Chapter 3: He Would Take a Bullet for Us

Lorelai Danes breathed to compose herself as she stood at the front desk of the Dragonfly Inn, the phone to her ear. Since the news had broken that Stars Hollow and its inhabitants were the setting of the popular memoir Gilmore Girls, she had braced herself for media inquiries. The story about Luke's Diner in Connecticut Food and Drink Magazine had ballooned to tie in its connection with the best-selling book by Rory Gilmore. All anyone wanted to talk about was "Duke", also known as Luke Danes.

"I've known my husband for 22 years. He fed me and my daughter at his Diner almost every day. Would do little things to help fix our house; he has always been very handy with tools. He pretty much helped me raise Rory as his own - he always treated her like she was his, even if he and I were having some ups and downs. What I love most about him, what made me fall in love with him, is his loyalty to his family. I know he would take a bullet for me, or for Rory, or Laurie, without hesitation. Once Luke Danes is in your life, he's in your life forever."

"I didn't approve of Luke and Lorelai being together, at first, I must confess," Emily confided in the reporter from her new home on Nantucket. She had been surprised, but nevertheless pleased, to hear about the state magazine running an in-depth profile on her son-in-law. "A lot of that stemmed from the stubborn pride of a foolish woman. I used to have very archaic attitudes and values; didn't understand what was really important in life the way my daughter did. Oh, but does he love those girls! When I learned of all the stuff he would do for them, I knew that I had really misjudged him - and that was a fairly recent epiphany on my part, I'll have you know. I wasn't even comfortable with how Luke and Lorelai lived together for years before getting married. But... it's what worked best for them. And they are all doing so well! I suppose I owe Luke a lot for keeping my daughter and granddaughter happy. I know Laurie will be treated no less or any differently as she grows."

"Well, as I say pretty much throughout the book, my father wasn't around much when I was growing up," Rory explained from her desk at the Stars Hollow Gazette. "And we didn't really put our relationship on the mend until I was well into my time at Yale. So, for maybe from the time I was about ten, Luke was pretty much my father. He helped to bring me up - never forgot my birthday, came to all my graduations. He even gave me a pendant that belonged to his mother for my 21st birthday - I mention that in Gilmore Girls; my mom and I were at a rocky patch, and Luke really was our middleman. I feel like... as much as I am a Gilmore, and yes, a Hayden, I am also a Danes."

One fine morning at the Diner, Rory was feeding Laurie her bottle of milk while Lorelai sipped her daily cup of coffee at the counter. Luke came bustling in from the back, carrying a UPS package. Right away, the Gilmore girls straightened in anticipation.

"It's here!" Rory cheered,

"Gimme, gimme, let me see!" Lorelai beckoned.

"Thankfully, Kirk was kind enough to help break the seal beforehand," Luke growled sarcastically at the notion of Kirk happily performing a federal offense as a favor. He flipped open the flap of the box to reveal the glossy cover of Connecticut Food and Drink's latest issue - an entire profile on him and the origins of the Gilmore Girls memoir.

Lorelai smiled proudly at her husband, running her fingers along his backwards baseball cap lovingly. "You deserve this, honey. You are one of the main characters in this story, after all."

Rory was already flipping through the issue at the top of the stack. "Man - the detail in this writing! The style! Naomi Shropshire would be so jealous of this profile!" she beamed.

Baby Laurie gurgled in agreement.