Luke POV

"What can I get you both today?" I asked, avoiding Lorelai's eyes.

"Coffee!" Rory announced, but not in her usual energetic way. I raised my eyebrows at her, amused that she thought I'd let her drink coffee when I never have before. She shrugged, "It was worth a try. Can I have hot chocolate instead, please? And strawberry pancakes."

I chuckled, "Of course. Lorelai?"

Her cheeks slightly reddened as I said her name, looking at her. I hoped she wasn't embarrassed about the previous day's events, but I couldn't quite tell. She stumbled over her words a little, "Coffee and scrambled eggs, please and thank you."

I nodded, heading into the kitchen to help out. I quickly brought everything out for them, keeping an eye on Rory – yesterday was clearly still affecting her, and that worried me. I got on with my work until Lorelai came up to me while I was at the counter.

"Chris left a message on the answering machine yesterday asking for money. He completely ignored everything and asked for money," She explained, wrapping her arms around herself, "It killed her, and I don't know how to help her. What do you say to someone in that situation?"

I looked at her, unsure of myself. I had made a little plan last night of how to help, but I didn't know how she would feel about it, "Are you still coming by after closing?"

"I want to, but it depends on Rory. I can't get a read on her. I don't want to leave her alone if she's that upset," She said, looking over at Rory who was pushing food around her plate rather than eating it, which was unlike Rory. In that aspect, she was like her mother, who would usually devour everything put in front of them in a few seconds without hesitation.

"Rory comes first, I already know that," I said softly, "Just come by if you can."

She nodded, "You said you had an idea for something that might help?"

I chuckled, "It's silly, but I was thinking about getting you to write a list of things he never followed through on, and I would do them instead. It would take time, but it would almost be like a regular reminder that someone other than you cares about her. I don't know..."

"I love it, but you don't have to..."

I interrupted her, "I want to."

Lorelai smiled, relieved. She looked back at Rory, who had pushed her breakfast away and was resting her head in her arms, "I need to get her home, I don't think she slept much last night. I'll try to come over tonight, but no promises."

I nodded, squeezing her arm, "See you later."

She slipped in the door as I was putting the chairs up, "Rory got an early night, so I got Babette to keep an eye on her while I stepped out. We only had a few tears today, but she's still emotional, which is making me emotional. Hi."

"I hope the extra sleep will make her feel better. How are you doing with it?" I asked, walking over to her and locking the door.

"It's weird, I keep thinking about my parents. I don't get on with them, and they certainly disapprove of my life choices, but I know that they're there. If I was in an accident tomorrow, they'd be there the moment someone called them, but if Rory was in an accident with me and someone called Christopher, I don't think he'd show," She explained sadly, looking down at her hands.

I wrapped my arms around her for a moment before pulling back. I used a finger to lift her head and made her look at me. I wiped away the tears that had reappeared, and briefly kissed her, "I think he might show if it was serious, but I don't think he'd show for something 'minor.' Let's go upstairs and away from possible prying eyes."

She chuckled and made her way upstairs with myself following closely. We sat at the dining room table in silence for a few moments before Lorelai spoke, "I don't want to hurt Rory if this goes bad. She deserves stability and while I want her to know about us, I don't want her to be the one who suffers."

"I get that. I've wanted to be with you since we met, but I was worried about her, myself. I've never been a fan of kids but there's something about her... I just want to wrap her in cotton wool and protect her, you know?" I admitted, smiling a little.

"So why don't we keep this quiet for a few weeks, go on a few dates, and figure it out from then. If it's working, or if we get caught, we tell her. And if it all goes to shit, we'll go back to acting the way we were before, just for her." Lorelai proposed, but seemed sceptical.

I thought about it for a moment, unsure about it, "Do you think that'll work?"

"I don't know. It's hard to plan things like these since kids pick up on so much. And in a small town like this..." She trailed off, running a hand through her hair, "I usually keep my relationships completely separate from Rory so it doesn't affect her, but that's not going to work this time around."

"I love that kid," I started, struggling to find the words to what I wanted to say, "To me, you are a package deal and I don't want to be kept separate from her. I want her to be involved. Give it a few weeks for us to work it out, and then we'll tell her. Together."

"That sounds good.

I stood up, pulled her up with me and kissed her.

AN: I'm really enjoying writing this so far, and although this story is T-rated, my imagination isn't, so I may write a few smutty one-shots set within this universe. Let me know what you think of this chapter, and thank you for reading.