He was staring at her with wide eyes, not certain just what to say.

"Luke, you don't have to say anything...I need to sort through this."

"Lorelai, you don't need to sort through anything...we're calling the cops."

"No! Luke, that's the LAST thing that I want to do right now."

"Lorelai, you are probably the bravest, strongest person I know, and I won't let you start to make excuses for him or let him get away with this."

"I'm not letting him get away with it...I don't want to deal with it like that. After that little escapade, I don't think that he's going to come around anymore."

Again, tilting her face so he can see the bruise forming, he caresses her cheek, "and what if he does Lorelai?" he says, then burying his face in his hands, frustrated at the world.

"Lorelai, this could have turned out so much worse...he could have...and...I don't know what I..." he says while shaking his head slowly.

He's right. It could have ended so much worse than this, so much worse.

With these thoughts, her eyes start to well up again.

"I'm sorry Lorelai, I didn't meant to...ah hell..." he gathers her up again, "I was just thinking in my head how bad this could have been, and how bad it can get. Lorelai, you need to tell someone about this"

"You're someone..." she said with a small laugh.

"Well, I meant someone that has a badge and a gun and couldn't get arrested really for beating the crap out of this guy... I mean, I could do it, but then you'd die from lack of caffeine while I was in jail, and the world as we know it would end."

"Luke Danes, you have such a way with words."

He smiles at her and releases his hold.

"yeah, well, I try you know. Are you okay now? Can I get you anything?"

"umm...no I don't think so."

"Well, I...Ceasar has to..."

"Go. Don't worry about me, I'll clean myself up and be back down to annoy you in a minute.

"Well, it give me something to look forward to."

As he reached the door, he was stopped with the sound of her voice, "Luke?"

"yeah?" he replies, turning to face her.

"Thank you."

"eh, don't worry about it. I told you I was always here."

She smiles at his retreating form. It's true. He's always been the one to get me out of the toughest binds, always there to lend an ear or a shoulder.

As he gets down to the diner, Ceaser is waiting expectantly. "Everything okay there boss?"

"yeah, everything's fine. You can go home Ceaser. Thanks for staying a little longer tonight."

"No problem."

Ceaser leaves the diner quickly, on his way home for the night, and Luke notices the lack of people in the Diner. Thankful for that, he is left alone to his thoughts. I should find him and kill him is what I should do. How could anyone allow that to happen? Not Lorelai, no, she did what she could to get him to leave, but Jason. I've never understood that... if you love someone that much, then why would you hurt them? I hope she's going to be okay...I know she'll beat herself up about this for a while.

"Hey Luke?" she says with a bit of cheer in her voice.

"yes?"

She pushes her coffee cup towards him, "Can I take a few more off?"

"You know, if I didn't lo… uh.. " Crap...that was smooth. "If I didn't know you that well, and I didn't like you so much, I sure wouldn't know what to do with you."

What the heck was that? What was he going to say before he turned sheet white and then bright red? There is no way that Luke Danes was going to tell me that he loved me...was there?

"I take back the comment about you having a way with words..."

"Funny."

"Yeah, well, call me Lucy. Can I get it to go?"

"You sure you'll be okay goin home?"

"Yeah, I will be." She smiled as he hands her a to go cup full of her favorite poison.

"Lorelai, if you need anything, you call me, okay?"

"I will Luke...again, Thanks."

He watches her walk as far as he can, not knowing how well he was going to sleep knowing what happened before.

The next morning at the Girls' house

This sucks. I'm still wired, and it's... she looks up at her alarm clock… It's already like 9AM! I've been tossing and turning all night long.

As she lays in bed in frustration from lack of sleep, she hears a car door slam. Thinking that it is Rory coming from Yale, worried about her after the phone call she gave last night, she goes to her window to double check. Sitting in her driveway is a familiar car, but not Rory's.

She rushes over to the phone, and dials the all too familiar number quickly.

"Lukes?"

"Luke, I need you right now... please!"

oooh… don't you love cliffhangers… so tell me what you want to happen next. Should Luke kick some ass? Maybe he'll call the cops? Maybe he and Jason will sit down for a nice talk about the woman that they love? hmmm... we shall see soon!