Notes: When I first posted this chapter, I remember saying that it practically killed me, and it did. I was so nervous about it. Just like most brides in real life, I wanted everything to be perfect for Lorelai and Luke in their fictional world, too, and although I didn't actually spill blood over this chapter, I sure sweated and shed tears while trying to get it just right. Reading it again now after so much time has passed, I still think it does the job. Hope you all like it, too.
Lorelai leaned forward, examining her face critically in the mirror, and tried to stifle a groan. Last night's late-night confessional had not left her with the rosy-cheeked complexion a bride was supposed to have.
She got up and raised the blinds on the window, letting more light into the room to aid her in putting on correcting make-up. She gave a little twirl before she sat back down, loving the way her dress swished around her legs.
A thrill shot through her. It was really her wedding day. Ill-advised or not, she was going to be Mrs. Lucas Danes by tonight.
Someone knocked on the door, making Lorelai's heart leap. She scrambled to see a clock. It couldn't be Rory already, could it? She bit at her lip. Of course it would be her uber-punctual daughter. Who else?
She rushed to the bathroom door. "Luke!" she hissed through it. "I think Rory's here!" Water was running, so she wasn't sure if he heard her or not.
There was another rap at the door, plus a "Mom!" called out in Rory's voice. Lorelai took a deep breath, rubbing her cheeks as she hurried to the door. She ordered her eyes to sparkle and her face to look happy in the split second before she threw it open.
"Rory!" she cried, opening her arms.
Rory tumbled through the door, a garment bag thrown over her arm and her ever-present backpack slung over her other shoulder. She still managed to get her arms around her mother, though, squeezing her tightly.
"You still remember me?" she grinned, trying to sound dramatic.
"I think so," Lorelai confirmed, holding her first baby. She pushed the thick bangs off of her forehead. "I'm still not used to these, but I recognize this sweet widdle face," she teased.
Rory unburdened herself and turned to get her first really good look at her mother. She blinked twice at the dress Lorelai had on.
"Wow," she said, pointing. "You went all out. How fancy is this restaurant?"
"It's…It's nice." Lorelai could feel her smile getting strained, and she put greater effort into appearing carefree. "And it's just nice to get all dressed up sometimes, you know?"
Rory's face started to do that calculating thing, where her eyebrows pulled together and her lips drew into a thin line.
"So you found the place OK, huh?" Lorelai rushed on. "How was traffic?"
Before Rory could answer, the bathroom door opened and Luke stepped out, tucking his t-shirt down into his dress pants. He stopped abruptly when he registered Rory's presence.
"Rory," he breathed out, shooting Lorelai a shocked look.
Rory's mouth dropped open. She turned to her mother. "Mom?" Her voice had just a slight edge of panic in it.
Lorelai's brain decided that flustered hostess was the way to go. "Luke, Rory's here. A little early," she said, stating the obvious.
"What's going on?" Rory asked, trying to be calm.
"Rory." Lorelai blew out a breath. "Luke and I…we're trying…We've decided to try again."
"You're going to try?" Rory asked, her voice going up shrilly on the last word. "What's that mean?"
"It…It means we're talking, and we're trying to find a way to be together again, and we're―"
"We're getting married," Luke jumped in.
Lorelai groaned and put her hands over her eyes.
Rory's shocked face looked between the two of them. "Are you crazy?" she finally spit out. "You are, aren't you?" She looked over at Luke. "She finally pushed you over the edge!"
To her surprise, Luke barked out a short laugh and then looked over at her mom, smiling. Her mom gave him a strained smile and shrugged her shoulders.
"You think this is funny?" Rory demanded, incensed.
"No," Luke agreed, sobering. "It's just weird how much alike the two of you can be. Weird in a good way," he hastened to assure her.
Rory shook her head. "How in the world can the two of you even think about getting married again already? Have you talked at all? Have you even tried to fix things?"
"We are trying," Lorelai said earnestly. "We've had some really good talks."
"Talks," Rory scoffed, shaking her head. She turned to Lorelai, her hands on her waist. "You're OK that he shut you out of his life? You've forgiven him for that?"
Sadness rippled over Lorelai's face and she had to squeeze her eyes shut for a moment. "I forgive him," she finally said thickly.
Rory scoffed again while she turned to Luke. "And you're OK about what she did? You're just going to overlook that little indiscretion?"
Luke looked down at the floor, his face grim as he tried to find words. "Are you OK with it?" he finally asked, turning the tables on Rory.
Taken aback, Rory swallowed, then looked sadly at her mom. "No," she admitted softly. She turned away, not wanting to see the hurt on her mother's face.
"So you don't love her anymore, then," Luke prodded her.
"Of course I love her!" Rory snapped. "Maybe she made a terrible mistake, but she's still my mom!"
Luke nodded. "It's the same way for me, Rory. I still love her. She made a terrible mistake, and she hurt me, but that hasn't made me stop loving her. I feel the same way you do."
Rory still shook her head. She turned again to Lorelai. "So that's it? You're just going to let him in again? What guarantee do you have that he's not going to just toss us aside again when something better comes along? I mean, he was supposed to care so much about us! He was always going to be there for us! And then, here comes his perfect little real daughter, and suddenly we mean nothing! How can you let him do this again!" she shouted at Lorelai.
"Rory!" Lorelai gasped.
Rory gulped but turned to Luke, all of the words she'd longed to say finally spilling out. "This girl was going to be my sister, Luke! My sister! And if I hadn't decided to go to Jess' at the last minute, I never would have met her at all! How do you think that makes me feel, huh? You know, I've already been dumped once by my real Dad! I never expected that from you!"
She dropped down into the chair by the door, too shaky to stand anymore. She tried but failed to keep from dissolving into tears.
Luke put up his hand, halting Lorelai's rush to her daughter. He hurried over instead, dropping to one knee beside her.
"Don't you know?" he said to her quietly, pushing back her hair, making her look at him. "I loved you first. The only reason I can be any kind of a father to April at all is because I loved you first. The only reason I can do this at all is because I had the example of you and your mom to follow." He shook his head and put his hands on her shaking shoulders. "I loved you first," he told her again, insistently. "That hasn't changed, either."
Rory nodded, but the heartbroken tears weren't ready to turn off yet. "You hurt me," she said between sniffles.
"I know," he acknowledged, as Lorelai appeared at Rory's other side with a box of tissues. "I hurt you both, and I'm so, so sorry. That's one of the things we've been talking about, and I promise you, things are going to be different. I want you both to get to know April. I don't want us to all be apart anymore."
Rory took some tissues and wiped her face. She drew in some huge, shaky breaths. "So that's good then, that you're talking." She took a minute to compose herself further. "It's good you both realize you made some huge mistakes." She sighed, thinking. "It's good you want to change." Suddenly she frowned, and looked from one to the other. "But why are you talking about getting married again already? Take some time here and get things right first."
She watched as Luke and her mother looked at each other and did that silent communication thing that she thought belonged only to her and Lorelai. Something that felt a lot like jealousy coursed through her when she saw Luke barely raise his jaw and her mother agree with him by the tiniest incline of her head.
"Rory," Lorelai said, sounding much more determined than what she felt, "I'm pregnant." She braced herself for Rory's reaction.
Rory's mouth dropped open again. A million questions rolled through her head, but somehow the one that managed to pop out was, "How?"
"Well," Lorelai couldn't help but quip nervously, "if you don't know that by now, all of the money for that fancy Yale education is being sadly wasted."
"Mom!" Rory snapped. She held her breath, praying that she wasn't going to be told that she was getting a full sibling.
Lorelai's air of assurance crumbled away. "That night, when Paul Anka died…I called Luke…and…" she looked over at him helplessly, words for once failing her.
"That's good." Rory was almost surprised to hear her own voice. She cleared her throat. "I'm glad you weren't alone," she added, not able to look at her mom.
"So, here we are," Lorelai said after a moment, with a nervous laugh.
Silence cocooned the room for a few minutes as Rory tried to absorb all of the new developments.
"How soon are you thinking about getting married?" she finally asked.
"4:30," Luke replied, looking at his watch and then crossing the room to grab his shirt.
For the third time, Rory felt her mouth drop open in shock. "4:30? You mean today? That 4:30?"
"That's the one," Lorelai confirmed, wringing her hands.
Rory looked at her mother's dress with more understanding. "Are you trying to kill Grandma?"
"No, that'd just be an added perk," Lorelai joked nervously.
"I don't get it," Rory complained. "Sure there's a baby coming, but that doesn't mean you have to jump right into this! You've got, what? Eight months? Take your time and give this some thought. There's no reason you've got to rush into it like this!"
Luke continued buttoning up his blue dress shirt while he answered Rory. "That's all my idea, I'm afraid. I'm tired of being alone." The words had poured out from him almost on their own, and his fingers fumbled with the buttons on his cuff, embarrassed to be opening himself up this way to Rory. At the same time, he realized he needed to be more forthcoming with both of the girls. He cleared his throat. "I want this family, Rory, and I want it to start now. I don't want to wait and miss more of it." He finally looked over at her and gave her a tentative smile. "I guess you and your mom have finally taught me how to be selfish."
Rory smiled back, even though she was still unconvinced. It had been a long time since she'd seen a smile on Luke's face.
He walked over and grabbed his wallet and a room key. "I've got some errands to run. I'll leave you two to get ready." He nodded at them as he left.
Lorelai and Rory both sighed and looked at each other.
"You're really OK with this?" Rory asked.
Lorelai looked away. "It's what he wants," she said lightly.
"But what about you? Is it what you want?"
Lorelai let out a laugh with a bitter note in it. "To marry Luke? Of course that's what I want. Just not like this."
"Then stop it." Rory urged. "Take your time, and think about this some more."
Lorelai rubbed her fingers along her jaw, contemplating how much to tell Rory. "Do you know what he told me? He said that if we didn't get married, he didn't want to have anything to do with the baby at all. He said either he was a full-time father, or he was out."
"No way," Rory scoffed. "You don't believe that, do you? That's not Luke!"
"Of course I don't believe it," Lorelai agreed. "But the fact that he was able to even say such a thing shows how much he really does want this. He's convinced himself that this is the way to go."
"And are you convinced?"
"I think…We've waited for years. We waited for both of us to finally look at each other at the same time and realize we'd been waiting on each other. We kept waiting for everything to be perfect. And…maybe perfect's never coming. Maybe this is as good as it gets. Maybe if we'd just gotten married when we first wanted to then when April showed up it wouldn't have made any difference. We could have avoided all of this. So maybe…leaping in does make sense."
"Marry in haste; repent in leisure," Rory quoted, her voice mocking.
"I've already had plenty of leisure to repent in," Lorelai stated sadly. "Maybe it's time to try the haste part."
"Mom," Rory tried, shaking her head.
Lorelai looked at her intently. "I do love him. You don't doubt that, do you?"
Rory swallowed hard. "No," she murmured, "I don't doubt that part."
"I just wish I didn't feel like this was so unfair to Luke," Lorelai muttered, almost to herself.
Rory watched her mom for a minute. "I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?"
"No," Lorelai confirmed. "I'm not sure I want to be talked out of it."
"OK, then I guess I'd better get dressed." Rory picked up her bag and headed towards the bathroom, but stopped suddenly halfway there, letting the bag drop back to the floor.
"Hey," she said, heading towards her mom. She gave her a big bear hug when she reached her.
"What's that for?" Lorelai asked, hugging her back happily.
"You're finally making me a big sister," Rory said. "How does that part feel to you?"
"I'm pretty excited," Lorelai said with a genuine smile. "I've wished for this for a long time. It's just not really the way I wanted it to happen, but yeah, the baby part's pretty cool. You're going to babysit, right?"
"As much as I can. Maybe the baby can just come and live with me at Yale, huh?"
Lorelai laughed affectionately at that. "Yeah, I'm sure Paris would be in favor of that! Just think, though, by the time the baby gets here, you'll be almost ready to graduate."
"No empty nest for you," Rory told her.
"No empty nest," Lorelai agreed.
Rory scrutinized her closely. "How are you feeling?"
"I've had some morning sickness," Lorelai admitted. "It wasn't the flu, after all." She suddenly paused to reflect. "You know, since I've been here, I don't think I've been sick at all."
"Must be the ducks," Rory observed astutely, pointing to the carved one sitting on the ledge, once again heading off to get dressed.
"Yeah," Lorelai agreed absently, knowing instinctively that it probably had more to do with someone else who was sharing the room.
Luke knocked on the door when he returned. Lorelai opened it, frowning in confusion when she saw it was him.
"Didn't want to just barge in," he explained to her. Softer, he asked, "How is she with this? OK?"
"I think so, yeah," Lorelai murmured, giving him a smile of relief.
Luke moved into the room, carrying what looked to be two flat pizza boxes. Lorelai was instantly fascinated and followed him closely, trying to sniff at the boxes.
"Not pizza," she said, puzzled.
"Nope," Luke grinned. He handed one box to her, just as Rory stepped out of the bathroom.
"Did you plan this?" he asked in disbelief, taking in Rory's deep blue sleeveless dress.
Lorelai laughed, delighted. "I think this is just one of those spontaneous serendipitous Gilmore girl things that happen sometime."
Rory laughed, too, holding the skirt of her dress out as she curtsied to them. Then she noticed the boxes. "Pizza?" she asked hopefully.
"Not pizza," Luke told her, "but this one's for you."
Lorelai flung open the top of her box, then stopped, frozen in place. "Oh, Luke," she finally said, her voice wobbly with the memory evoked.
"I know you said you didn't need flowers to carry," he explained gruffly. "But I thought you needed something. And I'll never forget how pretty you looked the day Liz got married."
Lorelai gently touched the wreath of flowers lying inside the box. This time it was made up entirely of white roses and she could see long white ribbons attached to the back of it. She shook her head, trying to get in control of her emotions. "So sweet," she choked out, giving him a tender smile.
Rory pulled hers out, made up of pink roses and bachelor buttons, with deep pink ribbons trailing down the back. She rushed to the mirror, anxious to try it on. As she admired herself in the mirror, she saw her mother carefully settle her wreath onto her own dark curls. She watched as Luke took a step closer, helping Lorelai in placing it evenly on her head. She watched as he let his fingers touch her mom's face and absently play with one of her curls while the two of them shared a long, deep look.
She turned towards them, clearing her throat, making them break up the semi-intimate moment they were enjoying.
"Something occurred to me while I was getting ready," she told them, breathing a little easier now that she'd seen with her own eyes that their feelings for one another were still present. "I realized that I'm the one person who can actually empathize with both of you."
She nodded towards Luke. "I don't know if you know this or not, Luke, but Logan cheated on me. A lot." She watched as Luke's face stiffened and his jaw clenched, and she knew on some psychic level that not only did he know, he'd had to be restrained from decking Logan over it. She smiled, secretly pleased at that. "He had his reasons and his excuses, but that didn't make it hurt any less. But I can tell you that if you really want to get past it, you can. So there is hope."
She looked at her mom, who looked ashamed. "And Mom, I know what it feels like to be cut out of someone's life. I should have always been a part of Dad's life, but I wasn't. His parents should have been my grandparents, but they weren't interested. I know it's not my fault, and I don't think I even actually care anymore, but I still know how much that hurts, to not be wanted by someone who should care about you. So I kind of know how you felt too."
She sighed and looked between both of them. "I'm still not absolutely convinced that you're doing the right thing here, but I wanted to let you know that I'm not opposed to it, either. I think…I think that one way or another, you're supposed to be together. And I…I love you both." Her throat had closed up alarmingly by the end of her words, nearly pinching them off.
Lorelai clutched at Luke's arm as she motioned frantically at Rory with her other hand. "Oh, Kid, c'mere!"
Rory rushed over to them. "Group hug?" she asked, right before she threw her arms around them both.
"Group hug," Lorelai confirmed, happily, forgetting her reserve with Luke as her arm went around him as well.
Luke drew both of them to his chest, enjoying a brief, satisfied moment of pure contentment. Then, just the tiniest flicker of guilt poked through his chest because April wasn't here, sharing this too. He resolved to make it up to her, somehow, and decided that for the time being, two out of three wasn't bad. He breathed in their complimentary scents of vanilla and cherry, and gave each of them one last squeeze.
"Time," he reminded them, pulling back.
They rushed about, putting themselves together. Luke put on his tie and pushed his arms into his suit jacket while the girls looked in the mirror one last time.
Lorelai caught his reflection and turned around, disappointed. "Oh, I should have thought about getting you a boutonniere."
"Yeah, because I hate to show my face without a flower in my lapel," Luke said dryly.
"Wait," Rory said, and whipped the flowers off her head. She turned it to the back and carefully pulled out one rose and one bachelor button where no one would notice. She twisted them together with a single green leaf lying in the box, and cautiously poked it through Luke's button hole. Lorelai fastened it with a bobby pin found in the dresser drawer.
"Perfect," both girls decreed.
"Do you have pockets?" Luke asked Rory, while she looked in the mirror, once again putting on her flowers.
"No," she laughed, patting her skirt. "Why?"
"I was going to give you the rings." He opened his hands, showing the black velvet boxes. "You're kind of the maid of honor and best man all rolled up into one here. I figure that made you in charge of the rings." He started to pocket them.
Rory frowned, concentrating. "Why don't I just wear them?" she asked, reaching for the boxes. She slipped Luke's larger band on first, then put Lorelai's on top to anchor it. She shook her hand, showing that they were secure. "Are we set then?"
Luke's eyes met Lorelai's, and they both looked away, nervously.
"R-Ready," Lorelai stuttered.
"Let's go," Luke said, trying to sound confident. To his surprise, he realized his confidence wasn't an act. "Let's go get married."
Luke led them down the hall to the Clerk of the Courts office, swinging open the door so that the girls could enter first.
The young blonde woman sitting at the reception desk looked up from the sheaf of papers by her computer screen, a harried expression on her face. A pleased smile soon chased the sour look from her face when she took in their wedding clothes. "You must be the 4:30," she observed, glancing at her appointment book. "Gilmore/Danes?"
"That's us," Lorelai piped up, her nerves unleashing all of her pent-up words. "We're the Gilmore part," she waved at herself and Rory, "and he's the Danes." She pointed at Luke. "So yeah, together we're Gilmores and Danes. Gilmore-Danes," she repeated, suddenly putting a hyphen in it. "Lorelai Gilmore-Danes," she muttered, more-or-less to herself. She smiled. That sounded pretty good.
The receptionist scurried to the doorway of a small office behind her. "Sondra, the 4:30's here."
"Send 'em in!"
As they entered her office, the small, assured woman stood to greet them, her chin-length gray hair swinging forward as she extended her hand. "I'm Sondra Kennedy. I'll be performing your ceremony today."
"Lorelai Gilmore," Lorelai said, rushing to take the woman's hand. "And this is Luke, Luke Danes," she added, as Luke took her hand, "and this is our daughter, Rory."
Both Luke and Rory's heads jerked at that, and they shared a look. Lorelai didn't seem to even register what she'd just said.
"Nice to meet you folks," Sondra said. "Well, as with most things in life, we've got some paperwork to complete here. If you'll follow Christy back out to her desk, she'll help you get through it." She looked again at the three of them and appeared to be pondering something. She motioned for them all to go back out into the front room.
While Luke and Lorelai started filling in the necessary documents, Sondra spoke again. "It's such a lovely day, and you all look so pretty, and after all, it is almost the end of the workweek. How would you feel about going across the street to Lighthouse Park and getting married out there? It will be out in public, but it's a beautiful spot. The flowers are exceptionally gorgeous this year. How does that sound to you?"
"That sounds really nice," Lorelai said wistfully. "Luke?"
"Whatever you want," Luke smiled at her.
"An outdoor wedding would be perfect! Thanks for being willing to do it," Lorelai told her.
Sondra chuckled. "No, you're doing me a favor, getting me out of this dark office on such a nice day!"
"OK," Christy, said, briskly, looking over the papers, "your daughter, here, is one witness. Do you have anyone else coming?"
"No, we're it," Lorelai said.
"Well, Christy, then it looks like you get out of the office early, too," her boss winked at her.
"I can't," Christy said regretfully. "I've still got this report to finish by 5. But you all head on over. Don't worry, I'll rustle up someone to be a witness for you, and send them over there as soon as I can."
They followed Sondra across the street, to the lush, green park built around the lighthouse point. Rory stepped up beside her, asking about its historical significance.
Luke had automatically put his arm around Lorelai's waist when they stepped off the curb, crossing the street. She leaned against his side, an automatic response on her part, as well. They stayed that way, even after reaching the park.
"Luke," Lorelai said quietly, suddenly stopping and turning to him. She smiled at him, hoping that her eyes were conveying how seriously she meant what she was going to say. She leaned over, whispering into his ear. "Barrel of monkeys," she said, grinning at the ridiculous words.
The lines creased around the corners of his eyes as her words made him smile. His head dipped down quickly as he laughed. He leaned over to her ear. "Your battleship sunk me," he replied. Then, because he really couldn't help it, he kissed her softly, right at her temple. His fingers lightly traced the ribbon streaming out from her wreath of flowers.
They beamed at each other because suddenly all of those intervening years had vanished. Once again they were those same giddy people they'd been on that other wedding day, just starting to explore their relationship. Luke took her hand and they walked around to the other side of the lighthouse.
"I think this is a lovely spot," Sondra told them, gesturing.
It was. They were on the seaside part, so the water on the bay was sparkling back up at them. Deep purple petunias, dark salvia and bright pink impatiens lined every walkway. Huge pots of trailing purple and white petunias sat all around the lighthouse. Sondra led them over to an archway that graced a small path leading down towards the docks. A bright pink flowering vine cascaded over it.
"I thought we could have the ceremony right here," she offered. "We won't be too long, so I don't think we'll inconvenience too many people."
"It's beautiful," Lorelai agreed.
Sondra caught sight of someone. "Over here!" she shouted, waving her arms.
"Oh great," Luke muttered, under his breath. Lorelai bit at her lips, trying to contain her giggles.
"What?" Rory asked, looking back and forth between her mom and Luke, and the man in the police uniform whom Sondra was greeting.
"It's Luke's new best friend," Lorelai told Rory. "I'll explain more later," she whispered to the girl, grinning madly.
"Russ, this is―" Sondra started to say.
"We've met," Russ said mildly, cutting her off. His eyes sized up Luke again.
Lorelai jumped into the breach. "You haven't met our daughter, though. Chief Carlisle, this is Rory."
Luke and Rory looked at each other again. Once might have been a goof. Twice was deliberate.
"Nice to meet you," the Chief of Police said as the girl with the same dazzling smile as her mother gave him her hand.
"You too," Rory said politely. "I hope these two haven't been giving you a lot of problems." She'd picked up on the atmosphere.
"Nothing we can't handle," he assured her.
"Well, let's get started," Sondra said briskly. "I can give you the state-sanctioned cut-and-dried version, or I can give you something of my own, that does the job but it's a little bit more traditional. Which would you prefer?"
"I―I haven't done a lot of traditional in my life," Lorelai said hesitantly, "but I think I'd like it if this was."
"Traditional it is," Sondra said.
She posed them so that Luke and Lorelai were holding hands under the archway, the sea in front of them. Russ stood by Luke's side; Rory by Lorelai's.
"Everyone who comes before me to get married has a story to tell," Sondra began. "There's always some reason why people choose to come here and get married. Sometimes they're very romantic stories. Sometimes people just can't wait. Sometimes they're running away from problems at home, or from families that just don't understand. Sometimes, frankly, they just don't care. One place is just as good as another. I hesitate to marry the ones like that. I want you to understand that this ceremony is just as binding as if you were standing in a cathedral, with hundreds of people watching you. The two of you are going to promise to live your lives together here today. If you are not ready to do that, if you have any doubts whatsoever, this is your opportunity to step away."
Sondra paused for a beat, waiting.
"Lorelai." Sondra turned smoothly to her. "Do you come here today in front of these witnesses willingly, to commit yourself to being a wife to Luke? Are you willing to share your life with him, to create a home with him, to be with him for the rest of your days? If so, please answer, 'I will.'"
Lorelai gave a little gasp, as though she really hadn't expected to get right into it this way. "I will," she replied, a little breathlessly, squeezing Luke's hand for all she was worth.
"Luke, I ask the same thing of you," Sondra continued. "Do you come here today willingly, to commit yourself to being a husband to Lorelai? Are you willing to share your life with her, to create a home with her, to be with her for the rest of your days?"
"I will," Luke said firmly.
Sondra then slowly spoke the words Lorelai needed to repeat.
"I, Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, take you, Lucas William Danes, to be my beloved husband, to have and to hold you, to honor you, to treasure you, to be at your side in sorrow and in joy, in the good times, and in the bad, and to love and cherish you always. I promise you this from my heart, for all the days of my life."
Lorelai did indeed speak those words from her heart, letting her eyes tell him how much she meant them. She could feel tears threatening by the end, but she blinked them back defiantly.
"I, Lucas William Danes, take you, Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, to be my beloved wife," Luke spoke the words gruffly, the emotion he was feeling nearly overwhelming him. "To have and to hold you, to honor you, to treasure you, to be at your side in sorrow and in joy, in the good times, and in the bad, and to love and cherish you always. I promise you this from my heart, for all the days of my life."
"Do you have rings?" Sondra asked.
"Yes, here," Rory said, taking them from her finger eagerly.
"Lorelai, as you put this ring on Luke's finger, please repeat these words," Sondra instructed her.
"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love for you," Lorelai repeated, pushing the silver band over Luke's knuckle. "Let it be a reminder that I am always by your side and that I will always be―" She choked up for just a moment, regained control, and continued. "I will always be a faithful partner to you."
Luke reached out, put his hand under her chin and gently raised her face so that she was once again looking directly into his. He nodded at her, silently letting her know that he believed her.
Then it was his turn to slide the narrow silver ring onto her finger. When he repeated the words "I am always by your side" he increased the pressure on her hand, signaling to her that he was never leaving her again.
Lorelai looked at the silver band, mesmerized, as it shone in the summer sun. She couldn't believe this was the same band she thought was so dull back in the jewelry store. It was the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen. She curled her fingers, locking it onto her hand.
Before Sondra could say anything else, Luke spoke up. "Is it OK…I mean, are we allowed to say anything on our own?"
Sondra smiled at him. "Certainly. Feel free, if you'd like to add something of your own."
Luke blew out a breath, decidedly uncomfortable, and took both of Lorelai's hands in his as he turned back to her.
"We've been friends for a long time now," he reminded her. "You've been a huge part of my life for a really long time. We were always brutally honest with each other. And somewhere along the line…I forgot the friendship part. I forgot the honest part. But I'm promising you, Lorelai, I won't forget it again. I'm promising you that when I say that I'm sharing my life with you, I mean it. I love you, and Rory, and April, and I promise you that we're all going to have a life together."
Lorelai was absorbing those amazing words from her normally-quiet diner guy when she realized that everyone was looking at her, waiting on her say something back. She gulped, and hoped that her never-ending fountain of words would not fail her now.
"I love you so much, Luke," she started. "You know you share that top space in my heart. I love you because of the way you've always taken care of Rory. I love you because you want to be a father to April. I love you because you tried, so hard, with Jess. I love you because you'd fix everything, for everyone, if you could. And I love you, so, so much, because you're willing to give me a second chance. I want us to all have our life together, too, and I promise you that I'm going to be right there beside you, until we're old and gray and sitting on the front porch in our matching jogging suits and you're totally sick of me."
There were a couple of chuckles and Luke smiled at her fondly.
"Never gonna happen," he said.
"The matching jogging suits?" she asked, arching her eyebrows.
"Getting sick of you," he insisted.
Sondra cleared her throat. "Marriage can stand for love, loyalty, honesty, or trust, but most of the time everyone forgets that it starts with friendship. Before you two knew love, you were friends. And that friendship turned into the path that led you to today. Don't ever make the mistake of thinking that you can direct the course of love. Because love, if it's the real thing, it directs you."
"And now," she said, smiling broadly, "it gives me great pleasure, with the authority from the state of Maryland, to pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," she winked at Luke.
Lorelai felt her insides quiver as something cold clutched at her in fear, but before it could take hold at all, Luke had her in his arms. His lips sought hers out eagerly, and she locked away any of the fears and insecurities still haunting her and she kissed him back, letting all of the love she'd ever felt for this man flow out onto him, praying that he could feel how happy she was.
"I love you," he whispered into her ear, the emotion making his voice raw.
"So much," she agreed, blinking hard, and smiling her dazzling smile at him and to the others, as well, suddenly realizing that they weren't alone.
Almost at the same time they opened their arms to Rory, and she eagerly stepped between them, hugging them both, laughing so that she didn't cry.
"That was pretty impressive," she said, trying not to let her lips tremble. She felt a tear slide down her cheek anyway, and she laughed at herself as she chased it away.
"Congratulations, folks," Russ offered, stepping up and putting out his hand for Luke to shake. "I wish you all the best." He gave Lorelai a sedate kiss on the cheek and smiled at Rory, preparing to leave.
"Oh, wait! Pictures!" Lorelai cried, diving for the camera stashed in Luke's pocket.
The girls insisted on getting every possible combination of pictures of them all, Lorelai taking especial delight in posing Luke and Russ together. Luke already knew one of his favorites was going to be of the girls together, their heads touching, the ribbons from their wreaths tangled together in the summer breeze, both of them smiling at him.
Finally Russ ambled away, and Sondra prepared to take her leave as well. "Best wishes to you," she said sincerely. "I don't know what story led you here, but I have a feeling that you're one of the couples that's going to make it. Drop me a line on your anniversary and let me know, OK?"
Once she'd left, and it was just the three of them, Rory looked at them expectantly. "Well, what's next?" she demanded, pretending to be bored.
Lorelai shrugged her shoulders as though it was obvious. "There's only one thing to top this," she insisted, rolling her eyes. "Duck Museum!"
"Are you kidding me?" Luke demanded, but he really wasn't surprised to find himself strolling through the Decoy Museum a short while later with his new wife and stepdaughter, all of them still dressed in their wedding finery. He shook his head, trying not to laugh at their ridiculous conversations with the decoys on display. He also wasn't surprised when he ended up carrying all of the decoys and duck-printed paraphernalia purchased in the gift shop for all of their family and friends.
They went back to the hotel to drop off the ducks and freshen up, and then strolled along the boardwalk until it was time for their reservations at Larry's recommended restaurant.
They ate, and laughed, and the girls ate some more. They reminisced about when Rory was little. Luke told them some stories from when he was a boy. They remembered the first time they'd been in the diner. Luke recalled the first time Lorelai had lured him over to fix something in the house. Lorelai stared at her ring, convinced it was absolutely the prettiest thing she'd ever seen.
The girls gasped in surprise as a small wedding cake was brought over to their table. They didn't miss the smug look on Luke's face.
"You!" Lorelai said, smacking his shoulder lightly, completely delighted.
He shrugged, modestly. "Someone had to think of these things."
Playfully, Lorelai put Luke's hand on top of hers as she cut up the cake.
Rory found the camera. "Go on," she urged, bringing it up to her eye, "do that cutesy feeding each other cake thing. Come on, Luke. Say 'I hate cake,'" she prodded him.
"I hate cake," he said obediently, with a huge smile. He willingly took the bite Lorelai brought to his mouth.
Lorelai fought down the nearly-overwhelming desire she had to kiss off the small lick of icing clinging to his lower lip, because, well, Rory was right there, and she still wasn't sure if he would want her to. The sudden memory of his kiss after the ceremony made her shiver, just as he raised a cake-laden fork to her mouth.
"Good," she said, through a full mouth, her eyes shining back at him in a way that made him suddenly very interested in his water glass.
The first notes of music broke over them, and they all turned to the far corner of the room, where a 3-piece band had set up next to a small dance floor. They'd all been so interested in their own conversation that they hadn't noticed.
The band went through several songs and finally a few couples got up to dance.
Several minutes later Rory stopped in the middle of her story, cocking her head as the band began another song. She grinned madly at them. "Go on!" she insisted. "It might not ever get better than this! Go have your wedding dance!"
"Oh, I don't know," Lorelai began doubtfully.
Luke stood up and reached for her hand. "Come on, Mrs. Danes. Let's dance."
Joy shot all the way to her toes when he called her that. She eagerly took his hand and they made their way to the tiny dance area.
"So, what's the song?" he asked, not recognizing it. He pulled her tighter against him, until it felt right.
She waited until the band reached the refrain, then she put her mouth up close to his ear and sang, very softly, just for him.
"And I-I-I-I…will always… love you."
She felt him chuckle against her as he squeezed her just a little bit tighter. "Rory's right," he confirmed, "that's pretty much perfect."
They danced through all of that song and the next one as well, even though neither of them was sure what it was. It wasn't about the song, by then. It was about how good it felt to be close to each other. But finally, with abashed, guilty smiles, they made their way back to the table where Rory was waiting for them.
"You guys are just so adorable," Rory pretended to gush at them, as Lorelai took her seat. But the happy look on her face let them in on the secret that she really thought they were.
Luke held his hand out to Rory. "Isn't there supposed to be a father-daughter dance, too?"
Rory's tongue probed the side of her cheek as she stared at his hand. "I think―I think that's supposed to be when I get married."
Luke shrugged. "Well, like your mom says, we're not exactly traditionalists here."
Rory grinned and took his hand, eagerly following him to the dance floor, shooting her mom a pleased glance as they took their places.
Lorelai picked up the camera and took several shots of her husband and her daughter moving slowly around the dance floor, but she wasn't sure how good any of them were because she could barely focus through the happy tears swimming in her eyes.
"Stay," Lorelai insisted, holding Rory tightly as they stood by her car.
"Stay," Luke echoed, letting the hood of her car slam closed from checking all of the fluid levels. "It's getting late. You don't need to be driving back tonight."
"Yeah, I do," Rory refuted. "I need to work Alyssa's shift tomorrow, since she covered for me this afternoon. And…you two are all right. You should have this time together, without a pesky daughter poking her nose in it."
"You're welcome to stay," Lorelai tried once more.
"I'll be home soon," Rory assured her, with one last hug. "I love you both," she said, getting into her car. "You're going to be OK."
Luke and Lorelai stepped a little closer to each other. Lorelai crossed her arms over her chest. Saying goodbye to Rory never got any easier.
"Take good care of my little brother or sister," Rory teased, and then backed out of the parking spot, waving as she drove away.
Both of them watched her drive out into traffic, while silence and uncertainty washed over them once again.
The silence followed them back to their room, where fatigue made an appearance as well.
Lorelai carefully removed her wreath and hung it over a post on the dresser, softly running her finger down over the long ribbon.
"I think I'm going to get ready for bed," she mentioned, sitting down and loosening the straps around her ankles.
"Go ahead." His eyes met hers from where he stood in front of the mirror. "Big day, huh?"
"The biggest," she smiled, grabbing her bag and heading into the bathroom.
Once the door closed behind her, Luke stood motionless for some minutes in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection. Finally he sighed, shifting his weight, and the overhead light glinted off of his wedding band, shocking him. It already felt completely normal to be wearing it. It already felt like it had always been a part of him. He looked up and stared into his own eyes again.
Inside the safety of the bathroom, Lorelai stuck her hand in her bag and slowly drew out a long, black, lacy nightgown she'd brought along. She didn't know why she'd grabbed it on that morning when she was frantically packing and had tucked it into the bottom of the bag. Was she honestly thinking that she could somehow seduce him back into wanting to be with her? She shook her head at her reflection, stuffing the lacy garment back into the bag. With a sigh she once again reached for the blue pajamas she'd worn every other night.
When she went back into the bedroom she was surprised to see that Luke was still standing in practically the same position as when she left the room. The only thing different was that he was now wearing light-cotton drawstring pajama bottoms.
And…nothing else.
Her breath caught somewhere in her chest, smacking against the lust that was traveling upwards. She had been planning on giving him a friendly hug, to thank him for the day. No way could she do that now. She slowly walked over to him, anyway.
She touched his arm lightly, and smiled at him in the mirror, hoping he couldn't hear how her heart was pounding. "Thank you, Luke, for planning all of this today. I don't think we could have had a nicer wedding day, no matter how long we would have had to plan it out. Remind me to have you help out at the Dragonfly, the next time we have a really difficult bride to pacify." She squeezed his arm just a little tighter, before she let it go. "You made all my dreams come true today, Mr. Danes." She smiled at him again, trying hard to keep that flirty, teasing note in her voice. "Goodnight," she almost whispered, and turned to go over to her bed.
His hand shot out and grabbed her arm, right above her elbow. He carefully turned her around, while turning himself to face her.
His hand rubbed her arm where he was touching her. He carefully kept his eyes on that spot on her arm, too nervous to let her see his eyes and the desire that was lurking there.
"You know, Mrs. Danes, it is our wedding night," he said, as casually as he could.
She felt like she might not be ever able to breathe again. "Yes, it is," she agreed faintly.
He nodded, as both of his hands now started rubbing up and down her arms. "Society pretty much expects us to sleep together tonight," he observed.
The air all rushed out of her at that, making her dizzy. "Well, we certainly wouldn't want to disappoint society." She had no idea how she was able to get words out at all.
He looked straight into her eyes then, drinking her in, letting her see what he really felt. "Lorelai," he said, very softly, leaning his forehead down against hers, "I would really like to make love to you tonight."
She clutched at him, very afraid that she'd end up in a heap on the floor if he didn't hold her up. "I'd like that too," she managed to gasp out.
He was suddenly much closer to her, with his hands running under her hair, and over her neck and shoulders, down her arms. "Is that…I mean, with the baby…are you sure you feel like it?"
"I feel like it," she assured him, pulling him even closer. "I really feel like it."
Not able to resist any longer, he bent his head to kiss her. He let all of the huge emotions he'd been feeling all day melt into her with the kiss; all of the love he wanted to give her along with all of the hopes he had for their future.
When he pulled back she tried to get her bearings, pushing gently against his chest, staring at the dark hair scattered there. She sucked in a gulp of air, trying to calm her racing heart.
"I'm…I'm really OK," she tried to assure him once again. She gave a vague wave towards her chest. "These are just a little sore. Hormones, you know," she said, with a breathless little chuckle.
He nodded soberly. He opened his hand, and then slowly slid his flattened palm down her front, his breath hitching as her nipples sprang to attention under his touch.
Electric desire washed through her, completely filling up every cell. Breathing once again became a lost art.
"I can be gentle," he whispered to her, swallowing hard.
She could only nod as he carefully picked her up and carried her to his bed.
Her last coherent thought was that she should have put on the lacy black nightgown after all.
Postscript: I used ideas from the following websites to formulate Luke and Lorelai's wedding vows and some of Sondra's dialogue: about, 1weddingsource, and myweddingvows.
When I was reading this over again and cleaning it up a little bit, I realized that this is the only wedding scene I've ever written for them. I've had them married a lot by the epilogues of my stories, but this is the only time we got to see their wedding. Maybe I'll have to do that again some time!