Chapter Twenty-Two

Lorelai and Luke spent the next few weeks alternating nights between her house and his. Whenever she had trouble finding something, she knew she had left it at his place. Luke knew several of his flannels were hanging in her closet and that his boxers were neatly folded in one of her drawers. And they both agreed that it was a crazy way to live, but it was also very nice

Life was pretty good in Stars Hollow. Everyone stared at the pair of them when they went out together but they didn't say much. All the townies seemed to be pretty happy about it and the novelty was finally starting to wear off. Their coupling was totally expected and now it was a done deal. Taylor had won the pool of course. That irritated the heck out of Luke but Lorelai found it funny. Taylor had wasted no time in telling Nicole and Luke had received a note from her. It had been formal and cold but she had wished them well. Jason had never shown up again. Rumor was that he had moved to New York. Luke joked that maybe he and Nicole would meet there. They seemed like two of a kind.

Lorelai's parents were trying to work it out. They were sleeping in the same house again although not in the same bed yet. She and Luke had met them for dinner one night and shared their news. Richard had seemed surprised but Emily said she had seen it coming for a long time. Both of her parents seemed honestly pleased about the engagement. They both knew Luke was a good man and that he also loved Rory like a daughter. Emily offered to help plan the wedding but Luke and Lorelai explained that it wasn't necessary. Not much planning was needed and most of the decisions had already been made -- wedding at the inn, Sookie catering, the first night spent in the honeymoon suite, and then off to Aruba for gambling, shopping and relaxing in the sun. They didn't mention that Lorelai had just gone off the pill and they would be seriously trying to expand their new family. They were both sort of giddy about that. They had talked about it every night for days and now they couldn't wait to make it happen. Lorelai had warned him that their nice little life would never be the same. But Luke thought it was worth the chance. When Luke had finally admitted just how much he wanted to be a father, Lorelai had thrown the pills away that very night. The sex had continued to be wonderful....each time better than the last as they learned even more about pleasing the other. Trying to get pregnant just made it all the sweeter.

Rory finally made it home. She brought the jerk with her. Lorelai found him to not be a jerk at all, although Luke bristled a bit when ever he touched Rory. Lorelai teased him about being a protective father. Rory loved the job at the newspaper and sometimes stayed in town with her grandparents. On those nights Luke and Lorelai already felt like an old married couple. They didn't have to worry about the noise, their attire or sneaking off to make love whenever they were in the mood. And lately, they were in the mood a lot.

Rory's boyfriend often visited her when she stayed with her grandparents. Richard and Emily liked him and usually invited him to stay over. They didn't know that on those nights he silently stole into Rory's room. They would have been mortified. But Rory loved him and sleeping with him was wonderful. Lorelai knew what was going on. She didn't fully approve but she didn't feel she could say much. They were young but really seemed to love each other. She made sure Rory was on a safe and permanent form of birth control. Lorelai kept her fingers crossed that the only pregnant Gilmore Girl would be her.

Luke and Lorelai getting married was the biggest thing that had happened in Stars Hollow in years. It was a beautiful fall afternoon, warm and sunny and the whole town turned out. Many tears were shed but everyone agreed that there had never been a more beautiful or a more meaningful wedding. The couple had written their own vowels and repeated them solemnly to each other; quietly, distinctly and with eyes only for each other. It was almost too private a moment to witness. But when the minister finally introduced the newly married couple, everyone clapped and cheered. Luke beamed with pride and Lorelai exuded pure joy and happiness. They walked down the aisle holding hands and when they walked out into the sunshine he pulled her into a passionate kiss. A more personal one than the kiss they had shared in front of their guests.

The reception ran long into the night. Liz and TJ came and Liz took credit for having started it all. Jess came to be Luke's best man. Rory and her new guy were there. Everybody noticed that they were solidly joined at the hip. Jess was envious but hid it well. Dean never looked her way. He had stayed with Lindsay and they were still trying to work it out. Luke's fishing buddies tried to convince Lorelai that she had just made a huge mistake. Having lived with Luke for years, they gave it a few months. Lorelai teased back that they had lived with him but never slept with him so they shouldn't talk. The guys told Luke he was a very lucky man and didn't deserve such a beauty. And of course, they dangled the boat keys in front of the couple. Luke laughed but Lorelai just smiled sweetly, pretending she didn't know what they were doing.

Everyone thought that Lorelai glowed with happiness because of the wedding. But the truth was that she and Luke had accomplished their goal. She had just found out that morning that she was pregnant. The timing was a little off but it didn't matter. Lorelai had whispered the news to Luke during their first dance....a waltz of course. It seemed appropriate somehow to tell him then. The first time they had danced together at Liz's wedding had started this whole chain of events. Luke had stopped in the middle of the dance and taken her into his arms and kissed her. The guests thought that it was because he had finally gotten his dream. And truthfully, it was........

Eight months later Lorelai gave birth to twins – Madison Lorelai and William Lucas, both dark haired beautiful babies. She had waddled all over town for months and Luke had watched over her like a hawk. He had spent every spare moment building a new wing onto their old house because she couldn't bear to leave it. He had broken down and bought a mini van but kept the old green truck. Like her house, he couldn't bear to let it go and drove it whenever he was alone. As the twins grew up it was obvious that Luke and Lorelai had spawned their exact duplicates. Will was quiet, quick tempered and a boy of few words who turned into a handsome man who observed more than he spoke. Madison was a mischievous little tot with long dark hair and a smile that never stopped. She grew into a dark haired beauty that charmed everyone with her sparkling personality. Luke shot daggers at any young guy who dared to pursue her. As different as they were, they were the best of friends. They were inseparable during their teenage years, attended the same college and shared an apartment the whole four years.

Luke and Lorelai were married over fifty years. It was a long and happy union but it wasn't totally without turmoil. Everyone in town knew when things weren't going well in the Dane's household. Luke would grump around the diner, muttering to himself and barking at his customers. Then he would just up and leave in the middle of the afternoon, buy half of the stock from the flower shop and head home. The next morning he would show up with a goofy grin on his face and offer free coffee to all. The pattern only changed twice. Those two times Lorelai showed up in the middle of the dinner rush with her arms full of red roses. She dragged him up to the old apartment and neither were seen again until late the next morning. When they did reappear, they tried to hide their grins as they put vases of roses on each table. No one ever figured out what those battles had been about although there was much speculation. Their fights were stormy and hot but quickly over. They just couldn't stay away from each other. The spark that had taken so long to ignite burned brightly until the end of their married life.

Luke and Lorelai finished off their years in that house. They watched the twins grow and go off to college. Rory married her jerk and presented them with three grandchildren. Her jerk turned out to be a real catch--one of the Boston Fairchild's—Cameron Chase Fairchild III to be exact, third generation Yalie and equal partner with his father in a small but very prosperous family company. Rory dated him for six months before she realized all of that. Needless to say, Richard was very pleased.

The twins went out into the world, married and gave them six more grandchildren. Every weekend all their kids came home bringing spouses and the grandchildren. The house never lacked of love or laughter. They all enjoyed hearing all the tales of how their grandparents met and fell in love. Although they couldn't quite believe their grandparents had ever been that young, they never doubted the love, it was still so obvious.

Many summer weekends and some summer vacations were spent at the cabin with the kids. But mostly Luke and Lorelai would sneak there when they wanted to be alone. They swam naked and made love on the shore, the hot tub and sometimes the bed. The children knew not to visit when their parents were up there all alone. It was their personal private retreat.

Luke and Lorelai died together when they were in their nineties. They had flown to Aruba to revisit the place of their honeymoon. After breakfast they would walk the beach. Every afternoon they sat by the water holding hands. Most evenings they made love...not hot like it once was but sweet and tender. On the return trip, the plane went down over the ocean. Realizing those were probably their last few minutes together, they had grasped hands and smiled into each others eyes.

All of Stars Hollow mourned their loss, but they all agreed that it was exactly the way it should be. They had enjoyed a long, happy, and fruitful life. No one could imagine either of them living without the other. They were sure that Luke and Lorelai were in heaven looking down on all of them.....getting the last laugh in deed.

Rory was devastated to lose both of them at the same time. But she too couldn't imagine either of them without the other. She actually knew that they had been granted their wish. It was always a long standing feud between her mom and Luke -- who would go first. She had only seen her mother apologize twice to Luke for any of their fights. The first happened shortly after the twins were born. Lorelai had thought she might be pregnant again. When it turned out to be a false alarm, she had suggested to Luke that they have another. But he thought they should be happy with the three healthy happy children they already had. He wanted them to be able to travel before they got too old to enjoy it. The second and bigger blow out had been over who would go first. Lorelai wanted Luke to promise that she could go first. Luke went into full rant mode about fighting about something they had no control over and had stormed out of the house. Lorelai had collapsed on the sofa in tears. But the tears soon turned to laughter as she realized she was asking for the impossible. She had marched out of the house straight to the florist and bought every red rose they had in the place. Then she had gone to the diner and hadn't appeared again until the next day, happy and giggly like a young school girl.

Her mother was her best friend and her life's blood. As long as Rory could remember Luke had been a major part of her life. They had always been a family even before the marriage. Rory, widowed the year before, moved into the old house and kept an eye on the running of the Dragonfly. Her children had taken over the day-to-day operation. They wanted to keep their grandparents dream alive. Luke and Lorelai were buried on the grounds of the Dragonfly so that they would always be a part of the place they loved so much.

In Lorelai's office at the Dragonfly, surrounded by pictures and mementos of her mother's long life, Rory penned a best selling novel about the crazy beginnings and the wonderful life-long love affair of a couple named Luke and Lorelai.

She ended the book with this simple sentence.

The man of few words wants you to know that he loves you. And I will try to keep surprising you.

(Rory had found the note tucked away in Lorelai's jewelry box. It was yellowed with age but in perfect condition. )

And then she had added one of her own.

The man of few words loved her his whole life. And kept the surprises coming until the very end.

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In the front of the book was this simple dedication--

Thanks Luke for loving my mother so much.

Thanks mom for shaping the woman that I have become.

Thank both of you for giving me such a rich full life and setting such a wonderful loving example.

I love you both in death as I did in life.

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I have married this couple so many times I just couldn't face another wedding scene. And I do have a life other than this story so.....

Hope you enjoyed. Too sappy?? Hey it is fan fiction!! But you can always count on a happy ending from me. I too could never imagine Luke without Lorelai, or Lorelai without Luke.

And for the two questions about the title, just having fun with you. Disgarded is not a real word....sort of a combination of disregarded and discarded.... You can see in the real title it does say discarded.

Just a little tale of how one night changed lots of lives.

Now for the best part......Season Five......ASP bring it on!!! She's much better at this than I am.