Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing. Not Lorelai. Not Rory. Not Luke (wipes away a tear). Nothing.

Chapter 5- Lost

Luke watched as Richie played with the device in his ear. Luke hated that thing. He was glad that it helped his son hear, but he hated it because Richie had to have it to hear. He watched as Richie turned up the volume, then turned it down. Up. Down. Up. Down.

"Richie, stop that right now," Luke scolded. "How may times have I told you not to play with your hearing aid?" Richie turned up the volume on the hearing aid and then brought his hand down to his side.

"Why are you so grouchy?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't like being here."

"Well, we have to be here. Richie needed his check up and we both have to be here for him."

"I don't understand why we still come here. What they tell us hasn't changed in four years. They're not suddenly going to tell us there's something else we can do."

"We don't know that."

"After four years of hearing, 'Your son's hearing impairment hasn't significantly improved or worsened. He'll need to continue using his hearing aid' I doubt it will."

Just then, Dr. Moore, the hearing specialist, walked into the office. "Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Danes," he greeted. "Hello there Richard." Richie looked up at Dr. Moore and waved. "How are you today?" Richie signed 'Ok'. Dr. Moore sat in his chair behind his desk. "Not in the mood to speak I see."

"He never is," Luke mumbled, earning him an elbow in his side from Lorelai. "Ow."

"I'm sorry doctor. My husband's just cranky…as usual," Lorelai said.

"It's alright," Dr. Moore laughed. "Alright now. Let's see what we have here today." He opened the file on his desk and looked over the charts and paperwork inside. "Well everything seems to be in order here. Your son's hearing impairment hasn't significantly improved or worsened. He'll need to continue using his hearing aid."

Luke chuckled to himself. "Ok. Thanks for seeing us and we'll see you next time," he said as he stood up and got ready to leave.

"Actually Mr. Danes, there was something else I wanted to discuss with you. Your son has a structurally damaged ear drum. Although he was born with this problem, it is still treatable. There's a procedure in which we can reconstruct your son's ear drum. If successful, he will be able to hear normally without the assistance of his hearing aid."

"Why did you wait four years to tell us this was an option?"

"We weren't sure if Richard was going to be eligible. We had to be sure that it is the suitable treatment. We also had to consider the severity of his impairment. Then there's the case of his age. The recommended age to have the procedure done is between two and six. He's at the perfect age to have this done."

"So you're recommending this? I mean, it's the best thing for Richie?" Lorelai asked.

"It's an option. I warn you, like every surgery, there are risks. There is the possibility if something should go wrong your son can become severely or even completely deaf. But if everything goes well, he'll be able to hear at a normal range. If you should go through with this procedure, Richard will have to be on antibiotics for a few a period of time- a few weeks at the least, just until we are sure that his ear won't get infected and cause another impairment. We suggest he go through therapy too. He'll be hearing things on our level and it may scare him."

Luke stared at his son sitting on the ground playing with his toy cars. "How much will it cost?" he asked, not taking his eyes off Richie.

"With the surgery itself, additional medical treatments, and therapy, this can come out to be about forty thousand dollars."

Luke parked across the street from the diner. The minute the car stopped moving, Richie unbuckled himself, hopped out of his car seat, and started bouncing up and down. Richie would often suddenly become hyperactive and start bouncing off the walls. Most of the time it was because Luke and/or Lorelai would sneak him a piece of candy.

"Ok sweetie, calm down," Lorelai said holding back a laugh. "I don't know where he gets all this energy. One minute, he's our quiet, mild-mannered, shy son and suddenly he's…this."

"He's a four year old boy. They have energy," Luke remarked as he watched Richie jump.

"Have you forgotten we're talking about our son? He isn't like normal kids his age."

"Kids are never normal. Who wants to be normal anyway? Look at you."

"Do you think he's bipolar?"

"If he is, he gets it from you."

"Ok, well, you get him to calm down before he hurts himself."

"Fine. Son, we're going to go outside so you have to stop jumping."

"Ice cream!" Richie yelled as he jumped faster.

"You can have ice cream at the diner if you stop jumping." Richie immediately stopped jumping and smiled at his parents. "Ok Mommy, let's get some ice cream."

They all got out of the car and crossed the street to the diner. Will looked up from his place behind the counter when he heard his parents walk in. Richie immediately climbed onto a stool and waited for his ice cream.

"Hey," Will greeted. "How was the appointment?"

"Same old," Luke replied as he walked behind the counter and got Lorelai a cup of coffee.

"It was not," Lorelai said. She looked at Will. "Dr. Moore says that there's a surgery to reconstruct Richie's ear drum so he'll be able to hear normally."

"Wow, that's great!" Will said excitedly.

"Don't get too excited Will. I don't think we'll take the option."

"When was that decided?" Luke asked, a little irritated. He took a deep breath to calm himself down before he caused a scene. "Lorelai, can we talk upstairs for a minute?"

Lorelai let out a sigh. "Fine."

"Will, watch your brother for a little while. Oh and give him a little bit of ice cream." Luke and Lorelai made their way upstairs to his old apartment. "What was that?"

"Luke, we can't do this. We can't put Richie through the surgery."

"Don't I get a say in this? You can't make a decision concerning our son without discussing it with me."

"Are you saying I can't make a decision without your permission?"

"When it comes to the kids, no. You can't. We have to make a decision."

"Fine. Then let's make a decision right now."

"Fine. I think Richie should have the operation."

"What? Are you crazy? What if something goes wrong? What if he goes completely deaf?"

"Then we'll deal with it. We'll learn to adapt. We learned sign language for him didn't we? Lorelai, he needs this operation."

"We can't afford it."

"We'll find a way to get the money."

"How?"

"I'll take up another job. I'll sell this building to the Doose's. I'll sell my truck. I will do whatever it takes Lorelai. This is for Richie. He needs this."

"Why? He's perfectly fine the way he is. He's happy. He's content. Why do you want him to have this operation so badly?"

"Because I want the best for him!" Luke began pacing around. "I want him to have everything he'll ever want in life, but that hearing aid is just another reminder that he's going have to work twenty times harder than everyone else. It kills me every time I see it."

Lorelai walked over to Luke and wrapped her arms around him. "I know how you feel honey. I want the world for Richie too. He's our baby and we want to protect him, but we can only do so much. I just don't think he really needs this. Yes, he'll have to work harder than everyone else, but that's ok. He's strong. Just like his daddy."

Luke took a deep breath. "I don't want him to go through this. He shouldn't have to."

"I know, but that isn't up to us. Look, how about we keep this option open for now? We won't opt for or against it until we learn more about the procedure and have methods of payment."

"I guess that's ok."

"Good. So," Lorelai said, tracing circles on Luke's chest. "Will's watching Richie, Lane and Caesar are keeping an eye on things downstairs, and we're all alone up here. You wanna…"

Luke grinned. "Why Mrs. Danes, are you trying to get me to do something un-gentleman like?"

"Perhaps."

"Ok but you better be quiet. Travis Doose tried to fine me for disturbing the peace last time."

"Disturbing the peace my ass. Patty and Babette practically follow us with binoculars and popcorn waiting for a show."

Will was enjoying watching his brother eat ice cream until he heard the bells above the door jingle. He looked up and groaned when he saw who walked in. It was Eddie Callen and some of his buddies from Chilton. They spotted Will and he knew they were there to torment him. "Stay right here Richie. I'll be back in a minute," Will said. He headed over to the table of smirking assholes in Chilton uniforms.

"Hey guys, it's Diner Boy," Eddie teased when Will approached their table. His friends laughed.

"You guys gonna order?" Will asked unenthusiastically.

"What's there to eat here?" Artie, one of the guys, asked rudely.

Will picked a menu. "See this? It's called a menu. Open it up, order, eat, and leave."

"The service here sucks," Owen, another guy, said.

"The food don't look much better," Greg, the third guy, said as he flipped through the menu.

"If you don't like the service or the food, why don't you eat somewhere else?" Will asked, trying to get them to leave.

"I believe you know the answer to that," Anthony, the ring leader of the bunch, replied with a smug look on his face.

"You can come in here and try to get on my nerves all you want Anthony," Will said. "But you're just wasting your time. I won't let you have the satisfaction."

"You say that now Danes, but just you wait."

Will watched as other customers walked into the diner. "You got five minutes. You better have an order when I get back or get the hell out."

Will hurried around the diner taking orders as the late afternoon rush came in. He ignored the smirks the Chilton group made as he did his job. They laughed at him and made jokes about him, the diner, and Luke. Many of the regulars and townspeople wanted to say something to the spoiled brats, but Will stopped them. He said he didn't want them have the satisfaction of getting on their nerves and knowing it.

"They're talking about your father!" Patty whispered loudly. "Luke is the most respected man in town. How dare they come in here and say such nonsense."

"Someone needs to shut them up," Dave added.

"Yeah," a few of the other townspeople agreed.

"Guys, guys, that's enough," Will said. "I know you're all upset, but that's what they want. They want you to get mad and start a riot. We'd only be proving them right. I have to check on my brother, so let's all just settle down and finish our meals."

They reluctantly agreed with Will and went back to their food. After a few minutes, the Chilton group shut up. Will turned around to see what Richie was doing, but Richie wasn't there.

"Richie," Will called timidly, walking over to the place his brother had been sitting. He hoped Richie was just in the bathroom. "Richie." Still nothing. Will's heart stopped when he saw a small device sitting on the counter between the ice cream bowl and drawing Richie made. "Oh shit. Oh shit! Oh shit!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched as Will started freaking out.

"Richie!" Will called as he ran into the storage room. "Richie! Richie, this isn't funny!"

"What's going on?" Lane asked as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Richie. I can't find Richie!"

"Oh my God."

"Lane, what do I do? I can't find my brother! I gotta look for him. I gotta find him!" Will headed for the back exit, but ran into his parents.

Luke looked around the diner. Everyone looked nervous and worried. He turned to Will, who stood in front of him. "What's going on?" he asked. Will said nothing.

"Where's Richie?" Lorelai asked when she could see her youngest son. Again, nothing.

Luke turned his head to see Richie's hearing aid sitting on the counter instead of in it's owner's ear. "Where's Richie?" He grew more irritated no one said anything. "Will, where's your brother?" Will started backing away as Luke moved forward. "William! Where is your brother?"

Will staggered back and hit the edge of the counter. He leaned as far back as he could. "He was sitting right there Pop, I swear," Will said. "I turned around for a minute and he was gone."

"You lost your brother?"

"No! He…I was…the diner…"

"Oh my God. Luke, find my baby. Find my baby!" Lorelai screamed.

"Lane! Call nine-one-one!" Luke yelled. "What are you people waiting for? Get the hell out! Come on Lorelai. Let's go look for him."

Just then, the door opened and Babette walked into the diner with Richie.

"Oh my God, Babette! You found him!" Lorelai squealed as she rushed over to them and picked up Richie, hugging and kissing him as she cried.

"I found him standing outside Rory's house. No one was home and he looked really lost, so I brought him straight here," Babette said.

"Thank you so much."

"If there's anything we can do, please, tell me. I'd be happy to do anything," Luke said as he rubbed Richie's back. "And your meals for the month are absolutely free."

"Thanks. I better get going. I'll see you dolls later." With that, Babette left.

Lorelai put the hearing aid back into Richie's ear. "Richard Charles Danes, don't' you ever do that again," she scolded. "It's not good to scare Mommy and Daddy."

Luke faced Will. "I asked you to keep an eye on him," he said. "How could you lose your brother? You couldn't watch him for twenty minutes?"

"It was an accident!" Will shouted. "I didn't mean to…I had my back to him for a minute! I swear to God Pop, I didn't try to lose him!"

"He can't get to Rory's yard from the diner in a minute Will! He didn't even have his hearing aid! What if he walked into the middle of the street when a car was coming? He can't hear those horns! What if he gotten hit?"

"I didn't know he took his hearing aid out."

"You mean you didn't check. God Will, you know he hates that thing. He takes it out or turns it off. You know you're supposed to check. How could you be so irresponsible?"

"I don't know what you want me to say Pop!"

"Try saying sorry. You were too busy trying to explain yourself, you haven't even said you were sorry once." Will lowered his gaze to his feet. "Go home."

"What?"

"You heard me. Give me the keys to the Jeep and walk home. Go straight to your room and you wait for your mother and me to get home."

Will sighed and headed for the door. In the corner of his eye, he could see Anthony and his posse silently laughing at him. He shook his head and walked out of the diner.

"How could he do that?" Luke asked as he paced around his and Lorelai's bedroom.

"It was an accident Luke," Lorelai sighed as she pulled the covers over her legs.

"Twenty minutes. He just had to keep an eye on his brother for twenty minutes!"

"He was trying to work at the same time. You of all people should know it's not easy to run a diner and watch a kid at the same time."

Luke sighed and sat on his side of the bed. "He could have gotten hurt. He could have walked into the middle of the street and gotten hurt. You still think he doesn't need the surgery?"

Lorelai knelt behind him and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders. "Having this surgery isn't going to stop Richie from doing this again. Luke, honey, what is this really about? Are youangry Will couldn't find Richie or are you angry that the same thing happened to you?"

After cleaning the kitchen and doing a few other miscellaneous chores, Will finally made his way to his room. Lights out had been nearly an hour ago and everyone was already in bed, but before going to his room he headed to Richie's. He walked into the darkened room and stared at the sleeping figure in the tiny bed a few feet away. He knelt beside his brother's bedside and placed a hand on Richie's sleeping form. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"About what happened today Richie," he said to the sleeping little boy. "I'm really sorry. I hope you know what I didn't intentionally mean to lose you. The diner was just starting to pick up and those guys from my school were being jerks. I know it's not an excuse and I know I should have paid more attention to you, but I didn't and I'm so very sorry. You know, sometimes I think you're the only one that ever listens to me."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Luke said.

Will turned around and found his father leaning against the door frame. "Pop, I was just…"

"You don't have to explain. I heard." Luke took a deep breath. "Can we talk?"

"Sure."

"Let's go outside."

"You're not going to murder me and bury my body in the backyard are you?"

"No. I have early deliveries in the morning." Will got up and followed Luke outside to the back porch. They sat in silence for a while, staring out at the night sky. "Will, I don't want you to feel that you can't talk to me."

"It's not that I don't feel I can't talk to you. It's just I don't think…"

"I don't understand?" Will looked down at his hands shamefully. "Son, believe it or not, I was a teenager once upon a time. I went through a lot of the things you're going through forty years ago. I went through the same thing with my father. I didn't think he'd understand what I was going through. But he knew a lot more than I thought and I know m ore than you think. For instance, I know those guys from Chilton were there just to give you a hard time. Will, it doesn't matter to me what they think. You don't have to prove anything to them. I run a diner and I'm raising four kids. I'm proud of that and I thought you'd be too."

"I know. I am. It's just…" Will took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

Luke nodded. "Did you know the same thing happened to me?"

"I don't remember you losing Richie."

"I didn't lose Richie. I lost you." Will turned his head to stare at his father. "You probably don't remember. You were one at the time. I remember you had just learned to walk and boy were you a speed demon. You'd get up and run like lightning. You loved stairs too. It was a challenge get up each one. It was my turn to watch you and I set up your play pen in the corner of the diner. I went to the back to get pickles. When I got back, you were gone. You had built a stair case out of your toys and climbed out of your playpen. I went nuts. Five minutes later, Jess comes downstairs from the apartment after taking a nap and he's holding your hand. You were upstairs watching TV the whole time. But those five minutes were the worst five minutes of my life. I hated myself for taking my eyes off of you. All it took was one minute and you were gone. For the next couple of months, I made sure I knew where you were all the time. I called your mom every hour when she had you. When you were with me, I made Caesar and Lane get everything from the storage room. And at night, I'd go to your nursery and I wouldn't leave until you were fast asleep. I even put a roll away bed in there to sleep in. I didn't want to take my eyes off of you. I mean, what kind of father loses his son?"

"Pop, it wasn't your fault."

"I know that now. I'm sorry for getting angry at you earlier. That feeling I got when I lost you came rushing back to me and I didn't know what else to do."

"It's ok. I should have been paying more attention to Richie. I'm sorry I didn't."

"Alright. We good?"

"We're good."

"Ok, let's go back inside before we get sick." Will got up and waited for his dad. Luke got ready to stand, but suddenly felt very dizzy and fell back into his seat.

"Pop!" Will rushed over to help his dad. "Pop, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Luke lied waving Will off. "I just got up too fast. I got a Charlie Horse. I'm ok."

"Are you sure? You look kinda pale. Do you want me to get Mom?"

"No. I'm just cold. And feeling a little flushed."

"Should I call a doctor?"

"No doctors. Will, I'm fine. Really. It was just a Charlie Horse. You can go ahead and get back into the house. I'll be there in a minute."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Now get. It's a school night."

Will let out a sigh and walked into the house. Once the door closed, Luke let out a long breath. His breathing became hard and the pain in his chest grew. He sat outside for a few minutes longer until the pain passed. He slowly got up and made his way to his bedroom, where Lorelai was already fast asleep. Luke climbed into bed and faced his wife. He kissed her cheek and pulled her body close to his. He closed his eyes and prayed he would never loose this.

Next time on "Breakaway": Lorelai is worried about Luke. Emma and Tyler hang out. Logan and Rory turn to their respective friends for advice.

A/N: I decided to cut the boys night out. I wanted to focus on the Luke-Will relationship and touch a little more on the Luke situation. I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. Things just got in the way and you know the deal. I'll try to get an update faster, but no promises. Keep an eye on Tyler and Emma and don't think you've heard the last of Anthony. I'm not so sure how accurate that surgery stuff is. I know there's a procedure to reconstruct the ear drum, but the cost is beyond me. I took a wild guess. I'd insert a funny joke or something but I've been up at six AM and going to bed (well lying down on a sleeping bag in the middle of my room) at like three AM for the past four days so I'm not very fun to be around right now.