A/N: All right, my fluffy little unintended trilogy ends here. It includes "A Proposal of Sorts" and "An Initial Not-Proposal" also, if you feel like checking those out, though it's not necessary. Thanks everyone for reading! Expect more absurdly pleasant post-finale GG stories from me in the future.
XXX
June 2008
"You're giving me a headache."
"What? How?"
Lorelai gestured emphatically at the TV. "You're changing the channels too quickly! The pictures are moving too fast so I have to focus extra hard to see what's on and the strain of it all is making my head hurt!" To emphasize the statement, she let her head fall back dramatically against the couch.
Rory glanced between her mother and the screen. "I am changing channels at the normal rate I have always changed channels," she defended.
"No way. Something happened to you while you were on the road to make you like this! You were so busy you started flipping through channels at double speed and now you can't stop, so your poor mother must sit and suffer every time you hold control of the remote."
"Geez, fine, here, you have it." Rory gave a big eye roll and offered the remote over. Lorelai accepted it greedily, victorious, as Rory crossed her arms over her chest. "Maybe I should just go back out on the campaign trail."
"Bite your tongue," Lorelai admonished. "You're never leaving home again."
"Oh, right," Rory said sarcastically, as if remembering that rule.
Lorelai grinned at Rory. She couldn't describe how overjoyed she was at having her daughter and best pal home again, taken off of following Senator Obama's campaign once he secured the Democratic nomination, to start filing more varied stories for the magazine. She had returned less than a week ago and was still in transition from hectic bus life back to a more leisurely small-town existence, and Lorelai was glad to let her adjust for as long as she needed at the Crap Shack before finding her own place.
Lorelai had been worried things would be weird at the house once Rory came back, since Luke had moved in soon after the beginning of the new year. So far though, to Lorelai (and Luke's) relief, everything had seemed relatively normal between them all. She did feel guilty, knowing she was allotting an unequal amount of time between them, but Luke understood that Lorelai was relishing in having her daughter around again and was quite willingly giving them the time together they needed.
"Where is Luke?" Lorelai asked, as if she had been thinking aloud all along. He was usually home by now on Saturday nights and always let her know if he had to cover for someone or was running late.
Rory shrugged, nibbling on a cracker. "Oh," she said suddenly, hitting herself in the forehead with the hand holding the cracker. "He called while you were at Doose's – he said they got a rush of people and he'd be late."
Lorelai frowned, thinking of her brief trip to Doose's to get more snacks for a Saturday night movie watch – had the diner looked busier than usual? She hadn't noticed, solely focused on retrieving the required goodies. "Why didn't he just call my cell?"
Shrugging again, Rory turned back to the TV. "Don't overly question the messenger," she said, "'cause she ain't got the answers."
"Helpful," Lorelai remarked, and then was distracted by screeching from the television. "Oh God, we've landed on a Real Housewives show. Don't look!" she commanded, trying to shield Rory's eyes. "Once you get sucked in there's no getting out!"
"I know what Real Housewives is!" Rory said, pushing at Lorelai's hands. "I was on a campaign trail, not under a rock!"
They were playfully poking and prodding each other when the house phone rang. Rory raised her eyebrows. "The phone is ringing."
"I hear it. You get it."
"What? It's your phone."
"It's the house phone – it's our phone!" Lorelai said.
"I haven't actually lived here in a year, I have no idea who may be at the other end!"
"You're scared to answer the phone because you don't know who may be calling?" Lorelai asked in disbelief. "You answered the house phone when Luke called it earlier."
Rory raised her hands in defense. "I had a sense it would be him."
Lorelai stared at her. "You had a sense."
"You're gonna miss the call!"
"Fine fine fine!" Lorelai exclaimed as she jumped up to grab the phone before it went to the answering machine. "Hello?" she said, breathless.
"Lorelai?"
"Charlie?" she asked, recognizing the voice of the Dragonfly's weekend night manager. "Is everything okay?"
"Well, we've got a bit of a mix-up here – the dry cleaners picked up the dirty stuff but didn't leave the clean stuff, so we sort of… don't have any bedding," he explained sheepishly.
"What?" Lorelai asked, rounding her eyes at Rory, who was watching curiously. "We don't have any bed sheets or anything?"
"Not that we can find."
"There should be a back-up supply in the storage room," she told him, panic creeping into her stomach.
"None of us have seen any. Lorelai, I'm sorry to ask this, but could you come over here?"
"You can't find the extras? They should be right – yeah, yeah I'm on my way now. I'm leaving now. I'll be there soon," she said, throwing the phone down as she gathered her keys.
"What's up?" Rory asked.
"No bed sheets or pillowcases and no one can find the extras, but I know there's some around – I have to go down there. Can you wait a little longer to start the movie?" she asked desperately, thinking of her late-check in guests arriving to bare mattresses and pillows.
"Absolutely!" Rory said. "The Sound of Music can wait, go, go!" she added, shooing her mother away.
Lorelai headed to the door. "The hills will be alive with the sound of music when I get back!" she called, closing the door and rushing to her Jeep.
She spent the ride over trying to remember every item in their main storage room, the linen closets, even her office. The more she considered the predicament, the more confused she became – the linen closets always had spare bedding, even if the storage room didn't. Her nerves were beginning to settle and she was able to see that Charlie's phone call was odd and slightly ridiculous. She considered calling him back but was close enough to the inn that she figured she might as well see what was afoot in person, so she could return to the Von Trapp family fully satisfied.
The sun was close to disappearing from the sky, a pinkish purple blue that made Lorelai glad summer was close, with its promise of longer days and sundress-and-sandals appropriate weather. She'd gotten a whole nautical outfit prepared, new shoes included, for when they went out on Luke's boat. She had even purchased a little sun hat for Paul Anka.
By the time she was rolling up the Dragonfly's driveway she was enjoying her sunset ride, the air warm but not too humid. The staff had made a mistake about the bedding and she'd swoop in, fix the situation, and swoop back out to enjoy the planned night with her daughter.
Lorelai parked in her usual spot and got out of the Jeep, walking around to the front to admire the building. Her eyes swept along the porch, over to the stables, before quickly darting back to the inn's entrance, to the person sitting on the bench beside the front doors.
If possible, Lorelai felt even more puzzled. "Luke?" she called, slowing as she came to the steps.
He stood and walked to the railing, wearing the jeans, navy plaid and matching baseball cap he'd left the house wearing this morning. He smiled when he saw her approach, and gripped the wooden rail.
"Hey," he said.
"Hi," she returned, a befuddled smile forming on her face. When he didn't say anything she put her hands on her hips. "Did you get our workplaces confused again?" she asked teasingly.
"No," he said, chuckling and shaking his head, looking down.
Lorelai eased up the stairs and Luke met her at the doorway. "So why are you here then?" she asked.
"I was waiting for you," Luke told her.
Lorelai smiled at him. "That's sweet. Did Charlie call you and tell you I was coming over here or something? If you didn't hear, I've got a bedding mix-up to solve."
"I know," Luke said, looking at her so intently that Lorelai felt goosebumps forming on her arms. "I told him to call you and tell you that."
"You…" Lorelai stared at him, mouth still open from her unfinished sentence. "You made my night manager call me with a fake emergency."
"Yes," Luke said, and now he was smiling.
"You made my night manager call me with a fake emergency to… get me down here?"
"Yes."
Lorelai crossed her arms over her chest, keys still in hand. "All right, Luke, time to share with the class," she said.
Luke looked around them, out over the inn's lawn and circular drive. "It's a nice night, huh?"
Lorelai frowned. "It's a beaut," she said. "You lured me here to discuss the weather?"
Luke was looking at her again, with that serious gaze. "No. No, Lorelai, I don't want to discuss the weather with you."
"Then what's up?" she asked, feeling dueling senses of foreboding and anticipation.
"I wanted to bring you to this spot," he said, gesturing to where they were standing, in front of the inn's entrance. "Because it's an important spot."
Lorelai's breath caught, the goosebumps spread. "It is an important spot," she agreed quietly, glancing down at the wooden floor then back at him, feeling suddenly shy. "We had our first kiss here."
"Yeah, we did," Luke said, hands in his pockets. "Which is why I wanted to bring you back here, to this place. We didn't do it right last time, everything was so confused and Rory was gone and it – it didn't happen how it should've," he continued. "It should've been like this."
Lorelai wasn't sure she was breathing, but she was definitely smiling. "Like what?"
Luke took her hands. They both noticed she was still holding her keys and laughed nervously together as she put them in her pocket. "You know I'm not a gooey guy," he said, and they chuckled again. "But Rory is home, and nothing's confusing anymore. Lorelai, this is the place we started, really started. So this is the place where I should've – where I'm going to – ask you to marry me."
There were definite tears coming. Lorelai could feel them forming, but she grinned. "Luke," she said.
He put a hand in his back pocket and pulled out a small black box. He flipped it open and presented it to her. She was relieved to see that the ring inside was different from the one she'd given back to him. As if reading her thoughts he said, "I traded in the old one. I figured a new beginning deserved a new ring."
"It's – it's gorgeous," she said.
"You said you didn't wanna waste any more time, that you wanna start our middle as soon as possible. And you know how I feel about you, about us and our family. So… how 'bout it, Lorelai Gilmore? Will you marry me?"
A small tear did manage to escape as Lorelai took in the moment, the night and the Dragonfly porch and the man before her wanting to be with her forever, wanting to make it official that he was hers and she was his. She thought how much better it was this time, how right everything felt, how lucky she had gotten.
"Of course I will," Lorelai answered finally, saw the relief pass over Luke's face, as if he were truly worried she would say no.
"Yeah?"
"Yes."
He kissed her, came at her the way he had that night of the Dragonfly's test run in the same exact spot. Of course she hadn't known, then, the journey that was still ahead of them, and felt even more grateful that they were finally moving forward after all that had transpired.
They pulled apart so he could place the ring on her finger. As he was sliding it on she added, "How could I say no after your elaborate plan to get me over here?"
"I had some help," Luke said, grinning at her finger.
"Rory," Lorelai said, putting it all together. "The girl hasn't even been back a week and she's already plotting against me."
"I'd say it was for a good cause," Luke defended, not looking sorry in the slightest.
Lorelai put a hand to his cheek, enjoying this blissful snapshot in her life. "You were nervous," she said to him, smirking indulgently. "Like you thought I'd say no or something."
"I was, a little," he admitted, putting his hand over hers.
"Luke," Lorelai said, with a hint of exasperation. "We live together and we're trying to have a baby, you think despite all that I'd reject your proposal?"
"If I've learned anything in all my years of knowing you, it's to expect the unexpected," Luke said, and it was so corny Lorelai gave a small laugh and shook her head.
"You didn't propose on the boat."
"I told you I wasn't gonna propose on the boat."
"I thought maybe you were trying to fake me out," Lorelai said. "Hey, let's sit for a second, okay?"
He nodded and they sat on the bench, surveying the inn's grounds, his arm around her shoulders as she nestled up to him. Dinner sounds floated from the dining room out of the open windows. "I don't want another long engagement," she said.
"I don't either," he agreed, squeezing her closer. They sat in silence for some peaceful seconds before he added into her ear, "I wanna get married as soon as we can."
"What, like next week?" she asked jokingly.
"How about two weeks?"
Lorelai sat up straight and looked at him, trying to judge if he was being genuine. "Two weeks?"
"Why wait?"
"Who are you and where did you hide the real Luke Danes?" Lorelai questioned, surprised at his spontaneity.
"I'm serious," Luke said. "We both said we don't want to wait. And we're already trying to, y'know," he said in a lower voice, glancing around to see if anyone was listening (Luke was convinced that at any moment a townsperson would overhear them discussing their baby plans and bring it forth at a town meeting). "We know Rory will be home, and April'll be here to visit then – it just seems to make sense to me."
"Two weeks," Lorelai repeated. "That's not a lot of planning time."
"Lorelai," Luke said, turning so they were eye to eye. "I don't care about a big, planned wedding. I don't care if we wear nice clothes or what we're wearing now. I don't even care who else is there, I just need April, and Rory, and you. That's it."
"What about Jess?" Lorelai asked.
"And Jess, if he can make it."
"What about Liz and TJ?" she wondered, now just trying to push buttons.
Luke sighed and shook his head. "I guess, if they're free," he acquiesced. "Lorelai, I'm tryin' to be romantic and you're ruining it."
Lorelai grinned and gave him a light kiss. "Are you regretting your proposal?"
"Maybe a little," Luke teased.
"Just think, you're on the verge of committing to a whole lifetime of me riling you up."
"I must be insane."
Lorelai took a moment to consider Luke's married-in-two-weeks suggestion. It seemed absurd, and yet – there was something about it, about its forced simplicity and lack of intensive planning, that appealed to her in a way she couldn't explain, even to herself. It was the same way she'd felt when she and Luke had decided to immediately start trying to conceive, an overwhelming sense of, why wait?. They'd wasted so much time already, avoiding their feelings, being with other people, ruining the relationship between them so that they had no choice but to build from the bottom up again. Lorelai actively tried not to think about how things could be right now if they'd just communicated and trusted each other back then – she didn't want to spend time daydreaming of the marriage, kids, home they could have already had. She just wanted all of that, and she was on the verge of getting it.
"I could marry you in two weeks," Lorelai told Luke.
"Yeah?" he asked, hopeful.
"Yeah," she said. "My mother's going to have a fit, though."
"She was gonna have a fit no matter when the wedding was."
"Valid," Lorelai said, grinning to herself as an image popped into her head of Emily Gilmore's horrified face when she heard the projected length of engagement. "We could get married here. I have some sway with the owners," she joked.
"I'd like that," Luke agreed.
They didn't speak, just let the happy murmurings from inside the inn wash over them, the sun disappeared. Lorelai thought she could've stayed there forever, maybe – until she remembered her daughter.
"Oh God, I need to tell Rory!" she said, jumping up to retrieve her cell phone from the Jeep. "We were supposed to watch Sound of Music –"
"She knew what I was doin'," Luke said, frowning. "She was part of the plan! She already knows everything."
Lorelai paused at the stairs to stick her tongue out at him. "Don't take this moment from me," she warned.
"Fine, do what you want," Luke shrugged, but he was grinning. "You're not going home, though," he added.
Lorelai raised her eyebrows up at him as she passed along the porch, almost to her car. "I'm not?"
Luke had made his way back to the railing and was leaning down, smirking at her. "You're not. I booked us a room."
"Oh really?" Lorelai asked as a thrill shot through her. "And where'd you make that reservation?"
"Here," Luke said simply. "I have some sway with the owners, too."
The way he was looking at her brought Lorelai back to years and years ago, to something her mother had said – something about looking at her like she was a porterhouse steak, or some Emily Gilmore nonsense that Lorelai had laughed away at the time. She could see why her mother had drawn that comparison very clearly now, and she didn't hate it. The ring on her left hand felt heavy with importance, with promise of finally getting what she wanted.
"I bet I can sway the owners to send up some champagne," she said, in a sexier voice than even she expected.
"Tonight, I'll drink it," Luke agreed, face split wide with happiness.
XXX
July 2008
They unexpectedly shut their respective car doors at the same time, and that was what got them laughing. They hadn't spoken in many minutes, and it felt good to let the tension bubble out over something as silly as unplanned door-closing synchronization.
Lorelai was still chuckling a bit even after Luke had stopped. She had a shaky hand to her forehead, trying to process. She finally put her hand down and looked to her left. Luke was slouched in his seat, arms stretched over the steering wheel, fingers all tangled together. He was looking out the truck's windshield to the parking lot, dotted with cars. She saw the barest hint of a smile in his profile.
Suddenly she tuned in to how warm she felt on the truck's leather seat and the uncomfortably moist air drifting in through the opened windows and decided to break the silence: "You could at least throw on the A/C," she joked.
That snapped Luke back to focus. He turned the key and cool air started filtering out of the vents. They each rolled up their windows. "Sorry," he said sincerely.
"That's okay," Lorelai shrugged.
They stared at each other, matching goofy looks. Lorelai felt like she had been wearing this idiotically happy expression for months – and, quickly reviewing all that had happened in the past few months, realized that she probably had, to some degree.
"So," she said.
Luke nodded. "So."
"At least you've already made an honest woman out of me."
Luke barked a laugh and shook his head, reversing out of the parking spot. As they neared the exit he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "You heard what the doctor said. Seven weeks along."
Lorelai nodded, watching the cars zip by as they pulled out into the street. "Then you married me just in time, Butch. I think they call this an 'engagement baby.'"
"That's not a real term," Luke said, but his lips were still curved with pleasure.
"The town's gonna love this scandal."
"The town's not gonna find out this 'scandal'," Luke insisted, uttering the last word with blatant sarcasm. "It's none of their business."
"I feel like we have this argument a lot," Lorelai pointed out, smirking at him.
"Because you always bring it up! Just assume that if it's something personal, it isn't the town's business."
"You say that now…" Lorelai teased. "Besides, there are some smart people in Stars Hollow. They're gonna do this math real quick."
"Fine," Luke said, waving a hand as if to stop her. "Fine. Tell them it's a honeymoon baby, or an engagement baby, I don't care."
They continued on not speaking for a short while. Lorelai was too busy thinking about how she was going to tell Rory, and Sookie, and – oh God – her parents. She could already envision the ridiculously expensive and useless gifts the Gilmores would be providing for the baby.
The baby.
"Luke," Lorelai said, looking over at him once more. He seemed far away – she wondered if he was worrying about money, or juggling work hours, or if he'd be a good father. Those were all things she'd reassure him about, but later – not now, not right this moment. She just wanted to enjoy it.
He glanced when she said his name, then looked to the road again. "We're having a baby," she said.
She saw the grin bloom, felt one of her own forming. "I heard," he said.
"This is exactly what I wanted," she told him, stretching out her arm to put her left hand over his right.
He kissed the top of her hand and then settled them on her lap. "Me too. You don't know how much, Lorelai."
She knew then, as her husband of one month drove them home, bursting with the news that their family was expanding, that all the bad that had happened didn't matter anymore. The silly push and pull games they played with their feelings, the poor transgressions and monumental mistakes. What weight could those things hold when they had marriage, children, a lifetime ahead of them?
"Little Butch Junior," Lorelai murmured.
"Not that again," Luke said sharply.
Lorelai smirked. "But it has such a nice ring to it!"
"I will let you choose whatever name you want for our child, as long as it isn't Butch."
Lorelai sighed. "Fine. Another 'Lorelai' it is."
Luke growled in frustration and began ranting about baby names. Lorelai didn't bother to interrupt; she wanted to see if he'd take a single breath before they returned home. Besides, ranting was one of her husband's favorite things to do – she couldn't wait to hear what he had to say when their baby's first word was "coffee."
XXX