RR 15 Pink and Sparkly

"Adam, I have a question."

"I'm not Adam. He's your Monday guy. Today is Tuesday." Luke finished in the bathroom and straddled Lorelai's legs as she was sitting up in bed, her planner in her lap.

"Gimme that," he said in a low voice. He tugged at the planner, but Lorelai clasped it to her breast and pushed him backwards.

Lorelai looked at him over the top of her glasses. "I'm your Milly and you're my Adam. Does that ring a bell?"

"Nope." Pouting a little, he rolled over her to his side of the bed, sliding his feet under the covers. He crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, knowing that Lorelai was expecting him to ask for an explanation.

"Luke!"

He lifted himself up on his elbows and moved closer. He pulled open the top bow on her nightshirt, running his finger from behind her earlobe down to the pulse at the base of her neck, ending at the opening of her shirt.

What began as the lightest of caresses became a trail of burning need. A moan escaped her lips as the need turned into a throbbing deep in her center.

"Jesus, Luke," she whispered. "How do you do that?"

He coaxed one end of the second bow out of its knot, finally exposing the rise of her bosom. His breath was hot on her skin.

"You had a question?" he growled.

"Um, uh, just a second," she said, panting as he kissed her breastbone. "Adam and Milly."

"You mentioned them already. What about them?" His eyes sparkled with delight at her torment. She could drive him crazy with her words, but this was his domain.

"Brides. Brothers." She arched her body in anticipation of the next bow opening. "Stars Hollow Musical."

The next ribbon was pulled up over her exposed skin, the slick satin gliding over the soft mound of her breast. "I'm not dancing. And no way am I singing."

Running her fingers through his hair, she smiled at him. "Me neither. I'm just sewing the costumes."

"That's nice. Are they gonna have bows? I like bows." The next bow flew open.

"I noticed, mister. I know what to get you next Christmas." She abandoned her planner and placed her glasses on the night stand, then slid down flat on the bed, running her hands over his muscular shoulders.

"Luke, I need space to set up my sewing machine and all of the costumes. I was thinking about the apartment. What do you think?"

"Fine by me. All my stuff's out of there anyway. Just leave a place for my diner files and the safe." He began plotting his attack on the bow that would reveal her belly button.

"I was also thinking that I would spruce up the place a little. Maybe some paint and a table or two for my workspace."

"You can paint the damn walls with pink glitter if it will make you happy. I need a desk, a phone and a place to work. That's all." Luke braced himself over her, then reached down and yanked the last bow open with his teeth.

Lorelai giggled as she wrapped her arms around him. "I might bedazzle the safe," she added.

Luke's response was lost in the shrieks of Lorelai's laughter as he attacked her ferociously.

Lorelai turned to Rory, who was sitting the back seat of the Jeep as Luke drove them to Hartford for Friday Night Dinner. "Luke wasn't too thrilled about lending the Stars Hollow Musical some of his flannel shirts."

"Lend? You were going to have to cut them down to fit Andrew, and Kirk and who knows who else! They would be rags when they came back," scoffed Luke.

"But then I could take you shopping and buy you new shirts," she offered.

"You know, Mom, he might give your favorite shirt away."

Lorelai placed her hand on Luke's shoulder. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Hey, if I'm not allowed to wear it any more, maybe I should give it away." He grinned as he kept his eyes on the road, not daring to look at her.

"Or you could take the actors shopping and make them buy shirts that actually fit them," suggested Rory.

"Huh," said Lorelai, "that might just work. Glad that Yale thing of yours is finally paying off for me."

A few minutes later they were escorted into the Gilmore living room, where Emily promptly monopolized Rory as the reminisced about their Europe trip. Lorelai and Luke took advantage of being ignored and enjoyed a drink while the others chatted.

"The Huntzbergers have returned from Spain," said Emily, adding proudly, "Shira couldn't sing your praises enough. She called you such a sweet girl, so well-behaved."

"So you managed to keep your drug deals hidden?" joked Lorelai.

Rory smiled thinly in response, looking for all the world like a mini-Emily fielding inappropriate comments at a DAR meeting. Lorelai looked into her glass as she realized that Rory was absorbing Hartford society culture and enjoying it. Luke, who'd hardly said a word so far, rubbed her back comfortingly.

Dinner was a peaceful, if stilted affair.

"Which of the families you visited did you enjoy the most, Rory?" asked Richard.

"I definitely had the most fun with Honor and Logan in Spain. We went clubbing and hung out at the beach."

Emily looked like the cat who'd found a whole cage of canaries. "It's good that you're getting out among your peers," she said smugly.

"You know, it's never too early to make good contacts," added Richard. "The Huntzbergers are a very influential family."

"Rory's making her own way at Yale," protested Lorelai. "She doesn't need the political schemes and games. She can handle her own life."

"Oh Lorelai," said Emily dismissively, "we're not talking about any such thing. Rory is always going to be better off when she has a wide circle of friends. The contacts we made this summer have given her a large group of new acquaintances. She should be dating a lot of different young men at this stage in her life, getting to know a wider circle."

Richard nodded sagely. "You never know how you find the love of your life."

Lorelai laughed at this. "Dad, I never knew you were so romantic!" She took Luke's hand in hers and was rewarded by that rare Luke smile which fully lit up his face. "I certainly didn't expect to find mine in a diner, but there he was." She leaned over to kiss him sweetly.

Emily made a small, disapproving scowl. "That's exactly what I mean, Lorelai. You're done, there's nothing left for you. Rory's just getting started, though. She might have met the love of her life this summer and there's no time like now to start enjoying it."

"I'm done?!"" she asked bluntly. Her head was spinning with thoughts of Rory and Jess, yet knowing that her parents were clearly expecting Rory to find someone from society.

"Of course," said Richard. "You two are both mature, settled. It's highly unlikely that you'll have children at your age, but Rory might be married and be raising a family within a few years."

"She's got Yale first, and a career to build!" At my age? Do they think we're in a retirement home? She looked at Luke, who mouthed the word 'wow' at her.

Emily shrugged. "Lots of women don't finish university until after they've married and raised a family. It's important for her to get her priorities straight, Lorelai."

"Grandma, I'm pretty sure my priorities are straight. I'm going to Yale, get my degree and work as a journalist," declared Rory confidently.

"I'm only saying that you shouldn't turn down a good match if it comes along. I met your grandfather in college, and it worked out perfectly for us."

"That it did, Emily," smiled Richard.

"On that note," decreed Emily, "we will take dessert in the drawing room. I invited Shira, Honor and Logan to join us. They ought to be here any minute."

Grateful that this awkward conversation was at an end, Luke stood up faster than Lorelai, helping her with her chair. Emily was impressed with the gesture until she remembered who he was, then dismissed it as a yokel's useless attempt to suck up to the parents of his girlfriend.

"Emily, I need a breath of air before dessert," said Luke. "We'll be back in a minute." He took a still-fuming Lorelai firmly by the elbow and led her out the door to the patio.

Once the door closed, Lorelai opened fire.

"What about Jess? She spent the last two months setting Rory up with boy after boy, never once asking her if she was already involved with someone. Jess and Rory are in a relationship! I can understand why Rory wouldn't say anything, but still, Emily is just the end. And that crack about 'we're done!' like we're totally geriatric and just sit around holding hands all day. Nothing would make me happier than to have a bunch of little backwards baseball caps running around the house that I can teach to love coffee and eat junk food, who worship their big sister as they see her jumping over terrorists into foxholes on TV."

A small, tight little ball exploded inside Luke, pouring out such a rush of joy and happiness that he was overwhelmed for a second. Before he could react to Lorelai's dream of children, she had continued.

"But no, Emily and Richard have decreed that we are over the hill, or aged, or otherwise incapacitated. I've got half a mind to make a baby right now just to prove them wrong. And then I'm going to throw a big party for Rory and Jess and invite the grandparents. Maybe I can talk them into getting engaged or something. No, wait, let's just make it a wedding. We can throw a surprise wedding for Jess and Rory, only the real surprise will be on Emily!" She rubbed her hands together maniacally.

Luke grabbed her hands and held them, pulling her close to him.

"Lorelai, as much as I find the idea of surprise weddings and revenge babies um, interesting, I'm not really willing to have sex with you on your parents' patio just now."

"Later maybe?" she asked. "When the guests have gone?"

"Yeah, um, no. Not really. Try wrapping your mind around never." He wrapped his arms around her tightly squeezing like a straight-jacket, hoping to calm her down. "Shall we go back in? Stay just long enough to meet the others, then go?"

She sighed. "OK, but don't forget we have Rory as well. We may have to kidnap her."

"You got it."

They reached the drawing room just as Logan had sat down with the family.

"You must be Logan," said Lorelai, once again composed. "I'm Lorelai and this is Luke."

"My pleasure. Rory and Emily have told me a lot about you. It's nice to meet you at last." His gamin smile broke through Lorelai's decision to not like him, but was completely ignored by Luke as he looked sideways at Rory to catch her reaction.

It was clear that Rory wanted her mother to like Logan, but just how much was uncertain. Her face relaxed as Lorelai and Logan chatted about Spain and why his sister and mother had not accompanied him tonight.

Before long Emily took charge of the conversation again.

"You'll be back at Yale this fall, Logan?" she asked.

"Yes, I will, Emily." His tone of voice and ease of speaking demonstrated how comfortable Logan was in Hartford society. "Taking this past semester off has helped me enormously. I'm focused again and charging ahead."

"You'll be following in your father's footsteps, surely," commented Richard.

"Absolutely, Richard. You can't be a Huntzberger without being in the newspaper business." He exchanged a familiar look with Rory. They'd had several discussions in Spain about the pressure his father put on him and how the semester off had given him a chance to blow off steam.

Rory interjected, "At least you'll bring new media technology to the business," then immediately regretted her words.

Lorelai hadn't even looked at her, but Rory could see in the twitch of her eye and the set of her mouth that she wasn't impressed. Emily wasn't impressed either, but for a complete different reason.

"Nonsense, Rory, Mitchum's built an empire. Logan will surely learn from his father for many years before changing anything."

Richard agreed. "It takes a steady hand to turn a big ship."

Logan knew it was time to change the subject. "Rory, there's a meet-and-greet tonight of new and old students at the Stag's Head pub in New Haven. Would you like to go?" By meet-and-greet, both he and Rory knew that he meant party. She also knew that any party Logan wanted to attend would be amazing. He had a reputation for finding the best parties, or making the party better by being there.

"Sounds great. I probably need to go pick up my car first." The relief in her voice was evident. A break from this stifling atmosphere was exactly what she needed.

"Nah, won't be necessary, I have to come back here tonight anyway," he said. "I can drive you to Stars Hollow."

"OK, sounds good. Let me know when you're ready to go."

He smiled at Emily, who was beaming, happy that her plan had resulted in a date for Rory. "If you don't mind, Emily, we'll go immediately. I need to pick up a couple of other people as well."

Bringing other people wasn't quite what Emily had hoped for, but Rory was still going out with a Huntzberger. "Certainly, Logan, that's no problem whatsoever. You young people go off and enjoy yourselves. Lorelai and Luke were about to leave as well."

Before Lorelai could react to Emily's practically throwing them out, Luke stood up, pulling Lorelai with him. "Thank you, Emily and Richard, for your hospitality. We do need to get going."

"It was so nice of you to come," Emily replied coolly. One tick colder, she added haughtily, "We look forward to seeing you again when your schedule allows."

He shrugged off the insult, acknowledging, "We do have a lot of demands on our time. Lorelai's inn is so successful that it's hard to keep up with her, much less be there for Rory and Jess."

As they waited in the foyer for their coats to be brought, Lorelai pulled Rory aside. "Are you sure you want to do this? Go off with this guy to who knows where in New Haven?"

"Mom, it's OK, I've been to the pub before. It's close to campus, and Logan will take care of me. Anyway, Jess left for Philadelphia today, so it's a good time for me to catch up with some classmates."

Luke leaned in and slipped Rory a few bills. "Take some mad money. Here's enough to get a cab home. Call us if you need anything."

"Anytime, hon," added Lorelai. "Even if you only want to talk. Or if you get a vibe that Mommy wants to talk to you."

Once back in the Jeep, Luke could see that Lorelai was still a little ticked off. "Wanna stop for a drink on the way home?"

"Tea. I want tea," she said.

Luke knitted his eyebrows together. "You want tea?"

"Long Island Tea. The best tea ever."

"Ah. I think we can arrange that." Turning onto a main shopping drag, they quickly chose a bar, ordered the Long Island as well as a perfectly normal non-alcoholic tea for the designated driver.

They drank in near silence for a few minutes as they processed the events of the evening.

"So," Luke began awkwardly.

Slightly buzzed by the first half of her tea, Lorelai merely smiled at him.

He grinned. "A bunch of little backwards baseball caps?" he asked.

"We'll have to buy bigger caps for Rory and me, otherwise the Christmas card photo won't be perfect."

"So two medium adult caps."

"No, better make them large. My mother tells me I have an extraordinarily large head. Rory probably inherited it."

"Two large adult caps. How many is in a bunch?"

She drained the rest of her glass and signaled the bartender for a second.

"Well," she began, putting her hand on Luke's lower arm to steady herself, even though she was sitting. "Presuming Emily is wrong, and we're not 'done,' then that's a discussion we have to have."

She looked at Luke uncertainly, the pain from Emily's cruel remark visible on her face. "Do you think we're done?"

Luke crooked his head and looked sternly in Lorelai's tipsy yet still beautiful eyes. "We are so not done. We get to choose what we do and when we're done. Emily's opinion doesn't matter. I want us to think about these things together. Talk about these things together."

She giggled, smiling happily at the waiter who delivered her second Long Island Tea. "That's a lot of talking, Luke. Are you sure you're up for it?"

"I'll make the effort. Where do we start?"

Lorelai drank deeply from her fresh cocktail. "Coupons, babies, wedding, house, insurance, my father says to always be properly insured, which video do we watch on Wednesday nights, who's going to cook, who's going to do the dishes, when do I get behind the counter privileges, cable TV, cell phone package, cars, closet space, last names, wedding rings, engagement ring, what color to paint the house, toilet paper over the top or under, schools, money, bank accounts, where to hide the door key outside, outgoing answering machine message, toilet seat up or down, phone message, internet password, who controls the remote, uh, that might be all."

"Wow. That's some list."

"It is. Very important stuff. Ooh! A maraschino cherry!" She fished in her glass until she came up with the cherry, which she held between her teeth and pressed her lips against Luke's before biting through the cherry.

He removed the half that landed in his mouth and popped it into hers. "Blech," he said. "Hate those things."

"Tell you what, Lorelai, how about if we sleep on it and make that list tomorrow? Then we can remove all the things that I don't give a damn about and work on the rest." He slid her jacket back up on her shoulders and began coaxing her out of the booth.

"Thermostat. Gotta talk about the thermostat setting. And loading the dishwasher. Very important. Rory always gets that wrong."

"I know, I know. We'll take care of it tomorrow."

"I'm looking for the handsomest guy in this diner!" announced Lorelai as she came through the door.

"Nice of you to ask, Lorelai, but I've got a girlfriend," teased Caesar.

"My loss, Caesar." She patted him on the shoulder. "Who's second best?"

Kirk stood up and raised his hand, but before he could say anything Luke glared at him. He quickly took his seat, saying, "Mother thinks I'm the handsomest, at least of all her sons who still live at home."

"Hey," said Luke as he greeted his girlfriend with a kiss. "Next time I'm going to let you hang."

"OK, I'll try harder with Caesar then." She smirked at him. "You got a couple of minutes?"

"Depends. What for?"

"Shopping."

"Too busy. No chance. Not gonna happen. I'm overwhelmed with work."

Lorelai looked around the nearly empty diner, then pulled the order pad out of the waistband of his jeans. She raised an eyebrow in warning. "Either you take a couple of minutes to walk to Mrs. Kim's with me, or I settle in for an afternoon of waxing explicitly and X-ratedly poetic about your many charms, alternating with my favorite Louis Armstrong songs."

"So no mall? No driving? Just Mrs. Kim's and back?"

"Ah, come on, Luke, it's a present for you. I just need your approval."

"Shit. Did I forget another anniversary? I'm still apologizing for the whole second month anniversary of the time we went to the Post Office together."

"Hey! That was a very romantic moment. We changed your address to 37 Maple Street."

"We also stopped at Doose's and bought the good toilet paper, but we don't celebrate that." He caught Caesar's eye, who nodded his acceptance of Luke going out for a little while.

Stepping out onto the sidewalk, they crossed the street towards Kim's Antique Shop. "This is different. I want to give you a new desk and I found the perfect one at Mrs. Kim's. She's holding it for me."

"I have a desk."

"You have an old desk that has giant holes drilled in it from the time you and Jess were remodeling the apartment. We are not giving that boy power tools for Christmas, by the way. I want you to have something pretty that coordinates with my sewing space."

They arrived at the store before Luke could think of any more excuses. Lane and Rory were sitting on the porch chatting.

"It's a beautiful desk, Luke," offered Rory. She leaned over for a little confidential comment. "You'll be much happier if you just accept it graciously."

He winked at her, and once Lorelai went ahead of him into the shop, he added, "Gotta give her the thrill of the chase."

"Hello Luke," greeted Mrs. Kim. "This is a very good desk. Just right for you."

He looked the Craftsman desk over. It was a good desk in very good working order. There were modest inlays, simple shapes, but showed the signs that it had been made by an expert carpenter.

"Wow. This is really nice. Looks handmade."

"Not just handmade, made by a Stars Hollow carpenter. Almost 100 years old."

"Do you know who made it?" he asked.

"Cole Harvey," answered Mrs. Kim. "See, signed on back of desk."

"Cole Harvey? He was the father of my high school shop teacher. That's where I start to learn woodworking."

He looked up at Lorelai, who was almost bouncing with excitement. She could see that he already loved the desk.

He tried crossing his arms and scowling anyway. "I don't need a new desk," he argued weakly. He rubbed his hand over the elegant curve of the roll top. "It really is beautiful, though. Something special."

"Uh, yeah you do need a new desk. We already discussed that."

"I don't need presents."

"Nobody needs presents. They're gifts. You should learn to accept them graciously."

"It's too expensive."

Mrs. Kim spoke up at this. "Very good price. Lorelai has been good customer for Dragonfly Inn. I give her very good discount."

"You shouldn't spend your money on stuff for me."

"Once again, uh, yeah I should. Rory and I have almost enough clothes to last us until the next millennium. You, on the other hand, are my prime gift-giving target."

"Sounds like a punishment." He hesitated, then added, "If I accept this, you'll stop shopping for clothes?"

"No way. I said ALMOST enough." She turned to Mrs. Kim. "He's out of arguments. We'll take it."

He sighed. "I guess so. It's still crazy."

She joyously wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. "Of course, that's why you love me. It's the crazy that keeps your life interesting."

They stepped out on the porch, passing Rory and Lane as they went inside for more organic sugar-free lemonade.

"Lorelai, this is one of those things for our list of things to discuss, you know. How much do we want to budget for gifts? I also need to know when you expect a gift, unless you're OK with me getting it wrong all the time. I'm no mind-reader and I never think of this stuff."

"Agreed. It goes on the list. I'm going to arrange for delivery and visit with Rory and Lane for a few minutes. You're free to go."

He stepped down off the porch, then returned to her and kissed sweetly. "Thanks for the desk. I really like it."

"I really wanted you to have it. Luke, you've been helping so much in the past months. When I come home late from the Dragonfly, you're there waiting for me with a kiss and a cuddle. After a hard day in the diner you still make delicious meals. The house has never been in better shape. I don't see how you get it all done." she said.

"Aw, it's nothing. I like doing things for you." He squeezed her arm affectionately as he said goodbye before leaving for the diner.

Rory came back outside. "Lane is helping her mother for a few minutes. Here's some lemonade. I added some of Lane's secret sugar stash to it."

They settled in the rockers.

"So Luke liked the desk?"

"Of course, once I got past all the usual arguments. Honestly, that man would sit on wood pallets if it weren't for me."

"A good balance of personality types makes for a happy relationship."

"Listen to my little Dr. Philetta here. When did you start teaching couples therapy?"

"Mom, I wish I knew enough to not screw up my own relationships."

"What's happening, kid?"

"I don't know if Jess and I can keep a long-distance relationship going. With him in Philadelphia and me at Yale, it's too far and we're too busy."

"It's also too early for you to settle down. I know that's the opposite of what Grandma and Grandpa said, but times have changed. Women don't go to college for their 'Mrs.' degree anymore."

"Yeah, that was kinda crazy, wasn't it? It sounded like they'd be happy if I got married and quit school, as long as it was to their idea of the right guy."

"It's exactly the same reason they keep pushing Christopher on me. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that he's the right social status, the right family, the right upbringing. Too bad they missed the part where he'd not the right guy for me."

"I guess they'll stop with that, now that you've been declared over the hill."

Lorelai giggled. "They'll change their tune when I start popping out little diner babies. Emily won't be able to resist Gilmore babies even if they are wearing backwards baseball caps."

"Mom, does this mean that you and Luke are thinking about kids?"

"More than that, hon. We know we want them, it's all a matter of when."

"Wow, that's fantastic, Mom. What does Luke think about this?"

"He's the one who keeps bringing up the topic. Marriage, kids, the whole package. We don't have time to really plan anything right now because the Dragonfly is still so crazy, but as soon as I say I'm ready, he says he's ready too."

"Does that scare you?"

"Weirdly enough, no. With Max it was a surprise and he basically overwhelmed me with romantic gestures out of fairy tales. It was pretty scary, because I felt like I had to say yes all the time. With Luke, it's so different. It's like he's a walking, talking giant romantic gesture all by himself. The little things, like the bit we just had with the desk, are so romantic, but still real. We are still us. I got to do what I love, which is buy gifts for the people I love, and he got to be himself. He was gruff, complained about the money, and that he doesn't need gifts, blah blah. Everything that is truly Lukeish. But he let me give him the gift, which makes me happy, and I know that he really likes it and appreciates it. "

Rory sat there in silence for a minute. "Jess and I don't have that," she said softly.

"Aw hon, it took Luke and me years to get to this point. Remember how we fought? It was a lot of work. Give yourself some time."

When Andrew came into the diner, Luke mentally noted his usual meal, chicken strips with salad and a Coke, and gave Caesar a heads up the next time he went back into the kitchen. Luke did this with most of his regular customers; it helped to keep his operation efficient.

When Taylor came in a few minutes later, Luke saw not only a pain in the butt customer, but also a turkey sandwich with a cup of tomato soup.

Over the next half hour or so, he saw Kirk's grilled cheese over easy, Gypsy's turkey burger and salad, and several other regular customers and their usual orders.

The problem was, when he went back into the kitchen and saw all the ingredients standing there, prepped, he realized that none of those people had actually placed an order. He stalked back out into the dining room, but none of those people were even in the diner anymore. Luke stopped and scratched his head. He couldn't have made that many mistakes. Were these people coming and leaving again without ordering? Not likely – the diner wasn't that busy. He let Caesar know to put away those ingredients and headed back into the dining room.

"Hey Luke," said Jackson as he came through the door.

"Hey Jackson," Luke replied as he bussed a table, carrying the heavy stack of dishes back to the kitchen. He grabbed his order pad and looked for Jackson. He was nowhere to be found.

The next thing he knew, Kirk had come down the stairs from Luke's apartment, opened the curtain and walked into the dining area.

"Kirk!" he barked. "What were you doing behind the curtain?"

Kirk jumped, then began shaking nervously. "I, um, but, …" then he made a dash for the door.

It was then that Luke recognized that sounds were coming from his apartment. Determined to find out what was going on, he took the stairs two at a time and burst through the door.

There in the middle of his apartment stood six figures, all dressed in plaid shirts. Andrew, Jackson, Gypsy and several others stood there looking like an insane Brawny paper towel convention.

Lorelai looked up at Luke, smiled and said, "Welcome to the Luke Danes Fan Club."

"What in the world is this?" he asked loudly, not quite understanding all the plaid.

Lorelai, still stitching on her machine, looked up at him with confusion. "Luke, we talked about this."

"All of these people? Here in my apartment? I never invite anyone into my apartment." His expression turned dark and his eyes darted around the room looking for familiar items. Paint had given a new look to the room, but otherwise everything was still in its place, just as Luke left it when he moved into the Crap Shack. Still, it looked foreign to him.

Lorelai watched him, concerned. "Oh, this is not good," she said under her breath.

Lorelai stood up and ushered everyone except Luke to the door. "Your costumes are pretty much finished. Go home and make sure you can dance in them, then let me know if you need any changes."

She took Luke's hands in hers and pulled him gently to a chair and made him sit. He really did look lost.

"Luke, honey, we talked about this. We decided that we wanted our offices together. Do you remember?"

He wiped his hand over his face. "Yeah, it's just that … well, it never occurred to me that my private space would be gone."

"Your private space isn't gone, Luke, it's just moved to our house. It's not here anymore."

"Yeah, I get it, I guess. It just feels weird, seeing all those people up here. I used to come up here and know that I didn't have to answer to anyone."

"You don't have that feeling at home?"

He looked her directly in the eye, squeezing her hands that had been comforting him. "I love our home. Being with you, taking care of you, knowing we have a future. All that's great."

"But you don't feel like you felt here in the apartment? Where you could be safe? Alone? Private?"

He abruptly stood up and stepped a short distance away. "I don't need that. It's my job to take care of you! I have to take care of you!" He went to the roll top desk and ran his fingers along the slats, not looking up, afraid to even think that he might fail at the only thing important to him.

"You do take care of me! My god, you run the diner, then come home and cook for me, and you love me, and are there for me. All of the improvements you've made on the house is mind-boggling! On top of all that, you come to the Dragonfly and ask what you can do there." She followed him and took his face in her hands. "Look at me, Luke Danes."

His anguished look told her that he was near burnout. Lorelai realized that he'd been spending all of his time and energy doing things for her, for them, for the diner and for the Dragonfly, and he'd drained himself.

"Luke, I need to ask a favor of you."

"Sure, what is it?" His mouth and his heart were willing, but the deep lines around his eyes told a different story.

"Go home tonight at a decent hour. I will send dinner over to you, and you can curl up on the sofa and take it easy."

"But there are things to do! The grass needs to be cut and you need dinner and we have to start working on our list of things to discuss and …"

"No. You need to have downtime. Watch some baseball, drink a beer, scratch your groin, whatever you did to relax when you lived here above the diner, I want you to do it tonight. I need you to do it."

"Sounds like a stupid idea."

"I don't care. Do it as a favor to me."

"What if I want to cut the grass?"

"If I come home tonight and find you've cut the grass, I'm going to hire Little Pete to do it on a regular basis and you won't be allowed to do it again."

"Dictator."

"On the other hand, if you've been very good, I might put on the pajamas with the bows again."

"I thought I wasn't supposed to do anything for you tonight," he commented with a wink.

"You've done a beautiful job upstairs, Mom," said Rory admiringly. "It's pretty, but I think Luke will still like his office area. That roll top desk fits perfectly."

"What he's really gonna like is being able to see my legs while he's working," she giggled. "That's why I have a table instead of a desk."

Noticing that Lane was swamped with food deliveries to the various tables, Lorelai stepped behind the counter, washed her hands and deftly tied a white apron around her waist. She picked up the coffee carafe.

"Hey Joe, ready for a refill? How's the pizza business?" she said as she topped off his cup.

"Not nearly as good as it used to be, before my best customer found someone who would cook for her every day." He was rewarded with a bright smile and a promise to throw a few veggie pizza orders his way more often as well as her usual meats-a-palooza pie.

"Is that Danish OK, Tom? It's nice to see you, but I'm sure glad I'm not throwing money at you anymore," she joked. She didn't let him see the vestiges of the stress that borrowing and spending all that money on the Dragonfly had caused.

Luke entered, passing quickly through the diner as he took his bank bag upstairs to the office. He smiled at Lorelai and Rory, waving the hand with the bag at them as he lifted the curtain to the back.

"Oh yeah, it's fine," replied Tom. "Just getting out of the house while the wife cools down. We had a little tiff. Gotta buy some flowers and go home to make up."

Rory, nodded as she took the seat next to Tom. "Making up after a fight is fun," she agreed. She nudged Tom and said in a lower voice, "But I think Mom sometimes annoys Luke on purpose just so they'll have an argument."

Lorelai set two mugs on the counter and filled them for Rory and herself. "No thinking about it, honey. Luke is so cute when he realizes that I'm mad. Totally worth the occasional spat."

Tom rolled his eyes as he watched them clink cups in solidarity.

"As a matter of fact, it's about time," she said, looking at Tom's watch. "Five, four, three, two, one …"

"Lorelai!" boomed Luke's voice from upstairs. "Why the hell is my safe pink?" A moment later, "and SPARKLY?"

Lorelai whipped off the apron and grinned at the counter guests. "Looks like I've got my own making up to do," she giggled as she ran up the stairs.

A/N: Aaah, the fluff. Gotta love the fluff.