So here we go, a happier chapter than the last few. I hope you enjoy.

Also, I noticed (and have heard from a few others) that the alerts aren't working so some of you may have missed the previous chapter that I posted last week, in case you wanted to go back and check that out. I received an alert for another story earlier this afternoon, so I'm hoping that means the problem is resolved.

Chapter 9

The next morning, Luke and Jess were trying to finish loading their stuff into the trailer. Rory stepped out on the side porch.

"Do I need to move my car?" She asked

"You can put it in the garage if you want," Luke said. "Before you do that, will you go check on your mom? She's the one who wanted to leave at six, and I haven't seen her since I came downstairs."

"She's in the kitchen filling travel mugs with coffee," Rory told him.

"Okay," Luke nodded. "Carry on."

"I'll move the car," Jess offered as Luke was putting the last bag into the trailer.

"Thanks," Rory replied as she tossed Jess the keys.

Luke went into the house as Rory followed.

"We're stopping at the diner to get breakfast and coffee, I already called to make sure Cesar would have it ready," Luke told Lorelai as he walked into the kitchen.

"One can never have too much coffee, dear husband, you should've learned that by now," Lorelai told him. "Besides, this is Luke coffee, the coffee from the diner will be Cesar coffee, and won't be as good."

"Why do I even bother with you?" Luke shook his head, Lorelai and Rory just giggled. "Where's April?"

"She went into the study to get a couple of books to take with her," Lorelai answered.

"We need to get going," he said before going back outside.

"April, let's go!" Lorelai called.

"Coming," April replied.

"Why were you the one who wanted to leave so early?" Rory asked her mom as she grabbed her purse from the kitchen island.

"Because they're having a festival that starts this morning, and I want to go," Lorelai explained, picking up all the cups of coffee.

"Why not just go tomorrow?" She asked as they started out the door.

"It's going to be too crowded tomorrow," she told her.

"Are you planning on sharing any of that coffee?" Rory wondered, taking two of the cups before Lorelai spilled them all.

"No way, I went to the trouble of filling all these cups, you guys can have Cesar coffee," Lorelai replied.

"Fine, you can carry your own coffee," Rory held the travel cups out to her mom.

"I guess you can have those two," she groaned.

"Thank you," Rory kissed her mom on the cheek. "You're the best Mommy in the world."

Lorelai was putting her cups in the cup holders of the SUV when she saw TJ and Doula walking up the driveway.

"TJ? What are you and Doula doing here?" Lorelai asked, stepping out of the vehicle.

"Aunt Lola!" The pajama clad girl squealed as she ran to her aunt.

"Hi Pumpkin," Lorelai grinned as she knelt down to hug her.

"Well, Luke asked if I would come over to get Paul Anka before you left, so he wouldn't have to see you leaving," TJ explained. "And Doula decided to wake up just before I left to walk over here, so she came with me."

"Well, we appreciate you and Liz offering to keep Paul Anka," Lorelai replied graciously, standing up.

"Hey TJ, thanks for coming to get him," Luke said as he and Jess came from the garage, he had Paul Anka on a leash, carrying a bag of dog items.

"No problem," TJ nodded, taking the leash and bag from his brother-in-law.

"I'm going to go lock up," Luke said, going toward the house.

"Jess!" Doula exclaimed, releasing her hold on Lorelai's leg to run to her brother.

"Hey baby sister," Jess said, picking her up and tossing her into the air as she giggled.

"You're going to take care of Paul Anka for Aunt Lola this weekend?" He asked her.

"Yep," Doula nodded.

"Take good care of him, okay?" Lorelai said.

"I will!" Doula replied, reaching out for Lorelai to take her

"Aunt Lola can't hold you right now, she doesn't feel well," Jess told the girl, holding her back from all but lunging into Lorelai's arms.

"Yeah, I'm sorry sweetie," Lorelai added.

"It's okay," Doula grinned.

"Paul Anka, you be good for Doula," Lorelai said, leaning over to pet her beloved dog.

"Doula, tell everyone goodbye," TJ instructed as Jess put the girl down.

"Bye," Doula waved before taking off down the driveway.

"Bye, thanks again for taking care of him," Lorelai told him before he turned to follow his daughter.

"Welcome," he said.

"Let's get going," Luke said as he and April came out of the house.

That evening, after Lorelai, Rory and April spent most of the day in town at the festival, and Luke and Jess had unloaded the trailer, as well as unpacked the items they had brought for the house, the five of them sat outside around the fire pit.

Lorelai had got up to hand the box graham crackers to Jess, pulling her blanket around her tighter as she went back to her chair. Luke reached out from his chair and caught her by the hand, pulling her to him. She sat down in his lap, leaning in for a chaste kiss as he put his arms around her.

"I love you," she smiled.

"I love you too," he smiled back. "How are you feeling?"

They watched as Rory, Jess and April toasted marshmallows for s'mores, the girls teasing Jess about his method of toasting a marshmallow.

"I'm okay, I may have overdid it today with all the walking around, I'm tired," she admitted.

"Good thing we get to relax for the next three days," Luke pointed out.

"I plan on taking full advantage of that," Lorelai grinned. "What about you? How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, having the kids around makes things a lot easier to deal with," he admitted.

"I agree…I'm just glad only Buddy, Maisy and Sookie knew," Lorelai rested her head against his as they continued to watch Jess and the girls. "Although I'm pretty sure Michel thought I lost my mind when I was sitting in my office with Audrey yesterday."

"Who cares what Michel thinks," he muttered.

"For you," Rory said as she came around the fire pit to give Lorelai a s'more.

"Thank you sweets," Lorelai sat up as she took the treat from her daughter.

"What about me?" Luke asked.

"You're seriously going to eat a s'more?" Rory's jaw dropped as she looked at him.

Luke shrugged. "I'm just sayin' that if one of my kids were to hand me one, I probably wouldn't turn it down."

"I gotta see this," Lorelai grinned.

Rory grabbed a graham cracker and chocolate as April offered up the marshmallow she was toasting. She quickly brought it back to Luke as if he would rescind the offer if they took too long. Then she went back to her seat.

Luke looked at the s'more as if he were trying to figure out the best way to attack it. When he looked up, he realized he had a captive audience.

"Okay, that's enough," he told them.

"Luke, how long has it been since you've had a s'more?" Lorelai laughed as she ate her s'more.

"I don't know, I was probably 10 or 12," he replied, still eyeing the s'more.

"Luke! That's forever ago!" Lorelai shrieked.

"I'm trying to remedy that, if you don't mind," he shot her a sideways glance before taking a bite of the s'more.

They all waited with baited breath to see his reaction. He chewed and finally swallowed.

"Not bad," he nodded.

"That's it?" April frowned.

"Yep," he replied.

"That was very anticlimactic," Jess said.

"Was there supposed to be some type of flavor explosion of epic proportions to make me regret going more than 30 years without a s'more?" Luke questioned.

"Yes!" The three women in his life exclaimed at once.

"Sorry," he shrugged.

Rory returned to her seat and they continued toasting marshmallows as Luke took a second bite of the s'more, getting the sticky marshmallow on the side of his mouth.

"You've got marshmallow…" Lorelai pointed out before leaning in to kiss him, swiping her tongue across the sticky substance.

Luke dropped the remainder of the s'more to the ground, his arms snaking around his wife's waist as he deepened the kiss. Momentarily forgetting the world around them.

April noticed them first, reaching across Jess to tap Rory on the arm, pointing out their parents.

"Ah geez," Jess said uncomfortably, getting up and walking down toward the lake.

Rory moved over into his seat. "At least they aren't at each other's throats this time."

"Thank god," April added. "When I was sitting at the hospital with Lorelai, and we were waiting on Dad, that's all I could think about…that he was going to show up and they would start fighting, and it would be the beginning of the end for them."

"Well, their relationship has grown a lot since the last miscarriage," Rory reminded her. "They had barely got their footing when they found out they were pregnant, it's been three years since they got back together, they've worked through their problems, and they're a lot stronger now."

When Luke and Lorelai came up for air, she noticed Jess was gone and the girls were talking quietly.

"Where's Jess?" Luke asked.

"He went down by the lake," April pointed out.

"He was disturbed by your public display of affection," Rory added as both girls began to laugh.

"Jess!" Lorelai exclaimed across the yard. "It's safe to come back now!"

"I'm good here," he replied.

"What are we going to do tomorrow?" April asked as she sat back in her chair.

"Taking the boat out," Lorelai spoke up.

"We have a boat?!" April and Rory exclaimed.

"Yes, we have a boat," Luke replied, then looked at Lorelai. "I thought you were going to relax tomorrow."

"I can relax on the boat," she shrugged. "No better place to relax than laying out on a boat."

"When did we get a boat?" Rory asked as Jess finally rejoined them, taking the seat Rory had vacated.

"Luke bought it a couple weeks ago," Lorelai answered.

"Mid-life crisis?" Jess teased

"No, just something to have fun with while we're here," Luke explained.

"Is it a speed boat?" Rory questioned excitedly.

"I wouldn't call it a speed boat, but it goes pretty fast," Luke shrugged.

"Can we water ski?" April asked hopefully.

"Ooh, I've always wanted to learn to water ski!" Rory added.

"We don't have any water skis," Luke told them.

"Bummer," Rory frowned.

Lorelai looked to Luke and could see that he was up to something, she just wasn't sure what it was. When he caught her looking at him, she smiled sweetly.

"I think it's my bedtime," she yawned.

"Mine too," Luke replied, also yawning as Lorelai stood up.

"Are you guys staying out here for a little while?" Lorelai asked the girls and Jess.

"I am," Rory answered.

"Me too," Jess added.

"I think I will too, if that's okay with you," April looked to Rory and Jess.

"Of course," Rory smiled at her stepsister.

"Jess, will you make sure the fire is put out before you come inside?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, I will," Jess replied.

They said their goodnights, Luke and Lorelai went into the house to get ready for bed, while the girls and Jess stayed up talking and laughing until late.

The next morning, Luke was up before everyone else, and made a trip to town to buy water skis for the girls. He was down at the boathouse getting everything ready to go when Lorelai appeared with a cup of coffee in hand.

"What's all this?" She asked, waving her finger toward the water skiing equipment as she stepped onto the boat.

"Water skis," he shrugged.

"Babe," she giggled, going over to him and snaking her free arm around his waist. "You spoil those girls."

"Whatever my girls want, they get," he reminded her. "You included."

"They're going to be so excited," she smiled before tilting her head to lean in to kiss him. "You're too good to us, Luke."

"You're worth it," he replied before pressing his lips to hers. "Are they up yet?"

"Yeah, they were eating the donuts you brought when I came down here," Lorelai took a sip of her coffee.

"I hope they don't mind that I didn't cook," he said as he went back to getting things ready for the boat.

"Are you kidding me?" She questioned as she stepped into the boat with him. "They know this was supposed to be a lazy weekend, you always get up early to make sure we're fed, you deserve a break every once in awhile too."

"Thanks," he said. "You feel okay?"

"Yeah, I feel pretty good today," she nodded, taking a seat on one of the benches.

He looked up from what he was doing, and could see that she had something on her mind.

"What's up?" He asked, going over and taking a seat next to her.

"I just…I don't know," she sighed. "This morning I was thinking about the future, and about us trying for another baby. Obviously I want another or two, but it's kinda looking like that might not happen, and I don't want to keep trying just to miscarry."

"Lorelai," Luke's voice cracked, he put an arm around her and pressed a kiss to her hair. "It hurts me every time I see the look of disappointment on your face when you have another negative pregnancy test, and after the first miscarriage, I thought our marriage was going to fall apart before it even started, I couldn't bear the thought of being apart from you. We're in a better place now, but dealing with my grief and seeing you deal with yours, it damn near kills me."

"So what are you saying?" She stared into his eyes, searching for the answers.

"Right now, I'm saying it hurts too much to want to try again, but I think I might change my mind if you're willing to try again," he replied.

"I don't know if I have it in me to try again," she admitted, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to keep the tears at bay, she wasn't successful. "But I'd like to talk more with the fertility specialists before we make any concrete decisions."

"I agree," he hugged her close, pulling the hem of his shirt up to wipe her tears.

Lorelai heard Rory's voice and April's giggles, she quickly dried the remainder of her tears, then the tears Luke had shed. He still had his arm around her shoulders.

When the girls and Jess finally came into view, Rory was the first to notice her parents' demeanor.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

"We can go back to the house if you need some time alone," April added.

"No, no, it's fine," Luke assured them as they stood up, he kept his arm around Lorelai's shoulder. "We were just talking, we're okay."

"Look what your dad went and bought this morning," Lorelai pointed out the water ski equipment, stepping away from Luke and over to the water ski equipment.

"Water skis!" April squealed, going to hug her dad.

"Thank you Luke!" Rory added excitedly, also hugging Luke.

"You're welcome," he said as he hugged his daughters.

"I brought the drinks and snacks," Jess told Lorelai as he held up the ice chest.

"I'll take it," she said, going to get it from him where he was standing on the dock.

"No, you're not lifting it, I got it," Jess argued, stepping into the boat with the ice chest.

"Thanks Jess," Lorelai said gratefully.

"Are we ready to go?" Luke asked, clapping his hands together.

"I think so," Lorelai replied.

The next two days were spent on the lake and around the house. The girls and Jess were getting pretty good at water skiing, Luke was able to get in some fishing time, Rory and April took Lorelai to get pedicures. With the exception of checking in with their jobs once, no one worked or answered phone calls all weekend long. They had some much needed family time away from the rest of the world.

Sunday afternoon, Lorelai was walking toward the kitchen to get a bottle of water when she saw Jess, Rory and April all in the living room with their noses in books. She laughed silently as she watched them for a moment.

"What are you looking at?" Luke asked quietly as he came up behind her, snaking his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"The kids," Lorelai pointed out. "You know most people their age would be watching TV or have cell phones attached to their hands. I think we got pretty lucky that all three of them are perfectly content with sitting down and reading a book."

"I agree," Luke nodded, pulling her into the kitchen so they could talk at a normal volume. "You know, I used to think we needed a baby of our own to complete our family, but you and those three in there, you're my perfect family. If we get lucky enough to have more kids, so be it, but I'm perfectly happy the way things are right now."

"Me too," she nodded, leaning into him as he leaned against the counter with his arms back around her waist. "I just wish we could stay here forever, just the five of us."

"I think we need to take some time off this summer, spend time with April, go to New York to visit Rory and Jess…just do what makes us happy," Luke told her. "Cesar can take care of the diner, Sookie and Michel are more than capable of handling the Dragonfly, it's a lot easier for us to take off than it is for Jess and Rory."

"You're right…we should do it, we'll talk to Jess and Rory to see when is best for them, and we'll get everything set up," Lorelai agreed.

"Should we ask them now?" He wondered.

"Sure," she nodded and turned to go back to the family room. "Oh children."

"Yes Mother?" Rory asked, mocking Lorelai's formality.

"Luke and I were just talking…" Lorelai said as they sat down on the couch next to Rory. "How would you feel about us and April coming to visit for like a week or so?"

"Mom! That would be great!" Rory exclaimed excitedly. "When?"

"We thought we would see what your schedule is like before we make any plans," Luke answered. "April will be here until right after the 4th of July."

"Isn't your anniversary coming up in a couple weeks?" Jess asked. "Maybe you should come then."

"They probably want to be alone on their anniversary," April chimed in.

"If they need alone time on their anniversary, they can get a hotel, you can stay with us," Rory replied.

"Well, we'll probably stay in a hotel so we don't disrupt your schedule while we're there, but we'll stay close," Luke said. "But of course we want to be with all of you on our anniversary."

"It's just a suggestion," Jess pointed out as he gave Lorelai a knowing glance.

"Yeah, so that's in a couple weeks, April will be ungrounded, I should be feeling better, so I think we should plan for that," Lorelai said, seeing that Jess was up to something.

"Okay," Luke nodded, then turned to his daughter. "Is that okay with you, April?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," April grinned.

"We can show you some of our favorite bookstores while you're there," Rory added.

"Perfect!"

Later, Lorelai was sitting on the back porch swing overlooking the lake while Luke and Jess were in the boathouse making sure everything was put away since they would be leaving the next morning. Rory and April had gone for a walk. She had been looking at a magazine and enjoying the sunshine when she noticed Jess making his way to the house, sans Luke.

"Hey," she said as he started up the steps.

"Hey."

"So what was that look this afternoon?" She wondered, patting the seat next to her for him to sit down, which he did.

"Well since the day before your wedding was the day Rory decided to give me a second chance, I decided that would be the day I would propose to her," Jess replied. "And I know it would mean a lot to Rory if you could be there to witness it."

"Oh Jess, that's a great idea," Lorelai smiled. "Where are you going to pop the question?"

"In the Shakespeare Garden in Central Park," he answered.

"She's going to be thrilled," Lorelai beamed. "I can't believe you two are finally getting engaged."

"That's if she says yes," he reminded her.

"Are you kidding me?" She questioned as her eyes widened. "There's no way she's going to say no!"

"She could," Jess pointed out.

"She's not going to," Lorelai assured him. "You guys have known each other for nearly ten years, you have a history."

"Yeah…a not so great history," he grumbled.

"But that's what makes it so great," she put her arm around his shoulders. "You did some bad things, things I hated you for at the time, but Jess, I know you've changed, and Rory knows you've changed, you two found your way back to each other and she forgave you. And you know that when she forgives you, it's complete forgiveness, she doesn't hold it over your head for the rest of your life."

"I know, but—"

"But nothing, she's going to say yes," she shook him a little with the arm that was around his shoulders. "And while we're getting it all out on the table, I have to say I'd much rather have you for a son-in-law than Logan."

They both started laughing as Luke came up the steps onto the deck.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"Jess and I were just having a little conversation about some things he has planned while we're in New York," Lorelai grinned.

"Scoot over," he said, Lorelai scooted closer to Jess so Luke could sit with them. "What do you have planned for us?"

"It's not for us, it's for Rory," Lorelai corrected with a wide smile still on her face.

"I'd like to propose on the 27th, that's the day we got back together two years ago," Jess added.

"Jess, that's great, she's going to be so happy," Luke replied with a smile.

"I told you," Lorelai told Jess, then looked back to Luke. "He's worried she'll say no."

"She's not going to say no," Luke said.

"I tried to tell him," Lorelai threw her hands up in the air.

"Mom!" Rory called from somewhere inside the house.

"We're out here!" Lorelai replied.

"What's all this about?" April asked suspiciously as she and Rory stepped out onto the back porch, seeing Luke, Lorelai and Jess on the swing.

"Any room for us?" Rory asked as she and April joined them on the swing, she sat on Jess and Lorelai's laps as April sat on Luke and Lorelai, both girls giggling, causing the rest of them to laugh as well.

"I hope this thing doesn't fall," Jess commented, looking up at where the swing was connected to the overhang.

"Luke put it in, it should be sturdy enough," Lorelai replied as Rory pushed her foot against the deck as hard as she could causing the swing to go back and forth.

"Were you guys conspiring against us?" Rory asked them in a suspicious tone.

"Yes," Luke and Jess replied in unison.

"No, Jess and I were out here talking, and Luke joined us right before you did," Lorelai explained as they continued to swing back and forth.

The five of them continued talking and laughing on the swing for awhile longer. April and Jess were teasing Rory about something she said. Luke looked over to Lorelai, who was smiling, but had tears in her eyes.

"You okay?" He reached over and touched her shoulder.

"I'm perfect, this is all I'll ever need," she smiled at him, leaning over to kiss him. "I love you."

"I love you too," Luke replied before kissing her again.

"Get a room," Jess quipped as he was the first to notice them.

"Shut up Jess," Luke said, reaching behind Lorelai and flicking Jess on the ear.

"Ow, that hurt!" Jess flinched, grabbing his ear.

"You're lucky I didn't push you in the lake," Luke muttered.

"Why are you so uncomfortable with them showing affection towards each other?" Rory asked, lightly elbowing him in the ribs.

"Because they're your parents and it's awkward," Jess answered.

"So when you're a parent, you're just going to stop kissing Rory?" April prodded.

"No, but—"

"But nothing…I think it's sweet that they aren't afraid to show affection in front of us," April said.

"Yeah, I can remember when Luke was all awkward about PDA in the beginning," Rory teased.

"But he came around," Lorelai looked at Luke lovingly.

Later that night after Luke, Jess and April had gone to bed, Lorelai and Rory sat on the couch talking.

"I really wish I didn't have to leave you tomorrow," Rory said as she snuggled into her mom's side.

"I wish you didn't have to leave either," Lorelai wrapped her arms around her daughter. "And if there were something in Stars Hollow for you, I'd tie you up and make you stay with us forever, but you and Jess are already doing great things in New York, and we all know that's where you are meant to be."

"I know," she sighed. "Are you going back to work on Tuesday?"

"Yes, I'm feeling 100% better physically, this weekend has given me a chance to relax and recover, and having you, Jess and April around has helped me put things into perspective," Lorelai answered.

"How so?" Rory asked.

"Well, even though Luke and I would still like to have kids together, I've realized that the family I do have is perfect just the way it is, and if we don't have any more children, I am at peace with that," she explained.

"So you're going to stop the treatments?"

"We discussed it and we're going to discuss it with my doctors before we make a decision," she explained. "I'm just saying that we're happy with having the three of you in our lives, and look forward to you guys eventually—a very long time from now—giving us grandchildren."

Rory sat up and looked at her mother skeptically. "Mom…I know how badly you and Luke have wanted a baby, and I really hope you're not trying to convince yourself that everything is okay just because we're around, because I know it's easy for you to put all your focus on us, and enjoying being with us, but Jess and I are leaving tomorrow, and in a few weeks, April will be back in New Mexico with Anna. And life will go back to normal, I'm just worried that's when it will all hit you."

"I appreciate your honesty, kid," Lorelai said. "And while it's easy to push the emotional pain of the miscarriage out of my mind while you guys are here, it's all still there, I won't lie to you, it hurts more than anything I've ever experienced, and I'm facing it head on, I'm not trying to deny it, but being with you guys does make it better. You've helped me more than you will ever know just by being here with me."

"I love you Mom," Rory put her head back on Lorelai's shoulder as she put her arms around her waist.

"I love you too," Lorelai smiled. "I don't want you worrying about me so much."

"I won't…because if you start going off the rails, Luke will call me," Rory said.

"I'm not going to go off the rails," she scoffed.

"I know, I was telling April the other night that you and Luke are in a much better place now than you were during the last miscarriage," Rory said.

"Oh yeah, even after a couple sessions with a marriage counselor, we were doing a lot better," Lorelai replied. "I think that experience has helped us deal with this miscarriage, we knew where we went wrong last time."

"That's good," Rory nodded.

"There was a moment in the hospital where he completely broke down after I got out of surgery…I knew we were on the same page, and that's when I knew we were going to be okay," Lorelai confessed.

"I really can't imagine Luke breaking down, he's always been so tough," Rory said. "I think the only time I ever saw him cry was at your wedding."

"He cried at your high school graduation," Lorelai added.

"I thought you were kidding about that!"

"Nope, he cried," she replied. "You have no idea how proud he is of you…the pride in his voice when he can tell someone 'our daughter Rory works at the New York Times,' or any time he can refer to you as 'our daughter.'"

Rory snorted at Lorelai's bad imitation of Luke's voice. "He does not."

"He does, he brags about you and April every chance he gets," Lorelai told her.

"You know, sometimes I think back to all the important events in my life, and how Luke was always there for me—for us," she said. "And I wonder how things would be if he was my dad, and not Chris."

"Chris? When did you start calling him Chris?" Lorelai wondered.

She sat up at her mom's question. "You've heard me call him that before."

"No, I think I would remember my daughter referring to her father by his given name when you've called him 'Dad' all these years," she replied

"I haven't talked to him in over a year, he's never really been around except for the few years in high school, and some in college, and when he was trying to derail your life," she explained. "All the big moments in my life, it was Luke who was there, not Chris. And then he moved to Paris with Sherry and Gigi, and they have another baby, Grandma said it's a boy, but I know nothing about him, I don't even know his name. Chris stopped making an effort to contact me, so I stopped too."

"Aww hon," Lorelai frowned, hugging her daughter.

"The weird thing is, I'm not really upset about it, I feel like he didn't value me enough to keep in touch or ever be a part of my life, and I don't need people like that in my life," Rory told her as they both sat back. "I've got Jess, who treats me like I'm a queen, April is the little sister I never had, someone who I can actually have an intelligent conversation with, not a bratty five-year-old, I have the best mom in the world, and I have Luke, who—for all intents and purposes—is my dad, and a damn good one for someone who didn't have kids for most of his life."

"He loves you more than you'll ever know, kid," Lorelai smiled.

"I love him too," she replied.

The pair sat up talking most of the night, it wasn't often they got uninterrupted one-on-one time with each other. Not that they didn't love the rest of the family, but sometimes they just needed it to be the two of them.

The next afternoon, following lunch at the diner, they stood in the driveway saying their goodbyes.

"I don't want you to leave," Lorelai hugged her daughter tightly.

"I know, but you'll be in Manhattan before you know it," Rory reminded her, stepping back, but keeping her hands on Lorelai's shoulders.

"That reminds me, I mentioned it to Cesar, and he said that he is more than happy to take over while we're gone," Luke added.

"And I'll make sure those dates work for Sookie and Michel when I go in tomorrow morning," Lorelai replied.

"I can't wait for you guys to visit," Rory said excitedly.

"We better get going, traffic is going to be a nightmare," Jess told Rory.

"Yeah, we should," Rory added.

"Bye Jess," Luke said as he pulled his nephew in for a manly hug.

"Bye Luke," Jess replied, then turned to hug Lorelai. "Bye Lorelai."

"Bye Jess," Lorelai said, then whispered in his ear. "If you need help with the plans, let me know."

"I will," he replied

"See ya, kid," Luke said as he hugged Rory.

"Bye, thanks for everything this weekend, we had fun," she replied.

"Me too," he smiled.

"April, I'll see you in a few weeks," Rory hugged her stepsister.

"I can't wait," April replied with a grin.

"Think of all the places you want to see, we'll try to see as many of them as we can," Jess told her as he gave her a side hug.

"Okay," she replied, returning the half hug.

"Bye Mom," Rory hugged her again.

"Bye sweets, I love you, I'll see you in a couple weeks," Lorelai said as she kissed her cheek.

"Love you too," she replied.

Luke, Lorelai and April waved as Rory and Jess got in their car and drove away.

"What do my girls want to do tonight?" Luke asked as he put his arms around Lorelai and April as they walked back toward the house.

"Can we order Chinese food?" Lorelai grinned as they were making their way up the steps.

"Oh, and we can watch Pretty in Pink because we haven't got to watch it yet this year," April added.

After watching the movie at April's 13th birthday party, April fell in love with it. Once her dad and Lorelai re-connected in 2007, and April got to start spending time with Lorelai, watching Pretty in Pink was one of her first requests. The next two years when she came to visit around her birthday, she asked to watch it again. It had become a tradition of hers and Lorelai's.

"You know, I think I have some stuff I need to take care of at the diner," Luke replied, trying to turn around as April opened the screen door to the house.

"Oh no you don't," Lorelai grabbed his arm.

"Come on Dad, at least have dinner with us, you can go do your own thing after that," April pleaded, holding the door open for them.

"Fine, fine, get the phone, the quicker we order, the less of that movie I have to watch," he grumbled, walking into the house.