I'll Be Here

A/N: Obviously I do not own Gilmore Girls. All credit goes to the writers.

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I've already posted this once, but I took it down to fix it and I ended up adding a bit to it. Enjoy.

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Summary: Rory is upset; Luke is there to comfort her leading the eleven year old to a realisation.

I'll Be Here

Luke stepped out of the diner, utterly frustrated with Taylor; it was not the first time he had wanted to punch Taylor. The man had been standing on the sidewalk in front of the diner annoying Luke's customers, cornering them and making them withstand his talk. He had thought of the day that Taylor would finally grow tired of this own voice, yet it seemed impossible.
His eyes scanned the town, heart stopping in his chest when he saw her sitting on the wooden bench seat, he didn't have to be close to know that she was crying. Her entire body was shuttering as she hunched over, face buried in his hands.

Luke's feet carried him across the street before he could process his actions, ignoring Taylor as the man shouted at him for not using proper crossings but that was the last thought on his mind when he approached the young girl before him.

"Rory, is everything alright?" Six years ago he never would have thought he'd be here, talking to a child. He disliked all things regarding little snot-nosed brats but this particular girl was completely different, she was the exception.

Eleven year old Rory peeled her hands away from her face, swiping the tears away with the back of her hands. "I'm fine."

Luke didn't believe the words that left her mouth; he'd never seen Rory cry in public before. Her pale skin was botchy red with tear streaks running down her cheeks. "You're not fine, Rory." He could see the water welling in her eyes, normally he would have just accepted the answer and turned around, but around Rory he was different. It was as though deep inside him there was a paternal side. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I…" Rory closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears but she couldn't stop the sob that came from her lips.

Luke sat down on the bench and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. "Hey, you're alright. I've got you." The words left his lips quietly, soothing her in his arms, gently rocking her back and forth as she cried. It pained him to see her upset when he didn't know the cause. He briefly wondered where Lorelai was, if she knew Rory was upset then she would have been here. "Do you want me to call your mom?"

"No." Rory pulled away from him, looking straight into his eyes with a pleading look written in her features. "Please don't, she will be really angry."

Luke raised his eyebrow, the young girl in front of him was trying to wipe the tears away and put on a brave face. But it was her words that he didn't understand, Lorelai would never be angry with Rory, no matter what the young girl did Lorelai always held her cool. "Your mother would never be angry with you, Rory."

"Not with me." Rory sighed heavily. "With Dad."

Luke clenched his fist at his side; the mention of Rory's father always had him on edge. Since the moment he met both girls he wanted to punch the man in the face, he did not understand how a guy could walk away from either of them. "What did he do?" He understood why Rory didn't want her mother to know, the young girl hated when her parents fought over her.

Rory blinked, the sadness creeping back into her eyes. "He was," She paused, looking down at the backpack at her feet. "He was supposed to come and get me today, he never came." She hiccupped, the tears falling from her eyes again.

Luke pulled her back into his arms, his mind thinking over all the ways he could hurt Christopher for disappointing Rory once again. It wasn't acceptable; a child should never be disappointed by a father this much in a short time. "Oh Rory."

"I don't understand." Rory leaned against this chest, her right hand gripping his shirt tightly as if to keep him from walking away. "I don't understand what I did wrong, Luke. Why doesn't he make time for me, I'm his only daughter."

Luke used his hand to gently stroke her back, the next time he saw Christopher the man would be lucky to escape with his life. "You have done nothing wrong, Rory. The choices that Christopher makes is not your fault or a reflection of who you are."

Rory looked up, her eyes shining with tears. "Why isn't he here then? Why didn't he make the choice to be with me?"

"I don't know, Rory, I don't know." He rubbed her back, feeling her melt back into his chest.

"Does he hate me?" She cried.

"No." Luke exclaimed. "Absolutely not, he could never hate you kid. No one could." He promised her. "I think that some people struggle to be a parent, but even though your dad isn't in your life you don't need to worry. You have one amazing and strong mother who loves you enough to make up for a million parents. You are her world."

"She's not a dad though." Rory sniffled.

Luke just smiled. "No, she isn't but your mother could kick ass just like a dad." He grinned when he heard her giggle slightly.

"Yeah, she could." Rory gently pulled away. "I wish you were my dad, Luke, you always know how to make me feel better and you never disappoint me."

Luke nudged her gently when he saw her saddened expression come back. "I may not be your dad, Rory, but I will always be here for you. No matter what happens, you can always count on that, on me."

Rory tilted her head, slightly surprised to hear Luke talking this much, but the whole town knew he would do anything for his Gilmore Girls. "Promise?"

"I promise." He kissed the top of her head. "How about a fatty cheeseburger?"

Rory's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Wait, did you just offer me a cheeseburger?"

Luke chuckled at her expression. "I did, just this once. Come on, I might even give you a coke to go with it."

"How about coffee?"

"Absolutely not." He picked up her backpack and stood up, he was surprised when he felt her hand slip into his, but he didn't pull away. He was the only child that he would allow to touch him, because she was special.

Lorelai burst into the diner, eyes scanning the crowd of people frantically, fear creeping into her body when she couldn't see Rory. Every ounce of her was ready to throttle Christopher. He had once again broken Rory's heart with a promise to pick up; to be truthful to herself a piece of her knew that he would fail his daughter. It only made her angry at herself, she encouraged Rory to have a relationship with her father but as time passed she was beginning to think it would be better if Chris seemingly ceased to exist in their life.

"Luke!" She spotted him coming down the stairs from the apartment above. "Have you seen Rory?" She asked frantically. "I can't find her. Christopher was supposed to pick her up but he didn't and I, I am going to kill him. She was looking forward to his weekend and he broke her heart. Have you seen her? I need to…"

"Lorelai."

"What, have you seen her?"

Luke nodded towards the stairs. "She's upstairs. It was crowded, so I let her go up there with her cheeseburger to watch tv. I was about to call you."

Lorelai stared at him as though she was unable to grasp what he had just said. "You gave her a cheeseburger?" Luke would never give her daughter that kind of food if he had a say.

Luke only smirked. "I did. Go on up, I think she needs you right now."

"Did…Did she come here?"

"I saw her in the park, she was crying. If I see Christopher, I will punch him."

Lorelai only laughed, every piece of her was thankful for Luke. They were very lucky to have him in their lives. "You need to get in line, I'm at the front."

"Here." Luke handed her a cup of coffee. "Go on."

"Thank-you Luke." Lorelai smiled at him, her eyes filled with appreciation.

"It's just a cup of coffee."

"I wasn't talking about the coffee." She told him, walking up the stairs. Her daughter needed her now, tomorrow she would tease Luke about what a big softy he was but for today it was about Rory.

Lorelai found her daughter the moment she opened the door, her heart breaking when she saw her sweet girl curled under a blanket staring at the tv, a lost look on her face. She'd seen this before, the last time the girl was disappointed by her father. "Hey hon." She broke the silence, moving across the floor as the young girl straightened up. "Are you…" She didn't have the chance to finish her sentence because Rory was in her arms the moment she sat down. "Oh, hey, I've got you." She tried to sooth the girl but it only took her a moment to realise the girl wasn't crying.

"Mom."

Lorelai placed her coffee down and she wrapped her arms around her daughter. "Yes?"

"I'm okay."

"Rory."

"I am, mom." Rory pulled back, giving her mother a soft reassuring smile. "Luke was here, he comforted me."

That was Luke, the man they could always count on. "I know, and he…"

"Mom, I don't want to see dad anymore."

Lorelai frowned, her lips parting in surprise. That was not what she expected to hear from her daughter. Despite everything Chris had done Rory idolised her father, she wanted nothing more than to form a relationship with him. This was a drastic turn around to the girl who had been enthusiastic this morning. "What brought this on?"

Rory shrugged. "I don't need him, mom. I have you." She held her mother's hand tightly. "And I have Luke. I don't need dad, not when he only disappoints me."

"Rory." Lorelai pulled her hands before reaching up to cup her daughters face. "Is this what you want? I know it's not easy, and it comes with pain but you love your father."

"I can love him but I can't see him. I don't want broken promises and phone calls once a month." She looked into her moms eyes. "I just want you, you and Luke."

Lorelai breathed deeply. "You can change your mind at any point; this decision does not have to be final."

"But it is." Rory leaned back into her mother's hug. "I love you, mom."

"I love you too, hon."

Thoughts?

Much Love. x