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 25- Happy

1985

"There she is!" Sookie said excitedly as she, Sarah, Gypsy, and Lulu approached Lorelai.

"Hey guys," Lorelai greeted with a smile. "What's up?"

"Come on Lorelai," Sarah said. "You don't have to play coy with us. We know about Luke."

"I'm sorry. I'm lost. What about Luke now?"

"We know you two…you know," Sookie suggested, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Oh," Lorelai said shyly, looking down and blushing as she smiled. "That."

"So it is true!" Sarah said excitedly. "Well come on girl, don't hold out on us! How was he?"

"Are the rumors true?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai laughed at her friends' interest. "He's amazing," she replied with a smile. "He was gentle and romantic. And yes. He's all of what the rumors say and much, much more."

"I heard you spent four days with him," Gypsy remarked.

"I did. He took me to his mom's cabin. It was right by the water too. And at night, when the moon is setting just above the water…Oh my God. It's the most beautiful thing you'd ever see. He cooked me dinner every night and then we'd sit by the fire and just enjoy each other."

"Are we still talking about Luke? Because this doesn't sound like Butch Danes," Sarah teased.

"It's the same guy," Lorelai laughed. "He's this totally different guy when it's just me and him."

"You sound very happy," Lulu added.

"I am very happy," Lorelai smiled.

The girls headed toward the quad where they spotted the guys in the distance. Jackson and Andrew were standing around, discussing something about a class they both just had and Kevin was talking to Luke, who was laying on his back across the bench.

Kevin saw the girls and stood to greet them. "Well, hello ladies," he said with a smile. "Look Luke, it's the girls."

"Heard ya the first time," Luke said sleepily, his eyes still closed.

"Would you like to get up and say hello?"

"Go to hell."

"You're a real charmer Danes." Kevin turned his attention back to the girls. "Don't mind him. He's grouchy because he's tired. Coach had him run ten laps for skipping Friday's practice."

"I'm grouchy because someone forgot to tell coach I was gonna be out of town for a few days. And if I were someone, I'd shut up and keep my distance. Jackson, remind me to go to the library when I have free period for now on."

Lorelai walked over to the bench and sat beside Luke's head. She put her hands on his face and leaned down to kiss him. "Hey," she smiled down at him.

"Hey," he greeted with a smile.

"Ah, young love," Kevin teased as he put his arm around Sarah. "Remember when we were like that honey?"

"Yeah, then I realized that you were a pain in the ass," Sarah joked.

Luke got enough strength to swing his legs over and sat up. Lorelai immediately took his hand and entwined her fingers with his.

"You two are so cute together," Sookie squealed.

"We try," Lorelai joked.

Everyone started their own conversations with each other. When the bell rang indicating it was time to get back to class, they all stood and got ready to head their separate ways. As Luke got his things together to head to his next class and gave Lorelai a quick kiss, Kevin walked up to his best friend and put his arm around his shoulder.

"Hey," Kevin said. "You happy?"

Luke smiled and laughed a little. "Happier than I've ever been in my life," he smiled.

"Good. You deserve to be." Kevin patted his friend's chest. "Come on. Let's get to class."


Present Day

Lorelai let out a content sigh as she awoke the next morning. She was lying with her back against Luke's chest- his arm draped protectively across her waist- staring out the window as the sun beamed into their bedroom. Her smile grew wider as she felt his lips against the back of her neck. Less than twenty-four hours ago they were semi-estranged, but last night, they were lovers again. Luke had given his whole heart to her last night, not that she had ever given it back to him. He knew he had said it would be just that one night, but one night wasn't enough. Little did he know, she was thinking the same thing, but she dare not say it aloud.

"Morning," Luke said against her neck.

"Mm," Lorelai moaned. "Morning."

"Sleep well?"

"Very, but something kept poking me." Luke laughed. Lorelai turned around to face him. "So…"

"So…"

She grinned as she kissed him. "You up for another couple rounds?"

"You're trying to kill me woman," Luke smiled against her lips.

"But what a way to go."

Luke wrapped his arms around Lorelai, pulling her closer and intensifying the kiss. Just as they were about to get intimate again, the sound of the doorbell rang through out the house. "Maybe if we're real quiet, they'll think we're not home," Luke said.

"Both our cars and the minivan are outside," Lorelai remarked.

"Ok, maybe they'll just go away then."

They waited and then the doorbell sounded again, this time followed by knocking. Ding dong, knock, knock, knock. Ding dong, knock, knock, knock. It went on a few more times before Luke had enough. He rolled off of Lorelai and got out of bed. He quickly put some clothes on, then leaned down and kissed Lorelai.

"Hold that thought. I'll be right back," he said. He hurried downstairs to get rid of whoever was at the door. When he answered it, Andrew stood on the other side.

"Oh, hey Luke," Andrew greeted nervously, trying not to look Luke in the eye.

"There something I can help you with Andrew?"

"Um, yeah." Andrew picked up the bag sitting beside his feet. "I, um, wanted to drop these off. They're books…for Rory. I had to order them on-line for her and they just got in. So…here."

Luke took the bag. "Alright. Thanks. I guess. How much do I owe you?"

"Oh, no. You…she…nothing. I mean, she…she paid already. When she asked for the books." Andrew was very nervous around Luke. After all, they hadn't really talked in years.

"Ok. That all?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I guess it is."

Luke shook his head and waited for Andrew to leave. "Ok then. Bye Andrew."

"Oh! Yeah. Bye." Andrew turned and started down the porch steps. He reached the bottom of the steps when Luke was about to close the door. He took a deep breath and faced his friend again. "Hey Luke?"

Luke paused and opened the door again. "Yeah?"

"I wanted to offer my condolences. For Danny. It's today right? Today's the…"

"Yeah," Luke interrupted. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Well, I should get back to work. I'll…I'll see you around."

Luke nodded and shut the door as Andrew headed down the street. He put the books on the table in the foyer and was about to go upstairs when the doorbell rang again. He sighed and answered it. It was Patty and Babette.

"Good morning Miss Patty, Babette," Luke greeted.

"Oh thank God you're here. See Patty, I told ya he'd be here," Babette said.

"I never said he wouldn't be here," Patty remarked.

"I'm sorry, is there something I can do for you two?" Luke asked.

"Oh no sugar. We didn't see you at the diner and were just makin' sure you're not doing something crazy or something," Babette replied.

"Nope, nothing crazy. Just…here. Well, if there's nothing I can do for you…"

"Oh sweetie, today must be really hard for you," Patty said, shocking Luke by pulling him into a big hug. "I remember you took it very hard when it happened."

"Yeah, you were miserable," Babette added, pulling Luke into a hug once Patty let him go. "Didn't wanna work, eat, sleep, or do anything. It was like the life was sucked right outta ya!"

"How are you dear?" Patty asked.

"Is there anything we can do for ya?" Babette asked.

"Uh no. I'm fine really. Uh, ladies, I'd love to have you stay and chat, but I was just in the middle of something," Luke said, trying to shoo them out of the house. "So if you don't mind…"

"Luke," Lorelai called as she came downstairs in her silk robe. Her head was down so she didn't see Patty or Babette. "What's taking you so…oh. Patty. Babette. Hi."

"Well hello Lorelai," Patty said with a smile growing.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We wanted to come by to make sure you dolls were doing alright. It looks like you're doing just fine," Babette smirked.

Lorelai smiled as she began to blush. "Would you like to come inside for a minute?"

"Oh we don't want to intrude," Patty replied.

"No, no," Lorelai said as she descended the stairs and stood beside Luke. "You're not intruding."

"They're not?" Luke asked. Lorelai elbowed him in the side. "I mean, of course you're not. Please stay a minute."

"No, really, we should get going," Babette said. "But you two are doing alright?"

"Yes Babette," Lorelai replied. "We're fine. Thank you for your concern."

"No problem. And we're very sorry for your loss. It must be really hard on you dolls."

"You know, you always hear about those couples that break up after a loss of one of their children," Patty remarked. "Thank God you two aren't one of those couples."

Luke found himself forcing a smile and a straight face to keep from his neighbors from realizing they were one of those couples.

"I always said you two belonged together," Patty continued. "Didn't I always say that Babette?"

"She did," Babette nodded. "Well, we gotta get going. We'll see you two around." With that, Patty and Babaette left.

Luke sighed as he shut the door. They were about to go back upstairs when the doorbell rang yet again. "I'll get it," Luke said. "You go on back upstairs."

"I'll see you in a minute?" Lorelai asked. Luke nodded and Lorelai gave him a quick peck on the lips before heading back to the bedroom.


1985

Richard pulled up to the curb in front of William's Hardware Store. He stepped out of his car and looked around at the town. He was tempted to go out and look for Lorelai, but restrained himself. He didn't want her to think he was trying to get her to come home. He was here on business. Richard walked into the hardware store and made his way to the register.

William looked up at him from behind the counter. "Good afternoon sir," William greeted.

"Hello," Richard said. "I'm looking for Mr. William Danes."

"I'm Will Danes. You must be Richard."

"Indeed I am." Richard shook William's hand. "I assume you spoke with Floyd already."

"Yes I did."

Richard's company was going to expand Richard's office and after a praised review from an associate for a job done at his home, the company decided to hire William for the job. They were going over the plans and contracts for the project when Luke walked into the store.

"Dad!" Luke called. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the formally dressed man at the counter talking with his father.

"Good, you're here," William smiled. He walked over to Luke and patted his back. "Richard, I'd like you to meet my best worker, my son Luke. Son, this is Richard. He's here for that job in Hartford we got a call about last week."

"Oh. Hello," Luke said shaking Richard's hand. "It's nice to meet you sir."

"It's nice to meet you too young man," Richard said, very pleased with Luke's show of respect.

"You'll have to excuse me sir. I have to do my homework, but it was a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh by all means, your education comes first. Go right ahead." Richard was more impressed with Luke now that he seemed to be very interested in his school work.

"Hey," William called to Luke. Luke stopped and faced his father. "We need to talk about something I heard from Miss Patty, Babette, Eastside Tilly, Taylor, Bootsy's father, Morey, Mrs. Cassini, Mia, Mrs. Kim…"

"Ah jeez," Luke groaned. "I'm suspecting this is about last weekend?"

"Yes it is, but it's not something to be discussed in front of company." Luke nodded and continued upstairs to his father's office.

"He seems like a very nice young man," Richard remarked.

"Luke's a great kid," Will stated proudly. "He's responsible, athletic, hard working, and smart too. Hopefully, he'll be the first Danes to go to and finish college."

"He's an only child?"

"No, no. I have a daughter. Do you have any kids?"

"A daughter." Richard took a step closer to the curtain. "You know, your son is just the kind of young man I'd like my daughter to end up with." Richard turned his attention back to William. "Is seeing someone at the moment?"

William laughed. "Sorry to disappoint you Richard, but he's taken. He's quite smitten with a young woman he met some moths ago. She's a great girl."

"And I'm sure your son deserves her."

"He does and I'm sure your daughter is a wonderful girl."

"That she is," Richard smiled. "Well, I've taken too much of your time, so I'll be going now."

"Alright then Richard," William said shaking Richard's hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you."

"You too. Give my regards to your boy."

"Will do. Have a nice day." Richard headed for the door, but William stopped him just before he left. "Oh Richard, I never did get your last name."

"It's Gilmore." With a nod and smile, Richard left the hardware store.

Gilmore, William thought. Richard couldn't be… "No," he said aloud to himself. "He can't be." William dismissed the idea from his head and went upstairs to have a "chat" with his son.


Present Day

Luke walked into the bedroom and sighed as he got into the bed. He didn't look at Lorelai in the process. Lorelai looked up at him and smiled. "Who was at the door?" she asked.

"Taylor," he replied, looking down at his hands. "He wanted to tell us how sorry he is for our loss and gave us a five percent discount on our next purchase at Doose's."

"Well that's a surprise."

"Then he told me that I needed to mow the lawn because the grass is getting too long."

"And that's not." She noticed that he wasn't looking at her and moved closer to him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

He turned his head and looked seriously into her eyes. "Lorelai, what are we doing?"

"What are you talking about?"

Luke pointed to the bed. "In this bed…last night. What are we doing?"

"If you have to ask, then it's been way too long."

"Lorelai, I'm serious." Luke took a deep breath. "What Patty said, about us not being one of those couples that split after losing a kid, she was wrong. That's exactly what we are. I knew it the day you asked me for the separation. So I'm gonna ask you again: What are we doing?"

"I…I don't know." Luke looked away and shook his head. Lorelai put her hand on his arm. "But I know I don't want it to end."

"Neither do I."

There was something about the look in his eyes that frightened her. She knew what he wanted out of this, but she was afraid of getting too intimate. Too close. Too attached. She didn't know if she could give him what he wanted.

"Luke," she called softly as she kissed his shoulder. "I just want to be happy."

"I do too."

"Luke." He turned his head slightly. "I miss him."

He could feel her tears soaking through his shirt. He turned and held Lorelai as she began to cry. He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. "I miss him too honey. I miss him too."


Jess hated Rory- well, at the moment he did. First he was forced to spend the night at his uncle's in-laws, then he was dragged out of bed at the crack of dawn. When he tried go back to sleep, Rory dumped a bucket of icy cold water on his head. Ok, so maybe it wasn't a bucket, but it was still icy cold. While the rest of the house lay peacefully in their beds, Jess was forced to get up, dressed, and in Rory's car. They were headed down the highway, their destination unknown to Jess. He was falling asleep when Rory started to shake him.

"Jess, wake up," Rory said. "We're here." Jess slowly opened his eyes. He realized that the car had stopped moving. "Come on. Get out of the car."

"Where are we?" Jess asked.

"Just get out."

Jess got out of the car and stretched his limbs. He froze when he saw something in the distance. When a car zoomed past them, making him jump, he knew exactly where they were. Rory walked over to the wooden cross and placed a toy truck beside it to join the other toys, flowers, and unlit candles. Jess exhaled slowly and stood beside Rory. A chill ran down his spine when he saw his cousin's name written across the cross. A laminated photo of the little boy was nailed at the top.

"I'll never forget that night," Rory said suddenly, her voice strained from trying to hold back tears. "It was the middle of the night and I got a call from Mom and Dad. The patrolman on his way to tell me about the accident was stuck in the snow storm, so they called to tell me. I was so shocked and scared, I called you. I wanted you to come with me to Stars Hollow. He looked so helpless. He was so tiny and he had all these tubes sticking out of him and there were monitors beeping everywhere. I'd never seen Dad look so helpless before in my life. And idiot got behind the wheel and took a little boy from his family. He died too young."

"Why did you bring me here Rory?" Jess asked. He was fighting back his own tears. He felt his own pain for Danny. Knowing what happened was half the battle and now that he was here, where it happened, it pierced his heart and soul.

"Because today's Danny's death anniversary. Our family lost him one year ago today Jess. I wanted you to see this, to be here, because I want you to see what caused this family to hurt so much in the last year. And whatever pain you're feeling right now," Rory paused as her voice started to crack, "it's a million times worse for Mom and Dad." Jess was about to say something, but Rory continued talking. "We're going to go back to my grandparents' house so Mom and Dad can spend today by themselves. I want you to know my grandfather took what happened harder than anyone else, other than my parents. He was very close to Danny, so today is going to be very hard on him. Choose your words wisely and don't do anything to upset him or anyone else."

"I won't…I mean I will…I mean…I'll try not to upset anyone."

"Good," Rory said wiping the tears from her eyes. They stood in silence for a while longer, then she turned to him and asked, "He adored you Jess. You know he did. Why didn't you come?"

"Because he adored me and I knew he did."


Next time on "The Broken Road": In 1985- Lorelai wants to make a special dinner for Luke using some of his mother's recipes. When she has trouble with one of the recipes, she goes to William for help who is very touched. Present Day- Luke reluctantly helps Jackson with a problem at the inn. Lorelai spends time with Mikey.

A/N: I apologize for taking such a long time to update. My rant in the last chapter's A/N seemed to radiate anger (lol) and I'm really not an angry person. Believe it or not, I can usually be a cool, calm, collected person. The whole angry thing doesn't really work for me so I'm going back to my zen attitude. I just wanted to say that I'm looking for some affiliates for my board so if anyone knows someone or has a site and would like to become an affiliate, just contact me and we'll talk.