Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the storyline and Jessie.

A/N:  See Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer. 

Thank you to all the reviewers.  You have no idea who gratifying it is to read all your thoughts and opinions.  A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her.  And another big thanks goes out to my beta-reader and friend, Sarah, for taking the time to read these chapters and make them as good as they can be.

This is IT.  I can't believe I made it to 24 chapters with this story.  It was a heck of a ride and I'm sad for it to end, but all things must so here it is.  Perhaps at some point there'll be a sequel. 

August:  Goodbyes and Hellos

Epilogue:

To everyone's surprise Liz took her brother's advice and really thought about what would be best for her daughter, but Luke ended up hiring a lawyer anyway to legally file the paperwork.  Jessie continued to ride horses at the Dragonfly and even moved into the intermediate ballet class in the fall.  By Thanksgiving she had performed in her first recital and Luke purchased a ridiculously priced camcorder just for the occasion. 

At Christmas Luke was finally awarded full custody of Jessie and they went out to dinner to celebrate just the two of them.  After they'd ordered Jessie wiggled in her seat and said, "Did you get it?"

Nodding, Luke pulled out a small black box and pushed it across the table.  Jessie opened it and looked inside. 

"Will I have to call her 'mom'?"

"No.  You can call her whatever you want," Luke told her folding his hands on the table.

Jessie smiled again and said, "Are you nervous?"

Luke frowned and said as he pulled the ring box back, "I wasn't until just now."

"I think you should take her to a fancy restaurant, let her order anything she wants, and then put the ring in a pretty dessert.  Lorelai loves dessert and there's less of a chance that she'll say no if you give it to her with dessert."

Luke blinked.  "You think she'll say no?"

"Look what happened with Max," Jessie pointed out with infuriating calm.

"You weren't around for Max," Luke countered, flabbergasted.

"Miss Patty told me about it," she said airily.

"All right, fine, I'll give you that one," he conceded.  "But do you really think she'll say no?"

Jessie regarded him thoughtfully for a moment and then said, "No.  She like-likes you.  I think she'll say yes.  But if you want I can ask her for you."

Terrified, Luke almost shouted, "No, don't say anything to her."

Jessie lifted her hands, palms outward and said, "Touchy, touchy."

Later that night, after Luke and Jessie got home, Lorelai came over to help them finish celebrating.  Rory was finishing up her last final at Yale and so it was just the three of them. 

After polishing off half the pizza she'd brought with her, Lorelai excused herself to go to the bathroom. 

"Uncle Luke," Jessie whispered.

Luke looked at her quizzically and said, "What?"

"You should do it now."

"What?  No, you said fancy restaurant."

"We've got ice cream here, we should do it now!"

"No," he said.  "No way.  You're crazy."

"Crazy like a fox!" she proclaimed.

"Do you repeat everything the Gilmores say?" he asked, exasperated.

"Of course," she told him impatiently.  Jumping up, she went to the kitchen cupboards, lifted herself onto the counter, opened a top cabinet and took out three bowls.  "Get out the ice cream!" she demanded. 

"This isn't a good idea, Jess.  How do you know she'll say yes and shouldn't it be just the two of us?"

Ignoring him for a second, Jessie went to the jacket he'd been wearing before and started rummaging through the pockets.  Finally, she found what she was looking for and turned to him  "Why?  Scoop!"

Luke obeyed, half wondering if she might be right.  He scooped three bowls of ice cream and watched as Jessie carefully stabbed the band of the diamond engagement ring into the soft ice cream of one bowl.  "This better work or you're grounded for the rest of your life."

Jessie smiled up at him in reply.  "Sit down," she told him "and when she comes in I'll bring her bowl over."

"How are you able to orchestrate all this?"

"I watch too much TV," she explained.

Luke rolled his eyes and sat just as Lorelai reemerged and took her place at the kitchen table next to him.  Luke and Jessie's discussion had ended abruptly when she'd reappeared and she noticed the awkward silence.  Jessie stood at the counter with her back to the grown ups and watched as the ice cream melted a little and the ring sank down a bit more.

"What's going on here?" Lorelai asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Luke said, too quickly.

"Something," Lorelai argued.

"We're having ice cream," he told her.  Immediately, as he'd hoped, she was distracted. 

"I love ice cream.  Bring it on!"

Jessie turned and brought the bowl over then.  She stood between her uncle Luke and Lorelai as she set it down.  Lorelai eagerly looked into it, faltered a second and then looked up.  "What's going on?" she asked with a soft, slow smile.

"Will you marry us?" Jessie asked smiling broadly, playing the ham she was.

"That's my line," Luke chided her.

Lorelai laughed and grinned wide.  "Yes to both of you!" she said pulling Jessie and Luke both into a hug.  Luke wrapped his arms around his little family and closed his eyes.  It was more than he'd expected to have three months ago.  Three months ago his lonely future stretched out long in front of him and now…now he had this.  And this was good.  This was his family.

The End.