Cold Feet

Seven burned pancakes, six broken dishes, five broken mugs, four mistaken orders, three new dents in the toaster, two new holes in the wall of the pantry and one broken frying pan consumed Luke’s morning the very next day. Fuming hardly covered the anger and frustration he felt, at Lorelai, Rory and Dean. How the hell had he gotten himself in that situation? And did his girlfriend just dump him for being a pervert? He was ready to pack his apartment up and high tail it out of Star’s Hollow, that damn town was way too fucking crazy for his poor heart to take.



After scaring most of his patrons out of the diner, by eleven the flow of people was almost completely at a standstill. Only Kirk sat at the far table, happily munching on burnt toast and watery hash. Luke angrily rubbed a rag over the counter, cleaning up yet another invisible coffee spill. His thoughts weren’t even jostled by the ring of the bells on the door.



“Luke,” Rory’s timid pipsqueak rang out, so much like the night before that Lorelai’s pale face came to mind and Luke shivered involuntarily. Luke didn’t bother to acknowledge her and kept cleaning the counter. “I’m sorry,” she said weakly.



Luke just shook his head and clenched his jaw.



“I’ve been a little out of control lately...” she went on, leaning on the counter. Luke finally took in her appearance, wearing a pair of old worn corduroys and a long sleeved shirt he hadn’t seen since she was sixteen.



“You mom’s...” he said, biting back the sudden wave of sadness that washed over him.



“She’s really mad at you,” Rory softly finished for him.



Luke nodded and swallowed, unable to respond, trying desperately to regulate his breathing.



“She didn’t know I was with Dean.”



“Rory,” Luke said, trying to cut her off.



“I didn’t want her to know!” she said loudly, placing her palms on the counter. Kirk’s head bounced up.



“Caesar,” Luke called to the kitchen, “I’ll be upstairs.” He nodded toward’s Rory and she followed him up to his apartment.



“I can’t have this out!” he shouted at her when she crossed the threshold and closed the door.



“I’m sorry!” she cried, shocked at his sudden outburst focused on her.



“I don’t like yelling at you! I don’t like being disappointed in you!”



“I know, I know, I’m sorry!” she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.



“It’s not just Dean, is it?” he asked, crossing his arms, adopting an authoritative stance.



“No,” she sniffled quietly.



“You have to tell your mom, about the club, about everything.”



“No!” she shouted. “I don’t want her to know!”



“God, Rory! Did you see her last night? She thinks I came onto you! I was just trying to make sure you were safe! That you were okay!”



“I know, Luke, I’m sorry!”



“You have to tell her I didn’t try anything with you!”



“I know I do!"



“Do you have any idea... I love her! I need her and now she thinks I’m a pervert!” he begged horsely, almost ready to get down on his knees. Dejectedly, he fell into a chair, suddenly exhausted from the wide spectrum of emotions he’d felt in the last two days.



“I’ll talk to her,” Rory said quietly, wiping her cheeks. She took a breath, as if to say something more, but turned and left instead.



Late that night, Luke awoke to a pounding at his door and with a heavy heart, he rose from his new queen bed to open it. Lorelai stood there, clutching her stomach, wearing a bathrobe and rumpled pajamas. Her hair was a mess and she had large black bags under her eyes, her skin pallid and her expression grim. Luke stepped back to let her in and closed the door behind her. Quietly, she put her keys on the kitchen table and fell into a chair. Luke, clad in sweats and his old army t-shirt, moved to sit in the one next to her, unsure of what to say. He hoped to God that Rory had spoken to her, and from her appearance, it looked like she had.



“My kid’s been sleeping around,” she said, unable to hold her sadness at bay, immediately crumbling in on herself in tears.



“Hey, hey,” Luke soothed, incapable of keeping himself from pulling her into his lap.



“She came onto my b-boyfriend,” she told him through her gasping sobs. “Apprently, she’s seeing four--“



“Shhh,” Luke tried to calm her, rubbing her arms and rocking her in his lap.



“I’m still so mad,” she said succinctly. “At Rory... at you. I’m sorry, I don’t want to be mad at you! I’m sorry! I know you were doing the right thing, I know she was scared to tell me.”



“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he whispered softly in her ear, wrapping her tightly in her arms. “I love you, we’ll get through this.”



“I was so mad at you last night, I thought... I thought, 'oh my god, am I on Maury Povich?’”



“It has gotten a little crazy.”



“I thought for a second, you said you were picking up your guy... I thought... maybe you had been seeing Rory this whole time, sleeping with my- I felt like my heart... had...” she tried to explain, losing herself again in her own sobs, burying her face in the soft warm comfort of Luke’s chest.



“Shhh,” he tried to alleviate her sadness, to calm her gasping breaths of air.



“I was awful! You were just being you! I shouldn’t have assumed, you were being Luke, you’ve never not been Luke!”



“Hey, it’s okay, why don’t we lay down? You’ll feel better tomorrow...”



“No,” she said vehemently, shaking her head. “I can’t, I have to go home, make sure she doesn’t sneak out. She was crazy Luke, I don’t know what’s happened to my little girl..."



“Then I’ll take you home, we’ll work this out. I’ll help you, I’ll be here, whatever you need.”



Luke eased Lorelai down onto the other kitchen chair, packed a quick overnight bag and grabbed Lorelai’s hand to lead her out the door.



“My truck’s in the back,” he said, as he followed her down the stairs, a protective hand on her back.



“I brought my Jeep...”



“We’ll take the Jeep,” he reassured her with a forced smile, and followed her to the front of the diner. He walked her to the passenger side door, but instead of opening it, he leaned her against it.



“I’m glad--I mean, I just want you to know, that... Today was the worst day of my life, until you walked through the door. I’m really glad, you’re-we’re, that you came over.”



Lorelai sniffled and nodded. “I missed you too,” she said with a watery smile and leaned forward into Luke’s arms. “I thought the world had ended,” she whispered through her tears.



“Me too,” Luke commiserated, trying desperately to keep from shaking and crying himself.



By the time they arrived back at Lorelai’s house, Lorelai was so close to collapsing on wobbly knees that Luke picked her up and carried her to the couch in the living room. “I’ll check on Rory, go ahead and close your eyes.”



When he ensured that Rory was indeed asleep in her bed, and Luke returned to the living room, Lorelai was already snoring softly while sitting up in the center on the couch. He smiled and eased himself down next to her, before pulling her head down into his lap.



“Go ahead and rest, I’ll stay on guard tonight,” he whispered as he looked down at her, petting her hair.



By the time was sun began to rise Luke was battling his eyelids, willing them to stay open, trying to find new ways to stay awake. It was not an easy task, after being so relieved that Lorelai was back with him, sad and scared but safe and warm in his lap. His relief had almost overtaken him and lulled him to sleep, but he had fought on for those two women he loved.



Lorelai began to stir at that time, and looked up at him sleepily. “Time is it?” she asked, squinting her eyes against the growing sunlight.



“‘Bout 6 am,” Luke whispered, smiling at her sleep tousled appearance and how much better she already looked from only two hours of rest.



“Wow,” Lorelai responded, before moving into a sitting position and leaning heavily on Luke. “I love you,” she said to him calmly, staring ahead.



Luke smiled, swallowed, and tightened his grip on her shoulder. “I know,” he responded cockily, although his heart soared in secret.



Lorelai gasped and moved her face into his line of vision, just an inch or so away from him. “You did not, Han Solo!”



“I love you, too,” he told her, still grinning like a fool. Lorelai exhaled happily and leaned her head back on Luke.



“I was thinking I could get Rory to a therapist today,” she told him, starting to play with the string tye on his sweats. “She’s being defiant, but I think she’s also scared that she’s getting a little out of control.”



“Yeah... she came to the diner yesterday, to apologize, she was pretty upset.”



“She did?”



“Yeah, I was... she wasn’t going to tell you, I was out of my mind. I yelled at her,” he confessed, cringing.



“Don’t apologize, she hurt you Luke, she hurt me... If she hadn’t talked to me last night...”



“I didn’t know how to tell you, Lorelai,” Luke said quietly, stiffening his arm around her.



“I wouldn’t have believed you,” she confessed, turning again to face him. “I’m sorry, I was wrong.”



“No more apologizing, it’s okay... I’m not so infallible Lorelai, we both messed up. I should have told you it was Rory there with Dean... I shouldn’t have tried to hide that from you. I’m sorry about that."



“Okay,” she agreed, resting her chin on his shoulder. “Now can you kiss me please?”



Luke chuckled and leaned forward, so his lips met hers. Luke poured the relief that had flooded him into their kiss.