Chapter 5: Voyage of the Damned
Lorelai stared at the clock, willing the numbers to inch ahead just a minute more. One minute closer to dawn. One minute closer to when everything was going to finally get started.
Just one more minute.
She closed her eyes, opened them, and the clock ticked over to midnight.
She tossed away the duvet, throwing it over the end of the bed. Pushing into a sitting position, she began shaking Luke. "Wake up! C'mon, babe, wake up!"
"No," he muttered in a sleepy, petulant voice. He rolled onto his stomach, pressing his face into the pillow as he all but burrowed into it.
"Come on!" Lorelai pulled the covers off him as well, and he made a grab for them. She took the chance to leap out of bed and pulled him after her. He was forced to gain his feet, otherwise he'd fallen face first on the floor.
Lorelai grabbed his elbow and steered him toward the open door and the stairs.
"It's cold," he muttered.
"It's barely the beginning October, you big wuss."
"It's freezing. The floor's freezing. I'm not even wearing socks."
Lorelai ignored Luke all the way down the stairs, helped him shove his feet into shoes and tossed his jacket at him before guiding him to the Jeep. She pushed him into the passenger seat and was quite sure he'd already fallen back asleep before she headed back inside. In under 10 minutes, she led an equally sleepy and confused Rory out to the car and pushed her into the back seat. One more trip netted her own coat and the car keys.
"Why is this happening?" Rory whined as Lorelai backed out of the driveway. "My bed's getting further and further away." She rested her head on the passenger-side headrest. "Luke, do something."
"Nope. Sleeping," he muttered, his head resting against the window.
"Isn't it your job to keep Mom from doing this?"
"Thought it was yours."
"I took the first 18-year shift. It's your turn now. Besides, this is your fault for giving her back her car keys."
"Whine, whine," Lorelai all but sang as she turned down the road to the Dragonfly.
It was the perfect night. Well, a perfect night that didn't have snow in the forecast, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Lorelai scrambled out of the car, taking it in. This property, this beautiful, dilapidated, and abandoned property, was hers now. Well, hers and Sookie's. With a little bit of Michel and a little bit of Mia thanks to their investments.
In seven hours, Tom's crew would arrive to start the renovation work. She, Sookie, and Michel had spent the previous six weeks outlining the final plans. But she wanted to see it now, in the moonlight, in the moments before everything began. Saying goodbye to the Independence had been hard, but this was future. No more being stuck in the past. This was her dream, and she wanted to share it with the two people she loved most.
If they bothered to wake up.
"C'mon, out of the car," Lorelai said, yanking open both doors and prodding her little family until they flanked her outside the Jeep. She linked arms with them. "Look at it. It's going to be beautiful."
"My bed is beautiful," Rory lamented. "My pillow is even more beautiful. My duvet? Exquisite."
"In a few hours, we're going to break ground on the renovations. It's really happening. This is my dream, and it's coming true. I just wanted to see everything the way it is now, with both of you." Lorelai gave their arms a little squeeze and a shake to prevent them both from falling back asleep. "It had a long history before us, and it'll be here when we're all gone. But for now, this inn is letting us be a part of its narrative."
Rory narrowed her eyes at her. "You sound suspiciously like a Broadway musical."
"If she breaks into song and dance, you're on your own," Luke informed Rory.
"Lorelai!"
She craned her neck over her shoulder to see Sookie and Jackson getting out the car, Jackson looking only slightly more alert than Rory and Luke.
Sookie moved as fast as her advanced pregnancy would allow to Lorelai's side, grabbing her hands. "I couldn't sleep," she said excitedly. "I had to come, you know. Look at what we're going to do!"
"You too, huh?" Luke asked as Jackson joined them.
He shrugged. "She's pregnant. What can you do?"
"Hey, Mom," Rory said, approaching Lorelai. She turned in time to have her daughter engulf her in a huge hug. "I'm so proud of you," she said.
Lorelai swallowed past the lump in her throat, embracing Rory back. Then Rory pulled away, dangling Lorelai's car keys from where she stole them out of the pocket of her coat. "Got 'em!" She pivoted and tossed them to Luke, who neatly caught them. Then she ran around to the passenger side of the Jeep while he got in on the driver's side.
"What?" Lorelai gaped.
"We're going home," Luke informed her.
"We're going back to sleep," Rory added. "We love you, and I'm sure Sookie and Jackson will bring you back to the house when you're done bonding with the inn. We'll leave the light on for you."
Lorelai just stared after the Jeep as it started back toward the main road. "Where is the love?"
"Clearly back in bed," Jackson said. He held up his hands when Lorelai scowled at him.
Lorelai huffed and turned back to the Dragonfly, still beautiful in the moonlight. Grinches, she thought as she admired her inn.
Every Friday night that passed without orders for him to go to Friday night dinner was, in Luke's opinion, a good Friday night. Not so good for Lorelai, who gamely attended each one. He knew she wouldn't let Rory go alone, and damn she was a good mom.
For some reason, the Gilmores seemed to have forgotten him in the weeks since Rory started college, which suited Luke just fine. Not Lorelai. Every couple of days, she fretted and came up with bizarre conspiracy theory after bizarre conspiracy theory over the lack of her parents' insistence that he join them for dinner.
But to him, the frustrating part was that Lorelai had clammed up about those dinners completely, which told him that he had been the topic of conversation at one point or another. Lorelai used to trudge into the diner each Friday night and give him a detailed blow-by-blow of her night at Chez Gilmore, as she once called it, whether he wanted to hear it or not. Now all she did was lay her head on the counter and beg for coffee and/or sex depending on who was around. On the really bad nights, she didn't care about the company, which led to her propositioning Luke in front of Taylor. It was almost worth it to see Taylor turn an interesting shade of purple.
Luke actually missed her ramblings, and part of him worried that she was starting to close herself off to him like he had seen her do with previous boyfriends. He didn't want that. She was his best friend, damn it, and that wasn't going to change even if he had to fight with her to get her to see that.
It was ridiculous. They spent most of their free time together, and he enjoyed her company. He had talked her into a Red Sox game before the playoffs, and she even convinced him to go to the mall with her. He planned to suggest they spend a long weekend at the cabin together. He learned she hated horror movies but enjoyed going to them with her because she always burrowed into his side. It had helped they spent so much time together in Europe, and he wanted things to remain that good. That meant Lorelai needed to tell him what was actually going on during those dinners.
Or, he told himself, he could man up and just go to one.
He sighed and started to go through his closing checklist, knowing that Lorelai would be in shortly before he finished.
The familiar strains of the Stars Hollow High fight song, sung in loud, drunken voices, could be heard well before the group of boys stumbled through the front door of the diner. Luke winced, bracing himself for the onslaught of stupidity. Damn it, he hated that fight song.
He set aside the salt shakers he'd been filling and slightly regretted sending Denise home early. But her parents had driven up from Georgia, and he knew she wanted to spend extra time with them.
The pack came through the front door all at once, Dean Forester at the center, and he suddenly remembered what weekend it was. He'd been doing his best to avoid staring at the town square as it became a tulle-frosted monstrosity. And hell, apparently he was the next stage on their bachelor party tour of Stars Hollow.
They stumbled to the counter, completely soused on cheap beer, and Luke in good consciousness couldn't send them back out despite Kyle now being a Navy man and the only sober person in the room besides himself. He edged toward the kitchen to start making pancakes while the boys debated the merits of prostitutes vs. strippers when Dean began muttering under his breath. He happened to be the closest to Luke, and when he realized what the word he kept repeating was, his chest tightened.
Oh, Rory, he thought helplessly as Dean mumbled under his breath about the virtues of a woman who definitely wasn't the person he was about to walk down the aisle with.
He wasn't sure how he managed to talk the group into breaking up the party, but he maintained custody of Dean in the process. He wrestled Dean up the stairs and into Jess' old bed as Dean rambled on about Rory. He couldn't stand the kid, especially over how he treated Rory, but something hurt in the way that Dean lamented over his lost love.
"Making such a stupid mistake," Luke muttered to the passed-out Dean and went downstairs.
He walked into the dining area just as Lorelai came through the door. She slumped on her favorite stool, burying her head in her hands as he grabbed the remaining coffee and poured it out for her.
"I need you to give me some sort of quirky anecdote to put my night in perspective and get me out of my funk," Lorelai sighed and accepted the mug. She frowned at him. "What's wrong?"
"Dean's upstairs."
Lorelai straightened. "Dean? Why's he upstairs?"
He drummed his fingers on the countertop, then finally heaved a sigh. "Look, he came in here about an hour ago. Part of his bachelor party tour or something. Had a couple of guy friends, all drunk off their asses. He fell asleep at the counter … and started talking about Rory."
Lorelai just blinked at him, but he knew she heard every word. "Oh," she finally managed, and it summed up his own feelings.
"He wouldn't stop. I got the other guys out of here and Dean upstairs. He can sleep it off in the bed up there. But … Aw man, Lorelai, he said she was the one." He rocked back on his heels as Lorelai gaped at him.
"Like … the One the One?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
"Oh my God." Lorelai pushed her coffee aside. "He's getting married. Tomorrow!"
"Yeah."
"And he's still pining for Rory."
"He asked me why she didn't love him."
"What are we going to do?"
It wasn't lost on him how she phrased it, and despite the situation, something warm curled in his stomach. They were a unit, determined to shield Rory from the ugliness of the world. "Rory can't go to that wedding."
She pushed off the stool, heading for the stairs to the apartment. "There can't be a wedding at all!"
He barely managed to intercept her before she started the climb, pulling her back into the dining area and away from Dean. "Lorelai …"
"How could we possibly let that wedding go on knowing this? That he's getting married and still in love with my daughter?"
"Because it's none of our business!"
"But-"
Luke gestured toward the dolled-up town square. "Look, if you go running over there to stop that wedding, all you're gonna do is put Rory in a rough spot. Folks in this town, they're not gonna care that Dean's making the stupidest decision possible. All they're gonna see if you inserting yourself into it, and the backlash is going to come back on Rory." His voice gentled. "It's not our business, Lorelai. The best we can do is keep Rory away from that wedding. Give it some time. They're young, and he's going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning."
She hugged herself, staring at the floor. "I never thought he could be so selfish."
No, he thought. Dean was always that selfish. Lorelai just was finally seeing it. Luke rubbed her arms and kissed her forehead. "I'm gonna stay here tonight. I can't really leave him alone."
"No, of course you can't leave him," she agreed.
"Look … most of the town's gonna be at that wedding. Why don't I close for the day and we can take Rory to do something she wants to do. Anything she wants."
"She'd like that. You softie." It finally drew a smile from her.
"Wait here while I call Denise and Lane, then I can walk you home."
Lorelai shook her head. "No, I need some time to think." But she waited as he made the calls, then walked her back to the door so he could lock it back after her. She looked up thoughtfully at him as he held it open, eyes unreadable as she carefully searched his face. He offered her a small smile and moved in to kiss her good night, knowing he wasn't going to sleep well at all.
"Do you want to move in with me?"
Luke immediately straightened, shocked. "Sorry?"
"I mean officially." Lorelai fiddled with the strap of her purse, not quite meeting his eyes. "Change of address forms, combining furniture, redecorating, sharing a closet and a dresser, that sort of thing? I know we've only been dating a few months. Three to be exact, not like I was counting or had it marked on a calendar. Technically almost four if you count from the day you flew to Paris and not just when we were in Rome." She stopped to breathe, and this time her eyes did meet his. "But you're there all the time anyhow, and I know we're moving really fast, but if you think about it, we've known each other for seven years prior to this and that really helped put the kibosh on the whole awkward getting-to-know you stage and-"
Luke just stared, any ability to speak well and truly lost. "What?" he managed after a moment.
She closed her eyes and sighed. "Oh. Sorry, opened my mouth, shoved my foot down into my stomach. Forget it, I'll just-" She pulled away from him, walking down the stairs to the sidewalk and he finally remembered how to move.
"No. Aw, geez, wait." He quickly caught up to her, drawing her around to face him. "Look, you and me … we know where this is going."
Lorelai huffed. "I don't know. Where is this going?"
She wasn't that dim. Luke searched for the words, wished they came as easily for him as it did for her. He held her hands, his thumb rubbing the bare third finger on her left one. They were small, smooth, and pale. His nails were stubble-short and the calluses were rough against her skin. "One day I'm gonna ask you the question. The really big question. The one I don't dare breathe out loud because the walls have ears and it'll be all over town before tomorrow morning." He squeezed them and looked at her, really looked at her. The shock in her eyes mirrored his own. "But I'm going to ask you one day. I really hope you'll say yes."
Lorelai's smile was tremulous, and he knew what she would say if he asked her to marry him that very second.
He very nearly did.
She deserved better.
"I've been on my own for a long time," Luke continued. "You and Rory … you're my family. I haven't had a family in years."
"Yes, you have. You've had a family for seven years." She tilted her head. "Are you scared?"
Yes. Scared shitless, thank you for noticing.
"Tell me something. When you go upstairs in a few minutes, will you be able to sleep tonight? Because you and I have a horrible track record in that area at the moment."
"No," he admitted.
"Neither will I. And it's not because of sex. It's just you're not home. You're already 90% there. I want the other 10%. When you're ready."
He once told Lorelai how Rachel moving the milk in his refrigerator had bothered him. It had been the culmination of a series of events as Rachel encroached on his life, trying to find a place in it once more when he had already moved on.
Luke could never find the milk in Lorelai's refrigerator. Every time he opened the door, it was in a new location. It even got into the freezer at one point, along with the fennel he had bought at Trader Joe's in August. How that got in there, he really didn't want to know.
Lorelai's own brand of madness had even spread to his apartment. He couldn't honestly say what shelf his milk was on at the moment, or even if he had milk at all. And he really didn't mind.
"OK. Let's do this," Luke told her, and felt something deep in him crumble away.
Rory knew what was up the moment she opened the door to see her mother and Luke on the doorstep, her mother animatedly talking a mile a minute while she hunted down Rory's coat. She knew full and well what day it was. There was a reason she hadn't gone back to Stars Hollow that weekend, and she even had a very rigid schedule outlined for herself. But she let her mother bundle her up, and they all trooped back to the truck where they informed her the day was hers to with do as she liked.
It's Dean and Lindsay's business if they want to marry so they can have stupid sex, Rory wanted to scream. But she was a Gilmore, and she knew how to don the social mask needed to get through the day.
But then they turned the reins over to Rory, and with the world at her fingertips, she chose New York City. Dean could get married if he wanted. Rory was going to the Strand.
They drove until they were just north of the city, then switched to the Metro North trains, which they took to Grand Central Terminal. From there, it was a subway ride and a short walk until Rory stood among five stories of books and felt every joint in her body loosen.
"Just come back for me in three weeks," she informed her mother. "We lost Luke."
"He found his Trekkie roots," she whispered, pointing outside. "There's a geek store two doors down."
Rory laughed, happy when it was genuine. "And what is my mommy going to do while I destroy her credit card?"
"Go to that Pret a Manger across the street and relive the good times. You know, from when Mommy's purse got stolen in Paris."
"Is this before or after you heckle Luke about his life choices?"
"Who says I ever stopped?" Lorelai pressed a kiss to the top of Rory's head. She rubbed Rory's arm, looking like she was about to say something, then pushed gently at her. "Go and shop, offspring. Try to leave something in your college fund."
Rory hummed under her breath and turned to a nearby display featuring feminist authors. She snagged the first book in sight, flipped through it, then hunted down a basket.
Lorelai ran across the street and got her coffee, then double-backed to the Forbidden Planet. Her nose wrinkled just a bit as she stepped inside and stared at all the merchandise. Comics and sci-fi were beyond her scope, though there were some cute coffee mugs along one of the walls. She didn't have to look far to find Luke, gazing at a statue of Jean-Luc Picard intensely before shaking his head and stepping back, nearly stomping on her feet.
"Hey, cute toesies here!" She danced out of the way, nearly taking out a display behind her before inching back to his side. She tapped the glass. "Star Trek, right?"
"Next Generation. You get a cookie."
"What about that one?" Lorelai pointed to the statute of a man in a fedora with a long, multicolored scarf. She dug the scarf.
"Doctor Who," Luke told her. "They just announced they're doing a revival of it. Filming it next year, and it'll air in 2005."
Lorelai's brow furrowed. "I totally understood everything you just told me."
He chuckled. "No, you don't."
"Did you want it?" She tapped the glass above the fedora figure.
Luke frowned. "What would I do with it?"
"Put it on the table next to the Monkey Lamp?" She nudged his side. "Go on, buy something frivolous that isn't a fishing pole. Embrace your inner nerd. I think those Star Trek shirts over there come in your size."
"I just bought a computer last month," Luke complained.
"Business expense. Come on. It can be something small."
They emerged from the store with a shopping bag and, on Lorelai's part, a need for more coffee.
She peeked into the bag as they walked down the sidewalk. "And that is?"
"A Starfury from Babylon 5," Luke explained.
She wrinkled her nose. "Never heard of it."
"Which is why I got these." He pulled a DVD boxset out of the bag.
"Wow, adding to our collection. You're already getting into the spirit of this moving in thing!"
As they walked past an open door, they saw a blonde woman at a bar cheerfully chatting with customers. Luke glanced toward the bar, then did a double take, drawing to a complete halt as people pushed past him on the sidewalk. Lorelai was several feet ahead before realizing she lost him again, and she quickly doubled back, taking a look at the sign.
"Burp Castle. You want a drink? We've got at least another six hours, and that's before Rory's done with the first floor."
"No." He walked into the bar.
The blonde woman stopped chatting with her customer as they walked in. "Hey, what can I …" Her blue eyes, which looked familiar to Lorelai, went wide. "Ohmigod! Hey, brother!"
Brother? Lorelai's jaw dropped as Luke gaped at her. "You're working in a bar?"
The woman rushed around the bar as Lorelai frantically tried to remember Luke's sister's name. Liz? Maybe it was Liz. She hoped it was Liz, otherwise she was going to have a very awkward moment.
The woman threw herself at Luke, which made Lorelai grin. "What brings you to New York? Looking good here! Who'd you bring with you?"
"Why are you working in a bar?"
The woman rolled her eyes. "Because it gives me a paycheck."
Luke gestured at the array of drinks behind the counter. "You're a recovering alcoholic! It'd be like allowing Lorelai to work at Starbucks."
"I resemble that remark!" Lorelai retorted.
The woman turned to her, all smiles, and gave her an embrace that made Lorelai think that awkward, yet loving hugs ran in the Danes family. "Lorelai? You're Lorelai? Rory's mom! I'm Liz, Jess' mom. Oh, and related to that guy." She jerked a thumb at Luke, who was lost in his rant.
"How could you possibly work around all this alcohol and not be tempted? Isn't that against the whole AA thing?"
"Never misses up the chance for a good rant. We can just leave him be," Liz said, hooking an arm through Lorelai's. "Wanna drink?"
"Coffee?"
"Oh yeah. I always keep a pot on. Get my beans from a nearby shop and grind them myself. It's almost as good as Luke's coffee. I never quite got how a guy who hates coffee so much can make it so well, but our dad loved it," Liz explained, leading Lorelai to the bar. She quickly grabbed the pot and two mugs. "Isn't this place cool? I started doing the whole SCA thing a few years back and really got into it, then found the job here. I want to go on the Renn Faire circuit next summer with my boyfriend. His name's TJ, and he's the night bartender. The owner lets me sell jewelry on the side." She nudged an earring tree near the register toward Lorelai.
"This is really nice!" And they really were. The stones weren't ostentatious, and the designs were complex, yet had a simplicity about them that made them suitable for most situations. Lorelai found herself fingering a pair of earrings with a bit of longing, but had already resigned herself to signing her entire shopping budget over to Rory for the day. Maybe she could cut a deal with Liz and sell them at the Dragonfly once it opened.
"Yeah, I've got a knack for it. So, tell me how are things in Stars Hollow?" Liz asked, reaching for a rag to wipe down the counter. The movement reminded her so much of Luke that Lorelai laughed softly into her coffee. Liz was right. It was almost, but not quite good as Luke's.
Before she could regal Liz with tales from Stars Hollow, Luke whipped around, finally noticing that his audience had abandoned him. "Have you even heard from Jess?"
Liz gave a shrug. "A few times. He stayed for awhile with his dad before deciding to move on, and he's doing OK. He asked me not to tell you. I'm sorry. I'm trying to rebuild some sort of relationship with him."
He marched up to the bar. "Did he tell you he didn't even bother saying good-bye to Rory before he left?"
"It's none of my business."
"Unbelievable." Luke groaned, turning away. Lorelai decided it was not the time to remind him that he literally said the same thing to her about Dean and Rory the night before.
"How's Rory doing?" Liz asked Lorelai. "She sounds like such a nice girl. Really, the both of them, that's all they ever talk about is you and Rory whenever I get them on the phone. It's been two years since I saw this guy."
"Three," Luke bit out.
"She's over at the Strand," Lorelai told Liz. "As long as we ship her regular food and coffee, she's good for at least a week."
Liz sighed happily. "I love that place. Hey, Luke, did you check out the Forbidden Planet nearby? Oh, and he's off," she said as Luke stalked across the bar to inspect the exposed pipes.
Lorelai slid off her stool, regretfully leaving her coffee behind as he went over the pipes, then started in on the heating vents. He fished some sort of multi-tool out of his pocket and pulled out the screwdriver. "What are you doing?" she asked, sotto voce.
"Fixing this." Luke started testing the screws on the vent, then squinted to see if there was any dust inside.
"Babe." Lorelai laid her hand on his arm, but he shrugged it off.
"This can't be up to code. Is this place up to code?" Luke yelled over his shoulder.
"Come on now, hand me your screwdriver." Lorelai bit back the "dirty" that leaped to her tongue, but he tucked the tool away once he was satisfied the vent was on securely. She all but wrestled him back to the bar, knowing he was about five seconds away from either exploding or sulking.
"Hey, why don't we have dinner?" Liz suggested. "You can meet my fella. He's got the day off, and there's this great little Victorian-themed place on the other side of the park."
"We've got to be getting Rory back to Yale," Luke said too quickly.
Liz's face fell just a bit, but she kept smiling. "What about a late lunch?"
"It's gonna take time to get her out of the bookstore. Sorry," he bit out.
Lorelai didn't think about the words before she said them and knew immediately it was going to lead to a fight with Luke. And, quite frankly, she didn't care. "Why don't you bring TJ up to Stars Hollow for Thanksgiving?"
Liz's face brightened. "Really?"
"Yeah! Rory and I do this circuit of the town, and we can all eat together at the diner." Ignoring that Luke went suddenly still at her shoulder, Lorelai dug in her purse for a notepad and pen. She scribbled down her address and phone number, handing the paper over to Liz. "Call me next month, and we can find you a place to crash while you're there if you don't want to go back the same day."
"Thanks!" Liz beamed at Lorelai, then turned shining eyes to her brother. "I like her," she informed him, ignoring his stormy expression. She gave Lorelai a thoughtful look, then snagged a pair of earrings from the tree next to the register. It was the same pair that Lorelai had been playing with a few minutes earlier. "Here, take these."
"I can't …"
"Yes, you can," Liz insisted, giving her a shrug that looked very much like her brother's when he was attempting to shrug off good deeds of his own. She leaned in so only Lorelai could hear. "He hates this city so much. If he came here with you, that means he's gotta love you."
Probably not so much at the moment, Lorelai surmised as they said their good-byes to Liz and left the bar. And, quite frankly, she wasn't too thrilled with him either. Anger bubbled up inside her as she marched ahead of Luke, not quite caring if he followed or not. She stormed to the end of the block and across the street to Union Square Park, where people streamed out of the subway stop. She made her way past them, seeing the coffee cart nearby. But her feet wasn't carrying her toward the life-giving caffeine, and that's when she knew she was too furious for coffee.
Lorelai rounded about, nearly stumbling over Luke, who had been right at her heels. "What the hell were you doing in there?" he demanded.
"Acting like a human being to your sister, which is better than what you were doing. What the hell is wrong with you, Luke?"
"There's nothing wrong with me!" he yelled.
She placed a hand on her hip. "No? That's your sister, and she was so happy to see you! And you're acting like the Grinch before everyone in Whoville begins singing."
"You shoulda asked me before inviting Liz up for Thanksgiving!"
Lorelai threw her hands in the air. "Just because we're in a relationship doesn't mean I'm no longer capable of independent thought!"
He jabbed his finger in her face in a move both of them knew pissed her off to no end. "That sure's the truth! You were only thinking about how you feel, not about me or how I would feel!"
"I was thinking about how Liz was standing there looking like a kicked puppy because she was trying to include you in her life, and you were acting terrible to her! I have every right to invite her into my home."
"Just 18 hours ago, you were wanting to make it our home. What is it, Lorelai? Yours or ours? You can't have it both ways!"
"That has nothing to do with this!" Lorelai shot at him.
Luke ignored her. "What if I invited your parents for dinner without asking you? Huh?"
She'd be furious. Betrayed. And the first pinches of guilt tugged at Lorelai, and she tried to cling to her anger. "It doesn't explain the way you were treating your sister!"
"Just stay out of it, Lorelai. It's none of your business." Luke pushed past her, and fury reared its ugly head.
"Oh no, pal," she called after him. "You don't get to play that card with me. If you take on my parents and my kid, I take on your sister. You want my home to be our home? That means your family and my family become our family. That's the whole package. If you don't want it, then we're not ready to move in together or do any of this."
Lorelai spun on her heel, storming away before Luke could turn around and see the tears in her eyes.
She wasn't surprised when he didn't follow.
—
Rory gaped at Lorelai from across the display of books as Lorelai relayed everything that happened at the bar and the fight after.
"Wow."
"Yeah." Lorelai found herself staring down at a stack of assorted books and absently wondered if it was Rory's keep or reject pile. Guilt tugged at her anew. She was used to venting about relationship issues with Rory, this time it was Luke. Startled, she realized it was their first fight since they were in Rome, and that fight wasn't anything compared to this one. Honeymoon's over, she thought a bit sadly. "Hey, if this is too weird for you …"
Rory quickly shook her head. "No, no, it's not." She reconsidered, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. "Well, maybe just a little."
"Sorry, kid. We were trying to get you to avoid drama with one ex and dragged you into our drama."
Rory shrugged. "Yeah, but you two are dating. You wouldn't be all lovey dovey forever. This would have happened at some point."
Lorelai drummed the book pile in front of her. "So, what's the damage? Is this what you're getting?"
"No, that's the reject pile."
"And how much longer do you expect to be?"
"Ten … minutes? Maybe 30. Two hours at the most!" Rory flipped open one book and stared at it, not quite reading the pages. "Do you want to go now?"
"No. I think I just want coffee."
"What do you want me to tell Luke if he comes in here?"
"Whatever you want," Lorelai said tiredly, then headed back out of the bookstore.
—
The bar was still empty when Luke walked back in, Liz hunched over something on the counter. He hesitated by the door, words clogging his throat as he took her in. His sister, looking far older than her years because of the drugs and alcohol she had turned to in her teens and 20s. For the first time, he let himself see Liz as Lorelai had - not someone who had taken all her problems and thrown them at his feet for him to solve, but as a sibling who missed him.
There was no way that Lorelai could understand the grief and worry Liz had given him over the years. And how each time he allowed himself to believe that they could have a normal sibling relationship, she would do something to throw their lives into an uproar. Lorelai didn't know that Liz hadn't even made their father's funeral. She had gotten high and accidentally slept through it, ignoring the frantic phone calls he made until the moment it was too late.
Liz looked up from the counter. "You're back!"
He shrugged, approaching the bar. "Yeah, I just …" He saw what Liz was looking at, and his throat closed again.
The black and white photo, battered nearly beyond recognition, was the last family photo they'd ever taken together. He'd been what … 10? 11? He spent years looking for it, not realizing that Liz had taken it. He leaned over the bar to study their young faces. "I was wondering where it was," he murmured.
"Want it back?"
"No. No, keep it. I was just curious."
They studied the photo together. "I'm sorry," Liz said quietly.
"No, I behaved like an ass earlier," Luke admitted.
"Luke." She said his name quietly and with such emotion, he found himself staring into the eyes that mirrored his own. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "About everything."
His gut churned. "You don't have to-"
"That's what they tell you in AA. Been so many times, but didn't actually get it until recently. You know, make a list of all the people we hurt, make amends. It's what I've been doing with Jess." Liz fished under the counter for her purse, then pulled a small notebook out of it. She flipped it open and showed it to him. There was a lengthy list of people, but written on the very top line together was his name and Jess. "Took a few years for it to sink in finally, y'know? TJ, he has a really nice family. It made me miss ours. I was trying to figure out a way to reach out, not make it seem like I was wanting a handout. I'm not sure where to start."
He stared at his hands, resting near the photo. "You can start by coming up next month," he said gruffly, addressing the picture of his family as it had once been.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You can stay in the apartment if you want. The one I built above the diner. Lorelai and I are planning to move in together." Provided she still wanted to live together, and he hadn't totally screwed everything up. Even if he had, there was still the extra bed that had belonged to Jess and the sofa. He'd make it work.
"I like her," Liz said with a bright smile.
Luke found himself smiling back. "I like her too."
"More than like, huh?" Liz teased.
"Geez," he muttered, trying hard not to blush and failing.
"Jess hurt her daughter, didn't he?" Liz asked quietly.
"He did. But it's not your fault, Liz."
Liz nodded and put the photo back in her purse. "Hey, wanna drink?"
Luke needed to find Lorelai and make amends with her. But he found himself sliding onto the stool. "Sure."
Liz beamed and pulled down a clean mug. "So, I got this postcard from you over the summer from Europe. How'd you wind up over there?"
—
An hour later, Luke found Rory in the back of the first floor of the Strand, tucked among the fiction books. She had commandeered part of a sales display, where she had books sorted into two stacks.
"How's it going?" he asked as he took in the towering stacks. He tried to remember how much bookshelf space Rory had. Not nearly enough, he surmised, and added drafting another bookcase for her to his to-do list.
"Well, this is the almost but not quite stack." Rory tapped the stack on her left. "And this is the maybe definitely unless I find something better stack." The stack on her right was slightly taller than the "almost" stack.
She gave a frustrated huff and placed her hands on her hips. She shook her head. "I'm stalling." She divided the "maybe definitely" stack in half and tucked the books in her arms.
"No, get the whole thing," Luke told her.
"I can't. It's too much money."
"Just get them."
Rory frowned. "You're not going to pay for these."
Luke simply relieved her of the stack of books in her arms.
"You feel sorry for me, and you feel guilty about fighting with Mom," Rory accused as he plopped the books back on top of the leftovers in the maybe definitely stack and lifted the entire thing.
"I'm taking advantage of this, you know, Daddy Warbucks." Rory grabbed the almost stack and followed him to the line for the register.
"Where is your mom?" Luke asked her they joined the end of the queue.
"Probably sulking into a coffee cup." Rory gave him a pointed look that clearly said "it's your fault, so make it better." She wasn't wrong. "Try that Pret A Manager across the street or the park," she finally said. "You OK?"
"I should be asking you that."
"I'm fine," Rory said, and both of them almost believed it. "But next time you let me be in charge of a day trip, we're going to Boston and hurling ourselves into the harbor like we're trying to be crates of tea. Mom's always wanted to do that."
That brought a brief chuckle, and they inched forward in line. Luke pulled out his credit card after they reached the register and put the books on the counter. He handed it to Rory, then left the store to try to make amends with Lorelai.
—
Lorelai sipped from the cup of cold fresh-pressed apple cider she had bought from a vendor at the small farmer's market that ringed the outside of Union Square Park. Sookie and Jackson, she thought, would love this. A small farmer's market had existed in Stars Hollow long enough to drive Taylor insane, but it wasn't a bad idea to have one on a permanent basis. She drank more from her cup and wished the cider was alcoholic. A headache pressed behind her temples, and she really didn't want to resume her fight with Luke or deal with a sad Rory.
She found Luke standing outside of one of the stalls that sold flowers, staring at them with grim determination, a coffee cup in his hand. Her heart slowly rolled over in her chest. There he was, her guy, with coffee he loathed in one hand and contemplating flowers. She highly doubt he had ever bought a woman flowers.
She decided to save him the humiliation.
She pressed her cheek against his arm. "That for me?" she asked, motioning to the coffee cup.
He relaxed. "Yeah."
"Switch." She handed him the cider and took the coffee. "Makeup coffee?"
"You could say that."
"You were thinking flowers, weren't you? You softie." Lorelai motioned to the cup he held. "It's cider. From real apples. You're safe to drink it. I even watch them strain it."
Luke chuckled and took a sip. "I like cider."
"Huh. Want to buy some to take home?"
"Sure."
They wound up with a bag filled with vegetables, some hard cheeses, and a gallon of the cider. They slowly made their way back toward the bookstore.
"You're right," Luke admitted as they passed the statue of the Marquis de Lafayette, taking the long route around the park. "About all of it. About it being our family, not yours and mine. I'm sorry."
"No, I should've stayed out if it." Lorelai leaned into him. "I'm sorry, too."
"I'm glad you didn't," Luke said. He pitched the empty cider cup into a nearby garbage can. "I went back and talked to Liz."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. Sure it won't be a problem with Rory if she comes up?"
"You're right about it. It's not Liz's fault that Jess did what he did." Lorelai gave him a wry smile. "Like it's not your fault either. Learned that lesson the hard way."
Because he didn't want to think back to that horrible fight, because he needed it more than he needed his next breath, Luke leaned in and kissed her. The bag thumped to their feet as he drew her into him, not caring they were in the middle of goddamn New York. He just needed to feel her in his arms, to know that everything was going to be OK between them.
"Wow," Lorelai breathed as they broke apart at the sound of catcalls from a group of men playing chess nearby. She gave Luke her most flirty smile, and he nearly sank to his knees in relief. "You should keep apologizing like that. Tonight, in the bedroom."
"Count on it," he vowed and picked up the grocery bag.
—
What a day.
They got back to the Crap Shack not long after midnight, and Luke congratulated himself on his foresight to have Cesar and Lane open the diner the next morning. Rummaging through Lorelai's dryer revealed a clean T-shirt and pair of boxer briefs, and that was good enough to fall face first into bed with. Their plans for makeup sex had to be shelved, as Lorelai fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. He didn't mind. He was exhausted himself, and there was something to be said for morning makeup sex.
He let his mind drift, going back over the bizarre 24 hours. Had it been just a day since Dean had stumbled drunk into the diner? It felt like a year. The lack of decent sleep the previous night hadn't helped. Bits of conversation swirled through his mind. That bar in New York? Still a death trap. He didn't care that it had excellent reviews and that it had passed every safety inspection with flying colors. Where was Liz living? It couldn't be any worse than that hellhole in the Bronx she had back in the early 90s.
Suddenly, one snippet of conversation from the bar leaped into the front of his brain, and he shot up in bed, taking the covers with him. "Sonofa …" Cutting himself off, he threw them back and grabbed his jeans. He shoved his feet into tennis shoes without bothering with socks.
"Wha?" Lorelai muttered sleepily as he ran from the room. "Luke? What the hell?"
He heard her scrambling out of bed, but didn't stop to wait. He was already out the door and powering down the sidewalk. The old storage unit his father rented from Mrs. Thompson for nearly as long as he'd been alive was just a couple blocks away, and he knew she could sleep through anything. Which turned out to be the issue as he strode up the drive and saw that the lock had been cut from the door. He shoved it open, but he already knew what he was going to find.
Or not find.
Luke heard the crunch of lighter footsteps on gravel and Lorelai's panting. "You have a storage building?"
"My dad rented this space," he sighed.
Lorelai reached his side and pointed at the hulking shape on one side. "You have a boat!"
"It was my dad's. Never finished it though."
She nodded to the other side, where an empty space was. "What was here?"
"There? That was where Jess' car was."
"You're the one who stole his car?" Lorelai gasped.
"You think someone actually wanted to steal that piece of junk?"
She rested her hands on her hips, winging an eyebrow at him. "Clearly since it's now missing."
"There's only one person on this planet who'd want it." Luke heaved the door shut and sighed. He'd have to get a new lock in the morning. "Let's just go home."
He was grateful that Lorelai didn't bother to have him clarify who he was referring to. She fell into step with him as they made their way down the dark streets toward the Crap Shack. "Do you think Jess will make it very far?"
"If he doesn't, it's not my problem."
Author's note: I took a little liberty with the New York setting. The descriptions of where various stores are located is actually taken from my current travels into the city, not 2004. But it's not much different. Forbidden Planet used to be across the street where the Pret a Manger now is but is now two stores down from the Strand. Everything else is pretty accurate to the time, except I couldn't find out what year Burp Castle (yes, it's real) opened. It was at least open in 2005, so it wouldn't be that far off.
Disclaimer: Any recognizable dialogue in this chapter has been borrowed from various season 4 and 5 scripts.