Finding Rory

Chapter 57: Big Decisions

Luke looked over to Lorelai. She was sitting at the kitchen table husking corn - a task she'd begrudgingly accepted from him - while he prepped baked beans and a tossed salad for dinner. They'd had several frank discussions about her recent actions over the last two weeks, and he hoped that he had been able to get through to her about what she was doing to Rory.

"You doing okay over there, Lorelai?" he asked, having noticed the serious look on her face.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm just thinking. You know, it's very possible that my daughter is going to walk through that door and tell me that she's engaged."

"And that would be a good thing. A blind person could see how much those two love each other, Lorelai. He's a good man. Can't you see that?" Luke asked.

"I'm trying, Luke - I really am. It's just hard still."

"I know that you're trying. I just don't want them to miss out on a lifetime of happiness like we did," Luke said quietly.

Lorelai's head turned toward him quickly and she gave him a puzzled look. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you and I danced around each other for years, never knowing exactly where we stood. And then once we did get together, we both still had so much stuff to figure out. There was April and Christopher, and then there was your mother, who was convinced that I wasn't right for you - we could have been together so much sooner if we'd gotten ourselves straightened out. I don't want that for them. They're good together, Lorelai, and we don't want to be one of those issues that keeps them apart when they're so obviously happy," Luke shared passionately.

Lorelai let his words sink in and her eyes began to water. She'd never looked at it that way. "Oh my god," she whispered. "I've been one of those issues - I really have been Emily Gilmore, haven't I? I can't believe I've done that to my little girl," Lorelai finished, tears now flowing down her cheeks. "I was so furious when she would pull one of her stunts, and now I'm doing the very same thing. I wouldn't blame her if she never forgave me..." Lorelai trailed off.

Luke wiped his hands on the dish towel and walked over to his girlfriend, taking her in his arms. "She'll forgive you, Lorelai - she's an amazing woman, just like her mother. You know, I've loved you for twenty years, but I was always afraid I wasn't enough for you - I still am some days," he admitted.

"You've always been enough, Luke. I'm so sorry - I guess I thought somehow that settling down meant I would have to give up everything, but you've never asked me to do that. All those years - Max, Jason, Christopher - you were the one I really loved, the only one I ever really saw myself marrying," she whispered.

"Do you still see that, Lorelai?" Luke asked quietly.

"I do. I always have."

Luke stood up and moved to the hall closet, taking the ring out of its hiding place since he'd moved in with Lorelai again after Rory's graduation. He walked back to Lorelai and got down on one knee.

"Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, you've always been the woman for me. Will you marry me?" Luke asked emotionally. He'd been so afraid lately that he was losing her, but now their forever felt closer than ever.

"Oh my - Luke - that's - yes!" Lorelai finally managed. She dove into his arms, knocking them both over. They collapsed into a heap on the kitchen floor, both laughing. "We're really going to do it this time?" Lorelai asked quietly.

"Nothing could keep me away. We're really going to do it this time," Luke confirmed with a smile.

"Good. You're not getting away from me again," she whispered, kissing him sweetly.

"I don't want to get away from you," Luke said with a chuckle.

*                    *                    *

"Hey, Mare?" Tris asked, looking at her briefly as they approached Stars Hollow that evening. They were picking up the dogs and having dinner with Luke and Lorelai.

"Yeah?"

"About that conversation we had this morning...you know, thinking about starting a family?" he began.

Rory's eyes snapped up. Whatever he wanted to say, he hadn't needed to think about it for long at all. "What about it?" she asked quietly.

"I don't need to think about it. If you're sure that you're ready to go off the pill and see what happens, I am, too."

"Yeah?" Rory asked happily, her eyes shining brightly.

"Yeah. Having kids with you - that's what I want, whether we get pregnant immediately or it takes a while. There are a couple of things that are important to me first, though."

"Okay, let's hear it," Rory answered.

"If we're going to do this, I want you living with me first, and I also want our finances combined. I know that you love your independence and have issues with allowing someone else to take care of you, but it's important to me. I don't want to miss out on anything - when you find out you're pregnant, being there for you when you're sick, late night cravings, feeling our baby kick. We can move into my house, or we can find a new place that will just be ours. And I won't have my pregnant fianceé paying for things all be herself or telling me how much my half is. This is it - we're all in if we take this step. Joint accounts, both names on deeds and titles, the whole nine yards," Tristan said passionately.

Rory sat there quietly, thinking over what he'd said for a minute. She knew that he was right, and everything he was asking for was reasonable. She hadn't really thought about those things, but it all made perfect sense. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was the moment - it was perhaps even bigger than saying yes when he asked her to marry him the previous evening. She knew all too well from her mom's experiences that engagements could be broken, but combining their lives fully and starting a family together was the ultimate commitment. Commitment of that level had always scared her before, but she wasn't that same Rory anymore, and she knew that Tristan only had her best interests in mind.

She reached over and took Tristan's hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. "Okay, let's do it," she said quietly.

"Really? You're sure?" Tristan asked, his eyes brimming with excitement.

"Yeah, I'm completely sure. You're right, Tris - those things are important before we take that step. Let's move me into your house and go to the bank and have everything put in both of our names."

"Alright, let's do it. I'll help you pack this week and we'll move your stuff in as we can. We'll work on getting the finances combined this week as well, and you can quit taking the pill whenever you want," Tristan said. He couldn't believe how well that conversation had gone - he'd expected her to put up a fight, at least for a bit.

"I've already taken today's, but I can stop tomorrow," Rory whispered, still a little overwhelmed, in the best of ways, about these next steps.

"Sounds perfect, Mare. I love you."

"I love you, too, Tris."