."
"Gosh gee golly Wolly, do you really wanna introduce her to your pa already?" Kevin joked.
Sarah rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. "I think what the Beav is trying to say is: don't you think you're moving a little too fast? You guys just start dating and you already want to introduce her to your dad? No offense Lorelai, we love you and all, but this isn't Luke Danes behavior."
"Actually," Luke interrupted, getting a little angry with his friends butting into his business. "My father asked me to invite Lorelai so he could meet her. It was his idea."
"Luke," Lorelai said, touching his arm knowing he was getting angry. "I would love to spend the holiday with you and your family."
"Good. I'll tell my dad."
"So, tree hunting Wednesday."
"Tree hunting Wednesday. I'll be there."
Present Day
Rory headed to the bookstore. She stopped and waved at Andrew, who was sitting behind the counter. She remembered seeing him a lot when she was little- Jackson too. But as the years went by, she saw less and less of Luke's "best friends." Andrew acknowledged her with a nod and went back to his own book. Sure enough, in the corner of the room was her fifteen year old sister Kelly. The teenager was so wrapped up in her book, she didn't hear Rory walk up behind her. "What ya reading?" Rory asked suddenly.
"Ah jeez!" Kelly gasped. "Rory! Don't do that!"
"If I didn't, I wouldn't get this fun reaction from you."
"You call a heart attack fun?"
"I need to ask you something," Rory said as she took a seat next to her sister.
"Let me get over my seizure first. Hey, I thought you weren't coming home…"
"Until next week. I know. I came to surprise you guys. Now can I ask my question?"
"As long as it doesn't have to do with me breaking any laws or doing something to one of our siblings. Mom and Dad are still mad about the time we tried to ship Mikey to the Philippines."
"Ok, we were what? Twelve and seven? At least we gave him air holes. When Dad tried to send Aunt Liz away in a box, he didn't give her air holes."
"Yeah, but I don't think he was expecting her to be sent back. We just wanted that candy, which I found out they sell at this oriental store in Litchfield."
"Really? I'll drive us down there later and we can get some."
"Didn't you want to ask me something?" Rory's face turned serious. She leaned over the table and motioned for her sister to come closer so she could whisper to her. "I like whispering. Is this gossip? We're like the Patty and Babette of the next generation. I call being Babette."
"I need you to be serious Kel. I need to know if Mom and Dad have been acting…different."
"Not really. They're still all lovey-dovey in front of everyone."
"In front of everyone as in the town, but what about at home?"
"I don't know. I guess they're the same. Sometimes they seem tense around each other, but nothing out of the norm."
"So everything is normal?"
"As far as normal goes with them. Well, there was that time…never mind. It's probably nothing."
"No, what time?"
"There was once when I got home from practice early and I sorta walked in on them…I don't know. I might be wrong, but I think they were fighting. Mom threw her shoe at Dad. They said they were just playing around, but it looked so real. Why are you asking? Do you know something I don't? Rory, spill."
"You'd know more than I would. I just got this feeling."
"Oh. No. Is it the gut?"
"Journalistic intuition. It just seems like every move they make around each other, everything they say to each other is rehearsed." Rory spotted the worry in her sister's eyes. She knew that look too well. "But I could be wrong."
"Yeah. I mean, come on, it's Mom and Dad. She pants him once just so she could get a head start to the kitchen for coffee. And there was the time he called everyone in town and the three surrounding counties and told them not to give her any coffee. Then there was the time she threw everything at him for practically no reason."
"Oh yeah. That was when she was…" Rory paused. "You know what. You're probably right. I'm probably just being paranoid."
"If they're fighting, not that I'm saying they are, do you think it could be about…"
"I never thought about it. It's been almost a year since…"
"They were really sad. I think Dad was on antidepressants."
"Let's…let's talk about something else."
"You hear about Patty's story hour?"
"They're telling Mom and Dad's 'story'."
"It's a three parter."
"I'm not surprised. You try squeezing twenty years into an hour."
"Hey, do you think Patty will bring up…the accident?"
"I hope not. It was hard enough trying to live through it once. If Mom and Dad tried to do it again, I don't think they'd make it."
1984
Lorelai hurried to the door. When she opened it, Luke stood on the other side. They were supposed to go Christmas tree shopping, but seeing him now brought those chances down. He looked so tired.
"Hey, are you ok?" she asked as she helped him into the house.
"I'm fine," Luke replied as he sat on the couch.
"You look tired. What happened?"
"Remember how I told you I would deal with Coach Clark so he wouldn't report us?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I dealt with him. I just got finished running twenty laps around the entire baseball field, bleachers and all. No break, no water, no cutting corners."
"Oh my God. Are you ok?"
"I'm a little tired, but I'll be ok."
"We don't have to get the tree today."
"No. I promised to get you the tree. We're going to get the tree. I just need to…rest my eyes for a minute. You go get ready and we'll go."
"Are you sure?"
"Hey, I'm not breaking my promise. It's not way to start a relationship. Now, go. Get ready."
"Ok. I'm just gonna get my coat and put a jacket on Rory."
"I'll be right here."
Lorelai walked to the other side of the room and put Rory's jacket on. She put her in the stroller while she went to the closet to get her own jacket. She headed back over to Luke as she was putting her jacket on.
"Ok Luke, we're all ready to…" she trailed off when saw Luke fast asleep. She sighed and laughed to herself. He looked so cute sleeping. She took his boots off and maneuvered his body so he was laying on the couch. She put a blanket over his body and picked up his baseball cap that had fallen on the floor. She ran her fingers through his hair and smiled before leaning over and kissing his cheek.
She walked back over to Rory, took her out of the stroller, and out of her jacket. She sat down in one of the table chairs with Rory in her lap and they watched Luke sleep. "What are we gonna do with him Rory?" she joked. Rory giggled. "So what do you think? Is he a keeper?" Rory smiled and clapped her hands. "Yeah. I think so too."
Present Day
One hundred and forty-four. There were one hundred and forty-four fire and ice roses and one guilty diner man surrounding Lorelai. For once, she was speechless.
"Lorelai, let me explain," Luke said as he took a step closer to Lorelai.
"Why are you doing this to me?" she asked shakily as she took a step back.
"Lorelai…"
"Why are you making this harder than it has to be?" Luke stared at his wife. It was his turn to be speechless. After long moments of silence, Lorelai shook her head and ran past Luke.
He stood in the room by himself, staring at the roses. "Because I still care," he answered Lorelai's question to the roses. He walked over to the table and sat down, burying his face in his hands. He wanted to make things better, but he may have just made them worse.
1984
It was dark when Luke finally woke up. He rolled over in attempt to fall asleep again, but he just fell off the couch. "God…ah jeez," he groaned. He looked around and realized he was just on a couch and he wasn't at home.
Lorelai sat up in her bed and looked down at Luke. "Luke? Are you ok?" she asked.
"What am I still doing here?"
Lorelai got out of bed and walked over to him. "You fell asleep. You looked so tired I didn't want to wake you."
Luke sat up, leaning against the couch. "My dad's gonna kill me."
"I already called Liz and told her you were here. She's gonna tell your dad you're spending the night on my couch." Lorelai sat next to him on the floor, putting the blanket over them.
"Oh, he's gonna have a field day with this one. Wait a minute. Your tree. Ah jeez. We were supposed to get you a tree. I'm sorry Lorelai."
"It's ok."
"No. I promised you I'd get you a tree."
"Forget about the tree Luke. I don't really need it anyway. I'm spending Christmas with you."
"Yeah, but…"
"No buts."
"What time is it?"
"Ten thirty."
"Man it's late."
"Yeah. Come on. Let's go back to bed." Luke was about to get back on the couch when Lorelai stopped him. "I said let's go to bed. The bed is over there." She took him by the hand and brought him to her bed.
"You want me to sleep with you in your bed?" he asked hesitantly.
"It's not like we're doing anything. What? Do you not trust me?"
It wasn't that he didn't trust Lorelai, because he did. He didn't trust himself. But it was getting harder and harder to refuse Lorelai when she was looking at him with those puppy dog eyes. He let out a sigh. "You want the right or the left?"
"Left."
Luke walked over to the other side of the bed and got in. The bed was just big enough for two- of course they were a little squished but it didn't bother them much. Lorelai lifted her head and Luke placed his arm under her. He wrapped his other arm around her waist.
"Feels good," Lorelai smiled.
"Feels perfect," Luke said. He kissed the back of her head and they drifted off into sleep.
Next time on "The Broken Road": The next chapter will take place in 1984 entirely- Lorelai attends her parents' Christmas party. Later on, she spends Christmas Eve with the Danes family- and a few other guests.
A/N: I was tossed up between how Lorelai's reaction should be to the roses. I did a compromise and I hope it was ok. Ok, I dropped hints like crazy in this one. There are clues lingering on practically on every word here! Ok, maybe not every word, but there are a lot and I'll admit some of them are really hard to find. Now for a shameless plug! I got bored and created a website for my stories. A permanent home if you would. My fan fictions will be the heart of it and I invite you to check it out and post your fics. It's a growing site so I'm also looking for some help managing it. Email me if you're interested. The website is dinergirl(dot)proboards42(dot)com.
