Well, we've reached the end of Just the Perfect Friendship. I think I've enjoyed it this time as much as I did when I first wrote it. I can't believe how many of you have been reading this story, and I thank you for following along.

It's All Fun and Games Until the Paramedics Show Up

The Jeep skidded to a stop across the street from the diner. Lorelai hopped out, casting a glance at the huge angled gap she'd left between her vehicle and the curb, but she decided it meant nothing due to the panic caused by the sight of the ambulance parked right in front of Luke's. She pushed through the small group of onlookers trying to peer through the windows. The flashing lights washed over her as she jumped up the steps and barreled through the door.

It took her eyes just a moment to adjust to the inside dimness after the bright July sunshine outside. She blinked at the line of early morning diners now banished from their tables and corralled against the far wall

Her eyes widened as she rushed by the tableau of the paramedics attending to Miss Patty and Babette. She ran directly to Luke.

He was leaning back against the counter, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. She recognized the look on his face. It was made up of 10% annoyance, 40% cocky unconcern, and 50% worry. She saw the worry lines ease up a little as she rushed to him.

"What happened?" she gasped out as soon as she reached him. She could see he was fine but she needed to touch him anyway, to reassure herself that his arms and legs were still attached, that no uncontrolled bleeding was evident. "I just left here fifteen minutes ago. Everything was fine then! What did you do?"

Luke turned to look at her. "I learned it from you and Rory," he grumbled. "It's not my fault!"

"OK, Han Solo, what did you do?" she hissed, now even more concerned.

Luke sighed heavily, rubbing his face. "Well…"

"…and that's what we've been doin' every mornin'," Babette was explaining to Angie, the EMT currently holding a bag of ice to her plump derriere. "Patty and me walk all around the lake real early, before it gets too hot. It gets the blood pumpin', ya know? Morey appreciates it," she added, salaciously, "don't 'cha, Babe?"

Morey was sitting across from where his wife was bending over the table, holding her hand as the paramedic addressed her injuries. The shades prevented anyone from reading his expression, but his fingers tightened around Babette's, and she grinned back at him.

"Then we come to Luke's for a light breakfast." Miss Patty had removed the oxygen mask from over to face to add that comment.

"Just keep this on, Miss LaCosta. Keep breathing," Jamie, the other EMT, advised.

"Aren't you the sweet thing," Miss Patty crooned to the young man. She obediently placed the mask back over her face.

"So anyways, we was sittin' here, waitin' on Luke to make our food, when Lorelai comes charging out from under the curtain there," Babette continued her narrative, pointing over her back towards the stairs leading up to Luke's apartment. "Oh, she looked so gorgeous! What I wouldn't give to have those legs of hers! Anyway, she was pattin' her hair and tyin' her blouse, and me and Patty was tellin' her how gorgeous she looked and all…"

"The color of that blouse is just perfect on her," Patty added, quickly going back to the oxygen at a reminding look from Jamie.

"So she gabs a minute to us and then she heads up back behind the counter. I remember thinkin' that was pretty brave of her, to go back behind the counter. But she stopped in front of the door to the kitchen. She was tellin' Luke she needed to get home, that Rory'd be home soon…"

"…and you were telling me you were heading home, remember?" Luke said to Lorelai.

"Of course I remember!" Lorelai snapped. "It just happened 15 minutes ago!"

"Well, I didn't know you weren't going to stay," Luke complained, looking off to the side. "I wanted to tell you goodbye."

Lorelai's breathing sped up. She leaned closer to Luke. "Suddenly these big, strong arms reached out and grabbed me," she recounted, her voice husky. "Hauled me right into the sacred kitchen space, where I'm normally not allowed."

One of Luke's eyebrows rose as he looked at her smugly. "And I'm pushed up against the wall, being molested. In my own kitchen!" he growled, trying to keep from smiling.

"And you told me goodbye," she added seriously. "A lot!" She sounded very approving.

Luke sighed again. "But then you left…"

"Me and Patty weren't payin' any attention to whatever Lorelai was sayin' to Luke, because we've been tryin' to figure out if it was really possible for Graham― ya know, the letter carrier? If he could be stoppin' everyday at Lisa Kowalski's house. For years he always goes into Betty Kramer's house over on Walnut and has a mug of tea. Everybody knows that. But we heard that Lisa's boyfriend moved out last month, and suddenly everybody over on the east side of town isn't gettin' their mail on time anymore. So we we're tryin' to draw a map to see if that's where the holdup is."

Patty pushed over a napkin with the mail route traced on it, pointing to the 'X' that marked Lisa's house with her fuchsia-colored nail.

"So we was pretty occupied, and then all of sudden, there's Lorelai goin' by again, only this time she's headin' out the door, and she stops and says goodbye to us, and she takes the time to point out that we'd missed where Graham should make the turn onto Poplar."

"And I told her again how gorgeous she looked," Patty added, puffing only slightly. "That coral color just made her look radiant. Her complexion was glowing like you usually only see on a woman who's well-satisfied. You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Handsome?" she purred to Jamie, who ignored the innuendo and silently put the oxygen mask back in place.

"We didn't notice it right away, but she was pattin' her hair and tyin' her blouse all over again," Babette continued. "We kept on working on our map, and, boom! It just hit us, ya know? I stopped everything and looked at Patty—"

"And I looked at Babette—"

"And I looked over at that curtain—"

"And I turned around to stare at the kitchen—"

The two ladies were practically talking on top of each other, so anxious were they to get the story out.

"But we thought we had to be imaginin' it, ya know? Those two have been hangin' around together for months now, with absolutely nothin' to show for it. But then I looked at my watch, and, boy! It was really early." Babette's blond curls bobbed up and down emphatically.

"So then Luke brought us out our breakfasts, and he was smiling!" Patty nodded, her face doing its best to emphasize how uncommon that was. "Luke! He was smiling!"

Babette took up the story again. "So I asked 'im, 'Luke,' I said, 'is there anything ya wanta tell us?' And he said, nope, not a thing. But he's smilin' like he knows somethin' really good that the rest of us don't."

Patty nodded, shoving the oxygen mask out of the way. "I said, 'Luke, you and Lorelai aren't dating again, are you?' and that started him ranting about how dating was a disaster for them and they'd never, ever date again." Her breathing started to become erratic and she motioned for Babette to continue.

"So he turns to leave," Babette recounted, her voice getting shriller, "and just before he walks away, he says, 'That's why we decided to just start sleepin' together.'"

"Babe," Morey said.

"That's when I slid right off the chair and Patty started breathin' funny," Babette explained.

"You said what?" Lorelai's voice suddenly shrieked from the rear of the diner.

"You're the one who taught me that timing is everything!" Luke roared back at her.

The recently-revealed lovers realized belatedly that their outburst had caused everyone to stare at them. They clamped their lips shut and moved over to a more secluded spot behind the counter, their body language conveying the message perfectly that their discussion was not yet over.

"Anyways, once I got down on the floor I couldn't get back up, and when Luke and Reverend Skinner finally hauled me up it hurt like hell. And Patty turned all gray-like and was gaspin' for breath, so someone called for you guys," Babette finished up.

"It appears you're not seriously injured," Angie reassured Babette. "You're definitely going to be sore for a few days. You'll probably want to use the ice pack and a cushion for awhile, and take some ibuprofen for any lingering pain. But you're fine."

"That's good news, ain't it, Morey?" Babette cackled to her husband.

"Good news," Morey agreed, nodding.

Jamie had checked Miss Patty's blood pressure again. "You appear to be fine, too, Miss LaCosta. You might want to make an appointment with your own doctor, just to be sure. We'll sit here with you for a few more minutes, until you feel strong enough to get back on your feet. Try to take it easy for the rest of the day. No more big surprises, OK?" He helped her take the oxygen mask off from around her head.

"What a sweet boy you are," Miss Patty told him, patting his hand. Before she could do more than give him a brief leer, Luke's baseball cap landed in the center of their table, barely missing Babette's head.

They all stared at it for a moment in confusion before raising their eyes and sunglasses to peer at the scene behind the counter.

It was immediately obvious that Luke's cap had gone flying because Lorelai had knocked it off. Her hand even now was clutching at his head as she was bowed back under the force of his embrace. They were lost in a kiss that obliterated everything else from their minds. It was apparent they'd forgotten that there was anyone else in the room

Kirk stepped over in front of them, partially blocking them from view. He raised his arms and nodded seriously at everyone.

"I can allay your fears about this display," he stated. "Luckily I can read lips. Plus, I was close enough to hear most of what they were whispering to each other. Lorelai was complaining that Luke had no right to expose the fact that they were lovers without consulting her first. Luke told Lorelai that if she had her way no one would ever know. Lorelai said she thought that's what Luke wanted. He said no, he didn't want that at all, the whole freakin' world could know. Please note that I'm paraphrasing there, since there's a man of the cloth present." Kirk nodded towards Reverend Skinner, who sighed and nodded back. "Then Luke told Lorelai that it didn't matter who knew anyway, since they're going to be married just as soon as she says yes."

Kirk paused, looking back over his shoulder at the oblivious, kissing couple. "I think she said yes," he observed, doubtfully.

Bedlam erupted, as everyone in the diner started talking at once. Babette's behind once again would have met the hard wooden floor, except that Morey grasped her arm and held firm. Jamie grabbed the oxygen and fitted it over Miss Patty's face just as she started gasping again, her hand pressed over her heart.

Soon the pressure exerted from a dozen pairs of eyes seeped through to the couple. Lorelai felt it first. She opened her eyes and jumped away from Luke self-consciously with a muffled cry. Alarmed, Luke turned around and his wrath fell on the closest target.

"Get out, Kirk!"

"That's hardly fair," Kirk protested. "I was merely trying to explain—"

"Get out!" Luke yelled again, starting to emerge from behind the counter.

"What about my oatmeal?" Kirk may have been hungry, but he wasn't suicidal. He started to back towards the door.

"Out! Everybody out!" Luke thundered. He shooed grumbling customers towards the door like a line of ducks. "This doesn't concern anybody but me and Lorelai! Out!" He pulled open the door and stood there, glaring while everyone filed out.

Morey paused as he helped his wife waddle out. He stood at his full height, not intimidated by Luke. "Not cool," he enunciated clearly, poking Luke in the chest with each word. "Not cool, man."

Luke's anger swelled and then visibly dissipated. "Yeah," he sighed. "Sorry, Morey. Sorry Babette," he muttered to them.

"It's OK, Doll," Babette told him. "I understand you two need some time alone. Lorelai'll have to tell me the details later."

"She will not―" he started to protest, but then Patty was in front of him, leaning heavily on Jamie.

"This makes me so happy, even though it does mean one less bachelor on the market," she gushed, leaning forward to pat his cheek. Her perpetual smile abruptly quivered a little. "It'd make your mother happy, too, you know," she said in a suddenly raspy voice. She nodded decisively and motioned for Jamie to lead the way down the steps.

Luke gulped down the emotion triggered by Patty's words and watched her descend to the street. He was jerked back to reality when he saw Lorelai meekly preparing to leave the diner, too.

"Oh, no you don't!" he admonished, grabbing her arm and gently halting her flight. "You stay!"

"You want me to stay?" she flirted, adding a hair flip for good measure.

"You know I want you to stay." He locked the door securely and pulled down the blinds.

"I believe the word 'forever' was bandied about," Lorelai mentioned.

"Forever sounds just about right to me," Luke agreed, moving to take her into his arms.

Lorelai smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She settled into Luke's embrace, but didn't really relax. She looked at him, but not straight into his eyes.

Luke cleared his throat. "You know, Lorelai…This isn't the way I'd planned on asking you to marry me." He carefully tucked her hair back and reverently traced the shell of her ear. "In fact, I hadn't planned it at all. It just sort of came out. It's probably too soon—hell, I know it's too soon. If you want, we can just forget it altogether. My feelings aren't going to change about you. You just let me know when you're ready, and I'll ask you again."

Lorelai stared at the little triangle of white t-shirt visible under his flannel shirt. Her lips pursed together in what almost looked like a pout, but wasn't. She was thinking. She was thinking very hard. She pushed away from Luke, who let her go reluctantly. She walked over to the table and picked up his hat.

She took her time, turning it around and around on her fingers. Finally she brought it over to him. She smoothed back his hair and then carefully settled the cap onto his head. She nodded her head, admiring her work. She let her fingers oh-so-gently scrub at his scruffy cheeks until she could hear his breath hitching in his chest.

"I have a question," she said at last, very seriously, meeting his gaze.

"Anything," he choked out.

"When I come home at night, will you—" She stopped, unable to go on. She looked down at the floor, embarrassed that she was so close to tears.

He tipped her chin up. "I'll be there with a kiss and a hug every night," he promised, able to guess her thoughts. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "And when you drag me out to the stupid town festivals—"

"I'll always look to see where you are," she vowed. She was truly smiling now, even though she had to wipe a few tears away. "Can we have that as part of the marriage vows at our wedding?"

"I don't know why not. They make as much sense as some of the other things they expect you to say," Luke said gruffly, closing his eyes in what looked like a combination of prayer and relief.

"Maybe you shouldn't have chased Reverend Skinner out," Lorelai said playfully. "Maybe he would have married us today."

"You'd never get married without Rory," Luke pointed out.

Lorelai's mouth dropped open. "Oh, my God! Rory! She doesn't know! Half of Stars Hollow knows—the gossipy half—but she doesn't! Luke, I've got to get home to her!"

Luke nodded in agreement at once. "Just let me shut down the grill and I'll go with you."

Lorelai followed him to the kitchen. "And then maybe some celebratory pancakes, after we tell her?"

"Sure," he said at once.

"And then I think she and Dean are going to Hartford later to see a movie, so if we want to do something else to celebrate…" She let the thought trail off as she made her best sexy face.

He looked up and laughed at her.

She pouted. "You are not supposed to laugh at your fiancée when's she's trying to be sexy."

He grabbed her, held her tight. "Don't you know, Lorelai? You never have to try to be sexy. You just are." To prove it he gave her a kiss that made them both think that the grill was still on.

"Um…I think…I have a kid…somewhere," Lorelai said faintly, when Luke finally let her go.

"Let's go," he sighed, and they started towards the door.

Just as he was about to open it, he turned to her again, a scowl starting to form on his face. "You know, I still don't like all the time Rory and Dean spend together."

Lorelai very gently worked her fingers over his frown. "Luke," she said, her voice full of love and tenderness, "they're just dating. That's all it is. They're just kids. I like Dean; I really do. He's a good kid, and he adores Rory. But this isn't going to be forever, for them. They're just starting out in life. They're just learning about all of this stuff that we already know." She smiled at him, so gently, and shrugged her shoulders. "They're just dating."

He drank in the love in her eyes. "I guess," he said reluctantly.

She leaned over to him; let her lips touch against his for just a moment. "But someday, I don't want Rory to date anymore. I want her to find the guy that will be the best friend she's ever had." She smiled at him again. "Someday."

He took a deep breath as love and certainty and a glimpse of the future suddenly washed over him. "I want that for her, too," he said with ultimate conviction.

And then he kissed her one more time before they headed home to tell Rory the good news.