Hello again sweethearts,

Thank you for all your lovely reviews. I love you all, I mean it!

Now we've finally reached the chapter we've all been waiting for ;-)

Hope you like it,

let's give them, what they deserve...

- Chapter 10 - Righting the wrongs -

"Luke, honey, can you come here for a-" a sleepy Lorelai stopped mid-sentence when she took in the heart-wrenching scene in front of her.

It had been a long night.

Ava had been keeping them both up all evening and most of the night. When Luke went for a midnight stroll with her, Lorelai finally managed to catch up on some much needed sleep.

She couldn't remember when she had ever been this tired.

Sure, she had been through all of this before with Rory at the delicate age of only 16 and she didn't even have much help then, but it was still different this time.

She was older now. And even though Luke was, of course, the greatest husband and father alive, they still found themselves beyond exhausted and tired most every day.

They passed out on the couch before they had even managed to make it past the first commercial of whatever show or movie they were trying to watch.

Teething was tough business and Ava struggled way more with it than her brother.

'He suffers in silence', as Luke liked to say, not hiding his pride over the perfect and gorgeous mini version of himself.

Noah was a sweet and quiet boy. Very relaxed and easy to love, and only cranky when hungry.

The closer their first birthday came, the more Lorelai wished for some uninterrupted sleep. Wished for more help. Wished for a break and some alone time, even if it were just five minutes in the bathroom where no one was crying for a boob or a new diaper. She sighed and walked closer towards the couch.

All her crazy thoughts blew up into nothing, when she took a closer look at him.

The man, she had built this amazing life with. The man, who made it all worth it. The man, who had given her her precious babies. The man, who she had once thought she had lost. The man, who was so much more than just her partner, her husband and the father to her children.

He was her soulmate, her greatest cheerleader, her biggest support system, the family's provider and everything and more she could have ever dreamed of.

As she watched Luke sleep on the couch, a peacefully snoring Ava on his bare chest, she smiled softly and her eyes welled up with tears of joy.

The lines around his eyes and mouth had gotten deeper. The receding hairline bugged him more and more each year. The tattoos on his upper arms were slowly starting to fade away. His skin was covered in more freckles and soft dusting of grey hair. His back ached, but he never complained about it, he went to the doctor four times a year to get an injection and he was good to go, as he liked to put it.

He never complained. He got up at night to bottle-feed the twins, he worked less hours and never on the weekends. He cooked for them every day and like he always had, he kept the house from falling apart. The new add-on was much more work, and he also helped her with that. She couldn't believe, how she had ever gotten so lucky. She finally must have done something right after all.

Today was Sunday. A bright and sunny Sunday in late September.

As she stood there, watching her life long dream unfold in front of her, Lorelai once again thanked heavens for the special gift Luke had brought into their lives.

He had not only given her two beautiful and healthy babies, he also loved the three of them unconditionally and more and more each day.

And other than before, he showed and told her that every single day, even if they had a big fight or a simple argument. When they had gotten back together almost two three years ago, they had made the promise to never go to bed angry, to always kiss each other good night, and to always make sure to tell each other how much they meant to one another.

And so far, no one had broken the promise.

Lorelai looked at Luke lovingly and was reminded of a photograph from more than 20 years ago.

The old picture was burned into her brain forever. It had stirred something inside her when she had seen it for the very first time a few Christmases ago.

Luke was holding baby Jess. Tired. Exhausted. Caring. Loving. Selfless. Unconditionally.

This was Luke.

Her Luke all along.

The husband she always wanted to have and she knew she deserved. The amazing father she always knew he would be. The man she had loved for longer than she was even aware of.

The night she had first seen that photograph, was the night Lorelai had made a promise to herself.

She would make herself happy. And the only way to be truly happy, was with Luke in her life. She had tried without him, but she failed.

Lorelai made the promise to fight for it, fight for him. To work on whatever was necessary so that she would never lose him ever again.

And now, just a few short years later, she had it all. Everything she had ever wished for had come true.

She hadn't lost him and she never ever would.

Like she had written years ago, 'Once Luke Danes is in your life, he's in your life forever.'

And he had also kept his promise. Through the good times and the bad he was standing by her side. When she was crying over yet another pregancy test coming back negative. When she almost passed out from the joy of finally, after months of trying, seeing two stripes appear on the plain plastic stick. When she threw up every night. When she went into premature labor and was put to bedrest for the last nine weeks of her pregnancy.

He had held her hand through all of it and cheered her on, until finally, 27 painful hours later, on October 22nd she had given birth to the most beautiful babies the world had ever seen.

Dreams do come true.

Her hormones got the best of her and a happy tear slipped out of the corner of her eye.

She stood there for a while, swaying gently back and forth, enjoying her little trip down memory lane. It was all too good to be true.

Finally Noah was burping against her shoulder and Lorelai was glad that now she didn't need to wake up Luke. Usually Noah only burped with daddy.

"You're a good boy, baby." Lorelai cooed sweetly.

"We'll let daddy and your sissy sleep for a little bit, ok sweet boy?"

The typical, heavenly baby smell radiated from his warm body and Lorelai couldn't help but take it all in. Noah smiled one of these gorgeous, wide and innocent smiles that only babies were able to and that made you think that there is nothing but peace and love in the world. His two tiny front teeth melted her heart every time he looked at her like that. Bright blue eyes laughed happily at their beloved mother.

"You're turning into a little momma's boy, aren't you?" she giggled and tickled his rounded belly. The red and blue plaid flannel onesie he wore was one of her most favorite things in the entire world. She remembered the day Rory had given it to her. The longest eye roll in the history of Luke Danes' eyerolls had followed. But behind his annoyed façade she saw how Luke secretly loved the outfit on his little boy. His chest swelled with pride every time he talked about Noah, and he already got all protective when someone came too close to his little precious princess Ava.

The twins had turned their life around completely and Luke and Lorelai wouldn't want to have it any other way.

The sunlight was beaming through the curtains and dust particles were dancing through the air, but nobody cared. When Noah made a cute gurgling sound, Lorelai laughed. "Yes you are my little man, you are a momma's boy!"

And suddenly it was cold around her. The bright and sunny Sunday with rays of sunshine beaming through their remodeled living room was replaced with a cool breeze leaving her shocked and shivering in the middle of the room. When she opened her eyes she saw a mistle toe dangling from the ceiling and when she turned her aching head towards her surroundings she saw a cold fireplace, Christmas stockings hanging all around it, little angel figurines lined up on the mantle.

"Who's a momma's boy?" a curious voice asked her, thick with amusement.

What had happened?

In her head she was still mother to 11 month old Ava and Noah Danes. She was married for more than two years and her husband and daughter were sleeping soundly on a big comfy couch that looked nothing like this one.

Lorelai held her hammering forehead and closed her burning eyes, her eye lids heavy as bricks.

What was going on? Why was she here on that tiny old couch?

She remembered, that the person who had asked the question was still waiting for an answer and apparently that person was also related to her.

"Mom?" the voice asked again, tearing her away from the bright and sunny Sunday again.

Rory started getting a little anxious. "Mom? What is it?" she walked over to her mother, who was now sitting up on the old couch. God, that thing was uncomfortable!

"Are you alright? Usually you master your alcohol better than that." Rory tried to joke when Lorelai still seemed far far away with her thoughts.

When the front door opened, another cool breeze was entering the house. Lorelai turned her head to see who was coming in.

"Luke." She croaked, her throat aching like she had been swallowing acid and sand the other night.

Luke was alarmed immediately. "What's wrong with you?"

He briefly looked at Rory, only to find her just as confused and concerned as he was.

"Is she alright?"

When Luke sat down next to Lorelai and she saw his hand that carefully touched hers, she found her voice back: "Where is your ring? You said you'd never take it off!" Tears sprang to her eyes and the way her face fell apart worried Luke to no end.

"What are you- Rory, what is this?" he asked helplessly, looking up at Rory again. She just shrugged and went over to them. She laid her hand against her mother's forehead. "She's not hot. Maybe she just had a nightmare?"

Luke held the shaking woman in his arms, careful not to move her too much as she clung to him for dear life. "Must have been a hell of a nightmare then!" he said and kept on caressing her dark brown curls. His touch was soft and gentle, but comforting and strong as well.

"You promised!" she repeated over and over again until her sobs eventually died down.

"You promised! You promised!" her voice was barely recognizable. Something pulled on her shoulder. Hard. Harder.

"Mom! Mom!" Rory tried again. "How much did you have to drink? Wake up for god's sake!"

Lorelai opened her eyes and shot up from the couch, almost knocking Rory over as she did.

Her heart almost burst through her chest.

It was just a dream.

Or a nightmare?

"Rory, what-" She stopped, trying to gather her thoughts. Trying to figure out what was reality and what had been a dream. She checked her surroundings and saw it was still Christmas. There were still angel figurines sitting on the mantle of the fireplace and there was still a mistletoe above her head and she still had ten fingers and ten toes. So that much was ok.

"Rory, what happened?" she finally managed to look at her daughter, who wore a worried frown on her face.

Rory sat down next to Lorelai. "You fell asleep here last night. We weren't able to wake you up so far. We tried, but apparently the last two egg nogs were a bit too much." She tried to grin to ease the tension of the situation a little bit.

Lorelai was still confused. "Who is we?"

Rory shot her mother a strange look. "Luke! Who else would I be talking about?"

When she said his name, the fog started to lift. Lorelai nodded absently.

So it was a dream within a dream.

There was no ring on her finger. There was no framed wedding photograph above the fireplace. There were no gorgeous curly-haired babies and no toys lying around everywhere. There was no bright and sunny Sunday. No dust particles dancing along warm rays of sunshine.

Worst of all: There was no Luke.

The pounding in her head started to get more and more severe. She tried to soothe her aching temples, but it was no use.

"Where is Luke?" she dared to ask after a few more moments of uncomfortable silence.

Rory held out two aspirin and a large glass of water to her mother.

"He's driving grandma home to Hartford." She told her and paused in her movements to study her mother's worrisome expression.

"What is it with you mom? You're starting to scare me." Rory reached out to her to feel her forehead and Lorelai jumped at the touch. A major deja-vu from the dream she just had shook her to the core. No more egg nog! Noah is a momma's boy! Ava's teething ring is still in the refrigerator!

Rory's puzzled frown grew more desperate by the second. "Mom are you ok? You seem weird."

Lorelai shrugged it off. "Why thank you kid." The thoughts in her head were spinning wildly, making her dizzy.

"I uh- I think I just had too much to drink yesterday. I'll be fine." She plastered a fake smile on her face and turned around to leave for the bathroom.

There were no babies. No milk bottle on the table. No ring on her finger.

Panic rose within her and she tried to hide it, so she hurried up the stairs. This is not the same banister.

"I'll be ok."

Rory stared after her for a few moments longer, concern still written all over her features.

~.~

Around lunchtime Rory had left the house for the rest of the day. She was off to help Lane and Zach set up the twins' room. They would arrive any day now and especially Lane was thankful for her best friend's company and a little distraction.

Lorelai felt emotional and out of place the whole morning.

She meant to check in on the Dragonfly, but Sookie told her, she had it all taken care of and that she might just as well stay at home and get rid of that nasty hangover she apparently had.

The movie Lorelai was watching on the awfully huge flat screen TV did nothing to silence her jumbled thoughts. The dream and her vision of a dream reality, had caused her to both be happy about what could have happened and also sad about what she might have lost for all eternity.

She had a similar dream many years ago, but it was nothing like the dream she had woken up to this morning.

She caught herself thinking, she better hadn't woken up. She wanted this dream to become her reality. It was perfect. She may have been awfully tired, her hair was messy and her boobs hung, but besides all that, her dream life was perfect. When the movie she hadn't really watched, had ended, Lorelai took out a photo album of little Rory's early years.

She couldn't help but imagine and picture these two precious dream babies again.

They looked at lot like Rory. Fragile, but also strong. Brown, feathersoft hair. Beautiful big, blue eyes. There was something about the eyes that stood out to her. She closed her own eyes and thought back to her dream.

And then she knew.

The babies' eyes were Luke's eyes. The dark, mysterious shade of blue was without a doubt Luke's. The deep and loving touch to them, it was Luke's. The long dark lashes, every woman would kill for, they were Luke's.

Baby Rory was beautiful and cute and all around perfect. But baby Ava and baby Noah even more so, because they had Luke's wonderful eyes.

Lorelai sighed heavily and let herself fall down on the couch. "Get a grip, Gilmore!" she grunted.

She covered her face with a pillow and willed her restless mind to think of something, anything else than these gorgeous babies she didn't really have. The wondering and worrying drove her crazy. Would she ever have what her dream had shown her?

Was there still a chance for an happy ending with Luke?

She felt his lips on hers and cursed herself for everything she had done wrong over the course of the last year.

She could have been pregnant by now, or at least married. But instead her betrayal had ripped apart what was left of them. She wondered, where they would be now, if she wouldn't have walked away from him in May. She wondered, how much longer they would have spent living their separate lives. Would he have let her in with April? Would she have been honest and told him how frustrated and sad she was? Would they have talked and made their way through their mess? Together?

She got up from the couch and started pacing the living room.

This had to end.

The 'What if's' that ruled her life needed to be gone, once and for all.

~.~

Early that morning Luke had left a note in the kitchen that he'd be back after the lunch rush and as promised, shortly after 2 pm the door bell rang. He had a key and Lorelai hated, that he still thought he needed to announce himself.

She was sitting on the couch again, biting her nails, lost in thought.

Luke breathed heavily and when Lorelai turned around, she saw he was carrying some big dusty cardboard box in his arms.

"What is that?" Lorelai asked, not quite as excited as she usually would have been. Her brain was still clouded from overthinking her past and future life for the last four, five hours straight.

Luke sat the box down and immediately went to open it.

He smiled at her and Lorelai saw her non-existent dream babies eyes' reflecting in them.

"I brought your old TV set!"

He lifted the heavy old tube TV from the box and walked it over to the wall where the last reminder of Christopher Hayden's presence in this house was hanging, mocking him everytime he had to look at it.

Luke went back outside, but came back quickly with Bert in his hand.

Lorelai watched him loosen the screws on the wall holder. After a few minutes, the flatscreen TV was history and the old TV Luke had once bought for the nights when Lorelai was over at his apartment, was standing in its old place on the dresser by the living room wall.

Lorelai hadn't spoken, she just watched him erase what was left of the biggest mistake she had ever made.

When he was done, he turned around, a proud and boyish smirk on his face.

"Nostalgia's back!" he said and was waiting for Lorelai's reaction.

But it didn't come.

The smirk was replaced by a concerned expression and he walked back over to her.

When he touched her arm affectionately, she melted away under the contact and his intense stare.

Hot tears sprang to her eyes. There he was - being so 'Luke' again, doing yet another considerate and wonderful thing for her. And again, there was no way she could thank him enough. How was she supposed to survive without him in her life? She felt helpless and the bottled up emotions finally spilled over.

"Can we fix this?" she managed to get out between sobs. More and more numbing sadness filled her as she remembered the hurt and devastated look in Luke's eyes, the day she told him she had slept with Christopher.

"Lorelai, what is it? What's wrong?"

She just shook her head, unable to speak, unable to even breathe.

Because he didn't know what else to do, Luke just pulled her into a tight embrace, his hands tracing up and down her back, leaving every inch of her skin on fire.

"I'm so sorry, Luke!" she finally said.

The pain and heartache overwhelmed her and she started pacing the living room again. She couldn't be near him. She didn't deserve it.

"Lorelai, stop it!" Anger bubbled up inside of Luke. "You're acting all crazy! What's wrong?"

He wanted to go after her, but she held her hand out to stop him.

"I don't deserve you, Luke!" she said as she stared out of the window.

"I've never deserved you. I mean, you were nothing but perfect, caring and kind for all these years. And I broke your heart. Again and again. I ripped it out of your chest and stomped on it like it meant nothing to me." She finally turned around, the desperate look in her red and shining eyes made him feel sick to his stomach. He was paralyzed, not able to even move an inch.

"Luke, I've made more mistakes than I can count. Not just with you, but in life in general. From the way I treated my parents, to the way I wanted Rory all to myself, to coming to this town, that so willingly and lovingly opened their arms to me and my kid. I was so selfish, I never gave back all the good that I have received from all these people. And when I met you, it was like I finally found that one friend I had been waiting for for all my life. Next to Rory, you were the one good thing in my life. The one I could always count on, the one who, I thought, would never leave, would never walk away or… or let me walk away. Until I screwed it all up, like I- lets face it –always do. You were the one good thing I had all to myself… And when I didn't have you for myself anymore… I freaked out. You were supposed to be mine, Luke! You were always supposed to be mine! You promised me forever, but forever never came. Instead you backed out and I just let it happen." She dried her tears with the sleeve of her shirt. "It was my fault, Luke. I relied on you too much. I wasn't used to you not being the strong one in our relationship. I wasn't used to you being vulnerable and in need for help. That was usually my part and when April came into our lives, well… your life… I just… I developed this tunnel vision. Just like you did too. All you saw was your kid and how you'd built a life around her to make up for all those lost years. And all I saw was how I was losing you to her, which is totally ridiculous, I know that now, but all I saw was how I was not getting my big fat Gilmore wedding and I feel like an idiot about it now."

Luke finally broke free from his daze. His stomach was turning.

"Lorelai, that's not-"

She interrupted him and walked a little closer to him. His eyes seemed to hypnotize her.

"No, please let me get this out. I feel like I'm suffocating. It's like I can't breathe. We have never really talked about any of this. And there's no way around it, but honestly? I'm so incredibly sick of talking about our past. I hate it. I hate what we've done to each other." He nodded, every word was true, and he felt the tears burning behind his lashes.

"But I know we need to get it out. We can never start over again, if we keep it all inside… You hurt me. But I hurt you way worse. Luke… I'm so sorry, I didn't give you time when you asked for it. Kids come first. Always. I understand now how wrong it was to push you like I did. You needed time with your daughter and I didn't respect that. I should have done, what you did, when Rory and I weren't speaking. I should have given you the time you needed and deserved. But I didn't... And I am so so sorry Luke... I hope that one day you can forgive me."

The need to sit down overwhelmed him, but he felt unable to move.

Luke stared at Lorelai, trying to digest or even comprehend her heartfelt words. He was aware that the talk needed to happen at some point, but he didn't expect it to be now. He wasn't sure if he even heard and understood everything that she had said. He tried to gather his thoughts, but time was running out. Luke had been staring at her for seconds without any kind of reaction. Now or never has never been more true…

"Lorelai, I apologize if what I'm saying comes out wrong or weird or whatever. I wasn't exactly prepared for this." He took another deep breath and sat down on the couch, gesturing for her to join him.

"I guess that has always been my problem. I try, but I'm never really prepared for anything. I plan my every move, my every decision and I plan it carefully. But I wasn't prepared for April, I wasn't prepared for fighting for a kid I didn't even know I had until a year ago… But most of all, I wasn't prepared for you. Hell, I have never been prepared for you to be in my life. You waltzed in like a force of nature and you had me under your spell within the first day of meeting you."

A sad smile ceased her face at his words. Luke's eyes bored into her, emphasizing the meaning behind what he was about to say. "I was never prepared for the feelings you'd stir inside of me. You were always- always this dream to me."

He blushed, this conversation wasn't exactly what made him feel all comfortable and fuzzy inside.

Lorelai's bottom lip started quivering again, her beating heart ached in her chest, when he continued "I never thought that one day, the dream would come true. When I put away your horoscope I never would have thought, that one day I'd be sitting here with you. When we started dating I never would have thought that there would come a day I would screw this up, because I wanted it, wanted you so badly. You have no idea how much I wanted and needed you in my life. I wasn't prepared for a lot of things I guess, but most of all, I wasn't prepared for you to leave me... Lorelai, you were everything I ever wished for." His voice trembled remarkably and she sensed that he was losing the fight. The tears threatened their way up, nothing he could do about it. Luke got up from the couch again, facing away from her. She had never seen him like that.

Every word he'd said made Lorelai's heart crumble into a million tiny, aching pieces.

"Then how did we lose it?" she asked quietly.

Luke stared at the photographs on the mantle of the fireplace. He wanted pictures of himself and April there. Of the four of them. He rubbed his hands over his eyes and tried to gain back some control.

"I screwed up Lorelai. You were the best thing that ever happened to me and I screwed it up." He turned around to her, a wet stream of tears still evident on his stubbly cheek.

"It wasn't just you." Lorelai said. The ticking of the clocks was painful in her ears.

"We were both idiots." She added after a few more seconds and rose from the couch.

Luke shook his head, the muscles in his jaw flexed like she had never seen before. He struggled with his emotions yet again.

"Lorelai, I know, I should have let you in with April. I know, I shouldn't have been scared. I know, you would have helped me with everything. I know all that. And yet I don't know why I just didn't do it. I have no idea why. I wish, so badly, I could give you an answer to why I did what I did. You deserve at least that, but I simply don't have an explanation. And I feel so helpless. I'm used to fixing everything and everyone around me, but this… You and me, I don't know, how to fix it!" His words came fast and breathless, raw emotions and buried feelings came to the surface. Frustration and sadness from months and years burst out of him. She definitely had never seen him like that.

His red eyes looked at her pleadingly "I want us to move on from it, to overcome it and somehow have a fresh start. And last night, when we were sitting here, as a family, it was the first time in forever that I felt like I was living that dream again. I felt right again. You and me... We were so close…"

Lorelai couldn't bear the distance between them any longer and pulled Luke into a tight embrace.

"It was right!" she whispered into his ear, sending a shiver down his spine. "And we were close. We are close."

She thought, talking about it all would make her feel better, but instead it tore her apart. But maybe the saying was true: Sometimes two people have to fall apart, to realize how much they need to fall back together.

They held onto each other for endless moments. His hands, warm and strong, caressed her back protectively. They took in the scent of each other's perfume and it made them both crazy with heartache and longing.

"I'm scared that we will never move on from… this." He admitted after a while and waited for her reaction. He could sense that she was scared too. This was about their lives, their future together. The most important decision they would ever have to make. The last try and their last chance to right the wrongs once and for all.

"But I guess, we won't find out until we try?" Luke finally asked carefully and even a little hopeful. Her head rested against his beating heart and the sweet and heavenly embrace had given him new strength.

"I'm done talking about all the mistakes that we have made. I'm done being stuck. I'm done feeling like I'm never gonna be happy again."

After a few seconds she looked up at him, mustering up the courage to tell him what had been weighing on her heart all day. She had to tell him. She needed to make sure, they would be heading into the same direction this time.

"I had a dream tonight." Lorelai tried to get her emotions under control and took a deep shaky breath.

She freed herself from the hug and sat back down on the couch, where Luke immediately joined her. He sensed she was working through something in her head, so he remained silent and waited for her to continue speaking.

"We were- you and me…" she stopped again. "God!" she hissed towards the ceiling. Couldn't she make it through one conversation without breaking into tears?

Luke took her hand, usually the gesture calmed her down. He rubbed her fingers gently and after a few more moments she did indeed calm down and continued:

"The dream I had was- well it was our life two or three years from now. We were-uh- married." She noticed how he winced a little at her words.

"We had children, Luke. A boy and a girl. I was trying to wake you to make the boy burp. Because usually he would only burp with daddy. And you were- you were his daddy." She stopped again as new tears formed in her eyes. She wiped them away with her free hand and her heart skipped another beat at Luke's loving, reassuring look at her.

"But then the boy burped and I didn't need to wake you. And I didn't want to wake you in the first place, because you were lying there on this big new wonderful couch, sleeping, our tiny perfect daughter on your chest. She was teething and you went for a midnight stroll with her, because the motion always calmed her down. So that's what you did, you dressed her, snuggled her up in the stroller and went for a walk through the town so she would fall asleep. You had forgotten to take the teething ring with you, because I had put it in the fridge, because she likes it that way. So anyway, the walk took a little while longer and when you finally came back home you must have fallen asleep with her, on the couch. The milk bottle was still standing on the table."

Her words came out so fast, even for her, that she almost tripped over each syllable. But Luke had no trouble following her train of thought, instead he held her a little closer and stroked her hand a little harder. He cleared his throat and tried a careful smile.

"What were their names? You haven't told me yet."

And with that simple question another flood of tears broke free.

Her beautiful face was framed in dried and new, wet mascara streams. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose was running and her lips quivering. But to Luke she was still the most beautiful woman alive.

"Tell me, Lorelai. What were their names?" he tried again.

Lorelai didn't dare tell him out of sheer fear it would make her dream all the more real. And the fear it would never happen was so overwhelming, she didn't know if she could take it.

Luke placed a finger under her chin to make her look at him again. With his thumb he gently wiped her tears away. "Tell me, Lorelai, please!" he whispered with a pleading tone to his husky voice. The poetic way he said her name was out of this world.

"Ava and Noah… You chose them." Lorelai finally said, barely above a whisper. As she said it, she noticed the goosebumps that crept up Luke's arms. It made her smile and eased her pain for a moment.

His eyes were shining again and she couldn't remember a time she had ever seen him look this beautiful. Raw, unfiltered emotions spilled out of them, something he rarely allowed himself to show.

Seconds ticked down where they were just looking at each other, taking in each other's pain and hurt of the past and hopes and dreams for the future.

There was no turning back now. They had come so far in just a few weeks.

His heart was racing.

"I love you."

And just like that, it was out. After months of fighting it, months of trying to hate her for what she had done, months of trying to forget her and everything she ever meant to him, he had to admit, he failed.

He would never not be there for her. And he would never not love her.

After the inital shock had subsided, Lorelai leaned in to kiss him. The tension in the room was tangible. Tiny sparks ignited everywhere and set them both on fire.

Months had passed where she kept telling herself, she didn't need him and she would be better off without him. Months of trying to forget how much he had hurt her. Months of trying to forget years of intense and wonderful friendship and the deep connection they had always shared right from the start.

She had to admit, she failed. She could never be without him. He was everything she ever needed, the only one to hold her heart.

As her lips closed around his, bright, loud fireworks exploded all around her. His tender lips, longing, desperate for her kiss, kissed her back with an intensity that showed her just how much he had missed her too. His hand went into her hair and he tightened his grip on her. Oh how she loved the way he held her tight. He couldn't let her go, he wanted, he needed to be as close to her as he possibly could.

Panting and breathless she rested her head against his, when they came up for air. Another tear slipped out of the corner of her eyes.

"I love you too, Luke! I've never stopped loving you!"

The fraction of a second later they were kissing again.

Hot, passionate kisses left their bodies wanting for more. Lorelai got up from the couch and dragged him along with her.

She pressed her body against his and his arms went to her waist immediately. They were masters in this game of kissing and teasing. He pulled her closer to him. Not even a sheet of paper would have fit between them. Their mouths were duelling, hungry, wanting for more, dancing the dance they had perfected so long ago. The fireworks never stopped. They were brighter and stronger than ever, when Lorelai felt Luke's body react to their close connection.

She tore herself away from him for a moment to catch some much needed breath.

"From this day on, Luke, promise me-" she took another deep breath, "Promise me, we'll tell each other everything, ok? We will not take this for granted. We will not make the same stupid mistakes all over again. Promise me-" her eyes bored into his "Promise me- you will be there. No matter how crazy I act, or how annoying and exhausting I may be… Promise me, you won't let me leave again."

He breathed a sweet kiss to her swollen, raspberry colored lips.

"I promise."

He laid his hands on her cheeks and she almost crawled into his gentle touch. Luke lined her face with his fingers, making every hair on her body stand up in attention.

"And you promise me, no more running away. No more hiding. No more keeping problems and anger to yourself. You need to talk to me, Lorelai. Always! If I'm being an idiot, tell me!"

Lorelai nodded sincerely and waited for him to continue.

"I want to have this life you were dreaming of. I want these kids, I want sleepless nights and toys and milk bottles lying around everywhere. I want to take midnight strolls with our teething daughter. I want to dress my son in ridiculous plaid flannel onesies and tiny baseball caps, if that's what'll make you happy."

She beamed at him, he knew her so well.

"I want all of that. And I want it with you. There is nothing-" he emphasized the word again "nothing in this world, that I love more than you. Well, at least until these babies arrive." He winked at her and her heart melted away again. "Promise me, from now on, you will believe me when I say, I'm in. I am all in. Forever. Those weren't lies, Lorelai. I meant everything I said. Promise me, you will never doubt me or my love for you, ever again. Because to me, you are my whole world."

She grinned at him, her eyes sparkling full of joy and happy tears. "Now that was corny."

Luke smiled back at her as he leaned in to kiss her again, his expression serious. "I don't care one bit."

Lorelai closed her eyes and met him halfway, "Good!" she whispered lovingly.

Underneath the mistle toe their lips crashed together for another long-awaited, long-desired kiss. They were addicted to each other and they didn't care. Nothing mattered. They were starting to right the wrongs and nothing had ever felt this wonderful before.

The match made in heaven would finally happen after all.

When the tension became too overwhelming, they blindly made their way up the stairs, not letting go of each other for one second.

It was time to finally reconcile for good.

It was time to come back home.