Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long between updates, guys. My friend died a couple of weeks ago and I've been planning for my sister's wedding, getting ready for finals, concentrating on classes and dealing with some other stuff. Hopefully this will be updated more frequently over the summer. Sorry again. R&R please!

Chapter 11: Let me take you right now, swallow you down

Lorelai stood on that bridge. The only sound that she could hear was the water running beneath the sturdy wooden planks. She traced the letters carved into the wooden beams as she relived the argument that she had just had with her mother. She remembered some things. Telling her mother to stay out of her life was the most prevalent at the time.

Her mind kept going back to Luke. How he was just standing there, listening to everything that was being said, and hopefully thinking nothing of it. She had left before they had even had the chance to talk about it. She had wanted to be alone and she left. She came here. To a place that held so many memories for the people around her.

She looked back down at the wooden railing, trying to get her mind off of things. She read the words that she had been tracing with her fingers. "Elizabeth & Andrew love." Lorelai smiled briefly. It was the first time she had allowed herself to do so since she left her house, had left Luke standing there in his robe behind the front door.

Luke. She suddenly got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Would he be mad that she left? No. Of course not. He couldn't be. He didn't act mad, just concerned. Worried. And why wouldn't he be? I'm pretty sure that my mother has upset me before, but never to the point that I couldn't even talk to him about it she said to herself.

She went back to reading the inscriptions on the bridge. "Marie 3 James '79" followed by "Jimmy & Vickie Always" and "Nikki & Ryan 61'" Such young loves. She couldn't help but wonder where these people were now. Did Marie still 3 James? Did Jimmy and Vickie buy a house in the Hamptons and have a dozen kids? Was Ryan a fortune five-hundred man and did Nikki stand by his side at meetings? There were so many possibilities. Were they even together anymore? It didn't matter if they were together now. In the beams, they were. They always would be. The day they carved their names into that railing, their love became permanent. No matter what happened throughout time, those people would always be together. The wood would weather rain and sleet, hail and snow, heat and cold and so would they.

Lorelai stood upright and turned to leave. She walked quickly now, determined footsteps leading her in one direction.

She walked through the town, past Doose's market and the gazebo in the square. She stepped into Luke's as she had on so many other occasions. Cesar was behind the counter wiping it down, Lane was taking Kirk's order at the bar, but there was no sign of Luke. Lorelai gave a hesitant wave at Lane and smiled at her. Lane held up a finger to say that she'd be there to talk to her in a minute.

"Kirk, we're not going to purposely burn food for you." Lane insisted.

"Technically it's not burnt if I'm asking for you to bring it to me that way. It's well done. Come on Lane, just this once?"

"No, Kirk! You said that last night and I gave in, you have no more 'just this once-s' left!"

"You're not getting a tip, Lane!" Kirk shouted as Lane walked towards Lorelai.

"It's not like you pay for anything anyway." Lane said, brushing him away as she walked over to where Lorelai was now sitting at the bar.

"Hey Lorelai. Can I get you some coffee?"

"Of course, my dear, dear child." she answered.

"Here you go. Donut? Danish?" Lane offered.

"Was that an either-or question? Because that would just be mean." Lorelai said, jokingly.

Lane wrapped up a chocolate covered donut and a Danish and placed them both in a to-go bag.

"Hey, Lane? Luke wouldn't happen to be here, would he?"

"Yeah. He came in about 15 minutes ago and headed upstairs. He looked kinda down. Do you want your coffee to go so you can go up there and see him?"

"Yeah. Thanks." she said with a smile.

Lane handed her a large cup of coffee and she headed upstairs. The door was closed but Luke was obviously there. She debated whether or not to knock and decided to do so.

Luke came to the door and as soon as he saw that it was her, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into an all encompassing hug.

"Hey, I can go for that kind of 'hi' any day." she said as he released her.

"Are you alright? After a couple of hours I figured I should come back here and help out. I left you a note. Did you get it? Are you okay? Do you want to talk? Because I could definitely tell Cesar I'd be down later on tonight to help out and to hold the fort for a while." Luke said, faster than she'd heard him talk in the past.

"Settle down, turbo talk man. I'm okay. A little shaky but I'm alright now. I just had to think for a while. I'm better now. Not 100 but I'd give myself a good 80 or 85. I just feel bad about leaving the way I did. I haven't been back to the house yet but I figured you'd be here."

Luke gave her an encouraging smile and bent down to her to kiss her.

"Now it's about 90."

"Nice to know." Luke laughed. "Do you want anything to eat? I was going to head downstairs but I can make us dinner up here before I do that if you want."

"Naw I'm good. Lane gave me a Danish and a donut and coffee. I'm good for a while. Can you stop by after you close up?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, of course. It shouldn't be too late. It's been pretty slow all day today so it shouldn't take long. Do you want me to stay tonight?"

"If you could. It'd be nice to spend some time with you that doesn't involve my mother encroaching in on it."

"Alright. Well I'd better head downstairs. You can eat up here if you want or come down with me."

"Dirty." Lorelai smiled and wrinkled her nose the same way she always had when somebody said anything that could interpreted as remotely dirty.

"Just come down stairs and eat your food."

"That's even more dirty than what you said before! Tsk, tsk Luke Danes, what am I going to do with you?"

"Well I could think of a few things." he said as he placed his hand tenderly on her upper arm and leaned in to kiss her again.

"Alright. I'll go downstairs with you for a little bit but I do have to go to the inn in a bit and take care of some things. It's quite possible that Michel is going to try to kill me for not being there earlier."

They went downstairs, hand in hand. Lorelai smiled and remembered the bridge again. Lorelai & Luke Always…it has a nice ring to it.