AN: Ok, so I know there's no real definition of where in the season this takes place, and it would be too hard to work it into the story, so I'm just going to tell you. It takes place after Pipi Virgin. Past that it may or may not (more likely may not) follow the series exactly. Rory has been home, but hasn't seen Luke yet, so she's still kinda mad at him, and I rally have no idea how long it takes for divorces to finalize but for the sake of my story Deans is.

The Next Morning:

Luke looked up as the bell over the door jingled and saw Rory walk in and sit at the nearest table. He wasn't sure if she was still mad about the bop-it incident but knew he had to talk to her. So he walked over to the table.

"Peace offering?" he asked as he set a cup down in front of her. He couldn't read her face but she didn't look too pissed.

"Thanks" was all she said.

"Can we talk?" he asked unsure if he should sit or not.

"Sure." She answered as he handed the coffee pot off to Lane and sat.

"Look, I just want to say that I'm really sorry about the other night. I shouldn't have acted that way. I just... I'm sorry" he said looking at his hands.

"It's ok, I understand." She told him, seeing how upset he was made her feel a little sad. "Mom told me what you said; I know your just trying to protect me." She reached over and patted his hand.

"She told you? How much did she tell you?" he asked, feeling his face flush.

"Well I can't lift a horse over my head and I promise not to mop the floor with scrub brush skates, but everything else was true." She told him and almost laughed at how nervous he looked. "Luke, you've always taken care of us, and we love you for that, but you really don't need to worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"I know that I just..." he couldn't find the words to say what he felt. He's always felt like she was the closest thing he's ever have to a daughter. "You're just..."

"Can I tell you something?" Rory asked understanding what he was trying to say. He nodded his head and she continued. "You've always been kinda like a dad to me. I mean I know I have a dad, but he's never really done the job much. But you have. You've always been there, you've built me bookshelves, defended my honor, threatened boyfriends, made sure I didn't starve to death, or eat my mothers cooking... you've done more in a week than my dad has I my whole life. And I really appreciate it." She met his eyes and held he gaze for a minute before continuing. "I guess I just wanted to say thank you."

"Your welcome, and I want you to know I feel the same... I mean I've always kinda seen you as a daughter. And I just want what's best for you. And I guess if that means Dean, then I'll try harder to like him. I promise." He reached over a squeezed her hand. "I better get back to work." As he stood up the bell over the door jingled again and Lorelai walked in.

"Hey there." She said smiling at him.

"Hey yourself. Coffee?" he asked "wait this is you." He turned and went to get her coffee as she sat with Rory.

"hey, you ok?" she asked seeing the strange look on he face.

"Yea, I am." Rory smiled.

"So how'd it go last night?" Lorelai asked as Luke set her coffee down.

"It was good. Really good."

"Care to share?" she asked taking a long drink of her coffee.

"Well um... we talked and um... we um..." she stumbled.

"Ok, really just say it." Lorelai was growing very impatient.

"He suggested we move in together." She spit out.

"Wow." Lorelai was blown away. "That's uh, that's... wow." She stuttered.

"And I said yes." Rory continued. "But since he's not starting school until the spring and needs to stay here and work and I have Yale and my dorm, we decided to wait until summer. That way he can get adjusted at school and we can take the time to look for a place." Rory told her mom, hoping she would see how much they had planned this out.

"So, you're not doing it right now." Lorelai was relieved. "I think that it sounds like you too are really being smart about this."

"Yea, we are. We both really want it to work and we don't want to go too fast."

"I'm proud of you. I think this will work out great." She told her honestly and smiled.

"Thanks." Rory said as Luke came to take their orders.

"So, you and Luke look like you're speaking again." Lorelai said after Luke left with their orders.

"Yea, we talked and it's all good now."

"Good." She looked over at Luke and smiled. "So what did you talk about?" she pressed.

"Oh, ya know... stuff."

"Hmm, yea... so what did you talk about?"

"Does it really bother you to not know?" Rory asked laughing.

"Yea, it does... so what did you talk about?" Lorelai pressed.

"How's the Inn?" Rory asked, loving the fact that she was driving her mom nuts. Life was back to normal.

THE END

AN: that's all for now, but I'm thinking about doing a sequel... let me know what you think.