Author's Note: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews for the last part. You all rock!

Previously in "A New Beginning": Luke and Lorelai continued to grow closer with Luke comforting Lorelai after the disastrous dinner with her parents.

Lorelai lowered herself onto a stool and rested her forehead against the cool counter. "Tonight was a long night," she muttered. "I didn't think it was ever going to end."

Luke cleared off the last of the tables. "Where did all of those lunatics come from?" he asked as he carried the plates into the kitchen. "They didn't even order normal things. They even made Kirk's orders look normal. Damn tourists."

"Maybe it was a Kirk family reunion," she suggested without lifting her head.

He groaned. "I don't even want to think about what that would be like." He walked over to the diner door and locked it. Turning around, Luke was surveying the empty diner, mentally listing the many tasks he had to perform, when his eyes landed on Lorelai's hunched over form. She looked exhausted.

"I'll be moving. Any minute now," she paused. "Am I moving yet?" she whimpered. "Can we get Mary Poppins in here to clean up the diner with the snap of her fingers?"

"Mary who?" he asked.

"Honestly, Luke, have you ever seen a movie?" she questioned right back. She finally lifted her head up off the counter. "Okay, what should we do first?" she asked, turning to face him.

Seeing her weary face, Luke was struck with another idea altogether. An idea that would give Lorelai a chance to rest, and him some time to just hang out with her. Luke knew it was so unlike himself to be spontaneous, but there were many facets to his personality that he didn't know existed until he met Lorelai. Her spontaneity made him want to be spontaneous on occasion. And if nothing else, he just really liked spending one-on-one time with her. "You want a beer? I can just clean up tomorrow morning."

"Are you sure?" Lorelai was surprised. Luke never left the diner at night without making sure everything was ready for the next day.

"Positive," he answered. "Let's go upstairs."

"Why Luke, usually one takes a girl out on a date first," Lorelai cooed. "But I guess that I can make an exception just this once-"

"Aww... jeez, Lorelai," he interrupted her. "You're never too tired to make jokes, are you?"

"Nope," she responded. Lorelai watched as he turned off the diner lights, and then she followed him upstairs to his apartment. After untying her apron and throwing it over a kitchen chair, she made her way over to the couch and flopped down on it. She took off her shoes and began to massage her aching feet.

Luke took a seat next to her and handed her one of the two beers he was carrying. "There's a reason why you shouldn't wear heels to work." He nodded at her foot.

She glared at him. "I came straight from the Inn, and I didn't think we'd be this busy. I've worn these shoes here before," she told him.

Luke took a sip of his beer before placing it on the coffee table. "Here," he said, reaching down and pulling Lorelai's feet into his lap. He gently began to massage them, then seemed to think twice and paused. "Is this okay? Me rubbing your feet?"

"Mmm..." she sighed. "That feels so good." Luke took this as a 'yes'. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Lorelai spoke up. "Hey, Luke?" she asked, picking at the label of her beer bottle.

"Yeah?" he inquired, looking over at her.

"Never mind," she answered, focusing intently on the bottle's label.

"What is it?" he coaxed.

"How come you never talk about your family? I mean, you've mentioned your sister a few times, but what about your parents?" She quickly added, "I know, it's none of my business. Forget about it."

He shrugged. "I just don't talk about them very often. I'm not very good at sharing personal stuff like that," he stated. "Or comfortable with it."

She nodded. "I understand," she assured Luke, offering him a small smile. And she did. For all her chattiness, Lorelai rarely shared private details without first being prodded by someone she trusted. Someone like Luke. Typically, she hid behind a wall of humor.

They sat quietly for a few more minutes. This time, it was Luke who broke the silence. "My mother passed away when I was still a child." Lorelai remained silent, letting him continue on his terms. "My dad took it pretty hard. He was lost without her. He couldn't even find the coupon drawer." Luke laughed. "Turns out she kept the coupons in a coffee can."

"Did she teach you to cook?" Lorelai questioned, finally setting her beer bottle down.

Luke looked over at Lorelai. "She did. We spent every Sunday morning together making breakfast." He smiled at the memory. "I would look forward to that day the whole week. And then one week, she was gone..." he trailed off.

Lorelai scooted closer to him so she could rest her head against his shoulder, her legs still draped over his lap. "I owe her a lot. You make an amazing breakfast," she told him quietly. "Is she why you decided to open a diner?"

He shook his head. "The diner used to be a hardware store, my father's hardware store. When he passed away, I couldn't bear to sell it, but I didn't know anything about the hardware business. I can fix things, but I didn't really care much about selling tools. But I could cook."

"So you turned your father's store into the diner?"

"That's what I did. I didn't even take his old sign down out front."

"I've noticed."

"Taylor is constantly trying to get me to remove it, because he thinks that it confuses the customers."

"People seem to have figured out that it's a diner," Lorelai stated. "Screw Taylor." She sought out his hand with her own. Finding it, she entwined her fingers with his. "I wish that I could have met your parents."

He squeezed her hand. "Me too. They would have loved you."

"You think so?"

"I know so. My dad would have joined in on your dirty jokes, and my mom would have treated you like her own daughter."

"It sounds like you were all so close," Lorelai observed. "I wish that I had that."

"We were, and we weren't. We had our rough patches, especially me and my father, but I respected him more than anyone. I don't do too well around the anniversary of his death. The town refers to the day, November 30, as my "Dark Day". I go out of town for the day. Alone," he explained.

"That makes sense. It's good to kind of just go away to think about things," she noted.

Luke looked at Lorelai, his best friend, and had to smile. She was snuggled against him, a silent gesture of comfort. And he definitely found it comforting. Having a best friend was a new experience for Luke. He wasn't used to having someone to open up to, let alone someone he wanted to share these kinds of things with. And again, he was struck with the desire to continue these good feelings, to be spontaneous. "Maybe this year, I won't have to be alone. You could come with me. I could tell you some great stories about my father. I know it's a long way's off, but-"

"Luke," she cut him off. "I'd love to."

"And you do have that," he stated.

"Have what?"

"That closeness. With Rory," he clarified.

"I do. I'm lucky to have her." She placed a light kiss on his cheek. "And you," she added softly. "Thank you for sharing that with me."

He wrapped his arm around her. "It actually felt good to talk about them. I can't even remember the last time."

"I'd like it if you'd tell me some more about them," Lorelai said.

"You would?" he asked, a bit surprised. Not that he thought she didn't care, but he hadn't expected that she would be so interested in his past. He didn't lead a very interesting life, but here was Lorelai, looking up at him with eager eyes like he was the most fascinating person in the world.

"Of course, I would. Now, tell me one of those stories you said you had about your father," she requested.

As he spoke, he watched as Lorelai listened intently. With each passing moment, the words began to flow more freely. He hadn't been this comfortable and open with someone for as long as he could remember.

To be continued. Please review! I know this part was a bit short, but I think the next one will be a bit longer.

La prochaine fois: It's Valentine's Day in the Hollow.