A/N: Normally I'd switch to update a different story, but Chapter 7 went long, so here is the second half. Now I'm off to get Rory and Jess out of limbo in Relationship Renaissance.

Pretzels and Perfume

"Oh my god!" Luke whispered. "Why did she attack me?!"

"She didn't attack you, she's a perfume girl and she was offering you a sample of men's cologne. She just wanted to spray it on you. And you don't have to whisper, she's way back there. You're safe now, babe," she soothed.

The next perfume girl was more forward, sauntering up to Luke as Lorelai stopped to admire a pair of Jimmy Choos. "NO, thank you," he said hurriedly as she encroached onto his personal space, an overly-friendly look in her eyes.

"For your girlfriend, perhaps?" she murmured seductively, brushing the scented cardboard on her wrist and holding it up under his nose.

"Lorelai?" She could hear the desperation in his voice, so she caressed the shoes one last time, sighed and turned to the girl.

"No thanks, honey," she said firmly, holding her ground until the girl held the cardboard under Lorelai's nose. "Oh my, that is lovely. May I?"

The perfume girl spritzed Lorelai's wrist, pointing out where to buy the fragrance. Lorelai and Luke walked away, as Lorelai rubbed her wrists together.

"First you sniff it on the card, then rub it into your wrists. Smell," she commanded as they walked down the store promenade.

"Smells ok," said Luke, taking her wrist gently in his hand, then lacing his fingers between hers. "She made me feel very uncomfortable." He grimaced at the memory.

"Now we wait a couple of minutes for the perfume to react with my body chemistry." They stopped in front of the store listing, looking for cell phone stores. "Great, I know just where we should go."

She guided him along at a hurried pace. They took one escalator up, then turned a corner and took another escalator down; Luke was soon disoriented. "Isn't there a window here? I can't even tell where we are," he complained. "And the smell is horrible."

"No it's not, sweetie, that's the smell of freshly-baked soft pretzels. Let's get one. We've got a long way to go."

As they stood in line, one face scanning the menu for the tastiest pretzel for her and her grumpy-bear, the other focused on the floor, wondering when it had last been thoroughly cleaned.

"Here, crabapple, smell my perfume now," she instructed after she'd ordered.

"Hey, that's nice. It smells like you, only more intense." He sniffed again, sneaking a kiss on her pulse, sending a tingle through her body. "Do you like it?"

"I hadn't planned on it," she said, "Until you said that. Now I think I may reconsider."

She paid for their pretzels and handed him one. "Hey, I didn't say I was hungry," he commented.

"I didn't ask you. You don't eat pretzels because you're hungry. You eat them because they are delicious, soft and the perfect non-messy food to go shopping with."

While Lorelai voraciously attacked her almond sweet pretzel, Luke tentatively tasted his sesame whole-wheat version. "Not bad," he conceded, recalling that he'd missed lunch as usual.

To Luke's delight selecting a phone ended up being a quick and painless procedure. The simplest phones with the simplest pre-paid plans were on sale, with an even better deal for a two-phone set.

"It must be the pretzel and the lack of sunlight making me crazy, but OK," said Luke, as he agreed to split the cost of the two-phone package with Lorelai.

"Now both you and Rory are at my beck and call" she crowed. "Just the way I like it."

"Where's the off button?" he asked the salesman, who gladly pointed it out to him. "I think I'm gonna need it," said Luke, while Lorelai pouted.

Smitten with Lorelai, the salesman offered to set up both phones and together they managed to program every phone with the numbers of the other two. Focused on their task, they brought their heads close together.

"Nice perfume," commented the man, who instantly regretted his words as he noticed Luke's steady gaze. "I – I want to get some for my wife," he lied anxiously, feeling as if he were pleading for his life.

Phones in hand, Luke was ready to leave the stuffy atmosphere of the mall for brighter pastures, even if that brought him back into the diner with its own share of unpleasant odors. "Where's the exit?" he asked, this time being the one to pull Lorelai along.

"Not far, we came through Bloomingdale's. Ready to face the perfume ladies again?" she giggled.

"Are you going to let me buy you that perfume?" he murmured in her ear, his breath warm on her skin.

"You like it that much?" she breathed. He nodded, kissing her just under her ear. "I think I can be persuaded."

One quick eyebrow lift from Lorelai as they entered the perfume department brought the last perfume girl over to them again. She made such a big show of presenting the selections and types that Luke was quickly overwhelmed. A sniff of perfume was followed by cologne, then body wash, lotion, and in his estimation five hundred other absolutely indispensable items. Lorelai delighted in the options but kept a close eye on the vein in Luke's forehead, which went from normal to Code Red, then back to something near normal as he gave in to the constant caressing and cuddling from Lorelai every time she tried a new product.

She indulged in a little game by deliberately turning away as Luke paid for her modest bottle of perfume, enjoying his discomfiture as he watched the saleswoman pack the tiny pink bag with samples for both of them, chattering the whole time about the other products that would certainly suit Luke very well. Leaving him to carry the exceedingly feminine bag, she took a left turn through the men's clothing section.

"Luke, you have to see this! They're having the most fantastic sale!" She dashed back and grabbed his hand, pulling him into the department with her, completely ignoring his attempts to give her the perfume bag.

"I'm not buying clothes. Do you remember that we were just going to buy a cell phone? Kill phone? Go home?" he began his rant. "Now we've bought two phones, pretzels, perfume, OK I like the perfume, and now you want to buy clothing?"

"No, Luke, I want you to buy clothing. There's never been a sale this good. Feel those pants! They are so soft." Luke's initial revulsion to the idea of shopping for clothes was suddenly countermanded by the warm feeling emanating from his center as she oohed and aahed over the pants. One brush of the pants against her cheek and he was lost, wishing only that there were chastity belts for credit cards to preserve the purity of his.

"Why am I doing this?" he muttered as she evaluated the third suit she'd picked out for him and made him try on.

"Because you love me, and want to kiss me and hug me and be the perfect foil to all of this awesomeness when we go out," she explained patiently, tugging at the seat of his pants as she expertly assessed the fit. "Not this one, you won't be comfortable."

"Hey!" he exclaimed at the surprise goosing she had given him. She piled the clothes into his arms as he winced at a price tag. "So what's the damage?"

"Everything was 6000 percent off, but your total is more than a pack of tube socks, less than the cost of a new truck. You'll be fine. Remember that I do your books at the diner now? I'm keeping nicely within your budget."

"Yes, but somehow it doesn't seem fair, you choosing all of these things for me." He looked doubtfully at the stack of admittedly beautiful clothes Lorelai had chosen for him. In a very manly way, of course, he began to understand the pleasure one gets from an outfit that fits well, feels good and looks elegant. The desire in Lorelai's eyes as she found the outfits she liked best on him made it easy to agree to her suggestions. The thought of picking her up for a date and seeing that look in her eyes, knowing he could hold her, smell her perfume, and feel her pulse beating gave him motivation to be a little daring himself.

"But I love these things on you, and I think you will love wearing them. It also doesn't hurt that I love shopping, either." She leaned against him affectionately, wrapping her arms around his waist to feel the softness of the sweater under the jacket.

"It's still not fair," he insisted. "I want my turn."

"Your turn? What do you mean?" she asked as she pulled the unwanted jacket off his shoulders.

"You have to come with me to the women's section. I'm going to choose an outfit for you," he declared.

Lorelai laughed in disbelief. "But I know my style and I have a ton of clothes. Don't you like my outfits?"

"Oh, I love your outfits, some of them make me think very bad thoughts." He caught her up in his arms as she fiddled with the jacket; laughing, she abandoned all attempts to put the jacket back on the hanger.

"I like Bad Luke a lot," she retorted. "He's got something special going for him." Her hand slipped under his sweater, seeking the warmth and hardness of his chest.

He kissed her, but emphatically pushed her hand away. "Now it's my turn."

Changing back to his normal clothes, they put his purchases at the sales counter and he took her over to the women's section.

Repelling all of Lorelai's attempts to tell him what should be bought, he wandered up and down the aisles, carefully considering the various options.

She watched as his hands trailed up and down the various fabrics, searching for the one that would meet his stringent requirements. She found herself thinking of those same fingers on her neck, moving slowly down toward the next sensitive spot, wondering how his touch would change when she was wearing the outfit he'd chosen for her.

He looked over at her, then back at the rack, evaluating if the dress he was considering would truly do her justice. It was a mistake, because her eyes were tracking his every movement, but her lips were slightly open and she was having a hard time drawing breath. He couldn't help his physical response, so in the interest of self-preservation, he turned his back on her.

Finally he chose three dresses, handed them to her and said, "Try these on." He knew which dress he'd chosen for real; the other two were deliberately selected to throw her off the scent.

Lorelai stood in the dressing room, completely mystified by his choices. She would never have chosen any of these dresses. One by one she tried them all on, leaving the dressing room for his approval. Even though she didn't feel uncomfortable, she understood how Luke felt when she browbeat him into trying on those outfits earlier.

Her heart beat faster as she recalled how he painstakingly looked through racks and racks of clothes; a task that was second nature to her must have been confusing and complex to her non-shopping boyfriend. She was pleased that he took the time to find something nice for her.

Luke watched her as she stood before the triple mirror, inspecting every detail, evaluating the color and style as well as the fit. She looked nervously at him each time she pirouetted, trying to figure out which of the dresses pleased him the most, but his expression was as closed as the diner at midnight.

"That one," he said as she made a last turn in a taupe number, with just enough black accents to look stylish, but had enough brown to make her blue eyes shine.

"Why this one?" she smiled, coming close to him.

"It's the only one that goes with you as you walk. Everything about the dress leads me straight up to look in your beautiful eyes. There's enough coverage here," he said, indicating her shoulders and front, "to tantalize me. It reminds me that what's underneath is mine and mine alone."

"It kinda flows down here," he brushed his hand over her hip, "and makes me want to follow it all the way down and around to the back."

"There's enough quirkiness here and here," indicating tiny seams and pleats, "to be worthy of the transcendent Lorelai Gilmore."

"So you really like this one?" she asked, trying to prevent herself from swooning.

He nodded.

"Done deal, then," she said, and sealed it with a kiss.

Her concerns for Rory flooded back as they returned to Stars Hollow. The Jeep wasn't at home yet, and there were no messages on the answering machine. She let Luke try to comfort her, but sent him back to the diner for the evening while she stayed at home to wait for Rory. He almost refused to leave her there alone, making an exception only when she promised to call as soon as she heard anything.

She dialed Christopher's number again. His never-serious voice came on the line. "Hi Lore," he said, "You couldn't resist my charms after all, could you?"

"How could you not call?" she said hotly. "Four o'clock is long past brunch time. Way to be irresponsible, Christopher."

"Hey, not my fault," he said, "My phone must have been accidentally turned off. Emily decided we needed to shop for Rory and Mom also loved the idea, so I just escorted them around until they finished. I had no say in the matter."

"You had EVERY say in the matter, Chris! You're the father, not the playmate! You should remember that she has homework and a ton of reading and projects to work on, but she's missed almost all of her weekend. Do you know what Rory does on weekends, Chris? She studies, works on projects, and when she needs a break she reads her assignments. She needs time to get the work done!"

"Lore, take it easy, she's on her way home right now, ought to be there any time now. Even Rory needs a break from studying once in a while, right? That was this weekend. She'll catch up. She's a smart kid."

"I wish her dad had been smart enough to call! I was worried sick. Don't ever turn your phone off when she's with you again!" Lorelai slammed the phone shut and stomped her feet in frustration.

Remembering her promise, she pressed Luke's speed dial on his new cell phone.

"Hey," he said, "sorry it took a while before I answered, I almost forgot I had the damn thing on me. Did you hear from Rory?"

"No, Christopher called. Rory's on her way home now. Did you know he thought it was OK to leave his phone off and they went shopping all afternoon? Not even one call. I can't believe how irresponsible he is."

"That's fixed now, remember? From now on, Rory has her own cell phone and we can reach her whenever we need to."

"I know, I'm just mad. She wasn't gone even 24 hours and it feels like her whole life is falling apart. She has practically no time to study tonight."

Listening between the lines, Luke could hear Lorelai's life falling apart. Christopher blows in here and chaos ensues. He crossed his fingers, hoping he would blow out again very soon.

The motor of the Jeep and the slightly screechy brakes announced Rory's homecoming.

"Oh! There she is! I'm gonna go. We've got some serious mother-daughter time ahead of us this evening."

"Promise you'll call me if you need anything at all?"

"I promise, Luke. I love you. Thanks for breaking all the rules and going shopping with me today."

"Not quite all the rules, and it was my pleasure. Call me later if you feel like it, OK? Love you too. Now go get her, and give her a hug for me."

"Mom! Mom!" called Rory happily as she reached into the back of the Jeep for her bags.

"Why didn't you call?" demanded Lorelai. "Brunch was over ages ago."

"Dad said you'd call if you wanted something, and since you didn't call, I didn't worry."

"He conveniently forgot to tell you that he'd turned his phone off, didn't he?"

"Oh Mom, I'm sorry, I didn't know, but I was with Grandma and Dad, so you weren't worried, were you?" Rory tried to coax Lorelai into a better mood. This would not be a good evening if Lorelai was going to harp on Christopher and the Gilmores.

"Rory, how much homework do you have? How much did you plan to get done this weekend?" These were unfamiliar words to Lorelai, and saying them made her feel matronly. Rory's homework was always her first priority, but she'd done nothing at all since Christopher arrived.

"Mom, I got part of my reading done on Saturday night at Francine's. They have a really nice house with a pool table. Dad and I played for hours."

"How was Francine?" asked Lorelai carefully as she ground her feet into the mat in front of the door. She'd rarely seen her when she wasn't with Straub, and at those times, Francine was a real doormat.

"Oh you should have seen her with Grandma. They were once best friends, did you know? They used to do everything together."

"Yeah. Their final scene was the great pregnancy debacle." Lorelai remembered as her stomach turned. Best friends, they called it? More like co-conspirators in the eternal quest to control Lorelai's life. Francine and Emily made play dates with the two of them as babies, forced them together at every chance. It was only when the pregnancy occurred that Straub pushed his way in, blaming Lorelai for everything. That's when Francine folded like a cheap suitcase. Emily's defense of Lorelai was weak as well, but at least she acknowledged Christopher's part in the event.

Rory rolled her eyes as they entered the house. She walked to the sofa and dropped her bags. "Do you want to see what I bought?" she asked hopefully. "Actually, what Dad and the Grandmothers bought."

"Homework first," insisted Lorelai, wondering if Babette would have some Geritol geriatric tonic she could have. Somehow in the space of 24 hours, her relationship to Rory had gone from best friends to Mrs. Kim/Lane. She gasped, wondering how long it would be before it became an Emily/Lorelai relationship.

"I would love to see it all, but how about if you get your homework organized first, and I'll pull leftovers out for dinner. After dinner we can see all the pretties."

This idea was put immediately into action, with Rory making a pot of coffee, excitedly talking about her evening and day with her dad. Christopher had finally come through for his kid, and this strangely made Lorelai very sad.

"It looks like I can achieve the minimum viable homework for Monday," sighed Rory, "but I'll have to work really hard on Monday night to catch up for Tuesday."

"You need to get back to your 'better than normal' pretty soon if you want to get into Harvard," said Lorelai grimly. With each new phrase she felt another dozen gray hairs growing on her head. By the time this evening was over, she'd need a vat of hair dye.

"Mom, I'll catch up with my homework," Rory said to assuage the sadness she could feel in her mother. "It won't be that hard," she lied.

"I can ask Paris to tutor you if you'd like," offered Lorelai trying lamely to tease her.

"Please, Mom," groaned Rory, "Paris and I just became non-enemies. Let's see if I survive the school year first." Their recent Bangles concert trip had brought the two girls as close as they ever had been, gaining the intimacy that only shared debate time could bring.

"Come eat," Lorelai coaxed, "I prepared all of the best leftovers for you. Dibs on the Kung Pao!"

Rory reluctantly set her books aside to give into her hunger. As she settled onto the sofa next to her mother, Lorelai pushed a small box toward her.

"You and Luke are twins now," she said. "They had a two for one sale."

"A cell phone? You got me a cell phone?" Rory's eyes grew wide as she opened the box. "Nice." Reaching over to hug her mom as she thanked her, Lorelai pushed back, sensing something was wrong. Rory knew she had to 'fess up.

"Dad kinda already got me a cell phone," she said, a little embarrassed. She reached behind the sofa and pulled out a small blue bag. She produced a top of the line designer phone and handed it to her mother.

"It's pink!" squealed Lorelai.

"It also has an FM radio," added Rory. "The next time we take a road trip, I don't have to listen to your CDs."

"What kind of plan did you get?"

"Dad said something about an all-inclusive plan, whatever that means," Rory answered.

Oh crap, thought Lorelai to herself. I hope this isn't like Emily and her fast internet. It would be just like Christopher to start something like this and not follow through on the payments.

She picked up the phone she had bought. "You know what? We'll keep this one in reserve in case one of our phones gets broken. I don't want to take the chance that Luke will insist on returning his as well. I finally got a cell phone in his hands, I don't want to lose it already."

Rory couldn't hold back any longer and began emptying bag after bag to show her mother the gifts her grandmothers and Christopher had given her.

With each outfit, pair of shoes or expensive book that Rory lovingly showed, Lorelai felt sadder. Rory could have been clothed for the first three years of her life for the price of just one pair of boots alone. Now here came the grandparents and the father, buying their way into a relationship that Lorelai had forged making thousands of unmade hotel beds and cleaning dirty bathrooms.

Lorelai had no doubt that Rory loved her best, and would do so until the end of her days. He heart filled with sadness that she couldn't provide the shiny distractions that Emily and the others could, and apparently had been providing all weekend long.

Rory told hilarious stories of her grandfather and his cronies at the club, swooned over the youth club which included a party schedule and regular karaoke night. Christopher AKA the-best-playmate-ever-not-so-much-good-father, was also at the top of Rory's tales of fun and excitement.

Lorelai smiled at all the right places, gave the right compliments for the outfits, even playfully threatened to steal some of the clothes for herself. They fought over the prettiest sweater, collapsing in a chorus of laughter when Lorelai paraphrased the Fame quote, "I'm gonna make you SWEAT for this sweater! That's how we pay for things in the Gilmore household."

Lorelai picked up the next unopened bag and pulled out a twin sweater set made of the softest angora. She brushed her cheek on the soft knit, enjoying the luxury of the finest material as she fingered the pearl buttons. It reminded her of Emily's countless twin sets, and she knew full well that Christopher mocked such ostentatious symbols of society, preferring the equally ostentatious symbols of the trust fund babies like huge motorcycles and handmade Italian leather jackets.

"Rory, did your father buy this for you?"

"No, I think that was Grandma," Rory tossed the words nonchalantly over her shoulder as she neatly folded a pair of designer jeans.

"What else did she buy? Where was your father while you were shopping?"

"Uh, I think he had to make a phone call, but he came back later to take me to the cell phone store."

Lorelai seethed as she realized that Christopher must have turned his phone off deliberately, cutting off all contact between Lorelai and Rory. How petty was this guy, anyway?

"It's all going back," declared Lorelai angrily.

"Mom!" protested Rory, "They're gifts from Francine and Grandma!"

"They aren't gifts, they're strings. It's all part of Emily's plan to buy your love."

"Mom, I already love my grandparents. Grandma doesn't need to buy my love. Why are a few gifts so bad?"

"They aren't, my sweet, but you've seen what happens when Emily starts throwing money around. She starts demanding obedience. You've seen enough Rock-Em Sock-Em Robots at Friday Night Dinners to see the price we pay for Chilton."

"It's just a sweater!" yelled Rory.

"No! It's an angora straight jacket!" shouted Lorelai back at her.

"Well, check me into the Cuckoo's Nest, because I'm keeping it!" yelled Rory back.

Her shoulders slumped. "Are you ever going to let Grandma into our lives?" added Rory sadly.

"As soon as she accepts me and stops trying to change me or marry me off to Christopher, then I think even I can go to Sunday brunch once in a while."

"Maybe you could help things along if you'd talk to her more, maybe share more of your life with her," suggested Rory hopefully.

"I'll go do that right now. I'm definitely in a sharing mood. Why don't you choose one gift each from your dad, Francine and yes, Grandma too, and pack up the rest to go back to the store."

Rory looked at her mother. "Um, no, I think I'll keep them all."

"Uh, no you won't."

"We couldn't exchange them even if we wanted to. Grandma has all the receipts. I'm keeping them."

"Then we'll take them to Emily's and leave them there for her." Lorelai was adamant.

"Mom, be reasonable. You know she'll just leave them at her house for me."

"You let me worry about Grandma. Focus on Harvard, OK?" Lorelai was done with this conversation and knew what she needed to do next.

"Fine, but I'm still keeping the presents."

"We'll talk about that later. Go. Be smart and wow Mommy."

Rory strategically gathered all of the bags and took them to her room, putting as much away as possible before starting her studies. She knew that her mother wouldn't spend too much time looking for items that were safely tucked away in drawers.

Once Rory was safely ensconced in her room, Lorelai dialed her parents' house.

"Hi Mom," she began when she heard Emily's voice.

"Hello Lorelai. We missed you at brunch today. Christopher was very charming; he and Rory got along famously."

"Enough, Mom. What were you thinking, buying all that crap for Rory? You know she can't keep it."

"I certainly do not know that, Lorelai, anyway it was Francine and Christopher who bought most of the gifts. You can't deny her father the right to buy his daughter some appropriate clothing or a cell phone. Those are basics that every child needs and you certainly weren't able to provide it."

"Rory is my business and she is perfectly well taken care of, Mom. She doesn't need any of those things and they're all going back."

"Rory is also her father's business and he can buy her whatever he chooses."

"Well, he wasn't shopping with her today, was he? It was just you, Francine and Rory, wasn't it?"

"He told us what she needed and we made sure we fulfilled his wishes. He is at least trying to take care of his child, not neglecting her."

"I do not neglect my daughter! I've taken care of her for 16 years, fed and clothed her, educated her and given her everything she needed. She doesn't need your sweater sets and designer jeans! If Christopher wants to take care of his child, let HIM pay for Chilton."

Emily felt the danger in that idea. If Christopher really did pay for Chilton, then Lorelai would immediately cut them off from her and Rory again. Even though she knew Christopher had recently been fired and had no money except for what Francine gave him, she decided to not let this line of thought go any further, and dialed down her frosty tone.

"Lorelai, we can discuss this next week at the Friday dinner. It's also a good time to revisit the idea of buying Rory a car. That parking space has been going unused ever since she started Chilton. Goodnight, Lorelai. See you next Friday."

A dam burst inside of Lorelai. Everything she'd sacrificed, that she'd worked for, was being eaten away by Emily Gilmore and her psychotic need to control everything Lorelai and Rory did.

She stormed to Rory's room, only to hear her talking to her father on her new telephone before Lorelai could even open the door. Then she stormed to the living room to throw out all of the gifts that Rory had brought home, but Rory had moved everything to her room. Finally Lorelai stormed upstairs to scream into her pillow.

Her heart was being tossed around on the cross-currents of her own independence, Rory's growing up, and the dramatically different worlds of Stars Hollow and Hartford. As the memory of Rory dancing around in her new boots, calling her father and laughing at their inside jokes, Lorelai's heart ached for the past that was only two days ago. Her Stars Hollow perfect, self-contained past.

"Mom! I need a study break. Got any ice cream?" called Rory, waking Lorelai out of her pity party. Always true to her 'Rory first' vow, Lorelai gathered herself together and joined her daughter, putting on her best friend and mother mask.

They circled awkwardly around each other as they prepared coffee and their snack, both embarrassed about the argument they'd had earlier.

"So you dragged Luke to the mall?" Rory asked, avoiding her mother's eyes as they sat in the kitchen eating ice cream out of the carton.

"More M&Ms," mumbled Lorelai through a mouthful of ice cream, as she pointed to the carton. Rory dutifully poured another large handful of candy in.

Nothing bridged awkward moments like Lorelai's exaggerated storytelling. "He loved it!" she said, "It was like Cinderella's magic castle for him. You should have seen him on the kiddie slide."

"Mom, that's kind of a creepy image," said Rory, shuddering, "but since I know Luke didn't really do it, that kinda leaves you as the pervert."

"The truth was he ran and hid from the perfume girls," giggled Lorelai, taking her accidentally tasteless remark and Rory's equally bad retort seriously. She was now sinking under the water again, the currents moving ever faster, her daughter pulling steadily away from her.

"He recovered nicely, though, once I saved him from being attacked. He bought me this," she said as she held out her arm for Rory to sniff. She wished Rory could see that she was reaching out to her hoping to find a life preserver.

"Ooh, wonderful, that is your kind of scent. He really loves you." Rory grew happier with Lorelai's and Luke's relationship every day. "You two are so MFEO."

"I know! That's what we're going to have tattooed on our butts." She used her hands to visualize the phrase "Made For Each Other" in an arc through the air.

"I need to get back to studying. Is Luke coming over tonight?" Rory finally found the gumption to turn her comforting eyes on her mother, hoping Lorelai would find a pleasant way to occupy herself that evening and leave her alone to study. She knew that she had stretched the truth about her studies. With a quiz tomorrow and the first draft of an essay due, she was already in trouble for Monday, and hadn't even thought about the rest of the week.

"Probably for a little while after he closes, but he's not spending the night. Early deliveries tomorrow or he has to open, or something."

A few more awkward moments ensued as they ran out of conversation. Rory shoved her spoon into the ice cream carton and made an excuse to return to her study cave.

Not long after Lorelai had cleaned up the detritus from the evening's excitement, she picked up the phone and called Luke.

"Hey," she said, priding herself on her cool demeanor. She walked up the stairs to her bedroom, telling herself that she was going to put away the clean clothes stacked on every surface in her room, ignoring the fact that she was on the edge of tears over Rory.

"What's wrong?" he asked. The nice thing about being monosyllabic was he was capable of understanding other monosyllabic people, even multisyllabic Lorelai. Her one syllable had enough cracks and wobble in the tones that he knew something wasn't right.

Ignoring his question, she replied, "Are you coming over tonight? Just for a nightcap, I mean, what with school and work tomorrow and everything."

"If you don't mind, yes, I will," he said. "Are you sure you have time for me?" His voice, deep and soothing, washed over her like a cleansing shower, rinsing off some of cares and sadness.

God, that was what made him ten times the man that every other guy she knew was. Both of them knew that she was the one who needed him tonight, but he made it sound like she would be doing him a favor if he could be in her presence for a little while.

"I might be able to make it worth your while. There's still a beer around here somewhere, and I'm pretty sure I can hook you up with a woman who'd like to do nothing more than neck in the corner with a big handsome guy like you." She giggled half-heartedly.

Lorelai had taken up watch on the front porch, waiting for Luke. A single candle covered by a hurricane glass flickered on the table. She hitched up her favorite quilt and took a first sip of beer. Luke's beer stood waiting, and Lorelai laid her head on the back of the settee, listening to the sounds of Stars Hollow going to sleep.

The shadow moved familiarly across the lawn, not surprising Lorelai, who could sense his arrival. He moved quietly up the steps, easing his large frame onto the settee beside her.

"Priorities," he admonished as she tried to hand him a beer.

Taking her in his arms, he kissed her tenderly, fleeting, welcoming her into his embrace. In return she gave him her unhappiness and frustration, which he took willingly.

"Is that your new perfume?" he asked, kissing first her palm then her wrist. "I still can't get over the fact that it smells so much like you."

"I don't know how to live without my Rory attached to my hip. All these years I never realized that I treated her as if she were still my baby, almost as if I could carry her in my arms everywhere I went. Now I see her walking around, showing off her new clothes, hopping on the back of her father's motorcycle. She's an independent person, and I can't change that."

"Is it so bad to watch her change? Don't you want her to build solid relationships with others, to one day leave the nest?" He nudged her with his arm around her. "Don't you want her to be independent?"

"Sniff. No, not really. I'm ready to lock her up and throw away the key; never let her leave Stars Hollow. She should stay with Mommy always."

He laughed. "I love your honesty. So you're trying to raise your own version of Kirk? A brilliant, funny, sweet, not at all annoying Kirk?

She giggled. "Yep. We'll be here together, holed up in the house, telling our Rorykirk she can't ride her bicycle beyond Stars Hollow town limits. How does that sound?"

"Holed up in a house with you sounds great. Not so sure about the Rorykirk thing, though. Maybe there are some other options?"

"Options?"

"Do you know what Buddy told me when I started learning to cook and serve at his restaurant? The food never gets eaten as hot as it's cooked. You're boiling now, this weekend's been as hot as a pizza oven, but tomorrow there's school, and Rory will go."

"Rorykirk," she corrected.

He passed his hand through her hair, giving it a gentle admonishing tug. "Tomorrow Rorykirk will go to school, and she'll come to the diner for Monday pie and to plan her study week, then she'll go home and be with you for the whole evening. You'll fight over the remote, argue about the leftover takeout food, and call me to bring some disgusting dessert concoction that I don't even sell in the diner, but I know it's just an excuse to drag me over there so the two of you have an audience. Eventually I'll get my reward, …"

"Dirty!" she interjected.

"A kiss," he said pointedly, "and I'll go back to work. Before you know it, a week will have passed, Christopher will be gone and you'll settle down to your new normal. At some point you'll realize you don't want a Rorykirk, you want this new, better, happier Rory, because she can appreciate her time with her dad, but will still be your little girl.

His face went out of focus as a sheen of tears threatened to fall from Lorelai's eyes. "Wow, that's a lot of words from you," she sniffed, rubbing the back of her hand across her damp eyes.

"I've been saving them up all week, now I'm all tapped out. Grunt."

Lorelai pressed her body against Luke's, drawing on his comfort and warmth. Suddenly a vibration and a humming sound startled him as he practically jumped off the settee.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

She giggled. "Nothing. That's either your phone, or you're really happy to see me."

Embarrassed, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his new cell phone. The phone vibrated again in his hand. "Who's calling?" he asked.

"We'll find out as soon as you answer it," she giggled again.

"I meant that you're here. Who else has my number?"

"Just answer the damn phone, Luke." She sighed dramatically and shook her head. "So much work."

"Hello?" he said, after clumsily finding and pressing the right button.

"Hi Luke."

"Rory?" He looked at Lorelai, who looked as confused as he felt.

"I just wanted to make sure I had the right phone number for you. Um, is Mom still mad? Things were kinda awkward here this evening."

Luke returned to the settee, grasping Lorelai's knee as she listened to their call. "No, why don't you come out here and talk to us face to face?"

He heard the connection end and the front door open at the same time. Rory tentatively came outside, saying in the tiniest voice, "Mom? I'm sorry."

"My sweet, there's nothing to be sorry about," said Lorelai as she pulled Rory into her embrace. "We both fell victim to Team Emily."

"I really hate that twinset," said Rory, "and the loafers. Who wears loafers, anyway?"

"Taylor Doose," interjected Luke dryly.

"Oh they are definitely going back," decided Rory, still determined to keep everything else.

The three of them snuggled back onto the settee, Rory leaning against Lorelai, who plastered herself against Luke. Lorelai wrapped her arm around Rory, pulling her even closer.

"Sorry, Luke." Rory's head peeked out from Lorelai's embrace, the darkness of the evening making her look so young, like the twelve year old Rory he met so long ago.

"Sorry for what?" he asked gruffly, still basking in the Waltons-like happiness of his family.

"For making you go to the mall," she said softly. "I know you must have hated it."

"You know she made me eat a pretzel." His left hand reached up and caressed Lorelai's hair, remembering the fun they'd had that afternoon. Lorelai straightened up for a moment, one arm still around Rory, but she leaned back against Luke, cuddling into the softness of his sweatshirt.

"You loved that pretzel! Yours was gone before I'd finished half of mine," Lorelai retorted.

"Only because you were talking," he lied. That pretzel made a pretty good lunch.

"Must have been horrible," Rory commiserated in pretend empathy.

Luke continued his minor rant. "Did you know about those perfume ninjas? They come out of nowhere to attack you with cardboard strips doused in stinky stuff. Stuff you'd never buy in a million years." Luke nuzzled Lorelai, smelling the scent of the new perfume he'd been unable to resist.

"Yeah, they're the worst. Sorry you had to go through that as well as Mom's pretzel obsession."

"Well, make sure it doesn't happen again," he decreed, smiling into the dark.