A big thanks to BrokeDaisy for checking this over.

GG

"The police just released the crime scene this morning," the building's superintendent said as he led Luke up a set of stairs. Luke could hear voices and other various noises through the thin, cracked, and dirty walls. The place smelt funny, the stairs creaked, and the ceiling was dripping some unidentifiable green stuff. Luke wondered how the building still had tenants.

"You were Liz's brother?" the superintendant asked as he stopped at the top of the fourth floor staircase.

"Yeah," Luke replied wrinkling his nose as several new smells washed over him.

"Shame she died, she owed me three months rent." He stopped outside of apartment 4E. "Lock up when you're done," he said as he unlocked the door. Luke nodded before ducking under the left over yellow tape.

The living room was trashed. An easy chair was overturned, the small television's screen was cracked down the middle, and the coffee table was in pieces, scattered across the floor. Luke was certain blood was somewhere on the carpet or walls, but he didn't take the time to look for it.

"I had a feeling this was going to happen," a voice said and he turned, spotting an elderly woman standing in the open doorway. "Almost nightly those two would argue. I always felt sorry for her son, Jess. He was such a polite little boy. Don't know where he got it…" she trailed off, shaking her head. "Where are my manners? I am… was Liz's neighbor, Ms. Cadan."

"I'm her brother, Luke." He moved across the room, offering Cadan his hand. She shook it, letting her eyes scan the room.

"I was afraid that rotten bastard shot that little boy," she muttered when Luke released her hand. "He had a rotten temper, worse than Liz's last boyfriend. But when the police showed up and they found Jess hiding in the closet I just felt so relieved." Her eyes glazed over for a minute, her mind far away.

Slowly she shook her head, coming back to herself, and said, "Are you here to get Jess' things?"

Luke nodded, glancing around the apartment again. There was a short hallway off the living room/kitchen, most likely leading to the bathroom and bedrooms.

"I have only been in here once or twice, but I am sure he slept back here." Cadan walked past Luke, moving toward the hallway. Luke turned and followed her, looking straight ahead. If he didn't see the blood, if he didn't think about what went on here, he could get through this.

"Here," Cadan announced opening a door. Inside the room there was a small mattress on the floor, a small box full of clothes, and a raggedly lion sitting on top of a stack of books. "I gave him those books. Liz had asked me to watch him for a while a few weeks ago, and I found him looking through them. They were just lying around from when my son was younger."

"Can he read?" Luke questioned turning to look at Cadan. He didn't think most three-year-olds could read, but it probably wasn't uncommon.

"I think he can understand a few of the words, but he mostly just looks at the pictures and makes up his own stories; him and his lion." She pointed at the stuffed animal. Its left ear was hanging off, some of his mane was missing, and his left eye was gone. Luke figured he could easily fix it with some time.

"How are you doing?" Cadan asked curiously and Luke looked her way.

"I'm fine," he responded glancing back at the lion. "Who gave him that lion?" he was avoiding the subject, but it really wasn't this lady's business how he was doing. Besides, he wasn't exactly sure how he felt. There was too much going on with him right now to really pinpoint what he was feeling.

"I think Liz bought it for him. I don't know. He had it when they moved in." At least Cadan knew when to let the subject drop. Luke silently thanked her for that.

She helped him pack up what little belongings Jess owned. She followed him to the doorway, and Luke turned to thank her.

"You take care of that little boy okay," she said before he could open his mouth. Luke nodded, said good-bye, and carried the box down the steps and out the door to his truck.

He put the box on the floor and started his truck, checking his watch. He had a little over an hour to get to Social Worker Angela's office.

GG

He managed to get lost twice, but eventually found the child service's office. He parked on the street, out front, feeding the meter. It was a small office, squashed between a coffee place and a pawn shop. Luke was fairly certain there was a bail bondsman across the street.

When Luke walked inside, he spotted a plant sitting next to the door. There were a few doors scattered across the interior, names etched across the wood. Luke found the right one in seconds and knocked.

"Come in," a familiar voice said and Luke pushed the door open. Inside the office, Social Worker Angela sat at her desk while Jess was sitting on the floor, The Cat in the Hat lying across his lap. He looked up at his uncle's entrance, his slowly healing face lighting up.

"Hi," Luke said smiling down at Jess. The little boy smiled back before looking back at his book.

"Mr. Danes, you're early," Angela exclaimed putting her pen down and checking her watch.

"Oh sorry," he said looking at her.

"That's okay," she replied smiling. "Please, sit down." She gestured to the chair across from her, and Luke obliged. "I have the paperwork here, somewhere." She searched her desk for a few moments, finding the papers underneath a stack of children's books.

"Before I give these to you, Mr. Danes, I have to know: are you sure about this?" Angela gave him a questioning look, and Luke was reminded of Bootsy the night before. Except this time he answered the question.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Okay."

She went over what Luke needed to sign and fill out, and Luke did as he was instructed. Once the paperwork was finished she smiled and said, "He's yours to take home." An elated feeling washed over Luke as he glanced down at his nephew. "Just a few things to go over before you go. When you ultimately do apply for permanent custody, you are going to need a copy of his birth certificate, your social security card, his, your id, your home address, and work address.

"Ultimately the courts will try to track down the birth father and have him sign over paternity to you. Once they accomplish that, or if they can't find him, they will then set up an interview with you. After the interview they'll give you a court date and the judge will give you his decision. Okay?"

"How do I get a copy of his birth certificate?" Luke replied nodding, having a feeling Jimmy wouldn't put up much of a fight concerning his son.

"You'll need to fill out an application requesting it."

"Okay."

"I'd also advise you to at least talk to a family court lawyer. They'll be helpful and answer the questions I couldn't answer for you." She took a breath, smiling at Luke.

"I really hope you two have a great life," Angela said getting to her feet. Luke copied her, both shaking hands. She then turned to Jess. "Are you ready to go home with your uncle?" Jess nodded, dragging himself to his feet. He tried to hand his book back to Angela, but she shook her head. She crouched down and whispered, "You keep it. Okay?" he nodded once, his brown eyes wide.

"Come on, buddy," Luke said walking toward him. Like last time, he thought Jess was going to throw a fit, but the little boy allowed Luke to pick him up. However, unlike the night they met, he was a tad more content in Luke's arms.

"It was really nice meeting you, Mr. Danes," Angela informed him as she walked him to the exit.

"Likewise," he replied with a smile.

"If you have any questions don't hesitate to call."

"Will do."

"Oh and…" she trailed off, rushing back into her office. She returned a few seconds later with a couple books in her hand. "Here are some parenting books and one on dealing with child abuse. They should help you if you can't get a hold of me."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Bye Mr. Danes, bye Jess." She waved before closing the door behind them. Luke carried Jess to his truck, fumbling with the books to get his keys from his pocket. He managed to extract them, but ended up dropping one of the books.

"Crap," he whispered.

"Crap," he heard a small voice say. He glanced down at Jess, who was still holding his book. Luke shook his head once, unlocked the door, and put Jess on his seat. He stooped down, grabbed the book, and heard the same little voice yell, "ZEKE!"

Luke popped up, watching as Jess abandoned his book and crawled across the seat. He scooped up the lion, hugging it close.

"Is Zeke his name?" Luke questioned and Jess nodded. "Who named him that?"

"Mommy," Jess said quietly looked down at the lion. If Luke recalled correctly, Zeke was the name of the man who portrayed The Cowardly Lion in Dorothy's dream. The Wizard of Oz used to be Liz's favorite movie. She could name all the characters, used to sing all the songs, and could get annoying when she recited the lines word for word.

"Where's Mommy?" the question hit Luke hard. He knew Jess was going to ask. Despite her tendency to get high and let her boyfriends hit him, she was still his mother. She still took care of him. He had to be missing her on some level.

"Buddy, Mommy isn't with us anymore," he replied softly meeting Jess' dark eyes.

"How come?

"It was her time to go." Luke had no idea how to explain death to a three-year-old. He glanced at the books in his hand, wondering if there was something in there somewhere. Lucky for Luke, Jess let the subject drop when he spotted a stray cat. He watched the cat for a second before glancing down at his lion. "It's like mine."

"Yep," Luke responded getting into the truck. "Just like yours."

GG

"What's dis place?" Jess asked when they pulled up to Luke's.

"This is where you live now," Luke replied looking up at his diner.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to be taking care of you now."

"Like Anjula said?"

"Exactly like Angela said," Luke informed Jess, nodding. He got out of the truck, walking around to the passenger side. He opened it up, unbuckling Jess' seatbelt and pulling him from the cab. He put him on the sidewalk, and turned to get Jess' things out.

"Luke," he heard a sing-song voice call his name. He turned to see Miss Patty rushing toward him. Jess ran around his legs, clinging to his pant leg. He poked his head out, watching the older woman cautiously.

"I don't blame you," Luke muttered under his breath just as Patty stopped in front of him.

"I just want to check if you were okay, dear," she said in the exact same sympathetic voice people saved for the family of the dead and dying, reaching for his hands.

"I'm fine," Luke responded slowly making a show to tighten his hold on the box. Patty let her hand drop to her side.

"I am sure you are, but I just wanted to check on you. I am no stranger to losing someone close to me. You just have to keep your chin up." she glanced down at Jess, who had hidden himself behind Luke's legs again.

"Who's this?" she asked smiling at Jess.

"This is my nephew, Jess," Luke replied gesturing to the boy with his free hand while he tried to keep the box from falling. "He's going to be living with me."

"I heard about that. I was just wondering when he was going to get here." Luke wasn't surprised by this news; Miss Patty knew almost everything that went on in the town. He was a tad surprised when she said, "Oh, he looks like you."

She crouched down to Jess' height, with some difficulty with her shawls and skirts in the way. "I'm Miss Patty. It's nice to meet you."

Jess kept his face hidden for a few seconds, but very slowly he looked up at her. She smiled and he reluctantly returned it. Miss Patty pushed herself to her feet, meeting Luke's eyes. "If you ever want to sign him up for dance…"

"Good bye, Patty," Luke snapped ushering Jess toward the door.

"Take care, honey," Patty called after him, "and it's nice to meet you Jess!"

"I guarantee it, they are going to be swarming in packs to see you," Luke informed his nephew as he unlocked his diner door. "They don't have enough of a life to keep themselves from butting into other people's lives."

He led Jess through the diner and toward the entryway to the apartment. They climbed the steps, Jess looking around with wide eyes. Luke stopped outside of his apartment, positioning the box so he could unlock the door.

"Welcome home," he said opening the door. Jess hesitated in the threshold for a few seconds before carefully stepping into Luke's apartment. He looked around, slowly wandering through the small space.

Luke left him to his meandering and took the box of clothes, books, and Zeke over to the space where Jess would sleep. He set the box in the corner, making a mental note to put the clothes away later. There was a chance he might have to go shopping again (shit) and buy more clothes and maybe some toys for Jess.

"Uncle Luke," he heard Jess say and turned to see him standing a few feet from him. "I needa pee."

"The bathroom's there," Luke replied leading Jess towards the door on the far end of his apartment. "Do you, uh, need any help?" Luke never felt so awkward in his life, staring at Jess praying he didn't need any help. Jess shook his head and disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door as best as he could.

Luke wandered over to the couch, knowing it'd be a really weird if he lingered by the door. At least Liz accomplished a few things with her son. Luke would have hated to have to potty train Jess.

He heard a clatter from the bathroom and sprang to his feet. He burst into the room, stopping when he noticed his dad's old, fish-shaped soap dish lying on the floor. The tail end had broken off, and Jess was sitting in the corner with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as tears threatened to spill from his wide, fear-filled eyes. "I'm sorry," he repeated and Luke could see he was visibly shaking. When he tried to approach him, Jess shrank against the wall.

"Hey, it's okay," Luke whispered crouching down to his nephew's height. "Don't worry about it." He glanced back at the broken dish, remembering how his father had bought it at a garage sale for a quarter. He said it was the best deal he ever made. "It was old."

"I'm sorry," Jess said, once again, in a small voice.

"I'm not mad," Luke responded softly, carefully gathering him into his arms. He pushed himself to his feet, carrying him to the couch. He sat down, lightly bouncing his legs up and down.

"Y-you're not mad?" Jess whispered hiccupping, scrubbing at his eyes.

"No," Luke responded softly. He couldn't help hating his sister for introducing Jess to her boyfriends. It seemed whenever he did anything they deemed 'wrong,' whether it was his fault or not, they would punish him. "In fact, I think we can fix it," he continued smiling.

"Really?" Jess hiccupped again.

"Yeah, I think there's some super glue in the storage room. Let's go get it."

"Okay," his nephew replied sniffing, giving Luke a watery smile.

GG

Luke called the funeral home that night while Jess sat at the table eating dinner. He made arrangements to have Liz cremated without a service. The director said he wouldn't be able to pick his sister up until Monday, meaning Luke had to make an extra trip to New York after he stopped in Hartford to get the application to apply for Jess' birth certificate.

Once he hung up, he joined Jess at the table. He glanced at Jess' plate, noticing the carrots he had pushed to the edge.

"You don't like carrots?" he asked curiously.

"They're icky," Jess responded pushing another carrot into the pile. "I don' like veg'tables."

"If you eat them we'll have ice cream," Luke responded with a smile. He had heard one of his customers say those exact words to her daughter. It worked with the little girl, maybe it would work on Jess. And Luke could easily make a cone full of sugar free ice cream.

"Ice cream?" his nephew's interests were peaked. "I like ice cream."

"Then eat those carrots or you won't get any."

Jess looked conflicted as he glanced down at his plate. He wanted ice cream, but he didn't want to eat his vegetables. The prospect of ice cream must of looked good to him because he started shoveling carrots into his mouth. Once they were gone, he looked up at Luke expectantly.

"Fine, let's go get some ice cream."

After they had ice cream, Luke left Jess to his own devices while he washed the dishes. Once they were clean, he moved toward the couch to sit down. Instead, Jess was sitting there, a book sitting across his lap, looking up at Luke.

"You want me to read you a story?" Luke asked curiously and Jess nodded. "Okay." He sat down next to his nephew, picking the book up. "Green Eggs and Ham? Your grandma used to read this to your mom and me all the time."

"Really?"

"Yup," Luke replied nodding. "Your grandma loved this book."

"Read it, pwease."

"Okay." He flipped the book open, cleared his throat, and began to read: "'That Sam I am. That Sam I am. I do not like that Sam I am.'"

He felt Jess scoot closer to him, his brown eyes settling on the page. He seemed to follow along as Luke read each word, his attention span unlike any three-year-old Luke had ever met. He knew it was because of the book.

"'…I do so like green eggs and ham! Thank you! Thank you! Sam I am!'" Luke closed the book a while later, looking down to see Jess asleep against his arm. He smiled slightly, maneuvering out from underneath his nephew. He set the book onto his kitchenette counter, carefully picking Jess up.

He carried his nephew to his little bed, putting him down onto the mattress. He pulled his shoes off and threw the blankets over him. He carefully kissed the side of his head before getting ready for bed himself. He had to open the diner in the morning.

Luke had been barely asleep when he heard sniffling. He peeled one, heavy eyelid open to see Jess standing next to his bed. His eyes were red and he was carrying Zeke the lion by one arm.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked sitting up.

"I-I can' sleep," Jess hiccupped scrubbing at his eyes.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Jess nodded, rubbing his eyes again and sniffling. "Do you want to sleep up here with me?" Another nod. "Come on."

Luke moved over, helping Jess clamber onto the bed. They took a moment to get situated before Luke felt Jess drift off to sleep again. As he lay there, waiting for sleep to claim him once more, he thought that parenting wasn't that hard.

GG

Green eggs and Ham is my favorite children's book :)

Thanks for every review, alert, and favorite last chapter. You guys are amazing and I can't think you enough.

I do hope you enjoyed this, the next chapter is done as well (and introduces Lorelai a little early. I hope you don't mind). I'll try to update sometime next week.

So, I own nothing, thanks for reading, and I should go.

PEACE OUT...