The house and tent were a buzz with happy party goers. While people were inside the house enjoying cocktail hour with Sookie's incredible hors d'oeuvres, the staff in the tent rearranged the setup from the ceremony seating to tables and chairs for the sit down dinner. In the centre of the tent a dance floor was installed as well. Luke and Lorelai were having a photo session with various members of the wedding party and other family and friends. Everything was running smoothly and Michel was pleased, but unwilling to relax as he wanted to prove to Lorelai that he cared about her enough to ensure her wedding was perfect.

After the photos of the happy couple and some with their friends and family were taken, it was time for the dinner and reception. Kirk, who was DJ-ing the wedding as his gift, tapped the microphone to get people's attention. "Hello? Hello? Is this thing on? Can you hear me?" His voice rang out loud and clear, making Emily roll her eyes. "Family and friends of the Bride and Groom, please take your seats, it is my great pleasure to get this party started by bringing in Mr. and Mrs. Luke and Lorelai Danes!"

Luke and Lorelai entered the tent from their kitchen doorway and the crowd began to cheer. The couple made their way to the table for two that Patty and Emily had insisted on. It was on a raised stage at the far end of the tent. To the right there was a podium where people would come to make their speeches or toasts.

First up to the podium was Rory. She tapped the microphone lightly and smiled. "Hi everyone. I just wanted to thank you all for coming to celebrate the wedding of my Mom and Dad. Most of you are well aware that Luke is not my biological Father, that we met when I was ten years old. But if I'm honest, I sometimes have a hard time remembering that he hasn't been around my whole life. I suppose because any time I think about being young and a male role model in my life the two men that come to mind are Mory and Luke. And if I'm being completely honest, I don't think this would surprise anyone who knows us, but I wanted Luke to be my Dad, to marry my Mom and live with us since about five minutes after I met him. I didn't start calling him 'Dad' until recently and I don't always do it. Not because I don't feel like it, simply because he's always been Luke. And again, if I'm being honest, I've called my biological Father 'Dad' all these years and it doesn't always feel right to call Luke the same thing. You see, the man I called 'Dad' was never there for me. My Mom is such an amazing parent that it did in a way make up for only having one parent in my life. But in my world, 'Dad' was a guy that infrequently popped in and out of our life for very short periods of time. 'Dad' would come and go as he pleased and never made me feel like a priority. It's been very clear to me from a young age that 'Dad' only came around to try to be with Mom.

And then there's Luke. Luke and I built our own relationship without it being about Mom. I met him when I was with Lane, not Mom. He was kind enough to attend my pet caterpillar's funeral before he even met Mom. He let me do my homework in the diner when Mom was at night school so I wasn't lonely. He also let me work there when Mom was home and was being too loud."

The crowd laughed at the moment of levity. Some also wiped away the tears Rory's speech was invoking.

"Luke would never forget my birthday when Dad never remembered. Luke would listen to me, he would ask me about my life, my friends and my feelings, while my Dad would call and ask me how Mom was doing. Luke watched me graduate high school, helped move me into my dorm and gave me his Mother's pearls, that I'm wearing tonight, for my twenty-first birthday. My Dad called me two weeks after my twenty-first birthday thinking he was a week early. So Luke, I need you to know that I love you more than I can really say. You taught me that I can feel safe with a man, that not all men will let you down. You gave me the example of the type of man I should hold out for, that I should never date or eventually marry someone that doesn't value my worth. Seeing the way you love my Mom, the way you two have the foundation of a friendship, the way that you two were always there for each other, even when you were just friends, or even when you might have been mad at each other, you both always showed up. I know how lucky Mom and I are to have found you and I promise you both that I will hold out for the kind of love you have shown me. I love you both so much and I wish I could go back in time and let little Rory know that one day, her dream will come true and she'll have the best Dad ever, she'll just call him Luke."

The crowd erupted into cheers and gave Rory a standing ovation as she made her way to hug Luke and Lorelai.

When the crowd took their seats Jess made his way to the podium. "Good evening everyone. Well, that was certainly a tough act to follow."

There were some chuckles in the room before Buddy called, "You got this, Jess."

Jess grunted a small laugh reminding everyone who knew Luke when he was younger of him at that age.

"My relationship with both Luke and Lorelai is not as warm and fuzzy as Rory's. Obviously things got better with Luke and I or I wouldn't be his best man. We all know that Luke has a huge group of friends due to his charming and jovial personality."

Laughter filled the room again.

"Seriously. Luke may not be the laugh a minute type of guy, but he's definitely the best guy most of us will ever meet. He may gripe and complain about the crazies in this town, but I know that he's personally helped out almost everyone in this town in one way or another. See just because a guy doesn't need recognition for his good deeds, doesn't make them any less. In fact, I'd say that someone who does stuff without wanting recognition is even more admirable. If you look at the few kids in this town who grew up without Dads in their day to day life. Lane, Zack, Rory and me, we all found a father figure in Luke. Most of you may not even have noticed how much he did for us, and maybe what he did, listening to us, giving us free food, giving us a safe space to hang out doesn't seem like a lot. But when you grow up believing that your own father has no use for you and then this guy comes along who makes you feel like you matter, it means everything. So I just wanted to take this opportunity in front of everyone who thought I was an ungrateful hooligan to say, Thank you. Thank you for giving me a chance to not be a hooligan. Thank you for taking the time to get to know me and to continue to let me know that you cared even when I pushed you away." Jess cleared his throat and looked up to smile at Luke.

"Now, I want to take a quick minute to say a few things about my new aunt. If you want to have a perfect example of people starting out on the wrong foot, look no further than me and Lorelai. She tried to welcome me to Stars Hollow when I really wasn't ready. She tried to show me that I would not only have Luke, but other people in this town if I gave them a chance. Of course I didn't give anyone a chance. I didn't make it easy to like me and I'm pretty sure that Lorelai and I still have a way to go to have the relationship that, well I guess we don't really have much of a relationship at all. But Lorelai I want you to know, from now on, I'll try to be a good nephew to you and Luke. I see you now. I see that you're an incredible person to have around. You've been an exceptionally amazing Mother. You are possibly the best friend anyone in this town could ask for. You're so giving of your love, your time and your praise. You genuinely seem to want nothing more than to make Luke happy. From the moment I met you, you were so protective of him and not willing to let anyone hurt or take advantage of him. You are exactly the wife I want for him. He's spent his whole life taking care of everyone, his parents when they got sick, my Mom, me and now you and Rory. So the fact that you not only recognize the kind of guy he is, but that you are equally generous and protective, shows me that there really is a perfect person out there for all of us, and the two of you are clearly a perfect fit. Congratulations."

The room was dead silent for a moment and then burst into a round of applause. Lorelai jumped from her seat and trapped Jess in a warm hug. When Jess finally squirmed away, Luke grabbed him and had a turn.

Then Kirk informed everyone it was time to party and the music began. The music and food kept going, making it one of the best and most memorable parties in Stars Hollow history. Lorelai and Richard had their Father Daughter dance to Nat and Natalie Cole singing 'Unforgettable'. Luke danced with Rory to Lee Ann Womack's song 'I Hope You Dance' and there wasn't a dry eye in the place. Lorelai even grabbed her Mom and danced with her after getting Kirk to play 'Wedding Bell Blues'.

Everyone oooo-ed and aaaa-ed when Sookie had the gorgeous five tier cake rolled out. It was white with a thick (edible) plaid ribbon wrapped around each tier that was tied into a bow. After Luke and Lorelai cut the first piece and Lorelai insisted Luke have a small bite, he led her to the dance floor where there was a thin layer of smoke, from Kirk's special machine. The couple had their first dance to Shania Twain's 'From This Moment', picked for them by Lane. As the song started Lorelai locked eyes with her Husband and felt like they were the only two people in the world.

The night felt like a dream that Luke never wanted to wake from. Slowly the guests started to get too tired to keep going and wished the newlyweds well before heading home. All night Luke tried to stay close to Lorelai, but considering how she loved to dance and be social and he didn't, he spent much of the night at a table with Buddy, Sam, Leo and Jess talking and laughing at what was going on around them. Luke watched Lorelai dance with Rory, April, Sookie, Claudia, Maggie, Lisa and Zoey. They were singing along and dancing like carefree kids. He couldn't stop smiling. He was wondering if the dull feeling of guilt from when he kept April away from Lorelai would ever fully subside. After a good few fast songs, Luke excused himself and made his way to Kirk. The two exchanged a few words, Luke patted Kirk on the shoulder and gave him a smile. He then made his way onto the dancefloor and found his wife. She smiled at him brightly, breaking away from the group who was still dancing to a Spice Girls song.

"Hey you," she greeted before giving him a quick kiss.

"I'm here to claim my Bride if she'll have me. Could I have the next dance?"

"You wanna dance with me?"

"I do," he smirked.

"I love when you say that," she grinned.

He shook his head, still unable to stop smiling.

The Spice Girls song ended and then some gentle guitar chords began. Luke took Lorelai in his arms and she felt the tears begin to roll down her cheeks. Dolly Parton's voice filled the tent and most of the guests stopped what they were doing and watched Luke and Lorelai dance as Dolly promised to always love you.

"How much longer until we can kick everyone out of here," Luke whispered as they danced.

"Our bedroom is upstairs, we can leave them all whenever we want."

"I love you, Mrs. Danes."

"I love you, Mr. Danes"

XoXoXoXoXoXo

TEN MONTHS LATER

With Thanksgiving days away, Luke was in full planning mode. The regulars from his traditional dinner held at the diner were all invited to the house this year. With them, plus the family coming it would be a full house, and it was the first time in his life that he was excited about it. The fact that within their family and friends there were so many great cooks (Sookie, Maisy, Leo and Claudia) it had turned into a Thanksgiving potluck. It started when Sookie insisted on helping him cook, he knew that on a regular night she would show up to a dinner with a casserole so why bother trying to fight her offer of help on a holiday? When the others heard, they all wanted to pitch in. He had a list on the fridge with the menu and who had volunteered to bring which dish. Lorelai made him promise that no matter what, he would bake her some pies. She loved his pies more than any other dessert. And since this year she was being extra careful about what she was eating, he agreed to treat her for the holiday.

The light on the coffee maker indicated it was ready and he poured a mug full and started his way up to their bedroom. The closer he got the happier he was when he didn't hear her moving around yet. He placed the mug on her nightstand and sat beside her, gently rubbing her back. "Lorelai? You have to wake up now."

She burrowed deeper under the blanket, "I'm too tired."

He smiled, "I brought you some coffee."

"The real stuff?"

"Yup. You're one cup for the day is here. You don't want it to get cold do you?"

She rolled onto her back and his smile widened with delight. Without a thought, he reached out and stroked her swollen belly, "Good morning," he leaned down to kiss her lips and then kissed her incredible gorgeous baby bump. "You wanted me to wake you this early, remember? You wanted to get Rory from the airport by yourself. Unless you've changed your mind and you want me to drive."

Lorelai stretched like a kitten and then sat up, took her coffee mug and enjoyed her first sip. "No, I still wanna go on my own. I mean, you're okay with that, right?"

"Yeah, no problem. Jess got in late last night and is sleeping at the apartment. So I'll go in for the breakfast rush and see him whenever he wakes up."

She took another sip of her coffee and leaned back against the pillows, "Do we have to get out of bed now? Or do we have snuggle time?"

Once Lorelai's first trimester was over she became very touchy feely. Luke was not prepared for her to be this way, publicly. The two of them would obviously snuggle, cuddle and touch in the privacy of their own home. But Luke was never one for more than a kiss hello or goodbye in public. And up until a few months ago, Lorelai was the same. But once the morning sickness, that actually lasted most of the day, subsided, Lorelai required hugs more often and it evolved into both of them wanting or maybe needing more physical contact than ever before.

"We have a little time," Luke smiled and shifted onto the bed so they both had their backs resting against the headboard. He put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. He rested his hand on her stomach, hoping to feel his child waking up from the jolt of caffeine she had ingested.

"My Mom called me again trying to trick me," she said softly.

"Trick you how?" By now, Luke knew that sometimes Lorelai read too much into Emily's intentions.

"She thinks we're lying about not knowing the gender and kept trying to trip me up."

Luke laughed.

"I listed again the reasons why we didn't find out, but she had a counterpoint for each of them. Do you know how I finally got her to shut up about it?"

"Hmm?"

"I told her this is what YOU wanted. So we haven't even been married a year and she already likes you more than she likes me."

"I'm a loveable guy," he shrugged.

"That's true. I certainly love you Mr. Danes."

"I love you too, Mrs. Danes."

"Oooooh, time to get up," she hopped off the bed as quickly as she could. "Gotta pee again!"

He smiled with a contentment he'd never known as he watched her rush into the ensuite bathroom and shut the door. Luke Danes had never been more thankful for the life he had, than he was at that very moment.

The End

XoXoXoXoXoXo

A/N: Thank you all for not only read this but left amazingly kind reviews. I am marking the story as complete because I feel the wedding was a good ending. But I gave you the little time jump, to inspire myself to continue the story. As of April 2025 I am working on part two so this story will remain complete. Part 2 will fill in the blanks of the ten months between the wedding and the update. It will include a great honeymoon with them really talking about where they went wrong in the past and their strategies to avoid the same mistakes in the future. I hope you enjoyed this story & go on to the sequel when I start posting it.

Thank you all again so much for giving me this safe and encouraging space.