Chapter 7: Gilmore Weddings

Lorelai stared at her fiance in disbelief. She was still in denial over the words that had just come out of his mouth. The pair were up in her room, in the bed they had shared for months, after a round of mind-blowing sex. Luke was wise to have waited until the afterglow to drop the bomb. There probably was not a better time for him to have broken this news. Then again, was there ever a good time to break news like this?

"P... pregnant? She's pregnant?"

Luke nodded. "It's not the blonde little shit's, though, thankfully. This guy named Marty. I met him. Seems like an upstanding young man."

"Naked Guy!" And just for a second, the old Lorelai was back, that playful glint in her eye.

"Huh?" Luke frowned, even though he knew his lover well enough by now to know that he would spend the rest of his life trying to catch up to her brilliant, whirring mind. And a part of him adored her for it.

Lorelai explained. "One of Rory's first nights in the dorms, she found this guy named Marty passed out in her hallway buck naked." She had been the only one whom Rory had told about the incident.

"So they have a history. Great," Luke grumbled. "It's a wonder they didn't go for a roll in the hay right then and there."

Lorelai gasped. "Lucas Danes!" she scolded. "This is my girl we're talking about!"

"Our girl," Luke corrected, pecking her gently on the lips once. Lorelai blinked at his qualification before smiling affectionately. She adored how much Luke loved her daughter. In a way, they had parented Rory together, raised Rory together, so perhaps it had always been written in the stars for them to become a romantic couple. Luke now ventured a thought, one that had been ruminating in his mind the whole drive back from the Yale campus. If there was one thing Luke Danes did well, and Lorelai not nearly as well, it was planning ahead. But, maybe that was one of the ways they complemented each other so famously. "OK. I know you have probably been wondering about how to wire this, but I can help." Rising off the mattress, he began to pace. "First off, we inform the administration at Yale, especially campus health. We have Rory stay in her dorm and attend classes as long as we can. Then, when she's far enough along, we have her move back here, in her room, and she can still do her reading and complete assignments while on bedrest. And meanwhile, you and I commute to Yale every day and audit her classes to make sure she stays caught up! I can take morning classes, you take afternoon classes, or the other way around if it works out better for your schedule. And I know the studying-while-on-bedrest thing may be problematic but either way she is not quitting school! Baby or no baby, this was her dream! I am not going to let her drop out!" He paused in his rant to see Lorelai gazing at him with deep love. "What?"

"Luke, will you marry me?"

Luke's brow furrowed confusedly. "You already asked me that. When we made up, after your parents' ... thing." He never knew what to call the wedding renewal.

"I know," Lorelai beamed. "I mean, will you marry me? Tonight?"

"Now?" Luke gaped.

"Yes, now," and she got up and began throwing on the best dress she could find. "Marry me, Luke. It's now or never! Let's just do it!"

Luke stared at her. Finally: "OK."

Lorelai eyed him, surprised and pleased. "OK?"

"OK. On one condition: we go get Rory. She needs to be present for this. And hey, we need a witness anyway."

Lorelai's eyes gleamed. "I like the way you think." Hurriedly dressing, the couple leapt into Luke's green truck and sped for Yale. It was well past midnight by the time they got there, the campus pathways deserted. Outside Rory's dorm, Lorelai rang her daughter's cell phone. It was the best they could do, as Luke had quickly shot down her suggestion that he scale the dorm walls and break in via Rory's window.

After a couple minutes, said window opened, to reveal a scowling head of blond hair. "Who keeps calling my roommate's phone at 1 in the morning?!" Then, Paris looked down. For all her sheer intimidation, Paris Geller could never be mad at Lorelai. "Lorelai? What are you and the Grunting Fireman doing here?"

"Can you wake Rory up, Paris? It's an emergency!"

Paris sighed. "She's not going to like this..." But she did as Lorelai asked. A second later, a bleary-eyed Rory poked her head out the window.

"What are you doing here?" Rory hissed.

"Get dressed, sweets. We're taking you home."

Rory gulped. So her mother knew, then. She took her time in putting on a simple outfit, knowing the drive back to Stars Hollow would probably not be pleasant.

But when she got downstairs, she was surprised to discover that her mother and future stepfather were both... smiling. "Ready to go to the Chapel of Love?" Lorelai crooned.

Rory frowned. "Huh?"

"We'll explain on the way," Luke growled, even as his eyes twinkled in an unusual display of mirth.

Speeding down the highway, Rory squealed at the news. "You're getting married?! Now?!"

"Yeah, if we can kidnap the Reverend and Rabbi," Lorelai cracked, even though she was quite serious.

"On it," Luke whipped out his cell phone and placed a short, cryptic call.

"Who was that?" the girls asked.

"Wait and see," their diner man smirked.

By the time Luke's truck rolled into the Town Square, there was a small group of four men standing by the gazebo. Kirk came running up as Luke rolled down the window.

"I did it, Luke! I might have broken Reverend Skinner's window, but I did it."

"Good work, Kirk," Luke grunted.

Taylor Dosse came bustling up, shaking his head and already looking thoroughly annoyed. "Lucas, this is highly unorthodox, young man! We don't do elopements here!"

"What did you wake him up for?" Lorelai whispered to her soon-to-be husband.

"Oh, just to piss him off." Luke's deadpan sent Rory into a fit of giggles.

Reverend Skinner and Rabbi Barans, still looking half-asleep and in their pajamas, officiated the thrown-together wedding through several yawns. Taylor stood by, peeved as he was, and despite Luke's best efforts, Kirk refused to be shooed away. In the end, he was allowed to stay because two witnesses were better than one.

Luke and Lorelai were pronounced husband and wife and they chastely kissed to applause, Rory dutifully, Taylor begrudgingly. Rory, Kirk and even Taylor all signed off as witnesses. Finally, the new Gilmore-Danes family returned to the Crap Shack at Number 37, Maple Street and fell asleep. Luke would make sure to return his new stepdaughter to campus in the morning.


A few weeks later, the Gilmore Girls had their traditional Friday Night Dinner with Rory's grandparents. This time, however, Lorelai invited Luke along, and after some coordination, talked Rory into roping in Marty. Tonight was going to be a big night, and Lorelai only hoped it would go over well with Richard and Emily. It probably wouldn't.

The meal started off pleasantly enough. Richard and Emily fondly remembered Marty from meeting him at the Yale tailgate the previous year. They asked their granddaughter and her friend about their classes and campus events they were involved in. Rory went on and on about the Yale Daily News.

Finally, Lorelai decided to get it over with, in the most casual way possible. Truth be told, a part of her was hoping that Emily wouldn't notice. She squeezed Luke's hand affectionately under the table. "Can you get me a refill, husband of mine?" making her voice amusingly dramatic.

"Sure," Luke kissed her temple and left the room, while Lorelai finally replaced her wedding ring on her finger, now for all to see. Emily gaped, her chicken fricassee halfway to her mouth.

"Lorelai? When on earth did you get married?"

"In the dead of night," Lorelai hissed with relish. "We kidnapped the reverend and the rabbi and Rory from Yale."

"Oh, be serious for once in your life!" Emily scoffed, though her eyes appeared twinged with fear.

"I am being serious, Mom. Luke and I eloped."

Emily looked like she was about to have a heart attack on the spot. She spluttered for a second, two, before finally turning to her husband, at a loss. "Richard!"

"Lorelai," her father asked in as measured a voice as he could. "When exactly did this wedding take place?"

"A month ago," Lorelai maintained the casualness, almost flippancy, to her tone.

"A month ago?!" Emily shrieked. She rounded on Rory. "And you knew about this?"

"Five minutes before-hand, but yes, Grandma. I was a witness." And Rory smiled proudly.

Emily seemed close to bursting into tears. "You were supposed to have a long engagement..." she almost whimpered. "I was going to plan everything..."

Rory chose this moment to force the conversation to move on. And she knew just how to do it. It had been agreed upon that a full-court press was the only course of action, and damn the consequences. "Well, while we're on the subject of earth-shattering news... I'm pregnant."

It was now uncertain if Emily was frozen where she sat. Finally, she shook her head. "If this is some kind of a... practical joke, you two, it is not funny!"

"I quite agree," Richard concurred firmly.

"It isn't a joke, Grandma," Rory said quietly. "I'm going to have a baby, and Marty is the father." She nodded across the table to her boyfriend, who sat a little straighter in his seat, as if that might make him more presentable. Rory had to appreciate his bravery for even agreeing to come here at all; she had briefed him on the plan while driving to Hartford from campus, and he had readily agreed to it.

"And we're getting married," Marty added, deciding to light the fuse to the last bomb himself. He took Rory's hand.

It is unknown how long the silence permeated the dining room. In the interim, Luke returned to the table with his wife's drink. But, at last, the bombs all seemed to go off at once, in slow motion, as Emily finally lost it.

"Lord, take me away. What have I done to deserve this?" the Gilmore matriarch moaned. "They're too young! For... any of it! But especially getting married!"

Lorelai couldn't help it. She burst into offended laughter. "Do you even hear yourself, Mom? What a hypocrite! 20 years ago, you were all ready to marry me off to Christopher... when we were sixteen!"

Emily spluttered, caught in the intellectual trap that oh so easily befalls some people, mostly Republicans.

Richard tried to admirably salvage what little he could by turning to his granddaughter and attempting to remain calm. "Rory, don't you think getting married is something you should discuss with your father?"

"I have," and Rory beamed lovingly at Luke.

"Your father, Rory, not your... stepfather," Emily scoffed.

"Luke was fine with it. I asked his permission," Marty offered up. "What were your exact words again, Luke?"

"Treat her well and be faithful, or I will hunt you down and kill you," Luke recited.

"See?" Rory grinned. "Christopher doesn't need to have a say in this."

"Rory!" Richard barked. "What a thing to say! He's your father!"

"No, he is," and Rory pointed to Luke; for the first time, there was an edge to her voice. "Luke has been there for me from the time I was small. He's the first person I told about my pregnancy. Dad has never been around for me. I will send him an invitation to the wedding, send him a letter to tell him about the baby, but beyond that, Christopher doesn't have a right to be involved!"

"This is all your fault!" Emily seethed to Lorelai. "Raising her as you did, letting her romp around ridiculously! She's... she's just like you!"

Lorelai shook her head, regarding her mother almost sadly. "No. She's better."

Emily was speechless, struck dumb. "You're... you're her mother! Stop her! Say no to this ridiculous engagement!"

"It is Rory's choice," Lorelai said simply. "And I will love her and support her in that choice. As will Luke."

"You're damn right I will," Luke growled.

"I think we'd better go," Lorelai said, and rounding everyone up, they left the mansion. Rory hung back, for just a moment, to tell her grandparents, "I really hope you'll come to my wedding."


The rest of the spring semester at Yale went by. By the time of move-out in May, Rory had still not started showing. By August, however, that scenario would change, whereupon Rory would tell her closest friends, with Paris at the top of the list.

That summer, invitations to Rory's wedding were sent out. It would be held at the Dragonfly Inn, with many of Lorelai's colleagues chipping in to help their boss foot the bill. Luke had accepted Rory's heartfelt request to walk her down the aisle, after which the bride sent a letter and invitation to her father, Christopher, explaining everything. Several days letter, he replied, shocked but promising to support Rory in whatever she wanted. He even seemed to accept Luke giving Rory away. His only request was to meet Marty before the nuptials; after some debate, both Rory and Marty agreed.

The whole of Stars Hollow jammed the ceremony, marveling at how Rory was getting married so young. No one outside of the family knew of Rory's pregnancy. Paris Geller, however, was not so easily fooled, connecting the dots and bluntly asking Rory just before the ceremony, "Are you knocked up?"

Stunned at how she figured it out, Rory silently nodded.

"Well, I'd rather it was Woody Boyd than Airhead Blondie Huntzberger."

"Did you just make a Cheers reference? Up top, Paris! You've got some serious game!" Lorelai high-fived her daughter's Maid of Honor, as she finished doing up Rory's hair.

The wedding finally stared, with Luke trying not to burst into tears as he escorted his stepdaughter down the aisle. Glancing at all the faces of the people who loved her, Rory broke into a huge, relieved grin when she saw her grandparents, sitting in the front row. Her wedding invitation to them had gone unanswered, with no RSVP, to the point that Rory had given up hope they would be coming. However, Emily had contacted Lorelai several days prior to the ceremony and asked if there was still room for two more. Lorelai had agreed, and also promised to let her parents surprise Rory.

As they had with her mother, Reverend Skinner and Rabbi Barans jointly officiated. Taylor had written a speech, but Luke had pushed it back to the reception and made the Town Selectman heavily edit it. Upon the final pronouncement, Rory and Marty shyly kissed like two kids in love as everyone applauded.

Only then did Luke finally break down into sobs, not even minding that a weepy Kirk took the initiative to console him.