Of Snowy Days and Stubborn Ways (Gilmore Girls - Luke)

[Hedgehog]

This was a great update! Thanks for writing. There are some really nice descriptions. And I like Lorelai's way of caretaking - sweet but not overly sappy. 

[camillapapen]

13 hours ago, White Rose said:

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod.  This is so good!! I can't wait for more!! 

Thanks everyone! As ever, your comments mean the world.

I'm not totally sure if there's going to be more, White Rose! I wrote all of that out in a long splurge, but I've not written more yet and I don't know where it goes from here.

[sneezingfun894]

Whether or not you decide to continue, I must say this was the best story I've read here, thanks for that. =) 

[camillapapen]

22 hours ago, sneezingfun894 said:

Whether or not you decide to continue, I must say this was the best story I've read here, thanks for that. =) 

What an amazing compliment! Thank you so much.

[camillapapen]

Lorelai had nursed Rory through all of the usual childhood ailments and was confident that she knew how best to deal with chicken pox, flu, and headlice (patience, frequent hand-washing, and liberal doses of ice cream and coffee were recommended). But you expected kids to get sick. It came with the territory. High fevers in children were frightening at first, but when you got used to their pathetic little budding immune systems, they became less alarming. After she became accustomed to Rory’s childhood illnesses, she stopped calling the doctor every seven minutes and was happy enough to dump her on the couch in front of Sesame Street with saltines, ginger ale, and as much affection as was required, while painting her nails and fielding work phone calls. But with Luke? She didn’t think ginger ale was going to cut it. Although she hadn’t ruled out Sesame Street.

Night had truly fallen now, it was nearly 11pm, and Lorelai had ended up on the bed next to Luke. On it, not in it – this was, she felt, a vital distinction. He was under the blankets and she certainly was not. Luke’s little TV was flickering in the background with the sound down, and Lorelai had ploughed through most of the Pop Tarts. But she couldn’t relax. Luke was tossing and turning next to her, and while she was sure it was best to let him sleep the illness off, it didn’t seem like he was having a particularly restful night. For one thing, he couldn’t stop coughing and sneezing for long enough to reach REM.

As Lorelai thought this, Luke helpfully underscored her point by suddenly drawing in a sharp breath, turning away from her, and sneezing to the side.

‘EESHUH! HAH-ISSHUH! ISSHUH! Ugh. I’m sorry.’

‘Luke, have you slept at all?’

Luke sighed, and pulled himself into a sitting position next to her on the bed.

‘What are you eating?’

‘Have you slept at all? Is your temperature down? Where’s that thermometer?’

‘Pop Tarts? You’re eating Pop Tarts in my bed?’

‘On your bed, not in your bed. That’s a vital distinction.’

‘Well you’re getting crumbs on my bed! And in my bed! You eat like an animal.’

‘Oh, well, we’ll call the crumb police. I see you’re feeling well enough to be angry with me again, that’s gotta be good news.’

‘This is ridiculous, I’m sick of just lying around here, I’m getting you a plate.’

‘Luke, if you get out of this bed I’m going to invite Babette and Miss Patty to – Luke, for god’s sake!’

Ignoring Lorelai, Luke had pushed the blankets off, swung himself off the bed, and begun to make his way to the kitchen. With an exasperated sigh, Lorelai got up too and began to move around to the other side of the bed, intending on grabbing Luke’s arm and physically forcing him to lie back down. But before she could reach him, he faltered, then stopped.

‘Luke?’ Lorelai asked, quickening her pace.

But as she dashed over to him, he quietly buckled and slid to the floor.

…

Luke moaned quietly. He didn’t know where he was but it wasn’t very comfortable. It was cold and hard and… it felt like the floor. And someone was touching his face. Who was touching his face?

He opened his eyes, and a fuzzy Lorelai slowly came into view. He was, indeed, on the floor. She was on her knees beside him, gently running her fingers through his hair. He took a sharp breath, and sneezed weakly.

‘EESHUH!’

‘Luke? Luke?’ As he looked at Lorelai, a wan smile spread across her face. Her eyes were wet. She was looking at him very kindly. ‘Hey there, champ. Welcome back. How you doing?’

‘Lor?’ he croaked, and immediately began to cough. There was not much he could do but curl into himself slightly, aiming away from her.

‘Shh’, she said, her hand moving to his shoulder and rubbing slow circles there. ‘You blacked out. You’ve been unconscious for about two minutes. I’ve called Dr Stevens. He was out with another patient but he should be here soon.’

Shame washed over Luke. He wanted to be the one to take care of Lorelai, and she’d been forced to take care of him. He hadn’t seen a doctor for several years. He was humiliated. How could he have let this happen?

‘You called the doctor? I don’t need a doctor.’

Lorelai let out a laugh, slightly hysterically.

‘Yes, indeed, you’re the picture of health. Just a bit more horizontal than usual. Humour me, okay? Luke, when did you last eat anything?’

‘Mm… uh, not today. Wasn’t hungry. Maybe yesterday? I don’t remember.’

Lorelai’s eyes were bright, and she closed them for a second as she drew in a deep breath.

‘Why didn’t I check that? I should have made you eat something. There I was next to you stuffing my face with Pop Tarts and…’

‘Lorelai, it’s okay’, said Luke, more strongly. Everything was coming into sharper focus. ‘It’s not your fault: I was being an idiot.’

‘Let’s say we’re both idiots then.’

Luke laughed, hoarsely, and then coughed again.

‘Yeah. Okay.’

‘Can you sit up?’

Slowly, with Lorelai’s help, Luke moved into a sitting position on the floor with his back against the side of the bed. Lorelai sat down beside him, and handed him a glass of water. They stayed in companionable silence until Lorelai heard the doctor’s knock on the distant diner door.

[MyOwnPrivateSFC]

I am loving this! Of COURSE Luke would make that mistake, and of COURSE Lorelei would beat herself up over not thinking of it. (Not to mention, of COURSE the town has one doctor!) Plus, I love when big, tough guys just go down hard.  Looking forward to reading more soon.

[White Rose]

I am so happy you've updated this!! I'm loving it!!

[sneezingfun894]

Glad there was more!!! Loving it! 

[camillapapen]

Hey, you guys know that kind where you, uh, kind of forget you were writing a fic and lose steam and don't post anything for six months? Yeah? Guys?

Ahem.

...

Lorelai tried to be visibly tactful and busy herself in the kitchen while Dr Stevens was examining Luke, while of course at all times straining to hear every word of their conversation. What could she even be realistically doing in Luke’s kitchen anyway? She vaguely moved a coffee cup to a different place on the counter, as quietly as she could.

She had tried for ‘calm, soothing, and totally in control’ while Luke had been lying on the hardwood floor, and when the doctor had softly knocked on the door, she had aimed at ‘competent and caring, but definitely not romantically attached to the man coughing his lungs out behind me and really actually here quite by accident’. But now, as Luke was sitting on the edge of his bed and the doctor was listening to his chest, she let her mask of control slip and let herself feel furious with Luke for letting himself get into this state, and furious with herself for not seeing how ill he was and getting help sooner, and borderline in love with Dr Stevens for showing up and taking the responsibility of looking after a really rather unwell Luke out of her hands.

‘Lorelai?’

‘What?!’ Lorelai leapt in shock, abandoning her reverie and dropping the rag she had been fake-wiping the already pristine counter with, and turning around to find Dr Stevens at her shoulder. ‘Oh, um, I mean, yes doctor?’

‘You were right to give me a call. He’ll be okay in a few days, but for now he’s really not very well at all – he’s running a high fever, and I don’t like the sound of that cough. I’m going to write him a prescription, which should help, but I don’t think he should be left alone while his fever is this high. Will you be able to keep watch over him tonight?’

‘Oh! I, uh, um, I guess I…’

Lorelai fumbled her response and turned to look at Luke. He was sitting, slumped, on the side of the bed, and as she watched he cringed away from them, pinching his nose and viciously stifling a trio of sneezes that shook through his body.

‘h’knx! KNX! het’KNSSX!’

He sat frozen for a moment, breath sawing, and then sighed as he lowered his hands and began searching for the tissues. Lorelai felt something twist in her chest as Luke’s quietly wiped his nose and dabbed the moisture away from his reddened eyes. In the presence of the doctor, he had reverted to stifling his massive sneezes, clearly embarrassed all over again. She turned back to Dr Stevens.

‘Of course I’ll look after him.’

…

Lorelai shut the door behind the doctor, and turned to look at the man who was now, to all intents and purposes, her patient. He was sitting exactly where the doctor had left him on the edge of the bed, seemingly lacking the strength or will to get back under the sheets and lie down. Lorelai walked over to him and sat down beside him, only then noticing his sawing breaths. His fists were clenched in frustration.

‘Luke? You okay?’

‘Ye – heh – yeah I – HAH – I just don’t want to – heh… ahh.. I don’t wanna snee – HEH – sneeze anymore but I caaahha! stop them from –‘

‘Luke.’ Lorelai made her voice as low and soothing as she could, and gently moved her hand to his back, rubbing in gentle circles. ‘You need to get over this thing you have. It’s just you and me here. It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone.’

Luke turned his face towards her, breath still hitching, and met her eyes for a moment. He looked wretched, pale but for his red nose and the high spots of colour that spoke of fever on his stubbled cheeks, eyes streaming. Lorelai placed her cool palm to his temple, holding it there for a second.

‘It’s okay’, she whispered again.

Maybe Luke finally relaxed, or maybe he just couldn’t hold back his sneezes anymore, but he suddenly wrenched away, covering his face, and let the sneezing fit take over. They tumbled out of him and once he’d started he seemed powerless to stop.

‘Huh-AAESCH-UH! HAH-ESH! ESH! Haaah – heh - HA’AAESCH! Hhh-HET-IISSHuh! HAH-hhIISSHUH! IISSHUH! HAH’EAAESCHUH!’

He could barely breath between sneezes, and Lorelai, worried, kept rubbing his back, muttering calming nonsense while Luke convulsed under her hand. Slowly, the sneezes began to subside.

‘EESHUH...hhhh – heh - HAH-ISSHUH! HAH-ESCHOO!

Luke kept his hands over his face, panting slightly. Lorelai didn’t think she’d ever seen a person sneeze so many times at once. Wordlessly, she placed the tissue box into Luke’s lap. He turned slightly towards her, looking at her beseechingly through reddened eyes that peeked out over his trembling hands.

‘Please…’ he mumbled, turning away. ‘Can I just have… have a minute?’

Lorelai dropped a soft kiss on his forehead, then stood up and went to the kitchen to make tea.

[Alabaster]

Worth the wait! I hope you keep it going!

[camillapapen]

6 hours ago, Alabaster said:

Worth the wait! I hope you keep it going!

Thank you! Really glad you enjoyed it. I am intending to keep going - real life just gets in the way occasionally, selfish as she is.

[starpollen]

I've never seen the show but this is hella cute.  Love strong guys too stubborn to lie down and just be sick.  Great dynamic between the characters.  

[camillapapen]

On 2017-6-16 at 6:56 AM, starpollen said:

I've never seen the show but this is hella cute.  Love strong guys too stubborn to lie down and just be sick.  Great dynamic between the characters.  

Thank you! That means a lot, coming from you, because I think your fics are incredible. Yes, stubborn men ultimately beaten by illness is one of my absolute favourite things, so I am torturing poor Luke a little...

[Xsneezelover3932]

Don't know how I never saw this story before! It's amazing! I am a huge Gilmore Girls fan!!  Love, love, love a sick Luke who is being too stubborn to admit it!! You're an excellent writer! Would love to see more of your fics!

[sickprincess]

This is incredible!! You captured the characters SOOOO well which is really rare in a lot of fics I feel like. <3 I am obsessed with this and I'll be anxiously awaiting more! Maybe Lorelai will get sick and Luke will take care of her... hint hint...