Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. And I borrowed my story title and chapter titles from a Keith Urban song.

Summary: 6.22, picks up after Luke and Lorelai's big fight. She walks away, but doesn't get too far.

A/N: Thanks to those of you who reviewed. I really appreciate it.

Chapter 2: Keep Me Believing that You Love Me Too

The walk back to the house had been in complete silence. They didn't look at each other, not even stolen glances, both stared straight ahead, but their hands remained joined, serving as a reminder to each that the other was still there. Once they were behind closed doors, the 'talk' had immediately escalated to a fight.

"You've been shutting me out for months now! MONTHS!"

"Come on, I told you, I needed time…"

"Time for what? Time to shove me out of your life?"

"Hey, I told you, I wanted to get to know her on my own."

"Oh, my god, Luke! What about her birthday party? That went great! She had a blast. You let me be there for that."

"I guess I just…" Luke sighed.

"I don't know why you're letting Anna get to you like this."

"What? What does this have to do with Anna?"

"She doesn't want me around April, because, you know, people just get engaged all the time nowadays, but that doesn't really mean anything. I mean, heaven forbid the girl might actually like me, and then what if I'm suddenly not around anymore?"

"What are you babbling about?"

"And, you know, maybe she's got something there. After all, you postponed our wedding."

"You suggested it! You said it was ok!"

"And I mean, why would you even want to marry me now? Let's see," she paused briefly, tapping her finger against her head in thought. "You've done the whole 'marriage' thing once, and that didn't quite work out for ya, so, ha, bad experience there. And now, you've got a kid. I mean, you know, we agreed that kids would be nice, but you've got one now. So you don't really need me for that one."

"Lorelai! What are you—"

"Oohhh! I get it now," she cut him off. "It's not about the marriage, it's not about kids. It can't be. It must just be me. I mean, you've stopped including me in anything that has to do with things that are important to you. So, I guess it's just gotta be me."

"You're crazy! You know that, right? You know that I do love you, I do want to marry you, and I'd be thrilled to have kids with you! You know all that!"

"Do I? Do I really? Because you're Mr. Actions-Speak-Louder-Than-Words! And lately, ha, I've got to tell you, your actions haven't just been speaking to me, they've been screaming at me. You've pushed me away, Luke. You've pushed me so far out of your life, I feel like I just don't belong anymore." She was desperately trying to keep her tears that were pooling in her eyes from flooding her face.

"You do belong, damnit!" He sighed heavily and looked down at his hands. "Lorelai, you just don't get it."

"No, Luke. You don't get it!" Lorelai shouted. "It's like, you were shoving me out of your life. It wasn't a "drifting," it wasn't like we were just growing apart. It was like, ok, we're walking along, and everything's going just great. And then we come to this bridge, and suddenly, you just shove me off the bridge. And so I'm left in the middle of this lake, stranded, all by myself, and I have no idea how the hell I got there. And I'm trying to find a way out, and I'm trying to figure out why the hell you shoved me off the bridge in the first place, and then, it hits me. You just don't want me in your life anymore." With the end of her rant, her tears could not be held back any longer, and she let out an uncontrollable sob.

"What? No. Lorelai, no." Seeing her tears and hearing the pain in her voice, broke his heart. They had been standing in the living room, yelling at each other since they walked in the door, and he wasn't even sure how long that had been. Stepping close to her, he gently reached for her shoulder and led her to sit on the couch.

"You know, Lorelai, that's probably the craziest thing you've said tonight. But, you need to know, I didn't mean to..." he paused with a sigh. "I have to make sure you realize, I am so sorry that I ever made you feel that way. But I didn't do it on purpose."

"You didn't do it on purpose? You really want me to believe that you didn't actually tell me to stay away from April? You didn't tell me not to get involved…"

"Wait! Stop. I didn't…I wasn't sure how to handle the situation. I didn't mean to shove you off the bridge. I…I…god, I'm no good with words. Ah, geez. This whole mess with Anna, it's ridiculous. It's just that, she's April's mother. She kept April from me for this long, if she wants to keep her from me now, what's to stop her?"

"Luke, you're April's father. I've been in Anna's position before, and I know she just wants what is best for April. But the thing she's going to realize is, April spending time with you is the best thing for her."

"I was just so afraid of losing her I guess. I didn't realize that I was losing you."

"Luke…"

"I guess, in my mind, I had you. I mean, we're engaged. I wasn't really worried about losing you, so, I let myself focus on April, because I wanted to make sure I didn't lose her. I didn't mean to screw things up so bad. We were doing great, you and me, and everything was on track, and now, we're not. And that's my fault, I realize that now."

He paused for a moment, letting her take in what he'd just said, waiting for some kind of response from her. Suddenly deciding that he didn't want a response just yet, he jumped from the couch and started pacing, as he continued his attempt to explain himself.

"I think, what happened was, I just didn't deal with it. Any of it. Instead of talking to you about things, I just avoided you, because I was afraid of talking. What's happened to us now, that is what I was afraid would happen if I faced it all." He sat down on the coffee table directly in front of her. "I figured it was just easier to avoid things. But," he reached up and gently wiped her tears away, "I ended up causing what I was afraid would happen anyways. I'm just…I'm sorry. What can I do?"

"I don't know," Lorelai replied softly.

"But there has to be something," he plead with her. "If there's nothing…" he trailed off with a sigh.

"No, Luke, I just don't know. I mean, you really have no idea just how much you hurt me by shutting me out."

"I didn't before, but now," he sighed, then lifted his eyes to meet hers. "I see now, just how much I hurt you. And it kills me. That look on your face, that pain in your eyes. God, Lorelai. I spent years watching other guys do that to you, but I never thought I'd be one of them. I just…" he looked down, suddenly finding his shoes very interesting, and his voice broke as tears pooled in his eyes. "I made you cry," he whispered. "You're hurt, and you're crying, and it breaks my heart to know that I did that to you."

"Well, I realize that this is going to make me sound like a terrible person, but, I'm glad," she said with a weird sort of half-laugh half-sob. "I don't want you to be hurting, Luke, it's just," she let out a soft sigh. "I've felt like a shadow these past few months, like I was barely there. Because for the first time, it was like you completely stopped seeing me."

"Lorelai, I'm sorry. I am. I don't know what else to say…"

"For years," she continued, "you always saw through whatever front I put up. Whether I was worried about Rory, or money, fighting with my parents, and whenever I got all stressed out by work or whatever it was. I'd put on a smile, and babble on about crazy things and everyone else would just smile and laugh with me and have no clue. But you. You always knew. We were best friends before we were anything else, and that's what always made us great. But then..."

"I stopped noticing," he whispered, staring at the floor. "I was afraid. I was terrified, that if I looked beneath the surface I'd notice…I don't know. But I just avoided it, I avoided everything. I figured if I ignored any possible problems, they'd just disappear. I know now, how stupid I was."

"I won't argue with you there."

"But, look, I need you to tell me when I'm being an idiot." He stood up now, and started pacing again. "I need you to tell me when I'm not noticing you. Because I don't mean to. But you're going to have to help me here. I need you to trust that I didn't do this on purpose." He finally quit pacing, and stared down at his shoes.

"Luke," she sighed. "I know. I'm sorry I said…"

"No." He stopped her. "I understand why you were so upset. I just…I need your help here."

"Ok."

"I'm sorry that things between us got so messed up," he sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "But things can change. Things are going to change now. Don't you trust me? Please, will you let me fix this?" He finally lifted his gaze to meet hers. "I love you, so much. Please, we have to get through this."

"We will."

"What can I do?" He asked through his tears. "What do you need me to do?"

She slowly stood up, walked over to him. Placing one hand on his chest, she buried her face into his soft flannel. His arms immediately engulfed her. One hand moved up and down her back comfortingly, while he tangled the other up in her hair. He hiding his face in her hair, he inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo, breathing out with a sigh. Lorelai's arm wrapped around his back tightened, as if she was afraid he'd slip out of her grasp, and the hand on his chest grabbed a fist full of flannel. They seemed to pull each other closer, though it wasn't quite possible.

"Just hold me, Luke. Just hold me for a while."

To be continued…

A/N: I hope you liked it. Please review.

A/N: I apologize for any spelling, grammar, or continuity errors. I don't have a beta. I checked it many times myself, but it's just not the same without a beta.