Sorry for the mix up on the last chapter, and thanks to those who pointed it out to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think!

"Hi," Luke said softly, trying to see how upset Lorelai still was.

"Hi," Lorelai replied softly. She sighed as she sat down on the steps and looked up at the sky. "God, Luke, how did we get here?"

Luke tentatively sat down next to her. "Lorelai…" he said softly. "You know that I would never…"

Lorelai shook her head. "Can you just let me say something?" she said softly. When Luke looked at her expectantly, she sighed and said, "I love you. And I know that there is probably an explanation for what happened this afternoon, but…I'm just not sure I can hear it. But…I think I did overreact this afternoon. I can't hold you back from seeing your baby. So…once the baby's born, we'll work something out. At first it'll need me a lot, but when it gets older, we can work something out. But I want you to come over whenever you want to visit, play with it."

"What about us?" Luke asked softly, his heart on the edge of breaking.

Lorelai sighed and looked up at the sky. "I just can't do this right now, Luke," she said. "I'll give you a schedule of my doctor's appointments, and you can come to those. And I'd like you to be there for the birth."

"So that's it?" Luke asked softly. "We're just…going to raise a child without being together?"

Lorelai sighed, reaching for his hand. "I love you, Luke," she said softly. "And I think a part of me always will. But for right now, there's just a lot that I need to work out. If I can really trust you, if I can be sure that this will work. If you can just give me that…maybe this will work out."

"Lorelai…" Luke wanted to beg her to stay with him, but he knew better. If he backed off a little, then maybe he would be able to be with her again. "All right," he said softly.

Lorelai let go of his hand and stood up. "So…I'm going to go in," she said.

Luke stood as well and nodded. "I guess I'll head back to the diner," he said. "I'll come get my stuff tomorrow, I guess."

Lorelai nodded and walked up the steps to the door. She opened it, then turned back to him and said, "I'm sorry, Luke," before she disappeared inside.

Luke sighed as he sank onto the steps once again. How was it that Lorelai had caught another woman kissing him, yet she was the one apologizing? As he stood, preparing to go back to the diner, he heard the door opened and turned around, daring to think that Lorelai had changed her mind.

Instead, he saw Rory. She was cradling a sleeping bag, a flashlight, and the wedding scrapbook.

"I thought you might want these," she said softly. "I think I'm going to stay home for a little while. Do damage control and try to talk some sense into her. And my bedroom is on the ground level, so if you want some tea or anything…just knock on the window, okay?"

Luke leaned forward to hug Rory. "Thanks," he said. "I'm glad that you're on my side."

Rory smiled. "Luke, this has meant a lot to me," she said. "Having you be with Mom is what makes her happy, and I want her to be happy. She just…needs time to get over this."

Luke nodded and held up the scrapbook. "I think I can figure out a way to make this up to her," he said.

Rory nodded. "I thought you'd figure that out," she said. "Good night, Luke."

"Good night," Luke replied.

When Rory reentered the house, she went upstairs to check on her mother. Lorelai was staring out the window, and when Rory approached her side, she said, "Luke's sleeping in our front yard."

"He doesn't want to leave you," Rory said softly.

Lorelai collapsed onto her bed. "He's sleeping in front of my house," she said.

"He's trying to prove a point."

"That doesn't change the fact that he kissed another woman," Lorelai replied. "The woman who was planning our wedding."

Rory sighed. "Don't make him wait too long," she said. "Luke's a patient man, he waited eight years before he asked you out…don't make it be another eight years."

Lorelai watched in shock as Rory walked out of the room, closing the door with a slam behind her. She stared at the closed door for a moment before she walked back over to the window. She saw Luke lying on his back in the sleeping bag, his arms folded behind his head as he stared up at the sky. She sighed, then moved from the window, to his dresser. She took a flannel shirt out of the drawer and clutched it to her chest as she sank onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow that smelled like Luke.

XXXXXX

The next evening, when Lorelai got home from the inn, she saw Rory sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Hey hon," she said as she dropped her purse on the floor and sat down next to her.

"Hi," Rory replied.

"Wow, you're very responsive," Lorelai said sarcastically. "What's wrong?"

"Luke was here," Rory said without taking her eyes off the TV. "He moved his stuff out and he wanted you to have this."

Lorelai took the envelope that Rory was holding out to her and walked towards the stairs. She entered her bedroom and looked around. Luke had taken his things, but he had left all of his furniture. With a frown, Lorelai ripped open the envelope and began to read.

Lorelai,

I know you're mad and upset, and I'll be lucky if you read past this point. But I took a chance, and I need you to know something.

I didn't, and nor have I ever, wanted to be with another woman. You are what makes me happy, and I know that no one else could possibly measure up to you. I waited for you, Lorelai, for eight years, and I'll wait for the rest of my life for you to forgive me.

If you do decide to forgive me, I want you to hang a rose from the chuppah. This way I will know that I can try to make things right between you and me. I don't want to push you into doing anything that you're not ready for, but I need you to know that I am ready for whatever you have to offer me.

I love you

Luke

By the time Lorelai was finished with the letter, she had tears streaming down her face. She'd known that Luke hadn't meant to hurt her, but the heartfelt confession of his unconditional love had left her speechless. Luke had never been that upfront about his emotions even with her.

She looked at the clock. It was eight thirty. Her mind flashed back to their first break up and how she'd given all her time to the inn. She was doing the same thing now, but the flower shop in Stars Hollow would be closed. By the time she got to Hartford, all the flower shops there would be closed as well.

"Oh Luke," Lorelai sighed. "I do love you."

XXXXX

The next morning, Lorelai was out of bed as soon as the sun came streaming through her window, and was the first customer of the day at the flower shop. She hurried home and tied the rose around the chuppah, hoping that Luke would see it soon.

Instead of going to the inn, she paced the house, looking out the window to watch for Luke's truck to pull into the yard. She imagined how it would be when he saw the rose…he would run towards the porch and she would swing open the front door and run into his arms.

But as the hours dragged on, and dusk gave way to darkness, Lorelai walked by the window fewer times and eventually gave herself up to lying on the couch and hugging a pillow close to her.

At midnight, Lorelai finally gave up on Luke and went upstairs. He hadn't come. Maybe he'd changed his mind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

What Lorelai didn't know, was that during one of her frequent trips to the bathroom, Luke had seen the rose attached to the chuppah. With a grin that he was unable to suppress, he knew that everything was going to work out.

He had hurried back to the diner and locked himself in his apartment, pouring over the wedding scrapbook. He'd never realized how much detail was put into planning a wedding.

Luke wanted to surprise Lorelai, but he wanted her to know that this was a gift from him. He told no one that he was doing this.

He did it all by himself. He called the caterer, arranged for the flowers, reserved the gazebo for a private party, and arranged for a tux and dress, praying that Lorelai's stomach wouldn't grow too much before the big day.

Now all he had to do was hope that Lorelai would be patient and not expect him to make a move right away. This was too important to rush.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lorelai woke up the next morning, feeling worse than she had in a long time. She was hurt that Luke hadn't given her hardly any time to make things right, and now her chance was over with him. She hadn't slept much the night before, in her bed that still smelled of him, with his child nestled safe inside of her belly.

She looked at her calendar and sighed, knowing that she had a doctor's appointment today. It wasn't going to be easy.

She was going to see their baby today. She might find out if they were having a boy or a girl.

She had to tell Luke and pray that he would still want to be a father to this baby, even if he didn't have any interest in her anymore.

She had to go to the diner.

With a sigh, Lorelai got out of bed and reached for Luke's favorite pair of jeans, hoping that if she wore them, he might change his mind. She pulled them on, but when she tried to zip them, she realized that the baby was starting to grow. She threw the jeans across the room and reached for her favorite sweatpants instead. It was doubtful that Luke would even notice her anymore anyways.

Luke was wiping down a table when Lorelai opened the door. She closed it gently behind her and stood in the middle of the diner, looking uncomfortable. Luke straightened and threw the rag over his shoulder. "Hi," he said tentatively.

"Hi," Lorelai said shortly.

"Uh, is everything okay?" Luke asked, concerned.

Lorelai nodded. "Yup," she said distractedly.

"Can I get you something?" Luke asked, wondering what was wrong with her.

"No," Lorelai replied, looking around as if trying to find something to distract her.

Luke looked at her curiously. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. "Is everything okay with the baby?"

"I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon," Lorelai replied.

Luke's eyes widened and he nodded. "Oh," he said.

"Are you going to be there?" Lorelai asked bluntly.

"Of course," Luke replied. "I mean, if you want me too, I'd really like to be there."

"Good," Lorelai said. "I mean, I want you to be there. For the baby."

"Uh, what time and where?" Luke asked as he walked behind the counter.

"Two thirty at Dr. Tompkins office in Hartford," Lorelai replied, her feet firmly planted in the middle of the diner.

Luke nodded as if committing that information to memory. "So I should pick you up around two?" he asked.

"I'd rather meet there," Lorelai said stiffly.

Luke looked disappointed, Lorelai noticed, but he nodded in acceptance. "Okay, that's fine," he said.

"Okay, I'll see you then," she said as she turned and started to walk towards the door.

"You don't want breakfast?" Luke asked, hoping to get her to stay. He missed having her eat at the counter, keeping him company with her endless chatter as he worked.

"I'm not that hungry," Lorelai replied as she turned and opened the door.

Luke frowned as he watched Lorelai walk out of the diner. She was wearing sweatpants. She must have been starting to get bigger, because he knew that Lorelai never left the house in sweatpants.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Luke entered the doctor's office at two twenty five that afternoon and was relieved to see Lorelai sitting in the waiting room. He walked over to her and said, "hey, I'm glad I'm not late."

Lorelai looked up, surprised from the issue of Fit Pregnancy that she had been engrossed in. "You scared me," she said, placing a hand on her chest.

"Sorry," Luke said softly as he slid into the chair next to her.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Lorelai returned to her magazine, and Luke looked around at the women in the room. Some of them looked like they were ready to go into labor any minute, and Luke realized that Lorelai would look like them in a few months. He began tapping his hands on his leg nervously, hoping that they would get called in soon.

"All right, I'll bite," Lorelai said a couple of minutes later, closing her magazine and looking at Luke. "Either you drank a gallon of Mountain Dew before you came here or you're nervous about something."

"Sorry," Luke said as he shifted in his seat. "I just…uh, I've never really been in this position before."

Lorelai smiled as she reached out to place a hand on top of Luke's. "I know it's scary," she said softly. "But you don't really have to do anything. I'm the one with the cheap deal here."

Luke smiled slightly. He was about to say something when a nurse appeared in the doorway to the back.

"Lorelai Gilmore," she called.

"That's me," Lorelai announced. Luke felt cold as she let go of his hand and stood, dropping her magazine on an end table.

Luke followed the two women into the back. After taking Lorelai's weight, the nurse led them to an examining room.

"All right, Miss Gilmore," the nurse said. "You can just sit on that bench there and change into the gown that's there, and the doctor will be with you shortly."

"Thanks," Lorelai said as she hopped onto the examining table.

The nurse smiled and closed the door behind her. Lorelai looked at Luke expectantly, who was standing in the middle of the room with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"What?" Luke asked.

"Could you turn around while I change?" Lorelai asked.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Lorelai, it's not anything that I haven't seen before," he said.

"Well, we're not together anymore," Lorelai replied. "And this doctor's appointment is uncomfortable enough as it is."

Luke sighed, knowing now that Lorelai was bitter about how he'd handled things the day before. His heart broke a little as he thought of Lorelai, waiting for him to show up at her doorstep with open arms, which he never did.

"Thank you," Lorelai said as Luke turned away from her. She changed as quickly as she could.

After a moment, Lorelai said, "Okay, you can turn around." Luke turned around and one word came to his mind. "Wow."

Lorelai blushed. "What?" she asked, resting her hands on her stomach.

"You're beautiful," Luke breathed. In the hospital gown, her stomach was noticeably bigger, and for the first time, Luke realized that she really carrying a new life inside of her.

Lorelai shook her head. "No, Luke, I'm pregnant," she said. "There's a big difference."

Luke swallowed hard as he focused on the small roundness of her stomach that housed his child. "Do you mind if I…uh?" he gestured to her stomach.

Lorelai looked up at Luke for a moment, seeing the desire on his face. She nodded and watched him carefully.

Luke stepped forward, tentatively pushing the soft material of the hospital gown away to reveal her golden tummy. He placed his hands on her skin and kissed it softly, then mumbled something that Lorelai couldn't hear and assumed was for the baby.

Lorelai felt tears coming to her eyes. She knew that she would not have any worries about Luke as a father. This moment proved that he would be the best father in the world for this baby. She reached down and covered one of his hands with her own, and when he looked up to meet her eyes, she pulled the hand to her mouth and kissed it gently.

Before either of them could say anything, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Lorelai said, her eyes still locked with Luke's.

The door opened and Dr. Tompkins entered the room. "Hello, Lorelai," he said.

"Hi," Lorelai said, still looking at Luke.

"And you must be…" Dr. Tompkins prompted Luke.

"Luke Danes," Luke said, shaking the doctor's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Luke," Dr. Tompkins said. He then turned to Lorelai and said, "let's take a look at this baby, shall we?"

Lorelai nodded and swallowed hard. She had to focus on the baby for now. She could focus on her and Luke later.

Next chapter: What will the doctor have to say about Luke and Lorelai's baby?