Authors Note: This story has been brewing in my mind for months. In fact, I started writing it the same week that I finished writing Turn Around, but between life getting in the way, and a case of writer's block, this got put on the back burner, for a lot longer than I would have liked. This story is written post series, eight years post series to be exact, but isn't in line with the revival. Instead, it's just a fictional version of events that I thought up, to occupy myself until the revival arrived. I hope you enjoy it, and please leave me a review to let me know what you think.
Rory Gilmore was trying not to freak out. Standing backstage she frantically went through her notecards one last time, and absent mindedly smoothed out her skirt. As she heard her name called, she took a deep breath and stepped out onto the stage. As she went to stand behind the podium, she realized that the back of her skirt was caught in her pantyhouse. She could have sworn that this wasn't the case when she was standing stage-left, but now it definitely was. She could feel herself turning red, but it appeared that no one seemed to notice, so she decided to start her speech.
"Ladies, Gentlemen, members of the award committee, I would like to thank you very much for this nomination."
Rory was nervous, and her hands were shaking a little bit. She had been gripping her note cards tightly, suddenly, the cards all went flying, and fell around the podium, some falling off stage.
"Shit." Rory turned red.
"Oh, no. I'm sorry." Rory wanted to crawl in a hole and hide. She couldn't believe how poorly this was going.
"Let me start again. Ladies, Gentlemen, and members of the award committee. My name is Rory Gilmore and I would thank you for honour of being named as a Pulitzer Prize winner."
Before she could continue, Paul Anka (the dog, not the man) jumped up onto the stage and started barking at her.
"Shoo… Shoo… Paul Anka you need to get off this stage. Now!" Rory hissed.
"Sorry, where was I? Thank you so much for the honour of being the recipient of this year's Pulitzer Prize in journalism."
Ring… Ring… Ring…
A cell phone started going off in the audience.
Ring… Ring… Ring…
The phone kept ringing.
Rory squinted looking out into the audience to see where the noise was coming from.
Ring… Ring… Ring...
Rory finally saw the source of the ringing. It was her mother.
"Rory! It's for you hun!"
Ring… Ring… Ring…
Lorelai walked down the aisle of the auditorium, and reached out to hand the phone to Rory.
Ring… Ring… Ring…
"Mom! Not now!" Rory hissed.
Ring… Ring… Ring…
Rory awoke with a start. Getting her bearings, she realized she wasn't on stage, she definitely wasn't receiving a pulitzer prize, and she had been woken up by the ringing of her cell phone. Reaching over to the bedside table, she grabbed her phone to answer it.
"Hello" Rory said, trying to shake off the grogginess.
"Good day, I'm looking to speak to Rory Gilmore." the voice on the other end of the phone told her.
"This is she." Rory said, sitting up.
"Ms. Gilmore, this is Jim Dunbar. I am the editor-in-chief of The Current Magazine. We have received a copy of your resume, and would like to invite you in for an interview for the managing editor position for our magazine."
Rory was fully awake now. "Mr. Dunbar, thank-you so much."
"Ms. Gilmore, we would like to set up an interview with you in the next few days. As you know we are based out of New York City. Would this work for your schedule?" Jim asked her.
"Yes, Mr. Dunbar. I'm currently in Boston, but I should be back to the city on Thursday." Rory told him.
"Friday morning at 9am work for you?"
"Yes sir, that would be perfect." Rory told him.
"We will see you then."
"Looking forward to it." Rory told him as they disconnected the phone.
Rory looked at the clock, and realized it was time to get out of bed. Flipping the blankets off of her, she smiled as she got up and went to her suitcase, to get ready for the day.
An hour and three coffees later, Rory found herself walking into the Boston Globe office. She had been hired as a temp reporter and had been working here for the last six weeks. Her term was up tomorrow, and she would then be heading back to Stars Hollow for a few days. This was the longest gig she had in the last three years, and it had been nice to spend more than a few days in one place.
Sitting down at her desk she decided to give her mother a quick call to discuss this mornings news.
"Talk to me" Lorelai answered.
"Mom! Hi" Rory greeted in return.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of your phone call this morning?" Lorelai asked.
"Well, other than a really weird dream that I totally need you to help me analyze later, I actually have some news!" Rory said.
"Oh honey, Mommy really doesn't want to hear about your sex dreams." Lorelai told her.
"Mom, no. Ew!" Rory responded.
"Well I'm sorry but I know it's been weeks since you've seen Paul, and well, people have needs." Lorelai said.
"Mom, no. I'm not discussing that with you. Especially not now, from the office." Rory sighed.
"Look, the reason I'm calling is that I got a call for an interview this morning. Something permanent." Rory explained.
"Oh?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah, it's for a position with The Current magazine. I applied for their managing editor position a few months ago but hadn't heard anything. They called me this morning. I guess they waited to fill it. Anyway I'm going in to New York for an interview on Friday."
"Oh Rory, that's so great! Paul is going to be thrilled!" Lorelai gushed to her daughter.
"Yeah, I guess." Rory said.
"Don't sound so excited" Lorelai replied sarcastically.
"Oh mom, I'm excited. But…" Rory trailed off.
"But what?" Lorelai asked.
"It's just that. If we're both in the same city, he's going to want me to move in with him." Rory sighed.
"Well you guys have been dating for two years. It's the next logical step." Lorelai told her daughter.
"I know… It's just… I don't know…" Rory rambled.
"I just don't really think I'm there yet." Rory sighed.
"Well Hun, there's nothing wrong with getting your own place, but it just seems like a waste of money if you or Paul will be taking turns staying at each other's apartments." Lorelai told her.
"I know…" Rory trailed off.
"Plus, you love Paul. We all love Paul, even Luke. He's good for you Rory. So sweet, and kind. He suits you so well." Lorelai told her. "Excuse me though, while I go throw up, that was too cheesy even for me." She continued.
"Look mom, I just don't know. I just don't think I'm quite ready for that step…"
"Yet." Rory added as an afterthought.
Rory looked up and saw her boss signalling her to come see him
"Look mom, I've gotta go. We can talk about this more when I get home tomorrow night. Have a great day, I love you." Rory said
"Love you too kid. See you tomorrow." Lorelai told her.
The next two days flew by in a blur and by the time Rory pulled into Stars Hollow she was exhausted. She had three days until her interview with The Current and she definitely needed some rest and relaxation time before she left for the city.
By the time she arrived at her mother's house it was nearly 10 and she was starving. Walking into the kitchen she saw that Luke had brought her home dinner from the diner. Giving Luke a big hug and a kiss on the cheek Rory told him she had missed him.
"Hey, why does he get the hug first?" Lorelai pouted.
"Mom, you know Gilmore rule #2. Honor thy person who provides you with food." Rory smiled as she walked into her mother's arms.
"Fair point." Lorelai told her.
"Hey, what's Gilmore rule #1?" Luke asked.
"Coffee is its own food group." The girls said in unison.
"I should have known" Luke muttered and shook his head.
Sitting down at the table, Rory eagerly dug into the burger and fries, barely stopping to breathe or chew.
"It's nice to know you still have your appetite. You're looking a little on the thin side." Lorelai told her.
"I'm fine mom. Really, just busy." Rory said between bites.
"Well I'm going to head up to bed. Leave you girls to catch up." Luke said, kissing Lorelai on the head.
"To be honest, I'm pretty wiped. I think I'm going to head to bed myself." Rory told her mother.
"Oh. Ok." Lorelai said, slightly disappointed.
"Well I cleared my schedule for you tomorrow, it'll be nice to catch up. Goodnight sweetie." Lorelai said and headed up to bed as well.
Rory finished her food, and got ready for bed. Climbing into bed she pulled out her laptop and decided to do some reading on The Current. Soon she had fallen asleep on her computer, which is where Lorelai found her lying at an awkward angle the next morning.
Holding a steaming cup of coffee for her daughter, Lorelai gently tried to wake her. It was almost 10am and Rory never slept this late.
"She really must be exhausted." Lorelai muttered to herself.
Setting the coffee down on the desk, Lorelai went over and removed the laptop from Rory's arms, tucked her in.
Just before noon, Lorelai finally heard stirrings from the next room.
A bleary eyed Rory stumbled into the kitchen and made a beeline for the pot of coffee.
"Welcome to the land of the living." Lorelai smirked.
"Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sleep so late, I just haven't had much time off lately." Rory told her.
"Rory, it's ok. Clearly you needed the rest. Now, finish that coffee and get ready so I can take you to breakfast… Err… Lunch." Lorelai said.
"Though I'm sure that for you, Luke would still make pancakes." She continued.
"Ok, ok let me go get dressed." Rory stumbled back into the bedroom.
Twenty minutes later they were out and about in Stars Hollow, where unsurprisingly Rory was ambushed by what felt like half the town. It took them an hour to get into Luke's, and by then Rory had decided that another burger was what she needed.
Following their trip to Luke's, Lorelai and Rory spent the rest of the day around town, doing nothing in particular, but had begun the early preparations for Gilmore movie night.
"Mom, I haven't had this much candy since well… Our last Gilmore movie night." Rory laughed.
"Ooh! We need these too!" Lorelai said reaching for a bag of gummy bears.
"Lorelai, honestly. You're going to give yourself diabetes if you aren't careful." Taylor told her as they were checking out at Doose's Market.
"Pfft. You underestimate the capabilities of the Gilmore digestive tract." Lorelai said as they prepared to head for home.
The rest of the evening was a blur, and Lorelai had to head back to the Dragonfly the next morning so Rory was on her own for a few hours before she needed to leave for the city.
Pulling out her laptop she performed a Google search on The Current. Looking at the news she wrinkled her nose. There were some rumours that The Current might be bought out by another company. She hoped that this wouldn't have any effect on her potential job.
A few hours later she found herself pulling into New York. Heading for Paul's apartment in Queens, she found herself thinking about her boyfriend.
He was a photographer, they had met when she was filling in for two weeks at the New York Daily News. He had taken an interest in her right away, but it wasn't until she was back in the city three months later that he had finally convinced her to go out on a date.
She hadn't wanted anything serious, but he was persistent, and eventually, she agreed to give dating a try. Although she was dating him exclusively, with the almost constant distance, she still had the feel of something more casual. The idea of getting more serious, made her feel anxious, though she couldn't quite put her finger on why.
Arriving at his apartment, he opened the door, wrapped his arms around her, and spun her, giving her a kiss before setting her back down.
"Hey." She said.
"Hey yourself." Paul replied.
"I've missed you" he continued.
"I've missed you too." Rory fibbed.
"Come on in, set your stuff down. I made us dinner." Paul gestured behind him, to where candles and a fancy meal sat on his table.
"Looks delicious" Rory told him and they sat down and dug in.
By the time dinner was over and they retired to the couch Paul leaned in and started nuzzling her neck. Rory pushed back gently.
"I'm really sorry Paul, but I need to do some prep for this interview tomorrow." Rory told him, sliding off the couch and walking over to retrieve her computer bag.
Paul sighed and got up to go clean the kitchen.
Hours later, Paul poked his head back to the living room. "Hey, Rory, I need to head to bed. Early day tomorrow. But what do you say about dinner tomorrow night in celebration of your interview?" Paul asked.
Rory winced. "Paul, I'm really sorry. I promised my mom I would head back to Stars Hollow tomorrow to head to Friday night dinner with my grandparents."
"Oh. Ok. But you'll be back soon, right?" Paul asked.
"Definitely." Rory smiled, and leaned over her laptop to give him a kiss.
He wasn't so bad she thought, in some ways, he reminded her a little of a more mature version of Dean. She shook her head, and got back to work.
The next morning, she found herself sitting on the thirtieth floor of a downtown office building waiting for her interview. She spent this time running through everything she planned to say.
"Ms. Gilmore. Jim will see you now." The receptionist told Rory, breaking her from her daze.
Rory followed the receptionist to Jim Dunbar's office where he quickly introduced himself.
"So Ms. Gilmore…" Jim started.
"Oh, please call me Rory." She told him.
"Rory" Jim smiled. "For someone so young, you certainly have a fantastic resume. Editor of the Yale Daily News, and your work on the Obama campaign especially.
"Thank-you sir. As you probably noticed, I've been doing a lot of temp work across the country for the last few years. As you know, the newspaper industry has been in a bit of a struggle with the advent of technology. I've done what I could to keep current, without having a full time job." She told him.
"Nonsense Rory, your work speaks for itself. Glowing recommendations from everyone I've spoken to. The Post, The Boston Globe, Hugo wanted me to tell you hi by the way." Jim told her.
"It's been a long time since I've heard from Hugo. I really enjoyed working for him. She told Jim.
"He told me that the hardest thing he ever had to do at work was having to lay you off after the campaign."
Rory smiled. Though the interview seemed to be going well, the rumours she read online last night were still making her nervous. She decided the best approach would just be to ask.
"I've heard rumours that The Current is in the process of being bought out." Rory told him.
"I'm afraid that is true, but since the paperwork hasn't been signed yet I'm afraid I cannot divulge any more than that, but I can assure you that it will have no impact other than who signs our paychecks." Jim explained.
In Rory's brain something clicked. Did he just say our paychecks?
Jim smirked.
"You probably noticed that I just said our paychecks. I just want to let you know that this interview was more of a formality than anything. I was fully prepared to offer you the job over the phone if need be. I know talent when I see it, and with your experience, you'll be a great contribution to The Current editing team." Jim smiled.
"Mr. Dunbar, thank you so much!" Rory gushed.
"Please, call me Jim. We aren't too formal around here." He told her.
"So Jim, what exactly will this position as managing editor cover?" Rory asked.
"Well, you will work directly for me, and will be overseeing the day to day editing process for the magazine. With the new purchase and the restructuring, I'm staying on as editor-in-chief but I am going to be acting as a go between with the new company and the magazine. There is going to be some minor restructuring, someone from the new company will be taking the office next to mine and will be working from this building permanently." He explained.
Rory nodded, all this made sense.
The next few hours were a blur as they went over her salary, expectations, and signing bonus. A tour of the company, and a tour of her office left Rory very excited to start. Everyone she spoke to seemed to be really passionate about their jobs.
She was practically bursting at the seams with excitement as she started the drive back to Stars Hollow. It was going to be a busy weekend, she was starting with The Current first thing on Monday.
She pulled into Stars Hollow just before five and burst into the house.
"Mom!" Rory yelled.
"Mom! I got the job! I'm starting Monday!" Rory gushed.
Looking around the house, she didn't see her mother.
Walking into the kitchen, she saw her mother sitting at the table.
"Hey, mom! Did you hear me? I got the job!" Rory said again.
Her mother didn't acknowledge her.
"Hey, mom is everything ok?" Rory said waving her hand in front of Lorelai's face.
"Mom! What's wrong?" Rory asked again, finally snapping Lorelai out of her daze.
"Mom?" Rory asked again.
"Oh, hi honey." Lorelai said absentmindedly.
"Mom did you hear me? I got the job! I start Monday!"
"Oh honey, that's great." Lorelai said with much less enthusiasm than Rory had anticipated.
"Mom, what's the matter?" Rory asked again.
Lorelai paused, gathering her thoughts.
"Rory, it's your grandfather. He had another heart attack. Sweetie, he didn't make it." Lorelai said, her eyes filling with tears.
Rory felt like all the wind had been taken out of her sails. Every ounce of excitement she had faded away in an instant. Sinking into the chair next to her mother she sat in disbelief, and then she began to cry.