Disclaimer: Totally don't own these characters, or this world. I just like to be a part of it. I give all credit to the writers of this fantastic show for the dialogue I've borrowed.

Author's Notes: So, because so many of you asked for it (and thank you!) here is season two of A Secret Beginning. If you haven't read that first, I'd suggest doing so, so you can see how we got here, but it's not super necessary.

I'm going to do the same thing with this story as I did ASB, in that it's going to go in episodic order. Obviously, canon has shifted at this point, but I'm still going to keep close to the events of season two where it makes sense.

Edit: I updated the chapter to reflect they should be going to HARVARD, not HARTFORD for their trip. I'm clearly flying betaless and finally made a boneheaded mistake (facepalm) Thanks to PurryCat for pointing that out to me. :)

The Before, and One

Her head was buzzing, and for a moment in time, everything seemed right with the world. Rory was ecstatic about getting back together with Dean, and she had been asked out by the guy whom she assumed she had missed out on. She was able to have a mini celebration in the center of town with her daughter before each broke off for their respective dates, but there was a promise for a real Gilmore girl's movie night as soon as possible.

When she waved Rory off, she watched as her daughter sauntered in the direction of Dean's house with a promise Rory would be home by 10 – it was a school night after all – and she would be in before midnight. Satisfied Rory could handle herself for the rest of the evening, Lorelai turned and started in the direction of the diner and her dinner date.

After dealing with the linen delivery, she had called Luke and told him that she would absolutely have dinner with him that night, and would meet him at the diner by 7. He promised her a good meal at a restaurant in Litchfield, so, she was sold on the evening. Honestly, he could have said they were going to sit on a park bench all evening to watch paint dry, and she would have been sold. Just the fact that she was able to have a date with him was all that mattered.

She felt light, and was almost tempted to start skipping towards the diner. In fact, why not? She took a couple of skips down the sidewalk, and was contemplating just going full out and doing a twirl while she was at it when someone tugged on her hand and pulled her into the side alleyway.

Just as she was about to let out a strangled yelp, she recognized the strong arms that held her close, and when those arms pressed her back up against the brick wall, she felt butterflies fluttering in her chest and liquid pooling between her legs. When she looked up into the deep blue eyes she knew so well, she licked her lips in anticipation. "I never knew being dragged into a back alley could be so sexy. Oh, robber of mine. Take what you want. It's all yours."

Luke rolled his eyes and leaned back as he raked his fingers through his hair. "Jeez."

"What? It's not like I asked you to pull me back here. What are you doing here, anyways? Wasn't the plan to meet at the diner?" She leaned in conspiratorially and lightly punched him on the shoulder. "Or did you just say to hell with the nice dinner and Litchfield, and decide on dumpster diving in the Hollow?"

"Ok, I'm rethinking this whole thing."

"No, wait! I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She leaned back up against the brick wall and flipped her hair while batting her eyelashes at him. "Do you forgive me?"

Luke's lips twitched up in a smirk. "Maybe."

She felt a megawatt grin stretch across her face. "Aw, I know you do. But seriously, why are you here? What happened to meeting at the diner?"

"That was the plan, but I've been watching you dance in the middle of the street for the past half hour. Did you even notice you were almost hit by a car?"

She tried to think back to her surroundings as she was with Rory, and couldn't remember seeing a car. But then, she didn't remember being in the middle of the street, either, so, her memory wasn't the best resource. She shrugged and shook her head. "Nope."

"Lorelai! Do you know how dangerous that is? I mean, I know Stars Hollow isn't exactly a freeway in California, but there are still cars driving down the street, and people here are morons. Half the time they're reading a paper or doing their makeup while driving, and not actually paying any attention to what's in front of them. In fact, I would bet most of them wouldn't be cleared to drive by any sane division of the DMV. They're not looking to see if two crazy people are dancing in the street, and why should they? People should not be dancing in the street."

"Uh, Martha and the Vandellas would disagree."

Luke continued as if she hadn't even said anything. "You need to be more aware of what you're doing and where. I realize you think the world revolves around you, but that's just not the way it is. Well, most of the time around here anyways."

As Luke continued, she bit the tip of her thumbnail, and grinned. She couldn't help it. His rants just did something to her – especially when they involved her safety. It was a nice feeling to know he was looking out for her.

"So you need to be more careful." Luke suddenly realized Lorelai wasn't at all paying attention to what he was saying, and was looking at him way too coyly. "What?"

"I love listening to you rant."

He blinked a few times before letting out a huge sigh. "You heard nothing I said, did you?"

"I heard something about a car."

He looked skyward and counted to five before looking at her again. "Come on. Let's go before I decide to leave you here." Luke reached down and grabbed Lorelai's hand, and tugged her further into the alley.

As he pulled her along, she giggled. "Ooo, kinky. Taking me even further from the crowds. My, what could you possibly have on your mind, Luke?"

Choosing to ignore her comment, Luke simply said, "I parked the truck out back. This way is faster. And besides, I was tired of everyone in the diner asking when you were coming in. Did you tell everyone about our date?"

She shook her head. "That was probably Sookie. She got your note before I did." As they neared the familiar green truck, she was sure she heard Luke mumble something about "this crazy town" but she chose to ignore it as she climbed in the door he opened for her.

As they drove, she watched the scenery fly by, content to just be in the same place with Luke. Her earlier jubilance had been placated, and as soft music played through the old speakers, she didn't even feel the need to sing loudly at the top of her lungs like she usually did in situations like this. Instead, she just looked over and grinned when she felt his fingers tangle with hers.

The drive went by quickly, and soon they were seated in a back corner table of a cozy, Italian restaurant. The soft firelight from candles at the table, combined with the light melodic tunes of a live guitar player created the perfect atmosphere for a first date. Conversation flowed easily throughout the evening, even though she could feel a war of nerves and comfort in her stomach. It was so natural to be with Luke – they had been together for years – but this was the first actual date, so it was a little scary. Thankfully, the wine they drank with their meal tempered those nerves, and a plate of tiramisu just put the perfect cap on the date.

However, the wine coursing through her veins, and the close confines of Luke's truck on the drive home had her blood racing. It had been so long since she had been really alone with Luke, and her body was craving him. She could feel desire wafting off of Luke as well, so when he turned in the direction of the diner instead of her house, she breathed a sigh of relief. As much as she wanted to treat this like a first date, and not come off as easy, she had a definite itch that needed to be scratched, and finally Luke was there to do so.

She didn't say a word as they climbed out of the truck and slipped in the back door and up the stairs to his apartment. On the other side of a thin curtain were various townsfolk finishing up late dinners, or their after-dinner pie, all completely oblivious to the couple running up the stairs, eager to be in the privacy of the apartment above.

Once the door was closed, the need for first-date decorum was shed along with all of their clothes. She could feel Luke's erection pressing against her stomach, and when she felt the small bead of moisture rub across her belly, she knew he was just as desperate as she was. They stumbled back towards the bed, tongues dueling for supremacy, their breath becoming as one.

And as she sunk onto the covers of his bed, and Luke's weight pressed down on her, she finally felt home. So much time had passed while each of them was with other people, but finally, finally they were back together.

Luke broke the kiss to move his mouth down her body, carefully pulling one peaked nipple into his mouth and sucking, while pinching the other lightly with his fingers. She pressed her head further back into the pillow as her eyes closed with the intense pleasure rocketing through her body.

Replacing his mouth with his hand, Luke continued to fondle her breasts for a moment as he kissed down her stomach, until he released them to grab hold of her hips. Holding on tight, he swirled his tongue in her navel, and she felt goosebumps rise on her skin where he had licked.

Finally, finally he moved further south, and when his breath stirred her curls, she could already feel the liquid pooling between her legs. She was already well stimulated, but knew this man too well to know he would quit now to move onto his own pleasure.

So when he flicked his tongue against her, she shuddered, and could only think about how long it had been since she felt pleasure like this. Her body was primed and ready, and when he started to gently suck on her, she could feel her inner walls already tightening. It wouldn't be too much longer before her climax would hit. But then suddenly, Luke pulled back and looked in the direction of the door. "Did you just hear Patty's voice?"

To be honest, she didn't even hear his question. Her climax was so close, and all she wanted was his lips back on her once more. "Luke, I swear to god, do not stop now." A split second later, she felt his warm breath cascading over her, and then felt his fingers enter her, stroking her from the inside. He returned to sucking her, and it felt good. So good. And then she was falling through euphoria. The things this man could do to her. She felt him place a gentle kiss on her inner thigh, and when she finally was able to open her eyes, she saw two blue eyes, dark with desire, looking down at her.

She reached up to pull his head down to hers, and captured his lips with her own, kissing him deeply as she wrapped her legs around him, slowly starting a gyrating motion that only served to further encourage Luke. As she felt the desire start to swirl within her once again, Luke reached down between them to tease her center, before replacing those fingers with the tip of his shaft. A soft moan escaped her lips, and Luke used that as encouragement to slowly slip within her heat. With the connection made, both took a few minutes to enjoy the moment, before he began to move.

He maintained a slow penetration, easing in and out, until the passion became too much for both of them, and she whispered for him to let himself go. With her gentle words, Luke's thrusts became more and more feverish, and when he dipped his lips to suck on the pulse in her neck, she felt her walls tighten around him. Once again she was flying through her climax, her whole body shuddering with pleasure, and a small whimper escaped her lips.

The sound snapped any concentration Luke had left, and he pounded into her until his own climax ripped through his body. After emptying himself inside of her, and with his energy spent, he collapsed on top of her, burying his face in her neck. Once she was finally able to catch her breath, she urged Luke to lift his face, and she smiled and kissed his forehead. "God, I missed this."

He nodded and slowly pulled out of her, rolling to his side, and pulling her close. "Me too. So much."

"Was it better now because we're official?"

She felt him nod his agreement against her skin, and knew he wouldn't verbally answer. He wasn't talkative normally, and definitely wasn't after sex – especially sex like that. They had been comfortable with each other for years, but this time was different. This time it really meant something, and she could only imagine how much better it would be the longer they were together.

Minutes passed, and they laid there in the silence of the afterglow – the only sounds in the apartment came from their breathing. But a sudden knock on the door startled her. A quick glance at the clock showed close to 11pm, and she looked up at Luke with a furrowed brow. "Who is that?"

"I have no idea. Ignore them. They'll go away."

"But it's so late. What if it's an emergency?"

"Then let them deal with it."

The loud knock sounded again, and Luke growled. "I'm going to kill whoever it is. Knowing this crazy town, it's someone here to check up to see if you're here. I swear I heard Patty earlier."

She wasn't surprised when he ripped the covers off of them, and started towards the door. However, she called his name as quietly as she could to get his attention before he made it to the door in the buff, since he was only seeing red at the moment. "Luke. At least put your pajamas on so it looks like you were sleeping. Unless you want whoever is there to get a greeting they'll never forget."

Luke paused and looked down, seemingly just realizing he was wearing only skin before turning back while nodding. "Right. Right." He grabbed from a pile of clothes near his bed, and shrugged into them as he walked to the door, getting there just as the knock sounded again. Luke ripped open the door, and looked down into the face of his most trusted employee. "What is it Caesar?"

"Uh, I just wanted to say, I'm going home now."

Seeing that Caesar was trying to sneak a peek behind him, Luke stood to his full height, and crossed his arms over his chest, effectively blocking any view into the apartment. "And you felt the need to wake me up to tell me that because…"

"Oh! Uh, sorry, boss. I forgot you go to bed early sometimes. I just wanted you to know everything is ready for the morning."

"Thank you for that completely unnecessary update, Caesar."

"You got it, boss."

As Caesar turned to walk away, Luke took a step out of the doorway. "And tell Patty that Lorelai isn't here."

"Will do boss! Wait, I wasn't supposed to say I was up here for Patty…"

"Goodnight, Caesar."

She waited until he closed the door and rounded the corner back to the bed, and quirked an eyebrow up at him as she readjusted the sheets, holding them up to her bare breasts. "Bold faced lying. I'm impressed, Luke."

Luke stripped out of his clothes, and slid under the covers, pulling her close to him. "This whole town needs to be locked up."

She snuggled close to his warm skin and let out a contented sigh. "You do realize Babette is going to be kicked out of the gossip club. Because, if I'm not here, then that means I'm at home, and that means she missed my arrival." As Luke ran his fingers over her hair, she sighed. "I can't believe we're still having to sneak around."

"Well, if you want, I'm sure there's a crowd still down there. We can go to the windows and wave at them."

She snorted. "Nah. I'm fine where I'm at. But…" She lifted her head to sneak a glance at the clock on the bedside table. "…I really should get up and get home. I told Rory I'd be home before midnight." She laid her head back down on Luke's chest, content to just lie in his warmth for a moment. Rory would still be up, and each minute she stayed with Luke, was one more minute that the crowd below could disperse.

After another 15 minutes, and when she felt herself drifting off to sleep, she knew she needed to move. The last thing she needed was to get home in the wee hours of the morning and explain that off to Rory. Underneath her cheek, she could feel the even breaths of Luke, and felt the soft puffs of breath on her hair. He had definitely dozed off, and not wanting to wake him, she slowly extricated herself from his arms, and the sheets she had gotten tangled in.

As she gathered her clothes, she snuck into the bathroom to clean herself up, and get dressed. When she came out, two deep blue eyes were watching her.

"Was I that bad that you have to sneak out when I'm asleep?"

She snorted and crawled back on his bed, wrapping her arms around his torso. "Hon, if there was an option for me to never leave this bed, I would take it in a heartbeat. But, unfortunately, I have a kid to get back to, and a job in the morning." She leaned in a placed a soft kiss on his lips. "This was a really great first date."

He hummed his agreement and then looked in her eyes. "Let me drive you home."

While shaking her head, she scooted back off the bed. "No, don't do that. The second you leave, the gossip train will leave the station. I can walk home under the cover of night."

"Will you at least call me when you get home?"

"Aw, are you worried about me?"

"I'm always worried about you. Especially your health, but yes, I worry about you."

She sauntered over to the door, and grabbed her coat off the rack. "Yes, dad. I'll call you when I get home." With a wink tossed in his direction, she exited the apartment, and crept down the staircase and out the back door.

As she snuck through the back alley, she shook her head and chuckled. Everything seemed different, yet some things were still the same. Here she was, finally in a relationship with Luke, and yet, she was still sneaking out after spending some quality time with him. But at least this time, it was just because she didn't want to answer a million questions, versus having to own up for her actions. No, this sneaking around was much different.

After a few minutes, she turned into her driveway, and saw the lights in Babette's house were out, so she knew she would be able to get in without her neighbor seeing her. She walked up the stairs, and quietly opened the front door, just in case Rory was sleeping. But as she closed the door behind her and leaned against it, letting out a happy sigh, she could hear her name yelled from the other side of the house and knew Rory was still up.

"Mom!"

She pushed herself off the door just in time to catch the flying body that was her daughter in a hug. "Hey kid, what's going on?" Her words came out as a laugh at the enthusiasm of Rory.

"So, I finally had time tonight to go through all my notes, and it's not 100% for sure, but I'm 99% sure that I made it into the top 3% of my class!"

"Oh my god, Rory, there are so many numbers there, but they sound amazing!"

Ignoring her mother's comment, Rory continued on. "Yeah, I'll find out for sure next week, but I'm pretty sure!"

"Well then, that's good enough for me!" She put her arm around Rory's shoulders and steered her towards the kitchen. "We need to celebrate. This is amazing! I hope we have some ice cream or something to eat."

"Too bad the diner wasn't open, so we could get some pie. Hey, how was your date?"

Lorelai continued to the freezer as Rory sat at the table, and peered in, praying something would actually be in there. Her eyes lit up as she saw a Breyer's container, and a grin spread across her face when she opened it to actually see ice cream in there. "It was great, but this night is about you!" She put the ice cream down on the table in front of Rory, and moved to get a couple of plastic spoons from a drawer. As she sat beside her daughter, she handed over a spoon, and then reached for the ice cream container to dig out a spoonful. "We need to do something other than eat ice cream to celebrate. Ooo! We should go on a trip!"

"Mom. We can't go on a trip."

"Why not? It's almost the summer. You're almost done with school. Is there anywhere you wanted to go?"

Rory dug through the slowly melting ice cream and popped the spoon in her mouth as she thought. "Well, I always wanted to do one of those official tours at Harvard."

"Oh! That's perfect! We'll road trip it up there, and spend a few days. This will be great!"

"Yeah, but those tours are always really booked. Especially now with the kids who are actually going to Harvard next year."

She waved off Rory's concern. "Don't worry about them. I'll figure it out."

Rory put down her spoon, and stood up, wrapping her arms around her mom. "Thanks, Mom. But, I need to get to bed. I just wanted to tell you in person as soon as I knew."

Lorelai watched as her daughter went into her room, and shut the door behind her. The level of pride she had for Rory was making her heart swell. And as she stood up to return the ice cream container to the freezer and throw the spoons away, she couldn't help but think that the day had been a pretty decent one for the Gilmore girls.

As she walked by the phone on her way towards the stairs and noted there weren't any messages, her blood ran cold for a second when she realized she had promised Luke she would call him as soon as she had arrived home, and still hadn't. She reached for the receiver, and jumped a little when it rang in her hand. Knowing it could only be him, she answered with an apology. "I'm sorry!"

Her words were met with a sigh that sounded mixed between exasperation and relief. "What happened to calling when you got home? I was worried."

"I know, I know, but I have good news! Rory met me at the door and said she made the top 3% of her class!" While she talked, she walked up towards her room so that her voice wouldn't carry and keep Rory awake. When she made it to her bedroom, she shut the door behind her, and cradled the phone to her shoulder so she could start undressing and get ready for bed.

"That is good news! Make sure to bring her in for breakfast tomorrow, and I'll cook her something special."

"Aww, you don't have to do that Luke, but I know she would love it."

"Good."

"What about me? Do I get anything special? Or did I already get the Luke's special tonight?"

"Ah jeez. I'm hanging up now."

She couldn't help but snort. "Thank you for tonight, Luke. I had a great time."

"Good. I did too. Let's do something this weekend."

She nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see her. "Definitely."

...

The next morning, she was feeling on top of the world. After a fabulous first date, she woke up feeling refreshed. It was like she was running on six cups of coffee already, but she hadn't even had any yet. It was amazing what a good date could do for the psyche. She had been so on top of things, she had left the house before Rory, promising to stop and buy a paper before meeting up at the diner for breakfast.

After selecting the paper for Rory, a few magazines caught her eye, including one promising 25 sex positions guaranteed to rock a man's world. Guiltily intrigued – because she now officially had a man - and finally without her too young daughter around her, she reached for the magazine just to see what it had to say.

"What'cha reading?"

The sound of Rory's voice made her jump, and she pressed the magazine to her chest, desperate to stop the wild beating of her heart. "Oh god. Do not sneak up on a person like that."

Rory rolled her eyes at her mother's dramatics and pulled the magazine from her hands to see what it was. "Twenty five sex positions to blow your man's mind? Mom."

She swatted at the air in front of her daughter. "Never mind, you."

"I'm way too young to know you're reading stuff like this."

She could hear the teasing lilt of Rory's voice and narrowed her eyes. "Yes. Definitely. Let's go." With Rory's snicker, she turned to Bootsy to pay for the newspaper, feeling her face bloom with embarrassment. Bootsy never got along with Luke, and if he had overheard the topic of Lorelai's article interest, he would have no problem making it known to Luke – and would definitely do it to embarrass him. And Luke was irritated enough with the town's interest in their new-found relationship.

With the newspaper paid for, she pulled the magazine out of Rory's hand and was about to put it back in the rack when she heard her name ring out in the street.

"Lorelai!"

The sound of Patty's voice had Lorelai putting a hand up to her face. Luke was right with his sentiment of the town being crazy. "Oh jeez." She pulled her hand down to look up towards the voice, and watched as the rotund woman made her way towards her.

"So…."

With a fake smile plastered on her face, she answered, "Hi Patty."

"Cosmopolitan? Oh, you naughty, naughty girl. Your date went well?"

Cringing as she realized she was still holding that damn magazine, she managed to get out a timid, "Yeah, it went well."

Patty turned to Rory. "She said it went well!"

"I know!"

Fortunately, the fact that this conversation was happening right in front of her as if she couldn't hear, tempered her embarrassment of the magazine. So as she reached to put it away, she looked at the two women in front of her. "I'm right here." However, by jumping in, she was once again the center of attention, and knew she was in for some grilling.

"So you had a good time?"

"Oh yeah, I had a good time."

"Oh! I just love this! Have you seen your man-candy yet today?"

"Uh, not yet. But it just so happens we are on our way over there now to have some breakfast."

"Babette said she didn't even see you two come home last night, so it must have been a late one. I can't wait to see how he greets you. "

"Uh, ok." She looked at Patty expecting another response, but when none came, she suddenly felt awkward.

"Ok, let's go."

Thankful for Rory's interruption, she waved off Patty, and started towards the diner. "What's with this place? Why is everyone so interested in Luke and I?"

"They're interested in plenty other than you and Luke."

"You are pacifying me."

"Just a little."

"Well, I don't like it."

"I'll see if I can stop."

Thinking she heard something behind her, she quickly turned and realized that practically half the town was following her and Rory towards the diner. She shook her head, and muttered under her breath, "I can't wait for the movie theater to open." They crossed the street in front of the diner, pushed through the door, and when a quick scan of the diner turned up no sign of Luke, Lorelai pointed Rory towards an empty table near the window. Deciding ignorance was the best defense in this situation, after sitting down, Lorelai picked up a menu and started scanning its contents. "Hmm. Let's see, what looks good. I'm so unbelievably hungry I'm gonna have to order breakfast and lunch. Crazy, huh?"

"Mom, go say hi."

"I will."

"Now."

"Why?"

"Because in five minutes somebody's about to be pushed through that window."

Finally noticing the crowd at the window, she gasped. "This is crazy. Why is everybody making such a big deal about this?"

"Because everyone knows that you and Luke always had a thing for each other. They just want to see it for their own eyes. Just go say hi."

"Why? Nothing is going to happen. If anything, he's just going to yell at me for not waiting my turn."

"Will you get me a muffin when you're up there?"

"Ok. God. Fine." She huffed out a breath and stood up, making her way over to the counter where Luke was now standing. "Hey."

"Hey. Fresh coffee will be ready in a minute unless you wanna just roll up a dollar bill and go nuts."

She knew he was teasing, but didn't want to take the bait. If she did, invariably the two of them would start bantering, which would lead to shameless flirting, and since they were now technically able to make out in full public view, the rating of their interaction had the strong possibility of being ratcheted up from a family friendly G, to a strong PG-13. Especially after last night. So instead, she shook her head. "No thanks. I can wait." However, when she noticed Luke lift his eyes to the window and saw the pressing crowd, she worked hard to suppress a smile.

"What the hell's going on with them?"

"They're waiting for us to say hello for the first time after our first date. I'm assuming they're expecting us to jump each other's bones right here and now."

Luke's eyes widened fractionally, but then he returned his gaze to the receipts he was counting. "Crazy people. Whole town should be medicated and put in a rec room with ping pong tables and hand puppets. What?"

She had been staring at him while he did a mini rant, and couldn't help the smirk on her face. "Nothing. I just wanted to give a G rated 'hi' but definitely mention how much I enjoyed last night." When she spoke, she looked out of the corner of her eye to see if the people sitting closest to Luke were eavesdropping. They didn't seem to be, so she focused all of her attention back to the man in front of her.

Luke's lips twitched up imperceptibly, and he whispered back a soft, "hi."

Knowing full well they could properly say hello to each other at a later time when half the town wasn't watching, she nodded her head towards the pastry display at the far end of the counter. "Uh, I guess I'll just have two blueberry muffins and some coffee." Rory's special breakfast was going to have to wait until they didn't have the whole town watching what they were doing.

He nodded. "Coming right up." Luke walked to the other end of the counter, lifted the lid of the pastry container, and dropped two muffins into the to-go bag he had grabbed on his way. After rolling the bag closed, he walked back to Lorelai, passed it over and smiled. "Here you go. Two blueberry muffins."

"Thank you."

"Come again."

When Luke winked at her, she was fairly positive she was going to combust right then and there. His comment was so dirty and he definitely knew it. He was teasing her, and essentially throwing a promise of what was to come, but she was so shocked that he said it, her eyes widened, and he was gone before she had a decent comeback. And besides, the diner was packed, and the peanut gallery was just outside. Now was not the time for anything. So, instead, she walked back to Rory, dropping the to-go bag of muffins on the table. When she noticed Rory was pressed up against the window, and the crowd outside had their attention diverted elsewhere, she had to sigh. "Now what's going on?"

"Kirk passed out."

She dropped down into her chair, and blew out another breath. "Here's your muffin."

"Thanks. Hey, so, did you say hi?"

When Rory winked at her, she just shook her head. "Eat your muffin."

After Rory ate her muffin and waved goodbye on her way out to catch the bus, the crowd began to disperse once it seemed evident there would be no floor show between the diner owner and the manager of the Inn. It finally seemed as though the hysteria had died down, so she grabbed her stuff and moved to her usual stool at the counter, now that it had been vacated.

The few patrons left in the diner were unrecognizable, and for the first time since she saw Patty, Lorelai felt herself relax. She swirled her to-go cup as the liquid inside was dangerously low, and she tilted her head back to shoot back the remains. When she looked back down, Luke was standing in front of her with a stunningly gorgeous smile on his face.

"Hey."

Her lips curled up in a matching smile. "Hey, yourself." She watched as Luke's eyes roamed the diner, and then was surprised when he leaned across the counter to capture her lips with his. However, once she felt his soft lips on hers, she melted into the kiss, and sighed into his mouth. After much too quick a moment, she felt him pulling back which tugged at her heart, but she knew they were in full public view, and were still testing their PDA comfort levels. They stared goofily at each other until someone behind her dropped a piece of cutlery on the floor, making them both jump and look guiltily around. However, clearly everyone in the joint had better things to do with their mornings and were paying no heed to the morning kiss.

With the moment passed, she decided to move on to the next happy topic. "So, Rory and I are going to take a road trip to celebrate her getting in the top 3% of her class."

"Oh yeah?" Luke had picked up a rag and was wiping down the counter in an attempt to get the diner back to normal after the breakfast rush.

"Yeah. We're going to do one of those official tour thingys of Harvard."

Luke stopped his cleaning, and looked up at Lorelai. "That'll be fun for you two. That's one good kid, there. I knew she could do it."

Grinning because of his pride for her daughter, she nodded. "Yeah. I'm so proud of her, Luke. She started so late at the school and has had such a rough time fitting in, but she's doing it."

"Of course she's doing it. She's Rory. I still want to do something for her though since you two blew off her breakfast this morning."

She held up her hands in mock surrender. "Hey, you saw that crowd out there. I was only thinking of your windows. The longer we stayed, the greater the possibility of someone being pushed through one." When Luke merely narrowed his eyes at her, she continued. "Oh! How about you cook her a special dinner? I know she would love that. And hopefully there won't be a crowd this time."

He nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I can do that. Maybe I'll come cook at your house and then she can have leftovers."

The thought of Luke cooking in her house had her heart warming. "That sounds fantastic."

"Hey, don't you have to get to work?"

She looked down at her watch and frowned. "Oh, shoot. Yes." She tapped the top of her coffee cup. "Can I have another one of these for the road?"

Luke rolled his eyes, but took her empty to-go cup and threw it in the trash, while grabbing another to fill. He placed it in front of her and winked. "Am I going to see you tonight?"

As she stood up, she frowned again. "Probably not. It's Friday, so, dinner with the Gilmores."

"Ah."

She could hear the disappointment in his voice and knew she felt the same. "Call me tonight?"

"You bet."

Before she turned to leave, she leaned in so that her voice wouldn't carry. "You going to watch me walk out?"

"You bet."

A small giggle escaped, and she turned to walk away, throwing in a little extra swagger to her step. When she looked back, he was definitely watching her, so she winked at him, and then slipped through the door.

...

Somehow, miraculously, she had scored two spots on a tour of Harvard for later that summer, and found out during Friday night dinner, which caused mass confusion as she and Rory celebrated in front of Emily and Richard. Of course, she and Rory hadn't let on as to why they were celebrating, because instinctually they both knew that if either grandparent knew of the trip, it would be hijacked in true Gilmore fashion.

The next day, she was dying to tell Sookie the great news about Rory. She had held back telling people other than Luke for fear of jinxing Rory's assumption, but since Emily was already spreading the news, Lorelai figured she was safe. So finally, after way too long being trapped at the front desk, she saw her chance to move for the kitchen, and took it, bursting through the doors already in mid-sentence. "Hey. I have an announcement to make, and it's big and it's fabulous and you are not gonna believe it."

"Goodbye."

She frowned at Michel's imminent departure. "Wait, I got news."

"Oh, well I'm sure it's very exciting. Excuse me."

"But…" Before she got a chance to say anything else, her attention was captured by slices of turkey on a scale, and her mind was instantly onto a new topic. "What's with the turkey?"

"Oh, Michel thinks he's gonna live forever."

"Like on Fame?"

"That's what I said!"

She couldn't help but smile at her friend. While Sookie was definitely a little different than most people, there were times when Lorelai felt like she was looking in a mirror at herself.

"Hmm. A hundred years from now I will sit around telling my fellow man of science about the two of you and we will giggle like little girls at your ignorance. Now I have work to do."

She watched as Michel breezed by her and out the door into the front lobby area before turning her attention back to Sookie. "He did say "giggle like little girls," right?"

Sookie waved her off. "Forget him. Tell me about your fabulous news."

Right, she had forgotten about that. Damn her wandering mind. "Rory got in the top 3% of her class!"

"What?"

"She's officially smarter than we thought she was!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!

"No!"

"No?"

"What?"

She huffed out a breath. The back and forth was getting nauseating. "Sookie!"

"God, this is amazing! Oh my god, I'm shaking!"

"Yeah, and Luke offered to come over and cook her a special dinner, and I was thinking you could make some great desserts. Oh! Maybe we could make it into a town party!" Her mind began to wander as she spoke, thinking of all the possibilities of what the party could be. Luke would still want to do something small with just the three of them, but maybe they could do an early dinner, and then everyone else could come over later.

"Luke is coming over? To cook? In a boyfriend capacity?"

"Uh…yes?" She wasn't sure where Sookie was going with the question, but decided the best answer here was honesty so she could get to the root of the situation.

"Ok, good good good. Oh, I knew it. I knew Rory could do it, and I knew you'd be dating Luke."

"Really? God, I didn't. Well, Rory, yes. Luke, no."

"Ok, let's start a menu. If Luke is cooking the main course, I could do something light to eat afterwards." Sookie's words ended with a sob, and Lorelai moved to her friend.

"Sookie? Honey? Hey, what's with the waterworks, lady?"

"It's just…I don't know. You raised that little girl all alone, and she is so great, and you work your butt off here and you go to school and you put up with me."

"Aww, honey."

"You just really deserve someone like Luke to be with you."

"Thank you." She let the moment sink in for a little bit, and then shifted her thoughts back to food. "Ok, so you're saying something like appetizers for afterwards. Oh! Aftertizers. Huh? Huh?" She looked at Sookie's blank look at her joke and shook her head. "Never mind. Ok, something light…"

She worked with Sookie on the menu and possible party ideas until Michel came in demanding assistance up front. With a quick wave to Sookie, she drifted out front, already looking forward to the makeshift party for Rory, and doubly so for the evening's planned movie night.

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly, and when Rory called to see if Dean could come over for movie night, Lorelai readily agreed. Deep down, she wanted to call Luke and see if he wanted to come over as well, as sort of a double date, but she knew he would decline. They were still way too early in their actual dating relationship to dive into the usual horrors of double dates.

...

As the week wore on, Lorelai could tell that Rory was getting more and more nervous about bringing Dean to her special Friday night dinner, and she could feel those nerves starting to rub off on her. Thankfully, she and Luke had been able to spend some time together here and there, which was infinitely calming, but her nerves were still shot.

So, as she left the Inn Friday afternoon, she noticed she had a good 20 minutes before she needed to be home to change for dinner, and decided to go see her guy and get some coffee, because there wasn't really anything better for calming nerves than coffee.

Her usual stool was open at the counter, so she headed in that direction, sat down, and laid her head on the counter.

"That's really unsanitary. People eat off that counter."

Without lifting her head, she answered. "Well, clearly the service here is lacking then if food is being served without plates." When she heard the clang of a coffee mug placed beside her ear, and the sweet sound of liquid being poured into said cup, she finally lifted her head to look at Luke. "I have Friday night dinner tonight."

"So I guessed."

"Dean is coming tonight."

"So you've told me. Several times."

She sat back and pouted. "This is going to be terrible. My parents are terrible people, and they're going to terrible."

"So, it's going to be terrible?"

She continued as if Luke hadn't even spoken. "I'm tempted to just send Rory and Dean, but I know they'll need a buffer, and that'll be me. And then somehow everything is going to end up being my fault."

"Well, at least you have a plan."

"Hey, you should come too! Rory considers you a friend."

Luke quirked up an eyebrow. "Didn't you say this thing was going to be terrible?"

"Well, yeah…"

"So, then, no."

"Aw, Luke, come on! It'll be fun! We can sit together, maybe sneak out back and make out while they attack Dean…it'll provide stories for years!"

Luke walked down to the other end of the counter and picked up some dirty plates, and dumped them into the bin under the counter before returning. "Tempting, but no."

She knew Luke was going to say no, but pouted just the same. "Fine." She reached down and took a few sips from her mug of coffee. "You going to be around tonight?"

He nodded. "Just call when you're back."

With a glance at her watch, she took a few big gulps, and dug into her wallet for a few dollar bills. "Will do." When Luke reached out to cover her hand with his and squeezed, she felt like no matter what happened that night, she'd be able to handle it. With a quick smile to Luke, she turned and walked out the door, preparing herself for the worst.

...

The moment she walked in the house after the disastrous dinner as Rory stayed outside to comfort Dean, Lorelai had called Luke, and requested he come over. She couldn't handle the eyes of the town on her which would happen at the diner, but needed Luke's quiet comfort still the same. He thankfully had agreed to come over in half an hour, which worked out perfectly, because Rory still needed some time to vent. Moments after Rory escaped into her room with the phone pressed to her ear, Lorelai heard a soft rapping at the front door and knew her escape had arrived. She answered the door, and let out a long sigh of relief to see Luke standing there. Motioning with her head, she closed the door behind her, and tangled her fingers with Luke's before pulling him to the porch swing and pulling him down beside her.

"It was awful." As she said the words, she leaned into Luke's side, feeling comforted as he put his arm around her shoulders to draw her closer.

"Sounds it."

"They're insane."

"Pot, meet kettle."

She pulled back slightly so she could narrow her eyes at him, but with the way his eyes were dancing with delight, she knew he was teasing, so just settled back into his embrace. "How can I fix this?"

He breathed deeply. "I think this is one of those things you just need to let work out on their own."

"Yeah, I'm not real good with those things."

"I know. You'll figure it out though."

She exhaled slowly. "Yeah. Hopefully. At least for once though, I wasn't the one in the line of fire."

"Small wins."

As the porch swing gently swung, she allowed herself to just relax in Luke's strong embrace. And for once, she didn't even care if Babette was giving a play-by-play over the phone about what was going on, because right here, right now, she was wrapped in her boyfriend's arms, protected from the world outside.