Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any of the characters. The plot of this story is the only thing that belongs to me! :)
RRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!
Lorelai Gilmore put down the book she was reading and picked up the telephone. "Hello?"
"Lorelai, I need you to do me a favor," said a harsh voice on the other end.
"Of course I'll skip Friday dinner, Mom!" Lorelai joked.
"That's not funny!" Emily Gilmore replied. "This is serious, urgent business!"
"Fine, what do you need?"
"I need you to fix my sink."
"Wait, wait a minute --- my mother is asking me for help with a plumbing problem? Well, I guess there's a first time for everything," said Lorelai.
Emily sighed heavily. "Your father's out of town and our plumber is on vacation. What do you expect me to do, fix it myself?"
"No, anything but that!" Lorelai said, smiling.
"Are you going to help me or not?" Emily's voice was beginning to give the impression that she was truly worried.
"Yes, I'll be there as soon as I can," replied Lorelai. "Just don't get your hands dirty."
"Good-bye, Lorelai."
"Bye, Mom."
Lorelai returned the phone to its cradle and walked down the hall to the kitchen, where her daughter Rory was sitting. "Whatcha doing?" asked Lorelai.
Rory kept her eyes glued to the textbook in front of her. "Homework. I have three different papers due on Wednesday."
"Ouch!" Lorelai said, pouring some coffee into a travel mug. "Well, I have to head up to your grandmother's house. Her sink is broken."
"And you agreed to help her? Mom, I'm very proud of you!"
"Yeah, well, Emily Gilmore doesn't give up easily. I figured giving in early on would be much less painful than listening to the many reasons she can't live without a sink."
"True," agreed Rory.
Lorelai grabbed her jacket from the chair it was draped over. "Are you gonna be okay here by yourself for a while?"
"I'll be fine," Rory replied. "I can order a pizza if I get hungry, and maybe I'll invite Lane over later."
"Good." Lorelai leaned down to kiss her daughter on the cheek, and headed for the front door. "Have fun!"
"You too!" Rory called back. As soon as the sound of the Jeep died down, she returned to her school work.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lorelai pressed the doorbell impatiently. Almost immediately the door opened, and there was Emily, standing in the warmth of the house, waiting.
"It's about time," she said flatly.
"Oh, sorry, Mom," Lorelai replied, stepping inside. "I didn't realize your broken sink is more important than my life while I am driving all the way to help you in the midst of a formulating blizzard."
"Oh, stop whining and help me!" Emily said, leaving Lorelai in the foyer and heading for the kitchen.
Lorelai followed her mother down the hall and called after her, "You know, the weather is getting really bad, and I left Rory home alone!"
"Rory's a big girl, she'll be fine," said Emily, opening the door to the kitchen.
"Fine. What's the problem?"
"Yes, you would, Mom, because even if you had known the problem, you wouldn't have known how to fix it!"
"Don't start, Lorelai," said Emily, tiredly. "Can you fix it?"
"That depends ---" Lorelai started, but stopped after seeing the stern look on her mother's face. "Sure, I'll do what I can."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"...And the weather just keeps getting worse, folks! I'm telling you, don't even think about going anywhere today! There is a blizzard a-brewin'! Of course, it is a real nice day for a cup of cocoa and some cookies. Mmm, and send some over to the station for me, okay? Hahaha!"
Rory switched off the radio and looked out the window at the thick blanket of snow covering the ground. She was sure there hadn't been nearly that much fifteen minutes ago. Suddenly she heard a sharp knock at the door. Rory rose from her seat at the kitchen table and headed for the front door. She couldn't believe who she saw once she opened the door.
"Tristan?"
Tristan grinned sheepishly. His hair was full of snow, and his cheeks were fiercely red.
"Hey, Rory," he said. "Listen, there's no possible way I'm going to be able to get home during this blizzard, and I need a place to stay. Just until the roads clear up, that is."
"Um, sure," Rory replied, slowly. Then, noticing the way his teeth lightly chattered as he inhaled, she said, "Oh! Come in!"
"Thanks!" said Tristan, stepping inside and taking off his jacket. "See, I was on my way to visit a friend, and the roads were getting worse and worse. So, I stopped here, in Stars Hollow, and remembered that you live here."
"Isn't that ironic?" Rory said, under her breath. Then she turned to him. "Come on, I was just doing homework in the kitchen."
Rory led her guest to the table and poured him a cup of coffee. "So," she began, "Have you finished your English paper yet?"
"Are you kidding?" Tristan said, sipping his drink. "It's not due 'til Wednesday, so I won't have started it until Tuesday night!" He laughed a little too loudly, and to save the moment from getting even more awkward, Rory joined him.
"Well, I've almost finished," Rory replied.
"Lemme think," said Tristan, "Does that surprise me?"
"Shut up," said Rory, playfully. "So why do you go to Chilton if you don't like school?"
"Because I can. And because my parents want me to. It's not that I don't like school, it's that my time would be better spent doing other things."
"Like what?"
"I don't know," he said, thoughtfully.
"Dating?"
He laughed at this. "I guess."
Rory looked straight at him as he took another sip of coffee. "We don't have to do schoolwork if you don't want to." Did I just say that? she thought, confused.
"I don't," he said, quietly. He looked into her eyes, smiling slightly. At that, Rory got up and walked down the hall to the living room.
"Let's just watch some TV or...or a movie. Do you like movies?" Rory said, quickly. She was pacing frantically as Tristan entered the room, sitting down on the couch.
"Rory," he said in the calm voice he had used before. "Sit down."
"I can't," she replied, still pacing.
"Why not?"
"Because you're there."
"So?"
"So I can't sit there." Rory began chewing on her fingernail.
"I don't bite," said Tristan, amused by her anxiety.
"I'll just sit in the chair, okay?" asked Rory, sitting herself down in the comfy armchair.
"Okay," Tristan replied. He reached for the remote control and switched on the television. A dancing apple appeared on the screen, advertising baby food. Rory looked around uncomfortably. Her house looked different from this angle. Or maybe it was just Tristan. Maybe he was what made everything seem odd. Not that he was odd. He was fine. Fine as a friend. Or more...Rory stopped her train of thought before it could get any further. She focused on the TV again, not noticing the way Tristan was looking at her.
A/N: Please review and let me know what you think!