This is unbetaed (I haven't heard from my beta in a while, I just hope she's okay) so all mistakes are mine.

Thanks for reading, alerting, and reviewing last chapter. You guys are amazing.

So, drop a comment if you can. All court stuff was researched, but I have a feeling I messed up on something. And I own nothing.

See ya in the next chapter.

Bye...

P.S. I have never read Oliver Twist, but I did use Sparknotes for the information on it. I know, I need to read more classics... sorry Harry, but it's true :D

GG

The day before he had to go to court, Luke went over everything he needed six times. He had talked to Social Worker Angela and Maisy and Buddy's lawyer-the former had given him a list of what he would need while the latter went over the court proceeding-and he had gathered the required items into a folder and stuck it on his table. Even though he knew he had everything, a part of him felt like he was forgetting something.

"Stop worrying Luke," he muttered to himself. "It'll be okay."

"Luke," he heard a small voice say and looked down to see Jess carrying one of his new books. Lorelai and Rory had given it to him for his birthday. It was a chapter book the older of the two found in the inn's collection of books.

"Oliver Twist, huh?" Luke took the book from Jess, picked the little boy up, and carried him to his bed. He put him back on the floor, waited until his nephew was tucked in, and sat in the small chair next to the bed, maneuvering it so Jess could easily see the words. "Okay, where were we…?"

Luke began reading about 'Artful Dodger' and 'Fagin' while he wondered just who in the hell would name their child 'Fagin.' He was about halfway through chapter ten when Jess nodded off.

Luke marked their spot and placed the book on the small desk he had procured from Miss Patty ('I insist, dear, it's just collecting dust in my studio') and returned to his nephew's side to fuss with his blankets. He planted a kiss on the side of the small boy's head, trying not to think what would happen if he didn't return with him tomorrow.

After checking the paperwork for the seventh time, he got ready for bed. For a while, he just tossed and turned as he tried to staunch the nerves that were attacking him. A few times he drifted off, only to be awoken by dreams where Jess was either been handed off to Jimmy or placed in a home and adopted by more abusive people.

It was after another one of those horrible dreams-sometime around four-when Luke gave up on sleep and decided to take a shower. Once he was clean and dressed for the day, he checked, once again, the paperwork sitting on his table.

He walked towards his kitchenette, and started to make some tea. Instead of using a kettle-he didn't even think he owned a kettle-he filled a pan full of water and set it on the stove, lighting it. While waiting for the water to bowl, he dug into his cupboard for his tea tin. He opened the top, taking out one of the teabags.

When he was younger, his mother would make tea when she was stressed. Luke had picked the same habit up from her. And worrying about whether or not he was going to keep his nephew was enough to warrant tea.

He went through five cups of tea before waking Jess. For a while, as he helped Jess get ready, Luke managed to keep his mind off the hearing. But there was only so much help he could give his nephew. Recently, the smaller boy had decided he wanted to do things on his own and rarely asked Luke for help.

Once they had eaten breakfast and were presentable for court, Luke and Jess descended the stairs and entered the diner. The older man had intended to leave a list of things for Caesar to do while he was gone but couldn't remember where he left his pen.

"Lorelai," Jess said softly pointing at the door getting his uncle's attention. Luke followed his nephew's finger, seeing the young woman waving at him. He crossed the floor, Jess trailing behind him, and unlocked the door to let Lorelai inside.

"There's no coffee," Luke informed her.

"Not here for coffee," she replied holding up her own coffee cup.

"Then why are you…?" he trailed off when he realized she was wearing nicer clothes than he normally saw her in. It wasn't that she didn't dress nice, she always did, but usually Luke saw her in jeans and t-shirts.

"I'm coming with you guys," Lorelai confirmed what Luke had already figured out.

"No," he said shaking his head.

"Luke, you need moral support, and I want to give it. Besides, I'm not taking no for an answer. I took the morning off, Rory is with Mia, and I'm going. That's final."

GG

Jess sat between Lorelai and Luke, watching the scenery above him through the giant glass. He remembered Luke calling it a 'windshield' and could kinda see what he meant. The glass stopped wind from getting into the truck. Of course, it also kept out bugs and birds. Why didn't they call it a wind, bug, and bird shield?

He opened his mouth to ask, but thought better of it. He wasn't one-hundred percent sure what was going on, but he heard Luke telling Lorelai about court. Jess didn't know what 'court' was, but his uncle Luke didn't seem very happy about it.

Jess really wished Rory could be there, too. He would feel better, but Lorelai was a great replacement. She was fun, more like a kid herself than a mommy. And since Jess' mommy wasn't around anymore, he'd rather have Lorelai with him and Luke. She was nice and he liked her.

"Hey, Jess, do you want to play a game?" Lorelai asked and he looked up, nodding. "Okay. What's your favorite color?" Oh, colors, he knew colors. Rory had given him a book about colors and he liked to use color crayons to draw.

"Green," he replied quietly.

Lorelai smiled. "Mine, too. Though, I don't mind pink either, but green is an awesome color. And I look really good in it." Funny Lorelai, she always talked so fast. Luke said she was like the pink bunny from the battery commercial.

"Okay, here's the game," she continued and pointing at a car. "Every time you see a green car, you count it. Okay?" He wasn't too good with numbers, yet. Luke had tried teaching him a few times, and he could count to eleven, but he knew there were more numbers than that. Though, he really wanted to learn the others.

"It's okay," Lorelai said softly, winking at him, "I'll help you count."

"Thank you," he replied smiling at her.

"So, Luke, do you want to play?" Lorelai asked looking at Jess' uncle.

"I'm watching the road," Luke responded keeping his eyes on the wind/bug/bird shield. This was normal for Jess. Lorelai would ask his uncle to do something, and the older man would tell her 'no.' Usually, she kept poking at him, but today it seemed Lorelai was going to leave him alone.

"Fine, it'll just be more fun for Jess and me."

They spent the remainder of the car ride looking for green cars. Jess wondered if there was more to the game, but he was having too much fun to ask. They were up to sixteen cars (Jess was so excited he had counted that high) by the time they arrived at this 'court' place.

"We're a little early," Luke informed them checking his watch.

"I think they want you to be early," Lorelai replied as they got out of the truck. Lorelai helped Jess down and set him on the sidewalk. As they crossed the street to the building, she took his hand and walked with him. She didn't let it go even when they were inside the building. Jess didn't mind as much as he thought he would.

They walked down the hall, and Jess spotted Angela sitting in a chair. He remembered her from the day he went to live with Luke, and she was very nice to him. She had even given him one of his favorite books: The Cat in the Hat. Before she did that, the last person to give him books was his old neighbor. Now, it seemed everyone gave him books, and he loved them for it.

"Hello, Luke," Angela greeted Jess' uncle as she got to her feet. She shook hands with him and Lorelai, who introduced herself, and then crouched down to Jess' height. "How are you?" she asked with a smile.

"Fine," Jess replied softly almost running behind Luke's legs. He managed to stop himself when he remembered how Rory would look people in their eyes and brightly say, "Hi."

"That's great," Angela responded and stood back up, turning back to Luke. "Okay, so the court managed to track his father down."

"Okay," Luke said nodding. Jess wondered why he looked a little scared.

"Don't worry," Angela assured the older man, sounding a tad angry. "It seems he was out of it, and readily gave up his parental rights."

"I'm not surprised," Jess' uncle muttered but look less scared.

"Okay, we just need to show the judge the paperwork and go over everything you and the lawyer discussed on the phone, and get the judge's ruling. I'm sure he will rule in your favor, and Jess will be yours for good. From there you can think about adoption."

Luke nodded, looking down at Jess. The little boy didn't understand what exactly was going on, but from what he gathered it seemed this mean judge might want to take Jess from Luke. The little boy did not want that at all. He liked living with Luke; he liked seeing Rory, Lorelai, Caesar, and the entire town every day, and they couldn't take him away.

He felt his eyes stinging and tried to brush away the tears before they started to fall. Lorelai was the first to recognize him and softly said, "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"I d-don't w-wanna leave," Jess hiccupped and Luke gathered him in his arms.

"You're not going anywhere. I promise," his uncle informed him and gave him a hug. He sniffed and nodded, burying his face in his uncle's neck. If Luke said he wasn't going anywhere then he wasn't going anywhere.

GG

Luke couldn't believe his nephew thought he was leaving. He had been very careful not to discuss the hearing in front of Jess, but he guessed sometimes the little boy did pick up on conversations. He was a little too perceptive for a three year old.

After Jess calmed down, Luke was called into the courtroom. Lorelai was allowed inside, as long as she stayed quiet and sat in the back. She took Jess from Luke, doing as she was told, and he gave her one final look before following the bailiff and Angela to the front of the room.

The judge was an older woman, with graying blond hair and piercing eyes. She waited until Luke was in hearing range before saying, "Guardianship hearing?"

"Yes, ma'am," Luke responded nodding.

"Let's begin."

First, Social Worker Angela spoke on Luke's behalf. She showed the judge the paperwork on the inspection of Luke's place, the background check they did, and the letter's Maisy and Buddy had written for him. She talked for a quarter of an hour before the judge dismissed her. Then, the older woman turned to Luke.

"Do you have the required paperwork?"

He nodded again and handed his folder to the bailiff and he carried it to the judge. She placed a pair of reading glasses on her face, flipping through all the paperwork sitting in front of her. She seemed to read through everything several times, nodded a few times, and then looked up at Luke.

"It says here that you own a diner," she commented looking over her glasses.

"I do," Luke confirmed nodding again. He really wished he'd stop nodding, it made him look stupid.

"And it's only been open two years?"

"This November, yes," he replied fighting the urge to nod.

"Are you sure this business can support yourself and a child? Most businesses do not pick up revenue until they are well into their second year or the beginning of their third."

"I, uh, I have a little money saved up from when my dad died. It should hold us over until the diner hits its stride."

"'Should' doesn't always pan out, Mr. Danes. I need to know that you are financially secure if I am going to allow you to continue raising this little boy." She looked down at the paperwork again. "It says here you are not married. Usually, a two person household…"

"Yet," a voice called out and everyone turned, as one, to look Lorelai's way. Carrying Jess, she walked towards Luke. He gave her a questioning look; she ignored him, and stopped short of the little door separating the defendant/prosecution area from the viewing seats.

"Excuse me?" the judge question, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry, Lorelai Gilmore here; it's just Luke always seems to forget to tell people. I mean, I don't really blame him, it only happened two nights ago." Great, Lorelai was babbling, that helped matters… not.

"Ma'am, please get to the point," the judge responded impatiently.

"Luke and I are getting married," Lorelai replied after a deep breath. Luke was too much in shock to deny her words. She just said… And he just heard her say… What? "Yes, he surprised me a few days ago. I mean, we've only been serious a few months, and I wasn't even sure he was the marrying type (he's kind of a hermit), but when he asked me I just couldn't say no.

"And since I just got promoted at the inn I work at, I work behind the desk now, and have gotten a pretty good pay raise. Luke and I can provide a very loving home for Jess. Plus, my daughter just loves him. They are inseparable." Lorelai sucked in a breath, letting it out slowly. "Ma'am, you can't take Jess away from Luke. He's too important to him, too important to my daughter and me. Plus, Luke has been the best thing to happen to this kid." She gestured to Jess before looking back at the judge, whose eyebrows were furrowed. "And I should probably sit down now."

Lorelai ignored the looks Luke still threw her as she carried Jess back to their seats. Luke waited until they were sitting down before turning back to the judge.

"I'm sorry for…"

"Mr. Danes, let me speak," the judge interrupted and he nodded. She was quiet for several minutes, looking back down at the paperwork.

Luke's stomach felt as if it had been kicked repeatedly and he wanted nothing more than to seize the woman, shake her, and shout 'Tell me, can I keep him!' But that would probably lose him Jess. So, he stayed completely still, still reeling from Lorelai's confession. They were not getting married; they barely knew each other long enough to get married.

The judge looked up, getting Luke's attention, and she said, "I hereby grant you, Mr. Lucas Danes, full custody of minor Jess Mariano." She picked up her gavel, banged it on the wooden surface of her stand, and got to her feet. "You may go, Mr. Danes."

Luke didn't move, he couldn't move. Had he just won? Had the judge ruled in his favor? He wasn't sure if it was Lorelai's speech, Lorelai's faux confession, or the pure fact that she couldn't bear to see another kid get thrown in the system, but the judge have given him Jess. He fought the urge to hug her, but was saved the humiliation when Angela gave him her own hug.

"Congratulations, Mr. Danes."

"Yeah, Luke, congratulations," he heard Lorelai say and was bombarded by another hug when Angela let go.

"Married?" he whispered in Lorelai's ear.

"Hey, it worked didn't it?"

He held her at arm's length, noticing the smile on her face, and muttered, "You are a very strange woman, Lorelai Gilmore."

"I like to think of myself as mysterious," she replied grinning. He gave her a small glare and she shrugged and said, "Hey, that's what friends are for.

"Yeah, that's what friend are for," Luke muttered and from that day forward, Lorelai Gilmore became his best friend.