Summary: AU. What happens when 23 year old Rory Gilmore-Hayden graduates from Yale and moves to Stars Hollow. Who will meet who? Who will fall in love with who?

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls, it's story, characters or episodes. They were created by Amy Sherman-Paladino and are owned by Dorothy Parker Drank Here and the WB/CW

A/N: I'm sorry its been forever! since I've updated. Real life; plus I got immersed in the Harry Potter fandom and couldn't seem to find my way out. This is the last chapter and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I tried not to force it too much but I feel like I owe it to you all to get it out here. Thank you so much to all of you loyal readers who have followed this through, especially with the huge gaps there have been. Thanks especially to CurlyQ and dreamywriter19 who messaged me recently and nudged me to finish. There may be an epilogue coming at some point if I can help tie it up better but I am not going to promise anything. I am going to try to get some work done on my other fics as well.

Chapter 26: Answers

Rory was pacing. And she had been for awhile.

"Sit down, Rory. You're gonna make me puke. Jeez, I've been her for like twenty hours and I swear you've spent half of them pacing," Lorelai exclaimed suddenly from the couch, startling Rory out of her daze.

"Well sorry, mother. It's not every day I'm offered a newspaper and then, via letter no less, ask someone to marry me! God that sounds awful! I should go over there. That wasn't the proper thing to do. How could you let me do that? I cannot believe you let me do that!" Before Rory could get any further into her tirade, there was a knock at the door. Lorelai and Rory both froze.

"Oh," Rory exhaled, it came out sounding more like a gasp.

"Sit down. I'll get the door. I am also leaving and going back home. Call me, if in the rare chance, I need to turn around and come back to be here with you. Otherwise, call me in the morning."

Lorelai opened the door to a very surprised Luke.

"Oh. Ms….Lorelai. Um…hi."

"Hello, Luke. I was just leaving. Go on in." And she slipped past him and down the steps. Luke looked after her for a moment, before turning back towards the apartment. He stood in the doorway for an instant, watching as Rory watched him, before slowly walking in and closing the door behind him.

Rory watched as Luke took off his baseball cap and fiddled with it. She took half a step forward, stopped, fidgeted and took another hesitant step forward, stopping suddenly again as Luke began to talk.

"I…I'm not good with these kinds of things, Rory, I never have been. Words, emotions. I don't like them, either of them, but," he interrupted himself as he saw Rory's face begin to fall, "I …that didn't come out right. I may not be good with this stuff, but… Rory, voi sapete che io vi amo." (You know that I love you.)

"Ti amo, anche," Rory interjected quickly, as if fearing she may not get to say it otherwise. (I love you, too)

"I'm a man of little words. I'm simple. It has always been that way and I can't imagine my life much different than its always been. But you've made it different and I don't want that to change."

"Are you…?" Rory whispered.

Luke nodded slightly, a small smile on his face. He took a step towards her, "Si. Non dico si." (Yes. I am saying yes.)

~Fine~