AN: First and foremost, just wanted to thank Anon for pointing out my faux pas in chapter one. My mind was in season five on that one! Thankfully, I edited it timely, so hopefully many of you are confused by this gratitude. Thanks everyone for your input. And to those who want to know what pairing this story will be, I ask, what's the fun in that?

There are very few things that Luke actually hates. Sure, there are many things he dislikes, (coffee, crowds, public displays of affection – just to name a few), but only a handful of things he actually hates. Of those few things, being surprised is one of them.

Surprises had never lead to anything great for him. At his surprise thirteenth birthday party, he had opened the door to his dark living room and had quickly went for the light switch. Instead of finding the switch, he had found Jenny Cohen's jaw. It was the first, and only time he had ever hit a girl. Albeit unintentional, he had never quite forgiven himself. She had cried and instead of the normal "Surprise!", he had received a gasp from the group of celebrators. That was the day he had given up on asking Jenny Cohen to the middle school dance.

When he was eighteen, Rachel had called him and told him she had a 'surprise' for him. When he had gone over to her house to find out the good news, she had flashed him a letter of acceptance to Columbia College in Chicago. Happy for his girlfriend, he had smiled, and hugged her in congratulations, attempting to ignore his heart making itself at home in his stomach. It was exactly seven months later that she had left, the first time.

And now, here he stood, frozen in place, realization and embarrassment surrounding him, words and concept of time escaping him. He was back. And in all of the possible ways that statement could be perceived, her being in his arms on the side of the road was perhaps, his least favorite.

He had actually grinned when he pulled up. He'd seen the Massachusetts license plate and he'd seen the couple, happy, appearing to be very much in love. He'd thought, honeymoon. He was always one to help those out in need. And it looked as if these two had been in a hurry to get somewhere fast. Reflecting back, his stomach growling could have been his body's way of warning him to drive on, not stop, not interrupt. Of course, Luke, being Luke, had stopped to see if he could help. He had ignored his stomach's warnings, figuring he could change a tire and be back on the road to Sniffy's in five minutes flat.

He shifted nervously, foot-to-foot, not sure of what to say. Lorelai's mouth hadn't closed since she'd seen him, and it had taken Christopher a few seconds to recognize him. Once realization swept Christopher's face, he jumped to action, walking towards Luke.

"Oh thank god!" Chris approaches Luke, reaching his hand out to Luke who takes it hesitantly. As they shake hands, Chris continues, "Thank god it's you. I've already failed at the changing the tire thing. Didn't want to have to fail at the defending my woman thing as well." He laughs and Luke squeezes his hand a little harder. When Chris pulls his hand back, he shakes it jokingly. "Some grip you got there."

Luke smirks, and Christopher turns back to Lorelai, who remains standing shell-shocked by the car. Lorelai smiles at him stiffly, glancing at Luke, and averting her eyes quickly, the redness still ever present in her cheeks.

She tries to shake off her shock and uneasiness, plastering a smile on her face. She looks back at Luke and manages a simple, "Thanks for stopping Luke."

Christopher starts to move back towards Lorelai and Luke begrudgingly follows. As he reaches the car, Christopher puts his hands on his hips, looking at the flat.

"So, can you change a tire?"

This makes Lorelai laugh, surprising Luke and herself. Chris smiles and wraps his arm around her shoulders. "Oh, you think that's funny?"

Lorelai smiles at him, "Oh sweetie, of course Luke can change a tire."

Luke uncomfortably smiles at them but quickly looks at the tire. He realizes he hadn't said anything yet in this uncomfortable situation. He clears his throat and bends down, taking survey of the damage.

"It doesn't look like the rim or axle was damaged."

"Uh huh. And the circular thing is no longer inflated," Lorelai jokingly adds, authoritatively.

Chris smiles and speaks to Luke, "So it's fixable?"

Luke turns towards them, "Yep, will just take a few minutes."

"Yay!" Lorelai exclaims, attempting to lighten the mood between her and Luke. He smiles faintly and returns to work.

He moves the jack to the other side of the wheel. Christopher turns to Lorelai, "See I thought that's where it went."

Lorelai looks at him shocked, "You never said that!"

"It's what I was thinking the whole time," he speaks unconvincingly and grins.

Lorelai smiles at him, hitting his chest, "You can't change a tire and you're a liar!"

Christopher smiles and pulls her closer with his arm. She sighs and Luke jacks the car up, putting more force than necessary in each turn. Lorelai turns to Christopher, "You need to take notes hon."

"Nah, I'll just get triple A," he returns grinning.

Luke turns and starts looking through the various items on the ground. Wary, he looks up at Christopher, "You know where the key to your lock-nuts is?"

Lorelai laughs, and Christopher smirks at her. Luke sighs, rolling his eyes. Chris answers, as he turns away from Lorelai, "No. That's the round thing to get the tire off right?"

Luke sighs, "Yeah. It's pretty important. Maybe it's in your glove compartment?"

"I'll check."

Christopher heads towards the front of the car and climbs in the passenger seat, leaving Luke and Lorelai alone. Lorelai smiles awkwardly at him.

"So thanks again."

Luke stoically answers, "It's no problem."

"Well thanks anyway." Luke purses his lips together and nods. Lorelai leans towards him speaking lower, "Look Luke, I don't want it to be this way with us anymore."

"So he's back huh?"

Lorelai's slightly thrown by the change of topic but quickly recovers defensively, "Yes. He's here for Rory," she continues a little hesitantly, "And for me."

Luke rolls his eyes, "For how long this time?"

Lorelai glances nervously towards Christopher who's still rummaging through the glove compartment. She turns back to Luke and whispers angrily, "He's here now. That's what matters. He's trying to make things right. Unlike some people I know," she finishes with a touch of accusation.

Luke looks at her angrily and opens his mouth to respond as Christopher jumps out of the car.

"Found it!"

Lorelai turns to Christopher and smiles the best smile she can muster under the circumstances, but he's too proud to notice.

"See I'm not that clueless." He holds up the silver object, showing Lorelai and then handing it to Luke. He immediately finds Lorelai's side, kissing her temple. Luke wordlessly begins to take the wheel off.

Christopher feels Lorelai shift uncomfortably beside him. He turns to towards her worried. "Hey what's wrong?"

She looks at him, a smile faint across her lips. "It's nothing." She leans in and kisses him hurried, reassuringly. "I'm just going to wait in the car okay?"

Christopher looks at her confused but manages, "Oh, okay."

She removes herself from his grasp and walks towards the car. He watches her go.

For as long as he knew her, Lorelai Gilmore was still a mystery to him sometimes. He knew most of her faces. Like when she was angry with him but she was trying to hide it. He could always tell when she was sad, or happy, or, like the day she told him she was pregnant, a mixture of the two. If she was hungry, he knew. There were eyes that told him she wanted him, and there were eyes that told him she just wanted sleep. But sometimes, like now, her face held none of the above. It was an uncertainty in her features, a far off look that worried him. Something that made his stomach churn and his heart heavy.

She closes the door and Christopher turns, silently watching as Luke works. He lifts the spare tire into place when Christopher speaks up, "What did you say to her?" His tone was neither angry nor accusatory; it was more worried and sincere. And that made Luke uncomfortable.

He exhales deeply as he sits the tire into position and starts screwing it into place. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Christopher nods silently, glancing back towards Lorelai. "I just don't want to screw this up."

Luke finishes tightening all the nuts into place. The thought that maybe Lorelai was right, that maybe he was actually going to try this time, runs through Luke's head as he cranks the car down. Guilt runs hot through his veins as tire makes contact with the ground. He sighs and stands, turning towards Christopher. He takes the key, placing it roughly in Chris's hand. "Then don't."

Christopher takes the key and nods. "That's the plan."

Lorelai watches as Luke's truck drives off. She sighs heavily, but as Christopher opens the door, she tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear and smiles.

"So it's all fixed?"

Christopher sits next to her silently, and then rests his hand on her leg, facing her. After a second of studying her face, "Did something happen between you and Luke?"

She looks at him confused and opens her mouth to speak, but he starts again.

"I mean I won't be mad if it did." He looks hesitant but quickly continues, "I mean it's over now right?"

Lorelai recoils slightly, understanding. And then she smiles at him, amused. "Nothing happened between me and Luke."

"So you aren't sleeping together?"

"Currently, no. While you were off looking for the nut key though, that's another story," she states, feigning seriousness.

He smiles and squeezes her leg, "Good."

She returns his smile and he cranks the car. "It's a lock-nut key by the way."

Lorelai looks shocked and smiles brightly at him. "There's hope for you yet!"

He laughs and puts the car into drive, pulling back onto the road.

TBC