Chapter 1 Hep Cats Drink Jerk Java

Jess looked around as he exited the aged red brick building. "Hmph," he thought to himself as he noticed the Jeep was parked right outside the exclusive and trendy coffee shop that was across the street from Truncheon Books. "Should have known there would be a stop for coffee."

He smoothly avoided the nearly non-existent traffic as he jaywalked towards the familiar vehicle.

Luke was just getting out of the driver's seat as Jess approached.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"You OK?"

"Yep. You?"

"Yep."

"Good."

Satisfied that the uncle-nephew relationship was thoroughly caught up, Luke waved Jess to the back seat of the Jeep on the passenger side. Climbing in, the first thing his foot encountered in the close quarters was Rory's outstretched leg.

"Sorry," he offered.

She looked more annoyed than injured, responding with "We should have taken the Prius," as she rubbed her leg.

Luke, hearing this through the open door, squinted and half-scowled before choosing to ignore the statement. Something was bothering Rory; both he and Lorelai had noticed her somber mood. And Jess was clean, but the dark circles under his eyes made him look like crap. Luke briefly wondered how he would prevent an eventual clash between the pair, because nothing was going to spoil this weekend.

Jess origamied himself into a moderately uncomfortable position and pulled the passenger door closed. Since the floor seemed to be completely taken up with Rory's book and snack bags, he heaved his small duffle over the back of the seat and kept his own small tattered backpack on his lap.

The duffle bounced back, mainly because the minuscule space behind the rear seat was stuffed completely full. He finally nudged it into position behind his head. At least he would have a neck support for the trip.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to worship the mighty Java." As Lorelai opened the door, she began an ode to coffee.

"Jess!" she said, pleasantly surprised. "I didn't see you get in. Do you want a coffee or something? I got muffins, too, and a couple of those cookies that the Java Jerk is known for. At least that's what Henrik the barista said. He's not German, is he?"

Jess shook his head. "No thanks, I'm good. And Henrik is Swedish, I think. He's the master upseller at the Jerk. What else did he con you into?"

Setting the cup tray on the passenger seat, she handed a tall paper cup to Luke, one to Rory, and placed the last one in her cup holder. "Tea, coffee, coffee, just as you like it."

Luke nodded his thanks while Rory clutched her cup and stared balefully out her window.

Realizing that her only willing audience was Jess, Lorelai turned to him and smiled sheepishly. "T-shirts and ball caps for everybody, plus this ADORABLE little keychain with a cat drinking coffee."

Rory perked up. "A cat drinking coffee? Did you get one for me?" she asked hopefully.

"You bet I did, sweets. I only got two, because they're not exactly guy gifts, you know."

Rory squealed as she clutched her keychain. "Oh yay, it squeaks!" she exclaimed happily.

"You didn't need to buy gifts," grumbled Luke, filling time with a complaint as he otherwise patiently waited for Lorelai to settle herself in the car.

"Of course I did," she replied calmly, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "Road trips require gifts. You, my friend, are going to look so cute in that T-shirt! There's a little drawing of a cat lounging, and the words over it are 'Hep cats drink Jerk Java.' I can't wait to see you in the diner wearing it."

"Never gonna happen," snickered Jess.

"You had a cup of coffee while you waited for your order, didn't you?" asked Luke as he handed Lorelai one of the many paper napkins that were everywhere in the car.

"It was sad," she said, nodding mournfully. "The barista being trained got someone's order wrong, so I volunteered to get rid of the evidence."

"You left a little evidence behind," said her fiance with a tender smile as he reached over and ran his thumb over her mouth. "There's whipped cream on your upper lip."

Lorelai pouted. "Normally you'd kiss it off."

"Not in front of the kids, dear," he deadpanned, receiving a perfectly harmonized "Thank god" from the two in the back seat.

"You're sure you don't need a coffee, Jess? I can go back in and get you one," offered Lorelai once again.

"Nah," he replied. "I brought something out of the Truncheon beverage bar." He unzipped his backpack and pulled out a bottle holding a clear liquid. "It's called Birch Bark Soda." He frowned at the weird soft drink. "Oh, god, whatever you do, don't hire a vegan office manager. This guy Stuart keeps trying to get us on the vegetarian bus."

Luke raised his eyebrows in astonishment. "Made from birch bark? I heard it's very healthy. Anti-inflammatory or a painkiller or something like that."

"Here you go," said Jess. "My gift to you."

Luke perused the ingredients and nutritional information. Snorting, he handed it back to Jess. "It's got as much sugar in it as a Coca-Cola does. Totally kills any health benefits."

"Lucky you have your Aunt Lorelai," she grinned. "I brought you a Mountain Dew anyway." She whipped it out of her purse, dropped it, then gave it to Jess, adding, "Maybe you want to wait a while before opening it."

"Ready?" asked Luke, scanning the interior to make sure everyone had buckled their seat belts.

"Ready!" agreed Lorelai, tasting her extra tall triple shot caramel pecan latte macchiato.

Luke started the engine, put it in gear, then depressed the clutch again and put his foot on the brake. "Hey," he said, smiling at Lorelai. "Guess what?" For all of the crazy bits Lorelai had made him participate in during her life, he was committed to playing along with this one.

"What?" she replied complacently; only her sparkling eyes showed that she knew what was coming.

"We're getting married."

"Well, yes we are." They leaned in for a sweet kiss.

Rory rolled her eyes and nudged Jess' backpack away from where it had slid onto her side of the seat. "They've been doing that at every single stop we've made since leaving Stars Hollow."

"Great," commiserated Jess. "We should have taken a second car."

"We should have taken the Prius." Rory resumed looking out the window as Luke pulled into traffic.

Nearly simultaneously, Rory and Luke took a sip of their drinks and immediately grimaced.

"Ew!" cried Rory. "Stop the car now, Luke, please?"

He obediently pulled over. "Here's your coffee," he said.

"And here's your tea," she replied.

Drinks exchanged and checked, they drove out of Philadelphia.

A/N: Wasn't "Guess what?" just the sappiest bit Lorelai ever thought of? Will Luke internally melt down over it? Stay tuned.