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 19- Let's Talk
Jess lay awake in bed. It was still dark, but his eyes had become adjusted to the darkness and could make out the outline of various objects in the room. He was always awake before the sun was up. It'd become a habit he couldn't break no matter what he did to prevent it. He stayed in bed for a few more minutes until he couldn't take it anymore. He tossed off the covers and headed downstairs to the kitchen. He was surprised to see Luke rummaging through the refrigerator, though he knew Luke was always up at four thirty in the morning. Luke turned around when he heard Jess walk in.
"Sorry, I couldn't sleep," Jess said as he started to back out of the room. Luke was just staring at him. He didn't look mad, but he didn't look happy either. "I was just gonna…never mind. I'll just go back upstairs. Sorry to bother you…"
"Jess, wait," Luke called. Jess walked back into the kitchen. "You had to have come down here for something."
"Yeah. I, um, couldn't sleep so I was gonna make some…coffee."
Luke rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. "That stuff'll kill you."
"Well, that'll be one less burden you've got to deal with."
Luke watched Jess as he made some coffee. "Let's cut to the chase Jess. Why'd you come? I mean, I haven't seen or heard from you in two years."
"Rory asked me to come. She said it was very important that I was here for this. Your party thing that is." There was no use in lying to Luke. He hated him enough already.
"How long have you and Rory been keeping in touch?"
"A year." Luke froze. "She told me about the accident."
"You knew and you still didn't come. You did nothing to let me know you knew. No phone call, no email, no letter. Nothing. I knew you hated me, but I didn't think that much." Luke looked down at his hands and played with his wedding ring. "You don't like me very much and I'm not to fond of you right now, but it's important to Rory that we get along. I wanna call a truce Jess. From this moment until you leave, I say we put everything behind us and try to get along for Rory."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think you're right."
"Well that's a first." Luke held his hand out to Jess. "Truce?"
Jess sighed and shook his uncle's hand. "Truce."
"Good. Now go change."
"Change? For what?"
"Fishing. You can't go like that."
"Fishing? Whoa there. No. I never agreed to fishing. No. I can't fish."
"You want a place to stay for the next week and a half?"
"Yeah, but…"
"Then get your butt upstairs and change. You, me, and Mikey are going fishing. Hurry up. We need to leave in twenty minutes."
1985
Lorelai shut her eyes and took a deep breath, breathing in the cold, crisp air. She loved snow. Ever since she was a little girl, she loved to play in and smell the snow. She had decided it was magic when she was four. The snow almost always came with something great. Two months ago it was Rory and Luke. Who knew what today's snow would bring.
"It's freezing out here," Luke groaned as he stepped out onto the porch. He was wearing three layers of shirts and carried his letterman jacket. He draped his letterman on Lorelai's shoulders. "You're going to get sick standing out here."
"I love the snow," Lorelai smiled as she took another breath. "Don't you love the snow Luke?"
"No. What's so appealing about frozen water falling from the sky? What I don't understand is why we're standing outside during a snow storm when it's twenty degrees below zero."
"We're enjoying the snow. Something magical happens when it snows."
"Is it frostbite? If it is, the magic is going to spread to my special place."
"When I was four, my dad was supposed to go on a business trip on Christmas day. There was a snow storm and he couldn't go, so he got to spend Christmas with me and my mom. And it was snowing the day Rory was born." She turned around and smiled at Luke. "It was snowing the day I met you."
Luke smiled. "Ok, so maybe it's not that bad."
Lorelai walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You know, it is kinda cold out here."
"Really? Because I think it's starting to heat up." He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down to kiss her. "Now that's magic."
Suddenly, the door opened and William appeared at the door. "What are you two doing? It's friggin' freezing out there! I'd get the hose, but you two would be stuck like that for hours. Come on in so we can have dinner already."
Luke and Lorelai followed William back into the house. It was Lorelai's only night off this week and Luke insisted she have dinner with him and his family. It was his father's idea really. William loved having Lorelai around because she brought out a side of his son he had never seen. Carrie had come to dinner too to watch Luke. After dinner, Luke helped Lorelai get ready to go back to the inn. They headed to the door and when they opened it a huge gust of the coldest wind either of them ever felt came threw the door. Luke pulled Lorelai close to him and they ran out to his truck as fast as they could. Luke tried starting the car, but it just made a weird noise.
"Luke, I'm not trying to get on your nerves or anything, but do you think you can hurry this up?" Lorelai asked half jokingly as she clutched her jacket- well, Luke's letterman.
"I'm trying here," he sighed. He turned the key again, but nothing happened. "Come on. Start damn it, start!"
"It won't start? Why won't it start?"
"I don't know. Don't move. I'm gonna take a look under the hood."
"Dirty."
Luke rolled his eyes as he got out of the truck and inspected it. Lorelai knew something was wrong when she heard Luke yelling at and kicking the truck. He slammed the hood and got back in. "The engine's frozen."
"What does that mean?"
"It means the engine's frozen. Oh and we're snowed in. The snow's up to my ass out there. So even if I magically unfroze the engine, we wouldn't be able to get three inches out of this spot."
"So what now?"
"Well the first thing we need to do is go back inside the house before we freeze."
Luke and Lorelai got out of the truck and ran back to the house with Rory. Liz was shocked to see Luke and Lorelai in the foyer when she was coming down the stairs. "I thought you were dropping Lorelai off. What happened?" Liz asked.
"We're snowed in," Luke replied simply as he took Rory out of her car seat.
"So what does that mean?"
"Yeah, what does it mean Luke?" Lorelai asked.
"You and Rory will have to spend the night," Luke replied. "It's all we can do."
"Ok. Put Rory in the nursery and I'll kick Carrie out of the guest room and Lorelai," Liz said.
"Ah jeez. I forgot Carrie's here."
"I don't wanna kick her out," Lorelai offered.
"No, it's ok Lorelai," Liz said. "Carrie can stay in my room. It's fine."
"Lorelai can stay in my room. I'll take the couch," Luke said.
"Luke…" Lorelai started to protest, but Luke interrupted her.
"I've crashed on the couch plenty of times. I'll be fine."
"No, Luke. I'm definitely not putting you out of your own room."
"Well you're not staying on the couch."
"What do you suppose we do then? Sleep together in the same room?"
"Sure." Liz and Lorelai looked at Luke in shock. "My bed's big enough for two people."
"Wouldn't your dad be mad that I'm sleeping in your room?"
"No."
Lorelai thought about Luke's suggestion for a minute. There so many reasons she wanted to agree, but the same reasons told her to say no. But what other option was there? "I guess…we can share your bed."
"Good. I'm gonna bring Rory to the nursery and you can go ahead and get settled in my room."
Lorelai nodded as Luke headed up the stairs with Rory and the baby bags. Liz descended the staircase and stood beside Lorelai. "Don't worry," Liz said. "Luke's a gentleman. You can trust him to behave himself."
"It's not him I'm worried about. I know I can trust him. I just don't think I can control myself."
Present Day
Lorelai woke up early the next day. She was actually up before Luke, but that was the point. She laid in bed beside her husband and watched him sleep. She wasn't even going to pretend to deny she missed having him in their bed. So she woke up before he usually did and watched him as he slept. She quickly pretended to be asleep when he woke up. A pang of loss shot through her body when she felt him get out of the bed, but she was surprised when he placed a hand on her arm and kissed her hair. She wanted to believe that he did that just because that was what he had done for the past twenty years, but she knew it was because he still cared.
Lorelai stayed in bed until she heard Luke, Jess, and Mikey get into his truck and drive off. She finally pulled herself out of bed, tossed her robe on, and headed downstairs. She found Kelly at the kitchen table eating cereal. She spotted the full pot of coffee and headed straight for it. "Good morning," Lorelai greeted with a smile. She pulled a coffee cup out of the cabinet and poured herself some coffee.
"Morning," Kelly said.
Lorelai sat across from Kelly at the table and let out a sigh. "We need to talk."
"About what?"
"Rory."
"Mom…"
"Kelly, the way you treated your sister last night is unacceptable."
"And? She brought the jerk back into our lives."
"She didn't bring Jess back into our lives. Back to our house and our town, but not our lives. Kelly, why does it bother you that she brought him? You used to adore Jess."
"Used to, as in past tense. Mom, I know you didn't forget what happened two years ago."
"You mean to tell me that you're angry with Rory because of what Jess did two years ago?"
"No."
"Then what's the problem?"
"I don't know," Kelly replied softly.
Lorelai put her hand over her daughter's. "Kelly, sweetheart, I know you're angry at Jess for what happened and I know you're upset that Rory brought him back. But babe, you can't treat your sister like that. You can't just ignore her. She loves you and it's killing her to think you don't care as much because of a little fight you had."
"I don't hate her. Does she think I hate her?"
"Oh no. Sweetheart, Rory knows you love her. But you know what? I think you should go tell her before she gets depressed."
Kelly sighed. "Alright. Thanks Mom." She hugged her mom.
"Anytime sweetie, anytime.
Lorelai watched as Kelly headed to Rory's room. She thought about what she had told her daughter. She loves you and it's killing her to think you don't care as much. She couldn't remember if she still had Rory and Kelly on her mind when she said that to Kelly or if she was thinking about how she was treating Luke.
She retreated back upstairs to her room. She crawled into bed and clutched Luke's pillow, taking in the scent he left behind. God how she had missed him. She wished things would fix themselves. She wished she didn't have to miss him anymore. She wished they could be happy again. She wished they could go back to the way they were. She wished things would go back to the way they were. She wished it would stop hurting. She wished for a thousand other things, but what good was wishing going to do her?
1985
Lorelai stood in the middle of Luke's room and looked around. She hadn't been in there since the barnyard party and she wasn't even sober to take in her surroundings. There was Harvard stuff everywhere, a guitar sat in the corner on it's stand, a small television with a VCR, and various pictures were scattered across the room. After her quick evaluation of the room, Lorelai started to undress. Luke had given her one of his Harvard shirts and a pair of his boxers to sleep in. There was something about being half naked in the middle of Luke's room that Lorelai liked. She stood there in Luke's boxers and her bra for a minute, looking around another time. This time, she spotted something on the night stand. She walked over and picked the picture frame up.
Now, there were two pictures on Luke's night stand. One was of Luke, his parents, and Liz in front of a Christmas tree. And the second was of Luke, Lorelai, and Rory sitting in front of a Christmas tree. She was touched by the fact that Luke had that picture and in a frame, but it was something else to have it sit beside a family portrait.
"Oops," Luke said as he walked into the room. He immediately covered his eyes and turned around. "I'm sorry. I should have knocked first."
Lorelai quickly put the picture down and wiped the tears away. "Don't apologize," she said. "It's your room. You shouldn't have to knock."
"Yeah, but you're…"
Lorelai grabbed the grey shirt and pulled it over her head. "Ok. I put the shirt on. You can turn around and uncover your eyes now."
Luke dropped his hand and turned around. "I was just brushing my teeth and then I stopped at the nursery to check on Rory. She was a little cranky, but I got her to sleep."
"Did you have a hard time?"
"I had to sing a little. You tired?"
"No," Lorelai lied with a yawn.
"Uh huh. Come on. Time for bed." They got into bed and Luke turned out the lights. They lay in the darkness for a while, then Luke broke the silence. "It's an academic scholarship."
"What?" Lorelai yawned.
"My scholarship to Harvard, it's for mathematics and engineering. I told Liz it was for baseball because she makes fun of me about being good with numbers and stuff like that. Ivy league colleges don't give athletic scholarships."
"I know."
"You do?"
"My parents went to Yale."
"They must be mad you're dating a Harvard man." When there was no response, Luke turned his head to see that Lorelai had already fallen asleep. She was on her side, facing him, so he laid on his side and faced her. His face was less and an inch from hers.
"Hey Lorelai," he whispered.
"Hm?" she asked, less than half awake.
"You know how you said that miracles happen when it snows?"
"Mm hm."
"Well, I think you're right."
"Mm hm."
"And I know what the miracle is this time."
"Mm hm."
"Hey Lorelai."
"Hm?"
Luke kissed her lightly on the lips and whispered something in her ear. "I love you."
Next time on "The Broken Road": The next chapter will spread over a long period of time. It will detail the Danes family's life with Jess. It will be known why they're all angry with him. And there will be at least one hint to what caused the rift between Luke and Lorelai.
A/N: It's been a wild and crazy two weeks ladies and gentlemen (are there guys out there reading this?). I apologize for not updating faster, but there was work and school and then I suddenly lost my voice. It was weird, but I'm back. It's gonna take longer for me to update nowadays because of school (:runs around screaming "I'm a college student!" until I run into the nearest wall:), but I'll try not to make it forever. Now, I could have gone a million different directions with the I love you's, but there was just something the one I chose that I really liked. And remeber, take not of the little things because they can be the big clues.
