I apologize for the delay! This is the final chapter. Whew. Thank you all for riding this out with me. I hope you like how the story ends. Enjoy.

The Amazingly Different Race Part V

"Ooowww, Luke, it hurts!"

"I know, Lorelai. One more minute, and it'll be over. You can take it."

"No, I can't! Take it out. Please!"

"Will you stop moving around? Just relax, and think of something else."

Lorelai gritted her teeth and shut her eyes tight. Her hand shook as Luke held it between his. The splinter was on her left index finger. Lodged deep and proving itself to be as stubborn as she could be. Luke squeezed the finger with two of his, and she whimpered.

"Sorry," he said in apology, but he only squeezed harder. Lorelai pushed his chest.

"Ow, Luke! Don't apologize then hurt me worse! What's the matter with you?!"

He didn't let up since he could now see the tip of it rising through the broken skin. "Well, unless you want me to let it stay in here, I'm gonna have to apply some pressure!" he exclaimed. Lorelai grasped his arm above the elbow and squeezed as her pain got more severe. Luke continued until he got it free. He sighed and held up the tiny piece of wood. "It's out," he announced. He showed it to her then dropped it to the ground. Lorelai released him and examined her finger.

Luke clutched his arm. "What a lovely grip you have," he stated with an eye roll.

"Sorry." She wagged her red finger at him. "Thanks for this, though."

"You're welcome." He took some antiseptic cream and a band-aid from the first-aid kit offered by the race helpers. "I won't be able to use my arm for a week, but you're definitely welcome," he finished bitterly.

She chuckled and stood patiently while he cleaned and bandaged her injury.

When done, he disposed of the trash, and breathed deep. "Okay, what do you say we get back in this thing?"

She nodded. "Let's just try to steer clear of disgruntled floorboards this time."

Luke touched the small of her back and got them walking back toward the docks. "Deal. Although, I'm not the one who needs the warning."

"We're a team. My screw-up is your screw-up."

He rolled his eyes. "I forgot. Try not to get us hurt, then."

She smiled. "I'll do my best."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai knelt down and sloshed away mud from an area that she soon realized she'd already looked in.

"Got anything?" Luke called over.

She stood up and blew hair from her eye. Luke was bent over a few yards away as he tore through a muddy area, himself. "Not yet," she replied.

"Me either. Keep looking."

She groaned and walked around, kicking around rocks and gunk with the heavy boots she wore. She kneeled low and carefully parted the mud with both hands. She dug a mini-trench then gave up on that spot. She stood and used her arm to push back the same piece of hair. "Fuck a duck!" she yelled in exasperation.

Luke stood. "What's wrong?" he yelled over.

She faced him and spread her dirty hands at her sides. She laughed in her frustration as she answered, "My hair won't stay out of the way!"

Luke's legs were wide apart and planted in the deep, muddy area. He wrung mud from his hands as he listened to her dilemma. "Oh," he responded. Then, he was leaning back down.

"Thanks for the show of support, Luke."

He kept moving and digging. "Sorry," he said in distraction.

She rolled her eyes and went to another area. "God, this is disgusting," she muttered to herself. "First, they had us acting as second-rate deck hands, now this. I am so gonna be on the event committee next year." She continued to use her boots to kick so she wouldn't have to lean down and dig her already contaminated hands back in the filth. She looked up when she heard the Litchfield ladies yelling between one another as they waded through the ankle-deep slop as well.

Kirk and Marla were further away. They were already there when Luke and Lorelai arrived, and around ten minutes later, the Litchfield ladies showed up. For fifteen minutes, they'd all been there searching through the mud for one of three buried keys, and none, so far, had been lucky enough to find one.

They were told all keys were tied to small wooden blocks. After a couple of disappointed discoveries, each team had come to realize there were wooden blocks without keys in there as well.

"Hey, Lorelai." Lorelai looked up at Kirk and saw him with a glob of mud in his hand. He wore a grin. "What would you do if I threw this at you?" he asked in good fun.

Lorelai dropped her eyes back to the mud and kept looking for the key. "Kirk, as much as I love you and your kooky little ways, if you throw that at me, it'll take the whole cast of ER to remove my boot from your sunshine-less area," she said casually.

Kirk lowered his hand. "Wow. I-I was only kidding, you know?"

She looked up and smiled. "I know. But I wasn't." She pointed. "Now, go help Marla find the key."

"Lorelai, I found one!" Luke called.

She spun around, her eyes wide. "Really?!" she asked.

He took long, steady strides to the side of the huge pit. "Yeah," he answered. "Let's get out of here."

Lorelai wrung out her hands as she made her way to the edge as well. "Oh, Luke, you're awesome. You're so freaking awesome. I don't think I could've stayed in here another minute!"

Luke made it to the grass and stomped out his boots. When Lorelai was near enough, he took hold of her hand and helped her out. He turned with the key in his hand and shuffled over to one of three safes that rested there. He tried one, but it didn't fit. Upon sticking it in the second one, it turned and revealed a bright envelope. Inside was a clue, a tiny black and white print that was the size of a stamp, and $100. They both opened the clue and read.

Now, that playtime is over, it's time to get down to business.
In this safe, you will find a painting sample.
Now, there are many who make their living being starving artists.
And today, thanks to you both, they will eat.
Take your sample and head to Willow Trace.
Find the painting that matches the sample.
Purchase the painting. If it is, indeed, the correct one, you will be handed your next clue.
If incorrect, you will receive your next clue after being issued a time penalty. Good Luck!

Lorelai took the envelope from Luke and re-read it. "Oh my god, there are like ten art galleries on this street!"

"At least that," Luke stressed.

She took a breath and folded the clue. "Well, come on, let's get cleaned up so we can get a move on."

Luke nodded and followed her as they made their way over to their gear.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Luke and Lorelai both squinted and turned their heads to the left.

"What do you think?"

Luke paused as he studied the painting. Then his eyes went quickly to the stamp-sized sample Lorelai held. "Um…" He leaned in a little. "Well, it has the same little squiggly lines right here," he pointed out.

She looked over at him as he leaned over her shoulder. "So, yeah, then?" she asked.

"I really can't tell." He looked at her. "What's your take?"

She laughed a little. "I don't know. That's why I was asking you. All these things look alike to me."

"I know," Luke chimed in. "What ever happened to painting a house and a nice pond? Every last one of these damn things look like a pre-schooler went paint crazy."

Lorelai sighed. "You know what would help?" she asked thoughtfully. "It'd help if this sample had color on it."

"Yeah, it would," he agreed. "But it doesn't so we're forced to go slowly insane as we hold it from one obscure painting to the next."

He looked at the painting for a few additional seconds before re-examining the ones around it. They'd been going from gallery to gallery for over half an hour looking at paintings. The other teams had even shown up and were looking around for a match to their own samples.

"Okay, we've been in every store except about three," Luke began, "So…do you wanna go check them out or just take a chance on this one?"

Lorelai stood in thought, her eyes fixed on the painting. "Um…"

"Because," he added. "I'm sick of looking at these things. I don't even like art."

She looked at him. "Let's look in the other galleries," she suggested. "If nothing jumps out at us, then we can come back and get this one because this is the closest one we've seen."

"Okay." His touched her hip and let her lead the way to the exit. "Let's be quick, though. I feel minutes ticking off of my life in this place."

She smiled and hurried out ahead of him.

---

"Ahh!" Lorelai exclaimed with a point. "That's it, right? This has gotta be it!"

Luke sighed loudly and leaned over to look at the millionth painting of the day. They'd just entered the second to last gallery. He looked for a moment, then just shook his head. "Sure, why not?" he said drably.

"Luke!"

"Yes, yes. I meant to say 'yes'," he answered impatiently. "It looks very similar. I say let's go with it."

"You're just saying that so we can leave," she said with narrowed eyes. She turned to find someone to help them. "But it's okay. I know it's the right one." A lady noticed them and made her way over. Lorelai looked back at the painting and held up the sample once more. "Luke?"

"Yeah?"

She turned to face him. "This is where we cross our fingers."

---

The bus came to a stop, and Luke and Lorelai climbed off, luggage and all.

Luke held the tube that contained the rolled up painting.

"1857," Lorelai said as she pointed at a large building. "This is it."

Luke looked around. "You sure? I don't see the address."

"Yeah. See, that one over there is 1853, so I just counted up."

He nodded. "Okay, good enough. Let's go." They walked up the stairs to the building. Lorelai stopped in front of the door and looked around. Luke watched her head bob and weave for a few seconds before he finally asked, "What are you looking for?"

"A doorbell," she answered.

"Lorelai, this is a business. They don't have a doorbell," he said in annoyance. "Just go inside."

She looked up at the large building. "It looks like a house. How do you know it's a business?"

He pointed down the street using the tube. "Because everything around it is a business," he replied. "They wouldn't stick a residential building right here."

She grasped the door and spoke quieter as she turned the knob. "Luke, I swear if you have me walking inside of somebody's house, I'm going to slap you. It won't be hard because I don't want to hurt you, but I'm definitely going to slap you. Now, I know that sort of defeats the purpose of the slap, but it'll let you know how much I didn't apprecia--"

"Lorelai, open the door."

She frowned at him and got the door open. They inched forward and looked around. There were boxes and tables in the middle of the floor. "Hello," Lorelai called with a light knock to the already open door.

A teenage guy came around the corner, followed by a girl about the same age, and an older woman.

"Hey," the woman greeted with a smile. "We were wondering when you guys were going to begin showing up."

Lorelai smiled and shook the hand that was offered. "Hi," she said. "I'm Lorelai, and this," She gestured behind her, "This is Luke," she finished. Luke smiled and shook her hand too. Lorelai looked around with a fleeting look of embarrassment. "We didn't walk into your home, did we?"

She shook her head, no. "No, no, this is our business."

Her hand went to her chest. "Oh thank God!"

They all chuckled. The lady introduced herself, then the two teenagers who were her children.

She took the painting from Luke and admired it with a large smile before passing it to her son. She explained how their home had, just six months ago, caught fire. She told of how she'd lost everything. She went on to explain that they were in the process of re-building their lives with the help of Hartford. So far, they'd helped her and her family out tremendously. The family had managed to secure a home, and the building they now stood in was to become a clothing business. She had one before the fire, but lost it when she lost her home. The paintings that were purchased were going be used as decoration for the soon-to-be ready shop. Just a small contribution from the racing coordinators. She'd received quite a bit in addition to that, but she made sure to explain her involvement in the race.

Since she met Luke and Lorelai first, she let them know they had her automatic support in the competition. She spoke briefly and remained upbeat. Not wanting to hold them, she passed them their clue envelope and wished them luck.

Luke and Lorelai left the shop and stood on the porch of the business with the unopened clue.

Lorelai sighed. "Ya know, when I entered this race, I really didn't expect to have to do this kind of charity-type stuff."

Luke nodded languidly. "I know whatcha mean."

She looked at his profile. "It's a little tiring." He met her eyes. "I mean, who in the hell wants to enter this race to become a better person?" she complained. "Just give me the clue card and let me do what I have to do! Is that too much to ask for?"

Luke smiled and leaned closer to her face. "Is that a tear?" he asked.

She pushed him away. "Of course it's a tear, Luke. I'm not a robot!" Luke laughed as she took the envelope from him and descended the stairs.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Luke and Lorelai were the second team to make it to the pit stop.

Kirk and Marla had passed them on the last event for the day and were standing outside of the Best Western when they arrived.

Lorelai noticed them standing there as they were walking up. "Wonder what they're doing out here," she said to Luke. "What the hell, are they like waiting to brag about being first?"

He hiked his bag up his back. "So, what if they are? That seems to be your favorite pastime," he commented.

She frowned.

"Luke, Lorelai," the greeter began once they'd made it to the mark, "You are the second team to make it to the pit stop." Luke held his hand up and Lorelai lightly slapped it and brought both their hands down. "You will not be eliminated today," he finished. They both nodded.

They were, then, told to stand to the side to await the arrival of the last team. Lorelai was grateful that Kirk and Marla had been instructed to wait. With that being the case, she wouldn't have to prepare herself for a pre-meditated, ill-intentioned taunt fest. She and Luke walked over toward the other team.

"Hey, w-why why uh…" Kirk pointed an overly enthusiastic finger between where Luke and Lorelai walked. Lorelai moved both hands to her bag as she took it off. Luke did the same. They looked at Kirk with concern as he continued to point at, what was now, nothing.

"Come on, Kirk. Spit it out," Lorelai replied with amusement.

He moved over. "Why were you guys holding hands? You don't hold hands, do you? I've never seen you holding hands," he said moving his eyes quickly between them.

Luke and Lorelai looked at one another in confusion. Neither was aware that they had not let go when they'd shared that high-five. What Kirk saw was a soft, celebratory high-five followed by a link that looked like nothing he and Marla would ever share. They'd released only to remove their backpacks. That's what he'd seen and what Luke and Lorelai appeared to have no memory of.

Both looked back at Kirk.

"Kirk, get out of my face!" Luke barked.

Kirk moved to the side and looked at Lorelai for answers. She followed in the path that Luke had so easily cleared. She leaned in as she passed him. "You know not to anger him when he hasn't eaten yet," she whispered loudly. "You've gotta be more careful, Kirk!" Lorelai winked at him and moved along.

Kirk was baffled. "But, but…"

"Ah, look! Here comes the final team," Marla pointed out. She stood up from where she sat on her bag. "I can finally go and soak my feet," she said to herself. "All this activity has me exhausted."

Lorelai smiled widely.

"Whatever comment you have, how about keepin' it to yourself?" Luke leaned into her and said.

Her mouth opened in offense, and she shrugged openly. "What? I wasn't going to say anything!"

"Good. Keep that way."

The Litchfield ladies jogged up the small hill with their backpacks. They each saw the two teams standing there, and they knew they were last. Everybody watched.

"How much does this suck? Not only are they last, but they have an audience," Lorelai said to Luke. "Maybe we should like turn around or something."

He rolled his eyes.

The greeter called each of them by name. He looked from one to the other, then said words that no one was expecting.

"You will not be eliminated from the race."

"What?" Kirk cried out. "But they were last! That's not fair. They should have to go home just like all the other teams who came in last!"

"Oh god," Lorelai muttered. Her hand went to the bridge of her nose as she dropped her head.

"Tell me about it," Luke mumbled.

Marla turned Kirk toward her and said a few stern words. Kirk tried to get a word in edgewise, and she said a few more. She let him go, and Kirk turned back around to face the crowd that had gone quiet. He took a breath. "I apologize for my outburst," he said half-heartedly. "You can continue. It won't happen again."

The greeter looked around at the team members, then back at the few race helpers. "Alright..um..anyway, as I was saying…" He cleared his throat and looked at the Litchfield team. "You are safe from elimination," he said officially.

He turned and addressed all teams. "Congratulations to you all. The six of you have made it to the final competition day." Everyone clapped with bare enthusiasm. Kirk's outburst had, without doubt, soaked up a large portion of the camaraderie.

The man continued. "Tonight was the final pit stop. Tomorrow, one of these teams will be declared winner of the first annual…" He paused and looked around, "Competition of the Towns." That got a better applause. "You all can go get checked into your rooms, then head downstairs for dinner. Afterwards, rest up. Tomorrow's a big day. All teams will need to be downstairs in the parking lot at ten a.m. sharp." He dismissed them with a wave. "Good luck to you all."

Everyone gathered their things. Lorelai struggled with her bag. She'd taken it off, and now didn't have the strength to get it back on.

Luke lowered it down to his side. She looked back at him, and he just lifted his chin for her to lead the way inside.

She smiled and turned away. "Ready for tomorrow, big man?" she asked lightly.

He smiled. "Yeah. Gotta be. We can't let Kirk represent for our town. We won't be invited back in the competition next year."

Lorelai laughed.

All racers went into the lobby.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Luke gathered his things in order to go in the bathroom for a shower.

Lorelai had just finished hers. She dropped onto her bed by the nightstand and picked up the alarm clock.

"What time, nine fifteen?" she asked looking up at him.

He smiled and unfastened his wristwatch as he walked from the rear of his bed over toward the nightstand. "Make it eight forty-five, Beauty Queen. We were almost late this morning with all your bathroom hogging."

She clicked the buttons on the clock to get it set. "It's so funny how men are quick to complain about groom time, but you guys are always drooling over the end result."

He got his watch off just as he reached the nightstand. "You're not much better. In the diner, you don't have any patience for preparation, but when you get your food, you do everything but lick the plate clean."

She looked up at him. "Totally different situation."

"How is that?"

"Because it's me waiting. I'm not to be kept waiting, Lucas. It's unacceptable."

He smiled and looked down to his watch as he set its alarm as well.

Lorelai placed the hotel's clock back on the side table. "Are you setting that one for eight forty-five too?" she asked, still looking up at him.

He shook his head and moved the watch closer to the light to see it better. "Nope," he answered. "Nine fifteen. Hopefully, by the time it goes off, I'll have a shot at getting into the bathroom."

"No fair you get to sleep a half hour more." He shrugged. "It's not my fault your prettiness takes so little effort to achieve," she finished.

"Please don't refer to me as pretty. It's not exactly a compliment."

"It is in my book."

"Well, get another book."

She looked up at him with a light smile as he continued to tinker with his watch. "Luke is preeetty," she sang. "With his pretty little eyes…." He rolled them. She chuckled. "Which he gets such a kick out of rolling at everything I say," she followed. He smiled, still pre-occupied. "His pretty smile," she added. He looked up at her. "His pretty eyes again," she said softer. They held contact for a long moment before Luke's eyes fell back to his watch. He set it down but kept his eyes low.

"I…guess I'll go take a shower," he said nervously. He saw Lorelai's hand reach out and grasp the end of his shirt. He touched her wrist. "Lorelai," he said quietly as he looked at her on the bed.

She shrugged like she was doing nothing wrong. "What?" she whispered. With a gentle tug, she pulled him forward. He went. She brought her hands high on his sides and urged him down. He leaned over her and her breaths told of her desire. The more he leaned, the more she lowered her body to the bed. Her hands went to the sides of his face, and her knees rose to the sides of his stomach as she prepared to wrap her legs around his body.

His mouth went to hers, and they kissed. Both opened up and tongues touched.

There was a loud knock on the door.

Startled, Luke and Lorelai separated. He stood up, and she sat up. They looked at the door for a long moment then back at each other.

Another knock was heard.

Luke pointed. "I better go get that," he said.

Lorelai nodded and scooted back on the bed. She got in an Indian style position by the nightstand and pushed hair behind her ears as she roped in discontentment. Luke made it to the door and looked over at her to make sure she was decent in the bed. He wiped a hand over his lips then pulled the door open.

Immediately, he frowned. "What do you want?" he snapped.

Kirk came into the doorway. "Hi," he said to Luke.

"Do you know what time it is?" he bellowed.

Kirk gave him a disapproving scowl. "Too late for you to be yelling like that," he answered. He leaned in. "People are trying to sleep, Luke."

Luke gripped the door. "It's midnight, Kirk. Why are you knocking on my door at midnight, Kirk?"

Kirk looked around Luke and waved. "Hey, Lorelai!"

Lorelai returned his wave. "How are you, Kirk?"

"I'm fine, and you?"

Luke moved over, blocking his view of the room. "She's fine," he said harshly. "Now, what do you want?" he asked again.

He took a breath. "Sorry to disturb you at such a late hour, Luke, but.." He pulled a remote control from the pocket of the robe he wore. "...The batteries to my remote control have died, and I just wanted to know if you two were using your TV."

Luke looked as if he was about to explode. "What?!" he asked tensely.

"Well," he went on to say, "If you're not using your TV, then I was wondering if you might switch remotes with me. See, Marla tends to talk in her sleep. Very loudly. We're talking whole conversations here. And when she begins to do that, I just turn on the television and watch it until she wins whatever argument she's formulated with herself. Sometimes it's only a few minutes, but I need a distraction so it's not like I'm just sitting there listening to her conversation. I think that'd a little rude, wouldn't you?"

Luke turned to look at Lorelai in disbelief, and she only shrugged. He clenched his jaw, walked back, grabbed their remote and shoved it at Kirk's chest. "Just take it," he said.

Kirk grasped it. "Thank you, Luke. I really appreciate this." He waved his dead remote control from side to side. "Do you want to take this one so you can at least have--"

Luke slammed the door in his face.

After a few seconds, there was a light knock on the door, and Kirk's voice could be heard. "Thanks again, Luke! And sorry to bother you guys! Have a good night; see you tomorrow!"

Luke still stood by the door. His eyes went to Lorelai. They smiled slowly then started to laugh.

Luke shook his head. "There's a special place in Heaven for that guy, I swear."

"Tell me about it," Lorelai agreed.

A few chuckles sounded between them before they faded away. Luke sighed calmingly and ran his hand through his hair.

Lorelai got to her feet, and he looked up at her. She stood for a moment by the bed, then walked over. He watched her come into his space, and he tensed. Just her advance was enough to make his body want to react. Her hand went to his shoulder, then slid down his arm as their eyes searched one another's. Luke swallowed as she moved in with her lips.

"St-Stars Hollow," he said quietly. She paused and backed away enough to see his eyes. Luke swallowed again. "Remember? Because we're still in-in the r-race and--"

Her eyes went down from his and she nodded quickly. "Yeah. Of course."

He lifted his finger to her chin. "Lorelai?"

She looked up on her own. "I just…" Her eyes moved between his, "…I-I'm sorry." If the room wasn't dead silent Luke would've been unable to hear her, despite her closeness. "I don't—I really don't intend to come off as some sort of obsessed nympho." She chuckled with a quiet embarrassment and Luke smiled.

"You're not." He looked at her lips. "You're not," he repeated firmly.

"It's just not like I thought it would be, Luke. You and me—I thought it'd have more of a…a casual feel." She sighed. "Wait for Stars Hollow. No big deal, right?" she whispered nervously. She was speaking of her mindset. The one that had them on pause until the end of the race. Her voice got even softer, if that was possible. "I just don't think you and I were made for casual."

She searched his eyes, and he bit his lip and looked at her intensely. Her eyes dropped to his mouth. "W-we can still wait." She paused, and her focus remained. "I really do want to wait until we get back home. Back to…our environment. Our reality, ya know." Her eyes rose back to his. "But…just to kinda explain myself a bit…" She smiled, "I…um…I'm really losing a battle here."

He smiled widely and ran his hands down her arms. "Yeah, I see."

She shook her head, smiling more. "Go to hell," she whispered.

"Wow. That sounds a lot sexier than the last time you told me to do that."

She began to laugh, and Luke pulled her in without warning. Their lips crashed together. She moaned deeply into that kiss as she grasped his sides. Tongues began to glide, and with that, intensity went away. They melted into one another and began kissing like it was the ultimate pleasure. They both pulled away for a breath, and Luke stopped her as she got ready to move back in.

"Wait! Lorelai, wait," he said as he dropped his head back onto the wall. He and Lorelai had moved at the heated connection, and now he was against the wall near the TV with her pressed onto him.

Lorelai felt his full arousal below. "Wait?" she asked breathily. "Why are we waiting?"

He shook his head as it still rested against the wall. "Damn…I shouldn't have done that. I-I didn't mean to do that."

She moved sexily against his hard-on and breathed a sensual breath. "But you did," she whispered. "Now, by all means, finish it."

He grinded back for a moment then held her hips still. He closed his eyes to the ceiling. "There is nothing I want more right now…than to finish it," he said with a deep swallow. "But we have to be rational. You wanted to wait for a reason, Lorelai." He lowered his head cautiously, almost afraid he'd get the sudden urge to kiss her again. They met eyes. "This is my fault," he said alluding to their current position against the wall. "And I'm sorry. I really didn't…uh plan to be a tease here."

A smile broke out across Lorelai's face, and after a moment, she stepped away from him. "Don't…don't be sorry." She gestured at him. "You're just weak," she explained. Luke frowned, and she laughed softly at that. "Like me," she added. "We're both weak." Lorelai folded her arms. "For one another," she added quietly.

Luke stood up from the wall and looked down at his jeans that had a visible imprint. "Yeah, I'd have to agree," he said mildly.

She looked down at his pants as she bit the inside of her cheek. "I guess we can…um call this a night." She met his eyes.

He nodded. "Yeah. Goodnight, then."

Lorelai pointed at the bathroom. "Um. You're gonna go take a--"

"Yeah, I'm going to hop in the shower," he finished.

"Okay. Well, I'm gonna get in the, uh, bed back here and…get some shut eye," she finished with a half-shrug.

"Sounds like a plan to me."

They nodded at what seemed like a successful conversation.

"So…goodnight."

Luke lifted a hand in a short wave. "Night."

Lorelai looked at him momentarily before she leaned forward a little. He leaned in, hesitated, then moved the rest of the way to meet her lips. Their bodies stayed distant. The peck was brief. Lorelai moved over to her bed, tossed a glance back at him, then quickly climbed under the covers. Luke made his way into the bathroom.

The door shut.

And two heartbeats slowed to normal.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

The racers made their way to the large field.

Lorelai splayed her hand over her stomach as she walked beside Luke. "My stomach is doing somersaults over here."

He looked over at her. "Well, suck it up. You've gotta suck it up," he said in encouragement. "This is the final day here!"

She dropped her hand. "Oh, believe me, I know. I don't care if I throw up at every stage of this thing today, I'm in this!"

He chuckled. Then allowed laughter to float away as he asked, "Seriously, though, you gonna be okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Just anxious." She grabbed his arm giddily. "All I can see is that trophy. It's like a million feet tall, Luke."

He faced forward again. "Yeah, you've told me. It's very motivating," he said evenly. Lorelai didn't know if he was being sarcastic or not, but still, it didn't stop her enthusiasm.

"It just doesn't get better than this! We actually have a shot to take home the zip-code hogging trophy, can you believe it?! Whoever said size doesn't matter is a moron. It definitely gets my juices flowing!" she ended suggestively.

Luke shook his head, not at all surprised at her unabashed innuendo.

All teams made it to the center of the football field. Gear was lowered to the grass. A woman came before the line of players and began issuing instructions in order to begin the day's race. Luke bent at the waist and tightened a loose shoe string as she spoke. Lorelai's hand went to his back, and she rubbed softly. When she turned attention to the right, she saw Kirk looking back at her with an open mouth. He pointed a finger at her. Luke stood back up at that very moment, unknowingly blocking off Kirk and whatever shock he was about to display.

Luke's eyes went down to Lorelai who was still looking in his direction.

"What?" he asked.

She sighed and pointed a finger past him. "Nothing. Just Kirk's about to have a coronary."

Luke looked over at him and saw as Kirk noticed the attention and started again with the accusatory pointing. Luke turned back. "What's with him?"

"You really want to know?" she asked doubtfully.

Luke's lips turned down and he shook his head in dismiss. "No. I actually really couldn't care less."

She smiled and ran her hand down his arm. They focused, again, on the lady that was speaking, and within minutes, they were all rushing off toward a scavenger hunt that had been organized. Luke and Lorelai led the pack.

"Remember, what's today's mission?" Lorelai asked as she scurried along.

Luke's pace was even more impressive. "Kick ass," he answered.

"Who's ass are we kicking?" she followed.

"Everybody who has one," he said on cue.

Lorelai grinned. "Oh ho ho, you're ready, my friend!"

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Two feet was water. Five feet was whipped cream. Eight feet was honey. Ten feet was pie filling.

Two teams lost at ten feet.

Luke and Lorelai made it to twelve.

"Are you ready?" Luke asked as he held the balloon.

Lorelai embellished a few stretches from twelve feet away. "Okay, throw it," she finally answered.

Luke had just caught the balloon filled with barbeque sauce, and he held it carefully in both hands as he prepared to toss it back to Lorelai.

"Here it comes," he announced.

She nodded, attentive. Her eyes were wide open.

He got momentum then threw the wobbly balloon in an underhanded pass. Lorelai watched it floating in the air, and she moved around trying to meet it perfectly. She shrieked as it came down in her stiffened hands. It landed in-tact, and she looked up at Luke instantly with glee. Then, it popped.

"Ugh!" she cried out. Luke jogged over to meet her. "Ugh!" she said again when he was closer. "It popped!" came her unnecessary complaint. She accompanied it with a foot stomp as sauce dripped to the ground.

Luke laughed. He reached out and grabbed a towel from one of the helpers and passed it to her. "At least we made it one more past everybody else," he said. He pointed off to where they were to go from there. Since they'd made it to the barbeque sauce, they could skip over one of the events.

She wiped sauce from her hands and parts of her clothes where it'd splattered. "Okay, let's go," she said glumly.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai laughed and grasped Luke's head. Her fingers went in his eyes.

"Lorelai!"

"Sorry," she giggled out. "Stop moving!"

"You think I'm trying to move?" he screeched. "When you move, I move!"

"Well, I have to move in order to reach the apples, Luke!" She laughed again as she and Luke wobbled. Her fingers touched one of the apples in the tree. "Go to the left some," she instructed from atop his shoulders.

He wrapped his arms tighter around her calves and moved in that direction. Lorelai's left hand went to the top of his head, and she pushed off, reaching with her right hand.

"Careful," said Luke.

"I'm being careful," she said distractedly as her fingers repeatedly knocked the stubborn apple.

"No, I mean careful with your hand pushing into my head."

"Oh." She moved her hand and searched for somewhere else to press down on. She came up empty and her hand went back to the top of his head. "You're just gonna have to suck it up, Luke," she said as she reached again. "My options are kinda limited here."

He grimaced at the pressure of her hand. "Just hurry up before you push a dent in my head, please."

She strained. "Aaaaallmost. Aaaaallmost." She hit the apple and it fell to the ground with the other five. She relaxed and patted his head. "There; got it. You can set me down now."

"Thank God." He carefully knelt low to the ground so that she could hop off. Once she did, he stood slowly while kneading his neck with a grimace. "You know, you're a lot heavier than you look," he complained. "Jeez."

Lorelai collected the apples in her shirt and walked on. "No time for foreplay, Luke. We have to press on."

He stood in place still rubbing his aching neck. With a sigh, he reached down and grabbed both their bags. "I guess I'll carry both of these!" he yelled after her.

"Thanks!" she yelled back. "It's the least you can do after calling me fat, Romeo."

He rolled his eyes and picked up both, lifting one onto his back.

---

The regular Home Ec teacher stood in the large cooking classroom.

Luke mixed the ingredients as Lorelai stood next to him leaning on the countertop. She'd started out sitting on top of it but was immediately reprimanded by the teacher, who obviously couldn't discern between running a classroom full of teenagers and just acting as a regulator to grown-up contestants.

Nevertheless, Lorelai hopped down quickly when told.

She, now, watched Luke work. She'd already done her part by peeling and slicing the apples, and now Luke handled the part that involved bowls and ingredients and other things that sent her mind spiraling out of control.

Lorelai waved at the instruction sheet off to the side of him. "You don't even need that thing, do you?"

He glanced at it, then went back to stirring. "Not really. I think I have it under control since I've been making apple pies three times a week for the past fifteen years."

"Yes, you have," she said happily, "And that's why I can't wait to dig into this baby."

He smiled.

Luke and Lorelai were the only ones so far in the room. Neither the Litchfield ladies nor Kirk and Marla had arrived yet. However, when Luke and Lorelai left in search of the apple tree, the other two teams were heading off in search of theirs—the fig tree and the peach tree. All teams had to make their respective pie from scratch using provided ingredients and directions. To ensure that no team rushed and/or butchered the recipe in order to save time, there was the teacher who would critique each finished pie. After obtaining a thumbs up from the teacher, the team would, then, have to sit and eat the entire pie before being allowed to move through to the next challenge.

"Hey, can you grab the dough?" he asked Lorelai.

"Sure." She went and retrieved it from the refrigerator and passed it to him.

"Thanks." Luke spread the stiff dough on the floured surface and held the rolling pin out to Lorelai. "Want to?"

She smiled. "You're so sweet, trying to include me." She shook her head with a dainty frown. "But I'm good over here." Luke smiled and proceeded to roll. "The dicing of the apples was enough," she finished.

"Yeah, I figured. It's probably for the best since the pie has to be edible," he ended with a wink in her direction.

"I concur," she said with a firm nod. She paused. "I concur and you dissed me. How lame am I?"

He smiled. "As long as you help down it, then I have no complaints."

Lorelai leaned in. "'Help'? 'Help', you say?" Lorelai patted his shoulder. "Oh, Luke, you poor clueless man. You must be under the impression that you're gonna get a bite of this."

He chuckled. "Make yourself useful and get a pan or something, please…while you're planning to eat yourself into a diabetic coma."

She playfully bumped his hip with hers, moving him away from the cabinet. He stepped to the side a bit. "Okay…uh round, rectangular, triangular, or cupcake?" she asked looking at the pan choices.

Luke paused then turned dull eyes to her profile. "Cupcake."

"Okay, one cupcake pan coming u--"

"Why would I need a cupcake pan, Lorelai?!" he exclaimed.

She didn't even blink twice. Just placed her hand on her hip and looked at him. "Well, why'd you say cupcake if you didn't really need a cupcake?" she asked pointedly.

He flipped the dough and rolled some more. "I was trying to make you see how ridiculous you sounded."

"And did you succeed?" she asked smartly as she took out a round pan.

"Apparently not."

"So, what did you learn?"

He rolled his eyes. "To next time get the damn pan myself."

"Not what I was going for but still, excellent lesson," she finished brightly. He smiled in reluctance, which of course caused her lips to curl as well. She pointed at him. "You have flour on your face, Chef Boyardee-licious."

"Jeez."

She chuckled. "Here, I'll get it." Her hand moved to his cheek and she wiped lightly with her thumb.

"Aha!"

Luke and Lorelai turned to where that loud exclaim had come from. Kirk stood at the door pointing at them.

Lorelai smiled. Luke grumbled and turned back to his work. "Nice of you to join us, Kirk," she said.

"I saw that w-with the thumb and the wiping!" he screeched. Marla went into the kitchen and dropped their peaches onto the counter. He went over and got her attention. "Did you see that—the—the—all the thumb action?"

"Thumb action?" Lorelai muttered with a frown as she still watched Kirk and his partner.

"Kirk, I need you to concentrate!" Marla snapped.

"But I just need to know if you saw--"

She silenced him with a look. He sighed and picked up the sheet with their directions.

Lorelai relaxed back against the counter and returned focus to what Luke was doing. "You know, I'm really starting to like that lady," she commented.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Both Luke and Lorelai arrived at the clue box and breathily read through what was written on the paper.

Lorelai turned eyes to him. "I think this is it."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she answered. She pointed at the sheet. " …with a large crowd. Do your best and make them proud…. End in sight..cheers of delight…" She scanned the paper, still breathing heavily from where she and Luke had run to the location. "…pressure is weighing; gotta make a rush…power right throu--" She looked up at him. "Luke, this is totally it!" She waved the sheet. "This takes us to the finish line!"

Luke moved her out of the way as the Litchfield ladies came running up to the box. Kirk and Marla were right on their tale.

"Get outta the waaaaay!" Kirk yelled while running maniacally.

"Kirk, stop running and flinging your arms around like an idiot before somebody gets hurt!" Luke scolded.

Lorelai grabbed Luke by his shirt and pulled him along. "Come on, we've got to go." He rolled his eyes away from Kirk and turned to hurry along with Lorelai.

Lorelai re-read the paper as she ran. "We have to take the number three bus to Lakedale." She held the paper up to him. "That's what this means, right?" she asked.

Luke tried to focus on the words while running. It was useless. He nodded anyway, going off of what he remembered of the clue. "That's what I was thinking," he said. "Come on; this way." He took her hand and they slowed to a speedy walk.

Lorelai looked over her shoulder. Both teams were half running, half walking to catch that same bus.

"This is way too close for comfort," she said as she turned back.

Luke looked down at her. "Huh?" She pointed behind them and he looked back and saw what she meant. "Let's just hurry." He held her hand tighter and they continued along, turning the speedy walk into a light run.

---

The bus came to a stop, and residents of the Litchfield community stood back in wide-eyed confusion as backpack-wearing racers scrambled to be the first off.

Lorelai made it off first then stood to the side as she waited for Luke.

He rushed down the steps last.

She tossed her arms up when he finally came off. "What's wrong with you, Luke? Now's not the time to be chivalrous!" She pointed to the Litchfield ladies who now hurried along in first place. "Those aren't regular women, Luke. They're our competition!"

They moved around some bystanders and kept a good pace. Luke rolled his eyes at her comment. "My wallet slid under the seat. I was trying to get it," he explained.

Lorelai waved off his explanation and kept moving. She didn't doubt that his wallet had fallen and he had to search for it. But she definitely saw him reach the top of the stairs only to step aside and allow Marla and the last of the Litchfield ladies to descend.

But Luke was who he was. She couldn't expect him to be like Kirk who was willing to mow down his own partner to get a good time.

"You know, I think this thing may end on the city border," Luke said.

They ran some more and caught up to where Marla ran—a few feet behind Kirk.

"That would make sense," she followed. "With only Litchfield and Stars Hollow teams left, it would make sense to have it end on the line that divides the two towns." She looked at the paper again. "When we get by the electronics store, we have to catch a cab," she said, leaning into Luke. She spoke as low as she could just in case the other teams had not picked up on that clue.

The Litchfield ladies started waving their arms at the passing taxis as soon as they made it to that mark.

Everyone else followed suit.

Three taxis drove in the same direction. They got separated a bit, but all teams were dropped off one after the other. It was at the end of a road that appeared to be blocked off. The road led to the divider line between the two towns.

Luke and Lorelai were last. As soon as they exited the taxi, they heard something. Faint sounds of talking on a loud speaker/ bullhorn.

"Oh my god, this is it!" Lorelai yelled in excitement.

Luke paid the cabbie and turned to the road ahead. The street was a long one that curved half a mile ahead. Kirk and Marla were twenty-five yards away, and the Litchfield ladies were a little more than thirty. Both Luke and Lorelai started up the road.

One minute into their run, it seemed they were already slowing.

"You back there?" Luke asked, running slower than he was capable of running in order to keep pace with Lorelai.

"I'm back here," she answered with pants.

"You with me?" he followed.

She waved a hand. "Yeah, sure."

"Little bit faster, Lorelai, come on."

"Luke the fact…that I'm still moving right now…is a miracle…within itself. Don't be greedy." She breathed heavier before slowing to a stop. "Damn, this bag is heavy."

Luke turned. "What are you doing?" He walked back to her, controlling his own breaths. "I know it's hard, but we have to go." He tugged on her elbow a little. "Come on."

She bent low and rested on her knees. "This sucks. I've…already…showed how much…I suck at this running thing."

Luke went to her rear and slid her backpack off. He set to the ground and pulled the straps to his own backpack tighter. "Run. Go," he said as he leaned down for a moment.

She turned. "What?"

He pointed up the road. "Run," he repeated. "Go on ahead. I'll catch up."

She breathed for a moment as she looked down at him. "You sure?"

He stood up and stretched his arms back and forth. "I promise you I'll catch up," he said as he steadied his breath. He gestured up ahead. "Hurry up. Just run."

She looked into his eyes for long seconds before finally backing away. "You've got like three minutes, Luke. Three minutes, and I'm coming back for you," she promised. Luke nodded fast just to get her moving. Lorelai turned around, walked a few steps in preparation, then started to jog.

Luke watched her for a moment. She moved better and had a much more promising pace. He took a deep breath and leaned low. He wrapped a hand tightly around Lorelai's backpack.

"Well, Butch…I guess I summon thee." He chuckled at himself then stood up with the bag in his hand. He looked at the road ahead, and shook his head. "This should be fun," he mumbled. Lorelai was about five yards from Marla now. She kept looking back but thankfully, continued to run.

He hiked the bag under his arm with a grunt and rubbed a hand over his hat. "Here goes nothin'."

He started up the road.

---

Lorelai slowed to a walk and put her hands on her hips.

"Oh god," she whispered. "This hurts. Really really hurts," she added. "Doesn't feel good at all why do people do this voluntarily oh my god this is torture," she continued on one long exhale.

Kirk and Marla were at least two hundred yards behind her now. She'd passed the Litchfield ladies two-hundred and fifty yards ago.

She looked back again and saw Luke about twenty yards away. He'd been running at the same pace since he started.

She turned back, took a heavy breath, and started running again. She rounded the large, wide bend in the road, and she finally saw what she'd only been hearing up until then. The commotion and noises were getting louder and louder as she made her way up the road. Moments after the crowd became visible to her, the cheering got insane. They'd spotted the first of the racers.

Lorelai could hear her name being screamed down to her. Stars Hollow was definitely in attendance.

She breathed heavily and slowed to another walk. There was a straight shot which led to the crowd a quarter of a mile away. The Litchfield/ Stars Hollow crowd stood on either side of the road behind parked buses, which she determined had carted the rambunctious lot of them to the location. She could vaguely make out yellow tape that represented the finish line.

Before the tape—halfway up the road—there were two tables set up. They were spaced apart and had someone standing behind each one. Different items sat on each table, but it was unclear what they were.

"This should be interesting," Lorelai mumbled.

She turned around, but Luke wasn't there. She walked some more- only a few paces- then turned back again. He still hadn't appeared around the corner. She stopped, wiped dampness from her brow and looked to the crowd that still screamed their lungs out.

She turned, again, to look. When she still didn't see him, she started jogging back.

She made it only a short distance before he was coming around the bend running, still, at the pace that he had managed to maintain. She stopped abruptly and smiled.

Luke saw her standing there and waved her onward. She shook her head and used the time to catch her breath as he made it up to her. He started walking once he made it next to her. "Why'd you stop?" he asked, out of breath. The chest and sleeves of his blue and white t-shirt were damp. A few drops of sweat ran down under his hat and he lifted his arm and wiped them away.

"Waiting for you," she said simply. She reached for her bag.

He shook his head. "Nah, I've got it. I've already carried it this far."

She held her hands up. "If you insist." She pointed on ahead. "Come on. We've got to hurry; it doesn't look like they're gonna make crossing the line easy. See those tables?"

Luke looked. "Oh boy."

"Tell me about it. We've gotta motor, hon."

---

"Armenia. It's Armenia."

Luke wrote Armenia on the paper. "Done." He flipped it around so the woman could see it.

"All are correct except this one," she said with a point toward the one they'd just guessed.

Lorelai frowned. "A7," she said. "Country starting with 'A' with seven letters. What other country is there?" She looked at Luke, and he shrugged. Lorelai's hands went to her head in frustration. "Damn, we should have just taken the penalty," she whispered in regret.

Luke looked back at the two other teams who'd opted to take the twenty minute penalty instead of completing the eleven country challenge.

Suddenly, his head snapped back around.

"Austria," he said with a finger snap. Lorelai's eyes went wide in recollection. "Is it Austria?" he asked the lady.

She smiled. "That is correct," she said.

"Yes!" They slapped hands and moved along only two minutes before Kirk and Marla's time penalty ran out.

They hurried up to the second table. Lorelai's eyes went in the distance where the crowd was still cheering. She stared longingly. "Man, this is cruel," she muttered. "So close and yet so far." She turned back to find Luke choosing between neatly designed cards that were lying on the table. There were three piles. In front of one stack read 'Juice'. In front of another read 'Spice'. And in front of the last read 'Dairy'.

"What are we doing?"

He looked over his shoulder at her with a frown. "Weren't you listening?"

She sighed in exasperation. "Well, of course I was," she lied. "This is a pop quiz for you. And right now you're failing." She snapped her fingers repeatedly. "Answer quicker, answer quicker."

He rolled his eyes at her and turned back. "I had to pick one card from each of these categories. Whatever the card says, they're going to mix it in a big glass and make us drink it."

"Again?!" she complained. "Oh my god! What—do these people have some sort of sick oral fixation or something?!"

It definitely had not slipped her mind of what happened on the last time she had to mix and drink.

"This will be better. See, look at the categories. Not too bad, right?"

She shrugged. "I guess not."

Their cards were revealed and read aloud by the man standing there. "Tomato juice…paprika…milk."

Lorelai clasped her hands with a great smile. "Oh yummy! You know, I was actually planning to have that very same thing as an after dinner snack tonight!" Luke and Marla came up to the table. Lorelai noticed them and dropped the charade. "Okay, let's get this show on the road."

They poured all contents in a large glass and stirred it. A red line was in the middle of the glass meaning the first person had to drink it to that line then pass the glass over to his/her partner.

Kirk and Marla wordlessly made their selection and just nodded at hearing, "grapefruit juice…basil…yogurt."

Luke took the glass and drank first. He finished a good bit, looked at the glass, drank some more, then waited for it to settle before drinking a little bit more. His eyes went to Marla who was doing the same measuring technique. He passed the glass to Lorelai.

"It's not bad," he replied.

She smiled and nodded at what she knew was a lie. "Gonna make it when you get home?"

His eyes darted to the glass. She still had to drink it, and he definitely didn't want to discourage her. "Maybe I will," he said with a brow lift.

She laughed. "Yeah right." She brought the glass up and drank until half of it was gone.

Luke looked at Kirk who had the glass and was drinking slow, trying to keep it down, but he wasn't stopping. He looked back at Lorelai. "Kirk's hot on your tail," he said without panicking. She gagged and looked about ready to throw it back up in the glass. Luke held his breath. He released it when she began to drink again.

Kirk's glass slammed onto the table. Lorelai's went down a second later, and they both looked at the man that stood there.

He cleared them both.

The crowd's cheering shot to the max as the contestants looked to be heading that way.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on," Lorelai said over and over. Kirk got his bag and urged Marla to get hers. Luke still wore his bag, and he picked Lorelai's up. She took it from him. "Got it," she said as she slipped it in place while beginning a jog.

Kirk slid between both of them and ran.

He ran fast.

He ran while forgetting he had a partner that also had to cross the finish line ahead of all other teams before he could be declared winner.

Luke and Lorelai jogged along, several paces behind him.

"Where is Marla?" Lorelai asked Luke confusedly as she watched Kirk run like he was being chased.

Luke answered without having to look back. "Behind us."

She looked over at him, her movement steady. "Does Kirk know that?"

Luke reached down and took her hand in his. They kept pace. "I don't think Kirk knows much of anything."

Kirk flew through the tape with his hands high above his head. "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah, babyyyy!"

Luke and Lorelai followed a few seconds later. They slowed to a walk, let each other's hand go, and hugged one another in tired celebration. As they parted, familiar faces began to crowd around them.

"Mom, Mom! Over here, Mom!"

Lorelai searched the crowd frantically. "Rory!" she yelled. "I hear you, but I don't see you!"

Rory squeezed past some people and appeared at her mom's side. "Right here," she said with a large smile.

They threw their arms around one another. "Oh my god." Lorelai held her so tight. "Kid. I missed you so much. Do you have any clue at all how much I missed you?" She squeezed tighter, her eyes closed.

Rory laughed and hugged her just as tightly. "Well, if my inability to breathe is any indication, I'd say 'quite a bit'."

Lorelai pulled away and looked her over. "Have you grown? Oh my god, I think you've grown."

Rory grinned. "I haven't grown, Mom."

"Luke," Lorelai called over her shoulder. He was talking to a few of the townspeople but turned at hearing his name.

"Yeah?"

Lorelai still held Rory by the shoulders. "Hasn't Rory grown? Doesn't she look a few inches taller and about a billion times smarter?"

He turned around fully. "I didn't think it was possible for her to get any smarter? She already makes the rest of us look like idiots." He smiled. "How ya doin', Rory?" Rory moved from Lorelai's grasp and tentatively went to hug Luke, which he wasn't expecting. "Oh," he said, wrapping his arms around her. He lifted his brows at Lorelai over Rory's shoulder. She chuckled.

"I'm good, Luke. Thanks," she finally answered. She pointed a finger at Lorelai. "Thanks for bringing my mom back safe and sound. I appreciate it."

He smiled. "Anytime."

She lightly punched him. "And you two won! Congratulations." His smile widened. She leaned in a little. "I really hope you aren't looking forward to keeping the trophy or anything because--"

Luke cut her off. "Oh, I already know that I'm gonna have to forfeit all rights. That goes without saying."

Rory nodded with relief and patted Luke's arm.

Lorelai peeked her head in. "What are you guys talking about?"

Rory turned to face her. "Just about how proud I am of my mommy," she said playfully pinching her cheeks. "Who finished the big wace?" she asked. "Who finished that big, bad, intimidating wace?" she asked in a baby voice.

Lorelai moved side-to-side like a kid with a larger than life smile. "I did," she answered in character.

They hugged and laughed. Luke rolled his eyes away, an unyielding smile on his lips.

"Why isn't anyone hugging and congratulating me?! I finished first! Why is everybody patting Luke and Lorelai on the back?!"

Heads turned to Kirk, then turned away in the next moment. Talking continued.

Lorelai hugged Babette as she came up.

A guy bumped into them then hurried away as he looked over his shoulder. Luke turned to say something to him. That was until he saw what he was running from. He rolled his eyes as Kirk ran by next.

"Hey, hey! You! You there…you hug me! You hug me right now!"

"This town gets loonier every time I turn around," Luke muttered.

"Can the racing participants please make their way to the front please?" Taylor's voice shouted over the bullhorn. "All racing participants please meet near the busing area for pictures."

Luke sighed and looked around at all the insanity. He turned back to face Lorelai and saw just as she broke away from the group that surrounded her and came over to him. She met his eyes and smiled until she was near enough for him to hear her.

"Hey you. Ready to pose for the camera?" she asked.

He gestured to where they were to head. "As I'll ever be. Lead the way."

She turned, and Luke's hands went to her shoulders. He kneaded them gently as they moved through the crowd.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"My god. Luke."

Lorelai whispered words in dim lighting. Her hands moved to the ends of the pillow beneath her head, and she made fists.

Luke placed a delicate kiss on her stomach.

His body slid, and Lorelai squirmed.

He smiled. "Relax."

Her breaths were heavy. She swallowed. "What?" she barely said.

His tongue moved from inside of her belly button to around it. He dipped it in and out as if there was a flavor he was trying to get every drop of. He lifted his eyes to look up at her. "I said relax." Her stomach rose and fell at a rapid pace.

Her eyes were closed tight. "I'm…relaxed. T-totally relaxed."

He kissed. He kissed his way down and left each area of her lower stomach tingling with every touch of his lips. "You're sure?" he asked. He went back to kissing and looked up at her as he asked the question. Her stiffened nipples proved to be an enjoyable en route attraction.

Lorelai nodded at his question, and her hands moved about the pillow.

His shoulders smoothly went beneath her parted thighs. "You're calm? Able to breathe?" Again, she nodded. She nodded, providing lies to the questions barely being processed.

Luke's breath hit wetness. Warm breath hit heat and caused shivers. His finger touched the pink, enlarged part of her, and she whimpered. "Calm and able to breathe..." he repeated. His thumb ran down her center like it was the finest and most delicate of areas. "Gotta do something about that," he finished. His voice ended low. Ended deep. And that's where he took his tongue.

He entertained no shyness as he tasted her.

His tongue was firm.

And filled with talent.

Lorelai went from moans to pants, back to moans. His use of suction sent her to the verbal. She started off with soft, sensual words. Then her moans got deep and her words turned to soft curses with long syllables. Luke continued on without break. He proved to be relentless with the oral.

Lorelai felt the beginning of the big 'O', and she moved a hand to Luke's hair. Her hand ran through.

"Ooohhh my goddd, just like that…" Luke's head winded and moved smoothly between her thighs. He exalted himself fully in anticipation of her happy ending. Lorelai sat up a little and leaned on her elbow. She went flat against the mattress once more before her elbow was supporting her again. She felt she could climb up the walls. Her body felt pleasure that seemed unnatural. She didn't know if she was coming or going….if the feeling was real or imagined….if she was liquid or solid. Her mind was all over the place and all she could think was…

"Please. don't. stop."

She moved from her elbow to her hand. She rested her weight on her hand while the other hand remained on the back of Luke's head. Her head was back, and she faced the ceiling. Her bottom lip was being mutilated as she held it between her teeth, and she moaned. Moaned without pause like she was going for a record.

Her body moved sensually with Luke's mouth. He continually gave her what was driving her crazy, and she slowly winded into that feeling.

He penetrated her with a finger and kept his mouth firmly on her clit. She held his head more securely.

"Luke. So good. Feels…this feels so…"

She rode the building orgasm. Dedicated herself to it, and was there to feel it grow. And grow, it did.

Her climax knocked her to her back again.

She gripped the headboard, the pillows, the sheets, her hair, her breasts, and everything else as electrical currents raked and ravished her body.

Luke sucked until she pulled away. He moved back in and wrapped his lips around her again. She whispered "wait" and he let her go and went back up her body, kissing her thigh and stomach, and sucking her breast along the way.

"We have to go," he whispered before kissing her deeply one brief time. "Put your clothes back on."

She grasped his head and pulled his lips back onto hers. The kiss was deep and slow, passionate and wet.

It lasted for twenty seconds. No less, maybe more. She pulled away with sexy, long pants as she started to move her weak body from beneath his.

"Okay. One second though."

Luke was pushed on his back, and Lorelai leaned over him. "Lorelai." She gave him a silencing tongue as her hand went to the jeans of his pants. They parted breathily. "We really have to--" His head lifted a bit and he watched Lorelai stroke him then cover the tip of his shaft with her mouth. "Ah, jeez." His eyes closed, then opened. His breathing picked up and stayed up as he now watched her mouth go down. Straight down. She came back up only to go down more. She squeezed the head with tightly drawn lips and flicked her tongue, giving him a visual show with a seductive wink. "Oh…Lorelai… they're waiting out—outside in the…in the um…place…and….god mmm Lorelai, damn."

Her tongue ran slowly up the side of his erection. Then, she spoke quiet words. "Just enjoy it, Luke. I am." And again with the tongue. Luke's jaw fell open as he watched. Her hand ran underneath his shirt and up his hard stomach. She moaned and returned both hands to her task.

Luke dropped his head back and did as told for almost two minutes.

Then, he was stopping her and urging her up his body.

Lorelai had full plans to take him to that grand finale and actually looked surprised as she got eye to eye with him. She moved to straddle his waist, and he gestured between them. "Do you mind?" he asked.

She smiled. "Do I mind sex with you?"

He nodded a little, his eyes wide and so considerate.

She shook her head, the smile growing on her face. She leaned down and spoke softly against his lips. "No way. I'll never mind, Sweetheart." They parted lips at the same moment, and a passionate kiss followed. Luke reached between them, and Lorelai lifted her lower body. He put himself at her entrance, and she sank down slowly. His hands went to her hips. The kiss never broke, and the heat only increased.

They finally separated and took heavy breaths as they moved together.

Their eyes locked.

Luke's mouth opened and closed, and Lorelai resisted the urge to kiss him senseless.

"I…I…" Lorelai moved up and down over him, her breathing erratic, as she watched his lips for following words. "I-I really love…being inside you," he whispered.

She closed her eyes briefly, getting lost in feeling. "And I really love…having you…inside me." She brought in her lips and closed her eyes tight as she climaxed. Moans escaped her sealed mouth. She still moved. Slower at the height of that feeling, then she returned to normal speed as she looked back at him with a smile. "And…not just because of...that," she added.

He smiled. Looked between their bodies at their connection.

They locked eyes again.

"We have to go," he whispered.

"I know."

He paused as they looked at one another. "One…one more time for you…then we have to go."

She smiled. "If you i-insist."

Lorelai leaned down and captured his lips as Luke winded his pelvis in search of her magic button.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Twenty-five minutes later, Lorelai and Luke were out of Lorelai's house. Out of her bedroom. And in the middle of the town square with the rest of the town.

Everyone was there. The buses had driven everyone back, and upon arriving in the small town, Luke had gone up to his apartment to shower and change while Lorelai remained with friends outside. When finished, they both hopped in his truck so she wouldn't have to walk home with her luggage. She planned to get home and shower too. The house was empty since Rory was busy in the square. And unfortunately, there were no friends outside to entertain Luke.

Their absence had totaled about forty-five minutes. But now, they were back and in the public eye.

They were sitting on a bench in the square and had been for an hour.

"When do you think we'll be able to go home?"

Lorelai smiled at Luke's question. The time was now nine p.m, and both were in the midst of Stars Hollow mayhem. The race had ended four hours ago. There was, now, hometown celebration going on in the town square in their honor.

"Let's just say that I hope you don't have anything planned before the diner opens tomorrow morning," she answered.

He frowned. "You mean, sleep?"

She nodded and patted his thigh. "Exactly."

Luke took a heavy breath and rolled his eyes at everyone that stood around. "I'm going home in thirty minutes. I don't give a damn when everybody else leaves."

Gypsy walked near their bench which was positioned off to the side. "Ya know, Lorelai, if you're not even willing to get up and enjoy this ridiculous scene, then there's no reason for me to pretend to." Lorelai smiled. "I'm not going to even waste my breath with Luke, but as for you, what's it gonna be? You gonna sit here and ignore the rest of us all night?"

Lorelai's hand went absentmindedly to the knee-high statue that sat at her side. "Give me a minute, Gypsy. I'll be right over."

"Okay." She started to walk away but stopped. "Don't make me come back over here because you know I'll do it!" she said seriously.

Lorelai chuckled. "I'll take that into consideration," she said simply.

"And don't forget about Patty's punch," she said pointing. "I haven't seen you take a sip all night, and watching you get drunk and make an idiot out of yourself is the only reason I see this party as being worthy of my time."

"Well…uh Gypsy…" she began, slightly thrown, "Give me that minute we discussed a second ago, and I'll hop on stage and see about doing a very respectable Shane MacGowan impression for you. Vomit and all, how about that?" Gypsy nodded gratefully. Lorelai went on. "Just make sure you sit in the front row so you can be the first to experience the fruits of my labor."

Gypsy rolled her eyes. "Oh brother." She turned and spoke over her shoulder. "Just hurry. I'm getting restless."

Lorelai turned to Luke with a smirk. "You want to go join me as the life of the party?"

"No, I think you can handle that role a whole lot better by yourself," he answered tiredly.

She smiled and leaned back onto his arm that he had stretched along the bench behind her. He looked over at her and smiled at her coquettish grin. He shook his head. "You and that smile..." His voice faded and a smile of his own formed. Lorelai only grinned more.

She turned to him a bit. "So…we're uh…here," she said gesturing around them.

His brows lifted. "I guess we are," he responded hazily.

"Here…as in...Stars Hollow," she clarified.

He nodded a little. Smiled a little. "Yeah. I guess we are," he said again, this time with understanding.

She looked at him momentarily. Stared at him and he stared back at her. Her eyes went to scan his features as she continued, "Back in our normal lives. Back to you being behind the counter and me being in front of it." He looked down and nodded thoughtfully. "Back to the place we left as friends." He lifted his head to her. She smiled shyly. "Seven years of friendship in this place, Luke."

He brought his lip in. "Yeah. Seven years. That's a long time."

"More than most people could ever hope for." He nodded. They gazed. There was a long pause in her words before she went on. "I don't have any regrets," she said instantly. She shook her head. "None." She paused again and waited for some kind of a reaction from him, some sort of acknowledgement. She got a smile that definitely didn't take long to form, and with that, she seemed to relax and continued. "And we're back in Stars Hollow now, and this is what I wanted. I wanted to know if I'd feel differently… if I'd think differently." She shrugged. "I don't."

He moved a bit closer to her and leaned on his knees while looking back at her on the bench. "We've only been back for a few hours. We haven't even gotten back in the diner yet," he pointed out with amusement.

She smiled widely at his tone, which she could definitely sense heading in a good direction. "I don't care," she said. She moved her hands. "Well, I do care, but…what I mean is I seriously doubt it's going to change how I'm feeling about this."

"How you're feeling about this?" he parroted, his blue eyes smiling as he pulled back on the physical one.

She nodded then gestured at him. "I need for you to say things now."

He chuckled and sat up slowly, his hands rubbing his thighs. "I uh…I think you summed it up pretty well, actually."

"Really?" she asked hopefully. She followed his eyes as he got upright. "Because you're not saying much, and the last think I'd want is to be alo--"

"You're not," he interrupted fast. "You're most certainly not alone. You may as well be standing in the middle of Times Square on New Year's Eve for how much company you have."

Her hand went to her heart. "Thank God," she whispered.

They both laughed.

"You couldn't have possibly thought that I would have turned you down, Lorelai."

"Well, hey…you never know, you know. When you're out there on a limb, anything can happen." She hit his arm. "And anyway, we've been sitting here for an hour talking; why didn't you shuffle to the end of the branch?" she asked accusingly.

He rolled his eyes lazily. "Hey, I was ready to shuffle the first night in that hotel. You wanted to hug the tree, remember?"

She waved away that memory. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." She pointed a rigid finger at him. "You just make sure you plan a kick-ass first date for the two of us to make up for the all the anxiety you caused."

He pointed to himself. "That I caused?"

"Yes, you. Do you really think that I'm gonna accept blame?" She scoffed.

"Jeez." Luke looked away in defeat and Lorelai took a moment to mock him with laughter. He turned back to her when he felt her hand on his shoulder. The silly interaction disappeared under the eye contact they held. She smiled and allowed her hand to slide down his arm until her fingers came together in her own lap.

"So..um.." She shrugged. "Can a girl get a kiss or…do I have to…check us into a hotel room first?" she ended with a smile.

He rolled his eyes at her comment then gestured. "If we kiss here, everyone will see," he stated needlessly.

She shrugged again. "Well, of course they will. But they have to find out some time, right?" She paused. "Unless you don't want them to…"

He looked at her dully. "Why wouldn't I want them to?" he asked, annoyed. "I'm just saying that I don't want everyone in our business."

"A kiss is not putting them in our business."

"It's putting them close enough to it."

"Luke, they're going to see us kiss anyway," she pointed out.

"How?"

She sighed tiredly. "When I leave the diner, when I enter the diner, if we're walking through town together then part ways, when I say something so darn cute, and you want to reward the cuteness, or if we're just together and, hello," She gestured wildly with her hands, "suddenly realize we're in a relationship and want to express that without having to convince the other person!"

Luke's eyes patrolled the crowd, and he saw a few people look over at Lorelai's outburst. "Nice volume you have there. But I'm gonna need you to speak a little bit louder. I don't think they heard you near Al's Pancake World."

She calmed down and pressed a hand to her hair. "I'm not asking you to have sex with me in the gazebo, Luke." He met her eyes again at her soft tone. "I just want to…kiss my guy." He continued to look at her without saying anything, and Lorelai took the moment to add, "I mean would you rather they found out about us by me walking down from your apartment in just this?" she finished as she lightly tugged on the flannel he now wore.

He looked down at where she tugged then rolled his eyes away. "God, no," he replied with dread.

She turned, sat back, then started to idly drag her finger along the top of her trophy again. "Well, I'd say this was a pretty good alternative." She shrugged. "But it's up to you. I'll drop it."

He paused and studied her. "Yeah, sure you will," he said with doubt. "Then I guess you'll just give me the cold shoulder for the rest of the night," he ended.

She looked at him and smiled softly. "No, I'll be fine. We'll be fine," she said in sincerity. His hand sat on the seat in between them and she looked at the crowd before gently laying hers over it. Her eyes went back to him. "Guess I better go get the party started. Try not to leave without telling me 'bye', okay?"

Luke swallowed. "Uh, yeah sure," he said.

She squeezed his hand. "Watch the trophy and make sure no one breathes on it or anything. You're in charge." She uncrossed her legs to stand and got ready to take her hand from Luke's. But in the next second, she was turning back to face him. He'd grasped her wrist. She slid back on the seat while looking at him in bewilderment. "What are you doi--"

"Just…" He scooted closer to her. His hand went from her wrist to her arm and lingered there with a subtle caress. She felt goose bumps form. Though his touch was gentle, his tone showed his irritability when he continued on. "Just..be quiet and let's get this over with." Lorelai's eyes went bright and her lips turned up as Luke's hand grazed her cheek.

"You don't have to, you know," she said quietly as she stared into eyes that looked back into hers.

A few heads turned. There were double takes. Then fast, blind taps on any arm or shoulder that was near.

Luke watched his thumb run below her bottom lip. "Yeah, I do," he whispered back.

Lorelai leaned in toward him, and his hand returned to her cheek. He closed the distance. Their lips came together. Softly, gently, and with a familiarity that launched them into the next level within seconds.

Eyes widened. Lots and lots of eyes widened.

Lorelai's head tilted to her right, and Luke's tilted to his. Entwined and restless tongues kept jaw movement steady between the two of them. They broke. Turned to their lefts and moved back in with closed eyes. Luke gently held her face. Lorelai's hands were on his chest and side.

Over a hundred people were there in celebration. Forty of them were now in full gasp mode. Whispering and pointing made the number grow like wildfire.

Longer seconds were spent kissing. It slowed and became less deep.

The tip of Luke's tongue touched hers. They kissed lips, then leaned foreheads together. Breaths passed between them. Luke's head swam. Lorelai felt dizzy beyond reason. Their heartbeats came through their ears and sounded like a bass drum in an amphitheatre. They heard nothing else. Felt nothing but the lasting effects of that deep, passionate connection.

As heartbeats slowed, they remained close. The sound of the bass drum faded away, and what they heard made each of them open their eyes in both confusion and caution. What they heard was…nothing. There had been music playing. They were sure of that much. That music had stopped.

As they slowly came apart, they kept eyes on one another and avoided looking at anything else.

"You think they're looking at us?" Lorelai whispered to Luke.

"Unless an unexpected eclipse is going on, I'd go with 'yeah'."

"Oh boy."

"Stupid, nosy town."

They sat up fully and attention went to the crowd. Gawking eyes looked back at them. Lorelai smiled nervously and waved. "Uh…hi?"

With that, sudden laughter, talking, and shrieks sounded throughout the crowd causing Lorelai to jump in surprise. Her eyes flitted from face to face as people closed in on them.

Luke stood up quickly and held his arms out, stopping everybody in their tracks. "Hold it!" Talking died down but didn't stop. Luke looked around at everyone who now stood about two feet away. "Everybody back away from here and for god's sake, turn the damn music back on!" he shouted.

Talking got louder, and a few people listened to Luke by turning away.

"Okay, people…" Taylor appeared on stage, and his voice came over the bullhorn, "Everybody back to the party. Back to the party," he repeated with a wave. Music crackled on and was slowly taken back to its previous volume. Taylor waved some more and spoke over it. "Rest assured everyone! You will all have an opportunity to weigh in on this little turn of events. This issue will be discussed in depth…" he stressed with eyes on Luke, "..at this week's meeting. But for now, back to the excitement! And while I have your attention, please be sure to use the recycling bins for your soda cans and cups. They're there for a reason! I'm noticing more and more recyclable items piling up in the trashcans and--" Music cranked up louder and drowned out Taylor's diatribe.

Luke took a heavy breath and turned deadly eyes away from Taylor and back to the crowd that had begun to disperse more.

Babette plowed her way through the people still standing around and outdid all of the questions, comments, and congratulatory squeals being directed to the happy couple. "Wow! What a kiss! That knocked my socks off!" she shared loudly. "I know yours has to be in outer space somewhere," she added with an eager point between the two of them.

Luke's hands finally dropped and he took a heavy breath. "Babette," he began. His wind got knocked out of him as she scampered over and ran into him with a hug that had the potential of a tackle.

"Oh, Luke; I didn't know you had it in ya!"

Luke looked back at Lorelai and found her laughing at the short lady wrapped around his midsection. He turned back and rolled his eyes down to her. "Babette, I appreciate the enthusiasm," he said, finally bringing his arms from his sides and placing them on her shoulders, "But you're taking away my flow of oxygen here."

She backed away and playfully punched his stomach.

Lorelai stood and walked past Luke. They exchanged a look. One that displayed common thoughts on the weird little town in which they resided. Lorelai smiled at that instant show of harmony. Luke shook his head and looked down, grateful that he did not stand alone.

Her arm blindly reached for Babette's shoulder before she broke contact with Luke and completed her intended move. Her arm went around her shoulders, and she lined her hip with the shorter lady's side. "Babette," she began with a smile, "What do you say about livening this party up with me?"

Babette looked up at her with eyes that said she'd finally seen it all. "I'd say you two did a pretty good job of handling that yourselves!"

Lorelai smirked and tossed eyes to Luke over her shoulder. "I'll be by the punch bowl if you need me."

He nodded and waved. With backward steps, he reclaimed his seat on the bench.

As Lorelai walked into the crowd that had started back partying the night away, Rory emerged. Her hands were in her back pockets and she wore a look of composure. Lorelai paused with her arm still resting around Babette. Her wide eyes watched Rory approach. How could she have forgotten to talk to her kid before putting on a show for the whole town? Rory had not even known that lines had been crossed between her and Luke. Lorelai was mortified as she realized that her only child—her best friend—had found out about her relationship in the same manner as many people whose names she didn't readily know.

She made it to her, and Lorelai's mouth opened, her breath now completely on suspension. "I-I uh, god, Rory I swear--"

"Boy, do we have some talking to do," she interrupted calmly. Lorelai started to stutter through words once again to try to make her understand how unintentional her actions were. Rory's lips spread and she cut her off warmly. "Relax, Mom. This isn't the most shocking thing ever. I could sense that something had shifted between you two."

"Really?"

She shrugged. "Come on. You guys have been under each other since you crossed the finish line. And this is after spending every second of the day together for a full week. Plus, you had to room together, so I kinda figured…" Her voice faded away knowingly. Lorelai's lips turned down, as if hurt by the implication. Rory smiled. "And seriously, how long does it take to drop off a backpack and hop in the shower?" she finished bluntly.

Lorelai's mouth dropped open, and that caused Rory's lips to spread even more.

"Oh my god."

"I'm just saying, Mom."

Lorelai shook her head. Her kid was definitely growing up. She took a few moments and stomped away thoughts as she got her mind to re-focus. "So, you're not mad?" she asked with caution.

Rory shook her head and answered honestly. "Not mad. Got a lot of questions." Lorelai smiled. "But not mad."

"So, we can talk later—you and me?"

"Bet on it."

Lorelai finally took a breath of relief. She hugged Rory to her, then moved back over toward Babette. Her other arm reclaimed its previous position.

"You two are okay, aren't you?" Babette asked Lorelai worriedly. She didn't wait for an answer. She leaned up and looked over at Rory. "You're okay about all this, right, Suga?"

Rory smiled. "I'm fine, Babette."

"Whoo, that's a relief. My blood pressure was about to skyrocket."

Lorelai laughed. She squeezed both their shoulders. "Why don't we ladies go show this town how to party it up like a Hilton, huh?"

"You mean gettin' drunk and loose?" asked Rory.

Lorelai nodded with certainty. "Precisely, doll. Now, let's go embarrass our mothers."

"Uh…my mother is you…and I doubt you're gonna let me drink," Rory pointed out.

Lorelai's attention went from her and over to Babette as she chimed in with, "and um..my mother is a little…dead."

Lorelai sighed at all the negativity. "Well, both you guys just band together with me and help me to embarrass my mother then, damn it!"

They tossed fists in the air with laughter. "Yeah!" they both shouted.

Lorelai leaned into Rory. "And you're right about the drinking thing. You can do your embarrassment with Gingerale, baby."

"Sounds good to me. On with the embarrassment!" she followed.

"On with the embarrassment!" they yelled in support.

They started movement and disappeared into the crowd.

Luke shook his head as he watched them from his seat. When they were no longer in sight, he sank onto the bench and relaxed at the scene in front of him. People had finally gone back to their own business. They laughed, danced, and gestured wildly as they goofed with friends and neighbors. This was the kind of stuff he liked to see. People he'd known and been around for years and in some cases, decades so carefree. All crowded together. Dancing together. If forced in the middle, Luke would turn every last one of their day sour with his crankiness. But watching them—the people of his town—having fun like they were…was definitely something he had no problems with.

His head turned right when he heard fuss. One that snatched him from a serenity that he'd never in a million years admit to have immersed himself in.

What he saw was Kirk.

Kirk was beside himself and waving his arms like he was about to take flight. It was all directed at Andrew, whose opposing demeanor gave him the appearance of someone on the outside of the conversation.

Kirk's words were heard by anyone who wanted to listen.

"I'm telling you, I called it! I called it!" he said again louder. "I spotted the hand holding. I saw the cheek touching. Me, me, me!"

"Marsha, Marsha, Marsha," mocked someone in the crowd. Everyone laughed.

"Who said that? Who said it?! Kirk peered over people. "Speak up!"

Luke looked away and back at the town.

His town.

A weird little storybook town that spawned friendships and lasting trusts.

This was the town that nurtured a seven year friendship and created a romance. A romance that took both of its partakers by storm. Took them to a place of speedy heartbeats, passionate kisses, and growing feelings that neither had experienced to such a magnitude.

This was a town of heart. Friendships, love, and plenty of heart.

Luke listened to the noise and the pandemonium. His focus went to Taylor who fought to hold onto his bullhorn as Patty now tried to yank away. She never let him hold on to it for too long. He smirked, and his eyes fell to the trophy beside him. Four residents had entered a race of sixteen and had all made it to that final shebang. He looked at a trophy that represented victory and brought pride and prestige to Stars Hollow.

Continuing noises from Kirk invaded his hearing, along with childlike laughter from the majority of the crowd. He saw Kirk still looking for his ridiculer and saw just as Patty pulled the bullhorn free from a peeved Taylor. He scampered around her and tried to get it back as she kept it out of reach.

Luke sighed. "Bunch of loons," he muttered. "Stupid loony town."

He rolled his eyes to the sky, lifted a casual hand to his mouth, and rubbed the smile from his lips.

-The End-

That's all she wrote.

I really, really, really hope you all enjoyed reading that. Because I really, really, really enjoyed writing it. And I'm so glad that I chose to put this idea down. But this is me talking, and not you guys. Hit the review button and let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

[Also, on a side-note, the Support Stacie auction is coming back 'round. And all you LL fanatics can bid to have your favorite author, your second favorite author, or just someone who you think would do an okay job write any fic of your choosing. I say LL fanatics because that's what I'm about lol, but all kinds of fandoms are included. Go to supportstacie[dot]net and check it out. Some pretty great authors are signing up, so raid those piggy banks and bid away. Just don't…like rob any banks. You kinda want to be around to see the fic get written. Hehe. It's going to be from April 3 to April 6. I'll be signing up sooner or later. I'm lazy like that. Anyway, good luck to all who bids!!!]