It's Right There

by CoffeeDrinker

[Complete] Luke/Lorelai. She looked him in the eye, she saw something there, and she realized she felt the same way. (Update: As of 10/31/14, the story is back to its original M-rated version)

9. Parts 44 to 48

"It's Right There – Parts 44 – 48"

. . .

PART 44

. . .

The next morning at the Independence Inn, Lorelai stood at the front desk looking through a stack of papers. Michel walked up to her. "What do you think you're doing?"

Knowing he had just sorted them, Lorelai replied, "Oh, just putting these bills in alphabetical order." She tried to hide her smirk as she waited for his reaction.

Michel groaned. "But I just spent twenty minutes organizing them by due date because you asked me to!"

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Ooh, yeah, I forgot about that." She held the papers out toward him and smiled. "Can you fix these please?"

Michel slapped his palm on the desk. "Absolutely not!" He stormed off, mumbling something in French.

Lorelai smiled. "Ah, you're such a sadist, Lorelai," she mumbled to herself. She placed the papers into a folder and stuck them in one of the desk drawers, then picked up her empty coffee mug and walked into the kitchen. "Hey Sookie."

Sookie smiled from across the room. "Hey."

Lorelai refilled her coffee cup, then walked over to Sookie at the stove. "Whatcha making?" she asked as she peered into the pot Sookie was stirring. She inhaled the scent and said, "Mm, whatever it is, it smells good.'

"Sweet and sour sauce to put on the sweet and sour chicken," Sookie replied. She paused, then added, "Well, it's not sweet and sour chicken yet, but it will be when we pour this sauce on it. Right now it's just chicken."

"Aw, don't say it like that," Lorelai frowned. "The chicken'll feel bad if it hears you call it 'just chicken'. . . it'll think it needs a special marinade just to be considered important in this hectic world."

Sookie glanced over at the pan of chicken on the counter top and grimaced. "Oh, I hope I didn't hurt its feelings."

Lorelai shook her head disappointedly. "I don't know. . .if I heard you talking like that about me, I'd be pretty upset." They both stared at the chicken for a few seconds as if trying to deduce how it was feeling. Finally, Lorelai shrugged. "Okay, anyway. . .what are you doing this weekend?"

As Sookie continued to stare at the chicken, Lorelai rolled her eyes and tapped her on the shoulder. "Uh, Sookie?" Sookie turned to her, a sad expression on her face. Lorelai smiled. "It's okay, Sookie. I'm sure the chicken didn't hear you. . .it was too busy thinking about the incredible sauce it'll be swimming in very soon."

Sookie nodded slowly. She gave a quick glance toward the chicken, then turned back to Lorelai. "Okay, what did you say before?"

Lorelai took a sip of her coffee before she replied, "I asked what you were doing this weekend."

Sookie wiped her hands on a dishtowel and shrugged. "I don't know yet. I think Jackson wanted to play music to his berries."

"Oh yeah, what kind?" Lorelai asked.

"What kind of berries?"

"No, what kind of music?"

"Oh, the fruit have really been responding to jazz lately," Sookie replied. "You know, jazz is music for the soul. . .makes people really think about what they want in life."

Lorelai nodded. "Right, right. . .so those berries who are dying to one day be included in a jar of jam will strive their hardest to get there."

"Exactly," Sookie replied. "Why do you ask?"

Lorelai smiled. "Well, I was thinking that on Saturday night, you and Jackson could come over to our house for dinner. Luke'll cook, Rory will be there, we can all hang out and watch a movie or something. What do you say?"

Sookie smiled. "Aw, that sounds like fun, honey. We'll be there."

"Good, good. Say around seven?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Sookie replied. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Lorelai replied. She glanced at her watch. "Okay, I gotta get back out there. Michel was mad at me when I left so I'm sure he's releasing his anger by being rude to the guests."

"And how is that unlike all the other days when he's not mad at you?" Sookie asked, narrowing her eyes curiously.

"Well, now he might actually start physically attacking them instead of just mumbling threats," Lorelai explained.

"Ah. . .you better get out there quickly, then," Sookie pointed to the door.

. . .

On Wednesday night, Lorelai and Luke walked into the market to shop for food for the shower. They each grabbed a basket and walked to the aisle of baking supplies. As Luke began loading items into his basket, Lorelai set her basket on the floor and picked up two different packages of walnuts.

She turned to Luke and held them both up. "Okay, now, we can go with these walnuts right here," she said, shaking the package in her left hand, ". . .which are already conveniently pre-chopped and ready to be thrown into any recipe." She lowered that package and raised the other one. "Or we can go with the walnut halves which are cheaper but rather large, meaning we'd have to crush them ourselves before we use them, adding a bit more to the preparation time."

Luke glanced past Lorelai toward one of the large picture windows. He saw Sookie outside walking toward the entrance to the market. "Uh, Lorelai?"

Lorelai glanced at the packages. "Crushing the walnut halves might be fun, though. I mean, we could smack the bag over and over with a hammer and really use the opportunity to get things out of our system, you know?"

Luke cleared his throat as he saw Sookie walk into the market. "Lorelai?"

She wrinkled her nose. "But there are a lot of things to make, so it'd probably be easier to just go with convenience and get the already-chopped ones." She replaced the package of walnut halves on the shelf, then grabbed a few more packages of the crushed walnuts and dropped them into her basket.

"Lorelai!" Luke whispered harshly.

Lorelai looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "What?" He pointed toward Sookie, and she followed his gaze and gasped. "Oh my God! What is she doing here?"

"Hm, well, I don't know. We're in a food store, maybe she's. . . .food shopping?" Luke suggested.

Lorelai smacked him on the shoulder. "All right, save the sarcasm for later." She stared across the store at Sookie for a few seconds before Sookie saw her and waved. Lorelai smiled and waved back, then turned to Luke and whispered, "She saw me, we have to go say hello. Hurry up and put your basket down. She can't see the stuff we're buying." Luke set his basket on the ground. "Okay, come on." Lorelai grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the aisle.

They walked over to Sookie. "Hey," Lorelai greeted her. Luke nodded hello and stood behind Lorelai with his hands shoved into his pockets.

"Hey, you two." Sookie smiled. "How's it going?"

"Good, how 'bout you?" Lorelai replied.

"Good." Sookie held up her basket. "Just doing a little shopping."

"Right, right." Lorelai nodded. "Well, this is definitely a good place to do that. . . uh huh. . ." She tapped her hands nervously on her thighs.

Sookie glanced down at their hands. "No baskets . . .so what's this, just a crave trip?"

"Uh, yes. . .yes, it is," Lorelai replied quickly.

"A what?" Luke asked.

"A crave trip," Sookie repeated.

"You know, when you're sitting at home and you suddenly get a craving for something so you run all the way to the store to get just that item," Lorelai explained. "Uh, you know. . .like we're doing right now," she added, giving him a pointed look.

"Ah," Luke replied. "I wasn't aware that it had a name."

Sookie smiled. "Lorelai goes on crave trips a lot. So what was it this time?"

"Oh. . . uh, just. . .ice cream," Lorelai replied quickly. "You know, there's nothing like a nice bowl of ice cream on a hot night. . . well, for me anyway. Luke would rather just eat a bowl of ice. . .minus the cream, because I think the cream part's not really good for you. The ice part is, though, because ice is just. . .you know, frozen water and water's probably the healthiest thing you can have. . .you know, no calories or anything. . . " Luke rolled his eyes and gently kicked her foot. Lorelai clamped her mouth shut and glanced over at a shelf of toilet paper. "Wow, I love Charmin," she muttered. "It's so soft."

As Sookie stared at her questioningly, Luke put his hand on Lorelai's shoulder. "Uh, we should get going now. Remember, I wanted to stop at the diner?"

Lorelai turned and gave him an appreciative look over her shoulder. "Right, we should go." She turned back to Sookie. "Uh, we're gonna get going. I'll see you at the inn tomorrow." She grabbed Luke's hand and pulled him toward the exit.

"Uh, hon, you forgot the ice cream," Sookie said.

Lorelai turned around. "Oh, we didn't wanna buy it right now. . .we just wanted to come look at it," she explained. "You know, scope out the inventory. Now we're gonna go to the diner and talk about the different choices, then come back later and buy one."

Behind her, Luke rolled his eyes and muttered, "Smooth."

Lorelai nudged him with her elbow, then smiled at Sookie. "Bye Sookie."

"Bye," she replied, narrowing her eyes with confusion.

They turned around and walked quickly to the exit, and as they stepped out onto the sidewalk, Lorelai let out a sigh of relief. "Oh geez, that was close."

"You know, I *do* own a diner. . .it's not exactly suspicious for me to be buying large amounts of baking products," Luke said.

"Yeah, well, it's so close to the shower now that I don't want anything even remotely suspicious to happen," Lorelai said.

"Oh, right, and your little 'we just came to look at the ice cream' bit was perfectly normal," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

She frowned. "Hey, it was all I could come up with off the top of my head. I was nervous."

"Yeah, I noticed. So, what do you wanna do now?"

Lorelai glanced toward the market and watched Sookie through the window for a few seconds. She turned to Luke and shrugged. "Let's go to the diner and wait for her to leave the market, then we'll come back." Lorelai started walking toward the diner, and Luke followed behind her.

. . .

On Saturday morning, Lorelai and Rory were cleaning the house while Luke was at the diner utilizing the larger, more convenient kitchen to bake for the shower.

Lorelai, after spending twenty minutes vacuuming the living room, collapsed on the couch with an exhausted sigh. "Rory!" she called.

"What?" Rory called back from the kitchen.

"What time is Dean coming over with the tables and chairs?"

"Uh, like, 2:30, I think," Rory replied as she walked into the living room. "He's picking them up from Patty's at two, so by the time he and his dad load them up and drive here, it should be like 2:30."

Lorelai glanced at the clock on the VCR. "Okay, that gives me time to run to the liquor store. Come for a ride with me." She walked over to the desk and grabbed her purse and keys, then she and Rory walked out the front door.

. . .

They returned home forty-five minutes later and found Luke's truck parked out front with both doors open. They unloaded their bags from the trunk and as they walked toward the house, they were surprised when Jess walked out the front door.

They met up on the front porch and Lorelai eyed him curiously. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," Rory said.

Jess nodded toward them. "Hey."

"Uh, are you here with Luke?" Lorelai asked, glancing toward the house. "Is he inside?"

"Nah, he asked me to drop some stuff off," Jess replied. He gestured toward the house. "I just put everything on the kitchen table. . .hope that's okay."

"Yeah, that's fine, thanks," Lorelai replied. "Are you gonna stop by tonight?"

Jess shrugged. "I don't know. . ."

"Promises to be pretty entertaining. . .especially watching my mom try to avoid my grandma all night," Rory said, smiling at Lorelai.

Lorelai frowned. "Evil child." She turned to Jess. "We know it's not your type of thing, but there'll be a ton of food . . .stop by if you want."

Jess shrugged again. "I don't know. . .maybe." He started walking toward the truck. "I gotta go."

"Bye," Rory said.

"Bye. . .thanks," Lorelai called. They walked into the house, and Lorelai's eyes widened as they entered the kitchen. The table was covered with boxes of food from the diner. "Oh my God."

Rory was just as impressed. "Wow, that's a lot of food."

They set their bags down and began opening the boxes, sneaking peeks at all the baked goods Luke had sent over.

"Wow, he totally outdid himself," Lorelai said, shaking her head slightly.

"Definitely. I hope they taste as good as they look," Rory said.

Lorelai glanced at her with a sly smile. "Guess we better make sure."

Rory smiled. "I'll try a cookie."

"I'll try a brownie," Lorelai said. They reached for their respective treats and each took a bite. Lorelai closed her eyes and moaned, "Oh my God, that's soooo good!"

"Mm, this is incredible!" Rory exclaimed. She shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth and chewed it slowly, savoring the taste. As she swallowed, she said, "He should've known better than to leave all this food with us, though. What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know," Lorelai said. "All the baking must've affected his head." She shut the boxes and said, "Okay, we have to get out of here before we eat everything. What time is it?"

Rory glanced at the microwave. "Almost two."

"Okay, Dean'll be here soon with the tables and stuff to set up outside, so let's go check out where we want them," Lorelai said.

"Okay." Rory followed her out the back door and onto the porch. They walked onto the front lawn and began discussing where to set up the tables and chairs. "Okay, this is what I think. . .may I?" Rory asked.

"Go ahead," Lorelai said.

"I think that we should set up the food inside. . .some in Babette's house and some in ours," Rory explained. "Because it'll be really hot out and the food will get all warm and soggy. Plus, there'll be bugs and everything, and I just think it'll be better to have the food set up inside in the air conditioning to keep it fresher, and then set up the tables and chairs for people to eat out here in the yard."

Lorelai nodded slowly. "Okay, that sounds good. What about drinks?"

"Well, I was thinking we could have some inside, but also have a table and some coolers on each of the porches," Rory said, pointing to both houses. "Some by the side door of our house, and some by Babette's front door right there. That way it's all spread out and everything."

Lorelai smiled. "Man, you're so. . .what's the word?"

"Organized?" Rory suggested. "Smart? Wonderful? Beautiful?"

Lorelai laughed. "All of the above." She fanned herself with her hand. "Man, it's hot out here. I'm gonna go change into something cooler, then we gotta hose down the porch. There's a thick coating of dirt on it and I think the weight of it is starting to buckle the brand new joists under there." She started walking toward the front door.

"When are we gonna pick up the stuff from the bakery?" Rory asked.

Lorelai turned around. "Oh, I told Fran we'd be there about four."

"Okay. I'm gonna go see if Babette needs help with anything."

"Okay." Lorelai went up to her bedroom to change, and returned a few minutes later in her denim cutoffs and a bikini top. She pulled the hose out of the shed and began spraying off the porch.

She finished up just as Rory walked out of Babette's house, and she helped Lorelai drag the hose back to the shed. "Everything okay in there?" Lorelai asked.

"Yup, the house is all decorated and everything," Rory said. "It looks cute."

"Speaking of which, let's go decorate ours," Lorelai said. "Then we can come decorate out here and die of heat exhaustion."

"Sounds good," Rory said as she followed Lorelai into the house.

. . .

A few hours later, Lorelai and Rory arrived home from the bakery. They carried the boxes into the house and set them on the counter, then Lorelai pulled off her T-shirt and dropped it on a chair. "Oh my God, this heat is unbearable." She opened up the freezer and let the cold air cool her down.

"Maybe we can turn the shower into a beach party or something, and we can all wear our bathing suits and run through the sprinkler," Rory suggested.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose as she shut the freezer door. "Hm, that'd be a good idea if it was just a small gathering amongst close friends, but there are too many people in this town that I'd rather not see in a bathing suit."

"Huh, good point," Rory agreed.

A car horn honked from outside, and they rushed to the front door. They stepped onto the porch just as Luke was climbing out of his truck. Lorelai smiled and clapped excitedly. "The rest of the food is here!"

"Yay!" Rory exclaimed.

Luke rolled his eyes. "A little help, please?" he said, gesturing to the truck.

"Oh, right," Rory said. "Come on, Mom." Rory walked down the porch and over to the passenger side door.

Lorelai walked over to Luke on the other side of the truck. She wrinkled her nose at his shirt, which was covered with flour, cocoa powder, and other caked-on ingredients that Lorelai couldn't identify. "Did the kitchen explode?"

Luke glanced down at his shirt. "Just about." He glanced at her bikini top and asked, "Did all your shirts disappear?"

Lorelai giggled and nodded. "Yup." She kissed him, then wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Mm, I haven't seen you in like. . .forever."

Luke smiled. "I know, not since this morning." He brought his hands up around her waist and pulled her tighter against his body.

As Rory carried a few boxes toward the house, she said, "Okay, why am I the only one working here?"

"Because you're younger than us," Lorelai replied. As Rory disappeared through the front door, Lorelai kissed Luke passionately. When she finally pulled back, she said, "Thank you."

"For what?"

She kissed him again. "For wasting your entire Saturday baking a ton of food that you're not even gonna eat," she said. "And for not complaining about it once."

Luke shrugged. "Yeah, well, if I didn't do it, you would've went out and bought even more stuff from the bakery, so a few hours of kitchen labor essentially saved us a couple hundred bucks."

Lorelai smiled. "So, instead of doing it because you love me and wanted to help out as much as you could, you did it solely for financial purposes."

"Right."

Lorelai giggled and stroked his cheek. "Lying through your teeth."

"Okay, so I am." Luke smiled and kissed her. "Come on, let's get this stuff inside." They each grabbed a box from the truck and walked into the house.

As they entered the kitchen, they saw Rory leaning against the counter on the phone. Luke gestured to Lorelai's box. "That one has to go in the refrigerator. It's pudding."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Mm, pudding!" She opened the box and pulled out two large covered bowls, then stuck them in the fridge as Rory hung up the phone.

"Okay, Lane'll be here as soon as she can to set up the stereo and get all the CDs organized and everything," Rory announced.

"Good, and I told Kirk he could bring the ice, and to bring it early, so he should be here soon with that. Let's go bring in the rest of the boxes from the truck," Lorelai said. "We can start dividing the food between here and Babette's."

"All right, let me go change my shirt, then I'll give ya a hand," Luke said.

. . .

Forty-five minutes later, Rory and Lane were setting up the stereo, Kirk was filling a bunch of coolers with ice on Lorelai's side porch, and both Luke and Lorelai were at Babette's house helping set up the food tables.

When they finally stepped out onto Babette's porch, they saw Emily pull up in front of their house. Lorelai groaned, then turned around and tried to walk back inside, but Luke caught her arm and pulled her back out. "No, come on."

Lorelai frowned as Luke led her across the yard to Emily's car. As Emily climbed out, Lorelai forced a smile. "Hi Mom."

"Hello Lorelai," Emily replied, then nodded toward Luke. "Luke."

"Emily," Luke replied. "How's everything?"

"Fine, thank you," Emily replied. She narrowed her eyes at Lorelai's cutoffs and bikini top. "I see I'm a tad overdressed."

"Yeah, didn't you get the memo that we've turned the shower into an MTV Beach House party?" Lorelai asked.

Confused, Emily replied, "A what?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Nothing. Uh, do you need help with anything?" he asked, gesturing to the car.

"Yes, thank you. I have a few boxes of pastries to bring in." Emily walked toward her trunk, and Luke and Lorelai followed. Emily opened it, then stepped back as Luke and Lorelai each leaned into the trunk and grabbed a box.

Emily's eyes widened and she gasped loudly. "Lorelai Gilmore!" she exclaimed.

Surprised, Lorelai and Luke both turned around. "What?" she asked.

Emily pursed her lips. "What in the world is that on your back?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes and looked over her shoulder. "I don't know. . .what is it, Luke? Is it a bug? Get it off of me!"

Luke cleared his throat. "Uh, I think she means. . .your tattoo."

"Yes, that tattoo!" Emily replied indignantly. "How long have you had that?"

Reveling internally at seeing her mother freak out, Lorelai smirked and said, "I got it a couple weeks ago. Don't worry, though, the tattoo parlor was clean. . .I saw them take the needle out of the guy before me and run it under cold water before they used it on me."

"Do not joke about this, Lorelai! Why would you go and do something like that to your body?" Emily grimaced as if the thought of a tattoo disgusted her. She glanced over at Luke and zeroed in on his tattoo that was peeking out from under his sleeve. "Oh, well, I see. . . perhaps someone else with a tattoo influenced you to get one also?" Emily suggested, glaring accusingly at Luke as she spoke.

Luke's eyes widened. "What?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "No, Mother, you – and I want to take my time as I say this to really cherish the moment – you. . . couldn't. . . be. . . more. . . wrong." She smiled to herself and let out a soft sigh. "Ah, that felt good."

"Lorelai," Luke prompted her to explain.

"Oh, right, sorry," Lorelai replied. She turned to Emily. "Mom, this isn't a real tattoo, it's just temporary, and Luke had nothing to do with me getting it. He didn't even know I was getting it. He was just as surprised as you were when he saw it."

"Yes, well – " Emily started.

"Come on, let's get these inside," Lorelai interrupted. She turned and walked quickly toward the house, and they both followed her. They walked into the kitchen and set the boxes on the table, and Lorelai opened them. "Mm, these look great."

"Yes, Beatrice is a wonderful cook," Emily replied.

"Looks that way," Lorelai replied. She quickly arranged the pastries on the table with the other food, then turned to Emily. "Okay, uh, Rory's in the living room if you wanna say hello. Luke and I are gonna go upstairs and get dressed before other people start to arrive."

"Ah, yes, I was just about to ask where Rory was," Emily said, turning around and walking into the living room.

Lorelai glanced over her shoulder at Luke and exhaled loudly. He gave her a sympathetic look as she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the living room. Emily was standing with Rory and Lane near the stereo. Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, Rory, you're in charge of everything while we go up and change."

"Okay, Mom," Rory replied.

Lorelai and Luke climbed the steps to their bedroom, and Lorelai locked the door and groaned loudly. "Oh my God!"

"It wasn't so bad," Luke said.

"Not so bad? Not so bad?" Lorelai scoffed and began pacing. "Luke, she wasn't even here a minute before she got on my case! A minute! That surprises even me because when I've sat down and thought about how bad this night could be, and when I've thought about how long she'd take to get on me about something, I assumed five, ten minutes, tops." She shook her head in disbelief. "But less than a minute – geez, the woman must hold some sort of record, I swear to God!" She sighed loudly and buried her face against Luke's shoulder. "Hug me."

Luke hugged her tightly, and the feeling of his warm hands against her bare back made her feel more relaxed. Luke ran his hands up and down her back, interrupted only by thin strap of her bikini top. Lorelai's hands found their way up Luke's shirt and she lightly dragged her nails up and down his back.

They stood silently for over a minute, just letting their hands explore each other's backs, before Luke finally pulled back. "We should get down there," he said. "People are gonna start coming soon."

Lorelai giggled. "Dirty!" As Luke rolled his eyes, she added, "Did you mean that literally. . .because a few more minutes of your hands on my body just might make it happen." She pressed her lips against his and kissed him hungrily.

Luke kissed her back, then pulled away from her. "Come on, get dressed. Don't think about your mother anymore, think about Sookie."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Sookie, right, got it. This night is about her and Jackson, not me and my mother."

. . .

Twenty minutes later, they walked downstairs – Luke in black pants with a black shirt, and Lorelai in her new strapless dress with her straightened hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of her neck.

As Luke walked into the kitchen, Lorelai walked outside and glanced around. Guests were starting to arrive, and a small pile of gifts had started to accumulate on the gift table. Music was playing in the background – while the stereo was inside, the speakers were set up right against the side window so that the music could be heard outside.

Rory walked across the yard and up the steps. She linked her arm through Lorelai's. "Hey Mom."

Lorelai turned her head and smiled. "Hey sweets." She kissed Rory on the cheek. "How's everything going?"

"Pretty good," Rory said. "The dress looks great."

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks." She wrinkled her nose and whispered, "Do you see your grandmother anywhere?"

"Oh, she's on the side of the house with Kirk," Rory replied. "I just saw them."

Lorelai closed her eyes and put her hands on her forehead. "No."

"It's okay, Mom," Rory replied.

"Rory, she's talking with Kirk," Lorelai reminded her.

"I know, but he has some interesting things to say. . .sometimes. . ." Rory's voice trailed off. "Occasionally."

Lorelai grabbed Rory's arm. "Come with me." They walked to the side of the house, where Emily and Kirk were standing near the drink table.

As they walked up behind them, they caught some of their conversation. ". . . my true passion. I've been working on a film for a few years now that I hope one day will be ready for the world to view."

"Well, that's very interesting," Emily replied.

Lorelai cleared her throat. "Hey guys."

They both turned around. Emily smiled. "Lorelai, Rory, hello." She glanced down at Lorelai's dress. "That's a lovely dress."

"Thanks, Mom," Lorelai replied.

"Perhaps a bit short, though," Emily added.

Lorelai forced a smile. "So, how about we go get something to eat, huh?"

"But Sookie's not here yet," Emily said.

"So?" Lorelai asked.

"So, she's the guest of honor, and nobody's supposed to eat until the guest of honor arrives," Emily informed her. "Trust me, I've been to many showers in my day, Lorelai. This is how they work."

"Okay, well, you stick to that rule, Mom. I'm gonna go grab a cookie," Lorelai said.

. . .

By seven o'clock, most of the guests had arrived and the yard was full of people. Lorelai had made an announcement that Sookie and Jackson would be arriving any minute, and she stood with a bunch of people near the edge of the yard eagerly watching for their car to pull up. She scanned the yard for Luke and found him standing with a group of men near Babette's house. As they locked eyes and smiled at each other, a voice yelled, "Here they come!"

Lorelai quickly turned around and looked down the street. She saw Sookie's SUV heading slowly toward the house, and as it approached, saw the confused look on Sookie's face. Jackson looked just as confused, and when Lorelai saw their lips moving, she assumed they were probably asking each other what was going on.

Jackson parked the car and as they both climbed out, several people shouted, "Surprise!" It was then that Sookie finally saw the "Congratulations Sookie and Jackson!" banner that hung over Lorelai's porch.

"Oh my God!" Sookie clapped a hand over her mouth, and she walked over to Jackson and pointed out the sign to him. Tears welled up in her eyes and she clutched onto Jackson's arm.

After giving them a few seconds to take everything in, Lorelai finally broke off from the crowd and stepped up to them. "Ladies and Gentlemen," she announced loudly, "the guests of honor have arrived. . .let the fun begin!"

As everyone clapped and cheered, Lorelai wrapped her arms around Sookie. "Congratulations, Sookie." Lorelai pulled back and kissed her on the cheek, then smiled at Jackson as she gestured to the yard. "This is all for you guys."

"It's amazing," Jackson said, smiling broadly. "I can't believe it."

Sookie sniffled loudly as tears ran down her cheeks. "Oh my God, Lorelai! I can't believe you did this!" she exclaimed, smacking her playfully on the shoulder.

Lorelai smiled. "Why not? You did it for me!"

Sookie wiped her tears and giggled. "Only you were able to keep it a surprise. How'd you do that anyway? You're terrible at keeping secrets."

"Well, this one was too good to spoil," Lorelai said, smiling. "Listen, why don't you guys go greet your fans and sign autographs and get settled, and I'll get you each a drink."

"Okay. Come on, Sookie," Jackson said. He took her hand and led her over to the crowd.

Lorelai smiled to herself as she stood back and watched them talking to people. A few minutes later, Luke walked over to her and slipped his arm around her waist. She smiled and nodded toward Sookie and Jackson. "Look at 'em."

Luke smiled and nodded. "They look happy."

They continued watching them for a few more seconds until Lorelai moved in front of Luke. She smiled and pressed her lips against his, kissing him deeply. She tried to part his lips with her tongue but he kept them tight, and her attempt was unsuccessful. She pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. "What's wrong?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "What do you think? There's like a hundred people behind you, including your mother– this isn't exactly my preferred kissing scenario."

Lorelai grabbed Luke's hand and pulled him to the other side of Sookie's SUV. "There, unless Superman's in the crowd, no one can see us now." She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. This time he welcomed her tongue into his mouth and she moaned softly as the kiss deepened with passion.

Lorelai pulled back and smirked. "Luke, do you think Superman is really a. . .you know, 'super man'?"

"Like, what do you mean?" Luke asked. "In bed?"

"Yeah."

"Definitely," Luke said, nodding seriously.

"Better than Batman?"

"Absolutely," Luke replied.

"So if I accidentally got transported into some crazy comic book world and I had to pick one of them to sleep with, I should go with Superman?" Lorelai asked.

Luke thought for a moment. "No, you should go with Batman so that when you get back from the comic book world you won't be disappointed that I'm not as good as Superman."

"But you think you're as good as Batman?" Lorelai asked, smiling.

Luke scoffed. "Please. . . he's not even in the same league as me and Superman."

Lorelai laughed. "Wow, so our sex is comparable to that of Superhero measurements?"

"Yes, it is." Luke nodded. "By the way, have you had anything to drink yet?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Just soda, why?"

"Just wondering if this stupid conversation is a result of over-consumption, but I guess not," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

Lorelai giggled. "No, trust me – the conversations will get worse as the night progresses." She kissed him, then said, "Come on, I told Sookie and Jackson I'd get them drinks." She took his hand and led him toward the front porch.

. . .

PART 45

. . .

They walked up onto the porch and over to the drink table. Lorelai ladled out two cups of punch, and they brought them over to Sookie and Jackson, who were talking with a group of people. Lorelai handed them the drinks, and they smiled and thanked her.

As Lorelai and Luke walked away from the group, Lorelai asked, "Are you hungry? I'm starving."

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna go check out that vegetable tray at Babette's," Luke replied. "Where are you going?"

"Well, right now, the brownies are my number one priority, but I'm also going to try at least one of every cookie."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I'll meet you back out here." He headed toward Babette's as Lorelai walked into her house.

She mouthed the words to the U2 song playing in the background as she made her way to the kitchen, which she found filled to capacity as people scoured the food tables. She grabbed a plate and waited impatiently at the end of the line.

Soon, Patty walked in through the back door. "Lorelai, hi! Great party!"

"Thanks, Patty." Lorelai smiled. She pointed to the cup Patty was holding. "Whatcha drinking?"

Patty smiled slyly. "Mm, some of your famous punch. . .which as usual tastes more like vodka spiked with punch than punch spiked with vodka."

Lorelai laughed. "Just how we like it, huh?"

Patty winked. "You know it, dear." She took a drink of it, then asked, "By the way, was that your mother I saw outside?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes, then nodded. "Yeah, why – what's she doing now? Informing the neighbors that their house paint is chipping?"

Patty rubbed Lorelai on the shoulder. "No, she's just chatting, don't worry. I'm gonna go mingle. See you later."

"Bye Patty." Lorelai smiled as Patty walked away, then she turned back toward the food and muttered, "Okay, come on people." The line moved along slowly, and when she was finally in arm's length of the food, she piled on a bunch of treats, sampling a bit of everything. She carried the plate outside and saw Luke sitting at a table.

Lorelai walked over and sat down with a sigh. "Man, the line was moving way too slow. I was this close to invoking my 'it's my house so I get to cut in line' rule."

"Very hospitable," Luke commented before he bit into a carrot stick.

"Yeah, well, I'd rather be considered inhospitable then be dead of starvation," Lorelai replied. She glanced toward the porch. "I'm gonna get a drink. You want something?"

"Uh, yeah. . . I'll take a water," Luke replied.

"Mmkay, be right back," Lorelai replied. She stood up and walked over to the drink table, where Rory was pouring herself some soda. "Hey you."

Rory looked up and smiled. "Hey Mom." She finished pouring her drink, then replaced the lid on the bottle. "What's up?"

Lorelai ladled herself some punch. "Just making sure you're staying away from Mommy's special punch. . .it may look sweet and innocent, but by now you should know that when things look that way, it's never how it seems."

"What about me? I look sweet and innocent," Rory said.

"Rest my case," Lorelai said with a shrug.

Rory frowned. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Lorelai replied. "Where's Dean?"

Rory pointed across the yard. "Over there talking with some friends. I was with them, but they started talking about football, so – "

"You politely excused yourself so you wouldn't have to stand there smiling and pretending to be interested?"

"Yup."

"That's my girl." Lorelai reached into one of the coolers and pulled out a bottle of water. As she shut the cooler and stood back up, she saw Kirk walking up to her with his camera. Lorelai smiled. "Oh, good, you brought it! Thanks Kirk. Be sure to get as many shots as you can, okay?"

"I will," he replied. "And you're gonna – "

"Pay for all the film. . .yes, Kirk," Lorelai said. She put her arm around Rory. "Ooh, here, this is a good shot. Smile, babe." They both smiled and Kirk took the picture, then Lorelai said, "Hey, try to get a shot of me and Luke together without him noticing. He hates pictures so I know he'll never pose for one, but try to get a candid of us together at some point, okay?"

Kirk nodded. "I'm on it. But if he sees me do it and breaks my camera – "

"Yes, I'll get you a new camera, Kirk," Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes.

"Okay." Kirk turned around and walked away.

Lorelai turned to Rory. "Wanna come sit with Luke and I? We can make fun of his plateful of vegetables."

Rory smiled. "No thanks, I'm gonna go see how Lane's doing in there."

"Okay, see you later," Lorelai replied. She walked back to the table and was surprised when she saw Jess there talking to Luke.

"Hey Jess," Lorelai said. As he nodded toward her, she placed Luke's water next to his plate and sat down. "You decided to stop by?"

"Yeah, but just to borrow the truck," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

Lorelai smiled. "Ah, got it. Well, you might as well have some free food while you're here. Go grab a plate, help yourself."

Jess glanced toward the house. "Thanks, maybe I'll check it out." He turned back to Luke. "Keys?"

"In the first drawer of the hallway table," Luke replied, gesturing toward the front door.

"Thanks." Jess walked toward the house.

"And stay away from the punch!" Luke called after him.

Lorelai laughed as she picked up a cookie, then said, "He's borrowing the truck again, huh?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah." He bit into a celery stick, then added, "And, you know, actually. . .I was thinking that his birthday's coming up soon. . ."

Lorelai froze in mid-bite, then turned toward him slowly. "And. . ." she prompted him.

Luke shrugged and said, "I don't know. I was thinking of maybe. . . giving him my truck and getting myself a new one."

Lorelai's eyes widened and she shook her head slightly. "Wow. . .that's quite a birthday present there."

"I mean, I know it's not his dream car or anything, but it'll be something to use while he saves up for one of his own," Luke explained.

"Wow. . .that's. . . quite a birthday present there," Lorelai repeated, staring down at her plate.

"You said that already," Luke pointed out.

"I know."

He stared at her for a moment. "What – you don't think it's a good idea?"

Lorelai pushed her fingertips into a brownie, smushing three deep holes into it. She shrugged and said, "He's your nephew, it's your truck, do whatever you want. I mean, if you think he's ready for it, then. . .sure, go ahead." She pulled her fingers out and wiped them on a napkin.

"Why wouldn't he be ready for it?" Luke asked, narrowing his eyes at her. "The kid already has his own place, why wouldn't he be ready for his own car?"

"I don't know, I just. . .maybe you should. . ." Lorelai bit her lip for a moment and glanced toward the truck at the edge of the yard. She turned back to him and shrugged. "I don't know, maybe you're right. He's been working hard, he's been staying out of trouble, that we know of. He's probably ready for it."

"So, you. . . think it's a good idea?" Luke asked, surprised.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure he'll appreciate it. All kids want their own car." She glanced back over at his truck. "So, you're gonna get a new truck?"

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it for awhile," Luke replied.

Lorelai nodded. "You should get an Explorer, those things are pretty popular. Or a Dodge Durango. . .I see those commercials a lot, they seem good."

Luke shrugged. "I don't know what I'm gonna go with yet. I'll have to look around."

Lorelai nodded. "Right." She smiled and added, "Well, if you need any help, I'm a professional shopper."

"Yes, I know," Luke replied, rolling his eyes. "And if it wasn't clear enough to me before we were together, the credit card bills have certainly proved it."

. . .

A few minutes later, after she had thrown her plate in the trash can near the porch steps, Lorelai walked into her house and almost bumped into Emily in the front entryway. "Whoa, sorry Mom," Lorelai apologized.

"That's all right," Emily replied. "I was just coming to find you."

"Well. . .you did, congratulations," Lorelai replied.

Emily clasped her hands together. "How about a tour of the house?"

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "A tour?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "It's not like I'm asking you to drive me to Florida, Lorelai. I'm asking you to take five minutes from the party to show your mother around your house that she hasn't been to in over a year. . .is that going to kill you?"

"Maybe," Lorelai muttered under her breath. She forced a smile and said, "Okay, this is the front hallway." She walked into the living room. "This is the living room, mostly used for watching television."

Emily glanced at the shelves of movies near the TV. "You certainly have a lot of videos."

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, this family places an extremely high value on the entertainment industry. It is to us what heroin is to a junkie, or what honey is to Winnie the Pooh."

"Interesting analogies."

"Yes, I wasn't sure if you'd prefer the adult one or the PG one, so I threw them both out there," Lorelai explained.

"Just stick with the family-friendly ones, thank you," Emily replied.

"Ah, sure," Lorelai replied. She led Emily down the hallway to the kitchen, which was filled with people. "And this is the kitchen, which on a normal day doesn't have quite so many people in it."

"I should hope not," Emily replied. She walked over to the fridge and pulled it open. "My God, there's food in here."

Lorelai smiled. "Yes, it's a new concept that Luke brought with him when he moved in . . . always have food around."

Emily smirked as she shut the refrigerator. "Wise man you found there, Lorelai."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. She gestured toward Rory's bedroom door. "And that's Rory's bedroom in there, she can show it to you later. Uh, did you wanna see upstairs, too?"

"Why not?" Emily replied.

"Okay, follow me," Lorelai replied. She led Emily to the staircase and up the steps. She pushed open her bedroom door. "This is our room. . . mine and Luke's." She flipped on the light switch and they stepped into the room.

"Huh, it's very. . ." Emily started.

"Cluttered?" Lorelai suggested.

"Yes, cluttered describes it well," Emily replied.

"Yeah, well, we both have a lot of stuff," Lorelai said with a shrug.

Emily pointed to a garment bag in the closet. "What's that?"

"Oh, that's Sookie's wedding dress," Lorelai replied. "She's storing it here."

"Oh, how nice." Emily smiled. "Is your bridesmaid dress here?"

"No, it's still at Sookie's house," Lorelai said. "We have to finish up a few little things on it, then it'll be all set." She walked out of the room into the hallway. "There's the bathroom and there's the laundry room," she said, pointing to the two doorways.

"The laundry room's upstairs?" Emily asked, surprised. "That must be convenient having it right here."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, it is, but it doesn't make doing laundry any more enjoyable." She glanced around and shrugged. "Uh, so that's pretty much it, Mom. Thanks for taking part in the tour. Be sure to stop by the gift shop on your way out."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Lorelai." She cleared her throat, then glanced down at the floor as she said, "You know, I don't want you to think that I don't like Luke."

Surprised, Lorelai narrowed her eyes and said, "What?"

Emily brought her gaze up to meet Lorelai's. "Just because I'm hesitant about you two living together so soon doesn't mean that I don't like him. I do. . .your father and I both think he's very nice."

Lorelai nodded slowly. "I know."

"I mean, I'm just. . .concerned about you and Rory and how this could end up," Emily explained. "It's a mother's instinct to be worried about things that could happen."

"Look, Mom, I understand where you're coming from, being worried and everything," Lorelai said. "And I appreciate it . . .but I've told you a million times already that there's nothing to worry about, that we were both ready for this to happen. Why don't you believe me?

Emily sighed. "I do believe you, Lorelai, but it's hard to forget what happened last year with Max."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Mom, this situation couldn't be any more different from that one! Please, please, please just look me in the eye and tell me that you believe me when I say that."

Emily stared at Lorelai for a second, then said, "I believe you."

Lorelai nodded. "Thank you. Let's get back to the party." Emily nodded and followed Lorelai down the steps, and Emily walked into the kitchen as Lorelai wandered out onto the front porch.

She glanced around until she spotted Sookie at the drink table. Lorelai walked up to her and rubbed her back. "Hey girlie," Lorelai said.

Sookie turned around and smiled. "Lorelai! Oh my God, I just saw the food! The spread is amazing!"

"It pales in comparison to something you could do, but I did my best," Lorelai replied.

"No, it's incredible, really!" Sookie exclaimed excitedly. "Ah, I can't believe all this. You completely outdid yourself." She glanced around the yard. "Just. . .all these people. . .all that food. . .it's just amazing."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, you guys deserve it, Sookie."

Sookie smiled and hugged her tightly. A few seconds passed before Sookie sniffled loudly, and Lorelai pulled back. "Aw, don't cry . . . this is a party."

Sookie wiped her tears. "Yeah, well, it's my party and - "

"Agh, I totally set you up for that," Lorelai interrupted, wrinkling her nose.

" – I'll cry if I want to," Sookie finished.

"Thank you, Leslie Gore," Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes.

Sookie smiled. "Hey, quick question. . .did you actually invite your mother, or did she just happen to show up on shower night?"

Lorelai groaned. "I invited her. . . it's a long story that includes a temporary moment of me losing my mind."

Sookie smiled. "Can't wait to hear it."

Lorelai glanced at the gift table. "Wow, you're gonna be here all night opening gifts. You better get started soon."

Sookie followed Lorelai's gaze. "Wow, how are we gonna get all those home?"

"We'll figure something out," Lorelai said. "Don't worry about it."

Sookie nodded. "Okay, I'm gonna go find Jackson and start unwrapping."

"Sounds good," Lorelai replied.

. . .

Forty-five minutes later, Sookie and Jackson took a break from opening their gifts to mingle with the guests. Lorelai, who had been watching from a nearby table, stood up and walked toward the house. As she walked up the porch steps, she spotted her mother laughing with Miss Patty near the drink table. Curious, Lorelai smiled and walked over to them. "Hey guys, what's so funny?"

They both looked up. "Oh, Lorelai, I was just telling your mother about what you did to Taylor last week," Patty explained.

"You rearranged his shelves?" Emily asked.

Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "Who me?"

Patty laughed. "I'm just happy that I was in the store to see the look on his face. Ah, that's something I won't forget for a long time." She held up her empty cup. "Well, I'm off to get a refill. See you girls later."

Emily smiled as she walked away, then she turned to Lorelai and frowned. "You rearranged his shelves?" she asked angrily. "Why would you do such a thing?"

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Mother, you were laughing about it thirty seconds ago!"

"Yes, well, I was being polite, but do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to be told that your thirty-three year old daughter acts like a teenager?" Emily asked. "I was mortified!"

Lorelai sighed loudly. "Mom. . . "

"Why do you do things like that, Lorelai? Is there some reason in particular that you wanted to make this man's life more difficult by completely destroying the setup of his store?"

Lorelai pursed her lips. "Not really."

Emily shook her head in disbelief. "So you did it purely for your own enjoyment. . .to see another person in a dire situation where they . . . "

While Emily continued to question Lorelai's actions, Luke was across the yard discussing baseball with a group of guys. He glanced over toward the porch and saw Emily and Lorelai talking animatedly. He instantly recognized the look on Lorelai's face – the one that screamed 'please, someone help me!'.

He excused himself from the guys and walked over to Lorelai and Emily. He put his hand on Lorelai's shoulder and cleared his throat. "Uh, sorry to interrupt, but Rory's looking for you," Luke said. "I think it's important, maybe you should go find her."

Lorelai turned around and gave Luke an appreciative smile. She turned back to Emily. "Oh, I gotta go, Mom. Excuse me." Before she walked away, she leaned up to Luke's ear and whispered, "You are so getting lucky tonight. . .multiple times."

Luke blushed slightly and he glanced toward Emily to see if she'd heard. When he was sure that she hadn't, he smiled slyly. As Lorelai walked away, he stepped closer to Emily. "Uh, so. . .I hear Richard's been working a lot lately." They walked over to the bench and sat down.

"Yes, he has." Emily nodded. "He's starting up his own firm, did Lorelai tell you?"

"Yeah, she did," Luke replied. "That'll be good for him."

"Yes, it will," Emily agreed. "Once he gets everything established and he gets settled." There was a brief moment of silence before she asked, "And the diner. . .how are things going there?"

"Oh, it's good, thanks," Luke said. "It's paying the bills."

"I'm sure a business like that keeps you pretty busy," Emily said.

"Yeah, it's a handful," he replied. "Some days I'd find myself working from six in the morning to eleven at night."

"Wow, doesn't leave much time for anything else," Emily commented.

"No, it doesn't, which is why I've been cutting back on the hours to spend more time at home," Luke said.

Emily nodded. "That's good. I'm sure Lorelai enjoys seeing you home more often."

Luke smiled and shrugged. "I hope so." Emily gave him a small smile and glanced toward the yard. They were both quiet for a few seconds before Luke cleared his throat and said, "Uh. . .I know you hate this whole living arrangement thing, but. . ."

Surprised, Emily turned to him and scoffed. "I don't *hate* this living arrangement."

"Well, maybe hate's a bit strong of a word. . .you were having trouble accepting it," Luke said. "That might be a better way of putting it."

Emily nodded. "Yes, I was having a bit of trouble with it, but. . .I'm okay with it now."

Surprised, Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "You are. . .really?"

Emily nodded. "Lorelai and I discussed the matter earlier and she's fairly confident that you two wouldn't have done this if you weren't ready for it."

"It's true."

"I know," Emily said with a sigh. "I just. . .you know, a mother worries sometimes."

"I understand," Luke said. After a brief lull of silence, he stood up. "Uh, I'm gonna go make sure Lorelai found Rory okay. I'll see you later."

Emily smiled. "Okay."

Luke walked into the house through the side door. A group of people were sitting around the coffee table as Sookie and Jackson recounted the story of the first time they met.

Lorelai saw him walk in, and she excused herself from the couch and walked over to him. "Hey," she said, smiling. "Thanks for saving me."

"You're welcome," he replied.

"I saw you guys talking out there. What was that all about?" Lorelai asked.

Luke shrugged. "Just small talk, nothing big."

Lorelai nodded. "So what are you doing now?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively and asked, "Got a minute to make out?"

"I think I can squeeze you in," he said.

Lorelai grinned. "Come on." She grabbed his hand and led him down the hallway to the kitchen. They slipped into Rory's bedroom and shut the door behind them. Lorelai turned the light on. "How's this?"

"Perfect." He leaned forward and kissed her. He placed his hands on her neck, then slid them down over her bare shoulders all the way down her arms. He took her hands into his as he pulled back from her and stared deeply into her eyes.

After a few seconds, Lorelai asked. "Are you all right?"

Luke nodded. "Mmhmm."

"You look nervous about something," she said. She ran her fingers through his hair. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm good."

"Good." She brought her hands up to his face and stroked his sideburns as she leaned forward to kiss him. When she finally pulled back, she said, "We should probably get back out there."

"Probably," he agreed.

She started to step toward the door, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him. She giggled as he pressed his lips against her neck and sucked lightly on her skin. "Okay, just let me know when you're finished," she mumbled, closing her eyes. As he began kissing down to her shoulder, she moaned softly toward the ceiling. He kissed across her chest to her other shoulder and kissed his way up her neck to her earlobe. He took it between his lips and sucked on it lightly, his teeth clicking softly against her diamond earring.

When he finally pulled back, Lorelai opened her eyes and asked, "Done?"

Luke nodded. "For now."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, let's go." They walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. The crowd had dispersed, and Lorelai looked at Luke with a shrug. "They must've gone back outside. Wanna go sit on the porch?"

Luke glanced quickly toward Lane standing at the stereo, then nodded toward Lorelai. "Uh, yeah. . .I'll meet you out there. I'm just gonna, uh. . .use the bathroom first."

"Okay." Lorelai walked out the front door, and Luke walked upstairs to their bedroom. He shut the door, then paced for a few minutes, mumbling to himself. Finally, he stopped, took a deep breath, walked over to his dresser and reached into the back of his bottom drawer.

. . .

A few minutes later, Luke walked downstairs and over to Lane at the stereo. "Uh, Lane?"

Lane turned around and smiled. "Hey Luke." She noticed the CD in his hand. "Got a request?"

Luke swallowed hard and nodded. "Uh, yeah, actually, I do." He handed her the CD.

"Ooh, Sinatra." Lane smiled. "Good taste. Which one?"

"Track four," Luke replied.

"You got it," Lane said. "As soon as this song's over, I'll put it on."

"Thanks." He walked out the side door and glanced around, finally spotting Lorelai standing near the front porch steps.

He walked over to her and took her hand, pulling her away from the main crowd toward the chuppah on the side of the house. She narrowed her eyes and asked, "What are we doing all the way over here?"

"Being alone," he replied. He glanced back toward the other guests, who were mostly gathered in the grass between their house and Babette's. "There're too many people over there."

"Too many people for what?" Lorelai asked.

"For me to talk to you." He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then opened them and said, "Look, I kind of need to say some things to you and I just want you to listen, okay?"

Lorelai stared up at him suspiciously, but slowly nodded. "Okay."

Luke swallowed hard, and a nervous feeling washed over him. He cleared his throat and, speaking softly and slowly, said, "I just. . .I want you to know that. . . I didn't think I could ever care for anyone as much as I care for you. I didn't know . . .that I was capable of loving someone so much."

A chill ran through Lorelai's body and she started to open her mouth to respond, but Luke put a finger on her lips. "Shh, wait a second, okay?" he said softly. Lorelai nodded.

Luke put his hands on her shoulders. "You're just. . . you're so incredible and so perfect, and the fact that you don't think you are makes it even more true." Lorelai smiled shyly and glanced down at the ground as Luke continued, "And sometimes I just look at you or I think about you and I . . ." He shook his head slightly. "I just can't believe how lucky I am."

Lorelai glanced up at him and her smile widened. "My turn yet?"

Luke smiled. "Almost." He turned and glanced toward the house as he heard the current song end, and he waited impatiently for the next song to start. When it did, he smiled to himself and turned back to her. "After the song."

Lorelai recognized it immediately. She smiled and said, "This is. . ."

"All the Way," Luke finished. "The first song we danced to together."

Lorelai tilted her head and smiled at him. "Did you set this up?"

Luke smiled as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his hands on the small of her back. She draped her arms over his shoulders and kissed him. "I love you."

"Yeah. . .love you, too," he replied as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

Lorelai glanced past him toward the crowd and watched the party through the porch railing. She could make out a few couples still dancing, but it appeared that most people were watching Sookie and Jackson as they resumed opening their gifts.

Everything that Luke had just said to her was running through her head, and she was trying to find the right words to say back to him. As she was thinking, she saw Kirk walk out the front door with his camera, and she gestured for him to take a picture of the two of them dancing. He zoomed in on them and took the picture, then gave Lorelai a thumbs-up sign. She smiled and mouthed 'thank you' to him, and as he walked toward the crowd, she closed her eyes and rested her cheek against Luke's shoulder.

A minute passed as the two of them continued dancing in the yard. . .separated from the rest of the crowd, just as Luke had planned it. Luke brought one hand up to stroke her ponytail as he stared at the chuppah right behind her. Many thoughts and emotions ran through him as he tried to find the right moment to do what he wanted to do.

Finally, Luke took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then brought his lips to her ear and whispered, "Lorelai?"

Her eyes still closed, Lorelai muttered, "Hmm?"

There was a brief pause as Luke swallowed, then he whispered, "I wanna marry you."

Lorelai's eyes opened quickly and they widened as much as they could. She slowly pulled back from him. "Uh, what did you say?"

"I said. . .that I want to marry you," he repeated slowly. He cleared his throat and said quietly, "I mean, marriage is right if you can find that one special person. . . and I was lucky enough to find her. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you."

Lorelai took a few steps back and stared at him with confusion. "Luke, are you asking me . . ." Her voice trailed off as she watched him reach into his pocket and pull something out.

She recognized the diamond ring – it was the one she had pointed out at the jewelry store just a few weeks ago. He held it out to her and it sparkled as the lights from the porch reflected off of it.

Lorelai gasped and her lips started quivering. "Oh my God." Tears welled up in her eyes, and her entire body started to tremble.

Luke took a step toward her. "Lorelai. . ."

Lorelai clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God." The tears ran down her cheeks and her body suddenly felt completely numb. "Luke," she whispered, too choked up to speak in a normal voice.

Luke smiled as he took another step toward her, and he reached out and took her left hand into his. He kissed the top of it before he brought his gaze up and stared into her eyes. "Lorelai, will you marry me?"

Lorelai smiled through her tears as the words made goosebumps cover her body. She bit on her bottom lip as she sniffled a few times, then quickly nodded. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes, I'll marry you."

Luke smiled and let out the breath he'd been holding. He slipped the ring onto her finger, and she stared down at it through her teary eyes. "Oh my God," she muttered. "I can't believe this is happening."

Luke pulled her into an embrace and kissed her passionately, both of them tasting the saltiness of her tears. As their lips broke apart, she pressed her body tightly against his, not wanting to lose the comfortable feeling of his arms around her. "Is this just a dream?" Lorelai whispered.

"I hope not, 'cause it'll probably be awhile before I can work up the nerve to do that again," Luke replied.

Lorelai smiled and buried her face against Luke's shoulder. He kissed the top of her head, then brought his hands up and ran them over her back. They stood holding each other for a few minutes before Lorelai looked up and stared over at the crowd. "Do you think anyone knows what just happened here?"

"I don't know," Luke replied, craning his neck to look back at the people. "I don't think they can see us too well."

"I don't think so, either," Lorelai replied. She pulled back from him and wiped her eyes. "I think the tears and the diamond ring might tip them off, though." She stared down at it. "This is so beautiful."

"Does it fit okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied. She lifted her head, and suddenly felt more tears in her eyes as she choked out, "It's perfect." She swallowed hard and hugged him again.

After a few seconds, with her head resting against his chest, she said, "Luke. . .I thought you weren't ready. . .I thought you didn't want to rush into anything."

Luke shrugged. "I know I said that, but then I had a little talk with Rory and. . .it made me realize some things."

Lorelai pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. "A talk with Rory?"

He nodded. "Yeah. She asked me if I thought we'd get married eventually, and I said yes."

Lorelai smiled. "She asked you that?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, and . . . then I was thinking, if I already knew in my heart that we'd get married eventually. . .why did I need more time to think about things? I mean, it's not rushing into it if we both want it and we're both ready for it, right?"

Lorelai smiled. "How'd you know I wanted it and was ready for it?"

Luke smirked. "I sorta heard you tell Sookie that sometimes you pretend that we're married."

Lorelai gasped. "Oh my God, you heard that whole conversation?"

Luke shook his head. "No, I only heard a few seconds of it. I came upstairs to get a towel and I heard you talking, then I went back downstairs before you guys heard me."

Lorelai smacked him playfully on the shoulder. "I can't believe you were listening!"

Luke shrugged. "Hey, no harm done, right?"

Lorelai smiled. "Right." She pressed her lips against his and kissed him softly. As she pulled back, she glanced toward the crowd. She thought for a moment, then said, "Luke, I don't think we should tell everyone right now."

Surprised, Luke raised his eyebrows. "You don't?"

"No, not tonight. I mean, then this night won't be about Sookie and Jackson anymore, it'll be about us, and I don't wanna do that to them," Lorelai said, shaking her head.

Luke nodded understandably. "Got it. . .but don't you wanna tell some people?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I wanna tell Rory and Sookie." She paused a moment, then added, "And I guess I should probably tell my mother, too. How can I just tell some people without everyone else finding out?"

Luke thought for a moment, then said, "Okay, listen, you go upstairs, and I'll get Rory and Sookie and your mom to come up to our bedroom, and we can tell them and ask them to keep it a secret. . .okay?"

Lorelai nodded. "Okay." She kissed him, and as she reluctantly pulled her lips away from his, she smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said, hugging her tightly. They broke apart and headed toward the front of the house. As Lorelai walked up the front steps, Luke walked toward the crowd.

. . .

PART 46

. . .

As Lorelai was about to pull open the front door, she suddenly turned around. "Luke, wait."

Luke walked back toward the porch. "What is it?"

Lorelai lowered her voice. "Let's not mention why we don't want them to tell anyone. I know Sookie. . .she'll insist that it's no big deal and that it won't ruin her night and then she'll run out and tell people."

"Okay, but what are you gonna say?" he asked.

Lorelai shrugged. "I'll think of something."

Luke nodded. "We'll meet you upstairs."

"Okay." Lorelai turned around and walked into the house.

Luke walked over to the crowd and glanced around for Rory. He finally spotted her leaning against Babette's front porch watching Sookie and Jackson open presents. He walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.

Rory turned around and smiled when she saw it was Luke. "Hey Luke. What's up?"

"Uh, your mom kind of needs to talk to you upstairs," Luke said.

Rory's eyes widened. "Is she okay?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, she's fine, she just . . . wants to talk to you."

Rory shrugged. "Okay."

"Can you find your grandmother?" Luke asked. "Lorelai wants to talk to her, too."

Rory narrowed her eyes. "Wait, she voluntarily wants to talk to Grandma?" She put her hands on her hips. "Luke, what's going on?"

"I can't say, but. . . she's waiting up in her bedroom for you," Luke said.

Rory eyed him suspiciously, then slowly nodded. "Okay, I'll go find her."

"Good, thanks."

As Rory walked away, Luke walked toward Sookie and Jackson. He stood a few feet away and waited for them to finish opening the present they were unwrapping. As they tossed the wrapping paper aside and set the present down on the ground, Luke walked up to them. He leaned down next to Sookie and said quietly, "Uh, can you take a little break? Lorelai needs you."

Sookie's eyes widened with concern. "Is she okay?" she whispered.

"Yeah, she's fine," Luke replied. "It'll just take a few minutes."

Sookie nodded and stood up. "Uh, we're gonna take a five minute break, guys," she announced to the crowd of people in front of her. She turned to Jackson. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," Jackson replied.

Sookie followed Luke up the side porch steps just as Emily and Rory were walking up the front steps. They met up at the front door, and Emily asked, "What's this about? Is everything okay?"

"Yup, it's fine. Follow me." Luke walked into the house, and the three of them followed him.

Upstairs, Lorelai was staring into her mirror, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. She glanced down at the ring on her finger. "Oh my God," she muttered. She reached over and felt the ring with her other hand, as if making sure it was real. She smiled to herself and shook her head slightly. "Oh my God."

When she heard footsteps on the staircase, she turned around and stared at the door. When it opened, Luke poked his head through. "You ready?" he asked. Lorelai smiled and nodded, and he pushed the door open and stepped inside. Rory, Emily, and Sookie followed him in, and he closed the door behind them.

Rory was the first to notice Lorelai's puffy eyes. Her eyes widened with concern and she walked over to Lorelai. "Mom, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Lorelai, honey, what happened?" Sookie asked, walking over to her.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Lorelai said, waving them off. She wiped her eyes with her right hand, keeping her left hidden behind her back. She took a deep breath and glanced over at Luke, who was leaning against the door with his hands shoved into his pockets.

"Well, then what exactly is going on here?" Emily questioned, glancing from Lorelai to Luke.

Lorelai slowly brought her left hand out from behind her back. She held it up in front of her at chest-level and wiggled her fingers, then smiled and said, "Luke asked me to marry him. . . we're engaged."

Rory's eyes widened and she let out an excited shriek. "Oh my God!" She threw her arms around Lorelai's neck and hugged her tightly. Lorelai laughed and hugged her back, and as they began jumping up and down excitedly, Luke smiled to himself.

Sookie gasped loudly and clapped a hand over her mouth. She screamed and quickly joined Lorelai and Rory in the hug, and the three of them continued jumping up and down.

After the initial look of surprise faded, a smile slowly appeared on Emily's face as she watched them. "My goodness." She glanced over at Luke. "Well, I guess you weren't lying when you said you were both ready for bigger things."

Luke smiled. "No, I wasn't."

Emily extended her hand toward him, and he shook it. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Luke replied, glancing down at the floor with an embarrassed smirk.

Emily turned back to Lorelai, and the three girls were examining the engagement ring. Emily walked over to them and placed her hand on Lorelai's forearm. "Congratulations, Lorelai."

A teary-eyed Lorelai looked up and smiled. "Thanks, Mom." They stared at each other smiling for a few seconds, sharing a special moment that was very rare in their relationship. Lorelai finally blinked a few times and looked down toward her hand. "Uh, do you wanna see the ring?"

Sookie and Rory were still gawking at it, and moved over slightly to let Emily take a peek. Emily smiled down at it. "It's lovely, Lorelai," she said softly, speaking with a compassionate tone that Lorelai wasn't used to hearing from her mother.

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks, Mom."

Rory stepped back from Lorelai and walked over to Luke by the door. She stood up on her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck. He hugged her back as she said, "Guess eventually came faster than you thought it would, huh? "

Luke smiled. "Yeah, it sort of just snuck up on me."

Rory smiled. "I'm glad it did." She pecked him on the cheek as she pulled back. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Luke replied.

Rory walked back over to Lorelai as Sookie walked over and congratulated Luke with a hug. They talked for a few seconds while Rory hugged Lorelai again, and a smiling Emily looked on.

As Rory and Lorelai broke apart, Sookie walked back over to them and grinned. "So, are you gonna go down and tell everyone else now?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Uh, no, actually. . . we don't want to tell anyone yet. We wanted you guys to be the first to know, but that's it for now."

"But when are you gonna tell people?" Rory asked.

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, probably tomorrow."

Rory narrowed her eyes. "Tomorrow? That's only a few hours away, what's the big deal?"

Lorelai sighed. "We just. . .we have reasons. We just wanna keep it quiet until then. No telling Dean or Lane or Jackson or anyone. . . okay?"

Clearing his throat, Luke walked over and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we don't wanna have to deal with everything tonight. We'd rather wait for it to sink in before we have to start, ya know, talking to everyone about it and answering questions and stuff."

Lorelai smiled at him and nodded. "Yeah, exactly, we just need a little time for ourselves." She turned back to the three of them. "Can you guys hold out until then?"

All three of them nodded understandably.

"Definitely," Rory said.

"No problem, honey," Sookie said.

"If that's what you want," Emily replied.

"Good, thank you," Lorelai replied. She rubbed her eyes and sniffled. "I better clean myself up before I go back down there."

"Oh, yes, we'll let you freshen up," Emily said. "Come on girls." Emily walked to the door and pulled it open. Sookie and Rory each gave Lorelai a hug before following Emily into the hallway and down the steps.

Luke walked over and closed the door, then turned back to Lorelai. She smiled at him from across the room and held her arms out. He walked over to her and they hugged, resting their chins on each other's shoulders. "They took the news like I thought they would," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, even your mom seemed happy about it."

Lorelai smiled to herself. "Yeah. . . she did, didn't she?"

"Mmhmm."

Lorelai glanced down at her left hand, which was resting on Luke's back. She spread her fingers and looked at the ring. "God, I still can't believe it. I mean, wasn't it less than a year ago that you were lecturing me about how people weren't meant to mate for life? Man, I don't know if I can marry such a hypocrite."

Luke pulled back from the hug. "Yeah, well. . .that was the Luke who was watching the woman he loved get slowly sucked away from him by a big-haired freak who read three different papers in the morning," he said, rolling his eyes.

Lorelai giggled and smacked his shoulder. "Hey now, be nice."

Luke moved his hands to her waist and pulled her tightly against his body. He pressed his lips against hers, then pulled back and continued, "This is the new Luke. . .the one who finally has the girl and wants to make sure he isn't gonna lose her."

Lorelai smiled. "I'm pretty sure you're not gonna lose me."

"Good."

Lorelai shrugged and added, "Although, I was also pretty sure that that Frizz-Ease crap would work on my hair, and we all know how that experience turned out."

Luke let out a small laugh. "Yeah, well. . .hopefully your judgment's improved since then."

"Hopefully." Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him deeply, running her fingers over the stubble on his cheeks. As she pulled back from him, she said, "I'm gonna fix my makeup. I'll meet you downstairs."

"Okay." Luke walked to the door and pulled it open. Lorelai turned around and watched him as he stepped out into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind him.

. . .

When Lorelai was sure that her face showed no signs of crying, she walked back downstairs. She went into the kitchen to get some food and noticed Rory's bedroom door was slightly open. She heard talking inside, and she pushed open the door to see who was in there. Rory and Emily were sitting on the bed talking.

"What's going on?" Lorelai asked, startling them both. They turned toward the door, and both of them smiled when they saw Lorelai.

"Mom!" Rory exclaimed, waving her over excitedly.

Lorelai stepped into the room and walked over to them. "What's going on?" she repeated.

"We're talking about your wedding," Emily whispered

Rory smiled and nodded. "Grandma has a bunch of great ideas."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. "Guys, come on. We've been engaged for fifteen minutes, it's certainly not time to start planning the wedding."

"It's never too early to start, Lorelai," Emily said. "Now, what do you plan to serve as the main course?"

"Grandma said she will seriously consider not coming if you serve burgers and fries at the reception," Rory added.

"Well, then, burgers and fries it is," Lorelai said.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Lorelai Gilmore, this is your wedding, not a child's birthday party," she said sternly.

Lorelai groaned. "The operative word in that sentence being *your* as in. . .it's our wedding, not yours. . . we get to pick what to eat and how to decorate and what songs to dance to, so if we want to eat cheese doodles in a room decorated like a barn with real farm animals as we line dance for hours to Achy Breaky Heart to celebrate the occasion, then everyone just has to deal with it." She sighed and tilted her head to the side. "Come on, we just told you that we don't want to talk about anything wedding-related tonight. . .did you forget already?"

Emily and Rory glanced at each other, then Rory turned to Lorelai and said, "Mom, the cheese doodles will totally stain your dress. You should go with pretzels. . .they're much cleaner."

Lorelai threw her arms up with frustration. She walked to the door and stepped into the kitchen, then turned back to them and said, "Continue." She pulled the door shut, and Emily and Rory resumed talking.

Lorelai grabbed a cookie from the table, then walked out the back door. Sookie and Jackson had resumed opening presents, and as Lorelai ladled herself some punch, she scanned the crowd for Luke. She didn't see him, so she walked toward the front of the house where she found him sitting on the front steps.

She walked up behind him and pressed her knees against his back. "Hey you," she said, tapping him on the head.

He looked up at her and smiled. "Hey."

As she felt a cool breeze against her skin, she shivered. She held her drink toward him. "Can you hold this a second? I'm gonna get a coat."

Luke nodded and took the cup. "Yeah."

Lorelai walked into the house and grabbed her long black leather jacket from the coat hook in the front entryway. She walked back out as she pulled it on, then sat down next to Luke on the porch steps. He handed her the drink back. "Thanks."

Luke leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "So. . ."

Lorelai smiled. "How do you feel right now?"

Luke exhaled. "Relieved."

"Why – did you think I'd say no?" Lorelai asked, taking a sip of punch.

"No, but. . .you know, there's always a chance that it won't go the way you want it to," Luke said with a shrug. Lorelai nodded in agreement. Luke leaned toward her and kissed her cheek. "How do you feel right now?"

Lorelai smiled. "Amazing. . . .thrilled. . . ecstatic. . .I don't know how to describe it. It feels like a rush of excitement that's not going away. It's like I'm Belinda Carlisle and I just gave an incredible concert. Or I'm someone who makes Krispy Kreme donuts and I just made an absolutely perfect batch. Or I just won a game show called 'Who Wants to Marry a Hot, Sweet Diner Owner?'. Or I'm – "

"Okay, okay!" Luke interrupted with a laugh. "Just summarize your feelings, please."

Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him. She pulled her lips from his and whispered, "I'm happy."

Luke smiled. "Good." They kissed again, and Luke seemed to forget that they were outside as he deepened the kiss by separating her lips with his tongue. Suddenly, someone coughed behind them and brought him back to reality. He quickly pulled back from her and they both turned their heads to find Rory and Emily standing near the front door.

"Well, do you think you two can take a break long enough to say goodbye?" Emily asked.

Luke's face reddened and he glanced away as Lorelai stood up. "Are you leaving, Mom?"

"Yes. I didn't even plan on staying this late, but now it's really time for me to be heading home," Emily replied.

"Oh, did you say goodbye to Sookie and Jackson?" Lorelai asked. She pointed toward the gift table. "They're right over there."

"I'll go do that right now," Emily replied, walking toward the crowd.

Lorelai smiled down at Luke. "Looks like you spilled some ketchup on your cheeks there. . .oh, wait, it's just your 'I'm deathly embarrassed' look."

Rory smiled. "Aw, Mom, leave him alone."

Lorelai leaned down and lowered her voice. "Luke, you do realize that when we're at our wedding, you'll have to kiss me in front of other people, don't you?"

"There's no law that says the groom has to kiss the bride," Luke said, shaking his head. "The priest guy says you *may* kiss the bride. . . so maybe I'll choose not to take his suggestion at the moment, but to save it for another time when we have some more privacy."

Lorelai gasped and hissed, "I'm not going to be the only bride in the history of the world who doesn't get kissed right after the ceremony!"

"People are gonna hear you talking," he pointed out.

Lorelai glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then turned back to Luke and frowned. "Luuuuke. . .please, please, please tell me you're kidding."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I'm kidding."

"You promise?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I promise," he said, waving her off.

"Cross your heart, hope to die, stick a needle in your eye?" Rory asked.

Luke glanced at her and raised his eyebrows. "Uh, excuse me?"

Emily walked back over to them. "Okay, I've said my goodbyes." She glanced at the three of them. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Mom," Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes. "Luke's just having trouble grasping some realities of life, such as the number one wedding tradition in the world."

"What are you talking about?" Emily asked, glancing warily at Luke.

"It's nothing, I was just joking around and someone. . ." Luke said, narrowing his eyes at Lorelai. ". . .took things too seriously."

"Oh." Emily gave a confused glance toward Lorelai, then shrugged. "Okay, well, I'm going now. Bye Luke."

"Take care," he replied.

Emily walked down the porch steps, and Lorelai and Rory followed her to the car. "Uh, can you tell Dad for me when he gets home from his trip?" Lorelai asked.

Emily tilted her head. "I think he'd much rather hear it from you, Lorelai."

"You think?"

"Of course he would," Emily replied. She pulled open the driver's side door, then turned around. She glanced toward Luke, then down at Lorelai's ring. She slowly brought her gaze up to meet Lorelai's. "I'm happy for you, Lorelai. I want you to know that."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Mom."

Emily stared at her for a few seconds, a small smile on her lips. As she finally climbed into the car, she said, "And you don't have to worry about the wedding. . .Rory and I have everything all planned out." Emily winked at Rory. "Isn't that right?"

Rory nodded and smiled. "Yup."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Bye Mom."

"Bye Grandma," Rory said.

"Bye girls," Emily replied as she pulled the door shut. She smiled and waved through the window, and the two girls walked back to the porch.

. . .

By eleven o'clock, most of the guests had departed, except for a few who stayed after to help clean up. Most of the smaller gifts were loaded into Sookie's car, and the rest were brought into the living room to be stored for the night.

Sookie and Jackson were the last ones to leave, and Lorelai, Luke, and Rory walked them to their car. Luke shook hands with Jackson, then hugged Sookie. "Congratulations," Sookie whispered into his ear. He pulled away and smiled at her, nodding a thank you as he took a few steps back.

Jackson hugged Rory and Lorelai, thanking them as he climbed into the driver's seat. The three girls walked over to the passenger side. Sookie took Lorelai's hands into hers. "This night was so incredible. . .thank you so much for putting it altogether."

Lorelai smiled and kissed Sookie on the cheek. "You're welcome, Sookie. I'm glad you had a good time."

Sookie smiled down at Lorelai's ring and gave a small shriek. "Oh my God, I still can't believe you're. . ." She glanced around and lowered her voice. ". . .engaged!"

Lorelai giggled. "I know! It's one of those things where you think you're dreaming because you've imagined it happening so many times that you don't know if this is another one of those dreams, or if it's finally the real thing."

Sookie lifted Lorelai's hand up and showed her the ring. "Trust me, this looks like the real thing. Rory, doesn't it look like the real thing?"

"Yes, I'd have to agree that it does," Rory nodded.

Lorelai smiled and pulled her hand away. "You can tell Jackson when you get home, okay?"

Sookie bit her lip and glanced toward the car. "Um, okay, yeah. . .I'll do that."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Sookie. . . ."

Sookie pulled open the passenger door. "It's getting late. Thanks again, you guys. We'll be over tomorrow to get the other gifts."

"Sookie. . . " Lorelai repeated.

Sookie climbed in the car and tried to shut the door, but Lorelai held onto the handle. She poked her head into the car and said, "Jackson, did she tell you already?"

Jackson's eyes widened. "Uh, tell me what?" Lorelai saw his eyes glance down at her ring, then quickly divert away.

"Sookie, you already told him?" Lorelai asked with a laugh.

Sookie sighed and shrugged. "Lorelai, I'm sorry but it was too exciting! I couldn't keep it inside any longer. . .I was going to explode! I didn't tell anyone else, I promise."

"Uh, congratulations, Lorelai," Jackson said. "Welcome to the world of being engaged."

"Thanks, Jackson," Lorelai said. She rolled her eyes at Sookie. "So tell me, how long did you last?"

Sookie wrinkled her nose. "About twenty minutes."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and patted Sookie on the shoulder. "Well, at least you tried." She stepped back from the car. "Bye guys."

"See you tomorrow," Rory added.

"Bye." Sookie pulled her door shut and waved through the window. As they pulled away, Lorelai and Rory walked across the yard to Luke.

. . .

PART 47

. . .

The three of them walked up the front steps and into the house. They stopped in the front entryway and Rory yawned loudly. "I'm so tired. I think I may need to be carried to my room." She wrapped her arms around Luke's arm and leaned against him. "Luke, you don't mind, do you?"

"He probably doesn't, but I do," Lorelai said as she clutched onto his other arm. "He's only allowed to carry me places."

"Someone's selfish," Rory said in a singsong voice.

"Someone better start walking to their room before they fall asleep on someone else's fiancé's arm," Lorelai sang back.

Rory picked up her head and a small smile appeared on her lips. "Fiancé. . .it has a nice ring to it."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, it does." She paused a moment, then added, "Ooh! Plus, it rhymes with Beyoncé, so next time we're making rhyming poems about people in the music industry who severely deserve to be smacked, we'll have to remember that."

"I'm putting it in the vault so I won't forget," Rory said, tapping her forehead.

Luke stood quietly, turning his head back and forth between them as they spoke. He glanced down at his arms. "Okay, did you guys wanna let go today or are you gonna make me get physical?"

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Ooh, let's get physical. . . physical," she sang. "I wanna get physical. . . let's get into physical."

"Let me hear your body talk," Rory sang. "Your body talk. . .let me hear your body talk."

As they started singing the chorus a second time, Luke rolled his eyes and pulled his arms out of their grips. As he walked toward the staircase, Lorelai stopped in mid-song and asked, "Where ya going?"

"As far away from your singing as possible," he replied.

Lorelai frowned and turned to Rory. "He doesn't like our singing."

"But how could he not like our singing?" Rory asked.

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know." She and Rory wandered toward the kitchen and into Rory's bedroom. Lorelai lay down on the bed as Rory walked over to her dresser and pulled out her pajamas. She began changing as Lorelai stared up at the ceiling. A few seconds went by before Lorelai lifted her hand up in front of her face and stared at her ring.

Rory glanced over at her and smiled. "You've been doing that all night."

"I know, I can't help it," Lorelai replied. She rested her hand on her stomach and smiled. "Rory. . ."

"What?" she replied as she buttoned up her pajama top.

"I'm so excited."

Rory smiled. "I know, I can tell."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you happy about all this?" Lorelai asked hesitantly.

"Are you kidding?" Rory walked over and sat down next to Lorelai. "I'm thrilled. I can't remember smiling so much in one night before."

Lorelai propped herself up on her elbows. "Really?"

"I swear." Rory nodded. "Why are you even asking me this anyway? You know how I feel about Luke," she replied. "He's like . . .a dad to me. I mean, he was like one before you two even started going out, and now he's just. . .even more like one."

"I know," Lorelai replied.

"Plus, he's already living here, so it's sort of like you're married already anyway," Rory said with a shrug.

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, it is." She stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds, then sat up and hugged Rory tightly. "Mmkay, I'm going to bed."

"Night, Mom," Rory replied.

"Night." Lorelai climbed off the bed and walked out of the bedroom. She shut the kitchen light off and walked into the living room, shutting those lights out as well before she headed up the steps. She stopped to use the bathroom first, then removed her makeup and brushed her teeth before she walked into the bedroom.

Luke was sitting on the edge of the bed taking his socks and shoes off. Lorelai shut and locked the door, then walked over to him. "Hi."

"Hey."

Lorelai ran her fingers through his hair. "So, the party was a success."

"Yeah, I'd say so."

Luke watched as Lorelai walked over to the mirror and pulled her ponytail holder out. She slipped off her shoes and kicked them toward the closet, then took off the bracelet she was wearing and set it on her dresser.

"Can you help me with this zipper?" She turned around and faced away from him.

"Yeah." Luke stood up and walked up behind her. He pulled her dress zipper down her back and helped slide the dress down her body. She stepped out of it, and Luke picked it up and tossed it on the vanity chair, then unclasped her strapless bra and let it drop to the floor.

"Mm, feels good to finally be out of that," Lorelai mumbled, reaching her arms behind her to rub her back.

Luke pushed her hands aside and replaced them with his own, rubbing his hands gently over her back. Lorelai tilted her head down toward the floor and closed her eyes as his warm hands glided over her.

After a few minutes, his hands moved around to her front, gliding over her hips and stomach before slowly moving upward. As he pressed his body up against hers, Lorelai smiled and opened her eyes. "Luke?"

"What?"

Lorelai giggled. "Is that my curling iron in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

Luke turned her body around so she was facing him, and he kissed her deeply. He pulled back and smiled. "What do you think?"

"I think that . . .you don't have much need for a curling iron," she replied.

"Good answer." He kissed her again as he ran his hands over her shoulders and down her arms.

Lorelai pulled back and said, "You know, I heard a rumor that 'we just got engaged' sex is even better than makeup sex."

"Oh yeah?"

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "No, I made that up, but I would think it would be true, wouldn't you?"

Luke smirked. "Well, only one way to find out, huh?"

"Guess so," Lorelai said with a nonchalant shrug. She smiled and pressed her lips against his. His hands resumed their exploration, running over the smooth skin of her body as Lorelai slid her hands up his shirt and ran them over his chest. "Mm, I love your muscles."

"I know."

She slid her hands down to his stomach. "I love your abs."

"I know."

She slid her hands around to his back and moved them downward over his soft black pants. She giggled and said, "I love your butt."

Luke smiled. "I know."

Lorelai tilted her head. "Huh, well, aren't you Mr. I-Know-Everything?" She kissed him passionately as her hands moved to the bottom of his shirt. He pulled back and let her pull it up over his head. She dropped it on the floor, then ran her hands over his chest. She brought her gaze up to meet his and said, "You know what else I love?"

"What?"

Lorelai whispered something into his ear as she slid her hands down and started to unbuckle his belt.

When she pulled back, Luke had a sly grin on his face. "Geez. . .you kiss your daughter with that mouth?"

Lorelai smiled and shook her head. "No, this mouth is only used with you. I remove this one and put on another one when I'm with her. . .you know, sort of like Mrs. Potato Head."

"Ah, got it," Luke replied, nodding understandably. "Good thing."

"Yeah." Lorelai pulled his belt out of the loops and dropped it to the floor. She undid his top button with her hands, then kneeled down in front of him. She took the tab of his pants zipper in between her teeth and slowly pulled it down, and a small groan escaped his throat. She pulled his pants down and he stepped out of them.

His erection was plainly visible through the thin barricade of his boxers, and she tugged lightly on them, pulling them down just enough to release him. She gazed up at him and smiled as he stared down at her with anticipation.

She pulled the boxers down all the way and glanced up at him, letting her eyes wander over the muscular curves of his body. She brought her hands up and dragged her fingertips lightly up and down his thighs, teasing him, increasing his arousal, making him hungry for contact.

His breathing was becoming heavier by the second, his eyes glowing with desire. Lorelai finally ran her fingertips lightly over his shaft, and his body tightened up at the contact. He let out a soft groan as she wrapped her fingers around him and began sliding her hand up and down slowly from base to tip. He spread his feet further apart for better balance as she continued, and he brought his hands up to stroke her hair.

She grasped the bottom of his shaft and guided him to her lips, and took just the tip of him into the warmth of her mouth. Luke groaned and clenched his eyes shut tight as he waited for her to continue. She circled her tongue over him a few times, then pulled back and stood up. "There, you're all ready to go."

Luke opened his eyes, then rolled them slightly. "Gee, thanks."

Lorelai giggled. "Thought you were getting more from me, didn't ya?"

"Crossed my mind," he replied. "I'll get over it."

"Good." Lorelai tossed her hair back from her shoulders, and Luke pressed his lips against her neck. He sucked on it briefly before he moved his mouth down to her chest. Lorelai moaned toward the ceiling as the combination of his mouth on her breasts and his hardness against her thigh made her body surge with excitement.

His mouth expertly moved between her breasts, sucking on them and biting on her nipples. Lorelai's hands moved to the back of his head, squeezing his hair between her fists as his lips continued to pleasure her body. He ran his tongue down to her navel and kissed across her flat stomach as his hands reached up and squeezed her breasts.

He kissed down her left thigh to her knee and then kissed back up the other leg. He took the waistband of her thong between his teeth and snapped it against her body, and Lorelai's chest began heaving with anticipation.

Luke stood back up and kissed her, then placed a finger on her lips. She opened her mouth and wrapped her lips around it, sucking on it gently as her tongue swirled over it. He removed the finger and ran it down her body, over her chest, past her stomach, stopping momentarily at her waist.

She closed her eyes as his hand slipped into her panties. She gasped at the direct contact and leaned her head back with a groan. "Oh God, Luke," she muttered. The warmth of his hand covering her sex made her body start to tremble. He slowly moved his hand up and down, rubbing her with his palm, feeling some of her juices escape her swollen lips.

As he ran a finger along her slit, her mouth dropped open and she wriggled her lower body against his hand. "Unh. . .ugh. . .Luke. . .".

Luke started to push his finger up past her lips and she smiled with contentment, but then he quickly withdrew his hand completely. She opened her eyes and frowned through her heavy panting. "Mean!" she said, smacking him on the arm.

"You're ready to go," Luke said, giving her a sly smile. He pushed her panties down her legs and grabbed her hand. He pulled her a few feet over to the bed and gestured for her to lie down.

She climbed onto the bed and lay on her back, but as Luke started to get on top of her, she said, "Wait, changed my mind." Luke stood back up and watched as she turned over onto her stomach and kneeled on the bed. "This first." He smiled as he climbed onto the bed behind her.

He ran his hands over her body, caressing all of her curves and kissing across her back before he finally pushed her torso forward and positioned himself at her opening. Her arousal was so strong that just the feeling of his tip against her made her grimace with pleasure. As he started to enter her, she pressed her cheek against the pillow and clutched the sheets between her fists. "Ohmigod. . .ohmigod. . ." she muttered quickly and breathlessly.

He easily pushed himself into her wetness, letting out a loud grunt as he reached the hilt. He gyrated his hips a few times before he began pushing into her. Lorelai clenched her teeth down on her pillow, groaning loudly with pleasure as the thrusts became more powerful.

After a minute, she lifted her upper body up from the bed and placed her palms on the wall in front of her. She used the wall for balance as she began thrusting back at him, pushing off of it to give her extra force. Luke was surprised at the intensity of her thrusts, and he gripped her waist tighter to keep himself from falling backwards.

They continued for a few minutes before Lorelai stopped thrusting and dropped her upper body back against the bed with a loud groan. Neither of them had reached their peaks yet, and he could tell that she was ready for a change. Luke gently slowed his rhythm down, then pulled out of her completely.

They were both breathing heavily, and Luke watched her body heave up and down. He rubbed her back for a few seconds, then leaned over and hugged her from behind. A few seconds passed before he felt her pushing herself up, and he slid back on the bed to give her room.

She turned around to face him. Her hair was wet with perspiration, and Lorelai noticed beads of sweat running down Luke's forehead. She adjusted herself on her back and rested her head on the pillow.

Luke pulled her legs wider apart and leaned over her body, kissing her deeply and darting his tongue into her mouth. She brought her hands up to his face and stroked his cheeks as she kissed him back, swirling her tongue over his until he pulled back for air. He slid back down on the bed a few inches and ran his hands up and down her legs.

He lifted her legs up off the bed and placed her feet on his shoulders, giving him better access to her. As Luke guided himself to her opening, her lower body was lifted slightly from the bed, and now Luke was supporting most of her body weight. As he entered her, she let out a gasp of pleasure and moaned his name. She took him in completely, and as he began pushing into her, she clenched her eyes shut and muttered, "Oh Lord, that feels good."

Luke locked his eyes on her face as he continued, watching her grimace with pleasure, watching her mouth open wider with every thrust. His eyes moved down to her chest, where she had started squeezing her breasts. He watched her nails dig into the sides of them, watched her squeeze her nipples between her fingers. He brought his eyes back up to her face just as she opened her eyes.

They smiled at each other through the rocking motions that were jerking both of their bodies back and forth. Both of them were trying to hold out as long as they could, trying to prolong the feeling of pleasure that was coursing through their bodies.

After a few minutes of rhythmic thrusting, both of them started to feel the familiar feeling that told them they were close. Lorelai dropped her legs from Luke's shoulders and lowered her body back down against the bed. Luke leaned forward and supported himself over her and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he began increasing his pace. She pressed her open mouth against his shoulder, alternating between sucking and licking his skin. It was only a few seconds before he found his release, delivering his final thrust with a loud groan. Her body began quivering with her orgasm, her nails digging into his back as she moaned into his ear.

He collapsed on top of her, kissing her deeply as she ran her hands over his back. They pulled apart, both of them gasping for breath. They lay silently for almost a minute before Luke rolled off of her and onto his back. She turned onto her side to look at him, and she pressed her forehead against his arm. "Oh my God."

"If I'd known it would've been like that, I would've proposed weeks ago," Luke muttered.

Lorelai lifted her head and smiled at him. "Definitely better than makeup sex."

"No question," he replied with a nod.

"Too bad you can only have 'we just got engaged' sex once," Lorelai said with a disappointed sigh.

"Yeah." Luke adjusted himself on the bed so he could put his arm around her, and she snuggled up against his chest.

"But we can still do things with it," Lorelai said. "Like tomorrow we can have 'this is the first Sunday we're spending together as an engaged couple' sex. . .we can do that for every day of the week. Ooh, and we can do it with all types of things like food and TV shows and movies. . .like, we can have 'this is the first time we've watched Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves as an engaged couple' sex. . . stuff like that. It could go on forever and ever."

"Interesting idea," Luke commented.

"Thank you."

"I don't think that giving it a fancy name having to do with being engaged will make it as good as this time, but we'll see how it goes," Luke said.

"Yeah. . .we'll see how it goes." Lorelai pulled the comforter up over them, then rested her head back against his chest. "Luke, tell me a story."

"About?"

"About. . . when you decided to propose . . .how you decided where to do it, and . . . just everything else that goes along with you deciding to do it," Lorelai said.

Luke groaned. "Right now?"

"Yeah."

"You wanna hear all about it right now?" he asked. "I'm kinda tired."

"Well, how 'bout just the Cliffs' Notes version, then?"

He sighed. "I'll give you a very brief summary."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He reached down under the covers and found her hand, and laced his fingers through hers. "Uh, let's see. . .well, in the jewelry store that day, when the whole marriage idea first came up and you told me that you weren't ready to talk about it. . .I knew you were lying."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "You did? How?"

Luke shrugged. "I could just see it in your eyes, I could tell you'd thought about it. . . .so then I started thinking about it more, and I started feeling like it was something I wanted. . ."

"But what about – " Lorelai started.

"Forget all the stupid stuff I said last year about marriage. That's something lonely guys say when they don't think they'll find someone."

Lorelai frowned slightly. "Aw, I feel bad thinking about you being lonely."

"Well, I'm not lonely now, so don't sweat it," Luke replied. "Anyway, so I finally realized that I wanted it, but decided not to rush into anything. . .and then I heard you talking to Sookie, then I had that talk with Rory and . . ."

"Good kid," Lorelai interjected.

"Yes, she is," he agreed. "And that just made me realize for sure that . . . we're both ready."

"Yes, we are," she said quietly.

"So I went out, bought the ring, hid it in my drawer, and waited for the right moment," Luke continued.

"When did you buy the ring?" she asked.

"Last Friday," he replied. "And we've been busy with the shower and everything since then, so there wasn't really a good time to do it. Then in the middle of the shower, I suddenly. . ."

"Felt a vibe?" she suggested.

"I don't use that word."

"Had an epiphany?"

"Or that one."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Had a thought?"

"Yeah, that's better," he replied. "I had a thought that tonight might be a good time. . .with the music playing, both of us dressed up nice. . .it just seemed like a good setup."

Lorelai smiled. "It was the perfect setup." She lifted her head up from his chest and kissed him, then pulled back and said, "Luke?"

"What?"

"You asked me to marry you."

"I know."

"And I said yes."

"I know."

"Do you know what that means?"

"Uh, that we're. . . getting married?" Luke suggested.

Lorelai smiled. "We're getting married."

. . .

PART 48

. . .

Lorelai rested her head against Luke's chest and sighed softly. They were quiet for a few minutes as Luke stroked Lorelai's hair and she ran her hand over his stomach.

"What are you thinking about?" Luke asked.

"I'm running down the list of places I would be most likely to lose this ring so that if I do ever lose it, I'll know where to check first," Lorelai replied.

"Way to plan ahead," he commented.

"Thank you."

"You might be better off just gluing it to your finger," Luke said.

"Hm, I don't really think glue goes well with white gold and diamonds," Lorelai replied. "What else?"

"Uh. . .staples?"

"Too painful."

"Duct tape?" Luke suggested. "You can fix anything with that stuff."

"You wouldn't be able to see the ring," Lorelai replied. "Scotch tape might work, though, because it's clear."

"Scotch tape it is," Luke replied.

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, we'll do that first thing in the morning."

"I'll probably be gone before you're awake," Luke said with a yawn. "I have to open up tomorrow."

Lorelai frowned. "Aw, that sucks." She lifted her head up and looked at him. "Kiss me goodbye tomorrow morning before you leave, okay?"

Luke smiled and pushed her hair away from her face. "I always do."

Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "'Night." She rested her head back against his chest.

Luke kissed the top of her head. "'Night."

. . .

The next morning, Lorelai wandered into the kitchen and found Rory peering into the fridge. "Morning, hon," Lorelai greeted her.

Rory glanced over and smiled. "Hey Mom. How's it going?"

"Good. Looking for something to eat?" Lorelai asked.

"Yup. Is Luke here?"

Lorelai frowned. "Nope, we have to get our own breakfast today." Lorelai walked up behind her and they both stared into the fridge for a few seconds. "Hmm."

Rory shut the door. "Diner?"

"Diner," Lorelai agreed.

They walked out the back door and headed toward the diner. As they neared the town square, they noticed a group of people gathered near the gazebo.

"What's going on there?" Rory asked.

"I don't know," Lorelai replied. "Probably another one of Taylor's spur-of-the-moment fundraisers." Curious, she kept her eye on the group as they approached the diner, and from their new angle of the gazebo, noticed Sookie standing in front of the crowd.

Sookie looked over and saw the girls. "They're here! Lorelai! Rory!" she yelled, clapping excitedly. The group of people turned to look at them.

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Oh no, hurry up." She grabbed Rory's arm and they hurried toward the diner as the crowd started rushing toward them.

They burst into the diner and slammed the door behind them, startling not only the other customers but also Luke at the counter, making him spill the coffee he was pouring. "Jesus!" he exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing?"

They ran over and stood with him behind the counter. "Look," Rory told him, shaking a finger toward the window.

He followed her gaze and saw the group of people walking toward the door. "What do they want?"

Lorelai held up her left hand. "I have a strong feeling that they wanna see this."

"So go out and show 'em so they don't all try to cram in here," Luke grumbled as he wiped up the counter with a dishtowel.

"No way – I'm not gonna stand out there all alone while they barrage me with questions. We're in this together."

Sookie walked into the diner while the impatient crowd waited outside on the sidewalk. "Lorelai, didn't you hear me call you?" Sookie asked.

"Uh, no Sookie, didn't hear a thing," Lorelai replied. "You know, the birds were chirping pretty loudly out there."

Sookie rolled her eyes. "Right."

Lorelai nodded toward the people. "Do they know?"

Sookie shook her head. "Not yet, I just told them that Luke had something to tell them about the diner and that he wouldn't tell anyone until you two got here."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "About the diner?"

"Why'd you say that?" Luke asked.

"Because if I told them it had to do with you two," Sookie said, gesturing to Luke and Lorelai, "it would've given it away, but by saying it had to do with the diner. . . "

"It leads them down the wrong track so they don't start speculating and ruin the surprise," Rory finished.

"Exactly," Sookie said.

"You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?" Lorelai asked, smiling.

Sookie nodded. "Yes. . .now come on, they're waiting." She turned and walked toward the door, announcing, "Just a minute, everyone!" as she stepped outside.

Lorelai turned to Luke and smiled. "Our public awaits. Let's go."

"No, your public awaits," he corrected her. "I have work to do." He started walking toward the kitchen.

Lorelai grabbed his arm. "Get over here, coffee boy." She dragged him toward the door and Rory followed behind them. They stepped out onto the sidewalk and the crowd gathered around them.

"What is it? We're dying here!" Patty exclaimed.

"Come on, gorgeous, fill us in," Babette urged.

"Tell us what it is already!" a man called from the back.

"Do you need more waiters?" Kirk asked. "I'm always looking for another job."

As Luke rolled his eyes, Lorelai clapped her hands. "Uh, okay, listen up everyone, listen up!" The crowd quieted down and focused their attention on Lorelai. "Nothing is happening with the diner. The announcement doesn't have to do with the diner – it has to do with me and Luke."

As a murmur ran through the crowd, Lorelai laced her fingers through Luke's and smiled. "Uh, Luke and I. . . are engaged. We're getting married."

Several gasps erupted from the crowd, followed by excited shrieks from Miss Patty and Babette. Several people called out "Congratulations!" as others started clapping. The troubadour, leaning against the crosswalk sign, broke into an acoustic version of "Chapel of Love." People started crowding closer around them, offering hugs and well-wishes. Though it wasn't his thing to be the center of attention, Luke stayed by Lorelai's side, shaking hands and thanking people.

After a few minutes, most of the crowd had dispersed except for a group of women who had gathered around Lorelai. Luke leaned against the front window of the diner with his arms folded across his chest, watching with a smile as she excitedly showed off her ring.

The diner door opened and Jess walked out. He narrowed his eyes at Luke. "Forget how to get inside?"

"What?"

"What are you doing out here?"

Luke gestured toward Lorelai. "I'm waiting for her."

Jess glanced toward the women. "What are they doing?"

"Uh, we sort of got engaged last night," Luke explained. "She's showing them the ring."

Jess was silent for a moment as he watched the women. "Huh."

"You don't seem too surprised," Luke commented.

"Yeah, well. . . it's not like everyone didn't see it coming," Jess said with a shrug. "I did."

"How could you possibly see it coming? You're never around us."

Jess rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, the jewelry store receipt was a pretty good tip."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"You left the bag in the glove compartment of the truck. Two thousand bucks seems kind of expensive for just a ring, but . . .what do I know?" Jess said with a smirk.

Luke scoffed. "It wasn't two thousand dollars."

"Well, it was pretty damn close to it," Jess remarked.

"Hey, it's none of your business how much anything I buy costs," Luke said sternly. "What were you doing going through the glove compartment anyway?"

"It's a glove compartment, so I guess I was looking for gloves," he replied. "I was hoping to borrow those ones you wear with the fingertips cut off. I hear the girls just go nuts for 'em."

"Jess," Luke warned.

Jess rolled his eyes. "I was just putting some things in there while I ran into the mall, okay? I've heard you can't leave things out on the seat in Hartford like you can here in Mayberry."

Luke pursed his lips. "Uh huh. Well, next time don't go through my personal stuff."

"Why'd you have it in there anyway?" Jess asked.

"I didn't wanna bring the whole bag in the house so I just put the ring in my pocket and shoved the bag in the glove box," he replied. "Then I sort of forgot about it, I guess."

"Yeah, well, if I were you I would've just gone for a coffee-flavored Ring Pop and saved a couple thou," Jess said with a shrug.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Don't you have somewhere to go?"

"Actually I do," Jess replied. He started walking down the sidewalk, then slowed his pace down and turned around. "Hey."

Luke, who had turned his attention back toward the girls, turned to Jess. "What now?"

Jess shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking backward. He glanced at Lorelai, then nodded toward Luke. "Uh. . . you know. . .congratulations," he said in a quiet, almost embarrassed tone.

Luke glanced toward the ground, then gave him an appreciative nod. "Thanks." As Jess turned and walked away, Luke brought his attention back to Lorelai. The crowd has lessened, and she was now just surrounded by Rory, Sookie, Babette and Patty.

He walked over to them and placed his hand on the small of Lorelai's back. She turned to him and smiled, and as he glanced around, he noticed all the girls grinning at him. He let out a small laugh. "What?"

Patty sighed. "Well, dear, we already knew you were one of the sexiest men in Stars Hollow, and we know you're one of the quietest – but who would've thought that you'd be the most romantic?"

Luke narrowed his eyes at Lorelai. "What did you tell them?"

"About the whole proposal, doll. How you led her away from the crowd . . ." Babette started.

". . . over to the chuppah. . ." Rory continued.

" . . . and waited for the Sinatra song to play . . . " Sookie finished with a sigh.

As they all stared at him smiling, Luke groaned. "Why'd you tell them all the details?"

"So they could all be jealous of what a great guy I found," Lorelai said, pinching his cheek. He pulled back from her and rolled his eyes.

"Aw, come on, Luke," Rory said. "It's one of the best moments a girl will ever have in her entire life, she has to share it with people."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Luke replied with a sigh. He turned back to Lorelai. "You go walk around town telling your story, I have to get back inside."

"Mmkay," Lorelai replied. "We'll be in soon to eat breakfast." As she kissed him on the cheek, a collective "aww" rang from the girls.

Lorelai giggled as Luke's face reddened and he pulled back from her. "See you later," he mumbled. He avoided eye contact with the others as he turned and walked back into the diner.

. . .

That afternoon, Sookie and Jackson came over to pick up the rest of their shower gifts. Lorelai and Rory helped them load up the SUV, and when it was filled to capacity, Lorelai invited them in for a drink.

They went into the house, and as Jackson and Sookie sat down on the couch, Rory and Lorelai walked into the kitchen. They grabbed a few cans of soda from the refrigerator and brought them back to the living and handed them out.

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Ooh, hey – we have cookies leftover from yesterday. Who wants some?"

"Me, please," Rory replied.

"I'd love some," Jackson replied.

Sookie stood up. "Here, I'll help you." She set her soda on the coffee table and followed Lorelai into the kitchen.

Lorelai grabbed two platters of cookies from the counter and set them on the table. "Can you get a plate from the cupboard?"

"Sure," Sookie replied. She walked over to the cabinet and pulled one out, then giggled as she walked it over to the table. "I can't picture Luke eating off of a Charlie's Angels plate."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, the first time he had to do it, his face was sort of red like he was embarrassed or something. . .but he got used to it." She pulled the aluminum foil back from one of the platters and began transferring some of the cookies to the plate. Sookie opened the other platter and did the same.

Lorelai brushed the crumbs off of her hands and cleared her throat. "Uh, Sookie?"

"Yeah?" she replied, arranging the cookies on the plate.

"Um, I know that this is kind of a given and everything since you're my best friend and I asked you this – as strange as it sounds – the last time I got engaged," Lorelai said. "But I just . . .feel like I should ask you again. . ."

Sookie turned to look at her. "Ask me what?"

Lorelai smiled and fingered the bottom of her tank top. "Um . . .if you'll be one of my bridesmaids. . .again?"

Sookie smiled. "Aww, of course, honey." She wiped her hands off on her jeans and reached up to hug Lorelai.

"Thank you, Sookie," Lorelai said, hugging her tightly. "And don't worry – this time there'll actually be a wedding."

Sookie giggled as she pulled back. "I hope so." She turned back to finish organizing the cookies.

"And. . .uh, I don't want you to feel you have to do all the traditional bridesmaid things this time," Lorelai said.

"What do you mean?" Sookie asked.

"I mean, the big party with the tons of people and the food and . . .just all the trouble you went through for the shower last year – you don't have to do it again this time," Lorelai said, shaking her head.

Sookie frowned. "Why not?"

"Because. . .I don't know, it just seems selfish to have another one," Lorelai replied. "Plus, this year you have all your own wedding and marriage-type stuff to worry about. . .I just don't want you to go to the trouble."

"It won't be any trouble," Sookie insisted. "I love planning parties!"

"I know you do, but. . .we don't really need any presents anyway – we're already living together, we have everything we need."

"But it's not just about the presents! It's about people getting together to celebrate with you, to share this huge incredible event with you," Sookie said.

"I know, but they'll be able to do that at the wedding," Lorelai reminded her. "And you know how Luke is – he hates attention. He may have come around on the idea of marriage, but I still think he hates the idea of a big wedding ceremony and so. . . the shower's probably not something he'd look forward to anyway. So, to save you a lot of trouble, and to keep this town from thinking that I get engaged every summer to have a big party, it'll be easier if we pass on the huge wedding shower this time."

Sookie frowned, but reluctantly nodded. "Okay, no big wedding shower."

Lorelai patted her on the shoulder. "Aw, come on – cheer up. We'll let you have full control over the rehearsal dinner, okay?"

Sookie slowly smiled. "Really?"

"You got it," Lorelai replied, smiling. "Plus, there's still the bachelorette party – we can still have another one of those."

Sookie giggled. "Right."

"See . . .it'll be fun," Lorelai assured her.

Rory walked into the kitchen. "Hello – what's taking so long? Did you decide to bake the cookies from scratch instead?"

Lorelai scoffed. "Patience, please."

Rory grabbed a cookie from the plate. "Well, when you said you were going to go get some cookies, you led us to believe that you'd go get the cookies and then return with them, not stand in here and eat all of them yourself."

Lorelai picked up the plate. "Here, psychotic cookie-obsessed girl who . . . totally inherits that trait from me, take them."

Rory took the plate. "Thank you." She turned and walked back to the living room.

. . .

The next afternoon, Lorelai and Rory walked from the inn to the diner for lunch. As they sat down at an empty table, Kirk walked over from the counter. "Lorelai, good, I was hoping you'd be here."

"I'm always here, Kirk," Lorelai replied. "What can I do for ya?"

"I just wanted to let you know that the pictures from the shower should be ready by tomorrow," Kirk said.

"Oh, cool!" Rory said excitedly.

"Wow, that was fast," Lorelai replied. "Great Kirk, how much will I owe you?"

"I haven't figured out the exact price yet, but I estimate that it'll be in the neighborhood of forty dollars," Kirk replied. "I won't charge you for the half roll I took of Babette's gnomes since they're for my own. . . uh, personal collection."

Lorelai and Rory glanced at each other warily.

Kirk's eyes glazed over as he stared toward the window. "There's just something about those little guys that are so. . .intriguing." He shook his head slightly and brought his gaze back down to Lorelai. "You know what I mean?"

"Uh, sure, Kirk," Lorelai replied. "Did you get any pictures of me?"

"Uh, yes, actually, I did," he said. "There are a couple of you and Luke, some of you talking to Sookie. . ."

"Any of me and Mom?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, remember we took one by the drinks," Lorelai reminded her.

"There were a couple others of you two, too," Kirk said. "I'll bring them all by tomorrow."

"Okay," Lorelai replied. "Thanks Kirk."

Kirk nodded toward them and returned to the counter, passing Luke on the way. As Luke reached their table, he gestured toward Kirk. "What did he want?"

"Hi, nice to see you, too," Lorelai said.

"Hi," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "What did he want?"

"He wanted to tell me that the pictures from the shower are almost done," Lorelai replied as a phone started ringing. "Ooh, that's me." She reached down into her purse.

"Take it outside," Luke said sternly.

Lorelai rolled her eyes as she pulled the phone out. "Or what?" she prompted him. "Are you gonna ban your fiancée from your diner? Ooh, no, are you gonna get really mad and take the ring back?" she asked with a laugh.

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Hmm." He glanced down toward the ring, as if he was considering it.

Lorelai gasped and she hid her left hand under the table. "Don't even think about it!" Luke smirked and sat down at the table. Lorelai glanced down at the phone to see who it was, then made a face. "Ugh, it's my mom." She answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Lorelai, how are you?" Emily asked.

"Uh, I'm good Mom. . . how are you?"

"Oh, fine, just fine," Emily replied. "Listen, when are you going to tell your father about the engagement?"

"I don't know, Mom," Lorelai replied. "I guess on Friday when I see him."

"Lorelai, you can't wait the entire week!" Emily exclaimed. "I don't want to have to keep it from him for that long."

"Then don't keep it from him," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "I already told you that you could tell Dad about the proposal yourself."

Luke, who had been listening to the conversation, shook his head. Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him and said, "Hold on a sec, Mom." She covered the phone with her hand and said, "What?"

"You can't make your mother tell your father that you're getting married," Luke said. "That's something you should do yourself."

"But I – " Lorelai started.

"He'd rather hear it from you," Rory interrupted.

Lorelai frowned and let out a long sigh. "Fine." She put the phone back up to her ear. "Still there, Mom?"

"Yes, is there a reason you put me on hold?" Emily asked in an irritated tone.

"Yeah, I wanted to make you crabby," Lorelai replied. "Oh look, it worked."

Emily sighed. "Lorelai, like I was saying, your father would – "

"Much rather hear it from me," Lorelai finished. "I know, I know – that's the word on the street, apparently." She sighed and tapped her fingernails on the table for a few seconds, then said, "Okay, how 'bout we'll stop by tomorrow night after dinner and tell him?"

Luke raised his eyebrows. "We?" he whispered.

"We?" Emily asked.

"Yes, me, Luke, and Rory'll stop by tomorrow night, okay?" Lorelai said, giving a pointed look toward Luke and Rory.

"Well, I guess that'll be fine," Emily said.

"Okay, see you then." Lorelai hung up the phone with a sigh. "Now I have to drive all the way out to Hartford just to say, 'Hey Dad, I'm getting married.'"

"Well, maybe we can do something afterwards," Rory suggested. "Like go to a movie or something."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, that'll be fun! What do you say, Luke?"

He shrugged. "Sure, whatever you want."

"Coolness, now I'm excited," Lorelai said, rubbing her hands together.

Luke stood up. "Okay, what do you guys want for lunch? Burgers?"

"Yes, please," Rory replied.

"Yeah, and coffee," Lorelai replied. As Luke walked to the counter, Lorelai slipped her cell phone back into her purse. "Oh, we have to call Chris sometime soon and set up your next trip."

"Oh, right. . .yeah," Rory said, nodding. She paused a moment before she asked, "Are you gonna tell him about you and Luke?"

"Ever?" Lorelai asked.

"No, I mean. . .when you talk to him," Rory said.

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. . . if the question comes up."

"Does the question, 'So, are you engaged yet?' come up often when you guys chat?" Rory asked, rolling her eyes.

"Not as much as the question, 'How did we get such an annoying daughter?'" Lorelai retorted. As Rory stuck her tongue out, Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "No, I don't know. . .maybe I'll mention it, maybe I won't. . .it depends on how the conversation's going and whether he's in a rush or something."

"What are you guys talking about?" Luke asked, setting two cups of coffee on the table.

"About telling Christopher about the engagement," Lorelai replied.

Luke adjusted his cap. "Oh."

"We have to call and set up my next visit, so I asked if that's when Mom was gonna tell him," Rory explained.

"Are you?" Luke asked.

"I don't know yet," Lorelai replied. "It's no big deal. I might just wait until he comes to pick Rory up."

Luke nodded, then turned and walked back to the counter. Lorelai tapped her hands on the table a few times, then said, "Hey, what's the date today?"

Rory glanced up toward the ceiling as she thought for a moment. "Hm, the fifteenth, I think."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Wow, summer's just flying by, huh? I can't believe it's August fifteenth already!"

"Uh, that's because it's July fifteenth, Mom," Rory informed her.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "July?"

"Yeah, it's the month squeezed in between June and August."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Thank you, wise one. Sometimes I get my months confused, but I'm good now. July. . it's July. . .got it."

"Maybe you can install a little calendar on that center diamond, there," Rory suggested, pointing to Lorelai's ring.

Lorelai smiled down at it. "Good idea." She stared at it for a few seconds, then made a fist and said, "This makes me feel powerful. You know how diamonds cut glass?"

"Uh huh."

Lorelai waved her fist through the air. "Well, it's like I'm a superhero who can use her super-powered diamond ring to instantly protect the city from evil enemies made of glass."

Rory nodded. "Uh huh. . .that's pretty important because in today's society you do run into a lot of . . .uh, glassblown adversaries."

Lorelai nodded excitedly. "Exactly! Now we have to think up a name for me. . . what's a good superhero-ish name?"

"Wonder Woman?" Rory suggested.

"Already taken. . .and the last thing I need is Lynda Carter suing me for copyright infringement," Lorelai said.

Rory thought for a moment. "Hm. . .Glassblower Gal?"

Lorelai gasped. "Glassblower Gal? Are you serious?"

Rory laughed. "Yeah. what's wrong with it?"

Lorelai scoffed. "That totally gives the glass people the wrong impression of my superheroic talents! We want them to think that I'll destroy them, not take 'em to a motel to reenact scenes from a dirty movie – "

"Stop there!" Rory begged.

" – called Fellatio Hornblower," Lorelai finished.

Rory groaned. "Mom, gross!"

Lorelai giggled and took a sip of her coffee. She set the cup back down and sighed. "All right, we'll try to think up a name later. It's hard to do on an empty stomach."

"Everything's hard to do on an empty stomach," Rory said. "That's why you should always try to stay full."

"Amen," Lorelai agreed.

. . .

That night in their bedroom, with the covers pulled up over them, Lorelai lay on top of Luke. He caressed her back as she kissed across his chest. She moved down to his stomach, her head disappearing completely under the covers. She ran her tongue over his abs and nipped at his flesh with her teeth. She kissed her way back up and sucked lightly on his neck before she moved her mouth to his lips and kissed him deeply.

As she pulled back, she noticed a pensive look on his face. She rested her chin on his chest and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Luke glanced toward the closet, mumbling, "Nothing."

She narrowed her eyes and turned his face back toward her. "Luke, if you were to rest your chin on your fist you could pass for a Rodin sculpture. . .you're obviously thinking about something. What is it?"

Luke stared into her eyes for a moment, then sighed and said, "I'm just thinking about. . . Christopher."

Lorelai's eyes widened with surprise. "Uh, do you normally think about him right after we have sex?"

Luke shook his head. "Not usually. . .just tonight"

Lorelai rolled off of him and sat up. "What's going on?" She pulled the blanket up around her body.

Luke sat up and leaned against the headboard. "I was just thinking about when you were talking about telling him about the engagement. . . and that led me to think about . . .other stuff."

"Other stuff. . .about Christopher?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah."

"What kind of other stuff?" she asked. "Bad other stuff?"

"Just. . .I don't know, other stuff," he replied. "Forget it."

"I'm just curious, come on," Lorelai urged.

Luke gestured aimlessly as he spoke, "It's just. . .I think he. . . I don't . . ." He shrugged and said, "I don't know. The guy just. . .ugh." He pursed his lips and shook his head.

"Wait – do you not like Christopher?" Lorelai interrupted. "I thought you liked him."

"I don't know. . .he's nice and all, but I don't really have a lot of respect for someone who acts like he does," Luke said.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Acts like what? What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the way he decided to just. . .get you pregnant and then leave you with a kid to raise all alone," Luke said angrily. "That's not how it's done. Even if he despised you more than Satan – which, I should add, he didn't – and even if you didn't want him to be around, he still should've done whatever he could have to help take care of you – end of story." He shook his head in disbelief. "Even if you told him to his face that you never wanted to see him again, he still should've found a way to take responsibility for his actions!"

Surprised by his sudden burst of anger, Lorelai stroked his arm and said, "Okay, first of all, calm down. Take a breath. It's stupid to get upset about something that happened so long ago."

"Yeah, well, Pearl Harbor happened a long time ago, but people are still upset about that," Luke muttered.

"That's because they made a big movie with cute guys that reminded everyone how bad of a time it was," Lorelai replied. She took a deep breath. "Now, come on, tell me why you're suddenly so anti-Christopher."

Luke pushed the covers off of him and climbed off the bed. He picked up his boxer shorts from the floor and pulled them on, then stood next to the bed with his hands on his hips. "Tell me why you're not."

Confused, Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "Why I'm not?"

Luke sat back down on the bed. "Yeah – why doesn't it bother you. . .the way he treated you, the way he was never there for you and Rory, why do you act like it never happened? Why do you act like he's the greatest father in the world for calling her once a week?"

Taken aback by the question, Lorelai shrugged and stammered, "I don't. . . because. . .he's just. . .and Rory. . ." Her voice trailed off and she glanced down at the bed.

"I'll tell you what I think," Luke said firmly. "It's because you raised that girl by yourself and you got so used to him not being there for you that you just accepted it as normal. . . . and now that he's around more and calling more, you think he's some freaking saint for trying to act like the man he should've been acting like from the start." He shook his head. "That isn't how it works, Lorelai. You can't trade fifteen years of him being a jerk for two years of him being less-of-a-jerk."

Lorelai sighed and lifted her head up to look at him. "Luke, come on, do we have to talk about this right now?"

"I know he tried in the beginning. . .I know you turned his proposal down and everything, I know all that. . .but he still had a responsibility and he should've dealt with it instead of running across the country," Luke continued. "What kind of man does something like that?"

Lorelai groaned. "Luke, pleeeeease stop. I don't need you to tell me how my life could've or should've been. I get that enough from my mother."

Luke shrugged. "Hey, you asked me what I was thinking, I'm just telling you."

"Okay, well, I didn't think it would be a ten-hour monologue, I'm sorry," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "Can we finish this conversation some other time – like, when it's not almost midnight?" She leaned toward him and pressed her mouth against his. His tense lips softened and he kissed her back, gently at first but then with more intensity. After several seconds, Lorelai pulled back and said, "Please?"

Luke closed his eyes and nodded. He opened them and took a deep breath. "Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to get all . . .you know."

Lorelai nodded. "It's okay." She lay down on her side facing away from him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. They lay silently for a few seconds before she whispered, "Luke, if things had gone like you said they should have. . . if he wouldn't have left Connecticut, if he would've stayed to help care for us . . . we probably wouldn't be lying here right now. I wouldn't have this ring on my finger or the most incredible guy in the world holding me."

"I know."

"I mean, I'm not saying that Chris and I would've gotten married or even stayed together as a couple, but. . .things just probably would've been very different."

"I know."

"So. . . maybe he didn't exactly do the right thing, but . . .it worked out for us in the end. We just have to concentrate on that instead of thinking about all the bad stuff that we can't change," Lorelai finished. Luke was silent for a few seconds, and Lorelai could feel his breath against her back. She turned to look at him and saw him staring back at her. "You know?"

Luke slowly nodded. "Yeah, I gotcha."

She turned her body around to face him, and she smiled as she patted his chest. "I mean, Luke. . .we're getting married. . . say it."

A smile fell upon his lips and he said, "We're getting married."

Lorelai grinned. "Feels good, doesn't it?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah."

"I mean, we won't just be living together as shacker-uppers anymore," Lorelai said. "Which is probably sad for you because I know you really like that term."

Luke rolled his eyes, then kissed her. He pulled her body closer against his and adjusted the blanket over them. As she snuggled up against him, he whispered, "Night."

Lorelai smiled to herself as she relaxed against the comfort of his arms. "Night."

. . .