Is she dreaming? It seems like she's dreaming. She remembers that dream she had, well actually a few times, back during the summer that Rory was away in DC. The memory of it flashed through her mind thousands and thousands of times since she first got together with Luke, even more after they got engaged. It had seemed like maybe, just maybe, her dream wasn't at all about what Rory had prophesized but maybe she had done a Miss Cleo type of thing, maybe deep down she had known that the dream would come true. One day she'd wake up, in that fabulous nightgown, and Luke would be in the kitchen cooking her breakfast. He'd change her coffee and talk to her stomach, and he'd kiss her. Oh, he'd kiss her. Amazingly enough, even in her dreams, Luke had been a fabulous kisser. She remembers that Dream Lorelai had held his lips to hers, wanting the kiss to last just a few seconds longer, keep him in their house with her for just a few moments more.
She had been pregnant, she remembers. With twins. She smiles to herself now and feels Luke's hand squeeze hers. How she'd love for that massive hand that holds hers tight, to also hold a child with in it. Not just Gabriel. Her child. Their child. Yes, she loves Gabriel. Yes, she loves Rory and April. But sometimes, even lately, she's been feeling a yearning for her own child, for her own child with Luke.
When Rory and Lane had once been obsessed with the book Sarah Plain and Tall, back in the 3rd grade, they had a late night movie night when they watched both the movie and the sequel, Skylark. After tucking them in bed, Lane hadn't even made it through the first ten minutes of Skylark, Lorelai had watched the second half of the movie alone. Sarah had wanted a baby with her husband Jacob, she wanted it so bad she had dreamt of him, she had dreamt of the touch of her baby's skin and the aroma of her baby's smell, long before she ever knew she was pregnant. At the time, Lorelai had almost scoffed at this, having not had this reaction to Rory's conception, but now it was different. She wanted a child with Luke too and in the month since they had fixed things between them, she had dreamed of little else but a baby, their baby. The feeling that entrapped her heart every morning when she held Gabriel in her arms was the strongest guilt she had ever felt but she loves Gabriel, that is undeniable, and even if she were to have a child with Luke, she wouldn't love him any less.
Luke lets go of her hand, moving his palm to her lower back as he guides her up the steps of the gazebo. She smiles at him, somehow having known exactly where he was leading her since they began their walk around town. It was just pleasant to walk along in silence, hand in hand, their fingers interlaced, letting the peaceful atmosphere of Stars Hollow at night, the dark of the sky, the glitter of the stars over head, the monotonous tones of crickets, embrace them and just let them feel in the moment. The cool breeze blowing past them in the warm air of the early spring of late March made the silence brim with a gentle, but also sultry, electricity. At times during their walk to the gazebo, Lorelai hadn't been sure if she wanted to just sit on the ground and let the world be at peace around her or grab Luke and press him against the wall, kissing him passionately pressing eager and lustful kisses all over his face and neck.
Finding herself up in the gazebo, her hands on the railing, looking around at the still surroundings in front of her. Luke's hands rest on either side of hers, his chest leaning against her back, his chin on her shoulder and his cheek pressed against her hair. If you were to take a picture of them at this moment, you could write for hours and never be able to fully describe what you were looking at.
This moment is so perfect, a memory she knows she'll keep with her forever, but it seems important to remember how they got here, to this place, at this time. The meeting in the afternoon had started out as a very nerve-wracking process. Only a day before they had received a call from Mr. Coffer, Luke's lawyer, now their lawyer, really he had always been their lawyer but she had just termed him in her mind as Luke's lawyer. He had informed them that this next meeting would take place in the judge's chambers rather than the actual courtroom. She had assumed that was supposed to ease the tension from the group, but the moment she walked in the room with Luke, she had felt her palms begin to sweat and the color drain from her face.
Luke had lead her over to the table, letting the lawyer sit on one side of him and pulling out the chair on the other side of him for his wife. Mr. Coffer had pulled him aside for a moment, just reminding him that he and Lorelai should let him take care of the whole thing, that he would makes sure everything went their way. As Luke walked back to the table, he had found Lorelai still frozen beside her pulled out chair, her eyes focused on the table. Squeezing her shoulder affectionately, he had kissed her cheek. "He'll be ours in no time," he promised her in a low voice, trying to convince himself at the same time. She had looked over at him with only question marks in her eyes.
It wasn't like last time. Last time she had been angry. Last time she had been also fearful, but actually worried that she would get stuck in this life rather than concerned that she wouldn't. The last decision had been temporary, if they lost Gabriel today, they would lose him permanently. It wasn't that they would lose each other if they lost the baby, he knew that they would be together no matter what, but their lives would still be empty, because Gabriel had made their lives full, because they loved him.
He glanced over at Dawn Devers, who was also wringing her hands. Had Rory been right? Would it be just as easy for the judge to give custody to Dawn as to them? It concerned him. No, more than that. It scared him. He knows that the moment that Dawn would walk away with Gabriel in her arms, a part of his heart would be torn away, and he worried that not even Lorelai would be able to fix that, part of her heart would be torn away as well. The struggle to keep his breathing normal so as not to alarm Lorelai took all his concentration, but he couldn't let her see the worry that had crept into his chest, working his way into his heart. Over the years he had been given glimpses of what a real Lorelai panic attack would be like, when he had married Nicole, when he had 'moved in with Nicole', when she worried that she was running out of money for the inn, but if she were really to become unnerved right now, he imagined it would take a large needle full of valium to keep her in her chair.
So, after they had sat down, he had taken her hand and squeezed it, providing her silent support, watching as her other hand lay tensely on the table. "I see that everyone has arrived in a timely manner. I have already reviewed Mrs. Moss's report. You have stated all you would like to?" the judge asks Julie Moss who is sitting to his right. She nods, but Luke notices that she focuses solely on the judge, not glancing over at either him or Dawn. He can only guess what she put in her report. The judge clears his throat flipping through the papers in front of him. "According to this Ms. Moss found no problems with either the home of the Danes's or Ms. Devers, but when forced to make a decision she believes that the child would be happier left in the house that he has been living in for the past three months. After looking through everything else, I will defer to Mrs. Moss's opinion and grant custody to Mr. and Mrs. Danes."
Luke hears a sharp intake of breath to his right and looks over at his wife, watching as her expression goes from one of shock slowly into delight as a smile spreads across her face. She looks over at her husband and shrugs her shoulders excitedly. He nods cautiously, still trying to process the information. "I have another petition here from Mr. and Mrs. Matthews. They have requested for a court order for the boy's name to remain the same if custody is given to Mr. and Mrs. Danes," the judge states, staring down at the sheet in front of him. He glances over at Luke and Lorelai. "Were you planning on changing the name?"
"Well, uh…" Luke stammers, frowning as he considers. He glances over at Lorelai but knows that she wants the same as him. "Yes, after all Danes was my sister's last name. He's only six months old, if he had been older we probably wouldn't consider it, but if and when Lorelai and I have other children, we think that he would prefer to share the family last name." He watches as Dawn rolls her eyes across the table. Without glancing over at her, he knows that Lorelai nodded along with his statement.
"Good then, I agree. You will need to work out some arrangement with the Matthews' so that Gabriel will spend time with his father's family. Barring anything else, this case is closed," the judge decrees, flipping the manila folder shut. He huffs and stands, removing his classes.
With a sour look on her face, Dawn stands. "We can appeal, right?" she mutters to her lawyer.
"Ms. Devers, I understand that you want what is best for the child. But let me tell you this, if you appeal, you will be wasting a lot of your money and time. The late Mr. and Mrs. Matthews requested that Mr. and Mrs. Danes retain custody of their son in their will. Though the will is now obsolete, being that Mr. and Mrs. Danes were not married at the time, Mrs. Moss detailed her approval of the marriage in her report. She said it seemed that the two married for reasons other than to just gain custody of the child, that this was a couple who married as much for love of each other as for love of the child. No other judge is going to rule against that, no other judge is going to rule against the true wishes of the boy's parents," the judge states, tossing his glasses on the table with a firm nod to Luke and Lorelai.
The moments that followed, Luke could barely recall even later that evening. All he knew was that his wife threw herself into his arms, squealing in girlish delight, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close. And he had held her tight, his mind slowly taking in the idea that this was all over, Gabriel was his, theirs, now and forever. That this familial like affection that he had discovered in his days and nights with Lorelai and Gabriel was going to become a permanent feeling for the rest of his life, for soon he would be legally bound to Gabriel as a father to a son, as he was already to Lorelai as a husband to a wife. Yet, it wasn't the formality of the legal ties that excited him, it was the binds of affection, of love, of attachment that made him feel like was Prometheus finally being unchained from the rock.
Later that evening, as she and Luke prepared to head out for their first 'date' as a married couple, Lorelai walked downstairs with Gabriel in her arms, already dressed in his footsie pajamas so the babysitter wouldn't have to bother, and found her husband pacing back and forth across the living room. "Hun, you're treading a path on our floor," she commented, forcing him to stop in his tracks. He looked up at her guiltily. "Did you rearrange the pillows on the couch again?"
"No," he said with a shameful tone to match the look on his face. "I couldn't find a babysitter so I got…" He trailed off as the doorbell rang, twice, succinctly. She raised an eyebrow at her husband, curious and yet nervous to find out who he ended up calling to take care of her… soon-to-be son. Before she actually looked up, she already feared that she would see Kirk standing there. But it wasn't. Standing in front of her was none other than the prim and proper Emily Gilmore.
Lorelai gasped in shock, her arms instinctively tightening around her little boy. "Mom?" she choked out in dismay. "What are you doing here?" Emily arched her eyebrow, almost exactly how Lorelai had just moments before.
"Your husband called and said you two needed a babysitter for the evening. Am I not allowed in your house anymore?" Emily responded scornfully. Lorelai looked away, irritated and grateful at the same time, and really not liking that she had to be indebted to her mother once again. She glanced over at her husband who checked his watch, reminding her that they had reservations. Heaving a sigh she walked over and placed Gabriel in her mother's arms.
The scene seemed like something out of Ripley's: Emily tucking her soon-to-be-adopted grandson away in her arms while insisting that Lorelai spend time alone with her new husband. For a second, Lorelai wanted to grab her camera to keep this as evidence for Rory, who would never believe it if she told her. But Emily didn't seem as uncomfortable with the situation as Lorelai had thought she would, she was smiling at the boy, almost fondly, and Lorelai had a flash of memory in her mind, Emily holding a small baby in a small pink dress, Lorelai standing across the room with her arms folded over her chest, wanting to grab her daughter and run. She wondered if it would always be true that Emily would love her grandchildren more than her daughter, even her adopted grandchild. "You should know, Mom, as of today, this afternoon, Luke and I were given custody of Gabriel," Lorelai said with pride. Emily looks down at the small child in her arms as if asking him for confirmation, which made Lorelai chuckle softly.
She grabbed her purse off the couch and paused in front of Emily, placing a kiss on Gabriel's forehead. "I'm pleased that you didn't hesitate to inform me the moment you became a mother again, although you didn't bother to invite me to your wedding," Emily said just as Lorelai turned to walk towards the door. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face her mother, her mouth gaping, confusion spreading over her face followed by bewilderment followed by astonishment.
In all her life, she could have never imagined a moment like this. Her mother wasn't trying to drag her back to high society, she wasn't trying to convince her to move back to Hartford, she wasn't even trying to convince her that marrying Luke and adopting Gabriel was wrong. She wanted to be included. She wasn't saddened that Lorelai didn't want to be a part of her upper class life, she was saddened that Lorelai didn't want her to be a part of her own life back in Stars Hollow. Lorelai wasn't sure what to think for a moment. After all her mother had put her through for all those years, with the tuition and Rory and Friday Night Dinners and Christopher… and Christopher, she couldn't believe that Emily would revise her goal in life that much. But maybe, just maybe, if Emily was willing to give it a chance, willing to finally see that all Lorelai wanted was to be happy and that Luke did that for her and more, then maybe she should give her mother the same opportunity. "I'm sorry," Lorelai said, her voice full of regret. Emily nodded her response, an acknowledgement of her daughter's repentance.
Luke wrapped an arm around Lorelai's shoulders, nodded to his mother-in-law and led his wife out the front door. As they walked towards Luke's car, he watched his wife very carefully. "You okay?" he asked and she flashed him a smile. He grabbed her arm. "None of that now. Are you okay?" She looked up at him a moment, seeing the worry in his eyes, and nodded, not hiding anything at all.
He took her to Sniffy's claiming that they needed to go back to where it all started. Maizy and Buddy had joined them for a moment and Luke had actually agreed to drink champagne in their toast to Gabriel's future adoption, which amazed Lorelai to no end. They laughed and joked and bantered casually back and forth, just like old times. But there was that look in his eyes, in her eyes too, that revealed that this was more than just a casual relationship, when they held hands it was like Phoebe Buffay's lobsters, like they never wanted to let go and in the looks they shared it was like they were alone in their own little world.
After dinner, he had driven back to their house but before she could head towards the door, he grabbed her hand and told her that he wanted to take her somewhere. She cocked her head, curious about where he was taking her, pursing her lips in wonder, as she let him lead her away. They had walked on and on until they ended up here, leaning against the railing, wrapped in each other.
"Lorelai," he whispers softly in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. She takes a deep breath, trying to maintain control of herself as the feeling of his breath on her bare skin, is lighting her on fire. "Lorelai turn around." She does as told, leaning back against the railing, looking up into his eyes that seem like endless pools over loveliness. "It's been almost two years since…" She smiles to herself, knowing exactly what he's talking about, having been thinking about that herself as she stood in the gazebo.
"Yeah," she agrees softly. "Third time's the charm, eh?" He grins.
"You bet. Which is why I brought you here," he says and receives another curious look from his wife. "Lorelai, I wanted to bring you back to the scene of crime to ask you if you will remarry me."
"Luke? We're still married," Lorelai reminds him, waving her left hand in his face. He chuckles and grabs her hand.
"Yes, I mean, you know, renew our vows. Have the wedding we were supposed to have, the one we deserve, with all our friends and family there."
"Are you doing this just because of what my mother said?" she asks. He shakes his head and reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a familiar ring box. He opens it and reveals her ring again to her. She gasps, her hand covering her mouth.
Luke takes the ring out of the box and holds it up to eyelevel. "Lorelai, I wanted to get you a different ring. I looked forever for it."
"That's where you and April went last Saturday," she realizes. He smiles and nods.
"We looked through thousands and thousands of rings but none of them were right, none of them were the ones, this was the one. When I first saw it, I saw you in it. And though we're in a different time and place now, I still look at this ring and see you," Luke explains and she looks at him with adoration shining on her face.
"Well I looked at it and saw you, because you chose it, because you knew, without asking, that it was the ring for me. And it really was. It still is," Lorelai answers. After a moment she leans in, placing one hand on his chest and one on his cheek, and kisses him softly and again, nibbling on his lower lip, until she feel his fingers threading through her curls, his hand pressing against the back of her head and she grins into the kiss. "I would love to remarry you."
He takes her hand and removes her wedding ring, slides her engagement ring on her finger and the replaces the wedding ring. She lays her hand flat out, smiling down at the image before her. He squeezes her hand and kisses her forehead. As she reaches up and brushes the hair out of her face, the diamond reflects the light of the moon encircling her in a shimmering radiance, and in that moment no human being would be able to take his eyes off of her. The glow of sheer exhilaration that echoes from her eyes and her lips and every thing about her makes it seem to him that it's actually 11:00 in the morning rather than 11:00 in the evening, everything seems so illuminated and alive in the presence of this woman in her most joyful moments. Her smile is intoxicating and addicting at the same time, so much that he wonders if he could go another moment with out it. He's drowning in her glee, in her exaltation, in her rapture, and so completely dizzy with adulation for his wife that respiration has become a chore for his body, he'd rather drink in her affection and gaiety than fill his lungs with the essence of life.
Just then there is a loud crack of thunder followed by an instant downpour of rain, startling them, and they both look out at the water pouring down from the sky. For a moment they are silent and still, the only sounds are the heavy drops of rain hitting the ground surrounding the gazebo drowning out their own breathing. Maybe the rain is more than just weather, more than just the science of the clouds being too full of moisture and needing to open up, maybe it's a sign from Mother Nature. It's a signal that it's over, that the powers that be, or whatever fate really is, is absolving them of their sins, of the wrong paths they have taken in their relationship, of the choices they made that worked to break the binds of love that tied them together, chipping away at them until the connections were broken almost beyond repair. "It is fate," she remarked aloud, really feeling it, really knowing that. She's back to a clean slate and he is too, and they are as one, blank, empty slate, tabula rasa. The infidelity she committed in sleeping with Christopher has been wiped away by his forgiveness, by her promises of faith, by the freedom of the shower from above.
She wriggles out of Luke's grasp and strolls down the stairs and into the rain. Throwing back her head, she opens her mouth drinking in the cool drops of rain, holding out her arms to let it soak every inch of her skin, letting it wash away any remaining fear or guilty thought that had lingered. From his post, back in the gazebo, he watches her, completely taken by the image before him. She turns to him and smiles, a free and refreshing smile. "I completely understand Catholics and their holy water now," she shouts to him from her distance away.
To him she looks so incredibly sexy right now, her hair in ringed spirals, dripping from the rain, her eyes bright and blue as the ocean, her clothes soaked through and sticking to her shapely body, a seductive smile playing on her lips. Within moments his lips are on hers, his hands cupping her face, his fingers diving into her curls. She reaches out also, to pull him closer, her hands grabbing on to his shoulders. He's tasting her, drinking in her freedom and absolution, taking it as his own, claiming her as his own. She moans against his lips, her arms wrapping around his neck, her fingers itching to play with his now-drenched curls. He runs hands down from her thin, exquisite neck, down her sides, his thumbs brushing over her breasts, making her nipples harden from his touch and the cold of her wet clothes against her skin. His hands land at her hips, grasping them tightly, pulling her as close to him as possible, as she kisses her way up his jawbone, her teeth reaching for his earlobe as she sucks on it hungrily. He groans as she reaches this sensitive spot, his fingers reaching back to her butt as she grinds against him. "Lorelai," he gasps, wanting more, needing more, but somehow remembering where they are. "Lorelai, we're in public." She instantly pulls back with a mischievous smile.
For a moment, he worries what she's going to do next as she grabs his hand. "Well then, let's finish this up at home, husband of mine," she teases with a coquettish bat of her eyelashes. Eager to do just that, he lets her pull him along with her back to their house.
When they reach the house, Lorelai goes upstairs to check on Gabriel as Luke chats with Emily for a bit, who doesn't seem pleased to find her daughter and son-in-law completely drenched when they arrive home. After thanking Emily for her help and seeing her to the door, Luke turns, climbing the stairs two at a time to find his soaked wife leaning against the doorway of the nursery, just staring in, her arms crossed over her chest. He wraps his arms around her midsection from behind, resting his head against hers. She reaches further back and holds onto his upper arms, completely wrapping herself in him. "He's ours," she says softly, so quiet that he has to strain his ears to completely understand her over the sound of the rain pounding against the house. "He's all ours."
Luke smiles to himself, tilting his head to kiss her cheek. These were the moments that he had dreamt of since her proposal two years ago up until the moment she revealed to him the truth about her night with Christopher. He had seen it late at night, Lorelai, his wife, snuggled in his arms, their child sleeping not too far away. Within months, Gabriel will be their child, and he had wanted it so bad for so long that the idea of it seems almost unbelievable. At the same time, he just can't understand it, but he wants more. "Maybe he should have a sibling," he whispers softly in her ear and feels her lips curve into a smile. He's seen the way she looks at babies, the way she has since she told him she wanted kids with him the night of their engagement, and he knows, without asking, that it's something she's been pondering since they got back together.
"Maybe he will," she answers.