I'd Rather Be in Philly

Gilmore Girls Season 8

Episode 1

FADE IN

INT. HOTEL ROOM, ANYWHERE USA

RORY is packing her bags; her cell phone perched between her shoulder and her ear, plane tickets and her computer sitting out on the desk.

RORY

Hey, Mom, sorry I missed you, but you won't believe the news I have for you. I know you've been missing me, since I've been traveling so much, but you won't have to worry about that anymore. I was just offered a job, with the same Zeen, doing entertainment reviews. Apparently they love me, and their entertainment guy just quit something about his wife's job; anyway, it's more money, and it's a permanent position in a permanent location. Its not home, but its closer then just about everywhere I've been for the past four months. I'm just about to head to the Airport, but I'll call you as soon as I know everything, give Luke and Paul Anka my love!

RORY hangs up the phone and tosses it in the general direction of her carry on bag. She packs up her computer, and then grabs her ticket. We can see that they say "Philadelphia" on them.

FADE OUT

(OPENING CREDITS)

First Commercial Break

FADE IN

INT. LUKE'S DINER, DAY

LORELAI is at LUKE'S with her coffee mug, sitting at the counter, it's obvious that he hasn't filled it yet, but she is refraining from going behind the counter.

LORELAI

Please, Luke, Please. I haven't had any coffee yet. Please, just one cup?

LUKE

(Looks at LORELAI skeptically)

I know for a fact you have had at least four cups, because I made half a pot before I left the house this morning, which means you drank them before you left this morning, and there for I say, no coffee. Go to work.

LORELAI

But, please Luke, for Kitty? Please, pretty please with sugar on top.

LUKE

No.

LORELAI

Pretty please with me on top?

LUKE

No, go to work.

(LUKE walks away)

(LORELAI waits for LUKE to start waiting on customer and goes behind the counter and fills her mug, then quickly returns to her seat before LUKE gets back, sipping her hot coffee and grinning)

LUKE

What part of 'NO' did you misunderstand?

LORELAI

The part where it wasn't a 'YES?'

LUKE

I give up, have fun killing yourself, just do it at your own job.

(LUKE hands LORELAI a TO-GO CUP, and walks away again)

(LORELAI dumps the remaining coffee from her mug into the TO-GO Cup and put the lid on, grabs her purse and heads for the door, dropping a quick kiss on LUKE's lips before she exits the DINER)

FADE OUT

FADE IN

INT. AIRPORT ANYWHERE USA, DAY

RORY is walking down the concourse, looking for a specific Gate, while also juggling her carry-on bag and her purse, as well as trying to pull out her cell phone. She manages not to drop anything, and pull out her phone. She pauses in the middle of the concourse; flips open her cell phone and scrolls down to a number then dials.

RORY

Hi, this is Rory, I know you haven't heard from me in a long time, and I know that I'm probably the last person in the world you want to do a favor for, but I'm going to be in your neck of the woods in about four hours, and I have no where to stay, after tomorrow, and I don't know the city, and I was kinda hoping that you would be the nice and sweet person that I know you are deep down and help out an old friend. If you want me to go take a flying leap I totally under stand, but if you can help, please let me know. I guess I'll try you at work. Thanks.

(RORY scrolls to a new number and dials again)

Hi, is Jess there?

INTER CUT WITH INT OF TRUNCHEN BOOKS

CHRIS

Can I tell him whose calling?

RORY

Tell him it's an old friend.

CHRIS

Are you the mystery woman?

RORY

I doubt it, I'm just an old friend, and one I'm not even sure he wants to talk to.

CHRIS

That sounds mysterious to me.

RORY

Then maybe I am the mystery woman, I just don't know if that's a good thing.

CHRIS

Let me go pull him away from the computer, just hang on.

(CHRIS sets the phone down on a pile of papers and wonders off to the back of the store)

JESS is hunkered down over a laptop, completely immersed in what he's doing; he has a pencil stuck behind his ear, and another on clutched between his teeth that he uses intermittently to scratch things off on the paper beside the computer.

CHRIS

Jess, dude, there's a hot chick on the phone for you, man.

JESS

If she's on the phone, how do you know what she looks like?

CHRIS

She sounds hot!

JESS has apparently had this conversation before, because instead of arguing he lets it go, saves his work and follows CHRIS to the front of the store to retrieve the phone.

JESS

This is Jess Mariano.

(JESS rests the phone between his shoulder and his ear, a mirror of what RORY has been doing, while cleaning up some of the paperwork that is scattered on the front desk)

RORY

Surprise?

(RORY looks worried when it takes JESS a moment to respond)

Jess?

JESS

Rory, is everything alright, is Luke okay?

RORY

Luke's fine, as far as I know, I'm at an airport in Missouri, I think, or Illinois, one of the ones in the middle.

JESS

You don't know where you are?

RORY

I've been on the road for so long I've kind of lost track of where I am, but I know where I'm going for the first time in four months, so that's a bonus.

JESS

Did you finally run away from home?

RORY

No, I've been following Obama's political campaign for an online web 'zeen. And I just got moved off of the campaign trail and into a desk position in a permanent location. Which is why I'm calling you.

JESS

Because you need me to tell you where in the country you are, Rory, you really where always better in geography then I was, and I'm sure you have better people you could call for that.

RORY

I don't need your help figuring out where I am, I'm about to get on a plane, which means in a few hours I'll know where I am, not that it matters, my problem lies in where I'm going to be staying starting tomorrow.

JESS

How am I going to help you with that?

RORY

My job's in Philadelphia.

(RORY waits for JESS to say something, but when he doesn't after a while she keeps going.)

I know I have no right to ask anything of you, and that the last time we saw each other it ended really badly, and I'm sorry. I don't have anything else I can say other then that, I can't defend my actions, and I can't take it back because I don't regret kissing you, I shouldn't have used you that way, but the act itself wasn't to use you, it was because I wanted to, because deep down that feeling has never gone away, in the four years since you've been essentially out of my life, those feelings have never been gone, and I'm sorry and I know that its wrong to ask anything of you, or to expect you to forgive me, or anything, but I wanted you to know that I never meant to use you in anyway. Logan is long gone; I don't really know what I was doing with him in the first place, you where right, you're always right when it comes to me. And I hope that someday you'll forgive me for putting you in the position that I put you in, and I'm sorry.

JESS

What time's your flight getting in; I'll come get you at the airport. I hope you don't mind the couch.

RORY

I'll be in at six, and I would be happy with the floor, as long as there's a roof.

JESS

I have one of those, comes in handy keeping the rain off all my books, and your getting the couch. I'll see you at six.

(JESS hangs up the phone and places it back on the desk, looking a bit lost)

CUT TO

INT AIRPORT

RORY sits down in the middle of the concourse looking like she's about to burst into tears, at the same time she looks like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders. RORY sits for a moment before gathering her things and continuing on her way down the concourse to her Gate.

FADE OUT

Second Commercial Break

FADE IN

INT DRAGONFLY

MICHELE is behind the desk looking annoyed and bored. He is picking his nails and glairing at the phone. LORELAI walks in the front door and over to the reception area

MICHELE

Oh, good. You are here. I have messages for you, and I am not happy about it.

LORELAI

The day that I come into this inn and you are happy about the messages that you have to give me, is the day that they are going to have to dig a plot for me in the backyard, because I will have died, and I'm pretty sure it will be heaven, because happy Michele only exists in heaven.

(MICHELE hands LORELAI the messages and goes back to picking his nails and glairing at the phone)

Michele, some of these are from yesterday, and three of them are from my daughter. Where you planning on telling me yesterday?

MICHELE

No, it was late in the day, and I had not taken my ten yet, so I took my ten, and I came back, and you where with the diner man, and then you left. Did she not call you at home; I figured that your offspring would call you at your home, or even on your cell phone. Perhaps she doesn't love you as much as you previously thought that she did.

LORELAI

You have to tell me when my daughter calls, I haven't seen her in four months, do you know how long that is?

(Exasperated)

Michele, god, I need coffee and I don't have time for this. Assume that I continue yelling at you about this for another fifteen minutes, and then don't do it again!

(Slams all the post-its down on the counter and stomps off to the kitchen)

CUT TO

INT DRAGONFLY KITCHEN

LORELAI comes into the kitchen, SOOKIE and several other kitchen staff are bustling around the kitchen preparing food. LORELAI bypasses them all and goes straight for the coffee maker, fills a mug full of coffee and takes a long sip, before addressing SOOKIE.

LORELAI

Okay, why do we keep Michele around again, because as the days go on, I just can't seem to remember?

SOOKIE

Because he keeps the inn running, what did he do this time? Did he yell at another guest, I thought that we had finally broken him of that?

LORELAI

Rory called me yesterday, and he didn't give me the message. He didn't give me three messages from Rory. What if something's wrong, what if she needed me and I wasn't there to help her, what if… I don't know, I can't think of another what if, but I'm sure there is one.

SOOKIE

If something was really wrong wouldn't she have called you at home, or on your cell? I'm sure she's fine, she'll call you later and you'll laugh about this, I'm sure. Unless, someone else was calling because something happened to Rory and Michele thought that they said Rory, when really they where calling about her, and something really is wrong, and they only had your work number. And oh my god, something's wrong with Rory! Have you called her, is she alright?

LORELAI

I'll call her in a minute; I needed to get some coffee first, and a good excuse to get away from Michele before I strangled him with his tie. She's fine, I'll call and check on her, and you can stop hyperventilating, it's not good for the baby.

SOOKIE

Your right, you're always right about these things.

LORELAI

How many more weeks do you have before the baby?

SOOKIE

Just two, and don't worry, this time I have everything planned out, Manny is going to take over again, and the meals are all planned out, and at the end of this week I'm going to start taking off so that I'm ready for baby. And, I'm not ready for baby at all. I just got the last two out of diapers, Martha just finished potty training, and Davy is only going to be just starting school, I've got one out of the house all the time, and another one whose coming, Lorelai, I don't want another kid.

LORELAI

Yes, you do, remember, we talked about this, you want another kid, you're thrilled that you're having a third one, and we're stopping after this, no more, Jackson agreed that this was it.

SOOKIE

Yeah, last one, I can do this. And, hey, it's kinda too late if I wanna back out anyway!

LORELAI

That's the spirit!

(LORELAI puts her empty cup down on the counter)

Alright, speaking of kids, I'm going to call mine and make sure she didn't fall out a window.

SOOKIE

You don't really think…

LORELAI

Breathe, Sook.

FADE OUT

FADE IN

INT DRAGONFLY EVENING

LORELAI is standing at the front desk opening up mail; the phone is perched between her shoulder and her ear.

RORY

(Off Screen)

You've reached Rory Gilmore's voicemail. I can't get to the phone right now, so leave a message, leaving your name, number and time you called, and I'll get back to you just as soon as I can.

LORELAI

Rory, this is mommy, please call me and tell me where you are, you're worrying me. Michele didn't give me your messages until just a few hours ago, and now I've left four on your voicemail. Your phone is off, and I'm hoping its because your doing something work related and not because your lying in a ditch right now and your phone has run out of batteries, call mommy and make her feel better.

LORELAI puts the phone down and continues to open the mail, looking at her phone, worried.

FADE OUT