A/N: Happy Birthday to me, and happy update day to you! MewWinx96 requested a chapter of fluff before Hurricane Emily arrives, so you're wish is my command! If y'all ever have something you want to see, don't be afraid to ask. I am always open to suggestions! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 36: Back to School

Walking through the aisles of Staples, Luke carried the basket as Lorelai strolled along with him, her arms wrapped around one of his. In front of them, Rory skipped happily to their next stop: the crayon section.

"So, you called your dad this morning?"

Sighing, Lorelai looked up at him, "Yeah… We have dinner with my parents two Fridays from now. Dad agreed that we should get Rory settled into her school routine this week, so we will worry about going to dinner with them the next week. "

Removing his arm from her grasp, Luke put it around her, pulling her closer to him, "And I'm guessing that we're going to have to dress up for this dinner?"

"Yep. Coat and tie." Lorelai smiled, a teasing glimmer appearing in her eyes. "That's one good thing about going to the Gilmore Compound. I get to see you all GQ'd up."

Trying not to attract attention from the people around him, Luke grumbled quietly, "I hate ties… I always feel like I'm choking."

Squeezing his waist, Lorelai laughed, "But you look really hot when you do wear them. I mean… I like the flannel, but I like having a "Luke present" to unwrap every once in a while."

Narrowing his eyes at her, he scoffed. "But it's so uncomfortable… and for what? So I look like a typical white collar man… a man who probably barely pays attention to his wife and kids but knows everything about stocks and bonds. Obviously wearing flannel shows that I have no class and no future, but coming in with perfectly pleated pants and a red noose around my neck is society approved." Finishing his rant, Luke looked to see Lorelai with a wide grin on her face. With a sigh, he mumbled, "Okay, I'm done."

Lacing her fingers through is, Lorelai pecked his lips quickly. "I love ranting Luke."

"I'm glad my frustration brings you joy," he deadpanned in response.

Before they knew it, they were brought out of their conversation by the sound of Rory's curious voice. "Should I get the 24 or the 48 pack?"

As Luke went to answer, he was stopped by Lorelai's finger on his lips. "That's rhetorical, babe," she whispered.

Seeing Rory's eyes shift between the two packs, Luke spoke in a confused whisper, "We've been here for 15 minutes already, and she's done this with every item. What is she doing?"

"She's listing the pros and cons in her head."

Soon, Rory spoke up, placing her chosen supplies in the basket. "I'm gonna get two 24 packs. Is that okay, Mommy?"

"That's perfectly fine, hon," Lorelai answered with a smile.

This time, Luke decided to question the peculiar decision making of the 5 year old. "Rory, why would you get two boxes of 24 cratons instead of one box of 48?"

With a smile, Rory turned to Luke laughed. "I don't need all the colors in the 48 box. If one crayon breaks in the 24, then I have another one." Turning to finish walking down the aisle, Rory continued, "Okay… glue sticks or glue bottle?"

With the couple following close behind, Lorelai turned and laughed, observing the confused look on Luke's face. "What's with the look, Luke?"

Shaking his head in dismay, he answered stunned, "What five-year-old thinks like this? When I was five, I was too worried about whether my friends and I were going to be chased by Susie Owens at recess, not the pros and cons of every piece of school supplies in stock."

Patting his chest with a grin, Lorelai replied, "I can't even begin to explain her thinking or where she got it from… But just so you know, you haven't seen anything yet. Just wait until we have to choose her folders."

"Folders? Plural? How many does a first grader need?"

"Normally, 1… but Rory is anything but normal," she laughed, "She has to have three individual folders that are different colors. She picks one for incomplete assignments, one for complete assignments, and one for "for fun" assignments."

"For fun assignments?"

"They are assignments that she asks the teacher for when she wants more work to do."

Puzzled by Rory's behavior, Luke prodded teasingly, "More work? Are you sure this kid is yours? I'm pretty sure you avoid work as much as possible."

"If I didn't go through the labor to have her, I would be questioning it myself… I don't understand it," Lorelai smiled.

Their conversation was quickly interrupted by an excited Rory. "Look Mommy! They have white glue and gel glue!"

Shooting Luke a smile, Lorelai pulled him along with her to the end of the aisle. "We better catch up to her, or she'll buy out the whole store."

One hour later, the "family" pulled back into the square of Stars Hollow.

"Luke, are you sure you can't take the rest of the day off? It's Sunday, and it's Rory's last day of freedom before school tomorrow," Lorelai implored from the driver's seat.

"Sorry…Caesar has a family reunion tonight, so it's just me running the kitchen and serving for dinner."

Before Lorelai could respond, Rory made her input into the conversation with a plea in her voice. "Daddy Luke, can you spend the night again and come with us to school tomorrow?"

Seeing Luke's obviously curious face, Lorelai shrugged. Turning to her daughter in the back seat, she questioned, "You want him to come with us, hon? Why?"

Shyly, Rory looked towards Luke with a smile. "Everyone else's Mommy and Daddy comes with them on the first day, so I want to have my Mommy and my Daddy Luke."

Thinking he might be hesitant to spend the night two nights in a row, Lorelai opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off Luke. "Well, I guess you can't argue with that logic."

Bright smiles appeared on both girls' faces, and Lorelai spoke happily. "So you'll come over tonight after you close?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Leaning over the center console, she planted a kiss on his lips and pulled back with a satisfied smile. "Okay… we'll see you later then."

Luke made his way out of the Jeep, but before he could close the door, he was called by Lorelai's flirtatious tone. "Hey babe…"

Looking back at her with a plain look, Luke deadpanned, "I know. I'll bring some burgers and fries with me when I come."

Grinning at his ability to know exactly what she wanted, she called him over and pecked his lips one last time. "Thanks. Love you."

"Love you too," Luke smirked. Looking back at the back seat, he added with a wave, "See ya later, Rory."

"Bye Daddy Luke!"

Once Luke was gone, Lorelai knew exactly what the rest of their day would entail. Looking at her daughter in the rear-view mirror, she questioned, "Alright, hon. It's just me and you. What do you say to a Mommy-Daughter date to the ice cream parlor?"

Gasping, a wide smile appeared on Rory's face. "Can I get extra sprinkles?"

"It's your last day of freedom. You get whatever you want."

The following morning, streaks of sunshine broke through the window shades, causing Luke to stir. Making a move to stretch, he realized he was being held down, and glancing up at the ceiling, he realized he was not at his apartment. A mild panic set in until he realized his surroundings, and he noticed the weight keeping him in place, Lorelai's body, was beginning to stir with him.

Glancing over at the clock, Luke noted the time, 5:58, and knew they would have to get up soon to make it to the school by 7:30. Placing a soft kiss to Lorelai's forehead, Luke stroked up and down her back, waking her up as gently as possible, acknowledging from their previous nights together that waking her up was no easy task.

"Mmmm… you better have a good reason for waking me without coffee."

Chuckling at her sleepy remark, Luke replied softly, "I would have gotten up and made some if I wasn't being pinned down by a certain someone."

Groaning, Lorelai rolled over to the other side of the bed. "There. Get cooking, Burger Boy."

"I will… but you still have to get up. You have less than 2 hours to be ready. For you that's a pretty big challenge." After he got out of the bed, Luke pulled back the covers so she couldn't stay warm. "You told me last night that I had to get you up by 6:00… and it's 6:00, so get up."

"Luke," Lorelai whined with her eyes still closed, drawing out his name as she normally did, "Everyone knows that 6:00 in Lorelai time is 6:15."

Smirking, though she couldn't see him, he bent back down to the bed, grabbed her waist and tried to pull her over to him. "You didn't say 6:00 Lorelai time, so we're going by 6:00 Luke time. Come on."

Making herself dead weight, Lorelai resisted in every way possible. "Leave me alone. I still have 15 minutes."

With an eyeroll, Luke mumbled, "I swear, you're a child." Obviously knowing he was strong enough to lift her, he leaned down and picked her up "wedding style." Carrying her to the bathroom, he forced her to stand up, planting her feet on the floor and backing away quickly. "I'll go get Rory up. Now take your shower and get ready… If you do it fast enough, there might even be some pancakes to go with that coffee you want.:

Growling, Lorelai responded tiredly, "Ugh. Remind me to never have you spend the night again."

Wearing a grin, Luke planted a kiss on her forehead. "Yeah, yeah." With a pat on her back, he walked out of the bathroom, calling as he left, "Now get moving."

While Lorelai was getting ready, Luke made his way downstairs and found a wide-awake Rory sitting at the table fully dressed, with an obvious bed-head ready to be wrangled into a ponytail by Lorelai.

"Finally," she sighed exasperated, "It's the first day of first grade! I'm ready to go!"

"With hair like that," Luke chuckled, "I don't think you're ready to go yet."

Quickly, a frown took over her face. "I can't do it by myself. Mommy always does it for me… Can you do it?"

Looking at Rory, he contemplated his choices. Lorelai wouldn't be downstairs for at least another 30 minutes, which gave him plenty of time to do Rory's hair and cook. "Sure, princess… Go get me your brush and hair ties."

When Rory came back, she plopped herself into Luke's lap and placed the supplies for her hair out on the table. With hopeful eyes, she turned to him and asked, "Can you do braids?"

"Uh, it's been a while, but I'll try."

After 15 minutes, and at least two restarts, Rory had two perfectly French-braided pig tails with pink bows on the end that matched her dress. "Okay. I'm done. Go look in the mirror."

Running to the bathroom, Luke could hear the gasp escape Rory's lips, and she quickly returned to the table, throwing herself into his arms and kissing his cheek. "Thanks Daddy Luke! You did them as good as Mommy does!"

As much as he tried, Luke couldn't prevent a smile from forming on his lips. "No problem, Rory… You want some breakfast now?"

Nodding excitedly, Rory pled, "Yes please!"

"So I'm making chocolate chip pancakes for your mom… do you want the same?"

"Yes! This is gonna be the best first day of school ever!"

Around 35 minutes later, just as the clock struck 6:50, Lorelai was ready for the day and made her way downstairs. Coming into the kitchen, she announced, "Alright Rory. Go get our brush and stuff so I can…" Before she could finish, she looked up to see Rory at the table eating her stack of pancakes, her hair already done. Curiosity took over as she looked over to Luke with dismay. "Did you braid her hair?"

Shrugging it off, Luke responded casually, "Yeah… It's no big deal."

Shocked by his hidden talent, Lorelai smiled widely, "Huh… who would have thought?"

Clearing his throat, not wanting her to make a big deal of it, Luke spoke plainly, "Uh yeah… So your pancakes and coffee are ready. I guess I'll go up and get ready."

Making a move to go out of the room, Luke was stopped by Lorelai grabbing his shoulder. Planting a quick kiss to his cheek, just as her daughter did, Lorelai gave a quiet, "Thanks."

"Like I told Rory, it was no problem," Luke answered,` kissing her right back. "I'll be ready in a few."

Walking up to the school, Luke strolled on one side, Lorelai strolled on the other, and Rory skipped as she held both of their hands in the middle.

"I'm so excited," Rory exclaimed happily, pulling a little harder on their hands, "Come on! We have to go meet my teacher!"

Chuckling at the little girl's excitement, Luke asked, "Who is her teacher anyway?"

Lifting up and reading the yellow paper in her free hand, Lorelai answered, "According to this sheet, Mrs. Elliot."

"You're kidding? She still a teacher?" Stopping their momentum, Luke turned to Lorelai, shocked.

"Apparently so…"

"Huh…"

Looking at him with a furrowed brow, Lorelai questioned curiously, "Why are you so shocked?"

With a shake of his head, he pulled them along and kept walking. "I just didn't realize she was even still in town. Come on, we don't want to be late." With slight hesitation, a still confused Lorelai followed while Rory obliviously continued to skip happily.

Finally making it to the classroom, Lorelai stopped outside the door. Turning to Rory, she spoke with a sad smile. "Alright, this is it hon. Are you sure you don't want to come to work with Mommy all day? I hear that restocking the rooms with bars of soap sure is fun."

Giggling, Rory smiled, "You're silly, Mommy. Come on! We've got to go!"

With her head held high, Rory strutted into the classroom with her "parents" in tow. They were met in the front of the room by an elderly woman. "Hello, there. My name is Mrs. Elliot. I'll be your teacher for this year."

Confidently, Rory held out her hand for Mrs. Elliot to shake. "Hi, I'm Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, but everyone calls me Rory."

Laughing at the little girl's grown up demeanor, Mrs. Elliot shook Rory's hand softly. "It's nice to meet you, Rory."

Not losing any of her excitement, Rory turned. "This is my Mommy and this is my Daddy Luke."

Extending her hand in the same manor, Lorelai spoke kindly, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Lorelai."

With a smile, Mrs. Elliot responded, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lorelai." Turning to Luke, she shook her head with amazement. "And if it isn't Luke Danes."

Nodding sheepishly, Luke answered plainly, "Hello, Mrs. Elliot. It's nice to see you again."

Reaching up, she pulled Luke into a friendly hug. "Well, I'll say it's been a while since you've been here, Luke. It's been, what, 20 years, give or take?"

Before he could respond, a widely grinning Lorelai laughed with excitement. "No way! She was your teacher too?"

Rolling his eyes, Luke continued as if it was no big deal. "Yeah. She taught me, and she taught Liz."

Looking up in awe, Rory gaped at her teacher. "You taught my Daddy Luke?" Turning to him, she threw her arms around his leg in an embrace. "We have the same teacher! That is so cool!"

"Well, Luke," Mrs. Elliot spoke curiously, "I hadn't realized that you had a daughter."

Interceding quickly, Lorelai grabbed on to Luke's arm. "Well, we're not exactly family; Rory is actually my daughter… but she is as close to being his daughter as possible without being the real thing." Looking at him with adoring eyes, she took his hand and squeezed. Turning back to the teacher, she continued, "Anyway, you wouldn't happen to have any little Luke stories to tell, would you?"

With a groan, Luke rolled his eyes. In a warning tone, he spoke and glared down at her. "Lorelai..."

With a laugh, Mrs. Elliot answered pleasantly, "Oh, I might have a few in mind, but I'll let Luke be the one to tell those stories."

Faking a frown, Lorelai pouted. "Darn…" Turning back to her daughter, Lorelai crouched down to Rory's level. "Alright sweets… I guess it's time for me and Luke to leave. Are you sure you don't want to come to the inn with me?"

Nodding with a smile, Rory answered with a peck on Lorelai's cheek. "I'm sure Mommy." Throwing her arms around her mother's neck, she added softly in her ear, "I love you Mommy."

Trying her best to keep it together, Lorelai squeezed Rory one last time and stood up solemnly. "I love you too kid. I'll see you when I pick you up later."

Pulling him down for a hug, Rory pecked Luke's cheek also. "Bye Daddy Luke."

Unable to help the smile that tugged at his lips, Luke patted her back. "See ya later Rory."

Walking out of the school, Luke could see the frown on Lorelai's face starting to form. Taking her hand, they strolled to the diner in silence. Stopping her before she could enter her jeep, Luke spoke tenderly, "Hey, come on," and extended his hand to her.

Looking at his outstretched hand curiously, she took it. Pulling her to him, Luke guided her to the alley, in the back door of the diner, and up to the apartment.

As he unlocked the door slowly, Lorelai prodded, "What about the diner?"

Ignoring her question, Luke opened the door and ushered her inside. Once the door was closed behind them, Luke pulled her to him, leaning her head against his chest and planting a kiss to the top of her head. "You don't go in until 9:30 today, so I won't go in until 9:30 today."

"Thank you," Lorelai smiled and spoke softly. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she planted a kiss to his flannel clad chest. "My baby is in first grade. She's getting so big. I don't like it."

Tracing circles on the small of her back, Luke soothed, "I know you don't, but she's in good hands. Don't worry."

Nodding against him, Lorelai added a sad, "I know." Taking a deep breath, she finally noticed the smell of coffee permeating throughout the room and looked up at him with a bright smile. "You didn't?"

Looking away from her gaze, he shrugged casually, as if it was no big deal.

"You did!" Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed him excitedly. "My own pot of sympathy coffee. You really are amazing."

"I know," Luke answered with a chuckle, "Now go sit on the couch and relax. I'll bring some over."

Kicking her shoes off by the door, Lorelai sauntered over to the couch. Soon, Luke met her with a large mug that was filled to the rim. Taking a sip, she laid back on the arm of the couch. Sitting down with her, he moved to the other end of the couch and put her feet in his lap. "Are you sure you're okay," Luke questioned with a voice laced with concern.

Sighing, Lorelai looked over to him, "Yeah… Thank you for doing this. I know I probably shouldn't be so bummed about Rory's first day of school, but it sucks, you know? It seems like just yesterday that I showed up to the inn with my tiny 5-month-old in hand, and now she's 5 years old, going on 6 next month. It's going by too fast. She won't be my little girl for much longer."

"She'll always be your little girl," he quickly assured her, squeezing her calf.

Mumbling sadly, she took another sip of coffee. "How do you know?"

"Hey, look at me…" Staring at her, Luke waited for Lorelai's eyes to lock with his. Once the finally did, he spoke softly, "Trust me… I just know."

"Thanks, babe."

Flicking his head, Luke called her over to him. Placing her cup on the table, Lorelai scooted into his lap and leaned against him. They sat in comfortable silence, the only noise heard was the clamor of the diner softly that echoed up the stairs.

"Hey, Luke," Lorelai questioned, breaking the silence they formed.

"Yeah?"

"Where in the world did you learn how to do hair?"

Chuckling at her sudden change of topic, he stated, "How your mind gets from point A to point B is a mystery to me."

"I can't let you in on all of my tricks, Burger Boy." She laughed. "But really… Those braids in Rory's hair are pretty damn close to perfect. I didn't even know you could do hair…"

Growing solemn, Luke rubbed his hand across the back of his neck self-consciously. "Uh yeah… no one really does. When mom was… you know… progressing near the end, she taught me to braid because someone was going to have to do Liz's hair, and my dad couldn't… I did Liz's hair for school for a few years before she could do it herself."

"Really?"

"Yeah…"

Smiling, Lorelai planted a kiss to his cheek. "That's really sweet. Thank you for doing that for Rory."

"It was no big deal. It made getting ready easier for the both of you."

Running a finger up and down the buttons of his flannel, she spoke kindly, "You know, you are a very talented man, Mr. Danes. Cooking, reading, doing hair… before you know it, Rory won't need me anymore and will rely solely on you."

"She'll always need you," Luke assured her, placing a kiss to her forehead. "Where else is she going to get her daily dose of crazy?"

Laughing, Lorelai looked at him with loving eyes and wore a smile brighter than he'd seen all morning. "I love you."

"I love you too."