EDIT: Thank you to whoever "Guest" is in the review section! The exchange between Rory and Luke is not how I wanted it to go either! When I write my chapters, I type them up once on a word document then re-read them when I upload . I had planned on fixing that scene when I uploaded it, but I forgot in haste to get this uploaded! (*facepalm*) Thank you for pointing it out, and thank you for elaborating in your comment! I took a little bit of what you said and even fixed the edit I was going to add in the first place! Xoxo S

Chapter 39: Signs Clearly Seen

While waiting outside the library windows, as soon as she saw Andrew stand up, Lorelai saw Rory running out from the doors heading straight at her.

Throwing her arms around her mother as soon as she got to her, Rory smiled brightly. "Hi Mommy!"

Picking her up, Lorelai placed a loud kiss on her cheek. "Hey, sweet girl. Did you have fun at story time today?"

"Mhmmm... Andrew let me read the first book!" before Lorelai could continue Rory through up a fist in triumph. "Now it's time for Sunday Funday!"

"That it is, kid," she agreed smiling at her daughter's excitement. "Do you have anything you want to do?"

Taking her gaze around the square, Rory saw a family with kids. "Can we do that?" she pointed, speaking hopefully.

"Fly a kite? Do you still have one?"

"Mhmm! I have the one Mia made me! It's under my bed!"

"Well, then let's do it if you've got it." Lorelai smiled. Sitting Rory down, she took her hand in hers as they began to walk back towards the house. "How about this? We can go home and get the kite and fly it for a little while, we can have some fun at home after, and you can go to Lane's later. Maybe we'll stop by the diner and get some food in between."

"Can we get pie?" Rory asked, suddenly bouncing from foot to foot.

Nodding, she laughed at her excitement. "You bet. And I bet if you ask really nice, Daddy Luke might let you put some of that red strawberry stuff on it that you like so much."

"Yummy!" She exclaimed, licking her lips. "This is gonna be really fun."

Fifteen minutes later, Lorelai found herself back in the square, holding hands with Rory and leading her out into the open field of the town square. "Alright, Rory, are you ready to fly?"

"Yeah!" Dropping her bag to the ground, she unzipped it and pulled out the kite and the roll of string. "Can you tie the string on?"

"You can't tie a knot?" Lorelai questioned knowingly

"What if I mess it up?" Rory looked at her with wary eyes.

"You won't." Taking it from her, Lorelai sat down on the ground and placed the kite next to her. Grabbing Rory's hand, she led her down to her lap, and put the kite on top of their legs. "Here, I'll help you. We have to tie one at the top of the stick and one near the bottom."

Maneuvering her fingers with Rory's little ones, they tied the knots quickly and finished just as the wind was picking up again. "Perfect timing," Lorelai smiled. Handing the roll of string back to Rory, she let some of it out and walked away, taking the kite with her. "Alright, sweets, try running that way a little to get started, and the wind should pick it up."

"Okay!" Turning and facing Luke's, Rory took off as fast as her little feet would take her and the bright blue polka dot kite soared up. Gasping loudly, she turned back to look at Lorelai. "Look, Mommy! We did it! It's flying!"

"I see that! Good job!"

For a good half an hour, Lorelai and Rory took turns running back and forth across the square, the kite flopping higher and higher each time in the breeze. Out of nowhere the wind picked up a little faster, and Rory felt the string slip out of her hand and carry the kite away from her. "Oh no!" She exclaimed, running after it, but before she or Lorelai could catch it, it got tangled up in the branches of an oak tree.

"It's stuck, Mommy! It's stuck!"

Seeing the sadness forming on Rory's face, Lorelai took her hand and squeezed it. "It's alright. We'll get it down." Taking a good look at the tree, she noted some lower lying branches. "Okay... I'm gonna try to get it, Rory. You stand back." Grasping on the branches, she began her ascent into the tree.

Not long before she got near the kite, Lorelai heard a wary, "Be careful Mommy! Don't fall!"

Looking back down at her daughter, she smiled. "I'll be careful hon, don't worry." Finally reaching the branch the kite was caught on, she untangled it and dropped it down to Rory. "There you go. I told you I would get it."

"Yay!" Picking it up quickly, she immediately hugged it to her chest. "I think I'm done flying. I don't want to get it stuck again."

"We don't have to if you don't want to. Let me get down and we'll go to the Diner to get some pie. Sound good?"

"Yeah! Strawberry Apple Pie!"

Getting down, though, was no easy feat, and just as Lorelai reached one of the final branches, it cracked under her weight. Grasping the branch above her quickly, Lorelai let out a loud yelp. "Oh!"

"Mommy!"

Looking down and seeing the scared look appear on Rory's face, Lorelai took her gaze to the diner. "Uhh, Rory. Run over to the diner and get Luke for me... Make sure you look both ways before you cross the road!"

Before she could even make it to cross the street, Lorelai heard the diner bells jingle loudly and Rory yelling, "Daddy Luke! Mommy's gonna fall!"

His obvious track skills kicked in as he picked Rory up and made it over to the tree in record time. "Lorelai! What the hell are you doing!"

Adjusting to a more comfortable position to the branch she was now sitting on, she threw out a careless hand. "Oh, just spending some time in nature. Taking in the beauty that is this tree." She answered nonchalantly.

Sitting Rory down, he looked up at Lorelai. The squint of his eyes and tight-lipped frown gave away his frustration as he shook his head. "It's a good thing I looked up and ran out here before you fell…You're could've broken something."

Something in his tone rubbed her the wrong way, "Well, Rory's kite got stuck! What was I supposed to do? Let it stay in the tree," she defended herself.

"You could've gotten me." He shot back quickly. Taking in the height she was up, Luke moved under the branch she was on, and held out his arms. "Let yourself down slowly and drop when your arms extend all the way out. I'll catch you."

Gripping the branch tighter, she shook her head adamantly. "You'll drop me!"

Rolling his eyes, he held out his arms and spoke sternly. "Lorelai, just do it. I've held you no problem before. I can do it now."

Sighing she hesitantly did as he said. Her breath caught in fear as she released the branch, but like he promised, Luke caught her and planted her feet on the ground quickly.

As soon as she was settled on the ground, she was ready to defend herself and looked at him with defiant eyes. But before she could open her mouth, the overwhelming concern she saw in him stole the fire right out of her. "Luke…"

"Please don't do that again," he spoke evenly. "You scared the hell out of me."

"I won't." She spoke softly, though she wasn't sure why.

They were torn from the moment they found themselves in by the sound or Rory's voice. "Mommy, are you okay?"

"Huh?" Tearing her eyes from his, Lorelai crouched down. "Oh, yeah, Rory. I am… Why don't we go get that pie now?"

"Okay…"

Skipping off ahead of them, Lorelai was surprised to find Luke's arm immediately come around her waist. "Luke?" She questioned.

"If something like that ever happens again, call me. Don't try to do it yourself."

"I can do things by myself. You don't have to do everything for me," She defended, looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"I know I don't have to." He shook his head, pulling her tighter against him. "But I'd rather bust my ass doing something like that than have to worry about you hurting yours."

"So you just want to protect me? You're not trying to control me," she reasoned aloud, her eyes scanning his face for the answer.

Scoffing with a slight laugh, he planted a kiss to her forehead. "I'm not that much of an idiot. Controlling you works just about as well as telling you Casa Blanca is boring…It's a fight I can't win."

Rolling her eyes playfully, she leaned against him. "As long as you know your place."

Entering the diner, Luke led them to a table and went to go back to the kitchen, but before he could stray far, Lorelai grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

"What?"

Tilting her face up for kiss, she smiled when he complied and pulled back. "Thanks for saving me."

Patting her hand on the table, he smiled as a slight blush filled his cheeks. "No problem… I'm gonna go get the pie."

"Dont forget to feed Freddy, mommy!" Rory pled, leaning over the center console from the back to the passenger seat in the front to get her bag.

"I won't, hon." Lorelai reassured her, planting a kiss to the top of her head. "Have fun with Lane and I'll see you in a little while."

After making a small detour at the diner for another dose of coffee and Luke, Lorelai walked in the door to her house and dropped her purse on the table in the foyer. Looking down at the stack of magazines in her hands that she picked up from the newsstand, she took in the wide array she had collected. "Brides, Bridal Guide, Bride Groom, Premier Bride, Town Country Weddings...Yep, that's all of them."

She strolled in the living room, looking around for the best place to put them and spotted the unusually clear coffee table. "I guess that's as good a spot as any," she thought to herself as she sat the stack down and fanned three of them out to show each title. Walking upstairs, she placed one on her night stand and one on her magazine rack by the tub. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she whispered.

Looking around, satisfied with herself, she changed quickly out of her work clothes and padded back downstairs. As she approached the kitchen to get a snack, the view of Rory's room reminded her of the class hamster she was keeping for the weekend. "I've got to feed Freddy, right." Grabbing the small chunks of apple and carrots the school provided from the fridge, she walked in Rorys room, but the bag in her hand soon fell to the floor when she found the door to the cage open and no hamster inside. "Freddy!"

Quickly running out of Rory's room, Lorelai began looking all over the house. "Oh, no. No, no. Ok. Freddy, do something. Show yourself. Molt or chirp or something… Do hamsters chirp? Do they even make a noise?... Oh, this is so not funny. Not funny, not funny. Oh, this is so unbelievable. Ok, that's ok. I can fix this. We can fix this."

Catching the sight of the land line out of the corner of her eye, Lorelai reached for it and dialed the familiar number. "I'm going to make this better. I'm going to fix –Hello?"

At the diner, Luke was walking around the room with plates, doing his best to balance the many orders he was dealing with. Normally he had no problem, but the almost accident with Lorelai was weighing heavily on his mind. "What was she thinking? She could have broken her neck or something," he thought in frustration. "If she could refrain from killing herself before I get the chance to propose, that would be great."

Stopping his tracks, he stood in the middle of the room holding the coffee pot as he stared out at the tree he had rescued her from. "I need to do it soon. Maybe I can find time this week to set the plans in stone. I've got the ring, now I just need the permission. That shouldn't be too hard... right?"

He was pulled from his reverie by the sound of the phone ringing. Looking around quickly, he tried to see whether anyone noticed how he was lost in his thoughts. Satisfied they were keeping their noses in their own business, he dropped the pot off at the warmer and answered the phone.

"Yeah, who is this?" He spoke gruffly.

"Luke? Freddy got out and I don't know - do I put apples or carrots on the floor? Do I make squeaking sounds? Or do I pul a Lucy Ricardo and walk on all fours so he thinks I'm his mother?"

"Who is Freddy? And who is this?"

Sighing loudly, Lorelai pled loudly with him over the line. "What do you mean who is this? It's Lorelai! Who else would call you looking for her hamster?"

"You're right. I'm the idiot…" Luke rolled his eyes. Taking a second to think, he frowned. "Why the hell do you have a hamster?"

"It's Rory's class pet!" She answered, her voice filled with exasperation. "Could you come home, please, and help me?"

Still confused, Luke looked around the diner to see if Caesar could handle it on his own. "Uh, yeah. Okay. I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay, hurry!"

Hanging the phone back on the hook, Luke frowned at it. "A hamster? What the hell? We don't have a hamster! What kind of excuse is that?" Suddenly, a vision of a flannel-clad Lorelai lying on their bed, laughing as she waited for him to rush into the house and fall for her trick filled his mind. "Surely she wouldn't call me in the middle of a shift for that... would she?"

His legs began moving before his mind could process, and he found himself telling Caesar to close and walking out the door.

A few minutes later, Luke walked in the house, still wearing a confused look on his face.

"Thank God! Get in here!" Lorelai yelled as she rushed over to him and grabbed his arm. Leading him into the living room, she pulled him over by the seat in the corner. "I thought I heard some kind of scratching noise, but when I came over here it stopped. Can you look under it and see if Freddy is there?"

Rolling his eyes, he got down on all fours and peered under the chair and all the way to the corner. "There's nothing here." He grumbled.

"Then what was making that noise? I could have sworn I hear something!" Just as she finished, a scratching noise started again but in another part of the room. "Shhh! Shhh," she shushed him even though he wasn't talking. "Okay! I think he's over there?"

"Aw jeez… You really do have a hamster in here!" Luke exclaimed in surprise, watching as Lorleai ran over to the other side of the room.

"Yeah! I told you! Now get over here and help me before he gets away again!"

Luke came over quickly, but once again, the scratching stopped as soon as he approached.

"I swear! Something so small l should not be able to escape so fast!" Dropping onto her stomach, she gazed under the cabinet. "I think I see him! Luke! Move the cabinet! Move the cabinet!"

Moving the cabinet back, Luke peered around behind where it was, and frowned. "That's not a hamster. It's a hair ball…How in the hell did you get a hairball under this? I understand the shower, but really?"

"Oh shush," Standing up, she playfully smacked his behind and wiped her jeans. "Well if he's not over here, he has to be back over there."

"We looked over there," He rolled his eyes.

"Well, he went under the chair and didn't come out."

I looked under the chair… nothing."

"Well then he went under the chair and through a hole in the floor." She reasoned. Walking back over, Lorelai searched the corner again. "Maybe there's a hole in the molding… not the floor."

"There's no hole in the molding or the floor."

"Well maybe there was a hole in the floor and he crawled through it and fixed it."

Sighing, Luke frowned. Just as he opened his mouth to respond, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. In the doorway by the entrance to the foyer, Freddy was crawling towards the rug by the door. "There he is!"

"Where?"

"Right over here!" Hurrying over, he grabbed the hamster before it could crawl away again.

"Luke! You caught him!" Taking the hamster from his hands, she pecked his cheek. "You're my hero, babe."

"Just put the hamster up, please…" He rolled his eyes. Shoving his hands in his pocket, he watched as she walked away. "Where the hell did that thing come from? Why on God's green earth do we have a hamster?"

After putting Freddy back in his cage and double checking that it was locked, Lorelai stuffed some of the carrots and apples through the small gaps of the cage and walked out of Rory's room. Walking back into the living room, she found Luke taking off his jacket. Suddenly his words from earlier rang in her mind. "Hey, Luke? What did you mean earlier?"

Looking over, he cocked his head at her. "What are you talking about?"

"When you got here. You made some comment about me really having a hamster in the house."

Ducking his head, Luke did his best to avoid her eyes in hope that she wouldn't press him further. "Hmm?"

"I mean…" Walking over, she bent at the knees and met his eyes. "If I didn't have a hamster here, why did you think I was calling?"

"No, I thought you were calling about the hamster…"

"The hamster you didn't even know we had here…" Suddenly realization flooded her mind and she gasped. "Wait, did you think I was calling you for sex?!" At his sigh, a look of disbelief took over her face.

"No." Despite his best to sound truthful, the tenseness of his voice gave him away.

With a gaping mouth, Lorelai stared at him a second before a smile tugged on her lips "Oh my gosh! You totally did! And you came home for it in the middle of your shift!"

"Well, I wasn't sure what you wanted," Luke explained, crossing his arms defensively

"But you came with that thought in the back of your mind! You came, and you weren't even sure!"

"Well, when you call hysterically, whether I believe you or not, I have to come!"

"But your first instinct was that I didn't actually have a hamster in the house!" She spoke accusingly, pointing at him "You thought I was calling you for a booty call!"

"Because we don't have a hamster!" He yelled back, throwing his hands out to his side in frustration.

"Well we do this weekend!" Putting her hands on her hip, she rose up on her toes to meet him nose to nose.

"How was I supposed to know? I came home and went straight to bed on Friday and stayed at the diner last night because I was there until 3 am fixing the heating unit. I never came home to see it, so I had no clue that Rory was hosting the class hamster this weekend!"

Throwing out a careless hand, she fell back to her flat feet and ignored his answer "Forget the hamster! You're telling me that all this time, all I would have had to do to get you here for a naughty nooner or some twilight delight during the middle of your shift was to come up with some crazy emergency! I can come up with all sorts of crazy things right off hand! I'm Lorelai! That's what I do!" With a sigh, she plopped down on the couch. "I feel a little jipped at the moment," She spoke sadly as she crossed her arms with a pout

"Jipped! What... I..." Luke stuttered then stopped. Like she did with him seconds before, he stared at her in disbelief for a moment before laughing. "Oh my gosh, are we really arguing about this."

Lorelai looked back up to see his smile lines deepening. His grin made her laugh too. "We're Luke and Lorelai. We argue about stupid things. That's what we do," she smiled.

"Gah, I love you," He spoke while shaking his head. Leaning over, he planted a soft kiss to her lips and sat next to her in silence for a minute before a smirk appeared on his face as he looked over at her. "Twilight delight? Really?"

Reaching out, she slapped his arm playfully. "Oh, shut up."

"What? I've never heard it called that before."

"Well no matter the name, babe, you still came for it." She sat for a moment and began shaking her head. "I still can't believe you thought I was calling you to have sex."

"Well, we don't normally have a hamster, Rory's not home... What else was I supposed to think?" He rolled his eyes. Reaching over, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into his lap. "You make me crazy."

"You have to be crazy to put up with this." Lorelai smiled, kissing him sweetly. Feeling Luke's request for entrance, she opened her mouth and deepened the kiss. Shifting to straddle him, she pulled back. "Don't you have to go back to the diner?"

With a naughty waggle of his eyebrows, Luke shook his head and grinned. "Caesar is closing now..."

"Seriously? You got him to close tonight so you could..." She faltered off at his nod of confirmation. Feeling his arms tighten around her waist, she smiled. "Lucas William Danes, you dirty, dirty boy."

"Really? Was the full name necessary?" He rolled his eyes. He tried to maintain their typical sarcastic banter, but the flicker of desire in his eyes gave him away.

"I think so..." Leaning forward, she brought her lips to the shell of his ear as her hands slid down his torso. "So, we found the hamster, Caesars closing, and Rory's not here. Is there anything in specific you want to do?"

Without a word, Luke reached up, buried his hands in her curls and brought her lips to his in a deep kiss. When he slipped down to her collarbone, Lorelai sighed. "Twilight delight it is."

Sookie had warned him about the possible appearance of wedding magazines, and sure enough, he noticed them as they began popping up around the house. Satisfied that she really wanted this, there was really only one thing left to do before his proposal, and he was headed to do just that. As he pulled into the driveway, reality of what he was about to do set in. Shutting his truck door, he walked slowly to the entry way and knocked on the door.

"I'm here to see Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore."

"Oh yes, come in. They are expecting you... May I take your coat" The young maid answered cheerfully.

"Obviously she's new," he thought. "Yeah. Thanks."

Letting him into Richards office, the maid closed the door quietly as Richard looked up. Luke wasn't normally a nervous man, but the Gilmore parents always brought it out in him.

"Well, hello Luke. When my secretary said you'd called earlier this week, I was rather surprised. I figured you would be running your diner at this hour."

Doing his best to calm his nerves in a discreet way, Luke shoved his hands in his pockets nervously. "Well, normally I would be, but this was the only afternoon you would be here instead of at your office, so I made the time work... if I may, I would like to speak with both you and Mrs. Gilmore. Is she here?"

"I believe so. If you'll give me one moment, I'll have Louisa get her to come in here." As he stood up, he gestured to the seat in front of the desk. "By all means, make yourself comfortable. I'll just be a moment."

As Richard stepped out, Luke fingered the velvet box in his right pocket. If all went as planned, he would be in and out quickly with the Gilmore blessing, but something within him told him that it probably wasn't going to happen. He was torn from his thoughts by the opening of the office door.

"Luke." His name came out of her mouth in the sound of surprise before she could catch it. Not taking her eyes off of him, she walked herself to Richard's side of the desk and stood beside him as he took a seat.

"Hello, Mrs. Gilmore," Luke answered smoothly, not breaking under her obviously critical yet curious stare.

"Luke has something he'd like to share with us, Emily." Richard looked back at Luke. "Isn't that right?"

Preparing for what was about to come, he cleared his throat, "Yes, it is...I came here because I wanted to discuss something with you... I would like to ask for Lorelai's hand in marriage."

Two different reactions played out on their faces. On Emily's, there was a look of horror, and Richard's, one of confusion. Before she could open her mouth to speak, Richard questioned, "So soon? I thought you were going to wait longer?"

"Well, I was. But apparently Lorelai made it known to one of her friends that she was ready. She's also been strategically placing bridal magazines across our house, so I'm taking that as a confirmation to what her friend said."

"She's nothing if not persistent if she wants something," Richard chuckled

"I agree..." Rubbing his hands together, he sat up straighter. "Now, Lorelai obviously doesnt know that I'm here, and to be honest, I dont think she really wants me to ask you two before I propose, but I think it's the right thing to do. If either of you have objections, and I dont mean lifestyle objections but serious ones, then I will not ask. However, if not, I plan on asking her to marry me within the next few weeks."

Without saying a word, Emily crossed her arms and walked out.

Both of them watched as she left. Luke sighed audibly but Richard didn't seem phased by it. Leaning forward, he rested on his arms. "Well, Luke. We already discussed this, and you know I approve of you, so I know you don't need it, but you also have my permission."

Relief flowed through him, but he couldn't help casting his eyes back to the door that had just slammed shut. "What about..."

He cut him off. "If you're about to refer to Emily, I wouldn't worry about it. I will get her to come around. You just worry about what you have to do… Do you have any ideas of what you're going to do?"

"I don't yet, but I do have a ring…" Pulling it out of his pocket, Luke hesitantly handed the red box over to Richard.

As he opened the box, Luke could see the genuine surprise on his face. "I must say," Richard murmured as he lifted the ring out, "This is a beautiful ring. The diamond is exquisite."

"Thank you, sir. The diamonds were from my mother's ring. I just had them reset in a newer band."

"Well I think it is perfect for Lorelai." Slipping it carefully back in, he closed it and handed it back across the desk. Sitting back in his chair, Richard crossed his arms and spoke as though he was closing another business deal. "Now, I have no opposition to your proposal, but I do have one request."

"And that would be?"

"When it happens, if you could get Lorelai to call and let us know when it happens, I would really appreciate it."

"Okay…" Luke answered confidently. The way Richard presented his request, he figured it was going to be something different, something less simple. But then again, knowing how Lorelai preferred to withhold information from her parents, it may not be as easy as he thought. "I think I can do that."

"Thank you." With a nod, Richard stood up and Luke immediately followed. Walking out, they stopped at the door where Luke turned to him.

"I promise I'll take good care of her… of both of them." Taking a step forward, Luke held out his hand. "Thank you, Mr. Gilmore."

"I have no doubt." Taking his hand, he gave it a firm shake. "And please, call me Richard."

Watching Luke pull away through the curtains, Emily hurried back down and walked loudly into Richards office, where he was already sitting with a client folder in his hands.

"You can't seriously be okay with marrying that man," she exclaimed immediately.

Looking up at her from above his glasses, he frowned. "If you remember, last time they were here for dinner, we talked about this."

"I have to say, I believe that went rather well." Richard spoke aloud, meeting Emily in the living room after seeing Lorelai, Rory, and Luke out.

"Well? Did you not hear Lorelai say that she was living with that man?" Emily immediately griped, fluffing the pillow at the corner of the couch in frustration.

"Of course I did. I just don't think it's that great of a deal."

"It is certainly a big deal! Lorelai has a man in the house with Rory that is not her father! And she informed me that they are planning on pursuing marriage. I can't imagine how she is allowing such ideas to run through her mind." She frowned, walking over to meet Richard. Straightening out his bow tie, she continued in her ranting. "That man is far from what Lorelai needs. She could find much better than a diner owning, uneducated, unshaven man from Stars Willow. Even Christopher would serve her better. The man has very little back bone, but at least he comes from good upbringing."

"Christopher is a spineless dolt who has abandoned our daughter and granddaughter on more than one occasion, from what I have gathered. If I had my choice and he wasn't Rory's father, I would prefer that he stay away from them at all costs." He countered, stepping back from his wife's nervously meddling hands.

"So you're saying that you approve of this arrangement? If our daughter vows to spend the rest of her life with this unkempt man, you would have no problem."

Shaking his head at Emily's demeaning words, Richard crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I have come to terms with it, and you are going to have to as well." He directed. "If all goes as planned, we will have a new son-in-law within the next year."

At the end of his words, she froze. Looking at him with a mixture of surprise and frustration, she frowned. "You know something."

"I do…"

"Well don't just stand there, tell me what you know!"

Stepping away from her, he walked over to the drink cart and poured himself a soda. After taking a sip, he looked back at her straight in the eye. "Luke is going to propose sooner rather than later."

The look of horror reappeared on her face as her jaw dropped. "How soon?"

"As soon as the end of April arrives, he could ask her anyway."

Absorbing his words, her lips fell into a grim line and she simply walked away. As she marched up the stairs, he took another sip of his drink and sighed. He knew convincing her wasn't going to be easy, but to keep Lorelai in his life, he had to find away. He wasn't going to lose his little girl again.

"You said that he was waiting a few months, Richard! I was hoping Lorelai would come to her sense before it could happen… or at least I could have pushed her to realize it."

Looking at her intensely, he pointed a finger at her. "You will not do such a thing, Emily, I forbid it."

Immediately straightening, she spoke defensively. "Forbid me? What makes you can do such a thing?"

"I cannot force you, but you need to remember this. We finally have Lorelai back in our lives. Just a year ago, she wouldn't even breath our direction. If accepting Luke will keep her and Rory in touch, then I don't see why we shouldn't." Sitting the folder down on the table, he leaned forward towards her. "No, he is not of the best breeding, but if you spent a few minutes to speak with him, you would find out that he is a good man with good morals. He loves our daughter and granddaughter fiercely. What else could we ask for?"

Tossing out a careless hand, she gave her usual remark. "I'm sure that if she looked hard enough in our circles, she could find an outstanding man. A man better than Luke."

Sighing loudly, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Tell me, Emily. When was the last time asking Lorelai to be involved in society worked? If you have the same memories that I do, then you realize that it never has."

Pursing her lips haughtily, she rolled her eyes. "Only because she's too stubborn."

"Well, stubborn or not, she has obviously found what she wants in Luke," Richard reasoned. "And I can guarantee that if we try to interfere in any way, we would be gone from her life, not him… You're going to have to find a way to accept this one way or another."

Meanwhile, back in Stars Hollow, the day was also Luke's day to get Rory from school and let her spend time at the diner. Not bothering to park at the diner and walk over, he pulled up by the elementary school just as the bell rang. Before he knew it, a flash of purple rushed out he door and was opening the passenger door to the truck before he could get out to do it. "Hi, Daddy Luke!"

Taking the bookbag she was handing out to him, Luke watched as she attempted to climb up into the cab. "Hey, Rory… If you'll wait a second, I'll come around and help you," he informed her as he moved to unbuckle.

"No! I can do it!" Grabbing onto the seat, she groaned dramatically and pulled herself up into the cab. "See, I did it!"

The proud smile on her face made him laugh. "You did… Are you ready to go to the diner?"

"Yeah… I'm hungry. Can I have cheese fries when we get there," she asked, her voice taking on a plea as she made her request.

"You know the drill. Fruit before food. I have an apple today, so if you eat it, then you can have the fries," he bartered.

The dramatic grumble that escaped her lips couldn't have sounded more like Lorelai's if she had tried. "I don't like apples."

"You like apple pie," he answered quickly, trying not to chuckle at the glare she tossed him.

"But not normal apples… Do you have grapes? I'll eat the grapes?"

Thinking on his fridge's contents for a second, he remembered the unopened bag he had bought a few days before. "I have green ones… If you eat a bowl of those, then you can have the fries."

"Deal!"

Living up to her end of the deal, Rory was chomping away on some grapes as Luke appeared upstairs in the apartment with the pile of cheese fries. Peering over to see the bowl in front of her on the table, Luke noted that the bottom was finally visible. "Just a few more, and you get these." He held out the plate.

Reaching in quickly, Rory grabbled the remaining four grapes and devoured them quickly. "Done! Can I have fries now?"

"You bet." As he slid the plate over to her, Luke emptied his pockets onto the table as he would every day.

The stream of babble that was coming out of her mouth ended suddenly, and Luke looked up to see her staring at him with wide eyes. "Yes, Rory?"

Rising up on her knees, she leaned over on the table to point. "What's that?"

Looking at what she pointed at, Luke grabbed it. "It's something for your mom… Do you want to see it?" He questioned, holding out the box to her.

Rory eyed it warily before reaching out. Opening the box, she stared at the shining object in side then looked back up at Luke. "It's a ring!"

"I know." In his mind, he had planned on asking Rory to marry Lorelai later on in the afternoon when things were less busy downstairs and she was done with her homework. But deciding that this was as good a time as any, Luke too a deep breath before questioning, "Rory, do you know what rings are for?"

"Yeah! People wear them on their fingers," She answered in a "duh" tone and looked at him with a confused look as though she expected him to know that already.

"They do… but do you know why adults wear rings?"

"Mia said she wears a ring on this finger because she's married. That's why Mommy said she doesn't wear a ring." She answered as she gestured to the finger on her left hand. She stopped talking and stared at the box. Luke could see the wheels turning in her head.

After a moment, she looked up at him with questioning eyes. "Are you and Mommy getting married?"

Looking at her with disbelief for a second, he shook his head. No matter how many times she proved her intelligence, he was still amazed that someone so young could put two and two together so easily. "That's what I wanted to ask you, Rory… I know you and your mom are a package dea…"

Before he could finish his thought, she cut him off with a happy, "Like mallomars and twinkies! That's what Mommy says!"

Unable to help it, Luke chuckled at her words. "Only your mother," he murmured. "Anyway, Rory… I wanted to know I have your permission to marry your mom. If you think there's enough room for me in your lives, I want to."

Looking at him curiously, she spoke inquisitively. "Will it make you my daddy?"

In his mind, Luke thought that he really shouldn't have been surprised, but nonetheless, her words caught him off guard. Taking a deep breath, he thought a second before speaking. "Not exactly...You have a dad."

Her face immediately fell, but he was quick to reassure her by continuing. "But I will be your step-dad, and I love you like I'm your real dad."

"Can I call you Daddy?"

If anyone asked him to recall this moment later, he probably would play it off as he was calm, but he would be lying about how her words tugged at his heart. A small smile grew on his face as he nodded. "If you want to, yes. I'll be whatever you want me to be."

"Okay." She whispered softly. "I want you to marry Mommy." She spoke louder, handing the box back to him.

The intensity of the smile on his face even caught him off guard. "Yeah?"

"Yeah!" Hopping out of her seat, she ran around the table and threw her arms around his neck. "We get to be real family."

It was in that moment he realized just how big things were about to be. Not only was he going to gain a family, but the little girl in his arms and Lorelai, to an extent, would be too. All of them were gaining pieces of family they needed, and suddenly, the day he was waiting for to ask Lorelai to be his wife was a day that couldn't come fast enough.

A/N: Hello, everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting, but I have a good reason! Finals week is over, and you are officially reading the story of a college sophomore! This story has been a nice stress reliever this past semester, so thanks for reading it and allowing me to keep writing it! With college over for a little while, I will FINALLY have more time to write, so hopefully that means more updates! (Unless that pesky writer's block comes back gross!)

I had no time to write these past few weeks, so I literally wrote this chapter in around 24 hours. I hope you enjoyed it, let me know, and if you don't, still let me know anyway! I want to hear everyone's opinions!