Lorelai crawled into Sookie's arms, crying softly. She still couldn't understand why Luke didn't want children with her. She had never wanted anything so much as she wanted a child with Luke. She had no idea where to turn; she didn't want to manipulate Luke into having children he didn't want, but the desperate longing for a child of their own was more than she could take. She had never really mentioned her desire for children to Luke; she had just kind of hoped it would spontaneously happen. She'd rather it just happen and fight about it when it did, than have a fight over a hypothetical situation that left them both wounded and hurt.

"You need to talk to him, Lorelai," Sookie said, running her fingers through Lorelai's hair. "He might surprise you. He might not want children, but maybe he will once he sees how much you want them. That's how it was with me and Jackson."

Lorelai looked up at her, "You think? I don't know, Sook…"

"Lorelai," Sookie said, looking in her eyes. "As much as I love you, I love you a heck of a lot more when you're not crying and miserable. Put a little faith in Luke; he might surprise you."

Lorelai sighed. She hoped Sookie was right, but she knew Sookie was speaking from her own personal experience. Lorelai knew from her personal experiences that everything always turned out wrong. She never got the good moment that Sookie and Jackson got. She found herself suddenly jealous of Sookie. Her husband had wanted children; her husband had actually proposed; her children were still young, and they weren't about to grow up and leave her. Lorelai looked up at Sookie. Why can't I ever have the happy ending?

Sookie smiled down at her, "Alright, pick yourself up, Lorelai. Dry your eyes. I'll go get the junk food." Lorelai smiled back at her lightly and nodded.

As Sookie made her way to the kitchen, Lorelai stood and looked in the mirror, fixing her eyes and trying to look somewhat presentable. Why did she care, it was just Sookie after all. She bit her lip slightly and grabbed a brush, brushing the knots out of your hair.

"Lorelai, what are you doing?" she heard a gruff voice ask behind her. She turned around. She knew that voice, but she didn't want to believe it was really his voice.

"Brushing my hair," she said calmly. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you…" he said. "What's wrong? Why are you here and not back at home?"

He looked concerned. Lorelai wondered who had tipped him off that she was upset. "Sookie!" she called into the kitchen. He stared at her. "Sookie!" she called more urgently.

Sookie came in carrying a tray of her delicious brownies, "Lorelai, I'm going as fast as I--" she stopped when she saw Luke. She stared at Luke and shuffled her feet. "Brownie?" her voice squeaked out a little too high.

"No." Luke said and turned his attention back to Lorelai. "Will you just come out on a walk with me? You can stay the night here if you need to but I need to know what's upsetting you."

Lorelai looked back at him. He was genuine, she could tell. She had always gotten to know the soft and caring side of Luke, never the gruff and rude one that everyone else in Stars Hollow seemed to know. She had fallen so in love with him over the years she had known him that she couldn't imagine ever loving anyone else. She regretted all the times she'd told Christopher and Max that she'd loved them. After loving Luke, she knew she'd never loved anyone else. The feeling she had with Luke was different than anything she could have even imagined, and she knew that there was no way anyone who experienced that feeling could ever experience it with another. She knew now that with Christopher and with Max, it was just a stronger liking and a strong lust. Never love. They weren't Luke.

She looked over at Sookie, and back at Luke. "Okay," she croaked out. She saw Luke grab her coat and hand it to her. She slipped it on and took his hand. It was warm. How were his hands always this warm in February? This wasn't Florida, it was Connecticut. The snow was falling fast outside and the air was biting and still, his hands were warm.

Luke opened the door and walked outside, holding her hand. They walked for a while, neither of them saying a word. Lorelai would stare at the snow; Luke would stare ahead. Then Luke would stare at the snow, and Lorelai would stare ahead. Every now and then one of them would sneak a glance at the other, but neither of them would dare to do it at the same time as the other. They walked all the way to the park before either of them opened their mouth.

"Lorelai, will you please tell me what's wrong? I've been worried." Luke stopped and looked at her. She could see the genuine concern in his eyes, something that he hardly ever had. He had put himself out there, told her exactly how he felt, and she knew that it took a lot of courage for him to do that.

She looked back. She opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Closed it again.

"What is it?" Luke asked? "Just spit it out, please…"

"I'm not pregnant!" Lorelai cried out, and then clasped her hand over her mouth as if to call back the words she'd just spoken.

She saw Luke tense. "Well, damn, I hope not."

She looked at him, hurt in her eyes. "I want to be, Luke."

"I don't." He replied coldly, and started walking again.

She sighed and walked behind him, tears gathering in her eyes. "Well, why not?"

"I don't like kids," Luke asked.

"You like Rory," she replied.

"Well, Rory's….. Rory!" he replied, exasperated.

"What's so different about Rory?" she asked, knowing full well Rory was different from any kid.

"She's just Rory. I don't know," Luke said, knowing he'd backed himself up into a corner.

"What if we had a kid that was like Rory? I mean, it's possible…." Lorelai replied, squeezing his hand lightly.

"It's not possible," Luke said.

"Why are you so unwilling to try?" Lorelai cried.

"I don't want a baby," Luke replied simply enough. Lorelai could feel him stiffening and she dropped his hand. She looked up in his eyes and wished she had "the Rory face." She knew that face could get anything from Luke.

Her thoughts drifted back to the day four years ago when they'd been lying on the couch, hands intertwined.

"How much do you love me?" Lorelai asked playfully.

"About as much as you love the Bangles," he'd replied. "And coffee."

"Wow. I must be the luckiest girl in the entire world," she'd smiled and curled up closer to him.

"Basically," he replied. "You know I'd do anything for you."

"Anything?" Lorelai had asked.

"Yes, anything." He said and touched her face

She'd looked back up at him. "Will you do one thing for me, then?" she'd asked. Her mind immediately drifted to the book she'd read just the week earlier. Nicolas Sparks had always captured her heart, and A Walk To Remember was no different. She remembered the last line of the book.

"Anything," he replied, looking back in her eyes.

"Will you start making happy face pancakes? You know, the ones with the whipped cream smile and the chocolate chip eyes and the sprinkle freckles?" He looked at her like she was absurd. "Please?"

He looked back at her. "Only for you… And Rory, I guess." She smiled back at him. And the next morning when she and Rory walked into the diner for their morning cup of coffee, two happy face pancakes were staring up at them.

"Not even for me?" Lorelai asked, looking up at him.

Luke felt his knees go weak as he looked back at her. His heart grew heavy as he thought of the ways his life would change with his next few words. He looked into her eyes, and kissed her softly.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't want a baby."

She looked back at him and her blue eyes filled with tears. They rolled down her cheeks fast, cascading down. She broke away from him, took off her shoes, and ran the other direction. Luke stood in the snow and watched her go, his heart aching inside his chest.