* * *

Part 44

The next morning at the Independence Inn, Lorelai stood at the front desk looking through a stack of papers. Michel walked up to her. "What do you think you’re doing?"

Knowing he had just sorted them, Lorelai replied, "Oh, just putting these bills in alphabetical order." She tried to hide her smirk as she waited for his reaction.

Michel groaned. "But I just spent twenty minutes organizing them by due date because you asked me to!"

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Ooh, yeah, I forgot about that." She held the papers out toward him and smiled. "Can you fix these please?"

Michel slapped his palm on the desk. "Absolutely not!" He stormed off, mumbling something in French.

Lorelai smiled. "Ah, you’re such a sadist, Lorelai," she mumbled to herself. She placed the papers into a folder and stuck them in one of the desk drawers, then picked up her empty coffee mug and walked into the kitchen. "Hey Sookie."

Sookie smiled from across the room. "Hey."

Lorelai refilled her coffee cup, then walked over to Sookie at the stove. "Whatcha making?" she asked as she peered into the pot Sookie was stirring. She inhaled the scent and said, "Mm, whatever it is, it smells good.’

"Sweet and sour sauce to put on the sweet and sour chicken," Sookie replied. She paused, then added, "Well, it’s not sweet and sour chicken yet, but it will be when we pour this sauce on it. Right now it’s just chicken."

"Aw, don’t say it like that," Lorelai frowned. "The chicken’ll feel bad if it hears you call it ‘just chicken’. . . it’ll think it needs a special marinade just to be considered important in this hectic world."

Sookie glanced over at the pan of chicken on the counter top and grimaced. "Oh, I hope I didn’t hurt its feelings."

Lorelai shook her head disappointedly. "I don’t know. . .if I heard you talking like that about me, I’d be pretty upset." They both stared at the chicken for a few seconds as if trying to deduce how it was feeling. Finally, Lorelai shrugged. "Okay, anyway. . .what are you doing this weekend?"

As Sookie continued to stare at the chicken, Lorelai rolled her eyes and tapped her on the shoulder. "Uh, Sookie?" Sookie turned to her, a sad expression on her face. Lorelai smiled. "It’s okay, Sookie. I’m sure the chicken didn’t hear you. . .it was too busy thinking about the incredible sauce it’ll be swimming in very soon."

Sookie nodded slowly. She gave a quick glance toward the chicken, then turned back to Lorelai. "Okay, what did you say before?"

Lorelai took a sip of her coffee before she replied, "I asked what you were doing this weekend."

Sookie wiped her hands on a dishtowel and shrugged. "I don’t know yet. I think Jackson wanted to play music to his berries."

"Oh yeah, what kind?" Lorelai asked.

"What kind of berries?"

"No, what kind of music?"

"Oh, the fruit have really been responding to jazz lately," Sookie replied. "You know, jazz is music for the soul. . .makes people really think about what they want in life."

Lorelai nodded. "Right, right. . .so those berries who are dying to one day be included in a jar of jam will strive their hardest to get there."

"Exactly," Sookie replied. "Why do you ask?"

Lorelai smiled. "Well, I was thinking that on Saturday night, you and Jackson could come over to our house for dinner. Luke’ll cook, Rory will be there, we can all hang out and watch a movie or something. What do you say?"

Sookie smiled. "Aw, that sounds like fun, honey. We’ll be there."

"Good, good. Say around seven?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Sookie replied. "Thanks."

"You’re welcome," Lorelai replied. She glanced at her watch. "Okay, I gotta get back out there. Michel was mad at me when I left so I’m sure he’s releasing his anger by being rude to the guests."

"And how is that unlike all the other days when he’s not mad at you?" Sookie asked, narrowing her eyes curiously.

"Well, now he might actually start physically attacking them instead of just mumbling threats," Lorelai explained.

"Ah. . .you better get out there quickly, then," Sookie pointed to the door.

* * *

On Wednesday night, Lorelai and Luke walked into the market to shop for food for the shower. They each grabbed a basket and walked to the aisle of baking supplies. As Luke began loading items into his basket, Lorelai set her basket on the floor and picked up two different packages of walnuts.

She turned to Luke and held them both up. "Okay, now, we can go with these walnuts right here," she said, shaking the package in her left hand, ". . .which are already conveniently pre-chopped and ready to be thrown into any recipe." She lowered that package and raised the other one. "Or we can go with the walnut halves which are cheaper but rather large, meaning we’d have to crush them ourselves before we use them, adding a bit more to the preparation time."

Luke glanced past Lorelai toward one of the large picture windows. He saw Sookie outside walking toward the entrance to the market. "Uh, Lorelai?"

Lorelai glanced at the packages. "Crushing the walnut halves might be fun, though. I mean, we could smack the bag over and over with a hammer and really use the opportunity to get things out of our system, you know?"

Luke cleared his throat as he saw Sookie walk into the market. "Lorelai?"

She wrinkled her nose. "But there are a lot of things to make, so it’d probably be easier to just go with convenience and get the already-chopped ones." She replaced the package of walnut halves on the shelf, then grabbed a few more packages of the crushed walnuts and dropped them into her basket.

"Lorelai!" Luke whispered harshly.

Lorelai looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "What?" He pointed toward Sookie, and she followed his gaze and gasped. "Oh my God! What is she doing here?"

"Hm, well, I don’t know. We’re in a food store, maybe she’s. . . .food shopping?" Luke suggested.

Lorelai smacked him on the shoulder. "All right, save the sarcasm for later." She stared across the store at Sookie for a few seconds before Sookie saw her and waved. Lorelai smiled and waved back, then turned to Luke and whispered, "She saw me, we have to go say hello. Hurry up and put your basket down. She can’t see the stuff we’re buying." Luke set his basket on the ground. "Okay, come on." Lorelai grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the aisle.

They walked over to Sookie. "Hey," Lorelai greeted her. Luke nodded hello and stood behind Lorelai with his hands shoved into his pockets.

"Hey, you two." Sookie smiled. "How’s it going?"

"Good, how ‘bout you?" Lorelai replied.

"Good." Sookie held up her basket. "Just doing a little shopping."

"Right, right." Lorelai nodded. "Well, this is definitely a good place to do that. . . uh huh. . ." She tapped her hands nervously on her thighs.

Sookie glanced down at their hands. "No baskets . . .so what’s this, just a crave trip?"

"Uh, yes. . .yes, it is," Lorelai replied quickly.

"A what?" Luke asked.

"A crave trip," Sookie repeated.

"You know, when you’re sitting at home and you suddenly get a craving for something so you run all the way to the store to get just that item," Lorelai explained. "Uh, you know. . .like we’re doing right now," she added, giving him a pointed look.

"Ah," Luke replied. "I wasn’t aware that it had a name."

Sookie smiled. "Lorelai goes on crave trips a lot. So what was it this time?"

"Oh. . . uh, just. . .ice cream," Lorelai replied quickly. "You know, there’s nothing like a nice bowl of ice cream on a hot night. . . well, for me anyway. Luke would rather just eat a bowl of ice. . .minus the cream, because I think the cream part’s not really good for you. The ice part is, though, because ice is just. . .you know, frozen water and water’s probably the healthiest thing you can have. . .you know, no calories or anything. . . " Luke rolled his eyes and gently kicked her foot. Lorelai clamped her mouth shut and glanced over at a shelf of toilet paper. "Wow, I love Charmin," she muttered. "It’s so soft."

As Sookie stared at her questioningly, Luke put his hand on Lorelai’s shoulder. "Uh, we should get going now. Remember, I wanted to stop at the diner?"

Lorelai turned and gave him an appreciative look over her shoulder. "Right, we should go." She turned back to Sookie. "Uh, we’re gonna get going. I’ll see you at the inn tomorrow." She grabbed Luke’s hand and pulled him toward the exit.

"Uh, hon, you forgot the ice cream," Sookie said.

Lorelai turned around. "Oh, we didn’t wanna buy it right now. . .we just wanted to come look at it," she explained. "You know, scope out the inventory. Now we’re gonna go to the diner and talk about the different choices, then come back later and buy one."

Behind her, Luke rolled his eyes and muttered, "Smooth."

Lorelai nudged him with her elbow, then smiled at Sookie. "Bye Sookie."

"Bye," she replied, narrowing her eyes with confusion.

They turned around and walked quickly to the exit, and as they stepped out onto the sidewalk, Lorelai let out a sigh of relief. "Oh geez, that was close."

"You know, I *do* own a diner. . .it’s not exactly suspicious for me to be buying large amounts of baking products," Luke said.

"Yeah, well, it’s so close to the shower now that I don’t want anything even remotely suspicious to happen," Lorelai said.

"Oh, right, and your little ‘we just came to look at the ice cream’ bit was perfectly normal," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

She frowned. "Hey, it was all I could come up with off the top of my head. I was nervous."

"Yeah, I noticed. So, what do you wanna do now?"

Lorelai glanced toward the market and watched Sookie through the window for a few seconds. She turned to Luke and shrugged. "Let’s go to the diner and wait for her to leave the market, then we’ll come back." Lorelai started walking toward the diner, and Luke followed behind her.

* * *

On Saturday morning, Lorelai and Rory were cleaning the house while Luke was at the diner utilizing the larger, more convenient kitchen to bake for the shower.

Lorelai, after spending twenty minutes vacuuming the living room, collapsed on the couch with an exhausted sigh. "Rory!" she called.

"What?" Rory called back from the kitchen.

"What time is Dean coming over with the tables and chairs?"

"Uh, like, 2:30, I think," Rory replied as she walked into the living room. "He’s picking them up from Patty’s at two, so by the time he and his dad load them up and drive here, it should be like 2:30."

Lorelai glanced at the clock on the VCR. "Okay, that gives me time to run to the liquor store. Come for a ride with me." She walked over to the desk and grabbed her purse and keys, then she and Rory walked out the front door.

* * *

They returned home forty-five minutes later and found Luke’s truck parked out front with both doors open. They unloaded their bags from the trunk and as they walked toward the house, they were surprised when Jess walked out the front door.

They met up on the front porch and Lorelai eyed him curiously. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," Rory said.

Jess nodded toward them. "Hey."

"Uh, are you here with Luke?" Lorelai asked, glancing toward the house. "Is he inside?"

"Nah, he asked me to drop some stuff off," Jess replied. He gestured toward the house. "I just put everything on the kitchen table. . .hope that’s okay."

"Yeah, that’s fine, thanks," Lorelai replied. "Are you gonna stop by tonight?"

Jess shrugged. "I don’t know. . ."

"Promises to be pretty entertaining. . .especially watching my mom try to avoid my grandma all night," Rory said, smiling at Lorelai.

Lorelai frowned. "Evil child." She turned to Jess. "We know it’s not your type of thing, but there’ll be a ton of food . . .stop by if you want."

Jess shrugged again. "I don’t know. . .maybe." He started walking toward the truck. "I gotta go."

"Bye," Rory said.

"Bye. . .thanks," Lorelai called. They walked into the house, and Lorelai’s eyes widened as they entered the kitchen. The table was covered with boxes of food from the diner. "Oh my God."

Rory was just as impressed. "Wow, that’s a lot of food."

They set their bags down and began opening the boxes, sneaking peeks at all the baked goods Luke had sent over.

"Wow, he totally outdid himself," Lorelai said, shaking her head slightly.

"Definitely. I hope they taste as good as they look," Rory said.

Lorelai glanced at her with a sly smile. "Guess we better make sure."

Rory smiled. "I’ll try a cookie."

"I’ll try a brownie," Lorelai said. They reached for their respective treats and each took a bite. Lorelai closed her eyes and moaned, "Oh my God, that’s soooo good!"

"Mm, this is incredible!" Rory exclaimed. She shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth and chewed it slowly, savoring the taste. As she swallowed, she said, "He should’ve known better than to leave all this food with us, though. What’s wrong with him?"

"I don’t know," Lorelai said. "All the baking must’ve affected his head." She shut the boxes and said, "Okay, we have to get out of here before we eat everything. What time is it?"

Rory glanced at the microwave. "Almost two."

"Okay, Dean’ll be here soon with the tables and stuff to set up outside, so let’s go check out where we want them," Lorelai said.

"Okay." Rory followed her out the back door and onto the porch. They walked onto the front lawn and began discussing where to set up the tables and chairs. "Okay, this is what I think. . .may I?" Rory asked.

"Go ahead," Lorelai said.

"I think that we should set up the food inside. . .some in Babette’s house and some in ours," Rory explained. "Because it’ll be really hot out and the food will get all warm and soggy. Plus, there’ll be bugs and everything, and I just think it’ll be better to have the food set up inside in the air conditioning to keep it fresher, and then set up the tables and chairs for people to eat out here in the yard."

Lorelai nodded slowly. "Okay, that sounds good. What about drinks?"

"Well, I was thinking we could have some inside, but also have a table and some coolers on each of the porches," Rory said, pointing to both houses. "Some by the side door of our house, and some by Babette’s front door right there. That way it’s all spread out and everything."

Lorelai smiled. "Man, you’re so. . .what’s the word?"

"Organized?" Rory suggested. "Smart? Wonderful? Beautiful?"

Lorelai laughed. "All of the above." She fanned herself with her hand. "Man, it’s hot out here. I’m gonna go change into something cooler, then we gotta hose down the porch. There’s a thick coating of dirt on it and I think the weight of it is starting to buckle the brand new joists under there." She started walking toward the front door.

"When are we gonna pick up the stuff from the bakery?" Rory asked.

Lorelai turned around. "Oh, I told Fran we’d be there about four."

"Okay. I’m gonna go see if Babette needs help with anything."

"Okay." Lorelai went up to her bedroom to change, and returned a few minutes later in her denim cutoffs and a bikini top. She pulled the hose out of the shed and began spraying off the porch.

She finished up just as Rory walked out of Babette’s house, and she helped Lorelai drag the hose back to the shed. "Everything okay in there?" Lorelai asked.

"Yup, the house is all decorated and everything," Rory said. "It looks cute."

"Speaking of which, let’s go decorate ours," Lorelai said. "Then we can come decorate out here and die of heat exhaustion."

"Sounds good," Rory said as she followed Lorelai into the house.

* * *

A few hours later, Lorelai and Rory arrived home from the bakery. They carried the boxes into the house and set them on the counter, then Lorelai pulled off her T-shirt and dropped it on a chair. "Oh my God, this heat is unbearable." She opened up the freezer and let the cold air cool her down.

"Maybe we can turn the shower into a beach party or something, and we can all wear our bathing suits and run through the sprinkler," Rory suggested.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose as she shut the freezer door. "Hm, that’d be a good idea if it was just a small gathering amongst close friends, but there are too many people in this town that I’d rather not see in a bathing suit."

"Huh, good point," Rory agreed.

A car horn honked from outside, and they rushed to the front door. They stepped onto the porch just as Luke was climbing out of his truck. Lorelai smiled and clapped excitedly. "The rest of the food is here!"

"Yay!" Rory exclaimed.

Luke rolled his eyes. "A little help, please?" he said, gesturing to the truck.

"Oh, right," Rory said. "Come on, Mom." Rory walked down the porch and over to the passenger side door.

Lorelai walked over to Luke on the other side of the truck. She wrinkled her nose at his shirt, which was covered with flour, cocoa powder, and other caked-on ingredients that Lorelai couldn’t identify. "Did the kitchen explode?"

Luke glanced down at his shirt. "Just about." He glanced at her bikini top and asked, "Did all your shirts disappear?"

Lorelai giggled and nodded. "Yup." She kissed him, then wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Mm, I haven’t seen you in like. . .forever."

Luke smiled. "I know, not since this morning." He brought his hands up around her waist and pulled her tighter against his body.

As Rory carried a few boxes toward the house, she said, "Okay, why am I the only one working here?"

"Because you’re younger than us," Lorelai replied. As Rory disappeared through the front door, Lorelai kissed Luke passionately. When she finally pulled back, she said, "Thank you."

"For what?"

She kissed him again. "For wasting your entire Saturday baking a ton of food that you’re not even gonna eat," she said. "And for not complaining about it once."

Luke shrugged. "Yeah, well, if I didn’t do it, you would’ve went out and bought even more stuff from the bakery, so a few hours of kitchen labor essentially saved us a couple hundred bucks."

Lorelai smiled. "So, instead of doing it because you love me and wanted to help out as much as you could, you did it solely for financial purposes."

"Right."

Lorelai giggled and stroked his cheek. "Lying through your teeth."

"Okay, so I am." Luke smiled and kissed her. "Come on, let’s get this stuff inside." They each grabbed a box from the truck and walked into the house.

As they entered the kitchen, they saw Rory leaning against the counter on the phone. Luke gestured to Lorelai’s box. "That one has to go in the refrigerator. It’s pudding."

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Mm, pudding!" She opened the box and pulled out two large covered bowls, then stuck them in the fridge as Rory hung up the phone.

"Okay, Lane’ll be here as soon as she can to set up the stereo and get all the CDs organized and everything," Rory announced.

"Good, and I told Kirk he could bring the ice, and to bring it early, so he should be here soon with that. Let’s go bring in the rest of the boxes from the truck," Lorelai said. "We can start dividing the food between here and Babette’s."

"All right, let me go change my shirt, then I’ll give ya a hand," Luke said.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Rory and Lane were setting up the stereo, Kirk was filling a bunch of coolers with ice on Lorelai’s side porch, and both Luke and Lorelai were at Babette’s house helping set up the food tables.

When they finally stepped out onto Babette’s porch, they saw Emily pull up in front of their house. Lorelai groaned, then turned around and tried to walk back inside, but Luke caught her arm and pulled her back out. "No, come on."

Lorelai frowned as Luke led her across the yard to Emily’s car. As Emily climbed out, Lorelai forced a smile. "Hi Mom."

"Hello Lorelai," Emily replied, then nodded toward Luke. "Luke."

"Emily," Luke replied. "How’s everything?"

"Fine, thank you," Emily replied. She narrowed her eyes at Lorelai’s cutoffs and bikini top. "I see I’m a tad overdressed."

"Yeah, didn’t you get the memo that we’ve turned the shower into an MTV Beach House party?" Lorelai asked.

Confused, Emily replied, "A what?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Nothing. Uh, do you need help with anything?" he asked, gesturing to the car.

"Yes, thank you. I have a few boxes of pastries to bring in." Emily walked toward her trunk, and Luke and Lorelai followed. Emily opened it, then stepped back as Luke and Lorelai each leaned into the trunk and grabbed a box.

Emily’s eyes widened and she gasped loudly. "Lorelai Gilmore!" she exclaimed.

Surprised, Lorelai and Luke both turned around. "What?" she asked.

Emily pursed her lips. "What in the world is that on your back?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes and looked over her shoulder. "I don’t know. . .what is it, Luke? Is it a bug? Get it off of me!"

Luke cleared his throat. "Uh, I think she means. . .your tattoo."

"Yes, that tattoo!" Emily replied indignantly. "How long have you had that?"

Reveling internally at seeing her mother freak out, Lorelai smirked and said, "I got it a couple weeks ago. Don’t worry, though, the tattoo parlor was clean. . .I saw them take the needle out of the guy before me and run it under cold water before they used it on me."

"Do not joke about this, Lorelai! Why would you go and do something like that to your body?" Emily grimaced as if the thought of a tattoo disgusted her. She glanced over at Luke and zeroed in on his tattoo that was peeking out from under his sleeve. "Oh, well, I see. . . perhaps someone else with a tattoo influenced you to get one also?" Emily suggested, glaring accusingly at Luke as she spoke.

Luke’s eyes widened. "What?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "No, Mother, you – and I want to take my time as I say this to really cherish the moment – you. . . couldn’t. . . be. . . more. . . wrong." She smiled to herself and let out a soft sigh. "Ah, that felt good."

"Lorelai," Luke prompted her to explain.

"Oh, right, sorry," Lorelai replied. She turned to Emily. "Mom, this isn’t a real tattoo, it’s just temporary, and Luke had nothing to do with me getting it. He didn’t even know I was getting it. He was just as surprised as you were when he saw it."

"Yes, well – " Emily started.

"Come on, let’s get these inside," Lorelai interrupted. She turned and walked quickly toward the house, and they both followed her. They walked into the kitchen and set the boxes on the table, and Lorelai opened them. "Mm, these look great."

"Yes, Beatrice is a wonderful cook," Emily replied.

"Looks that way," Lorelai replied. She quickly arranged the pastries on the table with the other food, then turned to Emily. "Okay, uh, Rory’s in the living room if you wanna say hello. Luke and I are gonna go upstairs and get dressed before other people start to arrive."

"Ah, yes, I was just about to ask where Rory was," Emily said, turning around and walking into the living room.

Lorelai glanced over her shoulder at Luke and exhaled loudly. He gave her a sympathetic look as she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the living room. Emily was standing with Rory and Lane near the stereo. Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, Rory, you’re in charge of everything while we go up and change."

"Okay, Mom," Rory replied.

Lorelai and Luke climbed the steps to their bedroom, and Lorelai locked the door and groaned loudly. "Oh my God!"

"It wasn’t so bad," Luke said.

"Not so bad? Not so bad?" Lorelai scoffed and began pacing. "Luke, she wasn’t even here a minute before she got on my case! A minute! That surprises even me because when I’ve sat down and thought about how bad this night could be, and when I’ve thought about how long she’d take to get on me about something, I assumed five, ten minutes, tops." She shook her head in disbelief. "But less than a minute – geez, the woman must hold some sort of record, I swear to God!" She sighed loudly and buried her face against Luke’s shoulder. "Hug me."

Luke hugged her tightly, and the feeling of his warm hands against her bare back made her feel more relaxed. Luke ran his hands up and down her back, interrupted only by thin strap of her bikini top. Lorelai’s hands found their way up Luke’s shirt and she lightly dragged her nails up and down his back.

They stood silently for over a minute, just letting their hands explore each other’s backs, before Luke finally pulled back. "We should get down there," he said. "People are gonna start coming soon."

Lorelai giggled. "Dirty!" As Luke rolled his eyes, she added, "Did you mean that literally. . .because a few more minutes of your hands on my body just might make it happen." She pressed her lips against his and kissed him hungrily.

Luke kissed her back, then pulled away from her. "Come on, get dressed. Don’t think about your mother anymore, think about Sookie."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Sookie, right, got it. This night is about her and Jackson, not me and my mother."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they walked downstairs – Luke in black pants with a black shirt, and Lorelai in her new strapless dress with her straightened hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of her neck.

As Luke walked into the kitchen, Lorelai walked outside and glanced around. Guests were starting to arrive, and a small pile of gifts had started to accumulate on the gift table. Music was playing in the background – while the stereo was inside, the speakers were set up right against the side window so that the music could be heard outside.

Rory walked across the yard and up the steps. She linked her arm through Lorelai’s. "Hey Mom."

Lorelai turned her head and smiled. "Hey sweets." She kissed Rory on the cheek. "How’s everything going?"

"Pretty good," Rory said. "The dress looks great."

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks." She wrinkled her nose and whispered, "Do you see your grandmother anywhere?"

"Oh, she’s on the side of the house with Kirk," Rory replied. "I just saw them."

Lorelai closed her eyes and put her hands on her forehead. "No."

"It’s okay, Mom," Rory replied.

"Rory, she’s talking with Kirk," Lorelai reminded her.

"I know, but he has some interesting things to say. . .sometimes. . ." Rory’s voice trailed off. "Occasionally."

Lorelai grabbed Rory’s arm. "Come with me." They walked to the side of the house, where Emily and Kirk were standing near the drink table.

As they walked up behind them, they caught some of their conversation. ". . . my true passion. I’ve been working on a film for a few years now that I hope one day will be ready for the world to view."

"Well, that’s very interesting," Emily replied.

Lorelai cleared her throat. "Hey guys."

They both turned around. Emily smiled. "Lorelai, Rory, hello." She glanced down at Lorelai’s dress. "That’s a lovely dress."

"Thanks, Mom," Lorelai replied.

"Perhaps a bit short, though," Emily added.

Lorelai forced a smile. "So, how about we go get something to eat, huh?"

"But Sookie’s not here yet," Emily said.

"So?" Lorelai asked.

"So, she’s the guest of honor, and nobody’s supposed to eat until the guest of honor arrives," Emily informed her. "Trust me, I’ve been to many showers in my day, Lorelai. This is how they work."

"Okay, well, you stick to that rule, Mom. I’m gonna go grab a cookie," Lorelai said.

* * *

By seven o’clock, most of the guests had arrived and the yard was full of people. Lorelai had made an announcement that Sookie and Jackson would be arriving any minute, and she stood with a bunch of people near the edge of the yard eagerly watching for their car to pull up. She scanned the yard for Luke and found him standing with a group of men near Babette’s house. As they locked eyes and smiled at each other, a voice yelled, "Here they come!"

Lorelai quickly turned around and looked down the street. She saw Sookie’s SUV heading slowly toward the house, and as it approached, saw the confused look on Sookie’s face. Jackson looked just as confused, and when Lorelai saw their lips moving, she assumed they were probably asking each other what was going on.

Jackson parked the car and as they both climbed out, several people shouted, "Surprise!" It was then that Sookie finally saw the "Congratulations Sookie and Jackson!" banner that hung over Lorelai’s porch.

"Oh my God!" Sookie clapped a hand over her mouth, and she walked over to Jackson and pointed out the sign to him. Tears welled up in her eyes and she clutched onto Jackson’s arm.

After giving them a few seconds to take everything in, Lorelai finally broke off from the crowd and stepped up to them. "Ladies and Gentlemen," she announced loudly, "the guests of honor have arrived. . .let the fun begin!"

As everyone clapped and cheered, Lorelai wrapped her arms around Sookie. "Congratulations, Sookie." Lorelai pulled back and kissed her on the cheek, then smiled at Jackson as she gestured to the yard. "This is all for you guys."

"It’s amazing," Jackson said, smiling broadly. "I can’t believe it."

Sookie sniffled loudly as tears ran down her cheeks. "Oh my God, Lorelai! I can’t believe you did this!" she exclaimed, smacking her playfully on the shoulder.

Lorelai smiled. "Why not? You did it for me!"

Sookie wiped her tears and giggled. "Only you were able to keep it a surprise. How’d you do that anyway? You’re terrible at keeping secrets."

"Well, this one was too good to spoil," Lorelai said, smiling. "Listen, why don’t you guys go greet your fans and sign autographs and get settled, and I’ll get you each a drink."

"Okay. Come on, Sookie," Jackson said. He took her hand and led her over to the crowd.

Lorelai smiled to herself as she stood back and watched them talking to people. A few minutes later, Luke walked over to her and slipped his arm around her waist. She smiled and nodded toward Sookie and Jackson. "Look at ‘em."

Luke smiled and nodded. "They look happy."

They continued watching them for a few more seconds until Lorelai moved in front of Luke. She smiled and pressed her lips against his, kissing him deeply. She tried to part his lips with her tongue but he kept them tight, and her attempt was unsuccessful. She pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. "What’s wrong?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "What do you think? There’s like a hundred people behind you, including your mother– this ain’t exactly my preferred kissing scenario."

Lorelai grabbed Luke’s hand and pulled him to the other side of Sookie’s SUV. "There, unless Superman’s in the crowd, no one can see us now." She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. This time he welcomed her tongue into his mouth and she moaned softly as the kiss deepened with passion.

Lorelai pulled back and smirked. "Luke, do you think Superman is really a. . .you know, ‘super man’?"

"Like, what do you mean?" Luke asked. "In bed?"

"Yeah."

"Definitely," Luke said, nodding seriously.

"Better than Batman?"

"Absolutely," Luke replied.

"So if I accidentally got transported into some crazy comic book world and I had to pick one of them to sleep with, I should go with Superman?" Lorelai asked.

Luke thought for a moment. "No, you should go with Batman so that when you get back from the comic book world you won’t be disappointed that I’m not as good as Superman."

"But you think you’re as good as Batman?" Lorelai asked, smiling.

Luke scoffed. "Please. . . he ain’t even in the same league as me and Superman."

Lorelai laughed. "Wow, so our sex is comparable to that of Superhero measurements?"

"Yes, it is." Luke nodded. "By the way, have you had anything to drink yet?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Just soda, why?"

"Just wondering if this stupid conversation is a result of over-consumption, but I guess not," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

Lorelai giggled. "No, trust me – the conversations will get worse as the night progresses." She kissed him, then said, "Come on, I told Sookie and Jackson I’d get them drinks." She took his hand and led him toward the front porch.

End Part 44

* * *

Part 45

They walked up onto the porch and over to the drink table. Lorelai ladled out two cups of punch, and they brought them over to Sookie and Jackson, who were talking with a group of people. Lorelai handed them the drinks, and they smiled and thanked her.

As Lorelai and Luke walked away from the group, Lorelai asked, "Are you hungry? I’m starving."

"Yeah, I think I’m gonna go check out that vegetable tray at Babette’s," Luke replied. "Where are you going?"

"Well, right now, the brownies are my number one priority, but I’m also going to try at least one of every cookie."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I’ll meet you back out here." He headed toward Babette’s as Lorelai walked into her house.

She mouthed the words to the U2 song playing in the background as she made her way to the kitchen, which she found filled to capacity as people scoured the food tables. She grabbed a plate and waited impatiently at the end of the line.

Soon, Patty walked in through the back door. "Lorelai, hi! Great party!"

"Thanks, Patty." Lorelai smiled. She pointed to the cup Patty was holding. "Whatcha drinking?"

Patty smiled slyly. "Mm, some of your famous punch. . .which as usual tastes more like vodka spiked with punch than punch spiked with vodka."

Lorelai laughed. "Just how we like it, huh?"

Patty winked. "You know it, dear." She took a drink of it, then asked, "By the way, was that your mother I saw outside?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes, then nodded. "Yeah, why – what’s she doing now? Informing the neighbors that their house paint is chipping?"

Patty rubbed Lorelai on the shoulder. "No, she’s just chatting, don’t worry. I’m gonna go mingle. See you later."

"Bye Patty." Lorelai smiled as Patty walked away, then she turned back toward the food and muttered, "Okay, come on people." The line moved along slowly, and when she was finally in arm’s length of the food, she piled on a bunch of treats, sampling a bit of everything. She carried the plate outside and saw Luke sitting at a table.

Lorelai walked over and sat down with a sigh. "Man, the line was moving way too slow. I was this close to invoking my ‘it’s my house so I get to cut in line’ rule."

"Very hospitable," Luke commented before he bit into a carrot stick.

"Yeah, well, I’d rather be considered inhospitable then be dead of starvation," Lorelai replied. She glanced toward the porch. "I’m gonna get a drink. You want something?"

"Uh, yeah. . . I’ll take a water," Luke replied.

"Mmkay, be right back," Lorelai replied. She stood up and walked over to the drink table, where Rory was pouring herself some soda. "Hey you."

Rory looked up and smiled. "Hey Mom." She finished pouring her drink, then replaced the lid on the bottle. "What’s up?"

Lorelai ladled herself some punch. "Just making sure you’re staying away from Mommy’s special punch. . .it may look sweet and innocent, but by now you should know that when things look that way, it’s never how it seems."

"What about me? I look sweet and innocent," Rory said.

"Rest my case," Lorelai said with a shrug.

Rory frowned. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome," Lorelai replied. "Where’s Dean?"

Rory pointed across the yard. "Over there talking with some friends. I was with them, but they started talking about football, so – "

"You politely excused yourself so you wouldn’t have to stand there smiling and pretending to be interested?"

"Yup."

"That’s my girl." Lorelai reached into one of the coolers and pulled out a bottle of water. As she shut the cooler and stood back up, she saw Kirk walking up to her with his camera. Lorelai smiled. "Oh, good, you brought it! Thanks Kirk. Be sure to get as many shots as you can, okay?"

"I will," he replied. "And you’re gonna – "

"Pay for all the film. . .yes, Kirk," Lorelai said. She put her arm around Rory. "Ooh, here, this is a good shot. Smile, babe." They both smiled and Kirk took the picture, then Lorelai said, "Hey, try to get a shot of me and Luke together without him noticing. He hates pictures so I know he’ll never pose for one, but try to get a candid of us together at some point, okay?"

Kirk nodded. "I’m on it. But if he sees me do it and breaks my camera – "

"Yes, I’ll get you a new camera, Kirk," Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes.

"Okay." Kirk turned around and walked away.

Lorelai turned to Rory. "Wanna come sit with me and Luke? We can make fun of his plateful of vegetables."

Rory smiled. "No thanks, I’m gonna go see how Lane’s doing in there."

"Okay, see you later," Lorelai replied. She walked back to the table and was surprised when she saw Jess there talking to Luke.

"Hey Jess," Lorelai said. As he nodded toward her, she placed Luke’s water next to his plate and sat down. "You decided to stop by?"

"Yeah, but just to borrow the truck," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

Lorelai smiled. "Ah, got it. Well, you might as well have some free food while you’re here. Go grab a plate, help yourself."

Jess glanced toward the house. "Thanks, maybe I’ll check it out." He turned back to Luke. "Keys?"

"In the first drawer of the hallway table," Luke replied, gesturing toward the front door.

"Thanks." Jess walked toward the house.

"And stay away from the punch!" Luke called after him.

Lorelai laughed as she picked up a cookie, then said, "He’s borrowing the truck again, huh?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah." He bit into a celery stick, then added, "And, you know, actually. . .I was thinking that his birthday’s coming up soon. . ."

Lorelai froze in mid-bite, then turned toward him slowly. "And. . ." she prompted him.

Luke shrugged and said, "I don’t know. I was thinking of maybe. . . giving him my truck and getting myself a new one."

Lorelai’s eyes widened and she shook her head slightly. "Wow. . .that’s quite a birthday present there."

"I mean, I know it’s not his dream car or anything, but it’ll be something to use while he saves up for one of his own," Luke explained.

"Wow. . .that’s. . . quite a birthday present there," Lorelai repeated, staring down at her plate.

"You said that already," Luke pointed out.

"I know."

He stared at her for a moment. "What – you don’t think it’s a good idea?"

Lorelai pushed her fingertips into a brownie, smushing three deep holes into it. She shrugged and said, "He’s your nephew, it’s your truck, do whatever you want. I mean, if you think he’s ready for it, then. . .sure, go ahead." She pulled her fingers out and wiped them on a napkin.

"Why wouldn’t he be ready for it?" Luke asked, narrowing his eyes at her. "The kid already has his own place, why wouldn’t he be ready for his own car?"

"I don’t know, I just. . .maybe you should. . ." Lorelai bit her lip for a moment and glanced toward the truck at the edge of the yard. She turned back to him and shrugged. "I don’t know, maybe you’re right. He’s been working hard, he’s been staying out of trouble, that we know of. He’s probably ready for it."

"So, you. . . think it’s a good idea?" Luke asked, surprised.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. All kids want their own car." She glanced back over at his truck. "So, you’re gonna get a new truck?"

"Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it for awhile," Luke replied.

Lorelai nodded. "You should get an Explorer, those things are pretty popular. Or a Dodge Durango. . .I see those commercials a lot, they seem good."

Luke shrugged. "I don’t know what I’m gonna go with yet. I’ll have to look around."

Lorelai nodded. "Right." She smiled and added, "Well, if you need any help, I’m a professional shopper."

"Yes, I know," Luke replied, rolling his eyes. "And if it wasn’t clear enough to me before we were together, the credit card bills have certainly proved it."

* * *

A few minutes later, after she had thrown her plate in the trash can near the porch steps, Lorelai walked into her house and almost bumped into Emily in the front entryway. "Whoa, sorry Mom," Lorelai apologized.

"That’s all right," Emily replied. "I was just coming to find you."

"Well. . .you did, congratulations," Lorelai replied.

Emily clasped her hands together. "How about a tour of the house?"

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "A tour?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "It’s not like I’m asking you to drive me to Florida, Lorelai. I’m asking you to take five minutes from the party to show your mother around your house that she hasn’t been to in over a year. . .is that going to kill you?"

"Maybe," Lorelai muttered under her breath. She forced a smile and said, "Okay, this is the front hallway." She walked into the living room. "This is the living room, mostly used for watching television."

Emily glanced at the shelves of movies near the TV. "You certainly have a lot of videos."

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, this family places an extremely high value on the entertainment industry. It is to us what heroin is to a junkie, or what honey is to Winnie the Pooh."

"Interesting analogies."

"Yes, I wasn’t sure if you’d prefer the adult one or the PG one, so I threw them both out there," Lorelai explained.

"Just stick with the family-friendly ones, thank you," Emily replied.

"Ah, sure," Lorelai replied. She led Emily down the hallway to the kitchen, which was filled with people. "And this is the kitchen, which on a normal day doesn’t have quite so many people in it."

"I should hope not," Emily replied. She walked over to the fridge and pulled it open. "My God, there’s food in here."

Lorelai smiled. "Yes, it’s a new concept that Luke brought with him when he moved in . . . always have food around."

Emily smirked as she shut the refrigerator. "Wise man you found there, Lorelai."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. She gestured toward Rory’s bedroom door. "And that’s Rory’s bedroom in there, she can show it to you later. Uh, did you wanna see upstairs, too?"

"Why not?" Emily replied.

"Okay, follow me," Lorelai replied. She led Emily to the staircase and up the steps. She pushed open her bedroom door. "This is our room. . . me and Luke." She flipped on the light switch and they stepped into the room.

"Huh, it’s very. . ." Emily started.

"Cluttered?" Lorelai suggested.

"Yes, cluttered describes it well," Emily replied.

"Yeah, well, we both have a lot of stuff," Lorelai said with a shrug.

Emily pointed to a garment bag in the closet. "What’s that?"

"Oh, that’s Sookie’s wedding dress," Lorelai replied. "She’s storing it here."

"Oh, how nice." Emily smiled. "Is your bridesmaid dress here?"

"No, it’s still at Sookie’s house," Lorelai said. "We have to finish up a few little things on it, then it’ll be all set." She walked out of the room into the hallway. "There’s the bathroom and there’s the laundry room," she said, pointing to the two doorways.

"The laundry room’s upstairs?" Emily asked, surprised. "That must be convenient having it right here."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, it is, but it doesn’t make doing laundry any more enjoyable." She glanced around and shrugged. "Uh, so that’s pretty much it, Mom. Thanks for taking part in the tour. Be sure to stop by the gift shop on your way out."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Lorelai." She cleared her throat, then glanced down at the floor as she said, "You know, I don’t want you to think that I don’t like Luke."

Surprised, Lorelai narrowed her eyes and said, "What?"

Emily brought her gaze up to meet Lorelai’s. "Just because I’m hesitant about you two living together so soon doesn’t mean that I don’t like him. I do. . .your father and I both think he’s very nice."

Lorelai nodded slowly. "I know."

"I mean, I’m just. . .concerned about you and Rory and how this could end up," Emily explained. "It’s a mother’s instinct to be worried about things that could happen."

"Look, Mom, I understand where you’re coming from, being worried and everything," Lorelai said. "And I appreciate it . . .but I’ve told you a million times already that there’s nothing to worry about, that we were both ready for this to happen. Why don’t you believe me?

Emily sighed. "I do believe you, Lorelai, but it’s hard to forget what happened last year with Max."

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Mom, this situation couldn’t be any more different from that one! Please, please, please just look me in the eye and tell me that you believe me when I say that."

Emily stared at Lorelai for a second, then said, "I believe you."

Lorelai nodded. "Thank you. Let’s get back to the party." Emily nodded and followed Lorelai down the steps, and Emily walked into the kitchen as Lorelai wandered out onto the front porch.

She glanced around until she spotted Sookie at the drink table. Lorelai walked up to her and rubbed her back. "Hey girlie," Lorelai said.

Sookie turned around and smiled. "Lorelai! Oh my God, I just saw the food! The spread is amazing!"

"It pales in comparison to something you could do, but I did my best," Lorelai replied.

"No, it’s incredible, really!" Sookie exclaimed excitedly. "Ah, I can’t believe all this. You completely outdid yourself." She glanced around the yard. "Just. . .all these people. . .all that food. . .it’s just amazing."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, you guys deserve it, Sookie."

Sookie smiled and hugged her tightly. A few seconds passed before Sookie sniffled loudly, and Lorelai pulled back. "Aw, don’t cry . . . this is a party."

Sookie wiped her tears. "Yeah, well, it’s my party and - "

"Agh, I totally set you up for that," Lorelai interrupted, wrinkling her nose.

" – I’ll cry if I want to," Sookie finished.

"Thank you, Leslie Gore," Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes.

Sookie smiled. "Hey, quick question. . .did you actually invite your mother, or did she just happen to show up on shower night?"

Lorelai groaned. "I invited her. . . it’s a long story that includes a temporary moment of me losing my mind."

Sookie smiled. "Can’t wait to hear it."

Lorelai glanced at the gift table. "Wow, you’re gonna be here all night opening gifts. You better get started soon."

Sookie followed Lorelai’s gaze. "Wow, how are we gonna get all those home?"

"We’ll figure something out," Lorelai said. "Don’t worry about it."

Sookie nodded. "Okay, I’m gonna go find Jackson and start unwrapping."

"Sounds good," Lorelai replied.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Sookie and Jackson took a break from opening their gifts to mingle with the guests. Lorelai, who had been watching from a nearby table, stood up and walked toward the house. As she walked up the porch steps, she spotted her mother laughing with Miss Patty near the drink table. Curious, Lorelai smiled and walked over to them. "Hey guys, what’s so funny?"

They both looked up. "Oh, Lorelai, I was just telling your mother about what you did to Taylor last week," Patty explained.

"You rearranged his shelves?" Emily asked.

Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "Who me?"

Patty laughed. "I’m just happy that I was in the store to see the look on his face. Ah, that’s something I won’t forget for a long time." She held up her empty cup. "Well, I’m off to get a refill. See you girls later."

Emily smiled as she walked away, then she turned to Lorelai and frowned. "You rearranged his shelves?" she asked angrily. "Why would you do such a thing?"

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Mother, you were laughing about it thirty seconds ago!"

"Yes, well, I was being polite, but do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to be told that your thirty-three year old daughter acts like a teenager?" Emily asked. "I was mortified!"

Lorelai sighed loudly. "Mom. . . "

"Why do you do things like that, Lorelai? Is there some reason in particular that you wanted to make this man’s life more difficult by completely destroying the setup of his store?"

Lorelai pursed her lips. "Not really."

Emily shook her head in disbelief. "So you did it purely for your own enjoyment. . .to see another person in a dire situation where they . . . "

While Emily continued to question Lorelai’s actions, Luke was across the yard discussing baseball with a group of guys. He glanced over toward the porch and saw Emily and Lorelai talking animatedly. He instantly recognized the look on Lorelai’s face – the one that screamed ‘please, someone help me!’.

He excused himself from the guys and walked over to Lorelai and Emily. He put his hand on Lorelai’s shoulder and cleared his throat. "Uh, sorry to interrupt, but Rory’s looking for you," Luke said. "I think it’s important, maybe you should go find her."

Lorelai turned around and gave Luke an appreciative smile. She turned back to Emily. "Oh, I gotta go, Mom. Excuse me." Before she walked away, she leaned up to Luke’s ear and whispered, "You are so getting lucky tonight. . .multiple times."

Luke blushed slightly and he glanced toward Emily to see if she’d heard. When he was sure that she hadn’t, he smiled slyly. As Lorelai walked away, he stepped closer to Emily. "Uh, so. . .I hear Richard’s been working a lot lately." They walked over to the bench and sat down.

"Yes, he has." Emily nodded. "He’s starting up his own firm, did Lorelai tell you?"

"Yeah, she did," Luke replied. "That’ll be good for him."

"Yes, it will," Emily agreed. "Once he gets everything established and he gets settled." There was a brief moment of silence before she asked, "And the diner. . .how are things going there?"

"Oh, it’s good, thanks," Luke said. "It’s paying the bills."

"I’m sure a business like that keeps you pretty busy," Emily said.

"Yeah, it’s a handful," he replied. "Some days I’d find myself working from six in the morning to eleven at night."

"Wow, doesn’t leave much time for anything else," Emily commented.

"No, it doesn’t, which is why I’ve been cutting back on the hours to spend more time at home," Luke said.

Emily nodded. "That’s good. I’m sure Lorelai enjoys seeing you home more often."

Luke smiled and shrugged. "I hope so." Emily gave him a small smile and glanced toward the yard. They were both quiet for a few seconds before Luke cleared his throat and said, "Uh. . .I know you hate this whole living arrangement thing, but. . ."

Surprised, Emily turned to him and scoffed. "I don’t *hate* this living arrangement."

"Well, maybe hate’s a bit strong of a word. . .you were having trouble accepting it," Luke said. "That might be a better way of putting it."

Emily nodded. "Yes, I was having a bit of trouble with it, but. . .I’m okay with it now."

Surprised, Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "You are. . .really?"

Emily nodded. "Lorelai and I discussed the matter earlier and she’s fairly confident that you two wouldn’t have done this if you weren’t ready for it."

"It’s true."

"I know," Emily said with a sigh. "I just. . .you know, a mother worries sometimes."

"I understand," Luke said. After a brief lull of silence, he stood up. "Uh, I’m gonna go make sure Lorelai found Rory okay. I’ll see you later."

Emily smiled. "Okay."

Luke walked into the house through the side door. A group of people were sitting around the coffee table as Sookie and Jackson recounted the story of the first time they met.

Lorelai saw him walk in, and she excused herself from the couch and walked over to him. "Hey," she said, smiling. "Thanks for saving me."

"You’re welcome," he replied.

"I saw you guys talking out there. What was that all about?" Lorelai asked.

Luke shrugged. "Just small talk, nothing big."

Lorelai nodded. "So what are you doing now?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively and asked, "Got a minute to make out?"

"I think I can squeeze you in," he said.

Lorelai grinned. "Come on." She grabbed his hand and led him down the hallway to the kitchen. They slipped into Rory’s bedroom and shut the door behind them. Lorelai turned the light on. "How’s this?"

"Perfect." He leaned forward and kissed her. He placed his hands on her neck, then slid them down over her bare shoulders all the way down her arms. He took her hands into his as he pulled back from her and stared deeply into her eyes.

After a few seconds, Lorelai asked. "Are you all right?"

Luke nodded. "Mmhmm."

"You look nervous about something," she said. She ran her fingers through his hair. "You sure you’re okay?"

"Yeah, I’m fine, I’m good."

"Good." She brought her hands up to his face and stroked his sideburns as she leaned forward to kiss him. When she finally pulled back, she said, "We should probably get back out there."

"Probably," he agreed.

She started to step toward the door, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him. She giggled as he pressed his lips against her neck and sucked lightly on her skin. "Okay, just let me know when you’re finished," she mumbled, closing her eyes. As he began kissing down to her shoulder, she moaned softly toward the ceiling. He kissed across her chest to her other shoulder and kissed his way up her neck to her earlobe. He took it between his lips and sucked on it lightly, his teeth clicking softly against her diamond earring.

When he finally pulled back, Lorelai opened her eyes and asked, "Done?"

Luke nodded. "For now."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, let’s go." They walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. The crowd had dispersed, and Lorelai looked at Luke with a shrug. "They must’ve gone back outside. Wanna go sit on the porch?"

Luke glanced quickly toward Lane standing at the stereo, then nodded toward Lorelai. "Uh, yeah. . .I’ll meet you out there. I’m just gonna, uh. . .use the bathroom first."

"Okay." Lorelai walked out the front door, and Luke walked upstairs to their bedroom. He shut the door, then paced for a few minutes, mumbling to himself. Finally, he stopped, took a deep breath, walked over to his dresser and reached into the back of his bottom drawer.

* * *

A few minutes later, Luke walked downstairs and over to Lane at the stereo. "Uh, Lane?"

Lane turned around and smiled. "Hey Luke." She noticed the CD in his hand. "Got a request?"

Luke swallowed hard and nodded. "Uh, yeah, actually, I do." He handed her the CD.

"Ooh, Sinatra." Lane smiled. "Good taste. Which one?"

"Track four," Luke replied.

"You got it," Lane said. "As soon as this song’s over, I’ll put it on."

"Thanks." He walked out the side door and glanced around, finally spotting Lorelai standing near the front porch steps.

He walked over to her and took her hand, pulling her away from the main crowd toward the chuppah on the side of the house. She narrowed her eyes and asked, "What are we doing all the way over here?"

"Being alone," he replied. He glanced back toward the other guests, who were mostly gathered in the grass between their house and Babette’s. "There’re too many people over there."

"Too many people for what?" Lorelai asked.

"For me to talk to you." He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then opened them and said, "Look, I kind of need to say some things to you and I just want you to listen, okay?"

Lorelai stared up at him suspiciously, but slowly nodded. "Okay."

Luke swallowed hard, and a nervous feeling washed over him. He cleared his throat and, speaking softly and slowly, said, "I just. . .I want you to know that. . . I didn’t think I could ever care for anyone as much as I care for you. I didn’t know . . .that I was capable of loving someone so much."

A chill ran through Lorelai’s body and she started to open her mouth to respond, but Luke put a finger on her lips. "Shh, wait a second, okay?" he said softly. Lorelai nodded.

Luke put his hands on her shoulders. "You’re just. . . you’re so incredible and so perfect, and the fact that you don’t think you are makes it even more true." Lorelai smiled shyly and glanced down at the ground as Luke continued, "And sometimes I just look at you or I think about you and I . . ." He shook his head slightly. "I just can’t believe how lucky I am."

Lorelai glanced up at him and her smile widened. "My turn yet?"

Luke smiled. "Almost." He turned and glanced toward the house as he heard the current song end, and he waited impatiently for the next song to start. When it did, he smiled to himself and turned back to her. "After the song."

Lorelai recognized it immediately. She smiled and said, "This is. . ."

"All the Way," Luke finished. "The first song we danced to together."

Lorelai tilted her head and smiled at him. "Did you set this up?"

Luke smiled as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his hands on the small of her back. She draped her arms over his shoulders and kissed him. "I love you."

"Yeah. . .love you, too," he replied as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

Lorelai glanced past him toward the crowd and watched the party through the porch railing. She could make out a few couples still dancing, but it appeared that most people were watching Sookie and Jackson as they resumed opening their gifts.

Everything that Luke had just said to her was running through her head, and she was trying to find the right words to say back to him. As she was thinking, she saw Kirk walk out the front door with his camera, and she gestured for him to take a picture of the two of them dancing. He zoomed in on them and took the picture, then gave Lorelai a thumbs-up sign. She smiled and mouthed ‘thank you’ to him, and as he walked toward the crowd, she closed her eyes and rested her cheek against Luke’s shoulder.

A minute passed as the two of them continued dancing in the yard. . .separated from the rest of the crowd, just as Luke had planned it. Luke brought one hand up to stroke her ponytail as he stared at the chuppah right behind her. Many thoughts and emotions ran through him as he tried to find the right moment to do what he wanted to do.

Finally, Luke took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then brought his lips to her ear and whispered, "Lorelai?"

Her eyes still closed, Lorelai muttered, "Hmm?"

There was a brief pause as Luke swallowed, then he whispered, "I wanna marry you."

Lorelai’s eyes opened quickly and they widened as much as they could. She slowly pulled back from him. "Uh, what did you say?"

"I said. . .that I want to marry you," he repeated slowly. He cleared his throat and said quietly, "I mean, marriage is right if you can find that one special person. . . and you’re it. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you."

Lorelai took a few steps back and stared at him with confusion. "Luke, are you asking me . . ." Her voice trailed off as she watched him reach into his pocket and pull something out.

She recognized the diamond ring – it was the one she had pointed out at the jewelry store just a few weeks ago. He held it out to her and it sparkled as the lights from the porch reflected off of it.

Lorelai gasped and her lips started quivering. "Oh my God." Tears welled up in her eyes, and her entire body started to tremble.

Luke took a step toward her. "Lorelai. . ."

Lorelai clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God." The tears ran down her cheeks and her body suddenly felt completely numb. "Luke," she whispered, too choked up to speak in a normal voice.

Luke smiled as he took another step toward her, and he reached out and took her left hand into his. He kissed the top of it before he brought his gaze up and stared into her eyes. "Lorelai, will you marry me?"

Lorelai smiled through her tears as the words made goosebumps cover her body. She bit on her bottom lip as she sniffled a few times, then quickly nodded. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes, I’ll marry you."

Luke smiled and let out the breath he’d been holding. He slipped the ring onto her finger, and she stared down at it through her teary eyes. "Oh my God," she muttered. "I can’t believe this is happening."

Luke pulled her into an embrace and kissed her passionately, both of them tasting the saltiness of her tears. As their lips broke apart, she pressed her body tightly against his, not wanting to lose the comfortable feeling of his arms around her. "Is this just a dream?" Lorelai whispered.

"I hope not, ‘cause it’ll probably be awhile before I can work up the nerve to do that again," Luke replied.

Lorelai smiled and buried her face against Luke’s shoulder. He kissed the top of her head, then brought his hands up and ran them over her back. They stood holding each other for a few minutes before Lorelai looked up and stared over at the crowd. "Do you think anyone knows what just happened here?"

"I don’t know," Luke replied, craning his neck to look back at the people. "I don’t think they can see us too well."

"I don’t think so, either," Lorelai replied. She pulled back from him and wiped her eyes. "I think the tears and the diamond ring might tip them off, though." She stared down at it. "This is so beautiful."

"Does it fit okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied. She lifted her head, and suddenly felt more tears in her eyes as she choked out, "It’s perfect." She swallowed hard and hugged him again.

After a few seconds, with her head resting against his chest, she said, "Luke. . .I thought you weren’t ready. . .I thought you didn’t want to rush into anything."

Luke shrugged. "I know I said that, but then I had a little talk with Rory and. . .it made me realize some things."

Lorelai pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. "A talk with Rory?"

He nodded. "Yeah. She asked me if I thought we’d get married eventually, and I said yes."

Lorelai smiled. "She asked you that?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, and . . . then I was thinking, if I already knew in my heart that we’d get married eventually. . .why did I need more time to think about things? I mean, it’s not rushing into it if we both want it and we’re both ready for it, right?"

Lorelai smiled. "How’d you know I wanted it and was ready for it?"

Luke smirked. "I sorta heard you tell Sookie that sometimes you pretend that we’re married."

Lorelai gasped. "Oh my God, you heard that whole conversation?"

Luke shook his head. "No, I only heard a few seconds of it. I came upstairs to get a towel and I heard you talking, then I went back downstairs before you guys heard me."

Lorelai smacked him playfully on the shoulder. "You little sneak!"

Luke shrugged. "Hey, no harm done, right?"

Lorelai smiled. "Right." She pressed her lips against his and kissed him softly. As she pulled back, she glanced toward the crowd. She thought for a moment, then said, "Luke, I don’t think we should tell everyone right now."

Surprised, Luke raised his eyebrows. "You don’t?"

"No, not tonight. I mean, then this night won’t be about Sookie and Jackson anymore, it’ll be about us, and I don’t wanna do that to them," Lorelai said, shaking her head.

Luke nodded understandably. "Got it. . .but don’t you wanna tell some people?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I wanna tell Rory and Sookie." She paused a moment, then added, "And I guess I should probably tell my mother, too. How can I just tell some people without everyone else finding out?"

Luke thought for a moment, then said, "Okay, listen, you go upstairs, and I’ll get Rory and Sookie and your mom to come up to our bedroom, and we can tell them and ask them to keep it a secret. . .okay?"

Lorelai nodded. "Okay." She kissed him, and as she reluctantly pulled her lips away from his, she smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said, hugging her tightly. They broke apart and headed toward the front of the house. As Lorelai walked up the front steps, Luke walked toward the crowd.

End Part 45

* * *

Part 46

As Lorelai was about to pull open the front door, she suddenly turned around. "Luke, wait."

Luke walked back toward the porch. "What is it?"

Lorelai lowered her voice. "Let’s not mention why we don’t want them to tell anyone. I know Sookie. . .she’ll insist that it’s no big deal and that it won’t ruin her night and then she’ll run out and tell people."

"Okay, but what are you gonna say?" he asked.

Lorelai shrugged. "I’ll think of something."

Luke nodded. "We’ll meet you upstairs."

"Okay." Lorelai turned around and walked into the house.

Luke walked over to the crowd and glanced around for Rory. He finally spotted her leaning against Babette’s front porch watching Sookie and Jackson open presents. He walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.

Rory turned around and smiled when she saw it was Luke. "Hey Luke. What’s up?"

"Uh, your mom kind of needs to talk to you upstairs," Luke said.

Rory’s eyes widened. "Is she okay?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, she’s fine, she just . . . wants to talk to you."

Rory shrugged. "Okay."

"Can you find your grandmother?" Luke asked. "Lorelai wants to talk to her, too."

Rory narrowed her eyes. "Wait, she voluntarily wants to talk to Grandma?" She put her hands on her hips. "Luke, what’s going on?"

"I can’t say, but. . . she’s waiting up in her bedroom for you," Luke said.

Rory eyed him suspiciously, then slowly nodded. "Okay, I’ll go find her."

"Good, thanks."

As Rory walked away, Luke walked toward Sookie and Jackson. He stood a few feet away and waited for them to finish opening the present they were unwrapping. As they tossed the wrapping paper aside and set the present down on the ground, Luke walked up to them. He leaned down next to Sookie and said quietly, "Uh, can you take a little break? Lorelai needs you."

Sookie’s eyes widened with concern. "Is she okay?" she whispered.

"Yeah, she’s fine," Luke replied. "It’ll just take a few minutes."

Sookie nodded and stood up. "Uh, we’re gonna take a five minute break, guys," she announced to the crowd of people in front of her. She turned to Jackson. "I’ll be right back."

"Okay," Jackson replied.

Sookie followed Luke up the side porch steps just as Emily and Rory were walking up the front steps. They met up at the front door, and Emily asked, "What’s this about? Is everything okay?"

"Yup, it’s fine. Follow me." Luke walked into the house, and the three of them followed him.

Upstairs, Lorelai was staring into her mirror, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. She glanced down at the ring on her finger. "Oh my God," she muttered. She reached over and felt the ring with her other hand, as if making sure it was real. She smiled to herself and shook her head slightly. "Oh my God."

When she heard footsteps on the staircase, she turned around and stared at the door. When it opened, Luke poked his head through. "You ready?" he asked. Lorelai smiled and nodded, and he pushed the door open and stepped inside. Rory, Emily, and Sookie followed him in, and he closed the door behind them.

Rory was the first to notice Lorelai’s puffy eyes. Her eyes widened with concern and she walked over to Lorelai. "Mom, what’s wrong? Are you okay?"

"Lorelai, honey, what happened?" Sookie asked, walking over to her.

"Nothing, I’m fine," Lorelai said, waving them off. She wiped her eyes with her right hand, keeping her left hidden behind her back. She took a deep breath and glanced over at Luke, who was leaning against the door with his hands shoved into his pockets.

"Well, then what exactly is going on here?" Emily questioned, glancing from Lorelai to Luke.

Lorelai slowly brought her left hand out from behind her back. She held it up in front of her at chest-level and wiggled her fingers, then smiled and said, "Luke asked me to marry him. . . we’re engaged."

Rory’s eyes widened and she let out an excited shriek. "Oh my God!" She threw her arms around Lorelai’s neck and hugged her tightly. Lorelai laughed and hugged her back, and as they began jumping up and down excitedly, Luke smiled to himself.

Sookie gasped loudly and clapped a hand over her mouth. She screamed and quickly joined Lorelai and Rory in the hug, and the three of them continued jumping up and down.

After the initial look of surprise faded, a smile slowly appeared on Emily’s face as she watched them. "My goodness." She glanced over at Luke. "Well, I guess you weren’t lying when you said you were both ready for bigger things."

Luke smiled. "No, I wasn’t."

Emily extended her hand toward him, and he shook it. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Luke replied, glancing down at the floor with an embarrassed smirk.

Emily turned back to Lorelai, and the three girls were examining the engagement ring. Emily walked over to them and placed her hand on Lorelai’s forearm. "Congratulations, Lorelai."

A teary-eyed Lorelai looked up and smiled. "Thanks, Mom." They stared at each other smiling for a few seconds, sharing a special moment that was very rare in their relationship. Lorelai finally blinked a few times and looked down toward her hand. "Uh, do you wanna see the ring?"

Sookie and Rory were still gawking at it, and moved over slightly to let Emily take a peek. Emily smiled down at it. "It’s lovely, Lorelai," she said softly, speaking with a compassionate tone that Lorelai wasn’t used to hearing from her mother.

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks, Mom."

Rory stepped back from Lorelai and walked over to Luke by the door. She stood up on her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck. He hugged her back as she said, "Guess eventually came faster than you thought it would, huh? "

Luke smiled. "Yeah, it sort of just snuck up on me."

Rory smiled. "I’m glad it did." She pecked him on the cheek as she pulled back. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Luke replied.

Rory walked back over to Lorelai as Sookie walked over and congratulated Luke with a hug. They talked for a few seconds while Rory hugged Lorelai again, and a smiling Emily looked on.

As Rory and Lorelai broke apart, Sookie walked back over to them and grinned. "So, are you gonna go down and tell everyone else now?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Uh, no, actually. . . we don’t want to tell anyone yet. We wanted you guys to be the first to know, but that’s it for now."

"But when are you gonna tell people?" Rory asked.

Lorelai shrugged. "I don’t know, probably tomorrow."

Rory narrowed her eyes. "Tomorrow? That’s only a few hours away, what’s the big deal?"

Lorelai sighed. "We just. . .we have reasons. We just wanna keep it quiet until then. No telling Dean or Lane or Jackson or anyone. . . okay?"

Clearing his throat, Luke walked over and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we don’t wanna have to deal with everything tonight. We’d rather wait for it to sink in before we have to start, ya know, talking to everyone about it and answering questions and stuff."

Lorelai smiled at him and nodded. "Yeah, exactly, we just need a little time for ourselves." She turned back to the three of them. "Can you guys hold out until then?"

All three of them nodded understandably.

"Definitely," Rory said.

"No problem, honey," Sookie said.

"If that’s what you want," Emily replied.

"Good, thank you," Lorelai replied. She rubbed her eyes and sniffled. "I better clean myself up before I go back down there."

"Oh, yes, we’ll let you freshen up," Emily said. "Come on girls." Emily walked to the door and pulled it open. Sookie and Rory each gave Lorelai a hug before following Emily into the hallway and down the steps.

Luke walked over and closed the door, then turned back to Lorelai. She smiled at him from across the room and held her arms out. He walked over to her and they hugged, resting their chins on each other’s shoulders. "They took the news like I thought they would," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, even your mom seemed happy about it."

Lorelai smiled to herself. "Yeah. . . she did, didn’t she?"

"Mmhmm."

Lorelai glanced down at her left hand, which was resting on Luke’s back. She spread her fingers and looked at the ring. "God, I still can’t believe it. I mean, wasn’t it less than a year ago that you were lecturing me about how people weren’t meant to mate for life? Man, I don’t know if I can marry such a hypocrite."

Luke pulled back from the hug. "Yeah, well. . .that was the Luke who was watching the woman he loved get slowly sucked away from him by a big-haired freak who read three different papers in the morning," he said, rolling his eyes.

Lorelai giggled and smacked his shoulder. "Hey now, be nice."

Luke moved his hands to her waist and pulled her tightly against his body. He pressed his lips against hers, then pulled back and continued, "This is the new Luke. . .the one who finally has the girl and wants to make sure he ain’t gonna lose her."

Lorelai smiled. "I’m pretty sure you’re not gonna lose me."

"Good."

Lorelai shrugged and added, "Although, I was also pretty sure that that Frizz-Ease crap would work on my hair, and we all know how that experience turned out."

Luke let out a small laugh. "Yeah, well. . .hopefully your judgment’s improved since then."

"Hopefully." Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him deeply, running her fingers over the stubble on his cheeks. As she pulled back from him, she said, "I’m gonna fix my makeup. I’ll meet you downstairs."

"Okay." Luke walked to the door and pulled it open. Lorelai turned around and watched him as he stepped out into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind him.

* * *

When Lorelai was sure that her face showed no signs of crying, she walked back downstairs. She went into the kitchen to get some food and noticed Rory’s bedroom door was slightly open. She heard talking inside, and she pushed open the door to see who was in there. Rory and Emily were sitting on the bed talking.

"What’s going on?" Lorelai asked, startling them both. They turned toward the door, and both of them smiled when they saw Lorelai.

"Mom!" Rory exclaimed, waving her over excitedly.

Lorelai stepped into the room and walked over to them. "What’s going on?" she repeated.

"We’re talking about your wedding," Emily whispered

Rory smiled and nodded. "Grandma has a bunch of great ideas."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. "Guys, come on. We’ve been engaged for fifteen minutes, it’s certainly not time to start planning the wedding."

"It’s never too early to start, Lorelai," Emily said. "Now, what do you plan to serve as the main course?"

"Grandma said she will seriously consider not coming if you serve burgers and fries at the reception," Rory added.

"Well, then, burgers and fries it is," Lorelai said.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Lorelai Gilmore, this is your wedding, not a child’s birthday party," she said sternly.

Lorelai groaned. "The operative word in that sentence being *your* as in. . .it’s our wedding, not yours. . . we get to pick what to eat and how to decorate and what songs to dance to, so if we want to eat cheese doodles in a room decorated like a barn with real farm animals as we line dance for hours to Achy Breaky Heart to celebrate the occasion, then everyone just has to deal with it." She sighed and tilted her head to the side. "Come on, we just told you that we don’t want to talk about anything wedding-related tonight. . .did you forget already?"

Emily and Rory glanced at each other, then Rory turned to Lorelai and said, "Mom, the cheese doodles will totally stain your dress. You should go with pretzels. . .they’re much cleaner."

Lorelai threw her arms up with frustration. She walked to the door and stepped into the kitchen, then turned back to them and said, "Continue." She pulled the door shut, and Emily and Rory resumed talking.

Lorelai grabbed a cookie from the table, then walked out the back door. Sookie and Jackson had resumed opening presents, and as Lorelai ladled herself some punch, she scanned the crowd for Luke. She didn’t see him, so she walked toward the front of the house where she found him sitting on the front steps.

She walked up behind him and pressed her knees against his back. "Hey you," she said, tapping him on the head.

He looked up at her and smiled. "Hey."

As she felt a cool breeze against her skin, she shivered. She held her drink toward him. "Can you hold this a second? I’m gonna get a coat."

Luke nodded and took the cup. "Yeah."

Lorelai walked into the house and grabbed her long black leather jacket from the coat hook in the front entryway. She walked back out as she pulled it on, then sat down next to Luke on the porch steps. He handed her the drink back. "Thanks."

Luke leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "So. . ."

Lorelai smiled. "How do you feel right now?"

Luke exhaled. "Relieved."

"Why – did you think I’d say no?" Lorelai asked, taking a sip of punch.

"No, but. . .you know, there’s always a chance that it won’t go the way you want it to," Luke said with a shrug. Lorelai nodded in agreement. Luke leaned toward her and kissed her cheek. "How do you feel right now?"

Lorelai smiled. "Amazing. . . .thrilled. . . ecstatic. . .I don’t know how to describe it. It feels like a rush of excitement that’s not going away. It’s like I’m Belinda Carlisle and I just gave an incredible concert. Or I’m someone who makes Krispy Kreme donuts and I just made an absolutely perfect batch. Or I just won a game show called ‘Who Wants to Marry a Hot, Sweet Diner Owner?’. Or I’m – "

"Okay, okay!" Luke interrupted with a laugh. "Just summarize your feelings, please."

Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him. She pulled her lips from his and whispered, "I’m happy."

Luke smiled. "Good." They kissed again, and Luke seemed to forget that they were outside as he deepened the kiss by separating her lips with his tongue. Suddenly, someone coughed behind them and brought him back to reality. He quickly pulled back from her and they both turned their heads to find Rory and Emily standing near the front door.

"Well, do you think you two can take a break long enough to say goodbye?" Emily asked.

Luke’s face reddened and he glanced away as Lorelai stood up. "Are you leaving, Mom?"

"Yes. I didn’t even plan on staying this late, but now it’s really time for me to be heading home," Emily replied.

"Oh, did you say goodbye to Sookie and Jackson?" Lorelai asked. She pointed toward the gift table. "They’re right over there."

"I’ll go do that right now," Emily replied, walking toward the crowd.

Lorelai smiled down at Luke. "Looks like you spilled some ketchup on your cheeks there. . .oh, wait, it’s just your ‘I’m deathly embarrassed’ look."

Rory smiled. "Aw, Mom, leave him alone."

Lorelai leaned down and lowered her voice. "Luke, you do realize that when we’re at our wedding, you’ll have to kiss me in front of other people, don’t you?"

"There’s no law that says the groom has to kiss the bride," Luke said, shaking his head. "The priest guy says you *may* kiss the bride. . . so maybe I’ll choose not to take his suggestion at the moment, but to save it for another time when we have some more privacy."

Lorelai gasped and hissed, "I’m not going to be the only bride in the history of the world who doesn’t get kissed right after the ceremony!"

"People are gonna hear you talking," he pointed out.

Lorelai glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then turned back to Luke and frowned. "Luuuuke. . .please, please, please tell me you’re kidding."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I’m kidding."

"You promise?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I promise," he said, waving her off.

"Cross your heart, hope to die, stick a needle in your eye?" Rory asked.

Luke glanced at her and raised his eyebrows. "Uh, excuse me?"

Emily walked back over to them. "Okay, I’ve said my goodbyes." She glanced at the three of them. "What’s going on?"

"Nothing, Mom," Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes. "Luke’s just having trouble grasping some realities of life, such as the number one wedding tradition in the world."

"What are you talking about?" Emily asked, glancing warily at Luke.

"It’s nothing, I was just joking around and someone. . ." Luke said, narrowing his eyes at Lorelai. ". . .took things too seriously."

"Oh." Emily gave a confused glance toward Lorelai, then shrugged. "Okay, well, I’m going now. Bye Luke."

"Take care," he replied.

Emily walked down the porch steps, and Lorelai and Rory followed her to the car. "Uh, can you tell Dad for me when he gets home from his trip?" Lorelai asked.

Emily tilted her head. "I think he’d much rather hear it from you, Lorelai."

"You think?"

"Of course he would," Emily replied. She pulled open the driver’s side door, then turned around. She glanced toward Luke, then down at Lorelai’s ring. She slowly brought her gaze up to meet Lorelai’s. "I’m happy for you, Lorelai. I want you to know that."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Mom."

Emily stared at her for a few seconds, a small smile on her lips. As she finally climbed into the car, she said, "And you don’t have to worry about the wedding. . .Rory and I have everything all planned out." Emily winked at Rory. "Isn’t that right?"

Rory nodded and smiled. "Yup."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Bye Mom."

"Bye Grandma," Rory said.

"Bye girls," Emily replied as she pulled the door shut. She smiled and waved through the window, and the two girls walked back to the porch.

* * *

By eleven o’clock, most of the guests had departed, except for a few who stayed after to help clean up. Most of the smaller gifts were loaded into Sookie’s car, and the rest were brought into the living room to be stored for the night.

Sookie and Jackson were the last ones to leave, and Lorelai, Luke, and Rory walked them to their car. Luke shook hands with Jackson, then hugged Sookie. "Congratulations," Sookie whispered into his ear. He pulled away and smiled at her, nodding a thank you as he took a few steps back.

Jackson hugged Rory and Lorelai, thanking them as he climbed into the driver’s seat. The three girls walked over to the passenger side. Sookie took Lorelai’s hands into hers. "This night was so incredible. . .thank you so much for putting it altogether."

Lorelai smiled and kissed Sookie on the cheek. "You’re welcome, Sookie. I’m glad you had a good time."

Sookie smiled down at Lorelai’s ring and gave a small shriek. "Oh my God, I still can’t believe you’re. . ." She glanced around and lowered her voice. ". . .engaged!"

Lorelai giggled. "I know! It’s one of those things where you think you’re dreaming because you’ve imagined it happening so many times that you don’t know if this is another one of those dreams, or if it’s finally the real thing."

Sookie lifted Lorelai’s hand up and showed her the ring. "Trust me, this looks like the real thing. Rory, doesn’t it look like the real thing?"

"Yes, I’d have to agree that it does," Rory nodded.

Lorelai smiled and pulled her hand away. "You can tell Jackson when you get home, okay?"

Sookie bit her lip and glanced toward the car. "Um, okay, yeah. . .I’ll do that."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Sookie. . . ."

Sookie pulled open the passenger door. "It’s getting late. Thanks again, you guys. We’ll be over tomorrow to get the other gifts."

"Sookie. . . " Lorelai repeated.

Sookie climbed in the car and tried to shut the door, but Lorelai held onto the handle. She poked her head into the car and said, "Jackson, did she tell you already?"

Jackson’s eyes widened. "Uh, tell me what?" Lorelai saw his eyes glance down at her ring, then quickly divert away.

"Sookie, you already told him?" Lorelai asked with a laugh.

Sookie sighed and shrugged. "Lorelai, I’m sorry but it was too exciting! I couldn’t keep it inside any longer. . .I was going to explode! I didn’t tell anyone else, I promise."

"Uh, congratulations, Lorelai," Jackson said. "Welcome to the world of being engaged."

"Thanks, Jackson," Lorelai said. She rolled her eyes at Sookie. "So tell me, how long did you last?"

Sookie wrinkled her nose. "About twenty minutes."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and patted Sookie on the shoulder. "Well, at least you tried." She stepped back from the car. "Bye guys."

"See you tomorrow," Rory added.

"Bye." Sookie pulled her door shut and waved through the window. As they pulled away, Lorelai and Rory walked across the yard to Luke.

End Part 46

* * *

Part 47

The three of them walked up the front steps and into the house. They stopped in the front entryway and Rory yawned loudly. "I’m so tired. I think I may need to be carried to my room." She wrapped her arms around Luke’s arm and leaned against him. "Luke, you don’t mind, do you?"

"He probably doesn’t, but I do," Lorelai said as she clutched onto his other arm. "He’s only allowed to carry me places."

"Someone’s selfish," Rory said in a singsong voice.

"Someone better start walking to their room before they fall asleep on someone else’s fiancé’s arm," Lorelai sang back.

Rory picked up her head and a small smile appeared on her lips. "Fiancé. . .it has a nice ring to it."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, it does." She paused a moment, then added, "Ooh! Plus, it rhymes with Beyoncé, so next time we’re making rhyming poems about people in the music industry who severely deserve to be smacked, we’ll have to remember that."

"I’m putting it in the vault so I won’t forget," Rory said, tapping her forehead.

Luke stood quietly, turning his head back and forth between them as they spoke. He glanced down at his arms. "Okay, did you guys wanna let go today or are you gonna make me get physical?"

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Ooh, let’s get physical. . . physical," she sang. "I wanna get physical. . . let's get into physical."

"Let me hear your body talk," Rory sang. "Your body talk. . .let me hear your body talk."

As they started singing the chorus a second time, Luke rolled his eyes and pulled his arms out of their grips. As he walked toward the staircase, Lorelai stopped in mid-song and asked, "Where ya going?"

"As far away from your singing as possible," he replied.

Lorelai frowned and turned to Rory. "He doesn’t like our singing."

"But how could he not like our singing?" Rory asked.

Lorelai shrugged. "I don’t know." She and Rory wandered toward the kitchen and into Rory’s bedroom. Lorelai lay down on the bed as Rory walked over to her dresser and pulled out her pajamas. She began changing as Lorelai stared up at the ceiling. A few seconds went by before Lorelai lifted her hand up in front of her face and stared at her ring.

Rory glanced over at her and smiled. "You’ve been doing that all night."

"I know, I can’t help it," Lorelai replied. She rested her hand on her stomach and smiled. "Rory. . ."

"What?" she replied as she buttoned up her pajama top.

"I’m so excited."

Rory smiled. "I know, I can tell."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you happy about all this?" Lorelai asked hesitantly.

"Are you kidding?" Rory walked over and sat down next to Lorelai. "I’m thrilled. I can’t remember smiling so much in one night before."

Lorelai propped herself up on her elbows. "Really?"

"I swear on the life of Ozzy."

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Wow, you really do mean it."

Rory nodded. "Why are you even asking me this anyway? You know how I feel about Luke," she replied. "He’s like . . .a dad to me. I mean, he was like one before you two even started going out, and now he’s just. . .even more like one."

"I know," Lorelai replied.

"Plus, he’s already living here, so it’s sort of like you’re married already anyway," Rory said with a shrug.

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, it is." She stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds, then sat up and hugged Rory tightly. "Mmkay, I’m going to bed."

"Night, Mom," Rory replied.

"Night." Lorelai climbed off the bed and walked out of the bedroom. She shut the kitchen light off and walked into the living room, shutting those lights out as well before she headed up the steps. She stopped to use the bathroom first, then removed her makeup and brushed her teeth before she walked into the bedroom.

Luke was sitting on the edge of the bed taking his socks and shoes off. Lorelai shut and locked the door, then walked over to him. "Hi."

"Hey."

Lorelai ran her fingers through his hair. "So, the party was a success."

"Yeah, I’d say so."

Luke watched as Lorelai walked over to the mirror and pulled her ponytail holder out. She slipped off her shoes and kicked them toward the closet, then took off the bracelet she was wearing and set it on her dresser.

"Can you help me with this zipper?" She turned around and faced away from him.

"Yeah." Luke stood up and walked up behind her. He pulled her dress zipper down her back and helped slide the dress down her body. She stepped out of it, and Luke picked it up and tossed it on the vanity chair, then unclasped her strapless bra and let it drop to the floor.

"Mm, feels good to finally be out of that," Lorelai mumbled, reaching her arms behind her to rub her back.

Luke pushed her hands aside and replaced them with his own, rubbing his hands gently over her back. Lorelai tilted her head down toward the floor and closed her eyes as his warm hands glided over her.

After a few minutes, his hands moved around to her front, gliding over her hips and stomach before slowly moving upward. She felt a surge of arousal as his hands found their way up to her breasts, squeezing and massaging them softly as he kissed the back of her neck.

As he pressed his body up against hers, Lorelai smiled and opened her eyes. "Luke?"

"What?"

Lorelai giggled. "Is that my curling iron in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

Luke turned her body around so she was facing him, and he kissed her deeply. He pulled back and smiled. "What do you think?"

"I think that . . .you don’t have much need for a curling iron," she replied.

"Good answer." He kissed her again as he ran his hands over her shoulders and down her arms.

Lorelai pulled back and said, "You know, I heard a rumor that ‘we just got engaged’ sex is even better than makeup sex."

"Oh yeah?"

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "No, I made that up, but I would think it would be true, wouldn’t you?"

Luke smirked. "Well, only one way to find out, huh?"

"Guess so," Lorelai said with a nonchalant shrug. She smiled and pressed her lips against his. His hands resumed their exploration, running over the smooth skin of her body as Lorelai slid her hands up his shirt and ran them over his chest. "Mm, I love your muscles."

"I know."

She slid her hands down to his stomach. "I love your abs."

"I know."

She slid her hands around to his back and moved them downward over his soft black pants. She giggled and said, "I love your butt."

Luke smiled. "I know."

Lorelai tilted her head. "Huh, well, aren’t you Mr. I-Know-Everything?" She kissed him passionately as her hands moved to the bottom of his shirt. He pulled back and let her pull it up over his head. She dropped it on the floor, then ran her hands over his chest. She brought her gaze up to meet his and said, "You know what else I love?"

"What?"

Lorelai whispered into his ear as she slid her hands down and started to unbuckle his belt.

When she pulled back, Luke had a sly grin on his face. "Geez. . .you kiss your daughter with that mouth?"

Lorelai smiled and shook her head. "No, this mouth is only used with you. I remove this one and put on another one when I’m with her. . .you know, sort of like Mrs. Potato Head."

"Ah, got it," Luke replied, nodding understandably. "Good thing."

"Yeah." Lorelai pulled his belt out of the loops and dropped it to the floor. She undid his top button with her hands, then kneeled down in front of him. She took the tab of his pants zipper in between her teeth and slowly pulled it down. The pressure of her face against his groin made a small groan escape his throat. She pulled his pants down and he stepped out of them.

His erection was plainly visible through the thin barricade of his boxers, and she tugged lightly on them, pulling them down just enough to release him. She gazed up at him and smiled as he stared down at her with anticipation.

She pulled the boxers down all the way and glanced up at him, letting her eyes wander over the curves of his body. She brought her hands up and dragged her fingertips lightly up and down his thighs, teasing him, increasing his arousal, making him hungry for contact.

She took her two pointer fingers and ran them along the creases of his thighs, and Lorelai noticed his legs quivering slightly. She smiled to herself and glanced up at him, and she saw the look of desire in his eyes. His breathing was becoming heavier by the second. Lorelai ran her fingertips over his shaft, and his body tightened up at the contact. He let out a soft groan as she wrapped her fingers around him and began sliding her hand up and down slowly from base to tip. He spread his feet for better balance as she continued, and he brought his hands up to stroke her hair.

She removed her hand from him, then leaned forward until her lips met his head, and she took the tip of him into the warmth of her mouth. Luke groaned and clenched his eyes shut tight as he waited for her to continue. She circled her tongue over him a few times, then pulled back and stood up. "There, you’re all ready to go."

Luke opened his eyes, then rolled them slightly. "Thanks."

Lorelai giggled. "Thought you were getting more from me, didn’t ya?"

"Crossed my mind," he replied. "I’ll get over it."

"Good." Lorelai tossed her hair back from her shoulders, and Luke pressed his lips against her neck. He sucked on it briefly before he moved his mouth down to her chest. Lorelai moaned toward the ceiling as the combination of his mouth on her breasts and his hardness against her thigh made her body surge with excitement.

His mouth expertly moved between her breasts, sucking on them and biting on her nipples. Lorelai’s hands moved to the back of his head, squeezing his hair between her fists as his lips continued to pleasure her body. He ran his tongue down to her navel and kissed across her flat stomach as his hands reached up and squeezed her breasts.

He kissed down her left thigh to her knee and then kissed back up the other leg. He took the waistband of her thong between his teeth and snapped it against her body, and Lorelai’s chest began heaving with anticipation.

Luke stood back up and kissed her, then placed a finger on her lips. She opened her mouth and wrapped her lips around it, sucking on it gently as her tongue swirled over it. He removed the finger and ran it down her body, over her chest, past her stomach, stopping momentarily at her waist.

She closed her eyes as his hand slipped into her panties. She gasped at the direct contact and leaned her head back with a groan. "Oh God, Luke," she muttered. The warmth of his hand covering her sex made her body start to tremble. He slowly moved his hand up and down, rubbing her with his palm, feeling some of her juices escape her swollen lips.

As he ran a finger along her slit, her mouth dropped open and she wriggled her lower body against his hand. "Unh. . .ugh. . .Luke. . .".

Luke started to push his finger up past her lips and she smiled with contentment, but then he quickly withdrew his hand completely. She opened her eyes and frowned through her heavy panting. "Mean!" she said, smacking him on the arm.

"You’re ready to go," Luke said, giving her a sly smile. He pushed her underwear down her legs and grabbed her hand. He pulled her a few feet over to the bed and gestured for her to lie down.

She climbed onto the bed and lay on her back, but as Luke started to get on top of her, she said, "Wait, changed my mind." Luke stood back up and watched as she turned over onto her stomach and kneeled on the bed. "This first." He smiled as he climbed onto the bed behind her.

He ran his hands over her body, caressing all of her curves and kissing across her back before he finally pushed her torso forward and positioned himself at her opening. Her arousal was so strong that just the feeling of his tip against her made her grimace with pleasure. As he started to enter her, she pressed her cheek against the pillow and clutched the sheets between her fists. "Ohmigod. . .ohmigod. . ." she muttered quickly and breathlessly.

He easily pushed himself into her wetness, letting out a loud grunt as he reached the hilt. He gyrated his hips a few times before he began pushing into her. Lorelai clenched her teeth down on her pillow, groaning loudly with pleasure as the thrusts became more powerful.

After a minute, she lifted her upper body up from the bed and placed her palms on the wall in front of her. She used the wall for balance as she began thrusting back at him, pushing off of it to give her extra force. Luke was surprised at the intensity of her thrusts, and he gripped her waist tighter to keep himself from falling backwards.

They continued for a few minutes before Lorelai stopped thrusting and dropped her upper body back against the bed with a loud groan. Neither of them had reached their peaks yet, and understanding that she was ready for a change, Luke gently slowed his rhythm down, then pulled out of her completely.

They were both breathing heavily, and Luke watched her body heave up and down. He rubbed her back for a few seconds, then leaned over and hugged her from behind. A few seconds passed before he felt her pushing herself up, and he slid back on the bed to give her room.

She turned around to face him. Her hair was wet with perspiration, and Lorelai noticed beads of sweat running down Luke’s forehead. She adjusted herself on her back and rested her head on the pillow.

Luke pulled her legs wider apart and leaned over her body, kissing her deeply and darting his tongue into her mouth. She brought her hands up to his face and stroked his cheeks as she kissed him back, swirling her tongue over his until he pulled back for air. He slid back down on the bed a few inches and ran his hands up and down her legs.

He lifted her legs up off the bed and placed her feet on his shoulders, giving him better access to her. As Luke guided himself to her opening, her lower body was lifted slightly from the bed, and now Luke was supporting most of her body weight. As he entered her, she let out a gasp of pleasure and moaned, "Ugggghhh, God!" She took him in completely, and as he began pushing into her, she clenched her eyes shut and muttered, "Oh Lord, that feels good."

Luke locked his eyes on her face as he continued, watching her grimace with pleasure, watching her mouth open wider with every thrust. His eyes moved down to her chest, where she had started squeezing her breasts. He watched her nails dig into the sides of them, watched her squeeze her nipples between her fingers. He brought his eyes back up to her face just as she opened her eyes.

They smiled at each other through the rocking motions that were jerking both of their bodies back and forth. Both of them were trying to hold out as long as they could, trying to prolong the feeling of pleasure that was coursing through their bodies.

After a few minutes of rhythmic thrusting, both of them started to feel the familiar feeling that told them they were close. Lorelai dropped her legs from Luke’s shoulders and lowered her body back down against the bed. Luke leaned forward and supported himself over her and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he began increasing his pace. She pressed her open mouth against his shoulder, alternating between sucking and licking his skin. It was only a few seconds before he found his release, delivering his final thrust with a loud groan. Her body began quivering with her orgasm, her nails digging into his back as she screamed into his ear.

He collapsed on top of her, kissing her deeply as she ran her hands over his back. They pulled apart, both of them gasping for breath. They lay silently for almost a minute before Luke rolled off of her and onto his back. She turned onto her side to look at him, and she pressed her forehead against his arm. "Oh my God."

"If I’d known it would’ve been like that, I would’ve proposed weeks ago," Luke said.

Lorelai lifted her head and smiled at him. "Definitely better than makeup sex."

"No question," he replied with a nod.

"Too bad you can only have ‘we just got engaged’ sex once," Lorelai said with a disappointed sigh.

"Yeah." Luke adjusted himself on the bed so he could put his arm around her, and she snuggled up against his chest.

"But we can still do things with it," Lorelai said. "Like tomorrow we can have ‘this is the first Sunday we’re spending together as an engaged couple’ sex. . .we can do that for every day of the week. Ooh, and we can do it with all types of things like food and TV shows and movies. . .like, we can have ‘this is the first time we’ve watched Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves as an engaged couple’ sex. . . stuff like that. It could go on forever and ever."

"Interesting idea," Luke commented.

"Thank you."

"I don’t think that giving it a fancy name having to do with being engaged will make it as good as this time, but we’ll see how it goes," Luke said.

"Yeah. . .we’ll see how it goes." Lorelai pulled the comforter up over them, then rested her head back against his chest. "Luke, tell me the story."

"What story?"

"The story about. . . when you decided to propose . . .how you decided where to do it and . . . just everything else that goes along with you deciding to do it," Lorelai said.

Luke groaned. "Right now?"

"Yeah."

"You wanna hear all about it right now?" he asked. "I’m kinda tired."

"Well, how ‘bout just the Cliffs’ Notes version, then?"

He sighed. "I’ll give you a very brief summary."

"Thank you."

"You’re welcome." He reached down under the covers and found her hand, and laced his fingers through hers. "Uh, let’s see. . .well, in the jewelry store that day, when the whole marriage idea first came up and you told me that you weren’t ready to talk about it. . .I knew you were lying."

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "You did? How?"

Luke shrugged. "I could just see it in your eyes, I could tell you’d thought about it. . . .so then I started thinking about it more, and I started feeling like it was something I wanted. . ."

"But what about –," Lorelai started.

"Forget all the stupid stuff I said last year about marriage. That’s something lonely guys say when they don’t think they’ll find someone."

Lorelai frowned slightly. "Aw, I feel bad thinking about you being lonely."

"Well, I ain’t lonely now, so don’t sweat it," Luke replied. "Anyway, so I finally realized that I wanted it, but decided not to rush into anything. . .and then I heard you talking to Sookie, then I had that talk with Rory and . . ."

"Good kid," Lorelai interjected.

"Yes, she is," he agreed. "And that just made me realize for sure that . . . we’re both ready."

"Yes, we are," she said quietly.

"So I went out, bought the ring, hid it in my drawer, and waited for the right moment," Luke continued.

"When did you buy the ring?" she asked.

"Last Friday," he replied. "And we’ve been busy with the shower and everything since then, so there wasn’t really a good time to do it. Then in the middle of the shower, I suddenly. . ."

"Felt a vibe?" she suggested.

"I don’t use that word."

"Had an epiphany?"

"Or that one."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Had a thought?"

"Yeah, that’s better," he replied. "I had a thought that tonight might be a good time. . .with the music playing, both of us dressed up nice. . .it just seemed like a good setup."

Lorelai smiled. "It was the perfect setup." She lifted her head up from his chest and kissed him, then pulled back and said, "Luke?"

"What?"

"You asked me to marry you."

"I know."

"And I said yes."

"I know."

"Do you know what that means?"

"Uh, that we’re. . . getting married?" Luke suggested.

Lorelai smiled. "We’re getting married."

End Part 47

* * *

Part 48

Lorelai rested her head against Luke’s chest and sighed softly. They were quiet for a few minutes as Luke stroked Lorelai’s hair and she ran her hand over his stomach.

"What are you thinking about?" Luke asked.

"I’m running down the list of places I would be most likely to lose this ring so that if I do ever lose it, I’ll know where to check first," Lorelai replied.

"Way to plan ahead," he commented.

"Thank you."

"You might be better off just gluing it to your finger," Luke said.

"Hm, I don’t really think glue goes well with white gold and diamonds," Lorelai replied. "What else?"

"Uh. . .staples?"

"Too painful."

"Duct tape?" Luke suggested. "You can fix anything with that stuff."

"You wouldn’t be able to see the ring," Lorelai replied. "Scotch tape might work, though, because it’s clear."

"Scotch tape it is," Luke replied.

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, we’ll do that first thing in the morning."

"I’ll probably be gone before you’re awake," Luke said with a yawn. "I have to open up tomorrow."

Lorelai frowned. "Aw, that sucks." She lifted her head up and looked at him. "Kiss me goodbye tomorrow morning before you leave, okay?"

Luke smiled and pushed her hair away from her face. "I always do."

Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "’Night." She rested her head back against his chest.

Luke kissed the top of her head. "’Night."

* * *

The next morning, Lorelai wandered into the kitchen and found Rory peering into the fridge. "Morning, hon," Lorelai greeted her.

Rory glanced over and smiled. "Hey Mom. How’s it going?"

"Good. Looking for something to eat?" Lorelai asked.

"Yup. Is Luke here?"

Lorelai frowned. "Nope, we have to get our own breakfast today." Lorelai walked up behind her and they both stared into the fridge for a few seconds. "Hmm."

Rory shut the door. "Diner?"

"Diner," Lorelai agreed.

They walked out the back door and headed toward the diner. As they neared the town square, they noticed a group of people gathered near the gazebo.

"What’s going on there?" Rory asked.

"I don’t know," Lorelai replied. "Probably another one of Taylor’s spur-of-the-moment fundraisers." Curious, she kept her eye on the group as they approached the diner, and from their new angle of the gazebo, noticed Sookie standing in front of the crowd.

Sookie looked over and saw the girls. "They’re here! Lorelai! Rory!" she yelled, clapping excitedly. The group of people turned to look at them.

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Oh no, hurry up." She grabbed Rory’s arm and they hurried toward the diner as the crowd started rushing toward them.

They burst into the diner and slammed the door behind them, startling not only the other customers but also Luke at the counter, making him spill the coffee he was pouring. "Jesus!" he exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing?"

They ran over and stood with him behind the counter. "Look," Rory told him, shaking a finger toward the window.

He followed her gaze and saw the group of people walking toward the door. "What do they want?"

Lorelai held up her left hand. "I have a strong feeling that they wanna see this."

"So go out and show ‘em so they don’t all try to cram in here," Luke grumbled as he wiped up the counter with a dishtowel.

"No way – I’m not gonna stand out there all alone while they barrage me with questions. We’re in this together."

Sookie walked into the diner while the impatient crowd waited outside on the sidewalk. "Lorelai, didn’t you hear me call you?" Sookie asked.

"Uh, no Sookie, didn’t hear a thing," Lorelai replied. "You know, the birds were chirping pretty loudly out there."

Sookie rolled her eyes. "Right."

Lorelai nodded toward the people. "Do they know?"

Sookie shook her head. "Not yet, I just told them that Luke had something to tell them about the diner and that he wouldn’t tell anyone until you two got here."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "About the diner?"

"Why’d you say that?" Luke asked.

"Because if I told them it had to do with you two," Sookie said, gesturing to Luke and Lorelai, "it would’ve given it away, but by saying it had to do with the diner. . . "

"It leads them down the wrong track so they don’t start speculating and ruin the surprise," Rory finished.

"Exactly," Sookie said.

"You’ve put a lot of thought into this, haven’t you?" Lorelai asked, smiling.

Sookie nodded. "Yes. . .now come on, they’re waiting." She turned and walked toward the door, announcing, "Just a minute, everyone!" as she stepped outside.

Lorelai turned to Luke and smiled. "Our public awaits. Let’s go."

"No, your public awaits," he corrected her. "I have work to do." He started walking toward the kitchen.

Lorelai grabbed his arm. "Get over here, coffee boy." She dragged him toward the door and Rory followed behind them. They stepped out onto the sidewalk and the crowd gathered around them.

"What is it? We’re dying here!" Patty exclaimed.

"Come on, gorgeous, fill us in," Babette urged.

"Tell us what it is already!" a man called from the back.

"Do you need more waiters?" Kirk asked. "I’m always looking for another job."

As Luke rolled his eyes, Lorelai clapped her hands. "Uh, okay, listen up everyone, listen up!" The crowd quieted down and focused their attention on Lorelai. "Nothing is happening with the diner. The announcement doesn’t have to do with the diner – it has to do with me and Luke."

As a murmur ran through the crowd, Lorelai laced her fingers through Luke’s and smiled. "Uh, Luke and I. . . are engaged. We’re getting married."

Several gasps erupted from the crowd, followed by excited shrieks from Miss Patty and Babette. Several people called out "Congratulations!" as others started clapping. The troubadour, leaning against the crosswalk sign, broke into an acoustic version of "Chapel of Love." People started crowding closer around them, offering hugs and well-wishes. Though it wasn’t his thing to be the center of attention, Luke stayed by Lorelai’s side, shaking hands and thanking people.

After a few minutes, most of the crowd had dispersed except for a group of women who had gathered around Lorelai. Luke leaned against the front window of the diner with his arms folded across his chest, watching with a smile as she excitedly showed off her ring.

The diner door opened and Jess walked out. He narrowed his eyes at Luke. "Forget how to get inside?"

"What?"

"What are you doing out here?"

Luke gestured toward Lorelai. "I’m waiting for her."

Jess glanced toward the women. "What are they doing?"

"Uh, we sort of got engaged last night," Luke explained. "She’s showing them the ring."

Jess was silent for a moment as he watched the women. "Huh."

"You don’t seem too surprised," Luke commented.

"Yeah, well. . . it’s not like everyone didn’t see it coming," Jess said with a shrug. "I did."

"How could you possibly see it coming? You’re never around us."

Jess rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, the jewelry store receipt was a pretty good tip."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"You left the bag in the glove compartment of the truck. Two thousand bucks seems kind of expensive for just a ring, but . . .what do I know?" Jess said with a smirk.

Luke scoffed. "It wasn’t two thousand dollars."

"Well, it was pretty damn close to it," Jess remarked.

"Hey, it’s none of your business how much anything I buy costs," Luke said sternly. "What were you doing going through the glove compartment anyway?"

"It’s a glove compartment, so I guess I was looking for gloves," he replied. "I was hoping to borrow those ones you wear with the fingertips cut off. I hear the girls just go nuts for ‘em."

"Jess," Luke warned.

Jess rolled his eyes. "I was just putting some things in there while I ran into the mall, okay? I’ve heard you can’t leave things out on the seat in Hartford like you can here in Mayberry."

Luke pursed his lips. "Uh huh. Well, next time don’t go through my personal stuff."

"Why’d you have it in there anyway?" Jess asked.

"I didn’t wanna bring the whole bag in the house so I just put the ring in my pocket and shoved the bag in the glove box," he replied. "Then I sort of forgot about it, I guess."

"Yeah, well, if I were you I would’ve just gone for a coffee-flavored Ring Pop and saved a couple thou," Jess said with a shrug.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Don’t you have somewhere to go?"

"Actually I do," Jess replied. He started walking down the sidewalk, then slowed his pace down and turned around. "Hey."

Luke, who had turned his attention back toward the girls, turned to Jess. "What now?"

Jess shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking backward. He glanced at Lorelai, then nodded toward Luke. "Uh. . . you know. . .congratulations," he said in a quiet, almost embarrassed tone.

Luke glanced toward the ground, then gave him an appreciative nod. "Thanks." As Jess turned and walked away, Luke brought his attention back to Lorelai. The crowd has lessened, and she was now just surrounded by Rory, Sookie, Babette and Patty.

He walked over to them and placed his hand on the small of Lorelai’s back. She turned to him and smiled, and as he glanced around, he noticed all the girls grinning at him. He let out a small laugh. "What?"

Patty sighed. "Well, dear, we already knew you were one of the sexiest men in Stars Hollow, and we know you’re one of the quietest – but who would’ve thought that you’d be the most romantic?"

Luke narrowed his eyes at Lorelai. "What did you tell them?"

"About the whole proposal, doll. How you led her away from the crowd . . ." Babette started.

". . . over to the chuppah. . ." Rory continued.

" . . . and waited for the Sinatra song to play . . . " Sookie finished with a sigh.

As they all stared at him smiling, Luke groaned. "Why’d you tell them all the details?"

"So they could all be jealous of what a great guy I found," Lorelai said, pinching his cheek. He pulled back from her and rolled his eyes.

"Aw, come on, Luke," Rory said. "It’s one of the best moments a girl will ever have in her entire life, she has to share it with people."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Luke replied with a sigh. He turned back to Lorelai. "You go walk around town telling your story, I have to get back inside."

"Mmkay," Lorelai replied. "We’ll be in soon to eat breakfast." As she kissed him on the cheek, a collective "aww" rang from the girls.

Lorelai giggled as Luke’s face reddened and he pulled back from her. "See you later," he mumbled. He avoided eye contact with the others as he turned and walked back into the diner.

* * *

That afternoon, Sookie and Jackson came over to pick up the rest of their shower gifts. Lorelai and Rory helped them load up the SUV, and when it was filled to capacity, Lorelai invited them in for a drink.

They went into the house, and as Jackson and Sookie sat down on the couch, Rory and Lorelai walked into the kitchen. They grabbed a few cans of soda from the refrigerator and brought them back to the living and handed them out.

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Ooh, hey – we have cookies leftover from yesterday. Who wants some?"

"Me, please," Rory replied.

"I’d love some," Jackson replied.

Sookie stood up. "Here, I’ll help you." She set her soda on the coffee table and followed Lorelai into the kitchen.

Lorelai grabbed two platters of cookies from the counter and set them on the table. "Can you get a plate from the cupboard?"

"Sure," Sookie replied. She walked over to the cabinet and pulled one out, then giggled as she walked it over to the table. "I can’t picture Luke eating off of a Charlie’s Angels plate."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, the first time he had to do it, his face was sort of red like he was embarrassed or something. . .but he got used to it." She pulled the aluminum foil back from one of the platters and began transferring some of the cookies to the plate. Sookie opened the other platter and did the same.

Lorelai brushed the crumbs off of her hands and cleared her throat. "Uh, Sookie?"

"Yeah?" she replied, arranging the cookies on the plate.

"Um, I know that this is kind of a given and everything since you’re my best friend and I asked you this – as strange as it sounds – the last time I got engaged," Lorelai said. "But I just . . .feel like I should ask you again. . ."

Sookie turned to look at her. "Ask me what?"

Lorelai smiled and fingered the bottom of her tank top. "Um . . .if you’ll be one of my bridesmaids. . .again?"

Sookie smiled. "Aww, of course, honey." She wiped her hands off on her jeans and reached up to hug Lorelai.

"Thank you, Sookie," Lorelai said, hugging her tightly. "And don’t worry – this time there’ll actually be a wedding."

Sookie giggled as she pulled back. "I hope so." She turned back to finish organizing the cookies.

"And. . .uh, I don’t want you to feel you have to do all the traditional bridesmaid things this time," Lorelai said.

"What do you mean?" Sookie asked.

"I mean, the big party with the tons of people and the food and . . .just all the trouble you went through for the shower last year – you don’t have to do it again this time," Lorelai said, shaking her head.

Sookie frowned. "Why not?"

"Because. . .I don’t know, it just seems selfish to have another one," Lorelai replied. "Plus, this year you have all your own wedding and marriage-type stuff to worry about. . .I just don’t want you to go to the trouble."

"It won’t be any trouble," Sookie insisted. "I love planning parties!"

"I know you do, but. . .we don’t really need any presents anyway – we’re already living together, we have everything we need."

"But it’s not just about the presents! It’s about people getting together to celebrate with you, to share this huge incredible event with you," Sookie said.

"I know, but they’ll be able to do that at the wedding," Lorelai reminded her. "And you know how Luke is – he hates attention. He may have come around on the idea of marriage, but I still think he hates the idea of a big wedding ceremony and so. . . the shower’s probably not something he’d look forward to anyway. So, to save you a lot of trouble, and to keep this town from thinking that I get engaged every summer to have a big party, it’ll be easier if we pass on the huge wedding shower this time."

Sookie frowned, but reluctantly nodded. "Okay, no big wedding shower."

Lorelai patted her on the shoulder. "Aw, come on – cheer up. We’ll let you have full control over the rehearsal dinner, okay?"

Sookie slowly smiled. "Really?"

"You got it," Lorelai replied, smiling. "Plus, there’s still the bachelorette party – we can still have another one of those."

Sookie giggled. "Right."

"See . . .it’ll be fun," Lorelai assured her.

Rory walked into the kitchen. "Hello – what’s taking so long? Did you decide to bake the cookies from scratch instead?"

Lorelai scoffed. "Patience, please."

Rory grabbed a cookie from the plate. "Well, when you said you were going to go get some cookies, you led us to believe that you’d go get the cookies and then return with them, not stand in here and eat all of them yourself."

Lorelai picked up the plate. "Here, psychotic cookie-obsessed girl who . . . totally inherits that trait from me, take them."

Rory took the plate. "Thank you." She turned and walked back to the living room.

* * *

The next afternoon, Lorelai and Rory walked from the inn to the diner for lunch. As they sat down at an empty table, Kirk walked over from the counter. "Lorelai, good, I was hoping you’d be here."

"I’m always here, Kirk," Lorelai replied. "What can I do for ya?"

"I just wanted to let you know that the pictures from the shower should be ready by tomorrow," Kirk said.

"Oh, cool!" Rory said excitedly.

"Wow, that was fast," Lorelai replied. "Great Kirk, how much will I owe you?"

"I haven’t figured out the exact price yet, but I estimate that it’ll be in the neighborhood of forty dollars," Kirk replied. "I won’t charge you for the half roll I took of Babette’s gnomes since they’re for my own. . . uh, personal collection."

Lorelai and Rory glanced at each other warily.

Kirk’s eyes glazed over as he stared toward the window. "There’s just something about those little guys that are so. . .intriguing." He shook his head slightly and brought his gaze back down to Lorelai. "You know what I mean?"

"Uh, sure, Kirk," Lorelai replied. "Did you get any pictures of me?"

"Uh, yes, actually, I did," he said. "There are a couple of you and Luke, some of you talking to Sookie. . ."

"Any of me and Mom?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, remember we took one by the drinks," Lorelai reminded her.

"There were a couple others of you two, too," Kirk said. "I’ll bring them all by tomorrow."

"Okay," Lorelai replied. "Thanks Kirk."

Kirk nodded toward them and returned to the counter, passing Luke on the way. As Luke reached their table, he gestured toward Kirk. "What did he want?"

"Hi, nice to see you, too," Lorelai said.

"Hi," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "What did he want?"

"He wanted to tell me that the pictures from the shower are almost done," Lorelai replied as a phone started ringing. "Ooh, that’s me." She reached down into her purse.

"Take it outside," Luke said sternly.

Lorelai rolled her eyes as she pulled the phone out. "Or what?" she prompted him. "Are you gonna ban your fiancée from your diner? Ooh, no, are you gonna get really mad and take the ring back?" she asked with a laugh.

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Hmm." He glanced down toward the ring, as if he was considering it.

Lorelai gasped and she hid her left hand under the table. "Don’t even think about it!" Luke smirked and sat down at the table. Lorelai glanced down at the phone to see who it was, then made a face. "Ugh, it’s my mom." She answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Lorelai, how are you?" Emily asked.

"Uh, I’m good Mom. . . how are you?"

"Oh, fine, just fine," Emily replied. "Listen, when are you going to tell your father about the engagement?"

"I don’t know, Mom," Lorelai replied. "I guess on Friday when I see him."

"Lorelai, you can’t wait the entire week!" Emily exclaimed. "I don’t want to have to keep it from him for that long."

"Then don’t keep it from him," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "I already told you that you could tell Dad yourself."

Luke, who had been listening to the conversation, shook his head. Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him and said, "Hold on a sec, Mom." She covered the phone with her hand and said, "What?"

"You can’t make your mother tell your father that you’re getting married," Luke said. "That’s something you should do yourself."

"But I – " Lorelai started.

"He’d rather hear it from you," Rory interrupted.

Lorelai frowned and let out a long sigh. "Fine." She put the phone back up to her ear. "Still there, Mom?"

"Yes, is there a reason you put me on hold?" Emily asked in an irritated tone.

"Yeah, I wanted to make you crabby," Lorelai replied. "Oh look, it worked."

Emily sighed. "Lorelai, like I was saying, your father would – "

"Much rather hear it from me," Lorelai finished. "I know, I know – that’s the word on the street, apparently." She sighed and tapped her fingernails on the table for a few seconds, then said, "Okay, how ‘bout we’ll stop by tomorrow night after dinner and tell him?"

Luke raised his eyebrows. "We?" he whispered.

"We?" Emily asked.

"Yes, me, Luke, and Rory’ll stop by tomorrow night, okay?" Lorelai said, giving a pointed look toward Luke and Rory.

"Well, I guess that’ll be fine," Emily said.

"Okay, see you then." Lorelai hung up the phone with a sigh. "Now I have to drive all the way out to Hartford just to say, ‘Hey Dad, I’m getting married.’"

"Well, maybe we can do something afterwards," Rory suggested. "Like go to a movie or something."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, that’ll be fun! What do you say, Luke?"

He shrugged. "Sure, whatever you want."

"Coolness, now I’m excited," Lorelai said, rubbing her hands together.

Luke stood up. "Okay, what do you guys want for lunch? Burgers?"

"Yes, please," Rory replied.

"Yeah, and coffee," Lorelai replied. As Luke walked to the counter, Lorelai slipped her cell phone back into her purse. "Oh, we have to call Chris sometime soon and set up your next trip."

"Oh, right. . .yeah," Rory said, nodding. She paused a moment before she asked, "Are you gonna tell him about you and Luke?"

"Ever?" Lorelai asked.

"No, I mean. . .when you talk to him," Rory said.

Lorelai shrugged. "I don’t know. . . if the question comes up."

"Does the question, ‘So, are you engaged yet?’ come up often when you guys chat?" Rory asked, rolling her eyes.

"Not as much as the question, ‘How did we get such an annoying daughter?’" Lorelai retorted. As Rory stuck her tongue out, Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "No, I don’t know. . .maybe I’ll mention it, maybe I won’t. . .it depends on how the conversation’s going and whether he’s in a rush or something."

"What are you guys talking about?" Luke asked, setting two cups of coffee on the table.

"About telling Christopher about the engagement," Lorelai replied.

Luke adjusted his cap. "Oh."

"We have to call and set up my next visit, so I asked if that’s when Mom was gonna tell him," Rory explained.

"Are you?" Luke asked.

"I don’t know yet," Lorelai replied. "It’s no big deal. I might just wait until he comes to pick Rory up."

Luke nodded, then turned and walked back to the counter. Lorelai tapped her hands on the table a few times, then said, "Hey, what’s the date today?"

Rory glanced up toward the ceiling as she thought for a moment. "Hm, the fifteenth, I think."

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Wow, summer’s just flying by, huh? I can’t believe it’s August fifteenth already!"

"Uh, that’s because it’s July fifteenth, Mom," Rory informed her.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "July?"

"Yeah, it’s the month squeezed in between June and August."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Thank you, wise one. Sometimes I get my months confused, but I’m good now. July. . it’s July. . .got it."

"Maybe you can install a little calendar on that center diamond, there," Rory suggested, pointing to Lorelai’s ring.

Lorelai smiled down at it. "Good idea." She stared at it for a few seconds, then made a fist and said, "This makes me feel powerful. You know how diamonds cut glass?"

"Uh huh."

Lorelai waved her fist through the air. "Well, it’s like I’m a superhero who can use her super-powered diamond ring to instantly protect the city from evil enemies made of glass."

Rory nodded. "Uh huh. . .that’s pretty important because in today’s society you do run into a lot of . . .uh, glassblown adversaries."

Lorelai nodded excitedly. "Exactly! Now we have to think up a name for me. . . what’s a good superhero-ish name?"

"Wonder Woman?" Rory suggested.

"Already taken. . .and the last thing I need is Lynda Carter suing me for copyright infringement," Lorelai said.

Rory thought for a moment. "Hm. . .Glassblower Gal?"

Lorelai gasped. "Glassblower Gal? Are you serious?"

Rory laughed. "Yeah. what’s wrong with it?"

Lorelai scoffed. "That totally gives the glass people the wrong impression of my superheroic talents! We want them to think that I’ll destroy them, not take ‘em to a motel to reenact scenes from a dirty movie – "

"Stop there!" Rory begged.

" – called Fellatio Hornblower," Lorelai finished.

Rory groaned. "Mom, gross!"

Lorelai giggled and took a sip of her coffee. She set the cup back down and sighed. "All right, we’ll try to think up a name later. It’s hard to do on an empty stomach."

"Everything’s hard to do on an empty stomach," Rory said. "That’s why you should always try to stay full."

"Amen," Lorelai agreed.

* * *

That night in their bedroom, with the covers pulled up over them, Lorelai lay on top of Luke. He caressed her back as she kissed across his chest. She moved down to his stomach, her head disappearing completely under the covers. She ran her tongue over his abs and nipped at his flesh with her teeth. She kissed her way back up and sucked lightly on his neck before she moved her mouth to his lips and kissed him deeply.

As she pulled back, she noticed a pensive look on his face. She rested her chin on his chest and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Luke glanced toward the closet, mumbling, "Nothing."

She narrowed her eyes and turned his face back toward her. "Luke, if you were to rest your chin on your fist you could pass for a Rodin sculpture. . .you’re obviously thinking about something. What is it?"

Luke stared into her eyes for a moment, then sighed and said, "I’m just thinking about. . . Christopher."

Lorelai’s eyes widened with surprise. "Uh, do you normally think about him right after we have sex?"

Luke shook his head. "Not usually. . .just tonight"

Lorelai rolled off of him and sat up. "What’s going on?" She pulled the blanket up around her body.

Luke sat up and leaned against the headboard. "I was just thinking about when you were talking about telling him about the engagement. . . and that led me to think about . . .other stuff."

"Other stuff. . .about Christopher?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah."

"What kind of other stuff?" she asked. "Bad other stuff?"

"Just. . .I don’t know, other stuff," he replied. "Forget it."

"I’m just curious, come on," Lorelai urged.

Luke gestured aimlessly as he spoke, "It’s just. . .I think he. . . I don’t . . ." He shrugged and said, "I don’t know. The guy just. . .ugh." He pursed his lips and shook his head.

"Wait – do you not like Christopher?" Lorelai interrupted. "I thought you liked him."

"I don’t know. . .he’s nice and all, but I don’t really have a lot of respect for someone who acts like he does," Luke said.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Acts like what? What are you talking about?"

"I’m talking about the way he decided to just. . .get you pregnant and then leave you with a kid to raise all alone," Luke said angrily. "That’s not how it’s done. Even if he despised you more than Satan – which, I should add, he didn’t – and even if you didn’t want him to be around, he still should’ve done whatever he could have to help take care of you – end of story." He shook his head in disbelief. "Even if you told him to his face that you never wanted to see him again, he still should’ve found a way to take responsibility for his actions!"

Surprised by his sudden burst of anger, Lorelai stroked his arm and said, "Okay, first of all, calm down. Take a breath. It’s stupid to get upset about something that happened so long ago."

"Yeah, well, Pearl Harbor happened a long time ago, but people are still upset about that," Luke muttered.

"That’s because they made a big movie with cute guys that reminded everyone how bad of a time it was," Lorelai replied. She took a deep breath. "Now, come on, tell me why you’re suddenly so anti-Christopher."

Luke pushed the covers off of him and climbed off the bed. He picked up his boxer shorts from the floor and pulled them on, then stood next to the bed with his hands on his hips. "Tell me why you’re not."

Confused, Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "Why I’m not?"

Luke sat back down on the bed. "Yeah – why doesn’t it bother you. . .the way he treated you, the way he was never there for you and Rory, why do you act like it never happened? Why do you act like he’s the greatest father in the world for calling her once a week?"

Taken aback by the question, Lorelai shrugged and stammered, "I don’t. . . because. . .he’s just. . .and Rory. . ." Her voice trailed off and she glanced down at the bed.

"I’ll tell you what I think," Luke said firmly. "It’s because you raised that girl by yourself and you got so used to him not being there for you that you just accepted it as normal. . . . and now that he’s around more and calling more, you think he’s some freaking saint for trying to act like the man he should’ve been acting like from the start." He shook his head. "That ain’t how it works, Lorelai. You can’t trade fifteen years of him being a jerk for two years of him being less-of-a-jerk."

Lorelai sighed and lifted her head up to look at him. "Luke, come on, do we have to talk about this right now?"

"I know he tried in the beginning. . .I know you turned his proposal down and everything, I know all that. . .but he still had a responsibility and he should’ve dealt with it instead of running across the country," Luke continued. "What kind of man does something like that?"

Lorelai groaned. "Luke, pleeeeease stop. I don’t need you to tell me how my life could’ve or should’ve been. I get that enough from my mother."

Luke shrugged. "Hey, you asked me what I was thinking, I’m just telling you."

"Okay, well, I didn’t think it would be a ten-hour monologue, I’m sorry," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "Can we finish this conversation some other time – like, when it’s not almost midnight?" She leaned toward him and pressed her mouth against his. His tense lips softened and he kissed her back, gently at first but then with more intensity. After several seconds, Lorelai pulled back and said, "Please?"

Luke closed his eyes and nodded. He opened them and took a deep breath. "Yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean to get all . . .you know."

Lorelai nodded. "It’s okay." She lay down on her side facing away from him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. They lay silently for a few seconds before she whispered, "Luke, if things had gone like you said they should have. . . if he wouldn’t have left Connecticut, if he would’ve stayed to help care for us . . . we probably wouldn’t be lying here right now. I wouldn’t have this ring on my finger or the most incredible guy in the world holding me."

"I know."

"I mean, I’m not saying that me and Chris would’ve gotten married or even stayed together as a couple, but. . .things just probably would’ve been very different."

"I know."

"So. . . maybe he didn’t exactly do the right thing, but . . .it worked out for us in the end. We just have to concentrate on that instead of thinking about all the bad stuff that we can’t change," Lorelai finished. Luke was silent for a few seconds, and Lorelai could feel his breath against her back. She turned to look at him and saw him staring back at her. "You know?"

Luke slowly nodded. "Yeah, I gotcha."

She turned her body around to face him, and she smiled as she patted his chest. "I mean, Luke. . .we’re getting married. . . say it."

A smile fell upon his lips and he said, "We’re getting married."

Lorelai grinned. "Feels good, doesn’t it?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah."

"I mean, we won’t just be living together as shacker-uppers anymore," Lorelai said. "Which is probably sad for you because I know you really like that term."

Luke rolled his eyes, then kissed her. He pulled her body closer against his and adjusted the blanket over them. As she snuggled up against him, he whispered, "Night."

Lorelai smiled to herself as she relaxed against the comfort of his arms. "Night."

End Part 48

* * *

Part 49

The next afternoon at the inn, Lorelai glanced around the front desk at the stacks of papers, then turned to Michel with a puzzled look. "Michel, what was on my ‘to do’ list today?"

Michel sighed and shrugged. "Um, to review the inventory sheets?"

Lorelai smiled. "Did it."

"To go over the itinerary for the convention next week," he said.

"Done."

"To call Manny and confirm the linen order," Michel said. "And to call the landscaper about the front walkway."

"Done and done," Lorelai said proudly. She drummed her hands on the front desk. "Man, I’m on the ball today!"

Michel rolled his eyes. "Yes, I’m quite excited for you. . .now leave me alone."

Lorelai stepped closer to him and leaned forward on the desk. "Aw, Michel, come on! Let’s do something fun, like play hopscotch or jump rope."

Michel narrowed his eyes at her and scoffed, then turned back to the computer.

Lorelai frowned. She stood up straight and tapped him on the shoulder. "Michel. . ." He ignored her, so she tapped again. "Michel. . .I’m bored."

Michel sighed. "Yes, I can see that. Get away from me."

Lorelai held her hand in front of his face. "Wanna see my ring again? It’s nice, huh?"

Michel pushed her hand away and muttered, "How you managed to get engaged twice in a twelve month period is beyond me."

Lorelai smiled and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Probably because I drive men wild with my long legs and seductive eyes."

"No, you drive men crazy with your incessant nagging," Michel replied, annoyed. "Now leave me alone so I can get my work done."

Lorelai frowned at him as she walked away from the desk and headed toward the kitchen. She pushed open the door and stepped inside, scanning the room for Sookie. She found her sitting at the counter snacking on some pretzels as she flipped through a magazine.

Lorelai smiled as she walked over to her. "Bored?"

"Extremely." Sookie offered her a pretzel.

"Thanks," Lorelai replied. She took a bite, then said, "Me too. I finished everything on my ‘to do’ list for today."

"And I finished setting up everything for the dinner special," Sookie said. She gestured around the kitchen to the other chefs mulling around. "They’re taking care of everything else, so I’m sort of just. . ."

"Hanging around?" Lorelai suggested.

"Yeah."

"You should’ve came into the lobby and helped me bother Michel," Lorelai said.

Sookie giggled. "I’m sure you didn’t need any help."

Lorelai smiled. "True – I was pretty successful doing it myself. I’m a savant."

Sookie smiled and glanced back down at her magazine. She flipped through a few pages, then stopped and smiled. "Here’s a quiz for you – are you high maintenance?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I know I’m not, I don’t need a quiz to tell me it."

Sookie smirked. "Mmhmm."

Lorelai gasped. "What’s that for? You think I’m high maintenance?"

"Well, uh, honey. . .sometimes you’re a little. . ." Sookie’s voice trailed off and she twirled her finger in her hair. "Uh. . .well, once in awhile. . ." Lorelai’s cell phone went off and Sookie let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God."

Lorelai frowned as she pulled the phone out of her blazer pocket. "Don’t think you’re getting off that easy. I’m coming back to you for an answer." She checked to see who it was, then smiled. "Okay, it’s the house – so it’s either Rory or Luke." She answered, "Hello?"

"Hey," Luke’s voice replied. "It’s me."

Lorelai smiled and leaned forward on the counter. "Hey you. What’s up?"

"I just wanted to tell – "

"Oh wait!" Lorelai interrupted him. "Luke, let me ask you something first. . . do you think I’m high maintenance?"

"What . . .what are you talking about?" Luke asked.

"Sookie thinks I’m high maintenance so I just wanted a second opinion," Lorelai said. "Do you think I am?"

Sookie rolled her eyes and muttered, "Don’t answer that, Luke, for the love of God."

Lorelai playfully smacked her on the shoulder. "So. . .what do you think?" she asked him again.

"Not really," he replied.

"Are you being serious, or are you just saying that because you think if you answer any other way I’ll be mad at you?" Lorelai asked.

"No, I’m serious."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Really? I thought for sure you’d say yes since you always tell me I’m stubborn."

"You definitely are stubborn," Luke agreed. "But. . .you’re not as high maintenance as I thought you’d be. I was prepared for much worse."

Lorelai let out a surprised laugh. "So, wait, wait, wait – you’re saying that going into the relationship, you thought I’d be high maintenance?"

Listening in the background, Sookie grimaced and shook her head. "Ooh, not good, Luke. Now you gotta talk your way outta that one."

"Yeah," Luke admitted. "I mean, come on – I’ve known you for years. It didn’t take long for me to realize that flexibility’s not your middle name."

"Yeah, well, that’s because my mother thought Victoria went better with Lorelai," Lorelai interjected.

"I don’t know. . .I guess a regular person, someone who’s not used to you, might find you hard to handle, but. . . I get you. I get how your mind works. . .most of the time."

Lorelai smiled. "You do seem to understand me more than your average Joe. You think that’s why we work?"

"Absolutely. If I wasn’t used to your personality or if I wasn’t prepared to deal with your abnormally high amount of energy on a regular basis, then. . .things would be different," Luke said.

"And if I didn’t adjust the aforementioned energetic personality slightly to conform to your more reserved disposition, and vice versa, then . . ."

"We probably would’ve killed each other by now," Luke finished.

"Probably," Lorelai agreed with a laugh. "We do have our differences. . .but it’s good because we balance each other out. I loosen you up, you keep me grounded. . ."

"Works well," Luke commented.

"Yes, it does," Lorelai said with a nod. They were both silent for a few seconds, then Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, so. . . why’d you call? Did you want something?"

"Uh, yeah, I just wanted to let you know I came home early," he replied. "I stopped at the market and picked up some chicken for dinner."

"Cool," Lorelai replied.

"And now I’m gonna do some things around the house," Luke said.

"Like what?" Lorelai asked.

"Like mow the lawn, fix the laundry room door, fix the shower head. . . you know, just tinker around," Luke said.

Lorelai laughed. "Did you just say tinker?"

"Yes, I did," he replied, smiling. "I enjoy tinkering once in awhile."

Lorelai giggled. "Oh yeah? Maybe I should come home, then . . .I can think of something I’d like to tinker with."

"Yeah, well, Rory’s home, so we’ll have to save the tinkering for another time," Luke replied.

"Aw, okay. What’s she up to?" Lorelai asked.

"She and Lane are hanging out in the living room."

"Planning a robbery?"

"I think so."

"Cool." Lorelai checked her watch. "I’ll probably be home soon, there’s not much going on here."

"Okay. See ya later."

"Bye." Lorelai hung up and slipped the phone back into her pocket. It was then that she noticed that Sookie had been leaning forward on the counter listening to her conversation. Lorelai laughed and said, "Very subtle eavesdropping, Sookie."

Sookie giggled as she sat back up straight. "It’s so fun watching you talk to him."

"Why is it fun?"

"Because you’re so. . .flirty and happy all the time, it’s so cute," Sookie said, smiling.

Lorelai smiled. "Glad you find it entertaining." She glanced around the kitchen and sighed. "I’m bored. You wanna go bother Michel?"

Sookie closed her magazine and stood up. "Yeah, let’s go."

* * *

That night, Lorelai, Luke, and Rory stood on the front porch of the Gilmore mansion. Lorelai checked her watch and said, "Okay, the movie starts in an hour, and I like to get there like ten minutes early, plus it takes seven minutes to get there, plus we should allow like twelve minutes to buy snacks, so we need to leave in. . . " Her voice trailed off and she gestured to Rory. "Hi, this is where someone smart jumps in and does the math."

"Oh, sorry," Rory replied. She thought for a moment and said, "We need to leave in thirty-one minutes."

"Okay, thirty-one minutes," Lorelai repeated. "Everyone remember that and move the conversations along quickly."

"Ring the bell already," Luke urged.

As Rory rang the doorbell, Lorelai whispered to Luke, "Are you nervous?"

"No, I do this all the time," he replied nonchalantly.

Lorelai laughed. "Oh yeah? You’re experienced at announcing your engagement?"

"Yup."

"Okay, good." Lorelai turned and faced the door, and a few seconds later, Emily pulled it open. "Hey Mom," Lorelai said.

"Hello, hello!" Emily greeted them cheerfully. "Come inside." Emily stepped back and the three of them walked into the house. "Richard’s in his office. He doesn’t know that you’re coming, I wanted it all to be a big surprise. Why don’t you head to the living room and I’ll go get him?"

"Okay," Lorelai replied. As Emily walked down the hallway, the three guests walked into the living room and sat down on one of the sofas.

A few seconds later, Emily and Richard entered the living room, and Richard raised his eyebrows. "Now, this is a surprise. Is it Friday already?"

"No, no, it’s just a visit, come sit," Emily said, leading him to the empty sofa. They both sat down and Emily smiled at Richard. "Lorelai and Luke have something they’d like to tell you."

"They’d like to tell me?" Richard repeated. "Just me?"

"Yes, just you. I already know about it," Emily replied.

"Huh. Well, don’t keep me out of the loop forever. . .what is it?" Richard asked, focusing his attention on Lorelai.

Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, well, Dad, first off, we didn’t mean to keep you out of the loop. We would’ve told you sooner but you were away and this is the first chance we’ve had to drive out here."

Richard waved her off. "Yes, I understand all that, that’s no problem."

"Okay, good," Lorelai replied. She smiled as she laced her fingers through Luke’s. "Uh, we just wanted to let you know that. . . Luke and I got engaged on Saturday."

Richard’s face softened and his eyes widened. "My goodness."

Lorelai smiled and nodded excitedly. "We’re getting married."

"Yes, that’s what I interpreted the phrase ‘we got engaged’ to mean, Lorelai," Richard said, rolling his eyes slightly.

"Right, sorry," she replied quickly.

Richard smiled. "Well, I. . .uh. . .I think that’s wonderful. Congratulations."

"Thanks, Dad," Lorelai replied.

"Thank you, sir," Luke replied.

"Have you set a date?" Richard asked.

"Oh, no, we haven’t talked about anything like that yet," Lorelai replied, waving him off. "It’s only been a few days since it happened."

"Yes, I suppose there’s no need to rush into anything," Richard said.

"Right, right," Lorelai nodded.

Richard stood up and rubbed his hands together. "Well, I think this calls for some champagne. . .what do you say?"

"I say. . .let’s do it," Lorelai said.

"Yes, that’s a wonderful idea," Emily said. "In fact, I’ve already set a bottle out." She stood up and followed Richard to help with the drinks.

Lorelai turned to Rory and patted her on the knee. "So, you’re feeling pretty talkative, huh?"

Rory smiled. "This is your moment, I’m the tertiary character in this little show."

"I feel like me and Luke are Jordan and Candace stealing all the attention while you’re poor little Dede mulling around in the background," Lorelai said.

Rory laughed. "Aw, I feel bad for her."

"Yeah, I mean, sometimes you forget that she’s even living in that house," Lorelai said.

"She pops up like once every three weeks and you’re like, ‘who is that?’," Rory said.

Lorelai laughed. "I know!"

"What are you two talking about?" Luke asked.

Lorelai gasped. "Best damn reality show in the world."

"Not to mention the object of a very unhealthy obsession," Rory added.

"Here we are," Emily announced as she walked over with the tray of drinks. She set it on the coffee table and everyone took a glass.

Richard raised his glass. "Well, I say, what better to drink to. . .than the happy couple."

"Hear, hear." Lorelai smiled as each of them sipped their champagne, and the five of them conversed for a few minutes over their drinks.

During a lull in the conversation, Lorelai glanced down at her watch and her eyes widened. "Ooh, we have to get going. We’re gonna be late."

"Late for what?" Emily asked.

Lorelai set her glass down on the coffee table and stood up. "We’re going to the movies."

"Oh, how nice," Emily commented. "Around here or back home?"

"Around here," Rory replied, standing up. "Over at the Crown Palace."

Emily nodded. "Ah. What are you going to see?"

"My Big Fat Greek Wedding," Rory answered.

"A very appropriate film, considering the circumstances. . .well, if I was Greek, anyway," Lorelai added.

"That’s the name of the picture?" Richard asked with a laugh. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Seems like an odd title."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Yes, and I refuse to order the tickets for it."

As they began walking toward the door, Lorelai said, "Hey, it’s not as bad as asking for tickets to something like ‘How Stella Got Her Groove Back’. Now *that* would be embarrassing."

"You would know," Rory said, smirking. "You went to see it."

Lorelai gasped and muttered, "I thought we agreed never to mention that for the rest of our lives."

"Oh, right, sorry about that," Rory whispered.

As they reached the front door, the five of them said their goodbyes and the three guests stepped onto the porch. "We’ll see you on Friday," Emily said.

"Yup, we’ll be here," Lorelai replied. "Bye." The front door closed behind them and they walked toward the Jeep. Luke had his hands shoved into his pockets and was staring down at the ground. Lorelai linked her arm through his. "What’s wrong?"

Luke shrugged. "I just. . ." He shook his head and sighed.

Lorelai frowned and stopped walking, causing him to stop, too. "What is it?"

Rory had reached the Jeep and had pulled the passenger door open. She paused before she climbed in and stared at them questioningly. "Everything okay?"

Luke took several steps toward the Jeep, then turned around to look at Lorelai. "I just. . . I don’t understand why you would do something like that," he said, shaking his head disappointedly.

Lorelai’s eyes widened and she walked over to him. "Oh my God, what did I do?"

Luke stared at her for a few seconds before he quietly asked, "You seriously went to see How Stella Got Her Groove Back?" A slow smile appeared on his lips.

Lorelai exhaled loudly and smacked him on the shoulder. "Don’t do that to me! You were freaking me out right there!"

Rory laughed. "Luke, she claims that the movie she and Sookie really went to see was sold out so they went to see Stella instead, but I don’t buy it."

"It’s true!" Lorelai exclaimed. "I swear!"

"Uh huh." Rory smiled and climbed into the backseat.

Lorelai grabbed Luke’s shirt and pulled him close to her. "You believe me, don’t you?" she asked, pouting at him.

Luke pried her fingers off and smoothed out his shirt. "If you say you didn’t mean to see it, you didn’t mean to see it."

Lorelai shook her head. "I didn’t."

"Okay."

"All right."

"Let’s go."

"Get in."

"I will." Lorelai lingered for a moment, then slowly walked to the passenger side. She climbed in and pulled the door shut, and as Luke settled in behind the wheel, she asked, "Do you really believe me?"

"No," he replied with a smirk. He fastened his seat belt and started the car.

Lorelai rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine, forget it. New topic."

Luke pulled out of the driveway and headed toward the theater.

"Did Kirk say why the pictures weren’t ready?" Rory asked.

Lorelai shrugged. "He just said that he didn’t have time to get to ‘em today and that he’d drop them off tomorrow instead."

"What are you gonna do with them?" Luke asked. "Give ‘em to Sookie?"

"Yeah, I’m gonna buy a photo album and arrange them all nice and pretty and then give it to them as a gift," Lorelai replied, smiling. "They’ll love it." She glanced toward the road. "You know where you’re going, right?"

"Yeah. Surprisingly, I’ve been to that theater before," Luke replied.

"Let’s prepare the snack list," Rory suggested. "Popcorn, obviously, and Red Vines. . ."

"Nachos," Lorelai said. "Ooh, and Gummi Bears."

"Something chocolatey," Rory said. "Snickers?"

"Ooh, Reese’s Pieces!" Lorelai said excitedly. "And M&M’s!"

"And a bag of Hershey’s kisses. . .and maybe a box – "

"Did either of you bring money?" Luke interrupted.

They were both silent for a moment.

"Nope," Rory replied.

"Uh, I think I have a couple quarters in my purse," Lorelai replied. "Why?"

"Because I didn’t bring that much with me," Luke replied. "So you have to narrow down your snack choices down to the most necessary items."

"How much will we have for food?" Lorelai asked.

"I don’t know, maybe twenty bucks," Luke said with a shrug.

Lorelai groaned. "Oh man, we can only get like five things if we want to get drinks, too. Everything’s so expensive at the theater."

"God forbid you don’t get every junk food available," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

Lorelai frowned. "Don’t mock."

"I never mock."

Lorelai held up her ring. "This is my mocker-detector." She moved her fist around slowly, aiming it at different sections of the car. When she aimed it toward Luke, she said, "Beep beep beep! Looks like we found a mocker."

"Uh oh. . .warning, warning – a mocker has been detected," Rory said mechanically. "I repeat, a mocker has been detected!"

Luke rolled his eyes as he pulled into the theater parking lot. "Look, we’re here."

As he parked the car, Rory checked her watch. "Wow, we’re right on schedule."

"Really?" Lorelai asked, surprised. "That never happens." She paused and smacked herself on the forehead. "I just jinxed it by saying that. Now, of course, we’ll end up getting the new guy working the snack counter and he won’t know what he’s doing, then we’ll have to walk into the theater late and people will be throwing stuff at us because we’re in their way and then I’ll start screaming back at people and we’ll get thrown out. . .again."

Luke’s eyes widened. "Again?"

Rory put her hand on Luke’s shoulder. "You don’t wanna know . . . trust me."

* * *

A few hours later, they walked out of the theater and headed toward the car as they talked about the movie.

"Now that was a lot funnier than I thought it would be," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, it was okay," Luke agreed. "Some parts were a little sappy, but it was good."

"When I was your age, I didn’t have food!" Rory laughed. "That was funny."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, that was good. And we so have to stop at the market so I can get some Windex to carry around in my purse."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Uh, I think we have some at home you can use."

"Don’t forget to save your stubs," Rory said.

"For what?" Luke asked.

Lorelai gasped. "I already told you how we save all of our ticket stubs in that big plastic container."

Luke nodded. "Right, I forgot. And what exactly do you do that for?"

"So we can go through it one day and be reminded of all the cool movies and concerts and plays we’ve been to," Rory explained. "And some of the stubs have stories to go along with them – like Mom getting us thrown out of the theater, Mom getting into fights with people, Mom losing her cell phone and then screaming ‘Thief!’ over and over until she found it on the floor of the next aisle, Mom forgetting – "

Lorelai laughed and interrupted her. "Okay, okay! Why does everything start with ‘Mom’ doing something?"

"Because your name always seems to accompany some sort of mishap," Rory said.

"Yeah, well, let’s not divulge all of those mishaps until after we’re married," Lorelai said. "That way he can’t see what he’s getting himself into."

"Trust me, I know," Luke told her.

Lorelai smiled. They walked quietly for a few seconds before she said, "Well, I think we all know the most important lesson we’ve learned from this movie – in the end, we’re all fruit."

"Well, I prefer not to think of myself as fruity, but. . . you two go right on ahead," Luke said.

Lorelai and Rory looked at each other and smiled. They reached the Jeep and Luke unlocked the passenger door for them before he walked around to the driver’s side. Just as the girls were about to climb in, Lorelai noticed a coffee shop across the street. She nudged Rory and gestured toward the shop, and both of their eyes widened.

Lorelai put her arm around Rory’s shoulder and looked at Luke over the roof of the Jeep. "Luke, can we have five bucks?" Lorelai asked.

Luke climbed into the Jeep. "I told you we have some Windex at home. Get in."

Lorelai leaned down to look into the car. "No, it’s for coffee." She pointed across the street. "There’s a shop right there. We’ll be super fast, I promise."

She nudged Rory, who leaned down and pouted. "Please, Luke?"

Luke exhaled loudly and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. He took out some money and handed it to Lorelai, who clapped excitedly. "Thank you! You want anything?"

"Yeah, for you to hurry up," he replied dryly.

"We’re going, come on," Lorelai said, grabbing Rory’s arm. They slammed the door shut and Luke watched as they ran across the street and disappeared into the coffee shop. They emerged a few minutes later each carrying a cup. They returned to the car and climbed in, and Luke pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to Stars Hollow.

* * *

The next morning, Luke was getting dressed in the bedroom as Lorelai walked out of the bathroom. As she closed the bedroom door, she dropped her robe and walked over to her dresser in just her underwear.

She pulled out two bras, then turned around and asked, "Luke, which one should I wear?"

He looked over at her and shrugged. "Whichever has the easier clasp to undo."

Lorelai smirked. "Forget you." She glanced down at both of them, then tossed one back in the drawer and pulled the other one on.

"You know, if they just made those things with Velcro, a man’s life would be a lot easier," Luke commented as he pulled his T-shirt over his head.

"Yeah, because a man’s life is so tough," Lorelai said sarcastically. She rummaged through her closet and pulled out a black skirt.

"What, you’re saying it’s not?" Luke asked in disbelief.

"I’m saying it’s easier to be a man than a woman," Lorelai replied as she pulled on the skirt. "Women have to put up with a lot more crap than men do."

Luke shrugged. "I don’t disagree with that – but a man’s life is still tough."

"I’m sure it is," Lorelai replied, looking through her closet for a shirt. "That whole peeing while you stand thing must be exhausting after awhile. . . especially after a night of heavy drinking." She pulled out her purple ruffled shirt and pulled it on.

Luke rolled his eyes. "And that’s my clue to move on to a new topic."

Lorelai smiled and walked over to him as she buttoned her shirt. "What do you have in mind?"

"Truck shopping," Luke replied.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Truck shopping?"

"Yeah – remember, I’m giving Jess the old one for his birthday?" Luke reminded her. "It’s next week."

Lorelai nodded. "Right, I remember."

"Yeah, I was thinking of calling John and seeing if he could come with me tonight to pick one out," Luke said.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows and nodded slightly. "Oh." She walked over to her vanity and began combing her hair.

Luke watched her as he pulled on his shoes, and after a minute of silence, asked, "What’s wrong?"

Lorelai looked at him in the mirror and shrugged. "Nothing."

Luke finished tying his shoes and stood up. "What’s wrong?" he repeated more sternly.

Lorelai sighed and turned around to face him. She glanced down at the floor. "I don’t know. . . I just thought that. . .even though you’ll be the one using it, since it’s sort of the first big thing that we’ll buy together, that it’d be nice to actually. . .pick it out together."

"You wanted to come pick out a new truck?" Luke asked, surprised.

"Well. . . yeah," she said softly.

"Oh," Luke said. "I didn’t realize."

"But. . .I mean, I don’t have to," Lorelai said, waving him off. "You can go with John."

Luke shook his head and walked over to her. "No, I just didn’t think you’d wanna go. . . but, ya know, if you want to, that’s fine with me."

Lorelai tilted her head. "Really?"

"Yeah," Luke replied. "We’ll go tonight."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay."

"Good. Uh, okay, I’m leaving," he said, leaning in to kiss her. "See you later."

"Bye."

* * *

That afternoon at the inn, Lorelai and Sookie were talking at the front desk as Michel worked at the computer, shooting them annoyed looks every few seconds.

"So tonight’s out and Friday night’s out because of Friday night dinner," Sookie said. "What about tomorrow?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, tomorrow’s good. You think you’ll be able to get an appointment on such short notice?"

Sookie shrugged. "I’m gonna try. If not, we’ll just have to make it for sometime next week."

Lorelai rubbed her hands together excitedly. "Isn’t this so exciting? I mean, your final wedding dress fitting makes the wedding seem so close!"

"Well, it is close, honey," Sookie reminded her. "It’s only two and a half weeks away." Sookie paused a moment, then squealed excitedly.

Lorelai giggled and clasped her hands around Sookie’s. "It’s so exciting!"

"Yes, I’m shaking with excitement," Michel said dryly. "Now for the hundredth time, can you two please get out of my face?"

"Um. . .no," Lorelai replied. "We do appreciate you asking nicely, though."

Michel scowled and turned back to the computer as the phone rang. Lorelai stared at Michel. "Oh, can you get that, Michel? I’m a little busy here." Michel ignored her, and Lorelai giggled. "Never mind, I got it." She walked over to the phone and picked it up. "Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking."

"Hey Mom," Rory responded.

Lorelai smiled. "Hey Sweets. What’s up? Anything wrong?"

"Nope, just wanted to let you know that I ran into Kirk at the diner and he had the shower pictures, so he gave ‘em to me," Rory said.

"Oh, great," Lorelai said. "Did you pay him?"

"Luke did," she replied.

"Cool. How’d they come out?"

"I didn’t look at them yet," Rory replied. "Do you want me to wait for you?"

"Nah, you can look at them," Lorelai said. "I’ll see ‘em later."

"Okay." She paused a moment, then said, "I got an email from Dad. He wants to plan the next visit."

"Oh. . .yeah, I’d figure he’d ask about that soon," Lorelai said, twirling a finger in her hair aimlessly. "Listen, write him back and tell him that you can’t come until after Sookie’s wedding. We’re really gonna need you to help out with the preparations, like with the flowers and favors and stuff."

"Okay, but. . .you want me to write him back?" Rory asked. "You don’t wanna call him?"

"I will, but I don’t know when I’ll have time to call him so I . . .think you should answer him electronically so he’s not sitting around waiting to hear from us," Lorelai replied. "Okay?"

"Okay," Rory replied. "Bye Mom."

"Bye hon, love ya." Lorelai hung up the phone and walked back over to Sookie and Michel. "What’d I miss?"

"Michel’s babbling in French," Sookie replied. "Who was that? Your guy?"

"No, my girl," Lorelai replied.

"Everything okay?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai nodded. "Mmhmm."

Sookie strummed her fingers on the counter, then said, "Okay, I better get back into the kitchen."

"Good, take your annoying friend with you," Michel muttered.

Lorelai stuck her tongue out at Michel, then smiled at Sookie. "Don’t forget to make that appointment."

"Right, got it," Sookie said, tapping her forehead. "Bye."

"Bye Sookie."

End Part 49

* * *

Part 50

That night, Rory, Lane, and Dean were sitting in the living room watching television when they heard a horn from outside. Rory jumped up from the floor. "That’s them!" She rushed to the front door and stepped out onto the porch, and the others followed behind her.

As Lorelai was climbing out of her Jeep, Rory said, "Wow, this new car looks exactly like the old one."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "He’s right behind me." She walked up to the porch. "Hey guys."

"Hey," Dean replied.

"Hi," Lane said. "So what kind did you guys get? Another pickup?"

"Nope, he wanted one, but I talked him into. . . a dark green Ford Explorer," Lorelai said, clapping excitedly. "Oh my God, it’s so nice! I slipped on my driving gloves and gave it a spin around the parking lot. It was so . . ." She glanced toward the driveway as Luke was pulling up. "Ooh, here it is!" She jumped off the porch and ran over to the truck. The three of them followed with their mouths gaping open.

Luke climbed out of the truck with a modest smile on his face. He gestured to the truck. "So. . .uh, what do you guys think?"

The three of them walked around the truck.

"Oh my God!" Rory exclaimed. "This is so cool!"

"Yeah, it’s awesome," Dean said.

"Excellent," Lane said, nodding approvingly.

"He didn’t care about all the little extras like the CD player or keyless entry or stuff like that, but a little birdie was there to inform him that those are the necessities of today’s society," Lorelai said.

"Definitely," Rory said as she pulled open the passenger door. "Can we go for a ride, Luke?"

"Ooh, yeah, can we?" Lane asked.

"Uh, yeah, let me just grab something to eat first," he said, gesturing to the house.

Lorelai held out her hand. "You go eat, I’ll take ‘em for a spin."

Luke hesitated a moment, then reluctantly held the keys out toward her. "Don’t be too long," he said sternly. "And don’t go too fast."

Lorelai took the keys and kissed him on the cheek. "We won’t." She walked past him over to the driver’s door. "Rory, grab some CD’s from the Jeep," she called.

"Okay," Rory replied.

Luke turned around and rolled his eyes. "You won’t be gone long enough to need music."

Lorelai smiled as she climbed into the driver’s seat. "Hey, just like every rose has its thorn, every car ride needs music." As Luke rolled his eyes, Lorelai pulled the door shut and waved. Lane and Dean climbed into the back seat, and Rory climbed into the passenger seat with a stack of CDs. Luke took a few steps back and watched them pull away, then turned and went into the house.

* * *

Almost thirty minutes later, Lorelai pulled back into the driveway and the four of them piled out of the truck. As they walked toward the house, Luke opened the front door and stepped onto the porch. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at Lorelai. "I was three minutes away from reporting the thing stolen, I hope you know that."

"Uh oh, someone’s in trouble," Rory said in a singsong voice.

Lorelai smiled as she walked past Luke into the house. "What? We weren’t that long." She dropped her purse on the floor of the entryway and walked toward the kitchen.

As the others walked into the living room, Luke followed her into the kitchen. "Yeah, well, you were twenty-five minutes longer than I expected you to be."

Lorelai leaned against the counter and smiled. "See, now, that’s where your mistake was – you should know by now never to expect things with me," Lorelai said, wagging her finger at him. "I’m very unpredictable."

"Yes, I know. . .one of your less endearing qualities," Luke muttered.

Lorelai gasped. "I have to respectfully disagree. I think it’s a charming quality. . .makes me spunky."

Luke sauntered over to her and placed his hands on the counter, surrounding her with his arms. He leaned close to her face and said, "Spunky. . .that’s what you call it?" He pressed his lips against hers.

"Mmhmm," she moaned through the kiss. She unfolded her arms from her chest and wrapped them around his neck. She pulled his hat off his head and ran her fingers through his hair. When they finally broke apart, she asked, "What would you call it?"

Panting slightly, he said, "Spunky’s fine, I’m too busy to think of another word right now." He leaned in and kissed her again. She giggled softly as she kissed him back deeper.

When she pulled back, she whispered, "You know what we have to do?"

"What?" He took his hat back and replaced it on his head.

"We have to christen the new truck," Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows suggestively. "Have you seen how big the back is?"

Luke shook his head. "No way. Don’t even think about it."

Lorelai smiled. "Too late." She kissed him again, then asked, "Have you seen the shower pictures?"

"Nope, not yet."

"I’ll go get ‘em." Lorelai walked past him and headed toward the living room. "Rory, where are the shower pictures?"

Rory looked up from the couch and pointed toward the desk. "Right there in that box."

"Did you look at them?" Lorelai asked as she walked over to the desk.

"Yup, there are some really good ones," Rory replied. She paused, then added, "And one rather disturbing one." Lorelai narrowed her eyes as she picked up the box and brought it into the kitchen.

Luke was sitting at the table, and Lorelai sat down next to him. "These better be good for costing forty-five bucks," Luke muttered.

Lorelai pulled out a stack of pictures and they began looking through them. When they came to one of them sitting at a table eating, Lorelai laughed. "Oh my God, look how cute we are!"

Luke rolled his eyes. "And what’s cute about us stuffing our faces?"

"Shush, it’s cute," she said, frowning at him. They flipped through the rest of that stack, then pulled out another group of pictures. They flipped through those until one of them made Lorelai gasp. . .the one Kirk had taken of them dancing just moments before Luke had proposed.

Lorelai clasped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God." She brought the picture close to her eyes. "Oh my God."

"That’s a nice one," Luke commented.

Lorelai nodded as she stared intensely at the photo. "I can’t believe I forgot about this one. I saw him take it, but I completely forgot about it." She waved the photo toward Luke. "Do you have any idea how amazing this is? This is us. . ."

Luke nodded. "Yes, it is."

"No, not just *us*," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "But us . . .in mid proposal. How many people have a picture of themselves ten seconds before they get engaged? How many people have physical documentation of that moment?"

"Uh, not many?" Luke guessed.

"No, not many," Lorelai said, grinning excitedly. "I can’t believe how great this came out. I’m gonna get this enlarged so we can frame it, okay?"

Luke shrugged. "Whatever you want."

"Poster size," Lorelai added.

"Okay, let me take back that ‘whatever you want’ and exchange it for a ‘do not go higher than an eight by ten’," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

"Sixteen by twenty," Lorelai countered.

"Eleven by fourteen," Luke said.

"Deal," Lorelai agreed. She smiled down at the picture. "Man, we really have to give Kirk a tip or something. Maybe I’ll get him something gnom-ish."

"He likes gnomes?" Luke asked.

Lorelai nodded as she flipped through a few more pictures, then let out a laugh. "And, uh, apparently he didn’t remove all of his gnome pictures from the roll. This must be the disturbing one Rory was talking about. Check this out." She held up the picture in front of him.

Luke looked at it and narrowed his eyes. "My God, what are they doing?" He tilted his head, looking at it from another angle.

"They. . .appear to be partaking in some wild gnome fun." Lorelai shuddered and dropped the picture on the table. "Okay, I thought the sheer notion of taking pictures of gnomes was weird enough, but the fact that he was setting them up in lewd positions first is just completely creepy."

"Kirk’s a bit odd," Luke said.

"Yes, he is," Lorelai agreed. "But he did get some good pictures." They looked through the rest of them, setting aside the ones they wanted to keep for themselves, any that included Lorelai, Luke, or Rory.

When they were done, Lorelai put the rest of the pictures back into the box, then turned to Luke. "So. . .what are you gonna do?"

Luke stood up. "I think I’m gonna go take a shower."

Lorelai stood up. "I think I’ll go see what the youthful folk are up to in there."

They walked to the living room, and as Luke walked upstairs, Lorelai sat down on the floor in front of the couch. "What are you guys watching?" She watched the television for a few seconds, then said, "Ooh, is this on cable or is this the edited version?"

"It’s on Comedy Central," Rory replied. "They cut out all the good stuff."

Lorelai frowned. "Aw, censorship sucks."

"Yes, it does," Rory agreed.

* * *

The next night after work, Lorelai and Sookie walked into the diner for coffee. As Luke set the takeout cups in front of them, he asked, "What time do you think you’ll be home?"

Lorelai took a sip of her coffee and shrugged. "I don’t know. We’re gonna grab some dinner after the appointment, so I guess maybe between eight and nine. . .that sound about right?" she asked Sookie.

Sookie nodded. "Yeah, that’s what I told Jackson."

Lorelai turned back to Luke. "Yeah, somewhere around there. Rory didn’t wanna go, but I think she’ll be in here later for dinner."

"Okay."

She leaned over the counter and pecked him on the cheek. "Bye."

"Bye," Luke replied. "Bye Sookie."

Sookie smiled. "Bye."

They walked out of the diner and climbed into Sookie’s SUV, then drove to Lorelai’s house to pick up Sookie’s wedding dress.

As they pulled out of the driveway and headed toward Hartford, Lorelai leaned her head against the side window and said, "Sookie?"

"You finally wanna talk about what’s been bothering you?" Sookie asked.

Surprised, Lorelai turned her head toward Sookie. "How did you know something was bothering me?"

"Because I know you," Sookie replied. "What is it?"

Lorelai stared out the windshield. "What do you think of. . .Christopher?"

Sookie’s eyes widened and she shook her head slightly. "Okay, totally wasn’t expecting that question."

"I know, I know, but. . .what do you think of him?" Lorelai asked.

Sookie gasped. "Oh God, Lorelai, please tell me you’re not thinking of breaking up with Luke for Christopher. It’ll break his heart!"

Lorelai scoffed. "Sookie! Of course not!"

Sookie let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, good."

"I just wanted to know what you thought of him."

"Well. . . I’ve only met him once, Lorelai," Sookie said with a shrug. "He seemed nice."

"What about. . .character-wise?" Lorelai asked. "I mean, judging by what you know about him, what do you think of him?"

Sookie narrowed her eyes at Lorelai. "Why don’t you tell me what you’re thinking?"

Lorelai nibbled on her bottom lip for a few seconds and stared out at the pavement as they sped down the highway. Finally, she let out a long sigh and said, "I’ve always told myself that it was okay for Christopher to get out of Connecticut. I mean, he didn’t wanna be here, I told him I didn’t wanna marry him . . . so he left. I’ve always thought that, in a way, it was something that I was partially responsible for, him leaving. . . so essentially I’m the reason that I had to raise Rory without a father, meaning that I shouldn’t complain about it or be mad at him for it, that it was something I brought on myself."

Sookie scoffed. "Lorelai, you know that’s not true."

"Well, true or not, that’s what I told myself," Lorelai said. "But I’ve been thinking about it lately. . .and realizing that just because I told him that I didn’t need his help doesn’t mean that he had to go. He should’ve *wanted* to stay – but instead, it’s like he jumped at the chance to get away from it all, to miss his daughter’s childhood. I mean, even if *I* didn’t want to settle down and get married and live happily ever after, he should’ve at least been there for Rory."

"I agree."

"But he didn’t want to," Lorelai said. "He didn’t want to see her grow up, he didn’t want to help raise her. He left . . . he just up and left. Why did he do that, Sookie? Why did he leave like that?"

"Because when someone is given an opportunity to avoid all of their responsibilities like that, they take it," Sookie said. "It’s just how some people are."

"I’ve always thought that he was a good person for asking her to come visit or for calling her once in awhile," Lorelai said. "I’d think, ‘Aw, look at that – her father’s trying to be closer to her, what a great guy.’" Lorelai scoffed and shook her head. "But why the hell should I be giving him fanfare for doing stuff like that when he should’ve been there the whole damn time?"

"You shouldn’t," Sookie said, shaking her head.

"That’s right, I shouldn’t," Lorelai said, her anger apparent in her voice. "Why was I so stupid, feeling all proud of him every time he made a nice gesture?"

"Because you and Rory weren’t used to those gestures," Sookie said. "You were getting excited when he tried to reach out to you guys."

"I know, but we shouldn’t have." Lorelai shook her head. "We shouldn’t have put him up on a pedestal for doing things like that. I mean, calling once in awhile? Seeing her, at most, twice a year? Those are things that long lost uncles do, not fathers! Fathers should be there all the time – he should’ve been there for her, Sookie, and I’m really starting to . . ." Lorelai exhaled loudly. "I’m really starting to hate him for it."

They were both silent for a minute, then Sookie glanced toward Lorelai. "Honey, can I ask you something?" Sookie asked softly. "Where is all of this coming from? Why now, after so many years, are you getting so worked up over this?"

"I don’t know," she replied tersely. Lorelai closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "That’s not true – I do know."

"So. . .why?"

"Luke," Lorelai replied. "The other day he got really mad and – "

"Luke got mad?" Sookie interrupted. "Like yelling-mad?"

"Yelling-mad," Lorelai confirmed. "And he never gets like that. . .I mean, as long as I’ve known him, I’ve only seen him get that way a couple of times. He said he was thinking about how Chris shouldn’t have left and yadda yadda yadda. . .he asked me why I wasn’t mad at Chris for deserting me and Rory."

"Ah."

"Yeah, and that just made me start thinking about things," Lorelai said. "And now I’ve got all these feelings that I’m trying to sort out. . .and it’s hard."

"Have you talked to Luke about it since he brought it up?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai shook her head. "No. . .should I?"

"It might be good to get it out," Sookie said, nodding. "I mean, you guys are engaged . . .he’s apart of the whole family-situation now, you know?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah."

"So. . .yeah, talk to him," Sookie said. "It’ll make you feel better to get it all out with him."

"Yeah, I guess so," Lorelai replied. She picked up her coffee and took a long sip, then replaced it in the cup holder with a sigh.

* * *

Back in Stars Hollow, Luke was clearing off a table as Jess walked into the diner carrying a couple of books. As he passed Luke, he said, "Hey."

Luke nodded toward him and continued clearing off the table. He glanced out the window and saw his old truck, which he had driven to work that day instead of the new one, and he suddenly stood up straight. "Oh, hey. . . come here a sec."

Jess stopped near the staircase and turned around. "What?"

Luke set the plates back down on the table and wiped his hands on the dishtowel draped on his shoulder. He gestured for Jess to follow him as he started walking toward the door. Jess narrowed his eyes and set his books on the counter, then followed Luke out onto the sidewalk.

Jess shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "Yeah?"

"Your birthday’s next week," Luke said.

Jess’ eyes widened. "Is it? Thanks for the heads-up." He rolled his eyes. "Is that all you wanted?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Be nice for two minutes, okay?"

"Countdown starts. . . now," Jess said, tapping on his watch. "Go."

Luke pulled his keys out of his pocket and fumbled through them to find the key to his truck. Jess watched as Luke pulled the key off the ring, then shoved the others back into his pocket.

"Now, as I said, your birthday’s next week," Luke said. "But I wanted to give you your present now." He held out the key toward Jess. "Here."

Jess took the key. "My own key to the truck?"

"No. . .the whole truck," Luke said, gesturing to it. "To keep."

Jess’ eyes widened slightly and he looked at the truck, then turned back to Luke. "Wait. . .are you serious? Is this a joke?"

Luke shook his head. "No. . .the truck’s yours. I know it’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing. . .at least until you can afford something better."

"But. . .what about you?" Jess asked.

"I got a new one," Luke said.

Jess smirked. "Oh, so I get the hand-me-down while you get the nice shiny one?"

Luke folded his arms across his chest. "Look, I don’t have to do this, I’m just being nice. Do you want it or not?"

"Hell yeah, I want it," Jess replied with a nod. He paused a moment, then added, "I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful or nothing, I was just kidding around."

Luke nodded. "So. . .you know, happy birthday."

"Thanks," Jess said. He extended his hand toward Luke.

Luke shook it. "You’re welcome. Remember, you gotta take care of it. . .gas, oil changes, stuff like that."

Jess nodded. "I got it, no problem."

"You might wanna get yourself a keychain there," Luke suggested, pointing to the key.

Jess smirked. "Yeah, I’ll get me one of those. Anything else?"

"Just. . . you know, be careful," Luke said, shifting his feet uncomfortably. "And keep your phone with you when you’re driving."

Jess nodded. "I will."

"All right, I gotta get back inside," Luke said, gesturing to the diner door.

"Okay," Jess replied. "And. . .thanks."

Luke nodded and started walking toward the diner, and Jess followed behind him.

* * *

That night, Lorelai walked into the house slightly before 8:30. Luke and Rory were both watching television, and as she hung her purse up on the coat hook and walked into the living room, they both looked up from the couch. "Hey Mom," Rory greeted her.

"Hey," Luke said.

"Hey." She sat on the couch between them and put her feet up on the coffee table.

"How’d it go?" Rory asked.

"Good," Lorelai replied. "Sookie’s dress has to be taken in a little so they have to keep it until next week. And she wants you and I to come over this weekend and try on ours to make sure they’re all finished." She turned to Luke and patted his thigh. "Speaking of which, you need to buy a new suit."

Luke made a face. "Right, I forgot. I guess jeans are discouraged at weddings, huh?"

"Uh, yeah," Lorelai said with a laugh. "Sookie’s one of those rare brides who wants her wedding guests to dress in formal attire."

Luke made a face. "It’s so stupid that people have to get all dressed up for these things. We should let our guests wear whatever the hell they want. In fact, I just might wear jeans to our wedding to prove a point."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Okay – lemme tell you right now, as big a fan as I am of jeans, if you show up to our wedding in ‘em, you’re leaving without a wife. I will hightail it out of there like a scene from Runaway Bride."

Luke smirked. "Noted."

"Wow, that’s an extreme measure to take for not liking someone’s pants," Rory commented.

"Yeah, well, pants are very important to me," Lorelai said, stifling a yawn.

"Tired already?" Rory asked.

"No, that’s not a tired yawn, just a bored yawn," Lorelai replied. "Let’s do something."

"Like what?" Luke asked.

Lorelai shrugged. "Let’s play a game. What haven’t we played in awhile?"

"Everything," Rory said.

"How ‘bout Monopoly?" Lorelai suggested.

"Didn’t we lose all the game pieces?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, actually, I think we did." Lorelai stood up and walked toward the kitchen. "I’ll find something else for us to use. Luke, can you get the game out of the closet? It’s on the top shelf."

Luke stood up and retrieved the game as Rory cleared off the coffee table. They both sat down on the floor and started to set up the game as Lorelai walked back in and dropped three jelly beans on the board. "There you go. I’m red."

Rory grabbed the yellow one. "I’m yellow."

Luke shook his head slightly. "Oh boy."

Lorelai sat down next to Luke, then she frowned. "Shoot, I forgot to get a drink."

Rory held up the stack of multi-colored money. "If you hand out the money, I’ll go get you one."

"Deal," Lorelai said. "Soda, please."

Rory handed her the money and she stood up. "Luke – more iced tea?"

Luke glanced over at his drink on the end table. "Uh, yeah, thanks." He handed her the cup and she walked into the kitchen.

Lorelai glanced down at the instructions to see how much money to hand out, then she started counting it out. After a few seconds, she glanced over at Luke and saw him watching her. She cleared her throat and glanced back down. "Luke. . .uh, I’ve been thinking a lot lately. . ."

Luke groaned. "Uh oh, good conversations rarely start off like that."

Lorelai looked up at him. "No, it’s not bad. I just. . .I’ve been thinking about our conversation about Christopher. . ."

Luke waved her off. "Look, I’m sorry about bringing all that up. . ."

"No, no, it was good," Lorelai insisted. "It made me think about a lot of things, and. . .I wanna talk about it with you."

"You do?"

Lorelai nodded. "I really wanna explain my feelings about all this."

Luke nodded quickly. "Okay. . . any time you want."

"Thank you." Lorelai smiled and leaned over to kiss him. She pulled back slowly and ran her hand over the stubble on his cheek before she returned to passing out the money.

Rory returned to the living room with the drinks. She set them on the coffee table, then sat back down. "Did you tell Mom about the truck, Luke?"

Lorelai looked up, surprised. "Something wrong with the new truck already?"

Luke shook his head. "No, the new one’s fine."

"He gave Jess his old one," Rory said. "Wasn’t that nice?"

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "You gave it to him already? His birthday’s not until next week."

Luke shrugged. "I know. . . but I had taken the old truck to work today and Jess came into the diner and I saw it parked out there and. . ."

Lorelai smiled and turned to Rory. "Aw, he couldn’t wait to give it to him!"

Rory smiled. "How cute!"

Lorelai turned back to Luke. "So. . .he was happy?"

"Yeah, he was excited about it," Luke said.

Lorelai nodded. "Good."

"Yup."

As Lorelai continued passing out the money, she asked, "Any good mail today?"

"Bills," Luke replied.

"No magazines," Rory added.

"Rats," Lorelai muttered.

"I did get something from Chilton, though," Rory said. "There’s gonna be a Summer College Fair coming up for seniors."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Oh yeah? Are you gonna go?"

Rory shrugged. "Probably."

"What, to get more Harvard stuff?" Luke asked.

Rory shrugged. "I don’t know. I just. . .wanna look around." She glanced down at her shirt and picked off a piece of lint.

Lorelai and Luke glanced at each other curiously and shrugged. Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, here you go." She handed out the stacks of money. "Roll to see who goes first."

* * *

A few hours later, after helping Rory clean up the game, Lorelai and Luke climbed the staircase up to their room. "I told you, just because you had Boardwalk and Park Place doesn’t mean it’s all in the bag," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, yeah," Luke muttered.

"You so thought you were gonna win. When you put up those hotels, you were practically running around the room doing your victory dance," Lorelai said with a smirk.

As they reached the top of the steps, Luke yawned and said, "Okay, let’s forget it."

Lorelai turned around and wagged her finger in his face. "But I told you – you have to watch out for those yellows and greens."

Luke took her wrist and brought her hand down. "Yes, now I know for next time."

"Good." She glanced down at his hand clutching her wrist. "Can I have my hand back, or did you want it as a memento of this conversation?" Her eyes widened. "Speaking of which, we should rent that movie!"

Luke let go of her hand and walked into the bedroom. "What movie?"

Lorelai followed him into the room and closed the door. "Memento. . .it’s a backwards movie. . .all the scenes are in reverse order."

"Sounds confusing," Luke commented.

"It’s cool though," Lorelai said. "You’ll like it. Plus, the lead guy has tattoos, so you’ll have something in common with him. . . except his tattoos are all freaky and stuff."

"Uh huh," Luke muttered as he took off his shirt. "Speaking of which, yours is starting to fade."

Lorelai frowned. "Aw, it is?"

"Yeah, I noticed last night," Luke replied.

Lorelai walked over to the mirror and pulled off her shirt. She turned around and glanced over her shoulder to see the reflection of the tattoo. "Aww, it is! Are you sad?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Devastated."

Lorelai walked over to him. "I think you are, you think it’s sexy."

"It is," Luke said. "But that doesn’t mean I’ll be sad when it’s gone. I don’t get emotionally attached to inanimate objects like you do."

"So you don’t think I should replace this one with a real one?" Lorelai asked.

Luke shook his head. "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it." He walked over to his side of the bed and pulled off his shirt.

"Meaning?" she asked as she took off her pants.

Luke glanced over his shoulder at her. "Meaning that . . .your body’s perfect the way it is and you shouldn’t ruin it with a tattoo, plain and simple."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah?"

Luke nodded and turned back around. They both finished changing and took turns using the bathroom. As Lorelai returned to the bedroom, she shut the door and turned off the light, then climbed into bed next to Luke, who lay on his back with his hands behind his head.

She leaned against the headboard and pulled the covers up around her, then glanced over at him. He was staring at her, waiting for her to bring up what he knew both of them were thinking about.

Lorelai sighed softly and shook her head. "Not tonight. I don’t wanna talk about it tonight."

Luke nodded understandably. "Okay. Like I said, any time you want. . .whenever you’re ready."

Lorelai nodded and leaned down to kiss him. "Night."

"Night." Luke watched her roll over onto her side and rest her head against her pillow before he rolled the opposite way and did the same.

* * *

On Saturday afternoon, Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner and sat down at the counter. Luke greeted them with a nod as he cleared a table in the corner of the room.

They chatted casually as he carried the plates into the kitchen, then returned and stood across from them. "What’s up?"

"We went food shopping," Lorelai said, rubbing her hands together excitedly.

"Oh boy," Luke muttered. "Just tell me – did you get anything that I like?"

"As a matter of fact, we did," Rory replied. "When we got there, we noticed that there was a huge sale on produce. . . "

"So I was like, ‘Let’s buy some fruit, Luke would be proud of us for taking advantage of this remarkable bargain’," Lorelai interrupted, grinning proudly at Luke.

Rory rolled her eyes. "I believe your exact words were, ‘Let’s buy the things that we like first, and if there’s room in the basket, we’ll get some fruit for Luke.’"

Luke folded his arms across his chest and gave Lorelai an accusing look.

Lorelai gasped and nudged Rory with her elbow. "Traitor!" she hissed.

Rory laughed. "Hey, I’m just telling the truth here."

"So did you get some produce?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, we picked up a couple things for ya," Lorelai replied.

"Good. What are you doing now?"

"Well, we just dropped off the groceries, and now we’re going to Freddy’s to buy a photo album for Sookie’s shower pictures," Lorelai said.

"We want to bring it with us when we go over to try on the dresses tonight," Rory added.

"Oh, right," Luke nodded. "Forgot about that."

"Remember, I told you yesterday that she invited us all for dinner," Lorelai said. "Are you gonna come? You don’t have to stay for the trying-on-dresses part, but you can stop by and get something to eat."

Luke shrugged. "Maybe."

Lorelai stood up and patted Rory on the shoulder. "Okay, let’s go, hon."

"You don’t want coffee or anything?" Luke asked, gesturing to the coffeemaker behind him.

Rory shook her head as she stood up. "Freddy doesn’t allow drinks in his store. Mom tried to sneak one in her coat one time because she didn’t want to throw it out yet, and Freddy saw the coffee steam coming out of her pocket and yelled at her."

Lorelai frowned and nodded. "Can you believe that? Now I only go in there with other people so they can restrain me from attacking him out of built-up anger."

Rory rolled his eyes. "Even you’re not stupid enough to attack Freddy. Didn’t he used to be a professional football player or a sumo-wrestler or something?"

Lorelai made a face. "I don’t know, but thanks for putting the image of him in a diaper in my head, ugh!"

"Yeah, well. . . don’t attack him because I can’t protect you," Luke said. "Attack someone smaller."

"So I should only attack people after certifying that you can take ‘em out if need be?" Lorelai asked.

"Yup."

"Okay, good," Lorelai said. She turned to Rory. "We have to go home and make a list of all the people we don’t like, and then we’ll find out which ones we’re allowed to attack."

"Sounds good," Rory replied. "Now let’s go get the photo album." She started walking to the door, calling, "Bye Luke" over her shoulder.

"Bye," he replied. "Try to keep her out of trouble, okay?"

Rory turned around and smiled. "I will."

He turned back to Lorelai. "See you later. Be good."

Lorelai leaned across the counter and kissed him. "I will. Bye." She turned and followed Rory out the door and onto the sidewalk.

They walked quietly down the street, and Lorelai glanced over at Rory, who was staring off into space. "You okay? You seem to be shifting into these pensive moods a lot lately."

Rory nodded. "I’m fine."

"You sure?"

"Mmhmm." They walked for another block in silence before Rory muttered, "I feel like such a jerk sometimes."

Lorelai’s eyes widened and she stopped walking. "What?" She grabbed Rory’s arm and turned her so they were standing face to face.

Rory glanced down at the sidewalk. "I feel like a jerk."

Lorelai lifted up Rory’s chin and frowned sympathetically. "Why? What happened?"

"Nothing happened," Rory replied.

"Rory, people don’t usually just walk along berating themselves for no reason," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "Talk to me. . .please?"

Rory exhaled loudly and folded her arms across her chest. She shifted her feet uncomfortably and glanced down at the sidewalk. "Sometimes I feel bad for. . . " Her voice trailed off.

"For?" Lorelai prompted, gesturing for her to continue.

"For. . . liking Luke better than Dad," Rory finished quietly, bringing her gaze up to meet Lorelai’s.

Lorelai’s face softened and she pulled Rory into a hug. "Aw, honey. . ."

"It’s just. . .when you guys got engaged, I was thinking to myself, ‘Luke’s going to be my stepfather’, and that made me happy and everything. . . but then it made me realize that . . .that label isn’t right for him because it already feels like Luke is the real father. . .and Dad’s just. . . some guy I call Dad," Rory said. "And I feel so awful for thinking that because - "

Lorelai pulled back from the hug and shook her head. "Don’t – you have nothing to feel bad about, I mean it." She put her arm around Rory’s shoulder and began walking down the sidewalk again. "Listen, we’re gonna go get the album, and then we’re gonna go home, and while we put the pictures in, we’re gonna talk about this stuff. I think we both have some things we need to get out about this. I’ve been thinking about it lately, too."

"Yeah?" Rory asked.

Lorelai nodded. "Yup. So what do you say. . .time for a nice mother/daughter chat?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah. . .okay."

* * *

* * *

PART 51

Twenty minutes later, Lorelai and Rory arrived home with the photo album. Lorelai dropped her purse on the hallway table and shrugged. "So. . .kitchen?"

Rory nodded. "Kitchen."

They walked into the kitchen and cleared off the table, then sat down with the photo album and the box of pictures. Lorelai opened the box and said, "I think they’re pretty much stacked in order, so. . .do you wanna be the hander-person or the put-in-person?"

Rory let out a small laugh. "Excuse me?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "The hander-person or the put-in person. I think it’s pretty much self-explanatory."

"Only in your twisted mind, Mom," Rory replied. "Now please clarify."

"Do you want to hand the pictures to me so I can put them in – thus making you the hander-person - or do you want me to hand them to you so you can put them in – thus making you the put-in person?"

Rory nodded. "Ah. Um . . .I guess I’ll be the hander-person."

"Okay, that makes me the put-in person." Lorelai reached for the photo album and opened it up to the first page. "Start handing ‘em over."

"Okay." Rory took out a stack of pictures and handed the top one to Lorelai, who slipped it into the plastic pocket of the album. They continued for a few minutes, commenting about each of the photographs as they placed them in the album.

After awhile, Lorelai finally said, "So. . .honey, talk to me about what’s on your mind." Rory didn’t say anything; instead, she handed Lorelai another picture and then glanced down at the next one.

After narrowing her eyes at Rory, Lorelai slipped the photo into the album, then shut it and pushed it aside. She moved her chair closer to Rory’s and placed a hand on her arm. "Come on, tell me what you’re thinking."

Rory took a deep breath and shrugged. "I don’t really know exactly what I’m thinking."

Lorelai stared at Rory for a few seconds, then said, "Honey, sometimes it’s okay to have a little less integrity than Mother Teresa."

Rory narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Lorelai rubbed Rory’s forearm. "Rory, I know you – you’re always nice and sweet and you like to see the good in people. You don’t wanna say bad things about your Dad, and I completely get that. . . but trust me, the only way to really talk about this is for us to be completely open, okay?" Lorelai gestured around her. "I mean, look around, he’s not here. . . unless he’s bugged the place, he won’t hear you if you say anything mean."

Rory nodded. "I know he won’t."

Lorelai stood up and grabbed Rory’s hand. "Come on, this is a couch conversation." She pulled Rory into the living room. "Sit down over there." Lorelai pointed to one end of the couch. Rory obliged as Lorelai walked over to the armchair and grabbed two blankets from behind it.

She walked back over and handed one of the blankets to Rory, then sat down on the other end of the couch. When they were both comfortable and settled under their blankets, Lorelai said, "Okay, let’s talk. . . no holds barred."

Rory nodded. "Okay."

Lorelai nodded. "All right."

They were both silent for a few seconds as they stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak.

Finally, Rory said, "You go first."

Lorelai pushed her hair behind her ears and nodded. "Okay." She exhaled slowly. "Okay, how should we start this? Um, well, you and I. . . we both know that your Dad’s not in the same category as Danny Tanner or Mike Brady or Cliff Huxtable. . . or any of those other dads who were always there for their kids. That’s a given, right? We know that."

Rory nodded. "We know that."

"Okay, good. But that’s something that we’ve always just accepted. We’ve always just assumed that he’d never be around, that it was just you and me. And, throughout the years, when he did randomly make an effort to be involved, what did we do?"

Rory shrugged. "We were happy about it."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, we acted like it was the greatest thing, right?"

"Right."

"And when he recently started getting involved more consistently, with the visits and the phone calls and everything – we were really excited about that, too," Lorelai said. "We thought it was pretty cool of him, right?"

"Yeah."

Lorelai nodded. "Which it is," she confirmed. "I think it’s great that he’s sort of turned his life around and is trying to be apart of your life now." She paused and pressed her palms together as she thought for a moment. "That said, the thing that I’ve been thinking about lately, the thing that’s bringing up all this bitterness in me, is. . .why did he leave in the first place?"

"Because you said you didn’t want to marry him," Rory replied.

"Very true, I did say that," Lorelai agreed. "But let’s look at this. . .I said that I didn’t wanna marry him, but did that mean that he had to leave? Did me saying that I didn’t want to become Mrs. Christopher Hayden imply that it was okay for him to move three thousand miles away and not be involved in your life at all?"

"No, but he wanted to leave," Rory said.

"Exactly!" Lorelai exclaimed, pointing her finger at Rory.

Rory narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, exactly?"

Lorelai gestured animatedly and she spoke quickly, "I mean that he wanted to leave – he didn’t want to stay here anymore, he didn’t want to help me raise you. This isn’t about me, this is about you – this is about how he didn’t care that he was going to miss so much of your life. Sure, he followed the proper etiquette by asking me to marry him. He thought that that was the thing he needed to do to take responsibility for his actions, and when I said no to his offer, he figured that his duties as impregnator were over and that he was free to do whatever he wanted."

Rory sat back against the arm of the couch and listened intently to Lorelai’s rant, realizing that her and Lorelai were both thinking the same things about Christopher.

Lorelai’s voice softened slightly as she continued, "Now. . .I know that not marrying him was the right thing to do . . .but sometimes I told myself that I shouldn’t have been so adamant about not needing his help – for your sake, at least. I’ve scolded myself for being so fiercely stubborn and independent back then."

A small smile appeared on Rory’s lips. "Back then?"

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, so I’m still fiercely stubborn and independent."

"Yes, you are," Rory agreed.

Lorelai stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds before she continued. "And for a long time I blamed myself for him leaving, but. . . now I’m finally realizing that it was never my fault that he left. . . I didn’t make him leave."

"I know you didn’t," Rory assured her. "He made the choice himself to leave."

"Exactly. I mean, me saying no to his proposal didn’t automatically void his responsibilities as a father," Lorelai said. "He should’ve realized that. An honorable man would’ve wanted to be apart of your life from the beginning."

"Right." Rory paused a moment before she added, "But he didn’t want to. . . so he left."

"So, the question is, why do we act like it never happened?" Lorelai asked with a shrug. "Why have we always just brushed aside the past – we were living in a potting shed while he was living it up carefree in California, yet we still refused to place any blame on him. . .why is that?"

Rory didn’t have an answer. She glanced down at the blanket covering her legs and pulled off a piece of lint. She sighed softly and said, "I don’t know. . . because it’s easier just to forget about it. . . it’s better to concentrate on the present than to dwell on the past."

"Like I said, I think the whole thing with me right now, the thing that’s starting to get me really upset, is not the fact that he left, but the fact that he didn’t care about you enough to want to stay. I think my feelings for him stood in the way of me really seeing who he was, but when I step back and look at it objectively, I’m realizing. . .what a jerk he was to do that." Lorelai swallowed hard and stared down at the blanket for a few seconds. She finally glanced up at Rory and said, "All right, your turn to share – tell me what’s going on in that gigantic brain of yours."

Rory shrugged and glanced toward the mantle. She turned back to Lorelai and hugged her knees against her chest. "Usually, when I’m with Dad, I spend a lot of time comparing him to you. Every time he does something, I think, ‘that’s not how Mom would do it’, or every time he says something, I think, ‘Mom would’ve said this instead.’ Just. . .everything reminds me of you."

Lorelai smiled. "Aw."

Rory cleared her throat before she continued. "He just tries so hard to be like you. He wants to have what you and I have, the type of relationship that we have. And at first, I felt kind of special that he wanted to have that with me after all these years. . . but now, it’s like the more he tries to build this relationship, the more I think about the reason that we don’t have that relationship in the first place – because he left. And when I start thinking about that, about what he did to us, it makes me wonder – father or not, do I even really want this kind of relationship with a man who did that to us? Why do I care about building a relationship with a man who didn’t care about me enough to want to help raise me?"

As Lorelai listened to Rory’s words, she found herself surprised – not only by the fact that Rory seemed to be thinking about things much more seriously than Lorelai had thought she was, but also by the fact that her thoughts were so similar to Lorelai’s.

Lorelai frowned sympathetically. "Aw, Sweetie, I know how you feel."

Rory nodded. They were both silent for a moment before Rory said quietly, "During the last visit, for some reason, not only was I comparing Dad to you, but I also started comparing him with Luke."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Luke, really?"

Rory nodded. "I just had to step back and look at it from another angle, and it made me realize some important things."

"Like?" Lorelai prompted.

"Well. . .it came down to this – Luke didn’t have to be there for us but he was, and Dad was supposed to be there but he wasn’t." Rory shrugged. "I mean, comparing the character of those two. . .it’s pretty darn obvious which one is more deserving of my love and admiration as a father – and it’s not the guy I call Dad. And I felt bad thinking like that, I really did . . . but now I realize that I shouldn’t. Luke’s more important in my life than Dad is, Luke’s more of a father to me than Dad is. . .and it’s not my fault that’s how it is – it’s Dad’s. Maybe he should get some pointers from Luke about how to be a good man."

Lorelai’s mouth dropped open slightly and tears formed in her eyes. Rory noticed, and she narrowed her eyes with concern. "Mom, are you okay?"

Lorelai nodded as she sniffled. "Mmhmm." She wiped her tears. "Just. . .hearing you talk about Luke like that. . .it’s just sweet. It makes everything seem. . .right." Lorelai held out her arms. "Come here, kid."

Rory smiled and crawled over to Lorelai’s side of the couch. They lay next to each other and Rory rested her head on Lorelai’s shoulder. "I feel like I’m five years old," Rory said with a laugh. She closed her eyes and whispered, "I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too." Lorelai kissed the top of her head. She patted Rory’s arm and said, "Keep talking. Don’t stop until you get everything out."

Rory let out a long sigh. "Well. . . I don’t know. . .I still love Dad, but I’m probably never gonna be able to forgive him, as much as I wish I could. If things were different, if there were other circumstances that contributed to the fact that he wasn’t there, then maybe I’d be able to forgive him, but . . .just like you said, the fact that he didn’t want to be there – that just makes it even worse than it already was."

"Mm, I know what you mean," Lorelai muttered. "Great minds think alike."

"I’m gonna let things keep going as they have been, with the visits and the phone calls and everything," Rory said. "And if he wants to think that this relationship is progressing, then let him think that. Frankly, it’s probably never gonna get beyond the point it’s at now, but he’ll have to discover that the hard way."

They talked for a few more minutes before they finally walked back into the kitchen and continued working on the photo album.

* * *

A few hours later, Luke arrived home from the diner and found the girls on the front porch talking to Babette. Luke walked over and greeted them, and Babette winked at him. "How ya doin’, doll?"

"Uh, good, thanks," Luke replied. "How ‘bout yourself?"

"Oh, I’m good, too," Babette replied. "I was just telling the girls here how much me and Morey like the new truck."

Luke smiled and glanced over at it. "Thanks, I like it, too." He placed a hand on the small of Lorelai’s back. "What time are we leaving for Sookie’s?"

Lorelai turned and smiled at him. "You’re gonna go?"

"Yeah."

"Aw, good," Lorelai replied. "She said to come around seven."

Luke glanced down at his watch. "Okay, I’m gonna go take a shower." As he started walking toward the front door, he looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Bye Babette."

"Buh-bye," she called. When he disappeared through the front door, Babette grinned and nudged Lorelai. "Ooh, God, he’s so cute you could just eat ‘em up!"

Lorelai giggled and nudged her back. "I know!"

Babette fanned herself with her hand. "And now he’s going up to take a shower – my God, I’m glad Morey’s not here to see me get all hot and bothered."

Lorelai gasped. "Babette!" she exclaimed with a laugh.

Rory cleared her throat and raised her hand. "Minor here, thank you."

Babette smiled. "Oh, sorry, sugar. . .I better get back home. See you girls later." She turned and walked down the porch steps.

"Bye," Lorelai said.

"Bye Babette," Rory said. She turned to Lorelai. "I was thinking that we should bring something to Sookie’s."

"We are," Lorelai replied. "We’re bringing the album. Duh – did you forget already?" She turned and walked toward the front door.

Rory followed her into the house. "No, I mean, like a dessert or something."

Lorelai turned around and grimaced. "Ooh, maybe you’re right." She patted the pockets of her shorts, then reached in and pulled out a folded up twenty. "Here, run to Weston’s and pick something up – something small, though, because I’m sure Sookie made a ton of stuff for us anyway."

"Okay." Rory shoved the money into her pocket and walked out the front door.

Lorelai walked upstairs and found the bedroom door shut. "Luke, it’s me," she called, knocking on it lightly.

"It’s open," he replied.

She walked through the door and shut it behind her. Luke was sitting at the foot of the bed taking his shoes off. Lorelai climbed onto the bed and kneeled behind him, then wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his back. "Hi."

"Hey." He finished removing his shoes, then reached his arm behind him to stroke her hair. "What’s up?"

"Mm, nothing much," Lorelai replied. "Rory went to run an errand."

"Oh yeah? Where’d she go?" Luke asked.

"To the bakery to get a dessert to bring to Sookie’s," Lorelai replied. After a few seconds, she let go of him and leaned back against the bed. She put her hands behind her head and watched as he stood up and pulled off his shirt. "Ooh, feel like giving me a strip tease? Maybe do a sexy little dance?" He rolled his eyes and threw his shirt at her, and it landed on her face. She laughed and pulled it off. "Guess that’s a no," she said, tossing the shirt on the floor.

Luke smiled as he unbuckled his belt and pulled it out of the loops. He dropped it on the floor, then climbed on the bed between her legs. He leaned over her body and kissed her, then pulled back and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "What did you do all afternoon? Did you get a photo album?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, we did. It looks really nice."

"Good." He kissed her again, this time more aggressively, and she moaned softly as their tongues swirled over one another. He pulled back, then slipped her shirt up over her head and tossed it aside. He leaned back over her and began sucking on her neck as he ran a hand down to rub her thigh, evoking a small groan from Lorelai. She closed her eyes as he began kissing down her chest to her navel.

He ran his tongue over her stomach, and her breathing increased as he squeezed her breasts through the soft fabric of her bra. She opened her eyes when she felt his hands move to the top of her shorts. She stared up at the ceiling as he unbuttoned them and started pulling the zipper down.

He pulled her shorts off and ran his hands over her legs. As he began kissing along her thighs, Lorelai swallowed hard and muttered, "Luke, maybe now’s not the best time to do this."

Surprised, he lifted his head up to look at her. "Why not? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I’m fine, but . . ." Lorelai’s voice trailed off and she closed her eyes. He waited for her to say more, and when she didn’t, he began kissing across her stomach.

A few seconds later, Lorelai propped herself up on her elbows. "I wanna talk about Christopher." She bit her bottom lip and waited for his response.

Luke froze momentarily before he slowly lifted his head up from her stomach. "Well, that just killed the mood." He pushed himself off of her and sat up.

Lorelai sat up and crossed her legs in front of her. "I know, I’m so sorry. . . but I can’t do this while I have him on my mind."

"Uh huh. . .and why exactly is he on your mind?" Luke asked. "Did he call?"

"No. . .Rory and I talked about him," Lorelai explained. "We had a very interesting chat. . . and surprisingly, we both had the same things to say."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked.

"I mean, that both of us had a lot of mixed feelings about him that we were trying to hide," Lorelai said. "But we both got them all out, and it turned out that she feels exactly like I do."

"And how do you feel?" Luke asked.

Lorelai leaned back against the headboard and sighed. "I feel like. . .he’s an ass for not wanting to raise his daughter."

"He is," Luke muttered.

"I’ve said to it Sookie, I’ve said it to Rory, and now I’ll say it to you - it’s not just the fact that he wasn’t there that gets me mad, it’s the fact that he didn’t want to be there," Lorelai said, shaking her head angrily. "I mean, he could’ve stayed – he could’ve done that whole stupid Internet startup thing around here. Just because I didn’t wanna marry him – "

"Doesn’t mean that he had to leave," Luke finished. "He still should’ve been there for Rory. Exactly the point I was trying to make the other day."

"Yeah, and you were right – I have to stop letting the couple of times that he was actually acting fatherly overshadow all the times when he was a deadbeat. I mean, he let us down so many times over the years, but the minute he did something right, I’d always forget about the bad stuff." Lorelai pursed her lips and shook her head disappointedly. "I shouldn’t have done that. And he says that he hated not being apart of Rory’s life, that he regrets not being there for her – but what the hell was stopping him? Nobody forced him to move across the country, nobody made him stay away from her – he did that himself!"

Luke nodded and stroked her arm. "I know."

Lorelai took a few deep breaths. "I mean, he thinks that just because the term ‘father’ applies to him biologically that it makes him a real father." Lorelai shook her head. "But it’s what you do that makes you a father, and he’s not a father to her." She paused a moment, then smiled at Luke. "You are."

Luke smiled shyly and glanced down at the bed.

Lorelai smiled and grabbed his hand. "I mean it, Luke. I know it, Rory knows it . . .hell, this whole town probably knows it. You’re more of a father to her than he could ever be."

Luke shrugged. "Yeah, well. . .I try."

Lorelai smiled and pulled him on top of her as she leaned back against the pillow. He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her deeply as she stroked his arms.

He pulled back and glanced over at the clock. "I still have to take a shower."

Lorelai nodded. "Okay." They stared at each other for a moment before Luke leaned down to kiss her again. After a few seconds, Lorelai smiled through the kiss and patted him on the shoulder. "Go, we have to leave soon."

"All right, I’m goin’." Luke pushed himself off of her and climbed off the bed.

"Thanks for the chat," Lorelai said as she sat up. "Well, for listening to me chat."

"You’re welcome."

She smiled. "And, uh, next time I’ll try to bring up the chat topic before you start stripping my clothes off."

Luke smirked. "I’d appreciate that." He walked out the door as Lorelai climbed off the bed and got dressed.

* * *

A few hours later at Sookie and Jackson’s house, after dinner, Sookie led Lorelai and Rory to the guest room while the guys went into the living room.

Sookie opened the closet and pulled out the two dresses. She handed them to the girls and said, "There ya go. Call me when you’re ready."

"Okay," Lorelai replied. Sookie walked out of the room and pulled the door closed behind her, and the girls started changing.

"Hey, have you thought about your bridesmaids’ dresses?" Rory asked.

"Not really," Lorelai replied with a shrug. "They’ll probably just be regular dresses like these."

"Have you thought about what color you want?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, I was thinking we could go with plaid," Lorelai replied.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Mom."

"What?" Lorelai exclaimed. "I’m serious – there’s nothing more appropriate for Luke than plaid. . . he’d be so excited if we all showed up in plaid dresses and backwards baseball caps."

"Luke can borrow Jackson’s kilt if he wants there to be plaid at the wedding," Rory said. She stifled her laughter. "Did you see that thing?"

Lorelai giggled. "Oh my God," she whispered. "I almost choked on my pot roast. I would die if Luke wore something like that at our wedding!" She pulled her dress straps up and turned around. "Zip me up please."

Rory complied, then turned around. "My turn."

Lorelai zipped up Rory’s dress, and as she turned around, gave her a nod of approval. "Looks amazing, babe."

Rory smiled. "So does yours."

Lorelai smiled and walked over to the mirror. "We both look pretty damn good, huh?"

Rory walked over and draped her arm across Lorelai’s shoulder. "Yes, we do."

"Sookie!" Lorelai yelled. "We’re done!"

Rory grimaced and pulled away from Lorelai clutching her ear. "Ouch, warn me next time, please."

Lorelai giggled. "Oops, sorry."

Sookie opened the door, saying, "Boy, that didn’t take – " Her voice trailed off as she saw the girls, and she gasped. "Oh my gosh, you both look incredible!"

Lorelai and Rory both smiled. "Thanks," Lorelai replied. "Can we go show the guys? You don’t mind if they see them before the wedding, do you?"

Sookie shook her head. "Nope, I don’t mind."

Lorelai grabbed Rory’s hand and led her out the door, and Sookie followed them to the living room. Luke and Jackson were watching television and didn’t notice them enter the room.

Lorelai cleared her throat. "Here we are, the most beautiful bridesmaids in the world – what do you think?"

Luke and Jackson brought their gaze from the television to the girls. Jackson smiled and nodded. "Looks good."

Luke nodded. "Yup."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Come on, give us something more than that."

Jackson shrugged. "Looks really good."

Luke nodded and echoed, "Really good."

As they both turned back toward the television, Rory rolled her eyes. "Forget them, I’m changing." She walked back to the guest room.

Lorelai made a face at the guys. "You guys suck at compliments." She put her arm around Sookie. "Your future wives worked very hard on these dresses and we’d like a little credit."

"Good job on the dresses," Jackson said, not looking away from the television screen.

"Yeah, good job," Luke added, glancing over at them as he took a sip of his beer.

Lorelai frowned at Sookie. "It’s hopeless."

Sookie patted her on the back. "I’ll go get out the desserts."

Lorelai smiled. "You always know how to make me feel better."

* * *

Later that night, as Lorelai, Rory, and Luke arrived home and walked up the front porch, Lorelai said, "Let’s sit outside for a little while. It’s such a nice night."

Rory yawned. "You guys can, I’m going to bed." She pushed open the door, then looked back at them. "Don’t stay out too late, you crazy kids."

Lorelai smiled. "Yes, Mom."

As Rory walked into the house, Lorelai took Luke’s hand and led him over to the porch bench. They sat down and she snuggled up against him, resting her head against his chest.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Luke pulled her closer against his body and said, "Hey, you know what?"

She turned to look at him. "What?"

Luke smiled. "You looked incredible in that dress."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

She leaned up and kissed him. "Thank you." She glanced around the yard, and when her eyes landed on the chuppah, she turned back to him. "Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"When do you wanna get married?"

Surprised, Luke raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean – like what date?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, let’s set a date."

"Right now?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah – have any in mind?"

Luke shrugged. "Not really. You know, we should really do this with a calendar in front of us."

"Yeah. Okay, well, we can at least narrow it down to a season," Lorelai suggested. "Pick a season."

Luke shrugged again. "Fall?"

"This fall?" Lorelai asked.

Luke nodded. "Yeah. . . is that okay?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, a fall wedding’ll be so pretty. As long as it’s early fall so it’s not too cold out."

"Right."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay – so early fall, it is. We can pick a date sometime this week."

"Okay."

They sat quietly for a few seconds before Lorelai asked, "What about the honeymoon?"

"What about it?"

"Well, you want to go somewhere, right?" Lorelai asked hopefully. "I mean, you don’t have some big rant filed away in your head about how honeymoons are an added expense and completely unnecessary, do you?"

Luke smirked. "Well, I did before. . . when I thought I’d never get married."

Lorelai smiled. "So . . .you wanna go somewhere?"

He nodded. "Yeah." He swallowed hard and added, "But. . ."

Lorelai grimaced and she sat up straight. "Uh oh – but what?"

Luke glanced down at his shoes. "Uh. . .I’ve never really been big with the whole ‘flying in an airplane’ thing. I’d rather just drive somewhere."

Lorelai’s eyes widened slightly. "Oh."

"I mean, we can still go somewhere. I’ll drive you wherever you wanna go, but I just don’t – "

"Luke, it’s okay," Lorelai interrupted, waving him off. "I don’t really have a burning desire to fly off to some exotic location anyway. Plus, we’ve got a new SUV right there just begging for us to put some miles on it."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "You’re sure you’re okay with it?"

Lorelai smiled. "Positive." She kissed him, then rested her head back against his shoulder. "The point of a honeymoon is to get away and have fun, right? We can do that anywhere. It doesn’t have to be far away – it can be in Hartford for all I care."

Luke let out a small laugh. "Well, I hope it’s a little farther than that."

Lorelai smiled. "That was just a hypothetical suggestion to show that I don’t really mind where we go."

Luke nodded. "I got it."

Lorelai sighed softly. "Okay, are you ready for this? Now comes the most important question a prospective bride could ever ask her future husband. . ."

Luke groaned. "Oh boy. . .what is it?"

Lorelai lifted her head and smiled at him. "Do you think we should sleep together before we’re properly wed, or do you not believe in premarital sex?" Luke laughed, and Lorelai placed a hand on her chest. "Because, personally, I’m completely against it."

Smiling, Luke asked, "Oh yeah? You’re against it?"

Lorelai nodded, then shrugged. "Yup, but I’d be willing to go through with it if you want me to. It all depends on what you wanna do; the decision’s all yours."

Luke smirked. "Oh, good – I finally get to decide something in this relationship."

Lorelai scoffed. "Hey, you have a lot of say in things."

"Yeah, I have say. . .but it doesn’t mean you actually listen to anything I say," he pointed out.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Well. . .sometimes I do." She patted him on the thigh. "So, what’s your decision?"

Luke kissed her lips softly, then smiled. "My decision is that we go upstairs so I can finish what I started earlier."

Lorelai sighed and shook her head slightly. "Well, I guess if you want me to compromise my beliefs, I’ll do it." She jumped up off the bench and started walking toward the front door. "Let’s go."

* * *

The next afternoon, Lorelai and Luke sat at the kitchen table paying bills as Rory watched television in the living room. Luke picked up a credit card bill and read it over, then lowered the paper and glared at Lorelai across the table. "What did you buy at Bloomingdale’s for two hundred dollars?"

Lorelai looked up from the checkbook and wrinkled her nose. "Uh, I don’t know – which time?"

Luke’s eyes widened. "You spent two hundred dollars at Bloomingdale’s more than once?" He looked back down at the bill, then groaned loudly. "No, the second time you spent two hundred and sixty dollars." He put the paper down and stared at her questioningly.

Lorelai shrugged. "What? Rory and I needed new clothes! Plus, we needed new dresses for the shower, and I’ve already explained to you the importance of a high-quality dress."

Luke shook his head slightly and handed her the bill. "Pay off three hundred. . . and next time wear an old dress."

Lorelai frowned as she began writing out the check. She tore it out of the checkbook and handed it to Luke, and he stuffed it in the envelope and set it aside. He picked up another bill as the phone rang.

"Rory?" Lorelai called.

"Yeah, I’ll get it!" she called back.

Luke opened the bill and read through it, then handed it to her. "Mortgage."

Lorelai made a face. "Again? Man, those people are so greedy, sheesh." She wrote out the check and handed it to him, and he put it in the envelope and set it aside.

He picked up another bill and read through it, then held it out to her. "The water bill went up – start taking shorter showers."

"Tsk, start taking shorter showers," she mimicked him. "Everything’s my fault."

As Lorelai started to write out the check, Rory walked into the kitchen with the phone. With one of her hands covering the mouthpiece, she said quietly, "Uh, Mom. . .it’s Dad."

Lorelai and Luke glanced at each other, then Lorelai brought her gaze to Rory. "Uh, what does he want?"

"He’s in the area and he wants to visit us," Rory replied.

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "What? How can he be – why didn’t he let us know he was coming?"

"It was a last minute thing," Rory replied. "Some of Sherry’s friends were in Springfield so she and Dad drove down to hang out with them, but Dad wants to give her a little time to spend with them alone."

Lorelai glanced down at the table. "Well, isn’t that. . .something."

"Yeah, so he’s gonna have some time to kill and he wanted to stop by for a little while," Rory said. "He wants to know if we’ll be home."

Lorelai glanced at Luke. "Should I tell him we’ll be home?"

Luke shrugged. "We can be home if you wanna be home. . . doesn’t matter to me."

Lorelai glanced up at Rory. "We don’t have any plans, but . . .it’s up to you, babe. If you wanna see him, then tell him to come."

Rory took a deep breath and glanced down at the phone in her hand. She glanced at the table and saw both Lorelai and Luke staring at her. She stared down at the floor for a few seconds before she finally brought the phone up to her ear.

"Dad. . ." Rory said. She swallowed hard and said, "I don’t think we’re gonna be home. . .okay. . .bye."

* * *

PART 52

As Rory pushed the off button on the phone, Lorelai and Luke looked at each other, both obviously surprised. They both slowly turned to look at Rory, who was staring down at the phone.

"You okay, hon?" Lorelai asked softly.

Rory looked up and nodded. "Yeah. . . yeah, I’m fine."

Lorelai bit her bottom lip with doubtfulness. "You sure?"

Rory forced a smile. "I’m sure." She gestured over her shoulder. "I’ll be in the . . ." Her voice trailed off as she turned and walked back to the living room.

Lorelai frowned at Luke and whispered, "That was probably really hard for her to do."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, definitely."

"But I understand it. I mean, that was a pretty intense conversation we had, it brought out a lot of feelings. . .she probably needs time for it to all settle before she sees him."

Luke nodded. "She’ll be okay." He gestured toward the papers in front of them. "Come on, let’s finish these."

* * *

When they had finished paying the bills, Lorelai glanced at her watch. "Will you come with me to Freddy’s?"

"You were just there yesterday," Luke pointed out. "What do you need now?"

"I forgot to bring the pictures I wanted to get enlarged," Lorelai said. "And you know I can’t go in there alone."

"Maybe you should ask Rory," Luke suggested.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Do you not wanna go that badly that you’re gonna make me ask everyone else in town?"

Luke lowered his voice and said, "No, I was thinking that she might wanna get out of the house so she’s not just sitting around thinking about how she just lied to her father."

Lorelai’s eyes widened slightly. "Oh. . .oh, good point. I’ll go ask her." She stood up and walked toward the living room where Rory was sitting on the couch watching television. Lorelai leaned against the staircase railing. "Uh, hon?"

Rory looked over at her. "Yeah?"

"I have to run to Freddy’s again – do you wanna come for a walk with me?" Lorelai asked.

Rory shook her head. "No, thanks."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "You sure? Might be good to get out of the house."

Rory turned back to the television. "Nah, I’m good."

Lorelai lingered in the living room for a moment staring at Rory sympathetically before she walked back to the kitchen. "She doesn’t wanna go. She seems. . ."

"Upset?"

"I don’t know, I think she’s just . . .overwhelmed. She’s just got a lot of things going on in her head right now."

Luke nodded. "Yeah, poor kid."

Lorelai walked over to the counter and picked up an envelope. "So, will you come with me?" she asked hopefully. "Please?"

Luke stood up. "Fine, let’s go."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." They walked toward the front door and Lorelai grabbed her purse from the hall table. "Rory, we’ll be back in a little bit. We’ll stop and get coffee from the diner."

"Okay," she replied, not looking over from the couch.

Luke and Lorelai stepped out onto the porch and began walking toward the center of town. "Which pictures are you blowing up?" Luke asked.

"Ooh, let me show you," Lorelai said. She opened the envelope and pulled out a picture of her and Rory. "This one."

"Nice," he commented.

"Yeah, I wanna make it a five by seven and put it up on the mantle." She put it back in the envelope and pulled out the one of her and Luke. "And then this one that you already knew about, which will be an eleven by fourteen." She smiled at it for a few seconds before she put it back into the envelope and stuck it in her purse.

Luke sighed. "And I suppose you’re gonna wanna hang that one up on the wall somewhere?"

"That would be correct," she confirmed, nodding her head.

He rolled his eyes. "Great."

Lorelai smirked and linked her arm through his. "It’s just a picture, Luke."

"I hate pictures."

"I know you do," Lorelai replied.

"They’re embarrassing."

"No, they’re not – they’re cute, especially that one. Need I remind you of what that picture represents?" She held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers in front of his face.

Luke pushed her hand away. "One of these days you’re gonna get a cramp from doing that," he muttered. "Or someone’s gonna get so annoyed that they just rip your whole hand off."

"Yeah, well, as long I still have one hand to drink coffee with, it’ll be okay," she replied. She paused a moment, then frowned. "Ooh, but then I’d have to give up on my dream of becoming Amy Wynn because I’d think that carpentry work would be pretty hard with just one hand."

"Probably," Luke agreed. "But, then again, being one handed didn’t make Jim Abbott give up on his dreams."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes with confusion. "Who? You mean the guy from Abbott and Costello? I thought his name was Bud."

Luke rolled his eyes. "No, Jim Abbott – the baseball player."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You expect me to know a baseball player? I couldn’t name one if my life depended on it."

"Yeah, well, now you know one – Jim Abbott," Luke said. "He has a pretty interesting story."

"Oh yeah? What did he do – kick a big field goal or something?" Lorelai asked.

Luke smiled and shook his head slightly. "Okay, first off, you kick field goals in football, not baseball."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Whatever – go on."

"He was a pitcher. . .uh, you do know what a pitcher is, right?" Luke teased.

Lorelai nudged him with her elbow and mimicked, "You do know what a pitcher is, right?" She stuck her tongue out at him. "Yes, I do."

Luke smiled. "Okay, just checkin’. Anyway, he was born without a right hand. . . but he played baseball in the major leagues for like ten years."

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Wow, a one-handed baseball player. . . that’s impressive."

"Yeah, and he threw a no-hitter once," Luke told her.

"Oh, that’s – " Lorelai hesitated a moment, then asked, "That’s good, right?" Luke nodded. She smiled and said, "Oh, then, good for him."

"Yeah, and he had his ups and downs, but just the fact that he was even in the majors was really cool. Some people spend their entire careers in the minor leagues, but he went right to the majors outta college – skipped the minors completely," Luke said.

Lorelai smiled. "Wow, you know a lot about him, huh?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah." He glanced over at her. "Sorry, I know you couldn’t care less about this stuff. I’ll shut up now."

"No, don’t." Lorelai reached down and laced her fingers through his. "I like listening to you talk about it."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "You do?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, it. . .makes you happy." She rolled her eyes and added, "And if you can listen to me rattle on for twenty minutes about how ‘Roseanne’ ended with the stupidest season ever, complete with the most confusing series finale ever, then I can listen to you talk about sports."

Luke nodded. "Yeah, that was quite a rant you gave this morning."

Lorelai smiled. "I know, and you just sat there and listened without complaining." She gestured for him to continue. "So, go on. . .Jim Abbott. . ."

They walked for a few seconds before Luke turned to her and said, "Ya know, I actually saw him pitch once at Yankee Stadium once."

Lorelai smiled. "Oh yeah?"

"Yup." Luke nodded and continued talking about it as they walked to the store.

* * *

Ten minutes later, they walked out of the photo shop and started walking toward the diner. When they were halfway there, Lorelai’s cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and answered, "Hello?"

"Mom?" Rory’s voice replied. "I called him back."

Lorelai stopped walking. "What? Who?" Luke stopped and stared at her questioningly.

"Dad – I called him back and told him that we would be home," Rory explained, speaking quickly. "I don’t know why. I just felt so bad about lying to him and I was just sitting here staring at the phone and then before I even knew what I was doing, I was dialing his cell phone number and I was talking to him and telling him that we’d changed our plans and that we’d be home, and he said he’d be here in an hour." She paused to catch her breath. "I just. . .I don’t know why I did it. . . I’m sorry. . .he said he’s not leaving there for another half hour so I still have time to call him back and tell him – "

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Lorelai interrupted. "Rory, calm down, it’s okay, it’s fine."

"What is it?" Luke whispered.

Lorelai held up her finger, indicating for him to wait a second. "Sweets, listen to me. . .he’ll come, we’ll order a pizza or something, we’ll talk a little, he’ll leave – everything will be fine. Now, Luke and I are gonna stop at the diner and get some coffee, then we’ll be home."

Rory sighed. "So you’re not mad?"

"Of course I’m not mad," Lorelai assured her. "I promise."

"Okay."

"I’ll see you in a few minutes."

"Okay," Rory replied. "Bye."

"Bye." Lorelai hung up the phone and sighed loudly. As she slipped it back into her purse, she said, "She felt bad about lying to Christopher so she called him back and told him to come. "

Surprised, Luke raised his eyebrows. "Really? So he’s coming?"

Lorelai nodded as they continued walking toward the diner. "Yup, he’ll be here in an hour."

"Huh." He glanced over at her. "You okay with that?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I’m fine. It’s no big deal. I was gonna see him again eventually."

"Yeah, but yesterday, you were pretty mad – "

"Luke, it’s fine," she interrupted, waving him off. "Like I told Rory, he’ll come, we’ll eat dinner, he’ll leave – we’ll just act normally and try to forget the fact that he’s not on my list of favorite people right now."

Luke nodded. "Okay."

* * *

An hour later, Luke was upstairs in the shower while Lorelai and Rory were in the living room waiting for Christopher. Lorelai was on the couch flipping through a magazine while Rory paced back and forth in front of the window.

When he finally pulled up, Rory stopped pacing and turned toward Lorelai. "He’s here."

Lorelai dropped the magazine on the coffee table and walked over to her. "You okay?" Lorelai asked.

"Yup, I’m completely fine," Rory replied nonchalantly.

Lorelai nodded. "Right – you pacing nonstop for the past ten minutes is totally normal."

Rory rolled her eyes and walked to the front door, and Lorelai followed behind her. They waited until they heard footsteps on the porch before Lorelai pulled the door open.

Christopher smiled when he saw them. "Hey guys."

Lorelai smiled. "Hey."

He stepped into the house and gave Lorelai a kiss on the cheek, then turned to Rory and hugged her tightly. "Hey kiddo."

"Hey Dad," Rory said. "How was the drive?"

Chris pulled back from the hug. "Not bad. There’s not much traffic on Sundays."

Lorelai gestured for him to follow her as she walked into the living room. "Well, come in and sit down." She sat down in the armchair near the fireplace as Rory and Christopher sat on the couch.

"So. . .whose truck is that out front?" Christopher asked. "Looks new."

"Oh, it’s Luke’s," Rory replied. "He just got it last week."

"Really? It’s nice," Christopher commented, nodding approvingly.

"I helped pick it out," Lorelai said.

Christopher smiled. "Well, good work, then."

"Thank you," Lorelai replied, smiling proudly.

"Speaking of the new truck owner himself, where is he?" Christopher asked.

"He’s upstairs," Lorelai replied. "He’ll be down in a few minutes. Uh, did you eat dinner? We were thinking we could get a pizza in a little bit."

"Sounds good," Christopher replied with a nod. He glanced around the room. "You know, you can’t even really tell a man lives here. Did you guys let him bring any of his own things?"

"Yeah, we gave him a Ziplock baggie and told him he could bring whatever he could fit into it," Lorelai replied.

Christopher laughed. "Ah, now it makes sense. And Luke just went along with that plan?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yup. He knows it’s in his best interest to do whatever it takes to keep us happy."

"Huh, remind me to have a talk with him later," Christopher said. "I bet I can give him a few hints on how to handle you girls."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt you can tell him anything he doesn’t already know."

"Yeah, Luke knows us better than anyone else . . ." Rory’s voice trailed off and she started fidgeting with her bracelet. "He’s been around us a long time."

Lorelai noticed Rory’s bitter tone and quickly stood up. "Uh, Chris. . .you want a drink?"

"Yeah, sure," he replied. "I’ll help you." He stood up and patted Rory on the shoulder. "You want anything?"

Not looking up at him, Rory shook her head. As Lorelai and Christopher started walking toward the kitchen, Rory looked up and blurted out, "Mom and Luke are getting married."

Lorelai’s eyes widened and she froze in mid-step. She grimaced slightly and continued staring toward the kitchen as Christopher slowly turned around to look at Rory. "What?"

"Mom and Luke are getting married," Rory repeated.

Christopher glanced over at Lorelai. "Really, Lor?"

Lorelai slowly turned around. She glanced past Christopher and gave Rory a surprised look before she brought her gaze back to him and forced a smile. "Uh. . .yeah, she speaks the truth. I was gonna wait for Luke to come down so we could tell you together, but. . .yeah, we’re getting married." She held out her left hand toward Christopher.

He took her hand into his and looked down at the ring. "Wow. . .this is. . ." He shook his head slightly before he slowly brought his gaze up to look into her eyes. He gave a small smile and said, "Wow. . .congratulations." He leaned forward and hugged her tightly.

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks." As they pulled apart, Lorelai cleared her throat and patted him on the shoulder. "Uh, so, what about that drink, huh?" She gestured toward the kitchen.

Christopher nodded and started walking to the kitchen as Lorelai lingered in the living room.

When he was out of site, Lorelai walked over to Rory and whispered. "Are you okay?"

"I don’t know why I said that, I’m so sorry," Rory whispered. "I swear, it just came out, I couldn’t stop myself. I just. . .he was. . .I don’t know. . ."

"You coming?" Christopher called from the kitchen.

"Uh, yeah, be right there!" Lorelai called back. She leaned down and whispered, "No, it’s no big deal, but are you okay? I mean, maybe it was too early to see him after all the venting we did the other day. Do you want me to make up an excuse and get him to leave?"

Rory shook her head. "No, I’ll be okay."

"Okay. I’ll get you some iced tea or something," Lorelai said. She turned around and walked into the kitchen where Christopher was peering into the refrigerator. "Sorry about that," Lorelai said. "Rory decided she wanted a drink but then she couldn’t make up her mind so I had to slowly assess her thirst level and help her come up with a viable option. Everything’s okay now."

Christopher nodded as he shut the refrigerator door. "Good."

Lorelai walked to the cabinet and pulled out some glasses. "Well, the good news is that Luke makes us get rid of all the outdated beverages, so anything you’re craving in the fridge is sure to be non-expirational."

Christopher walked up behind her. "Lorelai, what are you doing?"

Lorelai slowly turned around and shrugged. "Getting us some drinks?"

Christopher folded his arms across his chest. "I’m talking about you getting engaged."

Lorelai set the glasses down on the counter and instantly became defensive. "What about me getting engaged?" she asked indignantly.

"Don’t you think you’re moving a little too fast?" Christopher asked.

"No, actually, I don’t, but thanks for asking," she replied haughtily. She folded her arms across her chest and pursed her lips. "Any other questions you wanna ask whose answers are none of your business?"

"Yeah, are you forgetting that you were engaged to another man this time last year?" Christopher asked.

Lorelai scoffed. "What the hell is your point, Chris?"

"Nothing, I’m just wondering if this is gonna be an annual thing," Christopher said. "Are you gonna get engaged to every guy you go out with and then toss him aside when someone better comes along?"

Lorelai’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She clenched her teeth together tightly and said, "You have absolutely no right to talk to me like that."

Christopher took a deep breath. "I’m just saying that. . . maybe you should think a little before you go making all these big decisions, Lor."

"No, maybe I should just check with you before I make any choices in my life," Lorelai retorted. "Next time I’m at a drive thru and I can’t make up my mind between barbecue sauce or sweet and sour sauce for my chicken fingers, I’ll be sure to get your input before I make any spur of the moment decisions!"

Christopher shook his head toward the ground. "Look, I’m not trying to get into a fight with you here, Lorelai. I’m just saying that. . . I know you don’t always think things through all the time. Just think this out and make sure that this is really what you want. How do you know that this engagement won’t end like the last one?"

"Because this one’s different," Lorelai replied loudly. "And it’s none of your business what I do with my life anyway!"

"Yeah, well, Rory is my business!" he retorted. "Did you talk this out with her? Have you actually taken the time to get her take on all of this? To see how she feels about you making these decisions that affect both of your lives? Think about her for a change, Lorelai!"

Lorelai felt her face reddening as her anger started to build up inside of her. "Oh my God! You are the absolute last person in this entire world who should be telling me how to raise that kid in there!" Lorelai exclaimed, pointing toward the living room.

Christopher scoffed. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what it means!" Lorelai yelled. She shook her head toward the ground. "Why did you do it, Chris? Just tell me why the hell you did it so I can stop wondering about it."

"What did I do?"

"Why did you leave me to raise a kid all by myself?"

Christopher’s mouth dropped open. "Why are. . .what did. . .where’d that question come from?"

"It came from this little area of my brain that has been struggling to figure out why you wouldn’t want to help me raise our daughter, that’s where it’s coming from," Lorelai told him.

"Hey, I wanted to help raise – "

"Oh, don’t give me that, Christopher!" Lorelai interrupted. "If you wanted to help then you would’ve stayed, so just tell me the truth or don’t say anything at all. Tell me why you thought it was perfectly fine for you to not take any kind of responsibility for your actions."

"I tried to take responsibility!"

"Oh really? How?"

Christopher exhaled loudly. "Did I, or did I not, ask you to marry me? And did you, or did you not, turn me down?"

"That doesn’t mean that your job as a father was over – you had a daughter, Christopher!" Lorelai yelled. "Why did you run as far away from her as you could?"

"Because you didn’t want me to stay!" he yelled. "You told me you didn’t want to marry me, you told me that independent Lorelai Gilmore could make it on her own without anyone’s help, and now you’re telling me that all that was a lie? How was I supposed to know? If you wanted me to stay, you should’ve told me!"

"That wasn’t all a lie, Christopher!" Lorelai exclaimed. "It meant that I could’ve made it on my own, but it didn’t mean that I wanted to! You actually think that I wanted to deprive our child of a father? You should’ve cared about her enough to want to be apart of her life from the beginning, but you ran away from us!"

Neither of them noticed that Luke had been standing at the entryway to the kitchen, so when he cleared his throat, they both looked over in surprise. He folded his arms across his chest. "You know, she makes a good point."

"Luke," Lorelai started.

Christopher rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in frustration. "Great, let’s get the whole town in here to attack me. You know, I really don’t need to hear all this right now."

"You don’t want to hear it because you know it’s the truth," Luke replied sternly. He pointed toward the living room. "You abandoned that girl in there – the first choice you had, you ran off as far away from your responsibilities as you could."

Christopher scoffed. "Okay, you weren’t even around back then, so maybe you should stay out of this conversation, huh?"

"Christopher, don’t," Lorelai started.

Luke scoffed and took a few steps toward Christopher. "In case you haven’t realized it, I’m the one who *was* around! When you were out in California doing God knows what with your life, I was the one who was here being a role model for your daughter," Luke said loudly. "I was the one doing whatever I could to help these girls out while you called twice a month and considered that being involved in their lives! Well, sorry to break it to you, but you were a complete deadbeat and I have zero respect for people like you!"

"Well, it’s a good thing that I don’t care about whether you respect me or not!" Christopher retorted.

"Well, you should care about whether your daughter respects you," Luke replied. "And considering the fact that you chose not to be part of her childhood, I wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t!"

"Okay, stop!" a voice said from behind them.

All three of them looked toward the entryway and saw Rory standing there uncomfortably.

"Stop yelling about me like I don’t have ears," Rory said.

"Rory, honey, we didn’t mean to – " Lorelai started.

Rory held up her hand. "Wait, I just really need to talk to Dad." She walked over to Christopher and grabbed his hand, then led him out the back door.

As it closed behind them, Lorelai walked over to Luke and found comfort in his embrace. He held her tightly and kissed the top of her head several times before he rested his cheek against the softness of her hair.

They stood that way for several minutes, just holding each other silently, until Lorelai finally pulled back and stared into his eyes. She smiled up at him, and Luke gently pressed his lips against hers.

Lorelai slowly pulled back from the kiss and said, "Come here, I need to talk to you." She took Luke’s hand and led him into the living room, and they sat down on the couch facing each other.

Lorelai bit her lip momentarily before she said, "Chris was asking me how I know that this engagement won’t turn out like the one with Max, and it just made me wonder. . . do you ever think about that? How I broke it off at the last minute?"

Luke didn’t say anything; instead, he exhaled slowly and glanced toward the mantle.

Judging his reaction, Lorelai swallowed hard and nodded. "Guess that’s a yes. . . and I guess I can’t really blame you for thinking I might do it again."

Luke turned back toward her with a surprised expression. "Wait, you asked if I ever thought about it, not if I thought that you’d do it again. I’ve never thought that."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "You haven’t?"

Luke shook his head. "Nope." He paused and muttered, "Well, not until now. Thanks for putting the thought in my head."

Lorelai smiled. "Sorry about that. But seriously – you know that this situation is one hundred percent different than that one, right?"

Luke nodded. "I know."

"I mean, I’m in love with you – I was never in love with Max," Lorelai said.

"I know."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Okay, good."

A few minutes later, the front door opened, and Lorelai and Luke both turned around to see who it was. Rory shut the door, then walked into the living room sniffling softly with reddened eyes and tearstained cheeks.

Luke and Lorelai both stood up from the couch and walked over to Rory, and Lorelai hugged her tightly. "Honey, what happened?"

"We talked," she replied as she rested her head on Lorelai’s shoulder. "I told him how you and I talked about everything and how we were both upset with him for not wanting to stay to help raise me. He kept apologizing and saying that he was stupid for leaving and that he feels horrible for missing my childhood and . . ." Her voice trailed off and she sniffled a few times. "And that if he could do it over again, he would do things differently. And I told him that I still want things to stay as they have been with the calls and the visits, but that I needed some time to think about things, and that. . . he should probably leave."

"So he left?" Lorelai asked.

Rory pulled back and nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Mom, he looked so incredibly sad. I feel so horrible."

Lorelai used her thumbs to wipe Rory’s tears away. "It was just a shock, that’s all. He wasn’t expecting to come visit and have us start yelling at him for something he did seventeen years ago."

Rory nodded. "I know." She glanced at Luke, then stepped over to hug him. He hugged her back loosely, and as they pulled apart, Rory said, "I’m gonna go lie down for a little while. Are we still getting pizza?"

Lorelai nodded. "If that’s what you want."

Rory nodded, then slowly started walking toward her bedroom. Luke and Lorelai watched her until she disappeared through the door, then they turned to each other. Luke held out his hand toward Lorelai and she took hold of it. He pulled her closer and she rested her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

* * *

Four days later, on Thursday afternoon, Lorelai walked into the diner. As Luke walked toward her, he glanced questioningly at her jeans and T-shirt. "Did you wear that to work?"

"Nope," she replied. "I got out early today so I went home and changed. Um, I thought you might wanna come for a walk with me."

"To where?" he asked.

Lorelai shrugged. "Nowhere in particular. It’s really nice out, though, so I thought you might wanna get out of here for a few minutes." She glanced around the diner and added, "It’s not too busy right now."

"Yeah, it’s pretty slow," he agreed. He gestured toward the kitchen. "Let me go tell Caesar."

Lorelai smiled. "I’ll be out front." She walked out the door and waited for him on the sidewalk. He walked out a few seconds later and they began walking down the street. Lorelai glanced over at him and cleared her throat nervously. "Uh, listen, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Luke nodded. "I knew there was probably some ulterior motive behind your ‘it’s a nice day for a walk’ bit back there."

Lorelai gestured toward the clear blue sky. "Well, it is a nice day. . .look at it."

Luke looked up and nodded, then turned back to her. "So, what do you want?"

Lorelai began wringing her hands nervously. "Uh, I don’t know how you’re gonna feel about this, but I was thinking that. . .when we get married, I might pull a Courtney Cox Arquette."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "Meaning?"

Lorelai stopped walking and turned to face him. "Meaning that. . . I wanna take your last name. . . but I also wanna keep mine." She bit her bottom lip and waited for his reaction. "Are you mad?"

Luke let out a laugh. "No, I’m not mad. I expected from the beginning that you’d want it like that."

Surprised, Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him curiously. "You did?"

"Yup."

"And you don’t care?"

"I’m fine with it," Luke replied. "Change your name, don’t change your name, make up a completely new last name. . .doesn’t matter to me."

Lorelai smiled. "Lorelai SexKitten it is, then."

Luke laughed. "Nice."

"Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek, and they continued walking down the sidewalk.

They decided to cut through the park, and as they walked past the playground equipment, Lorelai pointed to a nearby tree. "Let’s sit down for a few minutes."

Luke made a face. "On the ground?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yes, it won’t kill you." She led him over to the tree. "Sit down," she ordered, pointing to the ground.

With a loud sigh, Luke sat down on the grass. Lorelai sat down in between his legs and leaned against him, and he wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on her stomach.

They conversed casually for a minute but then fell into a lull of silence. Both of them eyed the scenes around them, watching the kids running around, watching parents pushing strollers, watching people walking their dogs.

Luke’s eyes fell upon a young boy of about six years old clutching a yellow plastic baseball bat in his hands. He glanced over to the left and saw a man holding a white plastic wiffle ball. The man tossed the ball toward the boy, and the boy swung hard and missed it. He picked up the ball and threw it back to the man, then prepared to swing again. Luke watched them play for a few minutes until the two carried their bat and ball over to an ice cream stand.

Luke cleared his throat. "Lorelai?"

"Hm?"

He removed a hand from her stomach and pointed toward the ice cream stand. "I think I want that. . .someday."

"What?" She followed the direction of Luke’s finger to the ice cream stand. She gasped. "Oh my God, Luke Danes wants some ice cream! Am I dreaming?"

Luke rolled his eyes, then shook his head. "No. . .uh, not the ice cream." He paused a moment before he said, "The kid."

Lorelai froze for a moment before her eyes slowly widened and her mouth dropped open. She sat up straight and slowly turned her head around to look at him. "What?"

Luke glanced over at the young boy and his father. "I just. . .I’ve been thinking about it for awhile now, and I think it’s something that I want." He brought his gaze back to her.

"But what about that time you were standing in my kitchen whining about how kids are always sticky and eating jelly or something. . ." Lorelai’s voice trailed off and she shook her head in disbelief. "You said that you hate kids."

Luke nodded. "I know that’s what I said, but that. . . that’s just what guys say when they feel like they’ll never be in the position to have one of their own. Just like when I said all that stuff about marriage. . . I made it seem like I didn’t like it because I never thought I would have it."

Lorelai stared at him for a moment before she turned away from him. She leaned back against him, biting her thumbnail nervously as she stared straight ahead.

After a minute had passed, Luke ran his hands over her shoulders. "Lorelai?"

"What?"

"Are you gonna say something?"

"Yes, I’m gonna say something," Lorelai replied.

"Uh. . .when?" Luke asked.

Lorelai turned her head to look at him. "Uh, I don’t know . . .maybe when the complete and utter shock wears off about the fact that you just, out of the blue, suggested that we grow a human being inside of my stomach." She sighed softly and turned back around. "But until then, I really need you to just. . . hold me. I really have to let this sink in, and when it does, that’s when we will launch into a probably very long discussion about the topic, okay?"

"Okay." Luke wrapped his arms around her stomach and kissed the top of her head. "Take your time."

"Thank you." She settled herself against him and closed her eyes as she tried to gather her thoughts.

* * *

PART 53

Her eyes were closed, her head was resting against his chest, she felt his strong arms wrapped around her. Her request was a simple one – she just wanted him to hold her as she tried to make sense of the thoughts running through her head.

Luke was becoming anxious as he waited for her to say something. He was tempted to prompt her to speak again, but he knew that she would when she was ready. He sighed softly and glanced around at his surroundings as she continued to lean against him in silence.

Several minutes passed before Lorelai finally sat up straight. Luke removed his hands from her stomach nd watched as she slowly turned herself around to face him. He adjusted his position, and they both sat with their legs crossed in front of them.

Lorelai exhaled slowly. "Okay, so. . .I’ve spent the last few minutes gathering my thoughts."

"And. . ." Luke prompted.

Lorelai pushed her hair behind her ears, then clasped her hands together and rested them on her lap. She took a deep breath and said, "Well, it wasn’t easy, but I finally decided that. . . I really want Chinese food for dinner."

"Lorelai," Luke warned, rolling his eyes.

Lorelai smiled and raised her hands innocently in front of her. "Okay, okay, sorry." She shrugged. "I don’t know, Luke. There’re so many things we need to talk about. I mean, I haven’t given it much thought before now and it’s just. . .it’s really sudden."

"I know," Luke replied. "But that’s why I brought it up, so we can talk about it. I wasn’t expecting to bring it up and have you say, ‘Yes, Luke, let’s go out and buy a minivan and fill it up with as many babies as we can.’ I brought it up because I’ve been thinking about it and I think it’s an issue that we should discuss."

Lorelai made a face and shook her head. "Ugh, okay, first off, I’m telling you this right now – I will never, ever drive a minivan as long as I live, so get that thought out of your head."

"It was a hypothetical scenario," Luke pointed out.

"I know, but still," Lorelai said, wrinkling her nose. "Even hypothetically, those things are the extreme opposite of cool."

"Okay, no more hypothetical scenarios involving minivans," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "Happy?"

"Yes, thank you," Lorelai said. She glanced down at the ground and pulled out a fistful of grass. She started letting the pieces drop in front of her. "So. . .how long have you been thinking about it?" She brushed the rest of the grass off of her hands and brought her gaze up to look at him.

Luke was quiet for a moment. He took off his cap and ran his fingers through his hair, then replaced the hat on his head. "Well, remember a few weeks ago. . .you left the diner early one night because you weren’t feeling well?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, I came home that night and you were already asleep," Luke continued. "And I sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at you for a long time. I just watched you sleep; I watched you shift your body to get more comfortable every few minutes; I watched your chest move up and down with your breathing. . ."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Okay, Luke, the story’s getting creepy now."

"Just listen," he said. "I was thinking about how you weren’t feeling well. . ." His voice trailed off and he cleared his throat. "And the thing that kept running through my mind was that you might’ve been. . . pregnant."

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "You really thought that’s what it was?"

"Yeah."

"Even before the rumor went around town about it?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah," Luke said. "And the thing is. . .I was a little nervous about it at first, but then I realized that it didn’t scare me as much as I thought it would. . .and the more that I thought about it, the more that. . ." He paused and glanced down at the grass. "I was hoping that you were."

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "You were hoping that I was pregnant?"

Luke looked up at her and nodded. "And ever since then, I’ve just been thinking about it a lot, and wondering how I would be. . .as a father."

Lorelai smiled. "You would be a great father."

Luke smiled shyly and shrugged. "Yeah, well. . .we’ll see. Uh, I mean, if you. . .ya know, wanna do this." He paused a moment before he asked, "Do you?"

Lorelai sighed softly. "Luke. . .I just. . . "

Luke nodded knowingly. "You don’t want to, I get it."

Lorelai gasped. "I didn’t say that."

"Well, you’re hesitating," Luke pointed out.

"You’re right, but that just means that I need to think about it some more," Lorelai said. "It’s not like you suggested we go buy a new DVD player or something – you want us to have a baby. That’s a life changing thing, Luke."

Luke scoffed. "You really think I don’t get that?"

Lorelai shook her head and placed her hand on his arm. "No, I know you get it, but you have to understand that there are more things that need to be taken into consideration on my side than yours," Lorelai said. "I mean, I’m the one who’ll have – "

"To deal with all the physical aspects of it, I know," Luke interrupted.

Lorelai bit her bottom lip and nodded quickly for several seconds. "So I just need some more time to think things out before we really get into discussing all this, okay?"

Luke nodded understandingly. "Yeah, absolutely. We’ll talk about it later."

Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him, then pulled back and smiled at him. "Thank you."

Luke nodded. They were quiet for a few seconds before he asked, "Can we get up off the stupid ground now?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yes, you big baby. I know it’s been just tragic for you to have to sit on it for so long." They stood up and brushed themselves off before heading out of the park.

"Remember I won’t be home on Saturday night," Lorelai reminded him.

"Yes, I remember," Luke replied, rolling his eyes. "And what exactly will be going on at this stupid bachelorette party?"

"Oh, you know, just the regular old stupid stuff," Lorelai replied nonchalantly. "Stupid alcohol, stupid dancing, stupid male strippers dressed like firemen begging me to rub their hoses."

"To which you will reply, ‘No, thanks, I have a perfectly good hose at home’," Luke said. "Right?"

Lorelai giggled and patted him on the arm. "Sure, hon, sure."

"Lorelai," Luke warned.

"What? It’s a bachelorette party, Luke," she reminded him. "You’re supposed to have fun."

"Yeah, well, you can still have fun without sticking your hand down some other guy’s pants," Luke said.

Lorelai gasped. "You can? Blasphemy!" She smiled and pinched his cheek. "You’re so adorable when you’re jealous."

"I’m not jealous," Luke said. "I just don’t want the parts of your body that will be touching parts of my body touching parts of other people’s bodies that I don’t wanna touch."

Lorelai let out a laugh. "Uh, you wanna say that again, maybe in English this time?"

They had reached the diner and stopped in front of the door. He turned to her and said, "Yeah, here it is again – wear rubber gloves if you’re planning on touching anyone."

"I’ve made a mental note," Lorelai said, tapping her head. "Happy?"

"Yes, thank you. Rory’s not going, is she?"

"Not this time, no," Lorelai replied. "I told her she can come to mine, but this one’s gonna be a little more. . .uh, non-family-friendly."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Right, unless you’re from a family that’s been on Jerry Springer."

Lorelai smiled. "Exactly."

"You coming in?" he asked, gesturing to the diner.

"Nah, I’m gonna head home," she replied. "Got some heavy-duty thinking to do."

Luke nodded. "Right. . . okay. See you tonight."

"Bye." She kissed him and watched him walk into the diner before she shoved her hands in her pockets and walked home slowly.

* * *

When Lorelai reached the house, she walked through the front door and called, "Rory, are you home?"

"Yeah," her voice replied.

Lorelai followed the voice to the kitchen and found Rory sitting at the table reading. "How was the college fair?" Lorelai asked as she leaned down and kissed Rory on the cheek.

"Uh, good. . .it was good," Rory replied quickly. "Um, I got this." She closed the brochure she had been reading and showed the cover to Lorelai.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "A Yale brochure? Did ya forget how to spell Harvard or something?"

Rory swallowed hard and set the brochure on the table. "Mom, um. . .sit down."

Lorelai stared at Rory with confusion as she slowly slid into the chair next to her. "What’s up?"

"Well. . ." Rory tapped her fingernails on the table for a few seconds as she shifted nervously in her seat. "I know it’s something that we’ve always worked toward and always assumed would happen. . .but as the reality of it happening gets closer. . ." She stared down at the table and finished, "I’m just not sure if this Harvard dream is something that . . .I really want anymore." She slowly brought her gaze up to see Lorelai’s reaction.

Lorelai was staring at Rory as if she had two heads. "What?"

"I know, I know, it’s shocking," Rory said. "But I’ve been thinking about it for awhile now and - "

Lorelai interrupted her by groaning loudly. "Okay, what, did everyone just get together and say, ‘Hey, have you been thinking about anything important for awhile? Good, me too! Let’s wait until July 25, 2002 to tell Lorelai so she can get a whole bunch of shocking news all in one day in the hopes that it’ll kill her!’" She sighed and gestured to the cordless phone on the table. "Now, as the final nail in the coffin, I’m expecting my parents to call and tell me that they’re moving to Stars Hollow!"

Rory’s eyes widened. "My god, chill out! Who else gave you shocking news?"

Lorelai shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, just Luke. . .Luke Danes, that man who owns the diner, that man who lives with us, that man I’m in love with, that man I’m going to marry, that man who - "

"Yes, I’m familiar with his work," Rory interrupted, gesturing for her to continue. "Move it along."

Lorelai sighed loudly. "Yes, well, that man decided to tell me today, out of the blue, that he wants me to carry his baby." She took a deep breath. "So, now, back to you. . . "

Rory’s mouth dropped open. "What?"

". . .what’s this about you and Harvard?" Lorelai continued, picking up the Yale brochure.

Rory grabbed it back from her, exclaiming, "Mom! You can’t just say something like that and move on!"

Lorelai looked at her and sighed. "He wants to have a baby," she said softly.

"Oh my God! What did you say?" Rory asked.

"That I need to think about it," she replied. Rory started to respond, but Lorelai held up her hand. "Listen, I need you to not say anything about it at all. I know I always like to get your input on things, but this is something I need to sit down and think about myself, and I don’t want anyone’s opinions influencing me one way or another. This has to be figured out by me. . .and just me, okay?"

Rory nodded, then clamped her lips together and pretended to zip them closed.

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Thank you. I’ll let you know when we decide what we’re doing, but until then, not a peep to anyone." She picked up the brochure and said, "So, now, talk to me please."

"Hmm, mm mm mm," Rory mumbled through her closed lips.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

Rory smiled. "Thought so."

"Talk to me," Lorelai repeated.

Rory glanced down at the brochure and sighed. "I know that Harvard has been the college we always talked about me going to, but we made these big plans about it without ever really considering if it was . . .right for me, and now I’m not sure that it is. The last time I was there with Dad, it didn’t really give me that ‘Oh, you’re gonna have an amazing time here’ feeling, and then I started wondering if maybe I might be happier at another place. I mean, I can study journalism and political science anywhere . . .I don’t know why I thought that Harvard would be the only place I should look into. There are hundreds of places I can go." She shrugged and added, "Plus. . ." Her voice trailed off and she stared at Lorelai.

Lorelai put her hand on Rory’s arm. "What?"

"It’s so far away from you," Rory said. "I mean, we’ve never been apart for – "

"Rory, honey," Lorelai interrupted. "You can’t let the fact that you’re scared to be away from me be the reason that you give up on Harvard. I mean, if you want, we can set up a Big Brother kind of thing . . .you know, set up cameras all around the house so you can monitor my every movement; that way it won’t feel like you’re away from me. But . . .I don’t want that to be a reason that you don’t go to the college you really wanna go to."

Rory shook her head. "I promise that’s not the main reason. . .but when you add the homesick factor to the idea that maybe that school’s not right for me in the first place, it just seems like it might be time for me to. . .explore other options. Trust me, I’ve thought about it a lot, Mom. I’ve done research, I’ve looked at other schools. . ." She gestured to the brochure.

"Yale," Lorelai stated.

"Yale," Rory said. "I mean, it’s still an Ivy League school, the programs look good, it seems like –"

"Rory, you don’t have to convince me," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "You know what’s best for you. . .and if you say you’ve thought about it a lot, then I believe you. We’ll go to Yale and check it out."

Rory wrinkled her nose. "You’re not mad?"

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "What?" She leaned over and hugged her tightly. "No, not at all, I promise you."

Rory nodded as they broke apart. "Okay, good."

Lorelai glanced down at the brochure for a few seconds. "You know, your grandfather is a Yale man."

"I know."

"So I bet if you asked him to set up a tour for us, he’d really like that," Lorelai said. "He’d probably even insist on coming with us. Could be a nice little sort of bonding thing for you guys."

Rory smiled. "Yeah, maybe. I’ll think about it."

Lorelai nodded. "Good." She stood up from the table. "All right, I’m feeling like Chinese food – you?"

"Sounds good," Rory replied.

* * *

Later that night, Luke walked into the house slightly after nine and found Rory on the couch watching television. "Hey," he said. He dropped his keys on the hall table and walked into the living room.

Rory glanced up at him and smiled. "Hey Luke. How was work?"

"Ah, you know," he replied with a shrug.

"Uneventful?"

"Pretty much," he replied.

"So you haven’t had any other incidents where a customer climbed on the counter and threatened to strip unless you gave ‘em coffee immediately?" Rory asked.

"Not since your mom tried it a few days ago," Luke replied, rolling his eyes. "Speaking of which, where is the Vegas showgirl?"

Rory pointed toward the stairway. "She went up right after dinner and hasn’t been down since."

"Oh." He walked over and sat down next to her on the couch. "Did you check to make sure she’s still alive?"

"Well, I’ve heard her walking around up there," Rory replied. "So unless her lifeless body can move around on its own, I think we’re safe."

"Okay, good," Luke replied. "How was your day?"

"Good, it was good," Rory replied. "Went to the college fair."

"Oh, right, that was today," Luke said, nodding. "So . . .did you get a Yale catalog?"

Rory nodded. "Yup, and I talked to Mom about it."

"And?" Luke prompted.

"And. . .you were right," Rory reluctantly admitted with a smile.

Luke smiled. "See, I told you she wouldn’t be mad. She just wants you to be happy."

"I know, I know," Rory replied. "I was stupid for thinking that she’d freak out about it. I should’ve known that she’d understand. I know I probably talked your ear off about the other day, so thanks for listening. . .and for the advice."

"You’re welcome," he replied. "That’s what I’m here for."

"I thought it was just to help us feel safe after we watch scary movies," Rory said.

Luke smiled. "That too." He stood up from the couch. "All right, I’m gonna go see what she’s up to."

"Okay. Let me know if I have to start planning the funeral service."

"Will do," Luke replied as he walked toward the stairs.

"Oh, uh, Luke. . .wait a sec," Rory said.

He turned around on the bottom step. "Yeah?"

"Uh, she doesn’t know that I talked to you about it first," Rory said. "So. . ."

"I won’t say anything," Luke said.

Rory smiled. "Thanks."

Luke turned and walked up the stairs to their bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, and Luke looked inside. Lorelai was sitting on the bed with a box next to her as she flipped through a photo album. He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. "Hey," he said.

Lorelai looked up and smiled at him. "Hey you."

Luke walked over and kissed her, then sat down on the edge of the bed. "What are you doing?"

She moved over to give him more room, and he made himself more comfortable. "I’m looking at pictures of Rory when she was little." She turned the photo album toward him so he could see.

He looked down at the page of photos and smiled. "Cute."

"Yeah." Lorelai looked down at them for a moment before she shut the book and put it in the box next to her. "So. . .I’ve been thinking about this whole baby thing."

"And. . ."

"Well, the first thing that popped into my mind was . . .do I want to raise another kid? I mean, seventeen years later, is it something that I want to have to do all over again?" She took a deep breath. "And all these things started running through my mind – the morning sickness, the discomfort, the pain of childbirth, the changing diapers, the feedings, the throwing up, the crying, the sleepless nights. . .everything I went through back then came rushing back to me."

Luke nodded along as she spoke. "Uh huh."

Lorelai paused a moment and ran her fingers through her hair. "But then I looked at it from another perspective and I thought – it’s not gonna be like last time. It’s not gonna be me as a sixteen year old kid having to deal with it all by myself. I’m not the only one who’ll have all the responsibility of doing everything."

Luke shook his head. "You’re not gonna have to go through it alone this time."

Lorelai nodded. "I know." She took one of his hands and stroked the top of it with her fingers. "And then I started thinking about how we’re getting married, and what it would be like to be a wife and to have a husband and to have a child of our own that we can raise together – this little person that represents who we are. . . someone we can send off to kindergarten in a little flannel shirt with a thermos of coffee in their lunch box."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Over my dead body."

Lorelai smiled. "And the picture was just. . .well, it was a nice image." She turned her body slightly to face him better. "I know you said you wanted to do this, but are you actually. . .ready to do this? I mean, you’ve never spent time around a baby before, Luke. Are you prepared to deal with all the things I mentioned – the feedings, the sleepless night, changing the poopy diapers. . ."

"As long as I don’t have to say words like ‘poopy’, then, yes, I’m prepared for it," Luke said. "Lorelai, just because I’ve never been around them doesn’t mean that I don’t know what they entail. I have a pretty good idea of what it takes. Plus, it’s been seventeen years since you’ve had to deal with a baby, so you’ll be re-learning things, too, so. . .we’ll have the chance figure some things out together. . ."

Lorelai nodded. "I know, but Luke – I don’t think you’re realizing how different our lives would be. I mean, our entire day would revolve around us keeping this baby alive, us protecting this little human that we brought into this very screwed up world . . . a world that has never given Molly Ringwald an Oscar for any of her incredible roles." Lorelai scoffed. "I mean, hello – The Tempest, Sixteen Candles, the Breakfast Club, have the Academy Awards people not heard of any of these classics? Not to mention For Keeps – which is one that I connect with on a personal level. . .man, she really nailed that whole pregnant teenager thing." She put her hand on her chest and stared up toward the ceiling, lost in thought.

Luke sighed loudly. "Continue please."

Lorelai brought her gaze back down and shook her head slightly. "Sorry, where was I?"

"Uh, our life will change. . ."

"Right . . . it’s not going to be like it is now. It won’t be this ‘we get up in the morning and go to work, then come home and hang out, then come upstairs and fool around’ routine that we have now. Things will be completely different," Lorelai said pointedly. "You’re telling me that you are absolutely, positively sure that you’re ready and willing to deal with it?"

Luke nodded firmly. "Yes, I am."

"Because I am, and there’s no going back, Luke," Lorelai said sternly. "You can’t say right now that you wanna have a baby and then decide after you knock me up that you’ve changed your mind, so if you think you’re gonna change – "

"I’m not gonna change my mind," Luke interrupted. "I wanna do this."

Lorelai stared at him for a moment. "And you’re absolutely, positively sure that you’re still gonna love me when I’m gross and huge and you can barely get your arms around me and you need a crane to get me out of this house?"

Luke grimaced and clenched his teeth together. "Ooh, let me think about that one."

Lorelai laughed and smacked his arm. "Hey!"

Luke smirked. "I’m kidding." He leaned forward and kissed her, then smiled through the kiss and pulled back slightly. "So. . .what’s the final verdict?"

Lorelai smiled. "Well, Judge Wapner. . ." she started. She rested her hands on his cheeks and stared into his eyes. "Yes, I want to have a baby with you."

Luke’s eyes widened and a small smile appeared on his lips. He leaned forward and kissed her deeply, then pulled her into a hug.

Lorelai pulled back and said, "Okay, so. . .I wanna do this and you wanna do this. . .but can we do this?"

Luke narrowed his eyes. "Uh, I’m pretty familiar with the baby making process, so yeah. . .I think we can. I mean, unless there’s a specific position I’m not aware of. . ."

"No, I mean, can we do this financially," Lorelai reiterated. "Kids are damn expensive. . . .diapers, clothes, furniture, accessories, toys, those little plastic covers you stick in the light sockets so they don’t stick their fingers in them. . .it all adds up."

"Yes, we can do this," Luke said firmly. "Don’t worry about the money. People much worse off than us have done it fine."

Lorelai nodded. "Very true." She smiled. "Okay, then. . .we’ll do this."

Luke smiled. "We’ll have a baby."

"After we’re married," Lorelai added.

"Right, after we’re married," he agreed. He leaned back against the headboard and she snuggled up against him. They were both quiet for a few seconds before he said, "You know, one time I asked my dad what it was like. . .you know, to be a father."

"And what did he say?" Lorelai asked.

"He said that it wasn’t like anything else in the world, and that he couldn’t describe how it feels," Luke said. "But that one day I’d find out."

Lorelai smiled. "He was right."

"He always was," Luke replied as he kissed the top of her head.

"Do you think he’d like me?" Lorelai asked.

"I think he’d love you," Luke replied.

"Because I’m incredibly beautiful?" Lorelai suggested.

"No," Luke replied. "Because you’re . . .you. You’re smart and funny and. . .ya know, likable."

Lorelai lifted her head off of his chest to look at him. "Did you just call me lickable?"

"No, I said you’re likable," he repeated, rolling his eyes.

Lorelai frowned. "So you don’t think I’m lickable?"

"Well, do you hear my tongue complaining?" Luke asked.

Lorelai smiled and kissed him. She sat up and climbed over him to get off the bed. "I’m gonna go talk to Rory." Her eyes widened, and she turned back around. "Ooh, speaking of which, guess what?"

Luke sat up. "What?"

"You’re not gonna believe this, but she doesn’t think she wants to go to Harvard anymore," Lorelai said.

Luke feigned surprise. "Wow, really?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yup. . .she wants to look into Yale."

"Wow, never saw that one coming," he said, shaking his head slightly.

"I know – shocker, huh?" Lorelai said. She walked to the door and pulled it open, then lingered near the doorway. "So I’m gonna go talk to her about this baby stuff. . ."

Luke nodded. "Okay. I’m gonna take a shower."

Lorelai nodded, then walked downstairs; Rory was still sitting on the couch watching television. She glanced over at Lorelai coming down the steps and smiled. "Mom, you’re alive!"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Uh, yes, I am, thanks for letting me know." She walked over and sat down next to Rory. She gestured to the television and asked, "Can you mute this or something? I wanna talk to you."

Rory turned the television off, then set the remote control on the coffee table. She turned her body toward Lorelai. "What’s up?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Okay, um, well. . .we just had a talk about this whole. . .baby situation."

Rory’s eyes widened. "Ooh! And?"

"And I have some good news – well, it’s good depending on whether you like babies or not," Lorelai said.

"Is it good news if I like babies or if I don’t like babies?" Rory asked.

"Well, do you like babies?" Lorelai asked.

Rory nodded. "Yeah, I think I like babies."

"Well, then. . ." Lorelai smiled. "It’s good news."

Rory smiled. "You’re serious? You’re gonna have a baby?"

"Well, not right this second, but . . .eventually," Lorelai said. "After we’re married."

"Wow, so you’re going down the traditional ‘get married and then have kids’ route this time?" Rory asked.

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, I thought it would be nice to see what it’s like."

Rory shook her head in disbelief, then looked at Lorelai’s stomach. "Wow, I so can’t picture you being pregnant."

Lorelai grabbed her stomach and groaned. "Ugh, I know! I’m gonna be a balloon again. Plus, I’ll have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe," Lorelai said. "Which would be kind of fun if maternity clothes weren’t so damn ugly."

"It’s different today, though," Rory said. "Designers are designing cuter maternity clothes than they used to."

"How do you know?" Lorelai asked curiously. She paused, then gasped. "Oh my god, you’re planning on getting pregnant and you’ve already been checking out the clothes!"

Rory rolled her eyes. "No, I think not. . .but I have seen pregnant women wearing non-ugly clothes before."

Lorelai reached out and tapped Rory on the knee. "So, what do you think?"

Rory thought for a moment. "Hm, I think that I’m gonna make Lane get a tattoo of me on her arm, and then I’m gonna drag her to an amusement park and force her to go on all the scary rides even if she begs me not to make her," Rory said.

Lorelai nodded. "Right, because nothing says ‘You’re my best friend and I love you,’ like that."

"Anna, Anna, fabulous Anna, Anna Nicole," Rory sang, bobbing her head from side to side.

"She’s so outrageous!" Lorelai sang, throwing her hands up in the air.

Rory laughed, then shook her head. "You know, it’s so sad that we watch that."

Lorelai scoffed. "Hi, need I remind you why we watch it? What are we?"

"Unapologetic mockers," Rory replied proudly.

"Exactly, my friend! We watch it for the mockage," Lorelai said. "Watching shows like this is all part of the job."

"Right, so we shouldn’t feel guilty about it," Rory added.

"Right." Lorelai paused a moment, then said, "Now, back to the original question. . .what do you think?"

Rory smiled and shrugged. "I think it’s great."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Yeah? You’re not just saying that?"

"No, I’m not. I swear, Mom," Rory replied seriously. "I think that this is something that you guys. . .should do."

"Things are gonna be really different," Lorelai pointed out. "Just a warning."

"I know," Rory replied. "And while most change does suck. . .I think this will be one of few changes that. . .doesn’t. It’ll be good."

Lorelai smiled and leaned forward to hug Rory. "I love you."

"Love you, too," Rory replied, kissing her on the cheek.

As they pulled back, Lorelai grimaced and said, "So . . . I don’t know when it’s gonna happen but there’s a slight possibility that it may postpone our Fez trip."

Rory waved her off. "That’s okay. It’s no big deal."

Lorelai shook her head. "No, it is a big deal. And I’m promising you that if something happens and we can’t do it next summer, it will only be a *postponement* not a cancellation. We will go on that trip one day, honey." She raised her hand. "Scout’s honor."

"You’re not a scout," Rory reminded her.

"Well, then, coffee-obsessed-freak’s honor," Lorelai said.

Rory smiled. "Okay."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Good. Plus, hey, the longer we push it off, the more money we’ll be able to save up for it."

"Good point," Rory replied. She leaned her head against the couch cushion and sighed. "You know what?"

Lorelai leaned her head next to Rory’s. "What?"

Rory smiled. "You’re gonna make a great Mom. I have this gut feeling," she said, patting her stomach.

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks. . . but I think that feeling’s from the Chinese food."

Rory shrugged. "Could be." She paused a moment before she asked, "Ice cream?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah." They both stood up from the couch.

Rory put her arm around Lorelai’s waist as they started walking toward the kitchen. "Mom?"

"Hm?"

"You’re not gonna buy a minivan, are you?" Rory asked, making a face.

Lorelai let out a laugh and she shook her head adamantly. "No, absolutely not, you won’t catch me anywhere near one of those things. I don’t even park near them in parking lots with the fear that their essence will somehow jump onto my car and then seep into my body and try to convince me to buy one."

Rory let out a sigh of relief as they entered the kitchen. "Okay, good. I didn’t want to have to disown myself from you."

"Well, you’ll probably wanna do that someday, but I can assure you it won’t have anything to do with a minivan," Lorelai said. "We’re SUV people all the way."

"Absolutely," Rory replied. She pulled open the freezer and took out the ice cream as Lorelai got the box of cones out of the cabinet.

As she scooped some ice cream into one of the cones, Lorelai said, "Luke’s gonna be a great dad, don’t you think?"

Rory smiled and nodded. "Definitely."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah." She finished the cones, then turned to Rory and frowned. "Though he told me he doesn’t want our kids taking coffee to school in their lunch boxes."

Rory gasped. "You’re kidding!"

Lorelai shook her head. "He really said that, can you believe it?"

Rory frowned sympathetically. "What are you gonna do about it?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don’t know. Let’s go start working on a plan." They took their ice cream cones into the living room and sat down on the couch to talk.

* * *

PART 54

On Saturday afternoon, Lorelai and Rory were sitting at the kitchen table when Luke walked in through the back door. "Hey," he greeted them.

"Hey Luke," Rory said.

Lorelai turned around and smiled. "Hey." She noticed the Doose’s Market bag he was carrying and frowned. "You went shopping! Why didn’t you tell me you were going shopping?"

Luke set the bag on the table and shrugged. "I wasn’t aware I needed your permission."

"You don’t, but I was gonna run to the market in a little while to pick up some very important necessities but had I known you were going, you could’ve saved me a trip," Lorelai whined.

"Very important necessities?" Luke repeated, rolling his eyes. "So, for you, that’s what – whipped cream and hot fudge sauce?"

Lorelai scoffed. "No, this time when I say necessities, I actually mean *real* necessities, like laundry detergent, mouthwash. . .oh, and did I mention that we’re down to our last five squares of toilet paper?"

"No, you didn’t mention it." Luke reached into the bag and pulled out a package of toilet paper. "But you seem to forget that I have eyes also. I saw that we were low."

Lorelai gasped and grabbed it from him. "Oh, thank God!" She hugged it tightly to her chest. "I was planning on taking a magazine into the bathroom with me next time, and I wasn’t gonna be using it for reading material, if you know what I mean."

"Uh, yeah, I think we do," Luke said, giving a sideways glance towards Rory.

"That would’ve led to some very uncomfortable paper cuts," Rory said knowingly.

"Again," Lorelai added with a nod. Luke narrowed his eyes at her, and she smiled. "You don’t wanna know." She set the package on the table and gestured to the bag. "What else did you buy?"

Luke reached into the bag and pulled out two identical boxes. "I saw these and thought of you guys." He handed each of them a box.

Lorelai looked at the label and laughed. "Oh my God, this is the greatest thing in the entire world!"

"SpongeBob macaroni and cheese!" Rory exclaimed excitedly.

Luke smirked as he unloaded the rest of the bag. "Thought you might enjoy that."

"Yes, we do enjoy it," Lorelai confirmed.

"Definitely," Rory said, nodding enthusiastically. "I’m overjoyed, even."

"Good." Luke crumbled up the bag and threw it away, then walked back over to them. They were staring up at him with hopeful looks, and he rolled his eyes and held out his hand. "Fine, give me it."

Lorelai smiled and handed him her box. "Thank you. You can just make one box."

"You sure?" he asked. "You can eat a whole box of this yourself."

"Well, I don’t wanna eat too much or else I’ll be puking on the dance floor tonight," Lorelai said. She scoffed and shook her head, adding, "Which is not as fun as it sounds, trust me."

Luke shook his head slightly as he took the box and walked to the stove. He set the box on the counter, then pulled out a pot and walked over to the sink to fill it with water. "Rory, explain to me why you’re so normal when your role model is so. . . .not?"

Rory shrugged. "There are scientists working ‘round the clock trying to figure it out, Luke."

Lorelai smirked and stood up. "I’m gonna go take a shower while the food’s cooking. It’ll give me time to think about why the hell I like either one of you."

Luke carried the pot over to the stove and set it on a burner. He walked over to Lorelai and put his hands on her shoulders. "Let us know if you find out."

"Will do." Lorelai smiled and kissed him on the cheek. She started to walk out of the kitchen, then stopped and turned around. "Oh, hey, Sookie told me that she has a couple extra seats for the wedding."

"And?" Luke prompted.

"I thought you might wanna see if maybe Jess wanted to go," Lorelai said. "I know he said he didn’t want to when we first sent the invitations out, but. . .maybe he’s changed his mind." Lorelai shrugged. "I mean, I know he doesn’t know Sookie or Jackson very well, but. . .hey, the seats are already paid for now, and it’s free food, right? Plus, he can bring a guest. Weddings are a nice date atmosphere."

Luke shrugged. "I don’t know, I’ll ask him."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay." She turned and walked out of the kitchen.

* * *

A few hours later, Lorelai was in the bedroom when Luke walked in. Standing in front of the closet in just her underwear and bra, she looked over at him. "I’m not sure what to wear tonight." She put her hands on her hips and turned back toward the closet.

Luke sat down on the bed. "Something oversized and baggy."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and waved him off. She pulled out a sleeveless black dress and held it up in front of her. After some contemplation, she pulled it on and zipped it up, then looked in the mirror. She adjusted it and smoothed it out, then turned back to him. "How does it look?"

Luke made a face and shook his head. "Bad. . .really bad. I say go with a turtleneck and sweat pants. I’ve heard that’s popular strip club wear."

Lorelai folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head. "Luke."

Luke sighed and muttered, "Amazing, as always."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah?"

"You know you do," he replied. "Why do you even bother asking my opinion?"

"Because I like to be reassured," she replied as she turned back to the mirror. She sat down at her vanity and began fixing her hair.

"So where exactly are you going?" Luke asked.

Lorelai giggled. "To see some show called Hunk-O-Mania."

Luke’s eyes widened. "Hunk-O-Mania? You’re not serious."

"Dead serious," she replied, looking at him in the mirror. "I told Patty I was looking for a good strip show and she set us up with this place. She even managed to get us a discount on the tickets."

"I so don’t wanna know how," Luke muttered, shaking his head. "Who’s all going?"

"Um, me, Sookie, Babette, and Patty," Lorelai replied. "I told Sookie to invite some of her chef friends, but she just wanted it to be the four of us." She stood up and stepped into her shoes. "Maybe she’s not comfortable enough with them to let ‘em see her get wasted."

"Maybe," Luke said. "What time do you think you’ll be home?"

"Uh, when the state of Connecticut runs out of alcohol," Lorelai replied as she walked over to him.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Please tell me you have a designated driver."

"Yeah, Candace," Lorelai replied. "Though I’m a bit concerned about that because when Jessica needed a ride home that one time, Candace was a little tipsy, you remember?"

Luke stared at her with wide eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Lorelai sighed and waved him off. "Never mind. We got a limo for the night. . .complete with a chauffeur to drive us wherever we want. Again, Patty was able to get us a discount. I swear, she knows everybody in this world." She pulled him up off the bed into a hug.

He wrapped his arms around her and a content smile appeared on her face as the warmth of his body surrounded her. She rested her head against his chest and inhaled the scent of his cologne as his hands ran up and down her spine. After a few seconds, she lifted her head to look at him and pressed her lips against his, and he slid his hands up to cradle her face as he kissed her back passionately.

When he finally pulled back from her, Lorelai smiled up at him. "Trying to make sure I don’t forget what I have at home while I’m out gallivanting with strippers?"

"Yup." He leaned down and kissed her again as he slid his hands down her body.

Lorelai smiled through the kiss. "Now you’re trying to permanently leave your handprints on my butt as a ‘this gal’s taken’ sign to other guys, right?"

"You’re two for two," Luke replied, sliding his hands up to her waist.

Lorelai smiled. "Put them back." Luke smirked as he slid his hands back down and began kissing her again.

They were interrupted moments later by a horn honking out front, and Lorelai walked over to the window. "Limo’s here." She grabbed her purse from the bed, and the two of them walked downstairs.

* * *

Several hours later, Lorelai and Sookie were dancing on the crowded dance floor of the club as Babette and Patty looked on from the table.

As a waiter brought over another round of drinks, Lorelai wandered over, fanning herself. "Man, it’s hot in here," she yelled over the loud music. "Why’d you guys sit down?"

"Oh, you girls can dance longer than us," Babette replied loudly. "We need to rest more often."

"Got it!" Lorelai yelled. She took a long sip of her drink. "Okay, I’m going back out there!" She ran back onto the dance floor and found Sookie.

They danced a few more songs before they walked back to the table and collapsed in their chairs, both panting from their exhaustion. "My God, this is so much fun!" Sookie said loudly.

Lorelai nodded in agreement as she took a sip of her drink. She glanced toward the stage that the strippers dance on and said, "The only thing that’s missing is Antonio."

"I’m sure he’ll be back out soon," Babette assured her. She glanced toward the stage and muttered, "He better. I got my dollar bills all ready for that sexy piece of meat."

Patty smiled and patted Babette on the arm. "Don’t worry, he always does three shows on Saturdays. Antonio’s a big hit around here."

Sookie glanced down at her watch. "You know, this time next week. . ."

Lorelai smiled. "Aww, you’ll be a married woman!"

Sookie giggled excitedly. "Yes, I will!"

Lorelai raised her glass. "So what do you say we celebrate that by raising our blood alcohol levels to a limit that David Hasselhoff would be proud of?"

Sookie picked up her glass and clinked it against Lorelai’s. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

A few hours later, back at home, a car door slammed outside and awakened Luke from his sleep. He glanced at the clock, which told him that it was almost two in the morning. He groggily climbed out of bed and walked to the window, and saw the limousine parked out front.

Luke pulled on a pair of sweat pants and walked downstairs. He pulled open the front door and saw Lorelai standing in between Patty and Babette near the limo, her arms draped over them as they helped her walk toward the house.

As Luke walked toward them, Lorelai smiled and gave him a small wave. "Hey Luke." She giggled and turned to Patty. "That’s a funny name, huh? Luke. . .Luuuuuke. . .funny. . ."

"Yes, it is, dear, very funny," Patty agreed with an amused smile on her face. She glanced up at Luke. "Someone had a bit much to drink."

"I see that," Luke replied. "I can take her from here, thanks."

Patty and Babette held onto her as she took a wobbly step toward Luke. He supported her with his arms as she fell against him and rested her head on his shoulder.

He glanced down at her. "There’s no way you’re gonna be able to walk all the way up the steps, is there?" She shook her head slightly. Luke took a deep breath. "Didn’t think so. Okay, come on." He grunted as he hoisted her over his shoulder.

Patty nudged Babette and they both smiled at Luke. "She’s lucky to have such a strong, sexy, shirtless man to come home to," Patty said, eyeing his chest and arms.

"Mmhmm," Babette agreed.

Luke took a step back from them and gestured toward the house. "Uh, I’m gonna go put her to bed. Thanks for bringing her home in one piece." He turned around and carried Lorelai toward the house.

* * *

It was after one the next day when Lorelai groggily walked into the diner. She was wearing one of Luke’s T-shirts and her sweat pants that she usually reserved for sleepwear, and her hair was still wet from her recent shower. Ignoring the looks from other customers, she walked to the counter, sat down on a stool, and abruptly rested her head on the countertop.

A few minutes passed before she felt someone tape her shoulder, and she slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head. Luke was standing on the other side of the counter, a tall glass in his hand. "Hey. How ya feelin’?" he asked.

Lorelai responded with a groan as she rubbed her eyes.

Luke nodded. "Yeah, that’s pretty much how you look. Nice outfit." He set the glass down and pushed it toward her. "Here, drink this."

Lorelai eyed the yellowish substance. "What is it?"

"Banana milkshake," Luke replied. "It’ll make you feel better."

Lorelai eyed him curiously as she took the straw into her mouth and tasted the drink. She pulled back and nodded approvingly. "Mm, pretty good." She sighed loudly and covered her face with her hands. "I feel. . .ugh. Just very, very. . .ugh."

"What happened last night?" Luke asked.

Lorelai looked up at him and shrugged. "I can’t really remember. We went to a couple of clubs, we talked, we drank a lot, we shoved dollar bills down several guys’ . . ." Luke shot her a look, and she grimaced. "Never mind, you don’t need all the details."

A man walked up to the counter to pay, and Luke walked over to the cash register. When he returned to Lorelai, he casually asked, "So. . .who’s Antonio?"

Lorelai looked up at him with a suspicious look. "What?"

"Antonio," he repeated. He folded his arms across his chest. "Last night when I was putting you in bed, the phrase ‘Antonio knows how to work it’ was muttered more than once."

A small smile appeared on Lorelai’s lips. "I said that?"

"Yes, you did," Luke said with a smirk.

Lorelai giggled. "He was one of the strippers."

Luke rolled his eyes. "That’s what I assumed. Maybe next time you could try not to moan about other guys in bed, huh?"

"I’ll try," she promised as she took a sip of her milkshake.

"Thank you. All right, I gotta go do diner-type stuff. You want anything else?"

She tapped the side of her glass with her fingernails. "Another one of these, please," she mumbled with the straw still in her mouth.

* * *

On Thursday night, Lorelai and Rory were in the upstairs bathroom doing their makeup. Lorelai applied her mascara, then handed it to Rory and called, "Luke, are you almost ready?"

The bedroom door opened and Luke stepped out dressed in his suit. "I’m not wearing a tie," he announced. "I’ll wear one to the wedding, I’m not wearing one to the rehearsal dinner."

Lorelai turned to Rory and rolled her eyes. "Men."

Rory nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it."

Lorelai smiled and walked out of the bathroom. Luke was standing near the bedroom door, and she nodded approvingly at his outfit as she walked over to him. "That looks good. You don’t need a tie." She kissed him, then pulled back and smiled. "Mm, you smell good."

"Mm, you taste good," he muttered as he leaned in to kiss her again.

Lorelai smiled through the kiss. "That would be my strawberry-flavored lip gloss," she informed him. "You like?"

"It’s much better than the chocolate flavored one," Luke said. "Really, does even your makeup need to be junk-food?"

Lorelai pretended to think it over, then said, "Uh – yes."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Is Rory almost ready? We have to be at the inn in fifteen minutes."

"Relax. They can’t start without the bridesmaids," Lorelai said. She walked into the bedroom and grabbed her purse.

Luke followed her. "Actually, they can start without anyone who isn’t the bride or groom. . .but I understand you’re trying to make it seem like you’re the most important part of this wedding."

"Well, yeah, ‘cause I’m the most important part of anything," Lorelai said as if that was obvious.

Luke shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded. "Yes, that’s absolutely right."

Lorelai smirked. "I’m totally ignoring the sarcasm in your tone."

He smiled and kissed her. "Okay, good."

* * *

After the practice ceremony at the inn, everyone returned to Sookie’s house for dinner. A few hours passed as they ate, drank, and mingled, and after Lorelai had finished up her second piece of cake, she walked over to Luke, who was standing near the front door. "Hey."

"Hey," Luke said. "You look tired."

"I feel tired," she said as she rested her head on his chest.

He brought one hand up around her waist. "You ready to go?"

"Nah, I’m probably gonna stay late to help Sookie clean up," Lorelai said, still leaning against him. "But you don’t have to wait for me. You can go whenever you want." She put a hand on her stomach. "Ugh, I ate too much."

"What a surprise," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

Lorelai lifted her head up and sighed. "Man, Rory and I have so much to do tomorrow to help Sookie get ready. We have to finish the flowers and the favors and the centerpieces, and then decorate the inn at night and. . ." She groaned and slapped her forehead. "Ugh, and I completely forgot that it’s Friday, which means we have to stop all the hard work and waste two hours of my day driving all the way to Hartford, having dinner with my parents, then driving all the way back." She put her hands on his shoulders. "Man, tomorrow’s gonna kill me, I know it. Just shoot me now and get it over with, okay? And then remove my stomach and transplant it into someone else so that some other person out there can have the incredible superhuman eating capabilities that I have now." She sighed and leaned her forehead against the center of his chest. "I’m too stressed."

Luke shook his head slightly. "Okay, you need to get some air. Let’s go for a walk." He took Lorelai’s hand and led her out the front door and onto the porch. They walked down the front steps, across the front walkway, and headed down the sidewalk.

When they reached the darkened, empty diner, Luke unlocked the door and they walked inside. "You want some coffee?" he asked.

"Actually, hot chocolate would totally hit the spot right now," she said, giving him a hopeful smile.

He turned the light on and walked toward the counter. "Sit down. I’ll go make some."

As he disappeared into the kitchen, Lorelai sat down at a table. He returned a few minutes later with a mug and set it in front of her. Lorelai looked into it and smiled. "You added marshmallows!"

Luke sat down next to her. "I know what you like."

"Yes, you do." Lorelai took a sip, then set her mug down and stared at it for a few seconds. When she lifted her head, she pushed her hair behind her ears and cleared her throat. "Uh, Luke. . .I meant to tell you this earlier, but. . . I talked to Christopher yesterday."

Surprised, Luke’s eyes widened. "You did? Did he call?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I called him."

"You called him," he repeated slowly.

"Yeah. I just needed to talk things out with him," Lorelai explained. "Just us, one on one, no screaming – just us calmly talking things out."

"Calmly?" Luke asked.

"Well, there was obviously a lot of emotion, yes, but for the most part it was calm," Lorelai said.

Luke nodded. "Ah. So. . .everything’s good now between you guys?"

"Yeah," Lorelai said. "Well, as good as they can be after all this stuff has been laid out on the table. I mean, there’s obviously still some weirdness between us, but. . ."

Luke nodded. "Right, right. Well, I’m glad things are better. He probably had a few things to say about me. . ."

"Well, he did bring up the exchange you guys had, and . . .I explained to him that everything you said was true," Lorelai said. "And I got the impression that he’s sort of jealous of you. I mean, he realizes now how much Rory looks up to you and he really wants her to look up to him the same way."

Luke smirked. "Huh."

Lorelai smiled and slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "Look at you, you’re gloating."

Luke shrugged. "I’m not gloating."

"Right." Lorelai rolled her eyes and took a sip of her hot chocolate, then leaned toward him and smiled. "Hey, you know what?"

"What?"

"Once all this stuff for Sookie’s wedding is out of the way, we can start planning ours," she said.

He smiled. "Yup."

"It’ll be so fun!" Lorelai said excitedly. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, a kiss he passionately returned. As she slowly pulled her lips from his, she smiled. "You know, if I wasn’t five minutes away from pulling a Rip van Winkle, I’d drag you to the storage room so you could . . stock my shelf."

"Out of energy, huh?" Luke asked.

Lorelai nodded, then giggled softly. "But I have to say that I’d really enjoy seeing the look on your face when you pulled my dress up and discovered that I’m not wearing any underwear."

Luke’s eyes widened slightly and he swallowed hard.

Lorelai smiled and gestured to his face. "Yeah, that’s the look right there!"

Luke exhaled loudly. "Okay, I think the implied rule is that if you’re too tired to do it yourself, you can’t go around getting others all hot and bothered."

"Oops, sorry." Lorelai smiled innocently and sipped her hot chocolate.

* * *

On Saturday afternoon, dressed in his suit and tie, Luke was sitting on the living room sofa tapping his hands aimlessly on his knees. He glanced at his watch every few minutes, then finally walked to the bottom of the steps and called, "Are you ready yet?"

"We’ll be right down!" Lorelai called back.

"You said that twenty minutes ago!" Luke reminded her.

"This time we mean it!" Rory added.

Luke sighed and walked back to the couch. He turned on the television and flipped through the channels until he came across a baseball game.

Several minutes passed before he heard footsteps on the stairs, and he glanced over as Rory walked down in her green bridesmaid dress. "Girl number one is ready to go," she announced. "Girl number two is still doing her hair."

Luke smiled. "Girl number one looks nice."

"Girl number one thanks you," Rory replied, smiling appreciatively. As she walked toward the kitchen, Luke checked his watch, then brought his attention back to the television.

A few minutes later, he was once again distracted by footsteps, and after turning off the television, he stared at the staircase expectantly. When Lorelai came into view, his eyes widened and a smile slowly formed on his lips.

Lorelai stopped at the bottom steps and gestured to herself. "So, was it worth the wait?"

He stood up and walked over to her, shaking his head in disbelief. "Absolutely." He put his hands on her waist and eyed her from top to bottom, starting with her straightened hair that hung over both shoulders, to the lowcut neckline that his eyes couldn’t help linger on for a few seconds, all the way down to the bottom of her green dress. As he brought his gaze back up to meet hers, he said, "Wow. . .just, wow."

Lorelai smiled. "I’ll take that as a compliment."

"It definitely is," he confirmed.

Lorelai stepped off the bottom step and hugged him tightly as Rory walked into the living room. She clapped her hands to get their attention. "Okay, break up the lovefest, we’re supposed to be at Sookie’s in five minutes."

Luke pulled back from Lorelai. "Right, let’s go."

"Okay, I’ve heard that taking two Advil before you start drinking is good hangover prevention," Lorelai said as she walked over to the desk. She picked up her purse and shook it. "So I got a whole bottle in here."

Rory smiled. "It’s good to be prepared."

"All right, come on," Luke said as he walked to the front door. "I’m just dropping you off at Sookie’s, right?"

"Yup. We’re gonna help Sookie get ready and then we’ll just come to the inn with her," Lorelai said. The three of them walked out the front door and climbed into the Explorer.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Luke was talking with some people on the back porch of the inn when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and smiled when he saw Lorelai. "Hey."

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Hey, we just got here. Oh my God, you should see Sookie, she looks so amazing!"

"I’m sure she does," Luke said, nodding.

Lorelai held up her bouquet in front of his face. "Smell this. Nice, huh?"

Luke pushed it away and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, great," he replied dryly. "Makes me wish I had one for myself."

Lorelai smiled. "You can have this one when I’m done with it." They walked across the porch away from the crowd, and she gestured toward the yard. "So, what do you think?"

"It looks good," he said. He looked toward the piano and said, "I never knew Kirk had such a passion for singing."

"Me either," Lorelai replied, following his gaze. They watched him sing for a few seconds. "Ooh! Maybe you guys could start up a traveling duet or something. . .you can play your guitar, he can sing, I can be Penny Lane, we can all sing Tiny Dancer on a tour bus, it’d be fun."

"Sounds it," he replied.

"Although then it would put an end to the whole ‘I’m the only one who can hear you play the guitar because I’m special’ mystique and then I wouldn’t feel special anymore," Lorelai said, frowning.

"Well, then, I guess I’ll have to give up my dream of starting a band with Kirk," he replied.

"You’d do that for me?" Lorelai asked hopefully.

Luke took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Well, if you really want me to."

Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "You’re cute." She pulled back and adjusted the knot of his tie, then grimaced and pulled her hand away. "Oh God, that was so something my mother would do. Never let me do that again, okay?"

"Gladly," Luke replied. As he noticed people starting to sit down for the ceremony, he glanced down at his watch. "It’s about to start."

Lorelai grabbed his wrist and turned it toward her to look at the watch. "Yes, it is. I have to find Rory."

"Where is she?" Luke asked.

"She went to find Dean and Lane," Lorelai replied. She scanned the yard, and when she finally spotted Rory, Lorelai turned to Luke. "I see her. Go get a seat. I’ll see you after the ceremony."

"Okay, don’t trip," Luke said, leaning in to kiss her.

Lorelai pulled back and smacked him on the shoulder. "No! Don’t talk about it, you’ll jinx it!"

Luke smiled and kissed her. "Bye."

Lorelai walked across the yard over to Rory, and then the two of them walked to the bridge and waited for their cue to walk down the aisle. Rory glanced over at Lorelai. "You look nervous," Rory commented.

"Yeah, because Luke told me not to trip," Lorelai replied.

Rory gasped. "Doesn’t he know you’re not supposed to say that?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Apparently not." The music started, and Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Ooh, here we go." They walked slowly down the steps and across the yard, through the aisle separating the rows of people, and took their places opposite of Jackson on the other side of the chuppah.

As everyone stood up and turned to wait for Sookie, Lorelai scanned the crowd for Luke and saw him smiling at her. "You didn’t fall," he mouthed to her.

Lorelai smiled and nodded, then turned her attention to a beaming Sookie who had begun her walk down the aisle.

* * *

After Sookie and Jackson’s first kiss as husband and wife, the spectators all rose and applauded loudly. Lorelai and Rory both had tears streaming down their faces as they followed the newly-married couple down the aisle back toward the inn.

As soon as they reached the porch, Jackson continued walking as Sookie turned around and giggled excitedly. "I’m married!"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yes, you are!" She leaned forward and hugged her tightly. "I’m so happy for you, Sookie." As she pulled back, she wiped her eyes. "Oh man, it’s all your fault I’m crying. I was fine holding back the tears until I saw you crying."

Sookie smiled. "Sorry about that."

Rory stepped up to Sookie and hugged her. "Don’t apologize. It’s your wedding, you can do whatever you want."

"Thank you," Sookie replied. As she pulled back from the hug, she took a deep breath. "Okay, here’s the game plan. . .we’re gonna greet the people out here on the porch as they go inside for the reception, then while they’re getting all settled and eating the appetizers, we’re gonna take pictures out here with the bridal party, and then we’ll go in, too."

"Sounds great," Lorelai said.

Sookie widened her eyes. "How’s the makeup?"

Lorelai gave her a thumbs-up. "Perfect and smudge-free. Good thing we went with the waterproof mascara." She glanced over her shoulder. "We’ll be over there when you need us for pictures."

Sookie nodded. "Okay." She walked over to Jackson and stood near the inn door to greet the guests.

Lorelai and Rory walked across the porch and watched the people file from the rows of chairs. Lorelai nudged Rory and said, "Is that Jess?"

Rory followed her gaze, then smiled. "Yup."

"Huh, so he decided to come after all," Lorelai said. "And he brought Jill."

"Yeah, it wasn’t easy to convince him to, but we had a nice conversation about how Jill would like it much more than the usual ‘dinner and a movie’ date," Rory explained.

Lorelai giggled. "Jess and Jill – "

"Not this again," Rory interrupted, rolling her eyes.

Lorelai laughed. "No, this one’s gonna be good, I swear! Jess and Jill went up the hill to fetch some new CD’s. Jess said ‘Look!’ and dropped his book, and Jill said, ‘I like cheese.’"

Rory made a face. "That one doesn’t even make sense."

Lorelai scoffed. "Excuse me? Which part doesn’t make sense? They’re both into music, hence the CD shopping. Jess has said the word ‘look’ before, so that part’s plausible. They both work at the bookstore, so anything relating to books is fine. And we saw them two weeks ago eating pizza, so we know she likes cheese. There – makes perfect sense."

Rory shrugged and shook her head. "I don’t know, it wasn’t really flowing well for me. You’ve done better."

"Yeah, well, not all of them can be winners," Lorelai said. They sat down on a bench and talked for a few minutes until Luke walked over to them.

Lorelai smiled up at him. "Hey."

"Hey. What are you guys doing over here?" he asked.

"Waiting to take pictures with Sookie and Jackson," Rory replied.

"After all the guests go inside," Lorelai added. "Did you follow the line to congratulate them?"

"Yup, then I came over here," Luke said.

Lorelai shook her finger at him. "Uh oh, you broke out of line, that’s going to lead to complete and utter chaos."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Okay, Taylor."

Lorelai smirked. "Funny."

"I know," he replied. He glanced toward the line of people, which was slowly dwindling as they filed into the inn. "All right, I’m going in."

"Mmkay," Lorelai said. "We’ll see you after the pictures."

"Bye." Luke walked across the porch and went into the inn.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Sookie, Jackson, and the bridal party were poised to enter the dining room. They stood in the hallway outside the closed doors, and could hear the DJ inside announcing everyone to direct their attention to the doorway.

The doors opened, and the four members of the bridal party entered the room to applause. They walked to the edge of the dance floor, and turned their attention back to the door as Sookie and Jackson entered the room to a much louder applause.

As the applause died down and the music started, Sookie and Jackson began their first dance. Everyone watched them for a minute before other couples slowly started filing onto the dance floor and began dancing around them.

Lorelai walked over to Luke’s table. She set her bouquet down and gestured to the dance floor. "Come on."

Luke stood up with a sigh. "We’re not doing this all night."

"I know, I know," Lorelai said, dragging him onto the dance floor.

Luke took one of her hands and held it against his chest, and he placed his other hand on her back. As they started dancing, Lorelai smiled up at him. "See, dancing at this wedding won’t be so bad because no one will be looking at us. Everyone’s looking at the bride and groom. You know what that means?"

"Yes, it means we’re banning dancing at our wedding ‘cause everyone’ll be looking at us," Luke said.

"Or we could just lock ourselves in a room and dance privately where no one can see us," Lorelai suggested.

"Let me tell you something, if we find ourselves locked in a room in the middle of our wedding secluded from everyone else, dancing’s the last thing that’ll be on my mind," Luke informed her.

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, what was I thinking?" She pressed her lips against his and kissed him softly, then pulled back and rested her chin on his shoulder as they continued dancing.

* * *

PART 55

When the first song ended, the couples dispersed from the dance floor, and Lorelai walked Luke back to his table. She picked up her bouquet and gestured toward the head table. "All right, I gotta sit up there with the bridal party, but I’ll come visit you when I’m done eating."

"You’re leaving me alone with Patty and Babette?" Luke asked quietly. "What do I do when they start trying to seduce me?"

"Same thing you did last time, run and hide in a closet," Lorelai replied.

Luke glanced over at them warily. "Maybe we should try to limit their alcohol."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Morey’s right there and Patty has her own date, so they won’t be paying any attention to you. I’ll be back soon." She kissed him on the cheek and started walking toward the head table.

She noticed Michel standing in the corner of the room, and she walked over to him. "Hey, how’s everything going?" Lorelai asked.

Hugging his clipboard against his chest, he sighed and asked, "Can I leave now?"

"No, you cannot leave," Lorelai replied. "And if you don’t start at least trying to look friendly, I’m gonna tell everyone here that you keep a copy of Oprah’s magazine under the front desk and you look at it when you’re bored."

Michel scoffed. "I don’t – "

"I’ve seen it, Michel," Lorelai interrupted.

Michel huffed, then pursed his lips together and mumbled, "It has interesting articles."

"I’m sure it does," Lorelai agreed. "Now, come on, this isn’t some stranger’s wedding. It’s Sookie’s – your coworker, your acquaintance, your fr- . . . well, friend might be a bit of a stretch, but whatever you wanna call her. . .remember, it’s for Sookie, so please be nice."

Michel forced a smile. "How’s this? Better? Good, now leave me alone."

Lorelai patted him on the shoulder. "Thank you." She walked over to the head table and sat down next to Rory. "Hey you."

"Hey," Rory replied.

Lorelai glanced past Rory and saw the three men of the bridal party sitting at the other end of the rectangular table. "Have you seen Sookie?" Lorelai asked Rory.

"No, I . . ." Her voice trailed off and they stared at each other for a second until they both realized where she was. "Uh oh."

"Let’s go," Lorelai said, standing up. She and Rory walked across the dining room and through the swinging door that led to the kitchen. Several chefs and waiters were walking around, and Lorelai scanned the crowded kitchen until they saw Sookie across the room near the cake.

They rushed over to her. "Sookie, what are you doing in here?" Lorelai asked. "I’m pretty sure you took the day off today."

Sookie stepped back and admired the cake. "Just needed to check on Dexter, and make sure he didn’t need any little touch-ups."

"No, he looks perfect, Sookie – right, hon?" Lorelai nudged Rory.

Rory nodded. "The best wedding cake I’ve ever seen."

"See, we both think it looks great." Lorelai grabbed Sookie’s hand and led her toward the door. "Now, I don’t want you in here anymore, Sookie. It’s your wedding day, you shouldn’t be worrying about anything. Don’t make me get a bodyguard to block the door."

Sookie sighed. "Okay, okay." She glanced over her shoulder for one last concerned look at the cake before they exited the kitchen.

* * *

A few hours later, Lorelai had pulled up a chair next to Luke, and they sat talking alone at his table.

"So, you’re telling me you would rather eat an entire piece of chocolate cake than get out there and do the chicken dance?" Lorelai asked, gesturing to the dance floor.

Luke nodded. "Yeah, because in a town like this, the embarrassment of the dancing will hurt me a lot more than the unhealthiness of the cake."

Lorelai nodded understandably. "Right, right." She paused a moment, then asked, "Hey, you’re gonna have cake at our wedding, right? I mean, you have to eat your own wedding cake, I think it’s the law. Plus, we have to do that cutesy thing where we feed it to each other and smear it all over each other’s faces. I’ve always wanted to do that."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Uh, I don’t think so."

Lorelai gasped. "You’re not gonna eat your own wedding cake?"

"I’ll eat my own wedding cake, but I’m not going to wear it," he said dryly. "Forget the cutesy stuff."

Lorelai frowned. "Please? What if we just feed it to each other but I promise not to shove it in your face?" Luke tilted his head and gave her a doubtful look, and

Lorelai let out a small laugh. "What? I promise! I’ve never lied to you." She paused a moment and narrowed her eyes. "At least, not that I remember."

He picked up his drink and took a sip, then placed it back on the table. "I’ll think about it."

"Tsk, it’s a romantic tradition, we’re doing it," Lorelai said. She glanced around the room and smiled when she saw Sookie and Jackson talking with some of their guests. "Aw, look at how happy they are. I love seeing ‘em like that."

"When are they leaving for Hawaii?" Luke asked.

"Tomorrow morning," Lorelai replied. "For a week."

"They can afford that?" Luke asked curiously.

"Actually, Jackson’s parents are paying for half as part of their wedding present," Lorelai replied.

"Oh, wow," Luke said. "That was nice."

"Yeah, Sookie was really excited about it," Lorelai said, smiling. "She never thought she’d get to go somewhere like that for her honeymoon."

"I bet they’ll – "

"Excuse me, Luke?" a voice interrupted. Luke and Lorelai both turned around and saw Kirk standing behind them, his hands clasped nervously in front of him. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"What is it, Kirk?" Luke asked.

Kirk glanced quickly toward Lorelai before he gestured over his shoulder. "Um, it’s sort of a private matter, if you don’t mind. It’ll only take a second."

Luke and Lorelai looked at each other questioningly before Luke shrugged and stood up. "Be right back."

"Okay," she replied. She watched as Luke followed Kirk to the corner of the room and began talking with him. After a few seconds, she saw Luke smile, then say something to Kirk and pat him on the shoulder. Kirk walked away, and Luke walked back over to Lorelai with a grin on his face.

Lorelai smiled curiously as he sat down. "What’s with the smirking?"

"Oh, nothing," he replied nonchalantly.

"Spill it."

Still smiling, Luke shook his head slightly. "Well, our old pal Kirk, after assuring me that he wasn’t going to try to steal you away from me, asked me if it was okay if he asked you to dance."

Lorelai’s eyes widened and she let out a gasp. "Oh my God, please tell me you said no," she begged. "Tell me that you were really offended and that you threatened to beat him up, and that you’re smiling because you feel powerful and manly and not because you did something really awful and told him yes just because you knew I’d say no to him and you wanted to get a cheap laugh at the expense of poor Kirk!"

Luke laughed. "I told him that it was perfectly fine by me."

Lorelai gasped and smacked him on the shoulder. "Luke!"

"Can’t wait to see how you try to get out of it," Luke added. "You’re always fun to watch under pressure."

Lorelai sighed loudly and scowled at him. "I can’t believe you did that for your own personal amusement," she said bitterly. "You’re so mean."

"Hey, who am I to be possessive?" Luke asked innocently. "I think this shows just how comfortable I am with you interacting with other men."

Lorelai scoffed. "Right. I highly doubt you’d be this open to the possibility of me dancing with someone who doesn’t live with his mother, or have a website devoted to The Wonder Years because he thinks if he keeps it going long enough they’ll bring the series back."

Luke nodded. "Sure I would, but this is far more entertaining." He turned toward the dance floor and saw Kirk walking toward them, then turned back to Lorelai and smirked. "Uh oh, here comes your new boyfriend."

Lorelai smacked his shoulder again. "Stop it."

When Kirk reached them, he cleared his throat nervously. "Uh, excuse me, Lorelai?"

Lorelai turned around and glanced up at him with an awkward smile. "Yeah Kirk?" she said hesitantly.

Kirk gestured to the dance floor. "Uh, I was wondering if you’d perhaps like to. . . dance with me?"

Lorelai gave him an appreciative smile, then said, "Aw, I’d love to, Kirk, but I. . ." Her voice trailed off as she glanced at Luke and saw him smiling to himself. Lorelai thought for a moment, then smiled up at Kirk. "Actually, sure, I’d like that, Kirk." She stood up and gave a pointed look toward Luke. "At least someone here wants to dance with me." Luke’s eyes widened with surprise as Lorelai followed Kirk onto the dance floor.

* * *

A few hours later, Lorelai, Luke, and Rory were walking up their porch steps. As Luke unlocked the door, Rory and Lorelai leaned against each other. "That was an amazing wedding," Lorelai said, stifling a yawn.

"Yes, it was," Rory agreed. "The food was great, the cake was amazing, the music was good. . ."

"And that Kirk’s a damn good dancer," Lorelai added.

"So that’s why you danced with him three times?" Luke asked as he pushed open the front door.

As the girls walked past him into the house, Lorelai smirked. "Jealous?"

"Extremely," he replied dryly as he followed them into the living room. "For a minute there, I thought you were gonna give me the ring back and run off with him instead."

Lorelai smiled. "I was thinking about it, but then I decided that you should never marry someone who scares you."

"I guess Luke shouldn’t marry you then because I think he’s scared of your fluctuating maturity level," Rory said.

Lorelai stuck her tongue out at her. "Funny."

Rory smiled and started walking toward her bedroom. "Goodnight."

"Night, hon," Lorelai said.

"Night," Luke said.

Lorelai yawned as she walked over to Luke. She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him, then rested her head against his chest. "I’m so tired."

He brought his arms up and hugged her. "Me too."

"Carry me upstairs, please," Lorelai muttered.

Luke pulled back from her and rolled his eyes. "No. I already did that once this week, I’m not doing it again."

Lorelai pouted. "Mean." Luke started walking toward the staircase, and she slowly followed behind him.

* * *

On Wednesday night, Lorelai and Rory were sitting at a table in the diner with magazines and notebooks spread open in front of them.

"Oh, talk to Patty about borrowing chairs and tables," Lorelai said.

"Okay." Rory wrote it down in her notebook. "That’s yet another thing we can’t do until you pick a date, though."

"Yeah, true." Lorelai looked over at the counter and called, "Luke, come on!"

"I said I’d be there in a few minutes," he replied from near the cash register.

"Yeah, well, you said that like. . .more than a few minutes ago," she reminded him. Luke waved her off and walked into the kitchen. Lorelai turned back to Rory and sighed. "Find new prospective husband, write that down."

"You still haven’t told me where the ceremony’s gonna be," Rory said.

"Yes, I did," Lorelai replied. "I told you yesterday."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Oh, silly me, I thought you might’ve been joking when you said you were flying to Paris to be wed on top of the Eiffel Tower."

"No, I never joke," Lorelai said, shaking her head.

"Really, what did you guys decide?" Rory asked. "Our house?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. We went back and forth with a bunch of other possible places, you know, like the inn or Miss Patty’s studio," she explained. "But we both decided that it’d be the most private and intimate if we did it at our house."

"Outside?" Rory asked.

"Yup."

"Kind of like Sookie’s shower?" Rory asked. "With the tables and stuff set up in the two yards?"

"Sort of," Lorelai said. She glanced at Rory’s notebook. "Here, I’ll show you." She took the notebook and flipped to the next page, then picked up a pencil and sketched an outline of the yard. "Wow, okay, I’m not the next Bob Ross."

"Definitely not," Rory agreed, looking on. "No one draws happy trees like him."

Lorelai finished up the sketch, then said, "Okay, so, we’ll move the chuppah right here between our house and Babette’s house, and there’ll be an aisle leading to it with rows of chairs lined up on either side for people to sit. . . you know what I mean?"

"Sort of," Rory replied. "So the ceremony will be in the little strip of yard between the two houses?"

"Right," Lorelai replied. She drew a large square surrounded by some smaller circles in the front yard. "And then in the front toward the driveway will be the dance floor, centered between the two houses, and then around that will be all the tables for eating."

Rory smiled. "Sounds good."

"We just have to check with Babette and Morey to make sure we can use their yard," Lorelai said. "But I’m sure they won’t mind."

"Nah, they won’t care," Rory agreed. She noticed Luke walking toward them and smiled. "Look who finally decided to join the party."

Lorelai turned to look at him. "Ah, finally."

"You two do realize that I’m at work here, don’t you?" Luke asked as he sat down.

"Yes, but this is more important," Lorelai said. "We need to pick a wedding date."

"Yeah, well, if you don’t let me work, we won’t have any money to pay for the wedding, and therefore won’t need to pick a date at all," Luke said.

"Shhh," Lorelai hushed him and held her hand out to Rory. "Calendar?"

Rory looked under the stack of magazines in front of her until she found the calendar, and she passed it to Lorelai.

"Thank you." Lorelai flipped it open to August and put it in front of Luke. "Okay, today’s the seventh. You said you wanted early September. . . you still want it?"

"Yeah, if you think we can plan this wedding in a month," Luke replied.

"I think we can since it’s only gonna be a small thing," Lorelai said. "I mean, it’s not one of those 200-guest weddings where you need to order everything years in advance."

"Do you think you can find dresses before then?" Luke asked. Lorelai glanced at Rory, and the two shared a smile that made Luke narrow his eyes with curiosity. "What?"

"Don’t worry about the dresses," Lorelai told him.

"Why? Did you buy them already?" Luke asked.

"No, but we have some in mind," Lorelai said. "Don’t worry about ‘em. Just pick a date."

Luke turned the page of the calendar to September. "Uh, what about Sunday the first?"

"Sunday the first. . .Sunday the first," Lorelai repeated. "Mm, nope, no plans that day." Lorelai smiled at Luke, then handed him a pen. "Shall we make it official?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, nothing says official like an EraserMate pen." He wrote ‘Wedding Day’ on September first, then underlined it for good measure. "There ya go." Lorelai and Rory stared at him expectantly, and he narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"You’re not even gonna put a cute little heart or a happy face on there somewhere?" Lorelai asked.

"Come on, you gotta add some sign to it that indicates you’re actually looking forward to the day," Rory added.

"I underlined it," Luke reminded them.

"Heart," Lorelai instructed, tapping her finger on the calendar.

Luke rolled his eyes and quickly added a heart around the square. "Happy?"

"Yes." Lorelai took the calendar from him and stared at the heart-encased date, then handed it to Rory. She leaned toward Luke and kissed him, then pulled back and smiled. "We have a wedding date."

"Yes, we do," Luke replied. "And it’s the first of the month so it’ll be easy to remember for anniversaries."

Lorelai smiled. "Thinking ahead, huh? I like that."

Luke stood up. "All right, I gotta get back in the kitchen. Anything else you need?"

"Yes, could you please call Regis and tell him to stop letting that chick who sits next to him make commercials?" Lorelai asked. "Some people were just not made for acting in commercials, and she is a prime example of that."

"I’ll get right on that," Luke muttered as he walked away.

"Thank you," Lorelai called after him. She turned to Rory. "Really, though, have you seen her water commercial where she’s like jumping all over the place? It’s really annoying."

"Yeah, that one’s even worse than the Pantene commercial," Rory said.

"They both suck," Lorelai said. "They’ve done the opposite of what commercials are supposed to do. They’ve actually turned me against the products."

"We’re very picky about our commercials," Rory said.

"Yes, we are," Lorelai agreed.

* * *

That night, Lorelai and Rory were both sitting on the sofa watching television with bowls of popcorn in their laps. "Do you think Anthony Edwards looks back at this movie and feels embarrassed to have it on his resume?" Rory asked.

Lorelai gasped. "How could you be embarrassed of Revenge of the Nerds? I’d be honored."

"It’s definitely a classic," Rory agreed. "But I think he kind of got a big head after all his ER fame so he might feel a little insecure about Nerds."

"Well, now his ER fame is gone," Lorelai said. "And I bet he’s so desperate for a job that he’s at some studio right now begging for another Nerds sequel."

"Ooh, I’d love to see that," Rory said excitedly. "They could – " She was interrupted by the ringing phone, and she reached for the cordless on the coffee table. "Hello?" She smiled and exclaimed, "Hey Sookie! How’s Hawaii?"

Lorelai’s eyes widened and she smiled.

"Good," Rory said. "Can’t wait to see pictures. . . okay. . ..here’s Mom." Rory handed the phone to Lorelai. "It’s Sookie."

"Yes, I heard," Lorelai replied. She quickly brought the phone to her ear. "Hey Sookie!"

"Hey sweetie," Sookie replied. "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" Lorelai asked with a laugh. "What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be off doing honeymoon-type things?"

"Well, Jackson’s in the shower and then we’re going to a luau for dinner," Sookie said. "You know, they have a lot of luaus here."

"Yeah, I’ve heard that about Hawaii," Lorelai said, smiling. "And I’ll try to refrain from any jokes about you getting lei-d by the Hawaiian men."

Sookie giggled. "Thank you."

"So, how’s the honeymoon so far?" Lorelai asked.

"Terrific," Sookie replied. "Everything’s been fabulous." She lowered her voice and said, "We just had a conversation that I couldn’t wait to tell you about, so I had to call."

"Ooh, sounds juicy," Lorelai said. "What’s it about?"

"Kids," Sookie replied.

"You guys talked about kids?" Lorelai asked, and she gave an intrigued look toward Rory, who was listening intently to Lorelai’s side of the conversation.

"Yes," Sookie replied. "He mentioned that he’s always dreamed of having a big family with like five kids."

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Wow, five? Uh, did he offer to help carry them to term?"

"I know, right? That’s a lot of kids. So we talked it over and we realized that we both want at least two, so that’s what we’re aiming for right now, and if we want more after that. . .then we’ll deal with it when the time comes," Sookie explained. "So we’re gonna start trying in a few months."

Lorelai smiled. "Aw, Sookie, that’s awesome!"

"You’re not mad?" Sookie asked nervously.

Lorelai let out a surprised laugh. "Mad? Why would I be mad?"

"Well, because. . ." Sookie sighed. "I mean, I know we haven’t talked about it in awhile, but us opening our own inn is gonna have to be pushed back even further now."

"Oh," Lorelai replied, nodding understandably. "Don’t worry about that, Sookie. Let’s concentrate on this family stuff first and then we’ll deal with the inn stuff when we’re ready. In fact. . .Luke and I are gonna try soon, too."

Sookie gasped. "No!"

"Yes!"

"He wants kids?" Sookie asked.

"Yup."

"Oh my God, what if we get pregnant around the same time and then our kids grow up together and are best friends!" Sookie said excitedly.

Lorelai smiled. "That would be adorable."

Sookie was quiet for a second, then said, "Ooh, Jackson’s out of the shower. . .I gotta go. I’ll see you in a few days."

"Okay," Lorelai replied. "Have a great rest-of-your-honeymoon, Sookie."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Bye." Lorelai hung up the phone and dropped it next to her on the couch. Rory was staring at her expectantly, and Lorelai smiled. "They talked about having kids."

Rory smiled. "Aw, they’ll make such cute parents."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Yes, they will."

* * *

On Friday Night, Lorelai and Rory walked up to Emily and Richard’s house. Rory rang the doorbell, and a few seconds later, Emily pulled open the door.

She smiled. "Hello girls." She glanced past them and narrowed her eyes. "What’s that?"

Lorelai and Rory followed her gaze to Luke’s truck. They turned back to Emily, and Lorelai explained, "Oh, that’s Luke’s new truck. Nice, huh?"

"Yes, it’s very nice," Emily said. They stepped into the house and she closed the door. "What’s wrong with your car?"

"Nothing," Rory replied. "She pretended she didn’t have enough gas to get here in the Jeep so he would let her take that one."

"Ah," Emily replied.

"But of course he saw through the story," Rory added.

Lorelai smiled. "But he was so impressed by the attempted lie that he encouraged me to take it anyway."

"Well, that was nice," Emily replied.

"No, he was just so annoyed by your whining that he threw his keys at you and told you to leave him alone," Rory corrected her.

Lorelai laughed. "Okay, so I was a little fuzzy on the details."

Emily led them into the living room. "He threw his keys at you?"

Lorelai and Rory sat down on the couch. "No, he didn’t throw them at me," Lorelai replied. "He was upstairs and I was downstairs and they were in his pocket, so he had to drop them down the steps. It was more of a drop."

"Yeah, drop would be a good word," Rory agreed.

"Right, a drop," Emily said. She stood in front of the bar. "So, drinks?"

"Soda," Rory replied.

"White wine," Lorelai replied.

"Coming right up," Emily replied as she began fixing the drinks.

After a few seconds of silence, Rory cleared her throat. "So, Grandma, is Grandpa here tonight?"

Emily walked over and handed them their drinks. "Yes, he’s in his study. I’m just about to go get him."

"Oh, would you mind if I went?" Rory asked. "I wanted to talk to him about something."

"Oh," Emily replied. "Of course, go ahead."

Rory smiled and stood up. "Thanks." She set her drink on the coffee table.

Emily sat down in the chair adjacent to the sofa and watched Rory walk out of the room. When she was gone, she turned to Lorelai and asked, "What was all that about?"

Lorelai took a sip of her wine, then shrugged. "I thought it was pretty self-explanatory, Mom. She wants to talk to Dad about something."

"Yes, I understood that part," Emily replied. "But what about?"

"I’m sure we’ll find out eventually," Lorelai assured her. "Let’s just wait and see, huh?"

"You already know, don’t you?" Emily accused her.

"Yes, I do," Lorelai replied with a smile.

"Why won’t you tell me?"

"Because it’s for Rory to tell you, not me," Lorelai replied.

Emily pursed her lips and sighed disappointedly. "Fine."

"So, Sookie’s in Hawaii right now on her honeymoon," Lorelai said, trying to make conversation.

"Oh, that sounds nice," Emily said. "I bet she’s having a wonderful time. When is she coming home?"

"Sunday afternoon," Lorelai replied.

"Lovely," Emily said.

"Mmhmm," Lorelai muttered, nodding aimlessly. She took a sip of her wine and glanced toward the doorway, anxiously waiting for Rory to return.

"So, tell me, have you picked a wedding date yet?" Emily asked.

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yes, actually, we just did this week. September first."

Emily’s eyes widened. "September first . . .of this year?" she asked incredulously.

"Yup."

"There’s no way you can plan an entire wedding in less than a month, Lorelai!" Emily exclaimed. "It’s impossible."

"It’s perfectly possible, Mother," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes.

"These things take years to plan!" Emily insisted.

"It’s just gonna be immediate family and close friends," Lorelai told her. "It’s not going to be some huge Liza Minelli-type wedding, Mom. It’ll just be a quaint little thing."

"But Lorelai, if it’s because of money – "

"Mom," Lorelai interrupted. "It’s not because of money. We would throw a huge ‘plan three years in advance’ type of wedding if we wanted it – but that’s not what we want. It’s gonna be a nice little ceremony in our yard with the people closest to us. I’m sure that’s not the wedding you’ve envisioned for me, but it’s the one you’re gonna get, okay?"

"Fine, fine," Emily replied. "You know, your father and I talked about – " Her voice trailed off as Rory and Richard entered the room. "Well, here they are. . .everything all right?"

As Rory sat down next to Lorelai, Richard smiled proudly as he walked over to fix himself a drink. "Everything’s better than fine. Everything’s wonderful."

"Well, come on, tell us what’s going on," Emily urged.

"Just a minute, Emily," Richard replied. He finished pouring his drink, then walked over to the empty couch and sat down. He nodded toward Rory and said, "Your granddaughter has just asked me if I could help her set up a tour of Yale."

Emily’s eyes widened and she turned to Rory. "What?"

"Yes, apparently, after some heavy thinking, Rory has decided that she wants to look into Yale as her possible university of choice," Richard said, smiling approvingly at Rory.

"When did this happen?" Emily asked Rory.

Lorelai patted Rory on the knee. "When she heard that Yale has a better bartending program than Harvard."

Rory rolled her eyes at her mother, then turned back to Emily. "Um, I’ve been thinking about it for awhile, over a month actually. . .and after doing some research and thinking things out, I decided that maybe Harvard isn’t the school of my dreams." She shrugged and added, "Not to say that Yale definitely is, but hopefully a tour will help me find out."

"Huh," Emily mused the situation. "Well, isn’t that interesting."

"Yes, indeed it is," Richard agreed.

"So on Monday, Grandpa’s gonna help me set up a tour," Rory added.

"Oh, great," Lorelai said. "Thanks Dad."

"Oh, it’s no trouble at all," Richard replied. "I’m happy to do it."

Emily took a sip of her wine, then said, "Oh, Richard, Lorelai has decided on a wedding date. Would you like to hear it?"

"Oh boy," Lorelai muttered under her breath.

"Yes, of course," he replied.

"September first," Emily announced.

"September first?" Richard repeated. "Of this year?"

Lorelai sighed. "Yes, of this year."

"Well, isn’t that a bit soon?" Richard asked.

Emily gave Lorelai a pointed smirk. "See?"

Lorelai sighed. "No, it’s not too soon. It gives us plenty of time to plan the wedding, trust me."

"Well, if you say so, Lorelai." Richard shrugged and gave a doubtful look toward Emily. "Did you tell her what we talked about, Emily?"

"Oh, no, I was about to when you two came in," Emily replied.

"What’s going on?" Lorelai asked. "Don’t tell me, you wanna sing karaoke at the wedding?" She nudged Rory and they both giggled.

Emily rolled her eyes. "No. Your father and I discussed it, and we decided that we want to pay for the wedding."

Lorelai’s eyes widened slightly, and she shook her head. "No, Dad, Mom – I told you money’s not an issue," she said. "We’re paying for it ourselves."

"You’re our daughter, Lorelai," Emily said. "It’s customary for the parents of the bride to pay for the wedding."

"It’s customary in families where said bride is twenty-two and a fresh graduate from some prestigious med school and is getting ready to make her way in the world," Lorelai replied. "Not in a family where said bride is pushing thirty five and has a job and can afford to pay for her own wedding."

Emily sighed. "Lorelai, we are well aware of your insistence to do as much as you can in life without our help, but – "

"But we decided that the best wedding gift we could give you would be to cover the cost of the wedding," Richard finished. "We know you don’t need it, Lorelai, but we really want to do this."

"I know you guys wanna help, but there’s no way that I’m letting you pay for this entire wedding. That’s completely out of the question," Lorelai said.

"Lorelai, why can’t you let us do something nice for you just once?" Emily complained. "At least let us pay for something – the cake, the caterer, the flowers, something, anything. Let us give you a nice - "

Lorelai interrupted her with a groan. "Okay, Mom, okay, you can pay for the. . .uh, the. . . invitations."

Emily’s eyes widened with surprise. "What?"

"Yes, you heard me. If you stop bugging me about it, I will let you pay for the wedding invitations," Lorelai said. "There – are you happy?"

Emily smiled. "Oh, that’s wonderful. Have you picked them out yet?"

"Nope, not yet," Lorelai replied.

"Well, we should do that soon. I’ll have to get in touch with Mason – he does all of my party invitations," Emily said.

Lorelai turned to Rory and forced a smile. "She has a personal invitation contact-person."

Rory gave an impressed nod. "Interesting."

Richard stood up and rubbed his hands together. "So, what do you say we go see if dinner’s ready, hm?" He reached down and picked up his drink.

"Yes, let’s," Emily said as she stood up. She followed Richard out of the room, and Lorelai and Rory slowly trailed behind them.

* * *

That night, it was slightly after nine when Lorelai walked into the bedroom. Luke, in just his boxers, was on the bed watching television, and he sat up when she walked in. "Hey." He turned off the television, then set the remote on the nightstand.

Lorelai shut the door and walked over to the bed. She leaned down and kissed him, then collapsed on the bed next to him with a sigh. "Hey."

Luke ran his hand over her thigh. "How was dinner?"

"Well, if you mean the lamb, mashed potatoes, and vegetables, then it was great," Lorelai replied. "If you mean the actual night as a whole, then it was so-so."

"What happened?" Luke asked.

"Nothing much," she replied. "My mom likes the new truck. Rory talked to my father about setting up a tour of Yale. My parents are paying for our wedding invitations." She climbed off the bed and began undressing.

Luke’s eyes widened. "What? Really?"

"Yeah, they offered to pay for the whole wedding," Lorelai told him.

"And you said no to that," Luke inferred.

"Of course I said no," Lorelai replied. "But I could tell my mom wasn’t gonna give up, so I told them they could pay for the invitations."

When Lorelai had undressed down to her underwear, Luke leaned back against the headboard and watched her as she walked over to his dresser and pulled open one of the drawers. She took out one of his T-shirts and slipped it over her head, and as she pulled her hair out from the collar, she sat back down on the edge of the bed. "There. That’s much more comfy."

"Problem with your own shirts?" Luke asked.

"No, but I like wearing yours," Lorelai replied. She crawled up to lay next to him, and she propped herself up on her side. She ran her fingers through the soft patch of hair on his chest as she said, "Let’s talk."

"About what?" he asked.

Lorelai shrugged. "I don’t know. Anything you want. Let’s have one of those nights where we just stay up all night talking."

"All night? I’m pretty tired already."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Okay, maybe not all night, but you think you can stay awake for an hour or two?"

Luke shrugged. "I’ll try. . . just stay away from boring topics that might put me to sleep."

Lorelai smiled. "So no talking about politics, classical music, or any shows on UPN, got it."

* * *

PART 56

As they lay side by side in bed, Luke watched Lorelai’s fingers explore the curves of his chest. She did it aimlessly, it was just something to keep her occupied – but she was oblivious to how much he loved it. Her touch – the simple action of her delicate hand running across his skin – always made a feeling of calmness run through his body.

Luke watched her for a few seconds before he let out a content sigh and asked, "So, uh. . .did you have something in particular you wanted to talk about?"

"No, not really," she replied with a shrug. "What about you? Anything on your mind?"

"Nope."

"Okay, well, staying up and talking for a few hours might be harder than I thought," Lorelai deduced.

"I’m sure you’ll think of something to babble about," Luke said.

"Yeah, probably," she agreed. She thought for a moment, then said, "We could sit here and get mushy and sing Rod Stewart songs to each other all night."

Luke rolled his eyes. "That’s the best you could come up with? No, thank you."

Lorelai made a fist like she was holding a microphone and began singing, "Have I told. . . you lately – "

"Stop," he interrupted.

" - that I love you?" Lorelai sang.

"Enough."

Lorelai giggled. "Fine, fine, no more singing." She leaned back against the headboard and stared pensively up at the ceiling. "Luke, do you think things’ll be different when we’re married?"

"Like what things?" he asked.

Lorelai turned to look at him and shrugged. "I don’t know – sometimes people say that getting married changes a relationship."

"How would things change?" Luke asked her. "I mean, besides your name and the fact that I’ll be wearing a ring – an idea I’m still trying to get used to, by the way – I don’t think things’ll be any different from how they are now."

"You think?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah. The only major difference is that when you start talking incessantly, I won’t think to myself, ‘Wow, my girlfriend never shuts up," Luke said. "Instead, I’ll think to myself, ‘Wow, my wife never shuts up.’"

Lorelai wrinkled her nose and smacked him playfully on the stomach.

Luke smiled, then took her hand and kissed the top of it. "Wait, I wasn’t done – and instead of looking at you and thinking, ‘Man, she looks nice in those tight jeans,’ I’ll be able to think, ‘Man, my wife looks nice in those tight jeans.’"

Lorelai giggled and leaned forward to kiss him. She smiled and said, "Much better." She kissed him again before she sat back up and leaned against the headboard. "So, things will be the same."

"Yeah."

"Well, until we have a kid, anyway," Lorelai added. "Then, obviously, things will be different."

"Yeah, of course," Luke replied. "But we’re both ready for that change. . .we know things will be different, we’re prepared to deal with it."

Lorelai smiled. "And that’ll be a good kind of different." She reached for his hand and laced her fingers through his. "That’ll be like adding hot fudge and whipped cream to a bowl of ice cream, you know? It changes things, but in a good way."

"Exactly the analogy I was thinking of," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

Lorelai smiled. "I thought so."

He unlaced his fingers from hers and rested his hand on her knee. The warmth of his hand against her skin made her realize how cold she was, and she pulled the blanket up over her legs. He kept his hand under the blanket, and she smiled at him. "Don’t go getting frisky under there."

He smirked as his hand moved gently up and down her leg. "So. . . have you thought of any good honeymoon spots?"

"Not really," Lorelai replied. "You?"

"I’ve been thinking about it, but I haven’t really come up with anyplace good yet," Luke replied.

"It doesn’t have to be fancy," Lorelai said. "I mean, the definition of a honeymoon is a vacation by two people who were recently wedded. Whether it’s a two month excursion to Europe or two days at a hotel in Hartford, it’s still a honeymoon. . .it really doesn’t matter to me where we go."

"Well, keep thinking about it and we’ll try to pick someplace this week," Luke said as he pulled his hand out from underneath the blanket.

Lorelai smiled. "You know what would be cool? If we consummated the marriage at the same place we consummated the relationship."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Oh, I’m sure your mother would let us do that."

Lorelai laughed and brought her hand to her ear, pretending that she was on the phone. In a deep voice, she said, "Hello, Emily? Yeah, this is Luke. I was wondering if it’d be okay if we came over after the wedding and used Lorelai’s old bedroom to have sex. . .you know, like that time we broke into your house while you were away." Lorelai paused a moment as if waiting for a response, then she gasped. "No, you cannot watch!" She pretended to hang up the phone on the bed.

Luke smiled and shook his head slightly. "Okay, that’s one conversation I can guarantee will never happen."

Lorelai shuddered. "Ew, now I have this image of my mom poking her head through the door and commenting on our sexual positions."

"You’re the one that brought the scenario up," Luke reminded her as he pulled the blanket up over his legs.

"I know, I know, it’s my fault," Lorelai replied, waving him off. "New topic, quick!"

Luke yawned. "Let’s talk about going to sleep."

"No, not yet, come on," Lorelai whined. She patted him on the chest and said, "Ooh, I know! Let’s play ‘What would you do?’"

"No, thank you." Luke rolled his eyes. "That game gets annoying."

"Come on, just for a few minutes," Lorelai begged. "Please, pretty please?" She frowned and added, "I love you."

Luke sighed. "Fine."

Lorelai smiled and sat up straight. "Okay. What would you do if. . .you came home one day and found out that I had bought a puppy?"

"Uh, I’d give you ten minutes to take it back to the store," Luke replied.

Lorelai frowned. "A cute, furry, adorable little chocolate Labrador puppy named Brownie?"

"Back to the store," Luke repeated sternly.

"Aw, poor Brownie," Lorelai said, shaking her head sadly. She patted Luke on the shoulder. "Your turn."

Luke sighed. "Uh, what would you do if. . ." He gestured aimlessly with his hands as he tried to think of a question. "I don’t know, I’m not good at thinking up questions."

"Sure you are," Lorelai encouraged him. "Just try to come up with anything, it doesn’t have to make sense."

Luke thought for a moment, then smirked. "What would you do if I refused to marry you until you gave up coffee?"

Lorelai smiled slyly. "Easy – I’d secretly hypnotize you into thinking that coffee was actually water so that every time I was drinking coffee you’d think it was water, thus believing that I had given up coffee for good."

"Very imaginative," Luke commented.

"Thank you." Lorelai smiled. "My turn. What would you do if I refused to sleep with you from now until we were married?"

Luke let out a small laugh. "Well, uh, then it’d be my turn to secretly hypnotize you into . . ." His voice trailed off as he gestured to her.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Being your love slave?"

Luke shrugged. "Well, if you wanna put it that way, then sure."

Lorelai laughed. "Nice. You know, it’s cool how we suddenly have these hypnotic powers."

"Yeah, they come in handy," Luke agreed.

Lorelai smiled and nudged his arm. "Okay, your turn."

Luke took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "What would you do if . . .I told you that I’m already tired of playing this stupid game?"

"I’d pretend to be deeply offended, and then tell you to come up with a better conversation topic," Lorelai replied.

Luke slid his body down so his head was on his pillow, and he rolled onto his side. "I’ll sleep on it and get back to you."

Lorelai frowned and poked him in the back a few times. "You’re really going to bed?"

"Yes, now stop poking me," he grumbled.

"No goodnight kiss?" Lorelai asked, leaning over his body. Luke lifted his head slightly and kissed her, then resumed his sleeping position as Lorelai climbed out of the bed. "I’m not tired yet, I’ll be downstairs."

"Okay," he replied. "Can you hit the light?"

Lorelai turned out the light before she walked out of the bedroom and pulled the door closed behind her.

* * *

The next afternoon, Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner. After scanning the seating area and not seeing Luke, they walked to the counter and sat down. "Luuuuuke," Lorelai called toward the kitchen.

Rory nudged her. "Mom, shh, people are eating."

Lorelai snickered. "So?"

"So they don’t need to hear you screaming in the background," Rory told her. "They want to enjoy a nice peaceful meal."

"Oh." Lorelai nodded understandingly, then turned toward the kitchen and called, "Luke, come out here, I need to talk to you!"

Rory rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Okay, I guess I’m just talking to myself here."

"Luke, can you hear me?" Lorelai called.

Luke walked out of the kitchen with a dishtowel draped over his shoulder. He gave her an annoyed scowl. "Yes, I can hear you. Everyone in Connecticut can hear you. What’s your problem?" He nodded toward Rory. "Hi Rory."

Rory smiled. "Hey Luke. I tried to make her stop yelling."

"I appreciate that," he replied.

"Did you ask Jess yet?" Lorelai asked him.

"Not yet," he replied. "I’ll do it later."

Lorelai shook her finger at him. "Okay, don’t forget." She pulled a folded up piece of paper out of her purse and handed it to him. "I got this from Taylor."

"What did you do to him now?" Luke asked. "Is this the form declaring your banishment from the market?"

"Just open it," she instructed. Luke unfolded the paper and began reading through it. "Everything you wanted to know about getting a Connecticut marriage license," Lorelai announced.

Luke nodded. "I see that. Why did Taylor have it?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I mentioned in casual conversation last week that we needed to get one of those marriage license things and he got this for me from the clerk’s office."

"Oh." Luke looked back down to the paper and read, "Both individuals must have a valid State of Connecticut blood test taken." He looked up and gave Lorelai a questioning look.

"To check us both for syphilis," Lorelai informed him. "And to check me for some measles-type thing."

Luke nodded and glanced back down at the paper. "Both parties must apply in person to the town clerk. . .blah blah blah. . .bring the date of the marriage, names, address, telephone number. . .blah blah blah. . . .thirty dollars for the cost of the marriage license. . .blah blah blah. . ." He shrugged and handed it back to Lorelai. "So, I guess we both have to get blood tests."

Lorelai nodded. "Yup. We’ll have to call on Monday and make appointments. Taylor gave me some forms that have to be filled out, and he said it’ll take about a week for them to be approved, so we have to get on it as soon as we can."

"Right, we should - " Luke was interrupted by the phone ringing behind him. "Hold on a second." He walked over to the phone and answered it, "Luke’s. . . oh, hey. . .Nah, it’s not too busy right now, don’t worry about it. . ." Luke leaned against the doorframe, and Lorelai and Rory listened on. "Tonight? No, I don’t think so. . .hold on." Luke covered the receiver and nodded toward Lorelai. "Hey, we didn’t have any plans tonight, did we?"

"Yeah, we were gonna go into the bathroom and turn out the lights and say Bloody Mary thirteen times to see if we can summon a ghost," Lorelai replied.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Besides that?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Nope."

Luke brought the phone back up to his ear. "Yeah, I’m free. . . okay. . . six o’clock. . . I’ll be there. . .see you later." Luke hung up the phone, then walked back over to Lorelai. "I’m meeting up with John tonight."

"Cool," Lorelai replied.

"Who’s John?" Rory asked.

"A friend," Luke replied.

"Luke’s lover," Lorelai said. "We’re in a very open relationship. We’re both free to date other men."

Luke shot Lorelai an annoyed look, then turned to Rory. "John’s just a friend from high school."

"They met in the shower after gym class one day," Lorelai said. "Apparently, one of them dropped the soap and got more than he bargained for when he bent over to pick it up. They’ve been hiding their relationship ever since."

Rory smacked Lorelai on the arm. "Ew, gross, Mom!" she exclaimed, making a face. "Luke, make her stop."

Luke rolled his eyes at Lorelai. "Will you knock it off?"

"Oh, I’m sorry," Lorelai said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Was I not supposed to tell her?"

"I don’t know," Luke said. "Am I not supposed to tell her that you have a recurring dream about dating the guy from – "

"Stop, don’t say it!" Lorelai interrupted loudly.

". . . Saved by the Bell?" Luke finished.

Lorelai gasped and slapped her palm on the counter. "Not fair! I was only joking around, I didn’t tell her any real secrets!"

Luke smirked and shrugged. "Oops, sorry."

Rory laughed and nudged Lorelai with her elbow. "Oh my God! Which guy? Zack? Slater?"

Lorelai stood up and glanced at her watch. "Wow, look at the time." She grabbed her purse. "We better get home in case some Jehovah’s Witnesses decide to come by."

"Not Screech!" Rory exclaimed with a laugh. "Oh my God, please tell me it’s not Screech." As Lorelai started walking to the door, Rory turned to Luke and asked, "It’s Screech, isn’t it?"

Luke shrugged. "I don’t know his name, but it’s apparently some older bald guy."

Rory’s eye widened, and she turned around and gasped. "Oh my God, Mr. Belding!" she exclaimed. "You have dreams about Mr. Belding?" Lorelai ignored her and walked out the door, and Rory laughed as she jumped off the stool. "Bye Luke. Thanks for the great mocking material."

Luke smiled. "You’re welcome." As Rory walked across the diner and rushed out the door, Luke walked to the kitchen doorway and called, "Caesar, I’m going upstairs for a few minutes."

Luke climbed the staircase and walked down the hallway to Jess’ apartment. He was about to turn the knob, then thought better of it and knocked on the glass. "Jess, it’s me."

"Wait a second, I have to hide the drugs and the hookers," Jess’ voice called from inside the apartment.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Jess, come on."

"It’s open," he called back.

Luke walked into the apartment. Jess was lying on the bed reading a book, and he lowered it to look up at Luke. "Time for the weekly surveillance?" Jess asked. "How’s it look?"

Luke looked down at the clothes and books strewn across the floor. "Better than last week," he observed.

Jess smirked and went back to reading his book. Luke shoved his hands into his pockets. "So, listen, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Jess sighed and lowered the book again. "What?"

"Uh, Lorelai and I set a date for the wedding," Luke told him.

"Good for you."

"It’s September first," Luke added. "Of this year."

Jess nodded. "Huh."

Luke glanced down at the floor and shifted his feet uncomfortably. "And I. . .was sort of thinking that maybe you’d be. . ." His voice trailed off.

"Busy that day?" Jess offered.

"No. . . in the wedding," Luke finished.

Jess narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"Yeah, Rory and Sookie are the bridesmaids, and I was thinking that you and my friend John could be the. . .whatever the hell the guys are called," Luke said, gesturing aimlessly with his hand as he searched for the word.

"I don’t know." Jess shrugged and shook his head slightly. "What would I have to do?"

"You wouldn’t have to do anything," Luke said. "You’d just wear a suit and stand up there during the ceremony. It’s a pretty simple process. I mean, you were gonna come anyway, weren’t you?"

"Yeah, probably," he said slowly.

"So. . .now instead of sitting and watching the ceremony, you stand up and watch the ceremony," Luke said with a shrug. "No big deal. What do you say?"

Jess shrugged. "I guess I could do that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Luke gave him a small smile. "Good. . . good. Thanks." Jess nodded and turned his attention back to his book. Luke took a few steps backward toward the door. "Okay, I’m gonna get back downstairs."

"See ya," Jess said, not looking up from the book. Luke nodded and walked out of the apartment.

* * *

That night, Luke walked into the house slightly after nine, and Rory and Dean were on the couch watching television. They both looked toward the door as Luke closed it. "Hey Luke," Rory said.

Dean nodded toward Luke. "Hey."

"Hey," Luke replied. He dropped his keys and wallet on the hallway table, then gestured toward the steps. "Upstairs?"

"My room," Rory replied.

Luke narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"She’s using the computer," Rory told him.

"Oh, thanks." Luke turned and walked toward Rory’s bedroom. He knocked lightly on the doorframe. "Hey."

Lorelai, sitting at Rory’s desk, turned around and smiled at him. "Hey you. Come in, sit down."

He walked over and kissed her, then sat down on the edge of Rory’s bed. "What are you doing? You hate using the computer."

Lorelai glanced at the monitor. "I know, but I was checking out this wedding website Sookie told me about last week. It gives tips and suggestions about centerpieces and favors and stuff like that."

"Find anything good?" he asked.

"Actually, yes, I did," Lorelai said. "You know how Sookie had the Jordan almonds wrapped up as favors?" Luke nodded, and Lorelai continued, "Well, I was thinking we could get these little white heart-shaped boxes and fill them with a couple of heart-shaped chocolate truffles. What do you think of that?"

Luke shrugged. "Sounds okay."

"And we can write our names and the wedding date on the box in some sort of nice calligraphy or something," she added. "Wouldn’t that be pretty?"

"I guess so," Luke said, shrugging with uncertainty.

Lorelai smiled and patted him on the arm. "Is the whole idea of making wedding favors too crafty for my manly man to even think about?"

Luke nodded. "Definitely."

Lorelai waved him off. "Fine, new subject. What did you and John do?"

"Uh, not much," Luke replied. "Played a little basketball, watched some TV, just hung out."

"Did you ask him about the wedding?" Lorelai asked.

"Yup, he said yes," Luke said. "Him and Jess are both in."

Lorelai smiled and clapped her hands together excitedly. "So that’s it – we have our wedding party. Aren’t you excited?"

Luke smiled. "Yeah, it’s pretty cool how it’s all coming together."

"Oh, and I asked Babette about using her yard and she’s totally fine with it," Lorelai said. "I knew she would be, but I just wanted to check."

"Right," Luke said.

"And my mother called," Lorelai said with a small roll of her eyes. "She got in touch with her invitation guy. One day this week, after we have the guest list ready, we have to go to his studio in Hartford and pick out the invitations. Of course, my mom insisted on coming with us since she’s paying, but hopefully it won’t be too bad."

Luke nodded. "Sounds good." He stood up and clasped his hands together. "So. . .things are moving along."

Lorelai stood up and took a step toward him. "Yup." She leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He rested his hands on her waist as he eagerly returned the kiss. When she finally pulled away, she only had a moment to catch her breath before he pulled her closer and kissed her again.

Lorelai smiled through it and said, "Let’s go upstairs."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Rory and Dean are in the living room," he reminded her.

Lorelai shrugged. "Well, we’ll have to be very quiet, then. Come on, I love a challenge." Lorelai took his hand and led him out of the bedroom.

* * *

The next afternoon, Lorelai and Rory were sitting on the bench in the gazebo, each holding a takeout cup of coffee from the diner. As they talked, they both kept an eye on Sookie and Jackson’s house, waiting for them to arrive home from their honeymoon.

"We should’ve offered to pick them up," Rory said. "Then they wouldn’t have had to leave their car at the airport all week."

Lorelai shrugged. "Too late now." She took a sip of her coffee, then asked, "So what time did Dean leave last night?"

"Um, right after the movie was over," Rory replied. "I think it was a little after ten."

Lorelai gave her a sly smile and nudged her with her shoulder. "And you were actually watching the movie the whole time, right?"

Rory gasped in mock offense. "Why, I’m shocked at what you’re insinuating!" She rolled her eyes and added, "Besides, I’m not the one who woke up with a mark on her shoulder that looks remarkably like the same size as Luke’s mouth."

Lorelai glanced down at her shoulder and smirked. "Oh, you saw that, did ya? Maybe wearing a tank top wasn’t the best way to hide it." She tried to cover the small bruise by draping her hair over her shoulder.

Rory shook her head slightly and made a face of disgust. "Ugh, I can’t believe my mother has a hickey. Really, isn’t there a law that says you’re supposed to hide that from your child?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes in thought, then shrugged. "You know, I’m not sure. . . we could ask Taylor later, though. I bet he has all the laws memorized."

Rory took a sip of her coffee, then grimaced. "You know, as much as I love it, this isn’t the most refreshing beverage when it’s ninety-four degrees out."

"Yeah, I know," Lorelai agreed. "We need to get some of those iced coffees or something."

Rory fanned herself with her hand. "Man, it’s hot out here. I feel like running through a sprinkler or jumping in a pool or something."

"You wanna go wait for them in Luke’s in the air conditioning?" Lorelai asked.

Rory nodded. "Yeah." They stood up and walked down the steps of the gazebo, and headed toward the diner.

* * *

Ten minutes later, as they stared out the window of the diner, they saw a familiar SUV pass by, and they both jumped up from the table. They rushed out of the diner toward Sookie’s house, reaching it just as Sookie and Jackson were climbing out of the car.

Sookie giggled excitedly when she saw them. "Hey, there’re my girls!" She opened her arms, and Rory and Lorelai both hugged her at the same time.

Lorelai stepped back from the hug and smiled at Sookie. "So, how was it? You look great."

"Yeah, I can’t believe how tan you are!" Rory exclaimed. "You must’ve been outside the whole week."

"Oh, we practically were. The weather was fabulous the entire time we were there," Sookie said.

Jackson walked over to them and put his arm around Sookie. "Aloha. How are you guys?"

"Hey Jackson." Lorelai smiled. "You’re looking pretty tan yourself, there."

Jackson looked down at his arms. "Yeah, I did get some color, didn’t I?"

"Yeah, you’re giving the Baywatch babes a run for their money," Lorelai said, nodding enthusiastically. "So a good time was had by all?"

"Definitely. It was incredible." Sookie gestured to the house. "Come on, you wanna come in?"

Lorelai waved her off. "Oh, not right now. We just wanted to welcome you home, but we’ll let you guys get settled in. I’m sure you’re both tired from the flight."

Jackson nodded. "Yeah, I’d say a nap was definitely in order."

Lorelai smiled. "See, you guys go get some rest. Call us when you’re ready to make us jealous with all the details of the trip."

Jackson smiled. "We will."

As Jackson walked to the trunk to get the suitcases, Rory hugged Sookie. "I’m glad you had a good honeymoon, Sookie."

"Thanks, honey," Sookie replied. Rory pulled back and walked toward the back of the car to say goodbye to Jackson.

Lorelai hugged Sookie tightly. "Me too, Sookie. I’m glad you had fun."

"Thank you." As Sookie pulled back, she was smiling, but she soon narrowed her eyes with concern. "Ooh, what happened there?" she asked as she pointed to the small bruise on Lorelai’s shoulder.

Lorelai glanced down at it and giggled. "Foreplay." She glanced back at Rory, then turned to Sookie and lowered her voice. "There’s a matching one on my thigh, and Luke has two on his stomach and chest."

Sookie smiled. "Ah, gotcha. Been there, done that."

"Yeah, you know how it is," Lorelai said. She rubbed Sookie’s shoulder and smiled. "I’m so happy you’re back."

"Me too!" Sookie rubbed her hands together excitedly. She giggled and added, "Why are we talking like I’ve been gone for a year?"

"Because it felt like a year in Stars Hollow time," Lorelai said, smiling. She gasped and added, "Ooh, guess what? We finally picked a date – September first is the wedding."

Sookie’s eyes widened. "September first? Wow, that’s so soon."

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, we know, so start planning the food."

Sookie nodded. "Will do."

As Rory walked back over to them, Jackson carried some suitcases toward the house. "Bye guys," he called over his shoulder.

"Bye Jackson." Lorelai shoved her hands into her pockets and smiled at Sookie. "Okay, we’ll let you go get settled in."

"Okay," Sookie said. "See you girls later." She walked up the pathway to the house and followed Jackson inside.

Lorelai and Rory turned around and started walking down the street. "Are we going back to the diner?" Rory asked.

"Nope, video store," Lorelai told her.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they walked into the diner and up to Luke at the counter. He looked up from the order pad he was writing on as Lorelai held up a plastic bag. "What’s that?" Luke asked.

"Movies," Lorelai replied. She set the bag on the counter and started taking them out. "Three awesome movies – Betsy’s Wedding, The Wedding Singer, and Father of the Bride."

Luke smirked. "I’m sensing a theme."

Lorelai smiled and pulled one last movie out of the bag. "And one purely for mocking purposes. . .The Wedding Planner."

"But getting to watch Matthew McConaughey makes up for having to watch Jennifer Lopez," Rory pointed out.

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Definitely."

"And we’re going to watch all these in one day?" Luke asked.

"No, they’re for throughout the week," Lorelai told him.

"Ah, right."

Lorelai loaded the movies back into the bag. "Okay, we’re going home. Me and Rory are gonna start working on the guest list, and then you can look it over and add to it later."

"Or remove from it," Luke added.

Lorelai smirked and took a few steps back from him. "Goodbye."

"Bye Luke," Rory said.

"See you later."

* * *

When Luke arrived home that night, Lorelai and Rory were outside on the front porch steps. Rory was writing in a notebook as Lorelai dictated what to write. He climbed out of his truck and walked over to them, and Lorelai stood up to greet him with a kiss. "Hey." She sat back down and patted the space next to her.

"Hey." He exhaled slowly as he sat down next to her. "I’m beat. What are you doing out here?"

Lorelai took the notebook from Rory and flipped back a few pages. "We’ve been working all night on making lists of what needs to be done for the wedding."

"Like?" Luke asked.

Lorelai looked down at the notebook. "Okay, well, we broke it down into levels of importance, so these are the things we need to do within the next few days – the guest list, the invitations, book the reverend, get the blood tests for the marriage license, pick a honeymoon destination, and get the dresses." She looked up. "Now, some progress was made because we started the guest list, so that’s almost done. You just need to look it over, and then I can call my mom and tell her we’re ready to meet with her invitation guy."

Luke nodded. "Okay. Do you have it in there?" he asked, pointing to the notebook. Lorelai nodded and turned the page. She handed it to Luke, and he looked it over. After a few seconds of reading it, he rolled his eyes and looked up at her. "I think we can eliminate the Osbournes and the original cast of Three’s Company from the list."

Lorelai frowned and handed him the pen. "Fine, cross them off."

Luke took the pen and obliged, then continued reading through the list. Halfway through, he raised his eyebrows with surprise. Lorelai noticed the reaction and glanced at Rory, who shrugged slightly. Lorelai turned back to Luke and cleared her throat. "Uh, something wrong?"

Luke kept his eyes on the paper as he said, "No, not really. . .I just wasn’t expecting to see Chris and Sherry on here."

Lorelai bit her bottom lip nervously. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, it’s okay," he replied.

"I mean, Rory and I talked about it for awhile, about whether to invite them or not, and we finally thought that it’d be the nice thing to do," Lorelai explained. "And they might not even wanna come, who knows? But, we thought that extending an – "

"Lorelai, it’s fine," Luke interrupted as he looked up from the paper. "You can invite them if you want. I don’t care."

"Are you sure?" Lorelai asked.

Luke shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, only if you think that he’s. . .ya know, not gonna cause any trouble or. . ."

Lorelai shook her head. "He won’t."

Luke stared at her dubiously for a moment, then looked back down at the paper. He read the last few names, then nodded. "This seems okay. How many people are on here? Did you count?"

"Yeah, I think it was like twenty-seven or something like that," Lorelai said.

Luke nodded, then wrote in a few more names at the end of the list. "Just added a couple friends," he said as he handed the list back to her.

Lorelai looked down at it and nodded. "Okay, so, we just have to go through and write out all the addresses and then we’ll be all set. We need to get the invitations out this week."

"Can they make them that fast?" Luke asked.

Lorelai nodded. "This guy my mother knows is really good. She said it’ll only take a day or two."

"Okay." Luke stood up and stretched his arms over his head. "I’m going inside. You guys coming?"

"I am," Rory replied, standing up.

"Me too," Lorelai said. She stood up and they followed Luke into the house.

* * *

PART 57

They walked into the house, and Lorelai grabbed her address book from the hallway desk. "We should start writing out the addresses."

"I’m gonna go take a shower first," Luke said.

"Okay, but I’m gonna need the addresses of your friends," Lorelai told him. "I don’t have them in my book."

"Yeah, I’ll get ‘em later," he said as he climbed the staircase.

Rory followed Lorelai into the kitchen and they sat down at the table. "Okay, do you wanna find the addresses in the book and read them aloud, or do you wanna write them down?" Rory asked.

"I wanna sit here and watch you do both," Lorelai replied.

"Forget it," Rory said. "One or the other."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose and thought for a moment. "Um, I’ll read, you write."

Rory tore out the guest list and handed it to her, then flipped to a blank page in the notebook. She picked up the pen and poised herself to write. "Okay, start."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Luke walked into the kitchen in a T-shirt and sweatpants, his hair wet from his shower. As he walked to the refrigerator, he asked, "How’s it coming along?"

"We’re about a third of the way through," Rory replied.

Luke grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, then walked over to the table. "That’s it? What’s taking so long?"

"It’s a long process," Lorelai informed him.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Because every time she turns to a new page, she finds someone else to invite."

"Like?" Luke prompted.

Lorelai glanced down at the paper in front of her. "Uh, you know, just . . .people."

Luke rolled his eyes and nodded. "Oh, good, people. Well, that makes me feel better, ‘cause for a minute there I thought you might’ve been inviting farm animals."

Lorelai snickered. "Duh, you can’t invite farm animals to a wedding. They don’t own the proper attire. Plus, they would ruin the whole ‘wedding day’ smell."

"And instead of asking you to describe what a wedding day smells like, I’ll just move on and ask who else you invited," Luke said. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

Lorelai shrugged. "Oh, just, you know . . .Harry, Andrew, Al, Mrs. – "

Luke held up his hand. "Whoa, whoa – wait a second. Al who? Pancake World Al?"

Lorelai slowly nodded.

"She thinks if we don’t invite him, he’ll take it personally and get mad and then refuse to serve us anymore," Rory said.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I highly doubt that he would take it personally. Plus, he wouldn’t come anyhow. He rarely ever leaves that restaurant."

"Hey, it doesn’t matter if he comes or not, but if we send him an invitation, then he can’t say we didn’t think about him, and thus, won’t prohibit us from patronizing his establishment," Lorelai explained.

Luke rolled his eyes. "How many people did you add?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don’t know, like seven."

"I thought we were trying to keep it intimate," Luke said.

Lorelai nodded. "We are."

"Okay, so when did Al become one of your intimate friends?" Luke asked.

"When I gave him a lap dance in exchange for free coffee," Lorelai replied. Luke cocked his head to the side, and Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Point taken." She grabbed the pen from Rory and scribbled out a few names. "No more invites out of desperation or pity."

"Good," he said.

Lorelai smiled. "Okay. . .so, you wanna go get me those addresses?"

"Hm?"

"Your friends’ addresses," Lorelai reminded him.

"Oh, right, right. Yeah, I’ll go get them now." Luke stood up and walked toward the living room.

Lorelai turned to Rory and handed her back the pen. "Okay, ready for the next one?"

Rory nodded. "Shoot."

* * *

The next morning, Lorelai and Rory walked into the inn, each carrying a takeout cup from the diner. As she placed her purse under the desk, Lorelai scanned the surrounding area, then checked her watch. "Huh, I wonder where Michel is," she said. "He’s usually here by now."

"Maybe he’s helping one of the guests," Rory suggested with a shrug.

"Hm, maybe," Lorelai agreed. She glanced down at the stack of mail waiting to be opened, then looked at Rory. "Hm, should we actually get started on doing work or should we go milk Sookie for non-dirty honeymoon details?"

Rory smiled and rubbed her hands together. "Details."

They set their cups on the desk, then walked across the lobby to the kitchen. As they walked through the door, they saw Michel standing near the coffee maker. "Oh, there you are. What are you doing in here?" Lorelai asked as they walked over to him.

Michel finished pouring himself a cup of coffee, then turned around and held up the mug. "Figure it out," he said dryly.

Lorelai took the coffee mug from him. "Aw, for me? Thanks, Michel." She took a sip, then nodded approvingly. "Mm, that’s good stuff." She handed the cup back to him. "But I don’t need it, I already have some out on the front desk."

Michel scowled at her and huffed, "Why, why are you so annoying?" He turned around, set the mug on the counter, and began pouring himself another cup of coffee in a different mug.

Lorelai shrugged at Rory. "That was a rhetorical question, right?"

"I think so," Rory answered.

Michel finished pouring his coffee, and with an annoyed look, walked past them and returned to the lobby.

Rory looked around the kitchen. "Where’s Sookie?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes and shrugged. "What, did I get here before you or something? How should I know?" They walked toward the center of the kitchen, and each of them grabbed a strawberry from a bowl of fruit on the counter.

While they were chewing, Sookie walked out of the storage closet carrying a bag of sugar. Jackson followed behind her, wiping his hands on the side of his overalls. Sookie saw the girls and smiled. "Hey!"

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Hm, what were you two doing in there? Oh, wait!" She covered Rory’s ears with her hands. "What were you two doing in there?" she repeated with a smirk.

Sookie rolled her eyes. "Putting away the crate of corn Jackson brought me, and getting this package of sugar." She set the sugar on the counter.

"Oh." Lorelai removed her hands from Rory’s ears. "Nothing dirty," she informed her.

"I didn’t think so," Rory replied. She smiled at Sookie and Jackson. "So, come on, tell us about the honeymoon!"

Sookie grinned. "Oh, it was beautiful. Walking on the beach at sunset, drinking Mai Tais by the hotel pool, watching the natives do their tribal dances at the luaus. . ."

"Sookie informing the natives that the technique they were using for roasting the pig was not the most efficient way," Jackson added with an eyeroll. "Can you believe that?"

Lorelai and Rory both laughed, and Lorelai said, "Oh God, I can picture you running up to the pit, pushing the guy manning the spit-roast down on the ground, and throwing a bunch of herbs on the poor little piggy as you screamed, ‘It tastes better like this!’"

"Trust me, she tried to but I held her back," Jackson said.

Sookie nudged Jackson with her elbow. "Hey, it’s no worse than you arguing for ten minutes with that street vendor that his pineapples were overripe."

"Ooh, was there a brawl?" Rory asked.

"Hm, two guys in Hawaiian shirts and sandals arguing about fruit," Lorelai mused. "I bet Jerry Falwell would have some interesting things to say about that."

Jackson checked his watch. "I have to get going." He kissed Sookie on the cheek. "Goodbye. Bye you two," he added to Rory and Lorelai.

"Bye," Rory replied.

"See ya," Lorelai said. As Jackson walked out the back door, Lorelai looked at Rory and said, "Yeah, we should get back to the lobby, especially since Michel’s out there unsupervised with our coffee cups."

"Oh, great," Rory said. "He might’ve tried to poison you and accidentally put it in mine."

"Yeah, we’ll get fresh coffee before we go out there," Lorelai said. She turned to Sookie. "We’ll do lunch later and milk you for more details about life out of Connecticut."

Sookie smiled. "Sounds good." She opened the bag of sugar while Lorelai and Rory walked over to the coffee maker, poured themselves some coffee, and walked into the lobby.

* * *

That night after work, Luke arrived home to a quiet house. He walked to the living room and found a sleeping Lorelai curled up in a ball on the couch. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and one arm was hanging over the side of the couch. A notebook was open on the floor next to her, and the cordless phone sat on top of it. Her hair was covering her face, and Luke brushed it aside as he sat down next to her.

He sat there for a few minutes, enjoying the image of watching her sleep peacefully, before he began rubbing her thigh to wake her up. "Lorelai," he said softly. When she didn’t respond to it, he said it slightly louder. "Lorelai."

Lorelai groaned softly and opened her eyes. She slowly turned her head to look at Luke, and she muttered, "Not tonight, Luke. I have a headache." She closed her eyes and rested her head back against the arm of the couch.

Luke grabbed her shoulder and shook her gently to wake her. "Lorelai, wake up."

Lorelai slowly opened her eyes again, and she stared up at Luke. "What time is it?"

He checked his watch. "Uh, almost ten."

She stretched her legs out across his lap as she adjusted her body to face him better. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, then folded her hands in her lap. "How was work?"

"Fine, it was fine," he replied. "What about you? I haven’t seen you all day."

Lorelai yawned again as she nodded. "I know, I was busy. I got a lot done, though. I made the appointment for my blood test, I’m going tomorrow morning. Did you call your doctor?"

"Yup, I’m going on Wednesday," he replied.

"Okay, good. I was gonna call and remind you but I forgot," Lorelai said. "Uh, I also called my mother and told her that the guest list was ready, so she called up her invitation guy and got us an appointment for tomorrow night at seven. Can you do that? And you better say yes because I’m not gonna meet with my mother all by myself."

"Yeah, I can do that," Luke assured her.

"Good. And. . .what else, what else?" She stared up at the ceiling for a moment. "Oh yeah, I booked the reverend."

"Oh, good," Luke replied. "Which one?"

"Reverend Nichols," she replied. "And I came up with some potential honeymoon spots, all within good driving distance." She reached down and picked up the notebook from the floor, then handed it to him.

His eyes were immediately drawn to the side of the page, and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Uh, why is the margin filled with pictures of knives and. . ." He squinted down at the page. "What the hell is this – a noose?" he asked, pointing to a picture.

Lorelai leaned forward to look at it. "Um, yeah. I was just doodling while I was on the phone with my mom," she informed him.

Luke looked at her warily. "You need help."

She pointed to the notebook. "Just read the list, please."

He looked back down at the page and read through her list. When he was finished, he looked up and gave her an unimpressed shrug. "Uh, well. . ."

Lorelai grabbed the notebook from him. "What’s wrong with my ideas?"

"The only ones on there that I like are Maine or Vermont," Luke told her. "Why would you even think that I’d have fun in New York City?"

"Because even though you’re not a city man, I know how much you love to stand around and watch me shop," she said. "And New York City would provide lots of opportunities for you to do just that."

"Forget it." Luke rolled his eyes. "And you know I don’t like gambling."

"Okay, Atlantic City was a long shot," Lorelai admitted.

"Very long. And all the others are kind of iffy, too," Luke said. "So it’s down to Maine or Vermont. Wanna toss a coin?"

"No. Out of those two, I’d rather go to Vermont," Lorelai said. She smiled and added, "And more specifically, anywhere in the immediate vicinity of Waterbury."

"What’s in Waterbury?" Luke asked curiously.

Lorelai stood up from the couch and patted him on the head. "You’ll see when we get there." She started walking toward the staircase.

Luke stood up and followed her. "Lorelai." He grabbed her hand and turned her around to face him. "What is it? Something I’m gonna hate?"

Lorelai smiled. "Probably, but we’re doing it anyway."

Luke folded his arms across his chest. "Doing what?"

"Taking a tour of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory," Lorelai announced with a grin.

Luke groaned. "You’ve got to be kidding me."

"It’s one of Vermont’s biggest tourist attractions," Lorelai told him.

"So you picked Vermont as a honeymoon destination based on the sole intention of touring an ice cream factory?" Luke asked skeptically.

Lorelai reached up and draped her arms over his shoulders. "No, I picked Vermont as a honeymoon destination with the sole intention of making love to you as much as possible in a state that smells like maple syrup." She pressed her lips against his and kissed him passionately, then pulled back and smiled. "The ice cream factory is just an added bonus."

Luke kissed her again, then hugged her tightly. "You know you’re crazy, right?"

Lorelai smiled as she hugged him back. "Yes."

"Just checking." Luke pulled back. "So, how many days – three, four?"

"For what?" Lorelai asked. "The honeymoon?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah." He thought for a moment, staring up at the ceiling pensively, then said, "We can leave the morning after the wedding, drive up there, stay a day or two, then drive back on Wednesday or Thursday."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Okay," Luke said. "I’ll take care of the honeymoon stuff. You have enough to worry about."

"Near the factory?" she asked hopefully.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I’ll look for something within a nice driving distance from the stupid factory, yes."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."

* * *

The next evening, Lorelai and Luke met Emily in the parking lot of the stationery store in Hartford. As they walked over to her, Lorelai saw Emily check her watch. Lorelai checked her own watch and announced, "It’s only 6:57, Mom. You can’t yell at us for making you wait when we weren’t supposed to be here for three more minutes."

Emily scoffed. "I was not going to yell at you. I was merely checking the time." She smiled at Luke. "Hello Luke. How are you?"

Luke nodded. "Fine, Emily, and yourself?"

"Very good, thank you," Emily replied. She looked at Lorelai. "You brought the guest list with addresses, right?"

Lorelai reached into her purse and pulled out a piece of paper. "Yup, got it right here."

Emily eyed the paper curiously. "It doesn’t look very long."

"That’s probably because it isn’t," Lorelai replied.

Emily took the paper and read it over. "Lorelai, what kind of guest list is this?"

Lorelai glanced at Luke questioningly, then turned back to Emily and shrugged. "Uh, one written in cursive?"

Emily pursed her lips. "Lorelai, there’s hardly anyone on here. You should not be able to fit all of your wedding guests into a closet."

"Mom – " Lorelai started.

"Where’re all of our relatives?" Emily pressed. "I don’t see any of them listed on here."

"Oh, you mean the relatives that I see once every few years?" Lorelai asked. "The ones that I don’t recognize unless they’re wearing a nametag? Those relatives? You’re right – why wouldn’t I want practical-strangers helping me celebrate one of the biggest days of my life?" She slapped her forehead. "I must’ve forgotten to write them down. My mistake, sorry."

"Regardless of how often you see them, they are still your relatives and they would want to be there," Emily insisted.

"Mom, they don’t even know me," Lorelai said loudly. "I told you before that this wedding would be small and quaint, with just close friends and family, and as difficult as it may be, you just have to deal with it. Now, come on, we’re gonna be late for the appointment."

Emily glanced from Lorelai to Luke, who was standing uncomfortably behind Lorelai with his hands shoved in his pockets. Emily pursed her lips and handed the list back to Lorelai with a sigh. "Fine, let’s go in." As they started walking toward the door, Emily asked, "So what’s the final count anyway?"

"Um, I think it’s around thirty-five," Lorelai said. "Give or take a few."

"Thirty-five people at a wedding," Emily muttered, shaking her head. "Well, at least you can save money by not having a regular-sized cake. You can just have everyone split a donut." She pulled open the door and stepped inside, holding open the door for Lorelai.

Lorelai grabbed hold of the door, then stopped walking as Emily continued inside. Lorelai let the door fall closed, then she turned around, a fake smile plastered on her face. She fingered the collar of Luke’s shirt as she said, "Hey, uh, hon, I was thinking that maybe we could just forget the invitations and possibly get the hell out of this town before I kill myself." She looked up at him hopefully. "What do you say?"

"I say, everything will be fine," Luke assured her. "We’ll go in there, pick out invitations, and leave. It’ll be quick and painless, I promise."

Lorelai held out her arm to him, where a small bandage was covering the slight bruise from her blood test. "Can I at least rip off the Bandaid and tell her that I was shooting heroin earlier just to freak her out?"

Luke shook his head. "No." As she began to pout, he took her hand and led her into the store.

* * *

The next afternoon, Lorelai and Rory were standing at the front desk of the inn. Lorelai was stuffing envelopes with reservation confirmations, then passing them to Rory, who sealed and addressed them. "So when are your invitations gonna be ready?" Rory asked.

"Tomorrow," Lorelai replied. "My mom’s gonna pick them up for me. They’re printing up the envelopes, too, so when we get them, all we have to do is put stamps on them and mail them."

"Nice and simple," Rory said.

"Yup." Lorelai handed Rory the next envelope, then said, "So my mother said that your Grandpa can’t stop talking about the tour."

"Yeah, he sounded excited on the phone," Rory said.

"When is it? Next Wednesday?" Lorelai asked.

"Next Thursday," Rory corrected her.

Lorelai nodded. "Right, Thursday, got it."

Rory stared at her mother for a few seconds. "You know, Mom, you don’t have to go if you don’t have time."

Lorelai stopped what she was doing and looked at Rory. "You don’t want me to go?" she asked, slightly disappointed.

"No, of course I want you to go," Rory insisted. "But I know you’re swamped with doing the wedding plans, and having to do this tour thing right in the middle of all that probably isn’t . . . something you need to worry about right now."

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I know the wedding’s been taking up a lot of my time lately, but – "

"We can always go on another tour after the wedding," Rory interrupted.

"No, honey, I wanna go on the first one with you," Lorelai said. "Just because things are hectic in my life right now doesn’t mean the lives of everyone around me should stop. I will be coming with you and Grandpa next week, end of story."

Rory smiled and nodded. "Okay, good." Lorelai handed her the next envelope, and she addressed it. "So tonight should be fun. . .dress shopping."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah. I’m glad I put those three dresses on reserve the last time we went there with Sookie. That should make things much easier."

"Yeah, but you didn’t try them on," Rory reminded her. "So you might get there and try them on and realize that they’re not as nice on you as they were on the hanger. Or maybe your taste has changed in the past few weeks and you’ll realize that you don’t like the style of those dresses anymore."

Lorelai frowned. "Hi, let’s take the negativity, attach it to an anchor, then throw it out into the lake, okay?"

"I’m just being realistic. You can’t say for sure that one of those dresses is definitely going to be the one that you pick," Rory pointed out. "Wedding dress shopping is not a simple process. You may have to do some more looking."

Lorelai shrugged. "Yes, well, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens tonight."

Rory nodded. "And the bridesmaid dresses. . ."

"Are totally up to you and Sookie," Lorelai said, raising her hands innocently. "You guys can wear whatever the heck you want. They don’t even have to match each other. It can be a dress you already have or a brand new one – whatever you want is fine with me."

Rory nodded. "Sounds good."

* * *

That night, Lorelai and Rory were in the dressing room of the bridal shop. Lorelai pulled on the first of the three reserved dresses and Rory zipped it up for her.

Lorelai stepped back and looked at it in the mirror, and her eyes widened. "Oh my God. Is that me or the dress?" She put her hands on her stomach and tried to push down the fabric.

"It’s the dress," Rory said. "It’s definitely the dress."

"I’ve heard that cameras add ten pounds, but I didn’t think wedding dresses did, too," Lorelai said, making a face. "Ugh, I look gross in this one. Take it off."

Rory unzipped the dress, and Lorelai let it fall to the floor. As Rory hung it back on the hanger, she asked, "Which one next? The strapless one or the sleeveless one?"

Lorelai bit her bottom lip pensively as she stared at the two dresses hanging on the door. "Hm, neither."

Rory turned around and raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean, neither?"

Lorelai put her hands on Rory’s shoulders. "Do me a favor – run out there and ask the lady at the desk if I can try on the one from the front window. The one with the spaghetti straps and the scoop neck."

Rory smiled. "The satin one with the embroidered flowers?"

Lorelai nodded. "It caught my eye when we came in."

"Mine, too," Rory told her. "I’ll go get it."

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks." Rory slipped out of the dressing room, and Lorelai locked the door behind her. She ran her fingers through her hair as she sat down on the bench in the corner. She patted her knees aimlessly and started humming as she waited for Rory to return.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. "Mom, it’s me," Rory said. Lorelai stood up and opened the door, and Rory walked in with the dress. "Victory."

Lorelai smiled. "Great. What took so long?"

"We had to take it off the mannequin," Rory said.

"Right. Okay, let’s try it on," Lorelai said. Rory helped her step into the dress, and Lorelai closed her eyes as Rory zipped it up. "Okay, before I look in the mirror, tell me – am I going to wanna cry when I see myself?" Her eyes still closed, she turned around to face Rory.

Rory’s eyes widened as she eyed the dress up and down. "Oh my God."

Lorelai opened her eyes. "What? What’s wrong?" she asked worriedly.

Rory shook her head. "Nothing’s wrong. Turn around." She pointed to the mirror. "Just look."

Lorelai took a deep breath and slowly turned around to face the mirror. Rory stepped up behind her, and as a slow smile appeared on Lorelai’s face, Rory smiled and nodded. "This is it."

Lorelai turned to the side and looked at herself from another angle. She ran her hands down the front of the dress, letting her fingers outline the delicate embroidery of the bodice. The stems of the embroidered flowers trailed off at the waist, providing a subtle transition to the smooth satin skirt of the dress.

Lorelai let out a small gasp and placed a hand on the center of her chest. "Wow." She felt tears forming in her eyes as she turned to Rory. "This is definitely the one."

Rory nodded in agreement. "You look beautiful, Mom. It’s perfect."

Lorelai reached out and hugged Rory as she felt a few tears run down her cheeks. She sniffled, then let out a small laugh. "You know, Sookie cried when she found her perfect dress, and now. . .here I am, doing the same thing."

"Because it’s a happy moment," Rory said, hugging her mom tighter.

Lorelai pulled back and wiped her tears. She took a deep breath, then looked in the mirror again. "Oh my God, I love it."

"Does it feel okay?" Rory asked. "It looks like it fits perfectly."

Lorelai nodded. "It does. I don’t think anything needs to be altered." She ran her hands over the spaghetti straps. "Straps feel good." She moved her hands down to her chest. "Chest feels good." She brought her hands down to her stomach. "Waist feels good. It all feels good."

"And it all looks good," Rory added.

"Okay, now do me a favor and see how the price looks," Lorelai said, biting her thumbnail nervously. "Tell me that looks good, too."

Rory looked at the tag tied to the zipper, then exhaled slowly. "Okay, well, the good news is that it’s on sale."

"What’s the bad news?" Lorelai asked.

"That even while it’s on sale, it’s almost six hundred dollars," Rory said.

"Oh," Lorelai said, surprised. "That’s actually lower than I thought you were gonna say."

"So you’re gonna get it?" Rory asked. Lorelai nodded, and Rory smiled. "Good. Take it off, let’s go buy it."

"Wait, let’s buy shoes and a headpiece while we’re here, and get it all out of the way," Lorelai said. "That way we can make sure it all goes with the dress."

"Good idea. Tiara or veil this time?" Rory asked.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I’m not sure. We’ll have to see what looks good with it."

Rory nodded. "Okay. Let’s go look."

* * *

That night, Lorelai and Rory pulled up to their house and saw Luke’s truck out front. "Shoot, why is he here?" Lorelai whined.

"Because he lives here, Mom," Rory reminded her.

Lorelai sighed. "How are we going to get the dress to your room without him seeing? I don’t want him to know that it’s here." She paused, then shrugged and said, "We’re gonna have to sneak it in. See if you can shove it under your shirt without it looking like there’s anything under there."

Rory raised her eyebrows. "Okay, one, that’s impossible, and two, maybe he’s upstairs and we won’t need to sneak it in."

Lorelai pointed up to her bedroom window. "The lights are off."

"So maybe he’s sleeping already," Rory suggested.

"Or maybe he’s in the living room waiting for us to walk in with the dress and he’s going to grab it and push us out of the way so he can get a peek at it," Lorelai said.

Rory rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt it. What’s the big deal anyway? He knows you went dress shopping, he’s gonna expect you to walk in with a dress. What, are you gonna lie to him and say we didn’t get one?"

"No, I’m gonna tell him we got a dress but that I’m storing it at Sookie’s house," Lorelai said.

"So, why don’t we just take it to Sookie’s?" Rory asked. "Or, better yet, to Babette’s?"

"Because it’s late, I don’t wanna bother them," Lorelai replied.

"Then let’s just leave it in the car," Rory said.

Lorelai gasped. "Rory, we are not leaving seven hundred dollars worth of bridal wear in the car for someone to just come along and steal!"

"Mom, this is Stars Hollow," Rory reminded her. "People don’t steal here."

"Yes, well, there’s a first time for everything," Lorelai said. She took a deep breath. "Okay, this is what we’ll do. I’ll go in, and if he’s downstairs, I’ll get him to come upstairs with me, and when we get up there, I’ll give you a signal, and that’s when you bring the stuff in and hide it in your closet, okay?"

Rory sighed. "What’s the signal?"

Lorelai thought for a moment, then glanced toward her bedroom window. "Ooh, I’ll turn my bedroom light on and off a couple of times."

"Okay, fine, just hurry up," Rory said.

Lorelai climbed out of the car and walked to the house. As she stepped through the front door, she called, "Luke, I’m home!" She set her purse and keys on the bench in the entryway, then walked into the living room. "Luke!"

"Upstairs," he said from the top of the steps.

He started to walk down, and Lorelai rushed over to the staircase and started walking up. "Where ya going?" she asked anxiously. "Let’s stay upstairs."

"I just did some laundry, now I’m gonna get a snack," Luke said.

"Oh, well, uh. . . can’t you do that in a little bit?" Lorelai asked. "I want you to help me do something first."

"What is it?" he asked.

Lorelai glanced down at the floor for a second as she thought of what to say. When something finally popped into her mind, she stepped up onto the same step as him and raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Take a shower."

"What?"

Lorelai grabbed his hand. "Come on, take a shower with me. We haven’t done that in forever."

"We did it last week," he reminded her.

"Well, it feels like it’s been forever," Lorelai said. She pouted and said, "Please, please, please!"

"Can’t we do that after I eat?" Luke asked.

Lorelai shook her head. "I might not be in the mood by the time you’re done eating."

Luke let out a small laugh. "I’m not cooking a turkey dinner, Lorelai," he said. "I’m only getting an apple. It’ll be five minutes." He walked toward the kitchen, and Lorelai sighed as she reluctantly followed him. "Where’s Rory?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, she’s . . . out taking a walk," Lorelai said quickly. "You know, after that long ride back from Hartford, she needed to stretch out her legs a little, so she’s just out there. . .walking around. . ."

Luke narrowed his eyes with suspicion, which he shrugged off as he grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the table. He took a bite as he sat down. "Did you get a dress?"

Lorelai smiled as she sat down across from him. "Yes, I did."

Luke smiled. "Yeah?"

Lorelai nodded. "Mmhmm." She glanced down at the table as she added, "It’s at Sookie’s house."

Luke took a bite of his apple. "Well, what’s it look like?"

Lorelai smirked. "I can’t tell you, it’s bad luck."

"I’m not supposed to see it," Luke said. "That doesn’t mean I can’t hear about it."

"Well, it’s white," Lorelai said. "That’s all you’re getting from me."

He took another bite of his apple and chewed it slowly, and Lorelai strummed her fingers on the table while she watched him. As he bit into it again, she asked, "What, are you trying to set a record as the slowest apple eater in the world? Some of us are in the mood here."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, a crabby one."

Lorelai scoffed. "No, not a crabby one. An impatient ‘I’m waiting to take a shower with my fiancé but he’s taking too long’ kind of mood. Now hurry the hell up, please!"

Luke gave her an impressed nod. "Wow, crankiness and cursing – you sure know how to set a romantic tone for the evening."

Lorelai laughed at his sarcasm, then she leaned forward across the table and whined, "Come on, I can’t wait anymore! Just picture it – our wet bodies pressed up against each other, me holding onto the shower curtain rod while you run your hands all over my body. . .what more of an image do you need to get you in the mood?"

Luke took one last bite of his apple before he stood up. "Let’s go." She jumped up from the table as he tossed the apple into the garbage and started walking toward the living room.

Lorelai followed him up the stairs, and as he walked to the bathroom, she said, "Hold on, I’m just gonna get my robe." She walked into the bedroom, flicked the lights on and off several times, then grabbed her robe from the closet and walked to the bathroom.

Outside, Rory let out a sigh of relief as she saw the flickering lights in the bedroom. "Finally," she muttered. She climbed out of the Jeep, grabbed both the small bag of accessories and the garment bag containing the wedding dress, then walked toward the house. She brought them to her bedroom and set them on her bed, then cleared some space in the closet for them.

* * *

PART 58

The alarm clock went off at six the next morning, and Lorelai swatted at it until it stopped buzzing. She rolled onto her back and rubbed her eyes, then turned to look at Luke. He was on his side facing away from her, and she ran her hand over his bare back. "Luke."

Luke opened his eyes slightly. "What?"

"Time to get up," Lorelai said, stifling her yawn.

"Yeah, I heard," he muttered. He rolled onto his back and yawned loudly as he rested his hands behind his head.

They were both quiet for a few minutes as they adjusted to being awake, then Lorelai said, "Oh, did I mention I’m working late tonight?"

"No," Luke replied.

"Some accounting firm is having a business dinner, and it’s a pretty large group so I told Michel I’d hang around and help out with things," Lorelai said. "I don’t know how late I’ll be."

Luke nodded. "So what’s on your agenda for today, wedding-wise?"

"Well, let’s see," Lorelai said. "My mom’s gonna bring me the invitations, hopefully in time for me to get them out in the mail today. Ooh, which reminds me, I need to pick up some stamps on the way to work. Remind me before I leave."

"Will do."

Lorelai continued with her to-do list. "And I need to remind Sookie to get a couple of servers to help out with serving the food and cleaning up. I have to get in contact with the inn’s usual DJ and book him. I have to get people to bring the tables and chairs and the dance floor over and set them up in the yard that morning. Oh, and the tent. . . we decided that we wanted a tent, right?"

"Yeah, we want the tent," Luke confirmed.

"Okay, so, all of the aforementioned duties, plus a few thousand more, need to be done today," Lorelai said with a sigh. "I now realize why people plan these things years in advance. I’m gonna have a heart attack soon." She snuggled up against him and rested her head on his chest.

Luke brought his arms up around her and kissed the top of her head. He was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Do you wanna change the date of the wedding?"

Surprised, Lorelai lifted her head to look at him. "No. Why, do you?"

"No, but if you think we should, then. . . I’d rather postpone the wedding than see you have a stroke from the preparations."

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I’ll be okay. It’s just a lot more work than I realized, but I think I’ll be able to get it all done."

Luke stared at her, unconvinced. "You sure?"

Lorelai nodded. "I’m sure." She kissed him on the cheek, then started to climb out of the bed. Luke reached out, grabbed her hand, and pulled her back toward him.

She laughed as she fell back onto the bed. "Luke!" she giggled. She leaned back against her pillow as he rolled over on top of her, and she closed her eyes as he began kissing across her neck. As he ran his tongue across her soft skin, she wrinkled her nose and said, "You know, now my body’s gonna smell like your morning breath."

Luke pulled back from her and unbuttoned her pajama top to expose her chest. A surge of arousal rushed through her body as he ran the tip of his tongue over one of her breasts. She moaned at the contact, and he pulled back. "So, you want me to stop?" he asked nonchalantly. Lorelai smiled and quickly shook her head, and Luke smirked as he lowered his mouth back down to her chest.

* * *

That afternoon at the inn, Lorelai was in the dining room checking on the preparations for the upcoming business dinner when Michel walked up to her waving an envelope. "Do you know what this is?" Michel asked haughtily.

"Uh, looks like an envelope," Lorelai said with a shrug. She made a few notes on her clipboard, then started walking toward the lobby.

Michel followed behind her. "Yes, it is the check you were supposed to mail three days ago for the new China! I just found it under the front desk."

Lorelai turned around and gasped. "Oh my God, I completely forgot!"

"I was going to put it in the regular outgoing mail pile, but you insisted on taking it directly to the post office so it would get there sooner. A lot of good that did!" Michel huffed.

"Michel, I’m sorry, I forgot," Lorelai said. "Calm down."

"This needs to get to the office in Bridgeport by four o’clock today or they won’t send the shipment out tomorrow," Michel reminded her. "And then they’ll charge us a fee for not paying on time."

Lorelai sighed loudly and took the envelope from him. "Okay, okay, I’ll take care of it. I’ll drive it down there myself, then come back and help you with the business dinner."

"Fine." Michel checked his watch. "You better go now or you’re not gonna make it."

Lorelai handed him the clipboard. "Here, take this, I’ll be back as soon as I can." Lorelai walked quickly across the lobby and grabbed her purse from the front desk. She walked toward the front door and stepped onto the porch just as Emily was walking up the steps carrying a box. Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Mom!"

Emily smiled. "Lorelai, perfect timing. I brought your invitations, and I checked them over, everything looks fine. They’re all ready to be stamped and mailed out."

"Oh, great," Lorelai said quickly, taking the box from Emily. "Thanks for bringing them by, Mom."

"Don’t you wanna look at them?" Emily asked.

"I will later. I’m kind of swamped right now." Lorelai walked past Emily down the porch steps. "See you tomorrow night."

Emily’s eyes widened and she followed Lorelai. "Where are you going? You’re being very rude. I drove all the way out here as a favor to you and – "

Lorelai turned around and interrupted, "Mom, I know, and I really, really appreciate it, but I have to run an errand for work so I don’t have time for wedding stuff right now." Lorelai held up the envelope. "I have to get this to Bridgeport by four, and it’s now. . ." She looked down at her watch. ". . . 2:41, so as you can see, I’m kind of in a hurry."

"Oh. . ."

"Yeah, so I have to go," Lorelai said. "See you tomorrow night, Mom." She turned around and resumed walking toward the car.

"But you should really get those invitations out in the mail today, Lorelai," Emily said, following behind her.

"Mom, did you hear what I just said?" Lorelai glanced over her shoulder at Emily as she continued walking. "I don’t have time for wedding stuff right now. In fact, the whole reason that I’m in a hurry is because I got caught up with doing wedding stuff at work the other day and completely forgot to take this letter to the post office, so the wedding stuff’s gonna have to wait until the work stuff is done. I’m sorry if that hurts the wedding stuff’s feelings, but it’s gonna have to deal with it. And please don’t give me your ‘I told you a month was not enough time to plan a wedding’ speech, I’ve heard it already."

Emily walked faster to catch up to Lorelai. "Lorelai, I’m not doing anything right now. I can handle the invitations."

Lorelai suddenly turned around, causing Emily to almost crash into her. "Whoa, sorry." She took a step back. "What’d you say?"

"I said that I can handle the invitations," Emily repeated.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "No ‘I told you so’?"

Emily shook her head. "No. Come on, you’re too busy and I have some free time, let me help you."

Lorelai was surprised, and stammered, "Uh. . .no, really. . .it’s. . .I can just do it tomorrow."

Emily exhaled loudly. "Lorelai, they really should get out in the mail as soon as possible, and I’m perfectly capable of stuffing envelopes and putting stamps on them."

"You are?" Lorelai asked incredulously. "I’d think that that kind of manual labor would be beneath you."

Emily rolled her eyes and reached for the box. "Just let me have them. I’ll take care of them." Lorelai resisted at first, then allowed Emily to pull the box out of her hands. "Now, do you have stamps, or do you need me to pick some up?"

"No, actually, I bought them this morning. They’re in the car," Lorelai replied. She waved for Emily to follow her as she turned and walked over to the Jeep. She pulled open the driver’s side door and leaned into the car to grab the stamps from the passenger seat. She turned and handed them to Emily. "Here you go. You sure you don’t mind doing this, Mom? Because I can just – "

"I don’t mind," Emily interrupted. "Go run your errand."

Lorelai gave her an appreciative smile. "Thanks, Mom."

Emily took a few steps back from the Jeep and smiled. "You’re welcome."

Lorelai climbed into the Jeep, closed the door, and started the ignition. Emily started to walk away, but Lorelai suddenly opened the door and said, "Mom, hold on a second."

Emily turned around and walked back to the Jeep. "Yes?"

Lorelai pointed toward the box. "I wanna see them before I go."

Emily smiled and opened the box, and Lorelai took out one of the invitations. She smiled as she read over it, and as she ran her finger over the embossed text, she said, "Wow, it’s beautiful, huh?"

"Yes, they’re quite lovely," Emily agreed. Lorelai stared at it for a few more seconds before Emily said, "Uh, you’d better go, Lorelai."

Lorelai glanced at her watch. "Ooh, shoot, you’re right. Thanks." She smiled and held up the invitation. "I’m taking this with me."

"Take it, there are plenty of extras," Emily said. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye." Lorelai closed the door and put on her seatbelt as Emily walked away. Lorelai pulled out of the parking space, sped out of the lot, and began the forty minute drive to Bridgeport.

* * *

An hour later, Lorelai had delivered the check and was sitting in front of a coffee shop in Bridgeport. She took a long sip of her coffee, then pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed the diner. As she listened to the ringing, she tapped her hands on the steering wheel impatiently and muttered, "Come on, answer the phone. . .it’s the thing making noise on the wall. . . "

After the fifth ring, a voice answered, "Luke’s."

Lorelai frowned when it wasn’t the voice she was expecting. "Caesar, it’s Lorelai – is Luke there?"

"Uh, no, he had to run to the store," he replied. "Should I tell him to call you?"

Disappointed, Lorelai sunk back down against her seat. "Oh, no thanks," she replied. "Just tell him I’ll call back later."

"Okay," he replied. "Bye."

"Bye." Lorelai turned off the phone and dropped it onto the passenger seat, then started the car and headed back to the inn.

* * *

That night, Lorelai arrived home slightly after eight. As she walked through the front door, she saw Luke sitting on the couch watching television. "Hey."

Luke turned around and nodded toward her. "Hey."

Lorelai kicked off her heels and dropped her purse and keys on the floor next to them. "Is Rory home?"

"Nope, movies," Luke replied. She nodded and walked down the hall to the kitchen as Luke said, "Uh, Caesar said you were gonna call back. I was waiting for ya."

"Yeah, well, I had other things to do," Lorelai snapped from the kitchen. She walked back to the living room with a beer, and she stopped at the stairway to take a long sip.

It was obvious to Luke that she was in a mood, though he was uncertain of the reason behind it. "Uh, how was your day?" he asked hesitantly.

Lorelai let out a laugh and shook her head. "Oh, well, it was just peachy. I had to drive down to Bridgeport just to deliver a stupid check that, had my mind not been focused on doing things for the wedding, I could’ve remembered to put in the mail three days ago."

"Oh, you shouldn’t do wedding stuff at work, then," Luke commented.

Lorelai scoffed. "When the hell else am I gonna do it, Luke?"

"At night, when you get home," he replied with a shrug.

"All the places I need to call are usually closed by the time I get home," she retorted. "Not that you would know what any of those places are!"

Luke stood up and walked over to her with his arms folded across his chest. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Lorelai set her beer on the hall table, then mimicked his pose by folding her arms across her chest. "It means that I’m doing everything for this wedding!"

"That’s not true and you know it," Luke said sternly.

"Oh yeah? What have you done to help?" she challenged him.

Luke began ticking things off on his fingers. "I went to get a stupid blood test for the stupid marriage license. . . I drove to Hartford to help you pick out the invitations. . . and today I booked the hotel for the honeymoon!" Luke declared loudly. He rolled his eyes and added, "Which, you’ll be happy to know, is fifteen minutes away from the stupid ice cream factory!"

"Wow, you’ve done three things, Luke!" Lorelai yelled. "Out of a million things to do for this wedding, you’ve done three – leaving me with the other 999,997 things to do!

"Well, then tell me what you need me to do and I’ll do it!" Luke yelled, his face reddening with frustration.

Lorelai clenched her fists together. "You know what needs to be done, Luke! There are lists and lists of things that need to be done – just pick something and do it!"

"Fine, I will!" Luke announced loudly.

"Good, ‘cause I can’t do everything by myself anymore!" Lorelai yelled. She stared at him for a few seconds, breathing heavily to control her emotions, then covered her face with her hands and sighed loudly. "I can’t do everything by myself, Luke," she muttered softly, her voice quivering. "It’s too much."

The anger that had started to rise up in him disappeared as he stared at her. He frowned sympathetically, and scolded himself for not realizing earlier that the stress was getting to her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against his chest. "Hey, come on. . . it’ll be okay."

Lorelai sniffled as she hugged him back and rested her head on the center of his chest. Her body relaxed against the strong arms wrapped around her, and she sighed softly.

"Look, you need to take a break from the wedding stuff for a day or two," Luke said. "When’s the last time we did anything fun?"

Lorelai sniffled and muttered, "Um, I think it was this morning in bed. . .around 6:07."

"No, I mean, when’s the last time we actually went out and did something?" Luke asked.

Lorelai lifted her head to look at him as she pondered. Finally, she shrugged and said, "I have no idea."

"Yeah, me either," he replied. "So. . .Saturday night we’ll go out and do something – dinner, movie, whatever you want. No worrying about wedding stuff, no talking about wedding stuff, just us hanging out."

"But what about all the – "

"And then," he interrupted. ". . .the next day, we’ll sit down with all the wedding to-do lists and we’ll divide up all the stuff that needs to be done so you’re not stressing out and contemplating suicide every time you hear the word wedding." He leaned down and kissed her gently. "Okay?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Okay." She kissed him, then rested her head back against his chest. He began stroking her hair as she closed her eyes and inhaled the faint scent of cologne on his T-shirt.

After a minute of silence, Lorelai opened her eyes and looked up at him. "It’s really only fifteen minutes from the ice cream factory?"

Luke smirked. "Yup."

Lorelai grinned as her eyes widened with excitement. "Have I mentioned lately that I’m madly in love with you?"

Luke let out a small laugh, then shook his head. "Not today."

"Well, I am," she told him, nodding enthusiastically.

Luke smiled and brushed her hair away from her face. "Back at ya."

* * *

On Saturday night, Lorelai was in the bathroom putting on her makeup while Rory leaned against the doorway and watched her. "I’m not sure what time we’ll be home," Lorelai said.

"Me either," Rory replied.

Lorelai leaned toward the mirror as she applied her lipstick. "You and Lane are just gonna scope out some malls?"

"Yup," Rory replied. "We’re gonna try to find dresses for the wedding."

"Does her mom know where she’s going?" Lorelai asked.

"No, Lane told her that we were going to see Jesus Christ Superstar," Rory replied with a laugh.

Lorelai nodded. "Ah. . . and that they might be giving away dresses to some lucky audience members?"

Rory shrugged. "I guess so."

Lorelai applied her mascara, then stepped back from the mirror and checked herself over. She brushed some lint off of her black pants, then smoothed out the front of her red sleeveless shirt. She turned to Rory and wrinkled her nose. "Well?"

"Looking good," Rory said.

"Good enough that if you were a guy at a bar and you saw me in this outfit, you would try to pick me up?" Lorelai asked.

Rory narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Just curious."

Rory folded her arms across her chest and eyed Lorelai’s ensemble. "I’d have to say. . .probably not."

Lorelai frowned. "It’s because I’m not wearing a skirt, isn’t it? I’m more pick-upable when I’m showing some leg, right?"

"No, it’s because you have a diamond on your hand that’s screaming ‘Don’t come near me, I’m taken’," Rory said, gesturing to Lorelai’s ring.

"Oh." Lorelai glanced down at the ring, then brought it up to her ear and pretended to listen to it. "Oh yeah, it is screaming that." She paused a moment as if listening to it some more, then smiled. "Aw, thank you." She kissed the ring, then stuck her tongue out at Rory. "The ring said that if she was a guy in a bar, she would try to pick me up in this outfit."

Rory rolled her eyes. "The ring’s a suck-up."

"Yeah, well, the ring is my new best friend," Lorelai said. She walked toward the bedroom, and as she passed the stairway, she called, "I’ll be ready in an hour!"

"You better be kidding!" Luke’s voice yelled back.

Lorelai smirked. "Boy, I love teasing him." She walked into the bedroom, and Rory followed behind her. Lorelai grabbed her purse from the bed and pulled out her wallet, then removed one of her credit cards and handed it to Rory. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Rory replied. "Is there a spending cap?"

"Yeah, ten bucks," Lorelai replied.

"Okay, well, I guess we’ll be looking for dresses at the dollar store," Rory said.

Lorelai smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "Good idea, then you can get ten of ‘em. Can’t ask for a better deal than that."

* * *

On Wednesday night, Lorelai arrived home from work, and she dropped her purse on the table by the door as she called, "Anyone home? I saw two cars out front, so I think you are. Unless you both went out for a walk, and thus I’m talking to myself right now."

"We’re in the kitchen," Rory’s voice called.

"Oh, good, I’m not talking to myself." Lorelai walked to the kitchen and found Luke and Rory sitting at the table. Luke had several envelopes in front of him, and Rory was writing in a notebook. "What’re you guys doing?"

"Opening the reply cards that came in," Rory replied.

"And writing down who’s coming and who’s not," Luke added. "So far, everyone’s coming."

Lorelai smiled. "Good. Where’s the rest of the mail?"

As Luke opened up the last envelope, he told her, "Next to the coffee maker." Lorelai walked over to the counter as Luke pulled out the reply card. "And we have a. . .yes for Kirk."

As Rory wrote it down in the notebook, Lorelai grabbed an envelope from the mail pile and started opening it. She pulled out a letter and glanced over it. "Oh, hey, this is the form with my blood test results."

Luke stood up and walked over to her. "Oh yeah?"

"Yup." Lorelai read through it, then announced, "Everything’s good."

"Good," Luke replied. "I guess mine should be coming soon, too."

"Yeah," Lorelai said. She stuck the letter back in the envelope and handed it to Luke. "Here, put this somewhere so we don’t lose it."

"I’ll go put it in the desk." Luke walked out of the kitchen.

Lorelai walked to the table and sat down next to Rory. "What’s up? Ready for the tour tomorrow?"

Rory smiled. "Yup, I’ve got my ‘I look like a smart high school senior’ outfit all picked out."

"Oh, good," Lorelai said. "Later you can come upstairs and help me pick out my ‘I look like the mother of a smart high school senior’ outfit."

"Yeah, to achieve that look, you’ll wanna avoid the Powerpuff Girls T-shirt," Rory advised.

Lorelai frowned. "Aw, man!" She took a grape from the fruit bowl and popped it in her mouth. "So what’s the latest on my mother? First she was going, then she couldn’t, then she was going again. What’s the current status?"

"I talked to Grandpa a little while ago, and he said she’s going," Rory said. "They’re gonna pick us up tomorrow at 9:45."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Oh, that’ll be a fun car ride, the four of us all together in an enclosed space like that."

"Okay, first, it’s not that long of a ride, and secondly, you and them have been getting along fine lately," Rory pointed out.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

"And you can tell that Grandma loves that you’re talking to her about the wedding and kind of letting her be involved," Rory added. "She likes being apart of things."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, let’s hope she doesn’t get used to it."

* * *

The next morning, as Richard drove his Jaguar down the street past the buildings of Yale University, Rory stared out the window at the sights. "Wow."

"It’s quite impressive, isn’t it?" Richard asked.

"The online campus tour does not do this place justice," Rory remarked. "It’s beautiful. . .isn’t it, Mom?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "And huge. . . you’re gonna need to resurrect Lewis and Clark and have them help you get from class to class."

"Oh, Rory’s a fast leaner, I’m sure she’ll have no trouble finding her way around," Emily remarked from the front seat.

Richard found an empty parking meter and parked the car on the street, and the four of them climbed out. As Richard put change into the meter, Rory stared at the campus spread all around her. "God, this place is so . . ."

"Impressive, beautiful, and huge," Lorelai replied quickly. "Yeah, we covered that ten seconds ago in the car, hon. Let’s get going." She put her arm around Rory’s shoulder, then glanced at Richard. "Where are we supposed to go, Dad?"

"The Office of Undergraduate Admissions," Richard replied, checking his watch. "Ah, and we’re right on time."

"Well, lead the way," Lorelai announced. Richard and Emily began walking down the street, and Lorelai and Rory followed behind them.

* * *

Several hours later, Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner and sat down at an empty table, and Luke soon walked over to them. "Hey. How was the tour?"

Rory smiled. "Great. We walked the campus, saw the different academic buildings, heard about Yale’s history – did you know that it’s over 300 years old?"

"No, I didn’t," Luke replied.

"It is," Rory confirmed. "We didn’t get to sit in on any classes, though, because there aren’t any in session right now."

"Not even summer classes?" Luke asked.

"No, they ended already," Lorelai told him.

"But they start in the beginning of September, so we’re gonna go back sometime after that and go on another tour," Rory added. "Ooh, and check this out." She flipped open the Yale booklet she had brought with her. "Luke, did you know that the library holdings of Yale contain 10.7 million bound volumes?"

Luke smirked and shook his head. "No, I did not know that."

Rory smiled. "Well, now you do. And did you know that – "

Lorelai grabbed the booklet from Rory, then turned to Luke. "And did you know that she read the entire booklet aloud on the way home and if I hear any more Yale facts today my brain is going to explode?"

"Nope, I didn’t know that either," Luke replied.

"Well, now you do." Lorelai held the booklet toward him. "Hide this from Rory." Luke took it and handed it back to Rory, and Lorelai frowned at him. "Mean."

"What do you guys want?" he asked. "Burgers?"

"Yup," Rory replied.

Lorelai nodded. "With onion rings."

Luke walked away, and a few seconds later, Lane walked into the diner and sat down with them. "Hey, I saw you come in so I thought I’d find out how your tour went."

Rory smiled. "Oh, it was great! Look at this." She flipped open the Yale booklet.

Lorelai rolled her eyes and stood up. "I’ll be right back, guys." She walked behind the counter and peeked through the kitchen doorway. She saw Luke standing at the sink washing his hands, and she walked over to him. "Hey."

He glanced at her and smiled. "Hey." He turned off the water and grabbed a dishtowel, then leaned over and kissed her as he dried his hands. "What are you doing back here?"

"Just visiting."

"Oh, come out back." Luke started walking toward the back door, and she followed him into the back alley. "How was it with your parents all morning?"

"Actually, not too bad," Lorelai said as she leaned against the side of the building. "My mom was bugging me about the wedding a little, but I told her if she stopped talking about it today, I’d talk about it tomorrow night at dinner." Lorelai smiled and added, "Speaking of tomorrow night. . . "

Luke smirked. "What about it?"

"What time are you leaving?"

"John’s picking me up at six," Luke replied.

"How many other guys are going?"

"Last I heard, five."

"And you’re just gonna do typical bachelor party type of things?" Lorelai asked. "Maybe do a little strip club hopping?"

Luke shoved his hands into his pockets. "I told them I’d rather not. I think we’re gonna stick to regular bars."

Lorelai scoffed. "Aw, Luke, you can’t! I want you to have a really, really good time, and the only way to have a really, really good time is for you to ogle at naked women."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Please, you know I’m not into doing stuff like that."

"No, I think that deep down you are, but you just don’t want anyone to know it," Lorelai said. "I think the fact that you like watching the girls jumping on trampolines at the end of The Man Show is just a small indication that you’re harboring a secret desire to go to a strip club, am I right?"

"No, it’s because of my secret love of trampolines," Luke said.

Lorelai smiled and stepped toward him. "Come on, your future-wife is encouraging you to do something that very few other future-wives would encourage their future-husbands to do, and you’re not even gonna take your future-wife up on it?"

Luke stared at her for a moment as he tried to process her words, then he finally shook his head.

"So you’re perfectly content with the fact that my body is the only female nakedness you will see up close for the rest of your life?" Lorelai asked.

"Perfectly content," he confirmed. He leaned forward and pressed her back up against the side of the building as he kissed her.

As he pulled back from her, she draped her arms over his shoulders and smiled. "Okay, I guess I can’t argue with that." She shook her finger at him. "But I’m telling you, if you don’t hit any strip clubs, your bachelor party’s gonna sound boring when you tell people about it."

"And who exactly am I going to be telling about it?" Luke asked.

"Uh, me," she replied as if it was obvious.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I’ll make up some stories to tell you, okay?"

"Thank you."

"What are you doing for your party? It’s Saturday, right?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. Sookie was thinking about a karaoke place, but I’m not sure I’m prepared for the level of embarrassment that would bring."

Luke smirked. "Well, get drunk enough so that you won’t remember it."

"Rory’s gonna be there," Lorelai reminded him. "I can’t get completely wasted in front of her. Slightly wasted, yes, but not completely. . .so I think we’ll probably have to find something else to do." She pulled him close and kissed him, then said, "Okay, my stomach’s growling. Time for you to make our burgers."

* * *

The next afternoon, Lorelai was at the front desk of the inn when the phone rang. "Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking," she answered.

"Hey," Luke replied.

Lorelai smiled. "Hey. What’s up?"

"I just got my results back," Luke said. "They came to the apartment. I guess I forgot to change my address with the doctor’s office."

"Oh, well, change it next time," Lorelai said. "Everything’s good, right? I mean, the results?"

"Yup," he replied. "You wanna go get the marriage license tonight? You can come by after work and we can go to the clerk."

Lorelai giggled. "You made a rhyme."

Luke sighed. "Is that a yes?"

Lorelai twirled her finger in her hair. "Yeah, I’ll stop home and pick up my form, then I’ll be there around five. Taylor said it’ll only take like fifteen minutes, so we’ll be done in plenty of time for you to get home and shower and stuff before John gets there."

"Okay, sounds good," Luke replied. "See you later."

"Bye."

* * *

That night, it was slightly after six o’clock when Rory arrived home from Lane’s house to get ready for dinner. "Mom!" she called. "Are you almost ready to go?"

"Uh, not quite!"

Rory followed the sound of Lorelai’s voice toward the kitchen, and glanced around questioningly. "Where are you?"

"In here," Lorelai’s voice came from Rory’s bedroom.

Rory walked over to the door, which was closed. "What are you doing in my room?"

"Uh, you know, just . . .uh, well. . . hold on a second. I’ll be right there."

Rory stared expectantly at the door, and finally Lorelai opened it slightly. Rory pushed it open and stepped into the room, and a small smile appeared on her face. She tilted her head to the side and asked, "Mom. . .what are you doing?"

Lorelai was standing near Rory’s bed in her wedding dress, and she glanced down at the outfit. "Uh. . .just. . .you know, checking to make sure it still fits."

Rory shook her head slightly and walked over to her. "Turn around, let me help you." Lorelai smiled and turned around, and Rory zipped up the dress. As Lorelai walked over to the mirror, Rory lay down on the bed and watched her.

"What do you think? Still looks okay?" Lorelai asked.

"Yup, looks great," Rory replied.

Lorelai took a deep breath, then put her hand on her stomach. "I have this weird feeling in my stomach."

"You’re hungry," Rory said. "Your stomach knows we’re supposed to be at Grandma’s soon for dinner."

Lorelai shook her head. "Nuh uh, it’s not an ‘I’m hungry’ type of feeling, it’s an ‘I’m nervous’ type of feeling."

Rory’s eyes widened and she sat up. "Uh oh."

Lorelai scoffed. "It’s not an ‘uh oh.’ Why would you think it would be an ‘uh oh’?"

"Because you’re nervous about the wedding, and you do very crazy things when you get nervous around the time of a wedding," Rory said.

"I didn’t say that I’m specifically nervous about the wedding," Lorelai said.

"Well, when you put on a wedding dress and say that it makes you nervous, what else am I supposed to deduce from that?" Rory asked.

Lorelai folded her arms across her chest. "Well, you’re not supposed to deduce that I’m gonna back out at the last minute, which is exactly what you’re doing," Lorelai said pointedly.

Rory glanced down at her comforter and muttered, "Sorry."

Lorelai sighed as she walked over and sat next to Rory on the bed. "Listen to me, I’ll admit that I’m nervous about the little things – you know, like tripping down the porch steps or spilling champagne on my dress, stuff like that. But not the actual idea of the wedding or the idea of marrying Luke." She paused a moment before she added, "Believe me, it’s not gonna be like last time, okay?"

Rory nodded. "Okay."

Lorelai smiled and patted Rory on the leg. "Good." Her eyes widened and she said, "Ooh, I have an idea." She stood up and walked over to Rory’s closet.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked.

"Well, we still have twenty minutes before we have to leave for dinner, so you have time to. . ." Lorelai pulled out Rory’s sleeveless, cranberry-colored bridesmaid dress and smiled. "Play dress-up with me."

Rory laughed. "No way."

"Come on, please!" Lorelai begged. "Pretty please! I’ll buy you lots of presents from the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory gift shop!"

Rory sighed and stood up from the bed. "Fine, but just for a few minutes."

* * *

Part 59"

* * *

As Rory changed into her bridesmaid dress, Lorelai walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. She lingered by the couch for a moment before she walked over to the mantle and looked at the pictures that were displayed on it.

Her eyes wandered over to the wall next to the side door, and she walked over to it. She stared up at the picture of her and Luke, the one taken just moments before he proposed, and she smiled to herself.

Lorelai was still staring at it when Rory walked out of her bedroom and into the living room. "Okay, I'm wearing it, now what?"

Startled, Lorelai jumped slightly. She turned around and smiled when she saw Rory in the dress. She clapped excitedly. "Aw, it looks so great, hon."

Rory smiled and glanced down at it. "Thanks. So. . .what now?"

Lorelai grinned as she walked over to the stereo. "Now we dance around like idiots."

Rory folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the staircase railing. "I'll just watch you, thanks."

"No, come on, it'll be fun. No one's here to make fun of us." Lorelai fiddled with the CD player until the song she wanted came on, and as Madonna started playing, she turned to Rory and smiled. "Vogue!"

Rory, watching Lorelai attempt to dance, started laughing. Lorelai rushed over to her and grabbed her hand. "Come on!"

Lorelai's energy rubbed off on her, and Rory began flailing her arms around aimlessly as she shimmied around the living room. "Oh my God, this totally stays between us," Rory said with a laugh.

"Deal." Lorelai smiled as she twirled around the living room in her wedding dress.

* * *

The next morning, Lorelai slowly opened her eyes and stared up at her bedroom ceiling. She let out a yawn as she turned to check the clock. 7:54. Deciding it was too early to get up on a Saturday, she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

Suddenly, she remembered that she had gone to bed alone last night, and her eyes opened again. She quickly glanced over to Luke's side of the bed, where he lay next to her asleep.

She smiled and sat up, then tapped him on the back. "Luke," she said in a loud whisper. "Wake up." When he didn't respond, Lorelai put her hand on his shoulder and shook him gently. "Luuuuuke, come on, get up."

Luke's eyes opened slightly and it took him a minute to realize whose voice had awoken him from his comfortable sleep. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand, then pulled the covers up tighter around him and muttered, "Go back to bed."

"I wanna hear about your bachelor party," Lorelai said excitedly.

"I'll tell you later," he mumbled groggily. "Go back to bed."

Lorelai ignored him and pressed for details. "What time did you get home? Where'd you go? What'd you drink?"

"Lorelai. . ."

"Did you go to a strip club?" Lorelai asked.

Luke sighed and rolled over to face her. "Geez, are you ever gonna stop talking?"

"Yes, when you enlighten me with details."

Luke rolled his eyes, then finally decided to talk just to shut her up. He exhaled loudly, then started to summarize his night. "First, we went to a Ravens game."

"Cool. What's that - hockey?" Lorelai asked.

"Baseball," Luke corrected her. "Minor league baseball."

"Ah, go on."

"Then we went to a bar and had some drinks, then a bunch of us went back to John's house and hung out." Luke shrugged and added, "That's pretty much it."

Lorelai smiled. "You're purposely leaving out the strip club because you don't want me to know about it, right?"

Luke paused a second as he glanced toward the window, then muttered a sheepish, "Yeah."

Lorelai gasped and smacked him playfully on the stomach. "I knew it! I knew you'd go to one."

Luke looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, you were right. We spent a few hours there. I learned all the girls' names, even got a few phone numbers. Oh, and at one point I was invited up on stage to dance with them, and I did it. It was pretty fun. I'm considering stripping as a viable second career option."

Lorelai frowned at his sarcasm. "Aw, man, you were just kidding? No strip club?"

Luke shook his head. "No strip club. Sorry to disappoint you. Now, if you don't mind. . ." He gestured to the pillow.

Lorelai gestured for him to roll back over. "Yeah, yeah, go back to sleep." He rolled over and closed his eyes, and she lay back down on her pillow.

She was quiet for a moment, then said, "Luke?"

Luke groaned. "God - what now?"

"Hey, now, don't be cranky," Lorelai warned him.

"What is it?"

Her voice softened as she asked, "You had fun, right?"

Luke turned his head to look back at her, and he nodded. "Yeah, I had fun."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good." Luke rolled toward her and kissed her on the cheek before he rolled back onto his side and closed his eyes.

* * *

That afternoon, Lorelai and Rory walked into the Independence Inn. Lorelai was carrying a large box, and as they walked up to the front desk, Michel narrowed his eyes at them curiously. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "You didn't say you were coming in today."

Lorelai set the box on the desk. "That's because I know how much you love surprises."

"Yes, now surprise me again by disappearing," Michel said dryly. "That is a surprise I'd love."

Lorelai walked around to the other side of the desk. "Don't worry, we won't be here for long. I just wanna check on some things for the wedding, make sure everything's set. I wanna go through the list of servers and set-up guys and make sure we have enough people for everything." She tapped the box. "And these are the little white boxes for the favors. We're gonna store them here until we pick up the truffles later this week."

Michel was staring down at the sheet of paper in front of him, only half listening to her. "Mmhmm."

Lorelai turned to Rory. "Hon, can you take the box into my office? I'll be there in a second."

Rory nodded. "Okay." She picked up the box from the desk and walked toward Lorelai's office.

Lorelai picked up the phone and dialed the diner. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the desk as she listened to the ringing. Finally, Luke answered. "Luke's."

"Hey," Lorelai replied.

"Hey. Where are you?"

"At the inn," Lorelai replied. "We'll be here for half an hour or so, then we're heading to that big party store in Hartford to pick up some decorations."

"Decorations for what?"

"Uh, that big party we're having next week called a wedding," Lorelai said. "Did you forget already?"

"Slipped my mind. What are you gonna get?"

"I don't know, maybe a couple of white bows for the yard, some pretty ribbon to drape over the railing, little things like that. We'll have to see what they have."

"Yeah, well, don't get anything too. . ." Luke's voice trailed off.

"Too what? Girly?" Lorelai suggested with a smile. "Should I see if they have wedding decorations with baseballs on them?"

"Yeah, that'd be good."

Michel walked behind her to grab the reservation book from the other side of the desk, and on his way back, he brushed up against Lorelai. She gasped loudly. "Luke, Michel just tried to pinch my butt."

Michel turned to her with wide eyes. "I did not!"

"I'm being sexually harassed!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"She is lying!" Michel yelled toward the phone loud enough for Luke to hear him.

"Oh my God! Luke, now he's gawking at me like I'm a piece of low-fat, low- calorie, low-cholesterol turkey!" Lorelai exclaimed.

Michel slapped his palm on the desk. "Stop it, I am doing nothing!"

On the other end of the phone, Luke let out a laugh. "Okay, leave the poor putz alone. I'll see you later."

"Bye," Lorelai said. She hung up the phone and turned to Michel. "He's gonna let it slide this time, but he said if you try pulling that stuff when we're married, you're toast."

Michel scowled at her and walked away, muttering, "I hate you."

Lorelai smiled and walked to her office.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, after Lorelai had checked on all that she needed to, she and Rory walked into the inn's kitchen to get coffee. Sookie was standing at the stove stirring a pot of soup, and she glanced over when she heard the door open. She smiled when she saw who it was. "Hey, you two."

"Hey," Lorelai said as she walked toward Sookie.

"Hey Sookie," Rory said. She walked over to the coffee maker and began pouring some coffee into a takeout cup.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sookie asked.

"Checking on wedding stuff," Lorelai replied. "You know, servers, DJ, photographer, stuff like that. We just picked up the boxes for the favors."

Sookie frowned. "Are you sure you don't want me to make the truffles?"

Lorelai smiled. "No, Sookie, I told you, you have too much to do this week. That's why we ordered them from the bakery."

"I don't have too much to do," Sookie insisted.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You're making the wedding cake, you're making all the food for the rehearsal dinner, and you're helping make the food for the actual wedding - I think you've got enough to do."

"I could've squeezed them in somewhere," Sookie muttered.

"Yeah, well, this way you have time to breathe," Lorelai said, patting her on the shoulder.

Rory walked over with two takeout cups and handed one to Lorelai. "Ready to go?"

"Where are you off to?" Sookie asked.

"To buy decorations for the wedding," Rory replied.

"For the yard and inside the house," Lorelai added.

"Did you guys pick out your rings?" Sookie asked.

"Yeah, we did it a few weeks ago, don't you remember?" Lorelai asked. "I told you how he said he hopes his ring doesn't fall off when he's cooking and accidentally land in pancake batter or something."

Sookie thought for a moment before she finally remembered, and she nodded. "Right, and you said you'd be more concerned about the batter."

"Exactly. The ring's replaceable, but man. . .to see a perfectly good batch of batter wasted would be heartbreaking," Lorelai said, shaking her head sadly.

Rory shot an amused look toward Lorelai. "Uh, okay, we should get going, Mom."

"Yeah, going, right." Lorelai smiled at Sookie. "We'll see you tonight."

Sookie giggled. "It's gonna be fun!"

Rory smiled. "I'm bringing a video camera. Mom singing karaoke is something that I would like to relive over and over."

Lorelai stuck her tongue out at Rory, then turned to Sookie. "How'd I let you talk me into this anyway?"

Sookie giggled. "I gave you a choice between the karaoke bar or the country line dancing place, and you chose karaoke."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Okay, in my next life, remind me not to let you be in charge of my bachelorette party."

"Hey, even if you don't have fun singing, you'll have fun mocking the other people who are singing," Sookie pointed out.

Lorelai nodded. "Very true."

Rory grabbed Lorelai's arm and pulled her toward the door. "We have to go. See you later Sookie."

"Bye," Sookie called.

* * *

That night, Lorelai stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body. She grabbed another one and started toweling her hair as she walked out of the bathroom and headed to her bedroom. She stared into the closet, trying to find something to wear to the bachelorette party, when the phone rang.

She wandered over to the nightstand and answered it. "Hello?"

"Uh. . .Lor, hey," a voice replied softly.

Surprised to hear his voice, Lorelai froze momentarily. She cleared her throat and said, "Chris. . . hi." Even though they'd made up since their argument, things were still slightly uncomfortable between them. Lorelai sat down on the bed. "What's up?"

"Um. . .I wanted to talk to you about something," he said with slight hesitation.

"Okay, shoot."

"Well. . .it's about the wedding," Christopher said.

Instinctively becoming defensive, Lorelai sat up straight. "What about it?" she asked indignantly.

"Don't say it like that, it's nothing bad," Christopher said. "I'm not trying to start something here."

Lorelai's voice softened. "Okay. . .what is it?"

"Well. . .we got the invitation and. . ." Chris' voice trailed off.

Lorelai waited for him to continue, and after several seconds of silence, she said, "Uh, Chris. . . and what?"

Christopher sighed. "And I wanna be there, but I wanted to make sure it was okay."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Of course it's okay. I wouldn't have sent you an invitation if it wasn't."

"Yeah, well, I thought it might be one of those things where you don't want someone to come, but you think that they won't, so you send them an invitation anyway just so you can say that you invited them," he explained.

"Chris, I didn't - "

"Because if that's what it is, then you can tell me," he said. "I'll totally understand. I'd rather you tell me that than for us to show up and have things be weird."

"Chris, that's not it," Lorelai insisted. "I want you to be there, really."

"You do?" Christopher sounded surprised.

"Absolutely," Lorelai replied. "Chris, I said this last time we talked. . .I know I said a lot of things that . . . " She took a deep breath. "Well, just because we had that big blow up doesn't mean that I don't still. . .care about you. I mean, you and I, we have something special, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Christopher replied quietly.

"And no matter what happens, no matter how much we scream at each other, or no matter that we're in love with other people - there's always gonna be . . .us. You and me, that 'teenage-love-that-we'll-always-remember' kind of thing, you know? So, I mean it. . .please come to the wedding."

Christopher was silent for a moment, then said, "What about Luke?"

"What about him?"

"He's gonna be there."

"Uh, yeah, he's playing sort of an integral role in the wedding," Lorelai agreed.

"So. . .he and I didn't really end on good terms the last time we saw each other," Christopher reminded her.

"So what? You can start over with new, fresh terms," Lorelai said.

"I doubt that he wants me there."

"He was a little surprised to see your name on the guest list after all that happened, but he said he was fine with it," Lorelai explained.

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely," Lorelai said. "Plus, both of you will be so busy staring at me that you won't even notice each other. Trust me - I look amazing in my dress."

Christopher let out a small laugh. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "Now, are you gonna take my word for it or are you gonna come see for yourself?"

Christopher took a deep breath and he exhaled it slowly. "Okay."

Lorelai smiled. "You'll come?"

"Yeah, we'll come," Christopher replied.

"Good. Thank you." Lorelai glanced at the clock. "Okay, I've got a bachelorette party to get ready for, so I better go."

"Wait, one more thing," Christopher said.

"Yeah?"

"Are you guys going on a honeymoon?" he asked.

"Yeah, Vermont," Lorelai replied. "Why?"

"When are you leaving?" he asked.

"Monday morning," she replied. "And we're coming back on Thursday. Why?"

"Rory's not going, right?" Christopher asked.

"No, she's not," Lorelai replied. "For the millionth time, why?"

"Well, it's been awhile since she's visited, so that might be a good time. . .I mean, if she wants to. I don't know if she does, but. . ."

Lorelai smiled. "I'll bring it up."

"Okay, thanks," he replied.

"I'll see you next week," Lorelai said.

"Yup. Have fun tonight."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Bye."

Lorelai hung up the phone and walked over to the closet to find an outfit.

* * *

That night, Luke was on the couch watching television when Lorelai and Rory walked through the front door. It was around 11:30, and when they saw him on the couch, Lorelai nudged Rory and said, "Aw, he was waiting up for us. How sweet."

Luke turned off the television and he glanced over at them. "I was not. I was watching the game."

Lorelai smirked as she walked to the couch. "Right. . .who plays sports this late at night?"

"I don't know - maybe the teams on the West Coast?" Luke suggested.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Oh yeah." The girls sat down on either side of him, and Lorelai patted him on the knee. "Okay, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you have some competition. There's a new man in my life."

"Oh yeah? Who?" Luke asked.

"Albert," Rory informed him.

"And Albert is. . ." Luke prompted.

"A waiter at the karaoke place. Oh my God, he was so funny, he had us cracking up all night long," Lorelai said with a laugh. "And when I told him we were there for my bachelorette party, he gave us free drinks."

"And he told her that she was the most beautiful bride he's ever seen," Rory added.

"And he got up on stage and sang 'Build Me Up, Buttercup' with me when my own daughter wouldn't," Lorelai said, shooting Rory a pointed look.

Rory held up her hands innocently. "Hey, I sang 'Love Shack' and the Cheers theme song with you. That was enough duets for me."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "True - and I have to say, 'Love Shack' was my favorite one of the night. It's such a good karaoke song."

"Definitely," Rory agreed.

"So, you and Albert are dating now?" Luke asked.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. You don't mind, do you?"

"But you can't tell Albert's boyfriend," Rory said.

Luke turned to Rory. "Boyfriend?"

Rory smiled. "Yup, Dominic. They've been together for two years."

"Okay, I guess I don't have to feel threatened by Albert anymore," Luke said with a smirk.

Lorelai smiled and pinched his cheek. "Aw, you were getting jealous, how cute."

"Enough." Luke pushed her hand away. "So, you had fun?"

"Lots of fun," Lorelai said, nodding enthusiastically.

"Yup, it was great," Rory said. "Miss Patty and Babette singing 'It's Raining Men' was one of the most entertaining things I've ever seen."

Lorelai laughed and nodded in agreement. "They should definitely take that show on the road."

Luke smiled. "I kinda wish I'd seen that."

"I bet if we ask, they'll do it at the wedding," Lorelai suggested.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't wanna see it that badly."

* * *

Part 60"

* * *

On Friday night, after a brief rehearsal of the wedding ceremony in the front yard of the house, everyone was gathered at the inn where the dinner part of the rehearsal dinner was being held. Lorelai was sitting on the counter in the inn’s kitchen drinking a glass of wine, talking with Sookie as she put the finishing touches on the main course.

"Centerpieces?" Sookie asked.

"Done," Lorelai replied.

"Favors?"

"Finished."

"Placecards?"

"Yup."

Sookie gave Lorelai an impressed nod. "Wow, you really kicked it into high gear this week to get all that stuff done, huh?"

Lorelai nodded. "Both of us taking the last few days off from work is what did it. It let us focus purely on wedding stuff."

"Have you packed for the honeymoon?" Sookie asked.

"Nah, we’ll do that tomorrow," Lorelai replied.

"It probably won’t take long. . .depending on the amount of clothes you plan on wearing while you’re away," Sookie said with a smile.

Lorelai took a sip of wine, then raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Not many."

Sookie giggled. "I thought so. You and Luke are definitely that couple."

"And what exactly is that couple?" Lorelai asked curiously.

"That couple that goes on a honeymoon and only leaves the hotel room like once or twice," Sookie explained. "That couple."

Lorelai giggled. "We’re good at entertaining ourselves, what can I say?"

The door separating the kitchen from the dining room opened, and Emily walked in. "Oh, Lorelai, there you are," Emily said as she walked toward her.

"Hey, Mom," Lorelai said.

"Hi, Mrs. Gilmore," Sookie greeted her.

Emily smiled at Sookie. "Hello, Sookie. Nice to see you again." She turned to Lorelai. "What are you doing in here? Your guests are all out there."

Lorelai gestured toward Sookie. "I’m just keeping Sookie company while she finishes up. We’ll be out in a minute." She checked her watch. "Did you just get here?"

Emily nodded. "Yes. Your father was on a business call, so we ran a little late, and then we got stuck in traffic, which made things even worse."

"Hm, not so fun commuting on a Friday night, is it?" Lorelai asked with a pointed smirk. "Maybe you’ll be more understanding next time we’re late for dinner."

"Yes, well, I’ll keep that in mind," Emily replied. "I’m sorry we missed the rehearsal. How did it go?"

"It was fine. It’s gonna be a fast ceremony," Lorelai said. "Bing, bang, boom – right to the point. ‘I do’, ‘I do’, ‘here’s your ring’, ‘here’s your ring’, ‘you’re married – break out the alcohol.’"

Emily rolled her eyes. "How romantic."

"Yes, very."

Emily folded her hands in front of her. "So, tell me, where is Luke going to be sleeping tomorrow night?"

Lorelai gave Emily a curious look. "Uh, I assume the same place as always – on the kitchen floor."

"I’m serious," Emily said.

"Me, too," Lorelai insisted. "He sleeps on the kitchen floor because sometimes I sleepwalk, and he doesn’t want me to wind up in the kitchen in the middle of the night, asleep, and accidentally fall on some knives, so he sleeps down there to prevent that. Now what other guy would do something like that? I think that’s a true sign that he loves me."

Emily glanced at Sookie. "You work with her every day?"

Sookie nodded. "It’s never boring."

"Can I have a serious answer now?’ Emily asked. "Is he going to stay with a friend?"

"Why would he do that? He has a perfectly good bed at home," Lorelai said. "And a mighty fine sleeping companion, I might add."

"But you don’t want him to see you before the wedding, Lorelai," Emily insisted. "It’s bad luck."

"Tsk, Mom, that stupid superstition means that he’s not supposed to see me getting ready," Lorelai said. "We’re gonna wake up together and spend our wedding morning together doing last minute wedding stuff. . .and then he’ll go to the apartment and get ready, and I’ll get ready at home. He won’t see me getting ready – happy?"

"Well, if that’s the way you’re doing it. . ." Emily said doubtfully. "Though I think the superstition clearly means that he’s not supposed to see you that entire day prior to the ceremony."

Lorelai shrugged. "Oh well. If we end up divorced by next week, we’ll know why."

Sookie handed the last tray of food to one of the waiters, then announced, "Okay, done. Lemme just wash my hands and I’ll be ready."

"Okay." Lorelai hopped off the counter and smoothed out her dress. Emily stared at her for a moment, and Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Something wrong, Mom?"

"How are you feeling?" Emily asked. "Nervous?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Not really. . . just excited."

Sookie walked over to them, and the three of them started walking toward the lobby.

"Well, good," Emily said. "Excited is a good thing to be feeling."

"I’ll drink to that," Lorelai said, holding up her glass of wine. She brought it to her lips and finished the contents of it.

Sookie smiled. "You’ll drink to anything."

Lorelai smacked her playfully on the shoulder, and Sookie giggled as she walked away from them.

Emily smiled. "You know, your father’s excited, too."

"Oh yeah? That’s nice."

"It’s always a proud moment for a father to walk his daughter down the aisle," Emily said.

Lorelai froze momentarily, then slowly narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"Yes, fathers always look forward to doing that some day," Emily said. "Believe it or not, even yours."

Lorelai’s eyes widened slightly and she forced a smile. "Right. . .yeah." She glanced across the room and saw Richard talking with Taylor, and she sighed softly. She turned back to Emily. "Uh, will you excuse me, Mom? I have to go. . .do something."

Lorelai walked across the dining room to where Luke was talking with his friend John. "Hey," Lorelai said.

John smiled and nodded toward her. "Hey."

"Hi," Luke said.

Lorelai put her hand on Luke’s back as she looked up at him. "Um, can I steal you away for just a sec?"

"Yeah. Everything okay?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, I just wanna talk to you real quick," Lorelai said.

"Okay. I’ll be right back," Luke said to John.

Lorelai took his hand and led him across the dining room and out the back door onto the porch. Lorelai dropped his hand and began pacing back and forth in front of him.

"What’s your problem?" Luke asked.

She stopped walking and turned to face him. "My dad wants to walk me down the aisle. Not only that, but he already thinks he is walking me down the aisle."

"And the problem with that is what?"

Lorelai scoffed and shook her hands at him. "Hi, the problem is that I was planning on walking down the aisle by myself."

"Ah."

"But he thinks he’s giving me away, and apparently, he’s been looking forward to doing it," Lorelai said.

"So, just let him do it, then," Luke said with a shrug. "What’s the big deal?"

"The big deal is that I’ve spent the last seventeen years of my life being independent and strong and doing things for myself, and I was kinda looking at this walk down the aisle as . . . a representation of my life, in a way. Of me having to do things alone, me taking this big independent walk by myself," Lorelai explained, gesturing aimlessly with her hands. "Does that make any sense?"

Luke had a confused look on his face as he replied, "Kind of. . .I guess. . ."

Lorelai sighed. "You think I’m a freak, don’t you?"

"Yes."

Lorelai let out a long sigh and she put her hands on his shoulders. "What should I do?"

Luke shrugged. "It’s up to you."

"Come on, be an overly-possessive guy’s guy and just tell me what to do," Lorelai begged. "It’s easier that way."

"Can’t do that until you’re my wife," Luke said. "That’s when I get to control you and order you around."

Lorelai smiled. "You’re in for a rude awakening, you know that?" She leaned forward and kissed him softly.

He pulled back and stared at her. "So. . .what’re you gonna do?"

Lorelai shook her head slightly. "I guess I’ll just . . . let him do it. He’s looking forward to it." She sighed. "No independence walk for me."

Luke gestured toward the door. "Why don’t you walk all the way back to the door by yourself and call that your independence walk? Go ahead, I’ll wait here." He folded his arms across his chest.

Lorelai smirked at him and started walking backward toward the door. "Here I go. . . the walk of independence."

"You’re doing good so far," Luke encouraged her.

She turned around and continued to the door, and when she reached it, she turned back to him and smiled. "Man, that felt good."

Luke shook his head slightly as he walked over to her. "I’m glad." She pulled open the door and he followed her back into the inn.

* * *

On Sunday morning, Lorelai was standing on the front porch, her hands shoved into the pockets of her denim cutoffs. She was watching people mill around the front yard. One set of workers from the inn was setting up tables and chairs under the tent that had been set up the night before. Another set of workers was busy placing baskets and vases of arranged flowers around the yard. The DJ had arrived and had set up his table in front of the porch, and was now setting up speakers around the yard.

As she was staring out at everything, Luke and Rory walked out of the house. "Okay, Mom, I’m ready," Rory said.

Lorelai turned around. "Mmkay, let’s go." Rory walked past her and headed toward the Jeep, and Lorelai walked over to Luke. He rested his hands on her waist as she draped her arms over his shoulders. "You better be gone when we get back from the hair salon. You can’t see me once I’ve started the official ‘getting-ready’ process."

"I know, I know," Luke said, nodding. "I’m getting ready to leave soon."

Lorelai smiled and kissed him. As she slowly pulled back, she said, "You know, next time we kiss. . . we’ll be married." She smirked and added, "Well, if you show up, of course."

"Me? Need I remind you which one of us has the bad track record for weddings?" Luke asked.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I had that one coming, huh?"

"Yup."

"Okay." Lorelai leaned forward and hugged him. "Bye."

"Bye."

Lorelai walked over to the Jeep and climbed in, and Luke watched as they pulled away.

* * *

A few hours later, Lorelai, Rory and Sookie were upstairs in the bedroom. Rory and Sookie were already dressed and had finished their own makeup, and they were now helping Lorelai with hers. They heard a door slam outside, and Sookie walked over to the window. "Ooh, the cake’s here," she announced.

Lorelai smiled and clapped. "Yay. So the day’s gonna be good no matter what happens. If Luke shows up, we get married and celebrate by eating cake. If he doesn’t, I wallow, then make myself feel better by eating cake. Either way, the ending’s good."

"Way to stay positive," Rory commented.

"I’m gonna go check on it, make sure it doesn’t need any touching up," Sookie said. She left the room, and Rory kept working on Lorelai’s makeup.

They were both quiet for a few seconds before Rory said, "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you feel like right now?"

"I feel like having a piece of wedding cake," she replied. "Run down and get me a piece, will ya?"

Rory smiled. "No, really, what’s it feel like to know that you’re getting married in. . ." She checked the clock. "Forty-seven minutes."

Lorelai shrugged. "It feels. . .I don’t know . . I can’t really describe the feeling."

"But it’s a good feeling, right?"

Lorelai smiled up at her. "It’s a great feeling."

Rory smiled. "Good."

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and Lorelai called, "Come in!"

The door opened and Emily walked in. "Hello, hello," she said cheerfully. "How are my girls?"

"Hey Grandma," Rory said.

"Hi Mom," Lorelai said. "Just get here?"

"Oh, no, we’ve been here a bit, but I was downstairs checking on things, making sure the setup was all complete, you know," Emily explained.

"Right."

"Everything looks beautiful. . .the yard, the decorations, the cake. . ."

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Aw, I really need cake right now. Mom, go cut me a piece of cake, pleeeeease?"

"No cake," Rory said sternly. "Sit still."

Lorelai grabbed the mascara brush out of her hand. "Here, let me do it. You’ll probably end up jabbing me in the eye to get back at me for that time I accidentally did it to you." She leaned toward the mirror and started applying the mascara.

Emily sat down on the edge of the bed. "So, Lorelai, do you have something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?"

Lorelai gestured to the wedding dress. "Well, the dress is new."

"What about the other three things?"

Lorelai finished with her mascara before she set it down and replied, "Well, I’m wearing this really ratty old pair of navy blue underwear that I borrowed from the woman down the street, so that should cover it."

Rory made a face. "You’re so gross."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Forget I asked."

Lorelai smirked, then reached for her lipstick. She applied it, then put it away and stood up. "Okay, time for a bathroom break before I put the dress on. Be right back." Lorelai walked out of the room.

When she returned a few minutes later, Emily and Rory were both peering out the window.

"What’s going on?" Lorelai asked from the doorway.

Rory turned around and smiled. "The guys just got here."

Lorelai smiled. "The guys? As in. . .the guys in the wedding? As in. . . Luke?"

Rory nodded. "Looks like he didn’t make a run for it, after all."

"Stupid him. He had the perfect chance." Lorelai started walking toward the window.

Rory held up her hands. "Whoa, what are you doing?"

"Move. I wanna see him," Lorelai said.

"You can’t see him before the wedding, Lorelai," Emily replied, still staring out the window.

"No, he can’t see me," Lorelai said. "I can see him all I want to."

Rory pushed her away from the window. "Unh uh, it works both ways."

Emily stepped back from the window. "You can’t see him anymore anyway, he went under the tent."

Lorelai frowned. "Tsk, no fair."

"The moment when the bride and groom first see each other all dressed up is supposed to be a special moment," Rory said. "If you see him before that, it’ll take away from the significance of said moment."

Lorelai sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "I’m not a patient person."

"I know." Rory patted her on the shoulder. "But you’ll see him very soon."

Emily walked toward the door. "I’m going to go check on things downstairs, maybe mingle with the guests a little. I’ll see you down there."

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, you will. I’ll be the one by the cake."

Rory groaned. "Enough with the cake."

As Emily walked out of the room, Lorelai rubbed her hands together and smiled. "Okay, time for the dress."

* * *

A few minutes later, out in the front yard, Luke was standing under the tent talking to some of the wedding guests when he suddenly excused himself and walked over to Jess, who was sitting at one of the tables with Jill. "Time?" Luke asked.

Jess sighed. "Forty seconds after the last time you asked me. Why didn’t you wear your own watch?"

"I forgot it upstairs," he replied. "And Lorelai’s up there getting ready." He tapped his hands on his thighs as he glanced around the yard.

"What are you so nervous about?" Jess asked. "You think she’s gonna skip out on you like she did to the last guy?"

"No, I’m not," he replied sharply. "I’m just. . .tired of waiting around, that’s all."

A man with a camera walked up to Luke and tapped him on the shoulder. "Luke?"

Surprised, Luke turned around. "Oh, hey Brian." He looked at Jess as he gestured to the man. "Jess, this is Brian, one of the cameramen."

"Yeah, the camera tipped me off," Jess replied. "Hey."

"Hi." Brian nodded toward him, then said to Luke, "I was hoping to get a few before shots. . .maybe with you and the groomsmen? Would that be okay?"

"Did you already take some of Lorelai?" Luke asked.

"Matt’s about to go do that. He’s loading up the other camera right now," Brian explained, pointing toward the porch where another cameraman was rummaging through a bag of equipment.

Luke glanced at the camera in Brian’s hand, none too happy about having to pose for pictures, but he reluctantly muttered, "Yeah, all right. Just a couple."

* * *

Upstairs in the bedroom, Lorelai was now completely dressed, from her veil down to her shoes, and was staring at herself in the mirror. Rory stood behind her smiling. "It looks incredible, Mom, really," Rory said. "Luke’s gonna die the minute he sees you."

"I hope not," Lorelai said. "If he dies before we’re married, I won’t get any of the insurance money." Lorelai turned around and smiled at Rory. "Okay, just about ready to head down there."

Rory clapped excitedly. "This is so exciting!" She reached up and hugged Lorelai. "I’m so happy for you."

"I know you are, thank you," Lorelai replied. She hugged her tighter. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Rory replied. She pulled back and smiled. "Ready to get married?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Let’s go."

They walked out of the room and down the staircase. Sookie and Emily were standing in the living room, and they stared up at her as she walked down the steps.

Sookie gasped loudly. "Oh my God, you look amazing!" she gushed.

"Thanks, Sookie," Lorelai replied.

Emily smiled and nodded in agreement. "You look lovely, Lorelai. Simply lovely."

"Thanks, Mom."

"And you have perfect timing, too, because the cameraman’s looking for you," Emily said. "He wants to take some shots of you with Sookie and Rory."

"Oh, okay. Where is he?" Lorelai asked.

"He’ll be right in, he’s loading the camera," Sookie said.

Lorelai nodded, and the four of them stood talking for a moment before the front door opened. They were expecting it to be the cameraman, but instead it was Richard who entered the living room. He stopped abruptly when he saw Lorelai, and his eyes widened.

"Dad, hi," Lorelai said.

"Lorelai," he replied with a nod. "Uh, you look. . .very nice."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."

The cameraman walked into the living room then, and Lorelai posed for pictures with her bridesmaids, with just Rory, and then with her parents, and by the time they were finished, it was time for the wedding ceremony to begin. The three of them in the wedding grabbed their bouquets, and as Emily walked outside to take her seat, Richard and the girls gathered by the front door.

Rory and Sookie both hugged Lorelai before they stepped out onto the porch. When they did, the DJ started the music, and the crowd watched as they made their way down the aisle. A red carpet directed them where to go, running across the front of the porch and down the side porch steps. It went behind half of the chairs that were set up between their house and Babette’s, then turned right to go down the small aisle that separated the two sections of chairs. It ran down that aisle and stopped at the chuppah on the side of the house, where Luke, Jess, John, and the priest were all gathered.

Inside, Lorelai glanced up at Richard, who was staring back down at her. She smiled a slightly nervous smile and said, "Hi. How’s it going?"

"Just fine, thank you." Richard paused a moment, then added, "You know, you look stunning, Lorelai. Absolutely stunning."

Lorelai smiled and leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you, Daddy."

Richard swallowed hard and nodded, giving her a small smile. Lorelai stared at the front door and waited for the music to pause, which was her cue to come out.

As they waited, Lorelai glanced down at her hand. "Oops, the ring." She moved her engagement ring to her right hand.

"Why are you doing that?" Richard asked.

"Well, when you wear both of them together, the wedding ring’s supposed to go on your finger first," Lorelai explained. "And then you put the engagement ring on after it. So by moving it to the other hand ahead of time, I won’t have to take the wedding ring off later to arrange them because it’ll already be in the right spot. Understand?"

"Not really, but I’m perfectly fine with that," Richard replied.

Lorelai smiled. "Okay." She listened for a moment. "The music stopped."

"Yes, it did."

"That’s our cue."

Richard reached for the door handle. "You ready?"

Lorelai nodded and linked her arm through his. Richard pulled open the doors, and they stepped onto the porch. The music started up again, and they followed the red carpet across the porch. When they reached the end of the porch, the crowd came into better view, and Lorelai saw that everyone was standing and had turned around to get a good look at her. She smiled at them as she and Richard followed the carpet down the porch steps and behind the row of chairs.

They paused when they reached the end of the aisle, and she stared straight ahead, getting her first glimpse of Luke standing across the yard under the chuppah. Lorelai smiled brightly as her heart started racing with excitement.

Luke had tried to see her as she was walking across the porch, but Richard was blocking his view, and all he saw was a flash of white. It was not until she appeared at the end of the aisle that he finally saw her.

He had thought about that moment, about what it would be like to see her in her wedding dress for the first time. He knew that she’d look beautiful – the woman looked incredible in a T-shirt and sweatpants, so he knew that there was no limit to how amazing she would look in a wedding dress.

But even realizing that ahead of time, it did not prepare him for the actual moment.

When she appeared at the end of the aisle, his eyes widened with amazement, and the anxious smile he’d had developed into a wide grin. "Oh my God," he muttered quietly to himself.

She was captivating. . .he wouldn’t have been able to take his eyes off of her even if he had wanted to. Even from across the yard, she took his breath away, and as she ascended toward him down the aisle, he realized that she only became even more amazing up close.

He wasn’t the only one who thought so. A murmur ran through the crowd as she walked by them, with everyone staring at her in awe.

As she approached him, standing there in his crisp black suit with his hands folded behind his back, she blocked out everyone else around her. She concentrated only on him, staring into his eyes; he stared back into hers until she was within a few feet of him. It was then that his gaze shifted from her eyes down to the dress, taking it all in, noting to himself how perfectly it accentuated her curves. As he brought his gaze back up to meet hers, she was still staring at him, smiling broadly, her arm still linked through Richard’s.

They were so enamored with staring at each other that Lorelai didn’t hear the words exchanged between Richard and the priest. It wasn’t until Richard patted her on the arm that she realized that he had just given her away.

Lorelai shook herself out of her daze, and as she handed her bouquet to Sookie, Luke extended his hand toward her. She clasped onto it, then took a step forward and joined him under the chuppah.

Lorelai smiled at him. "Hi."

Luke was smiling back at her. "Hey."

"You clean up nice," she commented.

"Me? Look at. . ." Luke’s eyes widened as he gestured to her dress. "That dress is. . . you look. . . wow. . ."

Lorelai glanced down at it and shrugged nonchalantly. "This old thing?"

The priest cleared his throat, and Lorelai and Luke both turned to face him. He began a speech about marriage. . .what it is, what it represents, how important it is. . .and while the bride and groom tried to listen, the occasional glances they kept sneaking at each other made them lose their concentration.

It wasn’t until Reverend Nichols said, "And let us begin the vows," that they both realized it was probably a good time to pay attention. They turned to face each other, and they clasped both sets of their hands together.

The priest turned to Luke. "Do you Lucas, take Lorelai to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward?"

Luke stared into Lorelai’s eyes as he replied, "I do."

The sound of his voice sent a chill through Lorelai’s body. It wasn’t until she heard those two little words that the reality of the situation set in. The moment was finally there – they were only minutes away from being married. All the preparation, all the anxiety, all the anticipation. . .it was all for that moment.

As her emotions overwhelmed her, Lorelai swallowed hard as she felt tears forming in her eyes, and she quickly glanced toward the sky. She blinked a few times, trying to prevent them from running down her cheeks.

She brought her gaze back to Luke as the priest continued, "Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish her, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health?"

"I do," Luke replied.

Lorelai’s lower lip quivered slightly as she smiled at him.

"And, forsaking all others, will you remain faithful only to her as long as you both shall live?

Luke smiled at her and gave her hands a squeeze. "I will."

That was all it took. A gentle squeeze of her hands was enough to make the tears begin to slowly stream down her cheeks. She took a deep breath and smiled at him as she tried to regain some control. The crowd intently watched on, and the appearance of Lorelai’s tears sent many of the women reaching for their own Kleenexes.

The priest turned to Lorelai and repeated the same three questions, and smiling through her sniffles, she answered as Luke did.

The priest announced, "The rings, please."

As Luke turned around to retrieve the ring from Jess, Lorelai turned to Rory. Rory, her eyes red and her cheeks tear-stained, gave Lorelai a quick kiss on the cheek as she handed her the ring.

Lorelai and Luke turned back to each other and waited for the priest to continue.

"Lorelai, place the ring on his finger and repeat after me." The priest instructed her of what to say.

Lorelai placed the ring on Luke’s finger, and repeated the priest’s words exactly. "Lucas. . ." She paused momentarily to smirk at him, and Luke smiled. She continued, "I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am, and all that I have . . . I honor you."

After a repetition of the line from the Reverend, Luke took her hand into his. He cleared his throat and said, "Lorelai, I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you." As he pushed the ring up her finger, he smiled at her and laced his fingers through hers. Lorelai smiled at him and squeezed his hand tightly.

Reverend Nichols clasped his hands together. "Well, by the power vested in me by the state of Connecticut, I now pronounce you. . ."

Lorelai, Luke, and the rest of the guests all stared at the priest expectantly, waiting for the official declaration.

". . .husband and wife," he finished. He smiled at Luke and added, "You may kiss the bride."

Lorelai and Luke grinned at each other, then leaned forward and pressed their lips together in a soft, yet passionate, kiss. They both smiled through it, and as he pulled her closer into a hug, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as the crowd applauded.

Luke and Lorelai finally pulled apart from each other and shared one more kiss before they turned to face their guests. Lorelai glanced toward the rows of seats, and her eyes landed on her parents. They were standing in the front row and were both smiling proudly, and Emily was dabbing her eyes with a tissue. Lorelai smiled to herself as Luke took her hand and led her down the aisle. As they passed the rows of seats, several people called out their congratulations and patted them on their arms.

When they reached the end of the aisle, Luke and Lorelai both turned around. The bridal party had been following them down the aisle, and Lorelai grinned when she saw Rory walking right toward her.

Lorelai held open her arms, and Rory walked right into them and hugged her tightly. "Congratulations, Mom," she whispered into her ear. Her voice was quivering, and it made Lorelai’s tears start up again. She kissed Rory on the cheek and hugged her tighter.

When they pulled apart, Lorelai wiped her eyes. "Geez, they really need to put pockets in these things," she said, gesturing to the wedding dress. "There’s nowhere to put any tissues."

Rory was wiping her own eyes as she replied, "I think you’re supposed to stuff them down your bra."

Lorelai smiled. "Right. I forgot." She glanced past her and saw Sookie waiting patiently, not wanting to interrupt the mother/daughter moment. "Sookie!"

Sookie giggled excitedly and stepped up to her. "You did it, honey!" They hugged tightly.

Lorelai pulled back and looked at Sookie’s red eyes. "Oh man, you cried, too? Is there anyone here with dry eyes?"

Sookie shook her head. "Nope. I was watching the crowd, almost all of them were crying. I think I even saw Kirk fishing around his pocket for a tissue."

"Maybe he was just . . .uh, adjusting himself," Lorelai suggested. She suddenly shuddered and made a face. "Ew, did I really just say that about Kirk?"

Sookie giggled. "Yeah, make sure you don’t shake his hand."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Ew, that’s so. . ." Her voice trailed off as she saw the wedding guests starting to file toward her. "Uh oh, gotta go greet the people."

She glanced over at Luke, who was a few feet away talking with Jess and John. She walked over and tapped him on the back. "Luke."

He turned around. "Yeah?"

She gestured toward the crowd. "This is where we have to stand together and smile and shake hands while people compliment us and tell us we look adorable together."

"Oh. . .right." Luke didn’t look enthused by this, but he let her pull him back over to the end of the aisle. The bridal party stood a few feet away from them as part of the receiving line.

A line of guests had formed, and Miss Patty was at the front of it. She hugged both of them and gushed, "Oh my Goodness, everything was perfect! Lorelai, that dress is beautiful!"

"Thanks, Patty."

Patty patted Luke on the chest and said, "And you, my dear, should wear suits more often. They make you look yummier than usual."

Luke stepped back from her and pointed toward the tent. "Okay, go find your seat and stay away from the alcohol."

Miss Patty winked at him and walked away, and the line continued. A few minutes later, Christopher and Sherry stepped up to them. Sherry politely congratulated them and moved on to talk to Rory, and Christopher stood smiling at Lorelai. "You were right – you do look great in that dress."

Lorelai smiled and glanced down at it. "See, I didn’t lie."

He leaned forward and hugged her. "Congratulations, Lor."

Lorelai kissed him on the cheek as he pulled away. "Thank you. I’m glad you came."

"Yeah, me too." Christopher took a step over and uncomfortably extended a hand toward Luke. "Congratulations. . . you’re a lucky guy."

Luke shook his hand. "Thanks." He glanced at Lorelai as he replied, "I know." Lorelai smiled at Luke as Christopher walked away.

Emily and Richard were next in line, and Lorelai smiled at them. "Mom, Dad, any complaints? Did the wedding meet all the regulations set forth in the Gilmore family book of wedding day standards?"

"Not even close," Emily replied, rolling her eyes slightly. She smiled and added, "But it was beautiful all the same."

"Yes, it was a very nice ceremony," Richard agreed. "And you still look stunning."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."

Richard shook Luke’s hand. "And you don’t look so bad yourself, there, Luke."

"Thank you, sir," Luke replied.

"Come on, Richard, let’s keep the line moving and go see Rory," Emily said. She smiled at Lorelai. "We’ll talk to you later."

Lorelai nodded, and as they walked away, she glanced toward the line, which was no longer a line but more like a muffled clump of people, and called, "Okay, let’s move it along! The sooner we start eating, the sooner we’ll get to the cake!"

* * *

* * *

When they had finished greeting the guests, Lorelai turned to Luke and smiled at him. "That wasn’t so bad, huh?"

"If you consider saying the phrase ‘thank you’ four thousand times in a row as not bad, then I guess not," Luke said.

Lorelai leaned toward him and said, "It’s just preparation for the honeymoon and all the ‘thank you’s’ that you’ll be muttering amid the throes of passion." She closed her eyes and quietly panted, "Oh Lorelai, unh, thank you, oh God, oh yeah, thank you –"

Luke’s faced reddened with embarrassment as he clamped a hand over her mouth. "Will you knock that off?" he hissed, looking around nervously.

Lorelai giggled as she pushed his hand away. "Relax, no one heard me."

"Yeah, well. . ." Luke pressed his forehead against hers. "I think you might be calling out a few thank you’s yourself."

Lorelai smirked. "I bet I will."

Luke wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up against his body. "Hey?"

"Yeah?" Lorelai draped her arms over his shoulders and twirled her fingers through his hair.

He brought his lips to her ear and whispered, "You look amazing."

Lorelai smiled. "So do you."

He pulled back slightly and glanced down at her dress. "I still can’t get over that dress. It’s just. . ."

"Nice?" Lorelai supplied.

Luke nodded as he ran his thumb over the embroidered detail on the bodice. "Very."

Rory and Sookie walked up to them, followed by the photographers. "Hey, you two," Sookie said. "They wanna get some pictures by the chuppah. Some of you guys alone, some of you with the wedding party, stuff like that."

"Okay," Lorelai said.

"Uh, I’ll go get the guys," Luke said.

"Okay," Lorelai replied. As he walked away, the rest of them started walking toward the chuppah.

Sookie pointed to Lorelai’s hand. "You can switch your ring back now, honey."

Lorelai glanced down at her hands. "Oh, right." She moved her engagement ring back to her left hand, slipping it on after her wedding band. She held them out at arm’s length and smiled. "Aw, they look good together."

Sookie handed Lorelai her bouquet. "Yes, they do. Now, let’s get these pictures done so I can go inside and make sure the servers aren’t screwing up the food."

"Everything’s already made, Sookie," Lorelai reminded her. "They just have to put the food onto the plates."

"Yes, but the presentation of the food is just as important as the actual taste of the food," Sookie said with an exasperated sigh. "You know that. I’ve explained it to you hundreds of times."

Lorelai nodded and patted Sookie on the shoulder. "I know. We’ll try to hurry." She glanced past her and smiled. "Look, here are the guys. Okay, let’s get this these pictures done before Sookie has a breakdown." Luke, Jess, and John walked up to them, and the photography session began.

* * *

When they were finished, the wedding party headed into the house to relax for a few minutes before the first dance. The wedding guests stayed out front, some of them sitting down at their tables, some of them standing around the yard mingling.

Sookie went into the kitchen to help with the food while the rest of them lounged around the living room talking. Lorelai and Luke were sitting next to each other on the couch with Lorelai’s head resting against his shoulder.

"I need coffee," Lorelai whined. "Who wants to go get it for me? I’ll give you everything I own. . .which, because I’m now married to Luke, includes a lovely diner for all your restauranting needs, so the deal’s pretty good for whoever takes it."

"Uh, sorry to disappoint you, but you don’t automatically own the diner now," Luke informed her.

Lorelai gasped and sat up straight. "What? So this entire year – the whole ‘me pretending to fall in love with you and agreeing to marry you’ act that I put on with the sole intention of becoming an owner of the diner was for nothing?"

"Yup."

Her eyes widened and she clutched her chest. "And now I’m stuck with you for a husband?"

"Looks that way."

Lorelai frowned. "Wow. That sucks."

Luke shrugged. "Sorry."

"Tsk." Lorelai slumped back against him. "Someone. . .coffee. . .soon. . ."

Rory stood up and started walking toward the kitchen. "I’ll go get it."

"Thank you. Hurry!" Lorelai urged.

Rory returned a minute later with a mug of coffee and handed it to Lorelai.

"Oh, God bless you, child," Lorelai said. She took a long sip and moaned happily. "Ahhh, wow, I needed that."

A few minutes later, the DJ walked into the house. "Okay, you guys just about ready?"

Lorelai looked up at him from the couch. "Mmhmm." She patted Luke on the knee. "Ready?"

"Yup."

"Sookie!" Lorelai called toward the kitchen. "Come on!"

Sookie walked out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "I’m ready."

Lorelai finished the last of her coffee and set the mug on the coffee table, then the bridal party lined up by the door. The DJ stood at the doorway and explained, "Okay, I’m gonna introduce the bridal party first and they’ll walk out, and then everyone will stand, and I’ll introduce the bride and groom, and then we’ll start the first dance."

"Sounds good," Lorelai said with a nod.

Sookie turned around to look at Lorelai. "All the Way?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "You know it. It’s our song."

The DJ walked out of the house, and a few seconds later, they heard him call for everyone’s attention. He introduced the bridal party, and the four of them walked out into the front yard.

The front door closed, leaving Lorelai and Luke standing in the entryway. She smiled up at him. "Hey."

"Hi." Luke kissed her gently on the lips, then pulled back, glanced around, and asked, "Wait, are we the only people in the house right now?"

Lorelai nodded. "I think so. Besides a few servers in the kitchen."

Luke turned to her with a sly smirk. He put his hands on her shoulders and pressed her up against the front door as he kissed her deeply. It wasn’t like the sweet, tame, ‘there are people watching us’ kiss that they shared right after their vows. It was an intense, needy, ‘we’re finally alone’ kiss that was brimming with passion.

A soft moan escaped her throat as she felt his tongue parting her lips, and she opened her mouth to welcome it in. Her hands slid up the outside of his suit and grabbed onto his lapel, pulling him closer to her as the soft dueling of their tongues continued.

When he finally pulled back from her, he leaned his forehead against hers and smiled. She brought her hands up to his face and used her thumbs to wipe off the lipstick from his lips. "Wanna skip the rest of the wedding and just go to a motel?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay, let’s go."

They smiled at each other and kissed again, then got back into position to walk out the door. When they heard the DJ ask the guests to stand, Lorelai said, "Okay, let’s start walking out."

Luke pulled open the door and Lorelai linked her arm through his. They stepped onto the porch and stood there for a second as the DJ announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to formerly introduce to you. . .Mr. and Mrs. Lucas Danes!"

As the crowd applauded, Lorelai and Luke smiled at each other and walked down the porch steps, across the yard, and over to the dance floor under the tent. One of the cameramen was aiming a video camera at them while the other snapped some pictures with the regular camera.

"The newlyweds will now lead us in the first dance of the evening," the DJ announced.

As the familiar Sinatra tune started playing from the speakers, Lorelai and Luke started dancing. The guests watched them dance alone for a minute before other couples started joining them on the dance floor.

A smiling Lorelai rested her chin on Luke’s shoulder as she glanced at the other couples immediately surrounding her. She kissed Luke on the cheek before she pulled back to look at him. "This is nice, huh?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, this is nice."

"This time last year, would you have ever imagined that we’d be where we are right now – here, dancing at our wedding?" Lorelai asked.

Luke shook his head. "Not in a million years."

"Me either," Lorelai said. "A lot can happen in a year."

"Yup."

She stared into his eyes as she stroked his sideburns. "I remember the first time I saw that look."

"What look?"

"The look you have in your eyes right now," Lorelai said. "The one that made me realize that you cared about me. . .that’s the look that started it all."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I’m glad it’s still there."

Luke kissed her on the cheek. "It’s always gonna be there."

Lorelai smiled. "Good, because otherwise this whole wedding thing probably would’ve been a waste of money." She rested her chin back against his shoulder as they danced the rest of the song.

When it was over, they sat down at the head table with the rest of the bridal party. As they began eating the salads, Lorelai nudged Rory with her elbow. "Hey. . . did you see that nice pile of presents?"

Rory smiled and glanced over at the gift table near Babette’s porch. "Yes, I did. When are you gonna open them?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don’t know. They may have to wait until we get back from Vermont." She took a sip of champagne, then asked, "So, your plans are all set for the next few days, right?"

Rory nodded. "Yup. I’m going home with Dad and Sherry tonight, and then they’re bringing me back on Wednesday night."

"Sounds good. And then we’ll be back on Thursday."

"Yup, with lots of souvenirs for your favorite daughter," Rory added.

Lorelai smiled. "Right. I think that – "

She was interrupted by a clanging noise, and she turned to see what it was. She glanced at a nearby table and saw Miss Patty tapping her fork on her champagne glass. As several others joined in, Luke turned to Lorelai with a confused look. "Why the hell are they doing that?"

Lorelai smiled at him. "We’re supposed to kiss when that happens."

Luke rolled his eyes. "You’re kidding me."

"It’s a wedding tradition," Lorelai said. Before he could protest, she leaned forward and pecked him on the lips, but the clanging didn’t stop.

"Pathetic!" Miss Patty yelled.

"What kind of a kiss was that?" Babette yelled, banging louder on her glass. "Come on, put some feeling into it!" Other guests yelled similar things in agreement.

Lorelai shrugged at Luke. "They weren’t satisfied with that kiss, hon."

"Too bad."

Lorelai put her hand on his arm. "Come on, it’s our wedding day, it won’t kill you to show a little affection here."

"No, I think it might," he replied.

Lorelai pouted and pressed her palms together. "Please? Pretty please?"

Luke rolled his eyes as the banging got even louder. "Is that the only thing that’ll shut them up?"

"Yup."

He exhaled loudly and stood up. "All right, but this is the only time that banging is gonna work tonight, so don’t even try it again," he announced to the crowd. He pulled Lorelai up from her seat and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her deeply. The crowd murmured their approval of this kiss, and the banging slowly dissipated.

As they broke apart, Lorelai smiled toward the audience. "How was that?"

Several people clapped, and Babette gave Luke a thumbs-up. "Much better, honey."

Luke and Lorelai sat back down, and Luke muttered, "Stupid people."

"And look at that – remarkably, you’re still alive," Lorelai pointed out.

"Just barely," Luke huffed as he took a bite of his salad.

* * *

When they had finished their salads, Lorelai and Luke walked around to the tables to mingle with the guests as the main course was being served. As they reached Emily and Richard’s table, they found Emily and Mrs. Kim in a conversation about furniture.

Lorelai sat down next to Richard, and Luke stood behind her. "How’s it going, Dad?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, just fine," Richard replied. He lowered his voice and said, "Don’t tell your mother this, but I dare say that I kind of enjoy this casual type of outdoor wedding a tad more than those stuffy formal ones we always get roped into attending."

Lorelai smiled. "Your secret’s safe with me."

"And dancing your first dance to Frank Sinatra – excellent choice," Richard said with a wink.

"We think so," Lorelai said with a nod.

As Mrs. Kim walked away, Emily turned to Lorelai and Luke. "Well, hello there, you two. How are you holding up?"

Luke nodded as Lorelai said, "Good, Mom. How’s everything so far?"

"Fine, everything’s just fine," Emily replied. "It appears that things are running smoothly."

"Yup, everything’s going as we planned it," Lorelai said.

"Well, good, that’s good," Emily said.

Lorelai stood up. "Okay, we’re gonna go sit down and eat. We’ll see you guys later."

"Yes, we’ll see you soon," Emily said.

As Luke and Lorelai walked back to their table, Lorelai said, "Wow, your throat must be sore from all that talking."

"Well, I didn’t know what to say," Luke said. "You’re the one that’s good at making small talk."

"Yes, and you’re the one that’s good at standing there for moral support," Lorelai said, patting him on the back. "It’s a good system we’ve got."

"Yes, it is," Luke said. As they sat down at their table, he said, "Oh, I was thinking about maybe bringing a couple fishing poles to Vermont."

"For what?"

"To go fishing," Luke said. "John mentioned earlier that there are a lot of lakes up around that area to fish in."

Lorelai forced a smile. "Oh, well, remind me to thank him for that information later."

Luke shrugged. "Hey, we’re gonna be there for a few days, and we don’t know what else there is to do up there, so this’ll be a good backup plan if we get bored."

"You think we’re gonna get bored on our honeymoon?" Lorelai asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "Hon, don’t you know what the main activity of most honeymoons is?"

"Please, even you can’t do it nonstop for four days straight," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "We’ll need other things to do."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "But fishing?" Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Ooh, wait – but don’t you need some sort of license to fish?" she asked hopefully. "Guess we can’t do it then. Shucks."

"Actually, you can buy it when you get there," Luke informed her.

"Oh, well, isn’t that . . .handy," she muttered.

"Come on, it won’t kill you to do something outdoorsy," Luke pointed out. "Plus, need I remind you that you’re dragging me to an ice cream factory?"

Lorelai waved him off. "Okay, okay, point taken. No more complaining."’

"Thank you."

* * *

When they had finished eating, Luke walked over to talk with his friends while Lorelai and Rory walked into the house to get some coffee. When they returned with full mugs, Lorelai paused a moment and listened to the song that was just starting up. "Hey, this is My Funny Valentine," Lorelai said.

"Yes, I believe it is," Rory agreed.

Lorelai handed her mug to Rory. "Here, can you put this at my seat? There’s something I wanna do."

"Sure."

Lorelai walked across the yard to where Richard was talking with Andrew, and she tapped him on the shoulder. "Dad?"

Richard turned around. "Lorelai, hello."

Lorelai gestured to the dance floor. "Um, do you wanna dance – it’s Sinatra. I know how much you like him."

A small smile appeared on his lips and he nodded. "Why, I’d like that very much."

Lorelai smiled. "Good. Come on." She walked to the dance floor, and after excusing himself from Andrew, Richard followed behind her.

As they started dancing, Lorelai asked, "So, you’re still having a good time?"

"I’m having a wonderful time," Richard replied. "You’ve planned a beautiful wedding, Lorelai. You should be very proud."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you. I know it’s not the fancy, extravagant wedding you and Mom had probably envisioned for me, but. . ."

"Oh, who cares about what we envisioned?" Richard remarked. "It’s your wedding. As long as you’re happy, we’re happy."

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks, Dad."

"You know, someone once said, ‘True it is that marriages be done in heaven and performed on earth’," Richard said.

"Wow, that’s beautiful when you think about it," Lorelai commented.

"Yes, it is," Richard said. "But sometimes you look at two people getting married and you can just tell that it’s destined not to work out. Something doesn’t seem right about the particular situation."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes slightly, wondering where he was going with this.

"But. . . I must say, that certainly isn’t the case here," Richard said. He paused a moment before he added, "Your mother and I are happy for you, Lorelai. . . happy that you’ve found someone who treats you and Rory well. That Luke is a good man."

Surprised to hear such tenderness from her father, a slight chill ran through Lorelai’s body. She swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes, he is," she whispered.

Across the yard, Rory was smiling as she watched Lorelai dance with Richard, and someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and smiled. "Luke, hi."

"Hey." He gestured toward the dance floor. "Uh, you wanna. . .you know. . ."

Rory smirked. "Aw, DaddyLuke, are you asking me to dance?"

Luke shrugged. "Well, you know, if you wanted to . . ."

Rory set her coffee on a nearby table and said, "Sure. Come on."

They walked onto the dance floor. Luke took one of Rory’s small hands into his own, and placed his other hand on her back. As they started dancing, Rory smiled up at him. "So. . .you’re married now."

"Looks that way," he agreed.

"How’s it feel?"

"It feels. . .pretty good," Luke replied.

Rory glanced past him at Lorelai and Richard dancing. "Mom looks amazing, doesn’t she?"

Luke turned his head to look at her. "Yes, she does." Lorelai looked over just then and saw him looking at her, and they smiled at each other. Luke turned back to Rory. "Okay, so, the longest I’ve been with her in a car is like an hour or two at most, but you’ve been on long road trips with her before – any advice for the four hour trek up to Vermont?"

Rory thought for a moment, then said, "Make sure you have music. I know you don’t really like listening to music in the car. . ."

"I don’t," he interjected.

"But if you don’t have any, she’ll complain the entire time about not having any, and that’s a hundred times worse then having to listen to music."

"Huh. I see your point," Luke said. "Okay, bring music, got it. Anything else?"

"Either bring coffee with you, or be prepared to stop every thirty minutes to get some," Rory warned him.

Luke smiled. "Yeah, I figured that. I’ve already got some thermoses cleaned and ready to go."

"Smart man," Rory said.

"Thank you. Anything else?"

Rory puckered her lips as she pondered, then said, "Bring some food for the ride, because as you know, she’s always hungry."

"Yes, she is."

"But also be prepared to stop at all the roadside stands. She loves road food."

"Okay."

"Other than that, you should be good," Rory said. "I wish you lots of luck."

"Thanks."

They danced almost a minute in silence before Rory said, "Luke?"

"Yeah?"

She stared up at him for a moment before she said quietly, "I’m glad you’re my stepfather."

Luke smiled. "The feeling’s mutual."

Rory smiled and nodded. "Good."

When the song ended, Lorelai walked over to them. "Okay, let me just say that you two dancing together was quite possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I hope the photographer got some good pictures of it."

"I saw a couple flashes go off, so I think he did," Rory said. She gestured across the yard. "I’m gonna go sit with Dean and Lane."

"Okay," Lorelai replied.

"Thanks for the dance, Luke," Rory said.

"My pleasure," he replied.

As Rory walked away, Lorelai heard the next song start up. She patted him on the chest and asked, "Ooh, you wanna dance or you gonna sit this one out?"

"Uh, I’m gonna take a break," Luke said.

"Later?" she asked hopefully.

"Promise." He kissed her on the cheek and walked away.

Lorelai glanced around and spotted Christopher across the yard, and she walked over to him. She tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around. "Hey."

"Hi. Where’s Sherry?" Lorelai asked.

"She just went inside to freshen up," Christopher said.

"Oh. Got a dance saved for the bride?" Lorelai asked.

Christopher smiled. "Absolutely."

Lorelai took his hand and led him to the dance floor, and they started dancing.

"So. . .what do you think?" Lorelai said. "Not a bad wedding for being planned in just a month, huh?"

"Not at all," Christopher said. "It’s amazing, really. Though your mother must be screaming inside wondering where the gold-plated napkin rings are."

Lorelai smiled. "No, actually, they’re handling the casual-type atmosphere very well. They even said they like it, though I personally think they’re just so glad that I’m finally getting hitched that they don’t care how the hell it happens anymore."

Christopher smiled. "Maybe." He paused a moment, then said, "You know, I’m happy for you, Lor. I don’t know if I’ve told you that."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."

"I’ve been watching you. . . you know, throughout the wedding and everything, and . . . seeing you so happy is just. . ." Christopher shrugged and shook his head slightly. "It’s great, Lor. Really. You deserve to be this happy." He pulled her closer and hugged her.

Lorelai smiled and nudged him with her elbow. "Okay, stop, you’re gonna make me weepy."

He pulled back from her and smiled. "Sorry. Let’s just dance."

* * *

Shortly after, it was time to cut the cake. A couple of servers wheeled it out on a cart, and Luke and Lorelai stood next to it on the porch. The crowd gathered in front of them on the lawn, and they both grasped the knife and cut the first piece together. They cut the piece in half and they each picked up a part of it.

Lorelai gave him a devilish grin. "The moment I’ve been waiting for."

"Don’t even think about it," Luke warned her.

She smiled. "What are you gonna do? Divorce me?"

"Maybe."

They simultaneously brought the pieces of cake to each other’s mouths and each took a bite, and a chorus of "aw’s" sprang from the audience as they fed each other. When they had both finished chewing, Lorelai smiled at him. "Happy?"

"Yes."

Lorelai looked at the small piece she was still holding. "But, you know, I still have this tiny little piece left. What should I do with it?" She eyed him curiously, then glanced toward the crowd. "Should I?"

"Smush it, honey!" Miss Patty yelled, and several people cheered.

Lorelai turned back to Luke and shrugged. "The masses have spoken."

"Yeah, well, the masses aren’t the one you have to live with for the rest of your life," Luke reminded her. He took a step back from her and held up his piece. "Plus, I have a retaliation piece."

"So. . .use it." Lorelai pressed her palm against his cheek, smearing the leftover cake all over it. Lorelai giggled as Luke returned the action, shoving his piece on her chin. The audience laughed at the scene, and with both of their faces covered with icing, Luke and Lorelai kissed softly as the crumbs felt onto their outfits.

Lorelai pulled back and licked the cake off of her lips. "Mm, that’s good stuff, isn’t it?"

"It’s not bad."

One of the servers handed them some napkins before wheeling the cake back into the house. The crowd dispersed and headed back to their tables as Luke and Lorelai cleaned up.

Lorelai smiled as she brushed some of the crumbs off of Luke’s suit. "You’re not mad, are you? It was fun, right?"

Luke was wiping the icing off his fingers as he shrugged. "Yeah. . .okay, it was a little fun," he reluctantly admitted.

"Well, I hate to say I told you so. . ."

"No, you don’t."

"You’re right – I told you so," Lorelai said with a smile. "Now, let’s go eat cake."

* * *

A little while later, Lorelai walked out of the house and onto the porch, and Sookie and Michel were standing near the front door.

"Oh my God, it just took me like twenty minutes to go to the bathroom," Lorelai announced.

"Bad chicken?" Michel suggested.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "No, I’ve discovered that it’s virtually impossible to go to the bathroom in a wedding dress. They’re too. . .poofy."

"Yeah, women all over the world have had that problem," Sookie said. "I think some of them just hold it for twelve hours so they won’t have to deal with it."

"Have you seen Luke?" Lorelai asked.

Sookie smiled and gestured to the tent. "Dance floor."

Surprised, Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Dance floor? Dance floor with who. . ." Lorelai’s voice trailed off as she saw Luke dancing with Emily. "Wow."

"Yeah," Sookie said.

"Interesting," Lorelai said. Her eyes gazed over to the right and saw Richard dancing with Rory. "Aw, look at that."

"I know, it’s quite a cute scene out there," Sookie commented.

Down on the dance floor, Luke was slightly uncomfortable dancing with Emily, but was trying not to let it show as they talked.

"So, are you all packed for the honeymoon?" Emily asked.

"Yup, we’re all set," Luke replied. "Though your daughter, even after saying that she wasn’t bringing much, packed enough for a four-week vacation rather than a four-day one."

"Yes, well, she knows that it’s good to be prepared for everything," Emily said. "She gets that from me."

"Ah."

They danced quietly for a few moments until Emily said, "She’s happy."

Luke, who had been staring across the lawn at Lorelai, turned back to Emily. "Huh?"

Emily nodded toward Lorelai. "It’s good to see her so happy."

Luke didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded in agreement.

Emily cleared her throat and said, "You know, I always wanted Lorelai and Christopher to get back together, to see Rory’s parents make it work."

Luke tensed up slightly. "Uh huh. . ."

Emily was staring across the yard at Lorelai. "But just seeing how happy she is right now. . . " She glanced up at Luke. "Well. . .you know. . .it’s nice."

Luke nodded, and gave a sideways glance across the yard at Lorelai, who was laughing about something with Sookie. He smiled to himself before he glanced back at Emily. "Yeah, it’s nice." She smiled and nodded, and they continued dancing.

* * *

Later in the evening, some of the guests had left, the servers had begun to clean up the tables, and the DJ announced that the next song would be the last dance of the evening. Lorelai was sitting at the head table sipping her champagne when she suddenly stood up and called, "Luke!"

The remaining guests all turned to look at her. "What’s the matter, dollface?" Babette asked.

"It’s the last dance, where’s Luke?" Lorelai asked.

"I think I saw him go into the house," John said from across the yard.

"Someone get him out here," Lorelai said worriedly. "He can’t miss the last dance!"

"Okay, chill out, I’ll go find him," Jess said, standing up from his seat. He walked across the yard and into the house.

Lorelai walked over to the edge of the dance floor and tapped her foot impatiently. "Don’t start the song until he gets out here," she warned the DJ. He nodded.

A minute later, Luke walked out of the house, and Lorelai clapped as he walked over to her. "Good, there you are."

"Sorry, I didn’t know I had to announce when I was going to the bathroom," he muttered softly.

"I just didn’t want you to miss the last dance," Lorelai said. She looked toward the DJ. "Okay, start the music!"

As "Wonderful Tonight" started pouring out from the speakers, Lorelai pulled Luke to the center of the dance floor. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck, and they started dancing.

"This whole day. . .it was just. . ." Lorelai said. "I can’t imagine a more incredible wedding."

Luke nodded in agreement.

"I can’t believe it’s almost over," Lorelai said with a frown. "I don’t want it to end."

"Well, everything has to end eventually."

"Yeah, well, tell that to the cast of Frasier, will ya?"

"I’ll send them a letter tomorrow," he replied.

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." They kissed, then Lorelai rested her head against his chest as they danced the last dance of their wedding.

* * * * * * * *

* * *

Over an hour later, almost all of the guests were gone, the presents had been brought into the house, and the DJ, photographers, and servers had left.

Luke, Lorelai, Christopher, and Sherry were all talking on the front porch when Lorelai excused herself and walked into the house.

She walked to Rory’s bedroom and knocked on the door. "Rory?"

"Come in," Rory’s voice called back. Lorelai pushed open the door. Rory had just changed out of her bridesmaid dress, and was now standing at the dresser. "Hey."

"Hey." Lorelai walked over to her. "You all ready to go?"

Rory pulled her hair into a ponytail and nodded. "Yup. All set."

"Good, good."

They stared at each other for a moment before they leaned toward each other and hugged tightly. "Have a good time," Rory said.

"And you have a good time with your Dad," Lorelai said, rubbing Rory’s back. "Call me everyday."

Rory pulled back and nodded. "I will. And try not to go insane from excitement when you’re in the factory."

"I’ll try." Lorelai hugged her again. "I love you, kid."

"I love you, too," Rory replied. "And I’m so happy for you, Mom." She pulled back and smiled. "And your wedding was perfect."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I know, it was."

"Everything. . .the food was good, the songs were great, the cake was fabulous, everything was so beautiful. . . "

"And the image of a drunk Miss Patty diving across the dance floor to catch the bouquet while screaming ‘It’s time for another husband!’ will forever be vivid in my mind," Lorelai said with a laugh.

Rory laughed, then added, "And if the vividness starts to fade, we can revive it by watching that scene over and over again on the wedding video."

"Good plan," Lorelai said.

Rory took a deep breath and glanced toward her suitcase on the bed. "Okay, well. . .I guess I should get going."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I guess so." She picked up the duffel bag from the floor as Rory grabbed the suitcase, and the two of them walked to the front porch.

"Here she is. All ready?" Christopher asked Rory.

Rory nodded. "Yup."

"Okay, let’s get going," Christopher said. He took Rory’s suitcase from her and started walking to the car, and the rest of the group followed behind him. As he put the suitcase into the trunk, Sherry said goodbye to Luke and Lorelai, then climbed into the car.

Rory kissed Luke on the cheek before she hugged him tightly. "Bye Luke. Have a good time."

"You too," Luke replied. "And thanks for the road trip advice."

"No problem," Rory replied as she pulled back.

"Road trip advice?" Lorelai asked, narrowing her eyes at them. "What are you talking about?"

Rory smiled. "Nothing, nothing." She hugged Lorelai. "Bye Mom."

"Bye Sweets," Lorelai replied. She kissed her on the cheek, then watched as she climbed into the back seat of the car.

Christopher shook Luke’s hand, then hugged Lorelai goodbye. "Congratulations again. Have a good trip."

"Thanks. Drive safe," Lorelai said. Christopher climbed into the car as Lorelai walked over to the back door. "And don’t forget to call me," she said to Rory.

"I won’t," Rory replied. "Bye."

Lorelai pushed the door closed and took a few steps back from the car. Luke slipped one hand around her waist, and they both waved as the car pulled away.

When it was out of sight, Lorelai turned to Luke and smiled. "And then there were two."

"Yes, there were," Luke agreed. He took her hand and they walked into the house.

They climbed the staircase slowly, with one of Lorelai’s hands clutching onto Luke’s arm and the other holding up the bottom of her dress so she wouldn’t trip on it. They walked into the bedroom, and despite the fact that they were home alone, closed the door out of habit.

They stood next to the bed, staring at each other, their fingers interlocked. Lorelai glanced down at her wedding dress. "This makes me feel so pure and virginal."

Luke smirked. "Two things you are not."

Lorelai gasped and pretended to be offended, then wrinkled her nose. "Okay, no argument from me." She took a deep breath. "So. . .husband of mine. . .you wanna help me out of this outfit or do you have some fantasy about doing it with the dress on? ‘Cause that might be kinda fun."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Turn around."

Lorelai smiled and obliged. Luke unzipped the back of the wedding dress and she slid the straps off and let it fall the floor. She turned around to face him, and he helped her step out of the white pile of fabric that surrounded her feet.

She unhooked her strapless bra, and he watched intently as she pulled it away from her body, as if she was revealing herself to him for the first time. He reached forward, and the feel of his warm hands against her skin sent a tingling sensation through her body.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head up toward the ceiling as his fingers moved gently over her body, taking in the wonder of it all. He loved to touch her just as much as she liked being touched. Caressing her perfect body, listening to her appreciative sighs as he grazed over her most sensitive areas – it made him just as excited as it made her.

He moved his hands down to her hips, where they traced the waistband of her panties before trailing up her arms to her shoulders. His thumbs lingered for a moment in the divots of her clavicles before he cupped one hand around the back of her neck and pulled her toward him, letting their lips meet in a tender kiss.

As she pulled back from the kiss, she began unbuttoning his shirt. She slid it off and let it fall to the floor, then reached for his belt buckle. Piece by piece, the rest of their clothing came off until there was no more to remove.

They stood next to the bed for several minutes . . . kissing, touching, exploring each other’s bodies, letting their arousal intensify. It was as if her sense of touch was magnified, for even the smallest act, such as his hand running through her hair, made her body surge with excitement.

Finally, they did make their way to the bed. They pulled the comforter up over themselves, covering their bodies from the waist down. He leaned down and kissed her, then whispered, "I love you."

Lorelai smiled up at him, and she ran her fingertips over his cheeks. "I love you, too," she whispered back. She put her hands on his shoulders and pulled him back down into a kiss as their bodies began moving together rhythmically.

There was no fast rocking of the bed. The headboard didn’t slam loudly against the wall. There were only soft, gentle strokes as their bodies molded to each other. When they weren’t kissing, their eyes were locked together. She kept her hands on his back, tracing small circles across his smooth skin. He’d occasionally run his fingertips over the outline of her jaw, just savoring the softness of her skin. Their facial expressions and soft moans clearly conveyed the mutual pleasure they were experiencing. . .the pleasure that neither wanted to end.

But eventually, the consummation of the marriage reached its pinnacle. As their climaxes washed over them, she pulled him closer, nuzzling her nose against his neck. He rolled off of her and pulled her tightly against his body, leaving as little space as possible between them. He pulled the covers up tightly around them, and after another whispered exchange of ‘I love you’, they both closed their eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, they were in almost the exact same position, still snuggling close together, when Lorelai woke up. She looked at Luke still asleep next to her, and she smiled to herself. Her gaze drifted down to his hand, which was resting on her stomach.

His wedding ring glistened in the sunlight that was streaming through the window. She rested her hand next to his and brought her gaze back and forth between his ring and her identical, yet smaller, one. She took his hand into hers and stroked his palm, occasionally running her thumb up over his ring.

She was still doing this when Luke woke up a few minutes later, and he surprised her by closing his hand around hers. She turned to him, and seeing that he was awake, smiled. "Hey."

"Hi." He blinked a few times, getting used to the brightness of the room. "What time is it?"

Lorelai glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "Almost 7:30."

Luke rubbed his eyes. "We should get up."

"We are up."

"I mean, up up. Out of bed. On the road."

"Right. We should," Lorelai agreed, leaning her head against his chest.

Neither of them moved. They both lay there, staring up at the ceiling.

Lorelai patted him on the arm. "So, I’m a little sketchy on the details, but I’m pretty sure that we got married yesterday."

"Oh yeah? Well, that would explain the ring."

Lorelai glanced down at it again. "You look pretty in a ring."

"Oh, good, because all men try their hardest to look pretty," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

"Are you gonna wear it all the time?" Lorelai asked.

"Unless the situation calls for me to take it off."

"Like?" Lorelai prompted.

Luke shrugged. "I don’t know. . .like if I’m changing the oil in the car and I don’t want it to get dirty."

"Oh. . .right."

"Or if I’m trying to pick up another woman."

Lorelai smiled. "Wow, the first day as a married couple and you’re already thinking about cheating."

"I don’t like to waste time," Luke said.

"I see that," Lorelai said. "Speaking of time. . ." She glanced at the clock. "We should probably start that ‘getting out of bed’ thing we were talking about."

"Probably," he agreed.

Lorelai snuggled up against him. "Any minute now, the getting up will begin," she muttered as she closed her eyes.

"Yup, any minute," Luke said with a yawn. He kissed the top of her head, then closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

* * *

Two hours later, they had both showered and dressed, they had eaten breakfast, and they had loaded their suitcases into the car. Lorelai walked out of the kitchen into the living room. "The back door’s locked, and the oven, stove, and coffee maker are all turned off."

"The side door’s locked and I turned the air conditioner off so we wouldn’t be wasting electricity," Luke said.

"Good thinking," Lorelai said. "I’m gonna go check upstairs and make sure we got everything."

"Okay, I’m gonna get some CDs for the car."

Lorelai’s eyes widened. "What?" She cupped her hand around her ear. "I’m sorry, can you repeat that – I don’t think I heard you right."

"You heard me fine," Luke said as he walked over to the shelf of CDs.

"You’re voluntarily supporting my ‘every car ride needs music’ platform?" Lorelai asked.

"No, not every car ride needs it," Luke clarified. "But Rory informed me that music is definitely necessary when traveling for long periods of time with you."

"She’s a smart girl," Lorelai said.

"I know. That’s why I’m taking the advice," Luke said. He pointed up the stairs. "Now go."

"Be right back." Lorelai walked up the steps as Luke began scouring the CD collection.

A minute later, Lorelai walked back downstairs with her purse. "Good thing I checked. I almost forgot this." She walked over to Luke and looked at some of the CD’s he had set out. She grabbed the one on top and said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa – what are you doing with this?"

"It’s for the car," Luke replied with a shrug.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Jimmy Buffet in the car? Jimmy Buffet shouldn’t be listened to anywhere, let alone the car. It’s liable to put you to sleep while you’re driving."

"Hey, we are not driving for four hours only listening to the stuff you like," Luke told her. "Jimmy’s coming with us."

"Yeah, well, Jimmy might find himself getting tossed out the window," Lorelai muttered as she pulled out a couple CDs.

"Yeah, well, if Jimmy goes out the window, Bon Jovi’s following right behind him," Luke said, grabbing one of her CDs.

Lorelai gasped and grabbed it back from him. "You wouldn’t dare do that to my pretty little Jon Bon!" She pouted and clutched it to her chest.

"Only if provoked," Luke said. "Let’s go. We still have to stop at the diner." He picked up the stack of CDs and started walking toward the door.

Lorelai followed behind him, and she paused at the doorway. "Bye house. . .see you in a few days."

They stepped out onto the porch, and she pulled the door shut behind her. She jiggled the handle to make sure it was locked, then followed Luke down the porch steps to the Explorer.

They drove to the diner and parked right in front of the door. They both climbed out, and Luke pulled a couple of empty thermoses from the back seat. "Okay, I’m gonna go fill these up and check with Caesar about some things. If you want any snacks for the ride, run to the market," he said, pointing toward Doose’s.

"Okay. I’ll meet you back here," Lorelai said.

As Luke walked into the diner, Lorelai walked down the sidewalk to the market. She grabbed a basket from near the doorway and started walking through the aisles looking for good snacking foods for the car.

When she was done, she walked up the cash register, and Taylor was surprised to see her. "Lorelai – what are you doing here?"

Lorelai held up the basket. "Uh, shopping."

"But aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon?" Taylor asked.

"That’s what the food’s for," Lorelai said. "So the sooner you start using that scanner thingy, the sooner we can leave for Vermont."

"Ah, I understand," Taylor replied. He scanned the items, Lorelai paid him, and she walked out of the store.

Miss Patty was walking down the sidewalk toward the market. "Lorelai, dear, aren’t you supposed to be on – "

"Yes, the honeymoon, we’re leaving right now," Lorelai said quickly. She held up the grocery bag. "I was just getting some things for the trip."

Miss Patty smiled. "You know, the wedding was beautiful, honey. Everything was perfect."

Lorelai grinned. "Thank you."

Miss Patty glanced down at Lorelai’s wrist. "Ooh, that’s gorgeous!"

Lorelai glanced down at the silver bracelet she was wearing. "Oh, yeah. Luke gave it to me this morning. We exchanged wedding presents over breakfast."

Miss Patty gave an impressed nod as she fingered the bracelet. "Wow, the diner man has surprisingly good taste."

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, he does."

Patty leaned toward her and lowered her voice. "Before you go. . .tell me, how was the wedding night?"

Lorelai smiled. "It was very nice. . . and you know that if I say any more than that, Luke will kill me."

Patty smiled and nudged her with her elbow. "The first time as a married couple. . .it’s something, ain’t it?"

Lorelai smiled and started walking down the sidewalk. "Yes, it is, Patty. See you in a few days!" she called over her shoulder.

She reached the truck just as Luke was walking out of the diner. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yup. Let’s go," Lorelai said.

They put the thermoses and the grocery bag into the back seat, then got into the front. As Luke started the engine, Lorelai pulled a piece of paper out of her purse. "Okay, we need to get to I-91."

"I-91, got it."

As Luke pulled away from the curb, Lorelai stuck the directions in the glove compartment and pulled out two CD’s. "Okay, what first – U2 or Best of Bowie?"

"Uh, U2."

"U2 it is," Lorelai said. She slipped the CD into the player. As it started playing, she slipped off her shoes, reclined her seat, put her window down, and rested her feet up on the dashboard. "This is gonna be fun, huh?"

Luke glanced over at her and smiled. "Yeah. . . yeah, it’ll be nice."

* * *

A few hours later, they were driving down the highway when they saw a sign for a rest stop up ahead. Lorelai pointed to the sign and said, "Ooh, let’s stop there."

"For what?" Luke asked.

Lorelai patted him on the shoulder. "Never question your wife, hon. Just do as you’re told."

Luke didn’t respond, but instead gave her a stern look that clearly said, ‘You’re insane if you think that’s how this marriage is going to work.’

Lorelai smirked, then shrugged nonchalantly. "What? I have to go to the bathroom, okay? Just pull over."

Luke pulled off the highway and followed the exit ramp to the rest stop. They climbed out of the car and walked across the crowded parking lot into the building. They both went into their respective restrooms, then met back in the main area of the building.

Lorelai glanced around at the different food offerings, and her eyes fell on a pretzel stand. "Ooh, I’m gonna get a pretzel before we leave," she said. "Come on."

She started walking to the stand, and Luke followed behind her. "You know, we have food out in the car."

"Yeah, but we don’t have sugar cinnamon pretzels," Lorelai replied over her shoulder. "And that’s what I feel like eating." As she got into the line behind the stand, she turned around and asked, "Do you want something?"

Luke glanced at the display of fresh-baked soft pretzels and thought about it for a moment. "Uh. . . yeah, I guess, just get me a plain one." He pointed toward the door. "I’m gonna wait out front. It’s a little too crowded in here for my taste," he said, glancing at the people rushing by him in every direction.

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Okay. I’ll meet ya out there."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Lorelai walked out of the building and found Luke waiting on a bench near the parking lot. She sat down next to him and handed him a pretzel wrapped in a napkin. "Here you go. One plain pretzel."

"Thanks."

Lorelai broke off a piece of hers and placed it in her mouth. "You know, as I was standing in line, I was looking around at the other food places, and I saw one that had these gigantic cookies, and let me tell you, I think I had to actually wipe a bit of drool from the corner of my mouth."

"They looked good, huh?"

"Very," Lorelai confirmed. "But I was still craving a pretzel."

"So you had a momentary conflict of interest?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yup, exactly. So I’m standing there, glancing back and forth between the cookie stand and the pretzel stand, trying to decide which one I want more. It was a very tough few minutes for me."

"I can imagine," Luke said. "The pretzels won out?"

"Yeah, but it was a really close call, and one of the deciding factors was that the cookie line had like a million people in it and I didn’t wanna wait that long," Lorelai explained.

"Ah, I see. A million people does seem like it would be a long wait," Luke noted.

She took another bite of her pretzel, then nodded emphatically. "But, I have to say, this is one damn fine pretzel, so I’m satisfied with my choice."

Luke nodded. "Good." A few minutes later, they finished their pretzels and continued on their way.

* * *

It was almost three when they pulled up to the hotel. They checked in at the front desk and brought their luggage up to their room.

"Wooooow," Lorelai gushed as she walked inside. "Man, you always seem to find the best places. This is amazing." They set their suitcases by the door and looked around.

As Luke walked over to the desk to check out some of the brochures, Lorelai walked over to the window. "Oh my God, this view is beautiful." She stepped up onto the bed and jumped up and down a few times. "And we have a nice, sturdy bed. . ."

Luke glanced over at her. "Get down from there."

Lorelai stepped off of it and walked over to him. "What’d ya find?"

He handed her some of the brochures. "Stuff to do in the area."

Lorelai took them over to the couch and sat down. "Let’s see." She started flipping through them while Luke brought his suitcase over to the luggage rack at the foot of the bed and started unpacking some of his clothes into the dresser.

"The ice cream factory isn’t open today because it’s Labor Day, so we’ll have to save that for tomorrow," Lorelai said, looking down at the brochure.

"Uh huh."

She looked up. "So, for the rest of today, how about we hang out here for awhile, then we go out for dinner, and then head over to Lake Champlain and just walk around by the lake," Lorelai said. "Cool?"

Luke shrugged. "Whatever you want."

"I’ll have to bring the camera," Lorelai said. "I bet that’s a real postcard-y type scene to see."

"You brought a camera?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. Don’t you want to visually document our honeymoon?" Lorelai asked. She stood up and walked over to him. "That way we can look back on it and remember it. . .plus we can show other people what we did." She ran her hands over his chest and added, "Well, there’re are some things that will remain just between us."

Luke smirked. "I hope so." He leaned forward and kissed her.

She eagerly returned the kiss, then pulled back with a confused look. "What’s that sound?"

Luke narrowed his eyes. "What sound?"

"Shh!" Lorelai hushed him, then listened for a moment. A small smile formed on her lips as she said, "Hm, I think it’s Chester. . .he’s yelling, ‘Let me out, let me out!’"

Luke gave her an amused look. "Oh yeah? What should we do about that?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I think the only option is to let the poor guy out." She raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Ready to break in the bed?"

Luke checked his watch – the silver one that Lorelai had given him as a wedding present that morning. "Yeah, okay, I got some free time."

* * *

That night after dinner, they walked hand in hand along the lake until Lorelai stopped and said, "Wait, I wanna take a picture." She took her camera out of her purse. "I’m just gonna pretend that I know how this thing works."

"Sounds good."

She aimed it at the lake and took a picture, then turned to Luke and said, "Let’s get one of the two of us in front of the lake." She handed the camera to him and said, "Here – your arms are longer."

Luke rolled his eyes. "These kinds of pictures never come out good. We’ll probably end up with a picture of the sky or something."

"Well, then we’ll be able to look at that picture and say, ‘Aw, remember when we were standing under that sky?’ That’ll be a nice memory," Lorelai insisted.

She snuggled up next to him and he held the camera out at arm’s length and took the picture. Lorelai smiled as he handed it back to her, and she slipped it into her purse. "Thank you."

They resumed walking, and Lorelai commented, "Good thing you told me to pack fall clothes. It’s freezing out here." She buttoned up her coat and clutched onto his arm. "Brrr!"

"Think of something warm," Luke said, rubbing her arm.

"Like hell?"

"If that helps."

"It doesn’t," she said sadly. "Ooh, but a nice steaming hot cup of coffee might. Or a nice hot bowl of soup. . .the new chicken kind where the pasta is shaped like goldfish. Those are cute."

"Mmhmm."

"Ooh, or a piece of warm apple pie, mm!" Lorelai licked her lips and rubbed her stomach. "Now I’m hungry."

"You’re not hungry," he told her. "You just ate."

"But we didn’t have dessert," Lorelai reminded him. "I need dessert. You know that I’m never satisfied until I’ve had dessert."

"Yeah, well, be a good girl and you’ll get some back at the hotel," Luke said.

Lorelai gasped. "Dirty!"

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"

Lorelai giggled. "Get some."

Luke rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant."

"It definitely has a double meaning," Lorelai declared. "I know what you’re thinking about," she said in a singsong voice. "And I have a feeling I’m gonna get some whether I’m a good girl or not."

"We’ll see."

They walked a little bit further down the shoreline before Lorelai asked, "You remember the first time we. . .uh, got some?"

"Yup."

Lorelai smiled. "Followed quickly by the second time."

"And many more times after that," Luke added.

"It was a busy night," Lorelai commented.

"Very," he agreed.

"Were you nervous the first time?" she asked. "I mean, the first time with me."

"A little," he admitted. "You?"

"Maybe just a teeny, tiny bit," Lorelai said. She stopped walking and turned to face him. "Do you remember the first time we said ‘I love you’?"

Luke put his hands on her shoulders. "Yup. . . you cried."

Lorelai nodded. "It was just so. . ." She glanced down at the ground and shook her head. "I don’t know. It was one of those moments where your emotions overwhelm you."

He dropped one hand to her waist and pulled her up against his body. She placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled his face down until his lips met hers, and they kissed passionately.

Lorelai pulled back, tucked her hair behind her ears, and smiled up at him. "I’m not cold anymore."

"Good." He took her hand and they continued walking along the lake.

* * *

Part 63"

* * *

The next afternoon, Lorelai and Luke had just finished the tour of the ice cream factory. Luke, his hands shoved into his jeans’ pockets, was following Lorelai around the gift shop as she excitedly searched for souvenirs.

"Oh my God!" Lorelai held up two cow-spotted coffee mugs. "How adorable are these?"

"Adorable," he replied dryly.

"You can never have too many mugs," Lorelai said.

"Uh, yes, you can," Luke said. "We only have so much cabinet space."

"Well, we’ll have to move things around," Lorelai said with a shrug. "Or we’ll get rid of some other stuff. Or you can build a bigger cabinet."

"Right, because me undertaking a construction project to build you storage for some new mugs is much more convenient than the other option of just not buying new mugs," Luke said with a nod.

"Exactly." She held them out to him. "Here, hold these. I wanna look through the T-shirt racks."

With a sigh, Luke pulled his hands out of his pockets and took the mugs. He followed her to the clothing section, and watched as she rifled through the shirts.

When she had draped her fourth one over her shoulder to buy, Luke said, "Okay, I think that’s enough shirts."

"I’m not done yet," Lorelai said.

"Lorelai, you don’t need that many," Luke said.

Lorelai scoffed. "Excuse me, Grumpy the Dwarf, when you go away on a trip, you bring back souvenirs for other people. These are not all for me, so stop your whining."

"Then who are they for?" Luke asked.

She glanced at the shirts on her shoulder. "One is for me, two are for Rory, one is for Jess."

"Jess?"

"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "He’ll like it."

"Uh huh."

"And now I’m looking for one for you," Lorelai said.

"I don’t need a shirt."

Lorelai ignored him and pulled a shirt off the rack. "You’d look good in this. Nice, huh?"

"Put it back. I don’t need one."

Lorelai pointed across the gift shop. "Ooh, if you don’t want a shirt, I saw a hat over there with a cow-spotted bill that I think would go really well with plaid. How ‘bout it?"

"No, thank you."

"You gotta get something," Lorelai said.

"I don’t need anything."

"Luke, you need a reminder of our honeymoon, and we’re not leaving until you have a souvenir," Lorelai declared. "So the sooner you give in, the sooner we get outta here." She folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head.

Luke sighed and raised his hands in defeat. "Fine, you win, pick out a stupid shirt. I don’t care."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."

As she started skimming the rack again, Luke said, "You do realize that the chances of me actually wearing the shirt are very slim."

"That’s why I’m looking for one that’ll fit you, but will also look good on me," Lorelai said.

"So, then, it’s not exactly my souvenir."

"No, it is, because you’re gonna wear it around the hotel room later to establish initial ownership, and so then it’ll officially be yours and I’ll just be borrowing it."

"Ah."

Lorelai finally found him a shirt, then she draped all five that she’d picked out over Luke’s shoulder. "Okay, you hold these. I need my hands free to get some other things."

Luke pursed his lips. "What other things?"

"Don’t worry about it." Lorelai waved him toward the cash register. "Look, just go get in line. I’ll be right there." She gave him a shove in the right direction and he exhaled loudly as he walked over to the checkout line.

A few minutes later, Lorelai walked back over, her arms full of Ben and Jerry’s paraphernalia. "Man, I practically had to push some little old lady out of the way to get the last ice cream scoop, but I got it," she said, smiling proudly.

"Who the hell is all that stuff for?"

Lorelai glanced down at the items she was carrying. "Some of it’s for us, some is for Sookie, I got a little something for Babette because she’s getting our mail, some random things for other people. . . they’re all necessary items."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Uh huh."

When it was their turn to check out, Luke set the items he was holding on the counter, then pulled his credit card out of his wallet and handed it to Lorelai. "You pay – I have no desire to see how much this comes to."

Lorelai smirked. "Fine. I’ll meet you outside." Luke headed toward the door and waited outside.

A few minutes later, Lorelai walked out with the bags. "Ready?"

"Yup." Luke took one of the bags from her, and they walked toward the car.

"You know, that was the first time I’ve gotten to sign my new name," Lorelai said.

Luke smiled. "Oh yeah? Did you use all three?"

Lorelai nodded. "Lorelai Gilmore Danes. . . but I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m not sure if I’m gonna do that all the time."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, sometimes I’ll use Lorelai Gilmore Danes, and sometimes I’ll just use Danes," she explained. "You know, it’s kind of like dental floss."

Luke narrowed his eyes with confusion. "What?"

"Yeah, the dental floss sits in the medicine cabinet just in case you get the urge to use it one day, just like the Gilmore is still apart of my name just in case I wanna use it, but I don’t necessarily have to use it all the time, just like I don’t use dental floss everyday," Lorelai explained. "And really, who uses it everyday? No one I know. But just knowing it’s there just in case you want it is all that matters."

Luke nodded understandably. "So. . .did you wanna stop babbling now, or did you have more to say about dental floss?"

Lorelai thought for a moment. "Nah, I’m pretty much done."

"Okay, good."

* * *

That night, they were watching television, waiting for their room service to arrive, when Lorelai’s cell phone rang. She rushed over to the desk and grabbed it. "Hello?"

"Hey," Rory replied.

Lorelai smiled. "Hey hon!" She walked back to the couch and sat down next to Luke.

"How’s the honeymoon?" Rory asked.

"Best honeymoon I’ve ever been on," Lorelai replied.

"That’s good," Rory replied. "What did you do today? Anything that involved a yummy frozen treat?"

"Yes! We went on the tour, it was so cool," Lorelai said excitedly. "And they give you free samples, and I got Luke to try some Cherry Garcia."

"Luke ate ice cream?"

‘Yup."

"Wow, he’s becoming a Gilmore," Rory said.

"Yes, he is," Lorelai replied, looking over at him. "And then we went to some science museum, which was kinda cool. And now we’re waiting for our dinner to arrive."

"Are you at a restaurant?" Rory asked. "I can call back later."

"No, it’s okay, we’re at the hotel," Lorelai replied. "We stayed in tonight and ordered room service."

"Nice," Rory commented.

"Yup. What have you been up to?" Lorelai asked. "Things going good?"

"Yeah, things are good," Rory replied. "We just got back from dinner at this improv comedy place. The food was good, and the people were really funny."

"Sounds like fun," Lorelai said.

"It was. You would’ve loved it," Rory said. "We’ll have to find a place like that around us."

"What are you up to tomorrow?" Lorelai asked.

"Uh, I’m not sure," Rory replied. "I think we might go to a matinee or something before he brings me home. What about you?"

Lorelai made a face. "Luke’s dragging me fishing."

Rory let out a laugh. "Fishing? Wow, Lorelai and fishing are not two words that go together."

"I know, tell me about it," Lorelai said. She sighed. "The things you have to do when you’re married, I’m telling ya."

"Poor girl," Rory said sympathetically.

"I know."

"Mmkay, I should go," Rory said. "I’ll call you tomorrow night when I get home."

"Okay."

"Say hi to Luke for me," Rory said.

"I will," Lorelai replied. "Love ya, hon."

"Love you, too. Bye Mom."

"Bye." Lorelai smiled to herself as she turned off the phone. She patted Luke on the leg. "Rory says hi."

"She having a good time?"

"Sounds like it."

"Good."

A few minutes later, they were watching an old rerun of Happy Days when Lorelai suddenly muted it and said, "Hey?"

"What?"

Lorelai gestured toward the television. "Are you disappointed that I’m not gonna be like that?"

Luke followed her gaze. "Like what?"

"Like Mrs. Cunningham – one of those homemaker-y type wives who’ll have dinner waiting for you on the table after a long day at work," Lorelai said.

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "When have I ever shown an interest in that type of lifestyle?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don’t know. . .sometimes guys expect things to be like that when they get married."

"If I wanted someone like that, I wouldn’t have married someone who was the complete opposite of that," Luke pointed out.

Lorelai reached for his hand and started aimlessly squeezing his fingers. "So you’re not gonna be disappointed when you come home from work and there’s not a nice home-cooked meat loaf on the table?"

Luke smirked. "Besides missing out on the entertainment value of watching you try to prepare a meat loaf, no, I won’t be disappointed."

Lorelai smiled. "So. . . things are gonna be just like they were before we were married."

"Yeah." Luke narrowed his eyes and thought for a second. "Wait, didn’t we already have this conversation?"

"Yeah, but. . .I don’t know, I was still a little concerned about how things would go," Lorelai admitted.

"Well, things are gonna be the same," Luke assured her. He leaned over and kissed her. "Promise."

* * *

The next morning, Luke and Lorelai were eating breakfast in the restaurant of the hotel. Lorelai scooped a forkful of eggs from his plate and ate them. "Mm, these are good." She reached for a second forkful.

"You know, this might be a crazy notion, but if you wanted eggs, you should’ve ordered eggs," Luke said.

"But I didn’t know I wanted eggs at the time I ordered," Lorelai said. "I wanted French toast back then. Things change. Deal with it."

"Yeah, well, I could deal with it better if you weren’t eating all of my food." Luke took a bite of his toast, then flipped open the brochure he had brought with him from the room. "So we’ll stop at the sporting goods store that’s around the corner and pick up a one-day fishing license, and then it looks like there’s a nice-sized lake just a few blocks from there."

Lorelai took a sip of her coffee. "Okay, you do realize that I have no idea how to fish, right?"

Luke shrugged. "It’s not hard. I’ll show you how to do it."

"Just like the time you tried to show me how to make marinated chicken?" Lorelai asked. "Because that didn’t go over too well."

"Yeah, because you weren’t paying attention," Luke reminded her.

"I was too."

Luke sipped his orange juice, then gave her a doubtful look. "You were reading a magazine."

"But I was still listening to you," she insisted.

Luke rolled his eyes. "It comes down to the fact that the unsuccessful teaching session wasn’t because of me, the teacher, but rather you, the unfocused student. This time will be different. There won’t be any distractions."

"Oh, trust me, I’ll find a distraction," she said, nodding her head emphatically.

* * *

That afternoon, they were at the lake, and Luke was teaching her the basics of fishing. He positioned his hands on the pole and said, "Okay, you wanna clutch onto the rod like this. . ."

Lorelai giggled. "Dirty."

He ignored her. "And hold down this little button, then throw it out toward the water like this." He cast the line into the lake. "And while it’s out there, make sure you don’t jerk the pole around. . ."

Lorelai giggled again.

"Or else you’re gonna scare the fish away," Luke finished. "You have to be really still."

"Aren’t we supposed to be going out in a boat like all those people are doing?" she asked, gesturing to some boats she saw out in the middle of the lake.

Luke nodded. "Well, the fish are easier to catch out there, but we’re not wasting money on a boat, so we’re just gonna fish from here. Okay, now, when you wanna pull out. . ." Lorelai giggled again, and Luke let out an annoyed sigh. "Would you please try to act like an adult for the next three minutes so I can show you how to do this?"

Lorelai put on a straight face and folded her arms across her chest. "Serious now, sorry."

"Thank you." He sighed again. "Okay, now, when you wanna pull out. . ." He paused to see if she reacted to that, but she kept her straight face. ". . .of the water, you turn this part down here." He showed her how to reel the line in. He shrugged and added, "That’s all there is to it. It’s really simple. Just throw it out and bring it back in."

"Sounds like a fascinating activity," Lorelai said with obvious sarcasm.

"It provides a good opportunity for thinking," he informed her, tapping the side of his head. "While you’re sitting there waiting for the fish, it lets you clear your mind and think about life."

Lorelai stifled a laugh. "Wow, fishing turns you into Melodramatic Philosopher Luke. Very interesting."

He handed her a fishing pole. "Here."

"Ooh, hey, maybe we’ll discover the meaning of life while we’re out here thinking," she suggested. "That’d be a good story to share with everyone when we get back home."

"Not as good as the story about you freaking out," Luke said.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes with confusion. "When did I freak out?"

"You’re about to." Luke reached into his tackle box and pulled out a small plastic container.

Lorelai eyed it curiously. "What’s in there? Did you get that when you went in to buy the license?"

Luke smirked as he pulled the lid off. "Yup." He held the container out toward her.

Lorelai peeked into it, then made a face and took several steps back. "Ew, ew, ew!" She shuddered and shook her hands out animatedly. "That’s so gross."

"You need bait. Here, take one," he said, walking toward her.

Lorelai scoffed and took several more steps back. "Ew, just keep those things away from me. You know I hate worms. They’re all squishy and jiggly and . . ." She shuddered again. "Ugh."

"That’s kind of how I feel about Jell-o," Luke remarked. He set the container on the ground and kneeled next to it to bait his hook as Lorelai watched on from a safe distance.

* * *

A few hours later, they were carrying their fishing stuff to the truck. "See, I don’t get the point of this activity," Lorelai said. "We’re sitting there for two hours before you finally catch a fish. . .and then you reel it in, look at it, then . . .throw it back in! Seems like a big waste of time to me."

"You don’t always throw them back in," Luke said. "But unless you want to drive all the way back to Connecticut with a fish in the truck, there’s no point in keeping it."

"And what would you have done if we were at home?" Lorelai asked. "Cooked it up and ate it?"

"Well, I’d probably clean it and de-bone it first," Luke said. "But then, yeah, cook it up and eat it. Fish is good for you."

"Yeah, well, it’s not as tasty as cow," Lorelai said. She handed him her fishing pole, and he put it into the back of the truck as she sniffed her hand and made a face. "Ugh, I smell like. . .nature."

"You can take a shower when we get back to the hotel," Luke said.

"I’m gonna have to take a four hour one to get this smell off of me," Lorelai said. "It’d be easier to just leave it on me and pretend that this is my new normal smell."

"Yeah, because standing under a stream of running water and applying soap to yourself can be a very difficult task."

Lorelai frowned. "The mockery is not appreciated."

"Neither was your whining for the past hour, but I dealt with it." He took hold of her arm and pulled her toward him, capturing her lips in a kiss. He pulled back and made a face. "Ew, you do smell."

Lorelai gasped and smacked him on the shoulder. "Shut up. So do you."

Luke smirked as he pushed her toward the passenger side door. "Well, the faster you get in, the faster we can get to the hotel and take a shower."

* * *

The next morning, Lorelai woke up and realized that she was alone in the bed. She glanced toward the bathroom, and through the closed door, could hear the faint sound of running water.

She yawned as she groggily climbed out of the bed and walked to the bathroom. She pushed open the door and found Luke at the sink brushing his teeth, a towel wrapped around his waist and his wet hair slicked back. He glanced over at her and smiled. "Hey."

"Hi."

She leaned against the doorway as he finished brushing, and as he wiped his mouth on a towel, he walked over to her. "Hungry?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah."

"Room service?"

Lorelai stifled a yawn as she stretched her arms up over her head. "Yeah, that sounds good." She rubbed her eyes. "I guess I’ll take a shower while we’re waiting for it." She leaned forward and hugged him, resting her head against his bare chest.

"I don’t think rubbing up against someone who just took a shower constitutes as taking one yourself," Luke mused.

She looked up at him and stroked the sides of his neck with her thumbs. "Hey?"

"What?" He rested his interlocking fingers on the small of her back and pulled her closer.

She nuzzled her nose against his neck and whispered, "I had a great honeymoon."

Luke kissed the top of her head. "Good. Me, too."

* * *

A few hours later, they were at the same rest stop they’d stopped at on the way to Vermont, though this time Lorelai opted for the cookie instead of the pretzel. They were sitting on a bench in the parking lot while she ate it, and she suddenly pulled out her cell phone. "You know, I haven’t called Sookie this whole time."

"So you’re gonna call her now when we’re only two hours from seeing her?" Luke asked.

"Yup." Lorelai dialed the inn and nibbled on her cookie while she listened to the ringing.

"Independence Inn, Michel speaking," Michel answered.

"Michel, hi, it’s me," Lorelai replied.

"Oh. What do you want?"

"Nice to talk to you, too," Lorelai said. "How’s everything going?"

"Oh, after four days you finally call to check up on things? How nice."

"I was busy, Michel. You only have one honeymoon," Lorelai reminded him. "Well, unless you’re Larry King. But anyway, I’m calling now. . . so tell me, how are things?"

"Well, I turned the lobby into a discotheque, but everyone seems to have taken to it quite well," Michel said.

"Oh yeah? That’s nice. Don’t shake your thing too much, it might scare the tourists," Lorelai said. "Now pass me onto Sookie, please."

Michel sighed into the phone, and then there was silence. Almost a minute passed before Sookie finally picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey Sookie," Lorelai said.

"Lorelai! What are you doing? How’s the honeymoon?"

"Great, it was perfect," Lorelai replied. "We’re on our way home."

"Oh, good," Sookie replied. "So, tell me, were you that couple?"

Lorelai smiled. "You know what. . .surprisingly not. We actually went out and did stuff. . .museums, the ice cream factory, restaurants, we even went fishing. Apparently there’s more to this marriage besides the physical attraction. . .who woulda thought?"

Luke narrowed his eyes at her, wondering exactly what they were talking about.

"Well, I’m glad you had a good time," Sookie said.

"How are things there?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, everything’s good. The workers went over and took down the tent and the tables and everything out of your yard."

"Oh, good. I’d forgotten about that," Lorelai said. "Rory didn’t mention it when I talked to her yesterday."

"Oh, I saw her and Dean last night at Al’s," Sookie said. "She said she had a good time with her dad."

"Yeah, she did. I can’t wait to get home and see her."

"She’s looking forward to seeing you, too."

"Aw, good." Lorelai smiled. "Okay, we’ll be home in a few hours, so I’ll probably see you tonight."

"Okay, honey. Bye."

"Bye."

Lorelai turned off the phone, slipped it into her purse, and shoved the last piece of cookie into her mouth. "Ready?" she mumbled with her mouth full.

Luke nodded. He stood up and they started walking to the car. "It’s my turn to pick the CD."

Lorelai gasped. "Nuh uh, you picked the last one!"

"The Moulin Rouge soundtrack?" Luke asked. "Uh, try again. That was all you."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Oh yeah." She sighed. "Okay, fine, it’s your turn. What’s it gonna be this time?"

As they approached the truck, Luke pulled the keys out of his pocket and twirled them around his finger. "I’m thinking maybe the Eagles."

Lorelai giggled. "Okay."

"Something funny?"

Lorelai smiled and shook her head. "Nope."

They stopped at the back of the truck, and he narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you don’t really know the words to Hotel California."

"So what?"

"So it’s fun watching you try to sing along because you just kind of mumble the entire time until they get to the chorus and then you sort of shout out the Hotel California part extra loudly as if that’ll make up for you not knowing the rest of the words." Lorelai laughed. "It’s highly entertaining."

Luke rolled his eyes and pointed to the passenger door. "Just get in the car or I’m leaving you here." Lorelai smirked at him and they climbed into their seats. She put on the CD as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home.

* * *

A few hours later, they pulled up to their house, and Lorelai jumped out of the truck. She ran across the yard and burst through the front door. "Rory, we’re home!"

There was no answer. Lorelai frowned as she walked to Rory’s bedroom. Empty.

"Rory!" she called. She glanced at the kitchen table hoping to find a note, but there was nothing there.

She walked to the living room as Luke walked through the front door with a suitcase. "Thanks for the help," he said.

"She’s not here," Lorelai said sadly, fingering the strap of her purse that was resting diagonally against her chest.

"No? Is there a note?" Luke asked as he set the suitcase by the staircase.

"Not that I see. . ."

"Maybe there’s a message on the machine," Luke said, walking over to the desk. "Aha." He picked up a piece of paper and read, "Mom, went to the diner with Lane at two. I’ll be back around three."

Lorelai walked over and snatched the note from his hands. "Mom, went to the diner with Lane at two. I’ll be back around three," she read.

"Huh. . . sounds vaguely similar to what I just read," Luke muttered.

Lorelai took hold of Luke’s wrist and checked the time on his watch. "It’s twenty of. Let’s go to the diner."

"Why? She’ll be home in. . ." Luke’s voice trailed off in response to the evil glare she was giving him. "Well, I should probably check in on Caesar anyway," he decided.

"Good boy. Let’s go." She took his hand and pulled him out the front door, and they walked to the diner.

As they approached the town square, they saw Rory and Lane walking down the sidewalk toward Kim’s Antiques. "Rory Gilmore!" Lorelai called.

Rory turned around toward the sound, and smiled when she saw Lorelai. "Hey!" They jogged toward each other and hugged in the center of the street.

"Ah, I missed you so much!"

"Me, too," Rory said. She pulled back and smiled as Luke walked up to them. "Hey Luke."

"Hey. How was the trip?"

"Good, yours?" Rory asked. "I see you survived the car ride."

"Yeah, just barely," he said with a smile. He put his hand on Lorelai’s shoulder. "Hon, I’m gonna go check with Caesar."

Lorelai’s eyes widened and she slowly turned to look at him. "What did you say?"

Slightly confused, he narrowed his eyes and repeated, "Uh, that I’m gonna go check with Caesar."

Lorelai shook her head. "No, you said, ‘Hon, I’m gonna go check with Caesar.’"

"Did I?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah. You’ve never said that before."

"I think I have."

"No, you haven’t. I’ve said it like a million times, but you’ve never said it. . . at least not while I was paying attention."

Luke, failing to see why this was exciting to her, shrugged. "Okay. . .well, it must’ve slipped out."

Lorelai kissed him on the cheek. "Well, I hope it slips out again. It’s sweet."

Luke adjusted his baseball cap and gestured toward the diner. "Uh, so. . .I’ll be at the diner."

Lorelai nodded. "Okay." As Luke walked toward the diner, she turned to Rory and smiled. "My husband just called me hon."

Rory smiled and nodded. "I heard. It was cute." A car honked at them, and Rory said, "Maybe standing in the street’s not the best idea." They linked arms and walked over to Lane on the sidewalk.

"Hey Lane. Whatcha got there?" Lorelai asked, pointing to the box Lane was carrying.

"Oh, I got this whole box of old CDs at a yard sale a few days ago for ten bucks, and we just finished going through them," Lane explained.

"Cool. Find anything good?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, I definitely got my money’s worth," Lane replied.

"Good." Lorelai tapped Rory on the arm. "So, tell me, do I look any different?" She sucked in her cheeks and turned to the side.

Rory stepped back and looked Lorelai up and down. "No. Why?"

"Because this is the first time you’ve seen me in the daylight as a married woman." Lorelai scoffed as if Rory should have picked up on that fact. "Come on, there’s gotta be something different-looking about me."

Rory glanced at Lane, who shrugged and said, "Don’t ask me. . .I don’t see it."

Rory nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me either. There’s no difference, Mom. Sorry."

Lorelai frowned. "The observation skills of teenagers today are shockingly low."

"O. . .kay," Rory replied slowly. "Um, I’m gonna go help Lane put these CDs away into her intricate filing system and I’ll meet you at home."

Lorelai frowned. "Aw, how long are you gonna be?"

"Not too long," Rory promised. "Like fifteen minutes or so. Then I’ll come home and we can swap trip stories all night long and plan what we’re gonna do this weekend."

"Your last weekend before school starts," Lorelai added.

"Yup, my last weekend with no homework. We have to use the time wisely," Rory said.

"Okay." Lorelai leaned forward and kissed Rory on the cheek. "Meet ya at home. Bye Lane."

"See ya."

Lorelai watched the two of them walk toward Kim’s Antiques, then she turned around and walked toward the diner. She was about to pull open the door when Luke walked out. "Hey." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Where’s Rory?"

"She’s helping Lane with something," Lorelai replied, gesturing over her shoulder toward the Kim’s house. "She’s gonna meet me at home in a little while. What are you doing? Staying here?"

"I’m gonna go home and unpack, then come back here and take over so Caesar can leave a little early," Luke said. "He could use some time off."

"Sounds good," Lorelai said.

They started walking down the sidewalk toward their house. As they neared the gazebo, a woman pushing a baby stroller was coming from the other direction. As they passed by her, Lorelai and Luke both glanced into the stroller and saw the sleeping baby nestled inside. They shared a brief look before they both stared straight ahead and continued walking home.

Finally, Lorelai broke the silence. "Luke, we haven’t talked about it in awhile."

Luke didn’t have to ask what she was talking about. He knew that she was thinking about the same thing he was. "I know," he replied.

Lorelai stopped walking and turned to face him. She reached down and took his hands into hers. "I still want one."

Luke nodded. "Me, too."

"Yeah?"

He stroked the top of her hands with his thumbs. "Absolutely."

Lorelai smiled, then reached into her purse, fumbled around inside, and pulled out a compact. "Then just say the word and I’ll go off the pill."

Surprised, Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "You carry those things around with you all the time?"

"No, but I had them in my purse for the trip instead of packing them in my suitcase," Lorelai explained. She waved him off and shook her head. "But forget that. Just say it. . .just say that you’re ready to start trying and I’ll stop taking ‘em."

Luke rested his hands on her waist and pulled her closer. "Are you sure that you’re ready?"

"Uh, I think I’ve kind of made that point clear by the fact that I’m practically ready to throw these pills down the street," Lorelai said, shaking the compact at him.

Luke took it from her. "No, don’t do that. You shouldn’t litter unless it’s directly in front of the market to tick Taylor off."

"Well, the point is. . .that I’m ready." Lorelai tilted her head and stared at him questioningly. "What about you?"

He stared down at the compact for a moment, then brought his gaze up to look into her eyes. She was staring back at him with an almost nervous look as she waited for him to respond. He reached forward and slipped the compact into her purse, then placed his hand on her cheek as he kissed her.

Lorelai kissed him back softly, then pulled back and swallowed hard. "Well?"

Luke brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "Go off ‘em."

Lorelai’s eyes widened and a small smile formed on her lips. "Yeah? You mean it? You’re ready?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah."

Lorelai’s smile widened and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He hugged her back tightly as she said, "Oh my God, we need to start thinking of baby names! And we better start buying baby clothes. Ooh, I wonder if they make little baby coffee mugs! Oh, and we need to start buying toys. They have such cute things out there nowadays, we really – "

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Luke interrupted as he pulled back from her. "Why don’t you wait until you’re actually pregnant to start doing stuff like that."

Lorelai grinned and rubbed her palms together. "I’m just excited."

"I know. . .so am I, but let’s just wait," Luke said. "Especially since if anyone in town sees you buying stuff like that, it’ll be all over within minutes that we’re trying to have a kid."

"And then you’ll have the whole town just staring at you, wondering when the hell you’re gonna do your job and knock me up," Lorelai added with a smirk.

"Yes, and that kind of pressure can be very difficult to work under," Luke informed her.

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I understand. The possibility of disappointing an entire town with your sexual prowess could be pretty detrimental to your ego."

"Yes, it could," he confirmed.

They smiled at each other for a moment before Lorelai raised up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. As he returned the kiss, he gently stroked her back with his fingertips. She pulled back with a content sigh and smiled at him. "So. . .let’s go home," she said. Luke nodded. Lorelai laced her fingers through his and they continued walking down the sidewalk.

* * *

* * *

Wow. It feels very weird, and kind of sad, to type "The End". . .but yes, it’s true, it’s the end.

Yes, I had intended to take this storyline even further, but I kind of need to take a break. Relax. Let my fingers rest from all the typing. So, after much thinking, I finally decided it was time to end the story. But if there’s enough interest, maybe I’ll write a sequel someday picking up where this one left off. Any interest?

Okay, since this is my last chance to show my appreciation, I will bring it out in full force – thank you, thank you, thank you a million times over! I was completely blown away by the support and encouragement that I received for this story. Every single one of you who has ever given me feedback, no matter how long or how short, no matter if it was positive or negative, I thank you tremendously for reading this story and for letting me know how you felt about it. It’s my first Luke/Lorelai story, and while I know it wasn’t always in perfect character, it was still incredibly fun starting up and developing a relationship between these two characters that I love to death.

It’s also my last chance to get feedback for the story, so I’ll bring that out in full force, too. Please review – I’m very curious to know just how many people have actually been following this story. Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated. What’d you think of the story? What’d you think of the last chapter? What’d you think of the ending? And if you’re too shy about reviewing, email me and let me know your thoughts – dadstock@aol.com

Okay, well, after 10 very long months, and approximately 1100 pages spread throughout several Word documents, I’m officially declaring this story complete. Thanks so much for reading! :)

Ann :)