A/N: I will confess to mixing the events and timelines of PS I Lo… and Love, Daisies & Troubadours up to suit my own nefarious purposes. I apologize in advance if this offends anyone…
Pot Holders
Lorelai was awakened early the next morning by the sound of hammering coming from her porch. She stumbled down the stairs in her pajamas and opened the front door to find Luke happily pounding away.
"Hey," she said as she stepped out onto the porch, pulling the door shut behind her.
Luke looked up and said, "Hey."
Lorelai took a step closer to him and cocked her head as she asked, "How are you today?"
Luke went back to pounding on the rail as he said, "Good, how are you?"
Lorelai nodded as she said, "Good, good. What are you doing?"
"Fixing your porch rail," Luke said with a shrug.
"That's right. You are," Lorelai said with a slightly hysterical laugh. "You're fixing my porch rail at six thirty in the morning!" she pointed out accusingly.
"It was the only time I could do it," Luke answered defensively.
"Why? Why?" she wailed.
Luke shrugged and said, "It was broken. I noticed last time I was here. It could hurt somebody."
Lorelai blew out an exasperated breath and said, "Luke, we sleep around here. Okay, we like it. It makes us pretty and keeps us from killing our crazy friends," she told him as she jabbed a finger in his direction.
Luke held up a hand to caution her to keep her voice down and said, "You're gonna wake the neighbors." He lowered the hammer to his side and asked, "How are you doing?"
Lorelai shook her head and said, "Not so good. Especially since I only got about three hours of actual sleep if you add it all together."
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Caesar was opening today, and I had to get out of the apartment," he explained.
"How'd it go last night?" she asked.
Luke shook his head and said, "It went. I, uh, I'm not built like this," he said gruffly.
"Like what?" she asked.
"Like this. Juggling two women, that isn't me," he hissed. "I can barely handle one, as I'm sure you'll find out if you haven't already decided that I was a nut job and written me off," he said in a frustrated tone.
Lorelai glanced back at Babette's house and said, "Uh, maybe we should step inside." She opened the front door and stepped into the foyer, holding the door handle until Luke reluctantly stepped into the entry. She looked at him closely and said, "You know, you're not doing very well with this leaving each other alone until we straighten out our lives thing."
"I know," Luke said as he hung his head. He ran his thumb absently over the head of the hammer in his hand and said quietly, "It's just that, uh, you're usually the one I talk to about stuff. And now…" he trailed off as he gestured between them helplessly.
"It's okay," Lorelai said gently. She led him over to the couch and perched on the edge of the cushion as he flopped down next to her. Lorelai scooted away from him slightly as she said, "Neither one of us wants to hurt anybody. You care about Rachel, I get that," she said sincerely. She pressed her hand to her chest and said, "I care about Max. I don't want to hurt him."
"I know you don't," Luke said as he kept his eyes focused on the hammer he still held.
Lorelai took a deep breath and said, "Someone is going to get hurt no matter what we do, Luke, and I hate that." She waited until he looked up at her and then said, "I think we both got a little, um, swept up in the idea of it. You and me," she said gently. "To tell you the truth, I still am, but I don't want either of us to feel like we have to make this happen at the expense of someone else," she said sincerely. "Max and I haven't really been seeing each other, we've been talking about it a lot, but we're nowhere near being as, uh, involved as you are with Rachel," she told him.
"I can't just break up with her, and kick her out," Luke said gruffly.
"I know you can't," she told him. "And I've had so much going on with Rory and this whole fight thing, that I've barely had time to think about Max, and what I want," she admitted. "You know, I got in my car three times to go get her. I drove halfway there and drove back, drove halfway there and drove back. I actually ran of gas driving halfway there and back," she said with a wry smile.
Luke sighed and said, "I wish I had been her for you. You must have been going out of your mind."
"I was. I still am," she admitted.
"She'll cool off and come home," Luke said confidently.
Lorelai nodded and said, "I know. Just breaking up with Dean has been so hard on her."
"Yeah," Luke commiserated.
Lorelai shook her head and said, "I just hate that she's going through this. I mean, she's such a good kid. She's so nice to everyone, she cares about everyone. And she's walking around in this unbelievable pain and there's nothing I can do about it. She still won't talk to me. She won't tell me what happened," she said sadly.
Luke started to lose his temper and hissed, "I'll tell you what happened. That Dean kid is a jerk and he finally let her know it."
Lorelai nodded in agreement and said, "I wish I could just pinch his head right off."
Luke growled, "I'll help."
Lorelai shook her head and told him, "I warned him. I warned him when I first met him, if he hurt her…" she trailed off as her breath caught. "Ah, maybe I could key his car," she suggested hopefully.
Luke nodded and suggested, "Or better yet, you can key Taylor's car and tell him Dean did it."
Lorelai's eyes widened as she said, "Yeah, that'd be good."
Warming to the idea, Luke leaned a little closer and said, "You can key Taylor's car, tell him Dean did it and also tell him that Dean littered and walks his dog without a leash."
Lorelai flashed him a grateful smile and answered, "He'll run him out of town."
"Good," Luke replied with a stern nod. Luke looked over at her affectionately and said, "You know, this is why this is good. I know I need to let you sort things out, and I need to too, but this is…" he trailed off as he gestured to her.
"Good," she answered. "Yes, it is."
Luke nodded as he pushed himself up from the couch. "I'm about done out there."
"I should just get ready for work," Lorelai said as she stood up too.
"Yeah," Luke agreed as he walked toward the front door. He turned back to her and said with quiet confidence, "Hey, she'll be home soon."
"I'll talk to you soon," Lorelai answered as he opened the door and left, closing it gently behind him.
XXXX
That afternoon, Lorelai confronted Dean in the cookie aisle at Doose's, only to find out that the boy hadn't callously dumped her daughter as she had assumed, but instead, was heartbroken when Rory didn't reciprocate his feelings. She left the market, her mind a jumble of conflicting thoughts. She studiously ignored the diner as she focused on getting home to pick up the Jeep so that she could head for Hartford to retrieve her run away daughter. As she crossed the street, Rachel called to her, jogging to catch up to Lorelai's side as she walked. "Oh, hey Rachel," Lorelai said uncomfortably as she fell into step beside her.
"Hey, have you seen Luke around?" Rachel asked, coming straight to the point.
Lorelai waved an ineffectual had in the direction of Luke's and said, "Oh, he's probably at the diner."
Rachel shook her head and said, "Nope, he's supposed to be at the diner, but he's not."
"Oh, well…" Lorelai stammered.
"We were supposed to meet for lunch, but he didn't show," Rachel told her. "I haven't laid eyes on him all day."
Lorelai blinked in surprise and whispered, "Oh."
"Yeah, yeah, he usually comes back upstairs for a break between lunch and dinner, but today he's been other places. Uh, your place actually," Rachel added, with a slight edge to her voice.
Lorelai stopped walking and said, "Oh, yeah, well, Rachel, he's just fixing some things."
Rachel nodded and said, "I know."
"The porch rail, a couple roof shingles, and then the porch rail again after he fell off the roof onto to the porch rail," Lorelai babbled as she tried not to squirm under Rachel's steady gaze.
Rachel nodded again and said, "Yeah, yeah, he called and told me."
"Good," Lorelai said with a nod of her own.
Rachel paused for a second and then said, "Look if you see him can you tell him to just, I don't know, check in."
"Yes, will do," Lorelai agreed.
"Thanks," Rachel said with a relieved smile.
"Thanks," Lorelai said, a little unsure of what she was thanking Rachel for, but anxious to make her get away.
"Bye," Rachel said as she lifted her hand in a wave.
"Bye," Lorelai called over her shoulder as she hurried toward home.
Lorelai walked through the front door, heard someone moving around upstairs, and grabbed a handy umbrella from the stand in the foyer. After nearly clobbering Luke with it as he came down the stairs, and arguing over his breaking and entering job, she dragged him into the kitchen and pushed him down into a chair. She stared down at him and crossed her arms over her chest defensively, "Rachel was looking for you today and she didn't know where you were."
"I'm not hiding from her," Luke answered quickly.
"I didn't say you were hiding from her," Lorelai retorted.
"Sounded like you were implying it," Luke grumbled.
Lorelai stared him down and said, "Well someone's sensitive about the accusation."
Luke rubbed a tired hand over his face and said, "I think I'm hiding from her."
Lorelai sat down across from him and said, "I think you are too."
Luke sighed and said, "I just don't know what to say to her."
Lorelai nodded and said, "I understand, but Luke, you can't hide from her. Especially not here," she said with a pointed stare as she gestured to the house. "Don't do that to me."
"I know, I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely.
Lorelai nodded and said, "Listen to me carefully." She took a deep breath and said, "I have to go get Rory, and talk some things out with her. I also have to talk to Max tonight." She looked up at him and said, "I know we're friends, Luke, but right now, with this, I can't be just your friend."
Luke nodded quickly as he dropped his eyes to his hands and said, "I know."
She smiled weakly as she said, "I am officially kicking you out. I don't want to see you back here until you have settled things, and I have a chance to settle things. So you understand?" she asked softly.
"I'm sorry," he said again.
Lorelai shook her head as she stood up and said, "Don't be sorry, just be sure."
Luke stood up and said, "I'll, uh, go," as he pointed to the back door. He walked over to it and gestured to the handle as he said, "I'll fix the lock too."
Lorelai nodded as she shoved her hands into her jeans pockets and said, "Good."
XXXX
Lorelai battled her way past Emily and into Rory's room at the elder Gilmore's house. She was relieved to be greeted with hug and a heartfelt apology, which opened the door for a quiet conversation about life, love and relationships. Lorelai looked at Rory with cautious concern and said, "My point is that it's scary to be in love, that much I know, but it's also wonderful and special and if you can't say it or fully express it then you're never gonna be able to experience it and I want you to experience everything that's great because you're so great. Are you hearing me?" she asked hopefully.
Rory nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm hearing you."
Lorelai smiled gently and said, "I'm not saying that you say 'I love you' at the drop of a hat. It has to be right and real and it has to take a lot of thought. But someday with someone it will be right. I want you to be ready for that moment when it happens."
Rory looked at her curiously and asked, "Are you ready for that moment when it happens?"
"I'm working on it," Lorelai answered with a little shrug.
"With Mr. Medina?" Rory asked.
Lorelai took a deep breath and said, "Rory, I never meant to keep the fact that Max and I were talking a secret from you. I just didn't say anything because you were hurt and unhappy, and I was still trying to figure out what I felt about him," she explained.
"I know," Rory told her. "Have you figured it out?" she asked.
Lorelai looked at Rory and said, "Max is a great guy. Funny, smart, caring…" she trailed off from listing his good qualities.
Rory cocked her head and said, "I sense a 'but' coming in there."
Lorelai winced slightly and then dropped her eyes to her clasped hands. "There's just something that keeps holding me back where Max is concerned," she admitted quietly.
Rory nodded and asked gently, "Is that something named Luke?"
Lorelai's head jerked up at the mention of his name. "What?" she asked incredulously.
Rory shrugged and said, "Yesterday, when we were fighting, you said that the thing with Max was complicated, and you mentioned Luke." She watched Lorelai carefully as she asked, "Did something happen between you and Luke?"
"Yes," Lorelai whispered. She then shook her head quickly and said, "No! I mean, nothing happened, happened, if that's what you mean."
"Okay," Rory said slowly.
Lorelai drew in a steadying breath and said, "The other day, some stuff happened, and Luke, well, Luke kind of admitted how he felt about me."
"Wow," Rory breathed.
Lorelai stood up to pace the room and said with a laugh, "Yeah, wow is right." She wrung her hands nervously and said, "But, you know, as soon as it was out there, something in my brain just clicked. It was like, 'Oh, yeah,' or something," she rambled.
Rory turned on the bed to watch her mother as she prowled the room and said, "That is a wow."
"It's a mess," Lorelai said as she clamped her hands to her temples and rubbed lightly. "We both needed a little time to process it, you know?" She turned to look at Rory and said, "I was coming to meet you at the bus to tell you about it, and then we fought, and it was Rachel's birthday so Luke was with her, and you ran off, and Max showed up, and now Luke is hiding out at our house."
"Okay, whoa, back up," Rory said as she held up her hand.
Lorelai shook her head and said, "This is my mess to straighten out, kid. Well, mine and Luke's," she amended. "I don't want you worrying about it. I know that you have reservations about me and Luke, and I totally understand that," she said sincerely. Lorelai laughed bitterly and said, "The past two days have been proof positive of the mess we can create, but it's out there. It's out there now, and we can't take it back, and there's nothing we can do about it," she said helplessly.
"Okay, okay," Rory said in a placating tone as she got up and crossed over to take Lorelai by the arms to steady her.
"You see, people get hurt, even when the last thing on Earth you want to do is hurt them," Lorelai said with a desperate edge to her voice. "You hurt Dean, so Dean hurt you. Luke is going to hurt Rachel, and that hurts him. I'm going to hurt Max, I know I am. You were right. I'm going to break up with him," she said in a choked voice.
"Oh, Mom," Rory said as she hugged Lorelai tightly.
"No one wants to hurt someone they care about, Rory, but it happens whether we mean to or not," Lorelai said as she sniffed back her tears. She pulled back and said, "All you can do is be true to you. If you love Dean, tell him that and ask him to understand that you were just scared." She brushed Rory's hair back, tucking it behind her ear as she smiled tremulously and said, "Its okay to be scared, everyone else is."
"And you?" Rory asked softly.
Lorelai shrugged a little and said, "I already told you what I'm going to do. I just have to wait to see if it has a happy ending after everything is said and done."
Rory nodded and said, "I think it will. It may suck getting there, but I think in the end, you'll be happy. You and Luke will both be happy," she said firmly as she gave her mother's arms a gentle squeeze.
"This is why I need you, kid. This is why we need each other," Lorelai said in a shaky voice. "You ready to come home?" she asked hopefully.
"I'm ready," Rory said as she turned and picked her backpack up off of the floor.
Lorelai looped her arm over her daughter's shoulders as she said, "Let's go home so we can learn our lessons without the Olympic judges looking on." As they walked out of the bedroom, Lorelai murmured, "I think your Grandmother is Russian, she seems determined to give me low marks."
Rory smiled as she glanced up at Lorelai and said, "I'd give you straight tens."
Lorelai gave Rory's shoulder a squeeze as she said, "That's why I need you there, kid."
XXXX
Luke walked into the diner that afternoon and found Rachel standing behind the counter wiping her hands on a towel. "Hey," he said as he scanned the empty diner. "Things been slow?" he asked.
She looked up and said, "Oh, you're back."
"Yeah, uh, I promised Mrs. Cassini I'd do a couple of things for her, she doesn't want her husband getting on a ladder anymore," he explained. "Then I dropped by the town meeting for a minute, but nothing new there," he said with a shrug.
Rachel nodded and said, "I sent Caesar home for a while, but asked him to work a split shift since I didn't know when you'd be back. He's in the back now," she told him as she moved to the end of the counter.
"Oh, well, thanks," Luke said as she stepped slowly toward her. "I had a lot of little stuff I needed to catch up on today," he said lamely. He took a deep breath and rubbed his palms together nervously as he saw her bend over to pick something up. "Rachel, we need to talk," he said in a low voice.
Rachel stepped out from behind the counter holding her duffle bag and the new leather camera bag that he had given her the day before. "No, Luke, I don't think we do, really," she said gently.
Luke stepped back, surprised by the familiar slice of pain he felt at seeing the luggage gripped tightly in her hands. "So you're leaving huh?" he asked gruffly.
"Yeah," Rachel said with a nod.
Feeling the old hurt well up inside of him, Luke asked, "Were you even gonna tell me?"
Rachel cocked her head at him quizzically as she said, "I was waiting for you to get back so I could say goodbye." When Luke said nothing, but placed a steadying hand on the back of a chair, she gave him a rueful smile and said, "You know, I always picture Stars Hollow as this magical place where nothing ever changes." She took a step closer to him and said, "Silly, huh? Everything changes. It was stupid for me to think you'd be sitting here waiting for me. Just like before."
Luke didn't look up as he said quietly, "I waited a long time."
Rachel nodded and said, "And I didn't come back. I know, Luke," she said softly. She stepped up to him and said, "I'm sure you tried, Luke, but your heart wasn't in it." When he raised shocked eyes to meet hers, she asked, "Does she know how you feel about her?" Luke's gaze skittered away as he swallowed hard, but didn't answer. Rachel nodded and said, "You should tell her. Make sure that she knows."
"I'm, I, uh," Luke stammered, trying to find the right words.
Rachel nodded and kissed him gently on the cheek before moving toward the door. She slung her new camera bag over her shoulder and opened the door. She paused to look back at him and said, "Don't wait too long to tell her, okay?"
Luke turned to look at her as he promised softly, "I won't."
Rachel smiled sadly and said, "Bye, Luke." The bells jingled as she closed the door quietly behind her and carried her bags to the rental car she had arranged earlier that day.
Luke pressed his hand to his stomach, trying to calm his jumping nerves as he watched her pull away from the curb. He moved to the window and stared until her taillights disappeared from view. Hanging his head as he rested his hands on his hips for a moment, Luke took a deep breath and then let it out as he whispered, "Okay, okay."
He looked around the empty diner, and dimly became aware of the sound of the radio playing softly in the kitchen. He skirted the end of the counter and poked his head in to see Caesar, dancing along with the music as he washed dishes. "Hey," Luke said, smirking a little as Caesar jumped and the sudsy spatula flew from his hands. He jerked his chin toward the door and said, "I still have something I need to take care of, and Rachel had to go. Can you handle it for a while more?" he asked.
"Sure thing, Boss," Caesar said with a relieved smile, glad that Luke wasn't yelling at him about the radio.
Luke nodded to the small boom box and said, "Keep it turned down," before he turned on his heel and headed for the door. Not wanting to waste time walking, he pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked his truck. He slid behind the wheel, cranked the ignition, and ignored his hammering heart as he put it in gear and drove straight to Lorelai's house.
XXXX
On the way home from Hartford, Lorelai told Rory the whole story about Luke, the pot holders he had bought for Rachel's birthday, and the horoscope that he had kept in his wallet. When she checked the answering machine, she heard a message from Max saying he'd pick her up for dinner at seven. When he named the restaurant, Lorelai winced, knowing that she was going to have to dress up for it. Forty five minutes later, she heard a knock on the door and hurried down the stairs carrying her shoes in her hand. "You're annoyingly on time again!" she called as she paused at the landing to pull one shoe on and then tried to step down again. "Ugh. Okay, stairs then shoes, stairs then shoes," she muttered as she hurried to the bottom. She pulled on the other shoe and then walked to the front door. When she pulled it open, she saw, not Max, but Luke standing on the other side. "Oh hi," she said as she took an involuntary step back.
"Hey," Luke said softly. He frowned as he took in her appearance and said, "You're all dressed up."
Lorelai glanced down at her dress and said, "Oh, I'm, uh, going out."
"Oh sorry," Luke said as he shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. He glanced around the front porch and spotted the rail that he had fixed earlier. "I forgot my toolbox so I just thought I'd come pick it up," he said slowly.
Lorelai nodded to the toolbox in the entry and said, "Its right there."
"You're going out with Max?" Luke asked as he bent over to lift the toolbox.
"Uh, yeah, we're having dinner," Lorelai said with a wince.
"I see," Luke said as he straightened up. "I'll just get out of your way," he said stiffly.
Seeing the flash of pain in his eyes, Lorelai placed her hand on his arm and said, "Luke…"
Luke shook his head quickly and said, "Its okay, Lorelai. Let's just forget anything ever happened. I know that you like the guy. I mean, why would you dump a guy like him for a guy like me? I sure as hell wouldn't," he rambled, getting worked up.
"Luke," Lorelai tried to interject again.
"I don't blame you. It's all too screwed up anyway. I always screw it up," he said as he brushed past her with an angry shake of his head.
"Luke, I'm braking up with him," she blurted, hoping to get him to stop.
Luke turned back to her slowly and looked at her with a puzzled frown. "You are?" he asked in a genuinely shocked tone.
"Well, yeah," she said as she gestured to him with her palm open.
Luke scowled and asked, "You're breaking up with the guy wearing that?" as he nodded to her dress.
"What's wrong with this?" Lorelai asked as she looked down.
"That's something you wear to get a guy, Lorelai. Wearing that to dump one is just cruel," he said with a smirk.
"Was that a compliment or not, 'cause, you know, I'm not really sure," she said with a laugh.
Luke set the toolbox on the hall table and said in a low voice, "So, Rachel left."
"What?" Lorelai asked incredulously.
"That's what I was coming here to tell you. She left tonight. For good," he told her.
Lorelai looked up at him carefully and asked, "Are you okay?"
Luke grimaced a little and said, "I think, well, I know that she knows."
"Knows what?" Lorelai asked.
Luke looked down at her and said, "About us. I mean, about how I feel about you."
"She does?" Lorelai asked as they heard a tap on the door.
Max pushed the door open a bit and called, "Hello? I'd tried to be late."
Lorelai shot Luke a nervous glance as she said to Max, "Oh, and an utter failure at one minute past."
As Max stepped into the foyer, Lorelai watched the two men size each other up. "Um, so uh, Max Medina this is Luke Danes. Luke owns the diner. He has the greatest coffee," she chattered with a nervous laugh.
Max nodded and said, "Oh right. I saw you at a town meeting once."
Luke tipped his chin up as he nodded and said, "Yeah I saw you too."
"Nice to meet you," Max said with a smug smile as he stepped closer to Lorelai.
Luke eyed the smaller man warily as Lorelai shot him a pleading look. "Uh huh," he grunted.
Without taking his eyes off of Luke, Max said, "Mm hmm." He turned to Lorelai and said, "So, we should be going."
Lorelai's eyes widened slightly as she said, "Oh, yeah."
Luke nodded as he looked long and hard at Lorelai and then said, "Yeah, I 'm gonna get going. I just left my toolbox from when I was here earlier fixing things. I do a lot of little things around here for Lorelai," he told Max.
Lorelai's panic-o-meter was rising steadily as she said, "Yeah, you're very handy. So Luke, we'll talk later," she said as she pleaded to him with her eyes.
Luke nodded and said firmly, "Yes we will."
Sensing the tension in the air, Max interjected, "Although probably not tonight. We won't be back until late."
Lorelai laughed nervously and said, "No, I meant not tonight."
Max's eyebrows shot up as he said innocently, "Oh, I misunderstood."
"I meant tomorrow. So tomorrow," Lorelai said quickly as she gestured to Luke.
Luke bit his lip for a moment and then said, "Absolutely. We see each other most every day," he told Max pointedly.
Max chuckled and said dismissively, "Well sure, you've got the coffee."
"And she needs the coffee," Luke said confidently. He turned to Lorelai and said, "So, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," she confirmed with a nod.
Luke smirked and couldn't resist adding, "Same time as always."
Max draped his arm over Lorelai's shoulder and said, "I'd count on a little later."
Luke tried to keep from glaring at Max before he turned to Lorelai and said calmly, "Doesn't matter what time it is. I'll always be around," he said as he turned to leave.
"Bye," Lorelai called softly as Luke closed the door behind him.
Max rocked back on his heels as he said casually, "So, are we going?"
Lorelai eyed him cautiously as she said, "Just wanted to make sure you two were through swinging those things around. Someone's bound to lose an eye," she tried to joke.
"What are you talking about?" Max asked with feigned innocence.
Lorelai shook her head and walked into the living room as she said, "Nothing. I'll get my purse."
Max followed her, and tried for a casual tone as he said, "So, not to be blunt, but is that over?"
Lorelai froze for a second as she reached for her bag and asked, "Is what over?"
"Whatever's going on that I just walked in on," Max said impatiently.
Lorelai tried to play it off by saying, "Oh, Max, come on, that's Luke."
Max reached for her arm and asked, "Why won't you look at me, then?" When she finally raised her eyes to his, he asked again, "Is that over?"
Lorelai shook her head and said, "Nothing has happened between me and Luke." When Max continued to stare at her she whispered, "Yet."
Max let his hand drop from her arm as he stepped away from her. He shoved his hands into his pockets and asked, "Is something going to happen with you and Luke?"
"Yes," she admitted softly. "At least, I think so."
"I see," Max said as he looked down at his shoes.
"I just, Luke and I, we've been friends forever," Lorelai said lamely.
"Uh huh," Max grunted.
"It just, it just happened. I mean, nothing happened, but, uh, things changed," she said quietly.
"I see," Max said with a nod, still unable to look at her.
"I was going to talk to you about it tonight," Lorelai said with a grimace.
Max nodded as he digested her words and said, "Okay, well, wow. Not what I expected to happen tonight," he murmured as he rubbed his hand over his mouth.
"Max, I'm sorry," Lorelai said sincerely. "I like you, I really do. I don't want to hurt you," she told him.
Max nodded and said, "I see. You just can seem to help yourself," he murmured.
Lorelai's eyes widened as she said, "That's not fair. I didn't plan this."
"Maybe not, but I always seems to happen like this for us, huh?" Max asked. "Just when we get close, just when things are going well, you freak out and find any excuse to break it off," he accused.
Lorelai reared back as she said, "I'm not making excuses. Rory is my daughter. I explained how uncomfortable I felt about her attachment to you when I didn't know myself how I felt about you," she said, her temper rising. "You said you understood," she said adamantly.
"I did understand that," Max told her. He flung his hand toward the door and asked, "How about old Luke, there? Does he know that he's the excuse d' jour?" he asked angrily.
"Luke is one of the best friends that Rory and I have," Lorelai said through clenched teeth. "He has been there for us like no other man ever has. I don't need to justify my feelings, or anything else about Luke Danes to you or to anyone," she told him in a calm cool tone. "I think that you should go," she said softly.
Max nodded, realizing that he was clearly defeated, and said, "You're right, I should. Goodbye, Lorelai," Max said quietly.
"Goodbye, Max," Lorelai whispered as he turned and walked to the front door.
After it closed quietly behind him, Lorelai stood still, clutching her purse in her hands as she watched him pull out of the drive, his headlights sweeping across the lawn. She heard a soft click, and turned her head to see Rory poking her head out of her room cautiously. She smiled tiredly and said, "Heard all that, huh?"
"Yeah," Rory said as she stepped out of her room and crossed her arms over her chest protectively.
"Sorry, Sweets," Lorelai said with an apologetic shrug before she dropped down onto the couch and buried her face in her hands.
Rory sat down next to her and wrapped her arms around her mother. After a moment, she quoted softly, "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove."
Lorelai raised her head slowly from her hands and turned to look at her daughter incredulously as she asked, "Shakespeare? Now, Miss Brainiac?"
"It's appropriate," Rory said defensively. "It means that if what Luke has with Rachel and you had with Max was really love, nothing could change that. Certainly not a four year old horoscope torn from a newspaper," Rory said simply.
Lorelai's eyes softened as she smiled tremulously and said, "Sometimes it's good to have a brainy daughter."
"Was that Luke I heard earlier?" Rory asked gently.
Lorelai nodded and a said, "He came by to tell me that Rachel had left."
Rory nodded and said, "Oh, wow."
"Yep, eventful night," Lorelai said with a smirk.
Rory looked at her mother with hopeful eyes and asked, "So, no impediments?"
Lorelai blinked slowly as she said, "No. No impediments."
Rory nodded as she pulled away and gave her mother a stern look. "What are you waiting for? Are you chicken?"
"Now?" Lorelai asked with a frown.
Rory shrugged and said, "He wants to be with you, you want to be with him. Why wait? Go get him."
"Go get him," Lorelai repeated.
Rory nodded and said, "Hurry, before the stars are out of alignment."
"Just go get him," Lorelai said as she smoothed her palms over the skirt of her dress.
"Yep," Rory said with a nod.
"Okay," Lorelai said as she blew out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Okay, she said in a more decisive tone as she stood up. She picked up her purse again and dug for her keys. "Stars are in alignment," she muttered with an unladylike snort. She looked up suddenly and asked, "Have we got a newspaper?"
"Just the Star's Hollow Gazette," Rory answered slowly.
"I need it," Lorelai said as she hurried to the kitchen and began to rummage through a stack of magazines waiting to be recycled.
"Today's is on the table," Rory said as she followed her mother into the room.
Lorelai opened the paper and flipped to the second to last page. With a trembling hand she tore out the section under Scorpio. "Pen, I need a pen," she muttered.
"On it," Rory said as she dashed into her room. She reappeared and held a purple glitter pen out to Lorelai.
"Purple?" Lorelai asked as she looked at it critically.
"First one I could find," Rory said with a shrug.
Lorelai smiled as she uncapped the pen and hastily scrawled over the Sagittarians' horoscope. She picked up the scrap of paper, kissed Rory's cheek and said, "Wish me luck!" as she hurried to the door, keys in hand.
"Good luck," Rory called after her, and then frowned when Lorelai abruptly reversed directions. "What?" she asked anxiously.
Lorelai hooked the small shopping bag that had been sitting on the desk with on finger, shrugged and said, "You never know," as she hurried to the foyer and out of the door.
She climbed into the Jeep and backed out of the driveway without even looking. She zoomed to the center of town, and screeched to a halt in front of the diner. When the bells announced her arrival, Caesar stepped from the kitchen with an armful of plates to deliver. "Caesar, is Luke here?" Lorelai asked breathlessly.
"Luke! You have a visitor!" Caesar called into the kitchen. "He'll be out," Caesar said as he went to deliver the order.
Lorelai perched on the edge of the first stool, holding her purse in one hand and the horoscope and shopping bag in the other. When Luke stepped out of the kitchen, he blinked in surprise and said, "I thought that you were going to dinner."
Lorelai shook her head and said, "Never even made it out of the door."
Luke scowled and said, "I'd like to say I'm sorry, but I'm not."
"So, I have something for you," Lorelai said with a tentative smile.
"You do?" Luke asked.
"Cost you a cup of coffee," she bartered.
Luke nodded and said, "Pretty steep, but okay." He poured a mug of coffee and slid it in front of her as his eyebrows lifted expectantly.
Lorelai dropped her purse to the ground and reached for the mug, taking a fortifying sip. As she placed it back on the counter she said, "Okay, I'll give you a choice."
"Okay," Luke said slowly as he placed his hands on his hips, and watched her warily.
"You can either have these," Lorelai said as she placed the shopping bag holding the meowing cat pot holders on the counter, smiling as he shuddered at the sight. "Or this," she said as she slid a slip of newsprint across the counter to him.
Luke picked up the scrap and read it carefully, his smile growing as he murmured, "Scorpio, lady luck seems to be smiling on you these days. This is your time, live your life to the fullest, take what you can get, and give all that you can." He glanced up at her and then dropped his eyes to the purple scrawl beneath the horoscope. "Here is an annoying woman. If you want her, you'd better kiss her now," he read aloud. Luke reached out, cupping the back of her head as he bent over the counter and kissed her softly on the lips. He pulled away, his eyes locked on hers as he said softly, "I want her."
"Good," Lorelai answered. "It's been a hell of a night. I think I may need a cheeseburger. With bacon," she added.
Luke nodded and said, "Coming right up." He looked up at the sound of a chair falling over, and saw Kirk running from the diner at full speed, heading directly for Miss Patty's studio. He smirked as he looked down at Lorelai and said, "It's about to get more hellish. I'll put some chili on your fries."
"I'd appreciate that," Lorelai said with a nod as she lifted her coffee mug and smiled at him over the rim.
Finito