The Past in the Present - Chapter 8

. . . . .

As Luke drove off, Lorelai closed and locked the front door, then grabbed the phone and sat down on the couch as she dialed Rory's number.

"Hello?" Rory answered.

"It's me," Lorelai replied. "Luke just left."

"I probably shouldn't ask why he showered at your place if he was leaving anyway, should I?"

"Probably not," Lorelai confirmed.

"Okay, moving on…"

"So, when we were saying goodbye just now, he reiterated that he's okay with me being April's friend and interacting with her online," Lorelai told her. "And it was sincere, I can tell he meant it."

"Good," Rory replied earnestly. "That's really good."

"Yeah, so... finish up that supportive thing you were saying about spats," Lorelai urged.

Rory paused for a moment, thinking back to what she had been saying earlier. "Okay, well, you have to deal with the spats as they come along, and eventually a new dynamic will evolve about that topic and it won't cause a spat anymore."

"Okay, but how long do we think eventually is?"

"I'm not sure," Rory replied. "But it's new right now. Luke's still in that phase where he wants you to be involved with April, but is still adjusting to the little changes he needs to make. But soon he will be totally adjusted and he'll never give a second thought to you interacting with her."

"Okay, but how long do we think soon is?"

Rory smiled. "Mom, I don't know. Just let him figure things out and try not to freak out on him unless he really, really deserves it."

Lorelai sighed softly. "Okay, fine, I will attempt to control that teeny tiny tendency I have to sometimes, occasionally overreact."

"Good girl."

"Okay, enough about me for now," Lorelai declared. "Talk to Mommy about what's going on with you."

"Well, as of a few hours ago, my second article has been submitted to my editor for review," Rory said.

Lorelai gasped. "You finished it! Good, how'd it come out?"

"I think it turned out well," Rory replied. "I had to try to make it as different as I could from the first one. I mean, the point of a campaign trail is to sell your ideas to the people, so most of the speeches cover all of the same topics."

"Right," Lorelai said understandingly. "So how'd you make this one different?"

"I did some research on the towns we visited this week, and wrote about how some of his platforms would positively or negatively impact the residents in those locations," Rory explained.

"Well, look at you being all creative," Lorelai gushed impressively. "That sounds like a great angle."

"Yeah, and I think for the next article, I'm gonna try to get some firsthand feedback from actual attendees at the events," Rory said excitedly. "You know, interview them after the speech and quote them in the article."

Lorelai smiled. "Like the real live journalists do! My baby girl is a real live journalist."

"She's certainly trying to be," Rory agreed.

Lorelai's face was beaming with pride. "I'm so proud of you, honey…like really, incredibly, overwhelmingly proud."

"I know you are," Rory replied appreciatively. "Thanks, Mom."

"And if you were here, I would hug you really tight and kiss your cheek and keep reminding you of how amazing you are." Lorelai's voice quivered as she softly added, "I miss you, kid."

"I miss you, too."

Lorelai sighed as she shook off the sadness. "So, you have a television in that motel room of yours?"

"Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I do."

Lorelai reached for the remote from the coffee table. "Let's find something mock-worthy to watch together so I can feel like you're sitting right here next to me."

Rory smiled. "Okay."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next night, after working a few hours later than usual, Lorelai went straight from the inn to the diner. She sat down at the counter, and Luke leaned across it to greet her with a kiss. "Hey, there."

Lorelai smiled. "Hi. Someone needs coffee, stat."

Luke glanced over at the coffee maker. "I just put on a new pot, it'll be another minute."

Lorelai feigned a disappointed sigh. "Fine, but I hope it's worth the wait."

Luke pulled out a clean mug from under the counter and set it in front of her. "It seems to always satisfy your high standards."

"It's usually extremely gratifying, yes," Lorelai confirmed. "And pretty addictive." She leaned forward against the counter and ran a finger seductively across her bottom lip. "I tend to crave it on a daily basis."

Luke smirked. "We still talking about the coffee?"

Lorelai smiled slyly. "Sure, what else would I be talking about?"

Luke shrugged. "No idea." He glanced at the coffee maker and saw that the pot had finished brewing, then filled up the mug in front of her. "Careful, hot."

Lorelai pulled the mug closer to her and blew lightly on the coffee to cool it down before taking a sip. "Mm, that's good," she said with a nod of approval. "I also need fuel immediately, preferably in the form of high saturated fats and hydrogenated oils."

"Burger and fries?"

"Yes, and cook fast, please, before my stomach eats itself." Luke headed into the kitchen and Lorelai sipped her coffee. She glanced around the empty diner, reveling in the peace and quiet after the hectic day she'd had. She wiggled her toes, wishing she could kick off her heels, then called toward the kitchen, "Luke?"

Luke appeared in the doorway holding a spatula. "Yeah?"

"Did you eat yet?"

"Just a salad earlier. Why?"

"What do you say you leave the diner in Caesar's very capable hands, and we go have dinner together upstairs?" Lorelai asked hopefully. "I feel like getting all nice and comfy on the couch."

Luke hadn't had many customers in the past hour or so, so he nodded toward her. "Go ahead... I'll bring the food up in a few minutes."

Lorelai's eyes lit up as she smiled. "Thank you!" She grabbed her coffee mug and purse, and headed upstairs to his apartment.

She set her mug on the coffee table, dropped her purse on the armchair, and kicked off her shoes. She walked over to his closet to grab a flannel shirt and went into the bathroom. She emerged a few minutes later wearing just the flannel shirt, carrying a pile of her folded work clothes. She set them on the bed, then sat down on the couch and drank her coffee.

A few minutes later, Luke walked into the apartment with three takeout containers and set them on the table. He glanced at her on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table, and smiled at the flannel shirt. "You staying the night?" he asked.

"Well, Babette's got Paul Anka covered for me, so I thought a little sleepover might be fun." She stood up from the couch and walked over to him. "Any objections? Speak now or forever hold your peace."

Luke shook his head as his eyes wandered down to her legs. "Not at all."

Lorelai smiled as she put her finger under his chin and lifted his head up. "Food first. Need energy."

They brought the food containers over to the coffee table. Lorelai opened one up and gasped happily at the slice of pie that greeted her. "Good boy, you remembered dessert."

"This one's your burger," Luke said, tapping the lid of the middle container.

Lorelai opened it up and quickly grabbed a few fries. "Oh my God," she mumbled as she chewed them. "So good."

Luke took a bite of his chicken sandwich, put it back in the container, then stood up from the couch. "Beer?"

"Please," Lorelai replied before taking a big bite of her burger. "And ketchup," she added, barely understandable through her mouthful of food.

Luke grabbed two beers and the bottle of ketchup from the fridge, then returned to the couch. "How was your day?" he asked her.

"It was good, but long," she replied as she squirted some ketchup onto her fries. "The candle-makers had a bunch of activities going on, but I didn't see any more props that may help us develop our communication skills. I'll keep a lookout."

Luke smirked. "Okay."

"What about you?" Lorelai asked. "Good day?"

Luke shrugged and glanced down at his container of food. "Well, Liz called."

Lorelai felt anxious when she saw his unenthusiastic expression. "Uh oh, what happened? Everything okay?"

Luke sighed before muttering, "She invited us over for dinner tomorrow night."

Lorelai paused for a moment, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, she asked, "Is that it?"

"Yeah."

Lorelai smiled and cocked her head to the side. "Luke, that was nice of her. You love Liz, and you definitely like spending time with Doula… so why do you look like we got invited to a dinner party with Vincent Price on Haunted Hill?"

"Because dinner at that house doesn't always go smoothly," Luke told her. "She's not the greatest cook in the world, so it's questionable if there will even be edible food. Plus, TJ will be there, obviously, so… there's that. I don't want you to be exposed to a night of TJ."

Lorelai rubbed his arm comfortingly. "Come on, it'll be fine. It's good to spend time with your family, even if the night doesn't go exactly how you'd plan for it to go."

"Oh, yeah? Is that how you're gonna feel on Friday night when we're spending time with your family?" Luke asked pointedly.

Lorelai grimaced and held up her hands. "No, no, don't say it! I have temporarily blocked that event out of my mind, and if you want me to maintain any semblance of sanity this week, we shouldn't bring it up again until an hour before said blocked-event actually happens. Okay?"

"Deal."

"So, what did you say to Liz?"

"I told her I wasn't sure if we had plans tomorrow night," Luke replied. "So, feel free to quickly find something for us to do."

Lorelai smiled as she shook her head. "We are completely open and free to dine wherever we'd like."

Luke sighed. "Fine, we'll go."

Lorelai smiled and patted his leg. "Good, and tell her we'll bring dessert. We'll pick up something from Weston's… unless you think you'll have a spare cake or pie lying around the diner?"

"Weston's is fine," he replied. "I know Liz has a strong affection for that Dark Chocolate Crunch cake."

"Dark Chocolate Crunch cake it is," Lorelai declared. "So, at least if dinner's a bust, we know there will be edible dessert."

"Good point." Luke took a long sip of his beer, then said, "Oh, I almost forgot…Billy came by earlier. He gave me a couple of tickets to a Rock Cats game on Saturday night."

Lorelai picked up a French fry and took a bite. "What's a Rock Cat?"

"It's minor league baseball," Luke replied. "I thought maybe we could go... you know, if you're free and still wanted to try something like that."

Lorelai smiled. "Oh, I'm free and totally up for trying out some sportyness." She rubbed her hands together excitedly. "Ooh, I have to buy a new outfit."

Luke snickered. "Tsk, you do not need a new outfit."

"I need to be appropriately festive for the sportyness," Lorelai told him. "Like a cute little baseball t-shirt or something. Ooh, and I'll wear a baseball hat - I look so cute in hats!" She patted his arm, her face lit up with excitement. "This will be fun!"

Luke smiled at her. "Glad to see you're into this. Or, at least, into the clothing part of it."

"I'm into all of it…I am embracing the world of Luke's interests."

"We'll see how you feel about it once you're actually at the game, though," he commented. "You might not be embracing it so much."

"I can embrace anything," Lorelai declared. "I had to fill a seat for my parents at a fundraising event for restoring antique pipe organs, and I embraced the hell out of it."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yup. So, I don't wanna brag or anything, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to kick butt at the whole watching sports thing."

"Oh, I bet," Luke agreed with an amused smirk. "I've seen you watch Field of Dreams… your sports-watching skills blew me away. I was in complete awe and felt so inferior."

Lorelai giggled as she playfully nudged him with her elbow. "Don't worry… I'll teach you, Grasshopper."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Wednesday night at Liz and TJ's house, they moved to the living room after dinner for dessert and coffee. Doula sat in her infant seat on the floor next to the couch, enthralled with the plastic toy keys that Luke was dangling in front of her.

Lorelai finished her last bite of cake and set her plate on the coffee table. "Can I pick her up?" she asked Liz. "Do you mind?"

Liz smiled and gestured toward the baby. "Sure, go ahead."

"The rule is, whoever's holding her at the time she does her diaper business has to change her," TJ warned her. "So hold her at your own risk."

"Oh, TJ, stop telling people that," Liz scolded him, then told Lorelai, "Ignore him, he's kidding."

Lorelai walked over to the infant seat and gently lifted Doula out of it. She held her up at eye level, smiling brightly. "Hi there, sweetie. Auntie Lorelai apologizes for the tempting smells of chocolate and coffee on her breath, but one day you will discover for yourself the pure joy that they can bring you."

"Hopefully not," Luke muttered.

Lorelai leaned closer to Doula's ear and whispered, "Make sure you come to me when you want them, not Uncle Luke." She sat down on the couch next to Luke, cradling the baby in her arms. "She is just the most precious little thing, huh?" Lorelai asked Luke.

"Yeah, she is," Luke agreed. He was still holding the plastic keys, and he pressed them against Doula's hand until she curled her tiny fingers around the ring. "She's got a good grip."

Liz was smiling as she watched them. "You know, you two look really good with a baby."

"Liz," Luke warned, trying to ward off the discussion topic his sister was broaching.

Liz held up her hands in mock-surrender. "What? I'm just giving a compliment."

"Yeah, and women love any compliment we can get," Lorelai added. "So if little Doula here is a good fashion accessory for me, that's important to know." She smiled at Liz. "So, thank you for the compliment."

Liz smiled and nodded. "Any time."

"So, you said you're thinking about doing home shows with your jewelry?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, maybe," Liz replied with a shrug. "It was an idea that Carrie suggested. She thought it could help expose my jewelry line to more people."

"Well, sure, Carrie does know a lot about exposing herself to people," Luke muttered.

Lorelai frowned at Luke. "Aw, be nice…that's your sister's friend."

"What? You've met her," Luke reminded her. "It's a pretty well-known fact that she's insane."

Liz nodded in agreement as she gestured toward Luke. "He's right, she is kind of insane." She sighed and shook her head slightly. "You wanna know what her latest hobby is?"

"Not particularly," Luke replied.

"She discovered that the internet is for more than just shopping," Liz continued. "Now she's using it to find dates like it's some kind of giant singles bar."

"And let me guess… she's still married?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, but you know Carrie," Liz replied. "Like she says, life is a playground and mama's always ready to play."

"Oh, geez," Luke muttered as he rubbed his temple with the heel of his hand. "Liz, you have to get new friends."

"I agree with that," TJ piped up, tipping his beer bottle toward Luke. "Listen to your brother. Carrie's a bad influence."

"She's not influencing me to do anything," Liz countered. "I'm just a bystander."

Doula started to whimper a bit, and Lorelai shifted her so she was resting against her chest. "Wait, Carrie's last name is Duncan, right?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, that's her maiden name," Liz replied.

Lorelai gently rubbed Doula's back to soothe her. "I think I saw her name on Facebook the other day. We must have some friends in common or something… maybe people from town."

"Yeah, that could be," Liz replied with a nod. "That's one of the sites she's been going on."

"Facebook?" Luke asked with wide eyes. "She's finding guys to date through Facebook?" He gave a curious glance toward Lorelai, then he quickly looked away.

Liz shrugged. "I don't know much about it. I just know she started talking to some guys from high school on there and wants to try to get together with them for a happy hour or something." Liz noticed that Doula was starting to fall asleep on Lorelai's shoulder. "We should get her in the crib," Liz said as she stood up. "If she falls asleep now, she won't let us move her without a major tantrum."

"Yeah, I'm the same way," Lorelai joked.

Luke stood up from the couch. "We'll get out of your hair so you can put her to bed."

"No, you don't have to go," Liz insisted, waving for him to sit back down. "Stay a little longer."

"No, really, we should call it a night, I have to get up early tomorrow," Luke replied as he started clearing plates and cups from the coffee table. "But it was nice. Good job on mom's meatball recipe."

"Yes, everything was great, thank you," Lorelai agreed as Liz gently lifted the baby from Lorelai's arms. "We should do it again soon."

"Definitely," Liz agreed.

"Our casa is your casa," TJ added.

Luke carried the dishes to the kitchen and then returned to the living room. Lorelai grabbed her purse, and they said their goodbyes at the front door. As they stepped outside, Luke laced his fingers through Lorelai's and they walked toward his truck.

They drove back to Lorelai's house, and Luke followed her inside. As he shut the front door behind them, Lorelai dropped her purse on the hall table and bent down to pet Paul Anka. "I told you we wouldn't be too long," she cooed to the dog. "I bet you thought I was kidding."

As she stood up, Luke stepped closer to her and rested his hands on her waist. She smiled up at him as she cradled his face in her hands and pressed her lips to his for a soft kiss.

"Thanks for putting up with my family," he muttered against her lips.

"My pleasure," she replied as she kissed him again.

He slid his hands up beneath her shirt until he was gripping her ribcage. He backed her up until she was perched on the edge of the hall table, and she tilted her head back as he moved his lips downward. He sucked lightly on the soft skin of her neck before he kissed a trail down to her chest, his lips grazing over the necklace she hadn't taken off in weeks.

"Hey, Luke," Lorelai whispered.

Luke moved up to her lips and kissed her gently before muttering, "Hm?"

"I saw you look over at me earlier," Lorelai said softly. "It was fast, but I saw you look over at me like maybe something was wrong. But then you didn't say anything about it on the ride home, so I don't know if I misread it and there really isn't anything wrong, or if there really is something wrong but you're just avoiding it."

Luke pulled back from her with apparent confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"When Liz mentioned how Carrie goes on Facebook," Lorelai clarified. "You looked over at me with what appeared to be a very brief look of concern."

"It wasn't a look of concern," he contended as he shook his head. "I was just surprised."

"I think we should talk about it," Lorelai said as she traced a finger along his lips.

Luke shrugged. "There's not really anything to talk about, though. There's nothing wrong… I was surprised, but I'm fine."

"But tell me what went through your head in that moment," she requested as she rested her hands on his shoulders. "Liz was talking about Carrie, she mentioned Facebook, you looked over at me, and you thought... what?"

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "I guess, I just wondered if it's common for people to try to find dates on there." He shook his head slightly as he assured her, "It's not like I thought you were doing that. I was just surprised to hear that people do that on there, that's all. Then I was kind of thinking about April being on there, and… I don't know. It's not a big deal."

Lorelai gently pressed her lips to his cheek. "Okay, but… can we just talk it out a little so you don't start over-thinking it to the point where it does become a big deal? Please?"

Luke nodded. "Sure." Lorelai took his hand and led him into the living room. Luke sat down on the couch, and Lorelai perched herself on the coffee table in front of him.

Lorelai rested her hands on his knees. "You know that what Carrie is doing on that site is not what most people are doing, right? And certainly not what I'm doing... I'm using it to innocently keep in touch with people, and that's it."

"I know," Luke said with a nod.

"You don't have to worry about anything else going on… not with me, and not with April either. I mean, remember… she already has her own website, she knows the do's and don'ts of the internet pretty well by now."

"Yeah, good point," Luke agreed. "I forgot, she's been online for awhile."

"Yeah. And most of the people I interact with on there are people you know… either from Stars Hollow or the inn," Lorelai continued. "I've only accepted a few of the high school requests... just the ones I remember as being nice people and who aren't just adding me to see what happened to the scandal girl."

Luke nodded understandingly. "Okay."

"And, if it makes you feel better to know this… there are only a couple of guys on my list, none of whom I have any sort of relationship history with," Lorelai told him. "Unless you count that one night out with Peter Cutler as a relationship, but I'm pretty sure he can't even look at me without picturing me vomiting in his car."

Luke smirked. "I remember that story."

Lorelai took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly before continuing. "And if I saw someone on that site who I thought might make you feel uncomfortable...I would try to avoid contact."

Luke pursed his lips. "Like… Christopher?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. I'm not gonna interact with someone like Chris or Max or anyone that I have a history with. And not because I think something might happen, I just don't want you to feel weird about it."

Luke shrugged as he said, "Well, you can keep in touch with whoever you want to. I mean, I trust you, Lorelai."

"I know you do," she assured him. "And I trust you, too. But even with a hundred percent trust, situations involving an ex can make people feel weird and jealous, and I'd rather us not even have to deal with it, you know?"

Luke nodded. "I get it."

"Plus, just so you know, it says right on my profile that I'm in a relationship," Lorelai told him. "So any guy who may be out there just looking for a good time knows that they need to take their Don Juan ways elsewhere."

"Yeah, but I know guys," Luke replied. "Most of 'em will see your picture and not care for one second whether you're taken or not." He gestured toward her. "I mean, look at yourself, Lorelai... no guy in his right mind would walk away from that without at least trying first."

Lorelai smiled at the compliment, then shook her head. "Well, I can assure you that no one has been flirty or said inappropriate things or tried to seduce me in any way. And if they did, you would know." She slowly climbed onto his lap, facing him as her knees straddled his legs. She rested her hands on his shoulders as she declared, "I'm all in, Luke. Don't forget that."

"I know you are," he replied as his hands smoothed up her sides. "I am, too."

"Good, because you're pretty much stuck with me like we're in a Matt Damon-Greg Kinnear movie." When Luke gave her a confused look, she clarified, "They played conjoined twins."

"Oh." Luke pressed his lips to hers and kissed her tenderly. As he pulled back, his hands cradled her face as he whispered, "I love you."

Lorelai smiled as that familiar tingle ran down her spine, the one she felt every time she heard those words leave his lips. "I love you, too."

Luke was staring into her eyes and he moved his hands down to her waist. "I just… I don't know if… when I think about…" He paused and took a deep breath as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say. He swallowed hard as he stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds, then brought his gaze back to her. "The thought of losing you again kills me, Lorelai." He shook his head slightly. "It kills me. I wouldn't be able to handle it."

The emotion in his voice and the sincerity in his eyes made her breath hitch. Lorelai instantly put her hands on his face. "No one is losing anyone," she said firmly. "We're both in this and we know what we need to do to stay in this... right?"

Luke nodded and kissed her, and she immediately deepened the kiss. His hands roamed her body as their tongues dueled aggressively, and soft moans escaped her throat as her arousal grew. When Lorelai finally broke the kiss for air, she captured his bottom lip between her teeth and tugged on it gently before letting go. Panting heavily to catch her breath, she muttered, "How about you take me upstairs and show me the naughty version of being all in?"

Luke smirked. "Gladly." She climbed off of him, grabbed his hand, and led him toward the staircase.

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Thursday night, Lorelai and Sookie went to the mall to find something for Lorelai to wear to the baseball game. After they had completed that task, they stopped at a pizza place for dinner.

As they started to eat, Lorelai asked, "So why don't you want to find out the sex this time? You did for the other two."

"Because for the other two, I needed to be prepared," Sookie replied. "If it was a girl, I wanted to have girl stuff. If it was a boy, I wanted to have boy stuff. But now I already have both boy stuff and girl stuff, so I'm ready either way."

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "Gotcha. And you have names picked out for both?"

"I'm working on it," Sookie replied. "And I do mean I in the singular sense, because when a man accidentally impregnates a woman after pretending to get a vasectomy, he forfeits all name-choosing rights to the woman."

Lorelai smiled. "I firmly support that argument."

"Thank you," Sookie replied. "So, tomorrow is dinner with your parents?"

Lorelai groaned as she nodded. "Yup."

"It'll be fine," Sookie told her. "There's no way they're not going to be nice."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Honey, you're confusing my parents for the Cleavers."

"You came out and specifically asked them to be nice," Sookie reminded her. "I know you're preparing for the worst, but I think they're gonna surprise you."

Lorelai shrugged. "There's nothing I can do about it at this point. I just have to take Luke in there and hope for the best."

Sookie took a sip of her iced tea, then gave Lorelai a sly smile. "Speaking of Luke, are you seeing him tonight?"

Lorelai smiled and shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe."

"That's every night this week." Sookie smirked as she shook her head slightly. "You two are still in this wild honeymoon phase, huh?"

Lorelai playfully feigned a gasp of surprise. "Sookie! Are you trying to bait me into talking about intimate details?"

Sookie shook her head. "No, no baiting. It was just a simple yes or no question." She smiled proudly as she shook her pizza crust at Lorelai. "See, when my friend is trying to respect her boyfriend's wishes about not sharing the dirty stuff, I support it, no matter how intrigued I am about their very active bedroom antics."

Lorelai giggled as she nodded appreciatively. "Thank you." She picked up a piece of cheesy bread and broke off a piece. "It's been good, you know? It's two people who missed each other spending a lot of time together now to make up for that very long period of time when they spent no time together." She popped the piece of bread in her mouth and brushed the crumbs from her hands.

Sookie frowned sympathetically. "That was a bad period of time."

"Yeah, it was," Lorelai agreed, but then she smiled brightly. "But now it's great. Like, really, really great."

Sookie grinned. "I'm glad." She wiped her lips with a napkin. "So, have you thought about what happens next? I mean, I'm assuming you wouldn't be back with him if you didn't see it as a permanent thing."

"Yeah, of course," Lorelai replied without hesitation. "When I think about the future, he's it."

"Are you ready now for that future?" Sookie asked. "Or do you see yourself taking it slow for awhile?"

Lorelai sighed and distractedly twirled her finger in her hair. "Well, when we first reconciled, we had so much to talk about and get through, and I was so adamant about not moving too fast, about not jumping right back to where we were before we self-destructed." Lorelai shrugged as she added, "But now…"

"Now you're ready to jump?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai drew her bottom lip into her mouth as she nodded. "Kind of. I keep thinking, why should we still take it slow and drag it out if we know exactly where we want it to go? But is that crazy? It's too fast, right?"

Sookie shook her head. "Not really, but what about the April situation? Isn't that still kind of… iffy? I mean, he's still getting a hold on how to deal with that, and that could be a deal breaker for you."

"Yeah, but he knows that's a deal breaker…I've made it very clear," Lorelai said. "And the look on his face last night when he was talking about losing me…" She gazed into space for a moment, then shook her head with a small smile. "Well, that was the face of a man who is going to do everything in his power to make this work. We both are."

"Well, then, good," Sookie said with a smile. "If you feel good about it and you're ready to jump… then no, it's not too fast. Does he know you're ready to jump?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I haven't said anything because I don't want him to freak out if he's not on the same page."

"Well, it sounds like he's on that page, too," Sookie said. "I mean, what other page could he possibly be on?"

Lorelai pondered a moment, then declared, "I think he's probably on page 47."

Sookie smirked. "And what exactly is page 47?"

"It's the page where he kind of thinks he's in it for the long haul, but he's waiting to see if he can get through one dinner with my parents without killing them before he decides whether or not I'm worth taking the long haul with."

Sookie smiled and shook her head. "I highly doubt that."

"Well, maybe I should save any sort of 'let's discuss our future' chat for after the dinner," Lorelai decided. "I'll just let us focus on getting past that without any distractions, and if we both make it out unscathed, I'll talk to him."

"Yes, talking is good," Sookie said with an encouraging nod. "You two have that whole communicating thing down pretty well now, you have to keep that going."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "I will, I'll do that."

Sookie shrugged nonchalantly as she added, "And then casually mention that your pal Sookie already misses hearing about the good stuff, and see if he changes his mind."

Lorelai giggled. "Okay, sure…I'll let you know."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Friday night, Lorelai and Luke walked up to Emily and Richard's house and paused at the front door. Lorelai reached for his hand and gave him an apologetic frown. "I'm sorry in advance for whatever emotional pain this evening causes."

Luke smiled as he squeezed her hand affectionately. "It'll be fine. Whatever happens, happens… but it'll be much easier if we both go in there relaxed and not all stressed out."

"Oh, trust me," Lorelai replied. "In about ten minutes, you won't need to worry one bit about my relaxation level. Unless the house has suddenly gone dry, then we're in trouble."

Luke gestured to the door. "Ring the bell."

Lorelai took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. They were greeted cordially by Emily and led into the living room where Richard was preparing drinks at the drink cart.

"Here they are, Richard," Emily announced.

"Hi, Dad," Lorelai greeted him.

"Hello there, Lorelai," Richard replied, then extended his hand toward Luke. "Good to see you again, Luke."

Luke firmly shook Richard's hand. "Yes, same here."

"Well, come in... sit, sit." Emily gestured for them to sit on the sofa as she sat down in an armchair.

As Lorelai and Luke sat down, Richard carried a tray of drinks to the coffee table, announcing, "We've got martinis." Everyone reached for a glass, and Richard settled into his armchair.

"So, Luke, how have you been?" Richard asked.

"Good, thank you," Luke replied. "Very good."

"Lorelai has told us that you two are back together," Emily said.

Luke gave a quick glance toward Lorelai before returning his gaze to Emily. "Uh, yes, we are," he confirmed.

"Substantiated by the fact that we're here…you know… together," Lorelai added.

Emily ignored Lorelai's remark and continued, "And Lorelai has said that the issues that led to your failed engagement - "

Lorelai gasped. "Hey!"

" - have been discussed and rectified?" Emily finished.

"Mom, that's way out of line," Lorelai admonished her as she protectively put her hand on Luke's knee. "Anything Luke and I have rectified is nobody else's business but ours."

"Your mother's not asking for specifics about what has or has not been rectified, Lorelai," Richard chimed in. "She's merely summarizing what you told us last week."

"That's right," Emily agreed. "I'm just repeating what you told us."

"It's fine," Luke said to Lorelai, then he turned toward the Gilmores and took a deep breath. "Uh, yeah, once we decided that we wanted to get back together, we agreed that we needed to talk through some things first. We wanted to make sure any of those old issues didn't come up again this time around." He smiled at Lorelai as he finished, "And we had a really good talk and we worked everything out." Lorelai returned the smile as she squeezed his hand.

"Well, good," Emily remarked. "So, do you think you two are planning to get engaged again?"

"Oh, my God!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Really, Mother?"

"Well, you were once engaged, and then you separated, and now you're back together," Emily explained. "It's not out of the question that you'd be headed in that same direction."

"But it's not something you ask," Lorelai argued, shaking her head. "Can we please move to a topic that's not related to Luke and I being back together?"

"So, did you two have a good time at Rory's going away party?" Luke asked, and Lorelai gave him an appreciative smile for changing the subject.

"Oh, yes, it was an extraordinary event," Richard replied. "It was just fascinating to see how many people came out to wish her well."

"Yeah, she's a pretty popular girl," Luke replied with a nod, then glanced toward Lorelai as he added, "They both are."

"You know, Luke was pretty much responsible for that whole party," Lorelai said. "He helped organize everything, and he's the one who got everyone together to make it a surprise for me and Rory." She smiled at Luke as she patted his knee. "He created a pretty amazing sendoff for her."

"Well, that certainly was very generous of you to put your time and effort into that," Richard commented.

"It's a shame the weather didn't cooperate," Emily added.

Luke shrugged. "Yeah, that's always a risk with an outdoor party."

"I guess Stars Hollow doesn't have a backup venue that would be big enough to fit everyone inside?" Emily asked. "I can't imagine they have too many large events that would accommodate that sort of large capacity."

"Actually, we have big events pretty often, Mom," Lorelai replied. "But Stars Hollow likes to celebrate things outside in the town square. That's their signature venue location."

"Perhaps the inn would've been a nice backup venue," Emily suggested. "Surely you could have fit everyone in there."

"No backup venue was necessary," Lorelai said. "The party was perfect outside, even with the rain."

Luke cleared his throat. "Speaking of the inn… Emily, Lorelai mentioned that you had suggested adding a spa to the Dragonfly."

"Why, yes, I did," Emily confirmed. "I thought it would be a great addition to the business."

"It could help generate a lot of extra income," Richard added.

"Yeah, but that's not something I'm interested in doing right now," Lorelai said. "I think the Dragonfly needs to become a little more established before I go making any huge changes like that."

"And Luke, how's your business doing?" Richard asked. "Still profitable, I presume?"

"Uh, yes, sir," Luke replied as he shifted awkwardly in his seat. He always got nervous when Richard asked about the diner…he didn't want to have to politely decline his business suggestions or improvement tips.

"Maybe we should add the spa there," Lorelai suggested. "Do you know how many women would love to get a massage while eating a nice juicy burger?"

Emily shook her head disapprovingly. "Lorelai, that's preposterous. Spas offer facilities and services to promote a healthy lifestyle. Diners certainly aren't representative of that."

"Well, if the spa industry also tried to appeal to those of us who enjoy unhealthy lifestyles, it could double its income," Lorelai pointed out. "Why focus on only one demographic?"

"Because there should be a separation of the two," Emily replied. "They are two different lifestyles with two different sets of behaviors. If I want to sit in the sauna to clean out my pores, I shouldn't have to contend with a woman slurping up nachos next to me."

"Why is she slurping her nachos?" Lorelai asked with a snicker. "Mom, have you ever in your life seen nachos, or are they just a mystery you've heard rumors about?"

Luke sipped his drink as he amusedly listened to the women continue to banter, and he tried not to chuckle too loudly when Lorelai let out a zinger. Richard piped in about an article he recently read about the packaging of processed foods, and the conversation progressed to overflowing landfills and then to society's need to conserve water. Soon, to Luke's relief, they were interrupted by the maid announcing dinner.

"Shall we?" Emily asked as she rose from her chair.

As they all stood up, Lorelai put her hand on Luke's arm to hold him back. "Uh, can you give us a few minutes?" Lorelai asked. "I have to quickly talk to Luke about something."

"Very well," Emily replied, glancing curiously from her to Luke. "But don't take too long."

As Emily and Richard headed toward the dining room, Lorelai led a confused Luke through the foyer to her father's study. Lorelai locked the door behind them, and Luke had a concerned look on his face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just thought maybe we could take a little breather," Lorelai replied. "An intermission, so it's not three continuous hours of Marie and Pierre looking at us under a giant microscope."

Luke shrugged. "It's not too bad. They're being... you know, cordial."

"So far," Lorelai said. "But there's still the dinner conversation to get through."

"It'll be fine." Luke walked over to the bookcase and examined the rows of book spines. Most were faded and antique-looking, and Luke could only guess the amount of money spent on books in this one bookcase was probably equivalent to a new car. "This is quite a collection."

"Yup." Lorelai was leaning against the edge of the desk, her arms outstretched behind her with her palms flat on the desk. "But the bookcase isn't the one that wants your attention right now."

Luke smiled as he walked toward her, letting his eyes travel her body from top to bottom. "Have I mentioned how good you look in this dress?"

"Why, no, you haven't," she replied as she casually flipped her hair. "How good do I look?"

Luke smirked at her unsubtle attempt to entice him. "You look incredible."

"Thank you." Lorelai ran her hands down the lapel of his suit jacket and then smoothed out his tie. "You clean up nice."

He leaned toward her, letting his lips brush lightly against hers. She cradled his clean-shaven face in her hands and gave him several short, soft kisses. She could taste the lingering flavor of his martini on his lips, and as she pulled back from him, muttered, "You taste good."

He leaned his forehead against hers, his fists clenched at his sides in a conscious effort not to ravage her. "I wanna touch you," he breathed.

"So... touch me," she whispered.

Luke shook his head slightly. "I'm trying not to."

"Why?" Lorelai curved her lips into a sexy pout.

Luke nodded his head toward the door. "They'll know."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side. "How will they possibly know?"

"Trust me, they'll know," Luke said knowingly. "They know everything."

"Who cares if they know?" Lorelai muttered. She moved her hands up to his neck and pulled him closer for a soft, slow kiss that she knew would leave him wanting more. As she pulled back from him, she whispered, "Go ahead…you can touch me."

Luke knew there wasn't a reason to try to fight the urge... he'd give in eventually, and she knew that. He unclenched his fists and brought his hands to her waist. "Like this?" he asked, locking his gaze with hers.

She exhaled and nodded, her heart racing at the feel of his hands on her body. He smoothed them slowly down over the curves of her hips, then her thighs, all the way to the hem of her dress right above her knee. His fingers toyed with the fabric as he contemplated his next move.

"Touch me," she encouraged, and that was all the prodding he needed. Lorelai let out a satisfied sigh as he slipped his hands below the fabric of her dress and touched the soft skin of her legs. He moved his hands upward toward her waist, and he grazed his thumbs teasingly across the lacy waistband of her panties.

"Oh God," Lorelai muttered as she pressed her lips to his, kissing him hungrily as her fingers tousled his hair. Knowing he had to limit his touching so things didn't get too heated, Luke kept his hands secured at her waist. He focused on her mouth instead, easing his tongue between her lips as a soft moan escaped her throat.

They continued kissing for a few minutes, completely lost in each other, until a loud knock on the door brought them back to reality. "Lorelai, are you in there?" Emily called through the door as she tried the handle. "The door's locked."

Startled, they simultaneously reacted at warp speed. Lorelai flattened her dress down and quickly traced her lips with her finger to clean up any smudged lipstick. Luke immediately moved toward the bookcase as he scrambled to smooth his hair down.

Lorelai rushed over to unlock the door and she pulled it open slightly. "Uh, yeah, we'll be right out, Mom."

"I've been going on a wild goose chase through the house looking for you. What are you doing in here?" Emily poked her head into the room searching for Luke. His back was to her as he nervously stared at the bookcase, pretending to be fascinated by the rows of books.

"Uh, Luke and I just needed to talk about something important… but we're just finishing up." Lorelai pushed slightly on the door to help usher Emily out. "We'll be right there."

Emily glanced curiously from Lorelai to Luke. "Hurry up, please. The salads have been served and they're getting warm." She hesitated a moment, then turned and walked away.

Lorelai pushed the door shut and then leaned back against it with a sigh. She shook her head in amusement at Luke. "Oh, my God."

Luke threw his arms up in disbelief. "I told you we shouldn't have done that!" he exclaimed quietly through gritted teeth. "Now she knows!"

"She doesn't know, Luke. She thinks we're talking. It's not like you had your pants down around your ankles." Lorelai nibbled on her bottom lip for a second as she pondered, then declared, "We could probably squeeze that in, though."

Luke's jaw dropped open in shock. "You're out of your mind!" he whispered harshly.

Lorelai giggled and walked over to him. "I'm kidding! Relax, please." She ran her hands over his suit jacket, and then straightened his tie for him. She calmly ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it into place. "Okay, you're good. How am I?" She made a circling gesture with her finger around her lips. "Lipstick okay?"

Luke eyed her lips, then gently traced a finger around the corner of her mouth. "Yeah. Looks good."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "How good?" she flirted.

Luke snickered and shook his head. "Stop it." He sighed and put his hands on her shoulders. "You do realize how difficult you've just made the rest of the evening, don't you?"

"Because you're nervous that my mom knows you just had your hands up my dress, or because you're gonna be filled with an overwhelming desire all night to do it some more?"

"Both," he replied.

"Yes, I can see how that could be difficult," she agreed as she took his tie in her hand and slid her fingers down the fabric. "But it'll be kind of hot sitting across from each other at the table, knowing that all we're thinking about is what we're gonna do in my bedroom later."

Luke sighed and shook his head. "Not helping at all."

Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "Okay, I'm sorry. Fill that head of yours with some unsexy thoughts… you know, like a vision of my mother slurping down nachos in a sauna." She took his hand and led him out of the office toward the dining room.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Later that night, Luke was sitting up against the pillows in Lorelai's bed as he waited for her to return from the bathroom. When she emerged, now wearing a half-buttoned flannel shirt, she climbed back under the covers with him and rested her head against his chest.

"You were pretty amazing tonight," Lorelai said.

"When?" Luke replied as he put his arm around her. "Be specific about which moment of greatness you're referring to… there were so many."

Lorelai giggled. "Humility is so overrated." She ran her hand across his stomach. "Well, let's see… you were great interacting with my parents. You exhibited fine eating etiquette during dinner. You displayed excellent driving skills on the way home. You were incredibly outstanding during the naked post-dinner celebration that took place just moments ago. And now you're being quite a superb cuddler. How's that... specific enough for ya?"

"Yes, thank you."

"You're really okay with everything, right?" Lorelai asked. "My parents, dinner…"

"Yeah, like I said in the car, it was fine," Luke replied with a shrug. "It was pretty much what I expected. I mean, they weren't exactly warm and fuzzy, but, you know... I didn't feel like they didn't want me there or that they hated me. They were polite."

"Good. I'm glad they were nice-ish," Lorelai replied. "And considering I've known them for almost forty years and I haven't seen a whole lot of warm and fuzzy myself, I wouldn't hold out for that."

"Wasn't planning on it." Luke tightened his arm around her, pulling her closer against him. "And while I don't particularly wanna do that again anytime soon… I'll go with you sometimes if you want me to."

Lorelai smiled up at him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Lorelai took his hand in hers and began tracing the lines on his palm with her fingertip. "So, what time is the game tomorrow night?"

"It starts at 6:30," Luke replied. "We should leave by 5:30. It's only a half-hour away, but shooting for 5:30 will give us a buffer for when you're not ready on time."

Lorelai smirked and poked him in the chest. "Well, you just foiled the plan. Everyone knows you don't reveal the built-in buffer to the person who actually needs the buffer."

"Well, it's also a buffer for us to have time to get food and beer before the game, so keep that in mind."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose."Okay, fine, I'll try to be ready on time."

"Good." Luke stifled a yawn as he glanced over at the clock. "It's getting late. I should probably go."

"Yeah, you could do that…you could go," Lorelai agreed, then lifted her head from his chest to look at him. "Or, here's a crazy thought… you could stay, which is sort of like going but the opposite, and it's easier because it involves no moving."

Luke smiled. "I'm guessing your vote would be to stay?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, I'm a big fan of that option." She nestled her head back against his chest and pulled the covers a little tighter around them. "It would be a shame to interrupt this awfully comfortable position, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, it would," Luke agreed, then kissed the top of her head. "Staying sounds good."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Saturday morning, Luke had left for the diner and Lorelai was in bed talking on the phone with Rory. Rory's schedule had been pretty hectic the past few days, so they had been communicating mostly via text messages. After Rory gave Lorelai the latest updates from her week on the road, Lorelai summarized the goings on from the last few days.

"And to cap off the week," Lorelai finished. "I brought Luke to Friday night dinner last night."

"Oh, right! How was that?"

"It wasn't too bad, actually," Lorelai replied. "They made a few comments that I would've preferred weren't made, but overall they were as polite as one would expect them to be after I had to specifically ask them to be polite."

"Like what kind of comments?" Rory asked nervously.

"Oh, you know, a random blunt comment here and there," Lorelai replied nonchalantly. "Like asking if we're planning to get engaged again."

Rory cringed. "Ouch. What did you say to that?"

"I asked for an immediate subject change."

"Good idea."

"Overall it was okay," Lorelai admitted. "I mean, they wouldn't be Emily and Richard without a few off-the-cuff remarks, right? But they weren't blatantly rude to Luke, at least. If I felt that vibe at all, it was going to get ugly."

"Well, I'm glad it didn't," Rory said. "What's on the agenda for today?"

"Luke and I are going to that baseball game tonight," Lorelai reminded her.

Rory giggled. "Oh right, I forgot about that. My mom, the sports enthusiast."

"Stop it," Lorelai playfully scolded her. "It'll be fun. Sookie and I went shopping the other night and I bought a cute new shirt for the game, so there's a plus."

"Yes, a new outfit is a definite benefit of trying a new activity," Rory agreed. "How's Sookie feeling?"

"She's good, but she's pretty damn excited to get that baby out of her," Lorelai replied. "And she's reluctantly starting her preparations at the inn for her maternity leave... menu planning and all that. You know, with specific instructions and diagrams and guidebooks for every recipe."

"Your guests will be very well-fed in her absence."

"Yes, they will be," Lorelai agreed. She was quiet for a moment, then cleared her throat. "So, can I tell you what's been on my mind lately?"

"Sure."

"Well, my mother's comment about getting engaged wasn't exactly too far off-the-mark," Lorelai said. "I've actually been thinking about stuff like that. You know, next steps, the future, all that."

"You have?" Rory asked, surprised. "Really, already?"

"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "And I know it seems fast, but I keep thinking, why wait? I know Luke's it for me, I know this is the guy I'm supposed to be with. Do you realize that if things had stayed on course, we would already be a year into our married life by now?" Lorelai sighed softly. "I just hate that we lost a year of being together."

"I know, but try not to think about that," Rory told her. "Life doesn't always go as planned. You guys had a setback, but you're also really lucky… you have a second chance. Not many people get that opportunity."

"I know, and that's why we've been trying so hard to do things right this time," Lorelai said. "We started slow, took our time, talked things out, we're communicating… it's been good. Great, actually."

"I know. You've been really happy."

"Yeah, we love each other and we're both committed to making this work as a very permanent long-term thing," Lorelai said. "So, I don't wanna stay in this generic dating phase for too long when we already know that we want more than that. I'm ready to jump."

"Okay, well, have you told him you've been thinking about this stuff?"

"No, not yet," Lorelai replied.

"Well, that's your next step," Rory said. "You have to figure out if you're both ready to jump. Simultaneous jumping is the way to go… you have to be on the same jump schedule."

"I know, I'll talk to him about it," Lorelai assured her. "I just have to wait for the right time."

"Good. Keep me posted."

"I will, hon," Lorelai replied. "And you're gonna email me that new article tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, I promise. As soon as I get the final copy from my editor, I'll send it over." Rory paused for a moment as she checked her watch. "I have to go, but there's one more thing I wanted to tell you first. I don't want you to get your hopes up though."

Lorelai's eyes widened with intrigue. "Ooh, what?"

"Well, we're hitting the southern states over the next few weeks, but it looks like we're gonna be flying to New Hampshire after that, and then maybe, possibly heading down to Boston."

Lorelai gasped loudly. "Oh, my God!" She covered her mouth with her hand.

"Mom, calm down," Rory said with a small laugh. "It's not for sure yet."

"Rory, that's two hours away!" Lorelai exclaimed excitedly. "You might be two hours away from me!"

Rory smiled. "I know. But keep in mind that it's not finalized yet, and even if it does happen, I don't know what the schedule will look like when we're there. I don't know how busy it'll be."

Lorelai was grinning, but felt like she was about to cry as a wave of emotions rushed through her. "I don't care if I have to drive two hours just to see you for five minutes, there's no way I'm not coming," Lorelai told her. "Oh, my God. I'm gonna get to hug my girl for the first time in a year!"

Rory smiled. "Mom, it's only been a few weeks."

"But it feels like it's been a year," Lorelai replied softly. "I know I have this Luke stuff going on that I'm really happy about, but I still miss you like crazy every single day, kid. You have no idea."

Rory swallowed hard as she felt tears well up her eyes. "I know… me, too. I promise I'll let you know if I hear anything else about it."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay."

"I have to get ready to go... the bus is leaving soon. I'll text you later."

"Okay," Lorelai said. "I Iove you, hon."

"Love you, too, Mom.

. . . . .

. . . . .

That night, Lorelai and Luke arrived at the baseball stadium and immediately hit the snack stands. Armed with their beers and cardboard trays of food, they headed to their section along the first base line to find their seats.

As they settled in and began eating, Lorelai glanced around at the sea of people around her. "It's weird seeing you among your own species. You know, the baseball-hat-wearing species… who knew there were so many of you?"

"Yup, there's a whole secret society of us." Luke's gaze drifted up to the Yale baseball hat on her head. "You fit right in."

Lorelai tapped the bill of her hat. "I look pretty good in a baseball hat, huh?"

"Very."

"But I pretty much look good in everything," she casually added with a shrug.

"And in nothing," he countered.

Lorelai smirked and casually bumped her shoulder against his. "You, me, tonight, my bedroom - in just baseball caps?"

Luke snorted a laugh. "It's a date."

Lorelai bit into a cheese fry and glanced out at the field where some players were throwing a ball around. "So, stupid question... what if the ball comes off the field into the crowd?"

"Then you duck."

Lorelai gasped. "Really? That's what the safety protocol is... just duck?"

"Pretty much," he replied. "Or you could try to catch the ball, which is what most of these people around us will do. I've seen fistfights started between grown idiots going after those things. People coming up with bloody noses and black eyes just trying to get their hands on a free ball."

"You ever tried to catch one?"

"If it's comin' right at me, yeah, I'm gonna try to catch it," Luke replied with a shrug. "But I'm not gonna tackle someone to the ground like a drunken fool just to get it."

"Hm, drunken fool tackling sounds fun... add that to our list for later tonight." Lorelai took a bite of her burger, and once she had swallowed it down, she asked, "So when's the last time you were here?"

"Hm, lemme think." Luke wiped his lips with his napkin, then furrowed his brow as he thought back to his last game. When it finally came to him, his expression fell a bit. "Oh, right. It was, uh, last summer… with Buddy. Remember Buddy?"

Lorelai smiled. "I do. Buddy and Maisy and poor dead Sniffy."

"That's the one. He got us some tickets to a game last summer, after you and I... ya know..." Luke's voice trailed off and he shrugged. "He just wanted to get me out of the house."

"Oh," Lorelai said softly as she glanced down at her food. "That was nice of him."

Luke nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I wasn't exactly in the greatest of moods, but I felt bad saying no to him. So we went, and we sat over there." He pointed to the stands near third base. "Pretty good seats."

"Did Buddy start any fistfights trying to get a free ball?" Lorelai joked.

Luke smiled. "Not that time… he restrained himself."

"Good." Lorelai exhaled slowly, then hesitantly asked, "Did you talk to him about what happened with us?" She put her hand on his arm and rubbed it gently. "Tell me you talked to someone... that you didn't just keep it all inside to deal with on your own."

"I talked a little bit to Liz," Luke said with a shrug. "But I'm not really one for talking."

Lorelai frowned. "I know."

"Buddy tried to get me to talk about it, I'm sure Maisy put him up to it," Luke said. "I didn't get into details, I just told him things didn't work out. So he started randomly sharing some words of wisdom… you know, about women, relationships, all that." Luke paused a moment, thinking back to that day. "There was one thing he said that really stuck with me. He said that a lot of guys get too relaxed in a relationship once the chase is over. He said guys need to realize that even after you get the girl, you need to keep treating her like you're still trying to get her."

Lorelai's lips slowly formed into a smile. "Wise man, that Buddy."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he's a good guy." He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "I think maybe I fell into that trap with you. The chase was long, and once I had you… maybe I got too comfortable. The way I treated you toward the end… well, I know it wasn't great."

"But you apologized, we put all that behind us," Lorelai reassured him. "That was the past, this is the present. We've learned what not to do this time around."

Luke nodded. "Yes, we have." He took a sip of his beer, then set the cup down between his feet. "So I wanted to talk to you about something."

Lorelai eyed him curiously as she bit into a French fry. "Okay."

"Well, April called this morning," Luke started. "And, you know, she's gonna be here for the last two weeks of the summer after that science camp is over…"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, we haven't really figured out what we're gonna do during those two weeks yet," Luke continued. "But like I said before, you're gonna be involved... we'll do things together, the three of us."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Okay."

"And today April mentioned that instead of just sending her on a plane by herself back to New Mexico, that maybe I could go with her… you know, see where she lives, see the town, spend the weekend there or something," Luke explained.

Surprised, Lorelai's eyes widened. "Oh, wow. That's… wow." She quickly nodded as she added, "That'd be good for you to see her part of the world."

"Yeah, I think so, too," Luke agreed. "I'd like to be able to see where she's living, maybe meet some of her friends, stuff like that." He reached for her hand and squeezed it. "So… I wanted to know if you'd be able to get away from the inn for a few days at the end of August… to come with us."

Lorelai smiled. "Really?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, I want you to come. I already mentioned to April that I was gonna talk to you about it and see if you could get away from work."

Lorelai's smile widened as she nodded. "I'm in." She leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you… that makes me really happy."

Luke smiled. "Okay, good. We'll start planning it."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next morning, Lorelai woke up and headed into the bathroom. She quietly started going through her morning routine, peeking out every so often at Luke still asleep in the bed. She headed downstairs and put on a pot of coffee before taking Paul Anka out for a quick morning walk.

When she returned to the house, she poured herself a cup of coffee and took a few sips before she headed back upstairs to the bedroom. As she crawled back into bed with Luke, he stirred and rolled onto his back with a tired groan.

"What time is it?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"Almost eight," Lorelai replied as she rested her head against his chest.

Luke smoothed a hand over her hair and kissed the top of her head. "I hope Caesar remembered he was opening today."

"Your star employee? I'm sure he's got it covered." The room was silent as she aimlessly drew circles on his stomach with her finger. "Have I mentioned that I really like waking up with you?"

"Mmhmm," he mumbled, his eyes half-closed.

Lorelai chewed on the inside of her cheek as she contemplated whether or not to expand on the topic a little further. Finally, she asked, "Do you ever think about maybe doing that more often?"

Luke opened his eyes. "What? Me waking up?"

"Well, waking up here." Lorelai lifted her head to look at him. "Like, maybe on a regular, consistent, everyday basis..."

Luke eyed her curiously, suddenly very aware where this conversation was going. He sat up and leaned back against the headboard. "You're talking about me moving in here?"

"Yeah." Lorelai sat up on the bed and turned her body to face him, crossing her legs in front of her. She fidgeted with her pajama shirt as she said, "I know it seems fast, but now that we've talked everything out, and dealt with the stuff from before, and we know what we have to do to make this work…I think it's okay for us to talk about the next steps. I think it's okay to move forward… right?" She paused and nervously asked, "Am I totally freaking you out right now? Is it too soon to talk about this?"

Luke smiled as he shook his head. "No…I've thought about it, too."

Lorelai smiled as a wave of relief washed over her. "Yeah?"

"Yup." Luke reached for her hand and squeezed it. "I don't think it's too soon. Too soon would've been if we rushed into things that very first night at Rory's party. If we said 'to hell with the stuff from the past' and tried to give it a go right then and there. A couple going too fast wouldn't have spent hours talking out their old issues to make sure they could make their relationship work in the future."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Right, good point. That was very adult of us," she said with a proud smile.

Luke smiled. "Yeah, it was." He shrugged as he added, "We're both all in, Lorelai. We both want this to be a permanent thing, right?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, we do."

"So I think it's safe to assume that we both want the same future," Luke concurred. "The one we were headed toward before..."

Lorelai nodded again. "Yes. Same page."

"Good. Then it's not too soon to start moving toward it again." Luke pressed his lips to her cheek for a soft kiss. "So if you're asking me to move in, then… yeah. I'm ready to start waking up next to you every day."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Luke affectionately rubbed her knee, then pushed the covers off of his legs and climbed out of bed. "Be right back." He padded slowly toward the bathroom as Lorelai watched on.

Once he had shut the bathroom door, Lorelai climbed off the bed and walked over to her dresser. She pulled open the top drawer and reached into the back, fumbling through her socks until her hands felt the small ring box. She pulled it out and walked back over to the bed.

When Luke walked out of the bathroom, he declared, "Nothing gives me a morning boost of manliness quite like using a bright pink toothbrush covered with flowers."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, once you move your own manly toothbrush in, you can stop using the very feminine spare I had." She patted the bed next to her. "Come sit." He obliged, and she held out the ring box toward him.

Luke eyed her nervously as he took the box from her. "What's this?"

"Open it."

Luke opened the box and immediately recognized the engagement ring he'd given to her almost two years ago. He felt a wave of emotions rush through him, and he swallowed hard before letting out a deep breath. "You kept this?" he asked, still staring down at the ring.

"Of course I kept it."

Luke gazed into her eyes. "You got rid of a cheese grater for the memories that it held, but you kept this?"

Lorelai shrugged as she nibbled on her bottom lip. "You couldn't part with the horoscope, I couldn't part with this."

Luke glanced down at the ring as visions of the night he gave it to her flashed through his mind. Finally, he narrowed his eyes at her in confusion. "So, what exactly is this for? Are you proposing… again?"

Lorelai quickly shook her head. "No, I'm not. This is me giving you this ring back. I mean, it's yours and you should be able to do whatever you want with it. For instance, if ever there comes a time where you decide you want a permanent future with someone, and you so choose to present a ring to said person, someday, eventually… well, you have it for when you need it."

Luke smiled. "I see."

Lorelai shrugged. "I mean, it's not doing anyone any good just sitting in the back of a drawer, so… you do with it what you want."

"Okay, I will." Luke snapped the ring box closed. "Someday, eventually." He rested his hand on her thigh as he leaned forward and kissed her. She gently stroked the scruff on his cheek as she deepened the kiss.

When they reluctantly parted, Lorelai smiled at him as she ran her hand through his hair. "So, just out of curiosity, what kind of time frame do you have in mind for someday, eventually?"

Luke smirked and shook his head. "Nope, you get no say in it this time." He stood up and walked over to the other side of the bed to gather his clothes from the night before.

Lorelai frowned at him from the bed. "Come on, Luke… how about one little hint?"

"Nope."

Lorelai sighed as she climbed off the bed and walked toward her closet. "You know, the stress of the wondering and the waiting might in fact kill me, and then when you do eventually decide to put that thing to good use, you'll never know what my answer would've been."

"Should've thought about that before you gave it to me," Luke teased as he pulled on his t-shirt.

"Well, I change my mind… I wanna take it back," Lorelai joked as she walked into the closet and started rummaging around for something to wear. She finally grabbed two sundresses and walked out of the closet with them. "Which one of these is - "

Her voice trailed off and she gasped lightly when she saw Luke standing next to the bed in his boxers and t-shirt. He was holding his hand out in front of him, the ring box resting in his open palm.

Lorelai's eyes slowly gazed from the ring up to his face. "Luke…what are you doing?" she asked hesitantly with a confused smile.

Luke smiled as he opened up the ring box. "What do you think I'm doing?"

Lorelai dropped the dresses on the ground and slowly walked toward him. She stopped in front of him, taking a deep breath to try to calm down the butterflies that had started fluttering wildly around in her stomach. "So this isn't a joke?" she asked. "You're really doing this now?"

"Yeah, why wait?" Luke replied with a shrug. "We both want it to happen, and if I don't do it soon, you're gonna drive me crazy bugging me about it."

Lorelai smirked. "Yes, probably."

"So… now seems like a good time." Luke suddenly felt his nerves kick in, and he glanced down at the floor as he shook his head slightly. "Wow, you made this look so easy."

Lorelai smiled as she comfortingly rubbed his arm. "Don't overthink it."

Luke took a deep breath, exhaled it slowly, then brought his gaze to her blue eyes that were staring at him expectantly. "I love you, Lorelai… and I can't even remember what it's like not loving you. It's like the one thing in my life that's been a constant for so long." Luke reached for her hand, which was trembling slightly with her excitement, and he squeezed it. "And I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, making you happy. So... will you marry me?"

Lorelai was grinning as she nodded. "Yes."

He removed the ring from the box, and she offered him her hand. Lorelai's heart started racing excitedly as he slowly slipped the ring onto her finger. "There."

Lorelai held her hand out at arm's length to view the ring. "Welcome back, old friend," she said to the ring, then she smiled at Luke as she stepped closer to kiss him.

Luke smiled through the kiss. "Was that okay?"

Lorelai smiled. "It was perfect." She briefly glanced down at their clothes, then brought her gaze back to him. "We just got engaged in our pajamas."

Luke smiled and rested his hands on her waist. "Makes for an interesting story." He pressed his lips back to hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck as they kissed passionately.

When Lorelai finally pulled back, she asked, "So, you have any ideas on how we should celebrate?"

"I can think of a few," he replied with a smirk. "But maybe we should get some coffee in you first."

Lorelai smiled brightly. "Wow, you do know how to make me happy."

Luke nodded. "Yup."

"Can you run down and get me some?" Lorelai asked hopefully. "I already made a pot this morning."

"Sure." Luke kissed her again before he headed out of the bedroom.

Lorelai grabbed the phone from the nightstand and collapsed on the bed as she dialed Rory's number.

"Mom?" Rory answered the phone in a soft whisper.

"Yeah," Lorelai whispered back. "Why are we whispering?"

"Because I'm on the bus surrounded by people. What's up?"

"Um, well, I just wanted to let you know that I talked to Luke," Lorelai said. "About whether he's ready to jump…"

"Oh, how'd it go?"

"Well…we jumped."

"What?" Rory whispered, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we decided that we were both ready to jump and so… we jumped," Lorelai explained. "As of five minutes ago, we're engaged… again."

"Oh my God!" Rory exclaimed loudly, and then she immediately brought her voice back down to a whisper. "I mean, oh my God!"

"I know!"

"Are you sure?" Rory asked. "You're officially engaged?"

Lorelai laughed. "Am I sure? Honey, I know I'm not so good at getting to the actual wedding, but I'm very familiar with engagements. Trust me, it happened."

"Well, I meant, was it an actual proposal, or like a general, 'hey, we should get married someday' sort of conversation?"

"Oh, no, it was quite official," Lorelai assured her. "He asked me to marry him and I said yes, and now I'm flaunting it in the face of singles everywhere by wearing a beautiful ring."

Rory grinned. "Aw, Mom, congratulations… I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Thanks, kid," Lorelai replied. "I'll give you more details about it later. The teaser is… pajamas."

"I'm intrigued," Rory replied. "I'll call you tonight. Tell Luke congrats for me."

"I will," Lorelai replied, and she glanced toward the doorway as Luke walked into the bedroom. "Ah, speak of the devil… he just brought me some coffee."

"He's a keeper," Rory said. "I'll talk to you later… bye, Mom."

"Bye, hon." Lorelai hung up the phone and smiled at Luke. "Rory says congrats… she's excited."

Luke smiled and nodded. "Good." He sat down next to her on the bed and handed her the coffee.

"Thanks." Lorelai took a long sip and then set the mug on the nightstand. "So, you've had a few minutes to let the impromptu life-changing event sink in…any regrets, second thoughts?"

"Nope, none of the above." Luke brushed a few strands of her hair away from her face and tucked them behind her ear. "We're back to where we're supposed to be."

"Yeah, as a new and improved version of us," Lorelai added. "We're relationship superheroes now… we're more powerful than a locomotive… able to leap tall obstacles in a single bound… able to communicate faster than a speeding bullet. We will use these powers in a never-ending battle for truth and justice."

Luke snickered. "Because when you think of a relationship, you think… never-ending battle?" he teased.

Lorelai smirked. "Well, how about never-ending journey?"

Luke reached for her hand and ran his thumb over the engagement ring. "With you, it's more like an adventure… that sounds more exciting than a journey."

"Plus, Journey freaks you out, so… never-ending adventure it is." Lorelai kissed him, then smiled through it. "I'm really happy."

Luke smiled and squeezed her hand. "Good. Me, too."

. . . . .

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The End

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Author's Note:

For this story, my intent from the beginning was to get them to this very point… happily back together and ready to move ahead. Which is a great place to start a sequel, if I have time in the distant future to continue their "adventure."

Thanks so much to everyone for reading this story! I really appreciate the support, patience, encouragement, and feedback as I tried to bring to life my vision of a post-series reconciliation for my favorite couple. :)

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