Noticing

A/N: Last chapter! Thanks to everybody who has read and/or reviewed! Just a side note – all the italics are Luke's letter, and I'm only going to answer the questions that I've mentioned before, just to make it easier. And sorry about the constant paragraph breaks. The letter looks best this way.

Chapter Three

It's three in the morning.

She sits on the couch, legs tucked up underneath her. Her eyes are focused on the blank TV, watching stories play out in her head. She's alone in the house, having sent Rory to Lane's for the occasion. She is surrounded by movies, candy and coffee mugs, all there in case she should fall asleep and miss him. Because she knows he'll come, or call, or do something. And she'll be damned is she misses it.

The doorbell rings, and she's up faster than ever, knocking over a bowl of marshmallows in the process. She runs to the door and skids to a halt, trying to calm herself. As she pulls the door open, she's disappointed to see that there's no one there. She frowns. Some kid playing ding-dong-ditch at three in the morning? That's a wise move. She takes a few steps outside to look for potential visitors, only to feel something crackle beneath her bare feet. She looks down. It's an envelope with her name on it, formed in Luke's slanted writing.

How very like Luke, she thinks, for him to leave a letter just as she did. She steps back, bends down, picks it up, and goes back inside. She plops herself down on the couch again and tucks her feet up under her. Everything is as it was a few minutes ago. Except now, now she has this letter. And that's all that matters.

She opens it quickly, tearing the envelope in multiple places in her hasty attempt to get the letter out. When she finally does, she realizes that it's a pretty short letter. Trust Luke to be able to take something so huge and make it so simple. She takes a breath, and reads the first page.

Dear Lorelai,

I started reading your letter this morning, and I didn't finish for at least an hour. You asked me a lot of questions, and some of them were so like you that I had to read them twice to understand. It's like that with you – I'm always one step behind.

She laughs under her breath. To her, Luke is always one step ahead.

I'll try to answer your questions. Sorry if my answers don't make sense – you know I'm not great with words. You wanted to know my middle name. It's Ian.

She's laughing again, but out loud this time. Ian is not a Luke name. Nothing but Luke is a Luke name.

I know you well enough, Lorelai. You're laughing right now, aren't you?

She stops laughing, her face suddenly serious. This is kind of creepy. How does he know that?

Well, stop. I didn't choose it. My mother's father was named Ian, and it's a family thing. I think you know enough about that. So on to your next question – my family. Honestly, Lorelai, I'm not sure there's anything I can tell you that you haven't heard from Miss Patty.

She laughs. He really does know her too well. She asked Miss Patty just last week.

My coffee secret, you already know. Nutmeg. That's it. Have Sookie add some at the Inn.

This is one thing she doesn't believe. She's added entire containers of nutmeg before in a last ditch attempt to make good coffee, because there was this notion that if she could make coffee like his, she wouldn't need him. Which she now knows is completely untrue.

As for your number four, I can honestly say that I have no idea what you're talking about. Being a man, I don't know what the right height is when one is wearing heels. And with any luck, I never will.

My eyes? Lorelai, anyone can tell I wear color contacts.

She does a double take, nearly falling off the couch. Color contacts?

You thought I was telling the truth, didn't you? I'll bet you almost fell over.

She scowls, almost hating the man for his clear understanding of her. Stupid, stupid Lorelai for falling in love with him. Suddenly, she sits up straight. Where did that come from? She thinks about it for a second before she realizes that it was only a matter of time before he became her everything. So she keeps reading.

I really can't tell you why they are the color they are. At the risk of sounding sappy, they look just like my dad's did.

Her frown melts, forming a small smile that she knows only he can induce.

I'll combine your six, seven, eight and nine into one thing. Why I don't move away from here in an attempt to escape you. Lorelai, there's a simple reason that I stay here day after day. And that's you.

She pauses for a second, her mind going blank in what she knows is a blissful way.

I'll skip the rest of your questions and go straight to the end. To the most important one. Number Eighty Seven. There are so many reasons a person could love you, Lorelai. I'll simplify them all by telling you that I love you just because you're you. Because of where you came from, because of where you are now. Because of all the things you've said or done, because of the way you smiled when I made you a burger that looked like a Santa.

There's so much more I could say, but I've run out of paper.

She flips the pages over frantically, looking for something else there. She knows that it's improbable – even his last word is cramped in tiny. But at the bottom of the last page are two words, scribbled quickly and in microscopic print.

Love,

Luke

She jumps as the doorbell rings once again. This time, she knows it's no kid. She knows who it is. She gets up, walks to the door, and swings it open, a smile on her face.

"Hey Luke."

"Hey Lorelai."