Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the storyline and Jessie.

A/N: See Chapter One for full premise. To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed. In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.

Thank you to all the reviewers. You have no idea who gratifying it is to read all your thoughts and opinions. A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her. And another big thanks goes out to my beta-reader and friend, Sarah, for taking the time to read these chapters and make them as good as they can be.

August: Goodbyes and Hellos

Chapter Twenty-three

A week later, Luke nervously chewed his bottom lip as he dialed the familiar numbers. It was a Thursday and he'd just dropped Jessie off at her ballet class. Lorelai was at the Dragonfly and Rory was in New Haven looking for an apartment with Paris. They all had plans to meet up for dinner later.

As the phone rang in his ear Luke surveyed the apartment. Everything was in disarray. Boxes half-full of junk littered the floor, drawers hung open, and the kitchen cabinets were practically bare.

The old tenants were gone and Jessie and Luke were moving into their house slowly but surely. It wasn't a big house but it was a darn site bigger than their apartment. Not only did Jessie have a room with windows and a closet, but for the first time in almost two decades, so did Luke.

And not only did they get their own rooms, but they had a living room and kitchen with a swinging door that opened into the dining room. This swing-door was by far Jessie's favorite thing about the house. It was all she could talk about for the first half hour after seeing it.

He smiled remembering and just as Luke was about to give up on the phone call, Liz answered. "Hello," she said brusquely.

"Liz, it's me."

"Luke?"

"Yes, Luke, who else?" he asked impatiently.

"Sorry," she replied tonelessly. He could practically hear her rolling her eyes.

"So how's it going?"

"Fine," she replied sounding bored.

"The end of the summer's coming," he commented.

"Yeah, about that," she began. Luke closed his eyes, feeling his blood pressure spike.

"Uh huh?" he replied trying to maintain his calm.

"How do you feel about maybe keeping her for a little longer? Just until school starts?"

"That's actually why I'm calling. She's doing really well, Liz. She's horseback riding and taking ballet lessons and she's been meeting some kids her own age. In fact, she invited some of them to her birthday party last week."

"Oh, Christ! I knew I forgot something. Now you're gonna tell me I'm a terrible mother, right?" she spat.

Again Luke felt his blood pressure go up. "This isn't about you!" he shouted. Immediately, he regretted yelling and said, "Look. The point is that Jess is happy. I think she wants to stay."

Liz got quiet on the other end of the phone. "Really?"

"Where do you get off sounding hurt? You know, the last time you talked to her she cried for almost twenty minutes!" Luke forced himself to calm down. "Liz, listen to me. She's happy here and she wants to stay and I want her to stay."

"Fine!" Liz snapped. "Keep her! See if I care. This has been the best summer since before she came along."

"What is the matter with you?" Luke wondered aloud.

"Me? You just told me that she doesn't want to live with her own mother!"

"Yeah, because you sent her away. Your actions have given her the impression that you don't want her!"

Liz snorted into the phone, "Well, Jesus, who knew it'd be so hard?"

"Look, it's very simple," Luke said, at the end of his rope. "You give me permission to enroll her into Stars Hollow Public School and we'll take it from there."

"Done," she bit out.

"Fine. I'll send you whatever paperwork there is," Luke said dully.

"Fine," she replied.

"Liz, if this works and she's happy here in the school system I want to talk to you about getting full custody." Luke's voice sounded more steadfast than Liz had ever heard it and again there was silence on her end.

"Are you serious?" she whispered.

"Very," he answered in a tone that matched hers.

"But Luke she's my kid," Liz argued.

"Whom you lied to about how long of a trip this would be!" countered Luke. Bringing his voice back down, he said, "Come on, Liz. Be realistic and just think it over. I'll be in touch."

Without another word, Luke hung up the phone and leaned back into the couch with his eyes closed.

By Sunday all the big stuff was moved in and the little stuff like boxes of clothes and kitchen paraphernalia rested in hallways and closets. Earlier, Jessie had run through the house shouting, "Hello, house!" Now, Luke, Lorelai, Rory and Jessie sat in the living room and ate pizza out of the box as they rested after hauling stuff around all day.

"Quickest move ever," Lorelai commented.

"It's a fast move when you've got next to nothing," Luke replied.

Jessie giggled. "We got more than nothing."

"We've got more than nothing and it's just an expression," Luke told her as he wiped some sauce off her chin. "Good thing you're starting school next week."

Jessie rolled her eyes and said, "Blech! I hate school."

"How is it possible for anyone to hate school?" Rory wondered, one hand pressed to her collarbone as if in shock.

Jessie stretched out on the floor, wiggled her ankles so that her pink Converse flopped around and said, "I don't know but I'm full." As she spoke she pressed her belly up to the sky, opened her arms and grunted.

"What are you doing?" Lorelai asked, smiling.

"I'm a pig," Jessie said with another grunt.

"Come again?" Luke laughed.

"Like Wilbur in Charlotte's Web. I'm full so now I lay on my back and roll in the mud." She gave another grunt and then an oink.

"We don't have any mud, though," Rory pointed out.

"It's pretend mud," Jessie explained patiently before oinking loudly.

"Well, that's too bad," Luke commented sounding sad.

"Whyt?" Lorelai asked.

"Pigs don't get ice cream, so I guess it's just the three of us who'll be enjoying it."

"What?! No, I'm a girl, I'm a girl!" Jessie shouted sitting up and putting her face in his.

"Are you sure? Because you were giving a very convincing performance a second ago."

"I'm sure!" she shouted before jumping once to illustrate the point.

Later, after Jessie was tucked into bed and Rory had gone home, Luke and Lorelai sat on the couch, tired from the day. "I got the paperwork back from Liz," he said after a moment of silence.

Lorelai turned to him with a concerned look. "Really? That was fast."

"I know. I wasn't sure it was really going to happen."

"So Jess is all set, then," she smiled.

"Looks that way."

Lorelai snuggled into his side and said softly, "I'm so glad Liz isn't making this difficult for you."

"Me, too," Luke confessed. "She even stuck a little note in there about discussing a custody arrangement."

"Really?" Lorelai looked aghast. "I just can't believe that. How could she not…." Lorelai was unable to finish the sentence.

"I don't know," Luke said bitterly. "But it was just a note. Maybe she'll change her mind at some point and really make my life miserable."

"I hope not. For both your sakes."

"Thanks." Luke wrapped an around her shoulders.

Lorelai watched at him thoughtfully. "So you're definitely going to pursue it."

"Custody of Jess? Absolutely. Why?" he suddenly sounded unsure of himself.

"I just want to know."

"Yeah. Even if it means getting a lawyer."

Lorelai nodded as if thinking something over. Before she could speak, though, Luke said, "Are you having second thoughts? About…us?"

Smiling, Lorelai touched his hand and said, "Of course not. I just don't want you to feel overwhelmed. You've been an amazing uncle to her and if you get custody you'll be an amazing parent. Being a single parent is hard, though, and I just want to make sure that what you and I have isn't going to impede on what you and she have. She should come first in your life, you know? Just like Rory always came first in my life."

"I know what you mean," Luke told her. "But I feel like we're already almost a family. There're just a couple of legal documents separating us."

"Oh, yeah? Like what documents?"

"Well," he said casually, "a marriage license for one thing."

Lorelai paused and tilted her head to one side as her lips curved upward. "Luke, are you proposing?"

Luke smiled and then allowed, "Maybe."

A/N: One chapter to go!