Making Things Right

Sam made no delay in starting the truck, which still had the keys in the ignition, you got to love small towns, he was pulling up to Lorelai's house in no time flat and sprinted up to the door before knocking, loudly, in hopes that he hadn't missed her.

A moment later the door swung open to reveal a red-eyed Lorelai, who had been clearly crying. She was still dressed in the clothes she'd worn to her parents' home. "Go away Luke, I really don't want to talk to you right now."

"Tough, I want to talk to you." Sam replied, putting his hands on his hips.

"Why?" She demanded, "Why after all this time do you want to talk now? Can't you just leave me alone?"

"No, I can't." Sam shook his head, "Lorelai, we need to talk about this. This is too big to just ignore, especially with the girls involved."

"Involved?" Lorelai scoffed, "They're the exact opposite of involved! Rory is away at college and you never let me in with April, I would definitely say that the girls are very much not involved. Which, if you recall, was part of the problem."

"I remember." Sam nodded, "Can I please come in, I really don't want us to leave things the way we did at the diner."

Lorelai didn't speak, simply opened the door wider and walked toward the couch. Sam quickly followed, closing the door behind him and sitting on the end of the couch opposite from where Lorelai was now perched. They sat for a few moments before Sam finally spoke, "Lorelai, I am sorry about our argument earlier, I was a little blindsided. I've had a little time to process since then and while I think your idea of eloping is incredibly romantic, I don't think that it's the right choice." Lorelai deflated even more, curling up on herself. "That's not to say a wedding won't eventually happen, but I think there are some larger issues that need to be settled before such a big step is taken."

Lorelai sat quietly, mulling over what Luke had to say. She still loved him, she knew that much, but would it be enough to make their relationship work? She really didn't want to break up, but she was so tired of being an afterthought, of being pushed away and disincluded in his life. There was a time when they met everything together, they had been Luke and Lorelai - best friends and partners long before they were Luke and Lorelai – engaged lovers. She missed that, she missed him, they hadn't made love in a couple months, he rarely stayed over anymore; they were so disconnected now. It wasn't just Bedroom Luke or Sexy-Metrosexual-Date-Night Luke that she missed, although she loved those versions of him. It was Everyday Luke, Best-Friend Luke, Listen-Without-Complaint Luke, Gruff-on-the-Outside-Soft-and-Sweet-on-the-Inside Luke, that was the Luke she had fallen in love with all those years ago, even if she couldn't or wouldn't admit it. That was the man she still loved.

"What do you suggest we do?" She asked finally.

"Well, first I think I owe you an apology." Sam replied, "I am so sorry for the way you've been treated these last few months. That wasn't fair to you, and it wasn't fair to April, who will also be getting an apology by the way. I hope you can forgive the events of the last 6 months."

"It won't be easy, but I think I can do that." Lorelai nodded, "However, you need to stop segregating your life so much. I can't be kept in one area of your life while April is in another, it's all or nothing. Like you said on our first date, 'I'm all in,' I'm going to hold you to that. All in means you are in all areas of my life and I am in all areas of yours."

"I understand." Sam nodded.

"Truth be told, as much as I love Bedroom Luke, Date-Night Luke, and Diner Luke, I think the Luke I love the most is Daddy Luke." Lorelai admitted, "I always knew you would be a good father. I watched you for years with Rory, you were always more of a father to her than Christopher ever was. It's why I didn't freak out as much as I probably should have when I had the dream about being pregnant with your twins while we were still friends. I see it in your interactions with April, does she have any idea how lucky she is to have Luke Danes as a dad?"

"I don't know," Sam shrugged before allowing her to continue.

"Seeing the way you treat our girls makes me fall in love with you even more," Lorelai spoke quietly, "But at the same time, it's been breaking my heart knowing that I wasn't included in that area of your life, at least not where April was involved. Sure you ask for help when you feel overwhelmed, like with April's party, but you haven't involved me in the little day-to-day things, and that hurts – a lot. I want to be involved in the little things; school shopping, dinners together at home, or Sniffy's, or wherever, hanging out together, basically being a family. I have no intention of taking over for Anna, I just want to be your wife; I want our family to be together the way it's supposed to be."

Lorelai started to cry, seeing her like this broke Sam's heart. "Hey, come here." He scooted closer to Lorelai and pulled her into his arms so she could cry on his chest. He wished there was a way that Luke could witness all of this, hear how much he was hurting her. What he didn't realize was that while they were talking, Al and reentered the imaging chamber, and he wasn't alone. When Lorelai's sobs began to slow, he tucked his finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to meet his. "It's going to be alright." He whispered before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Are you going to fix everything?" She asked.

"No," Sam shook his head, "I can't do everything; this has to be a team effort."

"The girls too?"

"The girls too." Sam confirmed. He heard Al clear his throat from where he stood just over Lorelai's shoulder. "Hey, I'm going to get some water, do you want anything to drink?" He asked.

"No, I'm fine." She shook her head, "But I could really use something to eat, I really didn't eat much at dinner, do you mind cooking something while you're in there?"

Sam couldn't help but chuckle at the childish hope on her face. "Sure, I'll see what I can whip up. Why don't you relax a bit, I'll call you when dinner is ready."

"Okay," Lorelai nodded, pulling out of his arms and rising from the couch when he did, "I think I'll go upstairs and take a shower, get out of these clothes and into something more comfortable."

"Dirty," Sam joked, having picked up on Lorelai's ability to change innocent intent into innuendo. He heard Al let out a chuckle that was quickly covered by a cough, but chose to ignore it. "Why don't you go do that, I'll let you know when I'm done down here."

"Okay," Lorelai nodded. She pressed a quick kiss to his stubbled cheek and made her way up the stairs to where her master suite was located. "Love you."

"I know." Sam smiled not realizing that the grin that she rewarded him with was because she thought he'd deliberately referenced Han Solo. Despite his insistence to the contrary, it was well known that Luke had an affection for space sagas from Star Trek to Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica. He had even been known to watch Firefly when it was on, Lorelai only knew this because she had accidentally picked up Serenity for their weekly movie night and found out that he was familiar enough with the characters to have favorites. It was no surprise that Luke had an affection to Sheppard Book, the mysterious moral compass of the crew. He also had a soft spot for the lovably goofy Wash and innocently strong Kaylee, which Lorelai believed spoke to his – oft denied- friendship with Kirk, and his affection for Rory, although she knew he'd deny it to his dying day; or at least the part about Kirk being his friend.

She stood on the first landing for a moment, watching Luke walk toward the kitchen. She was glad that her temporary bout of insanity had led them to be open about discussing their issues and resolving them. She was equally glad he had come when he had, because she was just on her way upstairs to change and go visit Chris. Normally, she would have gone to Sookie, but the kids and Jackson were all sick, leaving her sweet friend to play nursemaid to the bunch. Rory was having a much needed girls' night with Paris and Lane, and she didn't want to intrude, at least not with something like what had happened between her and Luke just a couple hours before.

Lorelai took a deep breath, feeling a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, but there was something still bothering her. Everything seemed to be heading back to being on the right track, but there was something off about Luke. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, though. He looked like Luke, he sounded like Luke, but she and Luke had been a couple for two years, and best friends for nearly ten. She knew the way he spoke, the way he moved, every little mannerism the man had; it was something in the way he said her name, normally there was a hint of reverence in his voice that was suspiciously absent, something in the way he moved, he didn't walk like Luke. Sure his stride was smooth and sure, but not quite Luke, same with the kiss he'd laid on her forehead earlier, it felt like his lips, but still not.

I've been under a lot of stress lately, Lorelai thought to herself as she turned and continued up the stairs toward her bedroom, Maybe I'm just imagining it because we've been apart for a while. Resolving to be Scarlett O'Hara for the rest of the night, she set about finding a t-shirt and a pair of yoga pants before stepping into the shower and letting her stress and apprehension slide down the drain with the soapy water.