As the title says, this is my idea of how Gilmore Girls could have turned out if the unnecessary and unrealistic drama typical of most shows in their later seasons, wasn't added. Luke and Lorelai still get together in the same way at the end of season four, but Rory does not sleep with Dean as I think this is the first truly out of character moment on the show. Everything is AU from there on out.

This story isn't day to day but is instead made up of scenes within the storyline, as well as some flashbacks, so be sure to pay attention to dates at the top of each chapter. There are a total of twelve chapters which are all complete, so you can expect consistent updates every Monday and Thursday.

I haven't decided yet, but I may decide to add some one-shot sort of chapters if I'm inspired. As you read on, let me know if there are scenes from anytime in future or past of this AU that you would like to see!

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October 2014

"Rory, come watch Jake with us!" Andy, her six-year-old brother called out the second Rory reached the bottom of the stairs and saw her siblings' favorite TV show, "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" playing on the TV.

"Come on Rory, right here" Andy's twin sister, Valerie added, scootching over on the couch and patting the spot between her and her brother.

"Ok, ok, I'm coming, hold your horses," Rory smiled as she made her way over to the couch between her siblings who immediately leaned into her on both sides. Andy had dark brown, curly hair while Valerie's was lighter, long, and straight, but you could tell they were twins by their faces, particularly the bright blue eyes shared by everyone in the family.

"Daddy said breakfast will be ready soon, but Mommy's helping, so I think it's going to take longer than usual," Valerie said mischievously with a grin, causing all three to burst into giggles.

"Hey, I heard that!" Lorelai's quick reply flew in from the kitchen. Within a few seconds she was behind the couch propping her head between her two daughters, "If no one's going to appreciate Mommy's hard work, then I guess I'll just eat everything myself," she threatened.

"No you won't," Valerie responded surely.

"Just watch me," Lorelai shot back playfully.

Before anyone had the chance to respond Luke's shout interrupted the debate, "Lorelai! Are you still helping? Because I told you that you that leaving the kitchen to get distracted every two seconds does not count as cooking," he barked sternly.

"Yes! I'm coming, I'm coming!" Lorelai called back immediately as she dashed back to the kitchen not wanting to be kicked out, "But Luuuke, you can't blame me that time. I had to defend myself!"

Not more than a minute later, another exclamation flew out of the kitchen, "Awww crap!" Lorelai exclaimed, "Luke, why didn't you flip this pancake. Look, it's all burnt on the side," she whined.

"That was your one job!" Luke shot back in frustration, "This is why I told you not to leave the kitchen!"

Back in the living room, the three siblings were trying unsuccessfully to hold back their laughter. Andy, still giggling, stretched up towards Rory ear and cupped his hands around his mouth, "I think we'll have time to finish the episode" he whispered.

Rory laughed, "True, but why would you want to? The show in there is much better than anything on TV," she said with a grin. She loved Saturday mornings like this. Even though she lived and worked in Boston, Rory enjoyed coming back to Stars Hollow on her free weekends. It wasn't that she didn't like Boston or the people there, but most of her friends were more like acquaintances from work and she hadn't realized just how much she loved the small-town charm of Stars Hollow until she left. Especially now that her boyfriend of almost a year and a half, Marcus, usually came with her on trips home, she had even less of a reason to stay in Boston. She was glad she had experienced going off on her own into a big city but wasn't sure if she'd want to stay there forever. As a journalist with the internet, she could work from practically anywhere and still have the distinguished career she dreamed of.

Finally, despite Lorelai's "help", breakfast was ready and everyone sat down around the table. "What does everyone want to drink?" Luke asked as he set chocolate chip pancakes down in front of Lorelai, Rory, and Andy and blueberry in front of Valerie.

"Can I have coffee, like Mommy?" Andy asked sweetly looking up at Luke.

Luke shot a glare at Lorelai, "So orange juice it is," he deadpanned.

"Me too! I want orange juice too please, Daddy," Valerie chimed in. Luke nodded approvingly at his daughter who he was glad seemed to have inherited more of his healthy eating habits.

Lorelai followed Luke to the fridge and came back with the whipped cream bottle which she used to spray a smiley face onto her pancakes, "Who else wants some?"

"Oooh me!" Rory grinned holding her plate out for her mom.

"Me too!" Andy followed suit.

Valerie looked at her dad and tried her best to mimic his signature eye roll, "Whipped cream isn't a breakfast food," she admonished.

"That's right Val, and don't let your mother tell you otherwise," Luke responded proudly.

Lorelai took a big mouthful of whipped cream, "Look I just ate whipped cream. And what time is it? Oh yeah, breakfast! Looks like you two have been proven wrong," Lorelai replied smugly.

"Whatever, rot your teeth before your lunch, just don't come crying to me about your face full of cavities," Luke deadpanned. He turned to Rory, "Marcus would agree with me you know. I was hoping he would be able to undo some the damage this one has already done," he said pointing to Lorelai.

Rory laughed, "Sorry, but I think it's too late. Mom's taught me everything I know," she smiled at her mother.

Lorelai smiled back, "Very true" and then changing the subject asked, "Where is that boyfriend of yours anyway?"

"He went for a run this morning and was showering. He should be down soon," Rory responded as she shoved a large bite of pancake into her mouth.

"A run?" Lorelai grimaced, "I'll never understand that man."

"You guys talking about me?" Marcus asked as he walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Rory as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Marcus! Daddy made blueberry pancakes for you right over there," Valerie piped up, pointing to the counter, "Mommy was "helping" so if they taste weird that's why," she warned.

"Gee thanks," Lorelai responded with mock hurt.

"Thank you very much. They look great as always," Marcus replied, smiling at Lorelai.

After finishing breakfast, everyone dispersed to get ready for Valerie's soccer game in an hour. Valerie was an extremely athletic kid playing soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, and spring soccer as well as baseball in the spring. The teams at her age were coed (usually mostly boys) but she wasn't fazed one bit. Andy on the other hand, took after Lorelai in athleticism. Luke had insisted he had to at least try one sport to know he wouldn't like it, so when Valerie first started playing soccer last year, Lorelai agreed he go to at least 3 practices and make a decision. After the first one it was clear Andy had no athletic talent, during the 2nd one he fell down and scraped his knee, and after the 3rd one he had a meltdown that made it clear sports would be left to his sister. He preferred drawing and always carried a notepad with him.

Dressed in her uniform, with hairbrush in hand, Valerie came running back downstairs and handed the brush to Lorelai who began putting her hair in a ponytail, "Mommy, are you coming to my game today?" she asked as Lorelai brushed her hair.

"Of course! I wouldn't miss the chance to watch my beautiful daughter be the star player of the team," Lorelai replied.

"Mommmmmy," Valerie replied exasperated, "I'm not beautiful when I play soccer, I'm tough and fast and strong."

"You can't be beautiful too?" Lorelai asked.

"It's not important," Valerie replied crossing her arms.

"Ok, well then I'll be there to watch my tough and fast and strong daughter," Lorelai conceded finishing the ponytail, "And you're all done."

"Thank you, Mommy!" Valerie called as she dashed back upstairs.

Lorelai made her way over to Luke who was finishing up cleaning in the kitchen and wrapped her arms around him from behind, "And let's not forget that my hunk of a husband coach will be there to provide entertainment if there's a lull in the action," Lorelai whispered in his ear.

"Lorelai…" he growled annoyed.

"What? I know I'm not the only one thinking it," she replied innocently

At this Luke's face turned bright red, "Don't talk about me like I'm a piece of meat. I'm coaching a six-year-old's soccer game and if you see it as anything else, don't come," he ranted.

"Awww babe, I'm sorry, of course, you're a great coach," Lorelai placated. She then pulled Luke closer and kissed him. As much as he tried to resist, he felt himself getting pulled deeper into the kiss. Damn, how did she always manage to do this to him?

Upstairs, in what had been Rory's room since her mom and Luke had moved into this house seven years ago, Rory and Marcus were busy getting ready. When Lorelai was pregnant with the twins, they had known they needed a bigger house, especially because Lorelai insisted on Rory having her own dedicated room. The new house had four bedrooms which left plenty of space for everyone, even though Andy and Valerie still chose to share a room for now.

Rory watched Marcus pull on his jacket, "Hey Marcus, you sure you want to go to Val's soccer game today? I mean, we can do something else if you want. We spent the whole morning with my family, and I mean, we don't have that much time during the week, so I don't want you to feel like we have to do everything with them all weekend. There's a lot of stuff in town we could do like…" Rory rambled on until she was cut off by Marcus.

"Rory, you know I love your family. Of course I want to go to your sister's game" he interjected reassuringly, "Besides, Val would never forgive me if I kept her precious Rory from seeing her play," he added teasingly.

Rory smiled, "You sure?"

"Positive" he reassured her.

Rory felt so lucky that she had found a man like Marcus. They had met when she was out at a bar with friends from work but had grown bored when they decided to get utterly drunk, and she opted not to partake. Of course, she was prepared for a situation just like this, and pulled out her emergency book from her purse. She had been immersed in her fantasy world until she felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up to see a man holding two drinks, one extended out towards her, "What ya reading?" he asked. At first, she assumed he didn't really care was just trying to flirt, but after his enthusiastic reaction to "The Bell Jar", they spent the rest of the evening talking about books and everything else in their lives.

Not only did Marcus fit perfectly with Rory, but he also fit with her family which she valued deeply. He was able to keep up with her mom's mile a minute rambling as best as one could expect someone other than her to, and while Luke was begrudging at first, he admitted Marcus was a good guy by the end of the night after meeting him for the first time. Marcus's parents had divorced when he was ten, and soon after, his mom had moved across the country to California rarely seeing Marcus or his older sister, Grace. His father had done enough to meet the physical needs of him and his sister but hadn't been around much and wasn't one to show affection. Since he wasn't close with his family, Marcus appreciated the closeness of Rory's.

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"Rory, can you come read us our bedtime story?" Andy asked hopefully that night after him and his sister had finished getting ready for bed. Rory had loved reading to her siblings ever since they were born, even before they were old enough to understand anything she was saying. Now anytime Rory was visiting, Andy and Valerie never missed an opportunity to listen to their favorite storyteller.

"As long as you pick a good book," Rory smiled, "Let's go up to your room and see what you've got," she said, getting up from the couch where she was watching to TV with her mom, Luke, and Marcus and heading up the stairs with her siblings following close behind.

Marcus watched Rory disappear upstairs with her siblings then turned towards Luke and Lorelai who were still watching TV, figuring this would be his best opportunity to catch them alone. He was nervous, but also confident and prepared. He cleared his throat, "Hey Luke, Lorelai. Can I talk to you guys?"

Sensing he meant a serious conversation, Luke reached for the remote and turned off the TV. "Of course, what's up?" Lorelai questioned curiously, "Is something wrong?" she followed up concerned.

"No, no nothing's wrong," Marcus stammered, "I just, well… I…" he took a deep breath, "I'm planning to propose to Rory," he paused briefly and smiled. "I know you two are the most important people in her life and she really cares about your opinions, so I just wouldn't feel right about doing it until getting your blessing," he released another breath and looked up to see what their reactions would be.

Lorelai was covering her mouth to keep from shrieking it seemed, but as soon as she lowered her hands, the grin on her face was apparent, "About damn time!" she exclaimed while still trying to keep her voice down.

Luke was still attempting to look serious, but the corners of his lips were slightly curved upwards, "I still don't know if anyone could be good enough for Rory, but you're the closest I've seen. You're a good guy Marcus," he admitted begrudgingly.

Marcus felt a wave of relief wash over him. He knew Luke and Lorelai liked him and expected them to be happy about the news, but he didn't think it was possible for asking for a parents blessing to be a stress free experience.

Lorelai still smiling, added, "Rory couldn't have found a better match. I mean, I seriously did not think that her emergency books would be a tool for finding a man, but if it worked on you, how can I argue?" Suddenly becoming serious Lorelai added, "And while I'm thrilled for you and Rory and 100% believe that you guys will get married and live happily ever after, don't forget that if you ever, ever hurt my baby, there will be hell to pay. Rory's my heart, my best friend so if you cause her pain, that means you're automatically moved up to #1 on my hit list, and trust me, you don't want me as an enemy," she warned, her voice taking on a protective tone.

Marcus was about to respond, but Luke quickly jumped in before he could get a word out, "I… um, I may not be Rory's father biologically, but she is still my daughter and I want you to be fully aware that I will protect her as such," he stated firmly. While Luke truly liked Marcus, he still didn't like the idea of any guy with Rory and had been waiting for the chance to lay down some ground rules, "There will be no looking, not even glances, at other women, no making her feel guilty about working or expectations about her giving up her career for you, no making her feel insecure to make yourself feel better about your own shortcomings, no ehem inappropriate behaviors, and absolutely no action which has even the slightest risk of causing her pain," Luke finished his rant looking Marcus sternly in the eye and asked, "Do I make myself clear?"

This is why I was nervous, Marcus thought to himself, but he knew this "talking to" was just because Rory's parents loved her so much and he was glad that she had people in her life who cared about her as much as he did. "Luke, Lorelai I completely understand what you're saying, and I want you to know that I want to protect Rory just as much as you do, and will do everything in my power to make her happy and keep her from getting hurt. I know you'll always be worried about her because you love her, but just know that I will be too. I just hope you can trust me enough to give me a chance," he said sincerely.

"Ooh and he's a smooth talker," Lorelai replied, the playfulness returning to her voice. "We love you too, Marcus, and I trust you with my baby more than any other guy," she added, leaning over to give him a hug. Luke, returning to his usual man of few words demeanor, gave an approving nod.

"Now tell me! What's the plan, how're you gonna do it?" Lorelai asked excitedly, still attempting to keep her voice down.

"I'll let Rory be the one to tell you that," Marcus stated with a smile, "But I have a place in mind in Stars Hollow so, even though it's a quick turnaround, I was planning to do it tomorrow."

"That's a good thing. I would do it as soon as possible if I were you," Luke said and then motioned towards Lorelai, "She can't keep a secret from Rory for the life of her."

Marcus laughed, "That thought did cross my mind," he admitted.

Lorelai did not look pleased, "Hey! Maybe if you told me more details, I would be able to keep the secret better," she pouted, "And I could tell you if she'll like it or not. Wouldn't want to risk a rejection…" she teased.

"That doesn't make any sense and I'm sure Marcus's plan is fine," Luke responded in his usual blunt way. He then turned to Marcus, "Don't give her any more information than she needs to know," he warned.

Lorelai was about to protest when they heard the twins bedroom door shut upstairs and everyone went silent. Not wanting to create suspicion, she instead blurted out the first thought that came to mind, "You know what I've been thinking? How can Oprah be the #1 most powerful celebrity when all she does is give stuff away? If she doesn't do anything to gain the power back, how does she still have it? Like, does that mean if I start giving all my stuff away, I'll become famous?" Lorelai mused.

Luke rolled his eyes refusing to acknowledge her babbling but Marcus played along, "Well, to be fair, it isn't actually her stuff that Oprah gives away," he replied logically, attempting to make this sound like a normal conversation.

"Another key difference to note is that people actually want cars, nobody wants your old crap couch or furry Hello Kitty alarm clock," Rory interjected teasingly as she walked into the living room and fell onto the couch next to her mom, resting her head on her shoulder.

"Don't make fun of Mommy's stuff," Lorelai pouted as she put her arm around Rory.

"I'm not making fun of it, I just don't think the rest of the world is cultured enough to appreciate our sophisticated taste," Rory responded assuredly.

"That's the only explanation," Lorelai agreed, then glancing upstairs asked, "They fall asleep?"

"Yeah and probably for a while now. They wanted to read a grownup, "Rory" book so we chose Anne of Green Gables. I haven't read it in forever and forgot how good it is, so I kind of got lost for a few chapters and when I came back to earth, they were both asleep. I have no idea how long I was reading aloud to myself," Rory explained sheepishly.

"Sounds about right," Marcus replied. He thought it was adorable that his girlfriend could still manage to get so lost in a book she had read a million times that she lost all sense of what was going on right in front of her face.

"You're a good big sister," Lorelai smiled. The four of them eventually settled into comfortable silence watching some random show on TV which none of them were quite sure was about.

After about an hour, Marcus yawned, "I think I'm out for the night," he said, stretching as he stood up to head upstairs.

"I'm with you," Luke agreed. He then turned towards Lorelai and Rory to see if they were following and couldn't keep from smiling at the sight. Rory was still resting her head on her mother's shoulder and Lorelai's head was now resting on her daughter's, both of them sound asleep.

"Should we wake them up to come upstairs?" Marcus asked.

"Nah, they look pretty comfortable," Luke replied not wanting to disturb the sleeping pair.

"Alright, well goodnight, Luke," Marcus replied as he began to make his way out of the living room but then paused and turned back around, "And thanks… for everything."

Understanding that he meant for accepting him into the family, Luke nodded, "Of course."