Lorelai POV

It was ten days after the operation when Rory was allowed home. I went ahead to sort the house out, and Luke drove her home, carrying her into the house.

She could walk short distances before getting fatigued, but the stairs were an issue. The instructions were to rest as much as needed, to walk as much as she could and to stay off school. We were also told to stop her from reading or watching TV for more than 20 minutes at a time, and that she's to be kept a close eye on.

Luke had been there as much as he could. Unfortunately, since he was not her parent or legal guardian, he couldn't stay overnight like I could, but he was there as much as he was allowed. He would bring food for me to eat, with clean clothes and things for Rory. I could tell that it broke his heart to leave each evening, wanting to be there as often as I was.

However, his visits during the day meant I could come home for a shower and a nap in my own bed. My parents had been there daily, and Sookie had visited a few times, baring gifts from almost everyone in Stars Hollow.

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't there before the hospital," Rory said, staring at something I hadn't seen yet – she had gone straight to sleep when she got in and had just woken up. I walked into her room and spotted what she was talking about.

It was a beautiful desk with a matching mirror and chair. It also had attached shelves above the mirror. The wood was dark, but with painted flowers creeping up the legs of both the desk and chair. It had a brand-new set of stationary laid out the same way Rory would do it, and a new composition book ready for use. It was perfect, everything Rory had always wanted in a desk.

"Do you like it?" Luke questioned, startling me. I realised then where it had come from; it was one of the things on Rory's list. Christopher had promised to buy Rory a desk and bookcase once, and since she had described her perfect desk to me, Luke and to anyone who would listen hundreds of times, he had made one for her.

"I love it!" Rory exclaimed, climbing out of bed. She wobbled a little as she walked, but stabilised herself. She wrapped her arms around Luke, "Thank you."

After Rory had gone to bed that night, I curled with Luke on the sofa, watching some mind-numbing TV.

"Can I talk to you about something?" Luke asked, and a pit of dread formed in my stomach.

"What's up?"

Luke hesitated, "I think I overstepped when I told Rory how I felt about her. You haven't mentioned it, and I know I should have spoken to you first, but I was so scared that..."

I kissed him to shut him up; he could give me a run for my money when he goes off on one, and I didn't have the energy to deal with that, "While I do wish you had spoken to me first and timed it a little bit better, I don't mind. You are her dad. Not biologically speaking, but who was there when she had chickenpox and all she would eat was mashed potato? Who taught her how to ride a bike? And who sat next to me at the Christmas play, even though she only had one line? And who just built her dream desk?"

"So, it's okay?" He asked, really hesitant.

I smiled at him, "It's more than okay, but you might want to work on your timing. Once Rory's a bit better, you two need to talk about it, but wait until she can continue a full conversation without getting tired."

He laughed, "I can't believe she fell asleep halfway through dinner."

"It was a good dinner, too. Her first meal in a week that wasn't hospital food," I shook my head, smiling to myself. I then frowned, "What's the plan for tomorrow? I need to go back to work, and you need to reopen the diner, so..."

"I'm going to go into the diner early and set up a corner for Rory. She's going to rest in the diner so she'll never be out of my sight, and that means you don't have to worry either. I'm also going to give her my cap so she can hide her head as I know she's really embarrassed about it. It also means people will get to see her, hopefully without overwhelming her," He stopped for a moment, blushing, "I brought a baby monitor for if she wants to nap so I know if she needs anything, and I'll be going up every 10 minutes to make sure she's okay. I've thought this through, I swear."

I raised an eyebrow at him, "You brought a baby monitor?"

He ducked his head, "I went out of town so people didn't get the wrong impression, but I thought it would be best, especially since you dug your old one out for at home. She has to be able to alert me if something is wrong, and that was my solution."

"Thank you, you didn't have to do any of this," I said, climbing onto his lap and resting my head against his forehead, "Thank you for everything. Really."

He kissed me softly, "Thank you for letting me do this. Being like a parent to Rory... It's not a privilege I ever knew I wanted to have, but I am so grateful to have that privilege and I will do anything to keep it."

I kissed him, hard. Hearing him talk like that about Rory was a turn on in a very weird way; not because my child is a turn on but because how much he loves and cares about her is a turn on. I stood up and pulled him with me, leading him upstairs for a bit of relief.

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