Chapter 29: Cooking, Cake, and Caps
Though silence filled nearly every corner of the city, as the clock struck 2:47 am, one room in one house in the corner of Stars Hollow found its occupants to be awake, at least for a little while.

"Luke? Luke, wake up."

His dream interrupted, Luke opened his eyes slowly and was met with bright, blue eyes staring back at him.

"Lorelai," he questioned groggily, "What are you doing?"

With a smile, she scooted closer to him. "It's your birthday."

"And it will be my birthday in a few hours too," he murmured. Taking a glance at the clock on the night stand, he noticed the abnormally early time. "I have to be up about two hours from now. Can we do whatever this is then?"

Shaking her head, Lorelai smiled and ran her fingers through his sleep rumpled hair. "Nope… It's my tradition with the people I love. I'm telling you happy birthday now because at exactly this time, 26 years ago, you came into this world."

Finally rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he stared back at her questioningly. "I know that, but how do you know that?"

"I had Taylor pull your birth records."

"Remind me to kill him later," Luke grumbled, though no malice could be found in his words. Stretching out his body, he shifted so he could see her better, knowing he wasn't going to go back to sleep until she got her fill. With one swift motion, he pulled Lorelai on top of him, his arms coming to rest around her middle. "You know, you could have just asked me."

Looking down at him with a small smile, she shrugged. "Yeah, well, it was hard enough getting the day you were born out of you, nonetheless the time…" Leaning her head down, she captured his lips in a soft kiss. "Happy birthday, Luke."

"Thank you," he whispered softly as she pulled back, pushing her hair from her face.

"What do you think about the past year? Was it a good one?"

Rolling his eyes, Luke snorted a short laugh and squeezed her waist. "What do you think?"

"I think it was a great year for you…" Lorelai answered with a bashful smile. Feeling his intense gaze, she trailed a finger down his chest with her eyes following. "Right?" She questioned him softly.

"It was… And why do you think that was?" He questioned back.

"Because Taylor created five new town events that you couldn't resist going to?"

Rolling his eyes, Luke deadpanned, "Yeah, that's it."

A laugh escaping her lips, Lorelai looked back up at him. "Or was it because Kirk successfully completed his challenge of trying a different menu item every day until he tried everything?"

"I was so close to throwing him out every day…"

"I know, I wanted you to." She grinned. "He took your attention from me all the time because he took so damn long to order."

"Yeah," he sighed, "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." Unable to resist, Lorelai's hands trailed up and down his sides. In response, Luke's hands followed the same course up and down her back.

Breaking the silence that had developed, he cleared his throat softly. "It was you," he breathed into the room.

"Huh?"

"I said it was you," he repeated a little stronger. "And Rory… Meeting you guys. That was the best part of my year."

Though she had an inkling that that would be his answer, Lorelai loved nothing more than hearing the words come out of his mouth. "I love you."

Placing a chaste kiss on her lips, Luke smiled up at her. "I love you too."

"You know, I've got big plans for us today."

The smile that was so quick to appear on his face disappeared and was replaced with a small frown. "You better not have planned a party."

"Nope. No party. We're going to celebrate just me, you, and Rory after you finish with the breakfast rush this morning until later this afternoon, and tonight…" Lorelai paused to wiggle against him with a naughty grin, "It will be just me and you."

"I like the sound of that." Leaning up to her, Luke pulled her in for a warm, lingering kiss. As they parted, he gently drew her head back down to his chest. "But in order to do that, we've got to get some sleep. 4:45 is going to get here sooner rather than later."

"I know," she sighed, snuggling into him.

Just before he could slip into sleep, Luke heard the faint sound of the "Happy Birthday" tune escape Lorelai's lips. With a soft chuckle, he tightened his grip around her. For the first time in a long time, this was going to be a great birthday.

The bells above the door of the diner chimed loudly around 9:00 am to announce the entrance of the unusually wide-awake Gilmore girls. Lorelai, catching sight of Rachel, breathed a sigh of relief as she noticed that the twinge of unwanted jealousy finally stopped stirring in her stomach. Over the past few weeks, she had come to realize that there was nothing wrong with Rachel. In fact, they had gotten along as well as an ex and a current girlfriend could. And Rory, being Rory, took right to her, inquiring of her travels, her photography, and pretty much any other information that Rachel was willing to offer her.

Before Lorelai could form a greeting, Rory waved at the woman as she stood at the end of the counter, refilling the sugar containers. "Hi Rachel!"

"Hello, Rory. Hi, Lorelai," She answered back cordially.

Taking their seats at a table, they didn't have to wait long for Luke to appear out of the kitchen Immediately perking up, Rory hopped out of her chair and ran over to him. "Happy Birthday, Daddy Luke!" Holding out her arms, she stood ready for a hug,

Dropping the towel he had in his hand to the counter, Luke accepted her hug. "Thank you, Rory."

"Here." Stuck between her fingers was a sky-blue piece of construction paper that had been folded in half. "I made you a card!"

Taking it from her, Luke opened up the card to see what looked like him, Rory, and Lorelai smiling, holding hands. In the back ground was a colorfully drawn house and diner, complete with the hardware sign written out in her neatest scrawl above it. At the bottom, the card read,

Happy Birthday, Daddy Luke! You are 26, and I am 6! We both have 6 in our age! We match! You are the best Daddy Luke I could ask for. I love you! -Rory

Though he would deny it if someone asked, tears pooled in Luke's eyes at the gesture. Looking up from the text, he was met with a smiling Rory and Lorelai wearing an even bigger smile. Giving her a wink, Luke looked back at Rory with a smile to match hers. "Thank you, Princess. I love it."

Leaning in, he whispered something in her ear that made her gasp, "Really?"

With his nod, Rory giggled with excitement and squirmed from his grasp. Running over to Lorelai, she informed her, "Mommy! Daddy Luke said I could put the card on his fridge upstairs! The fridge!" Quickly, she turned and ran over to the curtain, her legs taking her as fast as they could upstairs.

Bringing her eyes back to Luke, Lorelai could see that he was trying to hold in his emotions by the straight set of his lips. "Wow, the fridge… The place of honor."

"It's a great card," he spoke quietly.

"Hey," Lorelai called gently, trying not to draw the attention of any other patrons of the diner.

Finally, Luke locked eyes with her.

"You okay?" she questioned.

With a nod, Luke smiled small. "I'm good."

"It's always the cards," Lorelai said with understanding. "Knowing she drew it just for you hits you right in the heart, doesn't it?"

"Yeah… it does." Clearing his throat, Luke walked over and planted a welcome kiss to her lips. "I'm, uh, gonna go back to the grill… I don't want the bacon to burn."

"Sounds good," she smiled.

As Luke retreated into the kitchen, Rachel made her way over to the table Lorelai sat at, placing a cup of coffee in front of her. "Not that I was trying to eavesdrop on your conversation or anything, but I'm guessing whatever was in that card was good, huh?"

"Yeah…" Lorelai agreed. Taking a quick sip of her liquid energy, she looked back up at Rachel. "I mean, it had to be, but I don't know what's in it. Rory wouldn't let me look at it. She said it was between her and Daddy Luke." She laughed softly at the last part.

"Well, all I know is that either Luke's eyes were sweating, or he was about to cry."

"Oh he was definitely about to cry," Lorelai confirmed with a knowing tone. "He's probably back in the kitchen letting it out as we speak. I definitely don't think he was expecting to cry today…" Tapping her nails on the table, she looked at Rachel with a gracious smile. "By the way, thanks for taking over the diner for the afternoon so we can celebrate."

Casually flipping her hand, Rachel answered, "Oh, no problem. Just make sure you get him to eat some cake. I tried for years, but I get the idea that you can do what I couldn't"

Tracing her finger over the rim of her mug, Lorelai shot her a mischievous grin. "Oh trust me, we will eat cake. It's not a birthday without cake. I'll try to get a picture… if I can."

As the rush came to a close, Luke came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on his jeans. "Give me about 5 minutes to finish up, then I'll change, and we'll head out. Sound good?"

"Sounds great," Lorelai agreed. Turning to Rory, she patted her on the shoulder. "Alright, hon. Why don't you go ahead and go to the restroom so we are ready to leave when Luke is done?"

"Okay!"

As she scurried away, the phone rang, bringing Luke back out of the kitchen. "Luke's." He barked in his usual greeting. With an eye roll, he handed the phone across the counter to Lorelai. "Your friends need to stop calling my diner. I'm going to start hanging up on them."

Blowing a teasing kiss his way, Lorelai smiled and walked up to the counter, taking the phone. "Thanks, babe." Before she brought the phone to her ear, she looked over at Rachel, who was filling up drinks, "And you and I both know that's an empty threat, right Rachel?"

When Rachel's eyes met hers they both grinned and laughed as Luke sighed and walked back into the kitchen.

"Hey, Sook. What's up," Lorelai finally called into the phone. Immediately, a frown took over her once happy face. "Oh, really? Okay… Yeah, no, that's fine."

"No, really Sookie," Lorelai reinforced, a few moments after hearing the chef's apologies. "I'll just find someone else. If not, we'll just spend the evening with Rory and celebrate just us two later… Okay, by Sookie."

After hanging up the phone for her, Rachel leaned back against the counter across from Lorelai. "Everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah," Lorelai smiled small. "Sookie had to cancel baby-sitting last minute. Eduardo called in sick, so she is covering dinner tonight, and she can't watch Rory."

Pondering for a moment, Rachel shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, I mean, if you can't find anyone, I could watch Rory tonight. Caesar was supposed to cover the dinner shift by himself anyway. I was just going to go out and explore and take some pictures."

"Oh," Lorelai spoke, taken aback by the offer. "Uh, well, that's really nice of you to offer, but I don't want you to have to do that. You're already doing us a favor by covering the diner. I don't want to take up your evening too."

"It's not a problem for me, Lorelai… That is, if you're comfortable with it. I would understand if you're not, my being Luke's ex and that you've only known me for a few weeks and all."

"Oh, no. That's not why…" Taking a minute to think it over, Lorelai thought on Rachel. Her being Luke's ex meant nothing, especially since Rory didn't know, and she really did trust the girl. Plus, it was Stars Hollow. If anything, Rory would be watched by Rachel and 12 other people throughout the night because of the nosy and caring personalities of the town's citizens. Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Lorelai questioned cautiously. "Are you sure you want to?"

"Definitely," Rachel nodded. "I may not be as entertaining as Sookie, but I'm sure I can come up with something for me and Rory to do."

"Uh okay… I guess we'll do that then. Thanks." Reaching over the counter, Lorelai grabbed an order pad and a pen and wrote down her house number, the inn number, and just in case, Mia's number. Handing the sheet over to Rachel, she smiled. "Here is the house number for later if you need to reach me. If for some reason I don't answer, I put the number to the inn and to Mia's house on here too. Luke will probably drop Rory off here at 6, and we'll probably pick her up around 9, if that's good with you."

By this point, Rory had returned from the bathroom and perched on the stool next to her mother. Hearing the tail end of the conversation, Rory questioned. "Am I staying with Rachel instead of Sookie tonight, Mommy?"

Nodding her head, Lorelai confirmed, "That you are, hon. What do you think about that?"

Smiling widely, Rory looked at Rachel. "I think it's going to be fun! Can we take pictures?"

"Uh, if you want," Rachel laughed.

Observing Rory's excitement with a grin, Lorelai shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it sounds to me like she's excited, so I guess we have a plan for tonight. Thanks, Rachel."

"No problem, Lorelai."

As her earrings dropped to the floor, Lorelai yelled out a frustrated, "Dammit!" At 5:45, Luke left the Gilmore household under the instructions of taking Rory to the diner and finding something to do until 6:45. He was not to return home a second earlier. Much to Lorelai's dismay, since he left, everything that could go wrong had been going wrong.

Examining the tear that had just occurred on the hem of her dress after catching on the splintered corner of her dresser, Lorelai frowned. Walking over and opening up the drawer of her nightstand, she retrieved a small sewing kit, hoping she could repair her dress quickly. With a sigh, she sat down on the edge of the bed and went to work. "Can this night get any worse?"

After fixing the hole, she stood up, observing her appearance in the mirror. Satisfied, she went down stairs into the kitchen where she was warming the food Sookie left for her to serve for Luke's birthday.

Reading the directions carefully and looking at the pictures that Sookie attached, Lorelai opened the stove to see if the bread she had put in 5 minutes earlier was ready. Unsatisfied with the color of the bread, she went to close the oven, but following the pattern of the night, she burnt her hand. "Shit!"

With a frown, she ran over to run her hand under cold water in the sink. "I swear, if one more thing goes wrong, I'm going to lose it," she growled into air.

Quickly grabbing a paper towel, she looked over to see where the clock showed 6:43 and rushed over to the stove top to glance at the risotto and gave it a stir. With a quick glance at the other picture Sookie attached, Lorelai noted that the picture and the food in front of her looked almost exactly alike. "Finally, something right," she smiled, feeling accomplished.

Relaxing her shoulders, she grabbed the pot and took it over to the table to scoop it on to the plates. On the way over, however, the heel of her stiletto broke, causing her to slip and the pot to fall out of her hand and onto the floor. "No, no, no!" With an angry groan, Lorelai accepted her fate and just remained on the floor in the midst of the mess.

"Lorelai, I'm here!"

Just as she asked, Luke walked in at 6:45 to see her on the floor. Taking in her outfit, now splotched with risotto, and the pot turned on it's side on the floor, he frowned. "What happened in here?"

Staring up at him with eyes full of tears of defeat, Lorelai shook her head sadly. "Nothing." Lifting her hand out to him, she added a depressed, "Can you help me up, please?"

As he pulled her from the floor, Luke once again took in her ruined outfit. "Lorelai… What happened?"

"I was trying to make tonight special, but nothing is going right," she answered dejectedly. "I was going to dress up for you, and I was going to have an amazing dinner, but apparently the universe has decided that today is the day when I should have some of the worst luck of my life. I tore my dress, burnt my hand, broke the heel of my shoe, and dropped the most important part of the meal."

"Come here…" With a sympathetic smile, he held open his arms for her to step into. "I appreciate the effort." As she leaned against his chest, Luke curled one of her curls around his finger. "You did manage to get ready in under an hour… I'm impressed," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Despite his intentions, he was met with a scowl.

With a soft chuckle, Luke planted a kiss to her forehead. "It's okay… Celebrating my birthday isn't that important to me."

"But it is to me. I wanted the day to be special for you," Lorelai sighed. Doing her best not to get the risotto from her dress onto him, she leaned up awkwardly and planted a short, soft kiss to his lips. "Happy birthday, babe. I tried… I really did."

"I know you did… Why don't you go upstairs and take a bath and get comfortable? We'll get pizza and crash on the couch."

"But, Luke! This is supposed to be a celebration. It's supposed to be something different. We eat pizza and crash on the couch all the time."

With a nod, Luke smiled. "I know, but I don't need a celebration. I'll take a calm night here with you anytime." Pecking her lips softly, Luke patted her hip. "Go upstairs and relax a bit, then we'll go from there."

"Fine," Lorelai frowned. "You better order your nasty vegetable, light cheese, light sauce, thin crust pizza. It's gross, but it's your birthday, so I refuse to eat anything else."

"We can get half veggie, half meat lovers."

Raising her hand at him, she denied his attempt at compromise. "First, no. Secondly, are you seriously going to argue with me when I'm telling you I will voluntarily eat healthy?"

"Okay, I'll order it," Luke laughed softly. "Now go get cleaned up."

As she went upstairs, he followed into the living room, planning to turn on ESPN. When his hand made contact with the remote, Luke stopped and shook his head. With a quick turn, he went back to the kitchen.

Twenty-five minutes later, Lorelai descended the stairs, a decadent smell filling the air as she made it to the bottom. Turning and going into the kitchen, she found Luke standing over a pot at the stove.

"Well, hello handsome," she smiled, wrapping her hands around him from behind and smoothing her hands across his abs. "I thought we were going to get pizza. What's all this?"

Placing the spoon, he was using on the counter, Luke stopped her roaming hands. He took a step back, forcing her to do the same and turned in her arms. "You tried really hard to make a fancy dinner, so I'm going to make it happen."

Cocking her head at him with disbelieving eyes, Lorelai released a small sigh. "Luke, a romantic evening was supposed to be my treat to you."

Luke could see in her face how much the failed dinner bothered her. Relaxing his arms around her, he pecked a soft kiss to her nose. "And it was the perfect gift… No one has done anything like that for me. I know you worked hard, and even though it went wrong, it means more to me that you even tried. You had a dinner planned, so I am making sure that you get it."

"Luke," she spoke softly. Shaking her head, she frowned. "I hate that you're cooking for us on your birthday."

"It's no big deal." He shrugged casually.

Slipping her hands behind his neck, Lorelai brought his lips to hers in a sweet kiss. "I really am sorry. I love you... and I love you for doing this."

Bringing her back in for a kiss more intense, Luke eventually pulled back and gave a breathless, "I love you too," in response.

Their lips and tongues continued to tease each other as Lorelai's hands began to wander aimlessly. Taking steps back towards the door to the living room, she mumbled. "How much longer until the food is ready." Drawing in a breath, she dropped her lips to his neck.

With her nibbling and drawing on his skin, Luke tried his hardest to form a coherent thought. "Ummm… It's got to simmer for a little bit, so it will take another 30 minutes or so to cook."

"Perfect." Bringing her lips back up to his, she picked up where they left off, angling her head and taking the kiss deeper.

Slowly, Luke slipped his hands under his flannel she had put on, grasping her waist and guiding them to the living room. As Lorelai's knees hit the couch, she fell back with a grin. "You know, I still have an appetizer for us in the fridge that I didn't have the chance to destroy… We could eat that now."

Shaking his head with a laugh, Luke put a knee between her legs and leaned over her. "I think I'm in the mood for something different."

Aware of desire in his eyes, Lorelai smiled, and continued, "I have a present for you too, if you want to open that first."

She knew she was in for it when she saw one corner of his lips perk up in a wicked smile. Dropping himself down, careful not to put all his weight on her, Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "If it's alright with you, I have something else I want to unwrap first." With one hand, he opened the few buttons she had cared to fasten and parted the flannel to see her lacy, black lingerie.

A naughty, knowing smile spread across her lips as she saw his eyes darken. "You like? This is actually part of your gift that I was going to give you later."

Shaking his head, a soft growl escaped his throat and he leaned down to latch on the skin below her ear. Drawing on it softly, he pulled back and breathed into her ear a low and dangerous, "Happy birthday to me."

Following dinner, they settled in on the couch per Luke's request. A once again flannel-clad Lorelai leaned against the arm with her legs stretched out and a cake plate sitting on her lap. Luke, sitting upright, draped one arm across Lorelai's shin and stroked the smooth skin there as he nursed a beer with his other.

"Mmmmm, this is so good," Lorelai moaned. "How you only ate one slice is a mystery to me." She informed him as she stabbed another bite of cake.

"Well, considering the fact that you are dead-set on feeding me at least one bite of every one of yours, I decided to have one piece for myself so you can't complain, and all of the bites you make me eat will add up to a second piece," he informed her, raising one eyebrow and challenging her to counter him.

As expected, she did. With an eye roll, she answered, "I've only given you the cake part and not the frosting, so you should be happy. That hardly adds up to a second piece."

"Because the cake is so much healthier than the frosting…" Finding his drink to be empty, Luke placed the empty bottle on the coffee table. "I'm still full from dinner, anyway, so I don't need a lot of cake."

"I do have to say, it was a really good dinner," Lorelai added with a smile. "You're a damn good chef, Luke Danes. One night, you've got to make the same meal when Rory's here. She'll love it."

Grinning shyly, he looked over at her as she plopped the last bite of her cake in her mouth. "I've got a plate for Rory in the fridge… the food and the cake."

"You're such a good provider," she grinned back. Gathering some of the excess frosting from the plate, she held it out to him. "Speaking of Rory… That card. I thought you were going to cry in the middle of the diner."

A slight blush filled Luke's cheeks as he looked down. "Yeah, well, it was nice. She drew a family picture and put me and the diner in it…" Looking up, he stared back at her waiting for a response. With an eye roll, he realized what she wanted and ate the icing off the fork with a cringe as he swallowed.

A winning smile filled her face at the small victory. "Really," she questioned, "She never actually showed me the card." Looking down, she drug her fork across her plate contemplating before looking back up at him. "Luke?"

Hearing the softness in her voice, Luke's eyes locked with hers. "Yeah?"

"You know she thinks of you like family… We think of you like family."

"I'm glad," he smiled, squeezing her shin, "And I think the same of you two."

"Good… that's good."

In Luke's mind, he thought they were falling into a comfortable silence, but Lorelai suddenly spoke again.

"You know I've noticed, right?"

Unsure of what she meant, he questioned, "Noticed what?"

"That you have started to think of us as family."

"You have," he answered confidently yet slowly, still wanting to know where she was going with this train of thought.

Seeing his confusion, Lorelai shook her head. "I mean, it's obvious looking at your actions, but it's even there in the little things you say. You've stopped saying 'your girl' and you've been saying 'our girl' instead. You've also stopped saying 'Lorelai' or 'your mommy' as often. You've just been saying 'mommy." You've even started saying 'that's my girl.'" She elaborated with a soft smile.

"Yeah…" Rubbing the back of his neck, he shrugged in slight embarrassment. "I can stop if you want. I didn't really realize it, but not that you say it, I guess I have been"

Shaking her head, Lorelai reached over and grabbed his hand and laced her fingers through his. "Don't stop, and don't be embarrassed. It's sweet… I like it." Taking the plate from her lap, she placed it on the coffee table and leaned up to settle on her knees beside him. Turning his face back towards hers, she planted a warm soft kiss on his lips.

Pulling back, Luke rested his forehead on hers. "I like it too." Carefully, he brushed the hair out of the way that fell on her face. "This has been a great birthday."

Settling back slightly, she eyed him warily. "Even though you ended up having to cook it all yourself?"

"This is different than the cooking I do every day, so I don't mind… And we did more today than just have dinner. I had a good time with you and Rory all day."

Satisfied that this birthday was one that he enjoyed, Lorelai smiled brightly. "Good, I'm glad." Catching sight of the present in the corner of the room, she gasped and hopped up to run over and get it. "I can't believe that I was having such a good time with you that I forgot about your present! I never forget about presents!"

Shaking his head, Luke shifted on the couch. "You really didn't have to get me anything."

"For the umpteenth time, yes I did. It's your birthday," she retorted quickly, holding out the bag to him.

Eyeing the bag, he hesitantly took it from her. "Won't Rory be mad that we're doing this without her?"

"Oh no… She has a present for you too. She'll give you hers when we pick her up later."

"Lorelai," he sighed. "It's enough that you got me a present. She didn't have to get me one too. You have better things you could spend your money on."

A stern scowl replaced the bright smile that was on her face. "Luke, stop. It's your birthday. You get presents on your birthday. If you don't open it, I will open it for you."

Stunned by her stern response, Luke looked at her with wide eyes.

Seeing his look, Lorelai softened and took the bag back from him as she plopped herself back beside him. "Luke, believe it or not, after all this time, I have picked up that you don't like getting presents, especially from me because you don't want me to spend my money on you… I love that you care about me enough to think about my financial standing and all that, but it's your birthday. It's the one day of the year that is all about you. Can you please let me spoil you a little bit? I promise that I didn't break the bank with mine or Rory's presents."

"I can… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." Luke smiled.

As per usual, the hint of frustration slipped quickly from Lorelai's eyes as she began to bounce in her seat. "It's okay… Now open, open, open. I have been waiting for this all day!"

Parting the bag carefully, Luke grabbed the card and opened it, reading its content carefully. Lorelai's eyes raked his face as he read, looking for any sort of hint of what he thought about what he was reading. Shutting the card, he looked at her with a grin and shook his head in disbelief.

Her eyes crinkled at the corners at his reaction. "It turns out that I like you a lot more than I originally planned… I know I'm hard to put up with, but you do it well."

"Lorelai, I don't have to 'put up' with you... I love you."

"I love you too." At that, she leaned over and placed a quick kiss on his lips. "Now, open," she laughed.

After discarding the paper that he pulled from the bag, Luke lifted out a watch with a leather band and a blue and gray plaid flannel that looked oddly similar to the one she was wearing.

Lifting up her arms, she laughed. "I figured that since I've stolen so many, I should at least replace one… but keep going. There's one more thing."

Reaching to the bottom of the bag, Luke pulled out a royal blue baseball hat. After examining it, he looked up at her with a smile. "Thank you. This is great."

Suddenly shy, Lorelai bit her lip and ripped her gaze from his, shifting it to the floor. "Are you sure? I mean, I could have gotten you one that was a different color. I just thought it would look good, you know, since it matches your eyes and all. And, I just thought, you know, God forbid something happens to that one, you might need a spare."

Taking in her sudden nervousness, Luke grinned. "Lorelai, you're rambling… Don't worry. I love it."

Smiling, she reached for the hat. "Here, let me put it on you." Taking it, she placed it on his head forwards and frowned. "Boy, does that look wrong."

"Hence why I don't wear it like that," Luke chuckled.

Grabbing it back, Lorelai flipped the hat around and placed it carefully back on his head. "There!" Her eyes trailing him, her lips formed a slow and sexy smile. "I like it… You look good."

Sitting up straighter, he leaned in closer, his smile confident. "Good how?"

Laughing at his cockiness, she arched an eyebrow at him. "Good as in good." Knocking the empty bag out of his lap, she plopped down on to him, her arms coming to rest around his neck and her lips easily finding his. "Happy Birthday, Luke."

A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! Here's to a great 2018!

I'm sorry I didn't update on Saturday, but it's kind of a funny story. I actually had a different chapter 29 update ready to go, but before I could post, I realized that left out a chapter on Luke's birthday. I know, I know. I'm not sure how I forgot about writing this chapter when Luke's birthday was one of the key things Rachel and Lorelai discussed in the last chapter, but, alas, I did. So for the past two days, I have been writing and writing to get this chapter done, and I finally have it at a place I want it. Rachel's departure was supposed to come in this chapter, but because of my forgetfulness, SPOILER! It will come next chapter. I hate that I said that I was going to update on Saturday then never did, so please accept my sincerest apologies. I will try to do better in the future.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!