The next morning, Luke had a softball game to go to. Shelby stood behind the fence, watching as she held onto it. It was the usual zero to zero game, with Kirk running his mouth and nearly getting killed before running off to save his skin. When Shelby grew bored, she played with her truck in the dirt. The recent rain softened the earth for the most part but used some of her drinking water to pour on the dirt underneath. She also used her hands and the heels of her shoes to dig deeper. By the time the game was finally over and someone got a run, the kid was covered in wet dirt.
Luke sighed under his breath when he saw his daughter. Kneeling to her level, he reached out and had Shelby stand, to brush off some of the dirt. Luke brushed what he could from her jeans and jacket sleeves and poured some of his water over her hands and his, too when he was done. He had never met a girl who liked to get dirty as much as Shelby did. His sister never liked it, but then again, Liz liked the girly stuff like dolls and stuff. Luke recalled his nephew getting dirty, once or twice so he always thought it was a boy thing.
"Hey, want to play catch?" Luke asked of Shelby once he got her cleaned up as much as possible, for now.
Shelby shrugged.
"Up to you," he assured her.
She nodded, a little.
Luke stood up and had her follow inside the field.
Shelby set her truck on the inside of the fence and stood on home plate while Luke stood a few feet away, halfway to the pitcher's mound.
"Ready?"
She nodded.
Luke tossed the softball, underhand.
Shelby tried to catch it. The ball missed her hands and rolled away. She hurried after the ball. The ball was big enough the kid had to hold it in both hands. Luke realized that when she tossed it. Shelby was aiming for him but the ball flew into the air instead and Luke had to move forward to catch it while she backed away.
So, Luke decided to run to the store and grab a baseball instead and even got her a glove, her size. They returned to the park. This time, Shelby left her truck inside her father's truck.
"Okay. Ready?" he asked, back in their original positions.
Shelby nodded.
Luke tossed the baseball, aiming where Shelby held her glove. She moved the glove under and tried to catch it. The ball bounced out of the glove and onto the ground, tempting to roll back to Luke. Shelby hurried after it.
"Remember how I showed you?" Luke mimicked the way he showed her. Shelby tried to do the same. Luke went over and helped position her fingers and elbow. "Just like that." He hurried back over to his spot and punched his glove. "Let's see what you got."
Confused, Shelby stared at him and held out the ball to show him.
Luke couldn't help chuckle. "I meant, throw me the ball," he teased her.
Shelby looked at the ball and repositioned her arm like her father showed her.
"Yeah, that's it, Shell." Luke held up his glove.
Shelby threw the ball, putting all she had into the throw.
Luke only had to move one foot forward to reach out and catch it. "That was a great throw, kiddo," he praised, receiving a smile that she was happy to have done good. "Ready?" Luke tossed it back. Shelby reached out to try and catch it. It took a few tries before she finally caught one. When she did, Shelby jumped up and down, excited. She abruptly stopped, turning red from embarrassment.
"You did good, kiddo," Luke praised her some more. "Proud of you." They continued to play catch for a while. Shelby did most of the running but every few throws, Luke had to go catch one he missed. As the minutes went by and the two continued, Shelby was enjoying it more and more.
After thirty minutes, Luke asked if she wanted to learn how to hit the ball. Shelby dashed over and grabbed the bat he left hanging on the fence, dropping her glove on the ground. She brought it back over to her dad.
Luke kneeled beside her and helped position the bat in Shelby's hands, making sure her knuckles lined up. When she was all set, Luke moved over to his spot and tossed the ball, underhand, over home plate.
Shelby got scared the first few times, backing away.
"Don't be afraid of the ball, kiddo. You can do it," he cheered her on. "Ready?"
She repositioned her hands which Luke reminded her to line up her knuckles, keeping the bat elevated, and tossed the ball. That time, Shelby swung at it but missed. She hurried after the ball and threw it back for him. The two kept at it until Shelby hit it at least once as Luke threw out encouragement and pointers. After a few tries, Luke could tell Shelby was starting to get frustrated, looking like she might cry.
"It's okay, Shell. You'll do it." He tossed another one, trying to make it as perfect for her as possible. The problem was she either swung too early or too late. "Let the ball get right in front of you." Luke tossed another one, hoping this one connected with aluminum. When he heard the clanging sound, relief poured over him like rain. It didn't go far. The ball landed towards the ground and rolled past him. Luke hurried over to grab it. "See? I knew you could do it."
Luke walked over and held his hand out to her for a high five.
Shelby held hers up which he smacked, gently.
"That was great, kiddo."
A huge smile was across the kid's face. "Again," she said, softly.
"Again?"
She nodded.
So, Luke backed up to his spot and continued.
Shelby missed the next few. The sixth time, she managed to hit the ball again. This time it flew up in the air. Luke held his glove out to the side and barely caught it, praising her some more. Shelby never wanted to stop but Luke had to get back to the diner. He assured her they can always come back another day.
Once they got back to the diner, they headed up to the apartment. Luke gave Shelby her bath, early and had her change into another clean pair of jeans and a long-sleeved striped shirt and set her up with cartoons while he showered and got changed.
When Luke came out of the bathroom, dressed, Shelby was playing with her toys on the coffee table.
"What would you like for lunch?" Luke headed for the kitchen and looked in the fridge.
Shelby stood up and went over to point at the pot of soup still in the fridge. Luke pretended to not see what she was pointing at, trying to get Shelby to verbalize what she wanted for lunch.
"Soup," she said, softly.
"You really like my soup, huh?"
She nodded up at him. He wasn't knocking it. At least Shelby was eating better. So, Luke pulled out the soup and warmed up a bowl for her. There was only one bowl left so once Shelby had her lunch, he made a sandwich for himself.
"I have to work downstairs, in the diner for a few hours," he told her while they were sitting at the table. "Why don't you come down and hang out. You can bring your toys or color."
Shelby shook her head.
"Come on, Shell. You can't always stay up here by yourself. Maybe Lorelai and Rory will swing by." Who was he kidding? Of course they would. Those girls practically lived at his diner.
Shelby shook her head, again.
Luke sighed under his breath. "Okay," he gave in. Once he finished eating, Luke kissed Shelby on the head, letting her know he'll come up and check on her in a little while and spent the rest of the afternoon working.
Lorelai did stop by. Things got awkward when he brought up, he saw Rory with someone at the game that morning and learned it was her father, and walked away. He kept an eye on the guy when Rory and her father came in, shortly afterwards.
The next week ended up being spring break for Shelby, so the kid ended up being home. To Luke's surprise, Shelby wanted to go back to the park and play catch again. This time when she managed to hit the ball, she ran around the bases. Luke watched, laughing at the scene as she rounded second, then third, and finally, crossed home and jumped onto the plate with both feet.
"And Shelby scores a homerun!" He held his arms up in the air.
Shelby smiled over him.
Kirk had ended up passing through and seen the two playing catch. "Hey, Luke. How does it feel to have a child be better than you?" he called over from the other side of the fence.
"Kirk." Luke glared over at the guy, giving him a warning look.
Kirk turned and continued on his way.
Shelby looked back and forth at the men.
"Don't worry, Kirk is harmless. Not bad at all," Luke assured her.
Besides gaining a kid, Luke also gained an assistant. Besides playing catch, Luke helped out when folks needed a repair and of course Shelby tagged along. She would pass him a tool (that wasn't sharp such as a saw) whenever Luke asked for something.
Shelby would watch what he's doing. After a while she managed to work up the courage to ask, "Wha' you doing?" It was her first complete sentence.
Luke was so excited. He didn't make a big deal out of it, in fear it might frighten her. Instead he just answered the question, explaining in terms she would be able to understand. "Would you like to learn?" he asked afterwards.
Shelby just shrugged one shoulder.
So, since then, Luke started teaching his kid. If she was going to be his assistant, may as well know what she's helping him repair. Friday evening Shelby even helped, as best as she could, set up to paint the diner.
"I help?" she asked when they were finished.
"We'll see. Okay?"
Shelby nodded.
"Hey, would you like a donut?" Luke offered. It had been a long week and the kid had been such a hard worker. He was still nervous about raising a daughter but it didn't seem as bad as he thought it would be. Luke couldn't help have just as much of a good time as Shelby seemed to have.
That brightened her face and nodded.
Before he could pretend to not notice the head movement, Shelby was dashing into the kitchen where they moved everything and climbed onto one of the stools, herself.
Luke followed and lifted the glass dome off and grabbed the one she pointed to. "Can you sit flat, kiddo? You're making me nervous," he told her, heading towards the fridge. Shelby maneuvered herself carefully until she was sitting flat on her bottom.
"You want some milk?"
She nodded with a mouth full of donut. Crumbs and frosting stuck to both of her lips.
He grabbed the milk and poured some into a glass, bringing it over to the kid. Shelby took the glass and washed down the donut.
"Tank you," she muttered, softly.
"You're welcome, kiddo," Luke smiled.
The two waited for Lorelai to show any minute so her and Luke could start painting. Luke wasn't sure if he should just start or wait. But as minutes turned into hours, he realized she wasn't coming and decided to get his daughter inside before she caught a cold.
Once Shelby was in her pajamas, she asked, "Why you sad?"
Luke had been trying to hold a smile for his daughter especially when she was too adorable not to. "You think I'm sad?"
She nodded.
He smiled. "I'm not sad."
Shelby went and grabbed Pikachu from behind where Luke was sitting on the bed. She brought the toy back and held it up to his face. "Pikachu tinks you sad."
"Does he now?" Luke teased his daughter and lifted her up and playfully tossed her on the bed. He tickled her torso and sides, causing Shelby to giggle. They weren't out loud and Shelby was trying her best to stifle them. It was a losing fight for the kid. "Hey," he said when Luke stopped to let her catch her breath. "How about we end your spring break with a camping trip, this weekend?"
Shelby nodded up at her dad with a smile.
Luke leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Love you, kiddo. Always."
"Love you, Dad," she repeated.
His heart fluttered with warmth when he heard his daughter tell him she loved him back. Luke couldn't help smile. It certainly made his day for his daughter to tell him she loved him for the first time.
Even though he put her to bed, Shelby didn't fall asleep until Luke came back up, after putting the diner back to normal. Both of them woke early the next morning and packed up his truck for their trip.
While Luke was carrying the fishing equipment out to the truck, Lorelai finally appeared.
"I feel horrible," she began.
"Don't," he assured her and started to move.
"I stood you up and didn't even call."
"It's okay." Luke took the stuff over and set them inside the truck bed.
"I'm a rat," she continued. "We had a date and I stood you up."
He shrugged his hands out, "It wasn't a date. It was just to paint."
"I'm a rat, I need cheese."
"Forget it." Luke turned to head back inside when Shelby was trying to carry their baseball gloves, the bat, and the ball, all in her arms. He took the bat, to relieve some of the load. "You want to play catch on our trip?"
She nodded at him, her hat hanging on her head, backwards so the kid could see where she's going.
Luke playfully grabbed at the top of her head and tossed the bat in beside the fishing rods while Shelby wandered around him to set the gloves up there. She moved back so he could lift the tailgate. While they would be gone, Luke had called and asked Caesar to run things for the weekend.
As the two started for the driver's side of the truck, Lorelai followed along.
"Hey, hey. Let's reschedule," she suggested.
"You know, I didn't want to do it in the first place," Luke pointed out.
"No, no, no. Don't change your mind," Lorelai pleaded. "We could do it...when you get back."
Luke huffed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Was it an emergency?"
"Yes," she replied. "You would not believe what happened. I slipped, and I busted my..." Lorelai looked up at him and shook her head instead. "It wasn't an emergency. It was just me being a rat."
Luke stared at the woman, serious. "Something came up?"
"Yeah."
He nodded off at nothing. "Something...someone. Am I right?"
"Luke... I'm sorry," she apologized, sincerely.
"Yeah, okay," he accepted, searching around at the sidewalk. "Uh, well. We have to head out before traffic gets too bad."
"Oh." Lorelai stepped to the side.
Luke locked up the diner before heading over to his truck and opened the door. He lifted Shelby inside, who sidestepped over to the other side, letting him slide in under the wheel. Luke started the engine and pulled away from the curb when their seat belts were fastened.
After a long moment of silence, he felt a tap on his arm. "Hm?" he acknowledged Shelby.
"See wearing pjs ou'side," she said, softly.
It made him chuckle. "That she was," he nodded, watching the road ahead.
There was a long pause before she asked, "Why?"
"Why, what?"
"Wearing pjs ou'side?"
Luke shrugged. "I don't know. You would have to ask Lorelai." The radio was playing the song, "Life's a Dance," by the country singer, John Michael Montgomery. Shelby tried reaching for the knob to turn it up but couldn't reach. Noticing she was reaching for the radio, Luke switched over and turned the volume up a little more.
First thing the two of them did when they got there was go on a hike. Shelby ended up finding a stick and used it like a baseball bat to try and hit pine cones and rocks, taking a few tries before hitting them. The pine cones at least. She never managed to hit the rocks.
While passing a river, Luke showed Shelby how to skip rocks, making sure to find the flat and smooth ones. The kid tried but only Luke was getting more than one skip on one rock.
"Just takes lots of practice," he assured her.
Luke had been able to tighten the hat for Shelby, to fit her head so it was snug right, facing forward where she could see. He also told Shelby he would teach her how to swim during the summer.
Eventually, the hike circled back around to their campsite where Luke made sandwiches for lunch. Things were quiet while the two ate. All that could be heard were the sounds the lake made as a cool breeze blew. Birds chirped and sang off in the distance. Grey clouds covered the sky, blocking out the sun. Luke hoped the rain would hold off at least until he got the tent set up. Once they finished their sandwiches, he asked if Shelby remembered how to pitch the tent.
Shelby of course shook her head as her response. He pretended like he couldn't see it until she finally answered no, verbally.
Luke showed his daughter again, letting her help. With the tent up, Luke unloaded their bags and rolled out their sleeping bags inside. One could guess right what kind of sleeping bag Shelby had.
All settled in, Luke and Shelby sat over by the lake and fished for a few hours. It was an amazement how long the kid's attention lasted considering how much TV she spent watching as well as staring at a video game.
While they sat there, staring out over the water, Luke tried to hold a conversation to get Shelby more comfortable with talking.
"Um..." He thought about what to start with. "Did you have fun the past week?"
Shelby nodded but Luke wasn't accepting head motions anymore. It took a lot being tough with the kid, what with how timid she was. Even when he got tough-skinned, Luke kept some tenderness in his tone and waited for Shelby to speak, not moving on until she did. Even if it took an hour. Thankfully, it never took that long.
"Yes." Shelby stared at the dirt.
"Do you have a favorite what we did?"
There was a long pause before she answered. "Yes."
"What's your favorite?"
Shelby spun the handle of her reel, staring at it. "B-baseball."
Luke couldn't help smile. He rubbed a hand up and down her back, gently.
She looked up at him and smiled in return.
This time, Luke ended up the one with a bite, interrupting the two's moment. Letting Shelby help, the two reeled the fish in. It took a lot with the fish fighting for all it was worth, not wanting to be caught. In the end, the two were the victors. Luke unhooked and gutted the fish before setting it inside the white bucket sitting nearby. Casting his line back out, they continued fishing.
Forty minutes went by before Luke broke it again. He had been thinking about how much Shelby enjoyed playing catch. It might be good to get her on a team with kids her own age. "How would you like to play baseball on a team with other kids?"
Shelby shook her head. Remaining silent, waiting for an answer, she eventually said, "No."
"What if I try to volunteer to be a coach or assistant coach?" Being around a bunch of five-years-olds was not something Luke wanted to do. At Shelby's age, kids still had the sticky hands and bouncing around unable to sit still and picking their nose. But if it'll help Shelby, he'll suck it up.
Shelby continued to shake her head.
"Don't you want to play baseball and meet other kids?"
Shelby looked away at the dirt again.
"You don't have to talk to anyone. Not until you're ready. But I really think this is a good idea. It's a lot of fun playing on a team. Remember when you watched my game, last weekend, and how much of a good time we had?" Shelby still wouldn't say yes. Letting it go, Luke assured her he wouldn't force things, but at least told her to think on it and to let him know when she was ready.
They fished until around five that evening.
Luke built a campfire and cooked the fish they caught. He even showed her how to make s'mores, afterwards. It was cut short though when it finally started to rain and moved everything inside the tent, using a box flashlight for light. Luke used it to make shadow puppets, trying to entertain Shelby.
As time passed and it got later in the night, the rain continued to pour. It was a good thing Luke had a tent that could withstand rain and made sure to double check Shelby's work. It didn't seem so bad as rain tapped on the outside of the tent. Luke was forming a dog with his hands when thunder roared outside. It was loud enough to make Shelby jump in fright and climb into his lap.
"It's just thunder, kiddo. All it is, is sound. It can't hurt you," he assured her, holding his arms around Shelby. The kid huddled in his lap. In between the thunder, she moved off to grab Pikachu, but returned once she had her favorite toy. Shelby had a hard time falling asleep with the minor storm going on. Luke wasn't sure what to do or what to say. He just held and comforted her, feeling her small body tense up with every thunder roar and lightning strike.
Luke kicked himself for not checking the weather before coming up here. It had been rainy throughout the week, down in Stars Hollow. He should have known it would be raining up here as well. Luke was thankful for grabbing extra blankets and wrapped one around Shelby. He tried to talk to her some more to help take her mind off the storm but Shelby was in too much distress to focus. Instead, the two just sat there as Luke held onto her, protectively.
When Shelby had finally managed to fall asleep during a calm, Luke carefully laid her in her sleeping bag, covering her up with both the blanket and sleeping bag. He laid down in his, sharing the blanket. With a warm, protective arm around his daughter, Luke fell right to sleep though Shelby woke up a couple times throughout the night from the thunder and he had to calm her down as she huddled close to him.
The storm finally passed by early morning and the sun was shining when Luke was awakened by Shelby shaking his arm. Unzipping the flap, the two of them crawled out of the tent. Luke stretched, taking in the fresh, crisp morning air through his nostrils and into his lungs. Both of them went over in private and used the bathroom, washing their hands in the lake using a bar of soap.
Luke washed off the cooking utensils in the lake as well and fixed breakfast. After one last hike, they packed up and headed home.
On the drive back to Stars Hollow, Shelby decided to listen to her CD player Luke had gotten for her back before she had come to live with him, listening to her favorite singer. Luke had come to learn the kid's name was Billy Gilman and apparently was the youngest country singer, just recently fresh within the last year. In fact, the CD Luke bought for her came out the previous summer and was the kid's first. Shelby played it so much at home on Luke's radio, Luke had become quite familiar with the words. She loved it that much and would always mouth along.
Luke listened to the radio as he drove while Shelby listened to hers with headphones. At first, he caught whispers, peeking over at the kid. Her eyes had closed but her mouth was moving so Luke knew Shelby hadn't fallen asleep. After a moment, he was caught off guard by what he heard. Figuring she had gotten into her music, Shelby was now singing where Luke could hear her and not karaoke, off-key singing either. The kid was singing along. Beautifully, he might add.
"Holy crap," he muttered out loud, to himself. Luke Danes' kid was already a talented singer? And of course it had to be the least favorite of Luke's she was singing, reminding him of her mother. It never felt right asking Shelby to turn it off or switch to another song. It just always reminded him of Rachel leaving. The song asked the same question Luke wondered, what was forever for?
Luke never drew attention about Shelby singing, not wanting to embarrass the kid. He finally pulled up to the diner around four in the afternoon. The first thing he saw through the window was the chairs already put up on the tables and someone inside, and it wasn't Caesar. Luke glanced at his daughter long enough to help her down and for her to move out of the way to close the door before returning his gaze inside.
Rushing for the entrance, Luke went inside, in complete and utter shock. "What the...?"
Lorelai breathed like she was out of breath, covered in paint. "Ta da!"
"How did you get in here? And where's Caesar?"
"Um, I convinced him to take the afternoon off," she replied.
"I'm finding a new cook," Luke announced, looking around at the freshly painted place.
Lorelai followed him around. "What do you think?"
"I think you shouldn't break and enter," he replied as Luke continued to move around.
"So, what do you think?"
"Well, I gotta admit," he gave in. "It looks pretty good. Don't you think, Shelby?"
Shelby gave him a thumb's up approval.
"I knew you'd like it," Lorelai snickered.
Luke thanked her, nonchalantly.
"Anytime. It's fun." She laughed some more.
Luke moved over and began setting the chairs down on the floor. "So, uh, where's the guy?"
She helped with the chairs. "Oh, he's gone."
He looked over at her. "Oh, too bad."
Lorelai moved to the table Luke was standing at. "We'll be fine."
Shelby tried to help too. Thankfully, Luke rushed over and caught the chair in time. Quick, cat-like parental reflexes kicked in and had her be supervised, letting Shelby help with whichever chair he put down. It was enough to let her think she was being helpful.
Lorelai tried suggesting curtains next, or tablecloths. Luke put his foot down, shooting down both suggestions and was not budging. Painting was enough.