𝐁𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐫𝐚𝐩 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐲 |» 𝘫.𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘰

~12 YEARS AGO~

"Lorelai!" the young Ellie cheered as she saw her aunt and cousin stood at the doorway of Miss Patty's dance studio. "I just learned how to do a pirouette!" she cheered as she ran over to the pair in her tutu.

"That's great, Ellouise," Lorelai smiled down at the 4-year-old.

"You have to teach me," Rory insisted as she watched her mother grab Ellouise's dance bag off the floor.

"Come on, we are going to Lukes!" the little brunette cheered as she dragged the blonde down the steps and across the road.

"Wait for me, thing one and thing two!" Lorelai shouted for them as they tried to pull the handle on the push door. Opening it for them, she ushered the pair into the diner where Luke stood with a pile of dirty plates.

"Hey, kid. How was the dance lessons?" Luke questioned Ellouise as she hugged his legs. "Woah, Lorelai get this child off me please," he groaned as he tried to walk.

"It was great Lukie!" Ellouise chuckled.

Rolling his eyes, he looked down at the blonde. "How many times do I have to tell you? It's Luke. Just Luke," he grumbled. He poured Lorelai a big mug of coffee and placed it in front of her.

"God, you're my keeper," Lorelai sighed as she stared down at the mug. "Hey, can I have two more mugs," she smiled at the grumpy diner owner.

When she received two mugs, she placed them in front of

the two kids and poured a quarter of the coffee into each cup.

"You're gonna give those girls a worse addiction than you've got," Luke scolded as the two girls sipped on the oversized mugs. "Nope, not today," he shook his head and pursed his lips as he grabbed the two cups away from the toddlers.

Following Luke to the counter, she sat whilst the two girls bickered in the background. "E is coming to pick her up today," Lorelai sighed and rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. "Can I hide her in your

wardrobe?" she asked jokingly.

"Sure, whatever it takes to get her away from that horrific woman," Luke shook his head at the thought and continued wiping down the counter. Looking up, he saw Esther Wilkins cross the street over to Miss Patty's. "Speaking of the devil."

"Ellouise, Rory, go upstairs would you?" she smiled at the two girls that did exactly as told just before Esther walked into the diner.

"Lorelai where is Ellouise?" Lorelai's sister questioned her as she glanced around the diner prompting Luke to roll his eyes. "Any time today? I have a business meeting back in Hartford in an hour."

"Well, why don't you leave Ellie with me?" Lorelai suggested, looking at Luke through the corner of her eye.

"I don't want her hanging around here," Esther commented as she scrunched up her face at the sight of the diner.

"Excuse you, my diner is absolutely fine! Mind your own damn business!" he piped up as he smacked the cloth he was holding against the counter in frustration.

Sighing, Esther strutted straight past Luke and Lorelai as she made her way up the stairs to Luke's apartment. "We've been foiled," Lorelai whispered to her friend as she watched her sister disappeared out of sight. "Esther you can't go up there!" she called after her sister.

Lorelai opened the apartment door and saw Esther holding Ellouise by the wrist while Rory sat on the bed. "Mommy, I want to stay here," Ellouise pleaded as she looked up at her mother.

"Look what you've done," Esther instantly remarked and pointed the finger at Lorelai. "We're going." She tugged on her daughter's arm and started to walk out of the apartment.

"Let her stay. It's doing her no harm!" Lorelai defended in hope that her sister would listen to her.

"She's my daughter. Not yours."

Lorelai stood alone in the apartment with Rory as she watched her niece get pulled down the stairs. She saw Ellouise as her own child and Esther had just given her a reality check. She had one daughter. She crouched down and hugged Rory as she looked at the doorway. "Let's go," she smiled at her daughter and kissed her on the forehead as she tried to hold back her tears.

"She's a real piece of work, your sister," Luke groaned as Lorelai emerged from upstairs, holding her daughter's hand.

"I know. She takes after our mother," she sighed as she lifted Rory up onto the counter.

"Hey! I just cleaned that!" Luke scolded, making the Gilmore girls chuckle.