Chapter 44: Take Me out to the Ball Game

Spending the early part of the next day exploring the city, the trio returned back to their hotel room to rest before the much-anticipated baseball game. After convincing Rory a quick nap would be necessary because of the long day ahead of them and some prodding from Lorelai, both Luke and Lorelai indulged in the same luxury, leaving them to, unsurprisingly, wake up a whole twenty minutes later than planned.

After rushing around to get ready for the game, Luke and Lorelai stood in their room checking off the last items of their to do list, finally at the point where they were almost ready for the game and would make it on time.

"Babe, you've got to relax." Lorelai said, trying to calm Luke as she grabbed her purse from the floor. "As someone who is naturally running behind for everything, I can assure you that we still have plenty of time to make it to the game as planned...And that's in Luke time, not Lorelai time."

"We better..." Grabbing his hat, he slipped it on his head, and felt around his pockets for his wallet. Finding it, he stood straight. "Okay, I'm ready. Do you have everything?"

"I don't know, but feel free to spout out all the stuff you think I need to have with me and I'll let you know."

"Sunglasses?"

"Check." She held them up with a smile. "These glasses happen to look amazing on me."

"Good to know." He answered, rolling his eyes. "Do you have the disposable camera Rory wanted to bring?"

"Check."

"My baseball glove?"

"I'm not sure why I'm carrying it, but check."

"Sunscreen?"

"Ch... Sunscreen?" Lorelai questioned. Looking up from her bag, she frowned at him. "We need sunscreen?"

"We're going to be outside in the sun for a good part of the game. Did you think the sun wasn't going to affect you?"

"Well, I was just hoping it would be nice to me and Rory since we don't go outside a lot."

"A simple I forgot works too, you know." Grabbing the bottle from his bag, Luke tossed it on the bed beside her. "Go coat yourself and Rory. I don't need either of you so sun burnt that you can't move."

"Yes, dad." She deadpanned. Taking the sunscreen from the bed, she strolled out of the room calling out a loud, "Oh, my dear Rory!"

"I'm brushing my hair, Mommy!" A few moments later, after hearing the brush clatter to the bathroom counter, Lorelai was met with Rory running to her. "All done."

"Good. Now all we need to do is get you all nice and covered with sunscreen and you'll be ready to go."

Scrunching up her nose as Lorelai began to open the bottle, Rory took a hesitant step towards her mother. "Sunscreen is smelly."

"I know, hon, but I don't need you turning as red as a lobster today, so you'll have to deal with the smell for a little while until it wears off."

"Are you gonna wear it too?"

"Sadly, we all have to wear it." Lorelai continued to coat her legs as she questioned. "Are you excited for the game?"

"Mhmmm!" Rory nodded wildly. "I finished my baseball book!"

Smiling at her excitement, Lorelai tried to cover her other leg as she bounced happily in place. "So that means you're a professional now, huh?"

"There were a lot of words that I didn't know what they were."

"I bet someone will be able to help you with that. Someone whose name starts with the letter D."

Rory looked at her with furrowed brows. "Who?"

"Who?" Unable to help it, she looked at Rory curiously. No doubt, she should have figured out who she was referring to by now. "Rory, who else is going to the baseball game with us?"

"It's me, you, and Daddy."

"And what letter does daddy start with?"

"D... but Daddy isn't his name." Rory reasoned. "His name is Luke. It starts with an L."

Shaking her head, Lorelai laughed at her daughter's over-analytical ways. "You know what, you're right... But I bet Luke will help you learn the rules." Quickly, she finished everywhere else on Rory's body that wasn't covered by clothes and moved on to her face. "Close your eyes so I can put it on your face." As Rory contorted and scrunched up her face, Lorelai did the best she could to evenly coat it and hopefully prevent her face from burning. "There, all done. Now it's my turn."

"Do I need to help you?" She watched as Lorelai lathered the lotion on herself

"I'm good sweets, but thank you... Why don't you go grab my purse from my bed and tell Luke that once I'm done with the sunscreen we're good to go."

"Okay!"

Watching her run off to the room, she heard Rory animatedly tell Luke verbatim what she said while throwing in a happy, "This is gonna be so much fun!"

"Yep", she thought, "the tickets were a great idea."

After giving all three of their tickets to the ticket collector at the gate, Rory skipped between Luke and Lorelai, holding a hand of each, and they entered Fenway Park.

On all sides, they were surrounded by crowds of Sox fans sporting their memorabilia, concession stands selling severely overpriced snacks, and booths showing off the latest apparel.

A specific booth catching her eyes, Rory stopped in her tracks and pointed wildly. "Mommy, Daddy, look!"

Stopping with her, they both looked over to see her pointing at a clothing' stand.

"Oooo, shopping," Lorelai spoke happily, earning her an eye roll from Luke.

Grabbing tighter on Luke's hand, Rory began to pull towards it. "Come on! Let's go!"

Giving in, he followed behind the quickly moving child and soon found himself pulled in front of the hats.

"Look, hats!" Rory gestured grandly to the display.

"I've already got a hat kid."

"I don't!" She countered, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. "Can we get one?"

"You want a hat," Lorelai asked as she walked up, having finally caught up to them.

"Yeah! I need one! Baseball fans are supposed to wear hats!" Rory informed them confidently. Pointing to the small white one with the Red Sox logo on it, she inquired, "What about that one?"

Lorelai was about to answer, but Luke beat her to it.

Reaching over Rory, he grabbed the dark red one instead. "White gets dirty. Try this one." Snapping the back of it to make it more her size, he handed it to her

Not hesitating, Rory plopped it on her head, and it was perfect fit. "It fits!"

"It does, but there's something wrong." Both of them looked to see Lorelai smirking. Reaching out, she grabbed the hat and flipped it around backwards. "There, now it's perfect."

Giggling, Rory looked in the small mirror perched next to the display. "I look like Daddy!" Turning around, she looked up at him with a grin. "Do you like it?"

Shaking his head at their antics, Luke grinned. "It's great, Rory."

"Now we can match!" She exclaimed happily. Turning to her mother, she implored with wide eyes. "Can I get it?"

"You, bet, sweets." Lorelai agreed, taking the hat from her head. "I'll go pay for it, and we'll have it back on your head in no time."

Before she could step away, Luke, grabbing her shoulder, stopped her, and held out his other hand expectantly.

"What?"

"Let me take it."

"Are you gonna take my card too?"

"No, but I will take mine."

"No, Babe. I've got it. I got paid the other day."

"I know." He countered in a no-nonsense tone. Reaching out, he curled his fingers around the bill of the hat but didn't pull it away from her. "Look, you bought the tickets, and your father gave me no choice and bought the hotel. At least let me buy this hat and maybe the snacks you ate undoubtedly going to want to eat today."

Lorelai knew the speech. She had given it to Mia many times before when she tried to pay for things. Releasing the hat, she slowly nodded in agreement. "Fine, just the hat and the food."

"Thank you." He pecked her lips quickly. "I'll be back."

Five minutes later, Luke found them outside the store already looking at the concession stand board. "Trying to decide which item will take the fewest years off your life?" He grumbled into Lorelai's ear, making her jump.

"Nope. I'm going for the item that will take off the most, since you like to be mean to me." She countered without missing a beat. As she turned to face him, he immediately noticed a teasing look in her eyes. "You know, I hate to break it to you, but unless you are suddenly into wearing hats on your knuckles, I don't think that hat is going to fit you."

"You're hilarious," he deadpanned and handed the hat out to Rory. "Here you go, Rory."

"Yay! My first real baseball hat!" She exclaimed, plopping it on her head where it came down a little too low. "What do you think, Daddy?"

Reaching down, he nudged it up from in front of her eyes. "Looks great, princess. Like a real baseball fan."

He could tell his complement excited her by the way she bounced up on her toes and her eyes widened. With her eyes darting between the two of them, Rory question with a happy, "Really?"

"You bet. You look just like the pros."

Having decided what they wanted from the concession stand, from their first of many visits, as Lorelai put it, they made their way to their seats. As they descended the steps of the stadium further and further, they got closer and closer to the field. When they finally reached their seats, Lorelai took the one furthest to the inside, putting Rory in the seat between her and Luke.

While she and Rory settled in their seats with their snacks, Luke still remained standing. Watching him stand unmoving, Lorelai frowned. "Everything okay, hon?"

"Where did you get these tickets from again," Luke questioned, his eyes wide as he looked at the stadium. Just to the right of the first baseman, they sat a few rows up in an area that gave Luke a better view of the field than he'd gotten in his entire life.

"Ummm, one of Mia's friends. Why? Are they okay?" She eyed him curiously.

"Okay? They're great," He answered distractedly, not taking his eyes from the field. "These are the best seats I've had in my life."

"Oh, good," she grinned widely. She couldn't help but notice how ever since they got there, he had a childlike excitement about him, and was glad she could give it to him.

"Daddy, who's that?" Rory spoke up, forcing him to tear his eyes away from the field where the players were warming up and look at where she referenced. Following her finger, he noted that she was pointing at the man standing in the bullpen throwing a ball back and forth.

"That's looks like Roger Clemens... He's the pitcher." He answered, watching as the man tossed a few practice pitches.

"What's a pitcher again?" She inquired further, genuinely interested in the action in front of her.

"The pitcher is the guy who throws the ball, and he tries to make the guys holding the bat miss." He explained easily.

"That's what you did, right?" She smiled, proud of herself for remembering.

"It is..." Watching her eyes trail the field, Luke noted how her brows began to furrow as she watched the ball being tossed and hit back and forth. "Do you want me to teach you the rules you don't know, Rory?"

Looking back at him with suddenly slightly pouty lips, she questioned, "Can you? My book had a lot of words I didn't know."

"Of course, kid."

Reaching out for his hand, Rory pulled on it excitedly to get him to sit down. As soon as his back hit the seat, her arms were wrapped around one of his, bringing him closer. "This is so exciting!" She admitted, grinning widely.

Neither himself nor Lorelai could keep a smile from their faces at seeing her excitement. "Alright." Luke clapped his hands together and took his gaze back to the field. "So, let's start with the field. What did your book teach you about the bases?"

"On the field there's first, second, third, and fourth, but fourth is called home." She recited proudly, pointing to each base. "And if a guy touches the home plate, his team gets a point."

Lorelai looked at Luke for confirmation and he nodded. "Well, would you look at that, hon, you already know more than I do."

"You didn't read the book, Mommy." Rory answered knowingly.

"Well, I don't think your beloved Daddy here did either." Lorelai pointed out, crossing her arms in front of her and awaiting Luke's counter argument

Rolling his eyes, he answered her with a lofty tone. "But I've actually played the game before."

"Excuse me, I went to the batting cages, so that classifies as "played""

"Yeah, the slow pitch cages."

"I still swung at the baseball, therefore I have played."

"If you say so." Turning back to Rory, he noted how she looked at the both of them with annoyed face. "You okay kid?"

"Are you guys gonna flirt all night or are you gonna teach me."

Luke's eyebrows shot up as Lorelai laughed.

Smiling, she questioned her. "We're flirting? Hon, who taught you that word?"

"Sookie did. She says that's what you and Daddy do all the time when you argue. She said if you're not mad, then you're flirting, and you're not mad..." Rory thought on it for a second before questioning them further. "Are you?"

"No, sweets, we're not."

"So you're flirting?"

"Yes we are..." Lorelai had trouble keeping in a laugh at Luke's clearly embarrassed face. Figuring he had enough, she gestured back at the field in front of them. "You know what, that's enough about me and Luke. I'll let you get back to talking baseball."

"Okay, Thank you." Rory smiled politely and turned back to Luke who was still shaking his head at the previous topic. "So, what's a strike and what's a ball, Daddy?"

Halfway through the fifth inning, the Sox were up 4-1. Rory, who had switched seats with Luke to see better, was just as focused as she was at the beginning. After finally figuring out what the strike zone was, she was having fun calling out what she thought the pitch was, even though they didn't have a straight view of home plate. Luke, clearly enjoying the game also, was loving this one even more than others because he had someone to teach it to. Each pitch, he would explain whether Rory's call was correct. With any questions she had, he would make sure to thoroughly explain, even if that meant tearing his own eyes from the game and missing something. Lorelai, surprisingly had gathered a little bit of knowledge of what was going on and was enjoying herself too. She knew the Sox were winning since Luke, and the rest of the crowd around her, was still in a good mood. But one thing kept catching her eye more than anything in the game.

Seeing the concessions guy reappear at the top of the stairs with a full load of cotton candy she quickly patted Luke's shoulder. "Look, Luke, he's back!" She yelled as she pointed at the vendor. "He's got more cotton candy!"

Having heard her complain about it earlier, Luke noted the color of the candy wasn't to her liking and opened his mouth to respond.

Cutting him off before he could even start, she grumbled quietly. "Never mind, dammit. He doesn't have any of the pink kind. Only the blue."

"I'm pretty sure they taste the same." He reasoned, reaching for his wallet

As both Rory and Lorelai turned at lightning speed to look at him, Lorelai gasped as though he had committed the ultimate sin. "Woah, woah, woah, buddy, that's where you're wrong. Everyone knows that the pink kind is sweeter than the blue and tastes better."

"Everyone but me, apparently." He murmured under his breath as she continued to ramble

"I am always able to eat blue if it is my last option, but knowing that there is pink cotton candy somewhere in the vicinity of our seats, I refuse to succumb to that man's terrible choice in merchandise."

Grabbing her bag, Lorelai began to dig in to find her wallet. Pulling it out of the bag's depths, she turned to him with a grin. "Im going on a hunt."

Reaching quickly, he captured her wrist before she could step away. "Let me. I already know how to navigate this place and I don't want you getting lost."

"You know, I'm perfectly capable of following signs."

"And you know I already said I was getting snacks." Taking her wallet, he dropped it back in her bag and stood up. "I'll be back."

"Ooo! I wanna go!" Rory interrupted.

"Alright, I guess." Lorelai conceded. "Stay with Daddy, Rory. Don't wander off."

As she watched the two of them reach the top of the steps and disappear, she turned her attention back to the game... or more towards the players. She was so engrossed in finding the most attractive guy that she almost missed the uninvited one who appeared at her side a minute or so later.

Eyeing the guy warily as he hovered, she spoke a slow. "Uh, hi. Can I help you?"

"You know, a woman like yourself should never be at a game like this alone." The guy answered, avoiding her question. "You don't have a glove. What are you going to do if a foul ball flies this way? It'd be a shame if someone as stunning as you got hurt because you weren't prepared."

Despite knowing she could have easily sent him away, Lorelai decided to have some fun. Playing along, she shrugged exaggeratedly and flipped her hair smoothly over her shoulder. "I don't know. I know I'm not coordinated enough to do it, but I was just hoping someone around me would stop it."

"Nah, I wouldn't trust the people around here. But I'm sure I could help you." Reaching out, the man held an unopened beer to her. "Here, take this. I'm Joe, by the way."

"Ah, yes, a beer… Joe, you sure know the way to a woman's heart." She spoke sarcastically, watching him as he took liberty and sat down where Luke had been sitting

"What can I say," Joe shrugged cockily, taking a sip of his own beer. "Everyone has a talent, mine just happens to be winning the attention of beautiful women with the smallest of gifts."

"SMALL gifts? Yeah, I imagine so… Ooh, dirty." She couldn't help but smile at her own thoughts. She hoped Joe wouldn't think her grin was for him. "But that's probably too much to ask of him," She thought. "First I'm stunning and now I'm beautiful? You're just whipping out all the complements tonight."

"For you, yes." Taking another sip of his beer, he didn't even try to hide how eyed her up and down before questioning, "So, have you been to a Sox game before, or is this your first time? You don't peg me as a baseball girl."

"Oh I've been to a lot of games. You wouldn't believe the amount of baseball games I've been to." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Luke coming down the stairs with Rory in tow, a frown forming as he got closer. "You know, Joe, was it? As much as I love your friendly conversation, you should know that that seat you are in and the one next to you were open for a reason."

"They're open just for me." He answered smoothly.

"Actually, they are for us," Luke spoke in a deep voice, looking down at the guy who suddenly straightened up. "And that one in particular is for me."

Taking in Luke and Rory, Joe's eyes immediately widened. "Sorry, man, I didn't mean to intrude." He spoke quickly

Jilting his chin towards Lorelai, Luke smirked and answered. "No problem, but next time you should probably check her finger first."

The guy looked to Lorelai to see her holding up her ring dawned left hand.

"Well, congratulations to you." He stood up. "I think I'm gonna get back to my seat now."

"Bye bye, Joe." Lorelai exclaimed with a laugh.

As soon as Joe slid by and escaped up the stairs, both Luke and Rory took their seats, Rory handing Lorelai her snacks. "Here's your cotton candy, Mommy. I got the pinkest bags I could find."

"Thank you, my sweets. I think you picked a good one. Here, you go ahead and take half."

"Okay!" After taking her large portion of the sugary treat, Rory immediately took her eyes back to the game as though she hadn't stopped watching at all.

"So, Joe, huh?" Luke spoke low in Lorelai's ear as she took a bite of cotton candy. "Should I be worried?"

Shaking her head and swallowing, she grinned widely. "As desirable as the cheesy flirting he had going on was, I think I'm pretty happy with what I've got. I'm a fighter, not a lover."

"I don't know. I think you're pretty good at both," he teased, earning himself a shove and a playful "Luke!" from her.

Putting his arm around her, he pulled her closer. "I can't take you anywhere, can I?"

"What can I say? I'm irresistible to most of the male species." Holding her hand out in front of her, she wiggled her fingers. "It's a good thing that I have this beauty to keep suitors away. Looks like you made a good choice."

Kissing her cheek, he agreed. "Like hell I did."

Grabbing the still unopened beer from the cup holder, she held it out to him. "So, free beer? It's an anniversary gift from Joe."

Rolling his eyes, he took it from her and quickly popped it open. "That was very nice of him. We'll have to send him a thank you card."

"I'm sure he'd love to hear from you again. Apparently he's a big baseball fan." Taking a wad of cotton candy, she stuffed it in her mouth and hummed in contentment. "Maybe you could bond." At his chuckle, she leaned further into his shoulder ready to take on the remainder of the game.

Much to Luke and Rory's dismay, somehow the Yankees caught up. With the score tied 4-4 at the beginning of the bottom of the ninth, the entire crowd was on its feet. Rory, now perched on Luke's shoulders because she was too small to see over the rest of the crowd, yelled as the Yankee closer threw his first pitch of the inning. "Yankees Suck!"

"Rory!" Lorelai exclaimed with a laugh, looking up at her daughter.

"Everybody else is saying it, Mommy!" She defended herself.

Looking back down at Luke, Lorelai found him smirking. "What? Where's your normal embarrassed look, Mr. She's-too-young-to-say-things-like-that?"

"Well, they do suck," He chuckled, squeezing Rory's ankle that was down on his chest. "She's right this time."

Shaking her head, Lorelai rolled her eyes and joined in on the fun. Gaining Rory's attention, she gestured towards the field. "Let's say it again, kid. You too, Luke." With both of them ready, she counted down. "3,2,1…"

"Yankees suck!" They all three yelled.

As soon as the words left their mouths, there was a crack and the small white ball was sent to the stands out in left field, causing a loud roar to erupt from the entire stadium.

"We won! We won! We won!" Rory chanted loudly as Luke brought her down. "He hit a home run, Daddy!" As soon as she found her feet on the ground, looked up at them both and continued "Daddy, Mommy, we won!"

"I saw, hon! It's very exciting." Lorelai smiled, watching as Rory bounced with excitement

"Are you happy we won, Daddy?"

"I am, Rory. Are you?" Obviously, he knew the answer but asked anyway.

"Yeah!" She exclaimed, pumping her fist with excitement. "Can we come to another game? This is awesome!"

"You want to come to another game?" Lorelai asked.

"Mhmmm! This was fun! And the food was really yummy!"

"Ohh, yeah. The food was great!"

Rolling his eyes, though still smiling, Luke shook his head. "Even with all the excitement, all the two if you can think about is the food...But, yes, Rory, we'll come to another game someday."

At her squeal of excitement, both Luke and Lorelai laughed. Picking up their trash from the cup holders, Luke waved them along. "Now, come on you two. We need to hurry up to get to the car and beat the traffic or we'll be here all night."

Sitting on the couch in the main area of their suite later that night, Luke looked at newspaper, more specifically the sports section. Hearing the door to Rory's side shut, he looked up to see Lorelai shimmying over to him. Dropping the paper down beside him, he sat up straighter and she settled on his lap with a peck to his lips. "And then there were two." She murmured softly.

"She went out quick."

"She was worn out. She had a long day." At his nod, she slung her arms around his neck. "So, was today a good idea? Did you have a good time?"

Looking back at her, he wore a small smile. "I had a great time."

"Good. I'm glad."

The room fell into silence, his hand moving to run slowly across his lower back. Suddenly, feeling him tugging, she shifted to straddle his legs. As she resettled, he grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers through hers.

Looking back up, Lorelai found Luke looking at her intensely. "You know, you didn't have to choose today's game, though. We could have gone to another game that's not on our anniversary."

"I know, but Mia's friend said these were the best tickets, and I wanted to get them for you."

"But I'm sure you would have rather spent the day doing something else..." At her downcast eyes, he squeezed her hand. "We'll do something we both like when we get back to town."

Shaking her head, she waved him off. "No. I don't want to do that. I actually had fun..." At his arched brow, she smiled and continued. "Coming in, I didn't think that watching a game I knew nothing about was going to be the most amazing thing ever, but I liked it more than I thought."

Accepting her answer, Luke nodded over to Rory's room. "You know, she was a lot more interested in it than I thought I would be."

"It's Rory. What did you expect?" Lorelai shrugged. "Our little Einstein would never pass up a chance at learning something new...Especially if it means spending time with you."

"It was fun. I liked teaching her."

His simple admission made her smile. "And I love that you like teaching her..." Leaning in closer, she kissed him softly. Pulling back, she stroked his cheek. "You're really good to her... and even better to me."

"You make it easy."

Dragging a finger down the front of his shirt, she smiled. "You do realize that one year ago at almost this exact time we started the ice cream war that led to this spectacular relationship of ours beginning."

"You mean you started the ice cream war."

Waving a careless hand, Lorelai shrugged. "We, you, same thing." At Luke's smirk, she slid off of his lap and walked over to her purse. Pulling out CDs, she put one in the player over by the TV.

Seeing the look of realization forming on his face, Lorelai came back over and grabbed his hand and pulled him up easily. Still holding on, she moved Luke with her over towards the player and pressed play. Quietly, music filled the room as he began to lead her around slowly.

"You planned this." He whispered, not accusing but merely acknowledging.

"I did. I saw the CD player this morning and swiped the CDs from the jeep tonight. I thought it would be nice." At his small nod of acceptance, she leaned her head on his shoulder. "It's been a whole year."

"One year to the day."

Pulling back, she questioned him earnestly. "You still want me?"

He didn't even need a second to hesitate. "More than anything."

Her eyes crinkled at the corners and a bashful grin played on her face at his words. Leaning in, she kissed him sweetly for his answer.

Pulling back, he rested his forehead on hers. "You still want me?"

"More than coffee and pie."

Chuckling, his arms tightened around her. "Wow, you must really love me."

"I do..." Sliding her head down to against his shoulder, she kissed his neck and began moving a little slower. "Happy Anniversary, Luke."

Taking advantage of the space, he led her slowly around the living room as he answered her quietly. "Happy Anniversary, Lorelai."

Before they knew it, the songs switched, but they kept moving. Still refusing to stop, the second song ended as they danced and third track began.

Not wanting to break their connection, Lorelai tilted only her head up closer to his ear and spoke in a whisper. "You ready to go to bed?"

Shaking his head, Luke kissed her temple. "Not yet. I want another dance with my fiancée."

Holding up her hand, she flashed him her ring and a smile. "Hey, that's me."

"Only you, beautiful girl." He smiled back, kissing her softly. What started off as innocent pecks quickly evolved into long, deep kisses. His hands found their way under the hem of her t-shirt, languorously stroking her smooth skin and further kindling his and her desire.

Slipping his lips from hers, Luke moved across her jawline. "We can't here," He spoke in a barely audible, husky voice, though it took all he had him. "Rory could..."

"I know." She murmured.

Despite their words, neither would break to change their location. Lips, tongues, teeth collided in a familiar way as Luke backed her up against the wall near the doorway of their room.

"Mmmm, okay... we've got to move," Lorelai whispered. Still leaning into his neck and moving sinuously against him, she ran her hands across his shoulders and down his arms. "I really, really don't want to, though."

"Come on," He answered quietly. Reaching down and lacing fingers through hers, he pulled her along to room for the night.

As their labored breathing finally calmed sometime later, Lorelai turned on her side as Luke curled up behind her. Falling asleep, not one part of their body that could touch wasn't.

An hour or so later, Lorelai was woken by her growling stomach. Feeling Luke still breathing evenly behind her, she slipped out from under the covers and grabbed his t-shirt for cover and tiptoed out of the room.

Walking out into the living space of the suite, she found herself going over to well stocked fridge to grab a severely overpriced chocolate bar. Her plan was to go immediately back to their room, but the bright lights and beautiful night view of Boston caught her eye. Tearing open the package, she plopped a morsel in her mouth and walked over to the window and stood in front of it, staring out into the city. With all the running around they had been doing, she hadn't had time to process the events of the past few days, but the silence and the scene in front of her allowed her mind to run while she stared in a trance at the city below.

Sometime later, though how much later she wasn't sure, Lorelai slipped back into their bedroom and back under the covers quietly. Leaning back up against the headboard, she proceeded to finish the chocolate bar she had somehow forgotten was in her hand.

As she removed the last piece from the plastic, she was interrupted by Luke's hand stroking her knee. Taking her eyes down, she was met with him smiling up at her tiredly. "Hungry again?"

"Always." She smiled back, dropping the last piece in her mouth. "You can go back to sleep."

Shaking his head, he propped up on an elbow. "You were gone a while. Everything okay?"

"I was looking outside. It's weird to see so much going on at this hour. Stars Hollow is pretty much dead after 9:30."

Though she was telling the truth, Luke knew she wasn't telling the whole truth. After all, he was her fiancé for a reason. Knowing this time of night was when she could think the clearest, he stated "You were thinking weren't you."

Sticking the wrapper on the night stand, she flipped on her side to face him. "I was."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Well, as much as you know I love talking, that may take all night."

"The highlights?"

"Mom and Dad, Rory, Us… You know, the usual."

Chuckling, he shook his head. "Okay, I need a little more information than that."

Looking over him, she caught sight of the curtain covered window behind him. "The view outside is so pretty, and I was enjoying it, but then I remembered that my parents were responsible for it." Sighing, she looked back at him with a sad smile. "I really wish they would've consulted us before changing your reservation. I know they like to think of their intervention as a gift, but I just see it as the same old Richard and Emily Gilmore meddling in my life where I don't want them to."

"At least it was an upgrade."

"True, but we didn't need one. I was just as happy with the other place as I am this." Reaching out, she ran a hand across his cheek. "I'm sorry you got Gilmored… But I got Gilmored at dinner too, so we both get to suffer…And there's no one else I would rather suffer with." She smiled, nudging his shin with her foot.

"Yes, what an honor," Luke answered, rolling his eyes as he placed a kiss to her palm. "And what about us? Second thoughts on anything?"

"Not at all…" She shook her head. "I was just thinking about how great today was not only for me and you but for Rory too…And then the reality of the past year hit me. In one year I went from Lorelai Gilmore, a single mother with the best daughter, to future Mrs. Danes, a fiancée to a great man and best pseudo-father my daughter could ask for."

The hand that stroking up and down her waist froze as he looked at her curiously. "You're changing your name?"

Arching a brow, her eyes searched his face. "I think so... If that's alright with you. Are you surprised?"

"A little." Running a hand across the back of his neck, he continued. "I figured that since you have Rory, you wouldn't change it so she would still be connected to you."

"Well, I'd like to be Lorelai Victoria Gilmore-Danes...I want to make sure I'm easily identified as Rory's mom, but I want people to know I'm married to you too."

"You know that's four names, right?"

"Yes, and you have three, so that's only one more than you." At his still confused look she shrugged. "A crazy name for a crazy lady."

Shaking his head, Luke couldn't help but chuckle. Tightening his hand on her waist, he pulled her closer and used his other hand to tilt her head up for a kiss.

Before his lips met hers, she grinned and whispered. "I guess you like my idea, then?"

With an almost imperceptible nod, he planted a long, drawn out kiss on her lips. Leaning forward, she forced him on his back. Breaking apart when she had no more air, she hovered above him and slid her hands down his chest. "Mmm...I'll take that as a yes."

A/N: Well, what do you think? I think this chapter was very cute and very fluffy... But don't get too settled in. I thought I would warn you that troubled waters are coming in the near future. Any predictions?

I know this is totally off topic and not Gilmore related, but over the past week, I had the pleasure of finding out that a "summer cold" is in fact a real thing. Hopefully none of y'all reading this have had the same thing, because it really sucks, and if you have I am sorry...

Depending on where you are from, I hope all of you have a good weekend/rest of the weekend!

XOXO S