Hey guys, once again thanks for the great reviews! I'm glad you all seem to be enjoying this story. I think I said this before but I'm just going to say it again as a reminder. For the basis of this story it is happening in the middle of summer. I want them to have a summer wedding so I just changed the time period a bit from when this was probably all going on in the show. Just wanted to let you all know that so you weren't asking me questions about it later. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will try and update soon! Hopefully I will get a chapter up before the holiday weekend but I'm not positive if I will have time. I will try though! And the more reviews I get the more motivation I will have to write so keep that in mind ;) Thanks again and enjoy!
By Friday, Lorelai and Luke were still basking in the glow of their engagement. They had celebrated with April over ice cream and had plans with her for Saturday when she would be spending the night. Lorelai had gone back to work for a few during the week but only for a few hours. Luke, Sookie and Michel wanted to make sure that Lorelai took it slow for awhile to adjust to being back at work but also make sure she was coping with everything else going on.
On this particular afternoon, she had returned to her house after work and was currently sitting on the porch by herself. She curled up on the bench and thought about everything that had gone on in the last few weeks. It had all happened so fast but she knew that Luke was the one she was supposed to be with. She had to put Christopher behind her, and even though she had said goodbye to him there was still one more step she had to take.
Sighing, she took out her cell phone and dialed the number to the Diner. "Luke's."
"Hey it's me." Lorelai whispered as she looked around the yard, "Is the Diner really busy right now?"
"Hey. No, the lunch rush pretty much died down. The only customer at the moment is Kirk and he's driving me insane. Why is everything okay?" He asked feeling concerned.
"Everything's fine…I just wanted to talk to you about something. And I'm afraid if I don't do it now I'll lose my nerve." She said with a sad chuckle.
Luke frowned on the other end of the phone, "Uh…okay. Well I can be there in a few minutes."
"Okay great. Thanks." She said trying to not sound upset on the phone; she didn't want to worry him. "I love you."
"I love you too." Luke said softly into the phone before he hung up the phone.
Lorelai placed her cell phone down beside her on the bench and sighed. She put her head back and rested it against the window behind her. She started to think about the day that she brought Rory to this house for the very first time. For years she had promised her little girl that they would one day have their very own house. And that day, she finally got to follow through with one of her promises.
That first night they had slept on a mattress in the living room, cuddled together talking about everything they wanted to do in their big new house. And as Rory had fallen asleep beside her she knew for the first time since Rory had been born that they were going to be okay.
In the midst of her deep thoughts, she heard Luke's truck pulled up in front of the house. She smiled as he got out of the car, a Luke's bag in his hands, which meant he brought her lunch. Good old Luke, always thinking about her and making sure she was properly fed.
He smiled as he walked up the steps towards her, "Thought you might be hungry. You worked longer today then you have lately."
She smiled at him, "My hero…"
He chuckled and sat down beside her, he placed the bag beside them and put a hand on her knee. "So…what did you want to talk about?"
She licked her lips nervously and peaked into the bag, "I just…I've been thinking a lot about how we really need to have a fresh start this time around."
Luke nodded as he watched her reach into the bag and pull out a fry, nibbling at it distractedly. "I agree..."
Lorelai nodded and then looked back at the house, "Which is why I think we should put my house on the market and find a new place for us to live. Maybe even the Twickham house if that is still what you want…"
Luke cocked his head to the side and shifted on the bench pulling his leg up under him. "Wait, what? You love this house…why do you want to sell it?"
"Because in order for us to have a fresh start we need to really put the past behind us. All the bad stuff…" She said shaking her head, "I mean we fixed this house up for us and then…"
"You lived in it with Christopher…" He said with a sad huff of breath.
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "Exactly. We've kind of been avoiding staying here a lot lately…and we've only spent the night together at the apartment. And we can't stay there forever…not if we want to have room for April and Rory and you know…" She cleared her throat nervously and blushed, "Whoever else might come along…"
"So you want to sell this house and find somewhere else for us to live…" He whispered.
Lorelai nodded, "I think it would be the best thing for us to do."
Luke watched her for a moment, "I know how much this house means to you…"
She sniffled and looked back through the windows, she could see Paul Anka curled up on the bottom step. "It does mean a lot to me. It was the first real home I ever had…the first home Rory ever had. There are a lot of memories here…"
"I don't want to take them away from you…" He whispered reaching for her hand, "That's why I didn't push you to move out last time."
She turned back to him and smiled, "Luke, I love you so much for giving up the Twickham house for me last time. It meant so much to me…and it will be hard to give up this house but I want to do this. For us…"
He sighed and looked through the window at smiled when he saw Paul Anka fast asleep, "I won't pretend I hated being in there knowing he called it home…the place I had fixed up for years and renovated thinking I would spend my life there with you."
"Exactly." Lorelai said sadly, she pushed aside the bag of food and reached for both of his hands. "Luke I could never ask you to live like that…and to be honest with what happened here recently…I don't want to live with those memories. I want to start new memories…with you in our own home."
Luke let go of one of her hands and reached up to cup her face in his hand, "You're sure? Absolutely sure?"
"I am. I'm absolutely sure that this is what we need to do. To finally put it all behind us…its time." She said with a smile.
Luke nodded slowly, "Well alright then, if this is what you want then we can meet with a realtor as soon as possible."
She smiled and leaned over to wrap her arms around his neck, "I love you."
He smiled and held her back, "I love you too."
She pulled back, pecked him on the cheek and then turned her back to him to rest against him, "Do you have to rush back to the Diner or can you stay for a few minutes?" She asked as she pulled the bag of food to her side.
Luke smiled and watched her begin to nibble on her fries again, "I can stay awhile if you want. It was pretty dead when I left."
Lorelai nodded and snuggled further into him as she enjoyed her lunch. "Good." She swallowed her food and then continued, "So you sure you still want to come to dinner tonight? I know that my parents have been nice to you lately but Friday Night dinner is a completely different ballgame. I mean we will be on their territory and not ours which means all bets are off…"
Luke chuckled as he began to play with her hair, "I think I'll take my chances."
Lorelai sighed as she continued to graze, "Alright…if that's what you want but I can't try and save you if Emily goes for the jugular."
He rolled his eyes, "I'm a big boy. I think I can handle it. Besides we agreed we needed to tell them about the engagement. Now that Sookie knows its only a matter of time before she bursts and tells the whole damn town with balloons and confetti and little cookies with our faces on it."
Lorelai giggled, "I would SO eat a Luke Cookie! Yum!"
"You would eat any kind of cookie." He said glaring down at her.
Lorelai pointed a half eaten fry at him, "Uh…not true. You tried to get me to eat those carrot and raisin cookies that one time and I didn't eat it."
"I thought it might be the one way I could get a damn vegetable in you!" He said throwing up a hand in mock frustration.
"Well now you know that will never, ever happen. So why don't you just give up trying." She said with a shrug.
"Fine. But we really do need to tell your parents tonight." He said quietly.
Lorelai nodded, "I know. I was just messing with you. Besides I think they will actually be happy about it this time around. They like you Luke, they really do. It may have taken some horrible circumstances for them to finally see what I see but either way they really do like you. They know I love you…"
"And they know I love you too…" He whispered staring down at her as he stroked her hair, "At least I hope they do."
She smiled up at him, "They do. I mean most guys wouldn't have taken care of me the way you did after everything I put you through…"
Luke watched her face fall as she threw a fry back into the bag, "Lorelai…"
"I'm still not quite sure why or how you ever forgave me for hurting you the way I did…but I really am grateful for it." She whispered sadly.
"Hey…we both made mistakes you know that. Besides…we agreed to put the past behind us didn't we? We don't need to talk about all that anymore…at least not anymore than we need to with the case." He said trying to reassure her.
Sighing, she pulled herself up and turned to face him. "I know…and I'm trying sometimes its just hard to realize were actually here…together."
He nodded showing his understanding, "I know…its hard for me sometimes too. But we are here and this time around we are going to get married. I mean Rory did promise to drag us to the alter if we try and back out…so its gonna happen."
She laughed and reached over to close the bag of food again before putting it on the ground and lay against him again. "She's not going to have to drag me there…nothing can stop me this time around."
He smiled as she wrapped her arm around his middle, "Ditto."
She held him close and looked out at her yard, "Do you think we can get a new house with a porch? I love sitting out here…especially with you. When Rory was little I used to sit out here and watch her play…" She looked up at him and smiled, "And I'd like to be bale to do that with our own kids…together."
Luke smiled down at her and brushed some hair out of her face, "That sounds perfect. We can definitely get a house with a porch."
"Good." She turned her head and let the breeze blow over her face as she held him close to her, "We're going to be very happy together…"
"Yes. We are." He said never taking his eyes off of her.
Later that night, Lorelai and Luke pulled up in front of the Gilmore residence. Rory was sitting in her car and waved when she saw them pull up. She got out and walked over and pulled her Mom in for a hug.
"You ready to tell them the big news?" Rory said with a supportive smile.
"As ready as we'll ever be." Lorelai said with a nervous smile as she glanced over at Luke who walked over to be with them.
"Mom they are going to be happy for you. I promise." Rory said rubbing her arm gently before she turned over to Luke, "Besides Luke seems to have charmed them. Every time I talk to Grandma now the first thing she does is ask about Luke."
Luke took a deep breath, "Lets hope the spell I cast lasts at least until after we get married then."
Lorelai smiled and took his hand, "I think it will. And even if it doesn't I don't care. We're getting married whether they like it or not."
"Glad to hear it." Luke said as he wrapped an arm around her, "Come on. Lets go."
The three of them walked to the front door and before Luke could even ring the doorbell it swung open with Emily on the other side. "You're here!"
"Uh…hi Mom." Lorelai said with a small laugh, "You said be here at seven so here we are." She said throwing her hands up.
"Good. Now come in here." Emily said reaching for her hand to pull her into the foyer. "Do you want a drink? Your father is in the dining room waiting for us."
"Sure." Lorelai said as they followed her, "Are we eating dinner right away or can we sit and talk for a few minutes?"
"It should be read in 15 minutes or so. We have time to talk." She looked over at her husband. "They are here Richard."
"Wonderful! Welcome. Luke, what can I get you to drink?" He asked as he shook his hand.
"Scotch would be good if that's what you are having." Luke said as he shook his future father in laws hand.
"Actually…" Rory said with a smile as she looked at her Grandparents, "You guys don't happen to have any champagne do you?"
Emily's eyes widened, "We have some in the kitchen. Why? Are we celebrating something?"
Lorelai looked at her daughter nervously, "Rory…"
Rory smiled to reassure her, "Yes. We are celebrating something. Aren't we Mom?"
Lorelai looked at Luke who just shrugged and reached for her hand so she nodded, "Yes. We are celebrating…"
"Well alright then. Richard come with me to get the glasses and champagne." Emily said quietly.
When they left the room, "Couldn't wait for us to sit huh?" Lorelai said nervously.
Rory chuckled, "Sometimes with Grandma and Grandpa its better just to rip the band-aid off ya know? No stalling just lay it all on the line."
"I thought you said they were going to be happy for us?" Lorelai said with a raised eyebrow.
Rory nodded, "I did. And they will be but is better just to do it now. Trust me. Grandma and Grandpa have been so worried about you lately, they want you to be happy. They know that Luke makes you happy and I think if you tell them your good news it will make them so happy. It will help them not worry so much about you…"
Luke rubbed Lorelai's back, "I think Rory's right about this one…"
Lorelai took a deep shaky breath and smiled at him, "Okay. You're right. Lets just do this. I mean I probably should have used this approach when I found out you were pregnant. Instead I waited until I didn't fit into the 300 dollar dress my Mom bought me for this big charity event. Boy did that not go well…"
Rory laughed, "See? Rip the band aid off Mom. No more waiting…for anything."
Lorelai smiled as Richard and Emily walked back into the room, "Alright, so what exactly are we celebrating?"
Richard began to pour the glasses of champagne and handed them out, "Yes. I am very interested to hear what this good news is. God knows you deserve some good news right now."
Lorelai opened her mouth to speak and suddenly couldn't find the words, lucky for her Luke stepped in. "I guess maybe we should have done this differently…I should have come to you both to ask if it was okay first but I just couldn't help myself."
"Ask if what was okay?" Emily asked with a hopeful smile.
"Ask if I could have your blessing to ask your daughter to marry me…" Luke whispered softly.
Emily inhaled sharply and looked over at her husband who was beaming at both Luke and Lorelai, "So I take it you already asked her?" Richard asked.
Luke nodded slowly, "Yes. I did."
Richard's smile widened, "And Lorelai what was your answer?"
Lorelai smiled and linked her arm with Luke's, "I said yes…"
"Oh Lorelai this is wonderful!" Richard said as he clapped his hands once, "We were hoping this would happen soon!"
Lorelai smiled at them, "So you're okay with this? You're happy about it?"
Emily smiled at her daughter and stepped up to her, pulling her in for a tight embrace. "We are so happy for you."
Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief and held her Mother tighter. "Good. Because I am really happy…"
Emily pulled back and glanced over at Luke, "Come here you!"
Luke nervously hugged her, he wasn't a big hugger, "Oh…uh…I'm glad we have your blessing."
Emily smiled as she pulled away, "You love our daughter. And our granddaughter. We want them to be happy and I know you make them happy…I may have not always encouraged your relationship but I know that you are right for each other."
Luke smiled nervously, "I want to continue to make them happy…I promise I will protect them. I want you to know that there's nothing that I wouldn't do for them…"
Emily swallowed the lump in her throat, "I know that…"
Luke looked over at Richard, "I hope you aren't to mad that I didn't come to you first…"
Richard shook his head and held his hand out to Luke again, "Not at all. I'm very happy for the both of you. And this time around we will make sure that the wedding actually happens."
Lorelai smiled, "You don't have to worry about that. We are not letting anything get in our way this time around."
Luke nodded, "We agreed to wait until after the trial is over so we can start our marriage on a good note with a fresh start. But we want to get married as soon as we can."
Lorelai put a hand up, "And I know your head is already turning and you have a million ideas for the wedding but we want a small wedding…"
Emily nodded, "Anything you want. As long as we get to be there…"
Lorelai nodded, "Of course. Besides I'll need Dad to walk me down the aisle…" She turned towards her Dad, "That is if you want too…"
Richard's eyes welled up with tears, "It would be an honor Lorelai…"
She smiled and walked over to her Dad to hug him, "Thank you."
Emily smiled and lifted her glass, "Well its time for a toast."
Rory smiled, "Can I do it?"
Emily smiled at her granddaughter, "That would be wonderful Rory."
Rory smiled and reached for her Mom's hands, "For the longest time it was always just Mom and I…I used to dream about what it would be like to have a real family. And then we met Luke…" Lorelai looked back at Luke who couldn't seem to take his eyes off his soon to be stepdaughter, "And I knew from that point on that he was what we needed to finally have that real family…" She laughed as she looked at her mother and Luke, "It may have taken them awhile for them to finally find their way to each other but it doesn't matter anymore…because they are where they belong. And we…are finally going to be a family. The family I always wanted…" She lifted her glass, "To Mom and Luke, may you have many years of happiness and love. No one deserves it more than you two…"
"To Luke and Lorelai…" Richard and Emily said together as they all clinked their glasses together and took a sip.
Rory looked at her Mom who had tears falling down her cheeks, "You okay Mom?"
Lorelai smiled and pulled her in for another hug, "I'm just really happy kid."
Rory hugged her back and looked over at her shoulder at Luke who winked, "Good. I'm glad."
"Can I see the ring?" Emily asked anxiously.
"Emily…" Richard said laughing, "Don't pry…"
Lorelai smiled as she pulled away from her daughter, "It's okay Dad." She held out her hand for her to see, "It was Luke's Mothers…"
Emily gasped and held her daughters hand in hers, studying the ring on her finger. "Oh my goodness. It is beautiful!"
"Isn't it?" Lorelai said as she looked over at Luke, beaming up at him. "I love it. I keep getting distracted when I look down at it. It's perfect."
"Well your father certainly had good taste." Richard said admiring it, "Look how it's held up over all these years."
Luke smiled, "He saved up for a long time to get that ring…he wanted it to be special. I told Lorelai I could get another ring for her if she wanted but…" He shrugged, "It does mean a lot to me to see her wearing my Mothers ring."
"I don't want any other ring. I want this ring." She said smiling at him, "And I'm never taking it off."
"Dinner is served Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore." The maid said from behind them.
Emily smiled at her, "Thank you Gilda. Come on…we can talk more over dinner."
They group walked into the dining room and took their seats as they began to eat. "I heard from your lawyer today." Richard began to say.
Emily shook her head, "Oh Richard lets not discuss the trial now. Not when we have such happy news to celebrate."
Richard nodded, "I understand. But I was just going to say that he said we could move the trial up by two weeks. And the sooner the trial happens the sooner they can get married. So isn't that good?"
Lorelai stared at him, "Why is it being moved up?"
"Well it seems Chris has changed his plea to guilty." Richard said as he took a bite of his steak, "I think maybe your talk with him made him realize he had no choice in the matter and you weren't going to change your mind."
"Wow…" Lorelai said, "So…what does that mean?"
"Well it means the trial will be much easier. We will just present the evidence to the court and they will decide on an appropriate sentence for him. He's going to get jail time its just a question of how much at this point." Richard said as he reached for his drink.
"So that means it won't be a long drawn out trial." Rory said turning to her Mom, "That's good isn't it? You can just get it over with and get married. No waiting and no stress from the trial or Dad."
Lorelai smiled, "That is good." She paused, "So if they are moving the trial up by two weeks that means it's only three weeks away."
Richard nodded, "Yes, I believe they said it would be August 17th."
Rory smiled at her Mom, "You better start planning the wedding."
Lorelai smiled and turned towards Luke, "You did say you wanted a short engagement."
Luke nodded, "We could get married tomorrow if you wanted, you know that."
"I know you said you want small but have you thought about the place or date at all?" Emily asked curiously, Lorelai could tell she was trying very hard not to jump into planning mode.
"Well we talked a little about possibly having it at the Dragonfly…" Luke said glancing over at Lorelai.
"Oh that would be wonderful!" Emily said excitedly, "It would be so beautiful there."
"It's been an important place for us." Lorelai said reaching for Luke's hand beside her on the table. "And since I'm the owner I can obviously set it all up. It would be a good place to do if we wanted to make the wedding soon."
"That's true." Rory said as she reached for her glass of champagne, "Hey what if you have a Labor Day wedding. It would give you a little time after the trial to continue to plan and the weather is usually so nice then. Its still summer but it shouldn't be to hot either."
"That sounds like a good idea." Luke said nodding in agreement, "It will be nice too because that's before April leaves for New Mexico."
"That's true." Lorelai said with a smile, "She has to be there plus it would be a nice send off for her."
"Okay so you have a place and a date." Emily said happily. "Now lets talk about the dress!"
"Mom." Lorelai said laughing, "Why do I get the feeling the whole wedding will be planned before I leave here?"
"I'm just excited that's all!" Emily said with a smile, "I want to be involved."
"And you will be." Lorelai said with a nod, "But we definitely can't talk about the dress. I don't want to bore Dad and Luke and last time he saw my dress which was clearly bad luck…"
"I told you I didn't want to see it." He teased eying her playfully.
Lorelai shrugged, "Well I don't listen very well."
"You don't need to tell us that…" Richard said with a chuckle. "I told you not to touch the stove when you were five and you were so stubborn you did it immediately after. You even tried to pretend like it didn't hurt because you didn't want to be wrong about something."
Lorelai turned to Luke, "That must be why I don't like to cook. I was traumatized by getting burned on the stove!"
Everyone laughed and Luke rolled his eyes, "Yes. That must be it…"
"Speaking of cooking, what will you do about food? I'm sure Sookie will want to cater it but I assume she will be in the wedding?" Emily asked.
"Yes I want her to be a bridesmaid. I don't want her to have to worry about the food. I trust the other kitchen staff at the Inn. I'm sure Sookie will try and take over though…and God knows I can't really stop her." Lorelai said with a laugh. "I'll have to try and talk to her about it first."
"So who will be in the wedding?" Emily asked.
"Well Rory will be my maid of honor, Sookie, April and Liz will also be bridesmaids. And Luke will have Jess as his best man and his two friends John and Mike from high school and he has to have T.J. even though he doesn't want him in the wedding." She said glancing over at him.
Luke groaned, "Come on Lorelai…you know he'll ruin everything."
"I will ask him to be on his best behavior." Lorelai said with a stern look, "He's your brother in law Luke. He has to be in the wedding…and it would mean so much to Liz. You know that."
He sighed, "Fine…I'll ask him."
"Good." Lorelai said as she patted his hand, "We'll invite our friends from town and you guys but we don't want many other people there. Small and casual…"
Emily nodded, "Sure. Whatever you want."
"You are being very agreeable." Lorelai said with a nervous smile, "It's making me nervous…"
Emily rolled her eyes, "It's your wedding Lorelai…you can do whatever you want. We will help you in anyway we can of course."
"I hope you will accept our help financially…" Richard said glancing nervously at Luke.
Luke took a deep breath, "That's something we should discuss…"
"I don't want you to think I'm over stepping my boundaries but Lorelai is my only daughter and I want to help with the wedding. Plus your own money would be better used on other investments…" Richard said with a shrug.
"Like a new house…" Lorelai said looking over at Luke apprehensively, she knew he hated talking about money and might feel uncomfortable discussing such things with her parents.
"A new house?" Rory asked curiously, "You're selling the house?"
Lorelai grimaced, "I uh…I probably should have told you about this first hon but yes Luke and I discussed selling the house and buying a new one. We just…we think it would be a good way for us to have a real fresh start."
Rory smiled, "I'm not mad. I mean I'm a little sad because that was our home but…I totally get it. I think it will be great for you to have a new home to make new memories in together."
"You sure?" Luke asked softly looking across the table at her, "You are involved in this decision too. That is your home…the place you grew up in. I don't want to do anything that will upset you."
Rory shook her head, "It won't upset me. It will be sad to say goodbye to it but I'm not a little kid anymore. I can't stay there forever…plus you'll need more room for when April stays there."
"And if anyone else comes along…" Emily said with a hopeful smile.
"Mom!" Lorelai said with a laugh, "Subtle much?"
"What?" Emily said with a sly smirk, "Do you think you would want more kids?"
"We have discussed having more kids…yes." Luke said smiling at Lorelai as he took her hand.
"Well that would be wonderful." Richard said with a smile, "We would love to have more grandchildren."
"What, I'm not enough for you?" Rory said pretending to be hurt. "I thought we were close Grandpa! I picked Yale for you!"
Everyone laughed, "Rory you know you'll always be my number one."
Rory smirked at her Mom and stuck out her tongue, "Did you hear that? I'm number one!"
Lorelai smiled, "Trust me…I've always known that."
"So you want more kids and you are thinking about a new house. Would you stays in Stars Hollow?" Emily asked.
Lorelai nodded, "Yes. We want to still be close to the Diner and the Inn. Besides I think it's the perfect place to raise a family. They would be surrounded by a lot of people who loved them. And it's not far from you both and Rory."
"That's smart." Emily said as she continued to eat, "When exactly would you start trying for a baby?"
"Grandma…" Rory said noticing the blush growing on Luke's cheeks.
"Well not to be mean but you aren't getting any younger…" Emily said with a shrug.
"Thank you for reminding me." Lorelai said with a laugh, "But we haven't really talked about it yet. There is so much going on right now we want to settle in to our new life before we make any of those big decisions."
"That sounds sensible." Richard said, "Plus the stress of the trial wouldn't be good to put on a baby. One thing at a time…"
Emily smiled, "Well this is all so exciting!"
Lorelai smiled, "I'm glad you think so."
"I do." Emily said smiling at her daughter, "I really do Lorelai…"
Lorelai just smiled back at her Mom and then glanced over at Luke who was smiling back at her. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this happy and she couldn't wait to see what the future held for them.
After dinner, Rory had to practically pull Emily off of Lorelai so they could leave. Emily's mind was already in full planning mood and Lorelai knew they were was no stopping it. But instead of being angry about it, she felt content knowing that her parents were finally happy for her.
Back at the house Rory had changed and then gone to visit with Lane and the twins. That left Lorelai, Luke and Paul Anka to pack up a few things and then head to the apartment so spend the night and decompress from their night.
Paul Anka was curled up beside Lorelai as Luke sat down beside her as he handed her a beer. "So that went well."
Lorelai smiled, took a swig of her beer and scratched Paul Anka behind the ears. "Yes it did. Very well."
"While your Mom was talking you ear off your father and I discussed money for the wedding…" He said rolling the bottle between his hands.
Lorelai grimaced, "Hon we can tell them no if you really feel uncomfortable with it."
Luke shook his head, "At first I felt a little funny about it but I think it actually might be a good idea. Like they said we can use the money we will save for our new home."
Lorelai nodded, "That's true."
Luke took a swig of his beer and then looked over at her, "I was actually thinking about the whole house thing after I left here this afternoon…"
"What about it?" She asked resting her elbow on the back of the couch.
"Well I know you said we could look into getting the Twikham house again but that was sold a few months ago." He said softly.
Lorelai frowned, "Oh Luke…I'm sorry. I know you really loved that house…"
Luke shook his head again, "It's okay. I did like it but it was too big, you were right about that. We don't need that much room…it would be to hard to take care of it."
"It was a little big…but it was a beautiful house." She said leaning over to rub his arm softly. "But I'm sure we can find something else…"
Luke nodded, "Yeah we could…" He cleared his throat, "Or…"
She cocked her head to the side, "Or what? You don't want to stay here do you? Because I really don't think that's a good idea…"
Luke shook his head, "No. I don't want to stay here…" He leaned forward and placed his beer on the coffee table and turned to fully face her. "But I was thinking maybe we could build our own house."
Lorelai's eyes widened as she stared over at him, "Build our own house?"
Luke nodded, "Yeah. I mean…it might take a little longer but we can stay here or at the apartment. But really it shouldn't take to long…I mean they build a house in a week on that show with that Ty guy don't they?"
Lorelai smiled at him, "Have you been watching Extreme Make Over house edition without me?"
Luke rolled his eyes, "Can we just focus on the actually building the house thing?"
Lorelai laughed and reached over Paul Anka o hold his arm, "You want to build our own house?"
Luke shrugged, "Yeah I mean we could make it exactly what we want you know? A porch like you wanted, as many bedrooms as we wanted and a bigger kitchen. We don't have to do it if you don't want too…but I just thought it could be good idea for us."
"I think it would be amazing." Lorelai said with a smile, "I just didn't even think about it that at all. But it would be so cool, exactly the way we want it." She paused and smirked at him, "Can we paint it hot pink?"
Luke laughed, "You know I love you but I don't love you that much…"
She pouted, "Oh fine…" She smiled again, "Should we hire T.J. to be the contractor?"
Luke groaned, "Hell no."
She laughed, "I bet we could talk to Tom about doing it. He did such a great job here and on the Inn."
Luke nodded, "That's a good idea." He reached for his beer again, "So you are okay with this?"
Lorelai smiled, "Of course. We will have to see if there is any land around here for sale."
Luke tipped his bottle in the air, "Well actually I already talked to Taylor about that…"
Her eyes widened in surprise, "Damn you work fast."
He laughed, "Well after we talked this afternoon I just started thinking about everything. And now that we want to get married over Labor Day I think it will be good to get started on this as soon as possible."
"Okay. Well is there any land for sale?" She asked curiously.
Luke smiled, "Actually there is, and it's a really great piece of land. Its over by the lake which is half way between the Inn and the Diner."
"Over by the lake? Really?" She asked as her smile grew, "That would be amazing!"
"I thought you might think so. Taylor took me over there today and it has such a great view and the price is unbelievable. If your parents are helping out with the wedding we can definitely afford it and still have more money to build the house. Plus we will have whatever we get from selling this house." He said with a shrug, "So if you want to do it we can go see it tomorrow and talk to Taylor."
Lorelai's face lit up, "Is this really happening?"
He smiled remembering how he had said that last time they were engaged, "Yes. It is. And this time we are seeing it through…"
She leaned across Paul Anka and kissed him gently, "You are an amazing man Luke Danes. I am incredibly lucky to have you…"
"I'm the lucky one." Luke said caressing her face with his hand. "I get to spend my life with THE Gilmore girls remember?"
Lorelai giggled, "That is true…you are pretty damn lucky."
"The luckiest." Luke said leaning in to kiss her again.
"Oh hey can we have a breakfast nook at the new house!" Lorelai said with a happy smile as she pulled away.
Luke laughed, "Do you even know what that is? And why would we need it? You always insist on having breakfast at the Diner because its one of your 'things'." He said using air quotes.
Lorelai laughed, "I don't really know what it is but its always sounded so fancy. I just want to be able to tell people we have a breakfast nook! It will make us sound sophisticated."
Luke rolled his eyes, "We'll talk about it okay? Lets see what our budget is and then we can go from there."
"Well we both know you are going to insist on putting some type of gym in the house so I should be able to pick something special too." Lorelai said with a pout.
Luke nodded, "A gym would be good. Just a small one anyway. But yes you can have your own special room too."
"Oh like my own special coffee room where it always smells like coffee and there are all different kinds and flavors to chose from? What if we made the wallpaper taste like coffee like in Willie Wonka and the chocolate factory!" She said clapping her hands excitedly.
He rolled his eyes again, "You are not having your very own coffee room and you are definitely not having wallpaper that tastes like coffee. You have enough coffee as it is on a daily basis we don't need to add more."
She pouted more, "Fine. But you're no fun."
He just laughed and shook his head, "You're crazy. But I love you."
"Yeah well…I don't know if I love you right now…" She said crossing her arms over her chest and turning away from him.
Luke smirked and leaned over Paul Anka to nuzzle her neck, "I bet I can get you to change your mind about that…"
Lorelai shivered and tried to resist the urge to pull him close, "Oh yeah? And how are you going to do that?"
"Wait until you see the bedroom I'll design for us." He said nipping at her ear gently causing her to moan, "I'll even make us a custom headboard…I'll carve it myself."
She closed her eyes and smiled, "Like the chuppah?"
"Mhm…" He placed soft kisses along her neck as he spoke, "Just like the chuppah…"
"That would be nice…" She said turning so she could look at him.
"So do you love me again?" He asked reaching up to run his hands through her dark curls.
She smiled, "Maybe…I may need more convincing though…"
Luke smirked and stood up, he held his hand out for her which she gladly accepted and led her towards the bed. He kissed her passionately before picking her up and laying her down below him on the covers.
She smiled up at him as he kissed her nose, "I think that could be arranged…"
"Hey Luke?" She asked as she held his face in her hands.
"Yeah?" He asked as he twirled her hair between his fingers.
"Do you think we could get married under the chuppah?" Lorelai asked thinking about the old wooden structure that was still in her front yard.
Luke turned his attention back to her face and studied it for a moment before responding, "Well…yeah I guess we could. But would you want too? I did make it for you to marry another man…"
Lorelai nodded, "I know. But…to be honest that day you brought it over…that was the day I realized I couldn't marry Max."
"Really?" He asked holding himself up higher so he could study her face. "Why?"
She smiled, "Because I saw you standing there under this beautiful thing that you made me and I thought…Max would never make something like this for me."
Luke cocked his head to the side, "So you didn't marry Max because he wouldn't make you a chuppah?"
She laughed, "No. I didn't marry him because I knew he could never love me that much to make me something so beautiful even if it was for me and another man. He wasn't that selfless…he wasn't that passionate or giving and I just knew he wasn't the one. And I looked at you and realized…" She let out a shaky breath as she felt the tears burn in her eyes, "I realized you were the one…"
Luke stared at her in shock for a moment, "You did? You knew that then?"
Lorelai nodded, "I did. I just…I was too scared to admit it. And I hate myself for not saying something sooner but I can't change the past now."
He shook his head, "No you can't. Just like I can't change the fact that it took me eight years to tell you how I really felt."
"All we can do is focus on our future and how happy we are going to be together. And I think the best way to start that future is getting married at the Dragonfly under our chuppah." She said smiling up at him. "So what do you say?"
He smiled down at her before leaning over to kiss her, "I say I can't wait to start our future together Miss Gilmore."
She giggled against his lips, "Soon to be Mrs. Danes…"
"Can't come soon enough…" He mumbled against her lips as his hands slid under her the hem of her shirt.
She moaned as his lips began to kiss against the hollow of her throat, "Speak of the future…think we can practice that whole baby making thing? Like my Mom said I'm not getting any younger and I just want to make sure we know exactly what we are doing."
Luke laughed against her skin, "I think we know how to do it pretty well but practice does make perfect."
"Yes it does…" Lorelai said as she reached for the hem of his own shirt, "So…show me what you got Mr. Danes…"
"God I love you…" He said as he rolled them over so she straddled his hips.
She smiled down at him and pushed his hair out of his face. "Well that's good to hear…because I love you too."
He didn't take his eyes off of her as he pulled her shirt up over her head. When she leaned down to kiss him again he held her as close as possible and tried to keep his heart from bursting from his chest. Who knew you could ever be this incredibly happy? He didn't know what would happen with the trial, or even with the wedding or the house. But the one thing he did know was that this woman was going to be his wife, and nothing and no one was going to stand in their way this time around…
So I hope you liked it! I always loved Lorelai and Rory's house and I know they did too. But I always felt like if Luke and Lorelai ever got back together they would have to live somewhere else. It would be to uncomfortable for Luke to live there knowing that Christopher has lived there with Lorelai after they had fixed it up together first. This way they get a fresh start for their new life and can finally shut the door on Christopher completely. Anyway, if you liked it let me know! Send in a review and I'll try and update as soon as I can! Thanks!