We all settled into a nice routine after Luke spent his first night. It was nice having another adult in the house half the time, and I knew that Rory was enjoying his presence, especially having cooked meals at home - he was even teaching her to cook, which was fun to watch. Things felt right, and while I knew things were bound to start going wrong soon, I was enjoying the peace while I could.

I stumbled down the stairs at about 7am, finding Rory pulling food out of the oven. It was freshly cooked and perfectly timed with me and Rory getting up. We talked about the day ahead, with her telling me about the stuff she was learning and me telling her about the wedding that was happening today. I warned her that I'd probably be home late, and she shrugged, telling me she'd go to Luke's.

Before work, I headed into Luke's for a coffee top-up and a kiss, and he wished me luck for today; he knew that I had been stressed about it all week and he gave me a free doughnut to make me feel better. The day dragged on but went pretty well, all things considering. When I got home, I was in a pretty good mood until I saw Rory and Luke's faces.

"What's wrong?" I asked, and Rory sniffled, "Check the answering machine."

I hit play and instantly realised the problem.

"Hey Lor, I know you told me to not call you or the kid anymore, but I need money and I can't ask my parents for it. Please call me."

He didn't even acknowledge her name or ask how she is. Just 'I need money' as per usual. I wrapped my arms around her, "We don't need him, remember. Ignore him, he doesn't deserve your tears."

She nodded, clearly still upset, so I said, "How do you feel about pizza for dinner?"

"Okay, I'm going to go and read while I wait," She said, disappearing into her bedroom.

I turned to Luke, and he wrapped me up in a big hug, holding me close, "I don't know why I'm so surprised, why would he listen to my demands if they didn't benefit him."

I pulled away, wiping my eyes, "I need to go and get changed, could you order the food?"

He nodded before pulling me in for a kiss. It was gentle and brief, almost comforting. I kissed him back, turning it into something more, wanting to forget what had just happened. He responded in kind for several moments, and then pulled away, "Later."

After a quick shower and getting changed, I found Luke and Rory curled up together on the sofa watching a film. I sat down on Luke's other side and he wrapped his free arm around me, and that was where we stayed until the food arrived.

After we ate, Rory headed straight to bed, claiming she was tired. And while I knew that she was tired, I knew she really wanted to read one of her favourite books, one that I brought for her after Christopher let her down a few years back. I kissed her goodnight, and then rejoined Luke.

"I forgot to ask, how did your wedding go today?" He said as I settled in his arms.

"It went better than expected, and it's on days like these that I really love my job," I admitted, feeling guilty for having such a good day.

He kissed me, "She had a good day too, she was telling me all about it when we got in. She automatically played the message, and it changed how she felt, but she did have a good day. And she's really looking forward to tomorrow so hopefully, school will distract her."

Luke wasn't the type of person to lie to make me feel better, which meant a weight lifted from my chest, "She was in a good mood?"

He nodded, "Now I'd like to cheer you up since this evening has been all about Rory. Your turn."

He said it with a wink, which meant I knew exactly where this was going. So, I stood up and dragged him towards the bedroom, wanting to get started as soon as possible.

The first time I woke up the next morning, Luke was getting dressed for work, "Go back to sleep, I'm opening the diner."

He kissed my forehead, like he did every time he got up before me, and let me go back to sleep. The next time I sort-of woke up, I assumed it was Luke again; he had probably forgotten something. While he didn't say anything, I didn't think much of it.

The third time I woke up, it was quarter to nine and I was late.

Throwing on my clothes, I dashed down the stairs, dragging a brush through my matted hair. I looked in the bathroom mirror, panicking a little because my hair was frizzy, but I knew I didn't have time to fix it. I rushed into the kitchen to check how warm the coffee was, to find it was stone cold and I had to go without until I was at work. I checked Rory's room to make sure she had gotten up on time to find it empty, as expected. I could see that she had eaten that morning, and her bag was gone, so I presumed she had left early and had not thought much about me not being up.

I shoved a pop-tart in my mouth and ran out to my car, driving off to work.

"Coffee, coffee, coffee!" I chanted as I entered the kitchen at the inn, holding out my mug to Sookie. She laughed and poured it for me, allowing me to focus on signing the documents while using my knee as a table.

"Did you forget to set your alarm this morning?" Sookie asked as she handed over my cup, and watched in amazement as I downed the mug in one hit, holding it out for a refill.

"Apparently not," I muttered, despite being sure I had set it given that Luke had done his at the same time. I drained my second mug of coffee before rushing off, now being over an hour behind schedule.

The rest of the morning passed by in a flurry of document signing, planning and looking at finances. I was dead on my feet by lunchtime and had re-joined Sookie in the kitchen to try her new dish, "It tastes healthy."

She laughed, "Well it is, but do you like it?"

I stuck my nose up with a mock-glare, "'Healthy' food is poison, you're trying to poison me!"

She rolled her eyes as Michel entered the room, "Lorelai, it's for you."

I took the phone and left the kitchen, "This is Lorelai Gilmore, how may I help you?"

"Miss Gilmore, this is Mr James from Stars Hollow Elementary School here, we were just wondering if Rory is okay?"

I frowned, confused, "She got an upsetting phone call from her father yesterday, but seemed to be fine otherwise? Is something wrong?"

"Hmm," Mr James sounded confused, "Are you aware that she never showed at school this morning?"

I suddenly felt like someone had tipped a bucket of ice-cold water over me, "I wasn't aware... I need to look for her."

I immediately hung up, my heart beating hard in my chest and my hands shaking.

"Lorelai, are you okay?" Sookie asked from the kitchen, and I looked up at her and shook my head.

"I need to call Luke."

AN: I know, it's cruel to leave it here, really. But chapters 9 and 10 are already written so there will be no delays. You only have to wait 7 days, that's a promise. Now let me know what you thought, and where do you think Rory is? I'd like to hear your theories. Also, Merry Christmas for Friday to those that celebrate. I hope you have a good one.