A/N: I'm moving house, so expect sporadic updates for a couple of weeks.

Luke closed the heavy bar door behind him and walked straight to the bar. He signalled for a drink then sat and rested his elbows on the edge of the bar and held his head in his hands.

"Tough day Luke?" Casey put the pint in front of him

"Yeah, tough day," Luke said, speaking through his hands.

"Here, take this." Casey put a smaller glass in front of him and poured in some whiskey. "It might take the edge off."

Luke looked up and saw the chaser. He nodded at Casey and reached for the whiskey. It wasn't long before he had finished both drinks, the refills Casey poured, without having to be asked, and the refills he poured after Luke asked.

His anger was fading and churning into worry. Something was up with Liz and he was going to get to the bottom of it. With or without a mediator. But that worry was being over run by the maelstrom of emotions he was feeling after running into Lorelai.

It was bad enough to see her for the first time since the...incident. Luke shook his head and sipped his whiskey. But to see her on what looked like a date really cut him. He kept remembering it. Her hands on his chest, her eyes on his lips, her look of shock and then she looked away and walked by him, taking all the air out of his lungs with her.

Those eyes. Those god damn blue eyes were haunting him.

He finished his whiskey and put the glass back on the bar upside down. Then picked up his pint and drained the dregs of that too. Those eyes could not control him anymore. He would not let them. He would move on with his life. Figure out what was going on with Liz and how he can help her then just focus on the diner.

He took the money out of his wallet and dropped it on to the bar then turned on his stool and stood.

"You're not driving are you Luke?" Casey asked as he put the money into the till and the empty glasses into the dishwasher.

"Not now no, I'll grab a cab." He patted his pockets, clocking his keys, wallet, phone then slowly, careful not to move too fast as the room was swimming a little, made his way out onto the street to flag down a cab. But instead of watching traffic he made his way over the road to the park. He found a bench and dropped onto it with a heavy sigh that seemed to be never ending.

What. The. Hell. Happened.

A little over a week ago he was in his diner, flirting with Lorelai, pretending to be annoyed at her bit about the turkey club. He loved the turkey club bit. He made her a turkey club to hear the bit.

Then 24 hours later he found out he was being sued by his sister and was in danger of losing his diner, he kissed Lorelai which resulted in the worst, most humiliating sexual encounter he had ever experienced. And that included the fumble in the back of his truck when he was 15 with Marnie Wetherson who had just gotten his zip down when he went ahead finished what it was they were trying to do before they even got started. Even that was not near the scale of humiliation he was feeling about what happened with Lorelai.

How was he ever going to face her again?

"By ignoring it." he said. His hands fell to his thighs with a slap and he stood. "The Danes come from a long line of top shelf ignorers." He started to walk back to the street to hail a cab. "I am already an accomplished ignorer." He chuckled. "Hell, I've been ignoring my feelings for Lorelai for a long time already. Why not just keep doing that!" He put his arm out to hail a passing cab but it didn't stop. "See,even that guy gets it." He started walking in the direction of home. But every step he took his resolution faded more and more. He never had been good at ignoring Lorelai. Sure he ignored his feelings for her, but never her. That was impossible.

She would be in the diner, she would be wearing that skirt. Or the purple cardigan that curved around her breasts. The powder blue halter top that accentuated the soft curve of her neck to her shoulders, and the boots. Oh god the boots. So many boots. Soft leather, suede. Short heels, high heels. Above the ankle, below the knee. He wondered briefly if she had any that went above the knee but before that image could manifest he shook his head to dispel it and looked back over his shoulder to see if another cab was coming.

Yeah, ignoring it was going to work like a goddamn charm.

Lorelai walked into the inn with a smile plastered on her face. She greeted staff and guests and flipped through the mail as she made her way to the kitchen. Sookie was ready, and waiting for her to come in, so the minute she walked through the swing door she pounced on Lorelai.

"How was the date?" Sookie all but shouted at her, grasping her arm and walking with her to the coffee pot.

"Geez Sookie, give a girl some warning."

"How was it?"

"It was fine."

"Oh. Fine." Sookie let her go and looked at her with a sad smile.

"He was nice, but we kissed and there was no… spark."

"Not a good kiss?"

"The kiss was fine, it was just…"

"Riiiiiight." Sookie smiled knowingly. "Had someone else in mind?"

"What?! No!" But Lorelai could not help the blush that crept up her cheeks.

"Ah ha!"

"What ah ha. There is no ah ha."

"Ah ha you're blushing."

"It's hot in here."

"No. Please, don't even try."

Lorelai sighed and her shoulders slumped. "It was going well, really well," she admitted. "And we decided to leave the bar, take a walk in the park, but as we were leaving Luke came in."

"Oh no, honey, no," Sookie said with a soft laugh.

"I literally walked into him at the door. It was all very film noir."

"What did he say?"

"Nothing, he just stepped aside and let us both out."

"Oh honey," Sookie said soothingly as she rubbed her friends arm. "Luke is an idiot."

"Well maybe he's an idiot, but I'm still humiliated. I should just move."

"No way!" Sookie declared. "He should move!"

"Yeah he should move, and take his crappy diner with him. With the donuts and danishes and the coffee."

Sookie pulled Lorelai in for a hug and rubbed her back. "It'll all be fine honey, you and Luke will move past this and you'll both be back to normal soon."

Lorelai let Sookie offer her comfort but it did nothing to assuage her discomfort. She didn't think this was something that would blow over or fade away with time. The only way to solve this particular issue was to talk about it. With Luke. And that was something she was never going to be able to do.

"I'm making omelettes for breakfast, you want one?"

"No thanks Sook, I'm good." She started to walk towards the door. "I'll see you for lunch."

Another week had passed and still the burning humiliation felt fresh. Lorelai walked into her office, carefully avoiding the kitchen and questions from Sookie. It was a week of dates. What had started with Rob, the cable guy was followed up with Shel the meat guy, Kurt the horse trainer, Martin the mail carrier, Tom the landscaper, Brody the wholesaler, and finally, last night, Ted the insurance broker.

Every morning she would come in, and every morning Sookie would corner her and grill her about the date. Then as soon as Lorelai admitted to it being less than stellar, Sookie would get that look in her eye. The sorrowful pitied look. So today, Lorelai snuck in and went straight to her office.

"Ah ha!" Sookie shouted, as she swung open the door and pointed a finger at Lorelai, who was just settling down behind her desk. "J'accuse!"

"Sookie-"

"Sneaking in, trying to avoid me!"

"No Sook-"

"Puh-leeeeeeeeeease!" Sookie came in and sat in the chair across from Lorelai. "Now, tell me everything."

"It was fine."

"Shocker, another fine."

"It was fine, it was fine, what more do you want."

"I know what you're doing." Sookie looked at her with a stern frown and interlocked her fingers on her lap.

"What I'm doing?"

"All these dates you've been going on. I know what you're doing."

"I'm dating." She tried to look busy as she focused on sorting the mail.

"You're trying to get over this inadequate feeling you've had since the night with Luke."

"What?" Lorelai tried to look busy on the computer.

"You're trying to feel pretty again."

"Sook-"

"No Lorelai, you listen to me." Sookie stood, placed both hands on the table and leaned towards Lorelai who was carefully ignoring her. "Whatever it was that happened to Luke was nothing to do with you. You're beautiful, smart, funny and amazing. Luke not being able to perform was all about Luke and had nothing to do with you. I can promise you that."

"Sookie, I'm just…" the wind went out of her argument and Sookie quickly circled the table to take her into a hug.

"You're beautiful," Sookie whispered. "You're amazing. You're stunning. And Luke is an idiot."

Lorelai chuckled and Sookie held her tighter. Sookie kissed the top of her head and released her. She promised to bring by some pastries later and left. Lorelai slumped back in her chair and thought about what Sookie had said.

She was going out more than usual. Hell, she admitted, she had gone out more this week than she had in the past year. Two years maybe. But none of the dates were great. None were horrible either, but they were just...bland. No sparks. No breathlessness. No heart palpitations. No tingles or goosebumps, nervous laughs or shy glances. She tried to flirt, tried to get the spark ignited but nothing was working. After the meal, after a short walk, after a kiss she would pull away, smile politely and end the date.

Was Sookie right? Was she doing this to prove to herself that what happened with Luke was an anomaly? Was what happened with Luke an anomaly? It wasn't the first time the sex was bad. It was however, the first time neither participant had finished. Other than the coitus interruptus events when she was younger. She chuckled at the memory of herself and Chris scrambling to dress and pose in studius ways before her mother walked in.

But the chuckle faded and she sighed. She missed Luke. Missed hanging out at the diner. Missed drinking his coffee and annoying him with a bit. Getting him worked up enough to see that vein in his forehead pop up. She smiled at the many memories of that happening but all too quickly, her smile faded. She took a deep breath, resettled herself on the seat and tried to focus on her work.

It was going to be a long day.

Luke did the rounds with the coffee. The same people, ordering the same food. The same conversation being shared by the same customers. He came back around the counter and started a new batch of coffee then faced the customers again as he idly wiped the counter down.

Kirk sat with a paper in the corner, nursing a milkshake he had ordered over an hour ago. Babette was by the door, drinking coffee and waiting for Ms Patty who was sure to arrive any minute for their usual evening meal. Every thursday without fail they would meet here for dinner and on one hand Luke though this routine was boring and predictable, but on the other he craved that kind of stability.

He looked over at the stool where Lorelai usually sat at this time of the evening and wondered if anyone even noticed she hadn't been in the diner for over two weeks. He wondered if anyone knew that he kissed her. Stripped her. Felt her warm soft body against his. Then proceeded to humiliate himself in the most unforgivable way. Luke rested his hands on the counter and bowed his head in thought.

He'd seen her in Casey's last week. And he thought he caught a glimpse of her coming out of Doosey's a few days ago but other than that, his life was sorely lacking the Gilmores. And he hated it.

"Hey sugah," Babette called at him. "Any chance of a refill?"

"Coming up now Babette." He grabbed the pot of fresh coffee and walked over to her. "You ready to eat yet?"

"Almost, Patty will be here soon. She had a late dance class, but that's finishing up now, see?"

Luke looked across the square to the dance hall and saw a stream of young kids in ballerina outfits pouring out. Followed by Patty who was hurrying over. Luke put the pot down and grabbed the pad from the front of his pants.

"So what can I get you?" he asked Babbette who was no longer looking at the menu.

"Yeah, I'll have a turkey club. With fries."

"Ok, I'll be back when Patty is in."

He looked up to see how close Patty had gotten, but instead of seeing her trying to cross the road to the diner, she was standing on the path, talking with Lorelai. Luke froze. Patty had linked Lorelai's arm and seemed to be guiding her towards the diner. Lorelai seemed to be resisting, she was pointing across the square in the opposite direction and Luke realised it was towards Rory's bus stop. They were smiling and laughing and by the expression on Patty's face, he knew she was talking about the dates Lorelai had been going on all week.

Yeah, he knew about them. He'd seen her on one and saw her being driven home from a few others. He heard chatter in his diner and tried desperately to ignore it, but it always found its way to his ears. He watched as Lorelai patted her arm and slowly extracted her elbow from Ms Patty's grip, waved and smiled, then hurried across the square to the bus stop.

Ms Patty came bustling into the diner and took seat beside Babbette. "Oh Luke, I'll have a coffee."

"Hmm?"

"A coffee please, and I'll have a turkey club, with fries."

"Oh that's exactly what I ordered!" Babbette squealed with delight and grabbed her friends arm.

"Coffee, right," Luke said. He picked up the pot and poured her out a cup. "Are you eating tonight?"

"You didn't hear?"

"Huh?"

"I already asked for a turkey club, with fries."

"Right, yeah, sorry."

"You ok Luke?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I'll go get your orders."

They watched Luke hurry back to the kitchen. "You think he knows?" Babbette asked quietly, though her whispering voice was still a few octaves higher than regular people's normal speaking voice

"He must do, it's been hard to miss."

"She's been out with a different man every night this week." She sipped her coffee. "I've not had a chance to grab her for a chat all week."

"That's a lot of dinners."

"That's a lot of other things too." Babette said with a conspiratorial tone.

"Did you see the guy she went out with last night? Yowsers!" Patty waggled her eyebrows.

"I didn't see him, but the guy who picked her up on Sunday was a dish!"

"Monday in the gazebo, I saw her having an ice-cream with a guy and they seemed to be getting on very well."

"How well?"

"Well enough to make me blush!" Both women giggled then Babbette caught a glimpse of Luke working in the kitchen and nudged Patty to take a look. "It's a shame neither of them got the moxy to work on each other."

"It wouldn't take much moxy to get me to work on him." Ms Patty said with a nudge as she leaned over to get a better view of Luke.

"He's been incredibly grumpy lately. More than usual I think."

"Maybe he did get the moxy, and she turned him down."

"Please, she would not turn down Luke," Babette gestured to where Luke was bending over one of the tables to wipe it down. "Who would turn down that?"

"Then maybe she didn't turn him down and they went out but it was terrible."

"That's even worse!"

They both sat in silence for a few moments and watched as Luke worked the room then looked back at each other with smiles and shook their heads. "Nah!" they both said in unison then giggled.

Luke went back to the kitchen to pick up their orders and dropped them off at their tables.

"Refills?"

"Please." He grabbed the pot from behind the counter and came back to refill their coffee.

"So Luke," Ms Patty said as she leaned forward on the table. "What's goin' on between you and Lorelai?"

"Huh? What? Nothing. Why? What did you hear?"

"Nothing honey, we didn't hear nothing!" Babetter assured him.

"Why?" Patty pressed. "Is there something to hear?"

"No, nothing to hear." His voice was stern and he quickly turned on his heel and disappeared into the kitchen.

Both women looked at each other with a confused expression. "Curiouser and curiouser!" Patty said as she picked up a few fries, dipped them in ketchup and ate them.

Luke stood in the kitchen and leaned back against the wall. He had heard every word they shared, he always did but usually was able to ignore most of it. This time, each syllable was crystal clear and burrowed it's way into his head where it bounced around every nook and cranny, echoing painfully.

"Caesar, you got this?"

"Sure thing boss."

Luke waved then tossed the towel that was hanging over his shoulder onto the counter then check for his keys in his pocket and hurried out of the diner.

It had already been 6 days since the mediation. So any day now, he was expecting the report. Once he had that report in his hand he would be able to get his life back on track. What that meant exactly, he didn't really know but he knew he would be ready to work on it.

"Hey, hey, Lorelai, are you going to the firelight festival on Sunday?"

Lorelai stopped her run across the square and turned to Taylor who was calling at her from the gazebo.

"Sunday? Isn't it usually on a Friday?"

"Yes, but this year we've pushed it to a Sunday as we're painting the gazebo and it won't be fully dry by Friday."

"Right, of course." Lorelai waved at him and started to continue on her journey.

"So are you coming?"

"Yeah sure, we'll be there."

"We? You're bringing a date?"

"What?" she turned to face him. "No! I meant Rory."

"Oh right, it's just that…" Taylor looked away sheepishly.

"It's just that what?" Lorelai walked closer to him, hoping it would stop the whole town hearing this particular conversation.

"Well you've been rather um...busy lately, I was just checking if I should put you down for a +1."

"For the firelight festival? Since when has it been a limited entry type of event?"

"I'm just trying to get an idea of the number of attendees, for the food stalls. Last year there was so much waste."

"How altruistic of you Taylor."

"So it will just be you and Rory?"

"Yes, Taylor," Lorelai said sweetly, forcing a smile across her face. "Just myself and Rory, so double up on corn dogs." She turned again and sauntered away, trying not to show how angry and embarrassed she was feeling.

What the hell was up with this town? Why were they so obsessed with who she was dating, or not dating as the case may be. She had heard the comments from Patty and Babette, casually dropping Luke's name into the conversation, diving for information on why she hadn't been in the diner in a while, what fight had kicked off the most recent spate of absence from her second home. Or in Miss Patty's case, outright asking what had happened between her and Luke.

So far Lorelai had been able to avoid any direct responses, stating she was busy at work, busy with Rory and nothing had happened. Nothing had happened, she scoffed to herself as she crossed the road over to Patty's dance studio. If something had happened then maybe they would still be able to look each other in the eye. Still be able to chat and laugh… kiss.

Wait.

She paused at the curb, one foot on the raised platform, the other still on the road. If it wasn't such a crappy...event, if it went well, would they still be...doing it? Or was he just looking for a one time thing? Lorelai frowned. No, Luke wasn't a one time thing kind of guy. Was he? She didn't actually know that for sure. In all the years she'd known Luke and hung out in the diner she had never seen any women walking out of his apartment that he wasn't either related to or in a long term relationship with. He didn't strike her as a one time thing guy.

Something was up with him that evening. But she was damned if she was going to ask him about it. Hell, she couldn't even look him in the eye let alone ask him about what was bothering him. Lorelai shuddered out of her reverie and continued on her way to the dance studio.

"Hey Rory, are you ready to go yet?"

"Yeah, I just need to…" Rory was helping Ms Patty in an afterschool dance club. Despite her lack of dance talent, she agreed to help out watching the younger kids. When Lorelai came to the door to meet her she grabbed her jacket and hurried out to meet her mother. "Dinner?"

"You're still hungry?" Lorelai linked arms with Rory and steered her towards home. "I thought you had pizza at the club?"

"That was hours ago?"

Lorelai cast her a disbelieving look. "It was 45 minutes ago. Remember? I was on the phone with you when it arrived?"

"I only got one slice!" Rory protested. "The other kids were so hungry."

"Okay fine, we can get something when we get home."

"But I really want a Luke's burger and chili fries."

"No, we should get home, it looks like it's going to rain soon." Lorelai looked up at the clear blue skies.

Rory glanced at her. "Mom?"

"Hmm?"

"What's going on with you and Luke? Did you guys have a fight?"

"A Fight? No."

"What's happened then, why don't you ever want to go into Luke's anymore?"

"Nothing happened." Lorelai pulled her daughter into a tight hug, but continued to steer her towards home. "I just need to give him some space."

"Space?" Rory looked at her mother with a worried glance. "Why?"

"He's very busy, and very stressed. And he needs the space to work on his stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Rory please, drop it."

There was a few moments of silence as they both continued walking home.

"Mom?"

"Yes honey?"

"Do I need to give him space too?"

"No, honey, no. You can go see Luke whenever you want."

She led Rory into the house and immediately grabbed the phone and chinese take out menu from the small table in the hall. She sat next to Rory on the couch and passed her the menu.

"What about we do a mix of pork and chicken dishes tonight?"

"Sure mom, that sounds fine."

Lorelai dropped the phone and looked at her daughter. She was clearly upset by their discussion on the way home. Luke was a big part of their lives, it wasn't as easy as just stopping her attendance in the diner. There were bigger things at stake here. "Rory…" Rory looked up and offered her a sad smile.

"I hate it when you and Luke fight."

"We're not fighting."

"Well you're not not fighting."

"We're just...taking a break from each other."

"It's not like you guys were dating." Rory glanced at her mother to see her expression and she caught the tiny wince. "Were you? Dating I mean?"

"No!"

"Did you want to be?" Lorelai couldn't help the small blush that crept up her neck. "Mom! Did you ask him out or something? Did he turn you down?"

"No. God! Why does everyone think he would turn me down! I didn't ask him out, he didn't ask me out."

"Did you want him to ask you out and he didn't?"

"No, really Rory. It's not like that. It's just… we need a break."

Rory watched her mother carefully for a while then decided to let it go. "Okay, you get the pork, I'll order chicken."

"Vegetable rolls for starter?"

"Yep."