Chapter 7 – "A Drunken Mistake"

'I'm Mrs. Luke Danes,' Lorelai thought to herself as she stood out on the balcony of her and Luke's room and watched the water show at the Bellagio. She couldn't believe it actually happened. She and Luke had really gotten married. Looking down at her left hand, she watched both her engagement and wedding rings catch the lights from The Strip. Closing her eyes, she tried to savor the moment. Suddenly, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her. Leaning back against Luke, she sighed in contentment. They stayed like that for a few moments, and then Luke whispered in her ear, "So, Mrs. Danes, what are you thinking about?"

Lorelai turned so she could look into Luke's face. She saw the happiness she was feeling reflected there. "About how much I love hearing myself called that."

Luke broke into a smile. "Not as much as I enjoy it."

"I'm also finding it a little hard to believe that I FINALLY got married. Mrs. Kim will probably faint dead in her tracks. Taylor will most likely hold a festival. It will be called the 'Lorelai won't die a spinster Days'. There will be free ice cream for everyone and balloons for the kids," Lorelai joked.

"Yeah, Taylor will latch onto any reason to hold a crazy festival," Luke shot back.

Playfully slapping Luke on the shoulder, Lorelai then because serious. "I wanted to thank you for everything you did today. I loved the chapel and the flowers. And flying out all our friends was incredibly sweet. It was a day I'll always remember."

Luke reached out and tucked a stray piece of hair behind Lorelai's ear. "I wanted to make it memorable for you because if I have it my way, this will be your one and only wedding." He paused for a moment, and then sighed. "You don't know how much I regret that it's not mine. I should have had the stupid thing annulled."

"What? Your marriage to Nicole?"

Nodding, Luke said, "If you could call it that. Jess told me once that it was nothing but weird. I call it a drunken mistake, one I sincerely wish I hadn't made. I hate thinking of her as my ex-wife. If I had known then that I had even the slightest chance with you, I would have never married her, let alone date her."

"Well, you didn't," Lorelai replied. "Really marry her, that is."

"Uh, Lorelai, I was there when the captain proclaimed Nicole and me as married. I did get married," Luke said as a look of confusion crossed his face.

"You might have had a ceremony, but did you exchange rings?"

"No."

"Did Nicole take your last name?"

"No, but a lot of women don't these days."

"True, but most women do or they at the very least hyphenate it. Luke, you and Nicole lived apart for most of your marriage. I know it's a source of contention between us, but it's true. You were willing to buy me a house. You bought me an engagement ring. You and I are both wearing wedding rings. What does that tell you?" Lorelai inquired.

Luke shrugged. "That you are the one I love."

Lorelai continued on as if Luke had never spoken. "And another thing, you told me that the horoscope I gave you on the first day we met has been in your wallet since then. That means it was in there through both Rachel's return and through your marriage to Nicole. If you had really been committed to Nicole, you would have thrown it away. Liz didn't even know Nicole's name. And since Nicole didn't take your last name, that makes me the one and only Mrs. Luke Danes and if I have my way, I will be the only one who will ever have that title."

"I love you," Luke said again.

"And I love you," Lorelai responded. "That all that really matters. What I was trying to say is that we both have things in our past we would like to change. Mine is my relationship with Christopher and how I let him affect me. All you and I can do is move forward together and leave the past in the past."

"I agree."

Lorelai was quiet for a moment, and then said, "So, what were you and Rory talking about earlier." She saw the look if exasperation on Luke's face and adopted a sly smile. "What, I told you that I was going to grill you."

"I really don't think it's my place to share."

"Oh, come on, Luke. Your Rory's stepfather now. Part of being a parent is sharing dirt on your kids. Unless it something that Rory told you specifically not to share with me, then it's okay to," Lorelai explained.

"That's what we were talking about," Luke answered.

"About whether or not to share things with me?" Lorelai asked.

"No, about Rory being my stepdaughter. I don't want her as my stepdaughter."

Lorelai could not believe what she was hearing. She had always thought that Luke wanted to be a part of Rory's life. That was one of the reasons she loved him so much. "But I thought . . ."

At hearing the angry tone in Lorelai's voice, Luke held up his hand. "Lorelai, before you get mad, let me finish. I don't want Rory as my stepdaughter because I don't view her as such. I love her just as much as if she were my own."

Again, Lorelai stood there speechless. Part of the reason that she had resented April's presence so much was because she knew that Rory had always viewed Luke as sort of a father figure and with April's sudden appearance she had been concerned that once again Rory would get pushed aside just as she had when GiGi came into Chris' life. Luke's confession had quieted those fears. She reached out and hugged Luke. "Thank you. You'll never know what it means to me to hear you say that."

Luke hugged Lorelai back. Then as if reading her thoughts, he said, "I'm not Chris, Lorelai. Just because April has shown up doesn't mean that I will love Rory any less than I always have. I told Rory this, and now I will tell you as well. Before you and I stated dating and I dreamt of having a relationship with you, I always knew it would include Rory. I was, and still, am fine with having an instant family. I'm getting older and if we never get to have any children of our own, at least we already have two daughters."

"Two really great daughters who are both scarily smart. How weird it that? I mean, they could actually be sisters being as alike as they are," Lorelai commented.

"Lorelai, I know I hurt you, even though I swear I never meant to, but I want to thank you for letting me have the time to get to know April. And thank you for being so willing to let her into our lives," Luke said as he ran his hand down Lorelai's face.

"I truly did want you to have that time, because I know how much not having Chris in her life hurt Rory. I just wanted to get to know her, too. I didn't think it would be fair to her to have you to herself, and then suddenly have to share you with a step mom she had never met."

"You're right."

Gasping in mock surprise, Lorelai said, "I'm sorry, I don't think I head you right. Can you repeat that? Is Luke Danes actually admitting I was right?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Funny. Totally hilarious. Remind me again why I love you."

Smiling, Lorelai said, "And they're back, Folks."

Luke smiled back, and then the smile turned into a wicked grin. "That reminds me, didn't I promise you earlier a 'dirty'?"

Lorelai's smile grew to match Luke's. "Why, yes you did?"

"My mom always did say it was wrong to break a promise," Luke said as he moved to kiss Lorelai's neck.

"You also promised me that I would get a positive view on all aspects of your being."

"Well, I say that it's time to start fulfilling those promises," Luke said as he wrapped his arms around Lorelai's waist and began to walk backwards into their room.

As they crossed the room's threshold, Lorelai reached behind her and closed the balcony door, then drew the curtains, shutting out the rest of the world.

Author's Note: Well folks, this is the last chapter. Only the epilogue to go.

I want to thank eveyone for all the great reviews. I have two sequels outlined for this story as well as a couple of possible stand alone stories. Please let me know if they would be something that you would like to read. : )