note: this story takes place in what could have been/what was planned to be season eight of gilmore girls. i know amy sherman-palladino also had plans for the storyline to be similar to this during that time (she planned to come back to gilmore girls in season eight if i remember correctly), but after the show was canceled she had to give the plans up. she used a lot of her original season eight plans in the revival movies gilmore girls; a year in the life. since the revival came nine years after the series finale for gilmore girls aired, the fans who had waited for lorelai and luke for the entire series missed out a lot on having a wedding (i love the elopement, they just deserved much more), and in my opinion, specifically not having a child between the two. This fic is to tackle that. I hope you all enjoy the long ride that is to come with this.

Lorelai and Luke lie in bed while Rory's bon voyage party continues. Lorelai plays with Luke's hand, which she was so fond of, and digs into the smell of Luke's apartment, which somehow kept the exact smell it had around that same time last year. "You sewed every possible tarp and coat you could find for Rory's party…" Lorelai whispered while looking into Luke's eyes, still playing with his hand.

"I told you, I love to see you so happy." Luke responded in a soft tone, one of which Lorelai hadn't heard since they were engaged.

"I love you." Lorelai whispered. Luke responded with a kiss planted on her lips. "I married Christopher thinking he could make me happy, but the whole relationship is so… cloudy, when I come to think of it. you know the night i told you we needed to elope and you said no…" lorelai began.

"lorelai… look-" Luke tried to apologize, but Lorelai wasn't looking for an apology.

"Luke, no. Let me say this just so you know. The night we ended things, or at least I did, my parents tried setting Christopher up with some psychologist they were friends with. they used the excuse that he owed them dinner because they were leaving to go on vacation, apparently that was an excuse for a setup."

"Christopher saw you that night? before…"

"yeah. nothing happened and it was completely normal. Anyways, I was so… upset that night. That morning I had hid from you in Rory's room, the day you came to my house and Miss Patty was there. I stayed at Sookies and came home later in the morning. I had started to realize I was depressed. I wasn't happy at all. So when the dinner was over, I went to talk to Carolyn, the psychologist, and somehow I ended up in the back of her car, in a therapy session. I had ranted about my parents for as long as she may have wanted. I was talking about my parents' marriage, then brought up how I never saw myself getting married. I didn't think about marriage in a positive way with Max, but I realized I never loved max. and i remember this so clearly. i told her i never loved anyone until you. I had never felt as safe as I had until you and I were together, even before then I knew you'd protect me like no boyfriend I ever had would. yeah you were a hard ass who thought a lot of my habits were rather annoying, but you understood me. you understand me. i continued on to tell her about the proposal, how i loved how much you cared for rory, then i proposed. you were so distracted with april. I felt almost invisible with you. you postponed the wedding and it looked like we'd never get married at that point. Every morning when I got dressed I'd see my wedding dress. the perfect dress. and i'd think about it, how we probably weren't getting married anytime soon. but thinking about it, I did want to get married, I did want to have a baby before I wasn't able to anymore."

"Lorelai, I'm so…" Luke tried interrupting again.

Lorelai didn't pay attention. "I told her I had been patient too long. I told her, the first person I actually met, that I felt awful… all the time. I told you I went to Anna but I never told you what she said to me. She called me some random woman, saying I wasn't actually gonna be in April's life. We were merely engaged, so to play any role in April's life was improper and just something she didn't want happening. I didn't want you to lose your kid because of me, so I started staying away. until I upset myself so much. you know my mom and dad were gonna buy us a house? They wanted us to have a pretty house in Stars Hollow with much room for our kids to roll around the yards." Lorelai stopped herself before she continued further, she already found herself in tears in Luke's arms. "Anyways, that night wasn't me trying to hurt you. It was me being depressed. I'm sorry luke. I went to Christopher's apartment and I shouldn't have."

"It's not your fault. He should have known you were upset, he saw you that night. no way he didn't realize how vulnerable you were." Luke responded.

"i know. You know our marriage fell apart because he left after finding my character reference. then at the hospital. He was jealous because he saw you there for me when he wasn't. after all we'd been through, you were there for me when my dad was sick."

"It's no big deal, really. I didn't mind doing any of it. I mean, you're the only reason I can see April at all now."

"That letter was when I realized you were twice the man Christopher had ever even offered to be. you were there for rory, if i'm honest i think you're more of a dad to her than christopher has ever been."

"And I'd do it all over again any day." Luke smiled into lorelais eyes.

They both rolled over in bed, Lorelai's hair in Luke's hands. their bright eyes met one another as they rolled over yet again, and quickly lorelai dove down so Luke's lips met hers. "Now you better take me out on a date sometime soon, because I don't put out for nothing."

"Oh really? a home-cooked dinner, hopefully, uninterrupted by my family's drama, isn't enough for you?"

"Mmmmmm… maybe I'll settle."

Lorelai and Luke spent the rest of the night talking about what the past year was like. They knew they needed to have many more serious conversations, but they wanted to enjoy this moment. this clarity. They spent the rest of the night entangled in each other's arms. soaking the sky, moon, and stars in as they shone on their bed. whispering words of affirmation towards each other. and occasional I love you's throughout the night.