Disclaimer: I do not own any of the mentioned characters. The Gilmore Girls and all of the characters belong to Amy Sherman- Palladino and the WB.
Spoiler: This takes place after "The Breakup, Part 2."
Summary: Lorelai breaks up with Max, Max doesn't take it so well. . .
Rating: PG-13, some language, some kissing.
Note: This is my first fan fic. It was so much fun to write, even though it has a kind of serious, mean-ish premise. Nothing against Max! This idea just came to me awhile ago and I thought it would be interesting, so I gave this writing thing a try. It's a little long, but I would really appreciate any comments so please let me know what you think!
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REVENGE
by: [email protected]

SUNDAY

It was 9 o'clock Sunday morning, and the sun was shining brightly through Lorelai's bedroom window. As Lorelai lay in her bed, she thought about what had happened last night with Max. She really didn't go over there to make out with him, or anything like that. She only wanted to tell him that she missed him. She knew that what happened was a big mistake, and was up all night thinking about what to do. After hours and hours of wondering, she finally decided that although Max was a smart, funny, and wonderful man�he was not the man for her. And while she did get caught up in the moment last night, there's no way she can continue with Max. Lorelai got out of bed and got dressed. She walked downstairs to see if Rory was awake and found her on the couch watching TV. "Hey you," Lorelai said.

"Morning," said Rory. "Wanna go to Luke's? We have no food here."

"Sure, let's go. Then after, we should probably stop at the market and buy food."

Rory and Lorelai got their coats and walked to Luke's. They walked in and were greeted by a cheerful Rachel, who said, "Well, good morning ladies. Take a seat, I'll be right there." Lorelai and Rory sat at a nearby table and discussed what to order. Rachel walked over with a coffeepot and two cups.

"Coffee?" she asked.

"Yes, please," said Lorelai. "And we'll have two orders of French toast."

"Okay, coming right up," replied Rachel as she poured their coffee.

She walked toward Luke at the counter. Lorelai stared at Luke for a few seconds, until Rory said, "Earth to Mom. Come in please."

"Oh, sorry," said Lorelai, as she turned to face Rory.

"Stare much?" asked Rory, smiling.

"I was not staring. I was reading the menu hanging on the wall over there."

"Okay, I believe you," Rory said, rolling her eyes.

"So, what are your plans for today?" Lorelai asked.

Rory replied, "Well, I have to start studying for a big test coming up on Friday for Mr. Medina's class. Oh, and this week we're getting our Shakespeare papers back. They are worth a lot, so I hope I did well."

Lorelai said, "I'm sure you did. You worked really hard on it." Lorelai saw Rachel bringing their plates. "Ooh, here it comes."

Rachel put the plates down and placed the check on the table. The girls ate their breakfast, then headed out toward the market. As they were walking along, Lorelai said, "So, I was thinking of ending it with Max."

"I thought you were already broken up with him," Rory said, confused.

"Well, we were for awhile . . .but then I went over his house last night."

"Oh, so that's where you were," said Rory. Lorelai nodded. "Did you guys talk about things?" Lorelai nodded again and said, "We did more than talk."

Rory said, "Oh boy. So you don't see him for weeks, then you go over one night, make out, and the next day dump him? That's nice of you."

"No, it's so not like that. I just went over to see him. I didn't want anything like that to happen, but it did. And I don't know why, but now I feel different. I feel like he's not the guy for me. I mean, he's a really great guy, but just not for me." Lorelai explained.

Rory nodded and said, "I understand." Lorelai and Rory reached the market and went inside to do their shopping.

At the Gilmore house later that day, the girls were lounging on the couch watching television while snacking on the junk food they had just bought. The phone rang. Both girls looked at it, but neither one of them wanted to answer it.

"Get it." Rory said.

Lorelai replied, "It's your turn."

"No way," Rory said. "I got it last time, remember? You claimed you had a pain in both of your hands that was so severe that they needed to be amputated, but then they suddenly disappeared when I answered the phone."

Lorelai smiled and replied, "Oh yeah. I'll get it." Lorelai answered the phone. Rory listened to the one sided conversation. "Hello?. . . Oh hey. . . Yeah. . . .Well, now is a bad time. How about tomorrow night at the coffee shop in Hartford? . . okay. . .see you then.. . bye. . ." Lorelai hung up. She looked at Rory and said, "Max."

Rory said, "Oh, so I guess tomorrow's the day you're ending it?" Lorelai nodded and said, "Yup."

MONDAY NIGHT

Lorelai stood outside the Hartford coffee shop staring through the window at Max, who was sitting at the counter on a stool. She took a deep breath, and opened the door. She walked over to the counter and sat next to him.

"Hey," she said. Max looked at her and said, "Hey. Can I get you some coffee?"

"No, thanks. I'm fine.," said Lorelai. "Um, Max, we need to talk."

Max said, "Yes, I know. We agreed the other night that we would talk on a regular basis about us. This is a good start." He smiled.

Lorelai shut her eyes for a second, then opened them up and took a deep breath. She looked into Max's eyes and said, "Actually Max, I think we should end it for good." Max's eyes narrowed down and the smile disappeared from his face.

"WHAT?!" he asked loudly. Other customers turned to look at them.

"I'm sorry," said Lorelai. "After thinking things over, I don't really think we are meant for each other."

"Then what the HELL was the other night about?" he asked, getting angrier.

"It was a mistake."

"WHAT?! It was no mistake! You came over to fool around one last time before throwing me away!"

"Max, I'm sorry you're so upset, but please settle down. You know that's not why I came over. I don't mean to hurt you."

"WHAT ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU SAID AT THE DOOR ABOUT MISSING ME!? WAS THAT ALL A LIE!?" Everyone in the shop is staring at them argue.

Lorelai replied, "No, I did miss you. But that still doesn't mean I am meant to be with you. You are not the man I want to spend the rest of my life with, so we should just end it now, okay?"

Max yelled, "Is there someone else? Is that what's going on?"

Lorelai says, "What? No!"

Max yelled, "There is! There's someone else! I can't believe you!"

Lorelai stood up, embarrassed with all the stares they were getting, and said "This is a side of you I have never seen before, Max. I'm glad we are ending it before I got to see it later down the road. Goodbye." Lorelai started to walk away, but Max grabbed her arm.

Max lowered his voice and said, "Nobody treats me like this. Lorelai, you will regret this. I mean it." Max let go of her arm. Lorelai stormed out of the coffee shop. Max slammed his fist on the counter in anger.

TUESDAY

Lorelai and Sookie were in the kitchen of the Inn. Lorelai was telling Sookie what happened in the coffee shop while Sookie baked some muffins. Sookie's eyes kept widening as Lorelai told her what happened. When she finished telling the story, Sookie said, "Wow. I can't believe he acted like that."

Lorelai replied, "I know. What do you think he meant by "You'll regret it"?"

"I think he just meant that he thinks he's great and you won't find another man like him," Sookie replied.

Lorelai nodded and said, "That's what I figured. But you don't think he meant it in a violent kind of way, do you?"

Sookie replied, "I don't know. You know him better than me."

"I thought I knew him, but you should have seen him Sookie. He was so mad. It was like he was a completely different person."

"Scary," Sookie said. Lorelai nodded. Just then, Rory burst through the door crying.

"Mom!" she yelled.

"Oh my gosh, honey, whats wrong!?" asked Lorelai, rushing over to Rory.

"Mr. Medina gave me an F on my Shakespeare paper! The one that's worth 40% of my final grade!"

"Oh my God! You spent weeks on that! It was perfect!" Lorelai said.

"I know! Everyone else in the class got A's and B's except me. And he even held up my paper in front of the class, so now everyone knows what I got!"

Lorelai gasped. "Oh my gosh. This is all my fault. He's doing this because of me."

"What do you mean?" Rory asked.

"He got really angry when I broke up with him, and he told me I'd regret it. This must be what he meant." Rory's eyes widened.

"Mom, I can't fail the class! I need that class in order to graduate, and he's the only one who teaches it! What are we going to do?"

"I don't know. Let me think."

"We should go talk to the headmaster," said Rory. Lorelai nodded and said, "Yes, good idea, let's go right now."

Rory and Lorelai drove 40 minutes to Chilton. As they rushed into the building, they noticed that not many people were on campus. They rushed to the headmaster's office, hoping he was still at school. The headmaster's secretary was not at her desk, so Lorelai knocked on the headmaster's door. "Come in," a voice replied.

Lorelai said, "Thank goodness he's still here." She and Rory burst through the door. Max was standing in the middle of the office.

"I thought you may come here," he said.

"Where's the headmaster?" Lorelai demanded, looking around the office.

"Oh he went home awhile ago," replied Max.

Lorelai held up Rory's paper and says, "Why did Rory get an F? She did not deserve an F!"

Max smiled and replied, "Oh but she did. The paper was not what I wanted. . . You see Lorelai, I told you you would regret it." Lorelai asked Rory to wait in the hallway. She closed the door behind her and turned to look at Max.

"Max, what the hell is wrong with you!" she yelled.

"Nothing. You broke my heart. Now I will break yours."

"Fine. Break mine, not Rory's."

Max replied, "Yes, but you see Lorelai, by breaking Rory's heart, it also breaks yours. Therefore my revenge is twice as successful."

"What!? So you are just going to fail Rory on everything to get back at me?"

Max shrugged. "I might. It all depends on what you decide to do." Lorelai said, "Oh, so what? If I keep seeing you, you'll pass Rory?"

"With flying colors," he replied.

"And if I don't, Rory fails?"

Max replied, "You got it."

"You are one sick man." Max walked over to Lorelai so he was just a few inches from her face. "You know, Lorelai, I've dated a lot of Chilton moms. They were very open to the situation. They understood the rules. They dated me, I passed their kid, I dumped them. But you are the first one to ever break up with me. You're not playing by the rules."

"You know I didn't go out with you to help Rory!" Lorelai yelled.

"Yes, Lorelai, I know. But you're trying to end it with me before the time is up."

"Yeah, we'll just see what the headmaster has to say about this. You'll be fired."

"Oh, but I won't Lorelai. The headmaster already knows we had been dating. He'll just think you're making this all up in order to help Rory get over some bad grades. He won't believe you. He stands behind his teachers. You're left with one only option Lorelai."

"You're crazy!" Lorelai yelled, as tears began to roll down her face.

"And you're beautiful." Max leaned in and kissed her. Lorelai pushed him away and yelled "Get away from me!"

"Now, Lorelai, come on. You're not gonna let Rory fail are you?" Lorelai stared at the floor for a minute, thinking and crying.

Finally she looked up and said, "No, I won't." She held out Rory's paper and he took it from her.

Max said, "Good, then it's settled. I'll be in touch. And Lorelai, this relationship isn't over until I say it's over." Lorelai turned to leave. She wiped her eyes and walked into the hallway where Rory was waiting on a bench. Rory jumped up and ran to her mom.

"Mom! What happened? Are you okay?" Lorelai hugged her daughter and said, "I'm fine. Don't worry. He'll re-read your paper. Let's go home."

As Lorelai drove home, she could think of nothing else except this awful mess she'd gotten into. Rory kept asking her mother what happened in the office, but Lorelai refused to tell her. Once they got home, Rory went into her room to change out of her uniform. Lorelai went up to her room and collapsed on the bed crying, wondering how to fix this. After a few minutes, Rory called up the steps, "Mom! I'm going over Lane's for awhile!" Lorelai, trying to cover the sound of sadness in her voice, yelled, "Okay, have fun!" She buried her face in the pillow. Then she reached over and grabbed the phone and called Sookie. There was no answer, so she tried Luke. Luke answered. She said, "Luke! It's me."

Luke replied, "Lorelai, are you crying? What's wrong? Is Rory okay?"

Lorelai replied, "Yes, Rory is fine. I'm not. Can you come over and help me please? I really need to talk to someone."

Luke said, "Sure, I'll be right there."

"Thanks, bye."

Luke made it over in 5 minutes and let himself in the door. He called out, "Anyone here?" Lorelai yelled, "I'm upstairs." Luke ran up the steps and found Lorelai sitting on her bed crying. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder. "What's wrong?" he asked. In between sobs, Lorelai explained the situation to Luke. Luke became outraged. "I can't believe it! What is wrong with this man?"

"I don't know what's going on in that warped mind of his. It's some sort of weird power thing. He likes having the control or something."

"Go to the police!"

"Luke, no," Lorelai said. "It'll just make things worse."

"Did you tell Rory?"

"No!" she said. "I don't want her to know!"

"So you're just going to date him like nothing ever happened?"

"I don't want to. But I got Rory into this mess; I have to get her out of it. Oh, Luke, what am I going to do?" She put her head on Luke's shoulder.

"Well, did you try talking to the headmaster?" Luke asked.

"No, Max said he wouldn't believe me."

"Lorelai! He's just saying that to scare you. You have to talk to him."

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to talk to him."

"It might be better if you had some evidence though. Try to get Max on tape talking about how he's blackmailing you."

"Good idea Luke!" Lorelai said. "I have a little tape recorder I use to tape lectures in my business class. That would be perfect."

"Yes, that would work good. But don't put yourself in any danger. Make sure he doesn't see it or hear it, or he will get very angry. You know, maybe I should follow you just in case."

"Wow, you'd do that for me?" Lorelai asked.

"I'd do anything for you." Luke said, staring into Lorelai's eyes. Lorelai looked down, embarrassed, and said, "Thank you."

"So, when are you going out with him next?" Luke asked.

Lorelai replied, "I don't know. He said he'd be in touch. I'll let you know when he calls." Luke said, "Okay. Well, I can stay here with you if you don't want to be alone." Lorelai said, "Oh no, you shouldn't keep Rachel waiting too long."

Luke looked down and said, "Actually, Rachel went back home yesterday."

Lorelai said, "Really? She still has that short attention span of hers, huh?"

Luke replied, "Yeah, but that's okay. It wasn't working out anyway."

Lorelai said, "Oh. I'm sorry. Well, if you don't mind staying, I'd really like you to."

Luke smiled and said, "Okay, I'll stay then." Luke and Lorelai went downstairs and watched some television, trying to get their minds off everything that was going on.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

As Rory and Lorelai are sitting at the kitchen table studying for Rory's test, the phone rang. Lorelai ran to get it just in case it was Max; she didn't want Rory to know they were still "dating".

"Hello?" said Lorelai.

"Hi, did you miss me?" said Max. Lorelai walked to the front door and slipped outside so Rory wouldn't hear her. She sat at the picnic table on the porch.

"Hi." Lorelai said.

"Tomorrow night, dinner, 7 pm, be ready."

"Fine," she said quickly.

"And Lorelai, this will be easier for the both of us if you at least pretend to have a good time, understand?"

"Yes." she replied. "So where are we going to eat?"

"It's called La Villa, it's here in Hartford."

"Yes, I've heard of it."

"Goodbye, Lorelai."

Lorelai slammed the phone down. Then she picked it up to call Luke. He answered on the second ring.

"Luke! Max called. We're going out tomorrow night at 7 to a restaurant in Hartford."

"Okay. What restaurant? I'll get there before you so it doesn't look like I'm following you."

"It's called La Villa, very fancy. . . . And Luke, thanks."

"You're welcome. Goodbye."

Lorelai hung up the phone and smiled, thinking how wonderful a friend Luke is. Her smile quickly faded. Oh no, she thought, what should I tell Rory? I don't want her to know I'm going out with Max. . . . Well, I don't want to lie, but I think I'll have to just this once. Lorelai walked back into the house and into the kitchen where Rory was studying hard. She looked up from her book and said, "Who was that? And why did you go outside?"

Lorelai stammered, "It was, uh, Sookie. And I needed a little air. Um, Sookie and I are going to go out for dinner tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." Rory continued to study. Lorelai stood there watching her for a few minutes.

I have to fix this, she thought, I will not let Rory fail.'

THURSDAY NIGHT

Lorelai was in her room getting ready for her date. She threw on a black skirt and blue sweater, and quickly did her makeup. Then she sat down on her bed and got the tape recorder ready. She put in a new tape and fresh batteries, and set the microphone to high so it would pick up everything clearly. She slipped it into her purse so that it was near the top and in easy reach, and she secured it with tape so it wouldn't slide around. She walked downstairs and saw Rory sitting on the couch studying. Rory looked up and said, "Wow you look really nice for dinner with Sookie." Lorelai replied, "Yeah, I just felt like dressing up." She checked her watch, 6:55. She said, "Well, I'm gonna go wait outside for Sookie to pick me up." Rory said, "Okay, have fun." Lorelai put on a smile and said, "I will." Lorelai walked outside just as Max pulled up. She ran to the car and prayed that Rory didn't look out the window. She quickly got into his mustang and said hi. He said, "Hi Lorelai. You look great."

She said, "Yeah, now go, hurry."

He backed out of the driveway, and off they went towards Hartford. Lorelai reached into her purse and took out a box of mints. She got one out for herself, and put the container away, quietly hitting the record button on her tape recorder. Then she looked at Max and said, "So, Max how long are we going to do this?"

"Do what?" he asked.

"Date," she said. She stared at him, praying he would give her some good evidence.

"I don't know Lorelai. Until I get tired of being with you. It could be awhile."

Lorelai said, "And Rory will. . ."

Max said, "And Rory will be fine. As long as you don't ruin it for her."

"How could I ruin it for her?" she asked.

"Well, Lorelai, I think you know the answer to that." Lorelai sighed. She quietly reached into her bag and shut the recorder off, casually grabbing a tissue to blot her lipstick with. They rode to the restaurant with Max making occasional conversation about the weather and other meaningless topics. They pulled into the parking lot of La Villa at 7:30 p.m. Lorelai looked around the parking lot looking for Luke's truck. She didn't see it anywhere. She panicked. 'I hope he remembered, she thought to herself. I should have called and reminded him!'

Max got out of the car, and walked around to help Lorelai out. Lorelai got out of the car and they walked into the restaurant. Max talked to the maitre-d as Lorelai glanced around. She saw Luke at a table by himself. Wow, she thought, he looks good. Luke was wearing a blue sweater with khakis, was clean-shaven, and surprisingly, without a baseball cap. He was looking at a menu. At that moment, he glanced up and saw Lorelai looking at him. She quickly looked away as Max lead her to their table, which was across the room from Luke, but still within eyesight.

Lorelai, during the meal, stole glances toward Luke and noticed that he had a constant eye on their table. Lorelai felt relieved that Luke was there to support and protect her. The meal went by rather slowly, with Max making boring chitchat, asking her questions about work and family and life. She played along, acting as if they were on a real date instead of one between a crazy, power-hungry blackmailer and his victim. The waiter stopped by and asked her if she wanted dessert. Hoping the night was finally over and that she would be able to go home, she replied, "No, Thanks. We'll take the check now." The waiter left the check and walked away. Max said, "Good. Now we can go back to my place for a little nightcap."

"What!? No way Max." Lorelai said.

"Lorelai, may I remind you who you're talking to. May I remind you of the power that I have over you and your child's future."

Lorelai sat in her chair, speechless. She excused herself to the bathroom. She passed Luke's table and gave him a wink. He waited a few seconds, then got up and followed her. They met by the pay phones, keeping eyes on Max to make sure he didn't follow. Lorelai said in a loud whisper, "Luke, help me! He's making me go back to his place with him!"

Luke asked, "Did you get any evidence?"

"Not really," she replied.

Luke said, "Well, do you have your cell phone?" She nodded. He asked her for the number and told her that he would call, and then she can pretend that there's an emergency at home. Lorelai gave him the number and went back to their table. She forced a smile. "All ready," she said. Max smiled and said, "Good. Let's get going then." As they were walking to the car, Lorelai's cell phone rang.

She picked it up, and forced a couple of, "Oh no's" and "I'll be home soon's" for Max's sake." She hung up and said, "That was Rory. She's really sick, coughing, gagging, and throwing up, you know. She really needs me to come home. I guess we'll have to do this another time." Max said, "Yeah. Of course we will. Let's get you home." Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't ask her any more questions about it. Max dropped Lorelai off at her house, and said "I'll be in touch." She slammed the door and ran into the house. Rory was lying on the couch asleep. Lorelai kissed her goodnight, and went upstairs to her bedroom.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON

Lorelai was at the inn working on the computer when the phone rang. She answered it, and much to her disappointment, it was Max. "Max, how did you get this number? I never gave you this number." He replied, "Lorelai, it's in the phone book."

Lorelai said, "So what do you want?"

Max said, "Dinner, my house, tonight, 8pm."

"I can't tonight, I have plans with my parents."

Max said, "Well, then I guess that English test Rory took today will be one more bad grade for her to sulk over, won't it?" Lorelai didn't reply.

Max repeated, "8 p.m., don't be late." Lorelai quickly called Luke and told him of the plan, and asked if he could follow her again. She told him where Max lived, and Luke said he would be there.

FRIDAY NIGHT

While her parents didn't like it, Lorelai convinced them to move dinner up to 6, giving her time to eat there, then come home and go to Max's. She arrived home at 7:15, then quickly ran upstairs to get ready. Lorelai had dropped Rory off at Lane's on the way home, so at least she didn't have to lie to her again. She got ready, placing the tape recorder securely in her bag, and went off to Max's, arriving just before 8. She glanced down the street and saw Luke, in his truck, watching her. She smiled, but did not want to wave in case Max was watching. She knocked on the door and Max answered it and invited her in. A candlelight dinner was already on the table, so they started eating right away.

As Max and Lorelai ate, Lorelai wondered how he could just sit there acting as if nothing was going on. She excused herself to the bathroom and grabbed her purse on the way. She walked in and locked the door. She leaned forward against the sink and stared at herself in the mirror.

Come on Lorelai, she said to herself, You're strong. You can do this.' She flushed the toilet for Max's sake and pushed the record button on her tape recorder. She walked back to the table and said, "I'm back." Max smiled at her. She placed her purse on the table next to her, hoping that Max wouldn't ask her why. She said, "So Max, what else have you got planned for tonight?"

Max smiled and said, "Well, I thought we'd do a little slow dancing by the candlelight, and then retire to the bedroom."

Lorelai said, "Um, I don't really want to do that Max."

"Well, Lorelai," Max said. "Tonight is not about what you want, it's about what I want."

"No, I won't do it." said Lorelai. Max got angry and raised his voice.

"Lorelai, are you going to play by the rules or not? It's very simple! You can date me and do as I say, and Rory will pass her class, or you can leave right now, and Rory will fail. What's your choice?" Lorelai smiled.

"I'll leave," she said, standing up.

"Fine! And tell Rory I hope she likes failing."

Lorelai said, "Oh, I will. Thanks." She grabbed her purse and coat and walked out. She ran to her car and started to unlock it as Luke jumped out from behind some bushes and rushed over to her.

"Is everything all right?" he asked. She nodded and said, "Yes! I got evidence!" Luke smiled and said, "Good work." He paused for a second and asked, "So, um, did he, uh try anything in there?" She smiled and said, "Thankfully, no. I left before we even finished dinner." Lorelai reached into her purse and shut the tape recorder off. "Good," Luke said, "I'm glad you're all right. Let's get away from here."

Lorelai got into her Jeep. Luke asked, "Wait, so when are you going to the Headmaster? Do you want me to come too?" Lorelai said, "I know where he lives, so I'll go tomorrow. And I would love if you could come. That would be great." Luke smiled and said, "Good night. See you tomorrow." Luke walked back to his truck and he and Lorelai went home.

SATURDAY MORNING

As Lorelai and Luke pulled up to Headmaster Charleston's Hartford mansion, Lorelai clutched the tape recorder tightly. As they got out and walked to the door, she thanked Luke for the thousandth time for all of his help. Lorelai took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The door slowly opened. . . . .

SATURDAY NIGHT

Lorelai, Rory, Luke, and Sookie sat around Lorelai's living room, and Lorelai described everything that had been going on. Rory and Sookie were shocked, as they had no idea about what Max had been doing to her.

"So the Headmaster didn't believe me at first," Lorelai explained, "but then he listened to the tape and he was shocked! He said he would take care of it. He called the police and they arrested Max. And of course, he was fired. Plus, when they went to arrest him, they found him on a date with a woman who confessed that he had been blackmailing her too!"

Rory's mouth dropped open and she said, "Oh my gosh!"

"And apparently," Lorelai said. "There are some more women out there. He's been doing it for years."

"Wow," said Rory. "I can't believe you didn't tell me what was going on. You could've gotten hurt."

"I know," said Lorelai, "But I didn't, and it's all over now. That man will be in prison for awhile. Probably in the psych ward."

They all sat around talking about it while drinking and munching on snacks. Lorelai stood up and said, "I'll go get some more drinks." Lorelai walked into the kitchen. She was staring at the open fridge, wondering what drink she wanted, when Luke came up behind her and put his arms around her in a bear hug. She turned around to face him and smiled. She said, "Luke, thanks again for all your help and support. You're a wonderful friend."

Luke replied, "You're welcome." He stared into Lorelai's eyes for a second. She stared back. They slowly leaned towards each other and kissed. When Luke pulled back, he saw Lorelai smiling.

"I've been waiting for that for a long time," she said.

"Me too," Luke replied.

"I never thought it would happen with my butt in the refrigerator," she said.

Luke laughed and said, "Me either." She gave Luke a big hug. She knew she would never find another man as wonderful as Luke.

END