A/N: For story purposes, Gigi is slightly older than her "real" age.

She Always Takes Me Back

Chapter 3: Did You Take Notes From Fatal Attraction?

Lorelai couldn't place her finger on it, but something was off. As she went out to pick up the newspaper, she had the nagging suspicion someone was watching her. Unfortunately, she'd had that feeling quite a bit since Luke had left. She turned back to the house, but noticed the garage door was ajar.

As she headed over to the garage, she heard Babette's familiar voice calling from behind her.

"Hey, Sugar."

Lorelai turned to see Babette heading out of her house.

"Hey Babette, how are this morning?"

"I didn't sleep so well. Did you hear anything weird last night? I could have sworn someone was outside my house."

"No, but I had the TV up pretty loud last night. It was probably racoons or something."

"It better be because if someone tries to break into my house, they will find themselves in quite the pickle."

"I'm not too concerned. There's nothing in my house worth stealing since Rory went to Yale."

"Well, keep an eye out and call me if you see something."

"Will do," she said, as she heard the phone ring inside. "I bet that's Rory. See you later, Babette."

"Bye doll."

Lorelai ran back into the house, but by the time she made it, the answering machine had already beeped.

"Lor, it's me. I know you're still mad, but we just need to talk it out. You'll see that we could have a great life together, you just to start thinking…"

Lorelai turned off the machine. His voice was making her wince. Christopher was going to make an even bigger ass of himself if he thought there was something he could do to win her back.

Realizing the time, she rushed upstairs to get dressed since she needed to find costume supplies before heading to the Dragonfly. She didn't need Sookie sending out a posse for her. Another drawback to losing Luke was she was perpetually late to work again. Early mornings for him meant early mornings for her.

After running around half of Connecticut looking for beards, Lorelai made it back to Stars Hollow, only to see Luke's boat parked in front of the diner.

I guess he was going to make their split as public as possible, she thought. Oy, to the public spectacles they were making of themselves.

Since she was already in town, Lorelai made a bee line for Weston's for more coffee. Her buzz was fading, and her friend caffeine never let her down. As she stepped inside, she saw Christopher manning a table near the counter, a coffee in one had and The Stars Hollow Gazette in the other.

If he is going to stay here, he'd better get used to me ignoring him, she thought as she headed past him.

"A mocha latte and a blueberry muffin to go," she said, making a concerted effort not to turn around..

"That'll be $4.50," said the teenager whose name Lorelai could not remember no matter how many times she had been in here. "It'll be a minute."

Lorelai stayed at the counter, but the fake cough of a customer behind her forced to move from the counter. As she headed toward an open table, Christopher stood up from his seat. Lorelai tried to walk past him, but he blocked her path.

"Lor, don't be like this. Come and sit with me. We need to talk. Did you get my message?"

"I have nothing to say to you, and I do not want to hear what you say. I told you that I can't stop you from being her, but I don't have to interact with you. Stay away from me, my house and the Dragonfly. You can see Rory all you want, but you do it on your own. I will not be involved."

Lorelai tried to walk past again, and Chris put his hands on Lorelai's arms in an attempt to stop her.

"Get your hands off me, Christopher."

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to talk."

"Well, go on a website because we're done."

"Ma'am," no-name coffee girl said. "Your coffee is ready."

Lorelai broke from Christopher's grasp and headed back to the counter to pick up her food and went for the door. She immediately wanted to go to Luke and tell him about this, but she knew she couldn't. Her problems were no longer his. She could handle Christopher on her own.

Between work at the diner and building sets, Luke hadn't had a lot of time to think about why Christopher was in Stars Hollow. But when he did, his thoughts weren't good. He really just wanted to see Lorelai. He was miserable without her, and his misery was seeping into other parts of his life. His cooking was off, he couldn't remember orders and his customers were becoming more and more annoying.

Anytime an opportunity came to get out of the diner, he took it. He knew if he didn't, Lane would probably quit or he'd set the grill on fire.

"Hey, Luke," Lane said from the kitchen. "We're out of cream. Should I go get some?"

"No, I'll do it. I'll be back in five minutes."

Getting out of the diner and into the fresh air made the day a little more bearable. When he entered Doose's, most of the small talk stopped as the customers turned to look at Luke, then quickly look away again. He grabbed enough creamer to get through two days and paid. Luckily, Taylor wasn't around to ask any questions.

As he stepped out of the market, he saw Christopher walking his direction. Christopher stopped mid-step, and started to turn around but Luke spoke out.

"What the hell are you doing in my town?"

"Look, Luke, I don't want any trouble..." he began, but couldn't get out another word before Luke dropped his bag and closed the distance between the two of them.

"No, you look," he said in his most controlled voice. "I don't know what you think you're doing here, but you better stay away from Lorelai, and you better stay away from me."

"You can't scare me away from Lorelai, because just like I told you before, we belong together," Chris said, his voice mocking Luke's. "If you thought differently, you two would still be together. Now, I have to get home and wait for a call from my daughter."

"Enjoy your ride back to Boston."

"What? You didn't hear? I've moved here. I'll see you around, Luke."

Luke wanted to punch Christopher or throw him threw a plate glass window, or both. Did he say he'd moved to Stars Hollow? He really was going to try and win back Lorelai. Well, what the hell chance did he have if Chris was going to be around 24/7? He'd already freaked after one confrontation with the man. How was he going to handle seeing him walking around Stars Hollow, charming the locals?

How long would it be before he wormed his way back into Lorelai's good graces? He'd seen it before on more than one occasion. She forgave him for every mistake, usually without any apology from him. She had a blind spot, and it's name was Christopher Hayden.

For Luke, however, she never had a blind spot. She had called him on every piece of crap move he'd ever done, and when they began dating, that had made their relationship all the more stronger. Until Christopher reappeared. First it was the lunch, and then she stayed out drinking with him. How many other times had they gotten together without his knowledge? He trusted Lorelai on all matters. All matters, except Christopher. And that was why he was sleeping alone again.

He had jokingly told Taylor he'd close the diner and move if he and Lorelai broke up. But if she was going to be her with Chris, he would have to leave. His heart and his sanity could not bear it.

Luke realized he was still standing in the middle of the sidewalk, and a few townspeople were beginning to stare. He picked up his bag and went back inside the diner, his mood even more dampened than before.

As Christopher arrived at his apartment, the phone begin to ring. He got inside by the fifth ring, and answered.

"Hello."

"Hi, daddy."

"Hi, Junebug. Whatcha doing?"

"Playing with Grandma's kitties."

"Grandma said her cats were missing."

"But I found them," she said, an air of cheeriness in her voice. "They like it when I pull their tails and put them in the bathtub."

"Well, be careful, honey, and don't get scratched."

"Daddy, when you come home, please bring me a new mommy. I miss mine, but she said she won't come back. She called me evil. What's that mean?"

"It means your mommy is very tired and misses you. Don't listen to Mommy, Sweetie. I'll see what I can do about a new mommy."

"I have to go Daddy, I have to go play a trick on Maria."

Gigi hung up the phone before Christopher could say goodbye. He quickly looked at his watch and realized Lorelai would still be at work. He could go and check out her house. He could probably find something there to help in his quest. And when she found out the lengths he went to to win her heart, she'd be bowled over.

The walk over to Lorelai's house only took seven minutes. He had already timed it. When he got there, he stayed close to the tree line in case Babette or Morey were outside. That Babette was already starting to look at him funny. He saw her come outside the previous night. She might be a problem if he wasn't careful. He couldn't have the neighbors telling Lorelai stories of seeing him lurking around.

Once they were back together, he'd tell her and she'd get a good laugh about it. He could hear it now:

Remember that time I hung around your house until you took me back? I would get so cold and just wanted to knock on your door and ask for some coffee, but you were so mad at me. I am so happy I can make you happy again.

He, Rory, Lorelai and Gigi would be able to laugh over those stories, once he won her back. As he walked the perimeter, he noticed her back door. He went to it and gave it a tug. It opened. Why the hell was Lorelai's back door open? Didn't she know how unsafe that was?

He walked in and immediately smelled that smell. The Lorelai smell. Coffee mixed with some fruity flower he didn't know. He walked into the living room and immediately went up the stairs to her bedroom. The room was a mess, like always. Her bed was unmade and there were clothes everywhere. He noticed some of the clothes were not hers, but Luke's. There was a flannel shirt hanging from a bedpost.

Christopher walked into the bathroom, where men's toiletries were still lined up in a neat row on the counter. Why hadn't she thrown out his stuff? She wouldn't take him back if he was still pining. What could he do to get her over it?

He walked back into the bedroom and noticed one of her blouses lying on a chair. He picked it up and smelled it. It still smelled of Lorelai. As he stood there, inhaling her scent mixed with sweat, he heard a key in the lock downstairs.

Someone was home.

A/N: Thanks for the great reviews. I'm glad some of you are enjoying it. Yes, this story is a little weird, but I've been in a weird place thanks to the Palladinos' choices of late. This is my therapy. jennatheJesusfreak: I'm a Luke/Lorelai fan as well, and abhor Christopher. For this story, however, he has to be front and center. If you don't think Christopher is the greatest thing since sliced bread, thisis the story for you. Especially, in the next chapter.