The Good One

by Erin Kaye Hashet

COMPLETE. Maybe the world really is overrated. But it doesn't matter. For Luke, this is where the world begins and ends, though he'd never admit it. LL.

5. Mrs Backwards Baseball Hat

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah notminecakes

Chapter 5

Mrs. Backwards Baseball Hat

And then you took the words right out of my mouth

Oh, it must have been while you were kissing me

You took the words right out of my mouth

Oh, and I swear it's true

I was just about to say I love you…

They fell asleep just like that, holding each other in the chairlift.

The dawning sun woke them up the next day. As it broke through the clouds, Lorelai stirred, squinted, and blinked her eyes open. She studied him for a second, then blinked again. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," he said affectionately, ruffling her hair.

Lorelai yawned and stretched. "Wow," she said. "This is weird."

"What is?"

"Waking up with you." She must have seen the expression on his face, so she added, "Good weird, I mean."

"Good weird?"

"The best weird of my life," she said, and kissed him.

(asterisk)

In the car on the way home, they decided to spend the day at Lorelai's house. "I need to stop at the diner for a minute, though," Luke said. "I ordered this shipment, and I want to see if the guy called about it."

It was ten o'clock when they got back to Stars Hollow. They parked behind the diner so no one would see the truck. "Good move," said Lorelai. "It'll be entertaining once the gossips start talking, but I think we should hold off awhile on that."

"Wanna come up with me?" he asked.

She shrugged. "All right."

Once they were there, Luke checked the answering machine for messages. But instead of information about the shipment, he heard his sister's sobbing voice through the machine.

"Luke? It's nine-thirty, and…God, I screwed up and now T.J.'s gone, and you're not there and I don't know where you are but everything's just such a mess…"

Luke closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "I knew it," he said, in a barely controlled voice. "God damn it! This always happens!" He sighed and turned to Lorelai. "Sorry," he said. "I'm just going to call and make sure she's all right."

When he called Liz, though, the line was busy. "Damn it," Luke said again, softer. He closed his eyes and tried to think. "I am really, really sorry about this," he said. "You have no idea how sorry. But I'm going to have to go check on her. This…this has happened before, and it hasn't been pretty. Okay?"

Lorelai looked disappointed but she nodded. "Of course. You need to make sure she's all right."

"I'll drop you off at your place," he said. "And then I'll come by later. Okay?"

"Okay."

He drove over to Liz's condo once he'd dropped Lorelai off. Liz came to the door, her eyes puffy. "Oh, Luke, thank God," she said.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked, concerned. "I tried calling, but it was busy."

"Oh," Liz said with a sniffle. "I must have knocked the phone off the hook somewhere."

"Liz, what happened?"

Liz burst into fresh tears. "Come in," she managed to say. "Sit down. I'll tell you."

Once he was settled on her couch, Liz started to talk. "T.J. and I were talking," she said. "And I was saying now that we have our own place, with a backyard and everything, maybe we should get a dog. Because I've always wanted a dog, you know? And it just seems to go with the whole suburban thing, you know, husband, house, dog. But T.J. starts telling me he's afraid of dogs, because he was chased by one as a kid or something, and I started telling him it was okay, I could just get a little dog or something, and he said no, he's afraid of all dogs, no matter how small they are. So I started to get upset, because I was just thinking, you know, what if this is an indication of how the whole marriage is going to go? What if he doesn't respect my wishes? What if he's going to be selfish like this all the time? So I started to tell him that, and he's telling me that I'm the one being selfish, that it's a legitimate fear and I should respect it, and it went on for awhile, and then he said he needed to get out for awhile, so he left." Liz started crying again. "I'm so scared, Luke. I'm so scared that I've messed things up and now the greatest guy I've ever met has left me!"

"Okay, okay," said Luke, trying to remain calm. "How long ago did he leave?"

"About an hour," she said.

"Okay. And did he say where he was going?"

"No, he just said he needed to get out for awhile and he'd be back soon."

"Be back soon?"

"That's what he said, but I've had guys who said they'd be back soon walk out and never come back. You remember."

"But he gave you no indication that he wasn't planning on returning?"

"Well…no, but…"

And Luke's temper was shot. "God damn it, Liz!" he yelled, slamming his hand down on a table. "You had a fight! You had a stupid little fight that you won't even remember a year from now! That's how marriages work! You fight, you make up, you fight again, you make up again! You give, you take, you make compromises! And sometimes you just need to get away for awhile to think! Which is what your husband is doing right now!"

"You think so?" Liz's face was hopeful.

Luke sighed, calming down a little. "Yes, I think so," he replied. "And I think you should go hang up the phone in case he calls."

"Oh, geez," Liz sighed. "I've been really stupid, then."

Luke wasn't going to argue with that one. "I'll make you some coffee," he muttered, going into the kitchen as Liz went to hang up the phone. His anger grew when he remembered that he could be spending this time with Lorelai.

Less than a minute after Liz hung up the phone, it rang, and she leapt for it. "Hello?" she said, her voice anxious. "T.J.! Oh, baby, I'm so sorry! Can you forgive me? Where are you?...You're where?"

Just then there was a knock on the front door. "You gonna let me in?" came T.J.'s voice from outside.

Liz hung up the phone and ran for the door. "T.J.!" she cried, and the two of them kissed.

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry," T.J. said. "I left, but I just couldn't stop thinking of you, and I parked a little bit up the street and I called, but it was busy until…"

"I'm sorry I was so selfish about the dog thing," said Liz, kissing him again. "If you're afraid of dogs I respect that."

"No, no," T.J. countered. "I'd be fine with a little dog, really. I don't think that would scare me."

They went on like that, alternating talking and kissing, until finally Luke said, "The coffee's ready. I need to get going."

They stopped and looked at him. "Oh, Luke," said Liz. "Thank you so much for coming over like this. It was really great of you."

You have no idea, he thought. It seemed as if he should have been less angry by then, but he was thinking of Lorelai back at her house and he was steaming. "Yeah," was all he said before he left.

Luke was still seething when his truck pulled in at Lorelai's house. When he came in, he found Lorelai sitting on her couch, changed into sweats. "Sorry I took so long," he said, still in rant mode. "My incredibly mature sister had a fight with her husband over a damn dog, because she's too damn stubborn to give in, and T.J., Gary, whatever the hell his name is told her he was going out for awhile, and she starts freaking out because she thinks he's leaving her for good, even though he gave no indication that he would, and I have to sit there comforting her until he calls, and when he calls it turns out he's right outside, and he comes in and they kiss and make up and it's all very Bewitched…wasn't that the show that always ended with them kissing? I don't know. God Almighty." Luke threw back his head and sighed. "Why do I do this? All these people who can never help themselves. Why can't I ever just let people figure stuff out on their own?"

Lorelai was sitting there watching him with the strangest look on her face, looking at him in a way she never had before. Luke suddenly felt uncomfortable. "You okay?" he asked uncertainly.

"Luke?" Lorelai said softly.

"Yeah?"

Lorelai looked straight into his eyes. "I love you."

He always thought he'd be the first to say it.

But right then, as he kissed her, being second felt better than anything he had ever imagined.

(asterisk)

Waking up in Lorelai Gilmore's bed on Sunday morning was the best weird of his life.

He reached over and stroked her hair. She stirred a bit, then opened her eyes. "Hi," she whispered.

"Go back to sleep," he whispered back. "I'm going to go make you some breakfast."

Once he was in her kitchen, he discovered that she didn't have much food. God, she really can't cook, he thought. Eventually, he found some pancake mix and chocolate chips.

Lorelai looked amazed when she finally shuffled downstairs. "Coffee and chocolate chip pancakes?" she said. "Luke, I've officially corrupted you!"

"Don't flatter yourself," he retorted. "You just didn't give me much to choose from to make you breakfast."

"Uh-huh," she said, settling at the table and taking a bite out of her pancakes. "Oh! Wow, a girl could get used to this!"

"Don't," he groaned. "I don't want to be responsible for your early death by chocolate."

Lorelai smiled and took another bite of pancake. Then she looked thoughtful. "You know what the weirdest thing about this is?" she said.

"What?"

"That it doesn't feel weird at all," she said. "It feels like…like I've been wearing sneakers for years and thought they were comfortable, and…fun, but then someone gave me a pair of kitty slippers that meow when you press the ear, and it's like, hel-lo! Million times more comfortable and more fun."

"Okay, the slippers are too weird for them not to exist in actuality."

"They're in the back of my closet somewhere. I wore out the thing that makes them meow." She smiled. "But…you know what I mean. This just feels right."

He sat down at the table with her. "It feels even more right than I imagined," he admitted.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "You've imagined this?"

He shrugged, embarrassed. "Well…you know…"

"How long have you been imagining this for?" she asked, her voice curious.

"Oh, I don't know."

"Yes, you do…" she said, her voice teasing. "How long, Luke? How long?"

Seeing that she wasn't going to let it go, he sighed. "Since the day you broke your leg," he said neutrally. "That was when I knew for sure that this was…what I wanted."

Lorelai looked shocked. "Oh, Luke!" she said. "That long? Really?"

"Yeah, well…" he mumbled, embarrassed. "Have you ever imagined this?"

Lorelai nodded thoughtfully. "Yes," she said. "I think I have…ever since the day Rory first started Chilton."

He raised his eyebrows. "Why then?"

"Do you remember?" she said. "A Chilton dad asked me out, and I said no, but you just had this…reaction when I told you about it, and it just made me go, 'Wow, I've never thought of Luke like that before.'" She looked at him. "But once I did think of you like that, I liked the idea a lot," she said. "But I was scared. You were just someone I…valued so much as a friend that I was afraid we'd break up if we ever got together, and we'd lose the friendship."

"I was afraid of that, too," he said.

"I mean," she said, very seriously for her, "you're one of the few people in my life who I know is always there for me, no matter what. Who'll just drop everything and come help me if I need it. You just have this…uncommon kindness. And Luke," she said, "even if you have had feelings for me for years, I really don't think that would have changed anything. Even though you love me, that's not why you're this good to me. You're this good to me because you're just being you."

"Oh, well…" Luke blushed. "I don't know…I mean…"

"And that's the kind of friendship that I would never, ever want to lose," she said.

He felt his heart swell, and he reached over and squeezed her hand. "And you never will," he said.

She smiled. "So…we've established that I love you and you love me," she said. "I guess this means we're dating?"

Luke shrugged. "Guess so," he said.

Lorelai shook her head. "Wow," she said. "That's so weird. 'Hi, I'm Lorelai, and this is my boyfriend, Luke.' 'Hi, I'm Lorelai, Luke's girlfriend.' 'Luke Danes—not just the diner guy, also the guy I'm dating!'"

He rolled his eyes. "That last one sounded like a commercial," he said.

"So?"

"So now that we're dating you're advertising me?"

"Ooh!" she said. "Now that could be fun. But all the good slogans are already taken. 'Luke Danes: nobody does it like you.' 'There are some things money can't buy. For everything else there's Luke Danes.' 'Luke Danes: he's everywhere you want to be."

"I take it back," he groaned. "We're not dating if this is what dating does to you."

"I love you, honey," she replied teasingly. Then she looked at her watch. "Ooh! Gosh, I need to get to work."

She started to put her dishes away in the sink when suddenly she stopped and turned around. "The day I broke my leg?" she said. "Really?"

Luke nodded.

Lorelai picked up a dish towel and threw it at him. "Damn you!" she said. "Why didn't you say something then? All these years I could have been getting free coffee!"

(asterisk)

Lorelai had to work at the inn that day, but Luke still had the "Closed for the Weekend" sign in the diner window, so he kept it closed and stayed at Lorelai's house. When Lorelai got home that night, the first thing she said was, "We need to talk."

Luke looked up. "About what?"

"About the fact that this town is a freaking goldfish bowl and gossip is the equivalent of Ani DiFranco's plastic castle."

Luke winced. "People know about us?"

"They're talking," she said. "Babette saw your truck outside, so she knows that's where you've been. Sookie wanted to know why she couldn't get in touch with me all weekend and why the diner was closed. And those are just the people I saw today."

"Great," Luke groaned. He could imagine what Patty would have to say about his truck being parked outside Lorelai's house for two days, and what Taylor would say once he realized why Luke had closed the diner for—gasp!—a whole weekend. "What did you tell them?"

"I told them I'd have to talk with you before I told them anything."

Luke sighed. "Well, this was going to happen eventually. I guess sooner's better than later."

"So…what will we tell them?"

Luke exhaled. "We'll tell them the truth," he replied, "and we'll just stand back and roll our eyes at their reactions."

"Sounds like a plan," she said. Then her face grew serious. "Before we tell any of them, though," she said, "I want to make sure we tell Rory. This is going to affect her life, and things have not gone well when I've kept information from her before."

"Good idea." He nodded.

"So I'm going to call her right now," she said. "Hopefully she'll answer."

"You want me to leave?" he asked.

"No, stay!" she said. "I want you to be here for this, and Rory might want to talk to you."

She picked up the phone and dialed Rory's cell phone number. "Rory! Hi!" she said. "How are you?...Good! What have you been up to?...Oh, fun! How's Grandma?...Great, tell her hi….What? What makes you say that?...I do not sound nervous! Why would I be nervous?...Okay, you win. I do have something to tell you.…Something good, don't worry! At least I hope you'll think it's good. Okay, well…" Lorelai took a deep breath. "Luke and I are dating." There was a long pause. "Rory? Say something." Another pause. "Just this weekend….He took me up north to the mountains….No, not totally unexpected….Well, we'd kind of acknowledged our feelings but he wasn't divorced from Nicole yet….We haven't told anyone yet. We wanted you to be the first to know….You're welcome….Yes, I know….Yes, honey, I've thought of that….But you're okay with this?...No, I didn't think you wouldn't be, I just wanted to make sure, I mean, you were asking a lot of questions….Oh, I know, it's completely understandable….Thank you!...He's right here. Would you like to talk to Luke?...Okay, here he is."

Luke swallowed hard and took the phone. "Rory!" he said.

"Hi, Luke!" came her voice from across the Atlantic.

"How's, uh…how's Europe?"

"Oh, it's been fun so far!" she replied. "Although I think it was more fun when we stayed in hostels."

"Good, good." Luke laughed nervously. "Where, uh, where are you now?"

"We're in London."

"Good, uh, that's good."

After a silence Rory said, "So what's this I hear about you dating my mom?"

Luke laughed again. "Well, uh…yeah, it just happened this weekend."

"Mom told me."

There was another silence, and then Luke said, "Are you…okay with this?"

"Of course I am!" said Rory, sounding genuinely surprised. "It's just that I didn't expect it. And it's not like you need my permission."

"No," said Luke, "but…I wouldn't feel right dating your mom if it wasn't okay with you."

Rory was quiet for a second. "Well, thank you," she said, "but honestly? I can't think of anyone besides you who'd be good enough for her."

Luke was touched. "Well, thank you, Rory," he said.

"It's just…Luke?" she said, suddenly sounding timid and much younger.

"Yeah?"

"I just really hope that it works out with you guys," she said, and he knew that she was dreading the consequences if it didn't.

Luke could feel his heart breaking. "I really hope it does, too, Rory," he said.

(asterisk)

When Lorelai came into the diner the next day, everyone fell silent.

Lorelai stopped and twisted her mouth into an "oooookay" face. She walked over to the counter and said, out of the corner of her mouth, "So apparently I have the power to render a whole town speechless?"

"Lorelai—"

"When did I suddenly develop this power? Have I always had it? Why can't I control it, then? Because God knows if I could control it I'd have used it on my mother years ago."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I thought I'd prepared myself for anything, but not—"

"…the Twilight Zone, I hear you. Oh, I'm sorry…the Outer Limits."

"You have a good memory."

"So what do we do?" Lorelai asked. "Go on living in a slightly-less-chaotic Charlie Chaplin film until someone decides to pull a Pleasantville with sound instead of color?"

Luke paused. "Or we could…"

"What?"

An idea had been forming in his head. It would get everything over with and it would piss off Taylor—a win-win situation. "Ah, what the hell," he said, and he leaned over the counter and kissed her. At least he'd prepared himself for what would inevitably come next.

And the volume in the diner was back on, full-blast.

(asterisk)

Rory returned home a few days later. The timing was fortuitous, because with the town still in an uproar over Luke and Lorelai's relationship, everyone was too busy to think about what had driven Rory to Europe in the first place. When Rory first got back to Stars Hollow, she was happy and bubbly, full of stories about Europe. But within a week, she looked as upset as she'd been when everyone found out about her and Dean.

"What's going on with her?" he asked Lorelai one day at her house in concern.

Lorelai looked tired. "Same shit, different developments," she said. "Lindsay and Dean are in the process of divorcing, but Dean is transferring to a school in Chicago. So now not only does she feel like she broke up a marriage, she feels like she drove Dean away. And it's got to be worse for her, because I think she got her hopes up that things could have worked out with her and Dean, but now she knows they can't." Lorelai sighed. "This is one of those moments," she said.

"One of what moments?"

"One of those mother moments where my heart and my brain are going at each other," she said quietly. "My brain is telling me that she needs to know that she can't just sleep with a married man and expect everything to be fine afterwards. But my heart just wants to go into her room and hug her and tell her everything's going to be all right, you know?" She sighed again. "Not that it would matter. She doesn't want to talk to me about it."

Luke was silent for a minute. "What if I took her out?" he said. "You know, get her mind off things. Maybe it would be better if she went out with someone who, you know…theoretically doesn't know what she's going through."

"Maybe that would help," Lorelai agreed. "Why don't you go ask her?"

Luke knocked on Rory's bedroom door. "Hey, Rory?" he said. "It's Luke. Can I come in?"

Rory came to the door, her eyes red and puffy. "Hi, Luke," she said.

"I know you love ice cream," he said. "How about we go out for some ice cream? I know a really good place."

"Better than Taylor's?" she asked.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Infinitely better than Taylor's," he said. "So what do you say?"

Rory shrugged. "All right," she said. "Thank you, Luke."

He knew exactly where he was taking her: a place he hadn't been since childhood. If he was going to date Lorelai, he would be Rory's father figure, and he knew no better place for a father to take his daughter than Johnson's Ice Cream, which was a couple of towns over. "Wow," Rory said when they got there, looking around. "I've never been here."

"My dad used to take me here when I was a kid," he said. "There was a playground around here, but I think they built a new one. And over there," he nodded at a patch of grass next to the ice cream stand, "there was a merry-go-round. I mean, not the kind with horses, just a big metal thing that kids sat on that could be spun around."

"I've been on those," said Rory. "Those were fun."

Luke laughed. "Not quite as fun after you've eaten an entire banana split," he said. "I found that out the hard way."

Rory ordered a double chocolate cone. Luke hesitated for a minute before ordering a scoop of vanilla with jimmies. Rory looked at him in shock. "Who are you and what have you done with Luke?" she said. "You don't even drink coffee!"

"Ah, well, one ice cream won't kill me," he replied. He'd brush well afterwards.

When they were settled down at a table, he said, "So you're really okay with me and your mom dating?"

She smiled. "Luke, I told you," she said. "Yes, I really am."

"Well, your opinion is important to me."

Rory was quiet for a minute. "My mom didn't really date anyone when I was little," she said. "No one that I met, anyway. And I didn't mind. I liked it being just her and me." She licked her ice cream cone. "But when I got a little older I started to wish she and my dad would get back together. You know, so I could have a family like all my friends had. It was something I used to want on-again, off-again. But then when I got older, I just wanted her to be with someone who'd make her happy and I liked, too."

"That makes sense," Luke said understandingly.

"I was just always afraid that—" she stopped.

"What?" he pried gently.

"That if you and Mom were together you'd break up," she finished reluctantly, "and then I wouldn't get to see you anymore. And I'd hate that, because…we're friends."

Luke smiled. "Yes, we are," he said. "And we will be no matter what happens with me and your mom. That's a promise."

Rory smiled back. "Thanks, Luke," she said.

When they were back at the Gilmores' house, Rory turned to him and gave him a hug. "Thanks for this, Luke," she said. "I've been upset lately, and this kind of made me feel better."

"Anytime," he said, hugging her back.

Later, Lorelai gave him her own hug. "My kid is smiling now!" she said. "She's smiling because of you, Luke!" She leaned in and kissed him, then said, "If I didn't already love you so much, this would make me fall in love with you right here." She looked into his eyes, very seriously. "Thank you for taking good care of my daughter."

(asterisk)

In September, Rory headed back to Yale, once again with the aid of his truck. Not long after that, Lorelai got a phone call, after which she turned to Luke and said, "Well, I have some good news and some bad news."

"Oh, yeah?"

"The good news is that my parents decided to give things another try," she said.

"Oh, that's great!"

"Yeah, it is," she said.

"So what's the bad news?" he asked.

She groaned. "Friday night dinners are back on."

(asterisk)

Luke and Lorelai also started having more dates. They went to the movies, to a baseball game, to a restaurant. But while they were out on one of their dates, Lorelai started laughing. "This is ridiculous," she said.

"What is?"

"Us! Going out on dates like we just met! Like we're just getting to know each other! How long have we known each other?"

"Well, what do you suggest we do instead?"

"Oh, I don't know…what we normally do, just…we'll be doing it as a couple."

"What we normally do is you sitting in the diner while I yell at you about your caffeine intake. That's not dating."

"Well, we'll just do it with matching jogging suits this time."

"Lorelai…"

"Oh, I don't know, we'll just hang out and talk, you know…like two friends who happen to be in love."
So that was what they started doing. When Rory was home for Thanksgiving, he even earned the dubious honor of getting to participate in a Gilmore movie night. He could only shake his head in disbelief as Lorelai and Rory ate enough junk food to kill a third-world country and made fun of the movie so quickly that Luke couldn't even hear the dialogue.

After awhile, though, he realized that coming to Lorelai's house all the time was starting to feel like home. And Luke, who had always hated change, realized that if they weren't going out on dates, all there was left to do was to make the biggest change of his life.

He talked to Rory first one day. He called her first, drove down to New Haven, and took her to lunch at a nice restaurant.

"You said you wanted to talk to me about something," Rory said between bites of her French fries.

"Yes, I do. I was wondering…" Luke hesitated. Once he said it, it would become real. There'd be no going back.

"What?"

"I was wondering…" Luke exhaled. "I was wondering what you'd think if I asked your mom to marry me."

Rory stopped short. Her eyes widened. "You're going to get married?" she said, sounding more excited than Luke had heard her sound in ages. "Luke!" She got up, ran to his side of the table, and gave him a hug. "You're going to be my stepdad!"

Luke laughed, a bit taken aback by her enthusiasm. "Well, not yet," he said. "I have to ask her, and…she has to say yes."

"She'll say yes," said Rory. She hugged him again. "Oh, Luke," she said happily. "This is so great!" She sat back down.

"I need some advice, though," he said. "I want this to be perfect for her, and…do you have any ideas?"

Rory grinned. "Oh, Luke, that's so sweet!" she said.

"You know your mom best," he said. "Where and how do you think she'd like me to propose to her?"
"Hmm…" Rory frowned in concentration. Then her face lit up. "I know! She's always said that the best things that have happened in her life have happened in the snow. Her best birthday, her first kiss, my first steps…even when I was born, it was one of those freaky snow-in-October things."

"In the snow…" murmured Luke.

(asterisk)

"I told you it would look better in the snow," he said to her.

It was Saturday, two weeks before Christmas, and Luke and Lorelai had gone to the same ski place they'd been in the summer. It was after midnight, and snow was falling lightly all around them. The snow lightly frosted all the trees, and little flakes were adorning Lorelai's hair as she sat next to him in the chairlift.

Lorelai had the same adorable smile on her face that she always had when it snowed. "This is beautiful," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for taking me here, Luke."

Luke swallowed hard and wondered if his pounding heart would ever slow. Ask her now, he told himself. It's now or never.He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a box. "I have something to ask you," he said. He opened the box up, revealing a ring. Lorelai gasped. Her eyes grew wide, and her power of speech seemed to be rendered useless.

Luke didn't know how he got up the nerve to speak, but he found himself saying, "What can I say, Lorelai…you're just…the most amazing woman I've ever met." He caught his breath, and continued. "I love you. I've never been happier in my life than I've been in these months we've been together, and…I'd give anything to make you that happy." He took another deep breath, then continued. "Lorelai Gilmore, will you marry me?"

A sob escaped Lorelai's lips. Tears were welling up in her eyes. "Yes," she managed to get out before she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Then she looked right into his eyes. "I love you so much, Luke."

(asterisk)

When they got home, Rory was jumping up and down like a little kid. "You're getting married!" she squealed, and threw her arms around both of them.

"Whoa, easy there," Lorelai laughed. "Let's go sit down."

When they were all seated in the living room, Lorelai said, "Okay, now I am dying to go shout this from the rooftops, but we're not telling anyone until next Friday, okay?"

"Why next Friday?" Rory asked.

"Because I learned my lesson when I was engaged to Max. My parents will be the first to know. And we figured we'd tell them over Friday night dinner." Lorelai glanced up at him with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Luke, I tried to protect you from the horror that is Friday night dinner for as long as I could, but if you're going to marry me, you're going to have to face Emily and Richard."
"It'll be worth it then," he replied, smiling and still in a state of disbelief.

They didn't tell anyone all week, but Luke was pretty sure that townspeople suspected. Lately, he'd been in a much better mood than they were used to seeing him in. He was constantly smiling, and doing things that no one had thought he'd ever do: watching the Christmas pageant, letting Taylor and the carolers have their hot chocolate.

But his mood wasn't quite so good when Friday rolled around. The prospect of having dinner with Lorelai's parents was almost as nerve-racking as proposing to her had been. He'd met them before, but that had simply been as Lorelai's friend, not her fiancé. And although Emily had called him and Lorelai idiots for not dating each other, Luke couldn't believe that at least part of Emily would be disappointed that her daughter was marrying a man who worked in a diner instead of Christopher, or at least someone rich enough to fit into their society.

"What did you tell them about me?" Luke asked nervously, wearing a shirt and tie as he waited for her to get dressed that evening. "Did you even tell them we were dating?"

"I mentioned it," she replied, applying some lipstick. "They asked if you could come to Friday night dinner sometime, but I always got you out of it by saying you had to work."

Luke was pacing up and down the floor of Lorelai's bedroom. "Would you relax?" Lorelai said. "They're going to love you! Keep in mind that every time they've met you before it's been at a time when you were helping me out, and there's no way you could ever change that impression they have of you."

"Yeah, well, I wasn't going to marry you then!" he said, still pacing. "God, I've had a stomachache all day."

"So have I, actually."

Luke looked at her. "Why do you have a nervous stomach? You see them all the time!"

"It's not a nervous stomach," she said. "My stomach's just been bothering me today for some reason."

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine."

"You sure?" he asked. "Are you going to make it through the evening?"

"Luke, stop trying to get out of this. We're telling my parents tonight."

Luke couldn't quite believe it when the Jeep pulled up at the Gilmore mansion. "Holy…" he trailed off. "This is where you grew up?" He'd known that Lorelai's parents were rich, but seeing it was an entirely different thing than hearing about it.

"Unfortunately, yes."

Emily Gilmore came to the door when they rang the bell. "Hello, Lorelai, Rory. Luke." Her eyes locked with his and a prim little smile came to her face.

Luke extended his hand. "Nice to see you again, Mrs. Gilmore."

"It's nice to see you again, too, Luke," she replied, shaking his hand. "Come in, come in."

Richard Gilmore was sitting in the living room reading the paper. When they came in he looked up. "Well, hello!" he said. He stood up and walked over to Luke. "It's nice to see you again, Luke," he said. "How have you been?"
Luke shook his hand. "I've been fine, thank you, sir," he said. "And you?"

"Oh, I can't complain," Richard replied. "Come in, sit down! Have a drink."

God Almighty, Luke thought. These people have a little mini-bar in their living room!

"Would you like a drink, Luke?" Emily asked him.

"Uh…martini, if that's all right," he replied.

"Oh, it's more than all right. Lorelai, what will you have?"

"I'm good, thanks," she murmured, looking down.

Emily frowned. "Everything all right, Lorelai?" she asked.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well, I certainly hope so." Emily turned her attention to Luke. "So, Luke," she said, "Lorelai tells me you usually work on Friday nights."

"Well, usually I do," he answered, sitting up as straight as he could. "But tonight I'm having someone else close for me."

"Ah. I see."

Luke couldn't stand it. Was that a good "I see" or a bad "I see"? These people were impossible to read. He was more comfortable around the Stars Hollow townies, who were so obvious about what they were feeling. He sipped his drink while tapping his foot nervously.

"Luke, Lorelai tells me you don't eat red meat," said Emily. "So I had Jessamine make chicken marsala for tonight."

Luke's first thought was, Good God! They have a cook? No wonder Lorelai never learned how! But then he felt slightly embarrassed. "Oh, uh…thank you, Mrs. Gilmore, that was…very thoughtful," he said. "But, I…I'm sorry if that inconvenienced you."

"Oh, nonsense," Richard chimed in. "I've been looking for an excuse to have chicken marsala for weeks now."

The maid came in and announced, "Dinner is ready."

When they were all seated at the table, Lorelai looked over at him. Luke nodded. "Mom, Dad," said Lorelai, "Luke and I have something to tell you."

Emily paused. "Oh?" she said. "Please do tell us."

Lorelai paused. "Well…" she said. "Luke and I are getting married."

Luke couldn't look at them. It was the loudest silence he'd ever heard.

"We just got engaged last Saturday," Lorelai continued. "We haven't told anyone yet. We wanted to make sure we told you first."

Another long pause. Finally, Richard broke it. "Well," he said. "Congratulations!" He smiled.

Then Emily smiled, too. "Yes," she said. "Congratulations."

Luke nodded, smiling uncomfortably. "Thank you," he said. Damn it, why were they so hard to read? He couldn't tell whether or not they were happy about it or not.

"Have you set a date yet?" Emily asked.

"Uh, no, not yet," replied Luke, glancing at Lorelai, who was staring at her lap. "We'll be having the wedding at the Dragonfly, though. We have discussed that."

"Oh, how nice!" said Emily. "Now, tell me again, how long have you two been dating?"

"Since…this summer," he answered nervously.

"Oh."

"But we've known each other for years."

"Yes, I've heard," Emily replied. "Now, will this be your first marriage?"

Luke blushed. "No, uh…my second."

"Oh, really? You were married before Lorelai knew you?"

"No, uh, I was married, uh…a little more recently."

"Great chicken marsala," Rory piped up, and Luke was grateful. Only then did he realize how much he'd been sweating.

"Well, thank you, Rory. I'll be sure to tell Jessamine." Emily suddenly frowned at Lorelai. "Are you all right, Lorelai? You haven't even touched your chicken."

"Yeah," she mumbled, not looking up. "My stomach's just bothering me."

"Do you need medical attention?"

"Mom, are you okay?" Rory sounded worried.

Lorelai winced and then started to slump over in her seat. Luke quickly put out his hand to catch her. "Yes. Okay, fine, no, I'm not all right." She sucked in her breath. "Owwww…"

Rory got up from the table and ran over. "Where does it hurt, Mom?"

"Sharp pain. Right side. Owwww…"

"Right side?" Luke repeated in disbelief. "Lorelai, that's your appendix! We need to get you to a hospital!"

"Good Lord!" Richard gasped.

"God, no," Lorelai moaned. "Not tonight. Tonight was supposed to be great…"

"Don't worry about that," Luke said firmly. "You just need to get to a doctor. Now, can you stand up?"

Lorelai groaned. "Ohhhh, I can try."

"I'll help you," said Luke, and he did, putting one hand in hers and one on her back. Lorelai stood up, shakily.

"I'll go get coats," Rory said quickly, running out of the room.

"Thank you, Rory," Luke called over his shoulder.

"My God, Lorelai!" Emily looked shocked by the whole thing. "How long have you had these pains? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Mom…please…not…now…" Lorelai managed to get out.

Luke turned to his future mother-in-law. "Thank you for dinner, Mrs. Gilmore," he said. "It was wonderful. But Lorelai needs to get to the hospital right away."

"She's not going without us! I demand to come along."

"As do I!" Richard put in firmly. "We need to come to make sure she's getting the right care! That the right doctors are seeing to her!"

"All right, fine," said Luke hurriedly, noting Rory coming down the stairs with the coats. "But the Jeep isn't big enough for everyone and that's the car parked in the driveway, so that's the one we're taking. You'll have to follow us in your car."

(asterisk)

In the emergency room as they waited, Lorelai moaned, "God, why did so many people have to get sick or hurt today? Remind me never to get sick on a weekend again."

"Well, you can only get appendicitis once," Luke said, trying to sound soothing. "That's the bright side to all of this."

Inside, though, he was so scared that it was hard to believe that just a few hours earlier, dinner with Emily and Richard had seemed so nerve-wracking. What if the doctors didn't perform surgery in time? What if it wasn't appendicitis after all, but something more serious?

"There has got to be someone we can talk to!" Emily said angrily. "This is unacceptable! She should not have to wait in line this long! Richard, what doctors do you know who are working tonight?"

"I'm gonna be…" And before she could finish her sentence, she started to vomit. Luke saw what was happening and quickly put out his hands. "It's okay, Lorelai," he said gently. "You'll be out of here before you know it."

"Luke." Lorelai sounded embarrassed and regretful. "Luke, I'm so sorry…look at you, you've got throw-up all over you…"

"It doesn't matter," Luke said firmly. "Don't worry about it, Lorelai."

"But you…you need to get cleaned up…go wash yourself off or something…"

"I can get you some paper towels or something," Rory said anxiously. Her face was pale and Luke knew she was just as worried as he was.

"That would be great, Rory," he said.

The one good thing about her throwing up was that it moved her up in line much faster than looking for a doctor that the Gilmores knew would have. Luke, Rory, Emily, and Richard stayed by her as she was taken from room to room. Luke never let go of her hand. Finally, she was wheeled into surgery, and they were all left standing in the waiting room.

Luke couldn't concentrate. He was trying to read a magazine, but he just kept reading the same paragraph over and over. Lorelai was all he could think about. He felt like getting up and pacing, but he thought that might worry Rory more, and the poor girl was upset enough as it was. It was awful to see a parent in the hospital, and he knew this from experience.

"Is there anything I can do?" Rory asked, twisting her hands in anxiety. "Can I get anything for you guys…I want to do something useful."

Luke recognized those words from four years ago, when Richard had been in the hospital. "Well, I don't know about you, but I could go for some tea right now," he said, reaching into his wallet. "Peppermint, preferably. Maybe your grandparents would, too?" He nodded at Richard and Emily.

"I'm fine, thank you," Emily responded.

"No tea for me, thanks," said Richard.

"Okay. I'll get some coffee for me. I'll be right back." Rory turned and left.

There was a long silence in the waiting room. Finally, Richard turned to Luke and said, "I'm told you were here in this hospital four years ago when I was ill."

Luke blinked, surprised. "Uh…yes, sir, I was."

"And if I remember correctly," Emily said unexpectedly, "you were very uncomfortable here. I seem to remember you saying that you hated hospitals, that everything about them bothered you."

That seemed like a very pointed comment, but Luke had no idea what she was getting at. "Um…yes," he said slowly.

"But today," Emily went on, "we passed all kinds of sick people, people with gaping wounds, all kinds of bad smells, people who looked like they were never going to leave this hospital—and you had absolutely no reaction. You never once took your eyes away from Lorelai."

Luke hadn't even thought about it, but she was right. He'd been so worried he hadn't even let himself take his surroundings in. But he still failed to see what her point was. "Um…" he said again.

"I just find it quite telling," Emily continued, "that you were able to put your fear and dislike of hospitals aside to take care of her when she needed you."

He could read her tone of voice there. He knew she was completely sincere in what she said. "Oh…" he said, unsure of how to respond. "Well—"

"From what I've been told," said Emily, "this is not uncommon coming from you, either. My daughter and granddaughter have not very often had a man in their lives whom they can depend on, but you seem to always be around when Lorelai needs help, and as we've found out quite frequently, Lorelai does not easily accept help."

"That's…true…" Luke replied.

"What I think my wife is trying to say," said Richard, lowering the magazine he had been reading, "is that it is obvious that you care for our daughter and granddaughter very much."

Enormously relieved, Luke let out a long breath. "Well…you're right, sir," he said. "I love Lorelai and Rory, and…" He didn't even know how to finish his sentence.

Richard smiled, put the magazine down, and walked across the waiting room to Luke's chair. "You," he said, shaking Luke's hand, "will make my daughter a fine husband."

Rory returned to the waiting room with Luke's tea just seconds before the doctor entered. "How is she?" Luke asked anxiously, standing up.

"The surgery went smoothly," the doctor replied. "There were no complications, and Lorelai is in the recovery room until she's put into a room. We'll keep her overnight, at least, and after we run some final tests, she should be able to return home."

"Thank God," Emily breathed, and Luke caught her eye. Without saying a word, they shared a little moment of understanding.

"Can I go see my mom?" Rory asked, worry still present in her eyes.

"Absolutely," said the doctor, "but she's on painkillers, so I don't know how coherent she'll be."

"Thank you, doctor," said Richard.

Lorelai was asleep in the recovery room, with an oxygen mask over her face. "You can wake her," said the nurse. "She'll just be pretty doped up."

Luke took her hand and shook in gently. Lorelai stirred, opened her eyes, and tapped on the oxygen mask, which the nurse removed. "Hi, Lorelai," Luke said softly.

"Hi, Mom," Rory whispered, her face looking stricken.

Lorelai managed a weak wave, her eyes squinted open.

"You did great," Luke said. "You're gonna be fine, out of here before you know it."

Rory looked like she was about to cry. "I love you, Mom," she said.

"You…too," Lorelai managed.

"Okay." Luke patted Lorelai's hand. "You go back to sleep now. Get some rest."

Outside the recovery room, he turned to Rory and said, "You okay?"

Rory dissolved into tears halfway through shaking her head. "I'm sorry," she sobbed as Luke closed his arms around her. "It's just…I know she's going to be all right, but it's just so scary to see her lying there like that…"

"I know. I know," he said softly, rubbing her back. Memories of his parents' illnesses were coming back to him. "But you'll have your mom back before you know it."

"Yeah, I know." Rory wiped her eyes and looked up at him. "Thank you for everything, Luke."

He patted her on the shoulder. "Anytime," he said.

Emily and Richard had come up behind them. "It's getting late," Richard said.

Luke looked at his watch. "Yes, it is," he said, and suddenly realized how tired he was.

"You're welcome to spend the night at our house," Emily said.

Luke nodded. "Thank you," he said.

(asterisk)

Lorelai was released from the hospital two days later. "I barely even have a scar!" she frowned. "You almost can't see it! After all that trouble, the least they could give me is a visible scar so I can brag about it!"

Luke leaned in and kissed her. "Let's get you home," he said. "It's almost Christmas and we've got a wedding to plan."

When they pulled into the driveway at home, they had barely gotten out of the car when they heard a loud shout of, "Lorelai! Oh, sugar, they told me you were in the hospital. Everyone was asking me when you were coming back and I didn't know what to tell them. Are you all right, doll?"

Lorelai smiled. "I'm more than all right, Babette," she said. "I'm getting married."

Babette's jaw dropped. "You mean…you two…"

"We need to set a date, but yes, we're engaged," she said, showing off her ring.

"Oh, my goodness! Well, that's the best news I've heard all week! I always knew you two would end up together. Morey!" she called inside the house. "Come out here! Luke and Lorelai are getting themselves hitched!"

Everyone in town had been preparing to come over anyway to give Lorelai get-well presents, but the news of their engagement spread so fast that when they did come, Lorelai's illness was almost an afterthought. Patty, who had probably been the one to tell half the people in town, gave them her congratulations before she lamented the dwindling number of available men in Stars Hollow. Taylor congratulated them and then took Lorelai aside to suggest that she use her influence to convince Luke to update the diner's décor. Liz smiled, hugged them both, and said, "I knew it. I knew you two were fated to be together." Sookie jumped up and down and squealed with Lorelai before she started planning what food she'd make for the wedding.

After Christmas was over, they started planning the rest of the wedding. They set a date: Friday, May 20th, at the Dragonfly. Sookie would cater. Lorelai would wear a veil, despite Emily's suggestion that she wear a tiara instead. "It'll be my one last rebellion as an unmarried woman," she said, grinning wickedly.

And then there was the matter of planning the wedding party. Lorelai decided easily that Rory would be her maid of honor, and that Sookie and Lane would also be bridesmaids. But then she also suggested that Liz be a bridesmaid, too.

"Liz?" Luke said doubtfully. "You just met her this year!"

"But she's your sister, Luke. And she was really enthusiastic about us getting married."

Luke groaned. "But if she's in the wedding party, that'll mean T.J. will have to, too!"

"Well, so what? It'll round things out. Right now you only have Jess and Jackson for ushers."

"Fine," he grunted. "But that still leaves me one usher short."

"Well, who else do you know?"

"Oh, I don't know…"

"How about Kirk?" Lorelai suggested.

"What? No. No way."

"Aw, come on, Luke! You need one more usher, and it'll make his day."

Luke thought about it for a minute and sighed. "Ah, what the hell."

What Luke was more concerned about, though, was his best man. He'd been talking to Jess once or twice a month since Liz's wedding. He knew that now Jess was going to night school to get his GED, and Luke was proud of him for it. But there was the matter of Jess's previous relationship with Rory, who would be the maid of honor. Luke and Lorelai's marriage would make Rory and Jess step-cousins, which would be awkward, to say the least, if things were still unresolved between them.

"I'm marrying Lorelai," Luke told Jess on the phone.

"Well, it's about damn time," Jess replied. "Congratulations."

"So, if you're not doing anything May 20th," Luke continued, "I'd…I'd like it if you could be my best man."

Jess paused, only for a few seconds. "All right," he said finally.

"You sure?" Luke asked uncertainly. "You're going to be okay with this? You know Rory will be the maid of honor."

Jess sighed. "Well," he said, "I haven't talked to her in…a long time." Jess sounded like he was avoiding saying something there, but Luke opted not to ask what. "But…well, maybe I'll call her or e-mail her or something. It'll be good for us to…get some closure before the wedding…hopefully we will."

"Closure," Luke repeated.

"Yeah. Did I tell you?" Luke could almost hear Jess smiling over the phone. "I met someone."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "No, I definitely would have remembered that," he said. "Who is she?"

"Her name is Leanne." Luke could hear the affection in his nephew's voice as he spoke. "I met her in GED class."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. She's great. We have a lot in common, you know, similar backgrounds, similar taste in books and music…she's even gotten me to quit smoking."

"Well! I like her already."

"What about Rory?" Jess asked. "Is she seeing anyone?"

"She's dating a guy named Ethan. Met him at school."

"Good!" Jess did sound genuinely happy, and Luke was glad.

"So you'll be there for the wedding?"

"Of course I will."

Luke smiled. "Thank you, Jess," he said. "I really appreciate this."

"No problem," Jess replied. "It's the least I can do, you know?"

(asterisk)

There were moments when Luke could feel his parents' presence. His wedding day was one of them. He woke up that day and could almost see their faces beaming at him with pride on the happiest day of his life. They would have loved their new daughter-in-law. Sometimes when he felt them it made him sad, but that day it made him infinitely happier. It was like poetic justice that the two people he wanted to be there the most could be there after all, in spirit.

The rehearsal dinner had been the night before. Jess and Rory had talked, and Luke had finally believed that they had closure with their relationship and could move on. Kirk had brought his entire collection of ties to ask Luke's opinion on which one best matched the wedding's color scheme. T.J. had lamented the lack of male tights at this wedding, and Lorelai had confided to him that she'd been trying her wedding dress on every day since she'd gotten it.

Now, as he watched her walk down the aisle on her father's arm, Luke couldn't believe how beautiful she was. He literally lost his breath as he watched her walk toward him, radiant in her long, white gown. He couldn't remember ever feeling this happy in his life. Here she was, the most beautiful, amazing woman in the world, and she was marrying him. Out of all the men in the world, he was the one who got to marry Lorelai Victoria Gilmore.

"Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

She was standing there with tears in her eyes and the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen on her face.

"I do," he breathed.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife."

He stepped forward and kissed her, and a new life began.

To be continued…

A/N: Just so you know, a ton of stuff is going to happen in Chapter 6, so it might take awhile to write. I will update as soon as I can.

Lyrics by Jim Steinman