CHAPTER 34: Everything's Okay

Meanwhile, on the way back to Stars Hollow, Luke twisted and turned through the streets of the town. Looking through the rearview mirror, he was surprised to see a wide-awake Rory staring out the window. "You okay back there, Rory?"

Not tearing her gaze away from the sky, she nodded.

"Are you gonna be okay with just me for the night?"

This time, Luke saw her nod again, but also noticed a little hesitance in her movement. Gazing quickly at the clock, he saw the 9:00 time and contemplated what to do next. "You know what? It's been a crazy night… Let's go get some pie."

As they pulled behind the already closed diner, Luke got out Rory out of her seat and carried her in, putting her down at the table. Grabbing some leftover pie from the fridge, he warmed it up quickly and placed a scoop of ice cream on top. Placing it down in front of her, he saw her looking at him with wide eyes. "But it's past bed time," she spoke surprised.

With a grin, he took the fork from his hand and laid it on her plate. "I know it's past your bed time, and you probably don't need sugar this late, but I don't think Mommy will mind, so have at it, kid."

She didn't need to be told twice. Quickly grabbing the fork, Rory cut a chunk off of the piece. Just before it entered her mouth, she stopped and smiled. "Thank you, Daddy Luke."

"You're welcome, Princess."

Taking the bite off of the fork, she looked at him curiously. "Where's your pie?"

Shaking his head, Luke crossed his arms in front of him and leaned back against the back of his chair. "I don't want any pie. This is for you."

With a frown, Rory answered, "But you always eat pie with Mommy."

As he had seen it many times before, Luke saw the beginning of a pout form on her lips. Trying to stop the corner of his lips from twitching upward at the sight, he responded reasonably. "I know, but that's the only piece of apple left, and I know that's your favorite, so you eat it."

For a moment, Rory stared at the bare spot in front of Luke where she thought his plate should be. Making up her mind quickly, she grabbed her fork again, cut off a piece, and held it out. "Here, we can share."

Shaking his head while wearing the smile he could no longer hold back, he grabbed the fork and took the small bite. "Thank you, Rory."

They sat in silence, Rory eating and hanging a bite to Luke every once in a while, like Lorelai did every time she at pie. Finally, out of nowhere, Rory asked the question on her little mind. "Daddy Luke, is Grandpa gonna be okay?"

"He will be." Grabbing a napkin from the container, he handed one to her so she would wipe her face. "It's just going to take a little bit for him to get better."

"How?"

"How what?" Luke looked at her curiously.

"How will he be okay?"

Sighing, he thought for a minute on how to best explain to a 6 year old. "Rory, do you remember when you had the chicken pox."

With a mouth full of pie, all she could do was nod.

"And do you remember how you only got better because Mommy and I took care of you and you got a lot of rest?"

"Yeah," she acknowledged, handing the fork over to him for a bite.

"That's what is going to happen with your grandpa. Your grandma is going to take good care of him, and he will get better, just like you did."

Cocking her head to the side, Rory questioned him curiously. "What about Grandma Katherine and Grandpa Will?"

Almost choking on the bite he was swallowing, Luke took a second to cough before looking at Rory with raised eyebrows. "Grandma Katherine and Grandpa Will?"

"Yeah… your mommy and daddy. You said they were in the hospital too, and they never came home."

Dropping the fork to the table, Luke sighed quietly. "That was different, Rory." Knowing she was you and wouldn't really understand, he called her over. "Come here a second."

Hopping down from the chair, she scurried to his side where he pulled her in is lap.

"Rory, my mom and dad were a lot different from your Grandpa. They were both very sick, and their bodies wouldn't work anymore."

Frowning, Rory cocked her head. "What about mommy? She had a tummy ache yesterday. Does that mean her body won't work anymore too?"

Knowing where her mind was going, he quickly reassured her. "No, Rory. That's different too. There are different ways people get sick. When you, me, Mommy, your grandpa, or even your grandma gets sick, we can get better. My parents had a sickness where they stayed sick and their bodies wouldn't let them get better."

"So no one is sick?"

Pushing a hair that had fallen in front of her eyes back from her face, Luke shook his head. "Yes. No one is sick. I don't have it. You don't have it. Your mommy doesn't have it. No one you know has it. Don't worry."

"Are you sure?"

Before he could respond, she raised her pinky in front of his eyes. Linking their fingers, he nodded, "I'm sure, Rory. Everyone is going to be just fine."

Accepting his answer, she planted a kiss to his cheek and hopped down from his lap, going back to her chair. Before bringing another bite to her mouth, Rory questioned, "Can we take some pie to Mommy tomorrow? She'll be sad she missed pie time."

"Sure." He agreed easily, sharing the same thought, "I'm sure she'd love that."

"What about grandma and grandpa?"

"Do you want them to have some?"

Nodding, she smiled.

"Alright then. We'll get some for them in the morning."

As Rory finished off her plate and he loaded her back into the truck, Luke's mind whirled. "Was it okay for me to talk about sickness and death with her? Should I have waited until Lorelai was around so she could answer?" Shaking his head, he sighed, deciding to save those thoughts until the morning when he could ask her in person.

Remembering the room number Lorelai had given him when they talked earlier that morning, Luke, with Rory skipping along beside him, walked into the hospital the next day. Finding their way to the room, he found Lorelai standing outside leaning against the wall. "Hey, everything okay?" he asked as they walked up.

Jumping suddenly, Lorelai placed a hand over her heart. "Oh, hey. You scared me." Leaning up, she pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "Yeah, the doctor is in there with Mom and Dad, and I just wanted to give them some room." Looking down at Rory, who was holding a Luke's bag, Lorelai smiled. "Hey, sweets. Whatcha got there?"

"We brought pie for you and Grandpa and Grandma!" She exclaimed, holding up the bag.

"What? Pie? Yummy! I can't wait to eat it!... Did you sleep well last night?"

"Mhm!" Rory hummed, "Daddy Luke made a fort in the living room!"

Eyeing Luke with a grin, Lorelai answered, "He did, huh? That sounds like fun."

"Yeah, but he didn't sleep in it because he said it would hurt his back… But we watched a movie in it, and he slept on the couch while I slept in the fort!"

"Wow! And you did all of this without me? I am so jealous." Picking up her daughter, she gave her a big hug and a loud kiss on her cheek. "I missed you last night, kid."

"I missed you too, Mommy."

Hearing the door open and seeing the doctor walk by, Lorelai sat Rory back down on the ground and placed a hand on her shoulder. "So, sweets, that was the doctor that just left. Did you want to go see grandpa?"

Gasping with a nod, Rory exclaimed, "Yeah!"

"Okay…. Now, he doesn't look too good, but I promise you that he's okay." Grabbing her empty hand, they started to walk into the room with Luke following. "I think he's going to be really excited to see you."

In the room, Richard's bed sat in the center, and Emily sat in a chair near his side. To no one's surprise, as soon as Richard caught a glimpse of Rory, he perked up a bit. "Well, if it isn't my favorite granddaughter?" he said with a smile.

"Hi Grandpa! I brought you and grandma and mommy pie!" Rory waved. Looking at the sling on his shoulder, she frowned. "You've got a big booboo."

Casting his eyes down to his arm, Richard smirked. "Why, yes. I guess I do."

"I'm happy you are okay!" she answered, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "You missed apple tarts! They were super yummy!"

"I guess I'll have to get your grandmother to make some later," he chuckled. Seeing Luke follow them in, Richard lifted his good hand in a slight gesture. "Hello, Luke."

"Hello, Mr. Gilmore. It's good to see that you are alright." Luke acknowledged as Rory walked over to the older mans bedside, sitting the bag of goodies on the table that sat beside Emily.

"Hi grandma," she spoke shyly.

"Hello, Rory." Noting the book that stuck out of the bookbag on her back, Emily continued, "I see you brought a story with you."

Nodding, Rory took off her backpack that was packed full of things to keep her entertained. "Mrs. Campbell gave it to me to read while we don't have school. It's called Mr. Popper's Penguins."

"Penguins, huh?" Richard questioned. "I'd like to hear about those."

Looking at him with hopeful eyes, Rory asked, "Do you want to read with me?"

"I have a better idea." Patting the small spot on the bed next to him, he smiled, "Why don't you climb up here and read it, and I'll listen."

"I'm not so sure that is a good idea, Richard," Emily spoke up, eyeing the spot warily.

"And why not," he challenged.

"She'll get tangled up in a cord or lean too hard on one of your injuries."

Without second thought, he shifted himself over slightly as well as he could to make a little more room, and answered, "Then I will simply put her on my good side, and if she gets tangled, I will untangle her."

Getting a nod of approval from Lorelai, Rory climbed up very carefully into place between Richard and the bed rail. Opening her book to the first page, she cleared her throat and began reading.

As Rory spoke the words carefully, Lorelai smiled at the scene. After a few moments, nudging Luke softly with her elbow to gain his attention, she leaned up and whispered in his ear, "Come on."

Without giving him time to respond, she turned and walked out of the room. Not knowing what else to do, he followed her out.

"Are you alright?" Luke questioned as soon as they got out into the hall.

Taking his hand in hers, she brought it between them, toying with his fingers. "Yeah, I just figured we could talk while Rory read to them… Was everything really okay last night?"

"Yeah… I could tell she was a little down, but I think she did alright."

Growing silent, Lorelai took a second before a smile grew slowly on her lips. "So pie and a fort, huh?"

Nodding, Luke looked down sheepishly. "Uh, yeah. It was a crazy night, so I thought she might like it."

"Well, thanks… It sounds like she definitely did."

"It was no problem… And after our conversation, I thought it would be fun for her."

"Conversation?"

Realizing what he said, Luke shuffled nervously for a second. "Oh, yeah…"

Seeing his nervousness, Lorelai frowned. "Uh, Luke, what conversation?"

Looking around for a second, his eyes fell on some chairs a few feet away, and he flicked his head towards them. "Let's sit a second."

"Okay…" she answered carefully. As she sat down, she turned to face him with a curious look. "What did you guys talk about?"

"That's something that I wanted to discuss with you." As he explained the conversation he had with Rory to her, a myriad of emotions flicked across her face, leaving him at a loss. "Uh, so, yeah…. We talked about some heavy stuff for a 6-year-old. Normally, I would let you talk to her about that kind of stuff, but you weren't there, and I didn't want her to worry."

Nodding as she still held his hand, she traced small circles on the back as she processed. "You know… I figured she would be curious about the whole situation, but I wasn't sure whether she'd ask you or wait to ask me."

"I figured too, but I was hoping that she'd wait to tell you. Not that I was afraid or didn't know what to say to her, but I'm not her parent… I mean, I am, kind of, some of the time, but not really, so I didn't know if it was my place to talk with her, you know?"

"You know what I know? You ramble too much," Lorelai smirked at him. Bringing her legs up into the chair, she tucked them under her and turned her whole body to face him. "Okay. So let me see if I caught this right. She was worried about my dad being in the hospital because she heard about your parents being in the hospital and then dying? And you talked to her about it in a very kid friendly way and made her feel better about not only my dad, but the rest of us too?" She asked him with a slightly furrowed brow., "And you were afraid I'd be upset that you talked to her instead of me?"

Shaking his head, Luke shrugged his shoulders. "Well, yeah. You're her mom."

"And you're her Daddy Luke." Releasing a small laugh, she smiled and leaned over to place a quick kiss on his lips. "Luke, if I wasn't the one to talk to her about this, then I'm glad you were the one to do it. You are always my first pic, you know that. I trust you one-hundred percent with her."

"So you're okay with it? I didn't over step my bounds?"

"No… If anything, I am glad that you were the one to do it. Heaven knows that I wasn't in the best state of mind last night."

Releasing the breath he didn't realize he was holding, Luke smiled. "Okay, good."

Looking at him seriously, Lorelai continued, "And for the record, if there is any other question Rory asks you, use your discretion, but I would say that 99% of the time, you can answer it… The only thing might be the question," she stressed. "I figure that I need to take that one."

"The question?"

"Yeah, the question…. As in the 'Mommy, where do babies come from?' question," she imitated with a high pitched voice. "I assume that a sex talk with Rory is not something that you want to have."

Groaning, Luke put his face in his hands. "Aw jeez, she's only six. She doesn't even need to think about that stuff."

Laughing at the blush that appeared on his cheeks, Lorelai grinned. "It's so funny how you squirm at the mention of the word, but you're so good at it."

Rolling his eyes, Luke frowned. "Yeah, well, doing it and talking about it are two different things. Forgive me if discussing it with a child, especially Rory, is not something that I want to do."

"Well you are gonna have to do it sometime," she shrugged nonchalantly.

"With who? Jess? I wouldn't be surprised if Liz already took care of that."

"Well probably not Rory or Jess, but maybe someone else in the future," she faltered off, shifting in her seat.

"Someone else? Who e-" Confused for a moment, Luke quickly caught her drift. "Oh, that someone else."

"Yeah… you still want a someone else or two, right? Or have you changed your mind?" she questioned hesitantly, looking anywhere but his eyes.

Shaking his head, Luke reached out and turned her face towards his. "I haven't changed my mind. I just didn't know what you meant at first… If someone else comes along and I need to have that talk, then I will." He reassured her.

"Good, just checking." She smiled with a toothy grin that he quickly reciprocated.

If anyone had walked by, they would have thought that they were idiots by the way they were looking at each other. Remembering where they were, Luke pulled his gaze form hers and looked around aimlessly. "So… uh… I had a bag of stuff for you out in the car, but I guess you don't need it now." He gestured to her casual outfit. "Where did you get that stuff anyway."

"I had it in the back of the Jeep from when I was going to change at Sookie's after work and go to the mall with her a few weeks ago. We didn't end up going, and I never got the bag out of the car. I just stuffed it in the bag that I brought in for mom last night." Thinking back on the moment when she decided to change last night, she laughed. "You should have seen the face mom made last night when she pulled my Bangles t shirt out of her bag. She probably hasn't seen that name since I was in high school and I wore a Bangles shirt to piss her off."

"I can imagine," Luke laughed. "If you want, I can still get the other stuff for you though… It might make your mom less aggravated."

"I don't think there's anything that can do that," Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I think I'll be okay, though. They are probably going to discharge Dad later this afternoon, so after Rory gets done visiting for a bit, I think that I'll come home with you guys."

After finishing chapter 2 of the book, Luke, Lorelai, and Rory left the hospital. When the trio arrived back home, Rory dashed inside the house, immediately dropping her bag in the foyer and crawling into the fort that was still set up in the living room.

Following behind her, Lorelai smiled and ran her finger over the light grey sheet roof of the fort. "Very nice craftsmanship, Mr. Danes. I think you found your calling," she smiled.

Rolling his eyes as he sat down the keys on the desk, Luke smirked. "I'll try to remember that if the diner goes down-hill."

"Although, you better not let word get out that you are thinking about starting a fort business. Kirk might try to beat you to it."

"Because that would be a travesty." Looking at Lorelai, he noticed the contemplative look on her face and grinned. "Lorelai?"

Quickly looking back up, she cocked her head. "Huh?"

"You want to get in it too, don't you?"

Shrugging her shoulders as her face reddened, Lorelai spoke casually. "If it fit you and Rory last night, it should fit me too, right?"

Chuckling, Luke jerked his chin at the structure. "Go ahead. I'll call you two when dinner is ready."

Smiling widely, Lorelai got down on her hands and knees to crawl in, before she lifted the cover, she looked over her shoulder at him. "Have I told you lately that you're the best boyfriend ever?"

"In the last 24 hours," he questioned with a smug look, "No."

"Well, you are…" And with that, she disappeared behind the sheet.

Before he could even reach the kitchen, he heard a fit of giggles break out, bringing a smile to his face.

Inside, Lorelai laid back on a mound of pillows as Rory scribbled carefully on her Christmas coloring book.

"Nice present you're coloring there, Rory. I love the purple wrapping paper."

Not looking up, Rory traced the outline of the present's bow. "I'm coloring it purple for you. It's your present."

Gasping playfully, Lorelai exclaimed, "My present? I get my own present in your picture?"

"Yeah!" Finally looking up, Rory held up an indigo and an orange crayon. "What color should I color Daddy Luke's?"

Pointing, Lorelai gestured to the indigo. "Go with that one. He likes blue a lot."

"Oh yeah!" Carefully placing the orange back in the box, she continued coloring.

Looking over at the picture, Lorelai pointed to the other presents that were there. "And whose are those?"

"The pink one is mine, the red one is grandma's, and the yellow one is grandpa's"

"One for everyone, huh?" she questioned, watching as Rory carefully filled in Luke' present.

"Everyone except Mia. I have to draw hers because there aren't enough."

Waiting a minute before she spoke again, Rory questioned, "Mommy, are we going to see grandpa again tomorrow?"

"Probably not, hon. He's leaving the hospital today and going home, so I think we are going to give him time to settle in."

Sitting up quickly, Rory looked at her mother curiously. "What about for Christmas?"

"Not for Christmas wither. Grandpa is going to need his rest for a little while, so I think we are going to wait until he is doing better to go see him."

Not happy with her response, Rory frowned sadly. "Okay."

Seeing her reaction Lorelai sighed. "I know you've missed your grandpa, and it's been a while since you've spent some time with him, but I promise you'll get to see him again soon. Once the holidays are over and he heals up, we'll find a way to visit… and maybe if Santa brings you some books for Christmas, you can save some of them to read to Grandpa."

At the sound of the word book, Rory perked up again. "Do you think Santa is going to bring me books?"

"Did you ask for books in your letter?" Lorelai questioned, though she already knew the answer.

Nodding, Rory looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"I bet he will then." She reassured her. "If he brings you more than one, then you can read some right away and then save the others for Grandpa."

"Okay!"

Seeing that Rory was satisfied with that answer, Lorelai smiled and sat up. "Alright… I'll be back in a minute. I'm going to go see if I can sneak some cookies out of the kitchen without Daddy Luke knowing. If he catches me, will you come in there and use the Rory eyes on him?"

Giggling, Rory nodded and turned back to her picture to continue coloring.

"Thanks, kid. You're the best."

After tucking Rory in that night, Luke check all the doors as Lorelai grabbed their pillows from the pile on the couch that had earlier filled the fort.

"I am so tired, I could probably fall asleep and not wake up until next week." She sighed, lacing her fingers through his as they climbed the stairs.

As they reached the room, Luke sat down on the bed, pulling her into his lap as she tossed the pillows down behind him. "Makes sense. We've had an eventful 24 hours."

"You can say that again." Feeling his hand slip under the hem of her top, she smiled as he ran his hand up and down her back.

"It's too bad we had to take down the fort. I think Rory really loved it."

"She did… But she also needed some pillows and blankets to sleep with."

"It was a nice touch to use Santa as leverage, by the way. I don't think I've ever seen her clean something that fast."

"Well the fact that Santa can't bring presents if there's a fort in the way is a big issue for any kid… but especially Rory. She doesn't want Santa to hurt himself." Sighing, she leaned her forehead to rest against his. "I'm so glad Dad didn't have to stay another night. Is it bad that I missed sharing a bed with you, and it was only for one night?"

"I missed you too."

The barely reclining hospital chair I was given last night was awful."

"Those chairs are definitely not good for the neck." Reaching up higher, he brought his hand up to rub the back of her neck. "You know… We talked about mine and Rory's night… how did everything go after I left?"

Biting her lip, she thought about everything that happened. "Ummm… Everything went pretty well, I guess. Dad was a little out of it last night… It was what happened before you came this morning that was more… interesting."

The way she said the word struck him. "Interesting?"

"Well…"

Earlier that Morning

Walking in the door at 8 am, just as she had done for every hour throughout the night, the nurse, who everyone called Jenny, shut the door loudly behind her, waking Lorelai from her sleep… again.

Looking around groggily, Lorelai noted her mother was missing from the room. "Huh," she thought. Shifting her gaze to the bed, she watched as the nurse ran through her normal routine, checking to make sure that everything to do with Richard was okay.

"Everything still looks good, Mr. Gilmore. If all goes well, I believe that we'll be able to send you home today." Jenny smiled.

"Well that would be wonderful," Richard answered, "Let's hope that's the case."

As the woman left the room, Lorelai cleared her throat. "So, you're feeling good this morning, then?"

Looking over at her with surprise, Richard blinked quickly. "Oh, yes… I didn't realize you were awake. I am feeling rather fine, I guess, considering the circumstances."

"Good…" Not sure how to continue the conversation, Lorelai looked to the ground awkwardly. "Uh, so… How was your Thanksgiving, Dad?"

At this point, Emily walked in, hearing the end of Lorelai's question. "Seriously, Lorelai?" she frowned disapprovingly.

Shrugging, despite the awkward situation, Lorelai couldn't help but wear a small smirk. "What? You said I couldn't make small talk with you. You didn't say anything about Dad."

"Well, surely you can come up with a better question than what I asked you." Sitting down a cup of ice water in front of Richard, she stuck the straw in the lid carefully while still stalking to Lorelai. "If you want to know what we did, then maybe you should have been there, or at least called."

Feeling that this was going to soon become a battle, Lorelai immediately crossed her arms defensively and spoke insistently. "You could have called me too, mom. I didn't have to tell you what I did for Thanksgiving last night, but I did."

"Just because you do it does not mean that we have to," she countered, "If you cared to know, then you would have cared to come."

Rolling her eyes, Lorelai shifted in her seat. "I had plans with Luke, mother, but if you wanted me at Thanksgiving, then you should have asked."

"But why did I have to ask, Lorelai? You didn't ask me either. And you and I both know that you didn't invite us because you didn't want to see us. So if you didn't want to see us, then you don't get to know."

Looking up in exasperation, Lorelai breathed deeply, trying to keep her anger inside. "Well, why would I want to see you," she reasoned. "Aside from Rory's party, which I'm still a little pissed about being surprise attacked at, every contact we have had for years has been less than pleasant."

Ignoring Lorelai's reasoning, Emily shook her head. "She's my granddaughter. I had every right to be there."

"No you didn't! You weren't invited. You didn't respect my wishes!"

"Lorelai, don't raise your voice at your mother," Richard finally chimed in. "You knew that I didn't want to come without your mother. I assumed that your sending of an invitation acknowledged that desire and made it okay for her to come."

"Well you know what they say when you assume," Lorelai murmured.

"Lorelai!" Emily reprimanded her.

"Well, it's true," she responded with an eye roll. "Look, if he wasn't sure, he should have asked instead of just showing up with you."

"So now I have to get permission to go places with your father?"

"When that place is my house, yes!"

"She is your mother, Lorelai…" Richard tried to input one more time.

"Dad, that's not the point," Lorelai countered, her hands flying out to her side in frustration.

"Then what is the point? Enlighten us."

"Whether or not she is my mother and whether or not she is Rory's grandmother does not make a difference. This conversation isn't about that. It's about respect. You both went against my wishes at the party! It's not like I was going to make a big deal then, because it was Rory's birthday! I wasn't going to ruin her party by starting a screaming match with you and mom." Running her fingers through her hair, Lorelai sighed loudly. "Every time I have come to your house, I have respected yours and mom's wishes. I have acted like you wanted, eaten like you wanted, dressed like you wanted, brought who you wanted; done everything that you wanted!" She listed off each example on her fingers. "I do everything that you guys ask of me when I come over to your house, so expect the same respect from you."

When she finished, the room stayed almost silent, the sound of her breathing being the only noise. Taking a deep breath, she looked down at her feet. "Look, guys. This whole wreck thing scared the hell out of me. Even after all the crap that's happened between us, I am willing to open the door to trying to work on this relationship as a family, but unless I get some sort of respect from you two, it's never going to happen."

Bringing her eyes back up slowly, Lorelai saw both of her parents staring at her, clearly trying to process what she said.

As Emily opened her mouth to speak, Richard started suddenly. "We can try dinner again… Did you have a date in mind?"

Looking to her mom, Emily had her lips pursed in a straight line, clearly not wiling to speak out against Richard's question.

"Um, not exactly," Lorelai shook her head. "I figured we could wait until after you got better, so maybe some time after the new year?"

"I agree… We will discuss a specific date at a later time, won't we Emily?"

Not responding audibly, she merely nodded.

Before the conversation could go any further, the doctor came in, and Lorelai decided to go out into the hall to give them some space.

"So that's when you guys came," Lorelai spoke plainly, her hands falling to her lap.

Looking at her with slight shock, Luke nodded slowly. "Wow… You stuck up for yourself and they accepted it. Who would have thought?"

"Well, mom didn't exactly say anything, so I'm not sure if she accepted it or not." She frowned. "But I was shocked Dad responded the way he did."

"I'm proud of you… That took a lot of guts to say all that."

"Thank you," she smiled. Standing up, she grabbed her small calendar from her nightstand drawer. Pointing to the second week of January, she traced along the line of days. "I was thinking about sometime during this week."

"Whatever works best for you," He answered, walking over to the dresser to get ready for bed.

Shutting the drawer back, she pulled her hair from the pony tail she had put it in earlier. "Don't worry, though. You don't have to go to dinner if you don't want to. I'll just tell them that you have to take over at the diner last minute or something."

Looking back at her curiously, Luke frowned. "Do you not want me to go?"

"What, no?" Lorelai responded quickly. "I just figured that you wouldn't want to. It's my family, and you've seen the drama that's happened in the past. I don't want you to have to get involved in that."

"Well, we're dating… and dealing with your family is part of the deal."

"Are you sure?"

Shaking his head yes, Luke looked back at her with an arched brow. "Lorelai, we've had this conversation how many times now? I'm coming with you."

"Okay…" Watching him for a second, a smile tugged at her lips as she realized how thankful she was for the support he was always willing to give her. Walking up behind him, she tugged at the flannel he was wearing. "You know, I loved the suit that you were wearing last night, but I still think I love this Luke look the best."

Reaching behind him, he smacked her hand away playfully.

Gasping at him with a laugh, she exclaimed, "Luke!"

With mock sternness in his voice, Luke spoke to her with a smirk. "Paws off. I'm already down five shirts. Don't even think about taking this one too."

Grinning as she rolled her eyes, Lorelai tugged at his flannel again. "Oh please, you probably wouldn't even notice because you have so many."

"Oh trust me… If you're wearing it, I notice it." He answered smoothly with a subtle wink. Taking off the flannel and his undershirt, he tossed them into the hamper and grabbed his pajama top.

As soon as he slipped it over his head, Lorelai caught the hem at the waist and pulled him to her. Walking him back to the bed with her, as soon as her knees hit, she fell back, bringing him down with her and making them both laugh.

"I thought you were tired," Luke grinned, his finger tracing her cheek.

Pushing on his chest, she flipped them over quickly. Hovering over him with a triumphant gleam in her eye, Lorelai wiggled against him. "What fun is sleeping without a little necking before?"

Shaking his head, he chuckled and brought her lips down to his in a kiss that built quickly. As he pulled back for air, she dropped her lips, trailing hot kisses across his jaw and down to the pulse in his neck.

Feeling her start to move against him as she nibbled at his ear, Luke sighed. "I know you can sleep in, but I've got to get up early tomorrow. Caesar has the morning off."

"So," she questioned in a murmur.

"That means we'll have to save this for later." Luke whispered back, his hand beginning to roam, though he was trying to resist her pull.

Pulling back, Lorelai looked down at him as she panted. Seeing the desire in his eyes, she grinned mischievously and leaned back in with her lips hovering dangerously above his. "What about five more minutes?"

"Okay," he growled, closing the gap between their lips.

"That wasn't five minutes," Luke breathed, pulling her against his side as he worked to catch his breath.

Laughing softly, Lorelai planted a kiss to his shoulder. "It was in Lorelai time."

"Ah, Lorelai time strikes again," he chuckled along with her.

"I think it worked in your favor this time, instead of against you."

"Oh, no. It definitely worked you against me."

Slapping his chest playfully, she smiled brightly. "Luke! That was very dirty of you!"

"Hey, you're the one that talked about working against me," he reasoned. "If anything, your dirtiness led to my dirtiness."

"I guess I'm rubbing off on you then."

Leaning his head up, Luke looked over at her with raised eyebrows.

Gasping with realization at his look, Lorelai began laughing again. "I'm just full of the dirty tonight."

"I have no problem with that," he grinned.

"Me either…"

Lacing their fingers together, Lorelai brought their joined hands to rest on his stomach. As per usual, a few moments later, Luke's eyes shut as free hand found its way into her hair, moving from root to end soothingly and making her smile.

"You're so predictable."

Opening his eyes, he cocked his head at her. "What?"

"I said, you're so predictable."

"Yeah, I heard that, but what do you mean?"

Laughing, though she wasn't sure why, Lorelai gestured up to his hand. "I mean, it seems that no matter what we're doing or where we are, you always find a way to have your hand in my hair."

At her words, his fingers froze. "Do you want me to stop?"

Reaching up, she took hold of his wrist and started moving it again. "Definitely not. I like it."

"Good." He smiled.

Minutes later, before he could doze off, Luke heard her sigh happily. "What?"

Bringing her gaze up to his, the corners of her lips perked up before she said, "Luke, it's almost Christmas."

"I know."

"It's our first Christmas. Are you excited?"

Thinking on it for a second, Luke answered, "You know, I actually think I am."

Shocked by his answer, she propped herself up on one arm to get a better view of him. "You're serious?"

"Yeah…" he answered hesitantly, his eyes searching hers. "Why?"

"You have never been excited to celebrate anything for as long as we've been together… at least you haven't admitted it."

"Well I am… It's been a while since I enjoyed it, but I think this is going to be the year. You make it good again," he smiled, caressing her cheek.

Turning her head, she planted a kiss to his palm. "I love you."

Taking a hold of her shoulders, he pulled her up to him and brought her lips to his in a warm, loving kiss. "I love you too…"