AN: Hey everyone. This is the second story that I've posted, and the first one I've written about the Gilmore Girls. This story is about Rory, Luke, and Chris and how they all function in relationships with each other. A few things you should know include:

-Christopher didn't move away after proposing to Lorelai in their teen years

-Luke has known Rory since she was born

-There never was a Max or an April in my story

-And, of course, I do not own the Gilmore Girls in any way, shape or form

Please read and enjoy:

Age 5:

"Dad, it's Rory. I've got so much to tell you; I won a contest at school today!"

"Hey sweetheart. Listen, I'm gonna have to call you back; I've got to get to class. I love you!" Chris blurted out before running out the door.

"But," protested the young Rory, only to hear the dial tone cut her off. "Happy birthday Dad. I love you too."

The bond had always been there. A father and child who, despite unorthodox circumstances, loved each other.

A quiet child, he had always been the one to bring Rory out of her shell. The terrible twosome, they never seemed quite whole without the other. Rory was very dependent on her mother, as was he, but there was a special bond there that neither one could seem to replicate.

Today, her mother was getting married. Lorelai Gilmore the second, the soon to be Lorelai Gilmore Hayden, was getting married to her father today, and all she could manage do is cry.

Age 6:

A young girl and an older man sit side by side, enjoying the serene day. The pond is still and the sky above is a vibrant blue with fluffy white clouds lazing across the atmosphere.

"What do we do now?" asks the blue eyed child.

"Well, we've got wait for the fish to come to us," explains the older of the two as he gently repositions her hand to hold onto the fishing pole. A monthly tradition, the pair comes down here often in the spring and summertime, usually choosing an indoor activity during the snowy, winter months.

"Can we talk?"

"We might scare the fish away," he mumbles gruffly, offering his faint protest.

"Oh, okay, we won't," agrees a young Rory as she settles in to wait for their dinner to come to them. She stairs at the pond with a look of pure concentration, willing the fish to bite faster; patients has never been one of her strong points.

Giving in, a few minutes later, "So what are you reading now?" he asks since he knows that the main reason she agreed was to spend time with him and talk.

Giggling, she replies, "Little House on the Prairie, but I thought the fish won't come if we talk!"

"Honey, I'd rather have you to talk to than all the fish that could possible be interested in the lures you mom made for us." In fact, the bright pink, sequined lures have attracted a great deal of attention from everyone who saw them coming down to the pond, but have yet to even remotely interest the life in the water.

She, easily distracted from the task at hand, soon becomes enthralled in retelling the story that she has so recently read as he finds himself drawn in by her raw enthusiasm and laughter. "Baby girl, one day you'll make a living by telling stories."

The perfect dress is ready, waiting to be put on and as maid of honor, and it is Rory's job to help. It seemed to be pure white, with pearls and embroidery, and with a train that appeared to go on forever. This wedding is not what either of them, mother or daughter, would have pictured for Lorelai's special day. Both of the grandmothers, Gilmore and Hayden, had spent a great deal of their time planning the extravaganza and the guest list was highly exclusive and yet still monstrously long. Ever since Lorelai had reconciled with Chris, she and her mother had been getting along. Rory thought it was partly due to Christopher's newfound wealth as well as his acceptance of a job for Grandpa Hayden's company. Though he wasn't as close by as he had been during her childhood, she didn't mind it as much if his absence was contributing to the happiness that her mother was feeling now.

Growing up without a full time father was hard. Rory adores her mother beyond all reason. She's strong, smart and beautiful, and she always seems to have a good time planned. Still, Rory had to take on huge responsibilities as a child to compensate for her mom's long work hours and for the hardships they both had to bear. She learned to do laundry, to do her own homework, even to pay bills. The hard work had only made them closer, but it isolated her father from them a bit. However, she would still sporadically see him, and those times were wonderful, though they weren't a regular occurrence.

Age 10:

"Come on, come on, come one, come on!" she chanted. They were walking around town on one of their rare bonding days.

"What's the rush? We have all day."

"But you usually work so much that we don't get to do anything fun. Today is a special day. A holiday! We should give it a name: Vacation-break-holi-have fun-day!"

"So baby girl, how many cups of coffee did you have this morning?"

"None. Plus three."

"You really shouldn't drink so much caffeine. It'll stunt your growth."

"So I hear from my favorite diner owner," she replied smiling.

"Oh? I have competition?" he asked, pretending to be threatened.

"Nope, no competition at all. He wins hands down. I mean, he's the provider of coffee!"

"How could I possibly hope to measure up to that?" he wondered teasingly.

"But really, having you here to talk to and just to listen to me means more than all the coffee in the world. Well, maybe not all of it, but all the coffee in Stars Hollow at least."

"Sweetheart, can I talk to you a minute?" asked Chris as she was making her way to her mother's dressing room.

"Uh, sure. I'm kind of in a rush here, so please make it quick," Rory replied.

"I just wanted to make sure that you're okay with this whole situation, I mean, the wedding and all."

"Chris, it's a little late to think about that now." He winced as she used his first name, but she stopped calling him dad a long time ago. They had a descent relationship now but there had been a fair amount of bumps in the past. "You're going to pledge to have and to hold in a little over an hour."

"Rory, I love your mother. She means the world to me."

"I know which is why I'm okay with this. You're the one that she wants, and that's really all I can ask for." Despite her best efforts, Rory's melancholy mood was still apparent to her father.

Age 14:

"You won't believe the day I had!" says the exuberant, younger Gilmore as she rushes in the door.

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that," he replies, "and tell me about it?"

"Okay, so we had that presentation in English today."

"The one where you translated Oedipus into modern language?"

"Yep, and my group was the best. The class voted on it after everyone had gone and we won! The teacher gave us each ten bonus points and a couple pieces of candy."

"Of course your group was the best- they had you as a master writer."

"Thanks," she beamed as she grabbed the waiting cup of coffee. "Our scenery fell down and one of the props broke, but Lane played it off like it was all part of the plot. She's really a great actress! After the play, my English teacher told me that she had heard back from the school newspaper." She paused to take a sip.

"And…"

"They want me! I'm the first freshman to get onto the paper, well, ever! That I know of, anyways."

"Congratulations kid. I know that you'll be the best damn writer they have."

"Thanks, again! So then I went to math and I sat next to Ben Stilton..."

"Whoa, hold on. Why have I not heard about this boy before?"

"He's always been around, but we never really talked, you know? But today we got partnered together for the group work and, all of a sudden, he's in a totally new light. He's really smart and pretty funny too. I mean, it's not like anything happened, but still, it's nice to dream, right?"

"You're sounding quite a bit like your mom there, baby girl, and I don't mean that in the good way that I usually do."

"Hey, as long as he makes me happy, right? That's what you always say."

"And when I'm referring to boys you could potentially date, the whole philosophy doesn't even come into play until you graduate from college. And grad school."

"Does he really make you happy?" asked Rory, checking for one final time.

"Yeah, he does. I mean, god Rory, we grew up together. He's the guy out there who gave me you, how could I not love him?" responded Lorelai.

"You're not just marrying him because you think I need a dad, right? Because I'm going away to college soon and I want you to make this decision for you, not me. Everything is going to change now. You're going to be raising Gigi, maybe even move out of Stars Hollow."

"Kid, I know you're not exactly pleased with the way things have turned out, but I need you to trust me on this one."

"It just seems so, soon. You guys haven't been dating that long."

"Ror, I want to be with Chris and that's all there is to it. This wedding is on."

Age 16:

"What do you mean the wedding is off?" stutters Rory, in shock.

"I don't really know how else to say it," Lorelai replies. "Luke and I are not getting married."

"Ever?"

"No, I mean, I don't know. We were doing so well but then Chris came back and we talked; he thinks it may not be a good choice and I sort of agree."

Rory felt time slow as she could almost swear her heart stopped for a moment. "Why?"

"I'm just not ready, the timing's not right." Seeing Rory wasn't impressed with her answer, Lorelai continues on in vain, "the renovation on the diner is just getting started and now that Sookie and I are starting our own inn, it seems like,"

"No offense, but I can't hear this right now."

Rory rushes out the door and runs down to the pond, sitting on the bridge. Staring into the water, she feels tears start to slowly forge their way down her face, and then they come faster and faster until she can't see anything anymore. Sobbing, alone, she cries for the father she could have had. Chris has visited, maybe, once every two years. He lives so close to them yet he can never manage to get his act together long enough to actually make a difference. Luke, on the other hand, had always been there for her. He listened to her, taught her things and always made her feel worthwhile.

"Hey there, baby girl," said the approaching figure. He walked up to where she was sitting and plopped down next to her. Seeing her sob, he simple wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. The water flowed beneath them, washing her tears away as the breeze slowly filtered through the trees.

"This is going to change everything," Rory squeaked, barley getting her words out.

"Perhaps. But some things never change; you're my baby girl, now and forever," Luke reassured. "Don't you ever question that."

"Speak now, or forever hold your peace." The minister projected his message across the gilded hall, challenging anyone who opposed the union to step up. Of course, Rory just stood there silently, unable to neither frown nor smile, as a single tear slipped down her cheek. She love Chris, she really did, but this wedding just seemed wrong.

The room was filled with flowers, and not the daises that her mom loved. Roses and nothing but were injecting their scent into everything, leaving trails of broken leaves in their wake. There was ribbon and gauze and pearls and gold, but none of her mother's beloved feathers.

There were hundreds of people gathered here today, from the town dance teacher to her grandmother's best friend, the wife of a senator. Everyone was here but the one man who really mattered.

As the ceremony progressed on, Lorelai smiled, looking to her daughter for confirmation, and slightly faltered when she couldn't find it. Rory looked up and met her mothers gaze. Twenty years of friendship and fights, of laughter and tears were about to peak. They would never have the same relationship again, but Rory managed to force out a grin, because that's what love it. Letting the person you love be happy, even if you don't think it's the right thing to do. This bittersweet moment was the last time that Rory would be able to look at her mother without remembering what could have been. Of course, the feeling would fade over time and she might even forget about it for a while, but Rory would always carry the disappointment that Lorelai chose Chris instead of Luke.

Later on in the evening, after the cake was cut and the honeymooners left for their European tour, Rory walked slowly through her town. A million memories had been made here and there were a million more, yet to come.

"Hey baby girl," a gruff voice sung out from the diner. She turned, smiling for the first time that day, and scampered over, into the light.

"Hi dad," she said, stepping into the warmth of the building. "I had a horrible day."

"Why don't you sit down and tell me about it."

The most important thing to a child is to have someone in their proximity to love them. Rory Gilmore found that in Luke Danes and no matter what genetics said, to her, he would always be her father.

End

As I hope you've figured out no, all the flashback but the first one were of Luke. I hope you enjoyed and please review! I want to know how I'm doing so far.