Chapter 34

Shelby remained under the bed until Luke came back upstairs that night. Thankfully, Jess got her to eat a sandwich when he made himself one which Luke thanked him for. It was amazing how much the kid had somehow wormed her way into Jess's heart and made him care for someone other than himself. Of course, it was hard not to fall in love with this kid. Anyone who came through the diner always complimented Shelby to Luke, and whenever Shelby wasn't there, they'd ask where the adorable little server was. That day had been no different.

He tried to ask Shelby if she could take her bath, but Shelby refused. Luke ended up giving in for now and showered first, changing into his green, long-sleeved shirt and sweats he normally wore to bed. Once dressed, he filled the tub and got Shelby's bath ready. Letting the water fill the tub, Luke stepped out into the large room.

"Come on, Shell. You gotta get ready for bed," he called over to her and waited to see if she moved.

She didn't.

Luke let out a tired sigh under his breath before he turned his head towards Jess. It was worth a shot. He wasn't having any luck. "Jess, can you give me a hand?"

Jess put his book down long enough to applaud his uncle.

"You know that's not what I mean," Luke told him with a look of annoyance. "I mean, help me with your cousin."

The boy shrugged, not looking up from his book. "Should have specified. Scout, go bathe before you stink up the joint."

Luke just rolled his eyes. But it did get Shelby to come out from under the bed. On the way to the bathroom, she dropped something into the trashcan, which he asked her about. Shelby showed him her left hand where it was a little bruised on top.

"What happened, kiddo?"

"Jess," was all she got out.

"Jess did it?" he asked.

Shelby nodded.

"How?"

Shelby didn't say more. Jess spoke up at least.

"I didn't know she was under there when I came up and ran her hand over with the bed. I gave her ice for it."

Luke thanked his nephew for at least giving her ice and turned back to his daughter. "How does it feel now? Does it still hurt?" His initial thought was to take her to see the town's doctor to make sure nothing was broken.

Shelby shook her head.

Making sure, Luke felt her hand pressing on it in some areas and asked her to move her fingers. It hurt a smidge but figured all Jess did was, bruise the tendons. He told her to come let him know if it got any worse and he'll take her to let a doctor look at it.

That said, Shelby removed the clothes she had been wearing that day and stepped into the tub. Luke poured some shampoo into the palm of her hands, reminding her to make sure to scrub down to the scalp.

While Shelby scrubbed her own body, Luke tried talking to her. The kid hardly made eye contact with him.

"You know I wasn't doing that to be mean earlier when your mom was here. Right, kiddo?"

Shelby stared at nothing while rubbing the washcloth along her chest.

Luke was sitting on the toilet lid, leaning forward on his knees, supervising. "I hate having to do this, we all do. We just want to help you." Throughout the entire time she was taking a bath, Shelby remained mute, staring everywhere but at him as Luke explained to her his reasoning for doing this. Eventually, Luke took the washcloth, kneeling to his knees to get her back since she couldn't reach.

Afterwards, Luke helped towel dry her hair while he let Shelby dry the rest of her body so he could go grab her pajamas, letting her get dressed and brush her teeth.

That's how it was over the next week. It relieved him to see Shelby never went back to her T-ball hat and continued to wear the one he had given her, so Luke knew she wasn't mad at him. Shelby was mad, though. He got that impression when he came up at some point and saw a murder had taken place and Barbie was the victim.

"Aw, jeez," he muttered to himself, now understanding what the comedian Bill Engvall meant about a serial killer in training regarding his own kid. Scary part was, Shelby was the kindest, sweetest person he knew.

Kneeling beside the coffee table, Luke picked Barbie up, noticing her arm missing, half of her hair gone, and her face was smashed in and colored over with what seemed like a red crayon. "Shell, what happened to Barbie here?" Did he really want to know the answer to that question?

Shelby was having Totodile destroy some houses she built out of Legos, sending some pieces flying off the table, ignoring her dad.

"Shelby, can you answer me, please?" Luke pressed on firmly but remained gentle and patient, not wanting to make things worse. Shelby stopped what she was doing, at least. She said nothing, much less look up. Not wanting to force her if she didn't want to talk at the moment, he told her to pick up the Lego pieces that had been thrown on the floor.

Luke asked Jess if Shelby was talking to him about what was bothering her, but not even he was getting a word out of her. While doing a repair on Lorelai's porch, he ran it passed her on what he should do.

"Seems like the kid's got some major anger issues building up inside her, which isn't good," she gathered from all he shared with her. Even Lorelai looked creeped out upon hearing what happened to Barbie.

"I'm stumped on what to do. Shelby won't talk to me at all and it's eating me from the inside out. She won't give her mother the time of day and she only interacts with me when I ask her to do something, and even then, I have to ask Jess to help me half the time. I try encouraging her, asking her. She lets me hug her at least, but she won't hug me back."

"We'll fix this. Don't worry your pretty little head there." Telling him to alert Rachel, they met back at his apartment where Lorelai reorganized the chairs around his kitchen table with two on each side. Lorelai also placed Totodile in the center and had Shelby sit with her. Luke and Rachel sat on the other side, surprised the woman had gotten the kid to join them. She didn't look anywhere near as happy, though.

"First," she began, "these are the rules." Lorelai reached over and picked up the toy, "whoever has this little guy here may speak. Everyone else must remain silent unless given permission from whoever has him. No exceptions. It allows the holder to deny your right to speak if that is how she or he feels," Lorelai included Luke. "Anything can be said with no penalties. Everyone got that?"

Luke and Rachel agreed.

Lorelai turned to Shelby, who was the only one who hadn't responded. "That okay with you, sweetheart?"

Shelby just shrugged one shoulder, staring underneath the table. Her hat was turned around so no one could see her face.

Back to the table, Lorelai continued. "We're gonna start things off by going around and sharing how we feel at this moment. I'll start. I feel happy we can be here for Shelby, to help her feel better and get some things off her chest." She passed the toy across the table, setting it in front of Luke.

"Uh, well..."

Lorelai motioned for him to pick up the toy.

Snatching the toy up, Luke paused for a moment, trying to ponder how he was feeling at the moment. "Well, I guess I feel sad that my little buddy's upset and I can't do anything about it," he shrugged and passed the toy over to Rachel.

Taking the toy, Rachel said, "Honestly, I feel hurt and confused. Like a bad guy just because I did something Shelby did not like." Leaning forward, she tried to pass the toy across the table, over to her daughter. "Here, peanut."

Lorelai took it for her and held it closer for Shelby to take. "How do you feel, sweetheart? Say whatever is on your mind. No one else here can say anything unless you say it's okay. Just be honest."

Shelby shrugged, staring at her lap.

"Are you mad? Sad? Hurt?"

Lifting her head, Shelby whispered in Lorelai's ear.

Luke moved his folded hands from his lap to the table, feeling a little anxious but relieved Shelby was speaking to someone.

"You feel a lot of feelings?" Lorelai repeated, which Shelby nodded her head. She smiled for her. "That's okay. Can we help you feel better?"

Another shrug.

Speaking to the entire group, Lorelai continued. "Why don't we show Shelby some love by sharing something positive we like about her," she suggested.

"All right, I have to say something," Luke spoke up, feeling weirded out by this point. He never understood therapy and always thought it was a waste of time. Someone lies on a couch and tells their problems to some stranger with a clipboard for large sums of money that may or may not work. Luke could go on for five minutes in a rant.

"You're not holding Totodile, nor did you ask permission," she pointed out.

He sighed under his breath, annoyed, and raised his hand halfway. A part of him just died inside, feeling like a kid back in grade school again.

Lorelai passed Totodile to him, letting him speak. "This feels like a therapy session, which by the way I always thought that stuff was a load of crap," he pointed out.

"Unless you want this place to be a crime scene again, I suggest you quit whining and zip the lip," she told him before asking for the toy back. Luke gave her one of his annoyed stares as he handed back the toy. "Now, where were we? Oh, that's right. Talking about Shelby," Lorelai smiled. "Shelby, I like that you're not a grouch like your dad can be, sometimes. You always have a cheerful smile that can light up a room." Part of that answer was supposed to poke fun at Luke as well as compliment Shelby.

Upon hearing that, Shelby stole a look up at the woman who smiled for her.

"What about you?" Lorelai passed the kid, her toy. "What do you like about yourself?"

Shelby shrugged.

"Come on, there's gotta be something you like about yourself."

She took Totodile and was staring at it. Finally, Shelby held it up towards Lorelai.

"Yeah, that means only you can speak at the moment unless you say it's okay for someone else to speak."

Shelby shook her head and sat up to whisper something in her ear.

"Oh, you like you're a good Pokemon trainer. I see," Lorelai nodded in understanding, now that Shelby told her. "That's a good one. Okay, can you pass Totodile to your mom so she can take a turn?"

Shaking her head, Shelby stood up and stretched the toy across the table, diagonally towards her dad. Luke motioned to let Rachel take it first since they was going in a circle, but when Rachel tried to take it from their daughter, Shelby moved it out of her mom's reach. Keeping the rule, whoever had Totodile could decide who got to speak, Lorelai told Luke to take his turn next.

Smiling proudly, Luke said, "I like, no love, I have such an amazing kid who makes me proud every single day, and have an assistant around to help me."

Glancing up a little, he caught a slight smile coming from underneath her hat. With Luke in charge of Totodile, he passed him over to Rachel so she could finally take her turn. That was when Shelby slid around in her seat, facing Lorelai, hugging herself.

"One thing I like about Shelby is how creative she can be at making up stories about anything she can think of, or from looking at a photo I took, like the donkey who lived at the Grand Canyon, and made friends with the roadrunner. Remember that, peanut? I still have it on the fridge at home," Rachel tilted her head slightly to the side to try to see under her hat. Shelby didn't even look up.

In fact, for the next twenty minutes, Shelby remained in that spot. Luke protectively monitored her the entire time and couldn't help notice how upset she seemed to get. His heart broke as Shelby squeezed herself tighter with each passing minute. Lorelai tried her best to help ease the kid's anxiety and tried to ask questions to help her open up about what was bothering her. Usually she was the best at getting the kid to calm down, but not this time. The more Shelby squeezed herself, the tighter his chest felt and Luke found it difficult to just sit there and say nothing.

Finally, Luke couldn't stand it anymore. "Okay, that's enough," he stated. "Lorelai, Rachel, can you excuse us? I think this may have been a bad idea. Maybe Shelby and I should talk things through first."

"But I thought you tried that already. She won't even talk to you," Lorelai reminded him.

"Just trust me on this." After watching this play out, Luke was seeing where they were going about this all wrong and needed to get the two of them alone. So he insisted the women leave so father and daughter could be alone.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Luke made his way over to kneel beside Shelby's chair, holding a hand on the edge. Not wanting to make her look at him, he just said as he felt.

"Shell, I'm sorry all of this has happened. I wish I could snap my fingers and make everything okay again." He gave her a mournful expression. "Unfortunately, I can't, and I can't turn back time either. I know how much you love your mom, and that's why I was trying so hard to help mend things between the two of you. I guess I wasn't thinking and I'm sorry. You have every right to be angry at your mom. Heck, I'm mad at what she did. And I understand if you're mad at me, too. I was a dummy."

To his surprise, Shelby slowly twisted in her chair, lifting her head so he could see her face. "I'm no mad ah you," she shook her head. "Only sad ah you."

Luke forced a smile for her and reached out to touch her arm. "For going back on what I said before, huh?"

Shelby nodded.

"Do you understand why though?" he asked, slightly tilting his head.

She shrugged and repeated what he just said a minute ago. "Because you were trying to help Mom and me?"

"Yeah, that's right. But maybe the two of us should have talked things through before letting your mom join us. Would you have been willing to hear me out if I done that instead?"

Pausing at first as if to think on it, eventually, Shelby nodded.

Luke gave her arm he was holding, a rough but gentle rub. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, thankful she allowed him to do so. "Do you forgive me?" he asked afterwards.

Shelby nodded.

"Hey," Luke added softly. "Just a head's up," he leaned in, a little closer, "I'm probably gonna make more dumb mistakes as you grow up. I'll try my best not to, but I am only human." He nodded once towards her, "that okay?"

Shelby nodded once more.

"Just...please tell me when I do and I don't catch it. I don't want to go another day where you feel you're not being heard, okay?"

This time, Shelby said, "Okay," with her nod, turning fully around in her chair. She picked her socked feet up, folding her legs against her, slouching in her seat.

"You know, though, your mom gave me an idea what might help fix things between you. Want to hear it?"

Looking at him with a puzzled but curious look, she asked, "What?"

"Why don't you write your mom a story about how you feel? It doesn't even have to be about you. You can write about someone who has the same feelings, and you can give it to her afterwards. Maybe if your mom knows how you feel, it might make her see things our way."

She pondered on that for a moment before responding, "Um... okay."

His face lit up with hopeful glee when Shelby agreed to his suggestion. To make her smile, he said, "Hey, want to know something funny?"

"What?"

"Your mom actually got lectured by Lorelai, too."

Shelby's eyebrows rose. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yep," which Luke added, "Well, she gave me one, too."

A smile appeared, forming into a smirk, and Shelby giggled, making her dad let out a chuckle or two, as well. "Lor-lai is awesome."

"Yes, yes, she is." Luke leaned over and gave her another kiss. "Feel a little better?"

She nodded.

"Tell ya what. If you write that story, maybe I'll let you play your Nintendo tonight before bed. Deal?"

Her face lit up with excitement, shifting upward against the back of the chair, and nodded. Shelby then threw herself off from the chair and onto her dad, wrapping her arms tight around his neck as he muttered, "Aw, jeez," out loud, surprised. But Luke also held her tight, glad he could make his little girl feel better while coming up with a solution for their rough situation.

So Shelby immediately got to work, writing a story for her mom. Luke let her work in peace, working downstairs. Sometime later, Shelby came down, leaning around the corner. She waited until he noticed her.

"Hey, Shell. Finish your story?" He came over and kneeled to her level. Shelby held it out to him. Asking if he could read it first, Luke took the paper from her and skimmed through it, smiling at some parts. Most of it was heartbreaking, but glad there was a part or two that made him smile.

"Can Mom and Lor-lai come back to finish our mee-ting?" she whispered for only him to hear.

Luke looked at his daughter, impressed. "You liked that?"

Shelby nodded. "I like using Totodile."

It occurred to him why Shelby must have liked it. "You like feeling in control, huh?"

She nodded some more.

"Okay, I'll let your mom and Lorelai know. I don't know when, though. It'll have to be when we all can get away from work. Okay?"

She nodded a third time.

Luke pulled her in for a hug. "Proud of you, kiddo, I really am." He emphasized his praise towards her and kissed the top of her ear. When Luke let go, he told her, "you know, some of our guests have been asking for ya? Are you up for working an hour or two?"

"I'm hungry. Can I ea' firs'?"

"Of course you can, kiddo. What would you like?"

"Um," Shelby paused, looking up towards the ceiling, pondering. "Can I have a cheese sandwich and tomato soup?"

"Coming right up." Luke had her go grab a stool while he headed into the kitchen. Suddenly, he paused in mid-step as it hit him. Did Shelby just use a contraction? Come to think of it, did she use one earlier during their talk, upstairs? He couldn't help feel more pride rise inside of him as realization sunk in, making him smile to himself. She sure was coming a long way since almost a year ago.

The four of them were able to meet Sunday afternoon. Shelby arranged the chairs the way Lorelai had them, with everyone taking their same seats. It also relieved Rachel to hear Shelby wanted to continue, especially. The adults let Shelby go first, who held Totodile in her hands. Lorelai reminded the group of the rules before letting Shelby go.

Shelby fidgeted with the toy in her hands as she stared at her story lying in front of her on the table. Lorelai reached over to rub her back, assuring she had this. She stole a look over at her dad, who gave her a thumb's up.

"You're okay, Shell. Just pretend we're the only ones in the room, if that helps," he encouraged his little girl.

Wiping at her eye, Shelby tried to begin, but stumbled on her words and stopped.

"You're doing good, sweetheart," Lorelai assured her some more.

Stealing another look over at her dad, Shelby was able to gain a boost of confidence and started reading again.

"Tear was a ow' named Ruffie." Luke mouthed to the women she meant owl as Shelby continued. "Ruffie's mom and dad lived in two diff-en' homes. Ruffie loved her mom and dad even when t'ey make a mis-cake. Ta mom ow' makes a lo'. Sometime i' makes Ruffie hur' inside and..." Shelby had to take a deep breath, which Lorelai continued to rub her back.

Luke stole a look over at Rachel from the corner of his eye to see her sitting there, holding her hands in her lap, staring at them as Shelby continued.

"The daddy ow' makes mis-cakes too, but always told Ruffie he was sorry and always made her feel be'ter. He had a friend too. Her name was Co'ton the rabbi'. She had a baby rabbit too. Her name was Carro'. Co'ton and Carro' ea' a lo' of carro's." Luke mouthed to inform them she meant to say carrot. "Ta daddy ow' says t'ey had a problem."

All three adults couldn't help laugh at that part, knowing what the kid meant.

"Ruffie loves Co'ten and Carro' a lot. Ruffie sometimes wish Co'ten was her mom in'tead." The room got awkwardly quiet as things turned heartbreakingly serious. Shelby sniffed in before continuing, holding the side of her forehead in her palm now. "Ruffie wishes her mom could be like Co'ton. Ruffie can see her mom ge's mad, sometimes. Ruffie tries not to make her mom mad bu' her mom sometimes make Ruffie and her dad mad firs'. I's ge's hard to forgive her mom, over and over again. Ruffie no wan' her mom to go away. She jus' wan's her mom to 'top making Ruffie hur' a lo' inside." Shelby stopped reading, done with her story, and stared at Totodile.

"That was a great story, sweetheart," Lorelai told her. "I liked the part about Carrot and Cotton, and their carrot addiction."

Shelby forced a smile up at the woman.

"It's even better the second time," Luke added, leaning forward on his arms.

The only other one that was silent was Rachel.

Luke looked over at her.

She asked for Shelby's permission to speak before Rachel said, "I don't know what to say, peanut. That sounds like a very sad story."

Shelby leaned over, wanting to whisper something to Lorelai, who passed it on. "Shelby says, her dad told her to write a story for you."

"So that story was for me?" she asked.

Shelby nodded at her, trying to make eye contact with her mom but not succeeding.

Rachel leaned forward on her arms. "Peanut, is Ruffie you?"

She nodded at Totodile, fidgeting with the toy again.

Glancing at the table between them, Rachel asked, "Can I move closer to you, peanut?"

Shelby shrugged one shoulder.

"It's up to you. I won't if you don't want me to."

That time, she nodded.

So Rachel pushed her chair back and went over to kneel beside her daughter. "I don't do things to hurt you, on purpose, peanut. The way you treat me hurts me, too, you know. Remember when you hit me? I told you that really hurt me inside."

Shelby chewed on her lip as she continued to look at Totodile. After a minute, she leaned over to whisper to Lorelai.

"She says you wouldn't let her go home like her dad said she could," Lorelai relayed the message.

"Okay, yes, I'll admit I shouldn't have done that. But, peanut, you were just fine those other nights you stayed with me. There was no reason you couldn't stay."

A tear escaped from her eye, drifting down her right cheek.

Rachel held an arm on the edge of the table. "I did that because I knew you would be fine. You don't need to go home anymore. You've proved to yourself, along with your dad and me, you can sleep by yourself in your own room. Yes, it can still be scary, but I'm right down the hall. You can always call me whenever you need me."

Shelby shook her head, not lifting it.

"What, peanut? Why do you think you can't always call me? You called me that one time when your dad had upset you."

Shelby chewed on her lip some more.

Lorelai offered her ear so she can pass it on to her mom. Shelby still hesitated before she finally shared with her. The look Lorelai gave when Shelby told her, looked like it wasn't good. "She says..." she gave Rachel a heartbreaking look, "because you weren't there for her before and a voice inside her head sometimes tells her you might not be there again."

Luke swallowed, knowing what their daughter meant.

Rachel, clueless, asked what she meant and Shelby confirmed his suspicions through Lorelai. Her eyes closed upon hearing it. Lifting her head, Rachel reminded her, "I'm here now, peanut. I promise I'll always be here for you from now on. I haven't left yet, right? I've always come back, and I stopped going on trips so I wouldn't miss anything else."

With another hesitation, she whispered to Lorelai some more.

Lorelai dropped her face in her hand.

"What is it?" Luke couldn't help ask, forgetting the rule.

"She once overheard Miss Patty tell someone she thinks you'll still leave again because you always do. Apparently, not even the town is convinced yet."

That was news to Luke. He had no idea that piece of gossip was floating around, even after Rachel started a business in town. Course, he also never really tried to keep up with the latest town gossip.

"Shelby, look at me," Rachel told her, firmly, trying to to hold some gentleness in it like Luke does. "Look at me, Shelby."

Shelby tried to make eye contact with her mom.

"You are the only person in this town who could ever make me stay here, I can promise you that. I know I wasn't there for you in the beginning and I'll say this again and again, I won't ever do that again. You have to understand that. In fact, I don't care what the town thinks. As long as you trust me, that's all that matters."

Lorelai spoke up. "It takes time, Rachel. Being a mother is all about having a ton of patience along with the sacrifices we make for them. You can't expect Shelby to get that just like that. Even if it takes her years, you have to accept that and show her you're willing to stay in her life."

Rachel looked from Lorelai to the floor.

"You can't force Shelby to feel how you want her to feel or do what you want her to do," she continued. "Yes, there are choices you will have to make for her that Shelby won't like. I've had to make choices my kid didn't like, either."

"That's what I did, but apparently that makes me the bad guy," she shrugged.

"Because it went against what Luke and Shelby already agreed on. You can't make decisions like that without first consulting her dad. Like it or not, Luke is in charge. That's the bottom line. Yes, he can ask for your opinion and Shelby should listen to you while she's with you, but when the two have an agreement, you have to follow it. I told you all this during lunch, you have to help Shelby want to stay, not decide for her. Let her call her dad, he can comfort her, and the two of you can encourage her, together. Sit with her, or sit outside, like I said. Show her you're willing to help her. Right, sweetheart?" Lorelai looked down at Shelby, who nodded towards Totodile.

Rachel looked at her. "If I sat with you or outside your door, would you be willing to stay the whole night, peanut?"

Shelby nodded her head.

"Okay, I'll try to be better at helping you with your night terrors, how's that?"

Shelby finally lifted her head to look up at her mom, continuing to nod.

"Does that mean you'll come back to stay with me?"

This time, Shelby stole a look from her dad, who gave her an encouraging smile before turning back to her mom. She nodded yes, causing Rachel to smile upon seeing their daughter was willing to keep trying. Rachel choked out a small, happy sob when Shelby slid off of her chair and wrapped her arms around her.

"I'm gonna try to be a better mom, peanut, I promise." Shelby tightened her grip on her mom upon hearing Rachel's promise. Their mother-daughter hug lasted for a minute before Shelby pushed away. "Maybe you can help me be a good mom. How does that sound?"

Shelby nodded, smiling at that. She turned around, leaning her hands on the table and her chair to whisper something to Lorelai. It seemed like even though they made up, Shelby still could not find her voice just yet. At least not around her mom. Luke hoped that would change once Rachel proved herself.

Lorelai smiled when Shelby whispered to her. "She says she'll be praying for you," she recited to Rachel.

Rachel smiled in return. "That sounds good, peanut. Hey," she quickly added, "what if we prayed together? Maybe that could be part of our bedtime routine when you stay over. What do you think?"

Shelby's face lit up as if Santa Claus had come early or something, and blurted out, "Daddy no even do ta' wi' me." All three adults smiled, especially when she closed into herself, her cheeks blushing red.

Rachel took a hold of her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Whatever helps my little peanut, I'm willing to do it."

Another enormous smile appeared on the little girl's face. Suddenly, Shelby bolted around the table and jumped onto her dad's lap, throwing her arms around him.

"Tank you, Daddy," she whispered to him from his shoulder.

"For what, kiddo?" he asked, holding his arms around her waist.

Shelby lifted her head to whisper some more. "You said to make Mom a 'tory. You so 'mar'," she told him proudly, trying to say he was so smart.

"Well, I did have help," Luke motioned his head toward Lorelai and Rachel, being humble. That said, Shelby slid down from his lap and dashed over to grab onto Lorelai, whispering thanks to her which she responded she was so welcome.

"Are you feeling better?"

Shelby nodded at the woman.

Lorelai smiled. "That's good to hear. No more need to torture Barbie, right?"

Smirking, she shook her head.

Last but not least, Shelby dashed back to Rachel, hugging her once again, to thank her.

"Oh, you are very welcome, peanut. I just hope we can move pass all of this." Rachel squeezed her tight in her arms.

Eventually, Luke spoke up. "So, Shell. Mind if we talk about this sticker chart idea Lorelai had in mind to help you be able to stay over at your mom's?"

Shelby let go and turned to nod towards her dad.

"Something came to mind about that," Rachel pointed out.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Once you place a sticker to anything other than the paper it came on, you can't really peel it off again. I asked my sister, though, and she suggested making your own, using those peelable velcro things. That way you can remove and reattach them however you need to."

"That's a good idea," agreed Lorelai. "That way, too, you won't be limited to whatever the store has and it can be anything Shelby wants them to be. Probably even could print out pictures off the computer, if you want."

Rachel stood up when they changed the subject, leaning against the table with her arms folded, lightly. "What kind of stickers should we make, peanut?" she asked Shelby.

Shelby leaned against the table as well and reached over to grab Totodile, holding him up in the air.

"Of course," all three adults replied in union, having should have known better than to ask.

Luke especially already figured Pokemon would be chosen as the primary subject and thought of an idea. He thought about what Shelby has told him about the cartoon and video game, figuring out how to incorporate it in with her reward chart.

Finally, while all three girls were discussing other ideas, he interrupted. "I actually have an idea that would be perfect for Shelby."

"Well, let's hear it," Lorelai told him.

"In the game, you have to travel from these different towns and cities, visiting these gyms to battle their gym leaders," he explained, "and if you win, you earn a badge. You have to collect eight of them to be able to take on the big guys of the game. Right, Shelby?" Luke confirmed it with her, which Shelby nodded. "What if every time Shelby stays one night with you," he asked, meaning Rachel, "she earns a badge, and once she earns eight, she can earn a reward of some sort."

"Like a video game?" Shelby blurted out and turned red again.

"No, kiddo. We already have an agreement about new video games, remember?" he reminded her.

Shelby nodded, looking bummed out. Her face and shoulders drooped.

"Actually, I think you have enough money in your savings to go pick out another game, unless you want to wait for Christmas," Luke shrugged.

Shelby looked between Rachel and Lorelai before turning back to her dad. "I'll tell you la-ter," she told him.

Exchanging a confused look with the women, Luke replied, "Okay," and returned to the matter at hand. "But is that okay, the idea to earn badges like in your game?"

She nodded.

He turned his head towards Rachel. "That sound good to you?"

Rachel shrugged, "Sounds good to me."

So it was settled.

Lorelai asked Rory if she could find and print out an online image of the Pokemon badges, and the three of them sat in the diner the next evening, cutting them out and laminating them with large, clear tape, sticking a piece of velcro to the backs of each one. Rory and Shelby colored a poster board for the chart, with Rory doing the lettering while Shelby colored them in. Lorelai and Rory also printed out images of the characters to glue along the poster board.

"Looks good," Luke complimented when he came by their table as the girls were finishing up, topping off their coffee.

"So who's keeping this where?" Rory was the one to ask.

Not wanting to start anymore disagreements and to keep things fair, Luke shrugged, "That's up for Shelby to decide." He smiled down at her, hovering over Shelby's head. "Who's place do you want to keep it, Shell?"

Shelby lifted her head, looking upside at him. She thought about it before pointing up at him.

So later that evening, at bedtime, Luke hung the poster up on the wall, next to Shelby's bed. Afterwards, he wrapped an arm around his little girl and held a long kiss to her cheek. Shelby wrapped her arms around his neck. He couldn't be more glad things worked out after all and hoped this would help Shelby overcome her fears. In fact, it lifted his hopes high when Shelby announced, "I no wai' until Sa'-uh-day!"