A couple days later, Luke discussed April's custody with Anna. Luke was more than a little shocked when Anna told him that she wanted to stay out of court. They drafted a written custody agreement themselves and they agreed to get assistance from a Family Law representative.
"You know, Luke when you first started spending time with April, I was worried that you wouldn't stick around and that you might end up letting April down. But I was wrong, you really did step up and I'm happy that April has you in her life." Anna said sincerely.
"Well, I'm glad to hear it. I love April and I'm happy that she found me that day. And I'm glad that we could come to an agreement today." Luke replied.
"Me too," Anna smiled at him.
Luke made plans to have dinner with April and invite Lorelai the following night. He heads back to Stars Hollow and drives to Lorelai's house. He walks in and finds Lorelai sitting on the couch, watching a movie with Rory. Rory had returned home for the summer yesterday.
"Hey," Lorelai greets Luke with a smile. "How'd it go with Anna?"
"Great. We came to an agreement." Luke tells her.
"That's good." Lorelai smiles again.
"How's April doing?" Rory asks as Luke comes to stand in front of them.
"I didn't see her today; she was at some after school study group. But she's good." Luke smiles brightly.
"Good to know." Rory responds. She stands up and looks between Lorelai and Luke.
"I'm gonna go finish unpacking so you two can talk."
"Oh no, you don't have to do that." Luke protests.
"It's fine. We've seen this movie before anyway." Rory smiles at Lorelai before she leaves the room.
Luke takes Rory's spot next to Lorelai.
"Hi." Lorelai whispers as she leans in to give him a quick kiss.
"Hi." Luke says softly as he pats her knee.
"So Anna actually agreed to give you partial custody?" Lorelai is a little surprised.
Luke nods, "Yeah, I was a little shocked too. But, she knows that I'm not going to bail on April and she knows April wants me to be a part of her life."
Lorelai smiles, "Great." She looks away.
"Is something wrong?" Luke asks, concerned.
Lorelai looks him in the eye. "No it's just… I'm wondering um did Anna ever apologize for keeping April from you for all those years?"
Luke takes a few seconds to reply. "Come to think of it, no, she's never really apologized. I mean, she's said 'I'm sorry' but she's never really seemed to regret her decision." He looks down at his feet.
Lorelai places her hand on his. "Hey, that was Anna's mistake. I mean you may not have seemed like a kid guy back then, but she still should have told you. I know you would have been there for your own kid, Rory's not even your kid and you've always looked out for her. I hate that Anna didn't give you the chance to be a father."
"I know, you've told me before." Luke lifts his head and brings his gaze to Lorelai. "But, we can't change what happened in the past. I've been given the chance to be involved in April's life now, and I'm going to make sure it stays that way. That's all that matters… well, that and you. Thank you for staying by my side through all of this, Lorelai, really." He beams at her.
Lorelai smiles back. "You're welcome, hon, but you don't need to thank me, I'm here no matter what."
Luke just leans in and kisses her softly.
"Are you staying the night?" Lorelai asks when he pulls away.
Luke shakes his head. "No, spend some time with Rory. I'm heading back to the apartment. I'll see you tomorrow? April's coming for dinner and you're welcome to join us. I'm thinking that we'll just stay in the apartment and I'll cook her favourite, spaghetti."
"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow." Lorelai walks Luke to the door.
"Bye." Luke gives her a sweet, long kiss.
"Bye." She says as he turns and walks out the door. She is anticipating him to give her back the ring soon and she knows he will give to her soon.
The next night, Luke, Lorelai and April have dinner in Luke's apartment as planned. When Lorelai goes downstairs to grab a couple donuts for dessert, April helps Luke get started on the dishes.
"Hey Dad, can I ask you something?" She asks.
Luke stops scrubbing a pot and grabs a dishtowel to dry his hands. "Sure." He replies simply.
"Why didn't you properly introduce me to Lorelai until recently?"
Luke swallows nervously. "Well, I wanted to get to know you on my own before I really introduced you to anyone."
April frowns, "But you introduced me to Caesar and Lane… and Jess when we saw him in Philadelphia. I even met Rory there."
"I don't know… uh it was different with them. Jess is your cousin and it was hard not to introduce you to the Caesar and Lane since they work in the diner. I know I should have let Lorelai get to know you sooner, I'm sorry about that. I just got in my own head and I don't like asking for help…." Luke says quickly. He knows his excuses aren't exactly reasonable.
Lorelai walks back in just as he finishes his sentence.
April gives Luke a small smile. "Well, I wanted to meet Lorelai officially. I really like her and I'm glad we're finally getting to know each other." She frowns again. "Are you two still getting married?" She asks.
Lorelai stays in the living room area and lets Luke handle the conversation.
"Yes, we're staying together and we are getting married sometime this year. You don't need to worry about us. Lorelai is staying in my life and yours. I didn't handle things the right way when you first came into my life, but I know now its best if you and Lorelai aren't kept apart. You think so too, right?" Luke answers. He keeps his eyes on her as he waits for her response.
"Yeah, like I said, I like Lorelai. I'm happy you two are staying together… I would hate it if you two were broken up because of me." She mutters.
Lorelai gets up and walks towards them. Luke sees her and he puts a hand up, letting her know that he would handle this.
"Because of you? No, sweetie. Nothing you did caused any of Lorelai's and my problems. Like I said, I didn't handle things the right way when you showed up. I should have told Lorelai about you right away. But, you have to know, I take full responsibility for the decisions I made. Don't blame yourself." Luke is dumbfounded by the fact that April thinks she could have caused what happened.
April doesn't say anything, so Lorelai jumps in.
"He's right, honey. You are not the cause of our problems. Don't ever think that. Your dad and I both take full responsibility for our actions. We're both happy that you are a part of our lives."
Luke agrees, "Right." He smiles at April.
A smile slowly spreads across April's face. "Okay." She looked relieved.
Lorelai smiles, "Now then, who wants some donuts?" She gestures to the bag of donuts which she left on the coffee table.
Luke goes back to doing the dishes and Lorelai and April eat a couple of donuts and chat. A half hour later, Luke tells April to say goodbye to Lorelai since he had to drive her home, as it was a school night. April gives Lorelai a quick hug goodbye and although Lorelai is a bit taken aback, she hugs her back.
"Drive safe." Lorelai tells Luke. She would be heading back home to spend some more time with Rory. April leaves to go wait in the truck.
"I will." Luke replies. "Oh, and I was going to ask you: are you free on Thursday night?"
"Yeah, I should be, why? Are you planning something special?" Lorelai raises her eyebrows.
"Yeah, I was thinking we could go to Sniffy's for dinner." Luke replies.
"Oh, that'd be nice." Lorelai says enthusiastically.
"It's a date then?" Luke smirks.
"Yep, it's a date, burger boy."
Luke gives her a quick kiss. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow at the diner?"
Lorelai nods. "I'll come for breakfast tomorrow."
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye." Lorelai pulls him in for once more kiss before he leaves.
Author's note: Thank you for reading, reviewing, and following. Reviews are always appreciated. The next chapter will be the last one.