The next morning, Luke noticed right away when Rory and Lorelai walked in. Lorelai looked really nice, not that that was out of the ordinary. Lorelai walked up to the counter and Rory took a seat at their normal table.

"Is that a new blouse?"

"Luke Danes, did you just notice that I was wearing a new blouse? And did you actually use the word blouse to describe it?"

"Forget I said anything." He teased, looking down at the area of the counter he was scrubbing.

"Hey, thank you for driving Rory home last night. I really appreciate it." Lorelai said, placing a hand on Luke's upper arm.

"Anything for that kid. You know that. I take it you two talked last night?"

"Yeah. Thanks for not killing Dean. I don't know who would've made my coffee if you went to jail."

"So… What are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're not going to let her keep seeing the kid, right?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Lorelai, you can't be serious. She came home last night with bruises after he nearly broke my door down screaming that she was a bitch, and you're going to pretend like nothing happened?"

"Luke, I trust Rory. She said it was a fluke thing and that it isn't going to happen again. If that's what she says, I believe her. If I tell her she can't see him she'll just sneak around, and that's even worse. Not to mention, I don't need your input on how to raise my kid."

"You're right, I overstepped. I'm sorry."

Lorelai walked away and sat down without saying a word. Luke let out a breath and looked up at the ceiling. He hated fighting with Lorelai. The bickering he didn't mind. That kind of banter was actually really cute, not that he'd ever admit it. But this wasn't casual, flirty banter. This was a fight. And as much as he wanted to be able to just secede to Lorelai, he couldn't help but feel that he was right on this one. But he had to let that go. Rory was Lorelai's little girl, not his. Although he'd give anything for either of them, it wasn't his job to decide how Lorelai raised Rory, and he knew that. It just sucked. Sighing again, Luke went back to scrubbing the same spot of counter he'd just cleaned 5 minutes ago.

Later that afternoon, Rory walked in, followed by Max Medina, Lorelai's fiancé. Luke took a moment to swallow his pride before he went to take their order. Max made Lorelai happy. Luke liked to see Lorelai happy. Before Luke could head to their table, Max walked right up to him.

"Lucas, right?"

"Luke is fine."

"Max Medina," he said, extending his hand, which Luke shook. "Lorelai's fiancé." He added for good measure. "Lorelai told me about what happened with Rory the other night." Luke didn't like the sound of their names coming out of his mouth. "Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you. I had a feeling something was up with Rory and I'm glad she had someone to go to."

Luke's jaw tightened. "What do you mean you had a feeling?" He asked a little pointedly, although it seemed to go unnoticed by Max.

"Well, you know, the Gilmore girls aren't exactly an athletic duo, so I figured most of the bruises couldn't be from playing volleyball like she claimed. She hasn't been as active in class discussions, which is unlike her. Just some stuff that seemed off."

"How long has this been going on? How long has she been coming into school bruised?" He said, trying to keep quiet and calm to avoid letting the whole diner know about the altercation.

"Two months, I'd say, maybe a little shy of it."

"You've known that some punk has been hitting Rory for two months and you didn't say anything to Lorelai? Or to anyone?" Max was keenly aware of Luke's anger now, as it seemingly seethed out of his every pore.

"I didn't have any proof. I can't just run around making accusations willy-nilly." He said firmly.

"You don't need an accusation to bring something to Lorelai's attention, right?"

"Listen, Luke. I think you're blowing this out of proportion. Boys will be boys, right? Not to mention I'm sure Rory's smart enough to get out of any situation that she doesn't want to be in."

"Go. I think it's time that you go," Luke said, knowing that if he stayed much longer he'd lose his control and punch the guy.

"Rory, why don't we walk around a little bit before we meet your mother? Get some fresh air." Max said as he walked back towards Rory.

Rory, who was sitting at a table away from the counter and had missed this whole conversation due to the book she'd planted her nose in, looked up.

"Uh, I actually think I'll stay here and do some studying. I'll meet you at the inn later."

Max was a little stunned at her refusal to leave, but let her be, and left the diner in a huff. Rory moved her stuff to sit at the counter in front of Luke, who gave her a long, hard look.

"I just.. Uh… Thought I should sit at the counter, where I'm only one person. Don't really need a whole table to myself."

"Do you want to go upstairs to study? I've got a desk up there and it's pretty loud down here. Would give you a bit more peace and quiet."

"I… Uh…"

"Come on, Luke said, leading her upstairs. Luke opened the door to his apartment and let her walk in, then following her and shutting the door behind him.

"Where's your backpack?"

"It's in Max's car."

"Oh, sorry. Do you need to-"

"I didn't actually need to study anything."

"Oh… Then why-"

"I just didn't want to go with Max."

"Oh." Luke said, finally realizing.

"Not that Max is a bad guy or anything, he makes my mom happy, and-"

"Hey, you don't have to defend your opinion like that to me, I'm not going to be offended." He smirked at her. "So do you like the guy?"

"You know, he makes my mom really happy and I think that's great-"

"That's not what I asked. I asked if you like him."

"Well… I think I'm just adjusting to it. He's my English teacher after all… Sometimes it's hard to sort of switch my mind around and see him as not my teacher."

"Rory… Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah," Rory said, trepidation evident in her voice.

"When you came to the diner the other night… Was that the first time something like that has happened between you and Dean?"

"It was the first time he followed me. Normally I run and he cools down and it's fine. But no, it's not the first time if you're asking about what I think you're asking about." Rory answered, unable to even look at Luke.

"Oh, Rory." Luke said, feeling his heart break."How long?"

"A few months. It's pretty recent."

"Rory, you've been letting this guy hit you for two months?" He said, more angry with himself for not noticing than he was disappointed in her.

"It's not like that, okay? Dean is a great boyfriend. Everyone in town knows how much Dean loves me. So he made a few mistakes. That's life, right? You're supposed to love your boyfriend through their mistakes, right?"

"Forgetting an anniversary is a mistake. Accidentally trying to feed a Gilmore girl salad is a mistake. Hitting a woman is more than a mistake," Luke said.

Rory didn't say anything. She knew Luke was right and she hated herself for it.

"What if nobody else ever loves me like Dean loves me?"

"I'd say you could count yourself lucky. Look at the way Dean is loving you right now. Not the way he loved you 6 months ago, not the way the town thinks he loves you. The way he is actually loving you. God Rory, I hope no one else ever loves you like that. Someone will love you better than that. A million times better than that, and it will still only be half of what you deserve."

Rory smiled a little, though Luke could tell she was still deeply hurt.

"Luke, what am I going to do?" Rory asked, truly searching for answers.

"The first thing you need to do is tell your mom. Tell her everything you can. If it's too hard to tell her all at once, do it in pieces, but she needs to know what's been going on."

"And then what? Dean isn't going to just give up this easy. He loves me. Or I guess he thinks he loves me. I don't know, it doesn't feel like I know anything anymore." Rory ranted, growing more upset.

"Hey, hey, hey. You're a smart kid, Ror. They don't accept kids to Chilton on a fluke. This situation would be hard for anyone to navigate. Why don't you call your mom and tell her you're not feeling well and that I'm going to drive you home. You can relax for a little while and then when your mom gets home you can talk.

"Okay. Thanks, Luke."

"Anything for you, kid."