Luke POV

I sped out of Doose's, not wanting to be late for April and Anna. However, my heart stopped when I saw Jess fighting with... Dean. Crap.

I put the bag down on the bench and ran over to the pair. Lorelai met me halfway, having noticed it herself. I pulled Jess off of Dean and Lorelai placed herself between them when Dean got up, wanting to keep going.

"Go home, Dean," Lorelai told him sternly, glaring at Jess.

"He started it!" Dean told her, "You should be..."

Jess cut him off, "You called Rory a..."

"Enough," I snapped, "I don't care who started what, but Dean, you need to leave and Jess, you're coming with us."

I dragged Jess towards the diner while Lorelai waited for Dean to walk off. Jess shrugged himself free of my grip but he didn't walk or run off. I sighed, "What did he call Rory?"

"Started with 'slut' and turned into 'whore'. He said he saw her kissing Tristan earlier and apparently, that makes her a whore," Jess explained as Lorelai joined us. I thought about turning back to hit Dean myself but I knew it wouldn't help anyone.

"Don't tell her," Lorelai said, "Not today, anyway."

I grabbed my bag from the bench as we went past, before heading into the diner. Anna and April were already in there (so much for not being late) but Rory had got them a drink (coffee for Anna and hot chocolate for April) and settled at her table, "Hey, what was that fight about?"

I saw Lorelai pinch Jess discreetly so Rory wouldn't see, and Jess huffed, "The guy gets on my nerves."

Rory rolled her eyes as Lorelai shooed him upstairs, telling him that he better stay up there for his own good.

"And don't slam that door!" I added for good measure, knowing he would. And then I realised, "He's probably going to smoke now."

Lorelai laughed, pulling out a lighter, "Stole his lighter. We're getting a nice little collection, haven't you noticed?"

I saw April lean over to Rory, "Is it always like this?"

Rory smiled, "Pretty much."

"Awesome."

Lorelai pocketed the lighter, turning to April, "I'm sorry you had to see all of that, the kid has horrid timing. I'm Lorelai."

"Hi, what's upstairs?" She immediately asked.

"It's mostly storage, but there's a mini-kitchen, a bathroom, a couch and a TV from when Luke used to live up there," Lorelai explained, "We can show you if you'd like."

"Not right now; maybe later," She said, "Who was that boy? Luke and Mom only mentioned Rory."

"That's Jess; my nephew, your cousin," I told her, "He's living with us at the moment so he'll be around a lot."

"Why is he living with you?"

"Honey, slow down," Anna said, "Not everyone likes to be pounded with questions."

"It's fine," I assured the pair, "You can ask as many questions as you like; I'm sure you have plenty. I might not have all the answers or be able to tell you all of the answers, but I will do my best. I'm not going to tell you about Jess' situation as it's not mine to tell but he might tell you once you know him a bit better."

She nodded, before turning to Rory, "Is that scar from brain surgery?"

Rory laughed, "You are smart. Yes, I had brain surgery when I was your age."

"Why did you need brain surgery? And what was it like?"

We had decided prior to today that we weren't going to mention Christopher or the hell that he had brought on our family. She was too young for the details and we'd rather know her better before telling her about that particular thing.

"It was hard. It hurt a lot and the recovery was long and painful, but it led to a lot of good things. I had my first article published because of it, something I'm really proud of, even though it's rubbish compared to my current work."

April was quiet for a moment, "Why did you need it?"

Rory sighed, "I'll tell you when you're a bit older."

"I didn't mean to pry, I'm just curious, and..."

Rory cut her off, "I wouldn't mind telling you, but you're young and it's not a nice story. But if you ask again in a few years, I'll tell you everything, as long as your mom is okay with it."

Anna looked at us curiously, not knowing the story herself. I inwardly sighed, "Would you two be okay alone for a few minutes? We need to talk to your mom."

April nodded, "That's fine."

I had Anna come over to the counter so we were out of their earshot, with Lorelai a bit closer to the girls so she could listen.

"How bad is it? That story?" Anna asked.

"Rory's biological father wasn't really there, and he only showed when he wanted something. Lorelai asked him not to contact them again, and he did a few months later, asking for money. He referred to Rory as 'the kid' and didn't even ask after her. Rory went to see him to find out if he cared – she turned off Lorelai's alarm so she would be late for work, stole money from Lorelai's wallet and took 2 busses to Boston. When he found out she wasn't there to give him money, he threw her out onto the street, and I'm being literal here."

Anna looked horrified, "How bad was it?"

"When I came to get her because it was me she called, she had a split lip and a graze on her cheek; she said she tripped but she's an awful liar, even now. When we got her home, she took off her coat and her clothing was ripped and she had a black bruise in the shape of a handprint. And she had no idea if she had hit her head," I paused, running a hand over my face, "At about 1 am, she was sick a few times, and at 3 am, we were calling an ambulance because we couldn't wake her. She was rushed off to surgery that morning and she never completely recovered. She still suffers from fatigue and a slight tremor in her hand when she's overexerted herself."

"How could someone do that to their own flesh and blood?" She asked, "Why do I have the feeling that that's not the end of it?"

"Because it's not," I said, "He spent three years in prison, sending her weekly letters, mostly threatening her. When he got out, we managed to get a restraining order that ran out the day his parole ended. He spent a few weeks stalking her and then kidnapped her in the middle of the school day. We're still learning the details of what happened to her, but she's not ready to talk about it - she has only just got her casts off because he broke both of her legs."

Anna looked heartbroken, "I can't imagine what you've been through, all of you. But thank you for not letting her tell April; those nightmares would be awful."

"They are," I practically promised her, "All of us have nightmares, but Rory's are the worst, for obvious reasons. April will find out when she gets older, especially if she goes through the folder of Rory's articles upstairs (I'll hide it but I can't promise that she won't find it as she gets older), but we'll do everything possible to ensure that it's easier for her when she does find out. Because when you find out that your own family could do that... it breaks you."

I then heard the girls laughing. I turned around to find them leaning over Rory's photo album, with Rory telling her the stories behind each picture. I turned back to Anna, who was smiling at the scene, "Rory has always wanted a little sister and she's going to take full advantage."

"Good; I think it could be really good for April."

Tristan showed up just as April and Anna were getting ready to leave, "Am I early?"

Rory laughed, "No, you're right on time. Um, Tristan, this is Anna and April."

"Hi," Anna said, "Who are you?"

Tristan looked at Rory, unsure. Rory took over, "Tristan's my boyfriend; he's taking me to the movies tonight."

"Well, it's nice to meet you. April, are you ready?"

April nodded and then hugged Rory. The two had bonded over their love of books and April had practically been hanging off every word. She had loved the stories from when Rory was little, especially if I was in them, and quite honestly, I had loved hearing them from Rory's perspective.

"I think I'd like to make this a weekly thing... we maybe not this exactly, but maybe a weekly dinner."

"Ooh, this is a weekly dinner I'd be happy to go to!" Lorelai said cheerfully, "We go to my parent's house every Friday night for dinner so Rory gets to see them, but I like you more than my parents."

"Ignore her," I muttered, "A weekly dinner sounds good, we just have to find a day for it."

"I'll have a look at April's schedule and call you later?"

"That sounds good," I said, smiling at her.

They bid their goodbyes and went to their car, and I turned to Lorelai, "How did our daughters end up so similar? They don't share DNA in the slightest."

"That's a really good question," She said with a laugh, "But at least they get on."

"For now," I said, thinking of myself and Liz. But I would definitely enjoy it while it lasted.

AN: You can tell by the length of this chapter that I enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you thought, but I hope you enjoyed it.