Walk Me Down the Aisle?

Rory's baby was only a few months old. Despite the unusual circumstances, Luke had taken to grand-parenting quite well. Three adults and a baby made for an interesting living arrangement, but no one could ever say that it was boring.

Perhaps that's what motivated Luke to close up the diner that much faster this late fall night, his eagerness to get back to his family.

Of course, things would be a lot better if the kid's father was involved. Or even around. By the time Rory had told that Logan Huntzberger punk about their child he was already married to another woman. He bolted upon hearing the news, just as Luke feared. His excuse of his hands being tied and fear of his family learning did nothing to quell Luke's animosity for the boy. Yes, he did use the word 'boy' – only a man would own up to what Logan had done, and he had not.

The bell over the door now tinkled. This time, Luke didn't have to prepare his We're Closed explanation; he knew who it was before he even turned around.

"All right, all right, princess, I'm coming…." As predicted, he turned to find his stepdaughter in the doorway, a beaming smile on her face. "OK, something's up. You don't smile that wide unless you have a mug of coffee in your hands!"

At this joke, Rory oddly blushed. Luke chuckled. "Oh, I get it. It's that boy you've been seeing…. what's his name…. Marty? You know your step-cousin thinks he's a geek, right?" – a joking allusion to Jess.

Rory laughed, the blush not leaving her face. "Well, it's more than just coffee, Luke, because I've… I've fallen in love."

Luke blinked. "You've…. you've what?"

"Marty's always carried a torch for me, ever since our time at Yale. And he was one of the first of my friends to come help when news broke about the baby. We started going out a few months ago, and well….. he just asked me to marry him. And I said yes!" Rory now flashed the engagement ring on her finger.

Luke dropped the pot he was cleaning. He ran around the counter and hugged Rory, picking her up and spinning her about in his arms. "Princess, that's amazing!" He suddenly paused as the realization hit him. Some young whipper-snapper had just asked his daughter for her hand in marriage. He pulled back to look Rory in the face. "He'll be good to you?"

Rory laughed. "Yes, Luke, of course he will!"

"Tough. He's still not getting out of the Fear-of-God speech I have planned for him!"

Rory giggled. "All right. Just don't do it at the wedding, OK? You'll be busy."

"Yeah, making sure your mom makes it through in one piece!"

"More than that." Rory suddenly bit her lip. "Hopefully. You see, there's something I wanted to ask you…."

"Name it, sweetheart, and it's done."

"Would you…. walk me down the aisle?"

There was a small pause, as Luke blinked, processing what had just been offered. He cleared his throat. "Well…. I'm honored, Rory, but…. don't you think your… father should do it?"

Rory blinked back tears, even as she beamed at Luke's awkward adorableness. "Christopher? Don't you understand? Luke, you are my father. You always did the things fathers should do. You never forgot my birthday. You went to both my graduations. You fed me. You raised me. You're not my father by blood, but you are my father in all else. And there is no one else who I would want to give me away. Not even Christopher. You deserve the credit."

Luke did not even try to hide the tears streaming down his face throughout Rory's heartfelt speech. "In that case, princess…. sign me up! I'd be honored."

And with that, father and daughter embraced.

A/N: I can hear the howls from here, especially from Team Jess. "Jess is her Luke! Logan is her Christopher!" And on and on. First of all, Team Jess, you do realize that he and Rory are now step-cousins, so a relationship for them would be incest, right? Dean is married, I am going to assume Logan runs like a fugitive, and Tristan is... Tristan was never a thing. So that leaves the geeky friend who was never elevated to boyfriend status getting the girl at the end.