Disclaimer: I am not Uncle Rick and I do not own the rights to these characters. I just ship them immensely.

A/N: Long chapter filled with more Thaluke fluff! I am SO sorry I didn't upload this on Friday-finals (ugh) and Christmas decorating (ugh) with the family kept me super busy! :{

"Well, you told me when you called last night that you would be there with some coworkers. I had hoped to surprise you there. I was actually coming into town and had planned on telling you, but I thought it would be better as a secret. As soon as I got off the plane, I drove to the bar," Luke said with a cheesy grin.

Zoë gave a hardly perceptible snicker and a pointed look at Thalia. Thalia knew the gaze well enough that she needed no words to express the mocking sparkle in her eye. I told you so. I told you to call him. Zoë got up and took the first aid kit back to the kitchen.

"Seems as if that secret got a bit out of hand," Luke said with an apologetic smile.

Thalia looked away from Zoë and turned her eyes to Luke. He was looking at her, measuring her response.

"You're really stupid, did you know that?" Thalia said with a sigh, shaking her head with a slight laugh.

Luke shrugged with a grin. "I've heard that before." He smiled at her.

Thalia wasn't sure who reacted first, but moments later their lips met softly. His touch both electrified and warmed Thalia's heart. It was sweet and forgiving. Their kiss was short, but they both knew it was more than just the kiss somehow. It was a fresh start.

"What do you say we give ourselves another shot here in New York?" Luke said softly.

Thalia tensed, and then she remembered both Piper and Zoë's advice. If she let him go again, she might not forgive herself down the road.

"Does this mean we're a thing now?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"If that's what you'd like."

"Okay," she said, biting her lower lip with a shy smile. Luke leaned in again and pressed his lips against hers. They broke away from each other like skittering colts when Zoë cleared her throat.

"Don't mind me. I was just on my way out. Those drinks are getting to my head. I'll take a cab home," Zoë told them with a smirk on her face and a sly tone. She picked up her purse, winked in Thalia's direction, and made herself scarce, closing the door loudly behind her.

Thalia laughed. "Sorry about her," she said. She reached for the television remote that sat on the coffee table in front of them, desperate for a distraction from the obvious rose shade of her usually pale cheeks. "Care to see what's on TV tonight? I can't possibly let you go home yet because you might cut your finger off or something," she teased.

Luke chuckled. "Alright, point taken. Turn the TV on, Thalia Grace." He stretched his arms back and rested them on the back of the couch.

Thalia did just that and flipped channels before she found an old movie playing that had just started. Instinctively, she pulled her knees up, tucking her legs beneath her body, and leaned against Luke. She smiled to herself when he very gingerly lowered his arm to rest on her shoulder. Thanks, Zoë, she thought to herself.

-x-

Thalia felt her body moving without her permission and groaned in protest, but was still too sleepy to do anything about it. Suddenly something had picked her up around her upper waist and her knees, and was cradling her body. She and the mysterious object began to move. That was when her eyes shot wide open when she realized that the object was Luke.

"I am so sorry," she apologized groggily, the words escaping her lips as barely a murmur. "I did emnot/em mean to fall asleep." By now the film was over and a work-out paid programming slot had taken its place. The only other sound was Luke's quiet, tired laughter.

"Don't worry about it," was his response. "I nearly fell asleep a few times myself toward the end."

Thalia looked on as the two of them receded from the living room. Her eyebrows furrowed before she realized that he was taking her to her bedroom. As this thought entered her mind, her bedroom door squeaked wide open when Luke shouldered it lightly, and he laid her down on her mattress. Thalia was now awake enough to pull the covers over her body and look at Luke with alert recognition. There was something she was missing...

"It's late." Thalia's clock read 2:33am.

"Yes, it's late. I figured you would be more comfortable here," Luke said gently. Bless his heart, he could see she was still half asleep.

"You never checked into a hotel," Thalia remembered slowly, groggily. Oh!

"Luke," she began, her words interrupted by a yawn, "you're welcome to stay here. I'm afraid it's not very comfortable, but you can sleep on the couch. There are extra blankets in the cupboard to the right of the stove," she said.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. No use trying to find a hotel room at this hour," Thalia said with a lazy wave of her hand.

"Okay, I'll take you up on that, Innkeeper Grace," Luke said, a light teasing in his otherwise grateful tone.

"Thalia nodded and yawned again.

"Good night, Thalia," Luke said, backing out of her room and beginning to shut the door.

"Good night, Luke," Thalia mumbled, her eyes sliding shut again.

-x-

Thalia yawned as she woke up. No alarm had woken her because today was Saturday, and yet she was up earlier than usual. She stretched and hopped out of bed before she realized why. She smelled something. Something burnt. Her first instinct was that she'd left the stove on overnight and now her apartment was burning down. But if that were the case, her smoke alarm surely would be going off. She reached for a robe from her closet before realizing she was still wearing last night's attire. Her eyes widened as she truly woke up and remembered how all of these pieces fit together. She swung her bedroom door wide and nearly sprinted to the kitchen, where she promptly slid to a stop.

"Morning," Luke said without looking up. "I ah, attempted pancakes. Your stovetop gets hot really quickly," he added as an explanation for the blackened flour patties stacked precariously on a plate. "I settled for toast instead." Beside the pancakes was a stack of toast, prepared per usual for any standard toaster.

"I-thank you," Thalia said groggily, the remark coming out with more of a questioning tone than gratitude.

"Least I could do since you kindly allowed me to stay the night here," Luke said with a smile. He put two slices of toast on a plate and slid them across the counter. "Butter or jam?"

"Jam. But I'll get it," Thalia offered, bypassing him on her way to the refrigerator. She removed a jar of grape jam from the door. She picked up her plate of toast and took both to the small dining table just beyond the kitchen entrance. Luke joined her with his own plate of toast (four slices to her two), and they began to eat in silence.

"Thalia, I-"

"So how's-"

They both laughed. "After you," Luke said.

"No, you spoke first," Thalia insisted.

"Ladies first. Always," Luke replied smoothly, with a wink. Thalia's cheeks betrayed her otherwise composed stature in that moment.

"Well, I just wanted to ask how your cut was," Thalia said. "It looks a lot better than it did last night."

"Thanks to you and your wonderful friend," Luke agreed. "The pain doesn't bother me too much anymore."

Thalia nodded. "Good. That's good." She fell into a thoughtful silence.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright. After everything that happened," Luke said.

Thalia nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. He was just drunk," she said dismissively. Then she frowned.

"I know that look. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Thalia-"

"Thanks for breakfast," Thalia interjected quickly. She finished her second piece of toast before standing to put it all away. Luke was beside her in a heartbeat.

"Thalia?"

"What if he says something? At work? God, it's so embarrassing. What if he makes me the bad guy, or worse...you? Who knows what kinds of lies that man will say to save his skin," Thalia rambled.

"Thalia, quit worrying for a moment, would you? Although I'll admit it's pretty cute when you get those worry wrinkles," Luke interrupted, cracking a smile. Thalia whacked his arm playfully with the nearest dish towel.

"But this is serious. He'll probably say something just to make himself feel better. I doubt he's ever taken rejection very well." Thalia scoffed and Luke just chuckled.

"What you need is to get your mind off of him. How about we go see a movie?" he suggested.

"I'd like that." Thalia smiled.

[To be continued!]

Please follow and review! This is my first published fic, so I'd love some feedback! Critiques are welcome, rudeness is not.