Chapter 11- Final Chapter

Disclaimer- Don't own. Don't affiliate. Don't profit.

Authors Note- This is it. This is where I shamelessly beg for the almighty review. The good, bad and the ugly. I can take it.

The door clicks closed behind Lorelai, a soft, inconspicuous sound that barrels towards and slams into Luke's chest like a fret train. He gasps for air, the impact sending him to another time, another place.

. . Why not, Luke? Don't you love me?

You know I do.

But I love you, Luke. I love you. . . . I asked you to marry me and you said yes. . . .It's now or never.

. . I can't just jump like this.

Well, I'm sorry to hear that. And I have to go.

"No."

"Luke?" Liz asks, watching him carefully.

Luke can't hear his sister. Not again. Not this time. He's on his feet. He had hesitated then, for fear of not being good enough. He attacked her with fear only a week ago, berated her with every bit of the anger and hurt that had been plaguing him for a year, but it was fear, the fear that he had lost her irrefutably, forever. It was fear now that caused his hesitation. Just friends. He's an idiot. Just friends, was just a euphemism for scared shitless. No more. Luke would no longer be ruled by fear.

He looks from the door to Liz. "Liz . . ."

"Go to her, big brother." She urges.

"Yeah and try not to screw it up this time." Adds TJ. "Hey, I'm just calling it like I see it."

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Luke runs down the hallway and out the double doors of St. Joseph hospital, skidding to a stop on the sidewalk. He surveys the parking lot. Through the falling snow, he sees Lorelai's Jeep pull out onto the road. Without a moment's hesitation, Luke takes off, running towards his truck. GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

It's a red light. Rory shifts in the passenger's seat; Luke's Diner fills the frame of her window, the scraping of windshield wipers across icy glass a metronome for her heart, she looks away sorrowfully. If her heart was heavy and raw and sad then. . . .

"Mom . . ."

"Some things are just never meant to be, no matter how much we wish they were."

Rory nods sadly and gives Lorelai a small empathic smile. "We could stop by Al's, fuel up for a night of packing."

"Sounds good. I'm starving. Oh, and I think I have some of that chocolate cake you love in the freezer."

"Mmmmm."

It's a green light; Lorelai drives the Jeep into the intersection. Without warning, a truck pulls out in front of her, blocking the road. Lorelai is forced to slam on the brakes. The brakes screech, protesting the abuse. The wheels spin, frantically searching for traction on the snow covered street. The Jeep skids and twists, before shuttering to a stop within inches of the other vehicle.

"Are you alright?" Lorelai asks Rory breathlessly; her left hand gripping the steering wheel, knuckles white, her right hand held out in front of her daughter protectively.

"I'm alright." Rory answers, her eyes focused in disbelief on the familiar green truck in front of them. "Mom, what exactly happened at that hospital?!"

Lorelai shakes her head, her own eyes locked in astonishment on the vehicle and its owner. Luke.

Luke jumps out of the truck and stomps purposefully towards the driver's side window. Horns are blaring. People are shouting. A crowd is gathering.

"Luke?!" Lorelai yells, slamming the window down. "Okay! I get it! The whole town gets why you'd have the desire to run me off the road! But Rory, Luke?! Do you seriously have that much faith in my driving ability?!"

"You ignored me for fifteen miles, Lorelai. Now I have your attention." He says blunt and matter of fact as he scans the girls to make sure they're not hurt.

"Ignored you?! I didn't see you, Luke. I mean, it's not like I'd expect you to come after me." Lorelai retorts smugly.

"Get out of the car!"

"Are you out of your mind!?"

"Yes! Get out of the car!" Luke opens the door and pulls her from the cabin, slamming the door behind her.

Rory watches helplessly. "You're in the middle of the road!"

"Luke?! What are you doing?" Lorelai snaps yanking her arm from his grasp.

Luke's face relaxes, he smiles as he remembers another moment when she had uttered those same words.

"What am I doing?" He asks her suggestively.

Lorelai blushes, dropping her eyes to the slush and snow beneath her feet. She too remembers. Lorelai shakes her head at the pavement, wrapping her coat around herself tightly. It's too much. It hurts too much.

"Lorelai . . ." He says softly reaching out to lift her chin. "I love you. I don't want to be afraid anymore. I want this."

"No, you don't, you . . ." She begins, shaking her head, stepping back from his touch.

"I want you and me and Rory and April. I want our middle." Luke takes her hand only to have her pull it away. Lorelai backs herself into the Jeep in an effort to put distance between them.

"But Chris . . ." She insists her bottom lip quivering.

"Nothing else matters." Luke vows, closing the gap.

"No. It hurts too much, Luke." She whispers fervently.

"This hurts too much." He reasons grabbing her gently by her arms. "Lorelai, I've tried but I just can't bewithout you. I need you." Luke pleads his voice breaking. Lorelai stares back into his eyes loving and sure, intensely blue like the sea before a storm and she crumbles, her tremendous resolve falling to pieces around her. Lorelai's whole body shakes as she cries. Luke gathers her in his arms, breathing in the scent of her hair, cooing in her ear, calming her.

"Shhh. Shhh. I am never letting you walk away from me again." He whispers, pulling her even tighter to him. Lorelai sinks into the embrace and then steps back to look at him.

"Never ever?" She questions on an exhale, visible in the freezing air.

"Never ever." He promises, wiping a snowflake from her eyelash.

Lorelai beams so bright that it warms them both. "Hmm, you have it bad for me, Luke Danes." She teases a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I am like water to your desert wanderer, like oxygen to your drowning man, like . . ."

Luke puts a finger to her lips.

"Yes. You are." He says solemnly.

"Me too. You are to me too." Lorelai whispers, all the playfulness gone from her expression.

Luke's eyes gaze hungrily at her lips; with a calloused fingertip he traces the outline of her mouth. She shivers and though it is twenty-nine degrees outside, it's not because of the cold. Luke pulls her closer to him, burying his face in her dark chocolate curls. She sighs blissfully, wrapping her arms around him, finding the warmth of his flannel shirt beneath his jacket.

"I missed you so much." Luke murmurs into her ear. He brushes his lips with tantalizing slowness from the nape of her neck up across her cheek to her mouth, where they unite with hers. The kiss of a man denied this sweet intimacy for over a year. Lorelai forgets her own name. She is unaware of everything but his touch, his hands pressing the small of her back, climbing into her hair, holding her. She trembles against him, her arms circling his neck.

"Me too." She mumbles into his mouth with stolen breath. Pressing her body into his, Lorelai kisses him with the amassed intensity of every one of the 365 some odd days that he was missed. It's Luke's turn to forget his name.

Inside the Jeep, Rory sits on her knees sideways in her seat, her long legs curled under her, her arm wrapped around the headrest. A headrest that had suffered some abuse of late, it had been clutched, strangled, shook, tearstained and finally hugged as Rory traveled Lorelai's emotions along with her. It was time to de-board that particular train. Rory had been smiling dreamily at the couple outside, her eyes glistening. She had been thinking happy thoughts, so many, in fact, that had there been some fairy dust she could have circled the earth thrice over. Had, past tense. The goofy grin has since fallen from her face. She had been thinking how wonderful it was that she could witness this moment, the culmination of one of Starshollow's great love stories, but now, suddenly, she wasn't.

Luke pulls his mouth from Lorelai's; between ragged breaths he lavishes luxuriant kisses along her jaw line, advancing leisurely down her neck. He walks further into her, pushing her against the side of the Jeep, just needing to be closer. The Jeep rocks almost imperceptivity on its wheels.

Rory starts and looks quickly away, her eyes fixed on some remote corner of the Jeep's cabin. She blushes, twists her legs out from under her and slides into the seat facing forward. It was impossible not to notice that only minutes ago, there had been noise and a lot of it, the growing rumble of motorists, cars honking, their drivers shouting and complaining. Gossiper's gossiping. The clamor of the diner emptying as people risked the cold to see what was going on. But now, you could drop a pin. It was that quiet. The attention lay elsewhere. Rory could guess where. Actually, it wasn't really a guess at all, more like a certainty. The Jeep shifts again and through its very thin walls, Rory can hear Lorelai moan softly.

"Oh no." Rory's mouth drops. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no." She clamps her eyes shut, covers her face with a hand, as an extra precaution, and scrambles out of the Jeep. Once safely outside the Jeep, Rory opens her eyes and takes a look around, Starshollow chaos, complete with Kirk selling hot chocolate and popcorn from the kiosk in the town square. How in the hell? Oh no, this has to stop.

"There's nothing to see here." Rory advises a group firmly, ushering them away down the street. "Move on."

"Parental controls!" She shouts admonishing the mother of a gawking little boy.

"Lane!" Rory waves spotting her friend outside the diner.

Lane jumps. "god, you scared me. I thought you were Mrs. Kim."

"I sound like your mother to you." Rory asks annoyed.

"When I'm doing something I think I shouldn't, every voice sounds like my mothers."

"Keep walking. That's right, you too. Have some respect." Lane yells over Rory's shoulder to a couple of overly interested tourists. Luke's people skills seem to be rubbing off on her.

"I feel dirty, like watching Cinemax at night dirty." Lane admits to Rory, her hands on her hips, her eyes wandering back towards the far side of the Jeep.

"Lane!" Rory bellows. "That is my mother. I can not be seeing this!" She covers both eyes with her hands again. "I'm going to have to call my therapist, he is going to have a field day with this!"

"We need to stop them, right?" Lane asks. "Or take notes." She adds smartly.

"Lane!" Rory snaps.

"Alright, come on." Lane grabs Rory by the hand and leads her around the hood of the jeep. She clears her throat once, twice, still nothing. "Lorelai?" No response, Lane sighs and tries again. "Luke!" Lane taps him firmly on the shoulder, still holding a blinded Rory by the hand.

Luke pulls away from Lorelai, instantly forgetting the reason for his stay, caught up in her gaze. She stares, her eyebrow cocked in confusion, her mouth formed in a disappointed pout. Why did he stop? Lorelai takes a deep breath refilling her lungs with oxygen, her eyes shift from Luke's over his shoulder to Lane and Rory and all of Starshollow. Oh my god.

She blinks, her face burning. "Hi Lane." Lorelai mumbles turning 153 shades of scarlet.

"Lane?" Luke questions dazed and confused. Lorelai nods and pushes his shoulder lightly so that Luke pivots to the right, as he does he takes in every detail.

"Aw geez."

"Hey Boss. Hi Lorelai." Lane replies clearly amused. "As happy as I am for you and I am really, really so happy, the whole town is happy, actually. I just thought that maybe you might like to continue your um, reunion somewhere a little more private." She suggests with a smirk. "Rory, relax, its fine. Every article of clothing's in its place." Lane says cheerfully, tugging on Rory's arm. Rory unclamps her eyes cautiously, lifting her hand from her face finger by finger.

"Drama Queen." Lorelai accuses with a guilty smile.

"Me!?" Rory asks incredulous. "You! The phrase 'get a room' has not had such an applicable moment! And Luke, with your stanch position against public displays of affection, my how the mighty have fallen! It's like the presidential debates of '04 all over again!"

"Hey Rory." Lorelai interrupts.

"What."

"I'm happy."

"I can see that." Rory smiles rolling her eyes. Noticing the way Luke is starring at her mother adoringly, she wraps him in a hug. "Thank you, Luke." Rory whispers mid-squeeze.

"Thank you, Rory." He whispers back.

Luke looks out over the chaos and threads his fingers into Lorelai's. "Come on!" He says suddenly, pulling Lorelai after him by the hand.

"Luke! Where are you going? Hey, Lane said more private, there couldn't be anywhere less then the center of town. You do know I own an Inn right? Not to mention your apartment, the house. Hell even the counter in the diner is more private than this." Lorelai rambles merrily as she's practically dragged across the snow covered street toward the square.

"That's what I want." Rory tells Lane with a contented sigh as she watches them. "A love like that. I don't want to settle, anything less just isn't worth moving to California for, you know."

"Yeah, I think I do." Lane answers looping her arm around Rory's.

Luke stops short in front of Kirk's makeshift refreshment stand, causing Lorelai to run into the back of him.

"Oof, Luke." She complains loudly on impact.

Kirk was just finishing up a sale. "Andrew?" Luke glares.

"I was just getting some hot coco, its cold out here, Luke." Andrew defends backing away.

"I'll deal with you later." Luke growls at Kirk, walking off in the direction of the gazebo.

"Kirk. Andrew. Lovely weather we're having, perfect for hot chocolate." Lorelai calls back to them breathless, Luke is moving at quite a clip.

"Lorelai!"

"What?!"

"Don't encourage them!"

"Please they're harmless, plus I might want some hot chocolate later and it'll pay to be on good terms with the proprietor."

"If you want hot chocolate then I'll make you hot chocolate."

"Dirty."

Luke laughs unable to pretend annoyance any longer. "Not even."

He argues, squeezing her hand and smiling back at her, all the while not slowing his pace.

"A little." Lorelai returns. "Where are we going?"

"We're almost there."

"Is there hot chocolate?"

"Babbette. Miss Patty. How are you enjoying your popcorn?" Lorelai asks as she's pulled past the two women who are sitting under a blanket on a bench next to the gazebo.

"Immensely." Miss Patty says dirtily, popping a kernel into her mouth.

"Wishing is was a cigarette, sugar." Answers Babbette with a knowing smile.

"Ohh! I'm wearing heels, Luke!" Lorelai says as she's dragged up the stairs. Damn boots. "Where is the fire?" She pants dramatically.

Luke stops in the middle of the gazebo positioning her across from him. He takes out his wallet and carefully pulls their engagement ring out from the folds.

"Oh." She exhales softly.

Luke takes both her hands and drops to one knee. Her hands tremble in his, as Luke stares deep into her eyes.

"Lorelai Gilmore. Will you marry me?" Lorelai takes a sharp breath, her heart jumps.

"Say yes and I'll drag Reverend Skinner out of his church by his collar and demand to be married on this spot or I'll wait as long as you need, long enough for you to plan the dream wedding you deserve or I'll pack up my truck way beyond manufactures recommendations and elope with you anywhere on a map."

Lorelai shudders, tears slipping down her cheek at the painful memory turned heart felt declaration.

"Anything you ask I'll do. If you will just say yes."

Luke's kneeling before her in their gazebo, his eyes glistening with emotion. The chatter of their crazy, loveable town around them. And snow. Oh my god, it's snowing. This is her perfect moment. No questions. No doubts. No crazy voices shouting in her head. Lorelai sinks to her knees in front of him.

"Yes." She answers. "A thousand, million, billion times, yes."

"What did she say?!" Screams Gypsy.

"She said yes!" Shouts Babbette, there's a cheer from the crowd.

Rory squeals and hugs Lane.

"What in the name of all things holy is going on here? Will somebody please move these vehicles?" Taylor yells finally appearing from the market.

Lorelai is smiling so hard her cheeks hurt, she watches as Luke slides the ring onto her finger, and then takes his face in her hands, leaning to him.

"Really? You're going to kiss me now?" He says smiling wide.

Lorelai giggles. "That is so incredibly predictable." They say in unison as their lips meet.

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