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�Luke, first of all, Rory is not the only good thing in Jess� life.  Coming here, living with you, has changed him.  Sure, he�s still not Mr. Congeniality but think about how much better things are now than when he came here in the first place,� she said, reaching over and putting her hand on his.  His skin was warm against her palm and she fought against the little jolt she got from the contact.  �And, okay, if he�s skipping school then he�s definitely lying to both you and Rory, but it�s not like he�s knocking over liquor stores or pushing little old ladies into oncoming traffic.  He�s working, at a reputable company, at a job that he obviously likes because Jess is not the type of kid to do something he doesn�t like for forty-plus hours a week.  And, yes, not going to school is going to screw him over, but even if he would accept it he�s too old for you to hold his hand and walk him from class to class.�

�I know,� Luke said somewhat reluctantly.  �I just� I told him when he came back last year that he was going to go to school, that he was going to graduate, and that if he didn�t do those things he was out.�

�So� are you going to stick by that?� Lorelai asked.  She was worried for Rory, but she was more worried for Luke.  Rory would be fine.  Break ups were easy to get over.  A little wallowing, some girls-only time with friends, maybe some dating downtime, and then you�re back to your usual self.  Plus post-high school romances with high school sweethearts were notoriously problematic, and Lorelai knew that Rory knew that and was prepared for the eventuality that her relationship with Jess would peter off once she went to Yale.  But Luke� Lorelai knew that he would see this as a failure on his part, even though he did everything he could to make sure that Jess got his act together.  And failing was not something that Luke Danes had mastered.  Lorelai doubted he even knew how to fail, despite what he said about failing if it was his destiny when he opened the diner.

�I don�t know,� Luke sighed.  There were no other customers in the diner and Cesar was in the back with the radio on.  �I don�t want to do it, but I can�t just let him live here and lie to everyone.�  He groaned in frustration before getting up to get Lorelai�s food.

�Hey, Luke, why don�t you get something to eat and join me?� Lorelai suggested as Luke moved around the counter and tables with practised ease.  �Unless you�ve already eaten or can�t stand being in my presence for a moment longer, that is,� she added, giving him an out in case he wanted it.  She really hoped he didn�t, though.

Luke flashed her a smile and disappeared into the kitchen for a minute, returning with a salad for himself.  Lorelai grinned and waited for Luke to sit down before starting to eat her meal.  They ate and chatted about unimportant things�how Papaya the cat had taken up residence at Miss Patty�s studio, the squeaky step leading up to Lorelai�s bedroom, the merits and horrors of baseball movies and all the other things that they never really got around to talking about.  It was nice.  Almost like the night they had watched Sookie and Jackson on their first date while playing poker at the counter.  That had been a good night.

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