The Incredible Rising Lorelai
By Gigi



Chapter 8 : Knock, Knock

I wake up in the morning to Sookie watching TV and the smell of delicious coffee, which is good, for now I can't ever step foot in Luke's again. God, I hate breakups. But is it technically a breakup if we hadn't actually been on a date? Oh boy, here we go again.

"Hey! You're up! You've been knocked out so long you would have thought you'd taken Nyquil!" Sookie exclaims as she sees I'm awake. Wow, I've been sleeping on the couch? How did that happen? Ugh, I really need to brush my teeth.

"Yeah, I guess," I mumble, wiping my face, realizing that I hadn't taken off my make-up last night, the make up I oh-so painstakingly applied for Luke. Actually, I didn't need to take off my make-up; my tears did it for me. Now I just have to wash away the coffee-colored tear stains. "Is there anything to eat? I'm starved."

"No. But I can go by Doose's and pick up some stuff and make you breakfast. How does that sound?" without waiting for an answer, she jumps up off the overstuffed chair and is out the door before I can ask for something that I hadn't craved for years. Fruit

Now this really freaks me out. I never eat fruit, not of my own free will anyway. The last time I actually craved it was when I was…pregnant, with Rory, almost 20 years ago. These cravings don't just come and go.

I think back to when I melted down in front of him in the park, when he kissed me, and I kissed him, when we…you know. Did we use protection? I can't remember. But I do remember that I hadn't taken the pill that day. I hadn't been for a while. I mean, why take the pill when you're not actually doing anything to cause what the pill is trying to prevent? Yes! Right at 'prevent', it hits me. We didn't use protection. He had run out…meaning he has probably been doing it with Nicole. Oh my god, Lorelai, this is not the time to get jealous.

I whip out my cell phone when it becomes apparent that my home phone will not be found for quite some time. I'll look for it later. This comes first.

"Hello?" I hear Taylor's voice in the background as Sookie answers her cell. Thank God she hasn't left yet.

"Hey, Sook, it's me," I say, knowing full well that Sookie knows who 'me' is.

"Hey! Wait! Why are you calling? I just left! Oh no, are you crying again? Shoot! I shouldn't have left you alone! I'll be right there!—" I hear an alarm going off in the background "—I should probably pay for this stuff-NO I WAS NOT SHOPLIFTING!! Shut up, Taylor! I was NOT shoplifting! I was in a hurry dammit!"

"Sookie, I need to ask you to pick me up one thing in particular! I need you to pick up…"

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Okay, so here's the deal. Sookie came over and gave me the thing I asked her to get me, along with some apples. Now I just have to wait for like a week and a half. Yippee, a week and a half of pure hell. Great, really, just great

I call Rory up and ask her to come back home for the weekend. I need to tell her and Sookie about my concerns. I think I will let my actions speak. When Rory comes in an hour, I'll take her into the kitchen, where she will then see the bowl of apples sitting on the table.

Sighing, I sit down and turn on the radio. While L.O.V.E . is playing in the background, I get to thinking. In some weird, twisted way, I realized that I, Lorelai Gilmore, am in L.O.V.E. with…him, the perfect being…Luke. Wow, if I keep getting revelations like this, I should listen to Ashlee Simpson more.

Before I know what I'm doing, I grab my coat and am out the door faster than you can say, 'The Bangles have got to get back together or I will look as if I had no coffee in a week.' I find myself standing in front of Luke's. Okay, so I guess I gotta do this. Deep breaths, Lorelai, and calm yourself down. You're only telling him you love him, no big deal…if only it were that easy.

Bing! Great, now that my presence has been announced, time to find Luke. Where is he? Oh, there's Lane.

"Hey, Lane, what's up?" I say, stopping Lane for a "chat".

"Hey, Lorelai, nothing much is going on. What about you? You look a little bit preoccupied." Lane knows me too well.

"Wha…? Oh, yeah, just stressed out about the Dragonfly opening in a couple weeks, I guess. Hey, do you know where Luke is?" Oh yeah, real subtle.

"Yeah, he went up to his apartment a couple minutes ago, why?" Lane is staring at me…suspiciously. She, among many others, knew Luke has a thing for me—well, had a thing for me, now, I guess—so it's no surprise that she thinks I've finally come to my senses.

"Oh, I just have to tell him that Rory is making an impromptu visit and that I need BUNCHES of his food, 'cuz she, Sookie, and I are having a MAJOR girl talk night, so we need him to make us his famous apple pie," which is actually true. "So I'm gonna go tell him now. Thanks! Bye!" I hurry behind the curtain—plaid, of course—and up the stairs to his apartment. Knock, knock

"Lorelai, hey," Luke says as he swings open the door, inviting me in. I walk in and just stand there like an idiot. "What brings you here?" he asks, obviously surprised…he seems uneasy, is that bad?

"I wanted to talk. By the way, Rory is coming home for the weekend, so you have to make that awesome apple cinnamon pie you make, make sure it's apple cinnamon, not peach, nobody eats peach. Anyway, I—" I turn around and what do you know? It's Nicole. Just great, absolutely fabulous, "Nicole, h-hey, what's up? I haven't seen you in a while…" She's saying something, but I'm not paying attention. I don't understand, I thought Luke wanted this—'this' being Luke and I—to be more than a fling. I guess not. "Well, that's really…great. I'm sorry, I gotta go. Can you just get Rory to pick up the pie when she comes by? Thanks, bye." I practically run out of the room and shoot through the diner, knocking Kirk down in the process. I would have apologized, but I am trying my hardest not to cry until I'm in the privacy of my house.

Next on the Incredible Rising Lorelai: Nicole does a lot to Lorelai's confidence, and dreams. Babette overhears Sookie and Lorelai talking. Lorelai is acting strangely, the town has a surprise for her, and Luke shows up at Lorelai's with a…topic for discussion



A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update, I have had a lot of stuff going on: exams and such. Well, studying for them at least. I wrote this on my last day of relaxation before I hit the books for 158973263 hours. Fuuuuun!


To be continued...