Chapter 9: Good Memories

I walk up to the counter where a gruff looking man with a flannel shirt and a grey-brown-ish backwards baseball cap is working. Leaning with my hands on the counter, I wait for him to notice me, but he's too busy with his bills. I clear my throat, but he still doesn't look up.

"So, you must be Luke from Luke's Diner?" I ask.

"That's me," Luke replies annoyed, still focused on his task at hand.

"Well Luke from Luke's Diner, any chance you serve coffee in here?"

Luke shakes his head. "It's a diner. Of course I serve coffee," he grumbles at me.

I smirk. I'm the customer here, but by the way he acts, it's like it's the other way around. "Coffee, please, Luke from Luke's Diner," I laugh as I sit down on an empty stool.

"Would you stop calling me that?" Luke mumbles, "It's just Luke. Thanks."

"Okay then, Just Luke. Your biggest cup please."

"Geez… Has anyone ever told you you're very annoying?" he quickly glances up at me before turning his attention back to his bills. Then, his head shoots up again and he stares at me with big eyes. I smile at him as I notice the dark blue of his eyes. It's obvious that Just Luke is a handsome man.

"Plenty of times actually," I say cheekily.

"Never felt the need to change that?" he asks.

"Nope," I give him a broad smile, "Now where's that coffee?"

Luke turns around and grabs the pot. "To stay or to go?" he asks me in his monosyllable tone.

"Which one is bigger?" I ask.

"Never measured," he counters quickly.

"To stay, please."

Luke places a large, bright red cup in front of me and fills it to the brim. "There, as big as it gets," he mumbles.

I smirk. "Dirty!" I exclaim joyfully.

Luke simply rolls his eyes at me and shakes his head with a sigh. I take a careful sip of the hot coffee. As the liquid touches my taste senses, I fall in love with it immediately.

"Holy mother of anything edible!" I exclaim loudly. Luke looks up at me in surprise. "Just Lu-uke," I say rather amazed, but definitely worshipful, "This is a-ma-zing!"

Luke ignores it when I call him 'Just Luke' again and grumbles, "Thanks."

"Marry me," I say with a dreamy sigh as I lean my elbow on the counter and place my head in my hand, smiling at him lovingly.

Luke stares at me in shock for a few seconds, but then recovers. "How about a date first?" he asks to my surprise.

"Soo…" I say as I reach the counter and lean on it, trying to get Luke's attention.

"Hey," he says with a smile, "Coffee?"

"Yes please," I say quickly. "So, normally I don't introduce my kid to my boyfriend, but Rory really wants to try your coffee, so I hope you don't mind?" I ask him nervously.

"Of course not," Luke says.

I turn around and wave at the ten-year-old girl who's impatiently waiting at the door. She happily skips over to us and plops down on the empty stool next to me. "Rory, this is Luke; Luke, my daughter Rory," I introduce them.

Rory expertly holds out her hand for Luke to shake. Luke takes it, the surprise evident in his handsome face. "Nice to meet you," Rory says with a happy grin.

"Yeah, you too," Luke grumbles.

"I hear your coffee is our heaven," Rory informed him, pointing between herself and me.

"Uh, sure," Luke says.

"Can I have some?"

Luke looks at me questioningly. "Only half a cup," I inform him.

Luke pours it and places it in front of her. "Watch out, it's hot. And unhealthy," he quickly adds. Rory smiles appreciatively at him. "Thank you, kind sir," she chuckles, having heard her mother say that before. She takes a careful sip. "Oeh, yum yum!" she says, nodding excessively at her mother.

"Right?" I ask her.

"Definitely," she replies.

"This is a one time thing right? You letting her drink coffee?" Luke asks me.

"If you mean, once a day, then yes."

"You let her have coffee everyday?" Luke asks incredulously.

"It's not even one cup!" I say defensively.

"You're insane," he tells me.

I nod agreeably, before turning to Rory, "Burger?"

"Oeh, yes! A big one. Side of chili fries please," she informs Luke.

"Definitely your kid," Luke informs me with a sigh, before he writes her order on his note pad.

"I couldn't find a babysitter for tonight," I inform Luke, "Wanna come over to my place, or would you rather reschedule? I'm fine either way."

"I'll come to your place," Luke says with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You sure? Rory will be there," I tell him as if he didn't know that already.

"I like Rory," Luke says gruffly, "I'll bring groceries and cook for you… You do own a proper kitchen, right?"

"Yes," I say exasperated, "But I would bring some pans and spatulas if I were you."

Luke nods. "Seven okay?"

"Perfect."

"Oh my God, that was amazing," I tell Luke, as I press my naked body closer to his, and rub my foot along his calf.

Luke trails his hand through my hair. "Yeah," he agrees.

"Are you sure this was our first time? It didn't feel like a first time to me," I continue.

Luke chuckles and I play with the hair on his stomach as it shakes from his laughter. "Imagine what the second time will be like," he jokes.

"Come by tomorrow?" I immediately ask eagerly, leaning up from his chest to look into his eyes.

"Definitely," he says with a nod, before he presses his lips to mine.

I am nervous. I can't remember ever having been this nervous, except perhaps when I had to tell the Gilmores that I was pregnant.

What if my dress doesn't fit as well as I thought it did? What if my dress gets hitched up and my ass is visible to hundreds of guests? What if my hair is too wild? What if the bags under my eyes are visible from barely sleeping last night? What if my makeup is smeared?

For the umpteenth time that day I find myself in front of the mirror, inspecting my entire appearance. None of my fears are a reality and, if I may say so myself, I look absolutely beautiful.

My mother walks behind me and places the veil securely in the perfectly made knot on the back of my head.

"You look beautiful," Mom tells me, a genuine smile on her face.

"Thanks, Mom," I reply, truly touched.

"Absolutely gorgeous," Rory chimes in.

"So do you, sweets," I tell her as I readjust the strap of her blue dress, "You excited?"

"Very," Rory quips, "You?"

I smile at that. "Me too."

"Alright, Lorelai, it's 2.56pm; it's time for me to find my place, and for this young lady," she places her hand on Rory's shoulder, "to take her spot behind the closed doors," Emily informs us in her wedding-planner voice as she places the white and blue bouquet in my hands.

As Emily disappears into the grand room and Rory waves at me one last time before walking down the aisle, another round of nerves overwhelms me.

What if I fall? What if Luke suddenly realizes he's too good for me? What if he thinks I'm too much work and he leaves me at the altar in front of all these people?

I hold tightly onto my father's arm and take a deep breath. "Don't let me fall, Daddy," I say in a small, childish voice, swallowing thickly.

"Never," he reassures me.

I look at my feet to make sure I don't fall as I take small steps towards the tall, already open doors. When I'm fully inside, I finally look up and I see Luke at the other end of the aisle. He stares at me with that familiar smile on his face; the one that others barely get to see; the one that he reserves especially for me. That smile causes me to smile as well, and suddenly everything and everyone around me disappears. It's just Luke and me, and he patiently awaits my arrival. Suddenly this is easy. It is, no doubt, the easiest thing I've ever done.

"Hey there, hubby of mine," I say happily as I round the corner to our bedroom, noticing Luke sitting against the headboard, reading a book.

"Hey," he grumbles as he quickly glances up at me, before refocusing on his book.

I close the door and scoot under the blankets, moving myself close to Luke. I lay my head on his shoulder. "I have something for you," I say as I hold a small, squared, black box in my hand.

He places the book on his nightstand and takes the box from me. "What is it?" he asks.

"It's a surprise."

"I don't like surprises," he grumbles.

"You'll like this one," I say, nestling even closer to him and pressing a kiss to his gruff cheek, "Open it."

Luke carefully opens the lid and finds a small, rolled up piece of paper inside. He looks at me and I urge him on with one nod of my head. He slowly removes the ribbon and unfolds the little scrap of paper. He looks confusedly down at a picture of an ultrasound.

"What is this?" he asks.

I place my forehead against the side of his head and whisper in his ear, "That's your baby, Daddy."

He finally tears his eyes from the picture and looks at me wide eyed. "You're pregnant?" he asks incredulously. I give him a bright smile and he looks down at the paper again. "Wow," he whispers, tracing his thumb lovingly over the picture.

When he comes back to earth, he looks at me again and I notice the unshed tears in his blue eyes, making them resemble the sea even more. He presses his mouth against mine. I run my hand through his hair and smile against his mouth.

"You're happy," I state.

"You're damn right I am," he says, looking at the ultrasound again. "So where exactly should I be looking?" he asks, holding the picture in front of me.

"Oh right." I quickly scan the paper and find what I'm looking for. "See this little round thingy?" I ask.

"Yeah…" Luke replies, waiting for me to go on.

"That's it, silly," I laugh, poking him in the side.

Luke holds the ultrasound closer to his face, inspecting the spot I just pointed at. Eventually he lets out a deep breath and looks at me again. "Thank you," he says, rubbing my belly lovingly.

"This is perfect," I say, looking around the living room, "Absolutely perfect."

"Lorelai, this house has six bedrooms!"

"So?"

"That's a lot of rooms to fill," he tells me, and I automatically place my hands on my seventh month belly.

I laugh at him. "We don't have to fill them all, Luke. One for us; one for Rory; one for the baby; maybe one as a playroom; and one as a spare room, so you don't have to sleep on the couch anymore when you've been a bad boy."

"Har, har," Luke deadpans, rolling his eyes, but I hear the real-estate agent chuckling. "What about room six?" he wants to know.

I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly. "Well, we might be able to fill that particular one."

Luke looks around the house again. "You sure about this?" he asks.

"Absolutely. I love it. It's gorgeous."

Luke turns towards the real-estate agent. "We'll take it," he informs her and I clap my hands triumphantly.

"Would you like to know the sex of your baby?" the doctor asks.

"Yes!" I say immediately.

"No!" Luke says at the same time.

We look at each other and I burst out laughing. "We probably should have discussed this beforehand, huh?"

"Probably," Luke agrees.

"Please Luke. I really want to know. It's killing me."

"I don't know…" Luke says doubtfully, "It takes away the element of surprise."

I wave his argument away. "You don't like surprises," I tell him.

"True, but…"

"And it would be a lot easier to prepare; clothing, the name," I list on my fingers.

"Yeah, but…"

"Please, please, please, Luke! I wanna know if Elly is having a baby brother or sister. Please?!" I beg, taking hold of his hand and squeezing tightly.

Luke sighs and looks at the doctor. "Who could ever refuse that?" he asks rhetorically, with a roll of his eyes.

"Thank you!" I exclaim, kissing his hand, before turning towards the doctor. "Well?" I ask eagerly.

"Congratulations, it's a girl."

"Oh my God! Luke! Luke, get in here! Now!" I call, my eyes focused on Abby who is taking her first steps, without any help from furniture or her parents. "Luke! Abby is walking!"

Luke runs down the stairs, a towel draped across his hips and his entire body dripping wet, leaving a trail of water behind on the floor. Just as he comes into the living room, Abby turns her head to the sound of the door opening, and she falls back on her diapered buttocks.

I clap my hands excitedly. "Well done, Abby!" I exclaim as I lift the little ten month old in my arms and press a kiss to her chubby cheek.

"I missed it?" Luke asks sadly.

"Awh, I'm sorry, babe," I say as I take in his appearance. The shampoo is even still in his hair.

Elly seems confused why her parents would be so happy about walking. She triumphantly stands up and starts walking in circles. "Look Mommy, me walking too!" she says proudly, causing me to laugh.

I place Abby back down on the rug and walk over to Elly. "Oh, I know El. You're very good at walking." I place a kiss on top of her dark curls. "You're Mommy's big girl, aren't you?" She nods enthusiastically, moves her head backwards and puts her lips out for me to kiss. I peck them and then wave my hand through her hair as she picks up her favorite doll.

"Lorelai!" Luke says happily, pointing towards Abby. She had hoisted herself up on the couch again and had started taking wobbly steps away from it.

"Oh, camera! Camera, camera, camera!" I exclaim, looking frantically around me.

"Here," Luke bends down and picks the camera up from the coffee table.

I quickly turn it on and focus it on Abby. "Abby," I call sweetly, "Abby, walk to Mommy and Daddy." Abby looks at us in surprise; the distraction enough for her to lose focus on her balance, causing her to fall down on her baby butt again with a soft 'mph'. I giggle loudly. "Again, Abby. Come to Mommy."

Luke wraps his arm around me and pulls me closer to him as he smiles down at his youngest daughter.

"Luke?"

"Hm?" he asks distractedly.

"You're dripping wet," I complain, pushing him away from me and pouting at him as I look down at my wet clothes.

"Oops. Sorry," Luke chuckles, "I'll be right back." He quickly kisses my cheek and disappears upstairs again.

"Luke! I'm actually watching this movie!" I complain laughingly.

We're on the couch and Luke is draped half over me, working his tongue on my neck. I'm trying desperately to look around him, so I won't miss the best part of Pretty Woman, where Richard Gere overcomes his fear of heights and climbs the fire stairs up to Julia Roberts' top floor small apartment, roses in hand, to declare his love for her.

Luke stops his ministrations on my neck, picks up the remote, and turns off the TV.

"Hey!" I exclaim offended. Luke ignores me and continues kissing me, moving from my collarbone to my neck and making his way towards my mouth. My eyes close and I moan involuntarily.

Our tongues duel for a short while, before Luke moves over to my ear. "Let's make another baby," he whispers, kissing his way down my neck again.

My eyes pop open and I swallow hard. "What?" I ask confused.

"Let's make a baby," he repeats, moving further down towards my cleavage.

I place both my hands on his cheeks and force him to look at me. "You're serious?" I ask after looking in his face for a little while.

"I am," he says with a nod.

"This is not some kind of I-Just-Turned-Forty-Joke, is it?"

Luke chuckles. "No, it's not."

I swallow hard, trying to get my thoughts together quickly.

"You don't want it," he concludes.

"No!" I say quickly, "No, it's not that. I just… It surprised me, is all."

"You don't have to decide right away," Luke says thickly, playing with the ends of my hair and looking at it intently.

"Well no," I chuckle, "those anti-conception pills need some time to wear off."

"Lorelai…" Luke sighs.

"Yes," I say suddenly determinedly. He finally looks into my eyes again, waiting for me to be clear. "Yes, I'll have another baby with you." I run my hand over the side of his face into his hair. It takes a little while for him to register what I said, but then he grins at me and captures my lips with his.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this. Personally I'm a big fan of flashbacks. Please let me know what you think.

A/N-2: For the first time I actually planned the rest of this story! It will contain fifteen chapters. Thank you, Niamh, for that five hour long Skype conversation ;).

A/N-3: Please check out our new chapter of Teens on Coffee, by NeMo-LL. Be warned; it's insanely long.