As Lorelai tried to cope with the absence of her daughter and best friend, the town tried to cope with the news of Lorelai and Luke's reunion. The majority of the town was ecstatic, and thrilled that Luke and Lorelai were finally a couple once again. However, the town selectman wasn't as jovial. In fact, he felt the need to have a secret town meeting about it. Taylor stood at the podium, trying to get the town to listen to his view on the situation.
"Can we please try to come to order, people? I need you to listen to my side of things before we all go hog wild and shout everything out at once! I'm just trying to say that Lorelai and Luke should have properly informed us about their third go around at a relationship!"
"Taylor, don't you see? Lorelai's got a lot on her plate right now, and she's really upset about Rory's absence. She didn't think about telling you right away, because she's got a lot of other things on her mind! Give her time," Miss Patty interrupted.
"Yeah! Patty's right! Ya can't just expect Lorelai to come runnin' over to us, tellin' us all about her new relationship, because she's still tryin' to heal!" Babette interjected.
"While I appreciate your viewpoints, I feel as though we have been thrust aside for yet another meaningless relationship of Lorelai's…"
"Meaningless? Taylor, come on, have you seen the change in Lorelai since the last breakup? It's obvious that she hasn't been the same," Jackson replied.
Taylor banged the gavel on the podium, sighing in frustration that no one was listening to him.
"Folks, please, I'm trying to finish my explanation, and when I do…"
"We're all gonna react the same way we're reactin' now, rollin' our eyes and shakin' our heads. You're the only person in the entire town, maybe in the entire state or the entire world, that feels the way you do," Babette argued, flailing her arms at mention of the world.
"It's hopeless, Taylor, just give in already. Somewhere in that head of yours, you'll find a belief that Luke and Lorelai are meant to be together," Miss Patty added.
Taylor took a deep breath. "All who are in favor of the Luke and Lorelai relationship, a show of hands?"
Each person attending the town meeting raised their hand simultaneously, and Kirk raised two. Taylor was outnumbered greatly, and the townspeople were officially on Luke and Lorelai's side.
"Well, I suppose I have to support my fellow citizens, and how they're thinking and feeling. So, what should we do about it?" Taylor asked, waving the gavel as he talked.
Kirk shot up from his seat. "If I may, Taylor, Lulu and I have come up with a fantastic idea to support the blossoming relationship. We suggest a wedding planning committee. After all, June 3rd is rapidly approaching, and we all know that Luke has purchased a ring. So, we all shouldn't be surprised if a shotgun wedding is in the works," he said.
Taylor's face lit up at the idea of forming a committee. "That is a brilliant idea. I agree with Kirk. Luke is unable to stand back and let Lorelai handle the proposal this time. All in favor of a planning committee?"
Once again, all in attendance raised their hands.
"Well, there you have it. A committee is formed. Sookie, would you be interested in planning the menu?" Taylor asked.
"Sure. I know exactly what Lorelai wants," Sookie replied, grabbing Jackson's hand. "And Jackson will assist me."
"I'll be in charge of decorations," Lulu offered. "I have some really nice theme ideas."
"I'll spread the word around," Babette suggested. "I'll be a middle woman for anyone who needs it."
Taylor nodded. "All of your services are appreciated. Now, make sure that Luke and Lorelai don't get wind of this. If that happens, all of our plans will be squashed like a bug. Even the best laid plans turn out badly, so my suggestion is to look around you before you speak about the wedding plans. Then, when you're positive neither one is around, look some more."
"And don't talk about it in the diner, that's an obvious no-no," Miss Patty added.
"Anyone else who wishes to be involved should see Kirk or Lulu. And with that, I believe our meeting is adjourned," Taylor said, banging the gavel.
Lorelai hung up the phone and set it down on the kitchen table. She stared at it for a moment, almost willing it to ring once again.
"You okay?" Luke asked, placing a plate of chili fries in front of Lorelai.
She nodded. "I'm fine. I just miss her."
Luke seated himself across from her. "Understandably so. And if you ever need anything, you know I'll be here for you. Even if you want me to make you a cup of coffee before you go to work in the morning, I'll do it. You know that, right?"
Lorelai stuffed a few chili fries in her mouth. "You will?"
"Yeah, I will."
"Forever?" she asked, her mouth full of fries.
Luke sighed, surprised he could understand her garbled speech. He grabbed her hand and nodded. "Of course."
Lorelai quickly chewed her mouthful, holding up her index finger, insisting that Luke wait to listen to what she had to say. "So then that means that we have a future. There is an us… a Luke and Lorelai in the future! This is great. You know what?"
"Aw, Jeez," Luke said, regretting his accidental broaching of the 'future' discussion.
"Come on, Luke, let me finish. I have always had this… dream life, planned out in my head. It sounds corny, even more so than a rose ceremony on the Bachelor, but it's the way I want my life to be."
"You've planned out our future?" Luke asked.
Lorelai nodded. "Allow me to explain."
Lorelai pulled into the driveway after a long day at the inn. Michel was as obnoxious as ever, refusing to speak English to the annoying Guests, and Martha had come down with a cold, so Sookie hadn't been able to make it to work. The inn wasn't as stable without Sookie. Lorelai was happy to be home.
She shut the door to her car, and opened the front door. Paul Anka came running, as usual, to greet her. She crouched down to pet him. All of a sudden, she heard wild giggling coming from the kitchen.
"Ah, Jeez. Morgan, stop blowing sugar at your brother. And Will, stop egging her on. Now, who's going to help put in the chocolate chips?"
Lorelai smiled as she saw her husband teaching their twins how to make cookies. Luke surely wouldn't eat any, unless he ate them when the rest of the family was fast asleep, but Lorelai and the twins sure would.
Morgan scratched her forehead, leaving some residue behind in the area she scratched. "Hi, Mommy!" she said, smiling and running toward Lorelai.
"Freeze, Morgan. You're covered in… stuff. Stay in the kitchen, remember rule number one?" Luke cautioned.
Morgan backed up past the entryway, ensuring that her toes were not passing an obviously instituted imaginary line. Lorelai entered the kitchen, stepping over lumps of sugar and other ingredients necessary for the preparation of chocolate chip cookies.
"Wow, guys, this looks like a lot of fun! Who had the idea to do this?" Lorelai asked, kissing Morgan and Will on the head and Luke on the cheek.
"Daddy did," Will answered, grabbing a handful of chocolate chips and letting them go in the mixing bowl.
"Daddy did?" Lorelai asked, raising an eyebrow.
Morgan nodded. "He said he had a surprise for you, and this was only part of it."
Lorelai's smile grew wider, slightly mischevious, and she turned to Luke.
"You have a surprise for me, huh?" she asked, massaging his shoulder.
"Ah, Jeez," Luke said, rolling his eyes.
"Dirty," Lorelai replied.
"Not dirty, especially not in front of our four year olds. That's enough chocolate chips, Will."
"You're obviously telling them something I'm not getting, aren't you? Because Morgan spilled the beans," Lorelai insisted.
"Like that's a surprise," Luke grunted.
"Like that's a surprise," Morgan repeated.
"Oh, good girl! You learned to play shadow! Now, the number one rule of shadow is that you never, ever do it to Mommy. You only do it to Daddy, because Mommy likes seeing Daddy get annoyed," Lorelai coached, wiping off Morgan's hands.
"Okay!" Morgan answered enthusiastically.
Lorelai stuffed the last handful of chili fries in her mouth and handed the plate to Luke.
"Your future is really twisted. Did you know you didn't inform me of my own secret plan?" he asked, placing the plate in the sink.
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Ah, well the rest of the story involves Rory coming home, taking the twins out to see a movie, or to do something else fun, and you carrying me upstairs!"
Luke sighed. "I stand by my earlier statement."
Lorelai sipped her coffee, leaning toward Luke. "Now remind me why your idea of a future is better than mine? Mine is realistic, see. Realistic is key when thinking of these things."
Luke grabbed his baseball cap and lifted it to scratch his head. "And you think us having twins is realistic?"
Lorelai shrugged. "Ah, well, that part might vary, but still, the rest seems accurate."
"Me using our children to try to suck up to you? Ah, yes, entirely realistic. I'm so sorry I didn't see it before."
"So if my dream future's not so great, what would yours consist of?" Lorelai questioned, dragging her chair closer to Luke's. "I have to hear this."
Luke shook his head. "I haven't planned out every moment of our future. I take things one day at a time."
"I beg to differ. Come on, now, Luke, spill the future. You have some sort of idea, don't you?"
Luke sighed. "Fine. But this goes nowhere beyond these four walls."
Lorelai laughed. "You? Coach a Little League team?"
"First of all, I didn't do it on my own, remember who forced me. And second, I'm trying to get this out here, all right? At least I'm telling you some part of my future. I didn't interrupt you, so hold back any sarcastic comment until the story's finished."
The team ran over immediately, kneeling in front of Luke, listening intently.
"All right, now, guys, remember to keep your eye on the ball, step and swing, and we'll be fine. Remember, you're here to have fun, but winning is an added bonus. So try your hardest, all right?"
"Why are we all kneeling? You're not proposing to me again, are you?"
Luke jumped and turned around. "Jeez, Lorelai, we're having a team meeting!"
Nathan waved to Lorelai, who waved back and blew her son a kiss.
"I am part of the team. I'm the team mom, remember? I'm the one who got Sookie to bake the cookies for after the game!" Lorelai insisted.
"All right guys, these are your positions. We're the home team, so that means we're in the field first. Tommy, you're in center field today. Ryan, you're at shortstop, Nathan, third base, and Eddie, you're catching."
"Where am I?" Lorelai asked.
"In the bleachers," Luke pointed. "Mark, you're at first, and Jeffrey, you're at second. Eric and Adam, left and right field respectively. You know what respectively means?"
The players looked up at Luke in a blank stare.
"That means the order I said your names in is… ah, Eric, left, Adam, right. And Connor's pitching."
"The bleachers? Luke, that's so far away? Can't I stay on the bench, nurse anyone's cuts?" Lorelai pleaded.
"We'll call you if we need you," Luke insisted.
"That's it? We only have one kid? Wow, Luke, I'm surprised. I would have thought that you would have wanted to show everyone that you CAN reproduce," Lorelai insisted.
Luke sighed. "Lorelai, listen, it's just a work in progress, I didn't think about this before you asked me to come up with an ideal future right off!"
"Well, for a work in progress, it's okay, but I think we need another kid. And the take a knee thing is cheesy. Where's the other kid in your story? Am I pregnant in your dream future?" Lorelai asked.
"I don't know. It was my story, and in my story, there was only one kid. Good enough?" Luke rolled his eyes. "You have this uncanny ability to mock anything that comes your way. Are you aware of that?"
Lorelai nodded. "It's a gift. My fairy godmother told me to use it wisely, but I didn't really listen. Besides, she didn't give me a pony like I wanted her to, so I'm still mad at her."
Luke sighed. "I rest my case."
Lorelai kissed Luke. "So is that our plan? We're having a future?"
Luke nodded. "Barring any sort of… mishap or something. Besides, no matter how much you plan something…"
"Yeah, I know, I know, the best laid plans… blah, blah, blah." Lorelai opened and closed her hand, mocking the statement. "But why can't we just consent to the fact that there is a future, involving a little of both stories?"
"We can acknowledge that. I can compromise," Luke said. "But there are a lot of things that need to be straightened out before we can get to the dream future you want… we have a lot of things to discuss."
Lorelai nodded, standing up from the table. "Yeah, you're right. We do need to talk… but is it okay if we save the heavy stuff for another day? I just like the light, fluffy stuff for today. It's putting me in a better mood."
Luke stood up and kissed Lorelai. "I think that's a good plan."
