Hey! I'm so sorry it's been longer than I said! I was away longer than I thought I would be. But I'm back now so normal service can now resume! :) Here's the next chapter! :)

Chapter 18

It was Friday so they all went to the Gilmore Mansion for dinner. However it wasn't a normal dinner as Richard's mother had decided to visit on a spontaneous visit, putting Emily on edge.

Emily led them all in and Trix enjoyed meeting Rory for the first time in years and Jess and Alice for the first time ever. She also approved of Luke. "So Lorelai, you finally found a man?" Trix said.

"Yes I did." Lorelai smiled, reaching over and holding Luke's hand who smiled at her.

"And I see you got your hair under control." Trix commented.

"Oh yes, it took some time but I went to a support group and then bought a brush." Lorelai joked.

"And I see you've not lost your wit." She said.

"Nope." Lorelai said.

"Well good. And you run your own inn?" Trix asked.

"Yes I do." Lorelai smiled.

"It's a great place, always busy." Luke added, smiling at her proudly.

"And Lucas, you own a diner?" She asked turning her attention to him.

"It's Luke." He said. "And yeh, it used to be my dad's hardware shop. But I wasn't really into the hardware business so I turned it into a diner."

"Well I can only imagine Emily's reaction when she realised her daughter was dating and then married a diner owner. Tell me Luke, did she make you feel insignificant? Emily has only ever wanted a rich man with a good society background for Lorelai." Trix laughed, enjoying poking fun at Emily. "You can tell me Luke."

Luke glanced over at Emily who looked hurt and humiliated. He looked back at Trix. "Actually Emily has been nothing but welcoming and warm to me." He said.

Everyone looked at him in surprise, including Emily.

"That's nice but it's clear you're lying. We all know what Emily is like. She has always wanted Lorelai with who she wants. Personally, I don't mind so long as my granddaughter is happy and I can see you make her happy. Don't worry about offending Emily." Trix tried.

Luke glanced over at Richard who was obviously not going to say anything. "Like I said, Emily's been great." He repeated.

Luckily then the maid came in and announced that dinner was ready and the subject was dropped.

"Are these new chairs, Grandma?" Rory asked trying to get her involved in the conversation.

"Yes they are." Emily smiled. "Although my local antiques shop has closed so I don't know where I will get any future ones from." She said.

"Hey, why don't you come to Stars Hollow? My best friend Lane's mom owns an antiques shop. You can get some great stuff there." Rory suggested.

"Really?" Emily asked.

"Yeh, if you come tomorrow morning, I can give you a proper Stars Hollow tour too!" Rory smiled.

Emily smiled. "I'd love to. Thank you."

Rory smiled and she caught Luke's eye who smiled at her and nodded approvingly.

The following day, Lorelai had gone to the inn and Luke had gone to the diner leaving Rory, Jess and Alice at home. Jess was going to watch Alice while Rory showed her Grandma round.

Once Emily arrived, Rory took her to Kims Antiques first. They opened the door and they started looking round. "Rory!" Lane smiled coming over to them.

"Hey!" Rory smiled. "Grandma this is Lane. Lane this is my Grandma."

"Nice to meet you." Emily smiled.

"You too." Lane smiled.

After Emily had done some haggling with Mrs Kim, they headed back out.

"So I was thinking maybe we could grab some lunch and then we can go to the inn." Rory suggested.

"Sounds good." Emily nodded.

"So where would you like to eat?" Rory asked.

"What about Luke's?" Emily asked.

"Really?" She asked surprised.

"You always rave about the food there. I haven't tried it yet so I thought it'd be nice." Emily said.

"Ok." Rory smiled.

They headed to the diner and went in, jingling the bells as they opened the door. They were greeted by Kate who was working that day. "Hey Rory!" She smiled.

"Hey Kate!" Rory smiled. "Grandma, this is Kate. She's Jess' girlfriend." She said.

"Nice to meet you." Emily said.

"You too." Kate smiled. "Sit anywhere you like. I'll come over and get your orders in a bit. Coffee?" She asked.

"Yes please." Rory smiled.

"Be right back." Kate said.

"Thanks." Rory said leading her Grandma over to a free table.

"I didn't know Jess had a girlfriend." Emily said.

"It's quite recent. He's quite private." Rory said.

"She's pregnant." Emily said.

"How did you...?" Rory asked surprised.

"I can tell." She said. "Jess'?"

"No. The father doesn't want anything to do with her or the baby. Jess wants to help her." Rory said.

"That's a big responsibility." Emily said.

"Yeh I know. And Jess knows. But he really likes her. They're good together." Rory smiled.

Kate then came over to take their orders. As they enjoyed the food, Emily watched Luke come out of the kitchen every now and again and go round the diner, filling coffee and giving food out. When it was time to pay, Emily insisted she pay and went up to the counter. Luke came out and saw her standing there with her purse.

"Family's on the house." He said.

"Oh. Thank you." Emily said putting her purse away. "Why did you do it?" She asked.

"Do what?" He asked.

"You know what. Why did you tell Richard's mother what you said about me?" Emily asked.

Luke shrugged. "I don't like it when people get talked down to. It's mean." He said.

Emily looked at him for a moment. "Thank you." She said quietly.

Luke looked up at her and nodded. "You should talk to Richard. Tell him how you feel." He said.

"Order up!" Caesar called.

"Sorry, I need to go." Luke said. "Talk to Richard." He said.

Emily watched him go back to the kitchen and then slowly left with Rory. She knew she had gotten Luke wrong. She was determined to make it right.

That evening, Luke and Kate were still working at the diner. "I just need to pop to Dooses'. You going to be ok for a minute?" He asked Kate.

"Yeh sure, it's not busy." Kate smiled.

"Ok, I won't be long." Luke said grabbing his coat and leaving.

Kate was filling up Miss Patty's coffee when she heard the door open. "Sit anywhere. I will be with you in a minute." She said without looking up.

"I need to talk to you." A voice said.

Kate whipped her head up at that voice. "M..Mike...What are you doing here?" She asked.

"To talk to you." He glared at her. "You said you wouldn't say anything about us! Now you've ruined everything! I've been kicked out of the dorm and my family's ignoring me."

"Well you should have thought about that before." Kate snapped.

Mike grabbed hold of her wrist. "You don't talk to me like that! You begged me for it."

"Let go of me!" Kate snapped, starting to feel a little worried.

"No, I get to say what I want!" Mike shouted.

"I've got customers. Please just leave!" Kate said.

Mike looked round and noticed that everyone was staring at them. "Fine." He said still holding her wrist tightly and dragging her to the back of the diner to the storeroom and then locked the door. "Now we're alone." He said.

"What do you want?" Kate shouted, getting scared now.

"I want to ruin your life like you ruined mine! If you'd not be such a slut, we wouldn't be in this situation!" He shouted.

"It takes two to make a baby you know!" Kate shouted. "Just because you're a selfish jerk who wants to take no responsibility doesn't mean you get to come here and shout at me!" She soon regretted that because she suddenly saw Mike turn and suddenly he raised a fist.

She closed her eyes, terrified, waiting for the impact but it never came. Suddenly he heard a grunt and a shout and she opened her eyes to see Luke forcefully pulling Mike off her and dragging him out. She could feel herself shaking and suddenly felt tears fall.

Luke dragged Mike out of the diner and forcefully threw him out. "If I see you anywhere near Kate again, next time I will call the police! Now get lost!" He barked, glaring at him. Luke then went back in and went to the storeroom where he found Kate in a state. He stood there awkwardly for a moment, not really knowing what to do. Slowly, he walked towards her. "He's gone." He said. Before he knew it, Kate had thrown her arms round him and was crying into his chest. He awkwardly reciprocated. "It's ok." He tried to comfort her. "He's not coming back."

After a few minutes, Kate pulled away a little embarrassed. "Sorry." She said quietly.

"It's fine." He said. "Why don't you go on up to the apartment? I'll make you something to eat."

Kate nodded. They left the store room and Luke watched her disappear behind the curtain. He then went and grabbed the diner's phone and dialled a number. "Jess?"

"Hey." Jess said.

"Could you come to the diner? Is Rory there to watch Alice?" He asked.

"Uh yeh. What's wrong? Aren't you locking up soon?" Jess asked confused.

"Something's happened to Kate. This guy came in shouting the odds apparently. I was at Dooses and came back and Miss Patty filled me in. I think it was her ex. He was about to hit her when I went in." He said, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. "Anyway, she's in a bit of a state and I thought she might need you." He said. "Can you come?"

"I'll be right there." Jess said hanging up the phone.

Jess was there in now time and went up to the apartment. "Kate?"

Kate saw him and ran over and hugged him. "It was Mike. He was shouting at me saying I'd ruined his life. He dragged me to the storeroom and he was just so angry...I don't know what would have happened if Luke hadn't come in when he had." She cried.

Jess held her tightly. "It's ok." He comforted her.

"He called me slut. He said I was begging for it!"

"What?" Jess said angrily.

"He was so angry..." Kate said quietly.

"Well you're ok now. He's not going to come back." Jess said.

"What if he does?" Kate asked worried.

"Then he will have to answer to Luke and me next time." Jess said.

Kate gave him a small smile. "Like uncle, like nephew..."

Jess smiled a little. "I can stay here tonight if you like? If it would make you feel safer?" He suggested.

"No need." Luke said appearing at the doorway. "Kate, you're coming to ours tonight." He said.

"Oh no, it's fine. I'm fine." She lied, not wanting to make a fuss.

"No arguments." Luke said. "You're staying at ours tonight. I won't take no for an answer."

Kate smiled a little. "Thanks." She said quietly.

"Good. I'll just go lock up and then we can go." He said disappearing.

I hope it was worth the wait! Please review and let me know what you think! :) Thanks! :)