TITLE: Timing

CHARACTERS: Lorelai, Luke, Rory, Dean, Ect. Oh, and my fictitious character Alyssa.

SETTING: Mid season 4, Think: "Tick, Tick, Tick, Boom!"

Chapter Two

Lorelai woke out of her drunken stupor with a guilty shake-y feeling. As she ran her hands over the soft silk sheets of Jason's guest room and remembered her latest Late Night Luke Dream the guilty gnawing feeling increased tri-fold.

DREAM SEQUENCE

Lorelai stood under the hot pulsing shower in Luke's bathroom. She hummed to herself as she started to wash her hair.

All of a sudden the curtain around the tub slipped open and a cool burst of air rushed in. "What the?" she cried out, and the feeling Luke's strong arms wrap around her, leaned back into him with a moan.

Luke murmured a sigh and ran his hands along Lorelai's arms seductively. Lorelai acted on pure instinct and rolled around in his arms, capturing his lips in a deep and inviting kiss.

Luke quickly pulled it into the next level and soon the sound of their heavy panting over powered the sound of the shower.

END DREAM SEQUENCE

Luke woke up and rolled over looking at his alarm clock. It was two a.m. Much to early to even pretend to start getting ready for the day. Luke lay with his eyes closed for a moment, feeling the after effect of the dream.

He looked at the bathroom thinking that a cold shower might be the only solution, but being in that bathroom right now was not worth the risk. He knew that he would see Lorelai's passion lidded eyes and her desiring smirk as he attempted to rid him self of his not so minor difficulty.

CUT TO: JASON'S TOWNHOUSE, MORNING

Lorelai walked down the stairs rubbing her eyes in a want to get rid of the pounding hangover plaguing her mind.

"Good morning," Jason said without even looking up from his cooking.

"Ah -ah -ah!" Lorelai moaned, gesturing at him to shut up.

"What?"

"Stop with- Loud. Argh! How do you not have a hang over?"

"Aspirin and water?"

Lorelai groaned and rested her head on her crossed arms as she sank into a stool at the breakfast bar.

"Aspirin is for children, go get me a taco?"

"A taco?"

"Yes, a taco. Please? It's the only thing that helps."

Jason shrugged, "Alright, I guess. Be here when I get back."

"Ooo! And get me a burrito, too!"

Jason grabbed his keys and left. Lorelai waited a moment before she flipped open her cell phone and called Rory.

"Hello?"

"Rory? Oh, thank god. Help!"

"Mom, what? Help with what?"

"Jason, help me with Jason!"

"What about Jason?"

"I faked a hangover to get him out of the apartment!" Lorelai burst out.

"You what?"

"I need your help!"

"With what?"

"I need to break up with him. NOW."

"Why? What happened that is so pressing that it just can't wait any longer? What happened after I left?"

"Well, my parents found out that Jason and I are dating-"

"Ah."

"'Ah'? What 'ah'? No 'ah'!"

"Yes, 'ah'! They found out about you two so you don't want him any more. Isn't that right?"

"No!"

"Then what happened?"

"Look, Jason is a great guy, But…"

"But, But what?"

"I… I had another dream about Luke last night."

"The recurring alarm-clock one?"

"Uh, no."

"Oh… Dirty?"

"No, and when you turn twenty-one I'll tell you the real answer."

"Mom, just having a dream about Luke doesn't necessary mean that you think anything more about him…"

"Oh, but I do."

"You do? You do what? More? More Luke?"

"More Luke." Lorelai agreed.

"How much more Luke?"

"I… I think…"

"Do you love him?"

CUT TO: LUKE'S DINER, MID MORNING

"Caesar, that tuna melt goes to the table in the corner. I'm heading out, be back in around ten minutes."

"Okay."

Luke wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and walked out of the diner making a beeline for Andrew's bookstore.

He walked past all the home repair books and pulled all the love self help books he could find off of the shelf.

Andrew looked up as he walked over, "Did you find what you need?"

"Oh, yeah. Fine." Luke couldn't keep the nervousness out of his voice as he first spoke. Andrew looked at him funny and then reached for the books. "What are you doing?"

"I have to ring them up."

"I'll just tell you the prices." Luke looked at the first book. "This one is $24.99."

"That high?"

"They're your prices."

"Can I just see the book?"

"I'm reading you the book. It says right here…" Luke trailed off as he looked at the price again. "Oh, wait -- that's the Canadian price. $14.99."

"Will you just let me scan the book?"

"When you scan the book, do you see the title?"

"Yes."

"Then no."

"Luke, come on. What do you got there, porn?"

"You sell porn?"

"No!"

"You think I brought my own porn in here to buy?"

"I don't know what you're doing. I just need to scan the books."

Luke hands Andrew a bill, "This should cover it."

Andrew looks at it, shocked. "A hundred bucks? That's way too much."

"Take it." Luke starts to leave, but the he walks back. "Bag."

He quickly walks back out into the "crowd" milling around the square. When he gets back in the diner, almost empty now, he calls, "Hey Caesar, something came up. I need you to cover for me for a while."

"Okay." Caesar called back, leaning on the counter.

"Thanks," Luke said, and walked up to his apartment, dumping the audio books out on to the table.

After a moment of listening he pulls out the workbook, uncaps the pen and mutters, "It doesn't get lower than this"

CUT TO: LORELAI AND JASON IN A COFFEE HOUSE

"So," Lorelai said, no longer worrying about breaking up with Jason. "I spent all morning on the phone calling every hotel in the area with a decent high tea, and there she was. Grafton Hotel, room 421. Check-out date indefinite."

Jason fiddled with his mug, "I'm sorry."

"I can't believe my parents are separated. I mean, I dreamed about this as a kid. Of course, my scenario also involved my mother finding her inner Timothy Leary and moving us all out to a commune in Berkeley, but still... I was convinced that these people should not be together, but you know what? I was wrong. Richard and Emily Gilmore were made for each other. God, this is so...freaky. And I'm not supposed to know, and of course we won't talk about it, because we don't do that in our family. We repress everything, and we refuse to go to therapy, because why tell a stranger your problems, when you can use them to punish those around you? So, what now? Every Friday I'm supposed to pretend that they still live together, and then after we leave, my mother will get in her car and drive back to the hotel? The hotel. My mother's living in a hotel. It's weird. It's just incredibly weird." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I just needed to vent."

"You have every right."

"I'm done now. There's nothing I can do about them, so..." She sighed again. "Talk to me. You were gonna tell me something."

"I'm suing your father." Lorelai scoffs softly. "I have to, Lorelai."

"No, you don't."

"I've gone over it. I've weighed every option. I have to respond. I cannot just sit here and do nothing when my entire career is going up in flames."

"Jason, please. Don't do this."

"Maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe he'll settle," Jason didn't sound too hopeful.

"He won't settle."

"It's just business."

Maybe she would break up with him after all. "Oh, my God. I'm so sick of hearing people say that."

"You know I wouldn't do this if I didn't have to."

"You don't have to."

"If I intend to continue working in my chosen profession, then, yeah, I have to." Was he always this condescending? Lorelai wondered.

"Don't be just a business guy. Put this on another level. Please."

"I can't."

"Unbelievable."

"Lorelai... I have no choice. I have to fight back."

"Jason..."

"I will keep you out of this. I promise."

Oh, yeah. Definitely breaking up now. At least this is an excuse.

"I can't be with someone who's suing my family."

"Lorelai, come on."

"I'm sorry.

"You saw what your father did to me."

"I know what he did to you."

"And he is not gonna stop until there's nothing left."

"I'm asking you not to do this."

"Ask me something else. Anything else."

"This is what I want."

"You know how hard I work. My job is who I am. I can't lose everything. You have to understand why I'm doing this."

"I do understand. But I can't be with someone who's suing my family," she stands up, gripping her purse in one hand.

"Lorelai..."

But Lorelai walked out without looking back.

CUT TO: IN FRONT OF LUKE'S DINER

Luke is listening to a tape when Liz runs up and knocks on his window. "Jeez. Hold on." Luke quickly stops the tape and gets out. "What are you doing here?"

"Look how happy he is to see me," Liz said to T.J.

"I just didn't expect it, that's all."

"Oh, my brother. You remember T.J., right?"

T.J. held his arms open. "I'm still here."

"How you doin', T.J.?"

"How am I doing? Huh. Lizzie, I don't know. How am I doing?"

"He's doing great! 'Cause we're getting married."

"Married? Really?"

"And we're doing it right here next week."

"Wow, that's fast."

CUT TO: LUKE'S DINER LATER THAT NIGHT

"You have to bring a date! You can't come to my wedding stag."

"Why not, Liz?" Luke asked rhetorically. "I'll bet Jess is."

"Hey, leave me outta this."

"Come on, Luke! There is a beautiful brunet that I'd love to see there… Come on, bring her. Bring someone."

"Fine. I'll bring someone." Just then the door opened. "Just the person I wanted to see," Luke said, sanding up. "Will you come to my sisters wedding with me?"