CHAPTER 30: Turkey Day

"Oh my gosh, it's so cold outside! I'm gonna freeze to death," Lorelai groaned as she entered the diner. Her dramatic tendencies were cut off when she caught a glimpse of Luke's employee standing on a stool behind the counter refilling the salt shakers.

Approaching the counter with a wide smile, she spoke politely, "Good afternoon, ma'am. You wouldn't happen to have seen my daughter, would you? Her favorite diner owner was supposed to pick her up after school because I had to work late tonight. She is 6 years old, has bright blue eyes, and has a pout just like her mommy's"

Giggling, Rory sat down the salt container and smiled. "I'm right here, Mommy!"

"No way! My little girl is not old enough to have a big girl job yet! Are you sure?"

Still laughing at her mother's playfulness, Rory nodded wildly.

Dropping her purse on the counter, Lorelai propped her chin up with her hand. "So, tell me, how'd you land the gig? I hear the owner of this establishment can be a bit of a grump."

"Well good afternoon to you too," Luke called sarcastically as he walked through the kitchen doorway.

"Excuse me, sir." She turned to him with mock anger. "How come she is allowed behind the counter, but I am not? She is just as at risk to those falling potatoes as I am!"

"She doesn't try to steal the coffee." He smirked.

"Well, I just don't think it's fair."

Shaking his head, Luke walked over and pecked a chaste kiss on her pouted lips.

Perking up immediately, Lorelai spoke a pleased, "Hey."

"Hey back."

Noting the plaid handled spatula in his hand, she lifted her chin in acknowledgement. "How's that baby working out for ya? Still good?"

Stepping over, he patted Rory on the shoulder. "It's great. Rory did a good job picking it out."

"So, it's safe to day that old faithful has been replaced by the most fabulous spatula ever given to you by the one and only Rory Gilmore?"

"He's been using it all day," Rory informed her with a bright smile.

"Good… But it's not as good as the photo album, right?"

The Night of Luke's Birthday

"Come on! Come on!" Rory yelled, pulling Luke with her up the stairs of the porch. "I want to give you my present!"

Running from the truck to keep up with them, Lorelai laughed at Rory's excitement. "Slow down, hon! The present will still be there when you get inside. You're gonna rip Daddy Luke's arm off."

"But I'm excited!"

As soon as Luke unlocked the door, which he insisted upon locking as they left to go pick Rory up despite Lorelai's claim that it was Stars Hollow and nothing bad would happen, Rory dashed into the house and into her room.

Although he had intentions of following her, Lorelai grabbed the hem of Luke's shirt and redirected him to the living room. "You go in there, and I'll get the present with her. She likes to make a grand entrance with her presents."

Chuckling, he walked into the living room as he called over his shoulder, "I wonder where she got that from."

"Oh hush, you!"

Five minutes later, Rory sprinted down the hallway carrying one long, thin box as Lorelai followed with a larger one. "Happy Birthday Daddy Luke!"

"Thank you, Rory."

Much to the girls' dismay, Luke slowly and carefully pulled back the paper on the smaller box, doing his best to hold back a smile as he noticed their agitation at his pace.

"Just rip it already," Lorelai groaned as she nudged his elbow, trying to get him to move faster.

"I don't know. It looks like this wrapping took a while. I want to take the time to appreciate it." He smiled, watching as Rory began to hop with excitement.

"It didn't take long! Hurry, Daddy Luke!" Rory exclaimed, moving closer.

"Alright." Tearing off the last bit of paper in one swipe, Luke opened up the box to find a shiny, silver spatula with a plaid handle.

Looking up at him with eyes wide and imploring, Rory questioned, "Do you like it? It matches your shirts!"

"I love it, Rory. Thank you." Taking the spatula in hand, he eyed the details, but before he could get a close look, he was interrupted with a loud clap.

"Okay! Time for the next one," the little girl exclaimed. "Open this one faster than the last one."

"You got it."

Seeing Lorelai grab what looked like a tissue box from the desk, Luke eyed her curiously. Shaking her head, she flicked her chin to the box, encouraging him to open it.

As promised, he quickly tore the paper off the box and opened it up to see what looked like a photo album with similar design and writing as the one he helped Rory make for Lorelai's birthday. "A photo album," He questioned, unsure of what the book would entail. "Where did you get pictures from?"

"Well, Rory said that she wanted to make an album for you like she did me, so we may or may not have asked Rachel to find some for us. She got some from the apartment, and apparently, she knew where some others were too. She gave them to us a week or so ago."

He nodded. Opening the cover, Luke inhaled a sharp breath as he noted the picture of his family posing in front of the lake at their family cabin. Liz, perched on her father's shoulders gave a wide, toothy smile as his father looked over at his mother, seemingly laughing at something she said. His mother grinned happily at the camera as Luke clung to her leg, sharing the same grin. "I haven't seen this picture in years," he whispered, tracing his mother's face with his finger. "This was the year of the fort. We took this right after we got there."

"Who took the picture?" Rory questioned as she eyed the photo curiously. "You, your sister, and your mommy and daddy were all in it. Who took the picture?"

Taking in what looked like his inability to speak, Lorelai jumped in and laughed softly. "Always the inquisitive one… They probably took it with a timer."

"Oh okay." Seeing that he wasn't responding, and instead, just focusing on the picture, Rory frowned. "Do you like it?"

Swallowing the lump that appeared in his throat, Luke turned to her with tightly set lips. "I do…. Thank you, Rory."

Before Rory could press further, Lorelai handed the discarded wrapping paper from the presents to her. "Hey, hon? Can you go throw this away for me? And after that, go put your pajamas on so we can get ready to read before you go to bed."

"Okay!"

As Rory left, Lorelai turned back to see Luke flipping slowly through the album's pages. Taking a seat beside him on the couch, she placed the tissue box snug between them and planted a kiss to his shoulder. "Are you okay with this? I know we snuck the pictures behind your back."

Not looking up from the page he shook his head and answered quietly in the only words that could come to mind. "This is great…Thanks."

Remembering the night he got the album, he nodded with a small grin and confirmed, "Right."

Taking in the patrons of the dining room, Lorelai changed the subject, knowing the album was too private of a topic for public conversation. "Are you going to be able to eat with us tonight? It doesn't seem too busy in here."

"I don't kn…"

Before he could even finish his answer, Rory informed them, "Yes! I have a story from school to you!"

"Uh, okay, I guess my mind is made up for me," Luke smiled. "Let me finish the orders I've got and I'll make some stuff for us and bring it out." Dropping another quick kiss to her lips, he turned to walk away.

"Sounds good." She smiled at his retreating back. "And after Rory's story, I thought that we could discuss Thanksgiving."

Stopping in his tracks, he turned back around to face her. "Thanksgiving?"

"Yeah. You know, that holiday that's about a week from know? Rory and I usually go to Sookie's, but I figured with you in the picture this year that our plans might be a little different."

"Oh, yeah." Luke shrugged indifferently. "I normally just cook for the people who don't have anywhere else to go."

Not willing to let him spend the holiday alone, Lorelai pressed on. "Well, then after Rory and I eat with Sookie, since she is serving Thanksgiving lunch, we'll come here to celebrate with you."

"You don't have to do that. It's no big deal."

"No… we don't have to, but we are going to."

Knowing there was no use in fighting her, Luke conceded. Most surprisingly to him, he was actually excited that they were coming, at least, as excited as he, Luke Danes, could get. "Sorry… I'm still getting used to having people around to celebrate with," he smiled sheepishly. "I guess we don't have to discuss it then."

"Huh, I guess we don't." Tapping her chin in fake contemplation, she continued. "I guess we'll just have to find something else to talk about then."

Snorting a laugh, he joked, "Knowing you, I don't think that will be too hard."

With a naughty grin, she looked over at Rory. "You know what, hon? I think we'll talk about Star Trek. Do you know anyone who used to be a Trekkie?"

A giggle escaped from Rory's lips as Luke frowned. "And I'm leaving."

"See you in a few, babe," Lorelai called with a laugh at his retreating form. "That was too easy."

Luke was up at the crack of dawn on Thanksgiving, just as he was every morning. Not to his surprise, as he woke up, he was faced with the routine he and Lorelai had established in the past weeks. He'd move to get up; she'd hold on tight, doing her best to woo him into staying with her. He'd resist; she'd move closer, her hands slowly roaming his torso. He'd plant a kiss on her forehead then her lips, and tiredly, she'd let go and curl into his pillow, allowing him to move on with the rest of his day. Normally, delays like this would aggravate him, but if he was honest, he loved it. There was nothing he wanted to do more than to stay in bed with a warm, snuggly Lorelai all morning, but like usual, responsibility called. Much to his happiness, the knowledge of being able to spend more of the day than he was used to not only with her, but with Rory as well, made this early morning a little bit easier, and the same small smile he left her bedroom with was the same one he wore when he heard the bells above the door of the diner chime that afternoon.

"Hey, everybody!" Lorelai called out with a smile.

"Oh, hey doll faces! Happy Thanksgiving!" Babette answered back from the table in the back corner of the room.

From the kitchen doorway, Luke walked up, planting a soft kiss on Lorelai's lips. "Hey, Happy Thanksgiving."

"Hey, babe. Happy Thanksgiving."

Holding out her hand that was filled with flowers, Rory grinned widely. "Hi Daddy Luke! Happy Thanksgiving. These are for you!"

"Happy Thanksgiving, Rory." Taking the bouquet, he looked at it curiously. "What do I do with these?"

"Put them in a vase with water," she answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't have a vase."

"You don't have a vase," Lorelai questioned with a frown. "What do you put flowers in?"

"If you haven't noticed, I don't get flowers."

"Well now you do, so buy a vase," she retorted.

"But I don't need a vase because I never get flowers."

"Except for when we bring them to you, which will now happen every year, so you need to buy a vase."

Rolling her eyes from the counter, Gypsy groaned. "I swear, you guys bicker more than any couple I know. Just put the flowers in a water pitcher and call it a day."

"Oh come one, Gypsy," Babette cackled, "Let the kids go at it! They're more entertainin' than anything on TV!"

"Yeah, Luke. Our bickering is entertaining," Lorelai laughed with a wide smile. "Maybe this can be a new tradition."

"Hopefully not," he murmured, rolling his eyes. Pointing to a table over by the window, he continued, "That's our table. You can put your stuff down over there."

"Sounds good. Come on, Rory."

As they placed their jackets on the back of their chairs, the bells above the door chimed. Out from the cold came Rachel as she quickly shucked her jacket and placed it in her arms.

"Hi Rachel!" Rory waved, a book she pulled from Lorelai's purse flopping wildly in her hand.

"Hi Rory. Hi Lorelai."

"Hey Rachel," Lorelai greeted. "I didn't think you would be here today."

"Well, I'm normally in Massachusetts with my parents, but my mom and dad are on a cruise for their anniversary and they left on Tuesday." Shifting her eyes over to Luke at the counter, she continued, "They will have been married for 30 years come next Sunday."

"Tell Rob and Carol I said hello and happy anniversary when you talk to them." Luke replied easily.

"Wow, yeah, congrats to them," Lorelai smiled. "So, since you don't have anywhere to go, did you want to join us?"

"I don't know. I don't want to intrude."

"It's fine," Lorelai insisted confidently. "Thanksgiving should be spent with family and friends, so since your family is gone, you might as well spend it in the Hollow with the rest of us crazies."

"I guess I will…" Rachel conceded. "Thanks."

"You can sit by me!" Rory exclaimed happily. "Daddy Luke can sit by Mommy, and you can sit by me!"

"If that's what you want, then yeah… I'm gonna go put my stuff upstairs, and I'll be right back down."

With Rachel gone upstairs. Lorelai heard Luke clear his throat. Looking up, she saw him flick his head, calling her to him. "Uh, Rory. You sit still. I'll be right back."

When she reached the counter, Luke grasped her wrist and pulled her into the kitchen.

"What's up, Luke?"

Leaning back against the table to face her, Luke spoke. "Inviting Rachel to eat with us… that was really nice of you."

"It's no big deal." She waived him off. "Like I said, she doesn't have anyone else to spend it with, so why not us? She's your friend, and she was a member of the town long before I was. She's just as much a part of Stars Hollow as I am."

"But… I know it's not the most ideal situation ever," he pressed on.

Smiling at his concern, she interrupted. "I'm fine with her… You know that. Yeah, I had my doubts when she first got here, but we're good now, and Rory is excited for her to sit by her, so there is no taking the invitation back now."

Shaking his head, he planted a soft kiss on her lips. "Yeah, but still, thanks." Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he pulled her to him. "Come on. Let's get this dinner started before they start a riot."

"I'm so stuffed I can barely move," Lorelai groaned as she stood up. "Luke, you need to make your food taste bad so that I don't eat as much."

"I'll get right on that," he answered gruffly as he worked on gathering the rest of the empty glasses from the tables.

"I'm with you on that, Lorelai," Patty laughed. "Combined with the wine that I've had, I don't know if I'll be able to move from this spot before tomorrow."

"I guess you'll be spending the night with Rachel, then." Lorelai laughed along with her. Turning to Rachel who was finishing off a piece of pie, she warned her teasingly. "Good luck. I hear Patty throws some wild sleepovers."

"That I do…" Patty purred slyly. "Too bad Luke isn't staying here. I'm sure we would have a good time."

"Patty, there is a child in the room." Luke growled.

"I didn't say anything wrong… did I, Rachel? Lorelai?"

"I didn't hear anything." Lorelai replied, looking over at Luke to see his eyes roll.

"Yeah, well, she was thinking it," he grumbled. Standing up straight, he observed the damage left to clean up. Wiping his hands on his jeans, he turned to look at Lorelai. "Once I finish cleaning everything up, I'll come to the house."

"Sounds good to me," Lorelai agreed.

"Are you about to head out," Luke questioned.

"Yeah. Rory and I like to watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and it is coming on in about 20 minutes."

"Okay. I'll walk you guys out." Placing his hand on the small of her back, he guided her out the door and planted a soft kiss on her lips as soon as they reached the sidewalk.

As she observed the trio, Rachel suddenly found Patty's presence beside her at the table.

"So, sweetheart, have you changed your mind?" Patty inquired.

Tearing her eyes form the pseudo family, Rachel stuttered, "H-huh?"

"Have you changed your mind about going after Luke?"

"Oh yeah," she confirmed. Turning back to the window, she spoke as she watched Rory trying to jump high enough to reach Luke's hand for a high-five. "Even if I hadn't there's no way I could compete with them. He's so happy."

Downing the rest of her wine, Patty hummed. "That he is. Those girls have completely changed his life."

"I can tell." Shifting her gaze to Lorelai, Rachel saw her smiling as she observed her daughter playing with Luke. "And Lorelai's great. I know me showing up couldn't have been great for her, but she's taken it like a champ."

"She's a sweet girl."

"Honestly, I like her. I think that if the situation were different, we would end up as good friends." Looking down at Patty's empty wine glass, she grabbed the water pitcher and filled it. "Oh, here… It looks like you need a refill."

"Thank you," she chuckled. "It's probably good that you cut me off now."

Looking back to the sidewalk, they saw Lorelai and Rory laughing as a scowl appeared on Luke's face. Out of the silence that grew, Rachel questioned, "Do you think they'll get married?"

"Eventually… Once they finally talk to each other about it. Those two kids can flirt like no one's business, but actually talking about marriage, kids, and other things… well, you know."

Smiling, Rachel confirmed, "Yeah… I know. I guess that's one thing about Luke that will never change. He's the master of the monosyllable."

Nodding, Patty took a quick sip of water and smiled along with her. "And Lorelai's the most talkative person you'll ever meet, but that poor girl's past keeps her from trusting people completely. You can see how she loves him, but if you look at her eyes enough, you can still see some hesitance because she's afraid she'll scare him away."

"Huh…" Rachel whispered as a lightbulb seemingly went off in her head. "Maybe I can give them a push in the right direction."

"You do that… heaven knows I've been trying to for months, but maybe you can knock some sense into them."

With the diner finally empty, Luke moved around swiftly, cleaning up the rest of the waste and utensils left behind. Noticing the lack of sugar packets on the table, he headed back to the storage room, hoping that he could find enough to last him the rest of the week.

As he perused the boxes, Rachel appeared in the doorway looking at him curiously, the wheels of her mind turning. "I'm not lying to Patty when I say that I have nothing against Lorelai. I actually think she's really nice, but I can't help but notice how his relationship with her represents everything he used to hate. Maybe I can use that to make him realize how much he loves her, because he needs to make a move before it's too late." Suddenly, an ingenious idea, or at least what she thought was one, popped into her head. "If there's one thing Luke Danes can do it's argue…" she whispered.

Looking up to see her in the doorway, Luke questioned, "Uh, Rachel? What's up?"

Deciding to take the risk of making him angry, she stepped into the room and pushed the door to behind her, pretending to look for something on the shelf behind the door. "Luke, can I ask you something?"

"Sure…" he spoke back hesitantly, interested in hearing what she wanted to talk about.

Not turning around to face him, Rachel answered quietly. "Why are you with her?"

Caught off guard and not sure if he heard her right, Luke stepped closer to her. "What?"

Spinning around to face him, she repeated her question a little stronger. "Why are you with Lorelai?"

"What do you mean, why am I with her?"

"I mean exactly how it sounds, Luke." She sighed. "I've seen you with her over the past few weeks, and I just can't believe it."

A look of disbelief spread across his face at what he heard. "Why the hell does it matter to you?"

Hearing the irritation in his voice, Rachel shook her head and softened. "Don't get angry with me. While babysitting Rory, it really hit me just how deep you are in this thing with Lorelai. It's just so weird to see you in such a… I don't know, family role. The only thing I could come up with as a reason for it was that Lorelai is a single mother who has a daughter with an absent father. She needs someone to help support her and you like to be needed, Luke." She explained.

"I'm not with Lorelai because she needs me," Luke countered. Pointing at her to stress his point, he forcefully confirmed, "I'm with her because I love her. I love her and Rory."

Trying to hide her smile, knowing he fell right in to her trap, she shook her head in mock disbelief and cast her hands outwards. "So you just expect me to believe that your whole being has changed in the past three years? When I left, you were anti-PDA, anti-kid, anti-fun, and anti-change. Now I'm back, and all of a sudden, you're putting your arm around and kissing Lorelai in the middle of the sidewalk, you're spending time with a kid and letting her call you 'Daddy Luke', and Rory told me about how you went to picnics, movies, and family dates at Sniffy's! You're not being mean anymore! You, Luke Danes, are not acting like yourself. You have to be doing all of this for Lorelai so that she'll date you and you will feel needed."

By the end of her rant, Luke was fuming over her accusations. "No! You don't get to come in here and tell me about the 'real me' when you haven't been around for years, and you sure as hell don't get to come in here and accuse me of being fake to Lorelai just because I want to feel needed!"

"Then why, Luke? Why are you so different? Why are you all the things I wanted you to be, now?"

"Because I want to be! You didn't see the life I lived after you left the last time. I was miserable. Mom was gone, Dad was gone, Liz was gone, and you were gone! I had nothing but myself and this building! But all of that changed when the Gilmore girls entered my life! All of those things, the fun, the happiness, and the change, they are just things that I am learning to like! I like them because they make me see things in a way that I never thought was possible! And as far as the PDA goes, I don't know what causes it! For some reason, I just can't help myself. She's like a magnet; I can't stay away!"

Hearing the passion in his voice, even she finally realized the depth of his feelings for Lorelai. Rachel, her jaw dropping, came to a realization that she hadn't even thought of. "Oh, my gosh, you love her…"

"I already told you that," he spat, the agitation still dripping from his voice.

"No Luke, you really love her."

"As opposed to?"

"To how you loved me."

At her words, the anger in him immediately drained. His shoulders relaxing, Luke sighed. "Rach, you know I loved you."

Smiling, she nodded her agreement. "I know, but not like you love Lorelai… Luke, you love her like your dad loved your mom."

Knowing the trueness of her words, Luke gave the only response that would fit. "I do."

Sitting down on the stool near her, Rachel shook her head. "I never thought I'd see the day where you finally opened yourself to someone like that. I didn't even think you'd do it with me… but you've found her. You've found your Katherine."

Though it wasn't her intention, Luke was slowly filled with guilt Walking over to her, he spoke quietly. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you what I give her… Yeah, you hurt me, but I never gave myself to you. That had to hurt too."

"It did," Rachel smiled small. "But I got used to it. I knew you weren't doing it on purpose. I just couldn't break down your walls… but don't beat yourself up. You're a good guy, Luke."

Not sure how to respond, Luke let silence fall as his mind pondered all that he had just revealed to Rachel.

Drawing him from his thoughts, Rachel spoke imploringly. "So… are you going to ask her to marry you?"

Dropping his gaze to the floor, he shuffled uncomfortably. "We haven't really talked about that, yet."

"Why?"

Sighing, he shook his head. "There's a lot you don't know about Lorelai. She's had some issues in her past, and now she has issues with big change and commitment."

"That sounds like someone I know," Rachel smiled.

"Tell me about it…" Luke chuckled. "But Lorelai's issues are different than mine. She's so careful about us because she has been screwed over so many times in her past. She doesn't feel like she deserves to be loved half the time, and when she finally gets comfortable with being loved, she doesn't want to change because she is afraid she'll mess something up. Plus, with Rory, she has to be careful."

"I get that. From what I've heard, she's had quite a life for being so young."

Raising his eyebrows, Luke questioned, "From what you've heard? You've been checking up on her?"

Looking down in guilt, Rachel nodded slowly. "Well, when I first got here, I talked to Patty, so yeah… but that's beside the point. You didn't answer my question. Do you think you'll propose?"

"Honestly? Yeah… eventually. Once I think Lorelai is ready, I will."

"I think that's great. I think Lorelai is pretty great… Just don't get cold feet when the time comes."

"I won't… I just hope she'll say yes," he murmured.

"I don't think she'll say anything else."

"You think"

"I do," she nudged him with her shoulder as she smiled. "And she'd be a fool not to… But don't wait too long to ask her, or at least let her know that you want to ask her sometime in the future."

"I won't" Seeing the genuine smile on Rachel's face, Luke prodded. "What are you smiling at?"

"What?" She laughed as she ducked her head. "Oh, no. I'm not smiling."

Quickly, something registered in his mind. Narrowing his eyes at her, Luke frowned. "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

As much as she tried to hide it, her smile grew wider. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about."

"I don't need you meddling in my love life… You know that, right?"

"I know you don't need it," she stressed, "but I thought that I'd give you a push in the right direction."

"Well, I don't need a push," he grumbled.

"I think you do."

Throwing his hands up in surrender, Luke submitted. "Fine. You pushed, and I heard you, so this conversation can end."

"Just as long as you heard me."

Following him back out into the dining room, Rachel watched Luke gathering the rest of the dishes and taking them back to the kitchen. When he reappeared, she cleared her throat, gaining his attention. "By the way, I wanted to let you know that I'll be out of your hair next week. I got a call yesterday morning letting me know that my next assignment starts next Monday, and I'll be in Brazil. I'll fly out to LA on Saturday for briefing."

"Wow… Okay, Brazil."

Seeing that he wasn't going to give her much more, she smiled. "Hey."

"Yeah?" He looked back up at her.

"You go ahead and get out of here. I'll get the rest."

"You don't…"

Shaking her head, Rachel held up a hand to stop him. "I know… I don't, but I'm going to anyway. You go spend the rest of the night with your girl."

As he walked up the porch steps, Luke thought about knocking, but he knew Rory was probably asleep by now, so he thought the better of it. Entering quietly, he shed his jacket and hooked it on the coat rack. Looking in the living room, he saw Lorelai curled up on the couch as some couple was arguing on the screen in some movie that he would undoubtedly be forced to watch in the future. Silently, he shuffled in and lowered himself to the other end of the couch.

"Hey!" Lorelai spoke softly as she perked up, shooting her trademark bright smile at him. "You're back sooner than I thought."

"Shhhhh. No talking," he chastised her teasingly. "It's against the rules."

"Oh hush," she laughed. Immediately after he got himself comfortable, she turned and laid her head in his lap and laced one of her hands through his.

As his fingers of his free hand began trailing through her hair, Luke thought back on the conversation he had just had with Rachel. Lorelai's laugh at heaven knows what character pulled him from his reverie. Looking down at her, he was set on the thought of having a future with her. He'd talk to her eventually, but not today.

From her spot at the counter, Rory's eyes grew wide as she saw Rachel come out from behind the curtain with her bags. "You're leaving?" She questioned sadly, a wide frown spread across her face.

"Yeah, sorry, Rory. It's time for me to hit the road again and take some pictures."

"Will you send me post cards?"

Luke looked up from his spot at the register, holding his breath as he waited to see Rachel's response.

"Do you want me to send you postcards?"

"Yeah!" Rory exclaimed, nodding wildly. "I can put them on my wall with the one's my dad sends me!"

"Well, then, I'll do my best to send them when I can."

"You promise?"

Smiling at Rory's genuine excitement, Rachel confirmed, "I do… It may be a week or so before you get one, but I'll send one once I'm settled and every once in a while, while I am there."

Hopping off her stool, Rory rounded the counter and wrapped her arms around Rachel's leg. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too, but I'll come back and visit sometime." Catching a glance at the clock on the wall, she looked over at Luke. "Hey, Luke?"

Hearing her promise to send Rory postcards, Luke was much more relieved. Aside from their short-lived engagement, Rachel wasn't one to break promises. "Yeah?"

"I'm gonna run one last errand before I leave… I'll be back in a little while." Tossing her camera bag over her shoulder, she gave Rory one last squeeze and left the diner.

While filling out forms at the front desk of the inn, Lorelai looked up to see someone she definitely did not expect to see at this time of day. "Oh, Rachel. Hi… Not to be rude, but what are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm headed out in a little while, and I wasn't sure whether you were busy, but I just came here hoping for the best… I wanted to talk to you if you have a minute."

"Oh, well, sure. It's not really busy right now, so you caught me at a good time. Let me get someone to cover the desk. Since Mia is out of town, we'll use her office."

After finding one of the workers to temporarily cover the front, they filed awkwardly into Mia's office, both sitting at opposite ends of the small couch.

Beginning suddenly, Rachel spoke plainly. "So, I'm sorry for just showing up out of the blue like I did."

Shaking her head, Lorelai answered, "You don't have to apologize to me. This was your town first. You can come and go as you please."

"I know, but I disrupted stuff… I'd be lying if I said I didn't come back for Luke."

Though it was exactly what she expected to hear, Lorelai's breath hitched in her throat. Releasing it slowly, she nodded. "Uh, yeah… I assumed."

"I want you to know, though, that I am not pursuing him anymore. He's with you, and I completely respect that."

A slight smile appeared on Lorelai's face. "Thank you."

An awkward silence developed between them for a moment before Rachel cleared her throat and laughed softly before speaking. "That stuff in the kitchen that I walked in on on the first day… He never would have done that with me. It's too 'unsanitary.'"

Laughing at the memory, Lorelai shifted uncomfortably. "That was so embarrassing; I'm sorry you walked in on that… But believe me, he normally wouldn't do that with me either."

"Did you initiate it?"

Slightly caught off guard by the question, Lorelai answered slowly. "No… Not really. I just hugged him, but he was the one to escalate it."

"My point exactly." Biting her lower lip, Rachel contemplated telling her, but deciding it might help push Lorelai in the right direction, she continued. "You know, Lorelai, the only time I've ever seen him this happy and carefree was before his father passed, and even then, his happiness was restrained. It's been a long time."

"Really?"

"Really," she confirmed. "You and Rory are so good for him. I never thought that I'd see Luke Danes taking care of a kid."

"I know," Lorelai laughed genuinely. "Who would have thought that Mr. Kids-Have-Jam-Hands could be reined in by a tiny, genius six-year-old."

"I always knew he'd be good with kids if he gave it a shot."

Tucking a curl behind her ear, Lorelai grinned. "Thank you, Rachel."

"For what?"

"For telling me all of this… I don't know. It's not like I don't believe Luke when he tells me that he's happy, but it's nice to hear it from someone else who really knows him."

"No problem… And I really am sorry for popping in like this. Even after all these years, it never occurred to me that he would have found someone else. I'm glad he did, though. You're ten thousand times better for him than I ever was"

"No, Rachel, I'm sure…"

Shaking her head adamantly, Rachel cut her off. "You don't have to defend me… I screwed up with him, and I'm pretty sure that what I did to him has caused problems for you."

Ducking her head, Lorelai tried not to let Rachel see that she was right.

Unsurprisingly, she did notice. "See… I figured I did. Just a word of advice, Lorelai, don't let him go. He's the most loyal person you'll ever meet, and he's given his love to you, so he'll never even look at someone else. Just don't push him away like I did."

"I won't."

Sitting up straighter, Rachel looked steadily at Lorelai as she spoke. "Do you mind if I ask you one more question?"

"Uh, sure. Go ahead."

"Do you want to marry him?"

Her breath catching in her throat, Lorelai quickly averted her eyes from Rachels.

Seeing her reaction, Rachel frowned. "Sorry if it's too personal, but I was just wondering."

Thinking back on the conversation she had with her mother on Rory's birthday, Lorelai realized with was time for her to put what she was thinking out into the open. "Well," she started hesitantly, "We haven't really talked about it."

"Okay, that's not a surprise, but that wasn't my question," Rachel ended with a grin, realizing that Lorelai had the same tactic Luke had when avoiding her question a few nights before.

"I know." Running her fingers through her hair, Lorelai sighed. "To be honest, I want to, but I don't know when it's going to happen. I don't want to do things too fast."

"I'm not suggesting you marry him tomorrow or anything, but just think about it… and my advice is that when you decide, don't wait too long to tell him. You guys are great together."

"Thanks… I think so too."

As if in mutual agreement, they both stood up. "Well," Rachel started, shoving her hands in her coat pockets, "I guess I'm gonna head out. I'm gonna stop by the diner to get my bags and say goodbye to Luke and Rory, but after that I'll be on my way." Remembering the envelope inside her bag, she pulled it off of her shoulder and grabbed it. "Oh, by the way, these are for you. They're pictures I took different nights while I was here, and I put the one from Halloween in there too. I thought you might like some copies."

Smiling, Lorelai took the envelop form her hand. "Thanks. Have a safe flight."

Slipping the bag back on her shoulder, Rachel turned to head towards the door.

"Hey, Rachel?"

Turning back, she questioned, "Yeah?"

"If you're ever back in the area, come by and visit. I'm sure Rory would love to hear more of your stories... And I know it's not mine to say, but I'm pretty sure that Luke would agree that the apartment is always open."

"Maybe I will," she smiled genuinely. "See you sometime, Lorelai."

"See you sometime."

As Rachel walked out, Lorelai reflected on their conversation about Luke. Looking at the months they've spent together, at all the moments he spent with her and with Rory, she is pretty sure she wants a future with him. Maybe they won't talk tonight… No, probably not, but they will eventually.