Am I Missing?

Disclaimer: I own nothing. That includes Gilmore Girls, Luke and Lorelai, and especially Dashboard Confessional.

Summary: Lorelai gives Luke back the ring when she realizes she can't handle the lies anymore. It's up to Luke to fix what he broke

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Rory Gilmore came home after many concerned calls and walked into her childhood home, and found that everything she expected flew out the window. The house was cold, and lifeless and it didn't have the natural vibrancy that Lorelai gave to the space. It was empty and if she hadn't been positive, she would have thought she walked into the wrong house.

She called for her mother, but got not answer and went into the kitchen and saw the empty and unused coffee pot and machine looking lonely in the mass array of kitchen appliances and forgotten take out cartons.

Rory climbed the stairs to what used to be her mother's room, but was the territory for both Lorelai and Luke, and didn't know what she would find. She had seen the scary grandma furniture and begged her mother for the sake of both of their sanities to maybe get a new bed. But instead she saw her mother curled in a little ball in the middle of the bed clutching discarded shirts.

'Mom?' Rory called out and got no response from her mother. The only time she had ever really seen her mother this bad, was the last Luke and Lorelai break up, and it took weeks for her to get out of bed and face the world. Rory really thought that maybe they had bypassed that this time around, but on second glance, her mom looked worse.

Rory had tried to provide what she thought her mother would have wanted, magazines, food, easy access to the phone and she cajole her to have a shower and change of clothes and then she went to find the person who did this.

She walked to the Diner with purpose and a definite grudge in her heart. She had yelled and ranted that her father always seemed to fail and never kept his word, but Luke was supposed to be the one who did. He was the father figure type, the one she could depend on and how dare he ruin that. And worse of all, how dare he not be there to fix what he broke.

Luke was the best at fixing anything, whether it was a broken faucet to a broken heart. He knew how to be compassionate and sweet and understanding, but never losing that gruffness that made Luke, well Luke.

But this time he was the Christopher. The one who disappointed and did the unthinkable. Rory wasn't sure how she felt about the new development. It was competition. Maybe she wouldn't be his source of pride anymore, and that scared her. She could always say without uncertainty that he was proudest of her. And now potentially April could have taken that away.

So she opened the door with wild abandon and went right up the counter. Luke looked surprised and he looked around to see if anyone else was near by.

'How could you?' Rory yelled and Luke sighed. 'Maybe we should take this upstairs?' And he told April he would be back. Rory glanced back at the interloper and she almost gasped. If she didn't know for sure that there was no blood ties between her and April, she would have sworn that they were related. She had seen that look, and given that look and had perfected that look.

'I'm Rory.' She said and she stormed upstairs not even waiting for luke to make the first move. She opened the door, and it was weird being in this space again. The last time she was in that space, she was with jess. And she didn't even want to go there. Not after Logan's betrayal.

Luke follows her quietly and for the first time she can see how heartbroken he was. She tried to not care how he felt, but this was Luke. He was there for her when she needed him and even when she didn't.

'You know she is the worst I've seen her, and only with you can I actually see her upset.' Rory watched the man she had hoped to be her father falter in front of her. 'I tried to fix it, I really did. But sometimes…' Luke didn't finish when he saw the look on Rory's face.

'I don't know how to fix this Rory, and I don't think she will ever let me try. She's so stubborn.' Luke says and Rory laughs. 'You had to know that.' Rory states and then shakes her head.

'When I was growing up I didn't understand why my dad was never around. It didn't occur to me that he didn't want to be around, but on my eleventh birthday I figured it out. I learnt how not to depend on men, and my mom made sure I wasn't exposed to the kind that would continually hurt me. But I never thought you would be one of those men.'

Rory studied what she said to Luke and noticed that he looked even more devastated. 'But that doesn't mean that you and mom aren't perfect for each other. We just have to figure out how to fix this. I'll help you Luke.'

Luke nodded almost absentmindedly. 'We'll fix this.'

Luke collapsed once Anna took April home and Rory finally left the diner. It was painful to sleep there, but it was better than sleeping in his truck, which is what he did the first two nights. If he closed his eyes and didn't say anything he could swear he could hear Lorelai laughing.

But tonight, exhausted after everything that happened, he closed his eyes and he was transported to a world where everything was right with the world.

Luke rolled over and he felt a warm body against his side and he smiled. 'Mm morning.' He whispered and the woman smiled. 'It is a good morning, you know what would make it even better?' The woman asked and he smirked. 'A coffeeless morning?' The woman gasped. 'How dare you! Don't even say the words.' Luke chuckled and stared at his companion. He never noticed before how wild her hair was, and how blue her eyes were. He smiled at her. 'Where have you been my whole life?' She smiles and shrugs. 'Here and there, you never getting rid of me though.' Luke grabs her gently and they are locked into an embrace. 'God I hope not.'

Luke woke up and sighed. Every night he was hunted by the possibility of nights with her and it seemed ridiculous. He couldn't even remember why things got so bad in the first place. All he wanted to do was hold her, kiss her and tell her that he wanted her in every way. So he got up, put on pants and shoved his feet in some shoes and stalked to his short lived home.

He banged open the door and Rory ran out frightened but she smiled at the sight of Luke stomping his way upstairs. He opened the door to his once bedroom and saw the woman he loved lying on her side clutching an old plaid shirt he had probably left there.

'I'm tired.' She says and he nods. 'I am too.' She sits up and her eyes are puffy and swollen from crying, but still she is even more beautiful than the vision of his dreams. 'When will it stop Luke?' Lorelai whispers in the quiet bedroom. He steps forward and she whimpers.

'When will what stop?' Luke asks and he sits gingerly on the bed. 'When will this fight end. I'm tired and bored.' She says and he smiles and he settles her next to him so they are cuddling. 'Let's sleep and decide in the morning.'