Author's Note: Thanks to those of you who left feedback. It makes me so excited to see your comments waiting in my inbox. And once again, I'd like to thank xphilehb for being such a wonderful beta. This story would not be the same without all of her help and suggestions.

Lorelai sat on a stool in the diner, casually flipping through a magazine. She skimmed a few of the articles, and after finding nothing that interested her, she closed the magazine in a huff and a loud sigh escaped her lips.

"What's with you?" Luke asked as he refilled her coffee mug. "Where's Rory tonight?"

"Chris' parents invited her over for dinner," she told him. "They're having some kind of fancy dinner party, and they must take the opportunity to show off their perfect granddaughter. It's an evening full of stiff clothes, expensive food that tastes like feet, and dull conversation about whose yacht is bigger. These parties are the only time they bother to invite Rory over."

"And Rory wanted to go?"

"You know Rory, she cannot say no to anyone. She's such a good kid; she wouldn't want to disappoint."

Luke nodded in agreement. "She almost agreed to eat some vegetables until someone had to step in."

"I was only looking out for what's best for her," she stated. "I can't have you go and undo all my precious work."

Luke snorted at her comment. She seemed happier now – the weight of whatever had been on her mind had disappeared – but that moment soon passed. Her laughing eyes clouded over. He wanted very much to fix whatever was bothering her. He waited patiently, knowing that she would soon tell him what was on her mind. She always did.

Lorelai closed her eyes for a moment and rubbed her forehead with her hand. When she reopened her eyes, her gaze instantly fell on Luke. He was looking at her sympathetically. "How horrible am I that I don't want her to be there?"

"You're not horrible," he assured her.

"They're her grandparents. They have every right to see her. If Rory wants to see them, I have no right to stop her."

"And you didn't stop her," he reminded her. "If you did, she wouldn't be there right now."

"I hate it when I can't spend time with my daughter, and I hate it even more when it's because of them," she stated, anger growing in her voice. "You know, Chris' parents never liked me. I ruined their son's life. They made it seem like he hadn't played a part in me getting pregnant. I was the only one who screwed up. It takes two people to make a baby. Apparently, they missed that day in health class. In sixteen years of marriage, I never heard even one nice comment about me from them."

Luke took a seat next to her, glad that she was opening up to him. "What about your parents? Did they like Chris?"

"I think they like him more than me."

"I'm sure that's not true," he tried to tell her.

"They blame me for the divorce. It doesn't matter that he cheated. In their opinion, I should have stayed to work through this." Lorelai threw her arms up in frustration. "My feelings meant nothing to them. I wanted out. I didn't love him. I couldn't pretend anymore."

Unsure of what to say, Luke gently took her hand in his own. They sat there in silence for a few minutes before he spoke up. "No more pretending. I'm rather fond of the Lorelai that I know. Even though she can't be quiet for more than a minute, eats more food than humanly possible, and likes to see how far she can go when trying to annoy me."

She laughed. "I have a special talent," she teased, before adding in a more serious tone, "I don't have to pretend with you."

"I know." Attempting to lighten the heavy mood that had filled the diner, he offered her a slice of pie.

"Can I have ice cream with it?" she asked, fully aware that she would get her way. Luke could never turn her down. She clapped with delight and grinned like mad as she watched him scoop ice cream onto her slice of pie.

Luke put the dessert in front of her. She began to eat it excitedly, the pie wouldn't last more than a few minutes. Looking for an excuse to have her stay longer, he pulled out a deck of cards. "You up for it?"

She nodded her head enthusiastically, her mouth full of ice cream. Swallowing, she added, "Loser cleans the grease trap."

"When have you ever cleaned the grease trap?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Well, I guess that you better beat me then."

Hours later, the two were still playing cards. Lorelai tried to steal one of Luke's cards, knocking over her beer bottle in the process.

"I think that means that you've had enough," he joked, wiping up the spilled beverage.

"I've only had two," she told him, holding up three fingers. She was hoping to distract him in order to grab his cards. She began to slowly reach across the counter.

He grabbed her hand. "Stop trying to steal my cards."

"But I think that they'll be much happier over here with my cards!" she exclaimed, trying to free herself from his grasp. Grinning, she reached up with her other hand to mess with his hat. He went to stop her, and in the process, he let go of her hand which gave her the opportunity to grab his cards. "Aha!" she cried in triumph.

They were both laughing as he tried to retrieve his cards from her when the bell above the door jingled.

Luke looked up. "Sorry, buddy, we're closed."

"Lorelai," the man said.

She froze. She turned around slowly on her stool. "Christopher..."

"Christopher?" Luke repeated, shock evident in his voice. He immediately stood up straighter and walked around the counter to stand close to Lorelai, feeling the need to protect her however he could.

After a second, Lorelai seemed to regain her bearings. "What are you doing here?" It was apparent to Luke that she was completely shocked, and not at all happy to see Christopher.

"I wanted to talk to you. Can I talk to you?" Chris looked at Luke. "Alone," he added.

"I have nothing to say to you, Christopher," she snapped at him, saying his name through clenched teeth.

"Then, I'll talk. You just have to listen. I screwed up, Lorelai. I really messed things up. I want to make it up to you," he started.

She snorted. "It's a little late for that, Chris. Don't you think?"

"Lorelai, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you go."

"You didn't 'let me go', Chris," she spat. "I left on my own, in case you didn't notice. How the hell did you even find me here?" she asked, her anger and incredulity growing by the second.

"Rory told me that if you weren't home, I could probably find you here, so here I am."

"Rory," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "You're using our daughter now, huh? That's nice, Chris. Real nice."

Chris nodded. "I wasn't using her Lor. I told her that I was going to apologize, that we could work this out, that we could be a family again."

"You had no right to tell her that," Lorelai contended. "It's not true, Chris, and I don't want her believing it. Please leave."

"Not until you hear me out," Chris told her, taking a step closer to Lorelai, who was still seated on a stool.

Luke decided to step in, blocking Christopher's way to Lorelai. "You heard her. Leave."

"This doesn't concern you," Chris argued. "Lorelai..." he began to try again, peeking around Luke's shoulder.

"You're on my property. It does concern me," Luke pointed out, stepping in Christopher's way again. "And Lorelai's well-being concerns me as well."

Chris looked amused. "She sure has you at her fingertips, doesn't she?" Luke looked like he was about to hit him. "Fine, I'll leave. She's nothing but a manipulative bitch," he added before walking out the door.

Luke followed Chris to the door and locked it behind him. He then turned to see Lorelai slumped down on her stool. She placed her head in her hands. Luke could tell that she was struggling not to cry. He sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shaking shoulders. "Don't listen to him," Luke told her, gently cupping her chin and making her look at him. "It's not true."

She was quiet for a few very long minutes, staring at Luke. One could have probably heard a pin drop in the diner. "Luke, you know that you're more to me than just a handyman, right? Besides Rory, you're the best friend I've got."

"You don't even have to tell me that, Lorelai." He pushed back the strands of hair that had fallen into her face. "I know. You tell me everyday." Before she could question him, he continued, "You tell me in the way that you come in here everyday, bringing a smile to my face even if I'm in a terrible mood. You tell me in the way you're willing to talk to me. You tell me through your actions. I never doubt you."

She smiled. "Thanks, Luke."

"Anytime," he said, gently squeezing her knee.

"I better get home. I'm going to have to talk with Rory."

"Are you going to be okay? Do you want me to walk with you?" he questioned.

"No, no. I'm okay. Or at least, I will be. Thanks again, Luke."

"No need to thank me," he told her again, before gently kissing her on the forehead and watching her leave the diner.

"Mom!" Rory called excitedly as she entered the house. "Did Dad come to talk-" She stopped in her tracks when she saw the look on her mother's face.

"Rory, we have to talk." Lorelai's tone left no room for argument, so her daughter nodded and took a seat on the couch. "Regardless of what he told you, your father and I are not getting back together. Don't you ever pull something like that again."

"But he said that he's sorry, and that he's ready-"

"He sure had a great way of showing that," Lorelai interrupted. "Rory, I need you to understand that it is over. We're not ever going to get back together."

"Don't you love him?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. Exhaling slowly, she thought about her answer. "He gave me you, and for that I will be eternally grateful to him. But no, I don't love him. We're just not good for each other, Rory. He's not good for me, and I'm not good for him, I don't think."

Rory nodded sadly. "Mom, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, honey." Lorelai held open her arms, and Rory collapsed into them. "Your father and I are just two very different people, and I need to move on from that. We don't want the same things out of life, and I'm ready to start living life the way I want to live it. I'm happy here, Rory. And I know that this whole situation sucks for you, but I really think you can be happy here too. I want you to be happy."

"I know you do. And I want you to be happy too, Mom. But, do you think that you'll ever be friends with him? Dad, I mean. Because I would like that."

Lorelai stroked her daughter's back. She didn't know. She didn't know if it was possible, or if it was even something she wanted. But she would try, for Rory. "I hope so, Rory," she told her daughter, barely believing her own words.

To be continued… Please review! It makes me all happy. And would you all like little previews of the next chapter when I update? I've noticed that some authors write a line or two about what's coming up in their story.