A/n: Very special shout out to Reggie, to whom this chapter is dedicated.

April and Rory sat on the bed in the hotel room that Wednesday, chatting as Luke paced by the bathroom door. The meeting between April and Rory went smoothly, and they seemed to like each other very much. Now Luke needed to get Lorelai out of the bathroom and out the door so the four of them could meet up with Jess.

"Are you ready yet?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

Lorelai groaned. "I'm debating between the two new dresses I bought yesterday while you and April saw stuff."

"Lorelai, we've been through this, just pick one," Luke grumbled.

"Which dresses are we debating over?" Rory asked.

"The flippy black one and the dark blue one with the tie," Lorelai said, peeking her head out of the door.

April smiled. "The blue one sounds pretty. It would look really pretty with your eyes."

"Mom, you can wear the black one anytime," Rory said. "Or the blue one. Just promise the one you don't wear that you'll wear it next time."

Lorelai shut the bathroom door and Luke leaned against it, nearly falling over when she opened it, emerging from the bathroom in the blue dress.

"Good girl," Rory said to Lorelai.

"Are we all ready now?" Luke groaned.

April laughed. "You'd think he'd be used to this by now."

"He'll never get used to it, I'll just have to go slower next time," Lorelai teased, giving April a wink as she reached for her purse.

"Good God, are we ready to go now?" Luke spat, putting on his jacket.

"Okay, Grumpy Gus, we're ready," Lorelai said, patting Luke on the arm.

Luke led the girls down the street and around the corner, taking Lorelai's hand as Rory and April walked behind. They soon came across a small bookstore and Luke stopped, pulling the door open and holding it for Lorelai, Rory, and April. "This is it," he said.

"This is where Jess works now?" Lorelai asked, taking a look around the small, but cozy bookstore.

Luke nodded. "See him standing over there? Not a hologram."

Lorelai laughed. "If he really isn't a mirage, I'd venture out to say that the little punk's done well for himself."

"That he has," Luke replied.

He glanced over at Jess, who had just spotted the crew. Jess shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans before making his way over. He nodded at Luke before pulling his hand out of his pocket for a handshake that turned into a manly hug.

Lorelai and Rory giggled as Luke pulled back, shooting the pair a dirty look. Jess turned to Rory and shoved his hands in his pockets once more. "Rory, Lorelai," he said, before turning to April. "You must be April."

"Process of elimination seems to make it that way," April replied with a smile.

"You've been sucked into the crazy group of people that they call a family, too?"

April laughed. "I suppose I have. Nice to meet you."

"Nice place," Lorelai said, earning a not-so-subtle nudge in the ribs from Rory.

Jess smirked. "Thanks. You guys hungry? I know a place where we can grab a bite to eat and a couple of drinks…" he stopped short when he spotted April. "Or milkshakes for the underage."

"Milkshakes? Dirty," Lorelai added, giggling.

Rory grinned. "Extremely."

"How can a milkshake be interpreted as dirty?" Luke asked, glancing at Jess, who merely shrugged as he looked at the floor.

"I take it you've never heard the milkshake song," April offered.

"You're in on this, too?" Luke asked.

April smiled, stifling a laugh. "I'm twelve. Not four," she replied. "I've heard rumblings of the content that Kelis has shared with the world."

Lorelai and Rory giggled again at April's comment, and started for the door as April tagged along.

"I guess that means they're hungry," Jess said, motioning toward the door.

"Is there a time when they aren't?" Luke countered.

Jess shrugged. "I suppose you're right. So what's up with April? She living with you now?"

Luke sighed. "It's getting complicated."

"Complicated how?"

"Custody hearing. You know, lawyers, visitation stuff, character references, digging up the dirt on each other, that sort of thing."

"Character reference?" Jess asked.

Luke nodded in confirmation.

"You got someone on that yet?"

"Well, I was—"

"I can do it," Jess interjected upon hearing Luke's hesitation.

"I couldn't ask you to do that," Luke said, shrugging.

Jess snorted. "I am a writer, you know. That's how I make my living. It's not like you're asking me to climb Mount Everest."

"You'd do that for me?" Luke asked.

Jess nodded. "It's about time I did something for you."

"Thanks, Jess, that means a lot that you would offer to do that," Luke said, clearing his throat.

"Not a problem," Jess said, shivering as he opened the door to the bookstore and stepped out onto the sidewalk where Lorelai, Rory, and April stood, laughing about something.

Luke glanced from the girls to his nephew, and let out a heavy sigh. "You know, Jess, you…"

"Jeez, Uncle Luke, don't get all sappy on me now, I didn't bring my Kleenex," Jess said, rolling his eyes.

"I just…"

"Relax, will ya? I've got it taken care of," Jess said, leading the way to the restaurant.

Lorelai stood still, waiting for Luke to catch up with her. "Aww, you two fighting over the bill already?" she asked, wrapping her arm around Luke's waist.

He turned to face Lorelai. "Jess is going to write the character reference for me."

Her eyes widened. "Did you…"

"Nope."

"So he just…"

"Yup."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

Lorelai laughed. "I think that's the shortest conversation you and I have ever had. But that is really nice of him."

Luke nodded. "You know, he's grown up a little."

"I noticed," Lorelai replied.

"And as of right now, I needed someone…"

"And Jess was that someone you needed," Lorelai interjected.

"Apparently so," Luke answered. "I knew he could do it. He just had to get off his ass and make something of himself."

"Looks as though he has," Lorelai said with a smile.

The five were immediately seated in the restaurant when Jess was recognized by the hostess. Rory looked at Jess and then at Lorelai. "Wow, so you're a big wig around here, huh?"

Jess laughed. "I wish. I come in here a lot, so they give me priority seating. I wouldn't mind waiting, but they tend to give me the benefit of the doubt."

"They, or she?" April pressed.

Jess snorted, looking at his cousin. "What do you mean, she?"

April rolled her eyes. "It's obvious she has a thing for you. Did you see the way she smiled at you? Come on, now, you're an author, you catch these little details."

"Speaking of authors," Rory said, earning a sigh of relief from Jess. "April should settle an age old debate between the two of us."

Lorelai kicked Luke under the table. "Here we go, Hemingway versus some other author that's not Hemingway, round 458."

"What are your thoughts on Hemingway?" Jess asked, posing the question before Rory could influence April's response.

April rolled her eyes. "Ugh, 'The Old Man and the Sea' was the most pointless book I have ever read in my entire life. I can see why people like him, but come ON! He may be classic, but there are so many other classic authors who don't make me want to suddenly get amnesia after reading their work."

Luke took a sip of beer, choking it down after hearing April's response. "Did Rory…"

"Not that I know of," Lorelai responded.

"Okay, so Rory wins this round, but Jane Austen's the next to go!" Jess replied.

Rory gasped. "Okay, you want to get started on Jane Austen? Fine."

"Poor Jess is outnumbered," Lorelai replied. "You are too. But then again, I'm not apologizing."

"You do realize that Paul Anka is the only other source of testosterone in the house?" Luke confirmed.

Lorelai laughed. "Maybe we'll have a little boy that you can teach to do little boy things. I never had one, and I never was one, so that's your thing."

"We're assigning jobs to raise a kid that we don't have yet?" Luke asked.

She snorted. "Tell me you never did commentary for yourself in the backyard, running around and winning some sort of sports game."

"If I did, I wouldn't admit to it," Luke grunted.

"I hope their cheeseburgers and coffee aren't as good as yours," Lorelai mused, opening the menu. "Because then I'd have to move here and marry the owner of this restaurant."

"Frank's married," Jess interjected.

"Well, then for your sake, I certainly hope they suck," Lorelai teased.

Luke smiled as he watched the debate between Rory, Jess, and April about Jane Austen. He looked to Lorelai and sighed. "This is all going to work out," he insisted.

She patted his leg. "Of course it will."

He cleared his throat, thinking about the upcoming hearing that he would have to attend when he got back to Stars Hollow. He really needed it to turn out the way he had hoped it would.