Chapter 1: Together at Last

Lorelai Gilmore's hands scrambled for purchase along Luke Danes' rippling back muscles. He made love to her like someone who had waited years to do so. Yet there was also a tender side to him. Even so, the bed creaked and swayed.

Lorelai framed Luke's face tenderly. "Don't hold back," she begged.

"Ohh..." Luke moaned and thrust faster into her. At last, he let out an almighty groan and spilled his seed inside of her. Rolling off of Lorelai, he allowed the woman of his dreams to snuggle into his side, resting her head on his bare chest.

"I can't believe you kept that horoscope," Lorelai sighed.

"You're just lucky I never clean out my wallet," Luke deadpanned.

"You can't take it back now. You've exposed yourself. You've been pining for me."

Luke burst out laughing, even if her words cut him to the quick. For deep down, it was true. He had. Even as he now denied it. "I have not been pining."

"I'm your Eva Gardener," Lorelai identified.

"God Help Me." He sighed long and low. "OK. Let's get something out of the way right now." He reached across the expanse of the bed to his bedside table and plucked a notebook from the top.

"What? What are you doing?"

Luke readied his pen and began to write. "Tell me... what CDs to get so I don't have to hear about it."

Lorelai gawked at him in mock outrage. "Seriously?"

"And skip any 80s groups where the guys dressed up like pirates. I draw the line at pirates," Luke plowed right along.

Lorelai gave a squeal of happiness. "This has been a great first date."

"Only took us eight years to get here."

The couple gently kissed once. Then again.

"Ok, so: U2, right?"

"Yup. Bono is a must, and Blondie," Lorelai supplied. "And... oooh - Sparks! Especially the new one. Plus Bowie."

Luke stopped scribbling. "Ah - OK, I know he dressed up like a pirate."

"Spaceman."

"Spaceman I can deal with," Luke conceded.

The alarm clock was shrill the next morning as the sun streamed into the loft above the Diner. Lorelai moaned at the sound, and Luke rolled over.

"Sorry, forgot to turn the alarm off," he grumbled, blindly reaching for it.

"Bad alarm, bad alarm," Lorelai woozily chided.

Lorelai snuggled back into Luke's embrace. "What time is it?"

"Early."

"Hate early. Must kill early," Lorelai moaned as Luke kissed her temple. "OK. We gotta get up."

Neither of them moved. "Why?" Luke harrumphed.

"Work. Inn. Buy shoes." Lorelai continued to speak with monosyllabic phrases. She sighed. "Oh my god, I can't move. I need coffee."

"I don't have coffee up here; it's all downstairs," Luke broke to her.

Lorelai whimpered in frustration. "Downstairs..." She planted kisses along his bare chest before grudgingly rising from the bed they had shared. Wrapping herself in one of Luke's extra long flannels she proceeded to head downstairs.

"Where are you going?" Luke whined to her retreating back.

Too late. Lorelai pushed past the curtain concealing the stairs to the loft...

Only to find the place was open and bustling. Kirk, Gypsy and many more of her neighbors raised their eyes to her. Plastering a nervous grin on her face, Lorelai stole back upstairs.

"Well, I think people are going to know," she announced as nonchalantly as she could to mask her mortification.

"What?" Luke slurred, sitting up. "What are you talking about? What?..." He took in her appearance for the first time. "Why are you wearing my shirt?"

"I put it on to go get coffee."

"Downstairs?"

"Well, you don't keep it upstairs."

"The Diner's open!"

Lorelai mock-gasped. "You're kidding!"

"You walked into the Diner like that?"

"Well, I didn't think the Diner could open without you!" Lorelai cried.

Luke groaned. "I had Caesar open..."

"Well, he did, with a... floor show," Lorelai gestured to herself.

"OK, so... maybe... nobody noticed," Luke half-hoped.

"Luke, look at me!" Lorelai balked.

"Ok, but... you were crazy outfits all the time."

"They usually include pants."

"Ok, so they know. So what? I mean, they're gonna find out eventually, right?"

"Right," Lorelai shrugged. "So we'll hear about it for a few days."

"A few weeks," Luke corrected.

"Six months of hearing about it, but then it will die down," Lorelai tried to sound optimistic.

"We'll get used to it."

"Everything will go back to normal. Ok. Well. They know. It's out."

"It's out," Luke agreed.

A pause. And then Luke asked: "Where's your coffee?"

Lorelai just let him do the deducing for himself. Luke bravely swung out of bed. "I'm getting coffee."