Chapter 29

For the most part, Lorelai, Rory, and April ate out of the carton while Jaiden had a small bowl. Lorelai ranted about what had happened, mostly to the older girls. Luke retreated to the living room to watch the game, leaving the girls to their own where Jaiden eventually joined him.

In all honesty, Luke agreed Jaiden should be able to have her toy to hold while getting to know her future grandparents, however, he had to admit the way Lorelai handled it probably was not the best solution.

Eventually, everyone started retreating to their rooms when it got too late. After he changed in his pajamas, Luke stopped by the girls' room while Jaiden was in the shower, even though she had already showered before they left for dinner. Now and then, there would sometimes be an extra shower. It was a perfect time for Luke to talk to April, at least, about possibly coming with them on Sunday.

"It would help make Jaiden feel more comfortable having another girl there, and it would be a perfect opportunity for the three of us to bond. What do you say? Please?" he pretty much was begging.

April was thinking on it. The fishing part wasn't really that bad. It was mainly the conversation part was what really made it lack enjoyment for the teenager. But maybe with Jaiden there, it wouldn't be so bad.

"I also told her we could swim in the lake while we're there, and promised I'd teach her since she says she doesn't know how. That might even be something you both could bond over since you're great at swimming," he pointed out.

"Yeah, I can definitely help teach Jaiden to swim," she replied, seeming more interested now. "But, uh, Dad. Did you bother to ask if she had a swimsuit or not? Because if not, we could have picked one up for her while we were at the mall today."

Luke thought back to the conversation he had with Jaiden that morning. "Uh…"

April nodded already knowing the answer. "Uh huh. Yeah, we're gonna have to make another trip then."

"We have to do the grocery shopping tomorrow anyway, maybe we can take a trip to Target, and kill two birds with one stone? And we're gonna have to get her some water wings too."

April dropped her face into her hand, facepalming at her dad's protectiveness. "Dad, you can't learn to swim while wearing water wings. Jaiden won't even be able to move her arms. Plus she's eight, not four."

"It's just an extra precaution," he shrugged.

April rolled her eyes just as Jaiden was returning. "Hey, perfect timing. Jaiden," she grabbed the kid's attention. "Do you want to wear water wings while we're swimming at the lake?"

Jaiden stared over at the older girl. After a minute, she nodded.

Throwing her dad a quick look, April told her, "But Dad and I are gonna teach you how to swim, and water wings make it harder to move your arms in the water. I promise we won't let you drown if that's what you're afraid of."

Jaiden still looked uneasy on the matter.

"Okay, how about this?" Luke spoke up at that point, looking between the girls. "How about instead of getting water wings, we get Jaiden a life vest? Will that work?"

"You mean the non-inflatable ones, 'cause yeah, I guess that could work," said April. "We can get her a kickboard, too. That helped me when I was first learning to swim. They help practice your kicking."

Luke turned back to Jaiden to get her opinion on the matter. "Does that sound good, Tiger?"

She nodded.

"Okay, then it's settled." He stood up from where Luke was sitting on Jaiden's bed, tossing the comforter back for her. April offered to blow dry her hair, seeing as it was wet and pointed out her pillow would also get wet. Plus, it wasn't good to go to bed with wet hair anyway, she explained. So, letting the girls handle that on their own, Luke kissed both of them good night before heading off to his room. That is, until Jaiden stopped him, shyly reminding him about their song. "Come get me when you're done. Okay?"

She gave him a small nod.

With that, Luke left the room, heading down the hall where Lorelai was just now heading to bed herself. He paused in the middle of the room before heading into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

"Everything alright in there?" she called out to him, sensing something was on his mind.

Luke was squeezing out the paste onto the brush when Lorelai asked him. He called back, "Um, I was just thinking about what happened tonight at your parents' house." Once that was said, he stuck the toothbrush into his mouth and started brushing.

"Yeah, what about it?"

Luke finished up really quick before spitting into the sink. He turned on the water to rinse out the rest of the toothpaste and grabbed a towel that was sitting there on the counter, to dry around his mouth and hands. "I know your mother can make you crazy and all, and yeah, I wished she had eased up on the kid, but should you have really told Jaiden that she could keep her toy with her?"

Lorelai looked over at him from where she was sitting up in bed, reading through a magazine. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, don't you think by telling Jaiden she could keep her toy with her while we were having dinner after your mom said she couldn't... Well, it's basically sending a message to Jaiden that she doesn't have to listen to whatever she says, at all."

At that, she stared at him as if in shock. "Wait, are you actually siding with my mother?" Lorelai couldn't help but question. "Luke, we had an agreement that Jaiden could have Stanley with her for comfort. My mother was in no way a part of that, and cannot tell her, she can't."

"Yes, I know this, and agree your mother could have bent the rules a little. But my point is, by telling Jaiden, she could keep it regardless of what your mom says, that's gonna teach her she doesn't have to follow any rules just because she doesn't like them. I mean, what about when Jaiden goes back to school, in a class with a new set of kids? She's not gonna be able to have it then either."

"Luke, please don't let what my mother said, draw you in. She's just being manipulative. Letting Jaiden keep Stanley at dinner will not make Jaiden disregard somebody's rules."

"Yeah, it could, Lorelai. Or confuse her. Jaiden is still a kid learning about how the world works. Not to mention, didn't we agree to compromise with her when uncomfortable things come up? How is this compromising?"

Lorelai let out a sigh towards the ceiling, her head on top of her upright pillow. "My mother has no control on what we say Jaiden can have. We had an agreement, and if we had gone back on that agreement and told Jaiden she couldn't keep Stanley with her, we would break that trust that we have tried so hard to form. Do you want to break that little girl's heart?"

"It's not about going back on our word, Lorelai," he pointed out. "I'm not saying that at all."

"Then what are you saying? Because it sounds like you'd rather take her side and break a promise that we told Jaiden," she argued.

Quickly thinking, Luke closed the door so the girls couldn't hear them, especially Jaiden when he heard the blow dryer turn off. "I'm not taking anyone's side, here," he argued back, "I'm just looking out for Jaiden. Like it or not, your mother's gonna be her grandmother, and yes, she has no control over how we raise her, but Jaiden still needs to show respect, and going against what your mother says without coming up with a compromise as we've been doing with Jaiden, seems… counterproductive."

Lorelai stared towards the bed, shaking her head. She couldn't believe Luke, of all people, was doing this.

"I'm not trying to make you mad here. This will be, is, our kid, and I don't want history being repeated."

"What, Luke? What history will be repeated?"

"Well, you know…" he paused in his words, unsure on what to say. "I think it's great that you want Jaiden to be her own person. To be confident like how Rory and April are. She needs that confidence boost, but after all of the mistakes we've made, somebody in this dysfunctional family of ours has to learn from those mistakes. If we're gonna teach her to compromise, that has to include with your mother, as well. I mean, I'm sure we could have worked out something."

"Um, how long have you known my mother?"

He let out a breath of air towards the floor, holding his hands on his sides. "Okay, fine," he finally said. "Even if we couldn't compromise with her, we could at least compromised with Jaiden. Find a solution with her. Unexpected changes happen, I'm sure Jaiden is all too familiar with. But we can use that to work on to find a solution so she can better handle a problem than she could in the past."

"So, in other words, let my mother win. Is that what you're implying?"

"It's not about letting anyone win," he argued. "It's not about winning at all. I just want our daughter to know she can't break a rule just because she can't have what she wants. That's not how the world works, Lorelai."

She rubbed her face in her hands. "Luke," she said calmly, holding her eyes shut, "I see what you're saying, I really do. But letting Jaiden keep Stanley at dinner, something we promised she could do, will not teach Jaiden to be disrespectful."

Luke tried to speak up some more but Lorelai just remained stubborn. Finally he just had to step out of the room for a breather. Thankfully, things didn't escalate further, but had Luke stayed in the room, it might have. One of the lessons taught in the classes they had to take, mentioned when in times of frustration, to get up and leave the room so nothing that might be regrettable could happen.

April was putting the hair dryer away in the bathroom when he walked by, heading downstairs. "Hey, is everything alright? You and Lorelai seemed to be having an argument."

"Everything's fine. Don't worry about it," he assured her. "You girls finish?"

"Yeah, I told Jaiden to give you a minute or two before going to get ya," she replied.

"Thanks, April," he told her, glad for the teen's smart thinking.

"No problem." She then shrugged. "I figured it probably wasn't the best time to interrupt."

Luke wrapped an arm around her, squeezing April in a one-arm hug as he kissed her head. Heading back to their room, Luke saw Jaiden was drawing again while she waited for him.

"Hey, Tiger. Ready for bed?" He carefully sat on the edge of her bed, beside her. Putting her sketchbook aside, on the bed, Jaiden leaned against him, letting Luke wrap his arm around her. Before he started to sing, Luke wanted to clear the air. "Listen, Tiger, I wanted to talk about what happened tonight at dinner. I know we let you bring your new dog with you to dinner, but we probably should have taken into account Lorelai's mother having strict rules regarding how things are run in her house, so we kind of goofed there."

She managed to look up at him. "Goofed?" Jaiden gave Luke a puzzled look.

"Made a mistake, I mean," he explained. "You know how you and Lorelai have been compromising, like with having to dress up, for example?"

She nodded.

"Well, if Lorelai's mom was set on you not having your dog, well, maybe we could have found a solution, like you did with dressing up. Instead of having to wear something girly like a dress, you compromised by wearing a nice shirt and pants. Does that make sense?"

Jaiden continued to stare up at him. She did nod a little.

"I don't want you thinking it's okay to not follow a rule just because you don't like it or don't want to do something. Lorelai's mother is going to be your grandmother someday, and she likes things done a certain way. We may not understand why but that's how it is. Does that make sense?"

This time, she shook her head.

Luke had to pause to think of another way to explain things where Jaiden would be able to understand. "Okay, you know how Lorelai's mother asked that you not to have your toy during dinner?"

She nodded.

"And Lorelai told you could?"

Again, Jaiden nodded.

"When you go eat at somebody else's house, you are a guest there, and it's polite to follow whatever rules they may have. At Lorelai's parents' house, they have a rule, I guess, that doesn't allow toys at the table. Now Emily, Lorelai's mother, could have been nice and let you keep your dog after Lorelai explained why you had it. But Emily didn't, and that's what upset Lorelai. But instead of us coming up with a compromise, she decided to just let you keep your toy and not follow her mother's rule. That was how Emily saw it. But sweetie, we can't ignore a rule just because we don't like it. I don't like she couldn't let you keep your dog, but that's the way it is in Emily's world. It's like having to follow the law. We may not like it but we have to follow it unless we want to end up in jail. Does that make a little more sense now?"

Jaiden looked out the corner of her eye as if thinking about it.

"It's okay if it still doesn't. You can tell me whatever is still confusing for you, Tiger." Luke gave her upper arm a gentle rub.

"So I can't have Stanley there any more?" she managed to ask.

"You can, just not during dinner. If you feel scared or overwhelmed, you can always squeeze my hand if you need to. I wouldn't mind if you did. Or, can you think of any ideas that may help?" Compromising meant also letting Jaiden have a say. There was a long pause where no one said anything. Luke continued to rub her arm for encouragement, reassuring there were no wrong answers.

As Luke continued rubbing her arm, he noticed Jaiden became less tense. Jaiden must have noticed as well as she kept looking over at his moving hand. Finally, after five minutes, she looked up at him.

"What about that?"

"What?" he replied, unsure at first.

Jaiden pointed at his hand that had stopped.

"Oh, you mean when I rub your arm?" Luke rubbed her arm again as an example which she nodded. "Yeah, I can reach over and rub your arm, or your back, even. If you think that'll help you feel better without your dog. Good idea, Tiger," he praised, encouragely. The praise made the kid smile a little.

"And you know, Emily doesn't really understand what's going on because we can't share your private business with anyone outside our little family. Who knows, maybe if she did know, she would be more willing to let you keep your dog during dinner."

"She don't seem nice," Jaiden admitted, nervously.

"Like I said, Emily likes things done a certain way, but I can say, as much as she has a hard time with letting others speak, somewhere down deep, deep, deep, deep…"

"Dad," April spoke up to make him get to the point as if to insist that was enough deeps to get his point across.

"Deep in there," he finally finished, "she is a nice lady and will not do anything to hurt you. Except maybe your pride, or your feelings, but that's usually unintentional. She really doesn't try to go out of her way to hurt them. If you ever want a serious, no hold-back answer, Emily's the one to ask. She is very honest and won't hesitate to speak her mind, no matter if it hurts to hear or not. I mean, it's better to be honest anyway instead of lying because if you lie to someone, you break their trust between you, and that's never good, Tiger, I can most definitely promise you about that. Always remember to tell the truth because if you don't and they find out anyway, it can hurt even more than what the truth might be. That make sense?"

That time, Jaiden nodded once more but couldn't make eye contact this time.

Luke gave her gave her a kiss on the head, holding it for a brief moment. "Now that, that is taken care of, ready for the best weekend you've ever had in your entire life?"

Jaiden pretty much shot up like a rocket in excitement. Her head ended up colliding into Luke's jaw. It wasn't a pleasant experience for either one of them. While Luke groaned in pain, Jaiden grabbed onto her head in both hands, her eyes shut tight and watering. Luke shrugged the pain off to tend to the kid, making sure she was alright. He could already see a bruise appearing on her forehead from where it happened.

"April, do me a favor," he told her, looking over in April's direction.

"Yeah?" she looked up from the book April was reading, eager to help.

"Run down to the kitchen and make an ice pack for Jaiden, please?"

Sure." April set her book on the bed beside her and hurried downstairs. While she was gone, Luke tried to calm Jaiden down, singing the lullaby for her. It took April only a few minutes to return with a sandwich bag full of ice cubes wrapped in a paper towel which she passed to her dad, who set it against the bruise. Luke told Jaiden to hold it there for a while.

Once Jaiden calmed down, Luke sang one last time before finally getting up to let her lay down on her pillow. He took the ice pack with him that was now melting through the paper towel. Saying good night and love yous, Luke headed back to his room, tossing the ice pack in the trash in the bathroom.

Lorelai was already in bed but the light was still on where he could see she was still awake.

Before heading around to his side, Luke switched off the light switch by the door. He tossed the covers on his side, back, and sat down.

"I had a talk with Jaiden. We found a compromise," he tried to reassure her.

"I heard." Lorelai just continued to stare off into space without another word.

Since nothing else was said, Luke took that as Lorelai not wanting to talk anymore and laid down on his pillows, turning over onto his side. There was dead silence except for a faint sound of what sounded like April talking to Jaiden, from down the hall. It wasn't too loud or anything so neither Luke or Lorelai called for the girls to keep it down.

Finally, after twelve minutes, Lorelai turned over, onto her elbow, now facing Luke.

"Why did you do that?"

Luke laid back to look at her. "Do what?"

"Tell Jaiden she couldn't have her dog?" she questioned, sounding like a wife whose husband buys useless expensive things without consulting them.

"I didn't tell her, she couldn't have her dog," he said. "We came up with a compromise in case your mother does this again."

Lorelai rolled her eyes as she just shook her head and just rolled back over onto her side, facing away from him again.

"What is so wrong with me compromising with Jaiden. Isn't that what you were doing with her?"

She remained silent that time, stubbornly. Lorelai briefly closed her eyes in frustration. It wasn't the fact Luke wanted to find a compromise with Jaiden. In her mind, it just seemed like her mother had won and he was allowing it. Encouraging it, actually.

Luke watched her. He let out a breath of air from his nose. Reaching over, he gave Lorelai a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sure Jaiden will be fine." That said, Luke laid back down on his side and closed his eyes.

Everyone ended up sleeping through the night, including Jaiden. While having a late night, sisterly chat, the girls fell asleep together in April's bed.

Lorelai was still upset with Luke the next morning, hardly saying a word. To make things worse, once Rory found out why when April quietly told her what had happened last night, Rory took her mom's side.

"I thought you had an agreement with Jaiden?" she questioned, looking over at Luke when he came over to scoop the latest batch of bacon onto the plate in the center of the table.

"Rory, please. We have it worked out with Jaiden now. Just leave it be, please?" he asked of her, trying to keep things civil before the coffee could run its course.

Unfortunately, she did not ease off. "Grandma's the one who should be the one doing the compromising, not Jaiden," she argued.

"Or, Jaiden can be the bigger person and let the witch have her stupid rule," April shrugged, stabbing up bits of scrambled eggs.

"April," Luke scolded.

"Of course you take your dad's side," Rory told April, bitterly, not to mention, immaturely.

"Not surprised you would take your mom's side," she replied, just the same.

Both made Luke sigh under his breath. It was Lorelai who told the girls to stop which he thanked her for. She didn't respond to him, though. Just continued eating. Thankfully, Jaiden was the last to join them just then, missing most of the argument. Or so they thought anyway.

Luke made her a plate, kissing her good morning where the bruise could still be seen. It was faded, though. "Ready for another round of ice skating lessons?" he asked to psych her up.

She gave him a smile, nodding her head. Jaiden took her plate of food over to the table on the end across from Rory, setting it down before climbing onto the chair.

Lorelai, who held her head in her hand while she ate, gave a smile for the kid. "Good morning, sweetheart. Sleep okay? We never heard from you."

Jaiden gave her a nod. "A little," she admitted.

About that moment, Lorelai noticed the bruise and reached over to examine it. "What happened there, sweetheart?"

"Daddy did it," she said.

"What?" Lorelai stared at the kid in confusion. She looked over at Luke, who explained her head collided with his jaw when he got her excited for their fun-filled weekend plans last night. Lorelai did wonder what had happened and wanted to run to the girls' room to make sure everything was alright. "Well, glad you're okay, sweetie," she nodded, forcing a smile for Jaiden.

While they finished eating, Lorelai asked Luke, "Are you taking Jaiden to the ice rink right away or are you going to the diner first?"

"I'm closing the diner for the weekend to focus on the girls," he answered while scooping up some of his scrambled eggs.

Lorelai nodded. "Hm."

Not much else was said. With tension dividing the family at the moment, April went with Luke and Jaiden to the ice rink while Rory stayed with Lorelai.

Luke recapped the basics with Jaiden, letting her hold onto his hands while she got reused to being on the ice. He still had her wear a helmet, along with elbow and knee pads. April skated around the rink with the other skaters, occasionally coming over to check on the progress her little sister was making. Eventually, once Jaiden was ready, Luke let go and had her skate on her own. Both him and April cheered her on. Soon, Jaiden was circling the ice rink on her own. A less slower speed than the rest but nonetheless, she made progress.

After the ice rink, they went to Sniffy's for lunch. Maisy got on Luke for not feeding the kid, noting on how skinny Jaiden was and stated they needed to change that. It was April who pointed out that the kid got stomach aches every time she ate more than what she was used to.

"Oh, what's a little tummy ache?" Maisy waved her off with her hand.

"Maisy," Luke warned her, who was clearly acting as a grandmother should.

When Buddy came out to say hello, he ended up smacking Luke upside the head for leaving a bruise on the poor kid, even though Luke tried to explain that it was an accident, and offered a free dessert for her. There was no asking to keep it small neither, though it worked out when April offered to share. So both girls worked on the large slice of ice cream cake with extra whipped cream, together. Though Jaiden picked off the whipped cream from her side.

Once they were able to leave Sniffy's, they went to Target to let Jaiden pick out a swimsuit. Though, it was offered to look at the boys' swim trunks, Jaiden was okay with a girl's one piece suit. A two-piece was a definite no, however, when April pointed out one she thought was really cute. The one Jaiden picked out was a plain light blue suit. She also picked out a yellow and green life vest, and a kickboard that was two different shades of blue with jagged stripes going across one side.

While there, they also did the grocery shopping as Luke had planned, glad he wrote the list before Lorelai wasn't speaking to him. He still made sure to grab the requests her and Rory had made, and also asked Jaiden if she had any special requests.

"Can I get strawberry milk?" she asked shyly while holding onto the side of the cart.

"Sure," Luke assured her with a smile.

"Do you want the kind that's powder or syrup?" April asked.

"Powder," she replied.

So the three of them headed for the soft drinks aisle to grab a container of the Nestle Quik strawberry powder which Luke tossed into the cart. Later, at home, they heard Lorelai squeal with excitement at it until she realized it was strawberry and not chocolate.

"Way to play with my emotions." Luke assumed that was directed towards him. Even upset, she could make him chuckle to himself.

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing hockey in the front yard. Jaiden showed April how to play, first, who seemed to have a slightly better grasp on the concept than Lorelai and Rory did.

Dinner was split up since the other two were snacking for dinner while watching movies. So Luke made grilled cheese and tomato soup for himself, April, and Jaiden. Jaiden watched Luke carefully like a hawk to make sure he didn't add too much powder into the milk.

"You know, usually the kid is begging for more," he teased her, playfully. Jaiden just gave him a lifeless, serious stare. So Luke just stirred the mix together in the milk and brought it over to the table for her.

Since they had to be up early for the fishing trip, the three of them went to bed early before the other two did, waking up around four. They made sure to be extra quiet. April took the middle seat of their dad's truck while Jaiden still took the window. For the most part, they listened to country, but Luke suggested letting April having a chance to listen to her own music, letting her switch the radio over to a pop station for a while. At one point, while listening to the country station, April did tease Jaiden about being the baby of the family when Blake Shelton's The Baby came on, playfully nudging the kid with her elbow. Luke, on the other hand, couldn't get the song out of his head.

At the lake, Luke had the girls help carry everything they brought. April carried the folding chairs while Jaiden carried one of the tackle boxes along with her kick board. They set everything up with Luke making sure both girls baited their hooks the right way without poking themselves, especially Jaiden.

Stanley sat on the chair behind where Jaiden stood as she cast her line out like Luke had showed her, getting it on the first try that time.

"Awesome, Tiger," he praised, proudly and asked for a high five. Luke then let April cast her line out before doing the same with his own. Together, he sat there with two of his girls as the early morning slowly rose into the sky. The early birds chirped as they flew overhead or sat in trees nearby. The sound of the lake steadily moving was also heard as they waited for the first bite.

Eventually, Jaiden got tired of standing and stepped back to sit on the edge of her seat. All of them already had their swimsuits on and Jaiden wore her life vest on over hers, along with a pair of her basketball shorts. Lorelai had gotten her a pair of flip flops at some point before Jaiden was moved from their care and hadn't gotten to wear them until now.

They just listened to the sounds of nature for the most part. Unexpectedly, it was Jaiden who broke the silence.

"Are you and Mommy fighting?"

Luke looked over to see a concerned look on her face. Glancing between Jaiden and the ground, he told her, "Uh, no, sweetie. We're just having a disagreement, that's all."

She continued to stare up at him. "But not fighting?" she shook her head repeatedly.

"Nope, not fighting." He reassured her with a smile.

Jaiden turned her head back towards the lake. Things were silence for another minute except for nature before out of nowhere, she admitted, "I don't like fighting. People get hurt."

Luke exchanged a sympathetic look with April. "Nobody's gonna get hurt, sweetie. I promise."

What happened next, none of them knew the reason why. Maybe the nature sounds just lulled the kid into a calm, relaxed state of mind. Maybe she just felt comfortable with her foster dad and foster sister. But whatever it was, the words just seemed to pour out after that.

"I used to make sure my other mommy was okay. I get ice from the 'fridge-a-tor in my hands and bring it for her, but she would hit it out of my hands." She stared downward at the water's edge in front of her. "Sometimes it would disappear but come back when she washed her face."

April spoke up. "She was probably covering it up with make-up," she shrugged. Both her and Luke assumed the kid was talking about a bruise Katherine had similar to the one Luke accidently gave her. Only it more than likely wasn't an accident.

Jaiden's shoulders pushed up into a shrug without looking up then dropped right back down in a slump. "My other mommy wore a lot of make-up."

The older girl forced a smile for her. "She did, huh?"

Jaiden only nodded, slowly. "You need it to look pretty, she says, but no amount could help me."

"Awww," April wrapped a sisterly arm around the little girl, "Jaiden, that's not true. You look very pretty."

Jaiden didn't respond to the compliment at all. "Papa didn't like I was bothering Mommy. He told me to go to my room and when I didn't move, he got louder and said he would be coming up there too."

Luke swallowed a huge lump that suddenly got caught in his throat, knowing where this was going.

"Papa… Papa…" She was starting to breathe harder now, like she was trying to gasp for air. April kept her arm around her little sister while Luke gently ran a hand along the back of her head, both encouraging Jaiden on. Though he hated doing it, Luke knew getting it out and admitting what happened was going to help Jaiden in the long run. He told her to take deep breaths before trying to speak again which Jaiden did, very carefully.

"Papa would… Papa was holding his belt…" She took another deep breath when Luke saw she was starting to gasp for air again, shutting her eyes tight, no doubt reliving the awful memories. "Then afterwards… Papa…" Her eyes were filling with tears by now. One even escaped down the right side of her face, drifting over her scar. "Papa…" After that, that was it. Jaiden burst into crying. The nature sounds seemed to have suddenly vanished as Jaiden was finally able to confess what had happened, her wails replacing them. Not even the lake seemed to make a sound. It was as if Mother Nature herself was mourning for the little girl.

April rested her head against the little girl. Luke could hear her sniff in, even with Jaiden crying. Though, Jaiden bolted out of her seat and threw herself against him, grabbing onto his grey t-shirt as she cried into his chest.

"I lied! I'm sorry, Daddy! I lied! Papa did hurt me! Papa did hurt me! Real bad!" A series of coughs followed that statement before sobbing some more. "I'm really sorry! I'm really sor...ry!" She had to gasp for air one more time.

"Shh, shh," Luke gently shushed her, holding his arms around her. "It's okay, Tiger. It's alright. I'm not mad, I promise. Not at you." He then sang the lullaby for her, trying to calm her down enough before she made herself sick. "We all love you, and your grandfather can never hurt you again. You're safe now, I can promise you, that." Luke ran a soothing hand along her bare upper arm as he repeated, "it'll be alright," to her, over and over."

At that moment, he caught April removing her glasses to wipe her eyes dry.

"You okay?" he asked, making sure she was alright, as well.

"Yeah," she nodded, sniffing back a few tears, and placed her glasses back on her face. "I will be, anyway."

Five minutes went by before Jaiden's wails decreased to quiet sniffles. It was enough where she was able to say, "I-I was...only...trying to help...Mom...mee…" It was to be assumed Jaiden was referring to Katherine.

"I know, sweetie, I know." He continued running a gentle hand along her arm. "It's not your fault, I promise. You did good." At that moment, her fishing rod jerked from where Jaiden had dropped it in the dirt.

April responded fast, grabbing a hold of the rod before the fish could pull it under. She had to drop hers in the process to be able to use two hands. "Jaiden, you got a bite," she told the little girl, happily. Jaiden lifted her head with curiosity. Her tiny face was covered in tears and snot from her nose which had soaked Luke's shirt.

Luke asked for the rod and passed it to Jaiden, assuring he was going to help her, but Jaiden had to do it since it was hers. She stood between his knees, facing the lake, as they tried to reel the fish in.

"Come on, Jaiden. You can do it," April cheered her little sister on.

Luke held her hand on the reel handle, directing Jaiden on what to do. This was surely a good sized one. Either that or somebody dumped a can of Popeye's spinach into the lake. After a tough fight and lots of encouragement from both her foster dad and foster sister, Jaiden was able to reel the fish in enough for Luke to tell April to grab the net and be ready. Once it was close to the water's edge, April scooped the net in and lifted the fish out of the water where Luke got up to help her.

The fish struggled inside the net, gasping for air.

"Yeah, you did it, Tiger," Luke praised Jaiden, proudly. "You caught your first real catch at the lake. And it's good sized to take home and fry up for dinner. What do you think?"

Jaiden watched it squirm, looking sad like she felt bad for it.

"I'm gonna put it out of its misery right now, but if you want to toss it back instead," he assured her. "I mean, this is where the fish you eat come from. If we don't, somebody else will."

"I do like fish," she admitted. The struggling fish was looking a little tired by this point.

"Trust me, he'll go to the big lake in the sky where he can swim to his little heart's content without having to worry about other fishermen, fisherwomen," he put emphasis on women aimed towards the girls,"or predators getting him." So, Jaiden gave the say to keep it with the promise Luke was teach her how to cook fish. Having April keep the little girl's attention busy, showing her breast strokes to use in the water, Luke did the deed before wrapping it up and sticking the fish inside the ice cooler to keep it fresh.

With that out of the way, they picked up their rods for now and decided to go swimming. April of course jumped in while Luke slowly eased Jaiden into it. Jaiden kept her shorts on, only removing her flip flops, sitting on the edge of the bank with her bare feet in the water. He encouraged her to jump in, reassuring that he was right there and wouldn't let anything happen. It took a while but Jaiden finally took a leap of faith out on the water and pushed herself off.

Luke made sure to pull her in just as she started to freak out. "You're okay, Tiger," he assured her.

Nature's sounds seemed to have returned while Jaiden got used to the water, with April showing her the basis on how to swim properly before having her give it try, using her kickboard first. Eventually, April and Luke put some space between them and encouraged Jaiden to swim to April without it. Like many times before, the little girl was hesitant at first but with some encouragement, she pushed away from the safety of her foster dad and did as her big sister showed her, as best she could. For the most part, Jaiden looked like a puppy swimming for the first time. She still managed to make it to April at least, who let the kid grab onto her.

"Alright, good job," April told her, happily.

Luke smiled as the two girls interacted. It was relieving to see a smile across the younger girl's face, especially after the outburst earlier. Now that Jaiden had gotten it out, hopefully they could help her overcome her fear of her grandfather enough to be able to speak up in front of him. For now, though, Luke just focused on making sure their weekend was fun and exciting.

"Let's see ya swim back over here, Tiger," he called over to the girls, who was now splashing the other.

This time, Jaiden was a little less hesitant as she pushed away from April, and swam for Luke as they continued to cheer her on until she finally made it back. Jaiden clung onto Luke who squeezed her in a tight but gentle hold.

They swam for a while before having some lunch while they dried off. Then they headed back to Stars Hollow where Jaiden couldn't wait to tell Lorelai and Rory about catching a fish for dinner. Luke gave the little girl a head's up if the two looked traumatised about catching a fish and not letting it go.

Sure enough, when the girls came out to meet them and Jaiden ran over, the kid may as well had confessed she was the hunter who had shot Bambi's mom. Lorelai and Rory at least forced themselves to be happy for Jaiden, congratulating her on the accomplishment.

While their girls headed inside, Luke stopped Lorelai to let her know, "Jaiden confessed."

"Confessed?" She shook her head, confused. It took a moment to sink in what Luke was referring to. When it did, her blue eyes enlarged. "You're kidding?"

Luke shook his head, slowly, with his eyes closed.

"How did it happen?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. One minute we were fishing, listening to the lake sounds, next thing I knew, Jaiden was asking me if you and I were fighting, and it reminded her of a time when her biological mother was fighting with her grandfather."

Lorelai closed her eyes towards the ground.

"We can't be fighting, Lorelai," Luke told her, gently. "Not now. Not when our baby needs us."

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry." Lorelai looked up into his green eyes.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too." At that, they grabbed onto each other and shared a loving kiss when Lorelai suddenly pulled away.

"Did you just call Jaiden, our baby?"

"Yeah, blame Blake Shelton on that one," he admitted before resuming where they left off.

Only three more days remained…