"I can't believe I missed your wedding." Rory said as she looked at her mother who was filling her in on the past five years. She had missed her mother and Luke getting married. She missed when his nephew moved in with them. She missed when they found out that Luke was April's father. She missed the tears and pain that surrounded the death of April's mother. She missed when Jess proposed to Lane. She missed when her mother found out she was pregnant just a few weeks ago. Listening to all these stories made her realize how much she gave up in her teenage stupidity.
"Please your mother would do it all over again just for the attention." Jess said with a laugh from across the room where him and Tristan had set Hope up with crayons and every coloring book Doose's had. Rory couldn't help, but smile at the sight.
"You know you didn't have to leave." Lorelai said as she smiled at her daughter. "You would have been our Rory no matter what." She said softly.
"I thought I was doing the right thing." Rory said as she looked at Tristan. She thought back to the last time they saw each other.
They were sitting in his car just a few miles from the inn her mother ran. They had pulled over on the side of the road so they could talk. "It wasn't just a one night stand to me." He said as he looked at her. "Rory I love you and we can make this work." He said as he took her hand in his.
"Tristan…you have so many opportunities waiting for you." She said as she started to cry.
"This could be our adventure." He said as he whipped her eyes.
"Do you really want your only adventure in life to be a teenage father?" She asked him. "Sure we could have that picture perfect small town life….but Tristan that will never be enough for you." She said before she got out of the car. After that the only contact was the "It's for the best" phone call.
She watched from across the diner as Tristan got up. "Rory can I talk to you outside?" He asked. She just nodded as she got up.
"Go ahead and cuss me out. Tell me you want to take her away from me. I don't blame you for hating me." She said as they walked a crossed the street from the diner.
"I would never take that little girl away from you…and Rory I don't hate you." He said as he led her to the gazebo.
"You should." She said as she sat down.
"But, I don't." He said as he sat down next to her. "Look…Rory all I have done for five years is think about you. What could I have done to make you stay?" He said as he looked at her.
"You couldn't have done anything." She said weakly.
"I guess so…but, in these years I did a lot of thinking. And you were wrong." He said as he paused for a second. "That picture perfect small town life is exactly what I want." He said as he dug in his jacket pocket. "So, what do you say?" He asked as he placed a ring box in her hand.
"Wow." She said softly as she looked at the box.
"I got that for you the day you told me you were pregnant." He said as he smiled at her. "I still love you. I hope that you still love me. But, think it over and let me know." He said as he got up. He walked down the steps before she reacted.
"YES!" She yelled as she stood up. He just turned around and smiled. "I thought about you every day too. I kicked myself in the ass for never telling you how I felt. Leaving was the dumbest thing I ever did. So, yes." She said as she walked towards him. "But, you're going to have to ask better."
"I love you Rory." He said as he pulled her into a kiss. She just laughed as they pulled apart and she saw her everyone in the dinner lined up looking out the window. "Sometimes I wonder why I love them." He said with a laugh as he turned his head.
"I understand that." She said with a smile as he dropped to one knee.
"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, I promise to love you for the rest of my life. Will you do me the great honor of marrying me?" He asked as he slipped the ring on her hand.
"I love you." She said as he stood back up.
"Never leave me again." He whispered as he leaned in to kiss her again.
"I won't." She said before their lips met. But, their moment was short lived because the diner gang was running across the street in no time to congratulate them. Tristan just picked Hope up and wrapped his other arm around Rory. "We are a family now." She said with a smile as she looked at her little girl.
"That's how it was always meant to be." Tristan whispered to her.