Saved By Luke Danes

Diner Man To The Rescue

AN// - Edited

Luke's POV

I see the tears in her eyes and she pouts like a small child. I pull her into a hug. She cries into my chest and I stroke her hair.

"You're gonna be okay," I tell her, and I mean it.

I am going to do whatever I can to make sure she's okay, and doesn't get hurt again.

"Why don't you go take a nap upstairs and I'll bring you your normal breakfast in a little while. People are gonna be here any minute," I say, pulling her back to look at her.

"What about school?" she asks, wiping away some tears.

"I'm gonna call some people, don't worry about a thing. No one's going to hurt you again," I reassure her.

"Okay," she breathes.

She grabs her backpack and takes it with her. As she heads up the stairs, I see a few of my normal early morning customers heading towards the diner. I take their orders, and go to the phone to call some people, using the long cord to hide in the kitchen as I talked.

First I called Lorelai, who was not happy about being woken up, but she was wide awake when I informed her that our suspicions had been correct. Then I called the Stars Hollow Police Department.

Apparently we weren't the only two people in Stars Hollow who were worried about Andrea Connor. Neighbors had called the police on them a few times.

Noise complaints. Sounds of yelling, and a girl's screams, but by the time they got there the bruises were covered and the messes cleaned to make it look like nothing had happened.

They couldn't do anything else unless Andy said anything about being abused, which with her parents watching, she didn't.

Once the breakfast rush picked up, and Caesar had arrived I went up to check on Andy. I walked into the apartment quietly, and walked over to my bed to see her sound asleep, curled up on her side.

She was holding a bear. I remember it from the Stars Hollow carnivals from a few years ago. I had seen Andrea playing the bottle toss game and walked up to her. She wasn't even close to hitting the bottle, so she had me take her last ball.

I knocked all the bottles, winning a small, black bear, which she took, and held close to her, hugging it tight. She then gave me an enormous hug and thanked me for helping her win the bear.

Then it hit me. I wasn't just going to save this girl. I'm going to take her. I wanna make sure nothing bad happens to her again, and the only way I make sure that happens, is by taking her in myself.

I head back down to the diner just as Lorelai and Rory come in; they were earlier than usual, and I knew why.

"Where is she, is she all right?" Lorelai asks quickly.

"She's fine for now. I made her go take a nap upstairs for a while, and she is asleep," I tell her.

"That's good," she says letting out a breath.

I lean in to tell her the next part, lowering my voice.

"After I called you I called the police. They are picking her parents up. I also called the school, so they know what's going on," I say.

"What do you think they will do with her?" Rory asks.

"I'm gonna take her in," I say.

"What?" Lorelai asks, shocked.

"I want to make sure she is safe and stays that way. She is an amazing kid, and spends most of her time out of school here anyway," I explain.

"I think that's a fantastic idea," Rory says.

"I should take her some food now," I say.

I take their orders first, and then make all three of the girls' food, taking the Gilmore girls theirs, and then walking back up to the apartment to wake Andy.

I try to shake her awake which causes her to stir and panic. She cries and flailing before finally waking up and looking at me with panicked eyes. Her brain registers who I am. She takes and breath and slowly reaches out to hug me.

I hold her tight as she breaks down, sobbing again.

"You're okay, Andy. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you," I whisper, as I stroke her hair, holding her close.

"I made you some food. I made your favorite," I say after she had mostly calmed down.

She smiles and gets up. All that was left were a few tears and some sniffles. I guide her to the kitchen table; she sits down and starts eating.

Blueberry pancakes, bacon cooked extra crispy, and hash browns. I had also brought her some tea. Unlike the Gilmores, she hated the taste of coffee, but enjoyed the taste of hot tea, preferably black with a little sugar and honey.

I think I knew everything about this kid. Everything except that she was being abused.

Her favorite dinner meal is spaghetti, or blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Her favorite color is blue. Her hair is brown, which she gets from her father, and her eyes are blue with a little green, which she gets from her mother.

She is an only child, and she loves to read and draw. She's a talented artist. She hates nuts of any kind, but loves creamy peanut butter. She is allergic to shrimp, and the smell of pickles, or tuna make her sick.

I've known her since she was in kindergarten. Her parents were friendly people and were very active in town events. That was until she was in middle school. That's when the drinking started, but no one in town knew why, and no one was sure, or not if Andrea was being hurt.