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Chapter 2

"Ready hon?" Lorelai asked as she grabbed one of Rory's bag ready to go to Luke's for breakfast.

Rory looked round the home where she had lived for so many years, not knowing when she will next be there. She had her two bedroom apartment in New York that her grandparents had bought for her. "Yeah, I'm ready." She said quietly, following her mom out after taking one last look round. "Bye house." She said quietly.

They headed to Luke's which, as Luke had promised, already had the lights on and was open for them. They sat down at the table and Luke walked over to them with the coffee jug which he poured into two mugs for them. "How is it?" He asked.

"Your first batch is always the best." Lorelai said.

"Definitely." Rory smiled. "Thanks for opening the place for us." She said.

"I've got to take care of my best customers." He joked. "So what'll you have?"

"Hmm I don't know. Love the menus, a lot of variety." Lorelai said joking around.

"Yeah very pretty, adorable fonts." Rory played along.

"You know what, I don't know. I might need some more time." Lorelai grinned up at him.

"Take all the time you need." Luke smiled back at her.

Rory smiled at the little exchange between them before Luke walked off.

"But in the meantime, can we have some eggs and bacon and hashbrowns?" Lorelai grinned. "And pancakes!"

"Coming up!" Luke called back.

Lorelai looked across at her daughter. "So how are you feeling?"

"Nervous." Rory admitted. "But excited too. I've been dreaming about writing for the New York Times for god knows how long now. I can't believe it's actually happening."

"You're going to be amazing, sweets. I know you are." Lorelai smiled. "I'm so proud of you. You know that right?"

"I know. Thanks mom." Rory smiled.

Their food came and got eaten quickly and before they knew it, it was time to leave.

"We should get going. We don't want you to miss your flight." Lorelai said.

Rory nodded. "Yeah ok." She said. She glanced over at Luke who was fiddling with the coffee machine, his back to them. "Uh I'll meet you by the car." She said.

Lorelai followed her gaze and smiled. She knew how much Luke meant to Rory so nodded. "Ok. See you out there." She said.

Rory watched her mom leave and got up slowly. "Uh so I need to get going now. My flight's at 8." She said.

Luke turned round. "Oh ok." He said. "Well..uh..good luck Rory." He said awkwardly.

"Thanks." Rory said quietly. She stood there awkwardly for a moment before she went round the counter and wrapped her arms round the man who had meant so much to her throughout her childhood. "Thanks for everything, Luke." She said sincerely.

Luke was taken aback by the sudden affection but he wrapped his arms round her too. "You don't need to thank me." He said.

"I do." Rory said looking up at him. "You've been there for me whenever I've needed you. Whenever...well whenever I needed someone." She said not wanting to mention her dad infront of him. "So thanks." She said quietly.

"You're welcome." Luke said with a small smile. "I will always be here for you as well. Whenever." He said.

Rory smiled at him. "I know." She said. She pulled away from the hug and looked up at him. "Don't let her walk away again." She said quietly.

"Rory..."

"She loves you." Rory said. "I know you have things to talk about and I get that but she loves you and you make each other happy."

Luke smiled. "I love her too." He said.

Rory smiled. "Well whenever you decide to make it official again, make sure mom rings me this time." She joked.

Luke chuckled. "Like I will be able to stop her."

Rory laughed. She gave him another hug. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." He said placing a kiss on the top of her head. "And don't worry, I'll look after her." He said knowing Rory would be worried about leaving her mom.

"I know you will." Rory smiled. "Anyway, I better get going. Don't want to miss my flight."

Luke nodded. "Ok. Good luck Rory. You'll do great."

"Thanks." Rory said, giving him a wave before slowly leaving the diner.

A couple hours later, Luke saw Lorelai pull up her jeep outside the diner. He knew as soon as she walked in that she was already struggling. He walked three strides towards her and didn't think twice about pulling her towards him and holding her tight. "Come on, let's go upstairs." He said leading her up to his apartment.

When they got up, Lorelai wiped some tears away. "God that was the hardest thing I've ever done. I know she's only a flight away and I know she was at Yale for three years but this just seems different. More permanent." She said.

"I know." Luke said.

Lorelai sighed. "I managed not to cry infront of her. Or at least not like this. I know she wouldn't have gone otherwise and she deserves this so much."

"She'll be great." Luke agreed. "Come on, let's sit." He said gesturing to the couch.

Lorelai took the time to look round the apartment and saw how different it was. "Wow, you've done this place up." She observed.

"Yeah...uh...it was April's idea. She told me it was too depressing in here." Luke said.

Lorelai had to smirk at that. "Well it looks great." She smiled. She glanced at him. "So..uh..how is she?"

Luke couldn't help the smile that came onto his face. "She's really good. Really excited about this camp she's been accepted onto. I'm a bit gutted we won't manage to take that boat trip but she'll still be here for a couple weeks at the end of summer so we can still have time together." He said.

"That's good." Lorelai said quietly, giving him a small smile.

Luke glanced at her and knew April was a sore spot. He knew Lorelai didn't blame April because it wasn't April's fault but he knew he made a big mistake by pushing her away when April was around. "Uh..maybe you can come round when she's here? I know she'd love to see you." He said cautiously.

Lorelai looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. We could all do something together. I want us to." He said.

Lorelai gave him a small smile. "Yeah that would be nice." She said quietly.

Luke nodded and leant back on the couch. He sighed. "Look, I know we have to talk. I know we both probably have questions to ask each other but...Rory's just left. Maybe today isn't the best time."

Lorelai sighed. "I do feel exhausted already." She admitted. "But to be honest, I don't think there's ever going to be a right time to talk." She said.

Luke sighed. "I guess you're right." He admitted.

Lorelai turned to him. "Why don't you come over tonight? I might take a nap when I get home and then I might pop to the inn. I'll order some food and we can sit and finally talk." She suggested.

Luke nodded. "Ok. But don't worry about food, I'll bring some over." He said.

"Ok." Lorelai said.

"So tonight?" Luke said.

"Tonight." Lorelai repeated, knowing they were both dreading it.

That evening, after closing the diner, Luke drove over to Lorelai's house. He took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell. He knew this would probably be a very difficult evening but he knew they had to do this. If they wanted any chance of the future, he knew they had to work through their issues.

"Hi!" Lorelai smiled as she opened the door, looking a bit happier.

"Hi. You look better." Luke said as he followed him in.

"Yeah, I had a nap and did feel better afterwards." Lorelai said. "I still miss her terribly but I've heard from her already."

"Yeah? Flight ok?" He asked.

"Yeah it was fine. She says the apartment is really nice. Although I don't expect anything less considering my parents bought it for her." Lorelai joked.

Luke smirked. "It will definitely be nice then."

They went into the living room and Luke stopped when he saw the huge plasma screen in the living room. "Whoa..." He said.

"Oh..uh yeah..." Lorelai said awkwardly. "I'm getting rid of it." She said quickly.

"Really?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, well I didn't want it on the first place." She said uncomfortably.

"Oh." Luke said realising Chris must have bought it.

"Do you want to sit in here or the kitchen?" Lorelai asked.

Luke thought about it knowing it would probably be a long night. "Here." He said.

"Ok." Lorelai said and they both settled down on the couch. "So..."

"So..."

"God why is this so hard?" Lorelai groaned.

Luke chuckled. "Well it's probably because we know this will be the most painful moment of our lives." He said.

Lorelai sighed. "Can we make a deal now?" She asked.

"What?"

"Let's make a deal that however hard this gets neither of us storm off or put a stop to the conversation. We need to get through this or else we never will." Lorelai said quietly.

Luke nodded. "Ok." He agreed.

Lorelai took a deep breath. "So I guess we should start..." She said.

"I guess we should. How should we do this? Should we alternate topics?" He asked.

"That's probably best and maybe we should start with the less...well the easier topics." Lorelai suggested.

Luke nodded. "Yeah sounds like a plan." He agreed.

"Ok so I'll go first..." Lorelai said.

I know! You probably hate me for leaving it there but the next chapter will be all them talking through their issues! :) Hope you liked it! Please keep reviewing as I love reading them! Thanks! :)