Chapter Text
1987
“Come on, Rory,” Lorelai chirped, tugging on her 3-year-old’s little hand. “Mommy needs some coffee.” The tot had gotten distracted by the bookstore again, her big blue eyes wide and sparkly at the sight of thick pages and cracked spines. Her feet had paused mid-step and she’d nearly let go of her mother’s hand, which had in turn prompted Lorelai to stop and regain a tight hold on it. After all, the last thing she needed to do was lose sight of her little girl and call her parents in a panic. They would only make things worse.
“Books,” Rory simply said in return, her eyes not wavering from the shop window for even a second. She was mesmerized by the books; always had been. Lorelai frowned and reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out a couple of crumpled bills and doing some mental math to figure out just how much she would have left after a cup of coffee and some pancakes to feed both her and Rory for their special birthday breakfast.
Maybe if she just ordered the eggs…
“Hey, Ror,” Lorelai said, crouching down next to her daughter. “If you come with me right now to get coffee, Mommy will buy you a book on the way back home, okay?”
Rory twisted her lips together in thought for a long moment (looking scarily like her grandmother), before nodding and giving Lorelai a big smile. “Okay,” she said. Then she began tugging Lorelai back down the street, excited at the prospect of a new book. “Hurry!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Lorelai laughed, then scooped up her baby and planted her on her hip, holding tight as Rory squirmed. “It’s quicker this way,” she murmured against her daughter’s temple as she placed a kiss there and Rory stilled, swayed by the logic. How on earth did she birth a child with such a firm grasp of logic? Lorelai herself didn’t even have this firm a grasp on it.
By the time they got to the front door of the diner, Rory was already squirming again, desperate to be back on her feet. Lorelai propped the door open with her hip and placed the child down on the floor, allowing him to run ahead, right to the front counter, where Rory scrambled onto a stool and slapped her hand on the service, garnering the surprised attention of a scruffy 20-something with a backwards baseball cap and a flannel shirt over his apron.
“Coffee, please,” Rory asked with a big, dimpled smile and he lifted one eyebrow, giving her the tiniest of smirks as he leaned down to her level.
“Aren’t you a little young to be drinking coffee?” he asked her.
“Nooo,” Rory said, shaking her head with a giggle.
“Oh really?” the man asked. “How old are you?”
“This many!” Rory held up three fingers and his eyes widened in mock surprise.
“Oh, wow,” he said. “Maybe I should be getting you a shot of whiskey then.”
“Please don’t,” Lorelai laughed, stepping up to the counter and taking a seat next to the toddler. The man looked up, almost startled, as his cheeks pinked slightly. “Coffee would be just fine, thanks.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a sippy cup, handing it to Rory, who eagerly grasped it in her hand and started to drink, smiling happily. “She’s good with cold, hard fruit punch.”
“Sugar-free, I hope,” the man said, grabbed her a cup and reaching for the coffee pot.
“Watered down,” Lorelai whispered theatrically. “She’ll never know the difference.”
“Deceptive,” he deadpanned as he poured her a cup. “Can I get you a menu or something?”
“No, just some scrambled eggs, please,” Lorelai said. “And some birthday candles if you have them.”
“Birthday candles?” he asked, furrowing his brow. Lorelai gestured to Rory and he smiled. “Oh,” he said. “Well, happy birthday, err…” Lorelai mouthed her name. “Tory?”
“Rory,” Lorelai corrected and the little girl looked up at her. “Happy birthday, sweets,” she cooed, stroking her daughter’s hair.
“Thank you,” Rory said, politely.
“How about I get you a stack of pancakes, then?” he asked, looking at Lorelai. “On the house?”
“Oh, that’s okay,” Lorelai replied, already shaking her head. “You don’t have to—”
“I insist,” he said. “Especially since it’s such a big birthday, you know? Three. Wow. Where does the time go?”
“You’re telling me,” Lorelai laughed. “Thanks.”
“No problem,” the man replied, warmly. “I’ll be right out with your food, er…”
“Lorelai,” she informed him. “Lorelai Gilmore.”
He smiled and offered his hand. “Luke Danes.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
Her hand was tiny and warm.
1988
“Luke!”
He jumped, practically dropping the seven plates of food he was currently juggling as Lorelai came barreling into the diner, Rory tucked under her arm, reading—as always.
“What?” he asked, serving the food, table by table, as she followed him.
“I need help,” Lorelai said.
“I told you that months ago. I’m glad you finally admitted it to yourself.”
“Luke, I’m serious,” Lorelai said, sounding on the verge of a hysteric breakdown. “My babysitter just called in sick, the daycare is closed, and I have work in—”she checked her watch—“twenty minutes ago.”
“And what do you want me to do about it?” Luke asked, gruffly, returning to the counter to grab the coffee pot. He began walking around, refilling people’s cups.
“Take her,” Lorelai begged, holding out Rory, who was still—no surprise—reading and barely aware that her mother was attempting to pawn her off on the guy that regularly kept her caffeinated.
“What?” Luke asked, backing away as if Rory was a ticking bomb. “Why me?”
“Because Babette, Miss Patty, Sookie, Mia, Jackson, and Michel are all busy. Well, actually, Michel isn’t busy; I just don’t want Rory forming a French accent and learning multiple curses in several different languages before she turns six.” She looked up at Luke, her blue eyes big and pleading. “Please. Take her.”
“I don’t know a thing about taking care of kids,” Luke said. “I don’t even know what to feed her.”
“You know Rory eats anything you give her,” Lorelai huffed. “Well, except most vegetables. And fruits. And anything that looks like a leaf.”
“I hope you know that your daughter is going to have an extreme vitamin deficiency when she’s older.”
“Eh, she’ll be fine,” Lorelai said. “So you’ll watch her?”
Luke sighed and nodded. “Why not?” he said. “She’s pretty low-maintenance. Has she eaten yet?”
“Yeah, I gave her a pop-tart.”
“That’s not a meal.”
“Do I look like a Rockefeller?”
“Rory, would you like some pancakes?” Luke asked as Lorelai set her down on a stool.
Finally, the tiny girl looked up, blinking at him with big blue eyes. She smiled. “Hiya, Luke!” she squeaked and he couldn’t help but smile back.
“Hey, Buddy,” he said. “Pancakes?”
“With chocolate chips?”
He sighed, frowning at Lorelai, who was mouthing ‘thank you’ over and over again. “Coming right up.” He gave Caesar the order and filled a to-go cup with coffee, handing it to Lorelai, along with a muffin and then waved her out of the diner when she tried to pay, leaving him alone with Rory, who still had her nose stuck in the book.
“That book must be a real page-turner,” he commented and Rory glanced up with a tiny smile and nodded. “What is it?”
“The Cat in the Hat,” Rory replied, showing him the cover.
“Riveting,” Luke joked with a smile. “Well, I’ll let you get back to it. Let me know if you need something, alright?”
“Okay,” Rory said, looking back down to her page.
Luke went about business as usual, with the added knowledge that he had a small child perched at his counter, under his care. He glanced back at her every now and then, saw her replace books in the backpack she’d brought along, until suddenly he looked up and she was just playing with the remnants of her breakfast.
“What’s wrong, Rory?” he asked. “You don’t wanna read anymore?”
“I have no more books,” the girl answered with a soft shrug.
“Oh,” Luke said, furrowing his brow. “One second.” He disappeared into his storeroom and came back out with the biggest book Rory had ever seen. Her eyes were comically round and he chuckled. “Here you go,” he said.
“What book is this?” Rory asked.
“It’s a cookbook,” Luke said. “It might be a little advanced for you, but just let me know if you need help with any of the words, alright?”
“Okay,” Rory said, opening to the first page and allowing her eyes to drink in every word. Luke gave her a fond smile as he went back to work, pouring coffee and taking orders.