Lorelai opened the door and walked into her house. Standing still for a moment, she was met with silence. Sighing she moved further into the house, heading into the kitchen to grab a snack. She paused at the door to Rory's room. They grow up way too fast. Lorelai thought as she gazed into the room. She stood there for a few moments reminiscing on the days when Rory was there reading a book or studying for a test. She saw her there in her mind, wearing her Chilton uniform, books she had been reading scattered across the bed. Shaking her head she turned away from the room.
Lorelai grabbed a snack and then headed upstairs to change into comfy clothes. Once she was ready, she went back down to sit on the couch. Just as she turned on the TV her phone began to ring.
"Hello," she answered.
"Hey, mom."
The sound of her daughter's voice on the phone lifted her mood immediately.
"Hi, kid. How was your flight?" she asked.
"I had a window seat so it was pretty good. Got some reading done on the plane, too. I'm getting settled in here. Some of the other reporters are going out to eat tonight, so I'm going to join them. How is it there?" Rory said.
"That sounds great, hon. Everything is good here. I just sat down to watch some TV and Luke is coming over after he closes." Lorelai told her.
"Tell Luke I said hi when you see him. I have to go get ready. I'll call you later."
"Okay, miss you already, kid. Have fun at dinner."
"Miss you too, mom."
Lorelai hung up the phone and focused her attention on the TV. She flipped through the channels hoping to find something interesting to watch. Finally, she settled on a movie that she had already seen about 100 times before and leaned back into the couch. Between the early morning and the emotions of the day, she started to drift off to sleep.
Luke knocked on Lorelai's front door for a third time. No answer. Lorelai knew he was coming over. She wouldn't have gone anywhere would she? The longer he waited, the more nervous he felt. Could something be wrong? The passing seconds felt much longer than normal. Luke tried to open the door, but it was locked. He circled the house and made his way to the back door.
"Lorelai, it's me!" he called while knocking on the back door. Still no answer. He tried the door knob. It opened easily.
"She should really lock her doors. It's not safe for her to be here alone with the door unlocked," he grumbled aloud to himself.
He walked into the house and saw no sign of her in the kitchen. He glanced into Rory's room as he walked by and noticed that she wasn't in there. Finally, he arrived in the living room and found her deep asleep on the couch. The sight of her caused his breath to hitch in his throat. She was so peaceful and beautiful like what he imagined an angel must look like. He picked up a blanket from the nearby chair and gently covered her. He turned the TV off and then walked into the kitchen. She will be hungry when she wakes up. He thought. He looked into her fridge. He was not surprised by the lack of what he considered edible food.
He heard gentle footsteps approaching as he continued to search for decent food.
"Luke?" she questioned sleepily behind him. "How did you get in here?"
"You left your door unlocked. Anyone could have gotten in. You're lucky it was me and not some madman." Luke ranted.
Lorelai smiled. It felt nice to hear the concern in Luke's voice again.
"That's debatable. You seem mad and you're a man. So a madman did get into my house. Is he here to take my virtue or my Chinese food leftovers?" she teased eyeing the open fridge.
Luke rolled his eyes, falling back into the pattern that they had honed over many years of friendship.
"Crazy lady," he replied in an exasperated tone. "What have you been eating? There is nothing in this fridge that resembles a balanced meal."
"Take-out mostly. Sometimes Sookie cooks me something."
"I'll be back. I'm going to get some ingredients from the diner to make you a real meal." Luke said.
"Don't forget dessert!" she told him as he headed for the door.
"No dessert if you don't eat some vegetables!" he retorted.
"Bleh! Vegetables, who needs vegetables? I've been getting on fine without them," she called back playfully as he walked out the door.
Lorelai grinned. It was nice to have Luke back in her life. He filled the giant Luke sized hole in her heart nicely. Christopher had been a good match for her as a teenager, but Luke was the one who understood adult Lorelai better than anyone.
Lorelai heard the door open and walked back into her kitchen. She saw Luke unpacking bags of food to prepare for their meal.
"Why, Luke Danes, what did little ol' me do to deserve all this?" she said in her southern bell voice.
She peeked into one of the bags that he had yet to empty.
"Brownies! Yum!" she said as she reached in to grab the brownies.
"Ah, jeez! You'll ruin your appetite for dinner," Luke complained.
"Luke, hon, when have I ever not had an appetite for something you made me?" she asked as she started eating a brownie. "Mmm! This is great! I've missed you."
Luke smiled at her, pleased at her enjoyment of the treats he brought.
"I missed you, too," he told her as he proceeded to start cooking their meal.
They stayed in comfortable silence. Lorelai sitting at the table eating brownies; Luke standing by the stove cooking.
"Have you heard from Rory?" Luke asked, breaking the silence.
"She called me earlier. Seems like everything is going well so far."
"Good. That's good."
Lorelai loved that he asked about Rory. In all of the time they knew each other, he had always cared about her daughter. It was one of the things she loved about him. He wasn't only in it to get with her. He always stepped up for both of them.
"How's April?" Lorelai asked him.
"She's good. Things are a lot better since we made everything official. We're in a good place," he told her.
"Good. That's good," Lorelai replied.
The talk of April brought unpleasant memories to mind. Memories of the mistakes he had made. Memories of how he had lost the love of his life.
"Lorelai," Luke started. "I know I messed up before. I should have never kept that part of my life from you. I was so caught up in it all that I made the biggest mistake of my life by shutting you out. I won't make the same mistake again. I want you, Rory, April, and I to be a family. It may take time, but that's what I want. It's what I've always wanted, and it's what I will be working toward."
"Aw, hon. I want that, too," Lorelai said in acknowledgment. "But it did hurt. It still hurts, Luke. You kept something huge from me after we had agreed to not have secrets anymore. I wanted to be all in, and you left me out."
"I know I did. I'm sorry. I can't change it, but I did learn from it. I will never keep anything like that from you again."
Lorelai considered his words. It was a start, but the hurt still lingered. Luke noticed her lack of reply.
"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to prove it to you. I'm all in. I want this. I want us. It's been hell without you, Lorelai."
"I haven't enjoyed being without you much myself," she agreed.
Luke finished cooking the meal and brought their plates over to the table. He sat down next to Lorelai, and they began eating together.
"Speaking of our biggest mistakes," Lorelai began. "I never should have gone to Christopher. No matter how much I was hurting, there was no excuse for what I did and everything that followed. I am sorry I hurt you."
Luke looked at her making eye contact.
"I've had some time to move past it, but it still hurts. It hurts a lot, Lorelai. That you went to him. That you married him."
"I know, and I don't expect you to get over it so quickly. I knew it would hurt you. I knew it would end things between us, and I did it anyway."
They sat together, lost in their thoughts. Each of them considered the other's apology. Each of them reflected on the mistakes they had made that contributed to their time apart.
"Listen, Lorelai. We both made mistakes. We both did things we regret. Even with all of that, there is no one else I would rather be with. I love you. I have always loved you. If this is going to work, we have to communicate better. I promise I will never keep a secret from you again. I can't lose you again."
Lorelai looked at him. Her diner man. Her monosyllabic, flannel wearing diner man who was putting his feelings into words. The man she couldn't live without. It felt like progress: the confessions they had both made, the talk of love and being together, the acknowledgement that they would have to communicate more to make this work. She leaned over and gently pressed her lips to his.
"I love you, too," she said with moisture filling her eyes. "And I want to be with you. More than anything."
It wouldn't be easy repairing the damage, but the most important part was that they both wanted the same thing. They both wanted to be together forever.
They finished their meal and worked together to clean up. After cleaning up, they moved into the living room. Lorelai turned the TV on and sat down next to Luke. Their bodies touched as they sat closely together on the couch. They hadn't been this close together in a long time. There had been counters and tables between them.
Lorelai felt her heart rate increasing as she reveled in the feeling of him being so close. Luke put his arm around her then placed his hand on her thigh while they sat together watching the movie. Lorelai leaned into him, resting her head comfortably on his shoulder.
"This is nice," Lorelai said. "Do you concur?"
"I do," he said. "I've missed you."
Luke leaned down and kissed her gently. The kiss was sweet, unhurried, loving. Lorelai sighed contentedly when they pulled apart.
"That was really nice," she told him with a wide smile.
"Then you'll really like this one," he quipped, leaning down to capture her lips again. This time he kissed her more passionately. She responded enthusiastically. They had spent too many nights apart, and neither of them wanted to waste any more time.
"Bring me upstairs, Luke," she said, her bright blue eyes shining with love and desire.
She didn't have to ask him twice. He stood, taking her hand, and led her up to their room.