Author's Note: Thanks again for the reviews. I hope you continue to enjoy this story. There will be one more chapter after this. Alas, I still don't own Gilmore Girls...

Three days later Luke and T.J. were leaving the tuxedo rental shop. The wedding was one night away. Luke and Lorelai had held their rehearsal dinner the previous evening. Half the town was there, but most importantly for Luke and Lorelai, Emily and Richard both showed up and seemed to have a fairly good time. Luke was glad that, for the time being anyway, Lorelai and Emily had called a truce.

Luke felt that he should have felt relief, but over the course of the last few days he seemed get more and more tense. He hadn't seen Lorelai for two days prior to the rehearsal dinner and he seemed to feel more stress when she wasn't around asking him thousands of questions.

"I still think you should have gone with tights," T.J. told Luke as they walked out of the tuxedo rental shop. "It's fine T. J.," Luke said slinging the garment bag over his shoulder.

"You'd be comfortable, your boys would be comfortable, comfort is a must on your wedding day buddy," T. J. continued.

"I'll be comfortable," Luke replied irritably.

"See, now that response doesn't seem like you're gonna be comfortable," T.J. remarked.

"T.J.," Luke snapped. "I will be comfortable, my boys will be comfortable and everything will be fine."

"Fine," T.J. said as they made their way back to the car in silence.

"Hey T.J.," Luke said casually as he put the truck into drive. "Were you nervous before you married Liz?"

"Nah," T.J. replied. "I was more nervous about my brother hittin' on Liz than I was about marrying her. Why, you nervous?"

"No," Luke replied unconvincingly. "I just wondered."

"Look, you and Lorelai seem like a great couple," T.J. said. "I wouldn't have offered to recreate civilization with you two if I didn't think so. Being nervous is natural."

"But you weren't nervous when you married Liz," Luke replied.

"Not really," T.J. said. "I mostly just wanted to get it over with."

"She's just been so busy planning and working that we haven't seen each other much," Luke said, more talking out loud than directly to T.J.

"See, you miss her that's a good sign," T.J. said as they drove through town. "You're just gettin' cold feet. How'd you get through your first wedding?"

"I was mind-numbly drunk," Luke replied honestly.

"I'll bring tequila to the wedding," T.J. offered.

"I don't need you to bring tequila to the wedding," Luke protested.

"I'm just saying, you might need Jose to make a special appearance to get you through," T.J. replied.

"Thanks T.J.," Luke said in tone that clearly indicated the conversation was over.

Luke pulled up in front of Liz and T.J.'s house and T.J. unbuckled his seat belt.

"See you tomorrow buddy," T.J. said. "Liz and I will be at the diner at 9 sharp."

"See you then," Luke replied as T.J. slammed the door and Luke stared to pull away. "Oh and T.J. don't tell Liz that I rented a tuxedo. I want to surprise Lorelai."

"Got it," T.J. said walking away.

Luke was about to make a right to go back to the diner when he changed his mind. Instead he sat at the stop sign and pulled out his cell phone.

"Is this the future Mr. Gilmore?" Lorelai's voice chirped into the phone.

Luke smiled hearing her voice and her question. Lorelai had been telling him for weeks that she wasn't changing her last name. In actuality she was probably going to hyphenate it, but she kept trying to get Luke to take her last name instead.

"No, I'm sorry I must have the wrong number," he teased her.

"That's too bad because the future Mr. Gilmore is one lucky guy," Lorelai replied.

"You know I've heard the same thing about the future Mrs. Danes," Luke replied.

"Hmm, those two crazy kids sound like they're pretty lucky," Lorelai said. "So what are you up to?"

"I just had an excruciatingly long drive to pick up my wedding clothes with T.J.," Luke said. "No one else was able to go. I basically spent the last half hour listening to T.J. try to talk me into wearing "air pants" at the wedding."

"Honey the only person wearing tights at wedding is going to be little Colgate," Lorelai said.

"I told him as much," Luke agreed.

"Good," Lorelai chuckled.

"So," Luke said slowly. "How are the last minute details coming?"

"Good," Lorelai said. "It's great that Rory is home now. She's been bundling Jordan almonds like the kids in Kathie Lee Gifford's sweat shops all afternoon."

"So you're almost done with things then," Luke said hopefully.

"Not really," Lorelai said. "Bundling almonds is the least of my worries right now."

"Oh," Luke said dejectedly.

"You okay?" Lorelai asked.

Luke paused for a minute before he answered. "I miss you," Luke said.

"Aw, Luke," Lorelai cooed.

"I haven't seen you in three days because of work and planning and fittings," Luke said. "And I just want to see you."

"I miss you too," Lorelai said seriously. "But I saw you last night."

"Yeah you saw me at the rehearsal dinner. That doesn't count," Luke said.

"I guess not," Lorelai said.

"Good, then I'm coming over."

"No," Lorelai said quickly.

"Why?" Luke said pulling his truck into drive and turning left towards Lorelai's street.

"Well we've talked on the phone every day for the passed three days," Lorelai said.

"But I want to see you," Luke said again.

"But it's bad luck," Lorelai said rushing downstairs to Rory's room.

"It's bad luck if I see you tomorrow," Luke said. "I'm coming to see you now."

Lorelai dashed frantically through the living and to Rory's door. She made such a commotion that Rory looked up from the tulle and almonds spread out on her bed. Lorelai began to make frantic gestures, which Rory understood immediately.

"But, there are things here that you can't see," Lorelai protested.

"Don't you want me to come over?" Luke asked.

"I do," Lorelai said smiling as she realized the words she said. "But I'm, you can't because right now—"

"She's in her dress again Luke," Rory yelled into the phone as she helped extricate Lorelai from the dress.

"Hey," Lorelai said as she swatted Rory on the arm. "Remind me not to tell you any government secrets."

"You're in your dress again?" Luke asked amused.

"It's pretty," Lorelai said in a child-like voice.

"You know this dress has gotten quite a build up," Luke informed her. "I'd kind of like to see it myself."

Just then Lorelai heard a knock at the door that echoed through the phone. Both Lorelai and Rory and turned their heads toward the sound of the knock at the front door.

"Lucas Danes," Lorelai said in a very threatening tone. "You better not be at the front door."

Lorelai shooed Rory out to answer the door as she carefully slipped out of the wedding dress. She delicately laid the gown over the back of the chair and scrambled to find a pair of sweats and a shirt among Rory's things.

"I'm staying on the porch," Luke said. "I won't even come in. I'll wait for you to come outside."

"You better be telling the truth," Lorelai said as she slipped on sweats.

"I am, right Rory?" Luke said.

"I've got him cornered outside Mom," Rory yelled into the phone, or through the front door. Lorelai couldn't really be sure which.

"Good, bye," Lorelai said as she hung up the phone and pulled a Yale T-shirt over her head.

Lorelai ran her hand through her hair and she was suddenly very glad she decided against putting her tiara and garter belts on. She took one last glance at herself in the mirror. Even though she was marrying Luke in the morning she still wanted to look good for me. Scanning the sweats and T-shirt Lorelai began to think she looked like a model from the Yale merchandise catalog.

Lorelai bounded through the front door and saw Luke and Rory talking in the corner of the porch, just as Luke said. Rory quickly said her good-byes as Lorelai approached. Rory shut the door to the house and got to work hanging up Lorelai's dress. Lorelai slowly approached Luke with a sly smile.

"So what brings you—" she was cut off.

Luke pulled her quickly into his arms and placed his lips on her passionately. For a moment his lips gently caressed hers. Then he pulled her closer still and ran his tongue over her bottom lip. Lorelai responded by opening her mouth slightly and their tongues danced a well-choreographed dance as Luke ran his hands down Lorelai's hips. Her hands pulled Luke's head closer and when she finally pulled away she rested her forehead on Luke's chest, breathless.

"Well hello to you too," Lorelai said.

Luke still held his arms around her hips, but pulled back his head and lowered his chin slightly. "I told you I missed you."

"You saw me yesterday," Lorelai reminded him taking him by the hand and pulling him over to the whicker couch on the porch.

"But I couldn't do that yesterday," Luke said.

"Very true," Lorelai agreed as the sat. Lorelai didn't let go of Luke's hand as they sat next to each other. Lorelai lazily rested her head on Luke's shoulder as he put one arm over her shoulder and held her hand.

"So are you all set for tomorrow?" Lorelai asked. "Suit, shoes, ring?"

"All set," Luke said more confidently than he meant to. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," Lorelai said closing her eyes while Luke gently rubbed his thumb up and down her shoulder.

"Are you nervous?" Luke asked.

"About getting married?" Lorelai asked opening her eyes and turning toward him.

"Yeah," he replied a little unsure.

"Honestly, I'm not nervous," Lorelai said. "Which is weird for me because I have a tendency to freak over big things like this."

Lorelai observed Luke's reaction to her admission and she suddenly got a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. She removed Luke's hand from over her shoulder as she propped herself up and looked Luke directly in the eyes.

"But you're nervous," Lorelai said.

"No," Luke lied, shifting uncomfortably.

"You don't want to marry me," Lorelai said in a panicked tone. She pulled away from Luke and looked down at the ground. She couldn't believe this was happening. She suddenly realized what Max must have felt when she called off their wedding. 'Getting a taste of your medicine is a bitter pill,' Lorelai thought to herself.

"No," Luke said forcefully. He placed his hand on her chin and turned her face toward him. "I want to marry you. I love you. I don't want you to think that I don't. I'm just…this is scary for me."

Once she saw the sincerity in Luke's eyes Lorelai felt her heartbeat regulate again. She reached out and slapped on the arm.

"Ow," Luke said pulling back and holding his arm. "That hurt."

"That's what you get for making you think you didn't want to marry me," Lorelai pouted. "God, I think my heart almost stopped."

"I'm sorry," Luke tried to hide his smile at her overreaction. "I didn't think saying I was nervous would make you think I don't want to marry you."

"Well it did," Lorelai said. She was relieved and she leaned forward and took Luke's arm in her hands.

"I'm sorry I hit you," she said lifting his arms to her lips and gently kissing it.

"Don't worry about it," Luke said. "I probably deserved it anyway."

"You did. Why are you nervous?" Lorelai asked him seriously.

"Because this is a big deal," Luke said. "We're getting married."

"I know," Lorelai smiled at him. She leaned back and lifted her legs up off the ground. She spread them out across Luke's lap and he comfortably placed his arms on top of them.

"No you don't get it," Luke sighed. "You're gonna move the milk and I'm gonna put up bookshelves. I'm gonna go to bed when you want to stay up and you're gonna change the preset radio stations in my truck. Your parents are gonna want to franchise my diner and I'm gonna be drunk golfing all the time."

Lorelai tried to suppress a small smile. Somehow she was slightly comforted by Luke's sudden freak out. She was feeling worry-free and calm, but somewhere deep inside the lack of panic worried her. She was almost relieved to see that Luke was panicked enough for the both of them.

"Luke," Lorelai said gently patting his back. "Things are going to be fine. In case you haven't noticed, I move the milk now, I changed your presets a long time ago and I like tucking you into bed early sometimes. As for my parents, you don't have to worry about them. You never have to go golfing with my father again and I'm not letting them touch your diner."

"I know, but I'm still not sure I'm good at this," Luke said.

"Good at what?" Lorelai asked.

"Marriage," Luke said. "Look what happened with Nicole."

"What happened with Nicole?" Lorelai asked as if she didn't know.

"I failed," Luke said simply. "I failed her. I failed me. I just couldn't hack it."

Luke glanced at Lorelai and he could tell she didn't understand what he was trying to tell her. He thought for a moment and then took a deep breath.

"I can't fail you like that," Luke said. "I care about you too much to hurt you. I care about Rory too much to hurt her. I just feel like, aside from opening the diner, this is the most important thing that I've ever done. I don't trust myself sometimes."

"Don't trust yourself with what?" Lorelai asked puzzled.

"With you," he replied as if it was obvious. "In case you didn't notice you're the most important person in my life. I can't stand the thought of letting you down or not being good enough. What if you wake up a year from now and you're sick of me? You can't stand that you have to drag me to town festivals or you grow to despise flannel."

Now it was Lorelai's turn to take Luke's chin in her hand. She leaned in and gently tilted Luke's face toward her.

"That's never gonna happen," she said confidently. "You will always be good enough for me. Sometimes I wonder if I'm good enough for you. And you might let me down, just like I might let you down, but the point is that nothing is going to change the way I feel about you."

"You can't be sure," Luke replied quietly.

Lorelai moved her legs from Luke's lap and tucked them under her as she scooted closer to him on the bench.

"You know stubborn I can be?" Lorelai asked him.

"Of course," Luke replied.

"Well then believe me when I say that nothing is going to change my feelings for you," Lorelai replied as she picked up Luke's hand and interlaced her fingers with his. "Look at that, I don't even know where my hand ends and yours begins."

They sat there quiet for a moment just sitting with their fingers intertwined. Lorelai had once again rested her head on Luke's shoulder.

"Hey, I have an idea," Lorelai said suddenly.

"What's that?" Luke asked.

"Well, my Mom told me what you said about me," Lorelai said. "She said you told her that you believed in me more than you believed in yourself."

"I might have said something like that," Luke said bashfully.

"Well I already have something old, something new and something blue," Lorelai said. "But I need something borrowed. So I was thinking that maybe I could borrow your belief in me and you could borrow my belief in you. In case I haven't told you, I believe in you and trust you more than anyone, even more than myself."

"Right back at ya," Luke said.

"So, do we have a deal?" Lorelai said. "No more freaking out about getting married because you're borrowing my faith in you."

"Deal, as long as you know that I have the same faith in you," Luke said leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on Lorelai's lips. "I'm sorry I freaked out."

"Don't be," Lorelai replied. "It was actually a little comforting to see you in panic mode."

"Thanks a lot," Luke said dryly.

"You still want to marry me, right?" Lorelai asked hesitantly.

Luke moved away from Lorelai and he kneeled on the porch in front of her. Luke took Lorelai's left hand in his and held it for a moment.

"Lorelai I would love nothing more than for you to be wife," Luke said looking her in the eyes. "Will you still marry me?"

"Yes," Lorelai smiled at him. "I would love to make you Mr. Gilmore," she teased him again.

"Ah, jeez," Luke mumbled. He rolled his eyes as leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss before sitting next to her again.

"You know, I don't feel so panicked now," Luke said.

"Good," Lorelai said patting his leg. "Because honestly the wedding is the least of your problems tomorrow. Between the kissing in public, eating cake, dancing and the little surprise I have cooked up for you, the actual ceremony is the least of your worries."

"Thanks," Luke said. "That makes me feel so much better."

"I knew it would," Lorelai smiled.

"Okay," Luke said. "I'm gonna go so I can get some things taken care of and you can put your wedding dress back on."

"I am not going to put my wedding dress back on," Lorelai lied aghast at his accusation.

"Right," Luke nodded as he stood up. "Well give my regards to your veil."

"It's a tiara for your information," Lorelai informed him sticking out her tongue.

Luke leaned down and gave her a long, lingering kiss before pulling away. "So I'll see you tomorrow," he said. "I'll be the GQ'ed guy up front looking extremely uncomfortable."

"And barring any coffee accidents I'll be the gorgeous woman in white," Lorelai said with a grin.

"Coffee stains or not, you'll still be the most gorgeous woman there," Luke said with a wink as he walked away.

"Sure, you perfect the flirting just when you don't have to do it anymore," Lorelai called.

"Goodnight Lorelai Gilmore," Luke called behind him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Plan on it," Lorelai replied with a smile.

TBC