Hi all! Thanks for being patient with updates. I don't have a job where I get as much free time as I used to be able to hence the longer time between updates. Here is Chapter 6! Hope you like it. More soon when I can.

The next afternoon, Luke and Lorelai were driving back home from their meeting at the Police Station in Hartford. The last few hours seemed to have flown by in a flash. It didn't seem possible that yesterday morning they woke up with Sadie lying in her crib beside them and now they were driving home alone.

Luke looked in the rearview mirror and cringed when he saw the empty space where Sadie's car seat had been. They had been asked to hand it over to Sadie's grandparents when they took her. Luke slowed down as he came to a red light and looked over at his wife to see her leaning her head against the window and could tell she was trying not to cry.

Sighing he started to drive again when the light turned green and he thought back to the night before when he had to tell her who was on the phone.

A few hours later, the snow was falling outside on this cold November day and Luke had a fire burning in the fireplace. Lorelai had given Sadie a little bath and then brought her downstairs to feed her. Luke was right by her side, placing a soft blanket over Sadie as she lay in his wife's arms.

Sadie's eyes began to flutter shut as she snuggled into Lorelai's side after she finished her bottle, "Does she seem okay?" Luke asked.

Lorelai nodded, "She's alright...just needs some rest."

Luke sighed and rested his elbow on the back of the couch, "How do you just know this stuff?"

Lorelai looked up at him and smiled, "Hon I don't know everything. Trust me...the first few times Rory got sick Mia had to keep me from running to the hospital. But she'll be okay. I promise. Just a little cold I think."

Luke sighed and reached a hand out to touch Sadie's forehead, "She's not as warm."

"See?" Lorelai whispered, "She's okay. She's strong…"

Luke smiled and leaned forward to kiss her cheek, "She's very strong…She has to be to handle all of this."

Lorelai sighed and ran a hand over her fine hair, "Yeah. She does…"

Luke looked up at her and was about to say something to his wife when the phone rang interrupting him from his thoughts. He smiled at Lorelai and stood up, walking over to the desk he lifted the phone to his ear and said; "Hello?"

"Mr. Danes?" A voice on the other end said, "This is Detective Harris…"

Luke fidgeted slightly, his heart started pounding in his chest, "Oh...hi."

He looked over and saw the way that Lorelai was lost in the moment, holding Sadie as she hummed softly to the sleeping girl. He knew whatever was about to say wasn't going to be easy to hear no matter what the outcome was.

"Mr. Danes we found Jessica's parents. They are heading down to Connecticut to meet with us in the morning." He said.

Luke sucked in a breath, "Oh well...well that's good."

"We'd like you to bring Sadie in so they could see her. And they may potentially take her home with them if they decide to take custody for the time being until we can locate the child's Mother." He said.

Luke looked up and saw Lorelai giving him a questioning look, "Who is it?" She asked him.

Luke sighed and gave her a soft smile before answering the Detective, "We'll see you in the morning. Thanks for calling."

He hung up the phone and slowly turned to his wife. She looked so peaceful holding Sadie, yet she had a nervous expression on her face. They knew it was coming...they had talked about it today even. And yet he knew this was still going to break her heart...and quite frankly his too.

"Luke?" She asked softly, "Hon, what is it?"

He sighed and walked over to the couch knowing there was no use in waiting...no matter when he told her it was going to hurt. But they had to do this together...and they had to do this for Sadie. He just hoped that whatever happened would be in her best interest…

He sat down beside her and reached out to touch Sadie's little cheek, happy that it wasn't warm like it had been before. He had been so nervous when he thought she was sick and yet Lorelai was so calm. He wished he could go back to that moment because that fear and worry was less than what he was feeling now.

He heard Lorelai's voice falter before she whispered, "We have to give her back don't we?"

He took a deep breath and looked up at her, "Jessica's parents are on their way to Connecticut. We have to go into the station tomorrow…"

Lorelai looked back down at Sadie and kissed her head, "Oh. Well thats...that's good."

His eyes closed slowly and he leaned forward to put his hand on her shoulder, "You don't have to hide from me...we've been talking about this."

She swallowed the lump in her throat, she rested her chin on Sadie's head gently and glanced up at her husband with tear filled eyes, "What if they aren't good people?"

He sighed and frowned, "I know. But...technically they have the right to take her."

"I know." She whispered in a shaky voice, "I know. But...they didn't want her before. What if they take her and then just abandon her again?"

"We don't know what is going to happen. Detective Harris said if they choose to take custody she will have to go...but who knows maybe they don't want too." He whispered.

She sniffled, "Why would they be coming all the way down here if they didn't want to bring her home? Couldn't they just say no over the phone?"

His heart sank in his chest and he looked down, "I guess…"

Lorelai rocked Sadie back and forth, "Why did I think we had more time?"

Luke sighed and rested his head in his hands, "I don't know."

"Although that probably would have made this harder." She whispered, "How is it possible she's only been here for such a short time and yet...I can't let her go."

Luke looked over at his wife and the little girl in his arms and wished that somehow he could have prevented all of this from happening. Was it wrong of him to suggest letting Sadie stay with them? Looking back on it he was just trying to make his wife happy...he knew she was scared for the girl.

Never in his wildest dreams though did he expect to fall so hard for this little baby. And yet now that she was here...he couldn't imagine their home without her.

Back in the car, Lorelai was trying so hard not to fall apart. Ever since she handed Sadie over to her Grandmother she was pretty sure her heart was going to burst from her chest and she was going to fall apart. She had been vaguely aware of the way Luke instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist, she knew he was trying to keep her up right.

He had led her to the car in silence and they started to drive away. It was all such a blur. And now here they were pulling back into Stars Hollow and up to their house. Just the two of them…

Luke put the Jeep in park and they sat there for a moment. She knew he wasn't always a man of many words and that was okay. Because right now she wasn't sure there was anything he could say to make her feel any better. She knew though...that he was hurting just as much as she was.

Taking a deep breath she made the first move to exit the car and he quickly followed. Together they walked up the porch steps and she waited for Luke to unlock the door. Paul Anka greeted them in the foyer, sniffed around and walked behind Luke expecting to find the little baby that had invaded his house.

When they first brought her home, Paul Anka wasn't sure what ot make of the tiny baby. And when she cried the old dog went running for the hills to hide under whatever surface he could find. And yet in the last few days he had enjoyed being near little Sadie and didn't seem so afraid. Paul Anka whimpered and looked up at Luke and Lorelai, both of them smiled sadly down at him.

Luke cleared his throat, "He might be hungry. I think I forgot to feed him this morning…"

Lorelai took a deep breath, "Yeah…"

He shoved his keys in his pockets, "You didn't eat much either. Do you want me to make you a sandwich?"

She turned to him, tried to smile but he knew it was forced, "Sure. Thanks hon."

He smiled, reached out and squeezed her arm gently before turning to walk into the kitchen. Paul Anka seemed to follow Lorelai though, somehow sensing that she needed him more. Luke was grateful for that because he didn't want her to be alone.

He walked into the kitchen, filled Paul Anka's dish and then washed his hands. He walked over to the fridge to take out what he would need to make them some sandwiches. As his eyes roamed the shelves his breath caught in his throat and the pain enveloped him. A simple jar of homemade baby food was left in the fridge.

Sweet Potatoes.

Sadie's favorite.

Just two days earlier he had been feeding them to her making her giggle and laugh. They had tried every type of baby food and they had all come right back up. So Luke had decided to take matters into his own hands looked up a recipe and made them for the little girl. He thought back to the moment when she finally ate them.

Lorelai sighed and pushed the jar of banana baby food away, "Still no on the bananas." She shook her head, "I don't understand. Taylor said this was the best selling brand in his store. Why won't she eat it?"

Luke rolled his eyes, "What does Taylor know about babies?"

She smiled, "Nothing. But if people buy it often he knows."

Luke took a bowl out of the fridge and shrugged, "Maybe she has more developed taste buds than most. Unlike you she won't just eat anything."

She scoffed at him, "I take great offense to that."

He rolled his eyes, "You know it's the truth."

She stuck her tongue out at him and looked at the bowl, "What is this stuff?"

He blushed and fidgeted in his seat, dipping a spoon into the mixture, "It's uh...just something I whipped up."

A slow smile began to spread on her lips, "You made her baby food?"

Luke sighed and looked at her quickly, "It's no big deal."

"You looked up a recipe and made something from scratch for her?" She said, her heart pounding in her chest.

He bowed his head, "Can we not do this? She may hate it just like the other stuff. I just...I had the ingredients and figured I'd give it a shot. IT was slow at the Diner this morning."

Lorelai squealed and looked over at Sadie who was looking at them curiously, "You're in for a treat little girl. Luke makes the best food in the world. I bet his baby food will be spectacular too!"

He smirked, "Best food in the world?"

She shrugged, "You're my man. Of course it's the best. I get to have my own personal chef. Pretty spectacular babe."

He smiled at her, "Glad to know I'm still good for something."

"Oh you're good for a lot of things Luke." She said giving him a nudge, "I bet one of those things is making delicious baby food."

"Guess we won't know until we try." He said with a shrug, "Should we do it?"

Lorelai nodded, "Absolutely." She turned to Sadie, "What do you think pretty girl? Want to try something new?" Sadie just smiled and Lorelai laughed, "I think she's in."

Luke took a deep breath and slowly moved the spoon towards the little girl, "Alright. Let's give this a shot. Open your mouth kiddo."

Sadie eyed him curiously for a moment and he was pretty sure that both Lorelai and he were holding their breath as they waited. But finally, Sadie opened her mouth and allowed him to put the spoon on her mouth. She moved it around in her mouth for a moment, swallowed it and then smiled and hit her hands on the high chair.

Lorelai put her hands in the air, "We have a winner!"

Luke smiled at Sadie, "Huh...it worked."

Lorelai smiled, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, "See...best food in the world. You even beat out Gerber baby! We should market this stuff!"

Luke turned to her and smiled, "You're crazy."

"I know." She said leaning forward, he nuzzled her nose and kissed him gently, "But you love me."

He smiled, "You bet I do."

Lorelai smiled, gave him another quick kiss and then turned back to Sadie, "Ready for some more?" Sadie cooed and so they continued to feed her.

And for a moment...all seemed right in the world.

He felt the lump grow larger and larger in his throat and he reached for it, took it out and dumped its contents down the sink before rinsing out the jar. He put it in the recycling, leaned against the counter and sighed...this was going to be harder than he thought.

Back in the living room, Lorelia sat down on the couch and stared off into the distance. It was quiet. To quiet.

She had always hated it when it was to quiet. Ever since she was a kid...no noise made her have to think. And thinking lead to worry. And worry led to tears and so she bottled it all up.

As a kid she would crank the music as loud as possible to avoid it much to her Mother's dismay. Even when she had Rory in the potting shed she had to have some sort of noise at night. And now...it was to quiet. Way to quiet and she hated it.

Paul Anka jumped up on the couch and put his paw on her arm. She looked down at him and felt the tears burning in the back of her eyes. Then her eyes fell behind Paul Anka and that pain ignited even more. Behind Paul Anka was a little bunny blanket that Rory had brought for little Sadie…

"She's pretty cute." Rory said smiling down at her, "Cute little smile."

Lorelai beamed down at the little baby, "I know. She smiles a lot...it's adorable. Melts Luke's tough little heart."

Rory laughed, "Oh I have no doubt in that. Underneath all the flannel he's a big old softie."

Lorelai smiled and leaned down to touch Sadie's cheek, "Yes he is."

Rory fidgeted a little, "She probably doesn't have a lot of toys or anything here…"

Lorelai sighed, "We got a few little things but no...she doesn't have much."

Rory stood up and walked to her bag, "Well...I got her something. I don't know if that's weird but I saw it at the store before I left and I just thought maybe she'd like it."

Lorelai's eyes widened in happiness, "You did?"

Rory sighed and walked over to them again, "It reminded me of the one that you gave me as a baby…"

Lorelai gasped when she saw the little pink bunny blanket, "Oh my goodness...you loved that blanket. You wore holes into it! I kept trying to sew it but by the end it was practically disintegrated."

"Pretty sure I have the pieces stuffed away somewhere." Rory said with a smirk.

"Of course you do." Lorelai said with a laugh as Rory leaned down to hand Sadie the blanket.

"Here you go Sadie...something to keep you company." Rory whispered.

Sadie wrapped her arms around the blanket and sighed, "I think she likes it." Lorelai whispered, giving her a nudge.

Rory turned to her Mom and smiled, "Yeah...I think she does."

Lorelai sighed and suddenly felt like she had everything she could have ever wanted all in one room. She just wished it would stay that way…

Lorelai lifted the little bunny blanket to her lips and the tears started to come...then when she realized it smelled like Sadie there was no holding back. Her shoulders started to shake, and the sobs began to wrack her body and there was no way to bottle it back up.

Paul Anka whined and snuggled into her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into her fur. It didn't take long for Luke to hear her and before she knew it he was at her side, holding both her and Paul Anka as close as possible. He didn't even say anything...and she knew the reason was because there was nothing to say. He was hurting just as much as she was…

She thought back to that moment when she had to hand Sadie over to her grandparents and the final piece of her broken heart shattered once and for all.

Luke and Lorelai sat together in a room in the back of the Hartford Police Station. Sadie was in her carrier sleeping soundly without a care in the world. Luke reached over and took Lorelai's hand when he felt her foot begin to tap on the ground. The usual signal that she was upset.

She looked at him and he tried to give her what he hoped was a hopeful smile. The door opened and Detective Harris walked in, he smiled gently at them, "They're here. Can I bring them back?"

Luke took a deep breath knowing he had to answer for them, "Uh yeah...yeah of course."

Detective Harris smiled understanding that this wasn't easy for them. He walked out of the room and Luke couldn't seem to take his eyes off of the door. After a moment, Detective Harris walked in with two people behind them.

Luke stood up and he heard Lorelai follow his head just a second after him. "Mr. and Mrs. Danes these are Sadie's Grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Herring."

Luke cleared his throat, "Hi."

Jessica's Mother walked into the room, "You're the ones that took care of the baby?"

Luke licked his lips nervously, "Yes...she's been staying with us."

Mr. Herring looked down at the carrier, "Huh."

Lorelai fidgeted nervously, "She's really well behaved…" Her cheeks burned bright when both Mr. and Mrs. Herring gave her a strange look, she couldn't think of anything better to say than that.

Mrs. Herring narrowed her eyes at Lorelai, "And how do you know my daughter?"

Lorelai clasped her hands in front of her, "She uh...she came to my Inn looking for a place to stay."

She raised an eyebrow at her, "And you just gave her one? No questions asked?"

Lorelai looked down, "I uh...I could relate to her situation. I wanted to help."

Mr. Herring snorted, "There is no helping our daughter Mrs. Danes. She's beyond repair. Always causing trouble."

Luke felt his heart pounding in his chest, "Have you heard from her?"

"No. And I don't expect too." Mr. Herring said, "Nor do I want too. She's caused us enough problems and now we he to take care of her kid on top of it all."

"Well...you technically don't have to take Sadie home with you." Detective Harris said. "We just wanted to talk to you."

Mrs. Herring rolled her eyes, "And what will happen to the kid if we don't take her? Lord knows Jessica isn't coming back. She's probably on the hunt for that boyfriend of hers. I knew he was no good. Look what he got her into. First the drugs, then the pregnancy and now this."

Lorelai's eyes widened, "Drugs?"

Mrs. Herring smirked, "You name it...my darling daughter has done it."

Luke and Lorelai shared a nervous look before glancing down at Sadie and then up at the Detectives again, "Well if you don't feel that you are prepared to take your Granddaughter we can make other arrangements."

Mr. Herring pointed towards Luke, "Well they don't want to keep her I'm sure."

Luke licked his lips, "Well we-"

"We wouldn't mind." Lorelai said shaking her head, "I mean…" Her face blushed, "She's...she's a great baby."

Mrs. Herring stared at her, "Don't you have a life of your own? Why do you want to take on a baby at this stage in your life? Lord knows I don't want too."

Lorelai's heart pounded in her chest as she looked down at the still sleeping Sadie, "She's...she's a great baby." She repeated again, unable to find any other words.

Mr. Herring sighed, "Look we're both exhausted. We had to drive all night. We don't know where Jessica is but we'll take the kid. So can we get this going please? I want to get back on the road sooner rather than later."

Detective Harris looked over at Luke and gave him an apologetic smile, "Sure."

Mr. Harris looked at Luke, "So thanks for taking care of her...we've got it from here. You can go."

Luke swallowed the lump in his throat, "So...that's it?" There was a silence in the room, "We just leave?"

Detective Harris took a deep breath, "Luke, Lorelai...we appreciate all your help. We'll be in contact as we look further into this case. But for now...yes you can just go."

Again, silence filled the room and no one knew what to say or do. Finally Luke turned to his wife, "Lorelai…"

She looked down at the carrier and saw that Sadie was awake now, staring up at her with wide curious eyes. Lorelai felt the lump growing in her throat as she leaned down, reaching into the carrier she picked up Sadie who just cooed up at her, "Hey Sadie girl…." Sadie reached a small hand out to her and Lorelai could feel her resolve breaking, "You're going to be okay now. Okay? I promise…"

"You can give her to me now." Mrs. Herring said impatiently.

Lorelai looked up, then back down again, "Goodbye sweet girl…" She pressed a kiss to her head and felt Luke rub Sadie's head too.

When she pulled back she gently handed Sadie off to her Grandmother and before she could even blink Mrs. Herring had turned and left the room. Mr. Herring leaned down, grabbed the carrier and then exited the room without saying anything else.

Luke and Lorelai stood completely still in the room feeling as though they were in shock. Detective Harris watched them carefully, "I'm really sorry about this…"

Luke licked his lips, "Do you even know if they are fit to take care of her?" He asked angrily.

Detective Harris sighed, "They are her Grandparents…they have the right to take her."

Luke nodded, "I understand that. But they kicked their daughter out. How do we know that they won't abandon Sadie like they did their own daughter?"

"I know that this must be difficult." He said sympathetically, "You two went above and beyond to help that little girl and I will do everything I can to keep tabs on her to make sure that she is being treated the right way."

"She deserves the best…" Lorelai whispered as she sniffled and wiped at her eyes, "She didn't ask for any of this."

Detective Harris nodded, "I know. I'll call you when I know more...I promise."

Lorelai reached for Luke's hand and he squeezed it. Detective Harris smiled again and walked out of the room. Now they were alone and the silence enveloped them both making it all settle in…

Here on the couch as Luke held her she sobbed into his chest and he didn't even try to stop the few tears that escaped the corner of his eyes. "It's so quiet…" She whispered into his neck, "I hate the quiet."

"I know." He whispered rubbing her back.

He knew this about his wife. The quiet never really bothered him...it sometimes made him feel lonely but he had lived most of his life in the quiet emptiness of his apartment. He had learned to live with it over the years but it drove her crazy.

It made her nervous. Anxious. It made every fear she had been trying to keep bottled up start to just explode inside of her. He had seen her break down in times of quiet and he knew that this time would probably be the worst. There had been so many sounds here lately, more than he was used to but he knew that Lorelai thrived off of it.

And if he was honest now it was way too quiet and he felt that emptiness too…

She pulled away from him, "Luke they didn't ask about her? Didn't even say her name! And now she's on her way home with them. They won't know that she only likes your special baby food. I forgot to bring her bunny blanket so she'll be lonely and-"

"Lorelai…" He whispered trying to rub her shoulders, "Take a breath."

"They don't want her." She said through her tears, hiccuping slightly, "If they had wanted her they would have let Jessica stay. But they threw them both away like trash."

He frowned, "Honey…"

"I want her." She said putting a hand to her chest, "I want her Luke. I want her."

He took a deep breath and pulled her back into his arms, "I know. So do I...but she's not ours. We knew that."

She clung to him, "She should be. She should be ours. They don't want her...they don't want her."

She kept repeating this over and over again as he tried to rub her back gently to soothe her. But deep down he knew there was nothing he could say or do to make this hurt go away. Mostly because it was eating away at him just as much as her. This was one fight he never saw coming...and more than that he wasn't sure how they were going to overcome this one.

Hours later, Lorelai had fallen asleep upstairs. Luke knew she was exhausted, she had barely slept the night before. Quite frankly neither had he…

It was like they could feel their time with Sadie coming to an end so they stayed awake to watch her. But now she was so distraught, the only thing she could really do was sleep. And Luke welcomed that sleep for her...he hoped it would help. He also hoped it would give him time to think of something to do...a way to fix this situation.

Sitting at the kitchen table nursing a cup of tea he listened to the rain beating down on the windows and the roof. He wondered how far they had gotten on their trip back to New Hampshire. He wondered if they had any supplies...diapers clothes or food to give her.

He wondered how they would react to Sadie not liking the baby food they tried to give her. He didn't imagine that either of them would have much patience for Sadie. They seemed angry and annoyed by the entire situation. They had mentioned Jessica doing drugs...that was a worry that was weighing very heavily on his mind since he left the Police Station and wondered what that meant for Sadie's future.

He lifted his tea to his lips and took a sip before lowering it down to the table again. He thought about Rory...and about April too. How would he react to them coming to him to say they were having a baby at such a young age?

Would he be happy? Would he be angry? Would he lash out and kick them out?

He knew the answer to that question.

Of course not. He could never do that to either of them no matter the situation.

He thought about Richard and Emily and how they had handled the situation with Lorelai. They hadn't kicked her out...Lorelai had left on her own. He knew she had her reasons. He knew that in the end it was probably the best thing for all of them because they needed that space to figure out what they all wanted and to truly understand each other.

He thought about his own sister...and how is Father had reacted to learning that she was pregnant with Jess. His Father didn't ever hide his anger well and he had yelled at his sister. He hadn't meant too...he was just frustrated. Mostly because he knew that Jimmy was not a good man and he would not stand by his daughter.

And of course he had been right. William had tried to do right by his daughter but she left with Jess too and that had broken their hearts.

He bowed his head and sighed. Why did it all have to be so complicated?

Why did these things keep happening? It was like they were on a hamster wheel of ups and downs that was never going to end.

What was the answer? Was there even an answer? Was there one simple solution that would make every single person happy?

He frowned, he knew the answer to all those questions was that there was no answer. Sometimes in life you just had to let it play out...and that's what he had to do now. Except it didn't mean it was easy.

He never expected Sadie or Jessica to come into their lives. He never expected to fall for this baby so easily and feel that Fatherly instinct so easily.

Then again...he never saw Lorelai and Rory coming either. Never expected to fall for Lorelai so easily and so fast. Never expected to feel that Fatherly instinct to Rory when he met her and even more so now.

He never saw April coming...never dreamed he'd have a kid out there for twelve years without realizing it.

But all of those things had happened.

All of those feelings had been developed and his life was complete.

Or so he thought.

But when Sadie showed up...it felt like she was filling in some hole he didn't realize was there.

So how was he supposed to pretend that those feelings weren't there? Yes they had said maybe they would talk about adopting or find a surrogate...but that attachment was still there.

So what the hell was he supposed to do now? And more than that...how did he fix this for his wife? Wasn't that what he was supposed to do? Be the one to fix these problems for her. Make sure she was happy no matter what. Less than a month married and now...now everything was falling apart all over again.

He felt the anger and frustration begin to build in him and he was about to yell when he heard a knock on the door. He stopped dead in his tracks and felt his heart pounding in his chest and heard himself trying to breath deeply.

The knock sounded again and he suddenly found himself pushing off the chair and dashing to the front door. He whipped it open and he had to admit that of all the people he expected to see...who he came face to face with wasn't what he ever would have dreamed of.

"Luke, right?" The girl said, "The husband?"

Luke took a deep breath, "Jessica...what are you doing here?"

She shoved her hands in her pockets and he saw her shaking in the rain, "I think we need to talk…"

Luke frowned and nodded his head, "Yeah...I think we do."

To be continued…

I will update as soon as I can! Thanks!