She Always Takes Me Back

Chapter 20: Fish Tastes Best Right Out of the Oven

Luke's Diner opened in Stars Hollow, Connecticut on September 17, 1991, in the building formerly occupied by the Williams Hardware Store, which closed in December of 1990, with the death of the store's owner. Since the diner opened, it had not opened only twice, once for three days in May of 2002 when Luke went fishing, and again for three weeks in July of 2003 when Luke went on a cruise with his girlfriend/soon-to-be wife. Since that day, the diner (or any other restaurant in Stars Hollow proper) had ever been robbed at gunpoint. There had been the occasional dine-and-dashers (mostly teenagers) and a few people who shorted the bill, but this was the first time Luke had ever found a gun in his face.

"All right," Luke said trying to stay calm. "Nobody needs to get hurt. You can have all the money that's here, but I have to go over to the cash register."

Although he wasn't known for his patience or diplomatic abilities, Luke knew he had to remain as cool as possible. Most people who did this sort of thing weren't out to hurt anybody, but were desperate. As long as he did what this idiot asked and didn't intervene, it should be fairly simple. The only thing that was bugging him was the fact that the cash register was full since didn't clear it out when he got back from the Twickham house. Normally, the extra money would have already been safely tucked away upstairs in his safe.

He was going to lose several thousand dollars tonight, he thought as he walked behind the counter, but at least no one was going to get hurt.

With the meal almost ready, Lorelai began preparing the apartment to make it a bit more conducive to romance.

She went through Luke's meager CD collection and decided to play something he actually liked. She sighed as she pulled the Jimmy Buffett CD from its case and put it in the player. "Margaritaville" quickly filled the room. Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"I can't believe I'm listening to this," she said as she rummaged through the kitchen cabinets to find plates to set the table.

As she opened one of the kitchen drawers, she found a white linen tablecloth and smiled. Lorelai thought it might be his mother's, and decided to use it. She only hoped it wasn't valuable. When she saw it had quite a few stains, she thought it would be okay.

With the table set, the only thing left to do was light the candles in the center of the table. All she needed was matches and Luke to start her night.

Only a few people were outside in Stars Hollow and none of them noticed the tow-haired child by herself in the gazebo. None of them noticed the smell of gasoline emanating from there either. Christopher had been in the diner for too long. All he had to do was shoot him and get out.

Why was it taking so long? How could he screw up something so easy? Gigi groaned as she thought what could be going wrong right now. The scenario that first came to her mind was Luke knocking Christopher out with a ladle or something heavy and metal. Gigi began to pace. He had five more minutes, then she was setting the gazebo on fire, even if Luke wasn't dead yet.

This was harder than Christopher thought it was going to be. It was bad enough he had used that stupid accent, but the mask was hot, and Luke was being very understanding. He had done everything Christopher had asked and wasn't resisting. Gigi was right. He wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize his life because he had something to live for.

"Is there a bat under the counter?"

"No," Luke said, mentally cursing himself for putting it back upstairs after using at the batting cages a few weeks earlier. He had taken upstairs because he was afraid he would use it on a customer while he and Lorelai were apart.

Christopher could feel sweat pooling under his mask. He just hoped this didn't take too long.

"Good," he said in his bad accent to Luke who was just behind the counter. "Now open the cash register."

Luke hit a button on the register, but nothing happened.

"Dammit," Luke said as he hit the button again.

"What?"

"The damn cash register is stuck," Luke said as he hit the register hard on the side causing it to make a ringing sound and nothing else.

"Well, get it unstuck," Christopher said, his "accent" slipping slightly.

Luke looked at him, trying to remember the voice, but fear and adrenaline were keeping him from thinking clearly. He had hear that voice before, and he had seen those eyes before, but he couldn't remember where. He just wanted to get this problem out of his diner before someone came along and got hurt.

Christopher walked over to the diner's windows to check out the gazebo. It was still standing, so Gigi hadn't done anything yet. He took a couple of deep breaths and tried to figure out his next step after he shot Luke. He felt bad about taking the money, but Luke wasn't going to need it, and he needed it to get out of town as fast as possible.

While his back was turned, Luke looked for something he could use to disarm the man, but didn't see anything. The robber was acting jumpy, like he was waiting for something. He pounded on the cash register a few more times, before he realized the problem.

"I need a knife to open the register. I promise I'm not going to do anything heroic. I want you to leave as soon as possible."

Christopher had about 100 scenarios running through his head and none of them that included Luke with a knife were appealing to him.

"Look, do you want the money or not?" I just need to jimmy the lock. A butter knife will do."

"Okay, a butter knife then."

Luke reached under the counter to grab one of the knifes in the tray. It only took him a minute to get the register open.

"I want all the cash. No change," Christopher said as scratched at the back of head under the mask. "And make it fast before you get hurt.

Luke began to pull the money out of the register. He realized there was far too much to just hand to the man.

After two Jimmy Buffett songs, Lorelai couldn't take the mellowness any longer. She turned off the music. The food was on the table. The candles were now lit after she searched Luke's nightstand for matches. The wine was chilled. All she needed was Luke, and he hadn't come upstairs yet, even though the diner should have already closed.

"How long does it take to mop a floor?" she said as she opened the bottle of wine and poured herself a glass.

After a few minutes of waiting, she had had enough. If she couldn't surprise Luke, she was going down to the diner to get his ass up there so she could eat, drink and get laid.

"I need a bag," Luke said. "Can I grab one from behind me?"

"Sure, but no funny business," Christopher said, as his sweat soaked through his long sleeved shirt.

As Luke put his back to him, Christopher realized this was the best time to shoot him. He wouldn't see it coming and he wouldn't have to look him into the eyes. He took a breath, aimed the gun and prepared to pull the trigger.

"Hey Luke," Lorelai said as she entered the diner from behind the counter. "I had this--oh my God."

Christopher quickly turned and accidentally fired the gun. The bullet hit Lorelai, who fell to the ground.

"Oh my God," Christopher screamed as he saw Lorelai fall.

"Lorelai!" Luke screamed and took a step back from the counter. He felt heat behind him and realized he had put coffee on earlier.

He grabbed the coffee pot and threw it at the assailant, hitting him square in the face. The glass broke and Christopher let out another scream, this time of pain from the glass and the scalding hot coffee.

Luke jumped over the counter and kicked the man in the head, making sure to knock him unconscious. He shuddered when he pulled off the mask and saw the face of Christopher Hayden.

"What the hell were you doing?" he said as he ran to Lorelai's side.

She was unconscious and bleeding from her left shoulder. Luke didn't know anything about gunshots, so he applied pressure to the wound.

"Lorelai? Baby? Can you hear me?" he said cradling her in his arms and bringing her forehead to his lips. "Wake up and speak to me."

He kissed her again and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed 911.

"There's been a shooting at Luke's Diner at 731 Main Street in Stars Hollow. We need an ambulance and police now. A woman's been shot."

He continued to cradle her in his arms and began to cry as he answered the operator's questions. If she died, Luke didn't know what he was going to do. He couldn't lose another person he loved.

Gigi heard the shot from the diner, but knew Luke Danes wasn't dead. She couldn't even feel his life force breaking.

"He messed up again," Gigi thought as she sighed and pulled out the book of matches. "Well, I might not begin my reign tonight, but I'll be damned if this gazebo is going to stand a minute longer."

Gigi walked down the steps of the gazebo and lit a match. She threw it in the center of the gazebo, which instantly turned orange and crimson. She then walked away as swiftly as her tiny legs would allow.

Luke continued to apply pressure and a clean towel to Lorelai's wound per the operator's instructions. He only stopped to tie up Christopher with some duct tape that was on one of the diner's shelf. It had been his father's. He also kicked him again for good measure. It had been 8 minutes.

Lorelai had still not woken up. She was losing blood, but it seemed to be less.

As he held her, she came around for a second.

"Luke? The fish is getting cold," she said before slipping back into unconsciousness.

A/N: I'm sorry for the shortness and the cliff hanger (I know another one), but I'll get the next part out as soon as possible. Thank you for your continued reviews and remarks. I appreciate them.