Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.

Chapter 35

Luke and Lorelai arrived at the Hartford Airport on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Jess dropped the truck off for them half an hour before their flight arrived. After loading the bags into the back of the truck, Luke and Lorelai got in and headed home.

"Do you think the town changed?" Lorelai asked.

"I've lived in Stars Hollow all my life and it hasn't changed at all," Luke replied.

"You never know Luke. Maybe while we were gone those Extreme Make Over: Home Edition guys came to town and changed everything."

"I highly doubt it. If anything changed in that town, Taylor would have a heart attack."

"He had a few changes made to Stars Hollow."

"Changes he wanted or couldn't stop from happening. If he had the power, Taylor would have everyone on a baby schedule."

It wasn't long before they passed the sign that said 'Welcome to Stars Hollow'. When the townspeople spotted the truck, they waved, cheered, and/or honked their horns as the newlyweds passed.

"These people don't have anything better to do in the middle of a Sunday?" Luke asked.

"Oh stop it," Lorelai said, swatting Luke's arm. "You know you like the fact that everyone in town stopped what they were doing to welcome us home."

"What could they possibly miss us for? Jess was running the diner and Michel was at the inn."

"Review your last statement. Oh look! It's Patty. What is she pointing at?"

Luke heard Lorelai gasp as they drove through town square. "What? What's wrong?"

"They put up banners."

"What?" Luke looked around and noticed there were 'Welcome home Luke and Lorelai' banners hanging above Patty's studio, Doose's, the bookstore, and Kim's Antiques. "Ah jeez."

"Don't worry. They're gonna take them down. Hey, can you speed it up a little? I'm getting sleepy and I'm not feeling well."

"Again? Honey, you've been getting sick all week. Maybe you should call the doctor."

"I'll make an appointment for tomorrow."

"Good. In the meantime, just sit back and try to relax. We'll be home in a minute."

It was silent the rest of the way home. When Luke pulled into the driveway, he turned to Lorelai and found her fast asleep. He didn't have the heart to wake her. She'd been so tired lately, he was afraid something was wrong. Luke got out of the truck and walked around to Lorelai's side. He picked her up and carried her to the door.

They were half way up the porch when Lorelai woke up. "Luke?" she called, still half asleep. "Where are we?"

"We're at home," Luke replied.

"Why are you carrying me?"

"You were asleep. I didn't want to wake you."

"Although I love the idea of you carrying me over the threshold, you did it when we were on the honeymoon and once is enough. You can put me down now."

"I was never one for tradition anyway," Luke joked as he put Lorelai down.

"I wonder where Rory is. Her car isn't here and she won't answer her phone."

"I'm sure she's just hanging out with Logan or something." He unlocked the door and opened it.

They made their way to the living room and Rory, Logan, Jess, Sookie, Jackson, Liz, T.J., Kirk, Lulu, and Michel all jumped out from their hiding places and yelled "Surprise!" Rory immediately ran over to the newlyweds and hugged them.

"I missed you guys so much!" she said.

"We missed you too sweets," Lorelai smiled, smoothing her daughter's hair.

"Luke, can you make some coffee? Logan sucks at it."

"I'll make a pot in a minute," Luke laughed.

"Gee Luke, you really got away from your trendy ways on your trip," Jess joked, noticing Luke a plaid short-sleeved shirt and jean shorts.

"Come on bro, step outside the box for once," Liz added. She smiled and hugged her brother and new sister-in-law. "Would you look at you two. You're such a beautiful couple. See Lorelai, I told you you'd make a wonderful sister-in-law."

"They made me come," Michel interrupted. "I did not want to come, but Sookie threatened to put me on horse duty again."

"Quiet you," Sookie said, swatting Michel's arm. "Honey, it's great to have you home. If you were gone another day, we'd be serving French food and I'm not talking escargot."

"And your vegetables are growing beautifully," Jackson added.

"Thanks for taking care of things guys. I really appreciate it," Lorelai said.

"Luke, I want you to know I made sure things were in order at the diner while you were gone," Kirk said. "Jess and Logan did a fine job running it. Lane and that new guy Colin were great, but you might want to think about replacing the weird British guy."

"I'll keep that in mind," Luke said with a smirk.

"I can't believe you guys threw us a welcome home party. You didn't have to and this is just so…so..." Lorelai trailed off, feeling a little funny. A second later, she collapsed.

Luke instinctively caught his wife in his arms as he yelled, "Lorelai!"

The next night, Logan took Rory out to eat in New Haven after their classes. For the last month, they were driving back and forth between Yale and Stars Hollow to take care of things at the inn and the diner. After being ushered to their table, Logan pulled out a chair for Rory before taking his own across from her. "So, how's your Mom?" Logan asked, trying to make conversation.

"She's feeling better," Rory replied with a sigh. "She came to after you guys brought in the luggage and left. Then she mumbled something to Luke about Chad Michael Murray and fell asleep again."

"That guy's over-rated."

"Don't be jealous. Anyway, she said she was fine this morning and she fainted because she was tired. She should be at the doctor as we speak."

"I hope she feels better."

"So do I. Luke said she's been sick all week and it's worrying me. I'm sure she's fine. And if there's anything wrong, she'll call you in a heartbeat."

"You're probably right."

"I'm always right." Rory laughed at her boyfriend's smugness. "How are your parents liking married life?"

"They love it. Yesterday, after Mom's second nap, they showed me a million pictures from the honeymoon and the home video they made. Nothing dirty, just Mom following Luke around, which naturally annoyed the heck out of him."

"It wouldn't be Luke if he wasn't mad."

"It was so cute. Oh, then Rachel and Max stopped by to drop off the pictures and the video Grandma had made of the wedding. They ended up staying to look through all the pictures and watch the videos. Mom got tired again so she went to bed and Jess went to his room to read while Luke and I stayed up and watched a Back to the Future marathon."

"Sounds like a blast."

"It was."

"I'm glad you had a good time with your step-dad."

"Thank you."

Logan lowered his gaze to his plate. "You're perfect," he stated matter-of-factly.

"I'm not perfect."

"Yes you are. You're smart, funny, beautiful…you're all I could have ever asked for. You're amazing and I don't wanna lose you."

"You're not going to lose me."

"I know, I just want to be sure." Logan reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. He opened it and revealed a ring to Rory. "Now before you jump to any conclusions, I'm not proposing. I want you to know I'm serious about us. I'm not gonna run and one day, when we're both ready, I will propose. That's what this is for. It's a promise ring."

"I don't need a ring to remind me how you feel."

"If your mom knew you were passing up jewelry, she'd kill you."

"I never said I was passing up the ring. I just said I don't need it to remind me." They laughed.

Logan removed the ring from the box and slipped it onto Rory's finger. "There. Perfect."

"That's just what I was thinking." Logan smiled at Rory. She was in for a big surprise.

Luke busied himself on his first day back to the diner. He needed to get his mind off of Lorelai. He was really worried about her. She was edgy and nervous this morning after locking herself in the bathroom for half an hour. On top of that, she got sick again. He contemplated not going to work, but Lorelai wouldn't let him stay home. She said he was getting worked up over nothing and practically shoved him out the door.

Luke couldn't wait for Lorelai's doctor's appointment to be over. Hopefully they'd know what was wrong. He hoped she'd stop by after her appointment, but she didn't. There was no answer at home and her cell went straight to voice mail. Once he got off work, Luke hopped into his truck and drove home as fast as he could. He took the porch steps two at a time and hurried inside.

"Lorelai!" he called. "Lorelai, you home?"

"I'm in the livingroom!" Lorelai replied. Luke hung his jacket and headed to the other room. She was just sitting on the couch. She looked...eager. She smiled at him and gave him a kiss when he walked over to her. "Hey."

"Hey to you too."

"How was work?"

"Busy, but it died down."

"Where's Jess?"

"Out getting a beer with Dean. He'll be home in a few hours." They sat on the couch. "I thought you were coming to the diner after your appointment."

"I got side tracked."

"I tried calling you."

"Phone's dead and I wasn't home."

"Where'd you go?"

"The mall."

"You enjoy yourself?"

"Shoe sale."

"Of course, because you don't have enough shoes as is."

"Oh and I got you a new suit for you to wear to Friday night dinner."

"Ah jeez. I have a suit."

"Well, now you have two."

"How'd the appointment go?"

"It was fine."

"What did the doctor say about the sickness and tiredness. Did you tell him you fainted?"

"Yes, I told him I fainted."

"And?"

"Nothing. He said I'm fine."

"You're kidding right?"

"Nope."

"Maybe we should take you to another doctor."

"That's ok. Do you want a beer?"

"Uh, sure." Luke was about to get up to get himself a beer, but Lorelai stopped him.

"I'll get it for you. But before I get the beer..." Lorelai reached over the side of the couch. She pulled out a bag and handed it to Luke. "That's for you. You open that and I'll get your beer."

"Why are you acting so weird?"

"I'm not. Just open it ok?" With that, she headed to the kitchen.

Luke sighed and reached inside the bag. He removed the contents of the bag: a tiny flannel shirt. "You bought my Build-A-Bear an extra shirt?" There was no response from the kitchen. He noticed a small piece of paper sticking out of the pocket and pulled it out. He read what was on the paper and slowly pieced it all together. The sickness, the tiredness, the fainting, and the tiny flannel shirt. It all made sense now. Three little words printed neatly on a piece of paper in Lorelai's handwriting changed his life in a heartbeat: It was blue.

Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": It's Friday night and that means dinner at the Gilmores! But when Sookie and Jackson suddenly come down with a bad- and very contagious- cold, Luke and Lorelai are called to baby sitting duty. Their parenting skills are tested when they bring the Mellville boys to Friday night dinner. Luke and Lorelai plan to tell Richard and Emily about the baby at dinner and there's a bigger audience than they expected. Luke makes an announcement that doesn't sit very well with someone at the table.