Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N: I was inspired by watching Luke deal with Rory over the years and wondered what it would have been like if he had to assume the role of full-time parent for a girl. Making Jess a girl seemed like the perfect way to go. This has not been beta'ed so be gentle. I lost Jade-Tessier to computer problems. I hope she comes back to me soon, though. I miss her.

Premise: Jess Mariano never existed. Neither did Nicole. Or Jason. I'm just writing out everybody I don't like, okay? Liz sends her eight-year-old daughter, Jessie Danes, to live with Luke. Lorelai is running the Dragonfly, Rory is at Yale. Life as we know it to be, is the same.

June: Arriving and Adjusting

Chapter One

"Liz, you can't do this to me!" Luke shouted into the receiver.

Lorelai sat at the counter eavesdropping.

"But ! No, she can't! What am I gonna do with her? I don't care!"

Kirk sat down next to Lorelai and asked, "What's going on?"

"Dunno," she answered conspiratorially. "The phone rang and all of a sudden, fireworks."

"Fine!" Luke finally snapped. "Have it your way. It's not like you've ever done the right thing before. When'll you be here?" More silence and then, "What? You mean you're not even coming? You're just gonna to thow her on a bus? That's great, Liz, just great. What time? Fine. I'll be there," he finished grimly before slamming the phone back into its cradle.

"What was that all about?" inquired Lorelai.

"My sister is once again up for the award of Most Irresponsible Parent," he barked in reply.

"Why?"

"Get this," he scowled. "I've seen my niece Jessie maybe three times since she was born and now, all of a sudden, Liz calls to say she needs me to take her for the summer. Can you believe that? The whole summer!"

"Wow," gaped Lorelai. "How old is she?"

"She's eight," he said with a deep sigh. "What am I going to do with an eight-year-old kid?"

"Take her to the mall, get a makeover, nails done – " began Lorelai.

"I didn't ask," interrupted Luke, "what you would do with an eight-year-old kid. I mean, is this the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard of?"

"Weapons of Mass Destruction is in the top ten, so you've got some stiff competition," she replied with a straight face.

"Never mind," he sighed again, feeling defeated.

"When does she get here?"

"Apparently Liz just put her on the bus. She knew I couldn't say no if Jessie was already on her way. And listen to this!" he demanded getting worked up again. "She put her on the bus alone! An eight-year-old kid alone on a bus from New York to here! Anything could happen to her!"

Lorelai raised her hands up and said, "Calm down, it'll be okay."

"It won't be okay. I've got get upstairs, clean it up, figure out a place for her to sleep…this is a nightmare," he muttered as he walked away, distracted and completely pissed off. His summer was ruined.

By the time Luke was supposed to pick Jessie up from the bus stop, he'd worked off all of his anger and was resigned. The figure he saw stepping off the bus, however, created a rage inside of him that he scarcely knew was there.

At age eight, Jessica Danes stood about four feet tall. Her hair was tied back into a messy, low ponytail that curled at the ends and she wore worn sneakers, denim overalls, a pink tank top, with a plaid shirt knotted around her waist, a backwards baseball cap on her head and a knapsack slung over one shoulder. She was small. Smaller than he'd expected, although, if asked, he couldn't have said what he'd expected. Her hair was dark and her eyes were brown.

With narrowed eyes, Luke stood with his arms folded across his chest, scowling at her. "Jessie?"

"Yeah," she confirmed uncertainly. She'd met her uncle a few times and he'd always seemed upset. She knew it usually had something to do with her mother, but still. He didn't look like he'd be the most fun.

"Did your mother dress you this morning?" he demanded.

"I dress myself," she answered warily. Then, feeling that a test was in order, she repeated a phrase she'd heard her mother's boyfriend use recently. "What crawled up your ass and died?"

Sputtering, Luke's face went from white to red in a matter of seconds before he was able to spit, "Young lady, that is no way to speak to someone!"

Jessie blinked and said with a soft giggle, "Okay." It hadn't been the response she'd imagined. Her mother's boyfriends usually either ignored her or pushed her around. "Okay, sorry," she repeated with a nod, hoping he'd stop his stern looming over her slim form.

"Okay," he replied and his frame relaxed a little. "I'm Luke, in case you didn't know."

"She said you'd be here," Jessie nodded, glancing nervously around.

"Well, she was right," he said definitively. "I'm here."

They stood for a moment regarding each other awkwardly. When Jessie shifted her bag on her shoulder Luke pounced on it. "Here, let me take that for you. Is this all you have?" he wondered aloud at her light bag. He started walking toward the diner, she trying to match his long strides.

"Uh huh," she said, eyes darting around, taking in the town. "It's just the week, right?"

Luke stopped walking. Jessie looked up at him. He met her eyes and she knew.

Her chin dropped to her chest as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her overalls and she began to drag her feet along the sidewalk, making sure that the toes of her sneakers made a nice long scraping sound with each step.

"So how long are you stuck with me," she mumbled, eyes down.

Luke felt terrible. Thanks a bunch, Liz, he thought to himself. With a deep sigh, Luke replied, "We're stuck with each other for the summer."

Jessie nodded her head glumly and wished she were back in New York. At least she knew what to expect in New York.

They walked the rest of the way back to the diner slowly and in silence, Jessie dragging her feet the entire way. Luke held open the front door for her and she trudged inside.

It was mid-afternoon and the diner was fairly empty. There was a table full of tourists near one of the windows that Caesar was taking care of and that was it. Luke led Jessie over to the counter and she climbed up onto one of the stools.

"My mom says you own this place," Jessie observed as she watched Luke move to the other side of the counter and put her bag behind it.

"Yup," he answered as he began to busy himself with preparation for the dinner rush. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Breakfast," she offered.

He slapped a menu down in front of her. "Pick something. I'll be right back."

As Jessie studied the menu, Luke grabbed the phone off the wall and stretched the cord into the kitchen where Caesar was cleaning the stove. Dialing the familiar numbers, Luke glanced briefly over his shoulder to make sure that his new roommate was still perched on her seat. She was.

"Dragonfly Inn, this is Lorelai, can I help you?"

"Lorelai! It's me!" he whispered wildly.

"You'll have to be more specific," she demanded playfully.

"Luke! It's Luke," he clarified, still in whispers.

"Why so clandestine?"

"Liz lied."

"Sorry?"

"Lied! She lied to me, she lied to her kid and now I gotta deal with it. Can you believe this?"

The swinging door opened just then and in walked Jessie with a smile. "I know what I want," she said solemnly.

"Okay, go sit down and I'll be right out and you can tell me," Luke said, frantic to be away from her for a second.

Jessie stood for a minute staring at him and then left.

Luke realized that Lorelai had been talking this whole time. "Sorry, Lorelai, I gotta go, okay? I see you later." And without waiting for an answer, Luke hung up.

Wanting to act like all was right with the world, he left the kitchen wearing a smile. He hung up the phone and went to where Jessie was again seated at the end of the counter.

"Know what you want?"

With a frown she peered up at him and answered, "Was that your girlfriend?"

"That? No, I don't have a girlfriend," Luke replied breathlessly, terrified of what she might ask next.

"Oh." Her arms were crossed in front of her with her elbows on the counter.

"Do you know what you want?" he asked again.

"Fries," Jessie said decisively.

"That's it?" he asked with one raised eyebrow.

"Yup."

"You've gotta eat better than that," Luke declared.

"Mom only gave me five dollars," she admitted, a little embarrassed.

Softening, he assured her, "When you're here, you don't have to pay for food, Jess, okay? I want you to feel like it's your home. Eat what you want, as long as you're getting all your fruits and veggies."

Jessie fidgeted with her ball cap and said with half a smile, "Okay."

"What do you usually eat?"

Warming to the topic she replied with an enthusiastic nod, "Pizza, macaroni and cheese, fast food, burgers…."

Luke cringed. Why did every woman in his life insist on eating herself into an early grave? "Well, that stops now. While you're here you'll eat healthy, now pick a sandwich to have with your fries."

"Grilled cheese?" she said hopefully.

"That's a little bit more grease-laden than I'd prefer, but since it's your first day, I'll let it slide," he winked.

Jessie smiled. He left to fix her food.

Just as Luke was sliding the grilled cheese off his spatula and onto a plate already laden with fries, he heard a shriek from out front. Dashing through the swinging doors, plate in hand, he stopped dead in his tracks to see Jessie standing on her stool poised to punch Kirk in the face. "Take it back!" she screamed at him.

"Luke, call her off!"

Luke threw the plate onto the counter ran to stand between the two just as Jessie swung. Luke had the presence of mind to duck. Kirk did not.

Recovering quickly from the duck, Luke picked Jessie up from the stool with his hands under her armpits so that they were eye-to-eye. "It is never acceptable to hit someone else," he scolded.

Kirk lay on the ground whimpering and holding his shoulder, which she had hit as a result of bad aim and height difference. "I may sue," he threatened.

"Kirk, get up," Luke admonished as he sat Jessie back down on her butt.

Kirk arose. "She started it!" he pointed.

"Did not," Jessie snarled.

"Did too."

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Enough!" shouted Luke. Then in a calmer voice, "What happened?"

Jessie stared at the toes of her shoes. "Jess?"

She heaved a sigh so as to express the ultimate futility of her telling him anything. Luke tried not to chuckle. "I was sitting here waiting for you to come back and he came in."

"And?" Luke prompted, hands on hips.

"All I did was ask about Liz!" Kirk insisted. "She said she was visiting and I asked if her mom had come with her to visit."

"You said you couldn't believe she didn't come," Jessie spoke up. "And then you said that I was probably going to live here forever!" she shouted beginning to get worked up again.

"All I did was ask! Luke, don't let her hit me again!" Kirk ducked behind Luke's back.

"Okay, okay, stop, both of you!" Luke cried. "Kirk, get out. Jess, turn around and eat."

"But I…I'm hungry," Kirk pleaded. "Can I stay if I order something?"

"No! Out!"

"Fine," Kirk huffed. "But don't come crying to me when your little clone alienates the rest of your customers!" Jessie jumped off her stool and would have tackled Kirk if Luke hadn't held her back.

"Okay, Rocky, dial it down a notch, wouldja?" Luke lifted her back up onto her stool and spun it around to that she was facing her plate of food.

She stared at it glumly and kicked her feet against the counter. "Do you think I'll be here forever?"

Luke sat on the stool next to her and said, "No. But you're welcome to stay for as long as you want."

Jessie studied his face for a second and then picked up her sandwich and took a bite. It was good and she hadn't eaten anything since that morning.

Luke watched as she inhaled the sandwich and shook his head. The kid was probably bordering on malnutrition. Thanks a lot, Liz, he thought to himself. The phrase was becoming a mantra.

"You want anything to drink?"

"Can I have a coke?"

"You can have a coke if you drink a glass of milk first. Deal?"

Jessie grimaced dramatically but nodded and said, "Fine."

Luke smiled and got up to get her the milk.

After she'd finished her grilled cheese and annihilated her fries (consuming half a bottle ketchup in the process), Jessie drained her glass of milk and said, "Now can I have a coke?"

"Sure," Luke said as he filled a glass with ice and then brought it to the fountain to fill. Business had picked up in the last forty-five minutes or so and he knew that in an hour it'd be really packed. Caesar was working the kitchen and he was glad that Lane was scheduled to work that night.

He set the glass down in front of her and watched as she carefully took a straw, unwrapped it, pulled the scrunched up section out and over, and inserted into the glass.

Jessie took several big gulps before pulling back to sigh dramatically with her head tossed back. "I'm full," she groaned.

"You ate everything on your plate, so I would imagine that you must be," Luke commented with a small smile. Maybe she wouldn't be so bad to have around.

"This place is boring," she noted matter-of-factly as she raised her head up and looked around.

"Boring?" asked Luke, insulted. "Whaddaya mean, boring?"

"I mean boring. Bo-ring," she emphasized each syllable with a nod of her head, her brown eyes wide and her eyebrows raised in punctuation.

Luke rolled his eyes and said, "Sorry to disappoint you, Princess." She scowled at him.

"Would you care to see your quarters now?"

She cracked a smile and said haughtily, "Very well."

"This way," Luke replied as he led up behind the curtain and upstairs.

"You live upstairs?" she scoffed.

"Yup."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Because…I don't know, just why?" Jessie replied, stumped.

"It's free, it's nice and I like it, that's why," he said defensively as he opened the door.

Jessie followed Luke into the main room and looked around. "It's small," she noted dubiously.

"If you think this is small, wait'll you see your room," cracked Luke. He led her to a door that used to lead to a walk in storage space. He'd been in the process of finishing it and turning it into a walk-in closet. For now, it would give his guest a spot of her own. He opened the door and turned on the light.

"A closet?" she asked incredulously. "I have to sleep in a closet?"

"There's a bed and a dresser and even a nightstand here, you can barely even tell it used to be for storage."

"There aren't any windows," she said pointedly

Luke shrugged and said, "Well, it's the best I got on short notice."

Jessie sighed and threw her bag on the bed. At least he was trying, she noted as she took in the pretty quilt on the bed. The boyfriends never tried.

"Let me show you the rest of the place," offered Luke as he stepped out of the room and allowed Jessie to follow him. "Here we have the kitchen area," he gestured to the small kitchenette, "and the living room area," he swung his arms toward the opposite end of the apartment and the couch and TV, "and my area," he pointed in still another direction and saw his own bed and dresser. "The bathroom is there," he pointed, "and that about covers the tour."

Jessie nodded and fidgeted with her cap again. "Okay."

"I have to go back downstairs and work, but if you want you can hang out up here and watch TV or whatever. Or, you can come back downstairs. It's up to you," Luke said.

"I think I'll come back downstairs," Jessie answered with a nod. She had her eye on some dessert.