Disclaimer: Ya'll know the drill...I don't own them...Amy does...badda-bing badda-boom

A/N Okay, so...here's the next chapter...sorry it took so long...I think the next chapter will be the make-up...unless I think of anyone else who should have a memory of them. I'm not sure about Davey's age.../I could not for the life of me remember how old he is right now, so I just said he's three in the story...sorry if that's incorrect...oh, and Emily's part in this chapter contains SPOILERS! I repeat...Emily's section is based on SPOILERS! okay, now that I got that point across, on with the show!

Part...4?(I think)

Miss Patty's dance studio was packed by the time Lorelai reached the square. She was running late for the town meeting, and by the time she sat down in the back row, Taylor, who had taken over as town selectman again once Nicky was born, was banging his gavel to call it to order. She was so flustered, she didn't have a chance to look around until Taylor had launched into a speech about the upcoming Halloween festival.

There was Kirk and Lulu sitting in the front row. They were engaged now and planned to marry in the spring. Two rows behind them sat Sookie and Jackson with red-headed Nicky and 3-year-old Davey. Lorelai sighed.

Nobody surprising.

Then her glance traveled to the next row, and her breath caught in her throat. Sitting almost directly behind Sookie was Melanie and Luke.

What's he doing here? He hates town meetings. I wonder if Melanie had to drag him here, or if he came out of the goodness of his heart, just because she wanted him to...

Melanie was leaning over and whispering something in his ear, and by the sudden shaking of his shoulders, Lorelai guessed it was something funny. She remembered all the town meetings she had to drag Luke to, and how she tried to make him feel better once they were there by helping him make fun of Kirk and Taylor. Thinking of those meetings made her think of other things...

Things that are neither appropriate nor right when you're looking at Taylor.

But Lorelai couldn't help it. As Taylor moved on to his yearly tick talk and she watched Luke and Melanie laugh at some inside joke, her thoughts drifted.

---

It was 2 a.m., and Lorelai Gilmore couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts were jumbled in her head and she couldn't sort them out. Instead, she rolled over and watched Luke sleep. In the early February moonlight, his features seemed to soften. He was so amazing...so unbelievably great...Lorelai smiled. Who would have thought that Luke was the perfect guy for her? Okay...who besides the whole town of Stars Hollow? She loved Luke. She loved him, and she wasn't afraid to admit it. That was a big thing for her. She watched as Luke slowly opened his eyes.

"Hey" she whispered.

He rolled over to face her.

"Hey. What are you doing up?"

"Thinking about how lucky I am to have you." She grinned.

"Oh really?" he leaned over and grabbed her hips, pulling her on top of him.

"Yep" she laughed, "and I've come to the conclusion that I am the luckiest girl alive, and also the stupidest, for not noticing what was right in front of my face this whole time."

He kissed her shoulder blade.

"No, you aren't stupid. A little crazy, yes, but definitely not stupid. You're smart...and funny...and beautiful..." He punctuated each word with a kiss on her collar bone.

"And completely in love with you" she finished.

"Correct. I love you too. And you should know, I don't just fall for anyone..."

"Yea, only people you've been pining over for 8 years."

He smiled up at her before placing a light kiss on her lips,

"Yea, well.."

"Hey (kiss) Luke(kiss)?"

"Hmm?"

She kissed him slowly.

"Shut up."

He pulled her close and their lips connected, bringing forth that surge of electricity Lorelai had come to expect when she kissed Luke.

"Whatever you say"

---

The Hartford mansion seemed cold and empty to Emily. She was alone, not counting the maids, for the first time in almost 10 months. Ever since her and Richard had gotten their vows renewed in January, they hadn't spent more than a few days apart. But this trip was different. The London branch of his office was having some financial trouble, and he had needed to fly down immediately in order to rectify the situation. The problem was so urgent, in fact, that Richard had been unable to cancel any of the dinner parties he had previously agreed to, and therefore Emily had stayed behind to make appearances. Emily was lonely. Rory was away at school, and she couldn't call on Lorelai. Her daughter had been all out of sorts lately...Emily remembered the night she and Richard renewed their vows, how happy Lorelai was...

---

Emily was content. The vows had been said, the cake cut, and her and Richard were once again "The Gilmores", stable, everlasting, and in love. Now all that was left was the dancing and socializing, which was the best part of the evening in Emily's opinion. So when the bandleader called the "newlyweds" onto the dance floor, Emily blushed, but went willingly. As the music began to play and Emily and Richard took center stage, her eyes traveled to where Luke and Lorelai sat at one of the tables flanking the dance floor. Lorelai was sitting on Luke's lap, much to the disapproval of her mother, and laughing at some comment Luke had just made.

As Emily and Richard drifted closer to their table, the bandleader got on the microphone.

"I would like to invite anyone who is in love to join our happy couple on the dance floor."

Lorelai stood up, glanced at Luke, then the bandleader, then Luke again.

Emily gently stopped her and Richard's forward movement, bringing them to a slow sway just within hearing range of the couple's conversation.

"So," Lorelai began, "wanna dance?"

Emily held her breath. She understood what her daughter was hinting at, but did Luke?

"I don't know..." he started to decline before a thoughtful expression crossed his face.

"Wait..." He looked up at Lorelai, "the bandleader just said..."

Lorelai nodded, while at the same time doing that thing when she stuck her tongue in her cheek, which annoyed Emily to no end.

Meanwhile, Luke continued.

"And you just asked me..."

She nodded again.

"Does that mean you...?"

This time Lorelai looked down before nodding, not meeting his eyes. If she had, she would have seen the look of utter surprise and love in his eyes that Emily saw. Before she had the chance to look up, Luke had taken her hand and was leading her onto the dance floor. When she finally met his eyes, Emily could see they were bright with unshed tears.

Her daughter was in love. Lorelai had finally told a man that she loved him. And it was Luke, the diner man. The man she had completely degraded and made to feel mediocre and below her daughter, was the man who had finally cured Lorelai of her commitment issues.

Emily sighed. She might as well accept that Luke was here to stay. As she watched them sway to the music, too close to allow even a breath of air between them, she nodded. Yes, he was here to stay.

---

But, a few months later, everything changed. Lorelai stopped talking about Luke at the Friday night dinners, and she no longer glowed in the way only those in love could. She lost the fiery edge that dating Luke seemed to bring her.

Emily later learned the details of what had happened from Rory, and she was disgusted with herself. She remembered the years she had tried to push Lorelai and Chris together, and when she had finally succeed, albeit unintentionally, she had caused Lorelai to lose the one man she had ever loved.

She knew it was Lorelai's fault ultimately, but Emily couldn't help but feel partly responsible. She was even relieved when the maid came to announce dinner, therefore allowing her to abandon her train of thought and focus on the food.

---

There you go...the next chapter. Hope you liked it!