Author's Note: First off, I want to thank my wonderful beta xphilehb. Her suggestions have made this story so much better!
Thanks for all of the wonderful feedback on the last chapter. I'm glad that you all liked it as much as I did. I hope that you enjoy this part as well!
Previously in 'A New Beginning': Dinner with Emily and Richard did not go very well, and Lorelai stormed out.
Luke stood behind the counter going through some of the day's receipts. A few customers were finishing up the last of their meals. He was in no rush for them to leave. He assumed Lorelai would stop by after her dinner, so he didn't mind having the few straggling customers here. When he heard the bell above the door jingle, he was surprised to look up and see Lorelai entering the diner. Knowing that dinner couldn't possibly be over already, he asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I thought that I'd work for a bit. Unless you mind..." she trailed off, slipping her apron over her head.
"I don't mind." He watched as she struggled with her apron. Her shaking fingers were frantically trying to tie the strings. "Lorelai?"
"Damn apron!" Lorelai shouted, barely aware that Luke had said something to her. Her fingers wouldn't stop trembling long enough for her to secure her apron in place. She felt Luke's fingers encircle her wrists and gently pull her hands away from her apron's strings. She couldn't look him in the eye.
"You're freezing," Luke noted, bending his knees to try and see her face. Her skin was as cold as ice to his touch.
"I forgot to grab a jacket," she responded. She glanced up at him before quickly looking away. She could feel tears pricking at her eyes, threatening to spill over.
Even though her look had been brief, Luke had caught sight of the unshed tears in her eyes. He gave a look to the remaining customers who had stopped eating to stare at the scene before them, informing them to leave. His eyes held no argument. It was get out, or be thrown out. Once the last customer was out the door, Luke gently drew Lorelai to him. He fitted her tightly against his body. He began to lightly stroke her back as she clung to him. He felt her whole body quiver as she released her tears. "What happened?" he asked quietly.
"I always promise myself that I won't let her get to me, but then, I let her," she responded in a muffled voice. Wrapped in his warm embrace, Lorelai suddenly became aware of how cold she had been. She shivered involuntarily and tried to get closer to Luke. She felt his one hand soothingly running up and down her back while his other held her strongly against him.
When she had finally managed to calm down, she pulled back slightly to look up at him. He gave her a small smile which she returned. "Sorry," she said, pointing to the wet marks on his flannel.
He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Lorelai shrugged, but she allowed Luke to lead her over to a chair. She took a seat and watched as he closed the blinds, then he pulled another chair close to her. After he took a seat, he once again took her hands into his own. He lightly rubbed circles with his thumbs on the backs of her hands. She stared at his movements for a few moments before saying anything. "Emily," she said, her voice raspy from crying.
"What did she do?" Luke asked.
"What she usually does," Lorelai answered. "Pretty much everything that went wrong between Chris and I is my fault. I broke up a family. I'm the one who couldn't make it work."
"That's crazy," he pointed out. "You know that's not true." He could tell that wasn't all. She was still keeping something from him. "Lorelai," he began softly, "What else happened?"
Lorelai clenched her eyes shut for a moment, her mother's words circling in her mind. Opening her eyes, she focused on a spot somewhere off behind Luke. "She basically called me a whore," she whispered, barely audible.
He felt anger boiling in his stomach. That vile word was never meant to be spoken to this beautiful woman before him. But he had to remain calm for Lorelai; he needed to be her pillar right now. "Why would she call you that?" he questioned, trying to keep his anger out of his voice. One look at the expression on her face, and he knew. "Oh."
"I tried to explain to her that we're friends, but she didn't believe me. She wouldn't believe me," she told him.
"I shouldn't have been there."
She shook her head, "No, Luke. Do not blame yourself for this. I sure as hell don't, or I wouldn't be here right now. This is my fault. I brought this on myself."
Luke tenderly placed his hand under her chin and turned her face so she was looking directly at him. Her gaze, however, was still focused on some unseen object. "Lorelai, look at me," he commanded gently. Her gaze finally met his own. "You are not what your mother called you, Lorelai. You are a strong, beautiful woman who is capable of doing anything. The mere fact that you found the courage to leave Christopher, come here and work so damn hard to provide a good life for Rory proves that. And you are, Lorelai... giving her a good life." He leaned forward and brushed his lips lightly against her forehead. "You're many things, but a whore is not one of them."
Lorelai felt herself blush. Out of all the wonderful things he'd just said to her, there was one thing that stuck out to her in particular. And being Lorelai, she just had to tease him about it. "You think that I'm beautiful?" she questioned.
It was his turn to redden a bit. "Well, you know..." He watched as a smile danced across her features. Now that he had her feeling better, he did not want to see her go. "Do you want a beer or something?"
"Alcohol would be so nice right now," she replied.
"Come on," he said, pulling her up from her chair with their still joined hands.
After turning out the diner lights, Luke headed for the stairs with Lorelai close at his heels. Once in his apartment, he quickly grabbed two beers for them from the couch. He then joined Lorelai on his couch, and the two spent the rest of the night talking and laughing over their drinks. Lorelai's sour mood was long gone by the time she fell asleep on Luke's couch.
Lorelai awoke sometime later, her head pounding from the large amount of alcohol she had consumed. She groaned as she sat up in Luke's bed. He must have carried her there after she had fallen asleep. Or had she walked there herself? She couldn't remember. She saw Luke soundly sleeping across the small apartment on the couch.
A quick glance at the clock told her it was the middle of the night. Panic arose in her stomach. Rory. Rory must be worried sick. She stumbled out of bed, ignoring her throbbing head, and grabbed Luke's phone. She quickly dialed the number to her house.
"Mom!" Rory screeched into the phone when she answered.
Lorelai flinched at the high pitched voice. "It's me," she answered groggily.
"Where are you? I've been worried. What with how you stormed out of dinner like that."
"I'm at Luke's," Lorelai whispered to her daughter, glancing at Luke to make sure she hadn't woken him up.
There was a slight pause on the other end of the line. Rory finally spoke. "You're at Luke's," she repeated.
Knowing what her daughter was probably thinking, Lorelai quickly tried to explain things. "I was upset. And there may have been a lot of alcohol involved. Somewhere during that time, I fell asleep. I am so sorry," she apologized.
"It's okay, Mom," Rory assured her. "Are you coming home?"
"Yeah. Sure. Just as soon as the room stops spinning long enough for me to see straight. I feel like I'm on an endless ride of the Tilt-a-Whirl."
"Why don't you just stay there? I'll meet you at the diner tomorrow morning for breakfast."
"I love you, kid," Lorelai told her daughter.
"Get some sleep," Rory replied to her mother before hanging up.
Lorelai replaced Luke's phone and shuffled back over to the bed. She looked down at her slightly wrinkled dress clothes. Not wanting to ruin them anymore, she grabbed one of Luke's flannel shirts that was hanging on his closet door. Careful not to wake Luke, she hurriedly changed out of her clothes and into his shirt.
She fiddled with the cuff of the sleeve as she climbed back into his bed. The shirt smelled like the diner, like coffee, like Luke. Pulling the covers up around her, she breathed in deeply, letting the safety she felt lull her back to sleep.
Lorelai woke up once again, this time to the smell of bacon cooking in the kitchen. She grinned as she climbed out of bed. He was making her breakfast. She saw him standing in front of the stove, his back facing her. "Good morning," she greeted.
He turned to face her. He was surprised to find her standing there wearing one of his shirts. Suddenly the scene was domestic to the point of bordering on uncomfortable for him. Not because he didn't like it, but because he found himself liking the thought a little too much. "Morning," he stuttered, temporarily stuffing his train of thought. "I figured you'd be hungry." He pointed to the plate of pancakes already waiting for her on the table.
"Hangover food," she observed. "You are awesome, my friend."
"That's not all." He produced a cup of steaming hot coffee and held it out to Lorelai.
She gratefully took the mug from him before taking a seat at the table. "Awesome doesn't even begin to describe..." She took a sip of the dark liquid. "Mmm..."
He placed the plate of cooked bacon in front of her. "I have to get downstairs," he told her.
Lorelai nodded. "Oh! Rory should be coming to the diner."
"I'll send her up," he assured her, making his way towards the door.
"Luke!" she called out, stopping him. He turned back to face her. "Thank you," she paused, "For everything," she emphasized.
He gave her a soft smile and nod before leaving the apartment.
To be continued. Please review! I adore feedback.
La prochaine fois: Luke opens up.