One More Task

It was early afternoon when Al made his presence known, calling to Caesar and Lane that he would be upstairs; Sam headed back to the apartment, followed by his holographic counterpart. "So, why am I still here?" He asked before Al could get a word in. "You said that Ziggy thought that if I kept Lorelai from running away and sleeping with Christopher, my job here would be done."

"I know what I said." Al responded defensively, "And believe me when I say that Luke is just as eager to get back as you are to take your next leap."

"You got that right," Sam sighed, flopping down on the leather couch before taking off his hat and running his fingers through his hair, "I think Lorelai knows."

"Lorelai knows what?" Al asked, more as a lead-in than genuine curiosity.

"I think she knows I'm not Luke." Sam looked up at his friend, "No, I know she knows I'm not Luke. After you left last night, we had dinner and we discussed me filing for custody of April. All of a sudden she asked who I was and what I'd done with Luke."

"You didn't tell her, did you?" Al questioned.

"No, I didn't tell her, but I wanted to." Sam huffed, "Instead I started rambling off all the random facts you had told me earlier that evening. I've never been so glad to have an eidetic memory in my life."

"I'm sure." Al agreed

"She backed off after that, but she made a few comments today that indicated that she hasn't fully dropped the topic, but has instead decided to just go with it." Sam shook his head perplexed at her reaction, "She seems remarkably okay with this."

"From what Luke has told me about her, she is very much an adaptive and roll with the punches kind of gal." Al supplied while absent-mindedly punching a couple buttons on his comlink, "Anyway, Ziggy has another theory as to why you haven't leapt yet."

"Alright, let's hear it." Sam returned his focus to the task at hand.

"There are still a few more things you have to do, assuming those tasks are completed, you should be able to move on to your next leap." Al informed him, "First of all, you need to actively involve Lorelai in April related things including the custody process. Secondly, you need to lay down the law with this Anna person in regards to April's relationship with Luke and Lorelai. That's on top of getting the lawyer."

"I have an appointment in Hartford later this afternoon to meet the lawyer." Sam supplied, glancing at the clock, "Or rather in an hour, I should get going."

"You work fast," Al commented, punching a button to open the imaging room door, "I'll go update Luke on everything and I'll see you later."

Sam looked down at his appearance and knew he'd have to change before going to meet the lawyer. Opening his closet, he found a tailored brown suit that had been hung along with a starched white dress shirt and deep burgundy tie, he could tell at a glance that Lorelai was the one who had selected this particular outfit. Smiling a little at the revelation, he quickly showered to get the smell of diner food off of him and dressed; 10 minutes later he was grabbing his keys and heading down the back steps towards the truck.

At the last minute, he turned left toward the Dragonfly Inn rather than going straight toward the highway. Walking in he found an irritable man in a fitted grey suit, he could only assume that this was Michele. "Is Lorelai in?" he asked, only to be met by an eye roll.

"Don't you have a diner to run?" The man huffed in a thick French accent.

"Caesar and Lane have everything well in hand." Sam assured him, "I'm running a little short on time, so if you could please tell me if Lorelai is in."

"I'm right here," Lorelai smiled from a doorway to his right. Sam turned his appraising gaze toward her. She wore a sleeveless green silk blouse tucked into a knee length tan skirt whose trumpeted hem flirted with the tops of her knees, on her feet she wore a pair of brown strappy sandals that showed of the playful red pedicure that was a match for the manicure on her delicate fingers. The light jacket that was a match for her skirt could be seen just beyond her, hanging on the back of her office chair, "What's up?"

"I was just on my way to my meeting in Hartford and was wondering if you would like to come along." Sam suggested hopefully.

"Sure, it's been a pretty quiet day." She smiled up at him, He could probably use the help, she thought as she ducked back into her office to grab her jacket and purse. She quickly ducked in the kitchen to inform Sookie she was heading out before returning to the lobby where Luke waited for her. "Michel, you got the desk until Tobin gets in, Sookie's in the back if you need anything ownerish done."

"How nice it must be to not have to work like us little people," Michele drawled passive aggressively.

Lorelai just ignored him and turned to Luke, "Shall we?" She asked, tucking her arm into his. He just nodded and led her out to the truck before opening the door and helping her inside. He quickly rounded the vehicle and dropped into the driver's side before putting the truck in gear and heading toward the interstate and Hartford.