Luke POV

"Dad?" Rory called, and I walked over to the pair, raising my eyebrow in a questioning way. Rory smiled, "How did this become my corner? Tristan was wondering, and I thought it was when I had brain surgery but I think I remember it being my corner before then."

I thought about it for a second, "It became more of a solid thing when you had brain surgery, and everyone found out about it, but it began just after you had chickenpox when you ran away from your mom when you got in trouble at school."

I raised an eyebrow at the little girl hiding behind the counter, crouching down to her level, "Does your mother know where you are?"

Rory shook her head, "I got in trouble at school today so I ran out of class while Mommy was talking to Miss Jenkins."

"You're in first grade, how exactly did you get into trouble?" I asked her, confused. She looked down at her feet and didn't say anything, so I sighed, "Go and sit at that table in the corner, and stay there."

I picked up the landline and dialled Lorelai's phone, keeping my eye on Rory. She had given me her cell phone number after the chickenpox fiasco, which I was suddenly grateful for. When she answered, she sounded frantic, "I've got an emergency, can I call you back later?"

"Your emergency is sat in my diner," I told her, "What's going on?"

"Is she okay?" Lorelai asked instead of answering my question. I chuckled a little.

"She's fine... She looks a bit upset but she's otherwise fine. What's going on?" I asked again, and I could almost hear her shaking her head.

"I'll be there in a moment."

She hung up so I put the phone down and waited for her to come through the door. She appeared moments later, flying through the door and looking for Rory. When she spotted Rory, she gathered her up in her arms, hugging her tightly.

"Never run from Mommy again. Ever. No matter how much trouble you are in, you do not run."

I had never heard Lorelai be that serious before, and it didn't suit her. But I understood it; it's not safe to have a 6-year-old running off alone.

"You told me it was safe here," I heard Rory say quietly as she pulled away from her mother, and I smiled to myself. I liked that idea; the diner being a safe place for Rory, no matter the circumstances.

Lorelai sighed, "It is, but that doesn't mean you can run off without telling anyone."

"Okay," Rory said, wrapping her arms around Lorelai, "I'm sorry for running."

Lorelai picked up Rory and began to walk her out, but turned to me and mouthed 'thank you' before she did. In return, I mouthed 'anytime' to her. And I meant it.

"I remember that," She said, "I was scared and I came here because Mom told me it was safe... and it felt safe. I planned on hiding behind the counter but you weren't having any of it and put me in the corner. Why here, though?"

"Because I could see you at all times if you sat there, but if you stayed behind the counter, I wouldn't have been able to see you if I was serving customers," I explained.

"How did you figure that out? The specific place she had to sit, I mean," Tristan asked, and I chuckled.

"I tested it. I kept an eye on Rory regularly so I had been testing the good places for her to sit so I could see her at all times. The corner works best."

I took Rory home, and Lorelai dragged Jess in soon after. I looked up at him, prepared to lecture him, and instead, I started laughing. He was covered in mud, and that wasn't an exaggeration. He was dripping with it, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"It's not funny," Jess said angrily, which didn't help. I looked over at Lorelai, who looked like she had been splashed with the mud while Jess took his bath.

She looked a little amused but kept her composure enough to say, "Go and get cleaned up."

As he disappeared, she started laughing, very amused by the circumstances, "I was by the gazebo and almost literally bumped into Jess. He decided to try and run the other way for some reason, and tripped over right there and ended up face-first in the mud. I've been trying not to laugh the whole way home."

"Why did he even run?" I asked, very amused, "I know he had a fight at school, but really?"

She shrugged, "I'm not a teenage boy but when I was his age, I would have run just for the sake of it."

"What would that even achieve?" I asked and she laughed.

"It made Mom mad, and that was enough for me," She admitted, "I think it might be the same for Jess but I'm not 100% sure. I don't know him well enough for that."

I sighed and ran a hand over my face, "Well, at least it made us laugh."

Another fit of giggles followed, and we ended up in each other's arms, holding each other for a moment. The last few weeks had been exhausting and while I knew it wasn't either of the kid's faults, not really, I had missed moments like this.

However, it didn't last for long, with Rory wheeling herself out and needing help with changing, something that Lorelai mostly did. She kissed me before disappearing with Rory, discussing what they were going to cut up this time. I had a feeling that we were going to paying out for a brand-new wardrobe after this was over, but I didn't mind that much.

And then someone knocked on the door, so I answered it. To my surprise, Emily was on the other side, "We weren't expecting you, were we?"

She smiled kindly at me, but she looked ill, and then I noticed the envelope clutched in her hands. It was the one that Rory sent the day before she was kidnapped. I ran my hand over my face, "She sent that before, it wasn't sent to hurt you. And she's forgiven you, despite what she wrote in the letter, and..."

She cut me off with a nervous laugh, "It arrived the day after she was hospitalised. I set it aside since I knew it was from her because she was in the hospital and I forgot about it. Until today..."

Her eyes watered, and she looked up briefly before looking back at me, "I had no idea. Even after I found out about the stalking and the kidnapping, I still couldn't imagine this in my worst nightmares. And I've been having nightmares for weeks, but this... burying her alive? I mean, how does a child deal with that type of thing? How did you live with that fear every day? You know, the fear of..."

"The fear of your child being killed by her own flesh and blood, or the fear of having to bury your child?" I asked when she stopped suddenly speaking like she couldn't say the words, and she nodded; it was both.

"You watch her almost 24/7, only leaving her side when absolutely necessary. You pretend that it's just a precaution, even though she knows better, and you try to act as normal as possible. You cherish every minute you get with her, even when she's crying her heart out or being sick. You spoil her rotten because you don't know if you'll get tomorrow, and even though we now know she will get tomorrow, we're still spoiling her rotten just for being alive, because it makes us feel a little better," I stopped to wipe away the tear that had made its way down my face, and she stopped me there.

"I want Friday night dinners back," She said, "Not as a bribe for paying for Rory's education, but so I can cherish her, too. I know it's partially my fault, no matter what you or Rory say, and while I would like to respect the fact that Lorelai doesn't want this, I... I want the opportunity to cherish time spent with her, and I know Richard misses her more than ever. And while I would love for you and Lorelai to be there, it's Rory I really want because of everything that's happened."

"I'm not going to force anyone to go, but if they would like to, it's fine with me. Would you like to come in and talk to them yourself?" I offered, but I didn't expect her to take me up on it.

"Not today. But would you have Rory call me in a few days with her answer? I'd like to hear her voice."

"I will," I promised. We then said our goodbyes and I shut the door, my heart actually breaking for her. When I turned around, I found my two girls in the living room, looking at me, "How much did you hear?"

"Everything important," Lorelai said, with a sad smile on her face. Luckily, I had been married to her for long enough to know that she was sad about the situation, not what I had said or done.

"I didn't realise how scared you were," Rory admitted, "I'm sorry."

I knelt down in front of her, much like I would when she was little. I gave her a hug, and told her softly, "Never apologise for something that was beyond your control."

"I love you, Daddy," She whispered in a very young voice, and I had to fight the tears; she only called me 'Daddy' when something was really wrong, which meant we hadn't seen the last of this guilt she had going on.

"I love you, too, baby girl," I whispered back before letting go.

AN: So, I didn't cry when I wrote or edited this, but I did this time. I don't know why, but I'm crying. I hope you enjoyed it (and if you cried, I'd say I did a job well done), and please review.