Aren't I nice? ;) Here's the next chapter! :)

Chapter 4

Luke appeared again and gave Lorelai a small smile. "My mom's going to watch Rory. She said she'll join us later and get Patty or Babette to watch Rory." He said.

Lorelai just nodded, still in shock.

"So uh I was thinking, why don't we go back to your place?" Luke suggested.

"My place?" Lorelai whipped her head round to look at Luke.

"It'll be quiet and we can talk there. The inn may be busy." He said.

Lorelai thought about the potting shed and then she thought about what Luke would think but then she realised Luke knew everything about her anyway so she should just show him. "Ok." She said.

They walked towards the inn and Lorelai led Luke to the potting shed. She opened the door and went inside. Luke followed her shocked. "You're living here?" He asked.

"I had no money when I came here. Mia said I could have this and seeing as it was just me, it was fine. It's small but I've made it my own." Lorelai shrugged.

Luke just nodded and realised how much Lorelai had sacrificed to find her daughter. She literally had nothing when she arrived here. "I thought my place was small." He joked.

Lorelai smiled at that. "Come on, let's go sit" She said gesturing to the couch. He nodded and they went to sit down. Both were silent for a minute. "So did you tell your mom what's going on?" Lorelai asked, breaking the silence.

"I think she sort of figured it out before any of it. That first day she met you, she kept saying how familiar you looked. She mentioned it to me but I just thought it was because she goes to the inn to see Mia." He said. "I sort of dismissed it when she mentioned some similarities between you and Rory. I just thought it was a coincidence." He admitted.

"When I found out her name was Rory, I was shocked. I wasn't sure what to think." Lorelai admitted. "But like you, I just thought it was a coincidence. I should have found out more." She said quietly.

"We both should have. We had our thoughts. We should have acted on them." Luke said. "I guess...well I guess I was sort of scared to." He admitted.

"Scared?" Lorelai asked surprised, turning to look at him.

"This is probably really selfish of me but I thought if we did find out that Rory was your daughter, that you'd take her away from me." Luke admitted guiltily. "I know, it was selfish of me." He said.

Lorelai shook her head. "No Luke. It wasn't selfish. I totally understand that."

"You do?" Luke asked.

"She's your daughter. You're her daddy. She adores you. God you brought her up for 7 years." Lorelai said. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she reached over and put her hands over his. "I'm not going to take Rory away from you. You're her daddy. Nothing's ever going to change that." She said. "Plus what kind of bitch takes a kid away from a place where she feels settled and loved to a small shed with a woman she barely knows? It wouldn't be fair on Rory." She said emotionally.

"Lorelai, I think you need time to think..." Luke said softly, but also felt so much relief that he wasn't going to lose Rory.

Lorelai shook her head. "Ever since I found that blanket, all I've been doing is thinking! This was probably one of the hardest decisions I'll ever have to make but I need to think about Rory. I mean, of course I'm going to be her mom. I want to be in her life, I've always wanted to be in her life, be her mom." She said. "I mean, that is if you'll let me..." She said, suddenly nervous. She hadn't even thought about whether Luke would let her be part of Rory's life.

It was Luke's turn to reach over and take hold of her hands which he noticed were still shaking a little. "Of course I'll let you. You've been searching for her for 7 years. You're her mom. She deserves to know you and you deserve to be in her life." He said.

Lorelai let out a big breath. "Thank you." She said quietly. She then let out a big sigh and leant back on the couch, leaning her head back. "I'm kind of glad it was my day off today." She joked, trying to relieve some of the seriousness of what had just happened.

Luke chuckled. "It's been a big day." He agreed. "For both of us."

Lorelai nodded. She turned her head towards Luke. "I want to thank you." She said quietly.

"For what?" He asked.

"For looking after her. For giving her such a loving home. For being such an amazing dad to her. I really wished she was somewhere she was happy and felt safe and loved." Lorelai said, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "God I had so many thoughts. I was terrified she had ended with a horrible family who treated her badly. I even had images that maybe, maybe she was getting abused or something had happened to her." She said wiping tears away from her cheeks.

"Hey, it's ok." Luke said putting his arm around her. "None of that happened. She's fine. Amazing actually. She changed my life." He said with a small smile.

Lorelai smiled at that and looked at him. "So what happened? Were you at the hospital or something that day? Did you see my parents?" She asked, wanting to know finally what had happened that devastating day.

Luke shook his head. "Like you said, we're not the sort of family your parents would want to adopt their granddaughter I'm guessing." He said.

Lorelai nodded, ashamed. "I'm not disrespecting you or this town. I'm just a bit confused how Rory ended up here." She admitted. "So you weren't at the hospital?"

"I was driving into Hartford to go to a bank meeting and I noticed a car crashed into the barrier at the side of the road." Luke said.

Lorelai's heart dropped.

"I got out and saw a woman in the driving seat hunched over the wheel. I checked for a pulse but there wasn't one." Luke said quietly, remembering the horrible scene.

"Oh my god..." Lorelai said quietly, realising that she could have lost her daughter that day.

"I was about to go off and call the emergency services but I suddenly heard a cry from the backseat." He said.

"Rory..." Lorelai said quietly.

Luke nodded. "I looked in the back and in a kid's seat was this baby. I didn't know what to do. I managed to get her out and when the emergency services came, I made sure they checked her out. They said she was fine." He said. He sighed. "So I called the social services." He admitted.

"You did?" Lorelai asked surprised.

Luke nodded. "I didn't know what to do. I thought that was the right thing to do. Anyway, they took Rory. I kept in touch with them because I wanted to know what would happen to her. I went to visit her a few times as well." He admitted.

Lorelai smiled a little at that.

"Anyway, one day they phoned me and said that they were going to put her into care or into an orphanage as they couldn't find her parents. Before I knew what I was doing, I told them I wanted to adopt her. I don't know why I did it but I felt something for her that first day. I just felt a bond. So I signed all the paperwork needed and took her home with me." He admitted.

"Wow..." Lorelai said.

"I never looked back and never regretted it. Rory changed my life. I needed her. She really helped when my dad fell ill." He admitted.

"Yeh Rory sort of mentioned that today. About how you eat healthy food because of your dad." Lorelai said.

"She's a smart one." Luke smiled a little. He then went serious. "My dad got cancer." He said quietly.

"Oh Luke, I'm so sorry." Lorelai said softly.

"He ended up having a heart attack though which killed him. My dad liked his food and would eat lots of greasy food. I tried to stop him but he was stubborn." Luke said.

"I'm sorry. That must have been hard." Lorelai said quietly. "Rory said she really liked him. She said he was really nice and made her laugh."

Luke smiled at that. "Yeh my dad adored Rory. They shared this special bond."

Lorelai smiled. "That's sweet. I'm glad she had that with him and that she has a great relationship with your mom."

"Mom loves her too." Luke nodded. "Rory really did change our lives."

"So tell me about her.." Lorelai said.

"About Rory?" Luke said.

Lorelai nodded. "I want to know everything. I've missed 7 years of her life. Don't miss anything out. I want to know her likes, dislikes, everything." She said.

Luke smiled and settled back on the couch like Lorelai. "When she was younger she used to only fall asleep when certain music was playing." He said.

"What music?"

"The Bangles." Luke smirked.

Lorelai smiled at that. "I used to play that to her when I was pregnant with her." She admitted.

"Well they're her favourite band. Even now." Luke smiled at her.

Lorelai smiled, realising she had something in common with her daughter.

"Plus she likes her junk food just like you. Her favourite is pop tarts. She could live off them if I let her."

Lorelai smirked at that. "That's my girl..." She said quietly.

"I think you had more influence over her tastes than you thought. She's just like you." He admitted.

Lorelai smiled. "I'm just sad I've missed out on so much." She said sadly.

"Well you don't need to miss out anymore." Luke said quietly, giving her a small smile.

Lorelai turned to him and gave him a genuine smile. "I really owe so much to you." She said. "You were there for Rory when I couldn't be. I will never forget it. Ever."

"Well I'll always be there for her." He smiled. "And for you." He added.

"Thank you." She said sincerely.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Lorelai called.

The door opened and Mia poked her head round the door. "There you are. I thought I'd find you here." She smiled. "Is everything ok?"

Lorelai smiled and got up and rushed over to Mia, giving her a huge hug. "Everything's perfect. I've found her. I've found my little girl." She said.

"And I'm so happy for you." Mia said sincerely. "Lucas, your mother's outside. We were thinking maybe we could join you and see how to proceed." She said.

Luke nodded and Mia went to get Katherine who came in and gave Luke a big hug and then gave Lorelai one too.

"Is Rory ok?" Luke asked.

"She's fine. Patty's watching her." Katherine reassured him.

Luke nodded.

"So what happens now?" Katherine asked looking at the both.

"Lorelai becomes involved in Rory's life. She's her mom." Luke said.

Lorelai gave him a small smile and then turned to face Katherine. "I know I should probably get a DNA test to make it official." She said.

"That would probably be wise." Mia nodded.

"And I want you to know that I'm not taking Rory away from you." Lorelai told Katherine. "I was telling Luke this and now I want to tell you. You're her family. You're her Grandma and she loves you. It'd be cruel to take that away from you or her." She said sincerely.

"Well thank you darling. That is a weight off my mind. I love Rory so much." Katherine said.

"I know and I need to thank you too. For taking good care of her." Lorelai said.

"That was all Luke." Katherine said.

"But you were there too, in her life, so thank you." Lorelai gave her a small smile.

"You don't need to thank me." Katherine said softly.

"I do." Lorelai said. She then turned to Luke. "Does Rory know? About being adopted." She asked.

Luke shook his head. "I was going to tell her when she was old enough to understand." He said.

"Has she...Has she ever asked about her mom?" Lorelai asked hesitantly.

"Yeh she has." Luke smiled.

"What did you tell her? What does she think?" Lorelai asked worried.

"You should ask her that." Luke smiled.

"What do you mean?" Lorelai asked confused.

"We've sort of explained that you're not around at moment but that we're sure you loved her." Katherine smiled.

"Thank you." Lorelai said sincerely.

"She sort of has an image about where you are, who you are. You should ask her though. You'll like it." Luke smiled.

"Ok." Lorelai said.

"Would you uh would you like to come see her?" Luke asked.

Lorelai desperately wanted to but she knew she should take it slow for Rory's choice. "I think I might stay here tonight. We need to think about how to tell her. I don't want to confuse her or upset her." She said.

Luke nodded. "Maybe you can come round tomorrow and hang out?" He suggested. "Just spend some time with her. We can decide how to tell her later."

Lorelai nodded. "That sounds good." She smiled. "Thank you."

Luke smiled. "I better get back. Check she's ok." He said.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeh you go. I'll see you tomorrow. Both of you." She smiled.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

Lorelai let out a breath. "I think it will take time for it to sink in but I'm just so happy I've found her. And knowing where she is, is good enough for me right now. You're right. We need to choose the right time to tell her about all this."

Luke nodded. "Thank you." He said gratefully. "So uh I should get going then. See you tomorrow." He said turning to leave.

"Luke." Lorelai said softly.

"Yeh?" He said turning back round.

Lorelai went up to him and gave him a hug. "Thank you." She said quietly.

"You're welcome." He said quietly reciprocating the hug. He gave her a small smile before he left.

"I should go too but I thought you might like this." Katherine said, handing Lorelai an album. "It's full of photos of Rory over the 7 years. I thought you might like to have a look." She smiled.

"Thank you." Lorelai said emotionally taking the album. She looked up at Katherine. "I mean it about wanting you and Luke to stay in Rory's life. You're her family in her eyes. I would never want to take that away from her or you." She said.

"I really appreciate that." Katherine said sincerely. "Get some sleep. It's been a long day."

"I will. And thanks for this." Lorelai smiled. She watched Katherine leave and then smiled at Mia. "I've finally found her." She said quietly.

"I knew you would." Mia smiled. "Rory's had a great life. I've known that family since Luke adopted Rory. She's been loved and looked after."

"I know." Lorelai said quietly.

"I'll leave you to it. Take the day off tomorrow as well. Spend it at the diner." Mia said.

Lorelai smiled and gave her another hug. "Thanks again. For everything." She said sincerely.

"It's my pleasure." Mia said.

Lorelai watched Mia leave before sitting back down on the couch and opening the album. She felt her tears well up again as she flicked through it, seeing lots of photos of Rory growing up. She couldn't believe it. She no longer felt incomplete. She had found that other part of her. She'd found her baby girl and she couldn't be happier.

So what do you think? A pretty emotional chapter! Please review and let me know what you think! Thank youuuu! :)