If One of Us Had Been a Frog
Chapter Thirteen: Emily Says Hello
Disclaimer: Duh.
Summary: This isn't what Emily wanted. Luke can't sleep.
A/N: In case you haven't noticed, I'm not doing this in order. Where's the fun in that anyway?
Please review.
There's two parts to this. The first part is about Emily & Richard. The 2nd part is Luke & Lorelai. Just so you know…
Once they started coming, the tears didn't stop. She couldn't stop.
She couldn't remember the last time she cried. She began thinking about a Christmas many years ago. Everyone had just left. The cooking staff had cleaned up and gotten paid. Richard had returned to his study.
She and Lorelai had a big fight, and they had left before the apple tarts were ready. She wasn't sure if they'd ever come back.
She couldn't remember what the fight was about, but she remembered staring at her tear streaked face in the mirror that night.
That had been the last time she cried.
Now, she cried over Ricard.
This wasn't what she wanted. This wasn't even close to what she wanted.
She had, had a good time tonight. She really did. She laughed. She smiled. Simon was sweet. He complimented her. He laughed when she made a joke.
But this wasn't what she wanted.
She wanted her old life back.
She wanted to sit at the dining room table with him, and watch as he intently read his newspaper. She wanted to hear about his business trips and about the men at work. She wanted to sit in bed and plan vacations to Europe and the Caribbean. She wanted to knock on the door to his study, late at night, when he had been working for hours, and give him a cup of tea. She wanted to see that tired, grateful look on his face as he took a sip. She wanted to tell him about the DAR ladies over breakfast. She wanted to plan parties for his company, and watched as he made the rounds with that proud, happy look on his face that he always had when he worked. She wanted to fix his tie before they left the house to go to one of those parties.
She didn't want to say hello to anymore men at the club. She didn't want to stress over what to wear and how to do her hair. She didn't want to get home late and then go to sleep alone. She didn't want to have 3 glasses of wine each night.
She wanted someone to talk to. She wanted someone to complain about the maids to. She wanted someone to run ideas off of. She wanted someone with their own ideas to run off her. She wanted someone to tell her what book Rory would love for her birthday. She wanted someone to buy shoes for. She wanted someone to sit at the other end of that long, table. She wanted someone else on her side when it came to Lorelai. She wanted someone who she didn't need to impress all of the time. She wanted someone to dance with.
She missed the smell of cigars. She missed the way his mustache tickled her lips. She missed the way his breath always smelled a little bit like Scotch. She missed having someone who could reach her shoes on the high shelf in the closet. She missed having someone to keep the bed warm. She missed having someone else in her empty house. She missed having someone tell her she looked lovely before she went out. She missed having someone to share the newspaper with. She missed having someone who could zip up her dress.
She missed him.
Before it even registered to her, what she was doing, she made her way outside and into the pool house. She didn't even notice that she wasn't wearing shoes.
"Emily?" She heard his voice. Then, it clicked.
She realized where she was, what she had done.
She was lying in bed, beside him. She was still in her clothes from that evening. Her jacket was still on. She snuggled under the covers, anyway.
"That house is too big for one." She told him.
"You have a maid, Emily." Richard replied, in a way that was just so… Richard.
"I fired her a few hours ago."
He hadn't stopped staring at the ceiling since he had gotten into bed. He really needed to sleep. He had early deliveries the next morning.
He took his eyes off the ceiling, to glance at the clock. He sighed. He had to get up in 4 hours.
He rolled out of bed.
Who was he kidding? He wasn't going to fall asleep tonight.
So, he took a walk.
He didn't usually walk much. He usually took the truck. He just didn't feel like it tonight. The night was quiet, and the town was calm. It was nice. It'd be nicer if Lorelai were there with him.
He continued walking around town. The moon was bright, so even though it was too late for the streetlights to be on, he could still see where he was going. It didn't matter much, though, because he really had no idea where he was going.
He couldn't stop thinking about Lorelai. He was such an idiot sometimes. He had a beautiful, amazing woman, who wanted him to spend the night, and he had early deliveries? So, what? What the hell was he thinking?
Maybe he still needed to wrap his mind around this whole Chris thing. So, she had lunch with him? So, what? Was it such a big deal? It's just lunch. Rory was there. It was at the Inn.
He just wished she had told him. Why didn't she tell him?
Maybe she thought he'd flip out... which he's doing right now. Maybe she knew him better than he thought she did.
He needed to stop analyzing so much. It wasn't a big deal. It was just lunch. He shouldn't worry so much. He was with Lorelai, not Chris. Isn't that all that mattered?
Before he knew it, he was at her back door, reaching for the doorknob. He hadn't even realized he was there until the door opened.
He really needed to fix that lock.
He probably shouldn't wake her, but he really wanted to see her. He made his way up the stairs and into her bedroom.
"Oh my God, you gave me a frickin' heart attack." Lorelai gasped, her hand over her heart, once she realized it was Luke.
"You should lock your door." He told her, knowingly.
"What are you doing here?" She asked. She didn't look mad, or anything. She didn't even look like she had been sleeping. Maybe she missed him as much as he missed her.
He shrugged.
"I thought you had early deliveries." She said, as she moved the covers, inviting him to sit beside her.
He sat beside her. "Couldn't sleep." He told her.
"Me either." She admitted. Somehow, that seemed to comfort him a little. "You OK?" She asked, running her hand through his hair. Something seemed off.
"Yeah, I just... wanted to see you." He told her.
She smiled, and got comfortable in his arms. "Well, I'm glad you came by. My feet were freezing." She told him.
He laughed. She showed him her feet. "I was even wearing my slippers in bed." She told him.
"Well, I'm here now." He told her.
"We're still on for this weekend though, right?" She asked, as she kicked off her slippers. She didn't need them anymore.
"Definitely." He told her.
"Hey... you up for another showing of St. Elmo's Fire?" She teased.
"Oh yeah, and then afterwards could we stop by your mother's and have a tea party with her and her friends?" He asked, after a nice, long, yawn.
"I'm sure she'd like that." Lorelai said, going along with it.
Luke sighed and closed his eyes.
"Hey Luke?"
"Yeah?"
"About that behind the counter thing..."
La, la, la...
I realize this is probably a bad time to post anything with the name, Chris, in it. Believe me, I understand. I'm not reading ANY post-finale fics. They depress me too much. Maybe after the season starts and things are happy again, I'll be able to… but not yet.
Anyways, I'm not exactly sure why I decided to post this particular one, but I did. I hope it's not too depressing.
Please review. I've barely been getting any reviews for this fic.
I promise next chapter will come soon and it will be very happy. Any episodes that you guys would prefer to see? I'd love a suggestion.
Poker Faces last chapter may be posted today, tomorrow, Tuesday… I'm not sure yet. It depends on what I have going on…
Also, please check out the last chapter of my Fades to Black story... I changed the title to Tough Love, Baby. I figured it was fitting for this season. It was a quote from Lorelai in 6.01. Anyway, Chris's name isn't mentioned in the store, and it may just help a little. So, please read and review.
Anyway,
Please review.