I love how protective everyone is of Luke. No one wants to see him hurt. And while I can't promise that, I can say that he's not going to hurt alone, and not for long.

And for those who are not looking forward to Christopher... I'm sorry. Blame Emily, not me. But really, for Lorelai to move on from her 'what if' relationship fantasies of the past, he kind of needs to make an appearance. For the reviewers who are worried, well I hope I did okay. Please let me know.

~G.G~

Part 7: Shit, Meet Fan

There was peace in Stars Hollow. The rumour mill was still buzzing, as always, but had more or less moved on from the unusual union between the long-time friends. Rory began the almost endless preparations for Yale before she was to leave to spend time with her father, and Lorelai and Sookie threw themselves headlong into work on the Dragonfly. In between their individual pursuits, the mother and daughter spent their time together, going to the diner for meals, and expanding their movie nights to include Luke. The new speculation about the couple was that they were waiting for Rory to start school before they took their relationship to the next step.

A week had passed by since the uproar at the Gilmore house and that Friday, while Rory dutifully, if not a little grudgingly, went to dinner; Lorelai was getting ready to go to dinner with Luke. She heard Rory's car leave as she was getting dressed. Luke would be there soon to pick her up, to finally talk about the topic that they had long been putting off. Even though they hadn't received word about the tuition being paid, it was still time to broach the subject of divorce lawyers. And while neither wanted to be the one to push the subject, or even to be the first to mention it, they both knew that they were expected to talk about it. After all, neither were aware of just how painful and uncomfortable that topic had grown to be for the other.

There was knock at the door and Lorelai rolled her eyes. Luke was early. Had he learned nothing about her in the time he's known her? Shouting down for him to come in, she finished securing her necklace in place, freezing in place on the stairs when she saw who had come in Luke's stead.

"Christopher." What was he doing there?

"Hey, Lor, you look nice. I hear I owe you best wishes. You're married."

"So are you," she crossed her arms, nervously shifting her weight. "What are you doing here?"

"Your mother called me."

"Of course she did." She looked down. she really shouldn't have been surprised it would come to this. Her mother knew the weakness that came with Christopher's presence in her life. The safe haven of the past and the what if's that always filtered into her mind when she should have been thinking about the missed phone calls and the disappointed expression her daughter always wore when he broke yet another promise. The same expression Lorelai, herself, wore when he continued to disappoint them both.

"I would have been here sooner, but I was out of town. Only just got back."

"For work?" She asked, filled with nervous energy, like when you're watching a horror film and are waiting for the guy in the mask to jump out. In her head, the Jaws theme was already playing.

"Yes, it's going really well."

"Oh, that's nice. What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see you, to see how you're doing."

She rolled her eyes, walking down the rest of the stairs. One of the benefits of having known him since he was too young to fit his full name, was that she could read him. And she knew that he wasn't being as honest with her as they both knew he should be. "Don't lie."

He sighed and she wondered if he had been drinking. "I needed to know why you did it. Why did you marry him? Revenge?"

She took a step back when he took one forward, knowing the importance of distance, especially in moments like this. "You and my mother have to stop thinking everything is about you. Because it's not. And this marriage..."

"Fake marriage," he amended.

"Whatever! It's still none of your business, Christopher. You lost that chance a long time ago."

"Not so long ago."

"That's not the point," she stamped her foot, getting frustrated at having him there. At having him nearby when he wasn't willing to think of anything beyond what he wanted to believe was right. When he wasn't willing to believe her when she said what he wanted was wrong. She was only one person, and it was hard being strong for both of them. "What do you want from me? Because what we've been doing really sucks and I can't do it any more. I won't do it. It isn't fair to either of us to keep doing this."

"I know, Lor. I just need to know if you still love me."

Her tone softened. "Of course I love you, Chris. You gave me Rory."

"And do you ever think we would have been better off if we'd just have gotten together? If you had of just said yes?"

"Yes," she admitted, giving into the comfort of the past as she tried to console him to the present, "Sometimes, sure. I used to think that all the time when I was saving for this house and run off my feet with work and would cry myself to sleep after Rory went to bed because I was in over my head. I used to want to go to you and beg you to come back and to make us a family again. But I couldn't do that to you. I couldn't do that to Rory. Because you weren't ready for us. Not full time. I still don't think you are, I just think you now want to be."

"What changed?" He asked, looking around the cozy living room.

"What?"

"Between saving for the house and getting it? What changed?" He looked at her and left unsaid the question that both were better off not knowing the answer too.

"I don't want to fight about this. I want you to be happy."

"Do you love him? Emily said that you haven't filed for divorce yet. It's been a week since she told you that you were free to file. What's stopping you?"

"I told her I wasn't going to make a move until Rory's first year was paid for. And I haven't gotten the memo that it had been. Or did you bring that with you since you're now running her errands for her?"

"This has nothing to do with your mother. And, you didn't answer my question. Do you love him?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because he's been a part of your life, of my daughter's life. I think I deserve to know who you're bringing into it."

"Because I got a say with Sherry? That's rich, Christopher, real rich. How dare you come into my life, my home, demanding the right to know my feelings for someone whom you've never..."

He kissed her. He had figured it was really the only way to tell for sure. Not what she felt for Luke, but rather - what was more important to him - what she felt for him. The father of her child. He ran his fingers over her cheeks, down her neck and arms to her waist, holding her tightly to him as his mind replayed all of the kisses he remembered them sharing over the years - over a lifetime. And as he pulled away he knew the truth before even seeing it in her eyes. He could tell it by the way she kissed him. After so many years of knowing how they worked together, of picking right up where they had left off no matter who they were seeing in the meantime; after years of being perfectly in sync, she had finally kissed him back as though she had grown used to kissing somebody else.

"Yes," she whispered, taking a step away, her lip trembling at the truth, at the answers she found in the kiss that was wrong for all the right reasons, "I think I do. And I think you should go."

Licking his lip, remembering the taste of her over the years, he steadied himself, nodding once and then left, not looking back at the man who had been standing in the shadows, watching everything take place.

~G.G~

Lorelai swallowed hard before going into the empty diner. It was dinner and after Christopher had left the night before, Luke didn't show up and she was too unsure of the situation and her feelings to know if she should have gone to him.

She loved him. And it scared her. It scared her to be married to the man that she loved so much that it hurt her to think of leaving.

She had spent a long, sleepless night playing with the ring that she couldn't bare taking off. The inexpensive ring that they had bought in the cruise ship's gift shop, during the short time it took between asking the captain to marry them and when the ceremony actually took place. It was now a reminder to her of everything she gained in those short weeks, and now everything she risked losing.

The night of worry had taken its toll on her. She was late and didn't have a chance to get the coffee she knew she sorely needed. And as the day wore on her nerves only got worse. Sookie noticed the change but didn't comment on it, knowing her friend well enough to know that the stubborn woman would mention it when she needed someone to talk to. And now as she approached the diner, where she had heard from Miss Patty that Luke wasn't in a cheery mood at all, she wondered if she could bring herself to go in.

Steeling herself, she opened the door, forcing a smile on her face as she entered the diner, sliding onto a stool at the counter. "Hey you. I didn't see you last night."

"Was busy," he told her without looking up from his order pad.

"Too busy to call?" She asked, trying to smile and keep her voice even; and trying not to think how much she sounded like a wife.

He slammed the pad onto the counter, "I didn't think you'd really notice."

She blinked, taken aback at his coldness, "What is with you?"

He shrugged, failing at playing it cool. "Nothing is with me."

"Luke..."

"I mean why would anything be with me? I only went to your house and saw you through the window kissing somebody who looked a lot like Christopher," he hissed, looking around to make sure no one was watching or about to come in, "So really, since I figure this is just another round in the eternal dance that the two of you do in your long, drawn-out mating ritual, there is absolutely nothing with me. I just thought this time was different. That we were different. But, surprise surprise, I was wrong. Just another place holder. So now I'm here, trying to work while feeling like an idiot."

"You came? You saw? Luke…"

The bell ringing above the door stopped any excuse she might have thought to make. Not that she had any ready. It was one of the rare moments when Lorelai Gilmore didn't have anything to say.

"There you are," Babette called, coming in with Sookie and Rory, "You're both needed at Miss Patty's."

Rory and Sookie could see the tension between the pair, but they knew they couldn't do anything about it. Not with Babette there, urging them out the door.

"I have work to do," Luke grumbled.

"That can wait, Sugah," she assured him, already succeeding in bringing the shocked Lorelai closer to the door, "You aren't gonna have anyone else tonight. Everyone's gonna be there."

"What's going on?" He asked, eyeing the suddenly guilty-looking accomplices with the blonde.

"It's a surprise," Babette almost shouted, her excitement bubbling over.

"Mom?" Rory asked, catching the hurt in her mother's expression.

Luke's eye met the teen's and any argument that he could make, any scene he wanted to cause, any fight he wanted to continue, left him. After all, there wasn't anything that he wouldn't do for that kid. Even break his own heart. "Let's go."

Miss Patty's was dark when they approached it, and the barn doors were slid shut. With Sookie and Rory watching the pair closely, Babette stopped them on the stoop, ran forward and knocked on the doors. They slid open quickly, the light flicking on in time as the crowd waiting inside shouted 'surprise!'.

"It's a wedding reception," Babette explained, her expression beaming, "Since you kids went off and had the ceremony without us."

It was too much. The entire town, almost, had gathered together for this. Lane's band was playing and Sookie had cooked and Kirk had even done a poor painting of the couple as his voice had given out from his stint as town crier. But, he did get a collection of shoes for his efforts - he just didn't understand why everyone had thrown them at him. And why only one instead of the pair.

Luke couldn't step inside. As Babette went into the festivities, and Sookie and Rory stepped inside to give them some space, Lorelai turned and looked at him, "Will you let me explain?"

"I don't think there's anything that really needs to be explained, do you?" He asked, turning on his heel and moving back towards the diner. He paused when he heard her start to come after him. That wasn't what he needed. He couldn't handle seeing her trying to talk him out of how he knew he had a right to feel. Like this was the end. "Tell you what, you just go and tell me when your mother signs the big, fat check to Rory's school and I'll take care of the rest. Now if you don't mind, I have a business to get back to."

"Luke..." she stopped when she saw his expression. It was cold and unreadable. He was hurt. She had hurt him. "It wasn't what it looked like," she managed to get out although it sounded weak, even to her.

"Just go back to him. It's what everyone wants."

~TBC~

Up next: the end.

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