I wrote this spur-of-the-moment and immediately posted it, so don't laugh if it sucks :-)

Set after Say Something, season 5 and on.

Summary: All he wanted to do was give her a hug and whisper that everything would be all right, but all he could do was watch her from inside his cold glass fort. Post 5x14 Say Something, angsty LL

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They hadn't spoken since that night at her house when he broke her back door lock. Not a single word, phone call, email or letter. But he still saw her every day. Lorelai would walk by the diner on her way to where ever it was she was going, probably Weston's. Not once did she look in the window. Luke could see the pain in her eyes. Her glow was gone. She didn't laugh anymore.

It was the same way with him. He spent all day burning food, throwing customer out the door, and growling at the few that stayed. And every day at the same time, he would pause to look out the window and watch as Lorelai hurried across the square. Seeing her face just made the pain in his heart more intense, but it was worse than not seeing her. All he wanted to do was run outside, give her a big hug, and whisper in her ear that everything would be all right. He wanted to touch her, to hold her again. He wanted to see her smile. He wanted to see her laugh. But something was holding him back. Something kept him inside his cold glass fort, pouring coffee and watching her.

Slowly, as the weather grew brighter, so did Lorelai. Her smile came back and everyone seemed to accept it. Only Luke could tell that it was a façade, put on to satisfy the nosy townspeople. One day in April, a man was with her as she strolled past the window. The beating of Luke's heart practically stopped as his mind was flooded with panic. The man gestured to the diner as if to say, "Let's go in" Lorelai just shook her head without looking at the building. The man never came back, and the fake smile stayed plastered on her face.

In May, her face was tearstained for three days straight. Those days he wondered what kind of horrible person he was to not immediately run outside and comfort her. But his feet stayed frozen to the tile floor, his hand anchored to the coffee pot. A week later, he heard Patty and Babette talking about Rory dropping out of Yale, severing contact with Lorelai, and moving in with her grandparents. He ran into the storeroom so they wouldn't see the tears rolling slowly down his cheek. Soon after, a dog accompanied Lorelai on her daily walk.

(A/N See, this is the part where we pretend the whole 6.08 Paul Anka "I'm a bad mother" thing happened in August, because I'm the author and I can do whatever I want! Mwahahahahahahaha )

One day in mid-August, she didn't come. Luke stood by the window, waiting. He stood so long that the nice couple he was standing next to asked him to move. But no matter how long he stared out that window, Lorelai wouldn't walk by. And he knew what he had to do. He grabbed a cup of coffee, shouted "Caesar, take over", and left. He ran down the street to her house and went around the side to the back door that he hadn't fixed and he knew she hadn't had fixed. Flinging the door open, he went in and yelled "Lorelai!" There was no response. He checked the living room, her bedroom, and the bathroom, but she wasn't anywhere. Finally, he went back into the kitchen. He slowly opened the door to Rory's bedroom and stuck his head in. On the bed, the dog he had seen her with was fast asleep. He opened the door wider and walked in. There was Lorelai, sitting in a chair, sobbing. Luke walked over, picked her up, and sat down in the chair with her in his lap. Wrapping his arms around her, he heard her whisper "I'm a bad mother".

"You are not a bad mother" he insisted. "Shhh, calm down." And she did. When she had finished crying, she turned and looked at him.

"You're here," she stated.

"Well, you had me worried."

She looked down. "Luke, I-" but she was cut off by Luke.

"I know" and he leaned down and kissed her. After months and months, their bodies hadn't forgotten what to do as her hands went up to his neck and his wrapped around her waist. They broke apart, breathlessly. Then Lorelai smiled.

"Do you have any coffee?" Luke just laughed and handed her the cup he had brought with him.

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Review, please!