This story has been a year in the making. If not more. I'm not sure what took me so long. But it is my first GG story in 8-9 years so it's a bit strange to be back. But it feels good.

Here you will find five glimpses of Luke and Lorelai's life post-series finale. How do you go back from what they went through? It serves to bridge the gap between the series' storyline and what has been hinted at for the rivival.

TWO OF US

Chapter One: Two of Us Riding Nowhere

The usual hustle and bustle of the breakfast crowd seemed to be almost non-existent. Only a few of the regulars had managed to drag themselves out of bed at their regular hour and made their way down to the diner for a hearty meal. As if they hadn't enough to eat the previous evening!

Luke routinely and expertly executed the few orders that were placed within minutes, which left him with a few minutes of contemplative silence after each order was delivered at the right table. For the time being Kirk was half-asleep by a plate of hashbrowns and so far he had only managed to drop a dollop of ketchup onto the plate and stirred on potato into the mix. At another table Patty was mindlessly stirring a cup of coffee whilst staring blankly into the distance. It was safe to say the Bon Voyage party thrown for Rory the night before had taken its toll on the good people of Starts Hollow.

Thankfully. Or so thought Luke, the diner owner who had been without sleep for almost two nights in a row. He had never been much of a sleeper, which was just as well as he had to get up early most days anyway in order to receive deliveries and cater to the wishes of the early risers. Today, though, he could have done with a bit more sleep. After days spent planning Rory's spontaneous goodbye party, then attempting to salvage said party by sewing together anything waterproof to cover the town square and finally (finally!) kissing one Lorelai Gilmore again, Luke Danes was good and thoroughly exhausted.

With a ringing as shrill as an alarm clock the diner phone suddenly chimed annoyingly, waking Luke from his stupor. It seemed to have a similar effect on his few customers. Surprised by the noise Kirk almost dropped his face into the ketchup covered plate of hashbrowns and Patty dropped her spoon on the floor with a loud clatter.

Only stupefied for a brief moment, Luke quickly grabbed the phone and disappeared as far into the kitchen as the chord would allow.

''lo?' he mumbled gruffly.

'We kissed, late night. You and me, we kissed, and we haven't done that for almost a year so it has to mean something, right? I mean, I don't normally go kissing people like that,' a voice carried on at the other end of the receiver.

'Lorelai?'

'Of course, who else? Or were you expecting a call from Jennifer Aniston? I believe she's available.' Lorelai quipped.

'Huh?'

'You know, Rachel? Well, not your Rachel obviously but Ross' Rachel-Rachel.'

'Yeah, yeah. So you called to talk about some actress?' His mind finally seemed to be coming around and he was slowly grasping whom he was talking to.

'No, I…' she trailed off and became suddenly unusually silent.

'You okay?' His voice filled with concern at the sound of her silence. You could say many things about Lorelai Gilmore but one of them was not that she was a silent sort of person. Pretty much the opposite if he was to be entirely truthful. So, naturally, he worried – like he always had and always would when it came to her.

Exactly where they stood now he had no idea. The past year had caused them to inflict what he had, until recently, believed irreparable damage to their relationship. As a passive bystander he had watched her marry another man (so shortly after their own failed engagement), watched her move in with said man (in the house they had restored for them) and walk hand in hand through town with the same man (through his town, their town, thank you very much!). And yet there he had been on the sidelines, forever holding a torch of vague hope for the woman he would eternally love however much pain she inflicted on him (and vice versa).

But suddenly her marriage had crumpled and he couldn't help but rekindle the torch that had almost burnt out. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope still. Eventually things slowly reversed themselves to what they had been. He wore the blue cap she had gifted him with years ago instead of the black thing that had been nothing but a crappy replacement. And she began to frequent the diner again.

After an awkward maze meeting, a loud attempt at car shopping and drunken serenading (on her part of course), he had suddenly found himself pressed against her, lips molding together. And here she was calling him, ranting and he was much too slow in the uptake.

'Lorelai?' he tried as the line remained silent.

He heard trembling breaths then a slight sob and finally a whimper.

'No', she then managed in a tearful voice. 'I just dropped my daughter off at the airport and I have no idea how long it'll be before I see her again. It's like that scene in Stepmom where the daughter realizes that Susan Sarandon has cancer and she may not live much longer. Except I haven't got cancer – and neither does Rory, so it's really not the same at all. I cried watching that film, though. Man, life sucks,' she ranted.

At the word no it was like something inside him snapped. Lorelai, his Lorelai, was not okay and that was not okay. Something had to be done and it had to be done fast.

'Go home, I'll be right over.'

'Luke…'

'No, nope. No protests. Go home and I'll be right there, okay?'

''Kay,' she replied weakly, having seemingly regained a bit of control over her voice.

After preparing a quick emergency care package containing coffee, muffins and bagels, Luke hurried towards the exit of his establishment, only pausing to toss the keys down on Kirk's table.

'You're in charge. Eat up, kick people out, and then close up. We're closed for the rest of the day. And if there are money missing I know where to find you.'

And then Luke was out the door, rushing towards the Crap Shack.

To his relief the old jeep was already parked in front of the house. He pulled up behind it, stepped out and soon trot the once familiar path from the driveway up to the front door. He did his best to repress various memories and instead made headway for the porch where he knocked gently on the door.

Soon he heard shuffling on the other side as tired feet made their way to the door, which swung open to reveal a broken woman.

He had no choice. It just happened. Arms spread eagle-wide he allowed Lorelai to step into the comfort of his arms as the tears began to trickle down her face again. He didn't speak, there was no need to, he just held her and let that be enough comfort for the time being.

Soon (to soon maybe?) Lorelai pulled back and starred at him for a quick second. Then, surprisingly, she let out a faint laugh and pointed at the flannel shirt of the day.

'I thought I smelled tomato!' Luke looked down. There, right above a teary water stain with smudged mascara, was a large ketchup stain.

'Uh, right. Sorry 'bout that.' Lorelai just continued laughing and hiccoughing almost hysterically. Women. You thought you understood them, knew how to comfort them and suddenly a ketchup stain is the funniest thing in the world.

As she continued to laugh Luke just remained there, food and coffee still in hand. And as soon as it had begun, Lorelai's spontaneous laughter died.

'Is that coffee?' she pointed at the take-away cup in his hand. Luke nodded.

'For me?' she pointed at herself this time and he just nodded again.

'Gimme!'

It wasn't long before they had taken up residence in her living room, Lorelai happily munching away at the various goods he had brought and gulping down the coffee. Luke, meanwhile, sat awkwardly perched at the edge of a chair, slowly surveying the once familiar room. As much as it looked the same as it always had, some major changes had been made in his time away. A dresser was placed differently, the couch seemed to be facing in a slightly different direction and, most noticeably, there was a giant flat screen TV mounted to the wall. This had to be the most obvious sign of another man having lived here, even if it was only for a while.

'Okay, I'm done.' Lorelai's voice woke him from his reverie and Luke immediately turned his attention to her. It was strange how, after almost a year apart, he was still so accustomed to being entirely attuned to her every movement.

She held out the paper cup to him. 'You don't happen to have any more of this magic potion somewhere, do you?'

'Sorry.'

'Sorry? Really? You're saying sorry?'

'Uh…'

'Luke,' she interrupted him, sounding almost stern. The severity of her tone forced him to stop averting his eyes and finally look at her, really look for the first time in a good while. In many ways she looked the same, but, like the room they were currently in had changed in little ways, so had she. Her hair was longer than when they had parted ways on that painful night, and her face looked just a little bit older and a little more harried. Not that it made her look any less beautiful in his eyes.

'Thank you for this. It was just what I needed. You're like my own personal fairy godmother, except you're a man. So… anyway, thanks ' she smiled at him and, like clockwork, he felt his own lips pull up in a gentle smile.

'You're welcome.'

In spite of her smile she still looked tired and heart-broken.

'You should get some rest,' he told her gently and instead of the protest he had expected, she simply nodded in agreement. As if that settled it, Luke shrugged and stood to leave.

'I should probably get back. I left Kirk in charge.'

'Do you have to?' She hesitated, regarding his face carefully.

'Or I could, you know,' he began – 'Or you could, you know,' she began.

'Stay,' the said in unison and then smiled.

'I guess I'll be having my morning coffee at Kirk's from now on?'

'Probably'.

Some minutes later Luke was seriously contemplating doing a runner. He stood in the doorway of the bedroom and he hadn't been able to move for the past few minutes. This had to be a bad idea, entering her bedroom already. Too many memories and he certainly couldn't seem to escape the ever-present ghost of a certain man. It wasn't that the bedroom looked remarkably different, it just seemed different.

This room was something they, himself and Lorelai, had remodeled thinking this was where they were going to spend the rest of their lives – together. Then bad things had happened and yet here he was again.

The door to the bathroom opened and revealed a much fresher looking Lorelai, now clad in comfortable PJs. He couldn't help a smile from creeping onto his face as he saw the checkered pattern of the shirt. As much as she had always complained about his apparent complete lack of fashion, she had always had a thing for sleeping in his flannel shirts. And never once had he complained.

'Are you okay?' Having caught sight of him still in the doorway, she gave him a puzzled look.

'Fine, yeah'. And he stepped over the dreaded threshold.

'You don't have to stay if you don't want to. I know it's…'

'I want to,' he cut her off and in a few strides he was by her side, determined not to make this into anything it potentially wasn't.

'You sure? Because I-'

'Lorelai.' At the sound of her name she immediately shut up and forced her eyes to meet his. Apparently she found enough certainty in his gaze to keep quiet.

'I want to stay, if that's what you want me to,' she nodded her consent and he continued: 'We need to talk, we both know that, but right now that doesn't matter. Rory's gone and that hurts like hell, I know, but you're not alone. I'm here.'

'Thank you, Luke. Really.'

'Anytime'. And he meant it. Only with a hint of awkwardness at the back of his mind did he reach out and grasped her hand before leading her to the bed. After kicking his boots of he climbed on and settled against the headboard with Lorelai safely tucked against his side. He couldn't help but think of how right this was. There would be plenty of time to talk later but right in that moment they would enjoy the sound of silence and the company of one another. It would be all right eventually, he was sure of it.

What must have been hours later, Luke was finally able to pry his eyes open. It took a few moments to come to grasps with where he was and especially whom he was with. Lorelai was pressed against his side with her head buried in the pillows, wild, sleepy hair fanning out about her sleeping face.

Luke felt somewhat refreshed although his neck was killing him. That's what you get for sleeping while sitting. Go figure.

A loud rattling from downstairs woke him from his reverie. It sounded like someone was trying to break in albeit not very elegantly. Doing his best to avoid waking Lorelai, he gently climbed off the bed and made his way downstairs, to his best ability avoiding the many creaking floorboards.

The rattling at the front door continued – even more intently than before.

'Coming,' he heard himself mutter annoyed and the rattling immediately stopped. Before he could think his actions through Luke ripped the front door open, breathing a sigh of relief when it didn't come off its hinges, only to come face to face with Sookie.

'Luke!' The surprise at seeing him at her best friend's house was evident.

'Hi Sookie,' he managed meekly.

'What are you- No wait, don't answer that. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God!' The chef was slowly losing her composure.

'Sookie,' Luke tried warningly and in a low voice but it was far too late.

'You're here. You're here at Lorelai's house! Lorelai. You. You and Lorelai. Does this mean- I knew you were warming up to each other…' she rambled on as she processed the information she was confronted with:' and the song! The song! Who can refuse a good ol' serenade, huh? Certainly not you, you softie. And the party! Oh my God. You and Lorelai!'

'Sookie!' Getting agitated by the minute Luke reached out and abruptly pulled the chef inside, effectively shutting themselves away from the ever prying eyes if the townsfolk of Stars Hollow.

'You and Lorelai!' Sookie quipped once more and in the hopes of shutting her up, which resulted in Sookie emitting a loud squeak. Not seeing any other choice, Luke dragged her off into the kitchen.

'Shh! Lorelai's asleep, needs rest.'

'Oh she does, does she?' Sookie winked.

With a sigh Luke just shook his head. 'Nothing like that. She just dropped Rory off at the airport and seemed to have some sort of breakdown. She ranted about something about Susan Sarandon getting cancer. Or something.'

'No! I love Susan Sarandon, she can't have cancer. Get away from her you fuckin' asshole or I'm gonna splatter you ugly face all over this nice car!' Sookie rambled.

'I don't think-'

'You finally got laid properly. I'm so proud.' Sookie kept quoting, now getting slightly teary eyed.

'Hormones?' Luke asked.

'Yep. Sorry. Lorelai was talking about Stepmom, wasn't she.' He nodded in response.

Sookie wiped a tear away absentmindedly. Then she gave Luke a warm, adoring smile.

'And you came over to let her know she wasn't alone. That's something Old Luke would do. Or maybe New Luke. Are you New Luke now?'

'Should I understand what you're talking about?'

'Hormones,' Sookie explained as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. To emphasize her meaning, she gently rubbed her belly. And once again Luke was left wondering how much he really understood about women. Not that much it would seem.

Placing a Tupperware container on the kitchen counter, Sookie elaborated. 'I brought comfort food. Will you make sure she gets it?'

'Of course'

'And a hug – you should give her a hug. Ooh, and maybe a kiss?'

Luke shot her a warning glance, trying to look stern.

'That was too far, wasn't it?' To this statement Luke could do nothing but nod.

'Okay, I get it. Just a hug. And the food, don't forget to give her food. And a kiss!'

'Sookie!'

'Just a peck! On the cheek! Or the lips, if you want. You decide!' and with that Sookie rushed to the front door as quickly as her advanced pregnancy would allow her to.

Luke sighed as he watched her go, shaking her head. The container did indeed contain comfort food as promised, although he wasn't entirely sure Lorelai would consider the garden salad tossed in there as particularly comforting. Heck, she frowned at a tomato in a burger and preferred potatoes that were soaked in oil to fresh, new potatoes. Crazy lady.

Besides the salad Sookie had thrown in a lasagna and some greasy looking garlic bread, apparently extra cheesy. Just the way Lorelai liked it. As if on autopilot Luke navigated the kitchen he had become familiar with over the course of many years. In a few minutes the table was set, salad included, and the lasagna was bubbling happily away in the oven make-shift tumble dryer.

He couldn't help but contemplate Sookie's words. A kiss would be nice for sure but at the same time Luke was painfully aware of the painful ramifications it could have if either of them pushed the other too far. How on earth had things become so messed up?

Shuffling feet approaching broke his stream of thoughts and he turned to see a bleary-eyes but smiling Lorelai Gilmore approach.

'I go to sleep and wake up in Heaven. You're a saint. Saint Luke. Sounds alright, doesn't it?' He smiled warmly at her and felt his smile widen when she returned the gesture.

'Something smells amazing!'

'That would be Sookie's doing. She came by a minute ago to see how you were holding up. And to feed an army apparently.'

'Man, I'm one lucky girl,' as if to emphasize her statement she sniffed deeply before exhaling contentedly.

'You're still here.' It wasn't a question just an endearing statement.

'Wouldn't want to be anywhere else.' It was reflex, not something he planned, but he reached out and pulled her to him. Without thinking much about it he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. At least that's what he had intended but Lorelai instinctively turned her face so their lips met briefly but sweetly.

'I like you in my kitchen. Will you be me own personal Gordon Ramsay? Without the swearing,' she asked, breathing deeply. 'Well, you can curse a bit.'

'How generous of you. Now get your butt over here and eat up.' Grinning, Lorelai obeyed and sashayed over to the dining table.

'Dirty!'

He grinned and placed the lasagna in the middle of the table. Then he sat down next to her and reached for the salad, internally thanking Sookie.

Alright, that was it for the first chapter. I will post the second tomorrow. I apologise for any typos.