Chapter 1: A Kid Without Jam Hands

When the bells rang above the door, Luke was back in the kitchen preparing for the dinner rush. As he headed back into the dining room, he didn't see anyone. Before he could turn around to go back into the kitchen, a small voice rung out from in front of the counter.

"Hello."

On the other side of the counter stood a girl, who definitely couldn't have been any older than five.

"Uh… hi. Can I help you with something," he said carefully?

"Are you Luke?"

"Yes. And you are?"

"My name is Rory Gilmore."

Shaking his head at the thought of someone allowing such a young child to wander all by themselves, he questioned, "Aren't you a little young to be in a diner all by yourself? Where is your mom?"

"Uh," she scoffed, "For your information, I am five years old, as of last October, and my mommy is at work. Mrs. Mia, I mean Mia, she doesn't like it when I add the "Mrs.", sent me here to get some coffee."

"Sorry kid… I mean Rory. I'm not getting you any coffee. That stuff will kill you."

"It's not for me! I'm taking it back to surprise mommy! She has had a bad week; my daddy didn't show up again. She really loves coffee, and Mia said that you had really good coffee, so while she is talking to Miss Patty, I am here to get coffee. Can I have some pleeeeeaaassssee?"

"Fine," Luke said as his grumpy demeanor began to crumble. There was something about Rory. She wasn't annoying like other kids, and she was surprisingly well mannered. She did ramble a little too much, but at least she didn't have jam hands.

"Thank you so much Luke! Mia was right, you aren't as mean as you act!" At that, Luke couldn't help but grin.

"Here you go. One large cup of coffee,"

"Okay. How much do I owe you?"

"Well most people owe me $1.75," Luke explained kindly as Rory began to dig in her pockets and count her change, "But for you, it is free."

"But why? Mommy says that nothing is free without strings attached."

Luke was caught off guard by such a mature response, and stood gaping for a moment.

"Well," Rory said with a hint of confusion in her voice, "Why don't I have to pay?"

Thinking before he spoke, Luke finally replied, "Well Rory, what your mom says is true, most of the time. What she doesn't know is that I give discounts to kids who are nice and well mannered. Since you were so kind, I am giving you 100% off, so it is free." Oh gosh, what am I doing? I have never given a discount to kids. I hate kids… well, apparently, Rory is an exception.

"Really? Thanks Luke! I think you're super kind too," Rory said as she turned to walk out to meet Mia, "Much nicer than Taylor! He treats me like I am a baby when we go to Doose's."

Before she made it out the door, she quickly turned around and added, "If I come back sometime, will you be here?"

"Uh yeah, why," Luke asked confused, "I own this place so I kinda have to be here."

"Well it smells good in here, so you can probably cook. My mommy can't cook, so when I tell her there is a diner in town, she will probably want to come here a lot. Also, if your coffee is as good as Mia says it is, Mommy will want to come in and get some more. She loves coffee. She'd probably have it in an IV if she could."

With that, she turned and walked out the door. All Luke could do was stand there and laugh. He had never met such an interesting kid.

By the end of the week, Rory and her mom hadn't come into the diner. Mia had called Luke during the week to see if he could come and fix the book case at the inn, so on Saturday, that is exactly what he did.

As he walked up the drive that evening, he noticed a little girl running straight for him. Before he knew it, he was met with a hug around his leg. "Hi Luke! Mia said you were coming to fix the book case in the lobby! I love books! Ca…"

Before she could finish her next sentence, Mia walked out onto the porch and interrupted. "Lucas! Thank you for coming. I see you have a fan."

A small grin spread across his face as he replied, "Apparently so. Who knew giving a kid a cup of coffee would make them love you for life?"

"Well Rory is a special kid," Mia stated plainly as she turned to Rory, "Hey Rory, why don't you go find your mom and tell her I need her at the front desk while I show Luke the shelves?"

"Okay," she replied sweetly. "Oh, once I get Mommy can I come watch Luke? Mommy doesn't know how to fix anything, and my shelves are broken too. If I watch Luke, then maybe I can help Mommy fix mine."

"I can fix those too," Luke said, before realizing what he was volunteering to do. What is it about this kid that makes me want to be so generous?

"Oh my gosh Luke! You would do that? You are the best diner man ever!" Rory exclaimed, hugging him once again. Once she let go, she turned and ran off to get Lorelai.

"That was mighty nice of you to say Lucas. It looks like that little girl has you wrapped around her finger," Mia said softly while guiding Luke into the inn, "What's this I hear about discounts for kids?"

Luke blushed. "Yes Mia. Rag me all you want, but it doesn't hurt to be nice sometimes, and she seems like a good kid. She kind of reminds me of Jess." With that, he turned and began working on the shelves.

As Luke finished rebuilding the book shelves, he heard tiny footsteps approaching, which he knew had to belong to Rory.

As he turned around, she immediately began talking. "Wow Luke, the shelf looks just like it did before it broke!"

"Well that's definitely what I was going for. Now about your bookshelves, do you still want me to fix those? Is your mom okay with that?"

"Oh yeah! I still want them fixed, but I forgot to ask Mommy if that was okay. Let me go get her, and I'll introduce you."

When Rory reentered with Lorelai, Luke could hardly believe what he saw. Lorelai was exceptionally beautiful, but one major thing stood out. She looked extremely young. How is she old enough to be the mom to a five-year-old?

"I'm back Luke! This is my mommy, Lorelai Gilmore. My name is Lorelai too, but I have a different middle name, and I go by Rory. It would be too confusing to have two Lorelai's."

Luke let out a small laugh as he extended his hand. "Nice to meet you Lorelai Gilmore."

She shook his hand as she replied, "So you are the famous Luke? Rory hasn't stopped talking about you since she met you. Thanks for being so kind to her, you really made an impression."

"Oh, it's no problem," Luke said rather shyly as he started at Lorelai. Wow, she is pretty. Ah, jeez! What am I thinking. She's got a kid. She wouldn't have any interest in dating.

Lorelai noticed Luke's staring and blushed, trying to figure out what to say next. Wow, he is handsome. What am I saying? I can't date; I have Rory. I have to worry about her needs first.

An awkward silence developed, but Rory, oblivious to the staring match in front of her, happily interrupted. "So are you just gonna stare at each other, or are we gonna fix my book case? I mean, I like my floor pile system, but I would rather be able to use my shelves again."

Both Luke and Lorelai snapped out of their trance. Luke grinned sheepishly as Lorelai fumbled for her words, "Oh yeah, um, that's fine Rory. Let's go show Luke the potting shed so he can do what he needs to do."

By the time Luke was almost finished, it was around dinner time.

"Mommy?"

"Yes hon?"

"What are we going to eat for dinner?"

"Well, I don't think we have any leftovers for Al's left, so I guess I'll get Sookie to whip us up something before she leaves for the night."

"Oooo, but what about Luke's?"

"Well, considering that Luke is here fixing your shelf, I doubt we could go to his diner…"

"Oh yeah," Rory said with a frown slowly growing across her face.

Noticing Rory's disappointment, Lorelai quickly amended, "Unless Luke wants us to come to the diner when he is done. What do you think Luke?"

At this point in time, Luke was completely invested in repairing the shelf, so he didn't notice he was being asked a question.

"Hey Luke," Lorelai called out again, "Luke!"

Startled, Luke jumped up quickly and whacked his head on the shelf. "Oh shhhh… I mean crap!"

Trying not to let out a giggle, Lorelai ran over to Luke to make sure he was okay. "Oh my gosh Luke! Are you alright? I am so sorry; I didn't mean to scare you like that!"

Rubbing his head, he replied achingly, "It's alright," Shit this hurts "What did you want?"

"Well, I was going to ask you whether you cared if we came and ate at the diner after you finished, but now that I just caused your injury, I am not so sure you'd like that."

"Honestly Lorelai, it's fine. It doesn't hurt that bad," he replied softly, "I'll be done with the shelves in a minute. I don't mind you and Rory coming to the diner at all." I wouldn't mind spending time with you. Wow, where did that come from. First the daughter, now her mother. How am I so attached already?

"Yay," Rory exclaimed, "You're going to love it! He has really cool decorations in there! There is a dancing pork chop on the wall!"

Luke and Lorelai looked at each other and laughed. "Oh the things my daughter notices!"