Title: Nobody Gets Left Behind
Rating: PG-13/T
Originally posted: 2nd June 2020
Originally written for: saltyavacado – 'My main plot idea here is "what if Luke had known about April all along?" And particularly, I'm super interested in how she would have changed (and improved, I think!) the dynamic between Luke and Jess when he was a kid in Stars Hollow. Their main issue was communication, really, and April seemed to help Luke improve with that significantly! Also I'm a sucker for big brother figure Jess, please give me more of that always.'
Characters/Pairings: Luke & Jess & April
Notes: for 5k Exchange 2020 at Dreamwidth & AO3.

October 2001

"It's not like you don't know how to raise a kid. Hello, already doing it!"

Luke wished he was bolstered by Lorelai's confidence in him, but even as her words replayed in his head, while he waited for Jess at the bus stop, his own reply echoed in right behind it, making him doubt himself.

"That's different. I've been a part-time dad to a little girl, mostly with your help because you were running a few years ahead of me. This is a teenage boy. What do I know about those?"

"Weren't you a teenage boy once?" Lorelai had asked him, before making some jovial crack about him possibly being hatched at full adult-size rather than raised from a child. At the very least, she seemed determined that he must have been born with a baseball cap attached to his head.

"And none of this is helping," Luke muttered, shaking his head to clear the jumbled thoughts, just as his nephew alighted from the bus, duffle on his shoulder.

Jess looked pissed to even be in Stars Hollow and wasn't exactly easy to engage in conversation, Luke found.

"I had hoped that you'd be coming in on a week when April was here, but it just didn't work out that way," he explained, not entirely surprised to realise Jess looked unaffected by the news. "She's actually pretty excited to meet you. You know how eight-year olds can be."

"Really don't." Jess shook his head as they headed upstairs from the diner to the apartment above.

Luke had to admit, if only in his own head, that there was really no reason why Jess should know a thing about kids of that age. He was going to have a pretty steep learning curve come the weekend when April came crashing into their lives. She was a livewire, that was for sure, a polar opposite to the grumpy teen that was her cousin. Luke had no idea how that was going to work, the three of them squeezed into a small apartment together. Sure, it was bigger than it once was, when it had only been an office. It fit two okay, but three was definitely going to be a stretch.

"Huh," said Jess as he stood by the door, glancing left and right.

"I know, it's a little... girly on that side," he admitted, gesturing towards the part of the apartment they called April's room, "but we'll work on that later. You can have your own space, your own bed, sooner rather than later. This was all just a little... sudden."

He turned to find that Jess was no longer a pace behind him as he thought but now by the bookshelf over April's desk. He was running his pointer finger along the spines of each volume, his expression unreadable, at least, as far as Luke was concerned.

"Uh, are you a reader too?" asked Luke curiously. "I mean, I don't really have the time, but April is way above average for her grade already."

"I see that." Jess nodded, seemingly in approval. "She's eight?"

"She is." Luke smiled as his nephew glanced his way. "Eight and a half, actually, which she will proudly tell you, if you ask."

Jess didn't respond to that, just continued to read the titles on the books in front of him with some interest.

Luke took it as a good sign. One of his larger worries was how he would balance taking care of the needs of his young daughter and his teenage nephew. At least if they could have one thing in common, it would be a start.

November 2001

"You're a doofus."

Jess did such a severe double-take when he heard those words out of his little cousin, he almost gave himself whiplash.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," April insisted, eyes never leaving her book as she leaned over it with her elbows on the counter.

"I heard you, I'm just trying to figure out how you think that's okay to say to me," he told her, putting on his best severe look as he faced her across the counter.

It should've hurt when she looked up, saw said expression, and just giggled. It probably would have if she was anybody else.

"Hey, they're raising me to be honest, and you are a doofus," April repeated smartly, the sting going out of any implied insult because, in her childish voice, it really didn't sound so bad.

Looking left and right then, as if checking nobody was listening, she leaned further over the counter towards Jess but barely succeeded in lowering her voice as she imparted whatever secret she had to share.

"Everybody knows you're pulling the pranks. Dad knows. He doesn't wanna believe it, but he knows. Everybody does," she said with overdone emphasis and a big old eyeroll that looked twice as severe through her glasses.

"So, what?" Jess shrugged, unwilling to lie to her and deny anything, but also not exactly admitting the truth either. "You think I care?"

April narrowed her little eyes at him. "Yes. I think you care if Dad gets yelled at by a lot of people. You don't wanna care, but you do."

Jess opened his mouth to counter but changed his mind fast. Unfortunately, the kid had a point. A very small point, but still. So far, Luke really had been pretty decent to him, done his best to be a good guardian or whatever. He was outdoing Liz by a million miles, not to mention all the many non-related 'uncles' and step-fathers Jess had seen come and go over time.

Realising April was still staring at him expectantly, Jess met her gaze and half-smiled. "Read your book," he told her, turning away to refill the coffee machine.

The giggle behind him as she shifted back down in her seat to do as he told her proved she thought she had won in some way. Maybe she had. Jess knew the pranking thing was juvenile, but he also knew it was good at attracting attention, rightly or wrongly. He liked that Rory was noticing him, that was for sure, but there were other ways to do that that were less likely to result in Luke becoming a pariah and April getting upset because of that. Like she just said, Jess didn't really want to care about any of that, but somehow, he just did.

December 2001

Clara was nice enough, even though she clearly wasn't half so bright as April herself. It was actually okay having a kid her age to hang out with at the Bracebridge dinner, not least because Jess spent the whole time mooning over Rory and her dad spent most of the time smiling giddily at Lorelai. Sometimes, April wondered if the whole world wasn't turned on its head. That in fact she was the grown-up while the two guys in her life were the kids. They acted like it sometimes.

"We're heading out now," Luke told Lorelai with the usual 'I love you but I'm not going to tell you' grin.

April looked to Jess, preparing to share an eyeroll, but his attention was, as usual, taken by Rory and her ridiculously tall boyfriend. Clara might be nice enough, but Dean was even more of a doofus than Jess, and absolutely not smart enough to keep up with Rory. It was all going to end in tears, April was certain.

"Did you have a nice time, sweetie?" Lorelai asked her then.

"Yes, thank you." April smiled politely back at the hostess. "The carriage rides were such a great idea."

"Oh, well, I'm glad everybody enjoyed it."

This time, Lorelai was doing the googly-eyed expression at Luke instead. April wished she didn't notice. She really, really wished.

"Come on, munchkin," said Jess then, clearly happy to leave now he had stared at Rory hard enough that she actually felt bad about kissing her own boyfriend. "Let's get out of here."

The walk home was uneventful. Luke grumbled about leaving the diner unattended too long, Jess walked with his hands in his pockets, scuffing his shoes along the sidewalk and kicking at patches of snow, presumably distracted with thoughts of Rory, and April lagged behind, wondering how Christmas in Stars Hollow was going to go from here.

Since she only came to stay every other year for the holidays, she had a very small frame of reference. She had memories of when she was six and very vaguely of when she was four, but that was all.

"You okay, honey?" her dad asked as they reached the diner door, making April realise she must have sighed too loud.

"I'm fine," she promised. "Just cold, tired, kind of need to pee," she said honestly.

His hand moved affectionately over her hair as he ushered inside. "Okay then, go on upstairs. Me and Jess will just be down here, setting up."

April didn't need to stay and wait to hear Jess complain, because she knew he would. He was definitely doing better lately, behaving better for Luke's sake. He cut out a lot of the pranking, focusing more attention on messing solely with Dean Forester for the sake of trying to get Rory's attention. It was puerile, but she did understand it. Love did strange things to people, she was well aware of that already, since every movie she saw and book she read on the subject seemed to prove it over and over.

Upstairs in the apartment alone, April took care of her need to visit the bathroom, then went straight back to the door and checked that Luke and Jess were both going to stay downstairs in the diner for a while. When she was certain, she sneaked over to her part of the room and dug under her bed for the Christmas gifts she had brought over from her mom's place.

Smiling at the sight of the World's Best Dad mug for Luke and the book for Jess, she ran to fetch the Christmas wrap and tape to get them ready for the big day. It was nice enough when she got to spend the festive season with her mom and her grandparents, and she knew they loved having her there, but she had a feeling her being here for Dad and Jess meant that much more to them. She hoped so anyway.

April 2002

"Hey, you still up?" asked Luke, peeking his head in the apartment door at April.

"Just finishing this one chapter," she told him, holding up a single finger, her eyes never leaving the page.

He smiled at the words and the gesture, having experienced them so many times before. The expression faded as he looked around the room and realised that his daughter was the only one there.

"Jess still out?" he checked.

April smirked, a little too much like her cousin, as she clearly reached the end of her chapter and put in the marker, closing the book. "You're surprised?" she checked. "You know he went to see Rory, right?"

"Why?" Luke shook his head.

"Seriously, Dad?" April checked, shaking her head. "I'm not even nine years old yet and I can see it."

It wasn't that he didn't know what she was talking about. Luke knew very well that Jess had a crush on Rory, and honestly, if he didn't know any better, he would think Rory liked him back. You didn't have to be older than nine to notice. In fact, he was pretty sure that a blind person would've noticed the obvious 'teen romance vibes' coming off that situation (and didn't those words prove he had adjusted to raising a daughter... or maybe just that he spent too much time with Lorelai?).

"Go to sleep now, please," he said to April then, suddenly aware she was still staring at him in expectation of a conversation they were so not having tonight, or possibly ever. "Wherever Jess is and whatever he is doing, it's none of our business."

"He's only seventeen," April pointed out. "That makes him a minor and you're still his guardian. It may not be my business, but it is yours," she reminded her father, even as she laid down in her bed ready to sleep.

Luke thought about admonishing her for being a smartass, but quite honestly, he was well-aware that she had a point. He did care where Jess was and what he was up to, and not just because he was legally obliged to either. Of course, if he was over at Rory's house, he couldn't be getting himself into too much trouble. Unless Dean Forester showed up and a fight ensued. Luke ran a hand over his face, then took a deep cleansing breath like Lorelai taught him to when things got crazy-stressful. He could handle this, of course he could.

Walking further into the apartment, he adjusted the covers over April and leaned down to plant a kiss on her head. When she was a teenage girl, he had a feeling that would give him an even bigger headache than Jess managed as a teenage boy. It was something he hardly dare think about most of the time, but when it snuck up on him like this, it really hit him hard.

"If I was Rory, I'd dump Frankenstein already and just date Jess," she said suddenly, eyes still closed, face appearing young and innocent despite her words. "I guess sometimes girls can be just as big of doofuses as boys can," she added with a sigh. "Goodnight, Dad."

Luke bit his lip a moment to keep the laughter in, reaching to flip off the lamp on her nightstand.

"Goodnight, sweetie," he told April softly before leaving her to her dreams.

May 2002

It was all he had been wanting for a while now, a real chance at some serious alone time with Rory. It was still amazing to Jess that it was Uncle Luke who set this up for him. Of course, he probably didn't realise how little studying Jess intended to do with his tutor. There were much more interesting things for him and Rory to talk about and to do.

That said, he was a little limited on exactly what they could get up to, since Luke had also used the tutoring session as an excuse to go pick up supplies for the diner. That meant, for better, for worse, Jess was in charge of babysitting April. It didn't make too much difference, since he and Rory were studying in the diner itself and April was upstairs, already in bed and reading her way through another Judy Blume. Jess bought her one for her birthday and then went and purchased another as part of their deal for her to stay put upstairs tonight, unless it was a real emergency.

He knew April wasn't dumb, far from it, and she had made it pretty clear a while ago now that she knew very well what his feelings for Rory were. Jess never confirmed that, but he never denied it either. They both knew that she knew, it didn't need to be stated aloud.

It was pretty clear that Rory knew the deal too. Jess wasn't sure he could make it any more obvious without coming out and actually saying, 'Dump the tree already and date me instead.' That was something he was just not going to do.

Rory knew and yet Rory pretended she didn't. Jess had to admit, maybe April was right. Maybe he really was a doofus.

June 2002

They were sat on either end of the couch, supposedly engrossed in I Dream of Jeannie, but Jess' attention was so far from the trouble Captain Nelson had got himself into, it was unreal.

"You know, I was wrong," said April out of the blue. "She's the doofus."

"Jeannie?" Jess checked, glancing at his cousin who kept her eyes on the TV screen yet.

"Rory," she stated, finally looking at Jess. "I saw what happened at Sookie's wedding. She started that whole kissing thing and then she just ran from you? We all know she's still with Dean. If she didn't pick you, then she is definitely the doofus."

She didn't smile when she said it, didn't put any real emotion into it, but she meant what she said. Something in her innocent brown eyes proved that to Jess, and he kind of loved her for it.

Without a word, they both looked back to the TV and continued pretending to watch. In the silence, punctuated only by the canned laughter on the show, Jess leaned over towards April a little more, put his arm around her and hugged her to him.

"You're alright, kid," he told her softly.

Smiling wide, she cuddled into his side a little more. "I know."

November 2002

"I still think you should tell him. It's not like he's going to think it's a bad thing."

Reasoning with Jess was sometimes one of the tougher parts of April's day, but she put in the effort, because she happened to think her cousin was worth it. Honestly, since he moved in with Luke it was more like having a big brother, and April was certainly not against that. Obviously, in an ideal world, she would've preferred younger siblings, but this was okay too.

"Will you just cut it out already?" Jess rolled his eyes at her, fastening his watch on his wrist then moving on to checking his hair in the mirror. "You know what he'll say if I tell him. If I want money, I could just ask him, or he could find me more shifts in the diner," he said with a sigh. "He's not gonna get that I want to do this my way."

April stood in his way of the door and placed her hands on her hips. She knew she couldn't physically stop Jess from walking out while she was still talking, but she hoped he would respond to the severest look she could muster.

"If you tried to explain, he would understand," she insisted. "You think it was easy for me to explain that I didn't want him taking me to the mall for new underwear and that I was way more comfortable going with Lorelai?"

"That's a little different."

"How? It was awkward and weird, but I said it, and Dad understood."

The look on his face proved that Jess didn't know how to argue with that logic. April was prestigiously proud of herself for all of a minute before her cousin suddenly shook his head and moved to go by her.

"Not today," he insisted, reaching for the doorknob, only for the door to open towards him, pushing him back a step.

"Hey," said Luke as he came into the room, frowning a little. "You going somewhere?"

"He's going to work," said April smartly, not at all phased by the glare Jess shot her when she looked his way. "I said I would keep your secret for a while until you found the right time to tell. Now is the right time."

"Tell me, what?" asked Luke, looking between the two of them. "Come on, whatever it is, I would rather know about it. After you tell me, we can also discuss why you don't get your little cousin to keep secrets for you, Jess," he said definitely.

Jess sighed heavily, dumped his jacket into the chair, and generally looked really pissed.

"I got a job," he admitted anyway, pinching the bridge of his nose, "at Wal-Mart."

"Wal-Mart?" Luke echoed, shaking his head. "When did this happen?"

"Couple of weeks ago." Jess shrugged, still not entirely looking at his uncle. "Look, I know how this is gonna go, okay? You're gonna ask me why I got the job, I'm gonna tell you I want to save some extra money for a car, and then you'll offer to give me money or extra shifts downstairs, and it's not that I don't appreciate it but... but I'm trying to prove something here, Luke. Mostly to myself, okay?"

April wasn't sure what was going to happen after that particular speech, but she watched with interest in a bid to find out, eyes going back and forth between Luke and Jess as if she were following the ball in a ping pong tournament.

"Okay then." Luke nodded eventually. "You know, if you need any help when it comes to picking out a car..."

"I know who to ask," Jess agreed, smiling slightly. "Can I go now?" he asked, retrieving his jacket and gesturing towards the door.

"Sure," his uncle agreed, moving aside.

April was grinning as Jess passed by Luke and got a pat on the back for his trouble.

When the door had closed behind Jess, Luke looked to April instead.

"So, whose idea was it to keep secrets from me?" he asked her. "And if there are any more, let's have them" he insisted, making a gimme gesture with his hand.

"Aside from plans for Christmas gifts, which are, naturally, allowed to be secrets, there aren't any more that I know about," she assured him, shrugging her shoulders. "Any you wanna tell me?" she tried hopefully,

"Not a chance, kid." Luke chuckled, kissing the top of her head as he went by her towards the safe.

April sighed and went back to her homework. It was worth a shot.

January 2003

"This is amazing, April. Not that I ever expect anything less from you, but really, great job, sweetie," Luke told her proudly, immediately moving to pin her report card to the refrigerator door, as was the custom.

His daughter was grinning so wide and Luke didn't blame her. With grades like that, she deserved to be very proud of herself and had more than earned the ice-cream he had in the back of the ice-box for just such an occasion.

"I'll bet somebody's getting Rocky Road for dessert," said Jess with that usual smirk of his, but Luke knew the truth.

His nephew was just as happy to see April doing good things in school as he was, even if he wasn't always the best at showing it. Of course, there was still the issue of his report card. The last one hadn't been so good, but Jess had promised to be better about his attendance and put in more effort in his Senior year. The evidence was yet to be seen, and with him having his job at Wal-Mart and all, Luke wasn't exactly convinced about what he might see on Jess' report card this time. If he ever saw it at all.

"You're just jealous that I get a reward and you probably won't," April told Jess, poking out her tongue like the child she was, even if usually she was more of a mini-adult. "You're capable of better grades, Jess, I don't know why you don't prove it in class."

"Yeah, well, maybe I did," her cousin said smartly, reaching into the back pocket of his jeans and slapping a card down on the table in front of her. "Read 'em and weep, munchkin."

April grabbed at the card before Luke could hardly blink, eyes widening a little as she stared at the grades listed on it. Luke himself moved to read over her shoulder and was mildly surprised to find that the slew of Cs with the occasion B or D from last year were now mostly As. Before he could comment on it, April started waving the card around, turning it left and right, studying it as closely as she possibly could.

"I don't even think this has been tampered with," she said after a while. "I'd have to put it under my microscope to be really sure..."

"Gimme that," Jess protested as she seemed set to run off with the card and do exactly that. "It's real, okay?" he told April, looking to Luke next and handing the card to him more willingly. "It is."

"I believe you," Luke assured him, taking another look at all the As and a couple of Bs. "Jess, this is..."

"It is what it is," his nephew told him fast. "Don't make a big deal, okay? It's just high school grades. Whatever. I don't need the balloons and streamers treatment like some people," he insisted, rolling his eyes, though there was a playful smile in their somewhere too - he wouldn't offend April for the world.

"Huh! And I was gonna share my Rocky Road with you."

Luke shook his head as the two continued to bicker and banter. They never even paid attention as he stuck Jess' report card right there on the fridge next to April's own.

There was a time in his life when Luke could never have imagined raising a kid, never mind two, but he had to admit, he was glad it happened, glad to have both April and Jess in his life. At this point, he wondered how he would ever do without them.

May 2003

"You know, I could stay," April insisted, a wobble in her voice that she was clearly trying to hide. "If I explain to Mom-"

"April, stop," her father told her firmly as he pulled the zipper tight shut on her bulging suitcase. "Sweetie, you have to go. Not only is it your mom's turn to get to spend the summer with you, but she's gonna need your help with your grandma too," he reminded her kindly, his hand to her face. "And hey, New Mexico, that'll be an adventure, huh?"

Jess didn't even hear April's reply, but the next moment she had her head buried in Luke's shoulder, crying like her heart would break. He tried not to look, tried not to listen, but the apartment was only so big. Short of hiding in the bathroom, he really couldn't avoid the painful conversation between father and daughter, and he already did that for a half hour this morning in the hopes of not making a fool of himself.

It was all his fault, Jess was well aware. April hadn't been thrilled about spending the entire summer elsewhere with the maternal side of her family, but she was dealing. All the tears and serious sadness started when she realised Jess was going to be away for the summer too, leaving Luke all by himself.

At the end of the day, he could change his mind. If Jess wanted to, he could say he would stay, for Luke's sake, for April's sake, but honestly, he had a feeling he might regret it if he did.

He sure as hell hadn't expected Jimmy Mariano to show up the way he did and when it happened, Jess was amazed to find that he wasn't even mad at the father he had never met before. When Jimmy said he wanted to get to know Jess better, that he was welcome to come spend the summer in LA with him and his new family, he actually liked the idea. Great as Luke was, it might be nice to find that at least one of his biological parents was well-adjusted now, even if he hadn't been eighteen years ago.

"Go on, wash your face, you'll feel better," Luke advised April, sending her off to the bathroom now she was done with her latest crying jag.

He stood up from his crouched position, heaving a sigh as he came over to where Jess was stuffing the last of his T-shirts into his duffel.

"You think she'll be okay?" he asked his uncle, not even looking up from what he was doing - he just couldn't somehow.

"Sure, she'll be fine," Luke promised. "She just gets... emotional, I guess. She worries too much about me," he said, shrugging his broad shoulders as Jess glanced up at him. "Hey, I know that look," he said then, though his nephew genuinely wasn't sure what look he was wearing and never got the chance to ask. "This is not your fault," said Luke firmly, pointing a finger. "Not that there is fault or blame or anything, I just mean... well, I don't want you feeling bad about this. You have every right to get to know your father. I may think some less-good things about the guy, that's my business, but at the end of the day, he is your father, and you probably should get to know him."

Jess nodded his head but didn't really know what to say to that. He knew Luke was right and he was glad to be told not to feel guilty in the circumstances. Still, he did feel a little bad about Luke being alone this summer. He wouldn't even have the Gilmore girls hanging around to keep him company, since they were off to Europe, backpacking for the summer.

"You'll really be okay?" he muttered, pulling his bag closed.

"I'll really be okay," said Luke, patting Jess on the shoulder. "Besides, it's not like it's forever. You and April will both be back in the Fall, with so many stories to tell me, I'll probably wish you stayed away," he quipped.

Jess smiled in spite of the bad joke. Sometimes it didn't suck being part of something that actually felt like a real family, no matter how strange.

September 2003

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Dad and Lorelai!"

"What about me and Lorelai?" asked Luke as he opened the apartment door to find April and Jess, neither entirely ready to leave yet, clearly bickering about something they shouldn't even be talking about.

"Nothing," said April, as if she were seventy pounds of pure innocence.

The snort that came out of Jess proved there was something going on, if nothing else did. Luke looked to his nephew, folding his arms across his chest and waiting for an explanation.

Jess rolled his eyes. "She thinks you and Lorelai are downstairs just making eyes at each other. The way she told it, you probably swooned when Lorelai walked in the door."

"I did not say that!" April protested, stamping her foot the way only ten-year-old girls could without looking foolish. "I just said you like her," she told her dad then. "You do like her and I think she likes you too. You know, if you asked her out, I wouldn't mind. Jess wouldn't either," she added, shooting her cousin a look as if daring him to argue.

"Do whatever you want," he told Luke without pause. "Just don't ever tell me about it," he insisted, hand held up in mock surrender before he grabbed his book and headed for the door. "Come on, munchkin. If you want a ride to school, it's now or never."

Luke moved aside to let Jess go and watched for a moment as April threw the last couple of things in her bag then ran to catch up to her cousin. Wandering down the stairs behind the two, he caught up with them just behind the curtain.

"Hey, you say nothing to Lorelai," he said firmly. "At least, nothing you might've been saying up there, got it?"

"Yes, Uncle Luke." Jess rolled his eyes.

April only giggled and followed her cousin out into the diner, grinning wide when she saw Lorelai there at the counter. She and Jess both seemed to delight in making a big deal of wishing her a good morning.

"Hey, guys. Work hard!" she urged them both as they headed out.

She turned back around on her stool and opened her mouth as if to speak to Luke but never got the chance as April came running in again, gesturing for her dad to duck down so she could kiss him goodbye, before finally leaving, the door clanging in her wake.

Luke watched her hurry down the street to where Jess was gesturing for her to get in the car already. They could make all the faces they wanted and call each other any names they liked, those two loved each other, come what may. They were more like brother and sister than cousins these days and Luke didn't mind that one little bit.

Grabbing a large cup and the coffee pot, Luke poured Lorelai a healthy measure of her usual favourite and pushed it towards her. He was surprised to look at her then and find she wasn't instantly falling on her coffee like she usually would. She also had a really weird look on her face.

"What?"

"Nothing" she insisted, shaking her head, now finally picking up her cup and taking a sip. "It's just, that smile."

"What smile?"

"Uh, the one on your face, Lucas," she said, rolling her eyes, even as Luke busied himself with wiping down the counter and moving the donuts around on the display stand. "It's the one you reserve for those two, like it's specifically for them. I always knew you were a family man, Luke Danes, you just needed the rest of the people to show up."

If he hadn't already been smiling - which apparently, he had - Luke knew he was after he heard that. It was something to know that Lorelai devoted any time at all to thinking about what kind of guy he was, especially now.

"Hey, Lorelai?" he said then, stopping what he was doing to come lean on the counter right in front of her again.

"What?" she asked absently, her attention taken almost exclusively by the menu by now, in spite of the fact he was sure she had it memorised long ago.

"You busy tonight?"

The way her eyes shot up from the card to meet his proved she heard him and that he had surprised her, but that was okay. Luke was more concerned about what the answer was going to be, rather than her initial surprised reaction.

"Um, I don't think so," she admitted. "Why?"

She said before he had a smile just for the kids, but Luke was pretty sure he had another one that was just for Lorelai. She had a way of making him so stupidly happy and amused and overwhelmed all at once. He loved that about her. He always had.

"I know Jess is staying in with April tonight - he promised her some chess tournament or something - and with Rory living at Yale now... Well, how about we go out, just you and me?"

"Oh. Well, I didn't... I mean, uh..." Lorelai floundered a little, pushing her hair back from her face in some nervous gesture Luke had seen so many times before, but never because of something he had done or said before. "You know, what?" she said suddenly. "Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yeah, why not?" she said, shrugging her shoulders and smiling widely, though when her eyes landed on her watch then, the expression faded a little. "Shoot, I have to go. Meeting at the inn, but absolutely, with the going out. That's a yes."

"Pick you up at seven?" Luke suggested.

"Can't wait," Lorelai assured him even as she made a mad dash for the door.

Luke chuckled to himself as he watched her go, then went right back to his daily tasks. He hoped he and Lorelai had a good time tonight, he didn't really see any reason why they shouldn't. Still, whether it worked out or not, at least they would have given it a shot, at last.

If all else failed, Luke knew Lorelai was right in what she said. He had a family now, a real one that he loved like nobody else. Women might come and go from his life, but those kids were his forever. Luke Danes wouldn't want it any other way.