Luke walked over to the table in the diner where Lorelai and Rory were sitting and poured them their after-school cups of coffee.

"Hi Luke," Rory said as she pulled her mug towards her.

"Hey kid, how was your day?" Luke asked Rory as he poured Lorelai's cup.

"It was pretty good, how was yours?"

"Not bad," Luke said. "I should be done here in a couple of hours."

"Are you coming over straight after work?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, probably. Why don't you pick up some stuff from the grocery store and I'll make dinner tonight."

"What do you want me to pick up?"

"Whatever pops out at you. I've gotta get back into the kitchen but I'll see you tonight," he said, kissing the top of Lorelai's head quickly before heading back to work.

"Mom, he just-"

"I know, I was there!"

Rory looked around. "I don't think anyone saw."

"We agreed to stop sneaking around," Lorelai told her daughter. "You know, we'd just sort of do what we wanted and let the town find out as life went on, but it's just surprising, you know? That was pretty bold."

"Well, I'm glad you're not hiding it anymore. I haven't even told Lane yet! It's starting to wear on me," she teased.

"Yeah, I think we were all ready to be done with that," Lorelai concurred.

"So is Luke going to be spending the night now?" Rory asked, and Lorelai nearly spat out her coffee.

"What?"

"Well, you've been dating for a few months now and he hasn't spent the night once, or at least he's always gone by the time I wake up. I kind of assumed that you didn't want anyone to see his truck parked out front in the morning and jump to conclusions."

"Honestly, sweetheart, Luke's never spent the night because I didn't know how you felt about it," Lorelai admitted to her daughter.

"What? Mom, you know I love Luke."

"Yes, of course. I love that you love Luke. But loving Luke and waking up to Luke in the kitchen making coffee before you've even gotten a chance to wash your face or brush your teeth is a different thing entirely."

"Mom, I think it's pretty fair to say that Luke has already seen me at my worst." Lorelai didn't respond for a moment, not liking having to think about the awful situations Luke had pulled her daughter out of. Rory spoke again, pulling her mother out of her reverie. "I want Luke to spend the night if that's what you want. I want you and Luke to have a normal relationship. You make each other happy. I want you to keep making each other happy." Lorelai smiled again as Rory finished her cup of coffee. "You ready to go to the grocery store?" Rory asked as she put her mug down.

"Yeah, let's go," Lorelai said, waving to Luke from the kitchen as she headed out with her daughter and crossed the street to the grocery store.

"I still feel kind of bad that Dean got fired." Rory said softly.

"It had nothing to do with you," Lorelai reminded her daughter as she grabbed a basket for their groceries.

"He wouldn't go to work because Luke broke his nose."

"Yeah, well, he deserved to have his nose broken."

"I know, but still."

"How are you doing with all of that?" Lorelai asked, trying to keep it casual despite the weight of the topic.

"What do you mean?" Rory asked.

"I mean, how are you doing? Do you feel safe? Are people bothering you about it, are they spreading rumors?"

"I guess people are talking, but it doesn't really matter to be honest because I don't go to school here anymore. I mean they aren't embroidering an "A" onto my Chilton uniform or anything."

"And you feel safe?" Lorelai asked her daughter.

"Well… I have these nightmares sometimes."

"Oh, sweetie." Lorelai said, feeling her heart break for her daughter.

"They aren't that bad… but they're not exactly fun either. I feel better now that Luke changed the lock on the door." Rory admitted.

Lorelai squeezed her daughter's arm supportively. She wanted to help as much as possible but also wanted to give Rory as much space as she needed to grieve and process; striking the balance was difficult. She had to trust that her daughter knew that she could always come to Lorelai for anything, and wait to see if Rory used that to her advantage. As Lorelai walked by the meat counters, she asked Rory a question, trying to change the subject.

"Would you absolutely hate me if I suggested we try and eat healthy tonight?"

"I couldn't hate you if I tried. I'd definitely be confused, though."

"Well, Luke eats healthy-" Lorelai started, but Rory cut her off.

"Ugh, are you going to be one of those girls who just pretends to like everything their boyfriend likes? That's gross, and so not you."

"Did I do that with Max?" She asked her daughter pointedly.

"You read Proust," Rory offered as a counterpoint.

"I wanted to do that, it had nothing to do with Max. Regardless, I'm not saying we have to eat healthy food all the time. We don't even have to like it. But why don't we just try it? It can't hurt, and I think it'll make Luke happy."

"Well, as long as I don't have to like it," Rory teased as she helped her mother fill the basket.

A few hours later, Luke unlocked the door and came into the house to find Rory and Lorelai on the couch. Lorelai was sitting up with her feet on the coffee table, and Rory was laying across the couch, her head in Lorelai's lap and her knees pulled into her chest, with a blanket pulled over her. Lorelai was playing with her daughter's hair when she saw her boyfriend walk into the living room.

"Hey doll," She smiled, tilting her head up for a quick kiss, which he gladly returned.

"Hey," he smiled. "Is she asleep?" He asked.

"No, no, I'm awake," Rory said, groggily pulling herself out of her mother's lap. "Just a long day at school, didn't sleep very well last night," she said, trying to clear the gravelly tone out of her voice.

"You should stop drinking coffee if you can't sleep at night." He told her.

"But if I stop drinking coffee I won't be able to stay awake during the day." she whined.

"That's because you're an addict," he told her.

"Yes, yes, I'll check into Caffeinated Anonymous over winter break," she told him as she went to her bedroom to get changed into more comfortable clothes; she hadn't changed out of her Chilton uniform before collapsing onto the couch.

"Good, take your mother with you." He called after her.

"Hey, I am not an addict!"

"So if I were to tell you that starting right now, the diner is no longer serving coffee, you'd be absolutely okay with it?"

"Of course I would." She smirked at him as she stood up, and he folded his arms.

"Really?" he asked her, looking unconvinced.

"Of course," she answered, stepping closer to him and whispering in his ear. "I don't need the diner to make coffee when I have you here."

"Who says I'm going to make it for you?" He whispered back, allowing his hands to settle on her hips.

"I can think of a few ways to convince you," she whispered again as she placed her hands on either side of his face and led his lips to hers. He moved his hands from her hips to her waist, pulling her closer as his lips overtook hers passionately.

"That's not fair," he whispered and she giggled before kissing him again.

"Okay, I'll stop," she said breathlessly before stepping away, but Luke pulled her back for one final kiss.

"Unfortunately I think that's all I can take before I'd have to carry you upstairs myself. Should I start dinner?"

"Sure, everything's in the fridge."

Rory emerged from her bedroom, having changed into pajama pants and a t-shirt, and saw Luke gathering the ingredients they'd bought for dinner.

"Need any help?" She asked, leaning against her doorframe.

"Sure," he said, looking around for something for her to do. "Why don't you wash your hands and chop the carrots." He instructed, and she complied, washing her hands in the sink and walking over to the cutting board, where she began to slowly and painstakingly cut each individual carrot into pieces. Luke chuckled at her. "You've never chopped anything in your life, have you?" He asked, smiling at her.

"Sometimes, Mom and I cut the ends off of Twizzlers and use them as straws."

"So, no."

"What, that doesn't count?"

"Let me help you," he smiled at her, taking her hands and putting them over the knife. "If you put one finger over the top of the knife like this it gives you better control when you chop. Just keep your fingers away from the blade. Then, you just sort of-" he began to guide her hands through the chopping technique, cutting up several carrots more quickly than she had cut one. "Does that make sense?" He asked her.

"Yeah, thanks." She smiled, going back to the carrots.

"Did your mother buy salmon on purpose?" Luke asked Rory.

"Yeah," Rory answered.

"Does she know that I eat salmon?"

"She's trying to do something nice for you," Rory over-exaggerated, realizing that he was missing the point of her mother's gesture.

"She didn't have to do that," he smiled.

"Hey, talk to her, not me."

"Are you really going to eat this?" He asked her.

"I promised Mom I'd try it, and in turn she promised me that we'd order a pizza if I hated it."

Luke chuckled and went back to preparing the fish. A few hours later, Lorelai was helping Luke clean up, and Rory was headed to the library to study with Lane for a few hours.

"See, Rory? Not all healthy food is bad." Luke told her.

"Man, I'm never going to live this down, am I?"

"Maybe next week I'll get you to try a salad."

"Bye, Luke," Rory teased.

"Hey, don't forget a jacket."

"I'll be fine,"

"Rory, put on a jacket, it's cold out now that the sun's gone."

"Geez, okay Dad," she said, emphasizing the word "dad" to tease him further. "Bye, Mommy." She said, kissing her on the cheek. "Bye Luke," she said, kissing him as well before heading out the door.

"I like Daddy-Luke!" Lorelai teased.

"Oh, stop it." Luke rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm being serious. 'Rory, eat your vegetables, Rory, wear a coat!' You parented her more in the past hour than I ever have."

"Hey, you're a good mom. A really good Mom. Tease me all you want but don't pretend like you aren't an amazing mother to that little girl."

"She isn't so little anymore." Lorelai said sadly.

"Don't remind me."

"Stop cleaning, you cooked," Lorelai said, stepping in front of the sink and washing a pan.

"You okay?" Luke asked as he stepped out of her way.

"Yeah, of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Well, you just volunteered to do housework, for starters."

Lorelai turned off the sink and turned around, putting her hands on the counter behind her to steady herself. She was looking up at the ceiling, and she let out a big sigh, making Luke nervous. He put his hands on her waist.

"Tell me what's wrong."

"Rory's having nightmares about Dean. Or had a nightmare. Or had nightmares. I don't know." Lorelai said, starting to cry.

She put her arms around Luke and he pulled her into him letting her cry into his chest as he rubbed her back. He hated this. Both of his girls were hurting and there was nothing he could do to help them. He wanted to keep them safe, and of course, they were safe, physically speaking, but there was nothing he could do to keep them from being fearful, and he couldn't blame them for feeling how they felt. In some ways, Luke himself feared for Rory, especially. Life had been quiet since Rory and Dean broke up, and Luke wanted to believe that it would stay that way, but he couldn't shake the nagging fear, and he could only imagine how much worse it was for Lorelai or Rory.

"Rory knows she can tell you everything. When she's ready to talk, she'll come to you. You've just got to give it time," Luke told Lorelai, continuing to rub her back.

"I know, it just sucks. I'm her parent. I'm the one who's supposed to protect her from everything, I'm supposed to keep her safe. She's scared and there's nothing I can do to help."

"I know. I don't like it either. But everything is okay. Rory is safe. You're safe. Everything is going to be fine."

Lorelai looked up at him, her eyes still watery. "Thank you," she told him.

He kissed her forehead. "Any time. I'll finish the dishes, you go get cleaned up."