N/A: Fluff alert for this chapter. My normally down-to-earth beta, who is usually charged with telling me when something is too fluffy, is, by her own admission, no longer objective in that capacity.

BTW, I've never been to Daniel Stowe, but I found it online and thought it looked pretty cool.

Chapter 11: Something Special

As Lorelai slowly began circling towards consciousness, she became aware of two things. First, the aroma of coffee was tantalizingly close by, and second, Luke's warm body was not. Blinking into the darkness of the hotel room, Lorelai tried to locate her wayward lover, whom she immediately noticed was standing on the far side of the room, packing up their belongings by the light from his cell phone.

"What are you doing?" she asked, although it came out as an almost unintelligible groan.

"I'm getting us ready to go," he answered softly.

Glancing at the clock to confirm her suspicions, Lorelai protested, "But its seven o'clock in the morning! Who gets up at seven…" She let her voice trail off as she remembered exactly who woke up so insanely early. Luke had always been an early riser, even when she kept him up late. But usually he was much better about insulating her from the effects of his mad morning-person personality. "Why are we leaving so early?" she asked, trying a different tact. "Don't you want to just sleep in today? Lounge around a bit before we have to drive home? I could make it worth your while…"

Luke did not answer her, but instead strode across the room to her side of the bed. He turned on the bedside lamp, which earned a protest from Lorelai, then won her approval back by handing her the Starbuck's to-go cup that he had left on the table for her.

"Ooooh, coffee," she mumbled, accepting the bribe.

"There you go," he said. "But I want you to know the only reason I'm encouraging you to drink that vile stuff is so we can get an early start."

"You didn't tell me why we're leaving early."

Luke shrugged mysteriously and went back to packing.

"Hey, what about breakfast?" Lorelai pursued. "Did you happen to grab any donuts when you went out for coffee?"

Luke shook his head. "No donuts."

"But I'm hungry…"

"Then you better get dressed so we can go get some."

Lorelai grumbled irritably as she drank her coffee. But as she watched Luke get their things together and put them by the door, she basked in the renewed sense of them as a couple. The night before had been wonderful, and now she felt that they were truly reunited. Her lingering doubts and worries had begun to fade, replaced with a warm, soft feeling that everything would be okay. They would be okay.

"Luke?" she called, noticing that he had almost run out of things to pack. Everything they had brought was sitting by the door, including the bag containing her clothing and bathroom items.

"Yeah." He looked up at her expectantly, and she could tell by his voice and the set of his shoulders that something was not quite right with him.

"Come here," she said, scooting over in the bed so that he could sit next to her.

"I thought you were getting up so we could leave," he grumbled, but sat down anyway. She snuggled up to him and gave him a bright look, finally feeling the caffeine beginning to kick in.

"I am getting up," she said. "But I want you to tell me why we're leaving so early. Why are you so gung-ho to get back home?"

"Who said anything about going back home?" he retorted.

"Then where are we going?"

"You'll see."

'You'll see.' Famous last words.

Lorelai glanced out the truck window as they drove through Mia's city, still awakening on a Sunday morning. She spotted people walking into churches, wandering through parks, and even shopping for groceries. Ordinary people living ordinary lives. Just like her and Luke.

Except she had a sneaking suspicion that Luke was trying to do something out of the ordinary, something he was not used to trying. He was being spontaneous (or attempting to be), and while that did not bother her in the least, it made her a little crazy that he was so secretive about it.

"Where are we going?" she asked again for perhaps the tenth time.

"I already told you. And you won't get more from me by asking over and over again."

"You told me nothing. All you said was to wear comfortable shoes and bring my camera. And you made me stop and buy sunscreen. That doesn't tell me anything."

"It tells you enough," he pointed out.

"What does it tell me? Okay, we're going outdoors based on the sunscreen, and probably the 'comfortable shoes.' That makes me nervous since you know I'm not an outdoorsy person." Suddenly feeling a little insecure in teasing him too much, she began back-tracking, "Not that outdoorsy is bad. I love that you're outdoorsy. I'm just not sure that's something I can really keep up with you on and-"

"Lorelai, relax. We're not going camping or mountain climbing or anything. You'll like where we're going. Trust me."

She settled back into the seat, crossing her arms in frustration at his lack of answer. Luke looked over at her, then reached out a hand to pull on the strap of her seat belt, testing to make sure it was secure and tight. She almost made a teasing comment about this behavior but stopped herself when she saw his serious expression and remembered their near-accident the night before. He had also been driving much more carefully all morning, she noticed, as he kept both hands on the wheel at all times.

"Speaking of outdoorsy stuff, is April excited about the boat trip?" Lorelai asked, deciding to broach the subject that she had put out of her mind since the weekend trip to North Carolina had come up.

"Yeah, I think so. She's already planning a bunch of experiments she wants to run while we're out there. Something about algae spread and the effects of nitrogen… See, this is what bothers me. She already uses a lot of big words and concepts I don't understand, and she's only thirteen. It's only going to get worse as she starts high school. I mean, I know you're supposed to want the best for your kids, but its kind of eye-opening when you realize that they're actually smarter than you."

"Wait until she starts college," Lorelai said knowingly. "Then you'll really feel left behind."

Luke sighed in agreement. "At least you went to college."

"Business school," she corrected. "And that was intimidating, being the oldest one there surrounded by all these teenagers and twenty-somethings."

"I seem to remember you getting along pretty well with the teenagers," he teased dryly.

"God, when are you people going to get over that? It was one date and he looked much older in class."

"Sure, whatever you say."

"You dated a lawyer," she pointed out.

"I married a lawyer," he acknowledged, making an exaggerated grimace. "Guess we all make mistakes."

Lorelai did not say what she knew he was probably thinking – she had married Christopher, the worst mistake of all. None of the lawyers and teenagers and parents' business partners in the world could top that flaw in her romantic history. But as she glanced at Luke, still clutching the wheel in a slightly nervous grip as he checked both ways at a stop sign, she realized that he was not thinking about that. His mind had moved on to more pleasant topics, probably the undisclosed location he was taking her or what he and April would do during their boat trip.

As if to confirm her very thoughts, Luke said, "You're still coming with us, right?"

"What?" Lorelai asked automatically, the non-sequitor throwing her off.

"The trip with April – you're still coming? I know you had to check with the inn and Sookie to see if you could take off, but you hadn't said anything, so…"

"Yeah, I'm still coming." She said it with conviction even though she had no idea whether she was needed at work or not. Whatever came up, Michel could take care of it. She was not going to miss this trip with Luke and his daughter – which she had apparently been invited to from the beginning – for anything.

"Good. I know April's excited to hang out with you. She still raves about her birthday party."

"And its getting to be that time of year again, isn't it? Maybe we could do a little something for her while she's in town, invite all her friends from here," Lorelai suggested.

Luke nodded in agreement. "That sounds good. Hey, we're here."

They had pulled into a parking lot, and Lorelai noted that a nearby sign proclaimed the location to be Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens.

"You brought me to a garden?" she asked, incredulous. "For breakfast?"

But Luke gave her a tolerant half-smile and said, "Come on."

As they made their way to the entrance, Lorelai saw that he had brought a large basket and a blanket she did not recognize. "What's that?" she asked automatically.

This time, he did roll his eyes. "You act like you've never been on a picnic."

"But you hate sitting on the ground."

"Yeah, well… today's a special occasion."

They entered through the gift shop, and while Luke paid their admission fees Lorelai began examining a map on the counter. She saw that they had gardens, pavilions, fountains, trails, and every kind of flower imaginable. The pictures on the brochures were absolutely beautiful.

"How did you find this place?" Lorelai asked as they entered the gardens. It was still early enough in the morning that the area was fairly deserted.

"Actually, Howard mentioned it yesterday. He said Mia wanted to have the wedding here but she couldn't get the day she wanted. There's some big meeting hall for receptions and stuff…"

"Yeah, it looks like a nice place for a wedding," Lorelai said wistfully. Spring had arrived, causing the garden's thousands of flowers to come into full bloom. The colors collided with a mass of greenery, all intricately crafted to maximize the natural beauty and aesthetics of the gardens.

They wandered slowly through the maze of flowers, stopping periodically to appreciate the majesty of a particular view or to admire a setting. As they passed a series of fountains, Lorelai insisted on taking pictures of each of them framed by the water, even snagging a nearby gardener to snap a few photos of both of them together. Luke pretended to suffer through it, but she suspected that he secretly enjoyed the attention and her excitement.

Eventually they found their way to a quiet, secluded spot in the azalea garden where Luke spread out the blanket on the grass. And while he groaned a little as he lowered himself to the ground, he made no other comment about the location. Lorelai simply smiled at him gratefully, not bothering to remind him of the opinion he once shared with her regarding people who sit on the ground.

But what really caused her heart to do backflips was the discovery of the breakfast/lunch he had packed. Sometime in the early morning hours while she still slept, Luke had bought roast beef sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, and potato salad, donuts and fruit, and most importantly – brownies. All of her favorite foods that could fit into a picnic basket, combined with healthy things he would eat. The spread was impressive, but they quickly and efficiently decimated it.

"So what prompted all of this?" she asked, looking eagerly at the man in front of her. After finishing his meal, Luke had sprawled out on the blanket, intent on making the best of the whole 'sitting on the ground' scenario.

"What do you mean?"

Lorelai shrugged her shoulders a little, glancing around so as to implicate the garden they were sitting in. "I mean – all this. I love the picnic and I love the location, but what prompted you to come here? This isn't really your typical kind of hang-out spot, Luke."

His voice was carefully neutral as he answered, "I don't know. I just thought it would be nice to do something… special today, especially since last night…"

"Since last night – what?" she prompted.

"Well, it was a cheap hotel room. Nothing very special about that."

"Luke, the 'where' doesn't matter nearly so much as the 'what' of last night," she assured him. "Seriously, I have no complaints whatsoever. In fact, I wish I had one of those little comment cards because I definitely would have filled it out."

She grinned at him cheerfully, but she could still tell he was hesitant to believe her. "Still," Luke said. "If I had taken the time, it could have been better. So I just thought today I could make it up to you, maybe do something romantic that we've never done before."

"Last night was special," she insisted, then pointed out, "And, you know, we have gone on a picnic before."

"What, that time you made me buy your basket and we ate my food in the gazebo? Doesn't count. And besides, we weren't dating then."

She gave him a sly smile, scooting forward so that she was closer to him as she remarked, "So it only counts if we were dating at the time?"

"Yep."

"Nothing else matters?"

Luke looked at her more carefully, obviously hearing a note of seriousness in her voice that she had not intended. The intensity of his expression gave her momentary chills down her spine, and she was reminded of all the times in her life, especially recently, that the two of them had not been dating. Dark days followed by months of living in denial. Wasted time, all of it, and she wanted nothing more than to forget it had ever interrupted their life together.

When Luke spoke, his voice was full of promise rather than regret. "Lorelai, sometimes I think that my life didn't really begin until that first day you walked into the diner. And sometimes it feels like that's when it ended. I know we were friends for a long time, but my best days were the ones when we were together. When I'm with you, you make me feel alive in a way that no one else ever has."

Surprised and embarrassed by his words, she glanced away. "You make me sound like Wonder Woman," she joked uncertainly, "but without the boots and bracelets."

"I know you're not perfect."

"Do you really?" Lorelai asked. "Because sometimes it feels like you put me up on this pedestal of perfection, and I have no idea how to stay up there without falling off and breaking everything. Which I guess is what I did…"

As she trailed off, Luke sat up. But instead of taking her in his arms like she thought he was going to, he took her hands and pulled her to lie back down with him. Only after he had settled her in the crook of his arm with one of her hands resting against his chest did he address her comment. "Lorelai, I do know that you're not perfect, that you make mistakes. I've made mistakes, too. And I think one of those mistakes is not telling you how I feel often enough. And you really are incredible."

"I think you're pretty incredible, too," she said quietly, fighting the tears that threatened to form behind her eyes.

"Okay, enough mushy talk," Luke declared. "It's starting to freak me out."

"Okay," she sighed, relaxing against him as she stared up at the azalea bushes all around them, the pink, white, and red flowers rustling softly in the breeze. As she fell asleep, it occurred to her that it did not matter where they were – the most beautiful place on earth or a musty old hotel room. As long as they were together and communicating, she was content.