Chapter 4: Us

DISCLAIMER: I realized that I haven't put a disclaimer on my chapters yet. For those who want to know, I am NOT ASP nor do I own WB, so I don't own Gilmore Girls.

The following Wednesday, Lorelai had off of work, and Rory was off of school for parent-teacher conferences. Not having anywhere else to go, they decided to visit their favorite diner man.

"Oh Lucas! Your darling Gilmore girls have arrived," Lorelai shouted with a slight southern drawl, "We are in desperate need of coffee, and you are our only hope!"

"Don't call me that," he grumbled in response, as he prepared to take their order, "And you're insane if you think I am giving either of you any coffee. You're a junkie, and she's five."

"But Luke," she pouted, "I need multiple cups of coffee to live. It's like my life line. If you want a happy, functional Lorelai, you need gallons and gallons of coffee," she rambled.

"How many cups have you had today?"

"None…" she said, shying away from his glance.

"Plus?"

"Five… but yours is better Luke!"

"It will rot your insides!"

"Oh, but what a way to go!"

They were brought out of their playful banter by Rory loudly giggling.

"What's so funny, babe?"

"You and Luke! You guys are silly!"

"Rory, silly is the last word I'd use to describe your mom, try insane," Luke said grinning.

"Hey! Watch it Burger Boy! If you keep being mean to me, you'll lose your best customers!"

"I'll have more coffee, more food, and a quieter diner. Oh yes, I can imagine how awful it will be" he deadpanned.

"Ouch, he got you there mommy," Rory said, erupting into another fit of giggles.

"Hey! You're supposed to be on my side!"

All three of them chuckled, and despite his lecturing, Luke gave in and gave Lorelai a cup of coffee…in her special mug.

"Angel, you've got wings, baby," she responded in a flirtatious tone.

Before he could leave to tend to other tables, Lorelai grabbed Luke's hand, pulling him back.

"Lorelai, I've got other customers too. What do you need?"

"Oh calm down Señor Grouchy Pants, I just had a question for you."

"Okay, shoot."

"So, Rory and I are having a movie night tonight, and we wanted to know if you could come!"

"Yeah Luke! It's Willy Wonka night! You have to come! I won't fall asleep this time! Pleeeeeassseee," Rory pleaded, giving Luke her famous puppy dog eyes and Gilmore pout.

"I don't know. I have an early delivery in the morning, and…"

"Oh come on Luke. We just wanted to thank you for helping with Rory's gift and for throwing the party. Pleeeaassseee!"

With both of the Gilmore girls using their trademarked pout, there was no way Luke could say no. "Fine, what time do I need to be there?"

"Yes," both Lorelai and Rory exclaimed, pumping their fists in the air, and Lorelai continued, "Come on over around 7."

"I'll be there," Luke replied as a small smile appeared on his face.

"Hey Mommy," Rory called from the other room while on the phone with Lane.

"Yes, Rory?"

"I know that I was supposed to watch Willy Wonka with you and Luke tonight, but I was wondering if I could spend the night with Lane? It's not a school night, since there are conferences again tomorrow, and Mrs. Kim actually said I could come!"

Oh gosh, Luke is supposed to come over. Now it will be just me and him. No! Get it together Lorelai! This sleepover will make Rory happy, and you and Luke are just friends. Just remember the other night when he didn't respond to your kiss. "Uh, sure honey, what time do I need to drop you off?"

"Mrs. Kim said in an hour would be fine!"

"Okay hon!"

Once Rory was off the phone, Lorelai picked it up and called the diner.

"Luke's"

"Hey Luke! Sorry, but there has been a slight change in plans tonight."

"Uh okay, do you not want me to come over?"

"Oh, no! That's not what I meant by change. Rory is going over to Lane's, so it looks like it will just be me and you."

"Alright... Hey, why don't you bring the movie to my place, and we can watch it here?"

"Really? You're gonna let me into your bachelor pad?

"I will if you stop calling it a bachelor pad."

"Yes sir! I'll be there around seven."

"Okay, see you then."

With Rory over at Lane's, Lorelai was left all alone while getting ready to go over to Luke's.

"UGGGHHH, why is this so hard? It's just Luke! He won't care what I am wearing! It's not like this is a date," Lorelai shouted. Man, Luke is making me crazy. Look at me. I am shouting at no one

After stressing over it for almost an hour, Lorelai finally got dressed and headed over to the diner. Before she knocked on his door she gave herself a pep talk. This is not a date. It is just you and Luke hanging out. Okay, you've got this.

When he opened the door, he was dressed in a blue knit sweater and his nicest pair of jeans. Oh my, he looks hot. "Hey Luke!"

Oh gosh, she looks so beautiful, I thought trying not to kiss her the other night was hard. Ugh, get it together Danes. This is not a date "Hey, uh come on in. There's some ice cream and pie on the table."

"Bless you," she exclaimed while stepping into the apartment, "I knew I kept you around for a reason!"

"Glad to know my purpose in life," he replied gruffly.

"Oh, now, don't be sad. You have other purposes," she giggled while pulling him along into the living room, "You have the coffee too!"

On the couch, Luke and Lorelai resumed the position they had on their last movie night. To an outsider, they would look like the perfect couple.

"Hey Luke?"

"Shhh, you said no talking," he replied quickly.

"Yeah, well, they're my rules, so I can amend them."

"Fine," he said while pausing the movie, "What do you want?"

"Welllll," she began in her most flirtatious tone, "Do you want to be the most amazing best friend ever and get me some ice cream with whipped cream and sprinkles?"

Huffing at her laziness, he retorted, "Lorelai, the ice cream is only five feet away. You can get it yourself."

"But Lucas," she pouted, "You make it better than I do."

Not the pout… "Fine," he said slowly and pulled himself off the couch.

When he returned, he handed Lorelai the ice cream bowl, assuming that her ice cream was all they needed to resume the movie. Apparently, though, she wasn't satisfied.

"Luke? Why didn't you get any? You know eating sweets is a Gilmore move night tradition!"

"Well Lorelai, as you know, my last name is Danes, so this tradition does not apply to me."

"Well, Rory is not here, so, by default, you are an honorary Gilmore for the night. Here, have some," she said as she shoved her spoon in his direction. He tried to avoid her motion, but instead of letting him avoid her, she ended up smashing ice cream on his nose.

"Lorelai!"

"Sorry Luke," she said laughing, "If you hadn't resisted…"

Before she could finish, he took some whipped cream off of her ice cream and wiped it on her cheek.

"Hey! That was mean!"

"Yeah, well you started it!"

"And now, I am going to finish it," she said giggling while throwing ice cream on his face.

"Okay, you asked for it," he said while ducking into the kitchen. Before she knew it, he reappeared with the cool whip can and squirted it all over her.

"Luke! Stop!" she yelled happily, pulling him back onto the couch.

"Lorelai, I…" he began, before he noticed how close they were for each other. While staring into each other's eyes, Luke slowly started to lean forward, and he dropped his gaze to her lips.

Oh my gosh. What am I doing? I'm about to kiss Lorelai? Do I want to kiss Lorelai?

Oh my gosh. What is he doing? He is about to kiss me. Do I want Luke to kiss me?

Neither of them stopped his advance, and soon, Luke's lips brushed lightly against Lorelai's.

Yes, I definitely want to kiss Lorelai.

Yes, I definitely want to kiss Luke.

Before Luke could pull back, Lorelai placed her arms around his neck and brought him down to her. Placing his hands on her waist, he pulled her flush against him, causing her to groan softly. They kissed passionately for what seemed like hours, exploring each other carefully and only breaking apart when oxygen was needed.

"Luke." "Lorelai." They both started at the same time.

"Lorelai, you go first."

"Oh… Luke, I want this," she said, her voice filled with desire, while trying to catch her breath, "Gosh I really want this. I want you. But what about Rory?"

"What about Rory?"

"Luke, she loves you. She probably loves you more than Chris, and I… I really love the friendship that we have. What if we date, things go south, and we break up? I can't do that to Rory. I can't risk it."

"Lorelai… I want this too, so badly," Luke said, responding with the same desire Lorelai spoke with earlier, "You and Rory have made me happier these past few months than I have ever been since my parents died." He paused to lightly kiss her, then continued, "You know that promise I made to Rory before the picnic?"

She nodded while looking him straight in the eye.

"That promise involved you too. If you want there to be an us, I will do anything and everything to stay an us. But, Heaven forbid something happens, no matter what happens, I will be there as a friend to Rory… and to you."

"Luke…I want there to be an us," she said softly, bringing his lips back to hers.

"Good, me too," he mumbled, refusing to allow his lips to be without hers for even a second longer.

Around 1:30 am, Lorelai woke up to a weight across her chest. Someone had their arms around her.

What the hell? Oh shit, we fell asleep! "Luke?... Luke!"

"Urghhh, Lorelai, go back to sleep"

"Luke! Do you even hear yourself?"

"Yes Lorelai," he mumbled, "I said go to sleep." Quickly, he realized the predicament they were in and attempted to jump up. In the process, Lorelai grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him down, causing them to both land on the floor.

"Well hello, Luke. Fancy seeing you here," she said giggling and kissed him soundly.

"Lorelai, this is not funny! We fell asleep, and there's no way you can go home now, so you have to spend the night! What are people going to think?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe they'll think we are dating," she replied sarcastically.

"Lorelai, be serious about this!"

"Luke! Chill out. I am being serious! People are gonna have to know that we're dating sometime, and is it such a bad thing that they know soon?"

"I don't know… The loons we live with will act like everything we do in our relationship is their business. You know me, Lorelai. Once I've got something good, I want to keep it to myself and protect it."

"Wait… you think you've got me," she exclaimed flirtatiously, "Why, Mr. Danes, we have only shared a few measly kisses, yet you have already staked your claim. Who's to say that I won't run off with one of those Oompa Loompas? You saw them; they're pretty cute."

"Measly kisses," he questioned seductively. Taking advantage of their position, he rolled over on top of her. "Why Miss Gilmore, are you suggesting that we need more practice?"

"Lucas! Are you trying to seduce me?"

"Trying and succeeding," he whispered into her ear. Quickly, his lips found their way to the sensitive spot on her neck, and she let out a quiet moan.

"Succeeding, definitely succeeding," she replied breathlessly.

Luckily, Lorelai was able to sneak out later that morning without being seen. Remembering the events of the night, Lorelai entered work with a bright smile on her face.

"Good Morning Lorelai, how was movie night with Rory?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," she said shyly, hoping Mia wouldn't notice the blush rising in her cheeks.

"So it was just you and Rory, then?"

"Umm, well, besides Willy Wonka, yes, it was just the two of us."

"Uh huh… so since she has off from school, I was wondering if she would like to help me re-alphabetize the book shelves…"

"Oh, uh… ughhh fine. Rory spent the night over at Lane's last night, and we didn't have movie night. I went to Luke's place and watched a movie with him. Is this interrogation over?"

"Not quite," Mia replied with a small laugh, "So I am assuming that would be the reason why you have a certain mark on the side of your neck?"

He gave me a hickey?! Ohhh he's in for it now. "Yes Mia," she replied a bit embarrassed, "That would be why."

"Aww, Lorelai, it's nothing your collar can't hide…Does that mean that you and Lucas are finally a couple?"

"Yes Mia," she smiled, "Luke and I finally came to our senses."

"Honey, I am so happy for the both of you. I couldn't pick a better pair if I tried. Just be good to him, though. He's been through a lot, and he's a wonderful man."

"Trust me, I know. He's definitely one of a kind," she replied grinning. And he's finally mine.

On her break, Lorelai decided to take a trip to visit her man.

"Oh Luke! I am here, and I am in desperate need of coffee," she exclaimed loudly while walking into the diner.

"I'll be with you in a minute. I'm going back into the kitchen."

After waiting a few minutes, Lorelai called again, "Lucas, I'm still waiting on my coffee!" She waited for a few more seconds, but didn't get a response Fine I'll just get it myself. Quietly, Lorelai snuck behind the counter, grabbed her special mug, and filled it with the precious brew.

Slowly, Luke emerged from the kitchen and noticed Lorelai's position. "What are you doing? I told you I'd be with you in a minute!"

"Wellllll," she started while turning to face him, "I tried calling you, but you didn't answer. Now that I am your girlfriend and all, I decided that it would be perfectly acceptable for me to go behind the counter and get my coffee myself."

Without hesitation, Luke grabbed Lorelai's arm, pulled her behind the curtain, and took her upstairs. "Lorelai, you can't say that so loud! We agreed not to tell anyone until we tell Rory!" Before he could start to fully rant, Lorelai pulled him towards her, lowered her lips to his neck and began sucking gently. "Oh Lorelai," Luke spoke hoarsely, as she moved her way to his earlobe.

"Shhhh, no talking," she whispered seductively, while pulling him closer and bringing her lips up to his. They continued this way for a few minutes, but refusing to allow it to get too far, Lorelai slowly pulled back. As soon as he could form a coherent thought, Luke finally spoke breathlessly, "You know, if that was what you wanted, you could have just said so."

"That takes away the element of surprise! Where's the fun in that," she said while giggling.

"You're insane."

"And yet, you still want to date me."

"Of course," he said while bringing her back into his embrace, "I want you more than anything."

"Awww, sappy Luke is my favorite," she said as she kissed him and snuggled close.

They stood in comfortable silence for a moment before Luke pulled back and began to speak. "By the way, speaking of telling Rory, what did you want to do to tell her about us?"

"Well, I actually wanted to talk to you about that… Do you think you could come over tonight and cook dinner after I pick Rory up from Lane's? I was hoping we could tell her together."

"I wouldn't want it any other way," he replied and kissed her softly, "Now, I've got to get back downstairs and I am pretty sure that you have to be back at the inn soon, so I'll see you around 7."

"Sounds like a plan," she said and returned his kiss, "By the way, you might want to cover that up, or else Patty will see it."

Reaching for his neck, he replied quickly, "You did not just give me a hickey… did you?"

"I did, and I consider it marking what's mine… but I was only returning the favor," she said giggling while pulling down her collar, "Next time, try to put it somewhere else, or more people than Mia might find out."

"Wait… Mia saw it? Aw jeez, I can only imagine how that conversation went."

"It was a little embarrassing, but she's happy for us," she answered, and kissed him sweetly, "Alright, now I've really got to go. Bye doll! See you at 7."

The sound of knocking filled the potting shed around 6:45.

"Hey Rory, can you get the door for me? It should be Luke! Just tell him he can put his stuff in the kitchen and I'll be in there in a minute."

Running to the door, Rory opened it excitedly, "Hi Luke… wait, Daddy? What are you doing here?"

"Hey kiddo! I'm here to visit your mom and you… who's Luke?"

Oblivious to Christopher's jealousy, Rory happily replied, "Oh, he's mine and Mommy's best friend!"

"Is your mommy dating Luke," he asked cautiously.

Before Rory could answer, Lorelai rushed to the door. "No Chris, Luke is a friend. What in the world are you doing here?"

"Do I need a reason? I'm just here to see my favorite girls! By the way, happy late birthday Lor," he said while inviting himself into the shed, "So this is where you ran away to? You know, you guys could always come and live with me to have a better house, and you wouldn't even have to work."

"Chris, we are not discussing this right now! Not in front of Rory. Now, I am about to have company, so you need to leave, but you can come back tomorrow to see Rory."

"Come on, I'm back! Now we can be a family; I am ready for it!"

Turning to Rory, Lorelai sweetly asked, "Hey hon, can you run to the kitchen and ask Sookie for some napkins? I just remembered that we don't have any."

"Uh, yeah mommy," she replied, confused by her mom's sudden change in subject, "I'll be right back."

As soon as Rory closed the closed the door, Lorelai went and sat on the couch and began to rant. "What the hell do you think you are doing here Chris? You can't just come in and talk about being a family while Rory was around! You'll get her hopes up! You know we'll never be a family because you can't keep your promises!"

Joining her on the couch, Chris moved closer and replied, "What are you talking about "not keeping promises to Rory"? I always keep my promises when they don't interfere with work!"

"Chris! You have never kept a promise to Rory! You haven't seen her since she was three! That's a problem Chris! You put work and everything else before your own kid! If you think that I'd voluntarily subject her to that, then you're insane!"

"Come one Lor, we belong together as a family," he said as he leaned forward trying to kiss her.

Walking up to the door, Luke heard Lorelai yelling, "Christopher, get off of me! I already told you no! Rory will be back soon, and I don't want her to walk in and think we're getting back together! We're not!"

"Get off" was all Luke had to hear before he threw the door open. Inside, he was met with Christopher leaning over Lorelai trying to kiss her. Clearing his throat loudly, he began to speak, clearly irritated, "I'm pretty sure she just yelled at you to back off. If I were you, I'd listen or her rejection will be the least of your problems."

"Luke," Lorelai exclaimed loudly while looking at him with fear in her eyes.

Christopher got off of the couch, and attempted to size Luke up. "So you're the Luke? What do you think you're doing making moves on my girls?"

"Your girls," he scoffed, "That's funny. I don't think you can call them your girls since you haven't seen them in what, two years? And, yes, I'm Luke, but I am also about to be your worst nightmare if you don't leave her alone."

"Look man, I don't know who you think you are, but this is between me and her."

With his anger growing, Luke stepped towards Christopher and sternly retorted, "Actually man, the minute I heard Lorelai yell at you to get off, it became my business. If you think I'm gonna leave and let you force yourself on her, you're kidding yourself."

Turning to Lorelai, Chris began to yell, "Are you sure you aren't dating this guy? He sure is acting like you are!"

Noticing the hurt in Luke's eyes, Lorelai quickly replied, "Chris! Who I am and am not dating is none of your damn business. I am not discussing this with you right now! You need to leave. I'll just tell Rory you had to go away for business."

"But Lor…"

"No! Leave now, and I'll get Rory to call you tomorrow."

Angrily, Chris stormed out the door. When Lorelai turned back to Luke, she could tell the wheels were turning in his head to process what just happened. Before he could get too worked up, Lorelai began quietly, "Luke, please don't read too far into what Chris said without letting me explain."

Avoiding her glance, Luke replied hesitantly, "I just have one question, are we or aren't we dating?"

Sighing deeply, Lorelai walked up to him and put her hand on his cheek, forcing him to look her straight in the eye. "Of course we are," she began sweetly, "I only told Christopher that we weren't because Rory was in the room when he asked, and I wanted her to find out from us."

"So you're not ashamed of us," he asked hopefully.

Seeing the doubt in his eyes, she laced her hands behind his neck and pulled him in for a lingering kiss. "I would never be ashamed of you. Aside from Rory, our relationship is the one thing in life that I am the proudest of."

"Good," he replied happily, returning her kiss wholeheartedly.

"Very good," sighed happily, leaning in, she kissed his cheek and spoke softly, "By the way, thanks for defending me. You have no idea how sexy you looked when you want all "macho man" on Chris."

"Hey, I was just doing my job," he replied with a cocky grin growing on his face, "I've got to protect my girls."

"Your girls? You know, I like the sound of that."

Just then, the door opened, and they jumped apart guiltily. Unaware of what was happening before she walked in, Rory cheerfully exclaimed, "Hi Luke, you're here" as she ran and threw herself into his arms, "I'm sorry I missed movie night last night. I hope you and Mommy had a good time without me, though."

"Actually, Rory," Lorelai quickly interceded, "Luke hanging out here was actually what we wanted to talk to you about. We were looking to make some… changes."

"Okay," she replied carefully, "Did you not have a good time?" All of a sudden, she gasped, and tears began to form. "Oh no, Luke! Are you not going to be here as much because Daddy is back? Please don't leave! If I have to choose I want you," she yelled and ran back towards the bed.

Shocked by her outburst, Luke turned to Lorelai, hoping she could explain. Seeing his confusion, she quietly spoke, "I'm sorry. This always happens when Chris is mentioned. He gets her all worked up by participating in her life for a few days, and then drops off of the face of the earth for a year. She's just afraid that you've decided to do the same."

"It's fine. That poor girl has been through a lot. Did you need to go talk to her alone? I can leave if you want," he said as he began to turn to leave.

"No." Lorelai swiftly grabbed his wrist and continued timidly, "Please don't."

"Isn't this a big "parenting moment" though? Shouldn't you deal with this?"

"Luke," she replied sternly, "You've already grown to be her father figure in these past few months, and I don't know about you, but I plan on being in this relationship for a long time. I know it's only been a day, but if we continue on this path, she'll eventually be your kid too. We can deal with this together."

Smiling at her calling Rory his kid, he pulled her close and responded, "Alright, I'm in. Let's go talk to her."

On the bed, Rory was curled up into a ball. As Luke and Lorelai approached, the sound of quiet sobs filled the air.

"Hey hon," Lorelai spoke softly as they eased onto their bed, "Is there something you want to talk about?"

Slowly, Rory looked up at Lorelai, and noticed Luke sitting beside her. Immediately, she got up and crawled into Luke's lap, and cried into his chest, "Please don't leave me like Daddy does."

"Rory," Luke whispered softly, "Rory, hon, look at me."

Gradually, Rory pulled back. Seeing the pleading look in her eyes almost brought Luke to tears. Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, he continued, "I'm not leaving. I promised you that I wouldn't, remember?"

Remaining silent, she nodded.

"I don't know about you, but I think we've got something pretty good going here. Me, you, and your mommy, we get to watch movies, play games, spend time at the diner, and do a lot of other fun stuff. Why would I leave that?"

"I don't know," she whispered quietly, "But Daddy did."

"Rory, I am a lot of things, but I am definitely not your daddy."

"No, but I wish you were."

Oh gosh. Shifting his glance to Lorelai, he carefully responded, "You know Rory, I wish I was too, but I'm not. I don't want to replace your daddy either, but if you need someone to do daddy jobs for you, I will help you in any way possible."

Hearing his response, Lorelai smiled. He handled that so well. He didn't bash Chris, even though he totally could, and he still reassured her. He'd make a great dad someday.

Seeing Lorelai smile, Luke lifted Rory off of his lap and placed her between them. Still looking at Lorelai he mouthed, "Now?" Knowing good and well what he meant, she nodded, and took the lead. "Hey hon, is it alright if we talk now?"

"Okay… Is this the conversation you wanted to have earlier, before I yelled at you guys? I'm sorry about that, by the way, I just didn't want Luke to leave."

"It's alright sweets, we understand, and yes, this is what we wanted to talk to you about earlier. Soooo, Rory…how would you feel if Luke stayed around as more than just a friend?"

"What do you mean," she questioned. Suddenly, her eyes went wide with realization, and with a big smile on her face, she exclaimed, "Wait…. Are you dating Luke?"

Grinning at her daughter's reaction, she replied gladly, "If I was, would you be okay with that?"

"Yes," she exclaimed joyfully. She turned to Luke quickly, "I'm so excited!"

Luke leaned over and kissed Lorelai happily. When he pulled back, Rory squirmed out from between them and jumped to the floor, facing them both. "Ewwww, okay, even though you guys are dating and all, we need to establish one rule. No doing that while I'm here." she said as she scrunched her face, "Kissing is just gross."

"I don't know Rory," Luke said with a grin on his face, "I think it's pretty great." He started pulling Lorelai towards him again.

"OKAY! Okay, just let me leave the room first before you get all up in each other's business."

Lorelai laughed and turned to Luke. "Oh gosh, I love her," she said and leaned for the kiss, "And I think you're pretty great too."