Title: A Perfect, and Somewhat Dysfunctional, Family

By: bokayjunkie

Summary: Luke and Rory has always had a special father/daughter bond that no one can break. But what happens when someone comes along to ruin that bond. Set in Season 1. Luke and Lorelai are NOT together…yet. Some RoryDean also.

Disclaimer: I am completely hopeless.

-Now, this will not be just all about Luke and Rory. There will be plenty of java junkie stuff too.

A/N: From the episode 1.06 (Rory's Birthday Parties). Though some scenes and dialogue's will be altered for the story benefits.

CHAPTER 3: Realizing Her Loss and Mistakes

"She was such a cute little girl." gushed Babette, and everyone had to agree.

Everyone was gathered around in the living room, reminiscing of Rory's childhood. Some were standing, some were sitting. Luke, Rory, and Lorelai were on the couch, with Rory in the middle. They look like such a perfect family. Thought Emily sadly.

"Oh, remember when Rory fell off her bike?" said Babette.

"Who couldn't?" replied Patty. "How old was she then hun?"

"I think she was about ten." said Lorelai.

"That bike was deadly." told Luke. Rory giggled.

"Remember," continued Babette, "she fell off in front of the diner."

"Yeah," chimed in Patty. "And when Luke saw, he looked like he about to have a heart attack. He was so scared. He dropped all the plates he was carrying and immediately ran out the diner. He even tried to call 911."

Luke blushed and rolled his eyes. "Jeez. She fell, of course I got scared."

"Scared enough to call 911?" teased Lorelai.

"I think he was even more scared than Lorelai." laughed Babette.

"Rory never got to ride that bike for months." giggled Lorelai. "Luke wouldn't let her, he even hid it in his storage room, so Rory and I couldn't take it." Everyone laughed. Luke blushed more. Rory patted his shoulders, and smiled at him, telling him it was ok. So he wouldn't be that embarrassed.

"I'm still crushed beyond belief that she quit her ballet lessons." cried Miss patty dramatically.

"Oh not me." said Lorelai. "Miss Perfect Work Ethic would prance around this room 24 hours a day."

"Even in my diner." added Luke.

"And I still stunk." Rory pouted. Luke placed his arms around her shoulders and rubbed her arms reassuringly.

"I can vouch for that." chimed in Lane.

"That's not true." Miss Patty defended her.

"She was pretty bad." said Morey

"No, don't you listen to them." said Miss Patty. "You had a true gift." everyone laughed. "What? She did! She was talented."

Everyone continued to laugh. Miss Patty kept on to defend Rory of her ballet talent. As they continued on, Lorelai spotted her mother walking upstairs. She excused herself from the group and followed on up. She appeared in her bedroom doorway and saw her mother holding her quilt that was on her bed.

"I made that." Lorelai said quietly, entering her room. "From Rory's old baby clothes."

Emily was startled, she looked over and saw Lorelai. "I hope you washed them first." she said after a moment.

"Rats I knew I forgot something." Lorelai joked as she sat down on her bed.

Emily took her time in Lorelai's room. Observing every inch, every corner, every detail. Comparing them to her room in the mansion. How cluttered and disorganized this room was compared to her old room. This was the first time the realization dawned on her. that this was more Lorelai than the her old room. It was very out there, which is so like Lorelai.

"That's quite an assortment you've got down there." Emily started off, still in off daze of her room.

"They're great people." she responded.

"This Patricia-"

"Miss patty."

"She teaches dance?"

"Among other things."

Her eyes dozing off at the pivtures displayed on her cluttered shelf. "And the man with the ice?"

"Luke."

She looked at the picture, of Lorelai, Luke, a little Rory at a Holloween party, then looked back at Lorelai, "How long have you two been married?"

About fourteen years. Then she realized, "What?" her eyes widen at the question. "Luke?"

Sure they had been mistaken as a married couple at least one or two…thousand times before, ever since she had met Luke. Specially when Rory was still little and they would hang out in the diner, tourists and passerby's would coo at what picture perfect family they looked like. And sometimes, when she's really busy, Luke would be the one to go t Rory's Parent, teacher confrences, and of course, in a samll town like this, the teachers would sometimes wonder why it was Luke talking to them and not Lorelai. He was already like a father to her.

But never, in a million years, would she have thought that her own mother would even think that. "I'm not married to Luke." is she crazy? Of course she's crazy, it's Emily.

Emily just smiles, "Mh-hm."

"I'm not." Lorelai said defensively. Even though he proposed to me two days ago...as a joke of course. "Seriously, we're just friends. We're not even dating."

Could have fooled me. "I bet Rory would beg to differ." she said. "She seems to be pretty close with this…Luke." looking at the picture again. "And from what it seems, he's been around a lot."

"Well, Luke has always been there for us. Ever since we've met him. And Rory has always been attached to him." Ever since she could crawl. She never wanted to let go of him.

"I bet."

"Mom, seriously, you would have known if I were married." Lorelai said. I don't hate you guys that much that I wouldn't tell you that I'm married. Or getting married. "Luke is my best friend and keeps me in coffee. Nothing else."

"He seems to like you." Emily went on knowingly.

Well, Emily has not been the only one to inform her this, and every time they would mention it, her heart would skip a beat, and her stomach would di a little flutter. "And you're judging this by how?"

"By the way he looked at you."

"Which was how?"

To put it, "Like you were about to give him a lap dance."

I wish. Despite herself, Lorelai smiled and felt her heart skip a beat, and stomach flutter again. "He did not look at me like that." still in daze from her mother's description.

Emily noticed her reaction. "You're pleased."

Suddenly hitting earth. "What?"

"You smiled. You're pleased that the ice man looked at you like a porterhouse stake."

Again she smiled, and again, her heart skipped a beat and her stomach fluttered. Why was she feeling like this, specially since her mother keeps insinuating that Luke, her best friend, keeps looking at her with longing eyes. "I'm smiling, because you're crazy, and that's what you do to crazy people to keep them calm." yeah, keep telling yourself that Gilmore.

Emily shook her head, she knows better. She moved on over to her dresser and spotted a picture of Lorelai, with a cast on her leg, and in crutches. "What's this?" she asks as she picked up the photo.

Lorelai walked up behind her and looked over her shoulder to see what she was looking at. "Well that's me mom."

"I know that's you." Emily said, rolling her eyes. "You're wearing a cast."

"Yeah, that's when I broke my leg."

"You broke your leg?"

"Yeah, three years ago." Lorelai started to explain. "During a yoga class. The headstand portion took a very ugly turn. The good thing was I brought the smug, blonde, pretzel chick down with me. I've since learned that I'm a bit too competitive for yoga."

Emily hadn't been listening. Her head was still wheeling over the fact that her daughter had broken her leg and she wasn't there to take care of her. "I never knew you broke your leg." or even did yoga.

Lorelai waved it off. "It's no big deal mom. If I had been really sick you would have known."

"Yes, well." regaining herself, trying not to be too much sentimental, and regaining her posture. "You know, you could get a maid in here once a week to at least tidy the place up."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. And the true Emily is back. "I like it cluttered."

"You can't even find the bed."

"Yes I can, it's the thing that I crash into on the way to the closet."

Having enough of this, she decided it was time to go. "I should check on your father." she headed towards the door, but stopped when she heard Lorelai.

"Hey mom." Emily turned to look at Lorelai. "It was nice that you came tonight. It meant a lot." to me. "Tot Rory. Really."

Emily understood. "Well, she is my granddaughter, after all. I should be there."

"I totally agree."

Emily started towards the door again, but just really couldn't help herself with the quilt and everything.

"Leave it." Lorelai said, before Emily could even begin to fold up the quilt.

REVIEW!-yes, please. I would really love to know what you think of this chapter/story. And, and SUGGESTIONS, IDEAS, and/or REQUESTS for this story, or any of my other stories for that matter, are welcome.

♠bokayjunkie♣