Two more weeks had passed and the Stars Hollow townies hadn't given up waiting for Luke and Lorelai to announce their engagement.

Taylor talked about it with everyone who came into Doose's. He was behind the register when Lorelai arrived with her groceries. He started hounding her about how good it would be for the town to have an event to bring them together. Lorelai was trying to keep her emotions in check due to Rory's upcoming graduation but she lost it.

"You know what Taylor? You need to shut your mouth! I'm dealing with my daughter finishing college and moving out, my Dad's health scare did a number on me and oh yeah, my husband who was also my childhood friend and the father of my child died suddenly. Maybe back off about my life decisions and plans right now! You didn't even want me to date Luke in the beginning."

People had rushed out of the store, Lorelai yelling was something new for most of them to see.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry, Lorelai," Taylor stammered. "I thought it would be a great reason to celebrate, we could do it up in the Square."

Lorelai composed herself as she collected her bags, "Well just stop asking us about it. Our wedding isn't a way for you to make money for the town." She stormed out.

Back at her house Lorelai put away her groceries trying to calm her nerves.

There was a knock at the door and then the door opened. "Lorelai? Are you here?" Luke called out.

"Kitchen," she answered while putting some vegetables for him in the fridge.

Luke rushed into the kitchen and kissed her cheek. "Are you ok? Patty just came into the diner and said I should talk to you."

Lorelai sighed, "Because I yelled at Taylor?"

"It's just not like you," he explained while helping her put food away. "Are you okay?"

"Logan called," she leaned against the sink and finally made eye contact with him. "He got the job in California and he would like to talk to me. He's on his way over."

"Why is he coming here? And why does it have you so agitated?"

"Because I'm 99.99% sure he's coming to ask for permission to marry my daughter."

Luke was stunned, "Are you serious? They're so young!"

Suddenly, Lorelai was more upset about Luke's reaction, "They're not that young. And why not make the commitment if you figured it out at a young age. I don't want her to be forty when she has her first kid."

Luke was taken aback by Lorelai's response. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Lorelai shook her head and looked guilty, "No I'm sorry. I guess this is freaking me out more than I want to admit. I yelled at Taylor today."

Luke made his way to hear and hugged her, "Yeah, you did. I'm kind of upset that you did that without me there to witness it."

She relaxed in his arms and curled into him, "I'm sorry. I just don't know what's going on with me. I know Taylor and the town love us and just want to see us happy. I know that Rory will make a good life for herself no matter how things work out with Logan. It just feels like so much is happening at one time."

Luke held her tight, he loved the moments when she let him feel like her protector. Even though anyone that knew Lorelai knew she was stronger than Superman, he loved being one of the few people who got to see her vulnerable side. He felt honoured that she trusted him enough and he would move heaven and Earth to always make her feel safe.

"I love it here in your arms," she sighed.

"I love you being here," he responded before placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

The doorbell rang, snapping them out of the tender moment.

"Here we go," she said with a half smile.

She went to answer the door with Luke following behind her.

"Hi Logan," she greeted.

"Hey Lorelai," Logan smiled, clearly trying to hide his nerves. "I brought you these." He handed her a box from Weston's. "Rory always said you preferred chocolate to flowers."

"I can vouch for that," Luke piped up. "And if you'll excuse me I'll leave you two to your chat."

Logan stopped him, "Wait, Luke. I would love it if you would stay. From the time we met, Rory has spoken about you as a father more than she ever did than her biological one."

"Is that okay with you?" Luke asked Lorelai.

"Of course," Lorelai smiled and led the men into the living room and shoo-ed Paul Anka off the couch. "So, how was your trip?"

Logan sat in the armchair facing Luke and Lorelai on the couch. Paul Anka jumped back up and squished himself between Luke and Lorelai.

"Oh, it was really great," Logan smiled. "I mentioned that I got the job, right?"

"Yeah, that's great," Lorelai nodded.

"Yeah it's pretty similar to what I was doing in New York, but actually they're willing to make me a full partner. I'll be getting in on the ground floor."

"That's exciting!" Lorelai said enthusiastically while Luke just listened.

"It is. It's gonna be a lot of long hours and an incredible amount of work building the company, but I really feel this venture has a bright future. I mean, these are serious people."

"And you're a serious guy. Look, you don't have to convince me. I voiced my concerns to Rory and she has told me you've had good conversations. I trust her and she trusts you, so I'm cool," she assured him.

"Thank you. I appreciate that. That means a lot to me. And as you can imagine, I'm pretty excited about all this. But it does mean a move to San Francisco - Palo Alto, actually."

"Yeah," Lorelai sighed.

Luke shifted uncomfortably.

Logan took a deep breath, waited to see if Luke was going to say anything, when he didn't, Logan powered on. "Look... I love Rory. She means the world to me, and I want her to come with me to California," he paused and took in another breath to build his courage, "But not just as my girlfriend, which is why I'm here. I'm here to ask your permission - your permission to ask Rory to marry me."

Lorelai exhaled the breath she didn't realize she was holding in. "That's what I thought."

"Well?" Logan asked.

"Logan you can ask her whatever you want, she's a big and bright girl. What you really want to know is what I'm going to say when she asks for my advice, right?"

Logan chuckled awkwardly, "I guess so."

"You're so young," Luke blurted out of nowhere. "Rory has dreams and big ideas for what she wants to do. She's always talked about travelling for work and taking on the world. Correct me if I'm wrong but the type of life you want to have with Rory in Palo Alto is not going to jive with the future she's been planning."

Lorelai and Logan both looked at Luke with their mouths agape. He had gone from silence to opening a huge can of worms. When Luke noticed their reactions he became self conscious and turned to Lorelai, "Was I not supposed to say anything?"

She placed a hand on his and smiled, "No Hon, it's fine. You care about Rory."

"I love her," he corrected.

"So do I," Logan insisted. "Look, I know Rory told you about that dinner at my parents' house and then the crap with my Dad. I don't know if you know this, but I tried to tell Rory not to work with him. My family is all about the mind games."

"Yours too?" Lorelai teased, trying to keep the mood light.

Logan nodded, "If Rory says yes, that just means she wants to marry me. I'm not my father or grandfather. I'm proud of how Rory handled being the editor of the Daily News, I think she has a bright future. The thing is, I do hope that both of us might alter some of our individual plans to make a future together."

"What if she says no?" Lorelai asked. "In your mind is this all or nothing?"

Logan's face dropped, "Do you think she'll say no?"

Lorelai felt bad for scaring the kid after Luke's serious and pointed questions, "I honestly don't know. She hasn't talked about marriage but when we went to your family's home in Martha's Vineyard she did say that you and Luke could be 'The Ones' for us, and I know she doesn't want to marry him," she pointed at Luke.

"So, I have your blessing?" Logan asked.

Lorelai smiled and nodded gently, "You have my blessing to ask. I appreciate you coming here, but we will say to Rory everything we've said to you. If she's thrilled about this and wants to get married next week, I'll be planning her wedding with her. But if she wants to wait, or whatever her answer is, I will support it."

"Yeah, me too," Luke agreed.

Logan stood up and casually ran his hands down his pants, trying to dry his sweaty palms. "Thank you both for your time and honesty."

Luke and Lorelai stood and they all headed to the door.

Logan smiled at them one more time before opening the door to leave.

"Good luck buddy," Luke said, extending his hand.

"Thanks," Logan smirked and shook Luke's hand. He nodded at Lorelai and headed to his car.

When his car was out of sight, Lorelai exhaled dramatically and threw herself at Luke. He held her there on the porch for as long as she needed.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The next few days Lorelai's heart would stop every time a phone rang. She was waiting for the call from Rory that Logan proposed. She was hoping that would be the only news Rory gave. It's not that Lorelai didn't want Rory to get engaged, it was just that she wanted to make sure that her methodical, logical, organized thinking girl really takes the time to think through what SHE wants and does what's best for herself. But the only thing that Rory was talking about whenever she did call was just her finals and how crazy Paris was making her as they prepared to leave their apartment.

Now she was sitting in Luke's truck as they drove to her parents' house for this graduation party thrown by her parents.

Richard and Emily surprised the room, possibly Lorelai the most, by choosing to sing their speech to Rory. There were many giggles and huzzahs for their performance.

Lorelai glanced at Luke who looked so handsome, she was in awe as to how much of a chameleon he was, anywhere they went he was able to dress the part and fit in beautifully. He was clapping with a small smirk on his face. He turned to meet her gaze and winked.

Richard and Emily motioned for the crowd to quiet down as they each received a hug from Rory.

Rory then took her spot at the front of the room, ready to speak, "Wow, thank you for that."

Lorelai smiled at how much her daughter had grown from her 16th birthday party when the idea of giving a speech made her panic. But now she stood poised and happy, and so damn beautiful, Lorelai rarely liked to admit that she thought Rory was stunningly beautiful because of how many people said that Rory was Lorelai's mirror image, but she saw Rory as her own person who just happened to have her eyes.. Lorelai shook her head to clear her thoughts and focus on what Rory was saying.

She was looking at her Grandparents, "Well thank you so much. You know that none of this would be possible without your help," She then turned to the crowd, "You should all know that there's no way I could be a Bulldog through and through if it weren't for these two, so thank you so much, Grandma and Grandpa."

Richard beamed, "Congratulations, Rory." They clink glasses, "To you"'.

"Cheers,' Lorelai called out.

The room echoed, "Cheers."

Luke leaned over to Lorelai, "I forgot to tell April I was going to be out tonight, I'm just going to slip out and call her quickly, let her know we'll have a longer chat tomorrow."

"Okay, Hon. Tell her I said Hi."

Logan leaned over and said, "Actually, would you mind waiting?"

Luke's brow furrowed, "Sure."

"You're not going to want to miss this," Logan said as he started to make his way to Rory.

Luke and Lorelai shared a look of horror.

"Ah, is he gonna …" Luke started.

"No," Lorelai cut him off. "Not here. Not now. He has to know she'll need time to think," Lorelai was speaking to Luke, but couldn't take her eyes off of Logan's smug smile that had to be hiding some nerves.

Logan was now standing with Rory, Richard and Emily were smiling while standing just off to the side.

Logan began to address the room and was more nervous than Rory had ever seen him. "If I could, I'd also like to say a few words about my girlfriend of the past three years. You amaze me, Rory Gilmore, every day - everything that you do, everything that you are."

Rory giggled shyly.

Logan continued, "This past year, I realized that I don't know a lot more than I thought I knew, if that makes sense. I'm a little bit nervous. I didn't think I would be. What I'm trying to say is that... I don't know a lot. But I know that I love you... and I want to be with you... forever."

Rory looked like a deer caught in the headlights and Lorelai's heart dropped.

Emily on the other hand could not contain her excitement and pleasure at this wonderful turn of events.

Then to erase any doubt of his intention, Logan pulled a ring box from his pocket

"Rory Gilmore... ...will you marry me?"

"Um... um, wow. Um, wow. I - wow," Rory stammered.

"Is there a "yes" in between those "wows"?" Logan grinned.

Lorelai wanted to run up there and tell Logan to back off of her shocked and overwhelmed baby girl. She actually started to take a step when she felt Luke's hand on her arm.

"She's got this," Luke whispered.

"Um, I'm just… I'm so...surprised. I-I just - um, would - um... w-will you come talk to me outside?" Rory smiled at Logan.

The guests began to murmur quietly as the young couple made their way outside for some privacy.

Emily snapped at the pianist, "Play something - now."

The piano began to play an upbeat tune.

Luke and Lorelai looked at each other in shock, Luke downed the rest of his scotch and shook his head.

"Why didn't she just say "yes"?" Emily snapped at Lorelai.

Luke instinctively placed his hand on the small of Lorelai's back to let her know he was there to support her.

With a fake smile plastered on her face Lorelai responded to her Mother, "Maybe she's not sure she wants to marry him, Mom."

"That's ridiculous. He's a Huntzberger. An offer like this doesn't come around every day," Emily scoffed.

Lorelai shook her head at her Mother's petulance, "It's a marriage proposal, I for one am glad she is giving it proper thought."

"Of course YOU are," Emily whispered, her annoyance growing by the second. "You never liked Logan. And maybe if you and Luke weren't so happy to live in sin when you two should be married, Rory wouldn't be worried about getting engaged herself."

Luke squared his shoulders about to fight for himself, Lorelai and Rory. But Lorelai wrapped her fingers around his wrist and shook her head slightly.

Richard, trying to defuse the situation and get over the shock of his little granddaughter being proposed to piped up, "Clearly, Rory was caught off guard. All of us were. I'm sure she just needs a moment to get her bearings. Let's not say things tonight we'll regret tomorrow."

Lorelai's phone rang and she answered it quickly, "Hi, hon."

"Is that Rory? Did she say yes?" Emily pounced.

Lorelai ignored her Mother and turned to Luke, "I'm going outside to talk to her, do you want to come?"

"You go ahead," Luke motioned. "Just call me when you know what's going on."

Lorelai kissed Luke quickly and rushed to the door.

Ten minutes later Lorelai got off the phone with Luke (telling him to take his car home and she would meet him there later), and stepped onto the horse drawn carriage. Rory offered her some of the light blanket that was covering her legs and began to pour her heart out.

"I just couldn't answer him. You know I just kept saying, "I don't know. I'll have to think about it." It was awful. He was obviously disappointed and upset. You know he made all these plans about the house we would live in and the avocado tree in our backyard".

"Well, you do like guacamole."

"I just had to explain to him how out of the blue this is. I mean this is seriously out of the blue - out of the deepest, darkest, naviest blue. And why are you so calm, by the way?" Rory asked, exasperated.

"Oh, well, he asked my permission a couple days ago."

" What? You knew?"

"I didn't know when he was going to ask you, but yeah. I was dying to tell you."

"Oh man, you are a good secret keeper."

"Not really. I told Sookie. Paul Anka and I discussed it at length. Oh and well obviously Luke knows, he was there when Logan asked permission. I mean, Logan wanted his permission too."

Rory softened and smiled, "Really? Luke was there." She smiled at that and then snapped back into being nervous and panicked, "So what do you think I should do?"

"Oh, honey, I think it's your decision".

"I know, but tell me what you think I should do," Rory begged.

" I think you should take a few days, you know, let the shock wear off."

"Mom! Come on, I need your help, your perspective!"

"Only you know what you want, Rory. This is a big decision and you need to be sure it's what you want."

"If Luke proposed to you today, what would you say?"

"Well that's a completely different story. Of course I would marry Luke today. But Honey, I am just a bit older than you, I've built my dream business from the ground up. I've got to enjoy my professional success so now I am really ready to focus on my personal life."

"So you're saying I shouldn't get married yet because I need to work on my career first?"

"NO! That's not what I'm saying. If you love him and want to marry him, you should. My point was that I am at a different place in my life than you are. I have less things to figure out. Luke and I know where we'll be living. We know what our jobs will be, you and Logan could figure those things out as a couple. I just want you to make sure whatever you do will make you happy. Some couples get it together early, and that's great for them. Look at Grandma and Grandpa, they've been together since they were young. Even though they've had problems you know they will always be together. And honestly, if Luke or I were braver maybe we would have gotten together sooner. Do you love him? Can you see yourself married to him?"

"I love him. I do," Rory sighed, "I mean, things have been really amazing lately. But, on the other hand, we are so young. I'm only twenty-two. On the other hand, what does age matter when you're in love? On the other hand, what is the rush?"

Lorelai giggled, " Well, you're like a circus freak with all the hands."

"Just tell me what to do," Rory exhaled her frustration.

"Rory, stop. This has to be YOUR decision"

"I know, I know, you're right," Rory sighed softly and then lay her head on her Mom's shoulder.

Lorelai wrapped her arm around Rory's shoulders and kissed her head, "Hey, how many hours do we have the carriage for?"

"Um, a couple more, I'm guessing," Rory shrugged.

"Want to drive through the centre of town and do the queen wave?"

Rory looked up with the first genuine smile Lorelai had seen on her in hours, "Yes."

So Lorelai gave the driver directions and the girls rode home.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Later that night, Rory was asleep on the couch. Lorelai left a note on the coffee table and slipped out. She quickly made her way through the square and rushed up the steps of the diner. She pulled the key Luke gave her a few weeks ago from her pocket and let herself into the diner. After locking the door behind her she hurried through the curtain and up the stairs to Luke's apartment. When she reached the landing the door flew open and there he was in his sweatpants and tshirt, his incredibly sexy sleepwear.

"Hi," he smiled. "I wasn't expecting to see you tonight. I figure you two would talk till dawn."

She kissed him sweetly before entering the apartment. "She fell asleep. She kept trying to trick me into telling her what I thought she should do."

Luke exhaled a small laugh and nodded. "Did you?" he asked.

"Nope! She's been telling me for years that she's a grownup. Well if this isn't a chance to prove that I don't know what is. Plus I don't want another rift. I used to be able to say anything to her, but once boys came into the mix things got harder. I know that if anyone even suggested that I don't marry you as soon as possible I wouldn't want them in my life. So I have to be so careful what I say to her. She will twist my words or search for a meaning that probably isn't even there. I just told her to take her time, think about everything, and make a decision based on her happiness. And of course I let her know that I will support whatever she chooses."

"You're a great Mom, you know that? I can't wait to have kids of our own." Luke wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "If I ask you a question, do you promise to be one hundred percent honest with me?"

"Of course," she murmured into his shoulder.

"Are you upset that Rory might be engaged before us?" He asked into her hair.

He felt her whole body sigh, "Oh Babe," she shifted slightly in his arms so her head was resting on his shoulder and she looked outward. "We talked about this, I'm fine. I like the idea of a very short engagement this time. I also don't mind waiting a little longer to put some more distance between my two marriages." She felt him stiffen at the simple reference to Christopher, so she tightened her hold on him. "I'm still very much on board about making these next few weeks, months I guess, about the girls. Once they're back at school we'll focus on us."

"Just so you know," he spoke softly, his hands caressing her back, "I would marry you tomorrow in the diner."

Lorelai laughed, "I could never do that for the simple fact that it would make my Mother right."

"What?"

"She predicted YEARS ago, when Uncle Louie died, that I would marry you in the diner holding a ketchup bottle as my bouquet."
Luke snorted a laugh, "I would have imagined a coffee cup, but I guess I know you a little better than her."