A.N. Tom, will you marry me:) Your reviews always go straight to my heart. Every time I read you, I have the urge to sit, put my non-life aside, and write. I don't know if it's because I'm so predictable, but it seems like everything you tell me you'd like to read is already planned out to be exactly it. Thanks for being such a wonderful, faithful reader.

Thanks to every one of you who took the time to leave me a comment. I can't name all of you since you're like... numerous and since you're probably not even reading this A.N. –and if you are, you're probably like, "Oy! On with the story already! This isn't an Academy Awards acceptance speech!". But thank you all. You've all got a special something that gives me more and more confidence in my writing. I never thought I'd be able to write a story that long in English –cause I'm French Canadian. But I did! Because of you. (Whoa, I'm now quoting Kelly Clarkson...)

Disclaimer: "Strictly speaking, for fan fictions, there is infringement and the intention to infringe exists. I'm not sure what kind of disclaimer could exculpate that. You should, however, make it clear that you used the characters without permission, that you made no attempt to copyright those same characters, and that you're not using them for profit." --What that says.


Chapter 10

And the Emmy Goes to... PART 1

"I don't wanna take my shirt off!" Lorelai yelled as soon as Rory picked up the phone.

"Mom?" Who else would call you at... 5:59 a.m. to yell about a shirt?

"I can't do it! I just can't!"

"Go back to sleep, maybe you'll be able to later..." Rory mumbled.

"I can't go back to sleep! I keep picturing me with my shirt off and him... standing there, with a wonderful view of the balcony, and suddenly he starts laughing and... and I... RORYYYY!"

"Well, if the guy doesn't understand you're not ready, then you're better off without him..."

"I'm not talking about a man! Well, technically, yes. But I mean... All of Stars Hollow will be there. I'm not an exotic dancer, I can't do this."

Rory kept quiet.

"Are you picturing me as an exotic dancer?"

"I wish I could tape this conversation."

"When are you coming home?" Lorelai was close to hyperventilation and she didn't have any paper bag. Could plastic do the trick? Maybe she could choke herself with it...

"I've told you seven times already!"

6:00. Right. She'll be here at 6:00. Only 12 more hours, then I'll have someone to freak out with. Well, to freak out to.

"Luke won't laugh," Rory reassured her.

Her stomach back flipped. Oh no! Not again! Not this morning. Not today. Not ever again. Please, make this feeling go away...

"How do you know I was talking about Luke? You haven't read the stupid play."

She could hear the smile in her daughter's voice.

"I know you guys will kiss and I know you are really nervous about it and since I assume you're not a hooker in the play, I put two and two together and figured out Luke was the one."

"Yeah, Luke is the one."

She heard herself. The panic attack tripled in intensity. Silently.

"Plus," Rory continued, "Luke's the only one who can make you freak out that way."

"What?" Lorelai dismissed. "Excuse me, but I'm the Queen of Freak Outs. I can freak out about anything and anyone in 1.4 seconds. Luke does not have that power."

"He's the only one who can make your voice sound like this..."

What's wrong with my voice? Great. Now I can't even speak.

Rory knew that, especially since it was the truth, the remark would shut her mother up.

"Okay, now try to think about something else and I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Rory, have you ever been sober, in a public place where hundreds of people are watching you, having your male best friend taking your shirt off? Please say no."

"No..."

"Well then, make it a plan and fifteen hours before it happens, try to think about something else."

"He's probably just as nervous as you are, mom. Maybe even more. He's the one who has to take your shirt off."

Stop saying 'he's the one'.

"Stop saying 'take your shirt off'," Lorelai interrupted.

"He's probably scared you're gonna slap him or something."

"Now that's something to think about..."

"You're not gonna attack Luke. Talk to Miss Patty. She can't force you if you don't want to. That's illegal."

Lorelai considered the idea and decided that it was exactly what she was going to do.

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She was able to wait until 9. She figured that Miss Patty would be at the studio by then, but as she turned the corner, she spotted Luke sitting on the stairs. She slowed down her pace and automatically pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

He seemed lost in his thoughts and didn't hear her walk up to him, so he slightly jumped when she called his name.

"Luke?"

He jerked his head towards her. Busted. He nervously stood up and rubbed his hands together.

"Lorelai, hey..."

He was now staring at her shoes.

Confused, she looked around her, not sure what she was looking for... Maybe a hidden camera or something.

"Did we... have a rehearsal this morning?"

"No," he answered bluntly.

"Okay... Uhm... I'm thinking really hard, and I still can't figure out why you're here. You have to fill me in."

He couldn't tell her the real reason he was here... Suddenly feeling like a coward, he wished he'd never decided to come here. He wished he could deal with taking her shirt off. But he had this irrepressible feeling he was going to pass out on stage if he really had to take Lorelai's shirt off. He knew where all his blood would go, and it was definitely not to his brain. That's why he was here. To discuss with Miss Patty.

"Same reason as you, I assume..."

She gulped. Did he really know how freaked out she was? Was he there to fight the same thing?

"Which would be?" she asked, to make sure.

"You know..."Think fast, Danes. Come on! "To... know what time we have to get here tonight."

Relieved, but unsure why she was, Lorelai nodded.

"Right!" She let out a short laugh before she continued. "So, Miss Patty isn't here yet?"

"Oh, she is. She just had to, uhm... check some things before she could answer me..." Man! She better leave before Miss Patty comes out and blows my cover. "Why don't you... go in the diner, pour yourself a cup of coffee and I'll give you all the info when I get back," he casually let out.

Lorelai squinted her eyes at him and smirked. Luke was hiding something.

"Pour myself a cup? By myself?"

"Yeah."

"I'd have to go behind the counter, you know?"

Come on, go! Pour yourself a cup, grab yourself the number of doughnuts you want, dance on the counter or go behind it, anything. Just leavvvvve right now.

Luke's heart was racing in his chest.

"Yeah, whatever. You don't need to wait here since we're both..."

"Luke," she said seriously, "what's going on?"

"Nothing! I just think it'd be a waste of time to..."

Lorelai slowly shook her head. He was definitely up to something and she was really intrigued. Before he could finish his made-up explanation, the studio doors opened and Miss Patty came out, reading the script.

"I'm sorry, stud, but I don't know how I could change this particular stage direction. It's the most powerful moment of the whole show! Just be a man and do it."

Ha! Luke Danes, you are such a liar!

"Hey, Miss Patty..." she said to announce her presence, looking at Luke the whole time. He looked like he was going to melt onto the ground. Lorelai had never felt more powerful.

"Well, hello, gorgeous! I hope you're not here to help Luke destroy the play..."

"What's wrong with it?" she said, innocently. Now she really wanted to know what Luke was so uncomfortable with that he had to lie to her.

"Mr. Sensitive over here thinks that taking your shirt off at the end would be too much."

Lorelai would have needed over an hour to process everything that was going through her mind. Of course it was too much. She knew it, he knew it, Miss Patty probably knew it. But the idea was starting to make sense, in a weird way. Luke didn't want her to know he was uncomfortable with taking her shirt off... and Lorelai would have died instead of letting Luke know how much it was a big deal to her. She could make things easy for the both of them and just agree with Luke, pretending she was agreeing because she didn't want him to be uncomfortable... OR... she could try this evil idea that just came out from nowhere. Lorelai grinned to herself. She really didn't know why she'd do it, she just knew she had to. It was going to be an experiment. She didn't know yet what she wanted to prove, but she was going to prove it, despite her own issues. She would try to rise above it. She just hadn't realized she would have to deal with the consequences afterwards. She hadn't realized things could get even more confusing.

"What? Luke, come on! It's just a scene..."

Something in her eyes told him she was challenging him. He felt like an idiot. Patty proposed something.

"Lorelai could put a tank top under her blouse so when Kyle slowly unbuttons Sara's blouse and parts it, sliding his hands on her stomach, you'd only be touching her tank top and nobody in the audience would ever know! Huh? It's not written that her whole shirt has to ever touch the ground... though that would be fantastic!"

"Yeah, Luke." Lorelai's voice made him tighten his fists even though he had a straight face on. She was making fun of him, obviously. He hated feeling like a fool. "I'll put a tank top under it, no biggie."

Luke sighed, annoyed.

"Hey, I was just concerned about Lorelai not wanting to show her bra to the entire town, that's it. Put a tank top or don't even put a shirt at all, see if I care!" and he stormed off.

Patty laughed at his attitude, but Lorelai felt horrible. She knew how he felt. She really did. If she had arrived half an hour earlier, she would have been the one in his position, she was aware of that. And now he was probably really mad at her or at himself. The sure thing being that he was furious. And she couldn't blame him because it was all her fault.

"So, Sara-dearest, did you have something to discuss with me?" Patty cooed.

Lorelai tore her eyes from the diner and turned to Miss Patty.

"Uhm..." she cleared her throat. "I just wanted to know... what time we had to be here tonight," she lied.

"6:30. Don't be late, just be as beautiful as always."

Lorelai faintly smiled. When Miss Patty left, she took a deep breath and wondered if she should, or could, fix this.

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Luke would have slammed the door of his diner if there hadn't been all these customers. At least, that's what he tried to convince himself. He wasn't really angry. Sure, it was embarrassing, he had never been more embarrassed in his entire life, but in a way... When you spun the situation and squinted a little, you could see why this was in fact kind of good. Now he had to take her shirt off. She knew he had to and she knew he had tried to get out of it. She probably thought he was as scared as a little girl, which he was, but he was going to show her. His goal, now, was to make her uncomfortable... Because no matter what good this situation had brought, Lorelai did mock him. She was going to pay for all those times she had made him feel like a loser. Tonight was his chance to turn the tables. That's a positive way of thinking, Danes. He smiled to himself. You're on the right track.

He went behind the counter and waited for Lorelai to come in to apologize. He knew she would, because she always did.

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She didn't. She had walked around first, to clear her head and to decide on what she was going to say to him. She was doing this kind of planning quite a lot lately. When she had gathered the courage and the words to finally go into the diner, she had seen Doug through the window and changed her mind. No apology with Doug around was a good apology, she had learned that. And it made her realize that Luke didn't need an apology. If he felt like being mad, then he should be mad. Her plan was already out there, anyway. Tonight was her chance to turn the table. She was going to show him what it meant to have your mind and body and soul messed with.

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At 6:00, Lorelai had almost forgotten her plan. She had to be over there in half an hour and she couldn't erase the nervousness off her face... Maybe stage makeup would, she would just have to wait and see. She heard something. She straightened her back and listened carefully, her heartbeats resounding in her ears, making it difficult to hear. Yup, there was someone knocking on the front door. Maybe it's Luke! She looked in the mirror and watched herself take a deep breath. Maybe it's Luke! She went down the stairs and stumbled on the last step. Maybe it's Luke! She flattened her hair with her palms and put strands behind her ears. Maybe it's Luke! She put her hand on the knob and licked her lips. Maybe it's...

"Rory?"

"Well, that didn't sound disappointed at all... Were you waiting for someone else?"

"Why did you..."

"How are you holding up?" she stared at her mom.

Lorelai let her daughter walk in and shut the door.

"Since when do you knock before entering your own house?"

Rory threw her bag on the couch.

"Since you're probably so nervous that if I had walked in without announcing myself with a proper knock, you would have hid and waited for me to walk pass you and then slammed me with an umbrella or a pillow or a sock or something."

"I'm not that nervous, you know. Everything's good. You're still helping with the preps, right? I'm all ready to go."

Rory kept staring, tilting her head.

"What?"

"You're all ready to go?"

"Yes, come on!"

"Mom, you told me you had to be there at 6:30."

"Why are you so cryptic today?"

"It's 6:00. Now, Miss Patty's three minutes away and that's when you walk slowly. Plus, she told you to be there at 6:30 because you're always late and she wanted you to be there at 7."

Lorelai sighed and looked around.

"But I have nothing to do! I've walked around the house for hours now. I know how many square footsteps this house is. Now, if you don't want me to kill myself and leave you with nothing but a mortgage and some cool shoes, we should go. Before I change my mind and leave town. Forever."

"I'm not that nervous..." Rory said, imitating Lorelai's voice.

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Everybody was gathered in the high school auditorium. Miss Patty had changed her mind on the studio at the last minute. Kirk, who was angry with Miss Patty and really nervous which was a toxic combination, was walking around whispering "Taylor never would have changed the emplacement..."

Rory was helping whoever needed help and Lorelai was all ready, dressed and makeup-ed. She was standing away from every one else. She hadn't seen Luke yet. She could hear the tick-tock of the clock above her head. She refused to look at it despite the voice in her head asking her "What time is it? What time is it?" When the tick-tock grew louder, she closed her eyes and stopped fidgeting with her hands.

"The clock is annoying!" she let out.

"Want me to break it for you?"

Her eyes jerked open and she saw Doug standing in front of her. This guy was everywhere she didn't want him to be. She smiled anyway. He continued talking.

"I just wanted to check up on you to see if you were feeling like Luke. He won't admit it but I know he almost threw up earlier."

Lorelai quietly laughed. "He's nervous, huh?"

"Totally. Last time I saw him like this was like... 20 years ago. It was here, actually, in the auditorium. For the school play."

Lorelai looked around to see if she couldn't catch Rory's eyes and telepathically tell her she needed help.

"Listen..." Doug dragged out.

Oh, boy. This sounds serious. I don't wanna deal with him right now. There's nothing to deal with right now...

"Doug," she interrupted, "do you, by any chance, know where there's a water fountain? I'm dying of thirst here."

"It's right there, on your left in the hall," he said, pointing to the direction.

She thanked him and quickly walked away, realizing she really was thirsty. She pushed the door to the hallway and saw the water fountain. And Luke drinking from it. He hadn't noticed her yet so she approached him as silently as possible.

"Hey, don't drink it all, I want some."

He stood tall and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. He motioned to the fountain, taking a step back so she could drink. She positioned herself in front of it and hesitated. There was something weird about drinking from a fountain with Luke watching. She felt too self conscious.

"Turn around," she said.

"What?"

This was silly. She leaned forward and pushed the button. The water came out... she released the button.

"I'm not thirsty."

"So why did you come here?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"I was just walking around, you know..."

She heard him sigh. She didn't know if her apology would still be relevant.

"Are you as nervous as I am?" she asked.

"I don't know how nervous you are."

"Well, if the building was to collapse or explode some day, I'd wish it was now... with me in it."

He nodded.

"You know, I was here 20 years ago for what I swore would be my last play..."

"Did you have to kiss someone then, too?" She couldn't believe she really said that.

"No, but Miss Patty wasn't the director and it was not an All-Adults-Night production..."

She smiled and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"Luke... I'm really sorry I didn't back you up this morning."

Luckily Luke didn't get the opportunity to respond. The lights flashed three times: it was the signal from Miss Patty telling them to get backstage. The play was about to start. So it was settled. They were going to kiss in a matter of minutes.

Luke, dressed as Kyle, had no baseball cap on, so when he nervously went to replace it, he ended up brushing his hair.

"This is it," he stated.

He's not gonna accept my apology? Just one more reason to go with the plan, Lorelai. It's too late to change your mind anyway...

She just kept looking at his face, studying him almost as intently as she had in the storage room a couple of weeks ago, when he was asleep. She locked eyes with him and let her heart sink into her stomach.

"What's wrong?" he asked, almost scared.

She smiled and shook her head.

"I just..." I have a feeling things are gonna be weird between us after tonight and I just wanted to be sure to remember a time when it was not...

The lights flashed again. Not a good sign. Miss Patty was probably freaking out because they were not there. Lorelai didn't finish her thought and gestured to Luke who followed her.

Too excited and wanting to see all of the scenes from the spectators' point of view, Miss Patty had taken a seat in the front row. As soon as Lorelai heard the audience hushing and coughing and the music starting, she thought she was going to faint. She grabbed Luke's hand and squeezed it as hard as she could. He barely resisted to the temptation to yelp. He took his hand away, moving his fingers to see if she had broken any of them and looked at her as if she was crazy.

She was visibly panicking. She put both of her hands on her stomach and her face whitened dramatically.

She was about to start crying. She tried to talk but realized she needed to breathe first.

"I can't... I can't, Luke!"

He leaned closer to her and took her hands.

"Look at me," he whispered.

She couldn't.

"You aced that Fiddler on the Roof thing..." he said.

"That was 10 years ago! I was fine in this year's Festival of Living Arts. I didn't flinch, I know, but do you know how hard it was? If standing still on a stage is so difficult for me, how can I possibly talk and move at the same time!"

"Lorelai," he tried to calm her down, "you're the Queen of Verbal, you can talk. Easily."

"I can say stupid things, I can babble on and on about anything, but I don't know if I can recite words that I've learned by heart. I'm not Rory! If there were no text, I probably could do som... Oh, my God! I don't remember my lines! I don't remember any of my lines! Luke!"

He raised her chin with his index so she would look at him in the eye.

"Stop it. Don't think about your lines, it's totally normal to have the feeling that you don't remember anything... You'll be fine. And if you're not, who cares?"

She blinked three times. This was not Luke.

"That's what Doug told me when he thought I was freaking out earlier..." Luke explained.

"You freaked out?" She wasn't sure if this idea was comforting or terrifying.

He rolled his eyes and let go of her hands. Curtain was up.

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The first 40 minutes went by really fast. Up until now, Kyle and Sara had fought and argued and bantered, and the public was waiting anxiously for them to get together. Fighting with Luke was always fun and believable; Lorelai hadn't screwed up any lines yet.

It was already time for the last scene before the intermission. Lorelai was standing backstage, waiting for her cue. The stage sets were really simple. Three fake walls, a fake door, a fake window, a desk and an armchair... All of this is fake except for the furniture. You're not Lorelai. He's not Luke.

She walked in and the fake door closed behind her. Her eyes immediately locked with his. God, he's so sexy dressed in a suit! Luke never dresses up like this except for funerals. This is NOT Luke. But the eyes were definitely Luke's.

"Mister McMahon wants the Jenkins' file on his desk first thing tomorrow," she said.

"I know, I was at the meeting too. Is this the only reason you came in here, to tell me this?" he replied, sorting papers on the desk.

"Yes." She remembered she had to be defensive and she raised her chin. He started walking slowly in her direction and she noticed a smile playing on the corner of his lips. She tried not to think about what was about to happen. She tried not to think about all the people watching them. She tried to decide where to put her hands so she didn't look uncomfortable. She took a small step back.

"No... you could have called me instead." He was still walking in her direction.

"Ha! Why else would I be here? To talk about how stupid your girlfriend looked at the party?" Her voice sounded funny to her. She glanced behind her to make sure she wasn't going to fall off the stage or hit something and she took another step back.

"I think you came in here because you want me..."

Lorelai wasn't sure if everybody had heard his line because it was spoken in a low and husky voice... She was sure of one thing: Luke had rehearsed that line a lot.

He was about three footsteps away from her. Her breath started to quicken. She almost forgot it was her turn to talk.

"I... I don't want you. You're so... not my type. You've never ever been." She wasn't sure if that was the exact wording, but she heard no one gasping in horror.

Luke was so close, all she had to do was to raise a finger and she'd touch him. He still seemed to want to get closer and she unconsciously tried to move back. Her foot reached the wood of the door; she was stuck. Looking at his chest, she felt her heart pounding through her entire body. Her eyes went up his throat to his jaw and back to his chest. What happened to your plan, Lorelai? Shhh. Later. Later. Focus.

"Not your type, huh?"

Luke had no idea how he was still able to speak. She smelt so good and she looked so scared and he was feeling so weird. His insides were messed up and his hands were shaking. He had to put his thigh through her legs... He motioned his knee to her knees, expecting her to remember this part but she seemed to have lost the ability to move. He tried to lightly push his knee on hers again...

She looked up at him. Was it her turn to talk? She asked him with a look. He leaned forward. She remembered her line.

"Not my..."

Unable to get her knees to loosen up, he brought his knee higher to her thighs and pushed his way in intensely watching her reaction.

She felt his thigh a little higher than expected between her legs. She involuntary arched her back to feel him closer and parted her lips, taking a sharp and loud intake of breath.

He had never realized that if he put his leg between hers, one of her leg would get between his also. He felt her shift against him. He swallowed the lump in his throat waiting for her to realize how excited he was. He needed a grip if he didn't want to stumble and fall. He grabbed her right thigh and brought it up to his hip while putting his other hand on the small of her back. Oh, my God. This is Lorelai!

She felt him harden on her left thigh and nearly moaned. She clutched on his white shirt to prevent her body from positioning itself where she wouldn't be able to claim her own actions. She thought for a second that she was dead, but the lust she felt in her body and the burning sensation of Luke's large hands on her convinced her she was still alive. More than alive. Her fingers lightly played with his collarbone and she raised her chin higher, tilting her head. Come on you, idiot! Kiss me before we all die of sexual frustration!

"Chicken..." she murmured only for him to hear.

He smiled slightly. He leaned his head and brushed her nose with his, taking in her delightful and so arousing perfume. He watched her close her eyes and his throat tightened as he realized the perfection of her beauty. He let his thumb wander on her back and under the waistband of her tight pants. He heard her moan, felt her lower body move onto him.

She slid her hands to the back of his neck, fingers in his hair, ready to pull him into the kiss when his lips finally met hers. Light, warm, shaky. She breathed in as his hand left her back to roam into her hair. Shivers went down her spine. She opened her mouth a little to taste him and took his bottom lip between hers. He broke the kiss and she managed to open her heavy eyelids. That mouth... She felt his eyes on her and shyly met his gaze. They were still so close she could feel his breath on her mouth. And he kissed her again with more confidence. She responded as eagerly as she could, her tongue urging to explore his mouth. Before she could try this new experience, a loud scream made her jump away and break the kiss. She brought a hand to her swollen lips and came back to reality. They were on a stage. The curtain was down. They could hear a thunder of applauds and some weird, really intense spectators screaming their lungs out.

"Oh, Lucifer-all-Mighty! I'm so proud of you two!" Miss Patty yelled, making the stage shake as she ran up to them. "Can you hear how they're responding to it? Can you hear! Keep it up for that shirt scene and there won't be any dry seat in the place!" And she was off.

Lorelai let out a chuckle, her hand still on her lips. She looked at the floor, put a strand of hair behind her ear. She put her hand down as she looked up at Luke. Her heart was still pounding unusually fast. Their eyes met and her stomach flipped. She bit her lips slowly and licked them, taking in the last remains of his taste. They nervously broke eye contact. She needed fresh air. She needed cold air. She needed air. Oxygen. She looked up at Luke but he had vanished. Sorely disappointed, she went through the backstage door and ended up in a hallway. She found a door that led outside, pushed it and finally was able to breathe in. She sighed and sat down. On the ground.

Her head cradled in her hands, she whispered to herself, "Oh, my God... oh, my God, ohmygod."

Her mind had never been that blank before. She bit her bottom lip, remembering how it had felt to kiss him. Be kissed by him. Twice. Still overwhelmed, Lorelai had no idea this was gonna happen. She knew it was going to be stressful, she thought it was going to be weird, she never would have thought it would get this intense. She opened her eyes as a horrifying thought hit her. Had Rory seen this! There was something really unhealthy about it. She had seen her mom get all... into it? Then she laughed. She must be so grossed out! And she stopped laughing. There was another scene coming up. The plan scene. Lorelai really didn't want to go through with it anymore... but it was too late. She took a minute to get herself together before getting up. She was afraid to go in. She was afraid to see Luke. She was afraid not to see him. She wanted to see him. Was this supposed to be so confusing?

She opened the door and peeked in the hallway. No one. She entered, wondering how many minutes were left. She reached the dressing room. No one. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw the ravage Luke had done. Her cheeks were all red, her lips were still swollen, her eyes were sparkling. All of this with a kiss? I would totally be able to see the glow everyone talks about if I slept with him... She shook her head a couple of times to erase those images. Before she could freshen up her makeup, a technician barged in.

"Sara! Come on, we're starting now!"

Sara. Right, she remembered, disillusioned. I'm not Lorelai. She had never felt more like Lorelai in her entire life.


TBC

A.N.2 Sorry to end this one like this but I had WAY too much stuff to write for it to be the last chapter... so I decided to split this and give you something while I finish the rest... Stay with me:) Please? Was it too weird? Was it acceptable?