"And how long does this go on? " Rory asked, dreading the answer.

"You've seen 'Grey Gardens.' It could go on forever. "

"Oh, well, just shoot me now."

"Hang in there." Lorelai smiled, wishing she could give her daughter a more concrete advice, but it seemed like her own experience was a bit lacking. "Go with Luke's gut thing if all else fails."

"Maybe."

Rory let out a frustrated sigh as her mother let out a content one.

"Well, Mom," Rory stood up, not before releasing a yawn, "I think I'll call it a night…had enough anecdotes for one day. You know, I never realized just how exhaustingly draining bad dates can be… What are you going to do about him?" she jerked her head towards the living room.

Lorelai shrugged, but said nothing, as a little smile snuck its way up her face. After she and Rory said their goodnights, Lorelai made her way back to the couch and settled on the floor next to him.

He really did look comfortable there, but he couldn't stay very comfortable for very long- if she didn't wake him soon he would wake up aching all over. Plus, it was getting late and he probably needed to get up early to open the diner. She really did need to wake him. But… she didn't want to wake him just yet.

He looked different when he was asleep. Calm. Serene. She only got to see him like this once before, and back then she was a little preoccupied and didn't really notice. His frown lines seemed to melt away, and without his gruff voice in her head and his eyes glowering at her with disapproval, he looked almost… childlike, draped in a fluffy pink blanket.

His position made his cap cut deep into his forehead. She carefully took the cap off his head and put it on the table behind her. Suddenly she felt like Delilah cutting off Samson's hair, or maybe more like Lois Lane taking off Clark Kent's glasses. Now he was truly vulnerable. Asleep and cap-less. She silently chuckled to herself. She couldn't get his fascination with this backwards baseball cap thing. She knew it was probably to hide the slightly receding hair-line, but really, there was no need for it. It wasn't that bad. Maybe his hair wasn't the thickest, but it always looked healthy… and soft. Not completely aware of what she was doing, she allowed her hand to travel up and gently land on his head, her fingertips burying into his hair. It WAS soft. Unexpectedly, unbelievably more so, it even smelled good, even after being strangled by that cap all through a long work day. Such a medical marvel, she pointed out to herself.

He must have been very tired to fall asleep like that. He looked tired. He had been looking tired for quite a while now. This whole Nicole business was hard on him. A part of her felt a slight twinge of guilt, for letting this get so far. She should have done something. She should have said something. When he had asked her -- she should have told him not to go on that cruise. She still couldn't figure out why he had married her. Hell, she couldn't even figure out why he had dated her in the first place. She couldn't really point it out exactly, but there was always something about Nicole she didn't like. There was something… cold about her. Like life was nothing but a big business transaction for her, and it didn't matter if it was about work or family or love… and Lorelai just hated that Luke was a part of that. She had known people like that all of her life growing up and part of what she loved about Stars Hollow was that it was nothing like that. Actually, it was quite the opposite.

What did he see in her, anyway? It wasn't that she was nice, because she really wasn't. Civil, perhaps even polite, but genuinely nice?—Never. It wasn't like she was THAT good-looking. Pleasant, maybe, but she wouldn't consider her as pretty. And Luke, well… he could definitely do a lot better. She would never tell HIM that, but he really was… beautiful. Unconsciously, her hand left his hair as her fingers started lightly tracing his features. His sculptured brow, his long lashes, his straight (though a little pointy) nose, his strong jaw… her palm rested against his cheek, and her thumb found its way to his lips. He had… nice lips. Soft. Full. Very… (she bit her lips) bite-able. His face twitched a little as the corners of those lips lifted up. Her eyes widened and her hand froze as a shot of panic ran through her at the thought she might have woken him-- but she soon relaxed as she realized he was still very much asleep. Heavy sleeper, that one. She gave a small grin at the realization he was smiling in his sleep. It was a good sign. Maybe he was doing better than she thought. He probably wouldn't be smiling in his sleep if he was all that miserable. He had to be relaxed. Comfortable.

She caught herself lightly caressing his cheek as she realized she might have let her self get a bit too comfortable. She quickly stopped and drew her hand back. She shouldn't be doing this. It was wrong. Way wrong. He was asleep. She was acting like some kind of a crazy stalker. She should wake him up. She should wake him up NOW.

"Luke…" she gave a loud, almost hysterical whisper, shaking his shoulder, trying her best not to let this become a 'Lorelai exploring Luke's arms' session.

"Luke… It's late… You should get to bed, Luke!" bad choice of words… "Luke…"

He was starting to stir, and she was feeling relieved, though more than a little disappointed, knowing whatever just happened came to an end.

"Lorelai?" he sounded adorable when he was all sleepy.

"You fell asleep during the movie."

"I'm sorry, I…"

"It's okay. You were tired. Plus, I guess 'Hardbodies' isn't really your kind of movie."

"I guess not" he chuckled sleepily.

"Okay, now… come, I'll drive you home."

"You don't have to do that." She gave him a face, forcing him to make himself clear "Believe it or not, I'm pretty sure I can somehow find my way to my own house… and I got over my fear of the dark quite a while ago..."

"And what? I should just let a young pretty thing such as yourself wander around the dark streets of our dangerous town, all alone and unprotected? – I don't think so!"

One look at her expression told him she meant business. He was too tired to argue, and truth be told- he didn't really want to.

"Okay. You can drive me" he said graciously.

"Gee, thanks" she mocked him as she handed him his cap back.

He adjusted it on his head, gathered up his things, and got up. He felt a little embarrassed for falling asleep like that. At his dazed state, the only thing he could think about was that he hoped he hadn't been snoring. Or, oh-no, DROOLING…

The drive to the diner was silent, as he was too tired to talk and she was too busy with her thoughts. She pulled up to the curb in front of the diner, and allowed herself to look at him for the first time since they left the house.

"Well, we're here. Hope you enjoyed your flight; please don't forget us next time for all your traveling needs. We hope to see you again at "air-Lorelai", don't forget to tip the flight attendant on your way out." She was tired and distracted and knew that she wasn't making any kind of a sense, even within her own little bit, but she didn't care all that much.

He didn't say anything, just smiled at her with that usual 'Oh, crazy Lorelai' smile. No, it wasn't exactly his usual smile… probably because he was so sleepy.

"Good night, Luke" she said softly.

"Good night, Lorelai" he returned and stepped out of the car, making his way heavily to the diner. He still looked a little sad.

"Luke!" she called after him. He turned to face her. "It's going to be okay, you know."

"What is?"

"This… what you're going through… You're not a loser, Luke. It was just… the wrong marriage. The wrong wife. "

He slowly nodded and let out a sigh. "Thank you" he smiled wryly.

"You're welcome. Good night."

"Good night" and the tiny bells rang as he opened the door and disappeared inside the diner.

She sat there for a moment longer before starting up the car. She suddenly felt very relaxed. Something inside her told her this was the beginning of something. Something good.

If you want, you can call it a 'gut feeling'.