Author's Notes: Wow, yay! I got 6 reviews this time! Very happy, so happy that I deicded to give y'all the next chapter right now! Thankyou so, so much for those that reviewed this time! It made me realise that this fic really is worth writing since so many of you love it. Thanks,

Amothegreat: You will find out very soon as to if she's pregnant or not. And don't worry, i'll keep this fic going right til the end. Jeremy Shane: She hasn't got cancer, mainly cuz it's not part of the storyline and it's too big a drama at this point with everything else that's going on. And it's okay. Heather: Wow, all in one sitting? I'm impressed :P. I like your enthusiasm too, hehe. Sure, updating now. lukenlorelai4life: Another "OMG" and enthusiastic reviewer, made my day. Glad you loved it and here's the update! remoob1513: Not to fear, there will be NO Christopher/Lorelai hookups or Lorelai even returning any of the felings whatsoever! Friendship is kinda unavoidable at times since they did grown up together and they did have a kid together (despite Chris's constant absence). So yeah, you really have nothing to fear in that department. I'm glad you're intrigued :).

And a special thankyou to Chloe2007 for your longer review and I have some things to say. When you said I should slow down if Lorelai is pregnant again, I'm slightly confused. Do you mean slow down the updating, the pregnancy or the growing of the child? Although I can say, I won't be doing the several year skip like I did with Richie, that was good back then but this time around it's not needed. When Luke and Lorelai have their second child, I can ensure you that you'll get to see more of his/her life as a baby/toddler etc. Things will be more even-paced then.

Okay, now that i've happily thanked all my reviewers, I'd like to give a slight notice of importance here before you read. I mentioned before that the ending to last chapter was slightly over-dramatic seeming and when you read why she passed out you may agree...but I can garantee it's actually not. This really can happen. Anyhow, enjoy and I know a lot of you have been wanting to know how Luke and Lorelai got back together all those years ago, since season 7 did happen (in terms of April, chris and lorelai's marriage bleah) so this has flashbacks, enjoy! P.S: Lorelai and Luke aren't getting divorced, ever!

Oh, and some spoilers for: "Fight Face" and "Partings"...just so you know.

Chapter Seventeen: It wasn't meant to be this way

Lorelai frowned a little and opened her eyes. She was a bit confused and worried as she found herself lying in a hospital bed. She glanced around the room a bit before climbing out of bed and following the noise outside her door.

'What's going on?' she asked sleepishly.

'Lorelai!' Luke spotted her and rushed over, putting an arm around her. 'Are you okay?'

'I'm not sure' Lorelai said sarcastically. 'Maybe I have a tumor, or…or some type of freaky disease! You'll have to go on without me; I don't think I can make it! I'll have to…' she then stopped talking as Christopher approached with a cup of coffee, followed by a doctor.

'Should she be out of bed?' Christopher asked once he saw Lorelai.

'She's fine' the doctor told them as he wrote some things on Lorelai's chart.

'What happened?' Lorelai rubbed her head; the last thing she remembered was Luke and Christopher freakishly getting along at her parent's pre-Christmas party.

'You passed out' Luke told her. 'Are you sure she's okay?' he then pressed the doctor for more information.

'I'm sure. It seems you've been under quite some stress lately though' he told Lorelai. 'You were also very dehydrated. Mixed together, it did quite some damage for a moment'

'I passed out from…stress?' Lorelai frowned. 'Huh' she shrugged. 'Where are the kids?' she then asked Luke. Christopher sighed at that question and glanced away, feeling a little uncomfortable again.

'They're fine. Rory's with Richie and April's staying at a friends house' Luke told her. 'Mary, or something'

'Okay' Lorelai nodded. 'So I can go home?' she asked the doctor.

'You sure can' he nodded. 'Oh, and one more thing…you're not pregnant'

'Wow, ah okay…' Lorelai was confused but then glanced at Luke, seeing his somewhat guilty expression. 'Right, I'm leaving now' she nodded and took the coffee cup from Christopher on her way towards the reception desk.

'What were you so stressed about?' Luke wondered as they left right after Lorelai had thanked Christopher for coming.

'Ah…nothing much' Lorelai shrugged, sipping her coffee to avoid saying anything more on the topic. 'I'll be fine'

Several weeks passed by and Lorelai had pushed a lot of her concerning thoughts to the back of her mind so she could get through one day at a time. Things at the Inn had calmed down a bit so Lorelai found herself with more free time on her hands. She took Richie to the park, some movies and out to lunch…but she still found herself wondering what to do next.

The past couple of days have been rather quiet since Luke is very busy with helping April get settled at Yale. Lorelai knew the place very well so she'd dropped April off alongside Luke for the first day but now April needed some stuff from her mum's, she then needed Luke's help with some furniture…it just seemed that Luke was busy a lot while Lorelai had hardly anything to do.

Rory had also left and was traveling again, this time it could be months before they get so much of a phone call and work is going very well for Rory since she'd been promoted to editor's assistant.

Lorelai had been at home checking payroll scedules and reading documents when she noticed that Paul Anka seemed a little droopy and slow. She grew more concerned over the next few days and decided to take him to see the vet…

--

'He's not sick' the vet told her in a serious tone while Richie sat a few meters away and played with some blocks. 'But he is getting old…his time may be up soon, I'm so sorry'

'Oh no' Lorelai placed a hand on Paul Anka's head sadly. The thought of losing him was horrible, something she didn't want to even think about. But she knew that she had to prepare herself and Richie for the worst since they were the most attached to Paul Anka and the vet seemed very sure that he was running out of doggie years.

'Will Paul Anka get better?' Richie asked as they helped him into the back seat.

'He's not sick honey, he's just getting old' Lorelai said sadly, starting the engine after checking Richie's seatbelt.

Richie nodded and glanced out his window, thinking about what she'd said.

'Mummy? Is Paul Anka gonna die?'

'Oh honey, let's not think about that right now' Lorelai told him.

'Okay' he nodded. 'But I don't want him to die' he sniffed sadly.

'Me neither' Lorelai said and pulled up outside the house. 'Come on. Let's let him have a big sleep okay? Maybe the rest will do him good' she encouraged.

'Okay, and I'll tell Pepperjack to leave him alone'

'Good idea' Lorelai smiled at Richie's innocence. She glanced down at Paul Anka and remembered when she'd first bought him all those years ago, it wasn't long after her and Luke had gotten engaged for the first time.

'Mum?' Richie came back into the kitchen. 'Will dad be home soon? I miss him'

'Me too' Lorelai sighed; wandering into the living room to call Luke on his cell phone but just got his voicemail.

'Yeah' she scoffed. 'Like Luke knows how to use voicemail' she rolled her eyes and hung up the phone without leaving a message. 'Daddy will be home soon honey' she then told Richie.

'Okay' Richie said again and wandered off to his room.

Lorelai crossed her arms and sighed. She walked over to the couch and sat in front of the TV but didn't turn it on. She just stared into space, thinking…

--

'What are you doing with a dog?' Luke asked.

'I bought him' Lorelai said. 'Doesn't he look happy?'

'Yeah, I guess' Luke nodded, watching the dog in front of him. 'You bought a dog!' he then said in disbelief.

'Yeah, and he loves me. And he doesn't give his love easily. The only drawback is the name. Cocoa. It's too cutesy. But he's a rescue, so I don't want to freak him out by giving him a new name right away, so, I'm gonna get to the name I want to give him in baby steps. For the first week I'll call him Cocoa to get him acclimated' Lorelai explained.

'Acclimated' Luke repeated.

'Second week, I'm gonna call him Cokey' Lorelai continued. 'Third week "Kooky". Fourth week "Tooky" '

'So, you're gonna name him Tooky?' Luke wondered.

'No, I'm gonna name him Paul Anka, but it's gonna take a while to get to Paul Anka'

'Yeah, I'd say so' Luke agreed…

--

Lorelai sighed and leaned against the back of the couch, her mind still drifting. She smiled a little as Paul Anka made his way over to her and lay at her feet sleepishly. Lorelai reached down and patted him but her mind was elsewhere now as she glanced around the room…

--

'Here?' Lorelai asked as she looked up at Luke. 'You wanna live here?'

'Sure. I don't have a lot of stuff. We just need a little more closet space. A bigger bathroom, bigger bedroom…' he said from the roof.

'I always wanted a bigger bedroom' Lorelai smiled a little.

'Well, looks like we can do it' he said.

'But what about the Twickham house?' Lorelai wondered.

'Too damn big' he replied. 'We can get along here for a while. Maybe forever. It's a great house. You love this house' he said knowledgeably.

'I do love this house'

'I know' Luke nodded. 'I figured that out from your sudden interest in laying down tracks and becoming a painter'

'Come down here so I can kiss you. All of you' Lorelai told him.

'We'll just be a minute' he said.

Lorelai walked back towards her car to get Paul Anka, but as she reaches out to open the door:

'You locked the door? Dude; come on! I mean, I've got the key, but I'm really curious how you did this'…

--

'Mum?' Richie broke Lorelai's thread of memories as he approached her and sat on the couch.

'Yeah Richie?' she asked, glancing at him with a small smile.

'Can I go to Benny's house? Please? I'll call and ask his mum if it's okay'

'Oh…um, sure' Lorelai nodded and reached for the phone. She dialed Benny's number and then handed Richie the phone while it rang. He looked so much like his father in his backwards baseball cap and the way he frowned when he was thinking. Lorelai stared at her hands as she placed them on her lap and sighed.

Lorelai couldn't believe she had a sense of being pushed away or loneliness. Just because Luke was out helping April, and just because Rory had gone traveling for work…that Paul Anka might be gone soon and now Richie has friends that he wants to spend time with…doesn't mean Lorelai was neglected or forgotten about in any way. She knew that, but the feeling was still there.

'She said yes!' Richie grinned as he hung up. 'She said she'll drop me home later…is that okay?'

'Sure hon' Lorelai nodded. 'Grab your coat' she told him and grabbed the car keys.

'Lorelai, let's just talk this through' Luke told her.

'No, I don't wanna talk, all we've done for months is talk. I want to do. I want to go' she said.

'We can't just take off and get married' Luke said.

'Why not, Luke? Don't you love me?'

'You know I do!' he replied.

'But I love you, Luke. I love you. But I have waited, and I have stayed away, and I have let you run this thing, and no more. I asked you to marry me, and you said yes' She told him and ignored the fact they were practically in the middle of the streets.

'Yeah, I'm just trying to think here' Luke let out a breath.

'Richie can stay with Sookie for a few days, and we fixed up the house, right? We have a bigger closet, and I didn't get the purple wallpaper because you didn't want the purple wallpaper. And if it's between you and the purple wallpaper, I pick you!' Lorelai told him, not giving up so easily.

'I didn't tell you not to get the purple wallpaper' he stated.

'Oh my God, you didn't like it'

'I don't care about wallpaper!' Luke said in frustration.

'Do you care about me, about Richie?'

'Yes!' he said, surprised she had to ask that.

'Because I'm going crazy here' she told him, trying to remain emotionally balanced. 'I made a commitment to you, and I need to make it happen'

'It will, it will happen, okay? I just have April to consider' Luke told her…

--

Lorelai stumbled back inside the house and headed upstairs where she changed her work outfit to something slightly more casual. Her favourite pair of jeans, a blue strap top with a white jacket to go over it. Lorelai glanced at her reflection for a few minutes. After approving of her image, she huffed and wandered back downstairs. Lorelai glanced at Paul Anka a little sadly and picked up her handbag with the intention of going out to buy shoes.

'Stay, hang in there a little while longer' she told him softly. 'Please?'

Richie thanked Benny's mum for letting him come over and then rushed to the front door. He turned the knob and looked around for his mother, excited to tell her all about his day. He found her sitting at the table near the kitchen, staring at an overturned cup.

'Mum?' he asked and she glanced up at him, surprised.

'Is it four already?' she asked and glanced at the cat clock on the wall.

'I dunno' he shrugged. 'I can't tell time' he told her like she was crazy to think he could. 'Are you okay? You look…sad? Is Paul Anka okay?' he then panicked.

'Paul Anka is fine' Lorelai told him, watching him come over and stare at her. 'I'm okay' she nodded.

Richie smiled and turned her cup over since he found it weird otherwise. He then studied his mother's face and he somehow knew she was lying.

'I know!' he grinned. 'We need food' he nodded and raided the fridge. 'Marsh-mallow things, pop tarts…' he tossed items onto the table. 'Rory left chocolate cookies, cream…what else?' he asked. 'And movies!' Richie added with a nod. 'Is it movie night?'

'No hon' Lorelai replied, watching him in surprise.

'Oh…well, is now' he nodded seriously, grabbing his mother's hand. 'Come on!' he pleaded and she followed him into the living room where he started to pick out some movies, going by the pictures since his reading wasn't at it's best yet.

Lorelai just watched her young son in amazement but was then sad as she began to realize just how mature he was for his age. Richie was such a wonderful kid and he was incredibly smart also, but he was clearly lonely. Any four-year-old that knew his mother's eating habits off by heart wasn't frequently occupied. Lorelai sighed at the fact that maybe Richie really does need a younger brother or sister to play with.

'Richie, honey' she moved him away from the video cabinet. 'I have a better idea'

Luke pulled up outside the house in relief. It had been a tough couple of days but things were all settled for now. He got out of his truck and headed up to the house. He pushed the door open but noticed that the house was strangely rather dim.

'Lorelai?' he called out, turning the kitchen light on. 'Richie?' he then spotted a note over by the fruit bowl that was written in Lorelai's handwriting.

Luke approached it and counted to five before he picked it up to read. Luke sighed heavily and hung his head, sitting at the table suddenly. He stared at the note again and shook his head. Luke grabbed the phone and called Rory…

'Hello?' she answered on second ring.

'Ah hey…sorry to call like this but ah…should I be worried?' Luke asked.

'You're gonna have to give me more details than that' Rory stated, putting her coffee mug down to listen.

'Your mum left me a note, I just got home and found it' Luke said.

'What did it say?' Rory became a little concerned and moved away from the noise of the newsroom.

'That she and Richie have taken a little trip and not to call?' he said, not liking the long pause from Rory that soon followed. 'I should be worried' he sighed.

'No, ah…no!' Rory tried to offer some comfort. 'Did she say where she's going? How long? Is anything packed?'

'I don't know about packing, but the note saids: Richie and I are on a little trip. Don't call. Lorelai"…?'

'Oh' Rory said.

'What did I do?' Luke wondered aloud.

'Nothing…I'm sure she's just…stressed?' Rory offered. 'Don't worry…she'll call' she nodded.

'You sound as convinced as I feel' Luke muttered.

'Well, I don't know…just give her time. I'm sure she'll come around' Rory said.

Luke nodded and hung up. He stared at the letter and shook his head; he had no confidence in expecting a call from his wife anytime soon…He just prayed that it wasn't over between them or that's he'd done something wrong…

Emily scowled about her newest maid as she grabbed her coat. She and Richard were getting ready to go out. Richard was upstairs fixing and fiddling with his tie when the doorbell rang several times.

'Oh for Heaven's sake' Emily rolled her eyes and answered it. 'It's almost nine-' she then paused once she saw whom it was. 'Lorelai? Is something wrong?' she asked, seeing her daughter standing there with a few bags. Richie was also in her arms, looking tired and a bit nervous.

'May we come in?' Lorelai asked, bowing her head a little.

'Yes, come in' Emily moved to let them inside, utterly shocked. She glanced around and saw the Jeep parked nearby. Emily sighed and turned back towards the foyer, shutting the front door behind her…

Author's Notes: Okay, sorry some of the scenes were a bit short, but they had to be this time around. Those were flashbacks from the show, but there are still more coming, proper ones that explain how Lorelai and Luke got back together etc etc, these were just the start so you know what you need to in order to get the next ones. I also made a few banners for this fic, which I'll let you access soon enough.

Anyway, thanks for reading and please review! The last lot had me soo happy that I updated right now...so if the same happens, you'll get faster updates again :) Also, sorry for the long A/N in the beginning, (I just love thanking all my reviewers properly and answering their comments/questions) if that annoyed anyone let me know and I'll try to limit it more next time.

Review! Please?

-Mel