She woke up the next morning to the sound of an earth-shaking thunder clap. She rolled over and noticed the time on her alarm clock.

4:15? Are you kidding me?

She turned back over to find the other side of her bed empty and immediately reached for the phone on her night stand.

"Where are you?" she asked when he answered.

"I was in bed. I'd like to know why I'm not anymore," he replied, his voice groggy and annoyed.

"Why did you leave?"

"What are you talking about?" his voice turned confused.

"My house, Luke. Why did you leave my house?"

"I'm so lost," he replied.

"We went to the town meeting last night, did we not?" she asked.

"We did," he confirmed.

"And Kirk told everyone there that we're dating, did he not?"

"He did."

"And then you took Rory and I back to the diner for ice cream and pie, did you not?" she continued.

"I did."

"And then you took us home and you came upstairs and we had a fight and we went to bed, did we not?"

"Now that one we did not," he responded.

"What do you mean we did not?" she asked.

"I took you two back to the diner, you ate, and you walked home. I went upstairs and went to bed. What are you on?"

She eventually realized she must have dreamt the tail end of last night's events.

"I must have been dreaming," she sighed.

"Ah. I figured that somewhere along the way. So what were we fighting about?" he asked, curious.

"Nothing!" she replied, quickly.

"Must've been bad," he laughed.

"It was fine. Even more fine now that I know it never actually happened. I'm going back to bed. You should too. I'll be in later on this morning. Love you."

"Love you too," he smiled through the phone. "See you later."

She hung up and released a sigh of relief as she let her head fall back onto her pillow.

"Thank god," she whispered to herself.

"We should go away for a weekend," Sookie said, her attention never leaving the cucumber she was slicing.

"You talking to me?" Lorelai responded after looking around the kitchen to realize that she was the only other person in the room.

"No, I'm talking to the oven," she mocked.

Lorelai rolled her eyes before replying.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked.

"My Aunt Tabbie, you know, the one with 7 kids from 6 fathers?"

Lorelai nodded in understanding.

"She sent me two passes for a weekend spa trip and I figured we could go get our beaut on."

"Ooh! That sounds fun!" she said, happy to find any reason to run away from facing the dream she'd had the night before. "When are they for?"

"There isn't a specific date," Sookie said. "We can go anytime. I was thinking the 2nd weekend of next month?"

"How about this weekend?" Lorelai replied rather quickly.

"This weekend?"

"I could so use a getaway. Rico!" she shouted, turning her attention toward the assistant chef who was just entering the room. "You're taking over the kitchen this weekend, Sookie and I are skipping town."

"Umm, okay," he said confusedly. "Where are you going?"

"To pamper our asses off!" Sookie nearly yelled in anticipation.

"Sounds good, boss," he replied in his thick foreign accent, giving her two thumbs up before exiting toward the pantry.

Lorelai turned her attention back to Sookie. "Go home, get packed, and I'll pick you up in two hours."

"You're crazy and spontaneous and absolutely nuts."

"And you love it."

"I do. See you later, spa buddy," Sookie told her, untying the apron from behind her back and grabbing her keys.

She pulled up to Sookie's house later that morning and found her anxiously waiting on the porch, luggage in hand. She scurried down the stairs and to the Jeep as Lorelai opened her trunk and helped her load her bags into it.

"So," Sookie said, turning to her as they made their way north on the freeway. "What's new?"

"Well, considering we had a conversation yesterday about how I got home Sunday night and realized my underwear had been inside out all day, I'd say you're pretty caught up on my life," she replied, her eyes focused on the rearview mirror.

"Ah…" Sookie responded, a knowing tone in her voice.

Lorelai furrowed her brow in confusion but refrained from asking any questions.

They arrived at the spa around 2:00 and were greeted by two young men, probably in their twenties, wearing light green polos, khaki shorts, black belts, and white tennis shoes. The boys jogged to the car as Sookie and Lorelai stepped out.

"Good afternoon, ladies!" the boy on the right exclaimed.

"Welcome to the Essex Resort and Spa!" the other said, equally enthusiastic.

The two best friends turned to each other, grinning at the obviously rehearsed bit that the boys were putting on for them. Lorelai returned her attention to them.

"Hi!" she said, mimicking them. "I'm Lorelai, this is Sookie," she said gesturing to herself and then to Sookie on her left.

"Pleasure to meet you, ladies! I'm Matt," said the one on the left.

"And I'm Greg!" the other continued. "Can we take your luggage?"

"Yes, sirs!" Lorelai replied.

She led them to the trunk and opened it. After the young men loaded their arms with the girls' belongings, they led them to the valet, who took her keys and jogged off to park her car. Sookie and Lorelai followed Matt and Greg into the building, where they were taken to the registration desk.

"Good afternoon! Welcome to the Essex Resort and Spa! My name is Angela. How can I help you today?"

"Hi, I made a reservation this morning for Sookie St. James."

"Yes! I took your call! Glad to see you girls made it safely. Did you have a nice trip?" she asked while bringing up their reservation number on the computer. "Okay, ladies! I have you all set in suite 62. Just head up this staircase and take a right! Your room is the fifth one down on the left side of the hallway. Breakfast is served from 6:30 until 9:30 in the dining room on the third floor, as well as on the roof by the pool if the weather is nice. The room service and cable menus are in the drawer in your nightstand. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"I think we're good for now!" Sookie said.

"Sounds good! Let me know how I can assist you gals at anytime during the weekend! Enjoy your stay!"

"Thank you, we will," Lorelai responded.

Angela handed them a key card and they made their way up the staircase and down the hallway. Matt and Greg were exiting the room just as they approached the door.

"Your luggage is all settled in, girls. Is there anything else we can help you with?" Greg asked.

"I think we're all set!" Sookie said, pulling out two $10 bills and handing one to each of them. "Thank you for your help boys."

"Our pleasure!" they said in unison as they skipped down the hallway toward the staircase.

Sookie and Lorelai made their way into the suite.

"Wooh," Lorelai hooted. "Having multiple life partners really pays off!"

"This room is incredible," Sookie agreed as she flopped backward onto one of the two queen-sized, pillowtop beds. "Boy, am I gonna sleep good tonight," she said as she pulled the fluffy comforter over her and snuggled into the soft pillows.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting ready to enjoy the best nap of my entire life," Sookie whispered.

"We're here for spa treatments, not naps," Lorelai replied as she sat down on the adjacent bed, a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"Okay," she said, sitting up on the bed. "What's going on with you?"

"I'm sorry," Lorelai sighed. "I'm just...I'm fine."

"That's convincing," Sookie snarked.

"Don't worry about it."

"Nuh-uh. I'm not about to spend an entire weekend of fun watching you sulk over whatever is clearly bothering you," she argued.

Lorelai sighed again and settled into the blankets and pillows of her own bed.

"I had this dream last night," she began.

"Okay…" Sookie drew out the word, urging her to continue.

"It was about Luke."

"Ah," Sookie remarked.

"What?"

"Nothing! Carry on!" she answered, spinning her hand in a circle in front of her.

"So Kirk exposed us at the town meeting. And then Luke took Rory and I back to the diner and fed us like the perfect man he is. Then he went upstairs and we left."

"This dream is fascinating. Also, I watched the first seventy five percent of it occur so what were you drinking last night?" Sookie asked.

"No," Lorelai laughed. "That all happened. But the story carried on into my slumber."

"Got it. Keep going."

"So we were laying in bed and I asked him if he was upset about the whole town finding out. He said he was fine and that he was kind of glad we wouldn't have to sneak around anymore. I told him I sort of agreed but I was also weary because it puts this new pressure on us that wasn't there before. We're in the public eye now and if it doesn't work out, it'll be this huge deal all around the town."

"Is that how you really feel?" Sookie questioned.

"A little. I don't think I'm as strong-minded about it in real life, though. It's just an afterthought, sitting way back there in my mind. Anyway, he flipped out when I mentioned us not working out. He was totally pissed, thought I felt like things wouldn't work out. And I didn't mean it like that at all. I mean some relationships just don't work out. That's the way life goes. And you know I freaked out on our first date. I was scared. Because it's...Luke. And he's…," she trailed off.

"Luke," Sookie finished.

"Yeah," she smiled. "So he asked me what I was afraid of and I told him, again, that I'm afraid of bolting. I'm afraid of messing it up. I'm afraid of a lot of things. I really love him, Sook. I really don't want to screw it up."

"I know."

"So then he said that he wasn't going anywhere, that he wouldn't let me bolt. And then came the uber scary part. He started talking about the future," she emphasized the word with a haunting tone.

"The future?"

"Our future. Me and him. He and I. He went on and on about how he wants to marry me and have kids with me and watch me take my last breath and creepy sentimental shit like that."

"Oh no. And you were in bed? Like not wearing a supportive bra for when you turned and sprinted away from him? Ouch," Sookie replied.

"That's the thing, Sook. I didn't run. I told him that I wasn't ready for all of that yet, but I didn't run. And I asked him if he was ready and he said he was. I mean, the man looked at me as if he could have taken his marriage vows right there. I woke up this morning and I thought the whole thing was real. I called him and asked him where he went. He was totally confused until he figured out that I had probably been dreaming. Luckily I didn't go into detail so he knows nothing about this dream I had but I can't stop thinking about it."

"So you don't know what his feelings about the future actually are, right?"

"I have no idea. But that dream...it was so real. So...Luke. I can totally see him saying things like that. He never seemed the 'settle down and build a life with someone' kind of guy but, when we got together, I saw this side of him that I had no idea existed. He might really want that stuff. He might really not want it too but the point is that dream is haunting me. I can't shake it. It's so real."

"What do you want, sweetie? In real life, what do you want?"

"Him," she said simply, a smile stretching across her face.

Sookie smiled back, a warm feeling overcoming her as she witnessed the love and happiness her friend was experiencing.

"I think you need to trust yourself more. I've seen you two. I've seen how in love you are. And I've always said it was meant to be, no matter how much you guys denied it. You're always a different person when you're with a man. Like you have to create this facade to prevent yourself from sinking the Love Boat. But you're one hundred percent you when you're with Luke. And you've had this glow on your face, everyday since you started dating him, that could light up the entire New York City subway network. I don't think you're scared of a future with him. I think you're scared of how much you want it. It's a strange feeling that you're not used to. But I wouldn't call it a bad feeling."

"Gee, Mr. Owl. When did you get so wise?" Lorelai asked, dumbfounded.

"It's eyes, not wise. I can just see it. And it's a really nice view from where I'm at."

"He has no idea what happened in that dream. He may not even feel the same way Dream Luke felt."

"You'll never know unless you ask," Sookie gently replied.

"You don't think it's too soon? We've only been dating for a few months. What if I spook him?" Lorelai asked her, nervously.

"That's not gonna happen."

"How do you know?"

"Trust me," Sookie said. "I know."

After a short nap following their deep conversation, the girls found themselves sitting poolside on the roof, drinking raspberry-mint margaritas, and enjoying shoulder massages from two handsome young pool boys.

"This is the life," Lorelai breathed out.

"Heaven yes," Sookie agreed.

"Huh?" Lorelai replied, turning her head and furrowing her brow at her best friend over the top rim of her sunglasses.

"It's like hell yes but we're in heaven," she giggled.

"Weirdo."

Sookie reached to the tiny white table to her right and picked up the catalog of spa services.

"What are our thoughts on mud baths?" she asked.

"In theory, it seems really innovative but that smell and the thought of mud drying in my nostrils and ears and bellybutton and other places," Lorelai answered as she cringed at the thought.

"I never even thought of that."

"Are you kidding? That's the first thing that came into my mind."

"Yeah, well, you're you."

"Touché," Lorelai concurred.

"How about seaweed wraps?" Sookie suggested.

"That sounds slightly less disgusting."

"Seaweed wraps it is!"