"Lorelai?" Rachel prompted her.

Lorelai started wringing her hands, unsure of how to reply.

Rachel sighed. She stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her. "I've been... wait, is Rory home?"

Lorelai shook her head.

Rachel said, "Okay, then listen. I've been thinking it over, and I may be totally off base here, but it appeared to me that the kiss wasn't some alcohol-related accident. It just felt like something else was there. And at first, I didn't want to say anything about it because if it was, you know, just some casual, random accident, I didn't want to scare you off by saying what I'm about to say. But I just have this feeling that maybe it meant something to you, something more than an accident. Because... " Rachel paused and took a deep breath. "It meant something to me. I liked it, I wanted more."

Lorelai's jaw dropped open and her eyes widened. "But what about..."

"Wait," Rachel interrupted her. "Just listen some more, okay?"

Lorelai nodded. "Okay. Sorry, go on."

"So, yes, I wanted more," Rachel continued. "But I wasn't sure if you did it on purpose, or it was really was an accident. And then you started acting so weird about it and you didn't come to the diner, so I figured you were avoiding me, and I wasn't sure how to interpret that. Then I just sort of got this idea that maybe you did want to be more than just friends." Rachel sighed. "And I know that I may be totally setting myself up for embarrassment or whatever, but I just couldn't keep it inside anymore. I had to tell you." She folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the door. She stared down at the floor, preparing for rejection, as she asked quietly, "So, did it mean anything to you?" She looked up at Lorelai.

Lorelai had slowly been processing everything Rachel had said, and she couldn't believe it. She even went so far as to reach down and pinch her wrist to make sure she wasn't dreaming. The pain indicated that she wasn't. As she stared at Rachel, her lips turned into a smile as she nodded. "Yes it did. It absolutely did. Oh my God. This is...wait, are you serious? You're not kidding with me, are you?" Lorelai asked nervously.

Rachel smiled and shook her head. "No, I'm not kidding, I swear."

Lorelai clasped a hand over her mouth, an obviously surprised yet excited expression on her face. "Oh my God. I just... oh my God. I didn't think this would ever happen. I'm so..." Lorelai stopped talking and just stared at Rachel silently, repeating her words over in her head, still digesting their meaning. The more Lorelai thought about everything, the more questions started rolling around her head, and a bewildered expression fell upon her face.

Rachel let out a small laugh. "Okay, you look so confused right now. Let me explain everything, okay?"

Lorelai nodded. Rachel took Lorelai's hand and led her to the couch. They sat down next to each other. "Okay, listen. I came back from Chicago to see Luke because I had been thinking about him and everything, but since that first day I met you, I just felt like something clicked with you. And then we started hanging out, and I'd never felt so connected with a woman before... you just had so many amazing qualities. And, I started becoming attracted to you and I just...I don't know, I didn't think anything would ever happen with us, so I decided to just stay with Luke. I figured that since Luke was your friend, if I was with him then I'd at least be able to see you. I know that was wrong, but I just didn't know what else to do. And then we started hanging out more and more, and it just got to the point where I was thinking about you all the time and I guess I haven't really been paying as much attention to Luke anymore. So that's probably why he thought I liked someone else. Which essentially was true, but, I mean, he would've never thought it would be you. I just... I guess that kiss made me realize that there might actually be a chance for... me and you to actually happen. That is, if you want it to?" She paused. "You do, right?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "More than anything. You have no idea how much."

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Good."

Lorelai, her hands clasped in front of her, was unable to hide her excitement. "This is just so... oh my God. I have chills." She held out her arm to Rachel. "Look, I'm so excited, I've got goosebumps!"

Rachel laughed. "Yes, I see 'em. " She clasped Lorelai's hand in between her own hands and squeezed it gently. "I'm excited too. I mean, there was a fifty-fifty chance that you would've laughed in my face today, so you can't imagine how relieved I am."

Lorelai smiled as she asked, "So, what do we do now?"

Rachel shrugged. "I guess we tell Luke."

Lorelai grimaced. "Yikes." She sighed. "This is gonna hurt him so much, I feel terrible."

Rachel nodded. "I know, so do I. He's probably gonna be embarrassed about the whole thing, and very mad at both of us. We have to realize that and be prepared for it."

Lorelai nodded. "I know. Um, maybe we could wait a little bit? Just a week or two, and we can try to ease him into it. Like, you can maybe give him hints that you're losing interest or something. Hmm?"

Rachel slowly nodded. "Okay. I hate to drag this out even more, but maybe that'll work better for Luke than for us to just spring it on him. Are you gonna tell Rory?"

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Oh God, I guess I have to. Um, I'll wait 'til you tell Luke so that way he won't find out some other way. He deserves to know first, since it'll affect him the most."

"Yeah, it will. We shouldn't tell anyone before him." Rachel stood up. "Okay, I told Luke I would be right back, so I better go."

"Oh, okay." Lorelai stood up and walked her to the door. Lorelai put her hand on the knob and pulled it open. Rachel gently kicked it shut with her foot, and Lorelai gave her a questioning look. Rachel surprised her by leaning forward and pressing her lips against Lorelai's. The feel of Rachel's soft lips against hers made her shiver with excitement, and she eagerly returned the kiss. She opened her mouth, inviting Rachel's tongue inside as she softly explored Rachel's mouth with hers.

As they broke apart, Rachel said, "See now, that's how it should've been the other night."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, I think we should forget about that first one and call this one our first kiss."

"Sounds good," Rachel said. "But the other one is essentially what brought us together. Maybe we can call that one...the Realization Kiss."

Lorelai laughed. "Realization Kiss, I like it."

Rachel smiled as she pulled open the door. "Bye," she said.

"Bye," Lorelai replied. She watched Rachel walk down the front porch before closing the door. She walked into the living room and collapsed on the couch, her cheeks actually starting to hurt from her constant smiling. She was ecstatic, as she had never thought that this scenario would've ever happened. One thing, however, made her smile fade, and that was when she thought about how hurt Luke would be. She knew he would be devastated and she felt horrible about it.

A few minutes later, she heard the front door open. "Mom!" Rory called.

Lorelai sat up on the couch. "Right here."

Rory walked into the living room. "Hey."

"Hey hon." Lorelai patted the seat cushion next to her. "Sit down. How was your day?"

Rory dropped her bookbag on the floor and sat next to Lorelai. "It was fine. We read some books, learned some big words, talked about famous dead people, got lots of homework. Same old stuff." She paused. "Hey, was Rachel here just now?"

The question surprised Lorelai. Uncomfortably, she said, "Uh, yeah. She, um, stopped by to say hi."

Rory said, "Well, I passed her on the way here and she had this really big smile on her face. I've never seen her so happy. Of course, I've only known her for a few weeks, so it's not exactly an extensive amount of time to judge it on, but in those few weeks, I've never seen her so happy."

Lorelai smiled casually. "Really? That's nice." Inside, however, she felt overjoyed.

Rory nodded. "Yup. Okay, I need to go change." Rory stood up, grabbed her bookbag, and walked towards her room. Lorelai leaned back against the arm of the couch and smiled. Knowing that Rachel was as excited about them being together as Lorelai was made her feel indescribably happy.

* * * * *

As Lorelai woke up the next morning, there was definitely a different feeling in the air. While the last few days she had woken up filled with confusion and nervousness, now she woke up feeling happy and calm. The situation, with the exception of telling Luke, was now resolved and it had come together just like she had hoped it would. She was still partly in shock since the original probability of this situation happening was so slim, and now here it was, right in front of her. She had repeated Rachel's words a thousand times in her head, them making her smile with every repetition.

She got up, showered, and dressed for work, and walked downstairs to find Rory eating her Pop Tart at the kitchen table. "Morning," Lorelai said.

"Morning Mom," Rory mumbled with her mouth full.

"Oh, that's nice, " Lorelai laughed. She poured herself some coffee and sat across from Rory at the table. "Any tests today?"

Rory shook her head. She took a sip of her coffee to wash down the Pop Tart, and said, "Nope, nothing much today. I have a quiz tomorrow, but that should be easy."

"Of course, everything's easy for you. You're smarter than Bill Gates," Lorelai said.

Rory smiled. "Well, I wouldn't say that... Although, there's no real easy way to actually disprove that, so you can say it all you want." She glanced at her watch. "Oh, I have to go." She stood up, took a last sip of coffee, and went into her bedroom. She walked back out a moment later with her bookbag. "See you later."

Lorelai smiled. "Bye hon, have a good day." Rory walked past her and out the back door. Lorelai finished her coffee before heading to the inn.

* * * * *

At 1 p.m., Lorelai walked into the Independence Inn Kitchen looking for Sookie. She found her removing a pan of muffins from the oven. "Sookie, you ready to go to lunch?"

Sookie placed the pan on the cooling rack and said, "Yup, just let me finish with these. It'll only be a few more minutes."

"Okay, I'll wait in the lobby." Lorelai walked out of the kitchen and over to Michel at the front desk. "Michel, Sookie and I are going to Luke's for lunch. Do you want us to bring you back anything?"

Michel replied, "That man's food is full of fat and cholesterol and will ultimately be the death of you."

Lorelai laughed. "I'm guessing that's a no."

A few minutes later, Sookie walked out into the lobby. Lorelai grabbed her purse and they started walking to Luke's.

"So, honey, how's everything?" Sookie asked. "You seem like you're in a better mood today than the rest of the week."

Lorelai smiled. "I am. Everything's good. All those things I was thinking about earlier in the week are good now."

"Great, that's good," Sookie replied.

"Yeah. How're things with you? How's Jackson?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, things are going so great!" Sookie replied excitedly. "Now that Rune's out of his house, things have been so much better. Thanks for helping us out."

"Aww, no problem," Lorelai said. "And surprisingly, we haven't had any complaints about him yet. Well, besides from Michel."

Sookie laughed. "Whoa now, don't jinx it. It's only been a week." They had reached Luke's and walked inside. Since it was lunchtime, the diner was quite crowded, but Sookie and Lorelai found seats at the counter.

A few minutes later, Luke walked over to them. "The usual?"

"Yup," replied Lorelai.

"Yup," replied Sookie.

Luke scribbled on his pad and said, "Okay, it'll be a few minutes." He walked away. A couple seconds later, Rachel walked out of the kitchen carrying several plates. Lorelai and Rachel locked eyes and smiled at each other, and Lorelai felt herself get giddy inside. Rachel walked past them to deliver the plates to their tables, and returned a few seconds later. "Hey guys."

"Hey." Lorelai said.

"Hey Rachel," Sookie said. "How's it going?"

Rachel gestured around to all the people. "Busy. Lunchtime is the worst. Can I get you something? Did you guys order yet?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, but we didn't order drinks. I'll have a coke."

"Me too please," Sookie replied.

Rachel smiled. "Okay." She walked away.

Sookie lowered her voice. "Now didn't I tell you she was an Elle MacPherson kind of pretty? I wasn't lying, was I?"

Lorelai suddenly got very uncomfortable. "No, you were right. She's pretty."

Sookie giggled. "You hate her, don't you?"

Lorelai gasped. "What?"

"Come on, Lorelai. You're jealous of her, admit it."

Lorelai's mouth widened. "Sookie, I'm not jealous of her. Trust me." Sookie narrowed her eyes. "I'm not," Lorelai repeated.

Sookie smirked. "All right, you're not jealous."

"No, I'm not," Lorelai said. "We've actually been hanging out. I think she's great. Oh, shh." Lorelai shushed the conversation as Rachel placed their drinks in front of them. Sookie and Lorelai both thanked her, and Rachel shot Lorelai a subtle glance before walking back into the kitchen.

"So, you guys hang out?" Sookie asked. "I wonder how Luke's taking that."

Lorelai swallowed. "I mentioned it to him. He said he thinks it's good." Then Lorelai thought to herself, 'Of course, in a few weeks he won't think it's good.' She sighed. "Okay, new subject please, Sookie."

Sookie gave her a suspicious look and said, "Okay, sorry." They started talking about the new menu for an upcoming banquet at the inn. A few minutes later, Luke placed their burgers in front of them, and they started eating.

When they were finished, Lorelai and Sookie paid, and they headed for the door. Sookie walked out first, and Lorelai quickly glanced back to look for Rachel. She was at a table pouring coffee, and she looked up and saw Lorelai in the doorway. Rachel smiled and mouthed 'Bye,' and Lorelai smiled. She gave a little wave before walking outside.

The next day, Friday, Rory had a half-day from school, so Lorelai suggested they meet for lunch at Luke's. Rory was already waiting at a table when Lorelai arrived. She sat down, and after asking Rory how her day was, looked around for Rachel. She didn't see her, and a few seconds later, Luke came over to them. "Burgers again, I suppose?"

"Yes, and coffee please," Rory replied. Luke rolled his eyes, then walked back to the counter. Rory turned to her mom. "Hey, did you see that there's gonna be a America's Funniest Home Videos marathon on next week? The old ones!"

Lorelai laughed. "No way! Oh God, that's some high quality entertainment right there."

"Definitely." Rory agreed. "We need to make a list of how many corny things Bob Saget says in each show."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Definitely. Oh God, he's so..." she stopped mid-sentence as she glanced at the counter and saw that Rachel had just walked out of the kitchen. She smiled, then finished, "...he's so unintentionally funny."

"Yeah," agreed Rory. "He thinks the audience is laughing at the jokes, but they're really laughing at how stupid the jokes are, and how stupid he looks telling them. Although the fact that he did get up there week after week and humiliate himself makes me respect him a little."

Lorelai nodded. She glanced towards Rachel at the counter and waited to catch her eye. When she did, Rachel smiled and held up her pointer finger, as if to say she'd be over in a minute. Lorelai waited patiently, and got excited when she saw her walking over.

"Hey guys." Rachel said.

"Hey," Lorelai said, trying to hide the excitement she felt every time Rachel was near her.

"Rachel, hey," Rory said, oblivious to the fact that she was talking to the woman with whom her mother was now in a relationship.

"Um, Lorelai," Rachel started. "I have that, uh, sweater you wanted to borrow. Why don't you come upstairs with me and we can get it." Rachel walked away from the table. Lorelai glanced towards her confused, but Rachel cocked her head to the side and shot her a look that said 'play along and follow me.'

Lorelai stammered, "Uh, right, yes. Okay, Rory, I'll be right back."

"Okay." Rory said.

Lorelai stood up and followed Rachel up to Luke's apartment. They walked inside, and Rachel shut and locked the door. She gently pinned Lorelai against the door and kissed her hungrily. Lorelai returned the kiss, and they finally broke apart when they needed to catch their breaths. Her chest heaving, Lorelai said, "I've missed that the last few days."

"Oh God, me too," Rachel said. "This is a lot harder than I thought it would be."

Lorelai nodded. "I know, but it'll be over soon."

Rachel leaned in to kiss her again, their tongues gliding over each other. As Rachel pulled back, she said, "Oh wait, let me get you a sweater." She led Lorelai to the bureau and pulled out a sweater and held it up. "How's this?"

Lorelai said, "Hmm, it's nice. But I like the one you're wearing now... maybe you could take it off," she said flirtingly.

Rachel smiled. "I could. But I think that if we were up here for an hour picking out sweaters, someone might get suspicious."

"Ah, I guess you're right," Lorelai said. Rachel handed the sweater to Lorelai. Lorelai took it, and they kissed again. "So, I guess that means I'll have to be quick." Lorelai used a finger to trace around Rachel's breasts before finally cupping her hand over one and squeezing it gently. Rachel smiled. "Come on, we can't be long."

"I know, I know. Just a second." Lorelai dropped the sweater she was holding on the floor and unbuttoned Rachel's shirt, ignoring Rachel's urges that they had to hurry. She removed the shirt and dropped it on the floor. She pulled Rachel's bra straps down her shoulders, and then pulled the bra down around Rachel's stomach, exposing her breasts to Lorelai. Lorelai placed a hand on either one and squeezed them, and the feel of Lorelai's hands against her skin made Rachel shiver with arousal. Lorelai pressed Rachel up against the wall, and Rachel leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

Lorelai moved each of her thumbs in a circular motion over the hardened nipples, and Rachel let out a small groan. Lorelai did it for a few more seconds before removing one of her hands and replacing it with her mouth. She sucked on Rachel's breast, using her tongue to flick the nipple. Rachel started breathing heavier, letting out small groans of pleasure every few seconds. Lorelai switched her mouth to the other breast, taking the nipple between her teeth and tugging gently. Rachel responded with a longer moan. Through her panting she encouraged, "Harder, do it harder." Lorelai applied more pressure with her teeth to the nipple, to which Rachel responded with a loud yelp. Rachel immediately clasped a hand over her own mouth to keep herself quiet, and Lorelai could see the gratification in her eyes. She moved back and forth between the two breasts for another minute, sucking them and using her teeth to tug on the nipples, an act that Rachel obviously enjoyed immensely. Lorelai herself was getting extremely aroused, and could feel her panties getting damp. Lorelai brought her knee up between Rachel's legs and used it to rub her crotch, and Rachel responded immediately with a loud moan. Rachel clenched her eyes shut, and placed a knuckle in her mouth to bite on to keep from screaming too loud as she orgasmed. As she finished, Lorelai removed her knee and mouth from their respective areas, she brought her lips up to meet Rachel's. They kissed passionately before Lorelai pulled back and said, "So I see you're a breast gal."

Rachel smiled and nodded. "What are you?"

Lorelai smiled. "You'll have to find out for yourself someday."

Rachel smiled. She pulled up her bra as Lorelai picked up the two sweaters off the floor, and handed Rachel's to her. She put it back on and buttoned it up, then checked her watch. "Oh my God, we've been up here for almost 10 minutes. Let's go." They kissed one more time before heading down to the diner.

Rachel walked behind the counter as Lorelai rejoined Rory at their table. "Took you long enough," Rory said. "The food's getting cold."

"Yeah," Lorelai said. "Rachel couldn't find the sweater, so I had to wait for her to check all the drawers and closets and stuff."

Rory nodded. Lorelai picked up her burger and took a bite, glancing at the counter. Rachel was staring at her, smiling. Lorelai smiled and looked down, not wanting to draw any attention to their shared glances. As she and Rory continued eating, she tried to concentrate on their conversation, but it was hard, considering the act that had just taken place; their first shared sexual experience that wasn't just a dream. Her mind kept picturing them upstairs, and she thought ahead to the day that they would be able to do it again.

She and Rory finished up their meal and walked home. Lorelai told Rory she was going to take a nap before they left for Hartford. She immediately retired to her bedroom, locked the door, and using the vivid images of her experience with Rachel, pleasured herself for quite awhile. She imagined that Rachel was there with her, that she was the one whose fingers were providing her such enjoyment, and imagined how incredible it would feel to have Rachel's mouth stimulating her to orgasm. 'Some day,' Lorelai thought. 'And hopefully soon.'

To be continued...