That Summer

Author: Sk8erGrl1

Summary: A sequel of the sorts to Past and Present. It's the summer of a lifetime for these friends. Stars Hollow will never be the same again, and neither will any of them.

Parings: A lot of OC pairings and mention of other Gilmore-verse pairings.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: I got this idea a while ago after re-reading Past and Present which turned out to be a one shot. This story is going to involve a lot of the characters you learnt about in the last story like Laynie, Chris, Stella, Joey, and all of the other children of our favorite Gilmore Girls characters and a few new ones too. Also, to the person who asked Seth Brody is not Seth Cohen from The OC but a mix of names of Seth Cohen and Adam Brody.

CHAPTER ONE

Laynie sat in the backyard of the Gilmore-Brody home, bathing in the warm summer sunlight. She took a deep breath, breathing in the freedom of not having to worry about high school any longer. It had been a week since she graduated and yet, the greatness of it all had yet to wear off. Next to her, her Aunt Stella Gilmore-Danes lay tanning as well.

"I love being a graduate!" She laughed, to herself mostly, "No more high school!"

"You still have to go to Yale in the fall!" Stella reminded her, turning onto her stomach, "I'd much rather be in high school. Which is good since I have one more year!"

Laynie rolled her eyes at Stella and sat up. She didn't want to waste her summer just sitting there. Plus, since Chris was gone for another week to Martha's Vineyard with his grandparents she should be having a bit of fun just the girls. He was probably having fun on his own anyway, flirting with girls and all. Not that she cared, she and Chris had been together for going on two years. She trusted him. "Let's get out of here! Go do something!"

"This is still Stars Hollow, there's nothing to do," Stella reminded her, "Plus, I have to take over Joey's shift at the diner in fifteen." Laynie scrunched up her nose and pulled her long, light brown hair into a ponytail.

"Ugh, the last thing I want to do is spend my day serving hamburgers to the towns people of Stars Hollow," Laynie groaned, pulling her shorts on over her bathing suit and grabbing her t-shirt.

"We'll go over to the public pool later if you want," Stella suggested, "Or do something rebel-like." Laynie laughed. Stella could be her mother's daughter one moment and the next she could be exactly like her father. Either way, Stella and Laynie were great friends, always had been.

"Alright," Laynie sighed tugging her shirt over her head, "But I'm not going to be cheery if Taylor or Kirk start their stints again."

"Are you sure you're Rory's daughter, 'cause you're a bit too much like my dad sometimes when it comes to the people of Stars Hollow," Stella grinned, pulling on her sundress and slipping her feet into her sandals. She was the spitting image of her mother with her thick dark hair and blue eyes, there were traces of Luke in her but she had taken after her Gilmore side.

"Hey, mom can be a grump too when she's been deprived of her coffee, or is just in a plain bad mood," Laynie pointed out, "Trust me, I've see the best and worst of the Rory Gilmore."

"Don't doubt that," Stella tossed over her shoulder as she walked around the house and towards the diner, Laynie right behind her. The rest of their walk passed in content silence, both of them enjoying the warm breeze and the total freedom summer offered them.

They arrived at Luke's Diner to find Stella's twin brother, Joey, wrapped up in the lunch rush. Stars Hollow residence and tourists alike were crammed into the small diner run Stella and Joey's dad, Luke Danes. Her step-grandfather was also working in the diner, wearing his usual plaid shirt and backward baseball cap, hair curling out from under it. Laynie chuckled lightly as she glanced between the father and son pair. If Stella had taken after Lorelai, Joey sure had taken over his father.

"Stella! Laynie!" Joey caught sight of the two as he scurried past them to deliver a plate of fries to a table nearby, "About time!"

"Where do you need us?" Stella asked as she tied her hair back in a messy bun and maneuvered her way to the counter, tying on her apron and grabbing a pad and pen before tossing Laynie her stuff.

"Dad needs one of you at the counter and I need one of you to take over that side of the diner," Joey mentioned, heaving a sigh, "Looks like I'm going to be staying for a bit, until things calm down."

"Where did all these people come from?" Stella wondered, moving behind the counter with her father, "I mean, we've been busy but never like this."

No one answered her though; she hadn't expected them too either. Everyone was too busy serving the pack of customers to engage in any for of small talk with one another. Working in a rush like this, Laynie couldn't help but miss Chris. He would always catch her eye from across the room, or do something cute or inappropriate, anything to make her laugh. He was her partner in crime, her best friend and so much more. It amazed both her mother and his father how well they had gotten along, even as little kids, because they themselves had never gotten along too well until they were adults.

Plates crashed to the floor of the diner, startling Laynie out of her thoughts and she looked around. A young girl, around her younger brother Scott's age, maybe a year younger, with long, dark hair and green eyes stared wide eyed at Laynie. She looked stricken with guilt and Laynie noticed that the plates had been the ones she was holding moments earlier.

Joey was over at her side in seconds, with a pan and broom for her to use to sweep up the glass and Laynie immediately got to work. The girl was still staring at her, seemingly frozen in place, but she had yet to say a word to her.

"Des! Destiny!" Laynie looked up from her spot on the floor once more as she poured the rest of the glass into a garbage bag. Standing beside now was a boy her age with the same unruly black hair as the little girl but his eyes were dark and serious, a certain mysteriousness about him.

"Huh?" The girl looked up at him, a blank expression on her face and Laynie stood up, watching them as tied the garbage bag up. She knew she should ignore them and go back to work but Stella had already come out from behind the counter and take over what Laynie had been doing while she had been picking up the glass.

"Say sorry," the boy told her, "And then let's get a table and wait for dad."

"'Kay," Destiny nodded and turned back to Laynie, "Sorry." Then she turned quickly on her heels and headed straight to a table that Joey had just finished cleaning up. She sat on the, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What's with the kid?" Laynie couldn't help but ask the boy before he turned away. He looked at her quietly for a moment, checking her out, Laynie figured. She was used to that kind of reaction from guys when they first met her, whether Chris was around her not.

"Doesn't talk much," he shrugged, "Never has. Said her first word when she was two. Mom says she's a late bloomer, dad says she's a dreamer."

"What about you?" Laynie raised a brow, curious about this boy whom she'd never seen before, "What do you say about her?"

"She's Destiny," he shrugged once more before turning away and going over to the table where Destiny sat. Laynie watched him a moment before she felt an elbow dig into her ribs. Turning, she glared at Stella who stood next to her, shaking her head.

"You've got a boyfriend," she reminded her, "A boyfriend who you've known your whole life and who you've been dating for two years."

"I know," Laynie rolled her eyes, "I was just looking." Before Stella could say anymore, Laynie went back to work, taking orders as the lunch crowd slowly died down. Joey had already taken leave and now it was just Stella and herself, Luke having gone to home early as well.

The bell above the diner door chimed as a man entered, and Laynie knew right away that he was Destiny and the nameless boy's father just by the hair. It was the same dark color, although it was starting to gray. Laynie approached them, slipping her pen out from behind her ear, "Can I get you guys anything?"

"Three burgers," the man told her, not even looking at the menu, "With fries and cokes."

"Got it," Laynie nodded and delivered the order to Stella who then relayed it to the cook. By that time, all the customers had either been served or were waiting for there orders, it was well past one at the time and a lot of the tourists were now back to their daily routine of sight seeing, the rest of Stars Hollow back at work.

Sliding onto a stool, Laynie rested her head on the counter and groaned, "That was the worst hour of my life!"

"Worse than that hour you had to spend in after-school detention at Chilton?" Stella asked, curiously as she poured them both a cup of coffee, "The time Chris wasn't there."

"No!" Laynie exclaimed, shaking her head quickly, "That was just…horrid."

"Worse than the Gilmore family reunion when Grandma Emily caught you and Chris making out in the guest room?" Stella asked next, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Never!" Laynie practically shouted, and then heaved a sigh, "Alright, it wasn't the worst, but it was definitely not the best." They realized then that Destiny and mystery-man's father was staring at them then. An unreadable expression on his face and both girls frowned, fighting back shudders. It was a bit strange.

Before either teens knew it the man was standing in front of them and Laynie saw the same dark eyes his son had. She tilted her head and asked, "Anything I can get you as you wait?"

"You guys said Gilmore before," he said, "Do you happen to know where I can find Lorelai Gilmore and Luke Danes?"

Both girls stared at him curiously then, wondering who in the world he was and what he wanted with their family. Laynie glanced at Stella, wondering what her younger aunt was thinking about this man, wondering if she might have a clue what he wanted with her parents.

"At home probably," Stella broke the silence, "Dad was here before but he left as soon as things died down. He probably will be back right before closing."

"You're dad is Luke Danes?" the man asked, he looked at her a moment and then chuckled lightly, "Should've known. You look like your mom."

"Thanks," Stella replied wearily, "Who're you?"

"Jess Mariano," he held his hand out and Stella shook it, "I guess I'm your cousin."

"You are," Stella nodded, "I'm Stella. Dad's talked about you before, never actually seen any pictures or anything. I mean, you're not even on the wedding video and I know you went."

"Yeah, I'm not much for appearing on film of any forms," Jess half smiled, "Last time I talked to Luke though you and your brother had just been born."

"Wait! You're the Jess Mariano!" Laynie burst out, jumping out of her seat.

Jess furrowed his eyebrows and Stella bit back a laugh, Destiny and Jess' son were now staring at them, an amused expression was on the face of the boy. After a moment, Jess nodded, "Yeah…"

"No, I mean, you're the guy who stole my mom from her first boyfriend and then ran away to California!" Laynie was practically jumping up and down then, "You're him!"

"Laynie," Jess said knowingly.

"Yeah! That's me!" Laynie nodded and Stella laughed, Laynie was a Gilmore all right, more so than she was sometimes. She questioned her decision to give Laynie coffee then; she was, after all, coming over for dinner that night.

"Look, I need to talk to Luke," Jess told Stella, "It's kind of important."

"Right, well, you know where they live," Stella pointed out, "They haven't moved since dad first moved in with mom. Same old house Rory grew up in, same house I did."

"Oh," Jess nodded, "Right. Can I just get everything to go then?"

"Dad," the boy approached them now, "Maybe you should just go on ahead and see them. I'll stay here with Des and then go out and see the town or something." He had obviously been listening to the whole conversation.

"Fine," Jess agreed, "Just cancel what I ordered." Then, with that Jess Mariano walked out of the diner door and Stella and Laynie turned to stare at the younger version of the man instead. There was a surreal feeling about this all, almost like one of those Soap Operas. An old boyfriend of her mother's showing up in town with his handsome son and her boyfriend away on Vacation.

Laynie shook her head, nope, she loved Chris and she was just bored. Although the still nameless Mariano was very good looking, she wasn't about to ruin her friendship or relationship with Chris. This wasn't some TV show where history would repeat itself and she'd be her mother's daughter in more than just the sense of the word but in actions as well.

"So, do we get a name?" Stella asked him, "Or are you going to be Mr. Broody Jr."

"Oliver," her told them, "Oliver Mariano."

"As in Oliver Twist?" Stella bit back a chuckle, keeping a serious face.

"Need I point out that your name is Stella?" he raised his brow and a tiny smirk appeared when Stella dropped the name thing just then. She knew he had a lot of ammo on her name, and she wasn't about to open that can of worms.

"Oliver!" Destiny called from the table and he turned around to look at his little sister then, "I want to go."

"Right," Oliver nodded, "Maybe we'll actually take the food to go."

Stella nodded and prepared their meal in a to-go bag and handed it him. Oliver nodded his thanks before going back over to Destiny and getting whatever stuff they had and leaving. Stella and Laynie watched them go and then turned to each other.

"Freaky," Laynie muttered and Stella nodded.

"Well, I think we're about to head into Twilight Zone," Stella told her, looking past out the door of Luke's. She saw a moving truck turn a corner and then disappear and three people standing beside a car saying something to the driver before it went off to follow the truck. Laynie's jaw dropped open as she recognized Roxanne 'Roxy' Forrester, who hadn't changed a day since Laynie last saw her when she had been nine and her younger brother Caleb.

"The Forresters are back?" Laynie finally managed, "Did you know?"

"Yeah," Stella nodded, "Mom told me last night. They bought the Oasis."

"They live across the street from you!" Laynie blinked, thing just kept getting stranger and stranger. Now, two of her mom's ex-boyfriends were back in town, all with sons around her age, sons around her age that weren't hard on the eyes.

The diner phone rang angrily and both girls jumped at the sound of it, Stella quickly turned and grabbed it off the hook. She said a few words to the person on the other line and then hung up. When she turned back to Laynie she looked as if she were about to laugh, "That was Chris. He's back in Stars Hollow, and coming to surprise you."

Great, Laynie thought, Maybe my life is turning into a horrid soap opera.

Ryan Gilmore-Brody ran a hand through his mass of light brown curls as he headed towards the Rygalski house a couple of blocks away. He wore his bathing suit shorts and a plain orange shirt, small beads of sweat danced down the side of his face though and his hair fell right back into place in front of his face. The scorching heat was practically unbearable, especially after spending the past couple of hours doing random chores for the neighbors to make money. At this point, he would've much rather spent his after noon watching his younger siblings Scott and Lori.

Halfway to the Rygalski house though he was ambushed from behind, someone jumped him, wrapping their arms around his neck and nearly tackled him to the ground. Frowning, in no mood for horseplay when he was this hot and miserable, Ryan whirled around to glare at his attacker. When he caught sight of who it was though, it was hard to keep an angry face.

Abigail Rygalski stood in front of him, grinning widely, her almond shape eyes dancing with mischief. Her long black hair hung loose over her shoulders and she had her hands stuffed in the back pockets of her jean shorts. Strapped over her shoulder was her book bag, she carried it everywhere she went, inside was her drum sticks, and music notes. At hand whenever she needed them.

Ryan shook his head, a huge grin washed over his face and he wrapped his arms around his long-time girlfriend, enveloping her in a hug. He kissed her cheek and then her lips before pulling away and trying to once more be serious, with little luck because Abby had mastered the puppy dog eyes at a young age.

"Come on Ry," she coaxed, "You know you can never stay mad at me. You're just a big softie." She punched his arm lightly, flipping her hair over her shoulders and starting towards her house once more, knowing Ryan would follow.

"One day I'll grow a back bone," Ryan said with a laugh. He was a completely different person when Abby was around everyone knew it. He could be broody and miserable one minute and the next the total opposite. Only Abby could do that to him.

"And when you do, let me know," Abby grinned, pushing open the front door of her house, "Cause I'd like to be the first one to test it out." She winked and let him in before closing the door behind her and dropping her bag on the floor.

The house was quiet and although Ryan had seen it too many times to count he looked around at it carefully. The furniture was a mix of antique and chic retro stuff. It was a mixing of eras, personalities, and likes that suited the Rygalski family in so many ways. The couches were rock star style, couches that Ryan had always admired, and they'd had them since they moved in. Each room was a different color, some vibrant, mixed in with other colors to make them easier on the eyes and some rooms were "normal". A lot of the antique furniture had either been given or bought from none other than Kim's Antique's.

"Abby?" Dave Rygalski called down to his daughter, from upstairs. His footsteps could be heard approaching the stairway and both Ryan and Abby looked up to where they knew her father would appear at any moment.

"Yeah, it's me dad!" Abby called back, just as Dave appeared at the top of the stairs, leaning over. He had an old, faded T-shirt, and baggy jeans on, his graying, curly hair, was damp from having likely just been in the shower not long ago.

"Oh, hey Ryan, you staying for dinner?" Dave asked, catching sight of his daughter's boyfriend.

"I can't, going to my grandmother's tonight," Ryan replied quietly, "Family thing."

"Oh. Right," Dave nodded, obviously having heard of the Gilmore family get together. "Abby going with you, or are we actually stuck having dinner with our daughter for once?"

"Har, Har, dad," Abby grinned at her father, and then shook her head, "Nope. Dinner at home tonight, or have you forgotten that your eldest, less musically inclined daughter, is coming home from her first year at College?"

Ryan himself had almost forgotten and Abby had been talking about the arrival of Riz next week for way too long. She and her sister had always gotten along and when Riz, short for Charisma, had chosen to go to college in LA, it proved harder for her to make visits unless it was for a holiday.

"Oh, right, her," Dave chuckled lightly. Although Riz had finished school a while ago, she had stuck around California a while longer to hang out with some of her new friends. Ryan was sure she regretted missing his older sister Laynie's graduation considering her, Laynie, and Stella had been practically inseparable when they were younger.

"Yeah, her," Abby rolled her eyes and then raised a brow, "Where's mom anyway?"

"She went out," Dave shrugged, "What are you to going to be up to until supper time?"

"Don't know," Laynie shrugged, "Hang around." Dave nodded and smiled knowingly before turning away from them. He didn't bother shooting a warning or any such thing over her shoulder. By this time, they had all learnt that no matter what they said, none of their children were going to listen to them. Besides, they trusted Ryan and Abby to know to do the right thing.

Abby smiled at Ryan and too his hand, and the two headed to Abby's room where they would waste their time doing whatever they felt like doing at the time, whether it was couple stuff or just sit around talking about music.

Christopher Janlen DuGray pulled up in front of his home in Stars Hollow and paid the Taxi driver. He was thankful for the horrid weather at Martha's Vineyard so that he wouldn't have to spend another week there with his boring grandparents. The first couple of days hadn't been so bad with girls to flirt shamelessly with but after a while it got dull. Plus, he couldn't exactly pursue anything more than flirting with any of them, not with Laynie back at home. Chris was a ladies man, but he didn't want to be a man who cheated on a girlfriend, especially not a Gilmore girl. His father always told him how lucky he was to have nabbed Laynie, Chris had known all along though.

Glancing across the street, Chris could see his little sister Kyra, Rory's youngest Scott and his younger sister Lori as well as Paris' daughter Amy all playing some game outside on the front lawn of the Gilmore-Brody home. His best guess was that both his mother and Paris were over visiting Rory, maybe even Lane too. Chris always found it amazing how well all four families; five if you count Lorelai, Luke and their twins, got along.

Stepping into the house, Chris looked around. He didn't know what he expected. Maybe, Laynie having taken the rest of the night off from Luke's there to greet him. He was just being, well, he was just being how he got when he thought of Laynie. Often his father had told him that it was once how he had felt about Laynie's mother when they were in high school. It was something that a Gilmore had the power to do over a man. Although, it seemed that his mother could do it as well as any Gilmore, with more sexual powress. Although, Chris usually chose to ignore those comments, thinking about his parents like that, well, he actually didn't want to think about his parents like that.

The house was empty, except from Tristan, Chris' dad, sitting in the living room, reading the paper. Probably procrastinating on whatever case he was supposed to be working. Tristan looked up and nodded at his son before turning back to his work. Chris shrugged; he hadn't expected much small talk between him and his dad. The two didn't talk much; Chris was always too busy with Laynie or causing some sort of trouble some day.

Dropping his bag in his room, Chris returned downstairs and turned back to look at his father. His hair was short again, cut in a buzz cut and it was still the same blonde color it had been when he was a teenager. The same color Chris himself had inherited. He had inherited a lot of his looked from his father, but an equal amount from his mother. The most obvious of those were his mother's eyes. "I'm going to Luke's to meet Stella and Laynie," Chris announced, making a beeline for the door once more. Before his father could say anything he was out the door and down the street.

Heading down the street Chris brushed his hair out of his eyes. It had grown over the past week or so, so now it fell on his cheeks. He chuckled to himself; it almost reminded him of Ryan's, except it was not as curly as his was. Making a mental note to get it cut later in the week, Chris halted right before he bumped into a pretty girl around twelve with a mass of dark hair and green eyes.

"Sorry," Chris mentioned, looking down at her carefully. She watched him with wide eyes and Chris offered her a smile. In return, she smiled back.

"It's okay, I wasn't looking where I was going either," the girl gave him a half shrug. Chris' gaze wandered away from her to an older boy, about his age with the same unruly hair. Her big brother was his guess, didn't look old enough to pass for the daughter of a twelve-year-old.

"Aren't you the lucky one," her brother told him, "Des usually doesn't speak more than two words to a person. 'Specially not someone she bumps into."

"Guess I'm just a charmer," Chris flashed his smile, and looked down at Destiny, "So, I'll see you around."

"Sure," She shrugged and then quickly walked on ahead of her brother. The boy shot him a wary looked before continuing on his way.

Chris didn't know what to think of the look or of the siblings who he had never seen in all of his life living in Stars Hollow. Deciding not to dwell much on it he headed over to the diner, his mind already whirring with ideas for how he and Laynie could spend their summer. After all, just because they couldn't torture the faculty of Chilton Prepatory School anymore, didn't mean they couldn't have fun with the Town members.