It's Always There

by CoffeeDrinker

This is a 2nd sequel to "It's Right There" that picks up a few weeks after the ending of "It's Still There." Lorelai and Luke navigate the ups and downs of domestic life as they raise their fresh kid. :)

10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

. . . . .

. . . . .

Late Wednesday night, the house was dark and quiet when Luke arrived home a little after midnight. He'd spoken to Lorelai a few hours earlier and told her he'd be home on Thursday. What he didn't mention was that he was actually already en route to Stars Hollow, and when he said Thursday, he meant the very early morning hours.

Babette was supposed to watch Josh on Thursday morning, and he'd already called her to tell her she didn't need to. He also had arranged to take the rest of the week off from the diner to help get the house ready for the renovations.

Luke quietly headed upstairs. He set his duffel bag down in the hallway, and then peeked into the nursery to check on Josh, who was sleeping soundly in his crib.

He got ready for bed in the bathroom before heading to the master bedroom. Lorelai was asleep, and he felt a comforting sense of relief when he saw her. Between his camping trip and his trip to Maine, he hadn't been in the same bed with her for five nights, but it felt like weeks.

He climbed into his side of the bed and moved close to her. She was facing his direction as she slept, and he watched her for a few moments before he ran his hand along her arm and whispered, "Lorelai."

He watched as her eyes fluttered open, and then they widened when she saw him. "You're home," she said tiredly as a smile appeared on her lips. "Or else this is a very realistic dream."

Luke smiled. "I'm home." He leaned in to kiss her, then rolled onto his back and patted his chest. "Come here."

Lorelai cuddled up against him and rested her head on his chest. "I missed you."

He slipped his arm behind her and held her close to him. "You, too. You have no idea."

"How's everything in Maine?"

Luke kissed the top of her head. "I'll tell you in the morning, I just wanted you to know I was home. Let's go to sleep."

"Okay."

They fell asleep quickly. When Luke heard Josh crying in the morning through the baby monitor, he rushed to get him so Lorelai could sleep in a little longer. He changed him and got him dressed for the day, and then brought him downstairs for breakfast.

Rory was already up in the kitchen making coffee and getting herself a bowl of cereal. "Luke, hey," she said, surprised to see him. "When did you get back? We weren't expecting you until today."

"Late last night," he replied as he put Josh in his high chair. "I didn't tell your mom I was coming home early, I wanted to surprise her."

"I bet she was excited," Rory said, and then added, "Or did she not see you yet?"

"She saw. I woke her up when I got home," Luke said. "Just in case she felt someone in the bed with her in the middle of the night and freaked out with a physical reaction that would've left me with some sort of painful injury."

Rory smiled as she sat down at the table with her breakfast. "Good idea planning ahead."

"Thanks." Luke grabbed some strawberries and blueberries from the fridge, and rinsed them off in the sink. He grabbed a knife and plate, and sat down at the table to cut the fruit for Josh. "How's your internship?"

"Oh, it's good," Rory replied. "Really good. I like the woman I report to... Brenda. She's been there a long time, and has experience working at a few other papers, too, so I think she'll be a good mentor."

"Good, that's great," Luke replied, happy that she seemed excited about it. "What types of things are you gonna be doing?"

"A little of everything," she replied. "Helping do research for stories, going with reporters out to conduct interviews, transcribing the interviews, pitching ideas that hopefully, eventually, they'll ask me to write a story on."

Luke put some fruit on Josh's tray. "Well, just work hard at whatever they ask you to do, show them you're reliable and capable, and try to learn as much as you can while you're there."

Rory nodded. "That's the plan."

"You'll do great."

Rory smiled. "Thanks."

Luke washed the plate and knife in the sink, and then started making Josh his morning bottle. "So, what did I miss here?" he asked. "I saw boxes in the hallway upstairs... I guess you guys got some packing done?"

"Yeah, we did. We packed up a lot of the nursery, and then we started going through Mom's clothes. We put away things she definitely wouldn't be wearing in the next few months, like her winter and fall clothes. And I was able to convince her to donate a few older outfits to Goodwill." She pretended to tip an invisible hat. "You're welcome."

Luke smiled as he gave her an impressed nod. "Good job. I've tried to get her to do that before, I wasn't successful."

"She tried to argue with me that you guys are getting a bigger closet so there would be more room for all of her stuff, hence there was no need to get rid of anything," Rory said. "But I used my methods of persuasion on her."

"Appreciate it."

"It's useless trying to get her to part with any jackets, though," Rory warned him. "It's not happening. She's very proud of that collection."

Luke smiled. "Oh, I know." He sat back down at the table with her. "Any town drama going on? Or did the town drama leave when I took Kirk to Maine?"

Rory smiled. "No, nothing much has been happening. Oh, except I met the new neighbors the other day. Mom and I took Josh for a walk, and all three of them were out in their front yard."

"Oh, cool, so you met the kid, too? I haven't met her yet."

"Yeah, she's really cute, she loved talking to Josh," Rory said. "They all seem really nice."

They chatted a little longer while Rory finished eating breakfast, and then she headed to Hartford. When Josh was finished with his fruit, Luke brought him to the living room with his bottle. They were playing on the floor when Lorelai came downstairs dressed for work a little while later.

"Morning," Luke greeted her as he stood up from the floor.

Lorelai smiled as she walked over to him. "Hey." She kissed him, then leaned down to say hi to Josh. As she stood back up, she gestured to the kitchen. "Let me grab some coffee and then we can chat."

"Okay."

As Lorelai headed to the kitchen, Luke sat down on the couch. She returned with her coffee, and he filled her in on the goings on in Maine. He explained how he had spent the last two days helping Liz and TJ train Kirk in the do's and don'ts of Renaissance life. They showed him how to display the jewelry and run their booth, and offered to give him a small percentage of his sales to thank him for his help.

"It actually seemed like he was gonna be pretty good at it," Luke reluctantly admitted, and Lorelai grinned. He nodded and added, "Yes, I know, I know... you were right."

"I have some pretty good ideas sometimes, huh?" Lorelai remarked.

"Yes, you do," Luke agreed, and then he sincerely added, "Thank you. I feel better knowing someone's there helping them, even if it is Kirk."

"You're welcome, I'm glad it worked out," Lorelai replied.

"Rory said you guys got a lot of packing done upstairs," Luke said, and then he stood up and surveyed the furniture around him. "I guess we should start working on this room."

Lorelai stood up next to him. "Yeah, and Rory and I were talking about it yesterday, and we came up with a good game plan. All of that over there," she said, pointing to the desk, bookcase, end table, floor plant, and chair along the front wall, "should go into the garage. Then we'll put his crib in the corner, our bed next to it under the window, and then we'll put a dresser of clothes in the foyer."

"Okay."

Lorelai turned and faced the fireplace. "And then we'll put the armchairs and coffee table in the garage... and the changing table because he's getting too big for it anyway. Then we'll just move the couch toward the side door so we still have some seating, but he still has some floor space to play in."

"Okay, that sounds good," Luke agreed. "And just so you know, I'm not going back to the diner until Monday. I've got people covering so we can just focus on getting the house ready."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good... thanks." She glanced at the clock. "Oh, shoot, I have to go." She picked up Josh and said goodbye to him, and then set him back down with his toys. "You're taking Jess to the airport this afternoon, right?"

"Yup... 2 o'clock," Luke confirmed.

"Okay." She nodded toward the kitchen. "I'll be right back." She brought her coffee cup to the kitchen sink and grabbed a package of Pop Tarts to take to work with her. She walked back toward the living room, and Luke met her at the foyer to walk her out.

Lorelai grabbed her purse and keys, and as he pulled open the front door for her, she said, "By the way, you know what I realized?"

"What?"

"For the next few months, with our bed in the living room, we will be devoid of any privacy at all." She cocked her head to the side and added, "Like no privacy. None. Not even a little."

Luke cringed and sucked in a deep breath. He scratched the side of his head. "Hadn't really thought about that."

"Just trying to prepare you," Lorelai said, and then gestured toward the upstairs. "We should take advantage of that locking bedroom door before we find ourselves without one." Luke nodded in agreement and leaned in to kiss her, and she smiled against his lips. "Okay, but not right now, I'm going to work."

Luke smiled. "I know. Go. I'll see you later."

"Bye."

. . . . .

. . . . .

That afternoon, Luke pulled up in front of the airport with Jess, and they both got out of the car. As Jess grabbed his bag from the backseat, Luke walked over to him.

Luke pulled some folded up money out of his pocket and offered it to Jess. "Here... just in case you need it."

"It's okay, I have money," Jess replied.

"Just take it to have, okay?" Luke insisted, pushing it toward him. "You don't have to use it, but you're gonna be all the way across the country and I'll feel better knowing you have an emergency fund if you need it."

"I'm only gonna be gone for 4 days," Jess reminded him. "What do you think's gonna happen in 4 days?" But he accepted the money and slipped it into his pocket, adding, "But thanks."

"Sure," Luke replied with a nod. "So, Jimmy knows when to get you at the airport and everything?"

"Yup."

"You have your cell phone?"

"Yup."

"You gonna roll your eyes if I ask you to call me when you get there?"

"Yup."

Luke smirked. "All right, well... then, I'll see you in a couple days." He hesitated a moment, and then gave Jess a quick hug and a pat on the back. "Have a good trip."

Jess pulled back and gave him a nod. "See ya. Thanks for the ride."

Luke watched as Jess walked into the airport, and then he got into his car and drove home.

When he arrived at the house, Lorelai was sitting on the porch steps with Josh in his stroller beside her. "Hey," she greeted Luke as he walked over.

"Hey." Luke sat down next to her on the steps. "What are you guys up to?"

"We just took a walk, and now we're having outside snack time," Lorelai replied, and offered him the bowl of Cheerios in her hand. "Hungry?"

"I'm good," Luke declined.

Lorelai gave Josh a few more Cheerios, and then put the bowl down on the porch. "How did the drop off go?" Lorelai asked Luke. "Did you give Jess the money?"

"Yeah. He turned it down at first, but then he took it," Luke replied. "It felt weird just dropping him off and sending him across the country like that. I know he's an adult, but he just seems so young to be out there by himself."

Lorelai smiled. "Your paternal instincts are kicking in. It's cute."

"Well, I gotta try to turn off those instincts," Luke said. "Because Jess sure as hell doesn't want me acting like an overbearing father."

"You're not overbearing," Lorelai said. "You worry about him, but you don't go overboard, you don't bug him about stuff."

"You sure?"

"Yes. But I will let you know if I see that changing."

"Thanks." Luke nodded at Josh, who had started to slump down in his stroller like he was ready to fall asleep. "Someone's dozing off."

Lorelai looked into the stroller. "Yes, he is," she said, and then she gasped softly. "Oh, I almost forgot... we made some progress on Operation First Birthday Party while you were gone. Wanna hear our plans?"

"Sure, what'd you decide?"

"Okay, it's gonna be a carnival theme," Lorelai said, and she started talking animatedly with her hands as she continued describing her vision. "I'm picturing giant colorful tents set up, and we'll rent a ferris wheel and maybe a carousel, and we'll have all kinds of food booths, and a bunch of game stands for people to play. You know, the ones where you pay a buck and throw a dart at a balloon to try to pop it and then you win a stuffed animal or something. Except all the games will be free for the guests, and then the prize they win will be their party favor. Oh, and I was thinking we could have a dunk tank, and you could be in it and we'll let people throw balls and try to dunk you."

Luke was staring at her with wide eyes as she listed the various components of this carnival-themed party. Finally, he blinked a few times before asking, "Are you serious?"

"About which part?"

"About any of it!" Luke exclaimed as softly as he could so he wouldn't wake up Josh.

Lorelai frowned. "What's wrong with our plan?"

Luke shook his head in disbelief. "Rent a ferris wheel and carousel? Set up games and food booths? A dunk tank? First of all, the budget you seem to have in your head for this birthday party is more than our wedding; second of all, I know you don't honestly believe I'm going to get in a damn dunk tank; third of all - " His voice trailed off when he saw the amused smile on her face, and he groaned. "Why do you do stuff like that?"

"Ranting Luke is hot," she declared.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, one day you're going to induce me into a rant for your own personal enjoyment and I'm going to have a stroke or a heart attack, and then you won't get to watch ranting Luke or working out Luke or lawn mowing Luke or any other of the Lukes you find hot because they'll all be severely incapacitated, or dead."

Lorelai frowned. "That would be a bummer."

"Yes, it would be," he agreed, and then he asked, "So, all of the carnival stuff was made up?"

"Yup."

"Did you have any actual progress on the plans?"

Lorelai pondered for a moment. "Well, I do think we decided on a real theme."

"Okay. What is it?"

"We were thinking since he's a summer birthday, we should just keep it simple with a summer theme," Lorelai said. "You know, like a beachy nautical thing, sharks and fish and boats, stuff like that. What do you think?"

"I think it's cute," Luke said.

"We still haven't decided where to have the party," Lorelai said. "The house is out, obviously, because of the construction. So, it's either the town square, or maybe a more quaint gathering at Miss Patty's, or maybe outside at the inn under some tents."

"I think it depends on how many people you invite," Luke said.

"The entire town," Lorelai replied, and after a pause, added, "And I guess my parents."

Luke rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You're not inviting the whole town. Pare down the list, then we'll figure out where to have the party."

"All right, fine... I'll try."

"And don't forget Buddy and Maisie," Luke reminded her.

Lorelai smiled. "Of course I won't. We haven't seen them in awhile," she said. "We should go to Sniffy's for dinner one night."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Luke agreed.

Lorelai leaned back until her back hit the floor of the porch. She placed her hands behind her head and closed her eyes. "I'm exhausted. Can we follow Josh's lead and all take outdoor naps right now?"

"Sure."

"You know, despite the whole lack of privacy thing, it might actually be pretty convenient having our bed down in the living room. We won't have to drag our tired butts up the stairs every night."

"Good point."

"Also convenient if we wanted to send the kids away for the evening and have a swinger party," Lorelai added. "People can walk in and get right to business."

"Right, right," Luke agreed. "Plus, it's closer to the kitchen for when the guests get hungry. You know they're gonna work up quite an appetite."

Lorelai smiled and opened her eyes. She loved when he went along with whatever crazy thing she said instead of the usual groan or eyeroll. "Exactly. People would rave about our hosting skills with that setup."

"Yup. We'd probably be honored with an award of some sort... a nice plaque to hang up in the living room."

"Best swingers in town," Lorelai said, smiling at him. She paused a moment when she heard the phone ringing from inside the house and her smile faded. "Ugh," she groaned, and reached her hand toward the front door. "The phone is so far."

"I got it," Luke said, and he walked into the house to retrieve the phone from the desk. "Hello?"

"Hello, Luke," Emily greeted him.

"Emily, hi," he replied.

"Is Lorelai home?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, she's right here, hold on," Luke replied, and he walked back out onto the porch. He sat down next to her and held out the phone. "It's for you, it's your mom."

After making a face, she sat up and took the phone from him. "Hi, Mom," she answered.

"Hello, Lorelai," Emily replied. "We haven't received a save-the-date for Joshua's birthday party so I was wondering if you were having one, or if we've been conveniently left off the list."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Of course we're having a party for him... we were actually just talking about it."

"Well, when do you plan on sending the save-the-date?" Emily asked.

"Um, never, because it's insane to send out a save-the-date for a first birthday party."

"It is not insane to give your guests ample time to plan for an event, Lorelai," Emily said. "And I need to know when your party is so we can make sure it doesn't overlap with ours."

"Mom, you don't have to throw a party for him, we're having one," Lorelai said. "He only needs one party."

"Well, I know you're certainly not going to invite our friends to the party you're throwing," Emily said. "So it would seem that if we want to celebrate our only grandson with them, our only option is to throw our own party."

"But Mom - "

"Lorelai, you don't have to do one thing for this party," Emily cut her off. "You don't have to spend any money or spend any time organizing it. All you have to do is show up, eat some food, eat some cake, and graciously accept birthday gifts from our wealthy friends just to make your father and I happy. I'll even make it on a Friday evening, a time you'd be here at the house anyway, so you won't even have to come here outside of your normal routine. I don't know what you could possibly have to complain about."

Lorelai looked at Luke as she covered the mouthpiece. "She wants to throw her own party for Josh," she whispered. "And she's listing the reasons why I shouldn't be complaining."

Luke shrugged. "You're not gonna talk her out of it. Might as well just suck it up."

Lorelai sighed, and then removed her hand from the phone. "Okay, Mom, fine, throw him a party."

"Oh, wonderful, I'm glad you came around to the idea," Emily said in that cheerfully snarky tone she was so good at. "How does Friday the 23rd work, the day after his birthday?"

"Fine. Our party will probably be that weekend, we're not sure which day yet."

"Well, you should really get those invitations out soon," Emily told her. "I'll see you at dinner tomorrow."

"Bye, Mom." Lorelai hung up the phone and dropped the phone on her lap with a groan. "Ugh. Now we have a fancy party to go to along with the fun party. Yippee."

"I had a feeling that was coming," Luke said.

"At the very least, we'll get some money from her friends to put in his college fund," Lorelai said, trying to find the bright side to 4 hours of mingling with people she hardly knows.

"That's something," he agreed.

Lorelai groaned again and leaned back to lie flat on the porch. "Back to outdoor naptime."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Sunday night, Luke pulled up in front of the airport and Jess was waiting by the curb. Luke was relieved to see him, glad he'd made it home safely. Jess had texted him when he got to California to let Luke know he'd arrived, but he hadn't heard from him since.

They greeted each other as Jess got into the car, and as they started driving home, Luke asked, "So, how was it?"

Jess shrugged. "It was fine."

"You guys got along?"

"Pretty much."

"What types of things did you do?"

"He showed me some of the sights," Jess replied. "He showed me his hot dog stand. I met his girlfriend and her kid and their 4 million pets."

"You guys talk and get to know each other? Or was it awkward silence all weekend?"

"It was a little awkward that first day," Jess admitted. "But then he just finally said that he doesn't really know how to be a father and that he's only recently started to figure out how to be an adult."

"And there's the Jimmy I remember," Luke said.

"He was up front about it, I give him credit for that," Jess said. "He didn't pretend to have his crap together."

"Did him saying that help break the ice?"

"Yeah. I told him that I'm not looking for someone to raise me, that I'm an adult and I just wanted to meet him. After that we both relaxed a little."

"Good. What'd you learn about him?"

Jess breathed out a deep breath. "Uh, let's see... he's lived in a lot of different states. He reads... has a lot a books. He has a pretty big vinyl collection... he definitely has better taste in music than you do."

Luke smirked. "Yeah, well, most people do, according to Lorelai."

"He loves his hot dog stand, and he's obsessed with the beach," Jess continued. "Never wants to leave it."

"You tell him about yourself? Let him get to know you?"

"I told him I've been living on my own for two years, that I have a job, I go to school," Jess said, and then he paused before continuing, "I told him that up until a few years ago, the only future I had was of being a guy who begs for money in the subway. That you helped change that."

Luke looked over at him, surprised that he'd said that, but just calmly said, "You would've found your way eventually."

Jess shrugged. "Who knows. I could've turned out like Jimmy... not figuring out how to be adult until I was like 40 years old."

"But you didn't."

"But I could have." Jess was quiet for a moment as he stared out the window, watching the cars go by as they drove down the highway. Finally, he looked over at Luke. "I hated that my mom shipped me off to Stars Hollow."

Luke glanced over at him and joked, "You don't say."

"I hated leaving the city and going to the boondocks. I hated going to that stupid school with those annoying kids. I hated that you kept making me do things I didn't wanna do, that you kept making me try to be responsible."

Luke shrugged unapologetically. "It's what you needed."

"I get that now. At the time I hated it and I gave you a hard time, and now, I just... I don't know... I get it. I just wanted you to know that I get it." Jess uncomfortably turned away from him as he said, "And you know... thanks."

Luke couldn't help but smile. He felt a sense of pride every time he was reminded of how far Jess had come and how much he had matured over the past few years. "You're welcome."

Jess looked over and gave him an appreciative nod, and then looked out the side window again. "Okay, that's that. I'm starving. Can we stop somewhere for takeout? Preferably for something that doesn't have sprouts on it."

Luke looked over at him with a smile. "You got it."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Wednesday night, Luke and Lorelai went to the town meeting with Josh. They were sitting in the back row so one of them could easily slip out with Josh if he was fussy. But he'd been content sitting on Luke's lap snacking on goldfish crackers and playing with Luke's watch.

Taylor went through the agenda pretty quickly, and he reminded everyone of the upcoming Memorial Day remembrance ceremony that would precede the summer kickoff picnic.

"And as always, we will be collecting donations to put toward the continued maintenance of the beautiful garden at the entrance of the cemetery that is dedicated to all of the fallen heroes from Stars Hollow," Taylor finished. He shuffled through some papers before declaring, "I have one final item... a piece of information came to my attention earlier today that I think everyone deserves to know."

Miss Patty groaned from the chair beside the podium. "Oh, Taylor, come on, you're blowing it way out of proportion."

Taylor turned to look at her. "Well, I think that's for the great townspeople of Stars Hollow to decide, and they should be given the chance to alter their behavior accordingly," Taylor replied, and then he turned back to face the crowd. "As some of you may be aware, a few weeks ago, a family moved into the Anderson house."

"Yeah, and they're really nice," Babette said, and several people murmured in agreement.

"The daughter is already signed up for dance classes," Miss Patty said. "She's very talented."

"I'm well aware that they seem like a respectable family," Taylor said. "However, we have received some information about them that I must share with you all for the safety of the town."

Lorelai glanced at Luke with wide eyes. "Are they fugitives on the run?"

"Could be," he whispered. "I thought I heard a news story about some fugitive surfers from Maine."

Lorelai giggled. "I told you, surfers are fascinating!"

Taylor took a deep breath and clutched the sides of the podium with both hands. "As some of you may know, they have family in the neighboring town of Woodbury. Well, it's just come to my attention that their family may have ties to the family of Hank, the town selectman of Woodbury. We're not exactly sure what those ties are yet, but we're looking into it further."

The crowd was silent for a moment before Lorelai finally said, "So?"

"Well, that means they may relay information about our town to Hank," Taylor explained. "Information we might not want Hank to know."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "Information about what? What kind of classified Stars Hollow intel could they possibly pass along?"

"Yeah, everything going on in this town is prominently posted on every public billboard and the Stars Hollow website," Lorelai added.

"Yeah, Hank doesn't need spies telling him things, he can just take a walk through town and find out anything he needs to know," Bootsy said.

"Taylor, I told you, you're making this bigger than it needs to be," Miss Patty said. "Who cares if they might know Hank? Lots of people in this town know Hank." She paused a moment before a smile slowly appeared on her lips. "And some know Hank's brother."

Babette winked at her from the audience. "Some know Hank's brother very well."

Taylor jerked his head to look at Babette, and then looked back at Patty. "What does that mean?"

"Oh, nothing," Miss Patty replied, nonchalantly waving it off.

"Oh, it means something, and I will find out sooner or later, so you might as well just save me some time," Taylor said sternly. "What is it, Patty?"

"It was nothing, Taylor," Miss Patty said. "It was just a little fling a few years ago. No intel was shared, I promise."

"I heard there wasn't anything little about that fling, if you know what I mean," Babette remarked, and laughter ran through the crowd.

"You got that right," Miss Patty confirmed with a wink, and the crowd reaction got louder.

Taylor banged his gavel on the podium. "All right, people, settle down. This is wildly inappropriate."

Lorelai smiled at Luke. "And you say town meetings are boring? This is amazing. I have to remember all of this to tell Rory."

"I will be keeping an eye on this new family, and I suggest all of you do the same," Taylor said. "And if they ask you any questions about the town that you think are suspicious or probing, you should let me know immediately. Meeting adjourned."

As the crowd began to stand up and leave, Lorelai looked at Luke. "When Josh and I chatted with Eric and Jenna at the park today, I hope I didn't accidentally give out classified Stars Hollow information."

"Think hard... did he ask you anything about our tax base?" Luke asked. "Or the estimated tourist revenue for the next 5 years?"

"Not yet, but now I'll be on alert." Lorelai smiled at Josh and patted his leg. "You were so good, buddy! You didn't even try to get down and crawl around while that man in the sweater kept talking and talking."

"Yeah, because he found Daddy's watch," Luke said, showing her the watch face covered in drool. "Thank God it's waterproof."

"The kid can't help himself, when something looks tasty, he just has to go for it. It's a relatable reflex." Lorelai heard her cell phone go off. "Oh, that's me." She pulled it out of her purse and flipped it open to read the text message. "It's from Rory. It says, I'm at the diner."

"Good timing," Luke said.

Rory had worked late that evening and wasn't home in time to go to the meeting with them. She'd told them she'd meet them at the diner afterwards.

Luke and Lorelai walked outside to Josh's stroller parked by the door, and then headed over to the diner.

Rory was sitting at a table with a soda and a plate of fries. "Hey, guys," she greeted them. She had retrieved a wooden high chair from the storage room and placed it at the table for Josh.

"Look at that, Rory got you all set up with a chair," Lorelai told him. "Maybe she'll share some fries with you."

"Those aren't good for him," Luke interjected. "I'll go scramble him an egg." He started walking toward the kitchen.

Lorelai buckled Josh into the high chair. "Daddy prefers for you to have protein versus hydrogenated oils." She pulled a sippy cup out of her bag and placed it on the table in front of him. "Here's your apple juice." He reached for the handles of the cup as Lorelai sat down across from Rory and took a fry from her plate. "Okay. Focusing on my girl now... what's up?"

"Busy day," Rory replied. "I was shadowing a correspondent doing interviews for this human interest story. That's why I was late, we hit traffic on the way back from the last interview."

"What's the story about?" Lorelai asked as she broke off a piece of French fry and gave it to Josh.

"It's about this artist from Stamford who makes all these beautiful paintings out of recycled materials for hospitals and schools and nursing homes," Rory replied. "So we interviewed her and then went to some of the places displaying her art to see how people respond to it. They're really inspirational, positive pieces."

"Cool, that's a fun story," Lorelai said.

"Tomorrow I have to transcribe all the interviews, and hopefully I'll get to help write some of the story," Rory said. "Oh, and I have Friday and Monday off."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "You have a four-day weekend?"

Rory smirked and shook her head. "Nope, Monday is Memorial Day, so they gave us that day off, and then they gave us Friday off to make up for the fact that they want us to come in on Saturday and Sunday."

"Oh, plot twist."

"Yeah, it'll be a skeleton crew, so they want the interns to come in and help out. Which I don't mind, maybe we'll get to be a little more involved in things."

"Yeah, that would be good," Lorelai agreed.

"I have a regular shift on Saturday, but I took the later shift on Sunday night," Rory told her. "So I'll be there until 11, and I was thinking I might ask Grandma and Grandpa if I can stay over that night."

"They'll like that, they've been dying for a sleepover," Lorelai said. "You'll be home on Monday for the remembrance ceremony and the picnic?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah, I'll probably have breakfast with them, answer a hundred questions about Mark, and then come home."

Lorelai smiled. "At least you're prepared."

"What did I miss at the meeting?" Rory asked.

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Ooh, some good stuff!"

Lorelai started filling her in on the topics of the evening, and as she was finishing up, Luke returned with a paper plate of scrambled eggs and set it on the table.

"So, the new people are potentially spies who know Hank, and Miss Patty was hot and heavy with Hank's brother?" Rory asked, her eyes wide. "Man, this was one town meeting I shouldn't have missed."

"I know, it was pretty awesome," Lorelai said, smiling. "I think even Josh was enthralled."

"Josh was enthralled by my watch and nothing else," Luke reminded her.

"So are we not allowed to talk to the new people now?" Rory asked.

"Just not in front of Taylor," Luke replied, and then he asked Lorelai, "Do you want something before I sit down?"

"Yes, please... an ice cream sundae with vanilla and chocolate ice cream," Lorelai replied, and then she glanced toward the display of baked goods. "And like 20 cookies to go, if you have 'em. They'll stay fresh overnight, right?"

Luke cocked his head to the side. "We're not feeding the diner cookies to the construction crew."

"Well, what about a pie or two?" she suggested.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Forget it."

Lorelai frowned at him. "Fine. An ice cream sundae, please."

"Be right back."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Rory spent Sunday night at Emily and Richard's and had breakfast in the morning with them. She headed back to Stars Hollow in the afternoon to attend the Memorial Day gathering in the square with the rest of the family.

After the remembrance ceremony, Rory stayed with Josh in his stroller at a picnic table while Lorelai and Luke went to get some drinks. Gypsy and Patty were chatting in front of the drink table.

"Hey, guys," Lorelai greeted them. "Everyone staying out of trouble so far?"

"So far, but I've only had one cup of punch," Gypsy replied. "Check back in an hour."

"Will do," Lorelai replied, and she started ladling herself a cup of punch. Luke got himself a beer and a soda for Rory.

"How's the construction going?" Miss Patty asked. "Babette said there's a lot of activity over there."

"It's been a week of men and tools and loud noises and banging," Lorelai said.

Miss Patty raised an eyebrow. "Sounds sexy."

Lorelai smirked and added, "And walls being ripped down and dust everywhere and me taking Josh on a lot of walks to keep him away from all of the above. But it's been good, the crew is all really nice, so I don't mind having them around."

"They're really nice because you keep feeding them," Luke told her. "Even after I've asked you not to."

"They're guests in our house," Lorelai argued. "That's what you do to guests... it's called being hospitable."

"They're paid guests," Luke replied. "We're paying them a hell of a lot to be there, and then we're wasting a ton of food on them. They can bring their own food to eat during the day."

"I want them to be happy and have a good time while they're there," Lorelai said. "I want our remodeling job to be memorable for them. Is that so wrong?"

"You should accidentally flash them," Miss Patty suggested. "That's much cheaper than the food, they'll appreciate it more, and I'm sure they'll find it memorable."

Luke glared at Miss Patty, and then looked at Lorelai. "Don't."

"Well, you did want me to stop with the food," Lorelai pointed out. "This could be a good alternative."

"What's the harm if they're just looking?" Miss Patty asked, and then she took a sip of her drink.

"Okay, no more punch for you," Luke told her, and then he led Lorelai away from them. "This town is crazy."

They headed back to the table, and found Rory and Josh had been joined by Sookie's family.

"Hey guys," Lorelai greeted them cheerfully. "Glad you made it."

"We were running a bit late," Sookie replied.

"My fault, watermelon emergency," Jackson added.

"It happens," Lorelai said understandingly.

"The boys are already having fun together," Sookie said. She'd parked Davey's stroller next to Josh's, and they were interacting and trying to grab each other's toys.

Lorelai smiled. "They're so cute."

"Looks like the food's ready," Jackson said, eyeing the people starting to flock toward the food tables.

"You guys can go get food, I'll wait with the boys," Luke offered.

Luke stayed at the table with the babies while everyone went to wait in line for food. After a few minutes, everyone returned to the table except Lorelai.

"We just ran into the new family," Rory told Luke. "Mom was chatting with them by the food, and I abandoned her because I'm hungry." She held up her plate of food. "It looks so good."

Luke smiled as he stood up from the table. "I'll go track her down." He walked through the crowd over to the buffet of food. He made his plate, and then found Lorelai chatting with Eric at the end of the tables. "Hey."

Eric smiled and extended his hand. "Luke, hi. Good to see you."

Luke shook his hand. "You, too."

"I heard you guys finally made it into the diner last week," Lorelai said to Eric.

"Yeah, and Jenna has been asking since Friday to go back for another burger," Eric said. "She loved it. I think you've got a customer for life."

"Good, I'm glad she liked it," Luke said. "It was nice to finally meet her." He glanced around. "Is she here?"

"Yeah, Jenna was begging for a drink, so they headed that way," Eric said as he pointed toward the drink table. He saw his wife and daughter surrounded by a group of people. "And it looks like they got cornered into another Q and A session about where we're from, what brought us to Stars Hollow, and who we know in Woodbury."

Lorelai gave him a sympathetic look. "Has that been happening a lot?"

"Yeah. We've noticed that people really like to ask probing questions here," he replied.

"Welcome to Stars Hollow, where you are stripped away of any rights to privacy," Lorelai said. "But on the plus side, we have a lot of festivals with great food."

Eric smiled. "Yeah, they suck you in with the promise of parties around that quaint gazebo, but little do you know what you're really in for." He shrugged and added, "It's okay, though... everyone's at least polite while they're invading our privacy, so it's not a big deal."

"Have you met Miss Patty yet?" Luke asked.

"Oh, yeah, Jenna's dance teacher," Eric replied, and he glanced around nervously before asking, "Does she hit on everyone or just the new people?"

"Everyone," Luke and Lorelai replied at the same time.

"She does pay extra attention to fresh meat though, so you coming into town is gonna distract her from us regulars for a little while," Luke said. "Thanks for that."

Eric smiled and saluted him. "Taking one for the team, you're welcome."

Lorelai looked at Luke. "Oh, hon, we were just talking about the remodel, and Kelly was saying that they have the double sinks in their bathroom just like we're getting."

"Oh, yeah, we had a single sink at the old house, and the upgrade to two has been pretty life-changing," Eric added.

Lorelai smiled at Luke. "Life-changing, Luke. Our lives might change with two sinks."

"Sounds intense," Luke said.

"I warned you," Eric said, and then he glanced back toward the drink table. "I better go try to rescue them."

"Yeah, and we should get back to the table," Luke said. "Josh was hungry."

"Oops, yeah, we better go feed him," Lorelai said, and then she looked at Eric. "We'll see you around. If not today, then I'm sure we'll run into you again at the park or something this week."

"Yeah, maybe... we're there a lot," Eric said, smiling. "See you guys."

Luke nodded toward him. "See ya."

As Luke and Lorelai headed back toward their table, they saw Kirk walking toward them with a plate of food. "Hey, guys," he greeted them as he walked past.

"Hey, Kirk," Lorelai distractedly said.

"Hi, Kirk," Luke echoed.

They walked a few more feet, and then abruptly stopped and looked at each other with confusion before spinning around. "Kirk!" Lorelai called.

As Kirk turned around to face them, they rushed over to him. "What the hell are you doing here?" Luke asked. "You're supposed to be in Maine."

"Did you get kicked out of the faire?" Lorelai asked, and then she gasped. "Oh, God, did you light something on fire?" She clutched her hand to her chest. "I feel like you either started a fire or caught on fire or set someone else on fire accidentally."

"Nothing happened with fire," Kirk said. "My Ren Faire homies have two days off so I took a train home to see Lulu. I'm going back tomorrow."

Luke breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, okay. Everything okay up there?"

"Yeah, I am killing it in the jewelry sales," Kirk declared. "And not only that, I've started helping Liz make some of it. You wouldn't believe how skilled I am. She says it's because I have a delicate touch."

"Oh, we believe it," Lorelai confirmed. "And how are Liz and TJ doing?"

"They're good, they're taking it easy just like Luke told them to," Kirk replied.

"Good," Luke said. "You make sure they call me if they need anything, okay?" Luke patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks again for helping them."

"Sure thing." Kirk leaned in toward Lorelai and lowered his voice, "We're still on for our agreement when I get back, right?"

"Yes, Kirk," she replied, cringing as she looked at Luke to see if he'd heard that. "We'll see you later."

As Kirk walked away, Luke followed Lorelai toward their table. "What was that about?" Luke asked her. "What agreement?"

"Come on, a hungry baby is waiting for us," Lorelai said, urging him along.

"What agreement?" Luke asked louder.

They reached the table and Lorelai put her plate down. Luke put his plate next to hers and then said to the table, "We'll be right back. Feel free to give Josh some of our food." He took Lorelai's hand and pulled her away from the table for some privacy. "What agreement?"

Lorelai grimaced as she looked up into Luke's eyes. "You're not gonna like it."

"Clearly. That's why you didn't tell me and aren't telling me right now. Spill it."

Lorelai took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "Well, in exchange for helping out Liz, Kirk asked for a small favor in return."

"Which is what?" Luke prompted her.

"He wants to sleep with me in a bed for one night only," Lorelai said, wrinkling her nose apologetically.

Luke's eyes widened. "What?!"

"Literally sleep, nothing sexual... we'd be fully dressed," Lorelai quickly continued. "We'd even have a wall of pillows between us. He's never slept in the same bed as Lulu overnight and he wants to practice before he does it."

Luke felt his blood pressure quickly rising. "What the hell, Lorelai?! You agreed to that?"

"I wanted to help Liz, and that's what he wanted in return."

"I'm gonna kill him," Luke said angrily, and started looking around for him. "Where is he?"

Lorelai grabbed his arm and pulled him back to face her. "Luke, come on, what was I supposed to do? Say no to that request and make him go with something else that didn't involve me in bed with him?"

"That's exactly what you were supposed to do!" Luke exclaimed, smacking the palm of his hand against his forehead.

"Even if it was some other favor that might involve you in some way?"

"Yes! Literally any other suggestion would've been better than you getting into a bed with him!"

Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, whew, good. Because when he suggested the bed thing, I told him that you wouldn't be okay with it, and then he came up with another idea that I agreed to."

Upon hearing that she had rejected the bed idea, Luke felt his rage calming down into confusion. "Wait, what? What other idea?"

"He wants to create a new menu item for the diner, and you have to put it up on your specials board for two weeks," Lorelai explained, and then she smiled through gritted teeth as she waited for his reaction.

Luke groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. "You agreed to something that involves my business?"

"Well, it was either that or let him sleep next to my business," Lorelai said, gesturing down the front of her body. "It's not such a big deal when you hear what the alternative was, right? You throw something on the board for a few weeks and that's it... simple."

Luke groaned again. "What if it's something weird that scares people away?"

"Come on, he eats like a 6 year old, how weird could it actually be?"

"This is Kirk," Luke reminded her. "It could be pretty damn weird."

"Okay, maybe, but a weird dish on the board in exchange for him helping out your sister doesn't seem like that bad of an exchange, does it?" Lorelai asked him.

Luke inhaled a deep breath and exhaled it slowly before muttering, "I guess not."

Lorelai pushed herself up on her tiptoes and kissed him. "See, I knew you'd come around." She took his hand and started pulling him back to the table.

Luke sighed. "I'm surrounded by insanity."

Lorelai looked back at him over her shoulder and grinned. "And you love it."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Wednesday afternoon, Babette watched Josh while Lorelai ran out to get a haircut. As Lorelai walked out of the salon, she called Babette to check in on things.

"He fell asleep in his stroller on a walk, so we're just sitting outside," Babette told her.

"I hope he wasn't a handful," Lorelai said. "He can be a little energetic in the afternoon."

"No, he was fine. He liked crawling around from gnome to gnome checking 'em all out," Babette said. "I think you've got a gnome-lover on your hands."

Lorelai smiled. "I hope so. Men who respect gnomes are the keepers."

"You got that right," Babette said. "Listen, I don't have any plans this afternoon... Morey's off visiting his parents for the evening, so you take your time getting home, honey. I'm just watching the construction crew... some of these guys aren't too bad to look at."

"You should come over for dinner tonight if Morey's not home," Lorelai suggested. "Luke's making this chicken broccoli rice casserole thing that's delicious, and there's more than enough to go around."

"You sure I won't be imposing?" Babette asked.

"Not at all," Lorelai said. "I'm gonna make a quick stop at the diner for coffee, and then I'll be home. Can I bring you anything?"

"No, I'm good, doll," Babette replied, and then watched a couple of construction crew members carry pieces of drywall across the lawn. "I've got some iced tea and a good view."

"Okay, I'll see you soon."

Lorelai hung up the phone and drove to the diner. It was pretty empty inside, and she sauntered up to Luke at the counter. "So, I have a few minutes for coffee and a conversation with my husband without having to constantly check to make sure a tiny human is not shoving a choking hazard into his mouth or trying to systematically remove the electrical socket covers." She exhaled a deep breath and leaned across the counter to kiss him. "Hi."

Luke smiled. "Hey. Your hair looks good."

Lorelai smiled and ran her fingers through it. "Thanks." She sat down on a stool. "They cut off a few inches... my head feels lighter."

"I bet." Luke poured her a cup of coffee and placed the mug in front of her. "So... any conversation topics in mind for your impromptu coffee and husband chat date?"

"Well, I invited Babette over for dinner," she told him. "Morey's out of town, so I thought it might be a nice way to thank her for watching Josh."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Good idea."

"And I think I'm leaning towards having Josh's party at the inn," Lorelai said. "Definitely the inn."

"Uh huh," Luke said, smiling amusedly. "Yesterday it was definitely the square. How many more times are you going to change your mind?"

"Probably 4," Lorelai replied. "So I need to pick a place and buy some invitations and get them sent out so I can't go back and forth in my head anymore."

"Yes, you do," Luke agreed.

Lorelai gasped. "Ooh, it could be a traveling party! We can start in the square and then move to the inn, like bar hopping."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't think we should bar hop for our kid's first birthday party."

"Well, it's not actual bars, so it's not inappropriate," she pointed out.

"Just pick one place," Luke told her. "Go with the inn, I think it'll be good there. Especially since... you know... " His voice trailed off.

"Since what?"

Luke shrugged a little. "Well, since you don't know how many more opportunities there'll be to run your own party there. Once you guys open your own inn, you'll probably have them there instead."

Lorelai's eyes widened a little as she thought about that. "Oh, yeah, I guess." She frowned, adding, "That's kind of depressing to think about. Way to put a damper on coffee/husband time."

"Sorry," he said, and he gestured toward the donuts. "Cheer you up with a donut?"

"Yes, please." He retrieved one and put it on a plate in front of her. She took a bite and a sip of her coffee, and then said, "I have to tell Mia about Gran's money... about the three-year thing."

Luke gave her a sympathetic look. "That's gonna be hard for you, I'm sure."

"Yeah. And she already knows that it's our eventual plan, but she should probably know that there's a time frame on it now." Lorelai sighed a little. "And then she's probably gonna sell the inn, which is hard to think about. Who knows what'll happen to it. It might not even be an inn anymore. It might look completely different."

"No matter what happens to it, it's always gonna be special. You'll have a lot of great memories of it."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I know." She shook her head. "Okay, let's not think about that yet." She took a sip of her coffee. "What else is on your mind?"

"Not much. I have to remember to call Liz later and check on them. They're not allowed to use their cell phones during the faire, so I can usually only get her at night or early morning."

"I will remind you," Lorelai said.

"If you have time, maybe start a shopping list," Luke said. "I'll stop at Doose's tomorrow after work."

"Okay." Lorelai broke off a piece of donut and popped it into her mouth. "That reminds me, we desperately need to clean out the fridge," she said. "I can't remember the last time we went through it, but I have a feeling we're about 3 days away from some sort of foul odor."

"Yeah, I know, we'll try to tackle that this weekend," Luke said. "And laundry... we're behind on that, too."

"Wow, we've been slacking on our to-do list," Lorelai remarked.

"Well, the top of the to-do list is to keep a small human alive, so as long as we're checking that one off on a daily basis, slacking on the others doesn't matter as much."

"Good point," Lorelai agreed, and she finished her last bit of coffee. "Speaking of which, I better get home to him. I will see you in..." She reached across the counter and turned Luke's wrist toward her to check his watch. "... 2 hours."

"Okay." Luke leaned across the counter and kissed her. "Bye."

"Bye."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Friday night, Luke arrived home from the diner a little later than expected, and quickly changed for Friday night dinner. Lorelai and Josh were ready to go, and Rory would be meeting them there right from her internship. The construction crew was already gone for the weekend, and as soon as Luke was dressed, they jumped in the car and started the drive to Hartford.

They spent a few minutes talking about the remodel and some of questions they wanted to ask Tom on Monday. Once that discussion was finished, Lorelai asked, "How was work?"

"Not bad, there was a big group that came in just as I was leaving," Luke replied. "That's why I was late, I was helping Lane get them all settled at the tables."

"Group of teens or adults?"

"Adults."

"Good, that means they might actually tip her well," Lorelai replied. "She said the big groups of teens usually don't. You should work on improving that... put up a sign or something."

"Uh, I think that's up to their parents to teach 'em, not the diner owner," Luke replied.

Lorelai turned toward the backseat. "Josh, don't forget to tip your servers well, and always be polite to them," she said, and then said to Luke, "Might as well start early."

"Yup," he agreed. "What did you guys do this afternoon?"

"Well, we sat outside for awhile and he played with his new tools," Lorelai replied. That morning, the construction workers had given Josh a toy toolbox with plastic tools inside.

Luke smiled. "He loves it. That was a cute gift."

Lorelai smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, those gruff, macho guys are surprisingly really good with him. Well, except for the foul language, but we're working on that."

"Did you take him for a walk?"

"Yeah. We ran into a family of squirrels who seemed to be having a nice little party until they were scared away by Mrs. Butler walking by with her mean poodle."

Luke rolled his eyes. "That stupid dog hates everything that breathes."

"So does Mrs. Butler, it seems," Lorelai said. "And then we saw Eric and Jenna playing out in their front yard, so we stopped and visited for a few minutes."

Luke glanced over at her, and then back at the road. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. Jenna loves trying to make Josh laugh. He seems to like her, too... she'll get down on her knees and crawl around on the grass, and he'll crawl after her to try to catch her. It's really cute."

"Sounds cute," Luke agreed.

"Oh, and Eric showed me their master bathroom, and we definitely made the right choice going with the life-changing double sinks. They each have their own sink and counter space, and can both be getting ready at the same time without getting in each other's way. I'm excited about it."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it'll be nice to have more room... especially with all the stuff you have."

Lorelai smirked. "Yeah, with a gazillion things on my side, and your 3 regularly used toiletries on your side, it's going to be super unbalanced."

"I'm sure your stuff's going to spill over onto my side eventually and it'll start to balance out."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, at least you recognize that and are prepared for it to happen," she said, patting him on the shoulder. "After that, we walked the block until Joshy fell asleep, and then we came back home. He has trouble sometimes falling asleep with the construction noise, but once he's actually knocked out, he usually does pretty well at sleeping through it."

"Yeah, hopefully that'll last all summer."

"Yup," Lorelai agreed.

They were quiet for a few moments, and Luke thought about something she'd said. He glanced over at her and asked, "So, wait, Eric showed you a picture of their sinks, or you actually saw them in person?"

"In person," Lorelai replied. "He asked if I wanted to check 'em out, so we went into the house for a minute. Oh, and remember that weird orange color in the Anderson's dining room that we'd see through the front picture window and occasionally mock? They spruced that up, it's a nice maroon color now."

Luke didn't hear the part about the dining room, he was still focused on the bathroom. "So... I'm guessing you had to go through their bedroom to get to their master bathroom, right?"

"Yeah. It's connected."

"So, he basically invited you up to his bedroom," Luke deduced.

Lorelai looked over at him with confusion. "He invited me to see the bathroom, and we quickly walked through the bedroom to get to it... all 4 of us. The kids came, too. We didn't even stop in the bedroom. What's the problem?"

Luke shrugged. "No problem. I mean, I personally wouldn't invite another woman upstairs for any reason unless you were home, but that's just me. Some guys are different."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. She honestly couldn't tell if he was joking about it or was actually upset. "It was completely innocent," she said. "He remembered we were talking about the double sinks on Monday and he offered to show me theirs... it was a nice gesture."

"Yeah, but just because it's a nice gesture doesn't mean it's appropriate," Luke said, and then he added, "And why did he think you needed to see them in person anyway? You've seen double sinks before, it's not like they're some rare piece of art or something."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow when she realized that he actually was upset. "I won't go into anyone's bedroom again without you if that's gonna bug you," she calmly offered. "But there's literally zero reason to be jealous here."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm not jealous."

"It looks like jealousy," Lorelai replied. "And it's not the first time I've seen a hint of it. When I mention running into him and Jenna at the park, or seeing them in front of their house, you seem to react, Luke. I see it on your face, like you're making a mental note of it or something... I don't know why."

"It's not jealousy. I just think it's a little weird that you've run into him like 6 times in the past few weeks without me," Luke said. "You don't think that's a little coincidental?"

"He's out of work and home all day with his kid," Lorelai reminded him. "I can't help that he spends time outside with his daughter around the same time I'm outside with our son. It's not planned. If you were taking Josh for walks in the afternoon instead of me, you'd be the one running into him."

"Just because it's not planned on your side doesn't mean it's not planned on his," Luke pointed out.

Lorelai snickered. "Oh, my God. This is sounding very Lifetime movie-ish, hon. So, now he strategically spends time outside waiting for me to walk by, and also tries to go to the park when he thinks I'll be there because he's out to seduce me?"

"Who knows? He could be, you don't know anything about him."

"He's nice, he's harmless," Lorelai said. "I mean, you've met the guy... you like the guy! You get along good with him!" She shook her head in disbelief. "I have no idea why you're suddenly picking a fight about him."

"I'm not picking a fight, I'm trying to have a discussion," he replied. "You're the one who's overreacting and turning it into a fight."

Lorelai scoffed. "I'm turning it into a fight?"

"Yeah. I'm trying to tell you how I feel about something and you're getting all defensive," Luke said.

"Okay, well, I'm just confused about why you feel that way because he's been nothing but polite and respectful to both of us," Lorelai said. "And even if he is totally into me and is laying the groundwork for some sort of torrid affair... that doesn't mean I'm just gonna go along with it and rip my clothes off for him." She cocked her head to the side. "Or do you think I might?"

Luke exhaled a sigh and shook his head. "Don't turn this into a trust issue... that's not what this is. I'm allowed to trust you and still question a situation. You've done the same thing. What about when you confronted Carrie at Liz's wedding?"

"Oh, come on!" Lorelai exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Seriously? Let's look at the two situations... you're upset because I casually chat with a guy about the weather and bathroom sinks, and you're comparing it to me getting annoyed at a woman who constantly touches and flirts with you right in front of me. A woman who has made it blatantly clear that she wants to sleep with you and is actively trying to achieve that goal."

"Well, if you trust me and know I'm not gonna do anything with her, why would you be upset? If you're allowed to have a reaction to that situation, why can't I have a reaction to this one?"

Lorelai huffed out a breath. "Because I have a legitimate reason to be annoyed at someone you interact with, I've seen the flirting with my own damn eyes. You don't have that for me... you have no reason to be jealous of this guy any more than you do to be jealous of Kirk or Andrew or any other man in town that I talk to."

"I didn't say that I did," Luke said. "I asked a couple of questions and you immediately turned it into a jealousy argument."

"Okay, yeah, this is all my fault," Lorelai said sarcastically. "You brought it up, but all the blame's on me."

Luke exhaled a heavy sigh, but he didn't respond. There wasn't a point. They were both getting worked up and they both needed to calm down for a few minutes.

They drove the rest of the way in silence. Luke parked the car in Emily and Richard's driveway and turned off the engine, but neither of them moved to get out of the car.

Finally, while staring out the passenger side window looking toward the house, Lorelai said, "I don't want you to come in."

"What?"

"I'll tell them that Josh was cranky and you took him home," Lorelai said.

"Why?"

Lorelai finally looked at him. "Why? Because we're in the middle of an argument and I don't need us being awkward in there in front of Rory and my parents. So I want you to go home with Josh, and I'll come home later with Rory."

"Why can't we just talk it out now instead of dragging it out all night?"

"Because they're inside waiting for us. We can't just sit out here hashing things out for God knows how long."

"Lorelai -"

"Luke, please, can you just leave?" Lorelai sighed softly and covered her face with her hands. "It's easier if you just go home and we finish this later."

Luke inhaled a deep breath and then exhaled it slowly. He pursed his lips and squeezed his hands around the steering wheel. "Fine."

Lorelai got out of the car and opened the back door. She leaned in close to Josh and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you later, Joshy... I love you." Her gaze met Luke's, but she didn't say anything as she backed out of the car and shut the door.

Luke started the engine and watched her walk toward the house. He was hoping she'd change her mind, that she'd decide to walk back to the car. But when she arrived at the front door and he saw her reach for the doorbell, he knew that wasn't going to happen. With a sigh, he pulled out of the driveway to head back to Stars Hollow.

Lorelai paused before she actually rang the doorbell because a strong wave of guilt rushed through her. She turned around toward the driveway just in time to see the taillights disappear. She exhaled a sigh and muttered, "Shit, I screwed that up." They weren't exactly parting cordially - by her own doing, she recognized - and it would bother her all night.

She quickly pulled her cell phone from her purse and called Luke. It went straight to voicemail, so she knew his phone was either dead or turned off. She left a message, dropped her phone back into her purse, and then reluctantly put on a fake smile and rang the doorbell.

. . . . .

. . . . .

To be continued...