The Saturday before Valentine's Day, Lorelai woke up to an empty bedroom. She stretched languidly, silently thanking Luke for taking Rory with him when he and Jess went downstairs. She sat up and noticed a red paper heart on her nightstand. It read simply, "Will you be my Valentine? Love, Luke."

The sweet gesture made Lorelai smile. She picked up the paper heart and went downstairs for breakfast. Luke was standing at the stove with his back to Lorelai when she entered the kitchen, so she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing the paper heart against his chest.

Luke turned down the heat on the bacon he was cooking and turned to face Lorelai. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her sweetly. "Good morning," he murmured against her lips.

"Good morning."

Luke rested his forehead against Lorelai's. "So? Will you?"

"Of course. I'd love to be your Valentine, but you know Valentine's Day isn't until Friday, right?"

"I know, but I wanted to ask early because I'd like to take you away for the weekend."

"Just the four of us?"

"No. Just the two of us."

"What about Rory and Jess? Your dad can't watch them and run the store by himself for the whole weekend."

"I've talked to Mia and she'll help out while my dad's at work."

"You're sure they don't mind taking care of the babies all weekend?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay! Let's do it! Let's go away for the weekend."

"Great," Luke said as he leaned in to kiss Lorelai again, moaning when she immediately deepened the kiss.

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Luke woke up before dawn with Lorelai's arm draped over his chest and her head resting on his shoulder. Since Thanksgiving, she had made it a habit to share his bed a couple of nights every week. He loved the mornings when he woke up with her in his arms. Usually he would watch her sleep until he had to get ready for work, but it was Valentine's Day and he wasn't going to work because he and Lorelai were headed out of town that morning, so instead he waited patiently for her to wake up. When she began to stir, he brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her forehead. "Good morning, beautiful. Happy Valentine's Day."

"Mmm, happy Valentine's Day," she sighed happily. She shifted to lay on top on him, propping herself up on one elbow and cupping the back of his head with her opposite hand. She ran her fingers through his hair and lowered her mouth to his for a slow kiss. Luke pulled Lorelai tighter against him and moaned loudly when she allowed him to deepen the kiss. "Now, that's a good morning," Lorelai panted when they finally pulled apart.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Luke replied with a cocky grin.

"Oh, I know. But I will. Soon," she informed him as she rolled off of him to get out of the bed.

Luke's only response was a pained groan. He covered his face with his hands rather than watch Lorelai saunter across the room to Jess' crib to get Jess and Rory up for the day. His groan caused Lorelai to look over her shoulder at him and chuckle at his response.

When she reached the crib, she leaned over the side and waited for Jess and Rory to notice her. The babies were quietly carrying on a conversation in a language known only to them and didn't notice Lorelai until she gently ran her fingers through their hair. Jess and Rory stopped talking, looked up, and, seeing Lorelai, began excitedly clambering up the side of the crib.

"Mama!"

"La La!"

"Mama!"

"Hello, my sweets. Good morning," Lorelai singsonged. She helped Rory and Jess climb out of the crib and into her arms. "Happy Valentine's Day." She kissed each of them on the cheek and carried them back to Luke's bed. After settling against the headboard, Lorelai loosened her hold on Rory and Jess. The babies immediately crawled onto Luke's stomach and began begging for his attention.

"Dada!"

"Lu!"

"Dada!"

"Lu!"

Luke finally pulled his hands away from his face and wrapped his arms around Jess and Rory. "May I help you?" he asked as he began to tickle them. Soon the babies were squealing with glee and trying to tickle Luke.

Lorelai watched the tickle fight for several minutes before deciding it was time to interrupt. "Excuse me? Children?" she called over the squeals and giggles.

Everyone stopped moving. The babies stared at Lorelai with wide eyes, clearly confused. "Yes?" Luke asked with a grin.

"When's breakfast?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "I guess you're ready to eat."

"Yes, please!"

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Sliding a third stack of heart shaped chocolate chip pancakes onto Lorelai's plate, Luke asked incredulously, "Why are you not 450 pounds?"

"I know." Lorelai batted her eyes at Luke flirtatiously. "Scientists call it the Lorelai paradox," she quipped. "Besides, I have to keep of my strength," she told him with an exaggerated wink.

"Ah geez."

Lorelai smirked and reached for the syrup. The sound of the syrup bottle opening caused Rory and Jess to drop the red and white stuffed bears they had received from Luke and Lorelai on the floor where they were playing and crawl to Lorelai's chair. Lorelai began pouring syrup on her pancakes while the babies pulled themselves up to lean against her legs.

"Mama!"

"La La!"

"Mama!"

"La La!"

Lorelai giggled. "Okay, okay, just wait a second." Jess and Rory quieted down, but began to open and close their mouths like baby birds. Lorelai cut the pancakes into bite-sized pieces and gave one to each baby before taking one herself.

Luke shook his head in dismay and walked away to wash the dishes. "It's a miracle all three of you are not 450 pounds," he mumbled, eliciting a giggle from Lorelai.

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Mia pulled into the driveway just as Luke finished loading the last of his and Lorelai's luggage into the back of his truck. She parked next to Luke's truck.

"Hello, Lucas," Mia said as she got out of the car.

"Hi, Mia. How are you doing today?"

"Good." She wrapped him in a hug, which he happily returned. "I'm excited to see those babies of yours."

Luke chuckled. "Then we better go inside." He guided Mia toward the house and through the front door. "Mia's here," Luke announced.

There was silence and then a bloodcurdling scream. Luke and Mia rushed toward the screaming. They met William just inside the living room where they all stopped to watch Lorelai attempt to wrestle a book away from Jess and Rory, who were both screaming at the top of their lungs.

"What is going on?" Luke called to Lorelai.

"They won't share the book or give it to me."

"They always share."

"Not today."

"Have you tried distracting them?"

"Of course, I have," Lorelai snapped at Luke.

Luke held his hands up in surrender. "Hey! I was just asking."

"I know. I'm sorry," Lorelai replied, hanging her head in defeat.

William stepped further into the living room and said, "That's enough. You two should get on the road. Mia and I can handle this."

"Are you sure, William?"

"We're sure," Mia declared.

"Say goodbye to Jess and Rory. Now," William ordered.

Luke crossed the room to stand next to Lorelai and gently pulled her hands away from the book. "Come on, Lorelai, let them handle it."

Lorelai nodded. "Okay."

Luke and Lorelai bent down to kiss the babies on their cheeks. Jess and Rory continued fighting over the book. Sensing that Lorelai was about to get involved in their fight again, Luke placed his hand on the small of her back and led her out of the room before she had the chance. "Thank you," he shouted over his shoulder as they walked out the front door.

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Lorelai spent the entire drive to the Danes family lake cabin pressed close to Luke's side with her head on his shoulder and her hand on his thigh. When Luke turned into the driveway, Lorelai began kissing his neck. "Lorelai, you need to stop."

"No," she mumbled against his neck, shifting to suck gently on the sensitive skin behind his ear.

"Please, stop. I'm driving."

"Park."

Luke parked the truck and turned to capture Lorelai's lips in a heated kiss. Lorelai moved to kneel on the seat, then, placing her hands on his shoulders for balance, she swung one leg over his lap to straddle hip. Luke grabbed her hips and pulled her close, moaning when she started to rock her hips and grind against him. He pulled his mouth away from hers. "Lorelai, we can't do this here."

"Why?" Lorelai cried. "We're finally alone. There's nobody to interrupt us. Please, Luke," she begged. "I need you."

"Can we go inside? Please. I don't want to make love to you for the first time on the front seat of my truck."

"Fine." Lorelai pressed a quick kiss to Luke's mouth and scrambled off his lap. "Let's go."

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The moment they stepped foot in the cabin, Lorelai grabbed Luke's hand and pulled him close. She draped her arms around his neck, threaded her fingers through his hair, and pressed her lips firmly against his. Luke wrapped his arms tightly around Lorelai's waist and allowed himself to enjoy kissing her for several moments before pulling his mouth from hers. "Lorelai, we can't do this here either."

"What's wrong now?" Lorelai groaned, her head dropping against Luke's chest.

"Nothing's wrong. It's just, uh, that we've, um, waited so long to, uh, be alone and I've planned a romantic dinner. I just, uh, want our, um, first time, uh, together to be perfect, you know?" Luke stumbled through his explanation, his cheeks turning red with embarrassment.

Lorelai laid her hand against Luke's jaw and stroked his cheek with her thumb. "Oh, Luke, it will be perfect, but please, please, don't make me wait any longer."

"You're sure? I really do have a whole romantic dinner planned."

"I'm sure."

"Okay." He kissed her lips and then pressed a series of small kisses along her jaw and down her neck while bending his knees slightly to slide his hands from her waist to the lower part of her thighs so that he could pick her up.

When Luke picked her up and brought her knees to his waist, Lorelai eagerly wrapped her legs around him, crossing her ankles behind his back. She returned her lips to his. Luke carried her to the bedroom, never breaking the kiss.

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It was midafternoon when Luke woke up with Lorelai's head on his shoulder, her arm around his waist, and her legs tangled with his. He felt more relaxed than he had in nearly two years. Sighing contentedly, Luke ran his fingers up and down Lorelai's bare back. Lorelai pressed her body closer to Luke's and buried her face in the crook of his neck. "Amazing," she mumbled sleepily, her lips brushing against Luke's neck as she spoke.

Luke smiled. "Yes, you are."

"I meant us. Together. We're amazing. Perfect. Just like I said."

Luke flipped Lorelai on to her back and hovered over her with a wide smile. "Yes, you did," he agreed before kissing her passionately.