Title: Homeless No More

By: Nikka Flores

Summary: set in season six. Before Lorelai and Rory made up. Rory got kicked out and she ends up at Luke's Diner. This is LL. No April.

Disclaimer: Sadly, it is not mine.

Author's Note: After thinking about it, and thinking about it, and thinking about it, I have decided to continue this story. I wrote this at the beginning of this year, literally, I wrote this on Jan 1 2006. In thedraft I wrote, there was more to this. It had like 10 chapters. It had Lorelai finding out and stuff.But I didn't post those up cause it wouldn't make much sense to you, unless you were me, in that case, Hello my twin.

But I decided, why not. I'll just rewrite some stuff. And maybe it'll be good enough.

CHAPTER 1: HOMELESS NO MORE

This is it. This is it for good. She's homeless. Rory Gilmore is homeless. She has no where to go. No place to stay. Nobody to lean on. Oh how she wished she was with her mother right now. But she can't. they can't. they were still in a feud.

As much as she wanted to run up to her mommy, hug her, kiss her, say she was sorry, she couldn't. it wasn't that easy. They had to talk. Oh, how she hated to talk. She just wanted everything to be back to normal. To be able to go to her house, to be with her mom, her friends, to be in Stars Hollow again. And eat Luke's delicious food and drink his heavenly coffee. But it wouldn't be that easy. But she had to make due.

She still couldn't believe she got kicked out by her grandmother. Might as well. Rory wasn't really that happy there. Now she definitely knows what it would have been like to live there. Suddenly, she found a new respect for her mother for running away.

It was still early in the morning. Rory already had most of her stuff boxed up and put away in her car. Some in Lane's boyfriend, Zach's, car. Lane assured Rory that she could stay at her apartment until she can find a place to stay. Rory couldn't be even more thankful for her best friend. But all Lane said was, "Hey, you and your mom have been taking care of me for 20 years. It's time for me to return the favor." Rory was still grateful.

It was about 5:30 A.M, when Rory arrived in Stars Hollow. She successfully got out of the Gilmore Mansion without her grandma noticing. Although she felt bad for not saying goodbye to her grandpa. He didn't even know about the sudden arrangements. Rory drove around town aimlessly. Just to get reacquainted with the town, seeing if anything changed. Though, not surprisingly, nothing has.

Rory drove around the square, when she saw a familiar building with the lights on. Luke's. Rory didn't know what possessed her to, but she drove towards Luke's. she parked in front and walked in the diner.

The familiar bell above the door jingled as Rory entered. Luke was nowhere in sight. But he could still hear.

"Just take a seat Kirk, but I'm not making any breakfast till 5:45." yelled Luke as he emerges from the kitchen.

Once he saw the person before him, Luke froze. "You're not Kirk." he said.

"I'm glad." Rory said. "Hi." she said, shyly.

"Hey Rory." he said, equally shy.

There was a long pause. "I could go if you want."

"No, uh, that's ok. Take a seat." he said.

Rory smiled and sat at the Gilmore stool. Well, not exactly, but when a Gilmore girl enters the diner, they usually sit at that particular stool. Luke immediately started making the coffee. Rory smiled at the thought of how much Luke knows her. And truly grateful that her mom chose this particular man.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted you on whatever you were doing in the kitchen." Rory started after a moment of silence.

"It's ok. Better you than Kirk."

"Good to know."

The coffee brew and Luke poured Rory's coffee in her cup. Rory happily took the cup and inhale the wonderful aroma of coffee that she missed so much, then took a sip with her eyes closed, savoring the taste. She couldn't believe she went through a whole summer without having Luke's coffee.

Luke smiled while watching Rory drink her coffee. He marveled at how much Rory and her mother are alike. From their beauty, to the eating habits, to their process of drinking coffee. He loved the two so much.

"God I missed that." said Rory, emptying her cup. "Can I have more please?"

"More like your mother everyday." he muttered.

Rory just had to smile to that. She is a Lorelai after all. Luke refilled her cup and she preceded to drink.

"So, what'ya doing here so early?" asked Luke.

"Oh, you know. Just, admiring the town."

"At five in the morning?"

"Well, I never get to admire the town in this perspective. It's kinda nice."

"Well, if you must know, nothing's changed. Taylor's still a nutcase, Miss Patty's above all the gossip, and Kirk's still Kirk."

"So I didn't miss anything then?"

"Not really."

"And you? What's new with you? I'm surprised you're still alive, being with my mom and everything."

"Well, I've survived her for nine years, this is just a test for my patience."

"I'm sure."

"Yeah, but either than that, I'm good, we're good."

"Good." Rory took another sip of her coffee. "So, I hear you guys are doing construction on our house."

"Uh, yeah, we are."

"Really?"

"Yeah, mainly we're just enlarging your mom's bedroom, have a bigger bathroom, bigger closet. You know? And we're also fixing what needs to be fixing. The fireplace, some floorboards, and repainting the place. But everything else stays the same."

"That sounds good. And, well, I also heard, to my shock, that mom bought a dog. Is this true?"

"Oh yes. And the freakiest dog too."

"Really? And it's still alive?"

"Surprisingly yes. And he's picky too. Lorelai made a list of things on what he likes, what he dislikes. And instruction on how to be with the dog. He's a rescue, so he's a little jumpy. She named him Paul Anka."

"Nice name. But what kind of instructions?"

"Oh, like, you can't pet him with your hand that has a watch. He's afraid of bear bottles. You can't say any word that starts with the letter Q. he's afraid of stairs, he likes broccoli, I'd tell you more, but it might take me half the day."

"Freaky."

"Freaky." Luke took a deep breath. "So, what are you really doing here."

Rory looked down, trying to find a way to explain things to Luke. "Grandma kicked me out." She said quietly.

"What?"

"My grandmother kicked me out." she said, her voice a little forceful.

"What happened? Why?"

"She," Rory pause. Should I tell him? She thought. He will be my father soon. And I already open up as my father even before he and my mom dated. Rory took a deep breath. "She found out I was having…sex."

"Oh." was all Luke can say. He was a little taken back. That wasn't exactly the answer he was expecting. "With…that boy?"

"You mean 'that boy' from the vow renewal, then yes. That boy." Rory smiled at the remembrance. Luke got sooo mad at Logan, she swore he was really going to kill him. Then she remembered what happened next. Luke and her mom broke up. Her mom melting down because she thought she had lost Luke. But here he is now, with her still and they were engaged.

"So, she kicked you out for that?" Luke really wasn't sure how to respond. So he thought that this would be safer.

"Basically because she forbade me to see Logan again. And she was so controlling over me. She treated me like I was a little kid. I'm 21 for god's sakes. I am an official adult. I can do whatever I want." Rory took a breath. "Now I know how mom felt living there. I never really gave her enough credit for running away. Well, I'm glad she did. And I'm glad we ended up here. I know that's why she left. Because she wanted me to be with a loving family. And Stars Hollow couldn't be a better loving family than the Gilmore's."

Luke couldn't believe it. Emily was doing it again. Trying to control over these girls he loved so much. At first when Lorelai described her mother, he thought she was exaggerating. He knew that Lorelai had some conflict with her mother, and he knew that she also had a wild imagination. So he thought that she was just saying things. But after that little encounter with Emily after their horrible break up, he knew exactly what Lorelai had been talking about. She didn't even care for her daughter's happiness. She just care about her reputation and her family's name. She didn't even care if Lorelai cared at all. She treated Lorelai like dirt. And now she's treating Rory like one too. He hated it. Sure he also hated the idea of sweet little Rory doing…mature stuff. But, they can't just do this to her. Just because of that. Luke didn't want to press the issue much longer. He could sense in Rory's voice that she was still a little upset over the fact.

"So, where you staying at?" was all he could think of.

"Oh, well, for now, I'm staying at Lane's. just for a while, until I get a place of my own."

"What? But her place is so small. And so crowded. If you stay there until you get a place of your own, it would take a really long time. You need lot's of money for that."

"I know, but I'm desperate at this point. I mean, I'm thankful enough that I can get a place to stay in and sleep in. even if it's on the floor. And I know looking for a place of my own could take a while, but I'm also looking for a job that'll take care of that. So no worries."

"I know, uh, why don't you stay at my old place upstairs?"

"What?"

"Yeah, I mean, I'm already staying at your place, with your mom. And I've already moved most of my stuff that I need at the house. So, the upstairs is almost empty. But the bed's still there, so, you can use that. And there's a bathroom and a T.V., and you can put some of your stuff up. What do you say?"

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's better than living in a crowded place. And nobody's living upstairs. Come on Rory. I know your independent like your mother, but please, just take the place. That way I can make sure you're safe and well fed. And not dying from lack of coffee. What do you say?"

Rory thought about it for a moment. She didn't know what to say. She loved the idea of living above the diner. But she really didn't want to take advantage of the situation. Although he did offer. And she appreciated his care for her safety. And couldn't help but smile at his thoughtful gesture. Her and her mom are so lucky to have found him. "Are you sure?"

"You'll be safe. And I'll feel better knowing you are safe."

"Thank you so much Luke."

"No problem. So, where's your stuff?"

"Some are in my car and some are at Lane's."

"Ok. I'll go to Lane's and get your stuff. You park your car out in the back and unload your stuff upstairs. I'll open a little late. When Cesar comes, tell him to help you, okay?"

"Okay." Rory got up and hugged Luke. Probably the biggest hug she'd given anyone. Luke comfortably returned it. "Thanks Luke. I don't know what I would do without you. What me and my mom would do without you."

"Well, you guys wouldn't have to worry about that." he smiled.

"Mom and I are very lucky to have you. I'm glad the two of you are finally making it official." Luke smiled at her statement.

After a few moments of hugging, Luke finally left and Rory started to unload her stuff.