Being Thankful - Part 2

by RavenSpice

Please check out Being Thankful first (It's a much shorter story than this will be). Being Thankful was an attempt to fix season 7 where L&L got together much faster, and ends with their wedding day at the end of 2006. This story starts with the Honeymoon and deals with their first year of married life - I may go forward past the first year. Thank you in advance for any feedback.

1. Chapter 1

A/N: Welcome to my first attempt at a sequel - Hopefully you've read "Being Thankful" and if you didn't, you still can. s/14408621/1/Being-Thankful

If you don't want to, here's a few things to know from that story …

Started at the beginning of Season 7 - Lorelai slept with Chris but immediately regretted it and let him know.

Luke and Lorelai live in the house Richard & Emily were going to buy for them in season 6 - they got married at the house.

Emily has Berta as her maid.

Things are really good with Lorelai and her parents - they respect Luke and are happy with the union now.

At Christmas Emily apologized to Lorelai and Rory for pushing Chris at them so much, after he called and upset Rory.

Richard had his season 7 heart attack - Luke was there, making R more respectful and appreciative of him - Chris arrived and was upset that he wasn't told. At which point Lorelai told him that she was done with him.

At the time of L 's wedding Rory had broken up with Logan who had slept with a bunch of girls in London

Also note that this is the first story I am not rushing to finish so expect it to be pretty long - if you have read my stuff in the past you'll notice the chapters are longer than my usual style.

Finally for this story I will also be posting a "Blue" version of this story with mature scenes (yes, smut). So if you are interested in the mature stuff you should switch to the other story titled "Being Thankful - Part 2 Blue". It is the exact story just with the spice.
Here's the link: s/14458202/1/Being-Thankful-Part-2-Blue

Enjoy!

Being Thankful - Part 2

Chapter 1: The Honeymoon (2007)

Lorelai woke up and smiled. The sun was peeking through the curtains, the giant ceiling fan spun slowly above her and she heard the soft snore of her husband beside her. She inhaled deeply and took in the Hawaiian air, so clean, so fresh. She loved the idea of sleeping with the windows open. Of course if they did that at home and had the type of night they had last night, they couldn't keep the windows open. Surely someone in Stars Hollow would hear them. But then she realized that they wouldn't be going home to the house beside Babette. She was excited to start this new chapter with Luke in their home, not hers, not his, but theirs was something she never thought she would want with anyone. Before Luke, there was never a man who she could have imagined moving from the home she raised Rory in. That was the first place that ever really felt like her home. She really was happy that this new place had a kitchen to Luke's specifications, an office they would share that they both had personal touches in, and THEIR bedroom with their new bed. She was happy about all of that. But there was a small amount of sadness, and she didn't want Luke to know that. So while she listened to him snore she let a few tears fall, mourning the chapter that was closing. All she could think of was not only was she leaving that house, but soon Rory would finish Yale, and who knew where she would be living. She didn't want to be selfish, but alone in her honeymoon suite, in the king sized bed, she gave into her selfishness and hated that Rory would start her own life, without Lorelai. She hated that she would soon be getting an abridged version told to her about what was going on in Rory's day to day life and she wouldn't know everything about Lorelai's life either. It was the problem of having her daughter as her best friend, because a good Mother wants their child to grow up and not need her. She wants her daughter to have her own life, her own place where she feels like her work is her passion, she wants her daughter to find her own Luke. But in doing that, it may take Rory away from Lorelai permanently, only seeing each other a few times a year, and that broke Lorelai's heart.

She heard Luke stirring, his snoring had stopped and his hands were seeking her out. He hummed happily as he pulled her to him and curled his body against her back.

"Good morning Wife." He kissed her shoulder and tugged on her, encouraging her to roll over.

She happily complied and kissed his lips, "Good morning Hubby."

"Hubby is too cutesy," he protested.

"But you're so cute," she insisted.

He grunted in return. She laughed as he snuggled closer, when he made her roll over she was sure he was starting round 345 of lovemaking since they arrived last night but he was falling asleep again.

"Are you going back to sleep," she whispered.

"You wore me out," he sighed.

She laughed, "Umm excuse me? Last night, who woke who up at three because he wanted to go again?"

He chuckled with a sense of pride in his voice. "You didn't complain then."

"Well it was pretty hot. But that wasn't my idea."

"Just a few more minutes with my eyes closed."

She kissed his forehead and smiled at him lovingly, "You sleep. I'm going to test out that amazing bathtub."

"Mmmmkay"

She slipped away from him, grabbed the luxurious robe and closed the bathroom door behind her. She turned the water on, adding the best smelling liquid she's ever used to make a bubble bath. She tied her hair into a messy bun and slipped into the tub. She wasn't sure how long she was in there, she read a magazine that she had got at the airport, let her mind wander to some of her favourite memories of their wedding, and then she thought about all the time they could have been married. She assumed once they got back together, once she was allowed to build her relationship with April, once things seemed to be on track, that the pain of the past would melt away. But it wasn't that easy, maybe because they got along so well, her and April. Maybe because April never wanted to be kept from Lorelai. If Luke was doing it to follow his daughter's wishes, it would have been easier to take. It was the fact that it was Anna -

The bathroom door opened and Luke knocked lightly, "Can I come in?"

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty," Lorelai smiled. "Come on in."

Luke made his way to the tub and kissed her sweetly. Then he went into the smaller room within the bathroom and closed the door. A few seconds later, he emerged, and went to the shower. "I got directions to a picnic spot where we can have lunch today. I'm going to shower quickly and pack the basket and cooler. Any special requests?"

Lorelai watched him turn on the water for his shower. He was completely naked and she was having trouble concentrating on his words. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Luke laughed, "Do you want me to pack anything special for our picnic lunch?"

She stood up and pulled the elastic from her hair as the bubbles trailed down her body, "Well maybe I should join you in the shower and we can discuss it there."

Luke held the glass door open, "After you," he grinned.

XoXoXoXoXoXo

Once dressed in her bathing suit and sundress, Lorelai made her way to the kitchen where Luke was getting things ready. The home he rented came with a fully stocked fridge (he was able to put in requests), and Lorelai had spotted a small market on their way from the airport, so they had everything they needed. He packed the fixings for them to have turkey sandwiches, there was a fresh salad and some potato salad, some fruit and of course, cookies and chips. He felt that he had covered all of her possible food cravings.

The home was open concept, almost every spot on the main floor had a view of the sliding glass doors leading from the kitchen to the pool in the back. The pool happened to look over a cliff and beyond that was the ocean. The view was picture perfect. Luke had handled the honeymoon, he had wanted to surprise Lorelai with everything. All she knew was that it would be warm, so she knew how to pack.

Soon they were in the rented Jeep, pulling out of the house's driveway and towards the most incredible mountain.

"I'm not wearing clothes or shoes that are conducive to hiking." She said as she looked at him. He was so happy. She had never seen him so relaxed. He wore cargo shorts and a t-shirt, of course his blue backwards baseball hat was present as always, and maybe the most shocking, was his sandals. She knew that he would have to wear some type of lighter footwear than his normal work boots, it just still felt weird to see him in full vacation mode.

"There's no hiking today," he assured her. "We're heading to the base of the mountain."

"Okay."

An hour later, Luke was packing up their lunch and Lorelai was returning the cooler to the car and grabbing her tote bag with their towels and other essentials. Luke had found the most gorgeous spot for their picnic by a waterfall and now they were going for a swim. They helped each other cover themselves with sunscreen, teasing each other about where they needed help and places that shouldn't see the light of day.

"But your tushie is so cute," she giggled.

"You aren't going to tempt me into skinny dipping. This is apparently a tourist hot spot, so we're likely not going to be alone much longer."

They made their way to the bottom of the waterfall, she grabbed his hand before he tested the waters, "Promise me we'll skinny dip in our private pool."

"Do you really think I need convincing? I told you to wear a one piece today to keep me in check."

She laughed as he led her behind the waterfall, "Oh my god, this is incredible."

The beauty and majesty of their surroundings was almost overwhelming. Lorelai tried to capture it with her digital camera, but even when she tried to take a video she knew it wouldn't capture anything close to what it was. With that in mind, she put her camera down and wrapped her arms around Luke, "Kiss me under the waterfall," she almost begged.

"You don't have to ask me twice."

XoXoXoXoXoXo

Later, while Luke finished up making their dinner, Lorelai was setting the table on the outside patio. They worked in companionable silence, she would take what he had finished to the table, salad, mashed potatoes, green beans and then their steaks. Lorelai grabbed a light sweater to wear on top of her sundress, Luke grabbed wine for her and a beer for himself. Luke sat at the head of the table and Lorelai was by his side, making herself feel like Emily Gilmore proud to be seated at her husband's side.

She took her first bite of her steak and moaned happily. "Oh my god, Luke! You are such a gifted chef. This steak is amazing."

Luke gave a half smile, "You're a biased critic, wouldn't you say?"

"Why because I'm not only madly in love with you, but you're the main source of proper nourishment?"

"Yeah. Exactly."

She smiled, watching him eat. She was so happy with their current relationship and where they were. But it wasn't that long ago that they were broken up due to very avoidable issues. "Hey Luke,"

"Mmmm?"

"I'm really happy," she started.

"Me too," he smiled. But when he looked at her, he saw worry and fear all over her face. "What's wrong?"

She put down her cutlery and sighed, "I'm so happy that we found our way back to each other and I'm beyond thrilled that we're married. But being married doesn't eliminate the possibility of breaking up. I think we need to talk more about what went wrong and how we can avoid it in the future."

Luke wiped his mouth with his napkin and reached out to take Lorelai's hand. "Losing you, watching you walk away that night, it was the most painful feeling and I've buried both of my parents. But this was completely within my control. I don't know why I didn't throw you into my car and drive to Vegas and marry you right then. I'll never fully forgive myself."

"I want to tell you that you should forgive yourself, but I will never forgive myself for not just walking away, but going to Chris." She saw him physically flinch at his name. "I'm so incredibly sorry, especially because I went to him for exactly the reason you would think. I knew it would hurt you. In that moment I wanted you to hurt as bad as I was hurting. It's something about myself that I truly hate and I cannot be more sorry." With her free hand she wiped tears away.

"We really don't have to talk about this tonight. We're on our honeymoon."

"I know. And I want this to be the perfect vacation, but -"

"It makes sense to talk about it while we're alone and there are no distractions."

"Yeah, and I really want you to know that I'm all in. This will be my one and only marriage. Till death do us part. So I want us to be able to talk about it all. When we first got together and then you went away, those first few weeks when we could only talk on the phone, I thought 'This is amazing! I have my best friend who I can tell anything and everything to plus we're adding this romantic aspect.' But by the end, it felt like we kept everything from each other."

Luke exhaled, "I know. I wish I could explain why I did what I did, but looking back at it now, I really don't know what I was thinking. All I can say is that, I was terrified of losing my kid, I was beyond terrified that Anna not seeing me as a good enough person to help raise my own child would give you pause about wanting to have kids with me and in all honesty, you put the relationship on hold when things were out of whack with Rory, so I assumed you would be okay with me putting it on hold for April."

"I know. And you were amazing to me. But I never cut you off from Rory. While she wasn't talking to me, she knew that she could still call you or come to you, she did both. You never let me have a relationship with April. So how did you think that would make me feel? Did you seriously not realize that you keeping us apart was sending me a very bad message? You knew that after what happened with Rory I saw myself as a bad Mother, and then here you were, the man that I wanted to have my future kids with, who didn't want me as part of his daughter's life."

Luke exhaled and rubbed his face, keeping it covered with both of his hands. "I know I was wrong. I do. I just really wish that you told me sooner."

"I think the way to avoid so much pain and drama in the future is really easy," Lorelai said softly while rubbing his arm. "We just need to talk. You were the one to say 'no secrets', we just both have to mean it this time. We have to remember that the other loves us and wants us to be happy and we just have to trust that talking things out is the only way. Like we make a set time, either just after dinner or before we turn out the lights at night, and we check in with each other. We talk about our days, did anything happen to upset us, are any insecurities popping up and why, you know, just continue to be each other's best friends. That's what made us, Us, right?"

He took her hand in his and kissed it, "Yeah, that's exactly what made us, Us. I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled. "Maybe enough serious talking for now. I know there's still stuff to work out, but I think that pool is calling me."

He shook his head and grinned, "I did promise to skinny dip with you, didn't I?"

XoXoXoXoXoXo

The next day they drove into town and found an amazing street fair. Luke was overwhelmed, not knowing where to look first. He loved seeing the locals and the things they'd made to sell, he loved all the food and flowers that lined the streets and most of all he loved the woman on his arm, pointing things out, smiling with her eyes so wide, like a child.

"Oooooh wow," she cooed, "Look at this gorgeous jewellery."

Being raised by Emily Gilmore, you would think that the jewellery that impressed Lorelai would be covered in diamonds or rare gemstones. But Lorelai was not like her Mother in many ways, and this was one of them. Luke was excited to see what caught her interest. There was a necklace she seemed drawn to, it had leather rope and a pewter pendant of a Hibiscus flower, it was simple yet pretty. This large petaled flower was used in a lot of the art seen around the fair. The pendants at this booth used different coloured stones in the middle of the flower. Lorelai already had two different ones in her hand and she was scouring for more.

"You're going to spend all of your money at the first stand," he chuckled.

"But these are perfect for Rory and April," she explained without looking up. If she had she would have seen Luke's face melt into the sweetest smile at her mentioning getting April the same gift she would get Rory.

He continued to watch her as she found a few more pieces she liked while speaking with the couple running the booth. Within five minutes they seemed like old friends, laughing, talking and the couple bringing out boxes from under the table to give Lorelai more options to choose from.

The next few hours went much the same, Lorelai making friendly chit chat with the locals, finding unique trinkets to take home to those she loved and smiling back at her Husband who watched on in awe. He would join in some of the conversations, when people asked about who they were buying for, where they were staying or about food. But he enjoyed watching her charm people.

When it was time for lunch, he suggested they head back to their house to drop off their purchases and relax for the afternoon. He had planned for them to attend a special luau at a nearby resort thinking she would like the excitement.

"Okay, I'll go back now," she sighed. "But we need to do more shopping. I still have to find something for my parents and something for the new house."

"We're still here for over a week, I know that this will not be our only shopping experience."

"You're a very smart man," she smiled at him.

XoXoXoXoXoXo

After a quiet afternoon alone in their honeymoon home, Luke dressed in beige linen pants, a short sleeve button down navy shirt with beige and grey plaid stripes, and his sandals. He had been shaving every day since the wedding and when she offhandedly mentioned she was actually starting to miss his stubble, he left it for today and a nice five o'clock shadow was coming in. Now he was watching some sports highlights in the bedroom as he waited for Lorelai to finish getting ready. She emerged from the ensuite bathroom wearing a navy strapless sundress with a fitted bodice and slightly flared skirt. It was covered in tiny embroidered white flowers and she wore a thin, white cardigan over it. Since they would be on the beach, she wore flat silver strappy sandals. Her hair hung in soft loose waves and her makeup was light and hardly noticeable except for the glow it seemed to give her.
He was amazed at how even when she was fairly casual, she seemed to be able to take his breath away.

"What are you smiling at?" She asked sweetly, knowing very well what his answer would likely be.

"You're gorgeous," he smiled.

"You're looking pretty good yourself there, Prince Charming."

"Shall we?"

She linked her arm through his as he led her out the back door, across the patio and to a stone staircase that took them to the beach below.

They walked quietly for a few minutes, both taking in the amazing views around them and enjoying their time together. Luke was so surprised at how quiet Lorelai could be sometimes. His friend Lorelai always seemed to be talking a mile a minute, covering any and all topics. It was almost like she hated silence and had to fill the void. But when he began dating her, when they were completely alone, he would constantly ask her if she was okay or if she was upset because she didn't seem to fill the silence all the time. Then one night after a small argument about her behaviour she got introspective. She let him know that so much of how she behaved was amour. From a young age she was trying to get people to notice and like her. She wanted to show her parents how smart she was, or how entertaining she could be. Then she wanted people to think she was strong and didn't need to be told what to do, so she acted like she knew everything. But that being with Luke, someone who knew her so well, someone who seemed to love all of her INCLUDING her flaws not in spite of them, she finally felt like she could relax and not have to be "on" all the time. He loved being the person she felt so comfortable with. He loved that she was quiet with him because she knew she could be, not because she thought he didn't want to hear her. The truth was her voice was his favourite sound in the world. He'd never admit it out loud, because being a Father, he assumed people would expect him to say that about his daughter. But he couldn't help it. Lorelai's voice was the first thing he wanted to hear every morning and the last sound he wanted to hear before he fell asleep.

When they rounded the corner and the luau site came into view Lorelai was very excited.

"Oh wow, this is so cool! Fire show? Hula dancing? Oh my god, look at the buffet? The flowers! This is amazing!"

Luke couldn't help but smile at her excitement. He wasn't one for cheesy tourist excursions, but he wanted to do a few things that he knew she would love and that (he would never admit) actually sounded like fun. Her eyes were wide, as if she was scared she'd miss something if she blinked, her smile was infectious as they reached the host of the restaurant/dining experience.

"Good evening," the man smiled warmly. "Do you have a reservation with us tonight?"

Luke nodded, "Yes. Mr. and Mrs. Danes for two."

"Aaah yes, you're staying at the Jasmine Estate. I hope the accommodations are to your liking."

"Are you kidding? I never want to leave," Lorelai grinned.

"We have that problem a lot," the man replied. Follow me to your seats. The buffet is open and you're free to start eating right away. The show will start in about ten to fifteen minutes." He led them to a table near the stage, but not too close, as per Luke's request. Close enough that Lorelai could enjoy the show, but hopefully far enough away that they wouldn't be included in any audience participation moments. "Lily will be your waitress, but if you need anything just ask anyone."

"Thank you," Luke said as he held out the chair for Lorelai.

Moments later Lily was there to take their drink order, Luke got a beer and Lorelai asked Lily to surprise her with something fun. Luke shook his head and laughed when Lily returned with a giant strawberry daiquiri with a skewer of strawberries and pineapple in it, a sugared rim and a hard plastic straw that twisted into the shape of a heart. And by Lorelai's request, Lily added an umbrella.

"There are a lot of good things here," Lily explained. "But I honestly think our bartender makes the best strawberry daiquiri on the planet!"

"Well with that endorsement," Lorelai smiled and immediately took a sip.

Luke chuckled as he saw the drink twist through the heart and then heard his wife hum.

"Lily, you did NOT disappoint," Lorelai said enthusiastically. "This IS the best strawberry daiquiri on the planet!"

Luke ordered a few glasses of water before Lily left the table. He wanted his wife tipsy tonight, but not passed out.

They went to the buffet and filled their plates with a very different assortment of foods. When they returned to the table the show began. First there were hula dancers, different age groups came up doing different songs and the host would explain the stories behind each dance. Lorelai was captivated and Luke couldn't take his eyes off of her. The next part of the show had Lorelai really excited as it was an Elvis competition. Different singers came up singing Elvis songs and the audience would pick the winner with their applause. Lorelai would sing the songs she knew (which were pretty much all of them) under her breath, only Luke could hear. They were done eating and he had pulled his chair close to hers. His arm draped over the back of her chair, he leaned closer to hear her gorgeous singing voice that she generally hid from the rest of the world. He couldn't remember a time when he was happier.

The singing contest ended with a big round of applause and then the dance floor was opened. Turns out, Luke could be happier. He stood immediately and held his hand out to his beautiful Bride and asked her to dance using no words at all. Her hand took his and they were quickly wrapped in each other's arms, dancing as they did at Liz and TJ's wedding except for the fact that neither of them were nervous at all. Lorelai was pleasantly surprised at how Luke seemed to care less about who saw them kiss when they were among strangers as opposed to when they were surrounded by the busy bodies of Stars Hollow. He pulled her flush against his body almost immediately, his arm wrapped around her waist, while the other hand held hers close to his chest. They danced for a few slow songs and when the tempo picked up they returned to the table to finish their drinks. Dessert was served on the beach where the fire dancing show took place. And then the couple walked hand in hand back down the beach. This time Lorelai was not quiet.

"Oh my God, I would never have guessed that was a night you planned. I had no idea you were into the touristy stuff too!"

He chuckled, "Years ago, you didn't think I was a movie guy and I told you then that if it was something you liked so much, that I'm sure I would enjoy it too. If nothing else, it's amazing to see you so happy and excited."

"So you only like it because I'm having a good time?"

"Well no. That was the only reason I made the plans. But tonight was a lot of fun. Who knew amateur singers would be so good? And any time I can have you in my arms is going to be a good time."

"The fire dance was pretty incredible too, hu?"

"Yeah, it was."

She was beaming, not looking where they were going or at the sites. Her eyes were on her breathtakingly handsome Husband.

"I don't wanna go home," she sighed. "I love Vacation Luke."

"You don't love Stars Hollow Luke anymore," he teased.

She sighed, "You know I do. But you're so much more relaxed here. More touchy feely. In Stars Hollow you barely want me to kiss you goodbye in front of other people."

"I think we can change that." He grinned, "Could be funny to see the yentas react to a more affectionate side of me."

She giggled excitedly.

"Hey," he said softly. "I know at the wedding and here we've been referring to you as Mrs. Danes, but are you really going to change your name?"

She exhaled with a furrowed brow, "You know I kind of have gone back and forth a little with this. How do you feel about it?"

"Well you've always been Lorelai Gilmore, so I understand you not wanting to change that. Plus I know in your career, your name is known, and not always your face. So again, I understand if you want to keep your name."

"Well that's really sweet. But I'm sure that Mr. Traditional would prefer his wife to share his name."

Luke shrugged, "I'm surrounded by strong women. If April or Rory got married and told me they wanted to keep their last names I would be supportive. We know that TJ took Liz's last name, God help me."

Lorelai laughed, "You don't like Gary TJ Danes sharing your last name?"

"Only because most people they meet think that means that he's my brother, not my brother-in-law. They think I share blood and DNA with that lunatic."

"Luke! TJ is so sweet. Yes, he's quirky, but he's got a great heart. He's so wonderful with Doula."

"I have two words for you," Luke sneered, "Air pants!"

Lorelai laughed remembering Liz and TJ's renaissance wedding where TJ wore tights that he wanted to rebrand as Air Pants because they were the most comfortable thing he'd ever worn.

"Seriously," he said, trying to bring the conversation back to where it started. "I mean you don't have to decide now."

Lorelai shrugged. "I figured socially I would be Lorelai Danes, at work I wouldn't really want to drop the Gilmore. As much as I hate to admit it, the name carries weight in some of the circles I try to woo to get more business. I looked into it and without a lot of hassle I can legally hyphenate my name. I think I'd prefer that legally. But like I said, when I meet people I'd introduce myself as Lorelai Danes. When we have kids I want us all to have the same name. It's bad enough Rory and April will have different names from us, we should at least have the same one as any new kids that might come along, don't you think?"

Luke's eyes were shining with joy. "Kids? Plural? You want more than one more?"

"Well yeah. I never wanted Rory to be an only child. I felt lonely and didn't want that for my kid. But there was no way in hell I'd have another kid with Chris. So it just happened. But if I were to actually start a family the proper," she used air quotes when she said proper, "way, I'd plan on having at least two close in age so they had the chance to be friends."

"How soon do you want to start trying," he asked, clearly on board with the plan. "Is tonight too soon?"

She laughed, "Well I'm on the pill as you know. Even if I stopped taking them tonight it would still be my system. And honestly, with being an unwed teen Mom, I would love to put some time between the wedding and the pregnancy announcement. You know, just a little bit of time so that even if the baby came early they wouldn't think you HAD to marry me, you know?"

Luke smiled at her lovingly, "I did have to marry you. Or I would have been miserable the rest of my life."

"Smooth line Mr. Danes. Now let's go to bed!"

XoXoXoXoXoXo

The honeymoon was going by faster than either of them wanted. Lorelai was already asking Luke other places he would want to travel, because she loved being away with him.

When they woke up on one of their last days in Hawaii, it was cloudy and grey. That gave them permission to spend most of the morning in bed. All she wore was one of his shirts and a smile as she sauntered into the kitchen. He was in a pair of shorts without a shirt as he looked through the fridge for their lunch.

"I changed my mind," she announced.

"At least let me have some Gatorade if you wanna go again," he grinned.

She laughed, "Not that. I meant that I think I'm okay to wait until we get into town. Let's have lunch out before finishing the shopping that needs to be done."

"Are you sure? Nothing's worse than Hangry Lorelai," he said while closing the fridge and stepping closer to her.

"I'm sure," she promised. "You've cooked so much on this trip. It was supposed to be a vacation for you too."

"You forget that I enjoy cooking. Especially when you eat the vegetables and fish that I make."

"Still, let's go out."

He nodded his head towards the bedroom, "Is it safe for us to get changed at the same time, or are you going to jump me again?"

"Excuse me," she asked incredulously. "YOU ripped the towel off of me after my shower! I believe you jumped me last."

"True. But I'm getting pretty hungry, I think I can control myself until this afternoon when we get back."

"Aww, you're cute. You think I'll be finished shopping while it's still the afternoon." She laughed as they heard into the bedroom to get dressed for their outing.

They enjoyed their lunch on the patio of a restaurant looking over the water. Lorelai took pictures to send to the girls, she even got Luke to agree to let her sit on his lap and try to take a picture of themselves with the fabulous view behind them. She loved the digital camera that Jess bought her for Christmas. The little screen on the back showed the picture immediately so she knew if she had to try again. It only took three tries to get both of their heads and the scenery in the shot.

Luke laughed, "You just want all the PDA now because you know I wouldn't let you sit on my lap at home."

She turned to him with the classic Gilmore girl pout. Both Lorelai and Rory have used it on him many times, and he noticed Emily use it on Richard recently. It took everything in him not to laugh when Richard crumbled just as easily as he did.

"What if it's a really packed town meeting and your leg hurts and I'm wearing heels? You'd have to sit, and you wouldn't want my feet to hurt, right?"

He kissed her turned out lip, "Under those circumstances, sure."

"What about if I just want to," she smiled.

Luke let out a large sigh, as if what she asked him was a huge inconvenience, "You want to sit on my lap in public?"

She wiggled in his lap, "Don't you like it when I sit in your lap?"

"Yeah! But I like it when you do it in private. I mean, where are you going to draw the line?"

Suddenly she got serious and he regretted his words. She tried to stand up but he held her where she was.

"I don't mean to make you uncomfortable," she said quietly. "I was just joking around."

Luke took her face in his hands and forced her to look him in the eyes, "You can sit on my lap any time I'm seated." He then kissed her passionately, completely surprising her.

"I love you," she said against his lips.

"I love you too. Now let's go shopping, so we can finally be done."

The afternoon was spent in the higher end stores, Lorelai wanted to find the perfect gifts for her parents, she was also looking for Jess and the girls and of course, herself and Luke.

As she wandered through a clothing store Luke sat in a plush armchair near the fitting rooms. He had a few things in his lap that she wanted to try on. She came back to him a few minutes later with some men's shirts.

"Oh, please don't make me try on clothes," he whined quietly.

"I know your size by now," she waved. "Just tell me which one you like best." She held up two Hawaiian shirts. Both busier than anything he would normally wear.

"If those are my options can I pick neither?"

"Did you even really look at them," she asked. "This one has little green trucks among the flowers and this one has burgers."

He stood up to look closer and tried not to laugh, "Where on Earth do you think I will wear these?"

"I don't know where exactly you would wear them, but I'll tell you what will happen if you do." She leaned in really close to him, her lips grazing his ear, "When you wear these shirts I'll think about our honeymoon. I'll think about how you planned this all for me and how romantic you've been. I'll think about what you have been doing to me every night and day. And I'll think about how this trip has made me want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you've made me." She saw the goosebumps rise on his neck. "But if you won't wear them, I guess I'll put them back."

He grabbed the hangers out of her hand and gave her a dangerous smile, "I'll get them both."

Her smile lit up her face, "Really?"

"Yeah. But I'm only wearing them around the house," he grunted.

"Okay. I'm going to try on my stuff now." She disappeared into a changing room and after just a minute she opened the door and had her back to him.

"Can you zip this up please?" She asked while holding her hair over her shoulder.

Luke looked into the store and noticed both of the people who worked there were busy with other customers. He stepped close to his wife and kissed the back of her neck and pushed her gently into the changing room.

"What are you doing," she giggled.

"I should try the shirts on before buying them," he answered while still kissing her neck and shoulder. When the door clicked shut his voice grew huskier, "You can't talk to me like that in public. It makes me want to do things."

XoXoXoXoXoXo

The following Friday, home from the honeymoon, Luke was dressed and ready for his first Friday night dinner as Lorelai's husband. He had been there before, he'll never forget the night that both Richard and Emily were sharing insurance horror stories. He did feel better when Lorelai pointed out that those tales were Richard and Emily's way of bringing Luke into their circle and letting him know that they wanted to protect him. He wasn't a stupid or socially unaware man, he had just spent most of his time with straight shooters. People like Patty, Babette, Taylor and even Lorelai and Rory, all were upfront and honest people. Most of them couldn't lie to him if they wanted to, because he could read them like a book. So this world that Lorelai came from, where people said things that may sound nice but mean the total opposite or where you have to constantly be on guard, not able to just be relaxed put him on edge. He wanted to change this dynamic within the Gilmore family. He knew Rory was pretty comfortable with her grandparents, and that Lorelai had come a long way. And he's had a few heart to heart conversations with Richard to know that he also wanted an even more improved relationship with Lorelai. Of course he knew Emily did as well, she just had a harder time vocalizing it. But knowing the relationship that he was missing out on with his own parents, he wanted to do whatever he could to ensure the family he was creating with Lorelai would have a good relationship with the only grandparents his future kids would meet.

He straightened his tie and called up from the bottom of the stairs, "Five minute warning!"

"Do you have the presents," Lorelai called from their room.

"They're by the door with your coat," he responded.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!"

"I just said -"

"It was your tone, Mister! The way you said 'door' like you wanted me out of it," she explained as she hurried down the stairs.

When she reached him he looked at her feet. "You need to wear boots!"

"They don't go with my outfit," she answered petulantly.

"How many times do we have to go over this? Put the shoes you want to wear at your Mom's in a bag. Put on boots with rubber soles so you don't slip and fall while we're outside!" As he gave her the instructions he found a pair of boots she could slip on in the hall closet and a canvas tote bag. "Gimme your shoes!"

Lorelai huffed as she stepped out of her high heels and handed them to her husband, and then slipped the Uggs Rory had left behind on. "Wow, these are really comfortable. And warm! I might have to steal these from Rory."

"If they are boots you'll wear, I'll buy you your own pair."

"I can't decide if you're being sweet to me or if you just don't want me to steal from Rory."

As he helped her with her coat he replied, "Two things can be true at the same time."

An hour later Luke and Lorelai sat on a very expensive sofa across from Emily and Rory as Richard made drinks.

"The villa sounds perfect," Emily gushed.

"It was," Lorelai smiled. "My Husband did an exceptional job in surprising me with the perfect honeymoon."

"Well after hearing your parents describe Hawaii I knew I wanted to see it. Thanks again Richard, for putting me in touch with your travel agent."

"No problem," Richard smiled. "Robert has seen so much business from us, I knew he was the guy to find you the perfect spot. I'm glad it all worked out."

"Yeah, yeah," Rory said in mock annoyance. "How long are we going to sit here just staring at the gift bags?"

Luke laughed, "You really are your Mother's daughter."

"They come by it honestly," Richard smiled while nodding his head towards Emily.

"Well who doesn't like a nice gift?" Emily asked.

"Okay, calm down. You can have them now." Lorelai giggled as she reached for the large bag by her feet. She pulled out two boxes wrapped in aqua blue paper and handed them both to Richard. "Here Dad, these are both for you."
Richard beamed up at his daughter, "You didn't have to get me anything."

"Of course we did."

Richard smiled at Emily, who despite wanting to see her own gift, returned his smile when she saw how happy he was.

He carefully removed the paper of the first box and took off the lid, "Oh wow, what a find! Is this - it's signed!" Richard held up a Chuck Berry album to show Emily and Rory. The fact that it had the singer's autograph made Richard seem giddy. "Thank you so much."

"Don't forget the other one," Lorelai pointed to the box still on his lap. "Although I probably should have given you this one first. It's going to be a letdown from the record."

"Nonsense," Richard said as he opened his second gift, "I'll love whatever you give me. Oh my -" his words were cut off by the lump in his throat. He looked up with tears in his eyes, looking directly into Lorelai's. "This is better than the record. I love it."

Lorelai could only smile.

"Well, show us!" Emily said impatiently.

Richard held up an eight by ten silver picture frame that had a photo from Luke and Lorelai's wedding. It was a picture of Richard and Lorelai having the Father Daughter dance, smiling at each other.

"It's lovely," Emily smiled sweetly.

Lorelai pulled two more presents, these wrapped in floral paper, from her bag. Rory smiled with excitement but her face dropped when Lorelai handed both to Emily.

"Hey!" Rory pouted.

"You could have come to the house last night," Lorelai said to her daughter. "In fact you promised you would. You would have already had your gifts for a full day. So now you can wait as your Grandparents get theirs."

Emily opened the smaller box first. As she lifted the lid Lorelai gave instructions.

"Be careful. The silk scarf is one of your gifts, but I wrapped your second gift inside the scarf so it wouldn't break."

Emily nodded as she gently pulled the scarf from the box and unfolded it to find a crystal seashell.

"I know you like to change up the figurines you have around and thought this one was beautiful." Lorelai couldn't tell by the look on Emily's face if she liked it.

"She elbowed two women out of her way because it was the last one," Luke added.

Emily looked up with a hint of a smile on her lips, "I love it. Thank you." She then placed it carefully back in the box. "And the scarf is gorgeous."

"What's the other one?" Rory asked.

"Okay, I'll hurry up," Emily laughed. She opened the second box that also had a silver frame, her picture from the wedding was one of the five of them in the room. "Oh how wonderful," Emily sighed. "Our family." She showed it to Richard who grinned happily. After tilting it so Rory could see, Emily stood, removed a piece of art from the centre of the mantel and placed the frame in its place.

"We brought all the wedding proofs so we can go through them after dinner. We'll make notes of what you like to make you your own album," Lorelai told them. She then pulled two more gifts from the bag and finally Rory got her turn.

Rory loved her hibiscus flower necklace and large mug with hibiscus flowers on it. Her third gift made her laugh as Lorelai explained that it was Luke's idea.

"I just never really travelled and I thought it was funny. I got one for April too."

It was an oversized t-shirt that had 'Someone who loves me went to Hawaii and all I got was this lousy shirt". Richard laughed his booming, genuine laugh while Emily tried to hide the fact that she was laughing as well.

"Thanks Luke," Rory smiled.

"Your Mom said it would make a good sleep shirt," he shrugged.

"Are you kidding? I'm wearing it to the next town meeting," Rory laughed.

Later, on the car ride home, Lorelai looked over at Luke. "Do you want to hear something crazy," she asked.

"I married you, so that would imply I always want to hear something crazy." He smirked when he looked over at her, then quickly returned his eyes back on the road.

"Friday night dinners aren't so bad anymore."

He turned to her and smiled. They joined hands and rode the rest of the way home in silent contentment.