3- "There's always Celine Dion."

Luke stood at the window of the hotel room he had booked for Lorelai and himself, looking at the view. Since they had gotten into Vegas so late - or early depending on how you looked at things - they had both agreed to wait until later that night to get married. That way they could spend the day relaxing and preparing.

Sighing quietly, Luke leaned forward and pressed his forehead against the glass. Not having slept all that well the past few nights, he was dead tired, but he just couldn't sleep. His mind kept thinking a thousand things at once, not the least of which was something that Lorelai had said on the plane. She had said that Anna didn't like her because she was in the way of Anna, April, and him becoming one big, happy family, an notion that made him at once both a little amused and a lot sad. How had he gone from the entire town of Stars Hollow knowing that he was in love with Lorelai - okay, maybe he HAD been pining - to neither Lorelai or Anna realizing how much Lorelai meant to him? And if he couldn't make the woman he had been in love with for almost 10 years realize just how he felt, how was he going to be a good husband to her? It wasn't that he didn't want to marry Lorelai. He had never wanted anything more. He just kept thinking of the huge mess he had made with the one other time he had made it to the altar. True, he and Nicole had only gotten married due to the large amounts of alcohol they had both consumed while on that cruise and he had never loved her, not in the slightest. If he was being completely truthful, he hadn't even really known her. Maybe that was the key to making things work with Lorelai. They already had a eight year friendship established before they had even gone on their first date. They had seen each other at their best and at their worst. He knew about her junk food habit and her obsessive coffee addiction. She knew about his like of protein drinks. He knew about her love of movie and pop culture and she knew about his hatred of all things Taylor. He knew about her distaste for her parent's world and everything it stood for and she knew he still had not painted over the order his dad had written on the counter. They knew how to push each other's buttons like no other person, but they also knew just how to make the other person smile and laugh. Maybe it was these things that when all added up made a good, solid marriage.

Luke was pulled out of his musing by a sound behind him. Turning around, he saw that Lorelai was just sitting up in bed. He secretly loved seeing her like this - no makeup, sleep tousled, and wearing one of his flannel shirts, though truthfully he liked it even more when she woke up without the shirt. "Morning, sleepyhead."

"Morning," Lorelai grumbled. "What time is it?"

Glancing at the clock, Luke answered, "Ten-thirty Stars Hollow time, but here in Vegas it's seven-thirty."

Lorelai flopped back down on the bed. "Stupid time changes."

Laughing softly, Luke crossed to his luggage and grabbed something out of the side pocket. He walked over to the kitchenette area of the room and began to make Lorelai some coffee, knowing that she would be asking for some soon. Turing back toward the bed, he said, "So, what are your plans for the day?"

"Uh, unless things have changed, getting married."

Sighing in mock aggravation, Luke replied, "No, those plans haven't changed, but I meant today during the day, not tonight."

Sitting up slightly, Lorelai said, "Sorry, you really need to clarify this early in the morning." She flashed Luke a cheeky grin, then continued, "As of right now I am planning on staying in this nice comfy bed and sleeping the morning away."

That had not been the answer Luke had been hoping for. Normally he would have no trouble at all with Lorelai wanting to spend the day in bed because she usually wanted him to join her, but he had something planned and he could not execute it with her in hearing range. Trying to think of a way to get Lorelai out of the room that did not raise her suspicions, he swung back toward the counter and poured Lorelai a cup of coffee. As he carried it over to her, he said, "Maybe this will help you jump start your day. And I won't even lecture you about how horrible it is for you. Consider it and early wedding present."

Lorelai sat up in bed and look the mug from Luke's outstretched hand. Luke watched in delight as her eyes widened as she took a sip. "This is . . .? How did . . .? Explain, mister."

Luke just shrugged. "For some strange reason you really seem to like my coffee. Since we are going to be gone for a week or so, I thought it best to bring some along - in the name of self-preservation, of course."

"Of course," Lorelai said as a small smile appeared on her face.

"I didn't want you whining all week," Luke teased.

"No, we wouldn't want that, would we."

"It would put a damper on the honeymoon."

Lorelai started laughing, softly. "Ah, now the truth comes out." She paused for a moment, then leaned forward and gave Luke a quick, but loving kiss. "Thank you. It was an incredibly sweet gesture."

"Just don't let anyone know. I do have a manly reputation to uphold."

This caused Lorelai to laugh again. "Your secret is safe with me."

They sat for a few moments in comfortable silence, then Lorelai suddenly spoke up. "Luke, to answer your earlier question, would you mind if I went and did some girly things like go shopping and getting my hair done? I don't want to leave you all by yourself, but even though we are having a kind of civil ceremony, I wanted to look nice. If you don't want to be alone, just say so and I . . ."

Putting his finger over her lips, Luke stopped Lorelai mid-ramble. "Lorelai, you're talking to Luke "Table for one" Danes, resident hermit of Stars Hollow. I'll be fine on my own. Go and do whatever you feel you need to in order to get ready for tonight, though I already think you look beautiful."

"Sweet talker," Lorelai answered, but Luke could tell she was pleased by the compliment. He made a mental note to do it more often. "So, Mr. Resident Hermit, what ARE you going to do to occupy your time?"

"Maybe I should check out some of the shows," Luke joked.

"There's always Celine Dion."

"Are you trying to turn me into Michel? I was thinking more along the lines of Wayne Newton."

"Better him than Tom Jones."

It was Luke's turn to laugh. "Darn, and that was what I had planned as a surprise for tomorrow."

Shaking her head, Lorelai go out of bed. "You're funny. I'm going to go grab a shower. Do you need in there before I do?"

"No, I'm good."

As Lorelai walked toward the bathroom, she called back over her shoulder. "You know, you could always join me."

Everything that was in him called to Luke to do just that, but he knew he could use the time that Lorelai was in the shower to begin implementing his wedding present to her. "If I do, you'll never get anything else done today."

"True, but it would be oh so enjoyable."

Luke had to agree. "You have no arguments from me on that but, just think, we'll have the whole week to ourselves to do just that."

"I'm holding you to that, mister," Lorelai said, and then shut the bathroom door.

Luke waited until he heard the water in the shower start, and then he walked over to the nightstand and picked up the phone. He knew he had about 5 minutes for Lorelai to take a shower and another five or so minutes as she got dressed, so he decided to start first with the most important person on his list. He dialed the number to get an outside line, then he dialed a cell number that he rarely called. After several rings, a familiar voice answered, "Hello."

"Hey, Rory. It's Luke."

"Oh, Hi, Luke. If you're looking for mom, she's not with me and I haven't talked with her for a day or two, so I'm not sure where she is."

Luke noticed that Rory sounded really down, but then he vaguely remembered Lorelai telling him that Rory's boyfriend, Logan, was moving to England for a year and he had to leave right after Yale let out. "No, I'm not looking for your mom. I already know where she is. That's actually what I'm calling you about."

"Is she all right? Did something happen to her?" Rory asked, the panic evident in her voice.

"Whoa, calm down. Nothing's wrong. Something good is happening . . . Your mom and I are getting married."

There was a pause on Rory's end, then she finally said, "Uh, Luke. I already knew that."

Luke sighed. "No, I meant your mom and I are getting married - tonight."

"What! When did this happen?"

"Just last night. Your mom came to the diner and said she wanted to elope, so I agreed," Luke explained.

"Why didn't she call and tell me?"

Hearing the hurt in Rory's voice, Luke quickly said, "I'm sure she's going to. We didn't get here until really late last night and she just now got up. She most likely thought you were seeing Logan off at the airport and didn't want to intrude on your time with him." When he heard Rory start to sniffle on the other end, he knew he needed to get to why he was calling. "Anyway, I know that you just finished exams and that you don't start your summer classes for two weeks, so I thought you might like to fly out here and come to the wedding."

"Where exactly are you guys anyway?"

"Vegas."

Rory's laughter could be heard over the phone. "Mom managed to convince you to go to Vegas. Wow, I'm impressed"

"Uh, actually it was my idea," Luke admitted.

"Well, then I'm even more impressed," Rory replied, and then she paused.. When she began again, her tone was filled with regret. "I would really love to, but my finances are all tapped out."

"I didn't say that you had to pay. I asked if you would like to come. All expenses will be handled, Oh, and if you want to bring a friend, I was thinking that you could stay until Tuesday or Wednesday, if you wanted. Kind of a mini-vacation to de-stress after exams."

When Rory began talking again, Luke could hear the tears in her voice. "Luke, you don't have to do that. I would love to be there, but it's really too expensive . . ."

"Rory," Luke interrupted, "don't worry about any of that. Your mom hasn't said anything, but I know she regrets that you aren't here to share this with her. She wants you here . . . I want you here. So, if you have no objections besides the money, there will be two tickets in under your name waiting for you at the Windsor terminal at the Hartford Airport. The flight leaves at three. I'll have a driver there to pick you up at the Vegas airport, bring you to your hotel, and then pick you up again when it's time to go to the chapel for the wedding."

"Thank you, Luke. It means so much to me that you are doing this," Rory said, quietly.

"Like I said, we both want you here. Oh, one more thing. Your mom know nothing about this, so if you talk to her, please don't give anything away."

"Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks, Rory," Luke said, internally sighing with relief.

"Well, since I am now taking an unexpected trip to Vegas, I have some packing to do. I'll see you later tonight. Oh, and Luke, congradulations."

"Thanks and have a safe flight." As Luke hung up the phone, he thought about the girl he just talked to. Like Lorelai, Rory held a special place in his heart and it made him grateful and extremely happy that she truly seemed to accept him into their lives. Next to Lorelai and April, Rory's approval was the one the mattered the most to him. After all, as Rory had once pointed out, he was going to be her stepfather, as fact that had not eluded him. He just had a hard time wrapping his mind around how he, Luke Danes disliker of children, had gone, in less than a year's time, from being childless to having a daughter, a stepdaughter, and actually wanting even more children.

Luke was again pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of Lorelai. As she walked out of the bathroom, she pulled her hair into a ponytail. She was wearing the jeans that Luke had once told her that worked as well for him as they did for her and a green "Hello Kitty" T-shirt that somehow only she seemed to be able to make extremely sexy. "Miss me?"

Luke chuckled. "Do you even have to ask?"

"Just making sure."

Lorelai walked over to the kitchenette and poured herself another cup of coffee. "Luke, are you sure you don't mind . . .?"

Walking over to join her, Luke softly kissed Lorelai's forehead. "Yes, I'm sure. Wasn't the whole reason for waiting until tonight to get married was so we would be relaxed. Well, I know how shopping and going to the spa relaxes you. Go, have a good time. Get all dolled up."

Looking into Luke's eyes, Lorelai smiled. "I love you, you know," she said softly.

"I know. I wouldn't be here if you didn't."

"Okay, if you are sure, then I am going to head off to see if I can beat some of the crowd." Lorelai put her cup of coffee down and crossed the room to where her luggage was. Grabbing her purse, she headed for the door. "Hey, how about I call you when I'm ready for lunch and we can meet up somewhere. That way, I get shopping and you."

"Should I be offended that I placed after shopping?" Luke teased. As Lorelai made a face at him and stuck out her tongue, he said, "Didn't your mother ever tell you that your face would freeze like that?"

"Nope. Never. Not once."

"Why don't I believe you? Oh, and lunch sounds good."

"I'll call you," Lorelai replied.

Just as Lorelai was walking out the door, Luke called, "Lorelai." After waiting for her to turn around, he said, "I love you, too."

Lorelai flashed him a smile and shut the door behind her. After waiting a few moments to make sure that Lorelai wasn't going to come back into the hotel room, Luke got back on the phone once more. His first call was to Sookie and after listening to about ten minutes of Sookie first gushing about how romantic just running off was, then yelling about how she was now not going to be able to use the recipes she had planned on for the wedding, and then start planning again when she learned of the reception Luke and Lorelai had already planned on in Stars Hollow when they got pack, he was finally able to made her and Jackson the same offer he had made Rory. That lead to another five minutes of squealing. Once he finally had Sookie and Jackson secured, he then picked up the phone to make the call that he had been dreading. Taking a deep breath, he punched in the number Lorelai had given him when they started dating and waited. After a few rings, the phone picked up and a crisp, sharp voice answered.

"You have reached 860-555-7592. We are unable to come to the phone at this exact moment, but leave your name, your telephone number, and a detailed description of the nature of your call. We will get back to you at our earliest convenience."

As he waited for the beep, Luke took another deep breath. Though he had not really wanted to talk to Lorelai's parents, he was just as unhappy to have gotten their answering machine. Oh well, at least this way they couldn't say that they hadn't tried to contact them. At the sound of the beep, he said, "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore, this is Luke Danes. I am sure you are surprised to hear from me and most likely will be even more so after I tell you why I am calling. Uh, Lorelai and I are in Vegas and we are planning to get married . . . tonight. We would have called you sooner, but this was just decided last night. I know that this is not what you pictured for your daughter and I hope that it will not cause any further tension between you, but this what she wanted to do and I am going to see that she gets whatever she wants. Anyway, I just wanted to say that if you would like to come to the wedding, I have two tickets waiting for you under your name at the Windsor terminal at the Hartford Airport. The flight leaves at three. A driver will be waiting to pick you up at the Vegas airport, bring you to your hotel, and then pick up up again when it's time to go to the chapel for the wedding. If you choose not to come tonight, please know that sometime within the month after we get back, we will be holding a reception for all of our family and friends that can't be with us today. I know this is short notice, but I also know your presence tonight will make Lorelai very happy. I hope to see you there."

After he hung up, Luke sat down on the bed, drained. He had never liked talking with Lorelai's parents, as they had never exactly hidden their dislike and distaste of him. But he knew that though Lorelai had never said anything, she would regret not having her parents there to share her wedding day, because if he had his way, it would be her one and only.

Sitting back on the bed, Luke settled in to make his last few calls to complete his wedding surprise for Lorelai. Plus, the quicker he could finish the calls, the sooner he could take a nap. Something told him that it was going to be a long night.

Author's Notes: Just in case you are wondering what happened to Paul Anka during the time the story takes place, he is with Babette. Lorelai merely told her that she was going out of town. My dog wanted to make sure that it was mentioned that no dogs were left unattended during the duration of this story. : )

On another note, I recently read a fanfiction story that had a similar premise to my story. The story was "One's Engaged, Two's Married" by LoveLuke. It was posted the day before I posted the first chapter of this story. I have written to the author and made sure they knew that any similarities I have in my story to any in their's were completely unintentional and merely coincidental. I never meant to make it look like I was stealing any ideas. I truly started writing this story about a week before "One's Engaged" was even posted. LoveLuke wrote back to me and said they never thought any plagiarism had taken place, which I am glad of. I just wanted to publicly mention this and state that I am against any and all forms of plagiarism. I hope this clears any misunderstandings and misgivings. Oh, and check out LoveLuke's story. It's a good read!

Again, I wanted to thank everyone who has been reading this story. To date, I have over 1,100 hits. I've NEVER had that many before. I would REALLY love to know what you think of this story so far. PLEASE REVIEW! I really do like the feedback and knowing what your thoughts are. Oh, and reviews do seem to make me write faster. ; )