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 Seven: Your Eyes Speak Louder Than Our Ears Could Ever Hear

"It looks like you're on your way to a clear recovery Mr. Danes, no pun intended." the doctor perused the chart in front of him.

"So eventually I'll get to see again?"

"Yes, for now as a precaution and to prevent infection buildup, you'd have to wear the bandages. Next week, we'll see how you're doing and discuss it further. Shall I tell your friend outside?"

"Ok." the doctor stepped out of the office. A nurse came in with a wheelchair and Luke recognized it instantly "Do I really have to be wheeled out every single time I leave the hospital?"

"Sorry, just following protocols." said the nurse as she helped him sit and wheeled him out where they were greeted by Lorelai.

"How are you feeling?"

"Ok, I guess." he said as Lorelai helped him to her Jeep. Since their kiss a couple of nights ago, their conversations became more scarce than before. Neither wanted to bring up that particular moment. So instead they kept their thoughts to themselves which then regressed their progress even further. Despite the lack of talk, Lorelai did as she promised. She took care of Luke and made sure that he kept his biweekly appointments to see his eye doctor.

"Would you mind if you stayed at my house just for tonight? I have a lot of work to do after Friday night dinner and it would really be helpful."

"I don't mind."

- - - - -

"Last plea to be a cause for distraction?"

"They're your parents, I'm sure you can hold out for a couple of hours. You've gotten out alive before, here it is actually on the other end of the line. I'm speaking to her now." Rory said as she attempted to balance her cell phone and write something at the same time.

"I know I'm living proof. But how am I going to tell them about yet another disappointing decision that I've made. I swear one of these days, one of them is just going to contract an aneurysm at the dining room."

"It won't be that bad."

"Yes it will. It's like five years ago all over again. I hate this."

"Well then don't tell them."

"Oh yeah easy for you to say. You're not going to be there to receive Emily Gilmore's most likely patented withering glare, that ' you have yet figure how to have a long term relationship' look."

"You're being paranoid, beyond normal."

"Of course I am, I haven't been to Friday night dinners alone with the Gilmores, a.k.a. Mr. and Mrs. Judgmental."

"Again I'm telling you to flat out lie, you've done it before. I did learn from the best."

"See the thing is I don't want to." she heard Rory gasp. "What?"

"I think I need to clear out my ears or did you actually say that you didn't want to lie to grandma and grandpa?"

"Your ears are just dandy, loin fruit."

"Oh please don't mention that again." Lorelai snickered.

"I don't want to lie to them for my sake. I want to tell them because damnit I'd been lying to myself that I was happy with your dad when I wasn't."

"Then I don't see the problem here, you've just answered your own dilemma. Tell them what you just told me and someway or another, they'll understand."

"Ok now I think my ears need to be cleaned."

- - - - -

Lorelai offered him Rory's bedroom but he simply requested to stay in the living room. At first Paul anka didn't recognize Luke and immediately hid under the kitchen table. With a couple of soft pets and whispers from Lorelai, he went and sniffed Luke's hand and immediately recognized him and had yet to leave his side. He didn't have the full length beard but it was still longer than a five o'clock shadow.

- - - - -

Lorelai had sorted out how she was going to 'survive a night of torment and guilt' from the Gilmores. She even went as far as to prepare a couple of transition conversations as to how she was going to get around them. What she didn't anticipate was who she saw sitting with her parents.

"What the.." she trailed off as she wondered what Christopher was doing there.

"Lorelai!" Emily greeted her with an unusually large smile, almost giddy in fact.

"Here's your glass Lorelai." Richard handed her a champagne flute.

"What's all this?"

"What do you mean?" Emily said. "We're celebrating!"

"Celebrating what?" Everything that she'd prepared earlier disappeared into thin air.

"Your engagement, what else?" Richard exclaimed.

"I swear if Christopher didn't ask us, we wouldn't have known that you two had plans of finally getting married." Emily said still with an annoyingly cheerful glee.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" her face was thirteen different shades of red at once with fury and almost grabbed Christopher by the collar.

"Lor, let me..." before he could finish what he was about say Lorelai slapped him hard. Richard and Emily were left stunned.

"You have some nerve coming to my parent's house after I've clearly broken up with you!"

"Then the next second, you're having an affair!" he snorted back and her eyes widened. "That's right I saw you that night that you broke up with me, I saw you going into that diner."

"I was not having an affair with Luke!"

"But unlike him, I'm willing to forgive you Lor. I don't care if you had a one night stand with him. I'm still willing to marry you."

"Forgive me?!" she was screaming at this point. "You have no right to come here and tell my parents we're getting married! For a whole fucking year, I've kept my real feelings aside. There wasn't a day that passed that I regretted waking up next to you after Luke and I had just broken up. I'm so goddamn tired that it hurts just to get up in the morning." she felt herself shiver and fought back the tears wanted so desperately to be released.

"Get out of my house Christopher!" Richard said angrily.

"Richard...Emily..." Chris tried to plead.

"You heard him, leave now or I'm calling the police." Emily said as she guided Lorelai to go into the pool house.

- - - - -

He heard the door click and assumed it was Lorelai.

"I knew you'd survive the turmoil." Rory thought it was her mother that was sitting on the couch under the covers.

"Rory?" she stopped at her tracks and realized who this person was.

"Luke?" he immediately sat up and bent his head down. "I'm.. I didn't..." she stammered.

"Your mom didn't tell me that you were coming home."

"It was a spur of the moment thing."

- - - - -

"I had Beatrice fix you a plate if you wanted to eat." Emily entered the pool house.

"Thank you but I think I'm just going to go home." she said as she stood up from the couch. "I'm sorry I ruined dinner mom." she said as she avoided her mother's concerned eyes.

"You still love him don't you?" Lorelai gave her a look.

"After all of that, you still think I love him?"

"I wasn't talking about Christopher."

"He's the only one mom." and gave her mother a sad smile. "Thank dad for me as well." she said before she headed out the door. It was the first time she admitted that to herself out loud in a long time and also her mother.

stones taught me to fly
love, it taught me to cry
so come on courage
teach me to be shy
'cause it's not hard to fall
and you know that you just don't know

Damien Rice- Cannonball

to be continued...