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 14- Luke (August 20th 6:21 P.M)
I was sitting in Liz's jewelry shop, playing solitaire on the computer. Jess had stopped by earlier and noticed my boredom and pointed it out. He said he used to play it whenever he had free time at his old job. Then made some comment about me being old and not 'in' the new technology.
That's when the phone rang. Not the business' phone. That one hadn't rung the entire time I've spent in the shop. My cell phone was ringing and of course- it was Lorelai.
"Hey," I said plainly as I flipped open the phone and adjusted it on my left shoulder.
"Oh, hey," She said in a somewhat cheerful, yet nervous voice.
"You okay?" I asked with a chuckle as I finished the stack of aces on the computer.
"Yeah, I guess, it was just- I talked to Darren today," She said bluntly.
"Oh?" I asked, surprised. We hadn't really brought him up since last Saturday when she mentioned him but still, when she did, I actually felt a pang of jealousy. And she wasn't even mine to claim.
"Yeah. He was sorry for being an ass and then he tried to ask me out, again." She said annoyed, but I could hear the some-what flattery in her voice.
"You going?" I asked, barely paying attention to her and focusing on where to put the seven of diamonds on the computer. Didn't she know I hated it when she walked about other men? I knew that I would put up a front but usually she was the only one who would really see through it.
"Nope," She sighed. "I was thinking about it, but I didn't want to. Just the fact that he thought I'd go out with him after everything he said- I just didn't want to. He's nice, though, he's from Hartford, I heard. Wonder if he knows the Gilmore's?" She questioned aloud, probably not even noticing my silence.
"How are they?" I asked, catching the last part of her ode to Darren. I knew that her parents weren't on the best of terms and I knew this was hard for her, but it was something she wouldn't talk about with me.
"My dad's living in the pool house," She said in mock-happiness.
"They actually have a pool house big enough for someone to live in?" I asked, completely bemused by the amount of money they had.
"Of course," She said, as if I should know this. "They're the Gilmore's what don't they have?"
"Beat's me," I mumbled, just about to finish the game.
"God, it's so freakin' hot here lately," She whined loudly into the phone as I rolled my eyes at her dramatics.
"Put on your air conditioner," I instructed, just finishing up a game as an old woman walked in, probably about sixty.
"It's broken," I could practically see her pouting over the phone.
"Then get it fixed," I told her, watching the lady's reactions to all of Liz's weird accessories. Sometimes it would be interest, other times it would be looks of horror and amusement. God, Liz needed a new hobby.
She scoffed. "You, Luke Danes, are telling me to pay for someone to actually fix my appliances?" Her tone was teasing and I could just picture her bewildered expression on her face. The way she would wrinkle her nose and her eyes glow a light blue. Damn, I missed her.
"Well, if you need to get out of the heat, then, yes, I am suggesting that," I told her, rolling my eyes even though she couldn't see it.
"Actually Darren offered to fix it," She said casually.
Another pang in the chest. "How'd he know it was broken?" I asked, trying not to let my hurt, disappointment, and annoyance show.
"I said something about it being broken and the heat, he offered to fix it earlier today, actually." She told me, again, like it didn't even faze her. God, what was this guy doing? Trying to replace me in every way?
The strange old lady walked over with something in her hands. "Hold on," I mumbled into the phone.
"What you got a sweet lady friend over there?" She asked playfully, already knowing about the failure of Liz's business so far.
"Oh yeah, blonde, sexy, tall, and man those eyes," I mussed in fake fascination. "You know I might actually have my way with her right here, right now," I deadpanned.
When I looked up at the lady I saw the horrifying expression plastered on her face and sighed, the things that woman made me say.
"Not you," I remarked.
"Not me, what?" Lorelai asked confused on the other side of the phone.
"I'm not talking to you," I told her, setting the phone down on the table to I wouldn't have to listen to her. I turned my attention to the woman who still looked offended in someway. "What?" I asked, trying not to roll my eyes.
"Um, what is this?" She asked cautiously, holding out a giant piece of string with beads and rocks and something that looked like macaroni on it.
I stared at it for a second, asking myself the same question. "I have no clue," I finally decided, while wondering how on earth Liz could get a license to actually sell these things.
"Oh, okay," She answered somewhat puzzled and with that, she walked away, tossing the item on the shelf on her way out.
"Okay, I'm back," I said, picking the phone up again.
"So, I was thinking," She started off, but I immediately interrupted her.
"Never a good thing," I interjected flatly.
She ignored me and continued on. "I think I deserve a dog,"
I made a half-laugh-half-choke kind of sound at her suggestion. "No really, what is it?" I asked, trying my best to stifle a chuckle.
"No, I'm serious. I was never a cat person and then with me getting older, I realized that I'm single and lonely with my daughter at Yale, my best friend in Maine and my other friend has a kid and a family." She explained, trying to make some good points.
"You'd kill it in a week," I remarked.
I heard her gasp, extra-loudly, might I add. "I would not," She disagreed.
"What about your turtle you had?" I asked knowingly with a smirk showing on my face and evident in my tone.
"That was a long time ago," She said through gritted teeth.
"It was supposed to outlive you and you had it for what? A month? Two months?" I commented. It was a wonder Rory hadn't died years ago.
"Fine, I wont get one, yet." She added hopefully, but was probably dejected by my silence. "Ugh," She groaned loudly as I heard her get up on the other side of the phone. "Stupid door!" She called out loud enough for whoever was on the other side could hear her.
"Hey, I'm just gonna," I said, letting the sentence fade at the end, assuming she had things to do.
"No, just hold on, I have to tell you a little about Rory first," She added, knowing that I would stay on the line to know what's been going on with her lately.
After a couple minutes of silence on her end, she picked up and had a smile in her voice. "I got a package!" She said excitedly.
"A package?" I asked, trying not to let it show I knew what it was. Because I had sent it and I knew she needed some of it.
"Yeah, addressed to Lorelai Gilmore, that's me,"
"Then open it," I said, trying not to sound too forceful.
"I wonder who it's from," She said as I heard the box rip open. Obviously she hadn't read the return address. "Oh! Oh! A card, there's a card." She mused.
"What's it say?" I asked, leaning back in the chair I had been sitting in for almost the past seventy two hours.
"Luke," She murmured softly, obviously touched.
"It says, 'Luke'?" I asked, feigning confusion.
Ignoring my comment, she continued on. "You now you didn't have to get me anything, it's not even my birthday." She said warmly.
"I know, think of it as a belated congratulations on opening the Dragonfly or something," I said timidly.
"Hold on let me see what's in here." She said, beginning to take everything out of the box. "A disposable camera," She said, somewhat questionably.
"You never know when you'll need a camera, and make sure to send me pictures of Rory and stuff. I miss her." I explained, trying to swallow my nervousness.
"A bag of coffee grains," She added, confused.
"I had a feeling you've been deprived of the best coffee on the eastern seaboard so I sent a little in a bag," I said, as my face flushed and I began to thank God she couldn't see me.
"Really?" She asked, surprised and excited. She didn't give me another chance to answer before proceeding to the final gift. "Okay, what's next," She mumbled and then gasped sort of, "A box, a long, thin, black velvet box," She announced, somewhat speechless. "Luke," She said in an astonished, yet objective tone.
"Open it," I instructed softly. This was the one thing I was nervous about. I had seen it at the store when I had to pick something up for Liz and it screamed 'Lorelai'. When I decided to send it to her, I figured I might as well send her some other things she might find useful.
I heard her muffled gasp in surprise ring through the phone as I pictured, what I hoped to be, a look of surprise on her face. "It's beautiful," She stated awestruck.
I smiled at her lack of words and mentally tried to picture her opening up the box and seeing her eyes glaze over the silver chain and the small dragonfly-shaped charm made of diamond looped around it. "You like it?" I asked with a small smile.
"I love it," She breathed out quietly. After a second or two, apparently she was able to begin to form sentenced again. "You shouldn't have done this," She protested weakly, a dazed tone still lingering.
"You deserved it; you finally opened your inn. It's all yours, and partially Sookie's, but you made you dream come true and I'm proud of you." I told her in a sincere and firm voice. Because she deserved it, she really did, with having to raise a little girl at the age of sixteen by herself and barely ever having any time for herself, she deserved it more than a lot of other people did.
"Thank you," She said genuinely and I could hear the smile floating in her voice.
After I told her she was welcome, I was about to ask her about Rory. She had said their was news earlier and I had made a promise that I would stay in the loop with their lives and I wasn't going to stop now.
"Oh, um, Luke, I have to go, I've got someone calling," She said clearly trying not to stutter.
"Oh yeah? Who is it?" I asked, not that curious, just more like bored and having nothing better to do. Because, seriously, if Jess didn't hurry and come back tell me it was time to close shop and give me a ride back in my truck- that he had "borrowed" from me- I might just end up stabbing myself in the eye with a pencil.
"Oh, you know, just Connie Chung calling, she wants her original face back," She babbled nervously, making it really apparent she didn't want to tell me something.
"What?" I asked, completely confused by the reference.
"It's, um. It's Darren, now I, uh, have to go, but I'll talk to you Sunday?" She asked in a rushed voice.
I numbly said my good-bye and heard the phone click off.
Right when I think the two of us could actually get closer, he shows up.
I actually thought I could show her that to me it wasn't a mistake, that night we kissed. If I could slowly show her that I wanted more from her, maybe she'd reciprocate the feeling. But of course, she found a way around that.
I know that if he wasn't as full of himself as she said he was, she would have dated him. She would have gone out with him and proved to me that the kiss meant nothing, It was obvious, a fluke if you will. I was positive.
She's a very confusing woman, I'll tell you that. Always sending mixed signals and emotions. Like whenever I have a girlfriend (or wife), she suddenly acts somewhat jealous and possessive. Then she'll start acting different towards me and start drifting away from me, not as close as we usually were. But then, once I'm single again, all I seem to be is a guy who pours her coffee and the shoulder she cries on.
I just still don't understand why she ran.
How the hell do you bring up a subject like that? About something that happened over six weeks ago? Should I just pick up the phone and ask her why she ran? Or would I sound like a possessive friend who is only acting on his feelings because he's afraid he'll lose his last chance at being more than friends with his best friends.
Damn, this was a very confusing situation. Thank God Jess arrived. I sighed and pushed my way up off the chair, grabbing my cell phone and dropping it into my front pocket. I made my way over to the door, flipped the switch that quickly shut the lights off, leaving me in the only light shedding off from the headlights of my truck as I locked up.
I still had a lot of thinking to do. About her. About me. About us and whatever our relationship- if that's what you could call it- meant to her.
Authors Note- I think I'll have the next chapter up by Sunday.
I'll need reviews to update sooner. Thanks to all of you who reviewed, though.
Can you believe it's over? Only two episodes left and the only time we'll see our beloved Gilmore Girls is in the stupid reruns. Not L/L baby, not L/L wedding. No Rory finding 'the one'. This sucks. But I have to say, Lauren Graham's performance on Tuesday's episode while singing was amazing. I've listened to it about fifty times.