Title: Hindsight
Author: Karleen
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Warner Brothers, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions and Hofflund/Polone. This was just written for fun.

Chapter Five: Reason To Make This Last

Luke was sitting on his couch with his right hand placed pressure on his left. She rushed toward him as she saw him cringing in pain.

"What happened?" she asked as she took a towel from his cabinet.

"I don't know where I had the cell phone last and when I thought I knew where I put it, I knocked over the lamp. I tried to clean up the mess and this happened." and motioned with his hand. "What are you doing?"

"You shouldn't be moving around this much." she said as she cleaned the scab that formed on his skin. His face cringed from the searing pain the cleansing caused.

"I'm just dabbing some peroxide to clean it."

"Why are you doing this?" he said

"I thought we went over this..." she said as she took some bandages from her purse. "to clean.." he cut her off.

"Well you shouldn't have.. don't" as he pulled his hand away from her.

"Luke I'm just trying to help."

"You're only here because you're feeling sorry for the way I am now. I don't want your pity if that's what you think I need."

"That's not why I'm here!" she defended herself.

"Tell me then, why on earth did you agree to look after me, after avoiding me for so long?"

"You told me to go away."

"Since when do you listen to me?" he said half heartedly.

"I agreed because I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do anything to help you."

"Bullshit! You slept with Christopher and you lived with that!" he cut her where he knew it would hurt. He knew she and Chris were together now, and it was the direct result of their breakup. "You couldn't wait to end things with me to be with him."

"You know that's not true." she countered. "That was the last thing I wanted to do but you didn't give me a choice."

"Lorelai we were engaged for god's sake." she tried to restrain herself from speaking but she couldn't help it.

"Yeah, but then after you found out you had a daughter everything changed."

"Don't bring her into this, you have no right to blame her for your infidelity!"

"I never blamed her for what I did...I only blame myself. I was tired of holding on to something that was no longer there. Whatever we had, it somehow dissipated into nothing. I didn't want to go on pretending everything was damn peachy when they weren't. I just needed to let go of the desperation because it just hurt so much. I'm doing this for you because after all, you're still my best friend Luke, despite everything that happened to us."

- - - - -

They sat across from each other, quiet for a while, neither wanted to break the silence that settled between them.

Tonight, both Luke and Lorelai felt themselves emerge back to who they used to be, the ones that they've shunned away the day they broke up. She didn't want to be the first one to utter another word but his wound was still opened and she needed to dress it.

"You're cut pretty deep. I only have small bandaids and you don't seem to have any gauze. I'm just going to Doose's and buy some antibiotic ointment as well. I'll be right back."

- - - - -

She was on her way back to the diner when she heard someone call her name.

"Lor!" Chris called out as he walked towards her and she turned to face him.

"What are you doing here?" she was irritated. "I told you I'm busy."

"Yeah but I thought I'd come by and bring you dinner, and see I dressed up and everything."

"Good for you." she scoffed.

"What's going on Lor?"

"You're asking me what's wrong? It's the fact that after all these years, you still can't seem to say my name right."

"That's what this is about?"

"No!" she yelled out and finally letting go of the frustrations she kept. "Chris, we were never meant to be more than what we were."

"Lor.." she glared at him. "I mean Lorelai..." before he could say anything else, she cut him off.

"After everything, you haven't grown up. I'm done. I'm done being someone who I'm not. It's over."

"No..." he cried in desperation. Without even saying a word back, she walked away from him. She stalled before letting herself in the diner but he watched her go in before he walked back to his car.

All that I keep thinking throughout this whole flight
Is it could take my whole damn life to make this right
This splintered mast I'm holding on won't save me long
Because I know fine well that what I did was wrong

Snow Patrol- Make This Go On Forever

to be continued...