"Man this job is great," Zach told Luke for the 10th time his shift, "You hear all the gossip, get the leftover fries, and you smell like the diner at the end of the day, too. That might sounds gross to some people, but it reminds me Lane, so I kind of dig it, know what I mean?" He continued, picking up an armful of dishes and following Luke behind the counter.

Zach had been particularly chatty all morning and wasn't dissuaded by Luke's monosyllabic presence.

"And I'm thinking there is good song in it, too. Brian's got a tune I could put some words to. I'm thinking maybe something about empty plates and broken dishes. There's something in that, don't you think?"

"Luke, more coffee over here, please, I haven't got all day you know."

Luke looked down the counter to where Taylor sat finishing a slice of peach pie.

"Thank god for that," Luke muttered, picking up the coffee pot and making his way toward Taylor. "Anything to speed you up", he said, pouring the coffee into the mug.

"Charming as always, Luke. You know one day you're going to lose all your business with your surly attitude. And although I can't say I wouldn't be happy to see this piece of property fall into the hands of someone who would appreciate it," Taylor puffed out his chest as he spoke, clearly indicating that he himself should be that "someone" to take the diner's storefront, "it would be sad for the town to lose a staple of many mornings. So what do you say you buck up and force a smile on that face, m'kay?"

A threat of bodily harm was on Luke's tongue when the door opened and Kirk came in wearing a tin foil hat on his head and carrying a baseball bat.

After staring for a moment, soaking in the sight, Luke held up a hand. "I'm not even going to ask, Kirk. You want some coffee?"

Kirk shook his head quickly. "I don't have time for coffee. No one does."

"You look ridiculous, Kirk, what on earth are you thinking?" Taylor asked.

Kirk ignored Taylor, his face serious as he surveyed the diner's population. "You are all at risk," he announced, gravely.

Zach walked back into the dining room and stopped at the sight of Kirk. "Oh dude, this is so going into the song!"

"If you're not going to order anything, then get out, Kirk," Luke said, slamming the coffee pot back onto the warmer, "You're scaring the normal people in here."

Kirk ignored him and explained, "Less than an hour ago, a helicopter was seen just north of the town line. It was flying very low and was shining a bright searchlight to the ground it great sweeping motions. Since I have lived here all my life and have never seen a helicopter flying near Stars Hollow, let alone one with a search light, mother and I have discussed it and come up with two possible options. Option one, a violent convict has escaped from the prison in Danbury and is making his way to Stars Hollow in search of mischief, or - and this is mother's idea - a UFO has crash landed somewhere in the vicinity and they are searching for the pieces for research purposes. Either way, it's best to be prepared. I'm off to warn those in the town square. They are far too exposed."

And with that, Kirk swept out of the diner and strode toward the park.

Zach snorted, Luke rolled his eyes, and Taylor drained his mug and stood up.

"I'd guess I better go see what that helicopter was about. We should discuss a designated no-fly zone at the next town meeting," Taylor said, rushing out of the diner.

Luke shook his head and wiped at the counter, a small smile of amusement forming in spite of himself.

Twenty minutes later, the diner was empty and full darkness had descended on the streets of Stars Hollow.

"You can head home now. I can handle it from here," Luke told Zach, who had been humming to himself and drumming lightly on the counter since the last customer had left.

"Oh! Okay, sweet, well, I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" Zach said, already headed for the door.

"Yeah, tomorrow is fine, be here at ten. And good luck with the song."

"Thanks, man!" Zach said, pushing his way out the door.

And then Luke was alone.

This time of night used to be his favorite. The diner was empty and quiet after a long day of bustling activity. It was a good time for winding down and doing the simple tasks that get neglected when the seats are filled and there are more immediate things to attend to.

But it was also a good time for thought, which was something to be avoided if possible. Much too dangerous to let his mind wander to anything beyond the diner, April, and whatever sport was in season. Lately he had started closing as soon as the evening rush was over and prepping the diner in the morning instead. Leaving the chores for morning created a rush situation to get things done that didn't allow time for thought. A much better scenario.

With this in mind, Luke was crossing the diner floor to turn his sign to closed when Babette raced up to the door and threw it open with force. She stood in the doorway, doubled over and gasping for breath.

"Babette, are you okay?" Luke asked, hurrying over to her and placing his hand on her shoulder.

Babette continued to breathe heavily and didn't straighten up, "Luke," she wheezed, "Morrie's radio..."

"Why don't you sit down for a second and calm down. Let me get you a glass of water."

"No...time..." Babette choked out, as she said in the offered chair, "Tell you, Luke..."

Something struck Luke when she said his name that time. It was a lightning bolt that ran from his spine to his feet which had started tingling. He crouched down in front of Babette as she sat in his diner chair and looked into her crumpled face. It was clear that whatever she had to say was upsetting her.

"What is it Babette. Just tell me slowly."

Babette coughed and took a few more deep breaths. A tear fell out of her eye and she wiped it away.

Luke felt like shaking the information out of her, but knew it wouldn't help. He worked to calm himself and to speak to her in a soothing tone.

"Babette, please. What is wrong, tell me. Please."

"Morrie's radio, darling. It's a scanner." Babette coughed, "A police scanner. There was a helicopter. I didn't know if I should come tell you or not."

"Yes, yes, I know about that. Kirk came in told us. Is that really all?" Luke asked, covering his fear with annoyance.

"No, darling. That's not all. I didn't know if I should tell you or not." Babette paused and looked right into Luke's eyes. She put her hand on his shoulder, "Sugar, there was an accident. With a tan Jeep. And there's the helicopter. And she hasn't come home."

The lightning bolt Luke felt earlier was now a thunderclap that had stolen the ground beneath him and he felt as if he was falling through space even though he hadn't moved at all. He was frozen, crouched in front of Babette, her hand on the shoulder that he could no longer feel.

"I didn't know if..." she started again.

"Where?" He asked, interrupting her.

"Where, what?"

"Where? Helicopter, where is it going?"

"Sugar, I'm not sure, it might not be..."

"WHERE!" Luke bellowed, oblivious the fact that he was now only inches from Babette's face.

"S-s-sk-k-inner." She replied, her face now a river of tears and mascara.

As soon as the word was out of her mouth, Luke stood and walked through the open door to his diner, not bothering to close it behind him.