Presenting … Lucas Danes? Chapter 20: O Karma, Where Art Thou, a gilmore girls fanfic

Presenting … Lucas Danes?
By GilmoreGirl1979 (the Reigning Quote Queen)
Provider of Quality FAN FICTION

Rating: let's say PG-13 because well, I can't write smut… I break into girlie giggles … because it's so absurd… me… writing smut… it's funny, especially those who know me well….

R/R: yes please I love reviews, I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.)

friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY and SUBSTITUE MY OWN! NO HARM, NO SUE! Sneaky Luke and Sneaky Lorelai with creeping music by Sam Philips sold separately.

Luvz:I miss you!
FEATURED BETA localizy… why because we like her!

A/N: Dialouge borrowed from 2.10 - The Bracebridge Dinner /written by Daniel Palladino /directed by Chris Long some Dialogue and intentions have been altered by me, Gilmoregirl1979 (It's more Fun THAT WAY!).

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Chapter 20:
O Karma, Where Art Thou

Luke woke up at the Inn. His internal clock told him it was almost time to open the diner, but he heard a thudding on the room door. His head shot to Lorelai beside him, nestled so close to him and still naked. Lorelai was peaceful and unconscious, but she seemed to wear a smile upon her face. Maybe last night is just what she needed, when Luke considered all of her recent stresses. Luke crept out of bed, pulled on his sweat pants and hoped he could make the person on the other side of the door go away without seeing Lorelai in his bed. Luke asked the door, "Who is it?"

"It's Jess," was muffled through the wood.

Luke opened the room door a reasonable crack and Jess flinched at the sight of his uncle's bare chest, "Jeez, it's bad enough I know what you're doing in there…" keeping his voice low, since he was in the hallway.

"Well, then you shouldn't have come," Luke pointed out. "Where have you been?" Luke was naturally curious for what trouble his nephew was getting into that he would no doubt have to defend.

"My room…room 10? You were there when they checked me in…" Jess figured that his uncle and Lorelai were to busy making eyes at each other when Rory handed them their two separate keys, to hear important information like that.

"How did you get your own room?" Luke couldn't believe Lorelai would trust Jess with such a responsibility.

Jess continued to whisper, "Well, I guess that's an advantage when your uncle is dating the organizer of the event." His uncle gave him a look. "Alright, Rory told me Andrew canceled last minute… and the reason for you needing to be by yourself," Jess seemed to nod his head to his uncle's bed.

Luke looked back at his bed, "You knew about this?"

"Believe me I wish I didn't… but well, the advantage of surprise is not lost on me. Look, your love life isn't what I came here to discuss."

"Fine, what do you want?" Luke hoped he could fill the request quickly since his and Lorelai's time together was coming to a close.

"I need you to come with me."

"Jess, it's the middle of the night…"

"No, it's just before dawn… you were about to wake up any way… come on it's important…" Jess insisted.

"Important and it can't wait till the sun comes up?" Luke asserted incredulously.

"Especially before the sun comes up," Jess stressed, "Grab your shoes, coat… well and a shirt…" Jess flinched again.

Luke closed the door and did as Jess requested. He looked at Lorelai in bed again, wishing he could stay with her. As he dressed, he decided on taking this as a good sign… that maybe Jess was coming around. That maybe Jess was finally opening up to him, coming to him with a problem. Luke looked at Lorelai again, thought of Rory's words, how recently she had been looking at him as more of a father figure; Luke hoped that he could live up to the expectations of all involved.

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Luke drove to the square as Jess had asked him too and parked by the diner as was his habit, "What are we doing here?"

"Bonding," Jess said sarcastically.

"What?"

"Well, I don't do fishing or hunting… and I don't think you want to hold my hand and skip through the square…so this is it…" gesturing to the snowman populated square outside.

Again Luke said "What?"

"Look at all these snowmen…" Jess pointed to the line up of snow sculptures in the square, "Which one do you think is Lorelai's?"

Luke looked at the choices, and he knew the female snowperson anywhere, "That one…so?"

"Which one do you think is gonna win?"

"Well, I'd guess Mr. Show Off over there…" Luke added bitterly, recalling Rory complaining about Ringer guy's over the top display.

"Not if we can help it," Jess grinned.

Luke furrowed his brow at his nephew and with his own grin followed Jess out of the truck.

I like the way this kid thinks, for the first time Luke felt proud of his nephew's brains.

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Lorelai was warm, having that grand feeling you get when you were so comfortable in bed and you didn't want to move because you could never be that comfortable ever again no matter how hard you try to recreate the circumstances.

Suddenly, Lorelai had the feeling like she was floating, on cloud 9 maybe. Then she felt her center of gravity shift from being horizontal to vertical. Her feet were on something cold and hard, and suddenly feeling as though she would fall over, she was leaned back against something also very cold, which made her hiss. She was too tired to push off from the cold thing behind her, and certain if she did she'd fall over.

Squinting here eyes open, she realized she was no longer in a warm bed, but standing, no not standing, leaning, naked in the brightly illuminated shower of the inn's room.

"Why am I up this early?" Lorelai whined, hating the feeling of cold tile against her back.

A gravely voice said in her ear, "Well, I'm usually up this early and you have guests to attend to so I figured…" the voice trailed off.

Lorelai knew that voice; it was Luke standing with her in the shower just as naked as she was. She smiled at him, seeing him as if for the first time, recalling his words from last night. Luke, the man who loved her. "Hello guest," she grinned, slowly sliding her hands up his arms, happy he was in the shower with her, "Do you have any needs I can attend to?" and she kissed him, "Anything I can do to make your stay more … enjoyable?" loving how his hands were grazing the sides of her torso.

"I can think of a few things," Luke said in a husky low voice, and he turned on the water.

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That was definitely new. Lorelai knew for certain she had never showered with a man before. She saw some distinct advantages to the arrangement; namely, the team work involved with her washing Luke's back as he washed her front, Dirty! Or I guess now clean? Unfortunately, images of beading water on Luke's skin were distracting her from bidding all her guests farewell.

"See ya, Bootsy." Rory smiled sympathetically and politely to he newsstand proprietor, nudging her mother to come out of her day dreaming…again.

"Ow," Lorelai grumbled as her side was growing tender from her daughter's assault "Umm Merry Christmas?" she said stupidly hoping that would fit the natural course of the conversation she had tuned out of.

"See ya, thanks. By the way, last night did I sing Hotel California?"

"From beginning to end," Rory confirmed.

"While banging spoons on your head," Lorelai smiled sympathetically.

"Well, that explains the lumps," Bootsy scratched his head and departed.

"Bye," Lorelai waved.

Seeing her grandparents coming toward them, Rory dutifully informed her mother in a whisper, "By the way, Grandma didn't come back to the room last night."

Lorelai quickly thanked her daughter for that little bit of information then turned her attention to her mother, "Hey Mom. You didn't make it back to the room last night. Did you get lucky?"

Emily haughtily observed, "Could you be any cruder?"

"Yeah, I can be cruder. Hey mom, did you get la…" but Rory's elbow now served to prevent Lorelai from completing her sentence. What? I got lucky! A couple of times…

"Thanks for coming! It was fun. Is everything okay?" Rory looked to her grandpa for reassurance.

"Everything's okay," Richard smiled.

"We'll see you next Friday." Emily gently reminded the girls.

"Bye. Bye, Dad," Lorelai waved content for the full week ahead of her without having to see her parents.

"Bye, Lorelai," her father seemed back in his good spirits.

Lorelai saw Luke zipping up his jacket by the front door; he only offered her a exposed palm to wave good bye. Lorelai figured it was his small way of saying he enjoyed last night, and watched, smiling softly as he and Jess left. There he goes, the man … who loves me…racing through my brain…damn it!

Shaking the song out of her head, "Let's go home," Lorelai sighed. Now that Luke was leaving there was no point in her staying either.

"Are we coming to get our bags later?" Rory asked.

"Why?"

"Because we're walking home. I don't want to carry 'em."

"Well, who says we're walking?" Lorelai grinned; she was doing a lot of that lately.

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Lorelai had arranged for one of the sleighs to take them home in style, and as she lay back in sleigh, she sighed to her daughter, "This is the only way to ride."

"I wholeheartedly agree," Rory smiled then she gasped as they passed Ringer guy's snowman…or former snow man.

Lorelai looked at the dilapidated work of snow art and dropped her jaw with Rory, "Whoa, what happened there?"

"I have no idea," Rory confessed just as astonished.

"Bad news for Ringer guy... but guess who wins by default?" Lorelai leaned back into her seat.

"I guess that would be us," Rory proudly pulled up her blanket, to thoroughly enjoy the ride home, a welcome distraction from the decisions she had to make.

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Lorelai also had a winter break from her business classes, which meant more free evenings for Luke. A few days after the Bracebridge Dinner, Luke and Lorelai were walking in Hartford from the movie theater towards Luke's truck. "What's with you tonight?"

"Hmm?" Lorelai focused back on her date.

"You hardly touched your dinner; you didn't talk at all through the movie… …something's wrong?"

"Aw, you know…just dreading my Parent's Christmas Party this Friday…that's all."

"Lorelai, come on, you can't fool me."

It was true. Luke seemed to always be the one person who could read her like one of Rory's books, even more so now that they were dating.

There were a number of things on Lorelai's mind. There was settling what her and Luke were gonna do with their holidays. There was the endless debate of what to get as the perfect Christmas present for the man who was in love with you, compounded by that this was their first real holiday together. However, the most prominent, the one with the shortest deadline was Rory's decision about visiting Christopher.

Now's a good a time as any, "I got a call the other day…" she started off slowly.

"Okay?" Luke urged her on.

"…From Christopher."

Luke stopped in his tracks, "What?"

Lorelai turned to Luke, "He wants Rory to come for a visit… you know… to redeem himself, mend fences… I guess."

"What?" Luke had been hoping Chris would fall off the earth again, despite his advice to Rory. Oh, he wanted Rory to give Christopher the benefit of the doubt, but Luke had been relying on Chris' unreliability. He had started thinking of those distant graduation days and wedding days, just as Rory had. Luke would have counted himself as the luckiest man if he could be present and stand up with Rory on such occasions. That, of course, was incredibly optimistic for one such as Luke. To have that distant guarantee that Lorelai would still want him, to be with him in a year or two…or ten years even.

Lorelai squeezed his hand, happy that she wasn't crazy, that she had a kindred spirit who felt the same, "I know, that's what I was like, I mean he should know I have dibs on this time of year, she is my kid, I carried her for nine months."

"Is she gonna go?" Luke asked, ignoring the people having to weave around them on the sidewalk.

"I don't know, she's thinking about it. It's her decision," Lorelai shrugged before looking at her feet, "and I said I would respect it."

Luke was quiet for a moment, "Did she…say anything else?"

"No, she didn't even talk to him. I mean he called me, asked me if it was okay, and well, Rory thought it was nice that he followed through for once… which she is taking as good thing, a sign,…an improvement…" Lorelai finished bitterly.

"Well, that's good isn't it? You've never kept her from him…"

"Well, I didn't hate him before…"

"You don't hate him," Luke couldn't believe he was defending Christopher.

"Well, I'm mad at him," she stomped her heel on the pavement to accent her anger, "…for him to just barge in like that… and pass judgment us, on a life he hasn't been apart of. Anyway… it's Rory call, if she wants to give him a second chance…. again…"

"Umm, Lorelai…I think you should know… well, Rory and I had a talk."

"A talk?" Lorelai was naturally intrigued considering Luke was never really talkative to teens or anyone for that matter. He could barely talk to his own nephew.

"About…my dad."

"What?"

"Well, after my dark day you know…we watched those movies ...and well she asked my opinion…about… letting her dad back in."

"What? What did you say? What did she say?"

"Well, since I haven't had my dad around … she was just curious at how that was working out for me. Well, she was talking about the ball and the last few years and … she sorta looks at me that way…"

"What way?"

"Well you know…as a father figure…type," Luke was so shy and Lorelai could only give him a sympathetic smile, "… and I told her…that my objective opinion was… to give Chris a second chance…"

"Why would you tell her that?" he could have been gone once and for all! She was primed to let go like I am.

"Because it was the right thing to say… Lorelai, Chris isn't my favorite person but he's her father… he wants in, he wants this chance…and that is what I told Rory …how I'd like to have a second chance with my dad."

Lorelai could understand that, however the situations were similar but hardly identical, "But after everything he said… everything he implied about you and me…and my abilities as a mother…"

"Lorelai… he's her father…he deserves it… whatever his future actions reward him with …if he redeems himself or if he screws up again… he'll deserve it."

"Since when do you preach karma, Mr. Zen?" Lorelai asked him.

"Since I did a good deed… and I got you as a result…" Luke smiled referring to his filling in during the ball ordeal. "Besides… I told Rory… if Chris fell through again… that … well, that I'd always be there." He couldn't meet Lorelai's gaze.

At that Lorelai cracked a smile, took his arm again, and they continued back to his truck. Because you love me… you love us both, "I'm sorry… for ruining our date… with all this 'Chris talk'…"

"You needed some one to talk to… and I'm always willing to listen…"

With that invitation, Lorelai continued, "It's just… before we had this …cool friendship that was still intact even though we weren't together…and now…"

Luke pressed, "And now?"

"Well, everything's … weird…and awkward…"

"Well, he did say some… choice things…" Luke reasoned.

"It's not just that… I mean, you know all this time has past. I'm grown up, and he's sorta grown up… I mean our lives are so different now… and completely separate. He has Sherry, or whatever her name is and I have you."

"You do have me," Luke confirmed.

"It's just," Lorelai was trying to put her strange feelings into words. "It's like… there was always this expectation… you know… from my parents and Rory…and maybe even myself and Chris. That one day… not matter what… we'd end up together…"

Luke stopped again, and looked at his feet, "Is that…umm …is that what you want?"

Catching what Luke was implying, Lorelai quickly faced him; put a gentle hand on his cheek forcing him to look at her in the eye, and assured, "No! No, I'm just saying that was always … the expectation…just there, looming in the distance and now… it's like…being put in that 'will never happen' category…because for certain it will never happen." Because, I love you. Why can't I say it? Jeez, relax, technically he has it said it either… so we're still good… just… keep these warm fuzzies going…

Luke put his arm around her, they began walking and Lorelai started talking again, changing the topic, "Rory and I had plans… you know… the Godfather…and stuff."

"Well, even if she does go … it's not like you'll be alone on Christmas."

"True," Lorelai had to smile, "but…"

"I know, but maybe the visit can be after Christmas…after the Godfather."

"Yeah…maybe…"

"Lorelai, he's asking you for your permission, you have the power over all the details… and we know how you love to be in control of everything."

"See, I knew you were just the man to make me feel better."

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The following evening, Lorelai was at the kitchen table sorting through some old catalogs, keeping only the most current of each company. She was enjoying some cake with her sorting, since Luke was working and wouldn't give her a hard time about it.

Then Rory came out of her room, "Hey mom," she said timidly knowing this wasn't going to go over well.

"Hey, sweets? Hey …Is there a reason why we get an American Girl catalog?"

"No idea. Do you have some hidden doll obsession?"

"Nope," Lorelai promptly threw all of them in the trash.

Rory had to shift quickly for fear her mother would start on a strange tangent about catalog ordering, and avoid hearing again the story of how Lorelai bought that "really cute sweater" because it looked so good on the model, but the reality sweater didn't hit Lorelai's curves right. "Mom, I've made a decision."

"A decision?" Lorelai looked at her daughter only with her eyes; the rest of her person was frozen and quite still.

"Yeah, the decision."

"Ah yes, the decision," Lorelai began to move again, leaning on her crossed arms on to the table top, to hug herself, to keep from squirming in her seat for how uncomfortable she was about to feel.

Rory treaded cautiously, "Well, I looking at my calendar…and well, since Christmas on a Tuesday…I thought…maybe… I could visit with dad…for the week and come back in time for New Year's…"

Lorelai lost all the breath in her lungs, as her arms relaxed, and she slumped forward, obviously disappointed, "A whole week?" Lorelai was hoping at best a few days, a weekend, over night maybe.

"Well, I'll still spend Christmas with you and Luke, and go to Boston by train on Wednesday, come home Monday so I'll be home in time for New Year's Eve…" Rory entreated.

"Wow, you've got it all worked out then, don't you…"

"Mom, it's only fair that dad gets at least one… you've have me for 51 weeks of the year straight," Rory gently reasoned.

"No, I'm sorry, it's great… really … you can get to know… mommy Sherry," Lorelai laughed mirthlessly. "I'm fine really, I just ….don't know what I'll do without you…"

"Well, you'll have Luke to help you deal," Rory teased.

Lorelai bucked herself up, even though the mere thought of a week without her daughter was unbearable, even more so the thought that she would spend her winter break in such company as the evil step-mother. "Well, since everything is worked out… at very little inconvenience to myself…you can now help me figure out what to get Luke for Christmas…" Lorelai smiled, wanting to change to a subject she wanted to discuss and desperately needed help with. Did I get him anything last year? Oh right the ball cap… does he need a bat? … Maybe. Lorelai's smiled widened at the thought of using his new Christmas bat to chase Chris out of town with.

"Okay, sure… I just want to call Dad first. I mean now that you know… he should know…so he's not left hanging and waiting to make plans…"

"Oh … yeah, sure," He only left us hanging for like a week for the ball and for like 16-17 years before that… but yeah let's call him right back, "…of course," Lorelai forced a smile and attempted to eavesdrop on Rory's end of the conversation.

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A/N: the hardest part of this chapter... coming up with a title

A/N: so I was pitching my ideas for CH 20 with Localizy the other week (many of you don't realize just how far ahead I meticulously plan my stories…unlike SOME PEOPLE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED…Vindictive BITCH! AHEM!) and the conversation went something like this…

gilmoregirl1979: and guess what twenty is gonna open with...
gilmoregirl1979: your favorite thing...
localizy: WET LUKE!
gilmoregirl1979: YES!
localizy: WET LUKE!
localizy: HEART BE STILL THAT IS JUST WHAT I NEED
localizy: and you can quote me
gilmoregirl1979: Wet Luke in shower with a wet Lorelai...
gilmoregirl1979: Wet...hehehe dirty!
localizy: wet Luke, wet Luke, wet Luke!

We hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of our inner workings.

A/N: As for the news of a certain DESTRUCTIVE DUO'S DEPARTURE, BALCONY BUDDIES BE GONE! (I like alliteration)

DING DONG THE BITCH IS GONE,
WHICH OL BITCH?
THE VINDICTIVE BITCH,
DING DONG THE BITCH IS GONE TODAY!

A/N: Okay so the powers that be have been informed that about 90 percent of the GG fans are displeased with how this season has revealed itself (what is wrong with the other 10 eh?), once again, that Purple Ribbon on my coat, that little hopeful candle in the corner of my heart is that we will have a major reconstruction of the finale, THAT is the MOST SINCERE wish of my self and my dear beta… WILL IT with us now…

I DO BELIEVE IN RE-WRITES! I DO, I DO!

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"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!
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R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) at least specific thing you liked

Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!)

Hence the Rant option below.

Insert Rant here V
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …