The next morning as the sun rose, Luke and Lorelai lay together in her bed, neither ready to break the bliss-filled silence. He was drifting in and out of sleep, his nose buried in the hollow of her shoulder inhaling the smell of her shampoo. He would absently kiss her neck each time he came back into the waking world. His arm was draped over her midsection and his left leg over her legs. She couldn't move, yet never felt more comfortable and safe.

Her left arm was wrapped around him and she stroked his hair slowly. But when the diamond caught the light it distracted her and suddenly she was staring at her ring.

"You really like the ring," he asked, his breath tickling her neck.

"Like? If I'm being honest, it's like you found the ring I never knew I always wanted. It's traditional enough to obviously be an engagement ring but with a little flair."

"It was my Mother's. I heard my parents talking one night when Mom was sick. She said this and a necklace from her Mom were the only pieces of jewellery that were worth any money and also had sentimental value. My Dad wanted her to leave the necklace to Liz and for me to have the ring and Mom agreed. Years later Dad told me that he didn't remember what exactly he said to my Mom, but he wanted this ring to go to someone special, not to a pawn shop."
Lorelai laughed softly at that comment. She was stroking his back, encouraging him to stay right where he was, she loved cuddly, talkative Luke. From the moment he carried her up the stairs last night, she was trying to make up for lost time. Months apart were melting away, the familiar scents, touches, sounds and feelings making her almost want to cry. She had been able to suppress how much she missed him during the days, but alone in bed was the worst.

"I don't ever want to spend a night away from you again," she said into his hair.

He tightened his hold on her, "Me either. So I was hoping you wouldn't mind moving into my apartment while we get Tom here to do the renovations. I know you don't want to live anywhere else, but the work will go faster if no one is here. They could start early, finish late, not worry about if the water or power is on, and -"
"You can stop trying to convince me," Lorelai interrupted. "As long as you promise to move in here with me the second we can, I don't care if we're married or not."

Luke lifted his head so their sleepy eyes could lock, "That's a deal. But tell me, do you want to get married before or after the baby comes?"

"Honestly, I would marry you tomorrow."

"Come on, you and Rory had plans for her high school graduation, for the day you signed the deed on the Dragonfly, I know you have plans for when she turns twenty-one, but you want me to believe the two of you never planned or talked about your wedding?"

"Well truthfully I always thought if I ever got married I wouldn't be pregnant. I thought I would have a long build up and plan everything. But now I am far more excited about the marriage than the wedding. I used to dream about a big wedding but never really dreamed about what being married would be like. Now all I can think about is living with you, being your wife, holidays together, Rory coming home and watching movies with us, the new little one, and getting to do all of the parenting fun with someone I love and someone that wants to be here. The wedding doesn't seem as important as all of that."

Luke kissed her, he climbed on top of her, hoping she could feel the love and passion that he had for her.

"Of all the things you've ever said to me," he whispered as he pulled away slowly, "and you talk a lot. But this was the best thing I've ever heard you say. I love you too Lorelai, and I can't wait to start our life together." He kissed her again and they stayed in bed until noon.

XoXoXoXoXo

Saturday afternoon Lorelai was sitting on the couch chatting on the phone with Sookie. She was excitedly telling her about the date and the fact that they are now officially engaged. Sookie was giddy, already planning the wedding Lorelai hadn't approved.

"Sook, wait. Just wait. You're going too fast," Lorelai laughed. "Remember, I'm marrying Luke Danes. This is not going to be a huge bash. We're going to do something small and simple at the Dragonfly. I'll find a weekend that we're not booked and grab up all the rooms, so I know we won't have a lot of other work to worry about."

"Honey, Do you really think there are people in this town that will be okay with NOT being invited to this wedding. You and Luke are both beloved. Just who are you planning to cut from the list."

"I don't know who to cut, but I'll tell you who we have on our list," Lorelai smiled and waved as Rory popped her head in holding up a bag of tacos. "Obviously the guest list will be Rory, Lane, you, Jackson, Davey, Liz, TJ, Jess, Babette, Morey, Patty, Taylor, Gypsy, Kirk, Lulu. That's probably it."

Sookie sighed, "I get it, but do you really think Luke wants Kirk there?"

"We talked about it and whether he likes it or not, Kirk is one of his best customers and he really does care about us. I think without noticing, Kirk has become like family."

Rory laughed but had a concerned look in her eyes.

"Hey Sook, Rory's here. I'm going to go eat some tacos and chat with her. I'll talk to you later?"

"Okay Sweetie, love you."

"Love you too."

Lorelai hung up, took a big bite of the taco Rory handed her and began to speak with her mouth full, "What's wrong kid? You look upset."

Without looking her Mom in the eyes, she spoke, "I walked in while you were listing off who you were planning to invite to the wedding. Are you really not going to invite Grandma and Grandpa?"

Lorelai exhaled and wiped her mouth, "You're kidding, right?"

Rory sighed, "No, I'm not. You told me that you're not mad at Grandpa, we both don't think he even knew what Grandma pulled. In fact, when I did talk to Dad briefly he said it was all Emily."

"And I'm supposed to trust a word out of Chris' mouth?" Lorelai scoffed.

"But we already suspected that," Rory said with exasperation. "But Mom, this is a once in a lifetime thing for you. We both know you and Luke are meant to be, this is it. And in twenty years this will be a defining moment in your life and your relationship with your parents. You told me that you have moments of guilt or regret or whatever about keeping me away from them for all those years. So you're going to do it to this new guy?" Rory motioned to Lorelai's stomach. "Grandpa deserves to be there and if you're not inviting him because he won't come without her, then she should be invited."

Lorelai got up and began to pace in front of the TV, "So now I'm the bad guy? SHE spent years telling me that Luke and I are perfect for each other and obviously had feelings for each other. SHE hated me dating Jason, a guy very much in their world. Now I'm with Luke, as she predicted, and then she invites us for dinner and talks down to Luke, uses Chris, a lifelong friend of mine and YOUR father, to try to break us up. But I'm the bad guy for not wanting to invite her to the wedding she clearly doesn't want. Are you serious here?! Let's say I invite her, can you promise me she won't make snide comments all day? Can you promise she won't do things to sabotage us? Can you promise she won't bring Chris or object or lock me in a closet? Maybe she'll drown Luke in the lake!"

"Lorelai! Calm down," Luke's voice startled both Rory and Lorelai. He was standing in the doorway with a concerned look on his face. "What's going on?"

Not calming in the slightest Lorelai pointed at Rory, "Oh she's just telling me that I'm a monster because I don't want to invite my Mother to our wedding. Oh and because I kept them away from her as a kid and I'm going to do it again with ours. See? I'm horrible! Not wanting my husband or children exposed to her level of judgement and criticism. Tell her, tell her again the comments about roadkill and diners! Tell her how you felt at the vow renewal! Tell her how you felt the weeks we were apart!" Lorelai's face was covered in tears, her cheeks were red and her eyes were wild.

Rory was partly in shock, crying quietly on the couch, "Mom, I'm sorry. I was just trying to say that this is a decision you can't take back. I wanted to make sure that you were sure because I know deep down you -"

"I can't!" Lorelai snapped, holding her hands up. She stormed up the stairs leaving Rory and Luke to watch her go.