Luke POV

"Hey, Luke," The voice was hesitant and a pit of dread formed in my stomach. Liz.

I turned around and looked over her. She had a large bag on her back, and Jess was carrying an equally large bag and a smaller one. They'd been kicked out. Again.

"Take your stuff upstairs and then come back down so we can talk," I grumbled, ignoring the urge to roll my eyes. She smiled at me like I had just offered her the world and ushered Jess upstairs. I walked over to Rory and sat down with her, "My sister and nephew is here. Her name is Liz, and my nephew's name is Jess. He's about six months older than you. Would it be okay if he sat with you while Liz and I talk?"

She nodded even though she looked exhausted, "As long as he's quiet."

"He is," I confirmed, and I stood up as Liz and Jess came back down. I pointed to the chair I had just vacated, "Jess, you're going to sit there and you're going to be quiet. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," While I could tell he was being sarcastic, I decided to trust him since I really needed to talk to Liz without him overhearing.

I guided Liz to the counter and poured her a cup of coffee, "What happened this time?"

She shrugged, "The same thing that happens every time. We'll be here for a few days and then we'll be out of your hair. I promise."

Last time she said that she was here for six months, so I made a quick decision, "I need to talk to my girlfriend, Lorelai, and if she agrees, you can stay in my apartment for the next few months while you figure yourself out, and I'll stay there. I'm there most of the time anyway, it's just not official."

I thought that Lorelai would say yes since I was basically living there anyway, but I was nervous about it.

"And does that girlfriend have anything to do with the kid sat in Dad's old rocking chair and wearing your hat?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

I smiled, "That's Rory. She is Lorelai's daughter. I've known the pair since Rory was 5, they are my two favourite people in the entire world and I'd do anything for them. Me and Lorelai have only been dating a few months but that doesn't matter to me. Rory recently had brain surgery and I could watch her better than Lorelai because of our jobs, so I set her up in the corner."

She nodded, "That's nice of you."

She had lost interest and was looking around, probably for someone to talk to who wasn't me. We didn't get on very well, and while I'd never leave her out in the cold, it didn't mean I had to like or be nice to her.

I went over and checked on the kids, finding them quietly talking. Rory had her eyes closed and was answering him without opening them, with Jess pelting questions at her. I sighed, "Jess, I told you to be quiet."

"I am being quiet," He pointed out, "I can still annoy people without being loud, you know."

I gritted my teeth, "You will be nice and polite, and you will not annoy her, be rude to her, pester her, or be mean to her. Do you understand?"

He rolled his eyes, "Jeez Uncle Luke, what's the big deal?"

"I'm recovering from brain surgery," Rory said, opening her eyes and removing the hat briefly to let him see the scar for a moment, "That's the big deal"

"I didn't know," He said.

"Yes, well my demands of you are part of basic human decency and you should be doing that anyway. The fact that Rory had brain surgery makes it very important that she rests and does not strain herself, but you should be doing those things anyway."

I set Jess up with some books upstairs and put Liz to work, knowing she could use the money. When Lorelai arrived after work, I headed outside so she didn't come in.

"I need a favour from you," I said, and I chuckled, more to myself, "It's normally the other way around..."

"Ask away," She said, still in a good mood from this morning.

"Liz and Jess are here. They got kicked out for some reason or other and they need a place to stay. Could I stay with you for a few months until they get back on their feet? I'll put money towards rent and whatever, but I need somewhere to stay."

She walked up to me and kissed me, "You basically already live with us. You call it home, you sleep there six nights a week, you have stuff in my wardrobe, we have a routine. I know it started after Rory's op and as a second pair of hands to help out, but I love having you there and so does Rory."

I kissed her deeply, realising that it wasn't as big of a deal as I thought. Although, to be fair, I was considering proposing to her soon; I had found Mom's ring hidden in the desk drawer that Dad used to use, and I suddenly had the urge to propose. I hadn't since it was still very early in the relationship (we hadn't even had our first fight yet), but I had thought about it a lot.

I took her hand and led her inside, "Liz, this is Lorelai. Lorelai, this is Liz."

They shook hands, and Lorelai said, "I've heard a lot about you. You have a son around Rory's age, don't you?"

Liz nodded, "Yeah, Jess. Your daughter seems really sweet, or she did when I was allowed near her."

Lorelai laughed, ignoring the small glare that Liz aimed at me as she said that last part, "Luke's really protective of her, it's one of the many things I love about him."

"He's often protective about things and people he loves," Liz said, "It's a good thing, even when it gets annoying."

The girls sat at the counter talking about me, and I got on with serving a few customers before checking on Rory, who had fallen asleep while writing a letter to her grandparents to accompany the article. There had been a steady stream of people congratulating people on it and asking questions if they had them, so she was exhausted from dealing with that throughout the day.

I knelt down on the floor and gently shook her awake. She rubbed her eyes, sitting forward in her seat, "How long was I out?"

"About an hour," I said, "Are you ready to go home?"

She nodded and I started packing her things away, purposely not reading anything she had written today. I helped her up and walked over to where the girls were, "I think you need to head home."

Lorelai took one glance at Rory and nodded, "Okay, we'll see you at home for dinner?"

"Of course," I kissed her goodbye and watched them walk out to her car. Rory stumbled a bit but stabilised herself, something she was getting much better at. My lips twitched slightly as she did, that pride bubbling up in my chest again; she had come such a long way.

"You really love them, don't you?" Liz asked, and I nodded.

"I really do."

AN: Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought and I hope you liked it.