Title- Here Without You

Pairings- Luke and Lorelai (JavaJunkie all the way)

Set in the fourth season, after 'Afterboom' and before 'Luke can see her face'

Summary- Liz has cancer and she and TJ broke up. Who will be her savoir? And how will Lorelai react? It will start out a story then turn into a series of letters and each chapter will be in a different person's point of view.(Luke and Lorelai have been friends for 11 years.)

Disclaimer- If I owned it, there wouldn't even be an April or Christopher.

Chapter 8- Luke (Saturday May 22nd 5:30 P.M-Inn Opening)
I had been driving back to Stars Hollow for hours. Once I heard Liz needed me I didn't think I'd be back here for a year or two and already I am going back. For the same person. And to the same place. Lorelai's inn, the Dragonfly. Last week due to her minor breakdown because of Rory and this week because of the grand-opening.

She made me promise that I would come tonight, saying that this never would have happened without me and with Rory gone she would need someone to celebrate, so I agreed, not that she needed to beg for me to come. I wanted to see her dream come true, and the fact that I helped her made it more bearable.

Ever since Jess arrived in Maine he's been bugging me, saying that I'll never get over Lorelai, that I was a coward to tell her I loved her, but I did. He just didn't know that. I didn't mean for it to come out that night, I think that was the reason she had ran, considering the fact that she never even said it back. I sighed, trying not to think about it. It hurt too much.

I checked the clock as I neared the Dragonfly, 5:30. Lorelai had told me to get there at 4:30 but I wasn't a major guest, and I had to work a little as Liz's job for her, I had to come late. And I felt bad for not telling Lorelai.

I pulled into one of the only empty spots and turned my truck off. Getting out the car and grabbing my bag off the seat, I shut the door and checked the reflection of my black pants and sweater that Lorelai herself had bought me. I didn't know if I was overdressed but I thought that jeans and flannel would definitely mark as underdressed.

Heading up the front steps I saw Lorelai and Michel bickering behind the front desk. It felt weird, seeing her after going a whole week with only getting a glimpse of her on a piece of paper resting on the table beside my bed. I stood there, memorizing her features- not that I hadn't before- but really watching her.

She must have noticed this because she looked over at me and smiled. "Hey, you're here," She gestured me to come over and only focused on me, ignoring whatever Michel was saying. "What took you so long? You're late, mister." She scolded playfully.

"I just got held up at work,"

"You have a job? How come I didn't know this?" She asked as she searched for something on the computer.

"Oh, well I just had to take over at Liz's job for awhile. Nothing big," I said nonchalantly. "So, do I have a specific room number or anything?" I asked after a couple seconds of silence

"Oh, uh, yeah, number 7, you know where that is." She said with a knowing smile. "Now let me get someone to bring you bags up to your room."

"I got it," I said, gesturing to my one bag.

"I don't understand how you can pack so little," She mumbled to herself. "So, dinner is at 6, and we'll see you there, so uh, buh-bye."

"Okay," I turned around to head upstairs and not soon after I heard Lorelai call out my name.

"Luke," I turned around, eyebrows raised in a questionable manner. "Thank you for coming tonight," She said gratefully.

I let a small smile escape, "Wouldn't miss it for the world," I told her. She looked down at the floor shyly and then looked up with a large smile plastered on her face.

"Okay," I watched Lorelai as she shifted in the front of the dining room nervously. It was now a little past 6 and Lorelai was making a 'big magnificent totally cool speech'. Her words, not mine. "I just wanted to say, Welcome to the grand opening of the Dragonfly Inn and thank you for choosing here to stay. Opening the Dragonfly has been me and my friend Sookie's dream for the past twenty years and I am just amazed at the work that has been put into it. It's finally up and I want to take this time to say thank you to a friend of mine, Luke, because without whom, this wonderful structure would not be standing. Now, I would tell him to come up here and give a little speech or something, but then he'd kill me. So, thank you Luke, so much. And thank you everyone else for staying here and enjoy the food and the rooms and have a great time." She finished with a smile and walked over to my table where I sat.

"You know you didn't need to thank me." I told her as she took a seat at my table.

"Oh, now, don't be modest; you know that without you we wouldn't even be here." She told me as she took the fork that was settled on my plate and began to eat off it.

"Don't you get fed here?" I asked her when she pulled the plate in front of her.

"Yes but Sookie's on a rampage and she doesn't want me in the kitchen. She actually thinks I'll burn something or make something explode." She said with a scoff.

I sighed and took the plate back, watching her face fall into disappointment. "Well that doesn't mean you get to eat mine." She began to pout and reach out for the fork in my hand. "Stop it," I said annoyed.

"Please Luke, this is a new business and I need my strength, hence the food." She whined. "Just one more bite."

"You know," I said as I pushed my plate towards her, causing a wide-spread grin to appear across her face. "It's bad for the business when the employer is eating of the guests plates."

"Well you're not a guest; you're a loving friend that would never allow me to die of starvation." She said with mock adoration.

I sighed and finally gave up on this conversation. "So how are things?" I asked, trying to get her to open up to me about Rory leaving.

"Things are fine," She said dismissively.

I thought that maybe she didn't understand the meaning behind my question or maybe she just didn't want to talk about it. "Really?" I asked unsurely. Considering the phone call from last week and the fact that she has sobbed into my shirt all night long, I wasn't really believing her.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She asked with an expression that was practically screaming, 'Not here, not now,'

"No reason. So, I am really proud of you, you know. This inn, it's yours and you finally did it. You finally made your dream come true." I told her sincerely, trying to lighten the mood.

"Thanks Luke, for everything. For the money and just for being here." She told me, placing her hand over mine as a sweet and meaningless gesture. I think. She must have noticed this because as I looked into her eyes questionably, she immediately pulled back. "So, um, how has Jess been?" She asked, trying to avoid the awkwardness.

"He's been good. He ended finishing high school and he got himself a job. Nothing good, but he said it paid for the necessities and all. Now in Maine, he's been helpful, not the old Jess." I told her, trying not to sound too proud.

"You know he's doing well because of you." She told me with a small smile. I shrugged, though, trying not to make a big deal about it. "You brought him back on the right track, you helped him, you guided him. You were wrong." She said with a triumphant smile.

"I was wrong about what?" I asked perplexed.

"You said you failed him, but look at him now, you didn't."

"I guess not." I said shyly.

She looked around the room and then looked back at me. "Thanks for the food but I have to get back to work." She pushed the plate back to me and stood up. "Looks like we both succeeded, huh?" She asked me, patting me on the arm. "I'll stop by later, I'm just going to go do the rounds." She told me as she started walking away, backwards.

I nodded and tried not to laugh as I saw the chair sticking out just a mere five inches behind her and then before I could get a word out she stumbled over it clumsily. "Lorelai," I got out between the stifled chuckles as she tried to stand up and walk strait without stumbling.

She turned back to me and put her hands up in mock surrender. "I'm okay," She said brushing off her wrinkled skirt.

"Hey, Lorelai?" I called out tentatively, gesturing her to come over.

"Yeah?" She asked once she was in hearing distance.

"Come by my room tonight-" I started off saying, but was interrupted by Lorelai, of course.

"Is this something dirty?" She asked in a breathy, high-pitched voice.

"So we can talk," I finished. I really wanted to ask about Rory. During the two times we had talked during the week over the phone she had successfully avoided the Rory conversation and I wanted to make sure that she was doing okay, again considering the minor breakdown.

"Talk dirty?" She asked mischievously.

"Come in around nine, okay?" I asked, ignoring her.

"Nine it is."

After staying in the dining room for a little while and grabbing a little more food from the kitchen, I decided to finally go upstairs and into my room. It was around 8:25 so I decided to change out of the dress clothes I had worn to dinner and into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and check what's on Tv.

After waiting about forty minutes I heard a knock at the door. I got up and walked over to the door slowly, taking my time to annoy her even more. "Hey," I said once I opened the door.

"Took you long enough." She said as she brushed past me.

I watched her walk directly over to the bed and stretched out facing the window and stared out of it, not paying attention to me or the fact that baseball was on the Tv. "You know, for a second I thought you were your mother." I said walking over to the bed.

"Huh," She said. Now I knew she was completely out of it if not even a comment regarding her and her mother registered in her mind.

I walked over and sat down next to her. "You okay?" I asked hesitantly. When I received no answer I gently put my hand on her shoulder and nudged her to face me. "Lorelai?" My voice was full of concern as I noticed her distant expression.

"She just called." She finally said, her voice barely audible. "She just called and was so cold, she wouldn't talk to me she just mumbled something about the weather and hung up. It was so un-Rory like. I just need her to talk to me, It's killing me to hear her so distant. I just want my Rory back."

It was killing me to see her like this. She seemed so out of it and heartbroken. "Well at least she called." I said, trying to find a bright side.

Her face stayed expressionless. "My mother called and forced Rory on the phone to talk to me. She's so oblivious."

"Rory?" I asked, confused.

"No, my mother. She doesn't have a clue what's going on in Rory's life. All she cares about is how my father is driving her crazy and who knows what else is going on in her mind." She ranted as she sat up into a more comfortable position, crossing her legs.

"Well, that sucks." I concluded, gently pushing her over so I could sit down next to her. Just as I was about to ask her how Rory was she interrupted me, again.

"Can I see the remote?" She asked visibly annoyed with the game on Tv. I silently handed it to her and she changed the channel. "Thanks," She whispered quietly as she set her head on my shoulder.

"So, you done for tonight?" I asked, deciding to ease onto the subject of Rory.

"Yeah," She said, stifling a yawn. "God, it's been a long day. I woke up at eight in the morning! Can you believe that, eight in the morning." She said incredulously.

"Wow," I said sarcastically.

"I know." She said, obviously not catching my sarcasm. "I've been working all day to make sure today was perfect."

I cautiously wrapped an arm around her shoulder and tugged her closer to me. "Today, from what I could tell, was perfect." I told her reassuringly.

"I know, and I'm surprised. Isn't the first day supposed to go horrible and totally wrong and then you spend the whole night trying to figure out how to fix it for the next day?"

"Well, that's what the test-run was for." I told her. I felt her tense up a little and told her in a reassuring voice. "You know, the whole Kirk running naked thing and then the thing with the seven servers you told me about."

"Right, right." She mumbled.

"What are we watching?" I asked, trying to figure out what was being said on the Tv.

"Truthfully, I have no clue." She said with a small laugh.

"Ahh. So how are you holding up?" I asked finally.

I felt her stiffen and shift a little, She stretched her legs out across the bed and threw an arm over my chest, burying her face into the crook of my arm. "Horrible." I heard her murmur.

"Why so horrible?"

"It's been to quiet lately, and even though I've done my best to bury myself in my work, the silence at night is too eerie. We've never been separated by an ocean, on separate continents, in a fight." She said just a little too dramatically.

"You've been alone for the whole year, why's this so different?"

"I don't know," She whined. "It's so freakin' annoying too. I just want her to call and say that I was right and she was wrong and then we can get back to our normal relationship."

"Give her time, it'll happen eventually." I told her, rubbing her arm reassuringly.

"I know, it's just, I miss her." She said, lifting her head up to look at me.

"I know you do, but you have to let her think about what she's done."

She took a deep breath and sat up a little straighter. "I know,"

"Can we please change the channel?" I asked once the silence between us began and the Spanish people on the Tv started to get on my nerves.

"Thank god, I was beginning to think you'd never change it."

"You're the one with the remote."

"Sure," She said disbelievingly as I took the remote away and changed the channel.

"Anything specific?"

"Just keep going, I'll tell you when to stop." She said as she wrapped her arm around my back and clasped her hands around my side.

"Comfortable?" I asked with a hint of amusement.

She immediately sat up and let go, "Oh, um, sorry." She said clearly embarrassed and I think she was blushing. I never thought that I would actually make Lorelai blush.

"No, it's fine, I was just saying," I said, missing the warmth that radiated off her body and onto mine. I tugged her closer to me, trying to show her it was fine.

"You sure?" She asked unconvinced. I nodded and she wrapped her arms around me again hesitantly. As soon as I was about to say something she squealed in delight. "Ohh, stop here, no, go back, no further ahead, for god's sake Luke," She said annoyed as she snatched the remote out of my hands. She then proceeded to kick her shoes off and pulled the blankets back and climb under them.

"Staying the night?" I asked clearly amused.

"Matters, do you snore?"

"I don't know did I wake you up last week?" I shot back.

"Hmmph, well go get changed, jeans aren't comfy to cuddle next to." She said, pushing me off the bed.

"Shouldn't you be getting changed too?" I asked, walking over to my bag.

"Well my skirt is silk and silk is comfy."

I sighed and walked over to the bathroom, figuring that by the time I got back she'd be gone to her room to get something to wear. By the time I got out, clad in my boxers and t-shirt, Lorelai was still sitting in the middle of the bed. "Shouldn't you really be getting changed?"

"Oh please," She said dismissively, "Like you don't want to 'accidentally' brush up against my thigh in the middle of the night and then say that you didn't mean to and then you'll do it again and then you think that by the end of the night you'll get lucky."

"Right," I said trying to stifle a laugh, though I really wouldn't have minded that. "You'll be asleep by the time this movie's over. You were practically asleep by the time you got in here." I told her as I got comfortable.

"You're probably right," She said tiredly as she laid her head on my shoulder.

"Go to sleep, you've got another long day tomorrow." I whispered into her hair, as I shut the light off.

"Night Luke," She mumbled into my shirt as she turned her attention to the Tv.

"Good night Lorelai," I whispered, pulling her close and enjoying her warmth, praying that in the next month there would be another reason for me to be back here holding her again.

Authors Note- Sorry for the long updates, So much writers block. This week has been so boring and I swear I am surprised I haven't killed myself yet. I've watched over 40 episodes of Gilmore Girls to unblock the block. The beginning is a little slow but I like the end, I think.

Reviews please, I already have the next chapter plotted out so the more reviews I get the sooner it will be posted.