Author's note: Sorry that I haven't updated this story in a little while. This chapter is just a random, a sort of filler chapter. I want to finish this story within the next couple of months, so the next few chapters will take place a long time after this one and the kids will be a lot older. Please feel free to leave a review or share your thoughts with me. Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites, I really appreciate them.
A year and a bit later, Luke received a phone call from April's boyfriend, Simon. He called to ask for Luke's permission to ask April to marry him. Luke was surprised, he thought it was old fashioned to ask for the father's permission, but he was happy that he asked. Luke gave him permission and Simon told him he would have someone film the proposal so he could see it.
A few days later, on Valentine's Day, April called Luke. She told him that she was engaged. He told her that he was happy for her. She told him that they would probably end up having the wedding in Cape Cod that summer. Anna had moved there to be closer to April. Luke tells April that's great and April promises to come visit Stars Hollow with Simon soon.
One day in late February, while Luke was busy at the diner, his cell phone rang. He was right in the middle of taking a customer's order, so he didn't answer it. When he went back to the kitchen to give Caesar the order, his phone started ringing again. He looked at the screen and saw that it was Lorelai who was calling. He answers it on the third ring.
"Hey." He answers casually.
"Hey, thank god you picked up… don't freak out, I'm in the hospital." Lorelai blew out a deep breath.
"What? What do you mean don't freak out? Why are you in the hospital?" Luke raises his voice and the diner patrons all stare at him.
"Well, I fell on some ice outside the Inn and my arm really hurt, so I went to the hospital and they told me I broke my arm. I got a cast and everything." She sounded excited and Luke was irritated by it.
"Oh, well did you hurt anything else?" He asks in a gentle voice.
"No. Just my arm, I need you to come pick me up because I can't drive. Sookie drove me here, but she had to get back to the Inn." Lorelai tells him.
"Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can. I just have to let Caesar know I'm leaving."
"All right, bye hon." Lorelai hangs up and Luke does too and puts his phone in the pocket of his jeans.
About forty minutes later, Luke arrives at the hospital. He asks the man behind the front desk where to find Lorelai and he directs him to her room. He finds Lorelai sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, swinging her feet back and forth. She looks happy, like she isn't hurt at all.
She grins when she sees Luke. "Good, you're here. Let's go."
Luke's brow furrows. "Are you sure it's okay to leave? Where's your doctor? I want to talk to him. I want to make sure you aren't hurt anywhere else." He reaches out and places his hand on her back when she stands up.
"I already signed all the papers; thank god it was my left arm, not my right. The doctor said I was fine to leave. He checked out everything, Luke. He left a few minutes ago; he said he had to get to other patients." Lorelai informs him.
"Okay. I'd feel more comfortable getting confirmation from the doctor, but I guess we can't get that."
Lorelai just nods and gestures to the door, she's ready to leave. Luke rubs her back and quickly kisses the top of her head. Lorelai smiles and they walk out of the room together. Luke keeps a hand on her back.
When they pass the front desk, Luke walks up to it,
"Hey, I just want to make sure it's alright for me to take my wife home now." He questions the man behind the desk.
"What's her name?" The man asks as he glances between the computer and Luke.
"Lorelai Gilmore-Danes," Luke tells him. He was still amazed that she had hyphenated her name and he could refer to her as his wife, even though they had been married for many years.
The man types a couple things into the computer and clicks the mouse a few times. He looks back up at Luke and says, "Yep. I've got the doctor's authorization right here. She's free to go."
"All right, thanks." Luke replies.
Luke drives Lorelai home and comes inside with her to help get her situated on the couch in front of the T.V. He asks if she needs anything before he heads back to the diner.
"No, I'm good, thanks babe." She grins.
"Okay, I'll pick up the kids from school later and come home early." Luke responds.
Lorelai just says, "Okay,"
Right before Luke steps out the door, the home phone rings. He turns around and walks to it. He picks it up and answers.
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Mr. Danes?" A woman's voice answers.
"Yes, this is Luke Danes." Luke answers.
"Hi, I'm Samantha's teacher. I'm calling because unfortunately she isn't feeling well and she just got sick a few minutes ago. It seems the flu is spreading around here. Would you or your wife be able to come and pick her up?"
Luke almost sighs, but he stops himself. "Yeah, I can come pick her up. I'll head over there now."
"Okay, we'll see you soon." She replies before she hangs up. Luke hangs up the phone.
"Who was that?" Lorelai asks.
"Sam's teacher, Sam's sick, so I have to go pick her up." Luke tells her.
"Oh, no, poor Sam," Lorelai says softly.
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to call Caesar and tell him I won't be coming back."
Lorelai almost tells him not to, that she can handle the kids, but she thinks it through and realises that it would be much easier to have Luke home.
They don't say anything else before Luke leaves. When he returns with Sam, he carries her up to her room and helps her change into her pajamas. He tells her to wait upstairs while he goes to get her some water. When he comes back to her room, he finds her asleep. He places the water on her nightstand and picks up her teddy bear from the floor and places it next to her in the bed.
Luke sits down next to Lorelai and relaxes until he has to leave again to pick up Will from school. When he returns, Will asks him if he can help him with his homework. When suppertime comes around, Luke orders a pizza because he's too tired to cook.
At the end of the day, after both kids are in bed, Luke lies in bed exhausted while Lorelai watches T.V. next to him. Lorelai suddenly turns the T.V. off and Luke opens his eyes.
"Nothing on?" He asks
"Nah, not really," Lorelai moves closer to him.
He gently touches her shoulder, "How's your arm?"
"It's fine. I'm not really in pain or anything."
"That's good." Luke says simply. He closes his eyes again.
Lorelai smiles and whispers, "Starting to snooze?"
"Hmm," Luke murmurs.
"You were a great dad and husband today, honey. You deserve a good night sleep." Lorelai moves even closer to him and reaches out with her right hand and gently strokes his cheek.
Luke keeps his eyes closed, but he brings his hand up and takes hers and brings it to his mouth to kiss it. Lorelai giggles.
"Goodnight." Luke whispers.
"'Night," Lorelai whispers back and she pecks his lips before she moves and lies on her back.
Luke takes the next few days off and takes care of his family. He looks after a sick Sam, helps Lorelai with the daily household chores and drives Will to and from school and just spends time with all three of them.
Months later, the whole family including Rory and Jeremy, and Liz and T.J. and Doula attend April's wedding. As Luke walks April down the aisle, he starts to tear up. Once he takes his seat, Lorelai squeezes his hand and whispers: "She's so beautiful." Luke just nods in response as tears start to fall down his face. As April and Simon start to stay their vows, Luke meets Anna's eyes and she smiles and nods, giving him a silent understanding. He returns her smile. Their relationship had developed over the years and Anna had apologized for keeping April from him.
Luke and April share a special father-daughter dance and Luke tells her how happy he is for her. April grins and says. "Thanks Dad, I love you."
"I love you too." Luke kisses her forehead and they keep dancing. After the dance, Luke finds Lorelai sitting with the kids and Rory and Jeremy. Luke asks Lorelai to dance and she agrees and he leads her to the dancefloor.
"I can't believe both of our daughters are married. I feel so old." Lorelai tells him.
"You're not old. You're just as beautiful as you were on the day I met you." Luke says softly as he pushes a strand of hair off her face.
Lorelai smirks, "Do weddings bring out the sentimental, romantic Luke?"
Luke just shrugs and pulls her closer. Lorelai rests her head on his shoulder and they dance through two slow songs.
At the end of the night, everyone hugs the bride and groom goodbye. Rory and Jeremy also say goodbye as they head to the airport to go back to Chicago.
"We raised two great daughters, didn't we?" Luke asks Lorelai
Lorelai looks and him for a moment before she answers, she knows what he is trying to say. Although he didn't know April until she was over twelve and he didn't make the best choices when she came into his life, he was grateful to have her in his life and he was happy to have Lorelai as her stepmother. And he had always been there for Rory in a way that Christopher never was and he was proud to call himself her stepfather.
"Yeah, we sure did. And we get to do it all over again with Will and Sam." Lorelai wraps her arm around Luke and leans into him. His arm comes around her waist and they stand still for a couple of minutes, and think about how lucky and grateful they are to have each other and their family.