Hi guys, sorry for the wait on this but I've been away for a few days. This is an extremely long chapter compared to the other two, that makes up for the wait. There is less Rory/Luke in this than in the other chapters, but there's still a sufficient amount I think. The next one will have more interactions between them, I promise. And I know this story is rated K but this particular chapter is probably a little higher than that, it's nothing major so don't worry. Just thought I'd better tell you all.

Thank you for the reviews I never expected to get such good feedback for this story, but you seem to like it so that's good. Hope you enjoy this, it might be a little sad, just a warning.

"What do you wanna watch?" Rory asked her mother as they settled down for movie night on the couch, various junk foods surrounding them. Lorelai looked to be thinking for a second before the corners of her mouth turned upwards.

"Free Willy," she replied excitedly. Rory rolled her eyes.

"Not again," she complained. "Ever since you bought the video you've made me watch it at least seven times, and you only bought it two weeks ago." Lorelai pouted in true Gilmore fashion.

"But it's so good!" she argued. "When Willy gets set free, it almost makes me cry."

"I know, we watched it seven times already," she replied, stressing how obsessed Lorelai was with this particular movie.

"Please daughter of mine?" she begged, not willing to back down until a whale was on the TV screen. The mother and daughter stared at each other in an intense staring competition. But Lorelai's ability to out-stare caught Rory out and she found herself giving in.

"Fine," she said, crossing her arms over her chest sulkily.

"Aww you can choose next time," Lorelai cooed, squeezing Rory's cheek between her fingers. The eleven year old just gave her an evil look before stuffing a few marshmallows into her mouth. Just as they settled down for the movie, the phone rang. Lorelai groaned; who would interrupt her favourite movie of all time?

"We should answer that, it might be important," said Rory logically, she always thought with logic.

"You get it," she ordered. "And if it's Emily Gilmore tell her I'm not available right now but I'll see her at the Christmas party four months from now." Rory nodded, knowing her mom didn't get on with her parents. She didn't fully understand it but she never questioned it, it was between her mom and grandparents.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver.

"Hey it's dad," she heard Christopher's unmistakable voice on the other end and smiled immediately. It had been a couple of months since she'd heard anything from him, and the number he'd given her had been disconnected.

"Dad," she exclaimed, obviously extremely happy to hear from him. She hadn't been expecting to be hearing from him for a while. Lorelai's attention was caught when she heard who was on the phone and she rolled her eyes, wondering how he could possibly break her daughter's heart this time. "Where are you now? The number you gave me got disconnected."

"New York," he replied. "I'm actually heading east so you can expect a visit from me this weekend."

"Really?" she asked hopefully.

"You bet kiddo."

"That's so cool, I can't wait." She was practically bouncing up and down on the couch so Lorelai touched her shoulder to calm her down a little.

"Is your mom there?" Chris asked, obviously she's the majority of the reason for his visit.

"Yeah hang on." She held the phone out to Lorelai. "He wants to talk to you." Lorelai inwardly rolled her eyes; it was the same old routine.

"Hi Chris," she said, mustering up some enthusiasm for Rory's sake.

"Lor, it's good to talk to you again." She could hear the smile in his voice and it kinda made her smile to herself.

"Yeah, you too," she said sincerely. "It's been a couple of months."

"Yeah, sorry about that," he apologised. "I've had a lot on recently." Lorelai had the urge to have a go at him, but Rory was still sitting next to her so she refrained. "So what've you been up to recently?"

"Erm...been doing some training at the inn, Mia promoted me to Junior Manager," she said proudly. It was the biggest achievement she had made so far in her career and she wanted to shout from the rooftops that she started out as a maid but now assists in running the place.

"That's great Lor, congratulations."

"Yeah, thanks," she replied. Rory held up an empty bowl and pointed towards the kitchen, indicating that she was going to fill it up. Lorelai nodded distractedly before going back to her conversation with her daughter's father. "So you're coming to Stars Hollow again?" she asked.

"Yeah, this weekend," he told her. "I'll spend some time with Rory; maybe take her to a museum or something."

"Look Chris, you'd better be serious about this," she said pointedly. "Because you show up, stick around for a few days; give us your new phone number then leave. Then surprisingly, a week later when she tries to call you, the number's been disconnected. It breaks Rory's heart and I hate seeing her like that. I don't want it to happen this time."

"I won't hurt her," he reassured her. "I'm gonna be there, probably Friday night."

"Okay but I swear Christopher, I'm not gonna take it anymore. If you want a proper relationship with your daughter, prove it." Chris nodded, even though she couldn't see him.

"Okay, she won't be disappointed." Rory came back into the living and plopped down on the couch, smiling widely at her mother.

"Good, I'll pass you back to Rory now."

"Well I can't wait to see you Lor," he said softly, she'd heard it all before though.

"Okay bye." She handed the phone back to her daughter and fell back into the cushions. She really hoped Chris pulled through this time.

"It's me again," she told him. "I actually just remembered that there's this thing at my school on Saturday," she said.

"Oh yeah?"

"It's a play, Shakespeare actually."

"Wow, what part do you play?" he asked in interest.

"Hermia," she replied. "It's A Midsummer Night's Dream."

"That's great honey," he smiled. "Count me in." Rory's smile grew considerably.

"Okay I'll get you a ticket tomorrow," she said excitedly.

"Cool, so I'll see you soon."

"Okay dad, love you."

"Love you too sweetie." Chris hung up and Rory looked at the receiver happily.

"He's coming over this weekend," Rory told her mom excitedly.

"Yeah I heard," she replied. She just hoped it wouldn't all end in tears, the way it usually did.

XXXX

The Gilmore girls decided to go to Luke's for dinner on Friday evening. Rory bounced down the sidewalk jollily, majorly excited for her father's impending arrival as the eldest of the two trudged along behind, filled with worry and dread. She would absolutely kill Christopher if he disappointed her daughter, and she was pretty sure Luke would too. She'd often vented her feelings to the diner owner over a cup of coffee during a lull, telling him all about Rory's father and how she thinks they're better off without him. Now she was certain that Luke hated his guts.

"Hi Luke," Rory called merrily as she found a table to sit at. Lorelai followed and dropped into an empty seat.

"Hi Luke," she greeted in a much less enthusiastic tone.

"Why are you so happy?" he asked Rory. "And why are you so grumpy?" he asked Lorelai. Rory grinned up at him while Lorelai just scowled.

"My dad's coming to town tonight," she told him. Luke's eyebrows shot up but Rory continued her tale. "He's due to arrive any minute, I can't wait." Luke looked down at Lorelai and they shared a knowing, meaningful look.

"Coffee," she said monosyllabically. Luke nodded in acknowledgement then turned his attention to Rory again.

"That's great Rory, I can see you're excited," he said, not really knowing what to say. If he was alone, he'd be cursing over the guy right now. Rory nodded eagerly in agreement with his comment then pulled out his order pad. "What will you be drinking tonight?" he asked, quite formally for Luke but the girls could tell he was just joking around. He frequently joked with them, but he crawled back into his shell with his other customers. Rory looked at the table thoughtfully, gaining some courage.

"Coffee please," she said confidently.

"Absolutely not," both Luke and Lorelai said at the same time. Rory made a pouty face but Luke shook his head firmly, determined to stand his ground.

"Hon, I said you could have your first cup when you're thirteen," Lorelai reminded her. "Not a day before."

"But..." she began to protest.

"If I had my way you wouldn't have a drop of coffee your entire life," warned Luke.

"But you're not my dad, you can't tell me what to do," she retorted, not realising how much she had hurt Luke's feelings with that comment.

"Rory," Lorelai scolded, shocked at her daughter's lack of sensitivity. Luke had been there a lot for them since they moved to the Crap Shack; he didn't deserve to be spoken to like that.

"Okay so what are you both eating tonight?" he asked, trying to mask his upset by changing the subject. "Usual?" Lorelai nodded and Luke walked away to prepare their 'heart attack on a plate' as he fondly called it. She watched him walk away then once he was out of ear shot, she played the mom card.

"What was that all about?" she asked, appearing to be mad at her pre-teen daughter. Rory looked up at her, a shadow of shame crossed over her face. "I did not raise you to talk to people like that, you know better," she said. "Luke has been there for us lately, fixing things and whatever, there was no need for you to speak to him like he was something you stepped in on the street." Rory looked down at the table, obvious guilt resting on her shoulders. "I want you to apologise to him when he comes back over here," she said sternly. Rory just nodded before getting up and mumbling something about the bathroom. She wasn't used to her mom being so stern with her, but she knew deep down that she deserved it.

"Hey, I got your drinks," said Luke as he walked over to their table with a mug of coffee and a glass of orange crush.

"Thanks," she said gratefully as she took a few sips of the inky liquid.

"So what's up with Rory?" he asked, knowing she wasn't herself due to her last comment. Lorelai shrugged. "Think it's something to do with Christina or whatever his name is?"

"Christopher," she corrected, a small smile gracing her lips at his obvious mistake. Luke shrugged, indicating that he didn't really care what the guy's name was.

"Potato, Potato," he said.

"She's been really happy about it since he called a few days ago, I don't know what came over her just now."

"She's probably just nervous cause she hasn't seen him in a while, or she's fed up of waiting for him to get here."

"Maybe," she sighed before checking her watch. "He's supposed to be here by now; I hope he's not backing out." Rory reappeared at the table and Luke scurried off to the kitchen, remembering the burgers currently on the grill. They heard a few loud noises come from the kitchen, distinctly sounding like pots and pans landing on the floor, and then a few curse words from Luke followed, ones that should not be heard by young ears. "Luke, you okay?" Lorelai called, the amusement she got from his outburst evident in her voice.

"Yeah uh...make sure you wash Rory's ears out with soap when you get home," he replied, eliciting a giggle from the youngest Gilmore girl. He appeared from the kitchen holding two plates piled up with a burger each and a mountain of fries. "What does it feel like to have death handed to you on a plate?" he asked, referring to their usual junk eating habits.

"Heart warming," Lorelai replied sweetly before squirting a pool of ketchup over her fries while Luke looked on in disgust.

"Heart clogging more like," he muttered. Lorelai kicked Rory under the table, gaining an 'ouch' from the girl in question. Lorelai gestured to Luke with her eyes and Rory looked up at the diner's proprietor nervously.

"Um...sorry about what I said before Luke," she said quietly, managing to uphold the eye contact with him. "I didn't mean to sound so rude, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings." Luke stared down into the bright blue eyes of Rory Gilmore, and found himself smiling slightly in forgiveness.

"Don't worry about it; you have a lot on your mind tonight right?" It was more of a statement than a question but Rory nodded anyway.

"So we're okay?" she asked, hoping she hadn't made things awkward between them or made it look like she didn't like him or something. Because that was definitely untrue, she was beginning to love Luke for the father figure that he is.

"We're always okay," he assured her. "Now eat your poison before it goes cold." He stalked off behind the counter, leaving a chuckling set of Gilmore girls to eat their evening meal together.

XXXX

"Mom can I go to Doose's to get some twizzlers?" Rory asked after she'd swallowed the last of her burger. It was still relatively light outside so Lorelai agreed; she could watch her daughter walk across the square anyway from where she was sitting in the window of Luke's.

"Sure," she replied. She reached into her purse and pulled out a ten. "Get me some red vines will ya?"

"Okay, shall I get pop tarts too? We only have one pack of chocolate left."

"Yeah and get some cookies and cream ones too," she said thoughtfully.

"That's it though cause a ten won't cover anything else," she said knowingly, that logic returning. "Taylor's prices are extortionate."

"Okay my little whizz kid, get your butt over to the market before it closes," she ordered, not able to stop the smile spreading across her lips at her smart kid. She watched Rory run across the square then turned her attention away from the window when she was satisfied her daughter had made it safely inside the market.

"Where's she going?" Luke asked, noticing Rory had left the diner.

"We need candy," she shrugged. "And pop tarts." Luke rolled his eyes.

"I was gonna bring you pie," he said matter-of-factly.

"We can eat some pie too," she replied. "Whatcha got?"

"Cherry or apple," he replied.

"Ooh um...cherry," she said decisively. "No apple...no..."

"I'll bring you both," he said, cutting off what could have been a very long one woman debate. Lorelai smiled her gratitude then noticed Rory reappear from the market. She watched as she carefully crossed the road, but was stopped by a man on a large motorcycle. Her motherly instinct immediately kicked in and she jumped up from her seat.

"Luke, hold the pie for a bit," she called as she rushed over to the door, eager to get her daughter out of harm's way.

"What's going on?" he asked, wondering why she had a sudden outburst and was heading towards the door. Lorelai looked across the square through the diner's window, where the man was taking off his helmet and Rory was smiling. That's when his identity was revealed and she realised it was her kid's father.

"Christopher?" she asked herself. Luke came to join her by the window, watching as Rory jumped up and wrapped her arms around the man's neck.

"So that's Rory's dad?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Yup, that's him." He noticed she sounded less than pleased to see him, so he called her up on it.

"And you don't want him here," he stated. He knew he was probably correct anyway; she was definitely having some doubts about his presence. Lorelai shrugged, it's not that she didn't want him here at all; she just couldn't put it into words.

"No, I like that he's here to spend time with Rory, but..."

"But you're worried he's gonna leave and make her upset...again," he said, taking the words right out of her mouth. Lorelai nodded wordlessly, he'd obviously listened to her when she'd ranted to him on those quiet afternoons. "She's getting older now, she can understand it better."

"You haven't seen her when he leaves though, there's crying and ice cream, I don't think I can watch her fall apart like that again." Luke looked at her sympathetically before wrapping his arm around her waist hesitantly. When she moved closer to him, he took the opportunity to pull her into a comforting hug to attempt to make her feel better. He felt her arms snake around his waist loosely, accepting the comfort he was offering.

"I'll help out in any way I can," he said into her hair. He swore he felt a shiver course through her but he dismissed it, thinking that he most probably imagined it. He had secretly begun to feel something towards Lorelai Gilmore, something more than the friendship they shared. It was a nagging feeling in his gut, and it made him smile every time he saw her, or every time she looked up at him through her dreamy blue eyes. He was beginning to think he had a slight crush on the lively young woman.

"Thank you," she said as she pulled away. She straightened out her clothing then stepped further away from her friend Luke, cause that's all he was; her friend. "I should get out there." Luke nodded and watched her gather both her and Rory's jackets. "I'll probably see you tomorrow sometime."

"Okay, I hope everything works out," he said, meaning the Christopher situation. She thanked him once again then went out onto the sidewalk, where Chris and Rory were walking down; his arm snaked around her shoulders.

"Hey Lor," he greeted, his smile going up a few notches at the sight of her. He removed his arm from around Rory and reached his arms out to pull his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child into a hug. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, dangerously close to the corner of her mouth in Lorelai's opinion, and then pulled away completely. He smiled at the Gilmores then Rory grabbed his hand and dragged him in the direction of their house, babbling away as they went.

Rory spoke animatedly all evening, the excitement she felt about seeing her father shining through in her tone of voice. Lorelai noticed Chris sneaking glances at her every so often, well more often than she cared for really, but simply gave him a smile before taking her attention back to their daughter, who was oblivious to the interactions.

"Time for bed sweets," Lorelai said, tapping her wrist to tell her daughter that it was getting late.

"But mom..." she whined. "I wanna talk to dad a bit longer." Lorelai shook her head stubbornly, causing Rory to pout. Christopher laughed at their antics, but figured her should back up Lorelai on this one.

"Come on kiddo, I'll tuck you in," he said. "Show me where your room is." Rory jumped at the chance and bounced off towards her bedroom. After another long conversation and a whole lot of goodnights, Christopher returned to the living room, having successfully settled Rory down from her hyper state. He collapsed on the couch and sighed heavily. "She's a great kid," he said, an ounce of pride filling his voice.

"Yeah, she's the best," replied Lorelai softly. "She's happy to see you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she doesn't usually talk so much," she chuckled. Christopher smiled, then moved closer to her on the couch, that didn't go unnoticed by Lorelai.

"You know, I'm happy to see her mom too," he said quietly, gradually inching closer to her. She was all too aware of his close proximity and she didn't like it one bit.

"Chris," she murmured, but she wasn't sure he heard her. His face came closer to hers until their lips touched, and he instantly forced his tongue into her mouth. At first she was lost, not quite sure what she was doing, but as his tongue ran across hers forcefully, she had a flashback to the night Rory was conceived and how his tongue had felt very much the same as it did right now. That's when she knew this had to stop, because Christopher wouldn't even think twice about sleeping with her tonight; that's not what she wanted.

"Chris," she said as his lips continued to crash against hers. She knew he heard her that time, he was purposely ignoring her until she'd give up and let him go all the way. That wasn't going to happen. She forcefully pushed on his shoulders, but he took it the wrong way and pulled her down onto him as he lay down on the uncomfortable couch. She finally managed to pull away and scrambled to her feet, fixing her dishevelled clothing. "Christopher, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked angrily.

"I wanna be with you Lor," he said in a lust-filled haze. She shook her head insistently.

"No Chris," she warned. "That is not gonna happen."

"Why not?" he asked. "We'll be good together, you, me and Rory, we can be a family."

"You say that now," she said knowingly. "But how do I know you're gonna stick to your word?"

"I've changed Lor, I'm ready for the whole mom, dad and kid thing now."

"That's what you always say!" she said, raising her voice and forgetting about her sleeping daughter just a few rooms away. "You say we can be a family and that you've changed, so I let you into my home, into my bed, into my heart. I let you into my daughter's heart but you screw it up every time Christopher. I can't do it anymore, once you've had the sex you came looking for, you disappear again and I can't let you take advantage of me like that. Do you know how much you hurt your daughter every time you disappear? You crush her, it's like you've taken her heart and trampled on it until there's nothing left in it." A few tears sprang to her eyes but she refused to let them fall, he wasn't gonna reduce her to crying, he didn't have that power.

"Well I can tell I'm not wanted around here," he said, feigning hurt when really he was frustrated that Lorelai was refusing him.

"You are wanted Chris, Rory wants you," she stressed. "She wants you to be a proper dad to her and stick around for longer than five minutes."

"But I want you Lor," he said desperately.

"God the only reason you come back is to try to get in my pants," she shouted. "Do you even care for your daughter at all?"

"Of course I do, but I care for you too," he told her. Lorelai shook her head.

"It's not gonna happen Christopher, you need to get your priorities straight. Rory comes first in before everything, you need to realise that." Christopher looked at the floor then back up at her expressionlessly.

"I guess I've got some things to figure out then," he said. He walked into the foyer towards the front door, with Lorelai hot on his heels.

"Where are you going?" she asked, hoping to god that he wasn't gonna storm out and leave again.

"I'm leaving," he said harshly.

"Wha..."

"If you don't want me here, then I'm gone. Tell Rory I'm sorry." He threw open the door and stomped out onto the porch. Lorelai stopped in the doorway, calling his name over and over, telling him to come back. But he continued to walk away, leaving Lorelai once again with what will be a distraught daughter.

XXXX

Rory lay in bed wide awake, listening to her parents arguing. The tears rolled uncontrollably down her cheeks, leaving her pillow wet with saltiness. When she heard the front door open and the words 'I'm leaving', she knew it was happening again; her father was disappearing after just a couple of hours of being with her. She climbed out of bed and kneeled by her window, watching her father walk through their yard as her mother's voice trailed into the darkness.

She was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with her, something that made her dad disinterested in her. She wasn't exactly sure what had happened between her parents just minutes earlier, but it obviously annoyed her mom, and it seemed that the way she was talking, it was a regular occurrence when her dad visited them.

She heard Lorelai's bedroom door close and let out a heart breaking sob. Everything was going so well before she went to bed, she was enjoying herself. How did it all go downhill so quickly? She slipped into her robe, slid her feet into her sneakers and quietly opened her bedroom door. She tip-toed over to the back door, pushed it open then closed it silently behind her, before running towards the town square.

She knew she shouldn't be doing this, her mom would freak if she found her bed empty. But she couldn't stop herself. She needed comfort, but knew her mother would be upset too and she found it best to leave her be when she was like that. So she ran to a place where she knew she'd be welcomed with open arms, somewhere she knew would make her feel better.

She knocked on the diner door repeatedly, hitting it as hard as she could, certain that if she hit any harder, her hand would go straight through the glass. She was beginning to get a little freaked out at how dark it was in the square, and while she knew Stars Hollow was a safe town, she couldn't help but worry a little. Finally, a figure came barging through the darkened diner and swung the door open unhappily.

"What the he...Rory?" he asked, his voice softening when he noticed it was her. "What are you doing here?" He noticed she was crying and immediately brought her inside, switching the lights on so he could see her better. "Sweetie what happened?"

"D...dad," she stuttered. It dawned on Luke then that she was referring to Christopher. He hadn't left already had he?

"Come here," he said as he gathered her in his arms. He hugged her tightly, running his hand through her tangled bed head and she cried into his shoulder. He let her calm down a little before pulling away and studying her face.

"He left," she murmured. "Him and mom argued and he left." She sniffled, still clutching his shirt in her balled fists.

"Are you sure he's gone for good?" he asked, trying to ease her pain.

"His motorcycle's gone," she replied, looking over to where he had parked it earlier. Luke frowned then looked down at the girl sympathetically. "He was supposed to come see my school play tomorrow, I got him a ticket and everything." Luke wanted to kill the idiot right now, he didn't deserve to be Rory's father.

"I'll come to your play," he said. It wasn't usually his thing, but this was Rory he was talking to now. He would do anything to make her happy.

"What?"

"I'll come see the play," he repeated. "A Midsummer Night's Dream right?" Rory nodded. She loved it how Luke took an interest in her and her life. He always knew what she had going on. "I'm not really into Shakespeare though; I could never understand the language."

"We've made a modern version of it," she assured him. "It's totally understandable." Luke smiled at her, but he could see the sadness in her eyes and he had the urge to ask the question that had been playing on his mind since she arrived on his doorstep.

"Why did you leave the house huh?" he asked. "Your mom's gonna freak when she notices you're not in your bed. It's dangerous outside at night, you shouldn't be wondering around by yourself." Rory nodded.

"I know, but I just needed...I don't know," she said confusedly.

"You needed someone to talk to?" he filled in for her. She nodded. "Couldn't you talk to your mom?" She shook her head.

"She's upset too, I didn't wanna bother her."

"Okay, but promise me you won't run away like that again," he said sternly. "I don't want anything to happen to you, who else would eat my brownies?" She cracked a small smile but her eyes didn't light up like they usually did.

"I promise I won't run away again," she told him, letting his shirt slip from her tight grasp.

"Good. Now we'd better get you back home before your mom finds your bed empty." Rory nodded; suddenly realising the possible consequences of her running away tonight, anything could have happened to her. When she made no move to walk towards the door, Luke lifted her up and sat her on his hip, the way you would with a baby. He realised Rory was a bit too old for being carried around, but she was in a fragile state and needed babying a little bit. Once they were back at the Crap Shack, Luke put Rory on her feet. He bent down and wiped the tears from her cheeks, before smiling at her sympathetically. "You feeling a little better now?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, thanks Luke." She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, almost strangling him as she squeezed him tight.

"Can't breathe," he muttered breathlessly. Rory giggled and pulled away, apologising for her unexpected gesture. "Ready to face the music?" he asked. Rory nodded hesitantly so Luke reached up and knocked on the door a few times.

"Luke?" she asked sheepishly. He turned to look at her, his arm around her shoulders. "I...I'm glad I have you," she finished. She was going to tell him she loved him, but she changed her mind at the last minute, not sure what his reaction would be.

"Feeling's mutual," he replied, squeezing her shoulders reassuringly. They stood there on the porch, late that Friday night, waiting for Lorelai to answer the door.

That was the first time that Rory Gilmore knew for sure that she loved Luke Danes, as a father figure of course.

Hope it didn't make you upset at all! I've wanted to do a Christopher chapter since I started this so I think this fulfils my wish. Please review; I really appreciate your kind comments and ideas. I will try to cram them into the story at some point, but I'm undecided on whether to do them in chronological order as Rory gets older, or whether to do them randomly and let you know how old Rory is at the time. Let me know which you think would be best, they've been in order so far.

That's all for now, like I said, please review :D

Emily.