"Good morning!"

A cheerful Lorelai Hayden walked inside the diner, followed by - once again - Kirk, who looked at her with puppy eyes.

"Hey, Lorelai. I see you have a stalker."

"I have two, actually," Lorelai replied casually. "One of them followed me into my hotel yesterday."

"I am so sorry," Luke blurted out. "No idea what's wrong with me. I guess I just wanted to see where you work. Sorry."

"No big deal." Lorelai shrugged it off and sat down on her favourite seat by the counter. Luke didn't ask, he poured coffee into her cup.

"Are you better? Not PMSing anymore?"

"What?" Lorelai looked confused for a second, then her mouth formed an O. "Oh! I'm better. Way better." She smiled at him. "Thanks for asking."

Now that was weird. Again.

Luke slowly started to realise that something was strange about Lorelai.

But still, those feelings he harboured for her would never narrow down, no matter what was wrong with her. Maybe she was a serial killer after all? Luke chuckled.

No, never.

"What's so funny?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, you," Luke replied. "Wait a second."

He took the plates he had prepared for Kirk and went over to his table.

"She is so beautiful," Kirk whispered at Luke, who nodded.

"And so married," he reminded him again, which made Kirk sigh.

"Yeah."

Luke returned to Lorelai, who pointed at Kirk behind her with her thumb. "What's wrong with him?"

"Kirk? Oh, he's just love sick, don't mind him," Luke replied and Lorelai's mouth dropped open again. She turned around.

"Poor thing! Maybe I should -"

"No," Luke said quickly. "He'll be fine, he'll quickly fall in love with another girl. You don't know him, he changes his crushes like every week."

"Hm, okay." Lorelai turned back to Luke. "Now why were you laughing?"

"Honestly? Because you're a mysterious woman. I thought that maybe you're a serial killer."

"Maybe we both are, hm?" Lorelai replied.

"See, that's what I mean. You're not denying it."

"Yes, because I don't get what you mean with that I'm mysterious."

"Okay, honestly?" Luke took a deep breath, collecting all his courage. "Sometimes it seems you're forgetting that you're married. You flirt with people and you seem to forget about Christopher at all. Or that you were sick because of your ... female complaints. And you didn't want me to follow you to your hotel. Everything's just mysterious."

Lorelai looked at him for a while, then she smiled. "You think I flirt with people?"

"That's what I heard," Luke mumbled. "People talk about you."

Now Lorelai frowned. "Who?"

"The gossip girls of course," Luke said with a wave into the direction of Miss Patty's studio. "It's okay, I know you married young -"

"But I don't flirt," Lorelai defended herself. "I talk to everyone the same way. I don't flirt, am I flirting with you?"

Luke swallowed. "Sometimes ... it feels like you do."

Lorelai leaned back, her cheeks dark. "Oh. I'm sorry, then."

"No, it's fine. I know you're faithful."

"What makes you think so?" Lorelai asked sharply and Luke backed away from the counter between them.

"Christopher knows about me," he replied bravely and Lorelai nodded slowly.

"Ah. Right. Okay, yeah, that's the reason."

"That's what I mean!" Luke called. "What kind of answer is that, Lorelai? That sounded so sarcastic."

"It was sarcastic," Lorelai said quietly, not looking at him directly. "Everything's much more complicated than you think, Luke."

"So you weren't PMSing?" Luke guessed and Lorelai shook her head softly.

"Complicated, Luke. Very complicated."

"Did he -"

"Don't even ask. He didn't hurt me. He has never hurt me before." Lorelai exhaled quietly. "Not physically, that is."

"Not physically!" Luke shouted. "Are you serious? Why are you still with that guy?"

"You've met him, you tell me," Lorelai replied calmly. "Is he a decent fellow? More than that, I would say. Is he a good dad? He's the best dad I could imagine. I love him, Luke."

Well, that stung.

Luke nodded shortly. "I respect that, Lorelai. Sorry that I said something. But if you ever want to talk -"

"You're here. I'll think of it." Lorelai showed her shining white teeth as she smiled. "So, I'm mysterious?"

"Very much. You've told me a few things about you, but I still don't know much about you."

"Is that so? Would you like to get to know me better? We could meet for a dinner or a movie."

Luke's mouth fell open. "Uhm, yeah," he said, dumbfounded.

Lorelai sunk her voice down. "I got time tonight. What about you?"

"Yeah, me too," Luke answered immediately. "But where -?"

"Your place?" Now Lorelai was purring again, flirting! Even though she had denied that she flirted. Didn't she notice? "Do you have a VCR?"

"I don't even know what that is," Luke replied weakly.

"A device to play movies with, Luke," Lorelai giggled and Luke grimaced.

"Oh. I don't even own a TV, Lorelai."

"Wait, what?" Lorelai looked confused. "So what do you do all the time alone?" She grinned. "You don't have to answer if it's too private."

"No, no, you've already answered very private questions as well. Hm, I go outside mostly. Do sports. I go for a run, go fishing, play softball, basketball and baseball, I go cycling or hiking and at home I lift weights."

"You're sporty, wow," Lorelai said. "No wonder you got a great body."

Luke's heart stood still. "Lorelai. You're flirting."

"No, I'm just saying the truth."

Lorelai's words weren't matching the expression on her face. She was still smiling lightly, with her eyebrows lifted up like she was expecting him to flirt back.

But Luke didn't jump on that bandwagon.

"Okay. I ... I also like to read, actually. Not classics like you, don't think I haven't noticed your Brontë books. But I like to read crime stories and even thrillers. I'm not that much into romance or fantasy, though."

"That sounds nice and please don't think I'm much into classics," Lorelai chuckled. "It's because of Rory. That kid is too smart for her own good and she sometimes uses words I don't understand. I'm reading books like Wuthering Heights to keep up with my twelve year old daughter. Sad but true."

"Wow," Luke mumbled. "That girl."

"I know." Lorelai smiled proudly and glided off her chair. "So - half past eight? We'll find something else to do instead of watching TV."

"Sounds good," Luke said, not able to believe that Lorelai was coming to his place. To his little apartment above the diner.

"Well then, I gotta leave," Lorelai announced and wanted to turn around, but Luke grabbed her hand, holding her back.

"Wait," he breathed. "I ... you ..." he threw a look at Kirk, who was staring out of the window. Then he said, very, very quietly: "You got a great body as well."

And Lorelai grinned broadly. "I know," she whispered back, freeing herself from him and turning around, paying attention to sway with her hips while walking to the door. "Bye, Kirk! Don't worry, everything's gonna be fine," she shouted before she left the diner.

Wow, Luke thought. She had actually swayed her hips for him.

Sexy, but ... this wasn't what a married woman should do.

•

He had cooked lasagna and he had poured some red wine into two wine glasses. Also he had lit some candles, dimmed the lights and now he was looking around his apartment, hating how much the scenery screamed "date".

At half past eight he went downstairs into the diner and - his heart jumped - Lorelai was already waiting in front of the door.

With his heart racing a marathon he opened the door to let her inside, hoping she hadn't dressed up.

But she had.

Her hair was straight as always but she had put some dark eye shadow onto her eyelids. Her lips were dark red. She smiled at him and his knees went wobbly.

"You dressed up for me?" she said cheerfully and Luke shook his head.

"I - uhm - didn't."

He locked the door behind them and Lorelai giggled.

"You're not wearing your hat and you're wearing a pullover instead of your typical flannel. I'd say you've dressed up."

"Okay, if you say so," Luke muttered. "Can I take off your coat?"

"Are you always that direct when it comes to taking off clothes?" Lorelai flirted and Luke was too confused to answer.

Especially as he had pulled the coat off of her and realised that she was wearing something that screamed "date" even louder than his apartment.

She was wearing a silky, black skirt that reached to her knees and a dark red blouse with long, waving sleeves. And her cut out, wow, that cut out ...

It seemed she wasn't shy to show what she got. Luke tried hard not to start counting the freckles on her chest, she'd notice he was staring.

Instead he looked at her face and started counting the freckles on her nose.

"Are you okay?" Lorelai asked, sounding amused.

"Yeah. You're just ... you're beautiful."

Her nose and cheeks blushed, making it harder for Luke to concentrate on her freckles. "Thank you," she said softly. "So ... should we go upstairs?"

"Yeah, but before we do that, I need to tell you something," Luke said and placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it. "My apartment is only one room."

"And?" Lorelai asked.

"You're used to different things."

Lorelai smiled. "I don't care, Luke."

"Really? Rachel always wanted me to move."

The corners of Lorelai's beautiful mouth dropped. "Rachel?"

"Ex-girlfriend," Luke mumbled.

"Ah, right ... the one who left a year ago?"

"Yep."

Short silence arose, in which their blue eyes connected. Then Lorelai took his hand. "Come on up, we have a lot to talk about."

And then she pulled him towards the stairs, while Luke tried hard not to interpret too much into everything.

She was pulling him towards the stairs. She had frowned when he had mentioned Rachel, as if she was jealous.

What was all this about?

As Luke opened the door to his apartment, he could hear Lorelai gasp for air quietly.

"It's a little cheesy," Luke said, suddenly feeling dumb for having placed candles on the table. It wasn't a date after all. They were friends and their meeting had been set up so they could talk.

"It's ... wow," Lorelai said quietly.

"You may run, I won't hold you back," Luke mumbled, but Lorelai stepped inside instead.

"You cooked?"

"Yep."

"Wine?"

Luke grimaced. "Yeah."

"Candles."

"If you don't like it, then go," Luke said gruffily and put his hands into the pockets of his jeans. But Lorelai turned to him, smiling.

"No, I won't."

"Okay. Then stop telling me what I did to make the atmosphere a little better."

"Sorry, Mr. Grumpy-pants," Lorelai giggled and while Luke hung up her coat, she walked to the table and sat down on a chair. "It smells fantastic."

"Thanks, I hope it tastes just as good," Luke replied and sat down as well.

"I'm sure about that. Didn't know you'd cook, though. I thought we'd just sit down and have a talk."

"We're sitting, Lorelai. Talk."

Lorelai nodded shortly. "You first, so I can eat."

Luke had to laugh. She was adorable. "About?"

"Rachel."

"Well ... she left a year ago to see the world."

"I know. Who broke up?"

"I did," Luke sighed. "Told her if she walked out now, it would be over."

"Ugh," Lorelai made and took a bite of her lasagna. "Mhhh!"

Luke smiled. "Good?"

"Amazing!" Lorelai replied with her mouth full. "And she left."

"Yes. She has left before and that time was the second time we've tried. The second time was worse than the first time, though. We're not made for each other."

"But you loved each other," Lorelai stated.

"Hm, yeah. Maybe." Luke avoided her eyes, afraid that she could see the feelings inside his. He had actually thought he had truly loved Rachel ... and then Lorelai had entered his life and totally messed with his image of love.

"That's hard, but you'll find someone who won't ever leave you," Lorelai said gently and he looked at her again. Her eyes looked so dark, thanks to the candles being the only light source by the table.

"Now you," Luke demanded. "You're much more interesting than I am. Spill, and don't miss anything."

"Uh, I don't know. It's really, really private," Lorelai sighed deeply but put her fork away. "Please don't tell anyone. Only Chris knows, no one else can know. Not even Rory."

Luke nodded stiffly. What could it be?

"During my pregnancy, I had terrible mood swings. I was so, so scared of failing and when I had Rory, I ... looked at her and I couldn't feel love. Do you know what a postpartum depression is?"

"I think so, yeah," Luke said quietly. "You had that?"

"Yes. And I spent months and months at a psychiatric clinic, not able to see Rory. I think it was six months. Could have been worse, I know, but that meant I've missed the first six months of my daughter's life. When I came back, healthy, I was so ashamed and I swore to myself to never let her down again. Chris was a perfect dad during those six months ... and even my parents were a big help."

"That sounds horrible, Lorelai ..."

"Yeah. And now to the part that no one knows. I still have ... problems."

She looked at her plate.

"You still have a postpartum depression?" Luke asked and Lorelai actually laughed.

"Not postpartum. It's a normal depression. Nothing serious, but bad enough to put me back into the clinic every few months. My shrink calls it a relapse and he says, as long as it only lasts a few days, it's nothing severe. Rory had no idea I was at a clinic. She thought I was at a normal hospital. My parents don't know either. Only Chris knows and now you do too."

"But why?" Luke asked softly.

"You tell me. Weren't you the one who called me unhappy and sad?"

Luke clenched his fists. "It's Christopher. He's hemming you in. He's treating you like his property."

For a few seconds Lorelai stared at him, then she broke into loud laughter. "Oh my - no! You really should get to know him, Luke. He's not the bad guy, really."

"I don't get it, why do you always order salad, then?"

Now Lorelai really looked confused. "What on earth - not because of Chris," she said slowly. "How would you think -?" her eyes went wide and then she said calmly, "Luke. Christopher is my best friend. We've known each other for fifteen years now. Or even longer. He's seen me during my best and during my worst time. I didn't lie, I love him. And he loves me, he'd never ever - how did you say? Hem me in. Treat me like his property. I'm quite the free spirit. My ... my shrink told me I should eat less sweets. You know how carbohydrates work? Not the best for my psyche, you see. Mostly I end up back at the clinic after eating a whole cake ... last week it happened cause of a huge cup of Ben & Jerry's."

"Oh," Luke said quietly. "I didn't ... I'm sorry."

"We both have a sad past," Lorelai said with a gentle smile.

"Is there more I should know?" Luke asked carefully and Lorelai pushed her lasagna around her plate.

"There are a few things," she said, "but they're really private."

"You dont have to tell me," Luke immediately said but then he remembered what Lorelai had said in the morning. "Does it have to do with Chris hurting you but not physically?"

"Oh, damn," Lorelai sighed and leaned back. "You don't forget anything. It wasn't that bad, actually. When Rory was six, something happened and that happening changed our relationship. But let's not discuss this now. I don't want you to hate Chris."

"Too late," Luke mumbled and Lorelai sighed.

"He's not the bad guy."

Luke couldn't help it. He didn't believe her.

•

After they had eaten and shared some meaningless anecdotes from their life, Lorelai told Luke that she had to leave. It was only ten in the evening, they had had two glasses of wine and a nice chat on Luke's couch.

Luke felt sad as Lorelai announced that she had to go home, but he knew he couldn't change it. At least she had spent the evening with him, they had talked, laughed and even touched each other.

The touching continued as Luke helped her into her coat and Lorelai placing her hand on Luke's shoulder as they walked downstairs.

He walked her to the door and unlocked, opening it and letting chilly air into the diner.

"It's cold," Lorelai pointed out and Luke pulled her into an awkward hug.

"I'm not good with hugging," he told her and Lorelai laughed, hugging him back.

"You're doing fine," she said and they leaned back, looking at each other while still holding each other.

Luke noticed a mischievous sparkle in Lorelai's eyes, and before he could do anything, Lorelai had already leaned in.

And placed her lips on Luke's lightly.