Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own anything. I wish I were Amy Sherman-Palladino so that I could have full creative control over the Gilmore Girls. All of the brands/products/stores/movies etc. mentioned in this story belong to other people too.
Chapter 3: We've Come So Far
Lorelai, Luke, Hannah and Lexi stood crowded in the outdoor vestibule of the Gilmore mansion. The ride to Hartford had been agonizing. No one spoke. No one knew what to say. You could have cut the tension in the car with a knife. Each member of the Danes family was glad to be outside. It was like all of their emotional baggage was congested in a confined space for an hour and now that they were in the open, the baggage could flow out, easing the pressure everyone was feeling and allowing them to finally breathe.
This was Lorelai's favorite part of dinner. Mostly because it reminded her of the pre-dinner rants she often had with Rory back when Friday night dinner was obligatory. She paused for a moment before ringing the doorbell. She breathed in deeply, preparing herself for the drama that would ensue. The entire Gilmore clan had not been together in a long time and from previous experiences, everyone knew that getting the whole family together for dinner would only result in disaster.
"Are you going to ring the doorbell or are we just going to stand out here and freeze?" Hannah asked annoyed.
"O, stop being dramatic. Its barely November," Lexi barked back.
Lorelai and Luke shared a look. They both knew that this was going to be a long night.
"Girls, I know that you haven't been on the best terms lately, but can you just pretend to love each other in front of your grandparents," Luke said desperately as Lorelai rang the bell.
Emily opened the front door and sized up her daughter.
"Lorelai, you're here" She exclaimed somewhat surprised.
"Yes. Mom, of course I'm here." Lorelai stated the obvious as she and her family entered the house and handed the maid their coats.
"Well, you're almost half an hour late Lorelai. We were about to start without you"
Lexi could tell that her mother did not need the added stress of her grandmother's disapproval and decided to save her. "Hi grandma!" She said cheerily.
"Lexi! I heard from the dean that you are at the top of your class this quarter." Emily's voice was filled with pride.
"Well, there are still 2 kids ahead of me," Lexi explained bashfully. She was very modest when it came to her achievements.
"You have almost 4 years to surpass the others, you'll make it" Emily reassured her granddaughter. She continued to mentally assess her company and was amazed to find Hannah standing right in front of her.
"Hannah, how lovely to see you… you don't usually join us," she remarked.
"Well, Emily she's a teenage girl, she probably has more exciting things to do than to sit around with us," Richard chimed in. "Luke!" Richard happily welcomed his son-in-law.
"Hello Richard" Luke responded as they shook hands
"How is that diner of yours?" Richard asked with the best intentions.
But, before Luke could respond, Lorie came running in from living room "Grandma! Grandpa!" she cried out excitedly. She clung to Lorelai's leg and Lorelai responded by lovingly rubbing her back. Both Lorelai and Luke greeted their granddaughter and Luke picked her up and held her on his hip. Everyone began to move into the living room to continue small talk. Jess and Rory said hello to the Danes gang and Richard poured everyone the appropriate drink.
"Lorie was just telling us the most brilliant story about a poor little boy who wins a trip to visit a famous chocolatier in his magical factory," Emily gushed as everyone took their designated seats on the sofas.
"Mom, that's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Lorelai explained, clearly annoyed by her mothers lack of knowledge in popular culture.
"Really?" Emily asked, dumbfounded.
"Its one of the greatest children's books of all time! Roald Dahl?" Lorelai couldn't believe they were even having this conversation.
"Yeah, Grandma. They even made two movies based off of it," Rory added.
"The new one with Johnny Depp gave me nightmares," said Lexi
"Tim Burton was probably on acid," Jess explained
"But Johnny Depp… two words, eye candy" Lorelai joked.
"Amen sister" Rory said. She and Lorelai clinked martini glasses in agreement.
"Lorie is this true?" Emily asked, still somewhat confused.
"Yeah… I was just tricking you, Nana," Lorie giggled innocently.
"Well, you were very convincing," Emily stated, trying to defend herself.
"Mom…" Lorelai began. If she learned anything over the years, it was to pick her battles with her mother wisely. She knew she could talk circles around Emily and although it would have been funny to see where the conversation would go, she decided it was easier to drop it. "Never mind" She sighed in defeat.
The family continued to catch up with each other and the evening got off to a surprisingly good start. When the maid du jour announced that dinner was ready, everyone hesitated to move to the dining room. Everything was going so well… why ruin it now?
xxx
After everyone was settled at the table and the maid had severed the salads, Rory loudly cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention in her direction. Jess held out his hand and placed it on the table and Rory grasped it. They looked lovingly into each other's eyes. Everyone was desperate to know what was going on.
"Jess and I have an announcement to make," Rory said with a smile.
"Oh my God!" Emily exclaimed, bringing her hand on her chest "You're pregnant" She stated bluntly.
"No," Rory said, kind of amused at the idea.
"…You're getting married?" Lexi guessed after a few moments of silence.
"No," Jess responded, smiling at Rory. He wanted to marry her so badly. Sometimes he was afraid that he would crack and just blurt it out one day over coffee, but he wanted the proposal to be perfect. Mainly, he wanted the timing to be perfect.
"Well, out with it," Richard commanded.
"We are moving to Hartford," Rory announced matter-of-factly.
"Oh Rory, how wonderful!" Emily practically squealed in delight.
"What happened to wanting to see the world?" Lorelai asked, disappointed. She wanted big things for her daughter and she thought that moving back home would be a step in the wrong direction.
"I thought you liked New York?" Luke questioned. He found the decision a bit puzzling as well.
"Well, my publishing company decided to relocate, the city is getting ridiculously expensive," Jess explained in between bites of his salad.
"I'll call my friend Anderson Westcott, his son's in real estate I'm sure he can find something for you," Richard offered. He could see the hesitation in Rory's face, "Don't worry it will be something sensible," he reassured her.
"Thanks grandpa," Rory said sweetly.
"This is so great, we'll get to see you all the time." Lexi, like her grandparents, was thrilled with the idea. She loved spending time with Rory, Jess and Lorie. Everything they did was cute. They made life look so easy.
"I get to go to the same school as you and Hannah," Lorie proclaimed.
"Babe, don't you think she's a little too young to be at Chilton?" Lorelai asked Rory. She immediately thought about what a hard time all of her daughters had adjusting to the high school.
"Chilton has one of the finest elementary schools in the country," Emily said in Rory's defense.
"What are you trying to say Lorelai? You don't think that your own granddaughter deserves a proper education?" Richard joined in the argument.
"No! I'm just trying to say that Chilton is a very competitive environment and I would hate to be exposed to that at such a young age. It could hurt her," Lorelai explained.
"Nonsense, a little healthy competition never hurt anyone. Besides, she's a Gilmore she will thrive," Richard said proudly before either Rory or Jess could explain their decision.
"Well, she could take after Hannah and crack under the pressure" Lexi teased.
"Shut up!" Hannah kicked her younger sister under the table.
"Please, you got a D in English. How do you get a D in English? Its your native language," Lexi continued to torment. As soon as she said it, she felt like taking it back. It wasn't her place to announce her sister's shortcomings to the entire family. But then again, she did get kicked pretty hard.
"You got a D in English!" Lorelai repeated the information hoping that it was a mistake, that maybe she had just heard wrong.
"When were you planning on telling us this?" Luke asked.
"I don't know" Hannah grumbled.
"Your performance in school sets the tone for the rest of you life. Education is the foundation of excellence, you can't get very far in life if you don't take your school work seriously," Richard lectured.
"You should listen to your grandfather, he's right" Emily chimed in.
"Well, I just always thought that I would get pregnant, drop out of high school and become a maid, like mom" Hannah said bitterly as she shot a look of disgust at her mother.
"Lexi, why don't you take Lorie upstairs to play in my old room?" Rory asked.
"I always have to miss everything exciting!" Lorie pouted.
"I wouldn't worry about it," Lexi assured her niece, "There will be plenty more family feuds for you to witness when you get a little older." Lexi obeyed her sister's wishes, took Lorie by the hand and led her out of ground zero.
"Listen to me," Lorelai began, "You do not get to talk to me like that." She got progressively louder as she continued. "You know that I worked hard to get to where I am today. Just because I made some mistakes as a kid, doesn't mean that you have a get out of jail free card". Lorelai's voice actually began to quiver. She was deeply upset and everyone could sense it. The adults remained silent, giving Lorelai looks of sympathy. Hannah looked down at her lap, trying with every fiber of her being to keep from yelling or crying in frustration. Lorelai carried on, "Do you know how lucky you are to have all of these opportunities? Do you know how much we have had to sacrifice to give you what you have?"
That was the last straw. She wasn't about to sit there and be reprimanded like a little child. Embarrassed and angry, Hannah remarked, "Oh please, Grandma and Grandpa pay for school. Don't give me this crap about sacrifices and hard work. You're such a hypocrite!"
"Hannah…" Luke warned.
"No, Dad. You two listen to me!" she yelled, "You run a diner and mom runs an inn. We live in this stupid little backwards town that still only has one traffic light. I don't want to hear all this crap about being a Gilmore. It means nothing. Everyone here is so fake it makes me sick!"
"That is enough!" Richard demanded as he pounded his fist on the table. The force caused the china and crystal glasses to clink against each other, startling everyone.
"It's ok, I'm done," Hannah said almost in a whisper as she got up from the table.
"Don't you think for a second that you are leaving this house without us!" Lorelai shouted.
"Fine!" Hannah yelled back as she stormed out of the room.
"Maybe we should go?" Rory asked awkwardly.
"I'll go upstairs and get Lorie," Jess offered.
"Thanks," Rory said, kissing him on the cheek as he left the table.
"I'm sorry, she's just been acting out lately," Luke tried to explain.
"Don't apologize Luke," Emily said supportively, "We all know that despite the finest upbringing, some children just can't be controlled." The remark was clearly pointed her daughter. Emily was the queen of offering her disapproval under a veil of sympathy.
"Unbelievable!" Lorelai exclaimed slowly, stressing each syllable of the word. "You know mom," she went on, "just when I thought I could talk to you like a normal human being, you go and pull something like this."
"Something like what Lorelai? I was just being honest" Emily responded innocently.
"Do you understand how hard I am trying to get through to her?" Lorelai yelled, aggravated, "Everyday is a constant battle. She is sucking the life out of me! I just can't anymore…"
Lorelai looked across the table at her mother with tears welled up in her eyes. No one said anything, afraid that they would interfere with the cosmic shift that was taking place. For in that moment, Lorelai finally understood the motives of Emily Gilmore. She may act like the spawn of Satan, but Lorelai was the one who drove her to be that way.
Lorelai blinked and she could feel the coolness of her tears rolling down her face. She looked at her parents and tried deeply to apologize but she physically did not have the energy. Emily and Richard both bowed their heads in acknowledgement. They knew she understood and furthermore, they knew she was sorry. "We know Lorelai," Richard whispered, "It's alright… everything is going to be alright".
xxx
As Jess wandered the halls upstairs, he tried to imagine growing up in an environment like this. Everything looked so… unnecessarily expensive. He didn't want to touch anything in fear that he would break something and have to replace it. The Gilmore world was so different from his. They had maids, cloth napkins, and ten thousand dollar Persian rugs. "Who would spend that much money on a rug?" he thought, "You just walk on them and get them dirty". He couldn't remember exactly which room was Rory's so he slowly peered into the bedroom at the end of the hall. Inside, Hannah was frantically trying to wriggle open the glass door to the balcony. She stopped when she saw Jess enter the room. He just stood there trying to evaluate the situation. Lorie, he could handle. Honestly, what kind of trouble could a 6-year-old get into? This was out of his league. Hannah panicked she tried to think of a rational explanation.
"I uh, was just going to go outside for a smoke," She lied.
Jess raised his eyebrow, he didn't believe her for a second and Hannah knew it.
"You want one?" She offered as she rummaged around in her purse, "I know I have them in here somewhere."
"I haven't had a cigarette since I was 18" Jess stated, somewhat proud of himself.
"So then you're overdue." She tried to joke.
Jess realized why Luke was always so awkward around him when he had first moved to Stars Hollow. He had no idea what to even say to this girl. He understood how she was feeling but the words just weren't coming to his mouth.
"You should probably go," He finally said.
"Seriously?" She said looking up at him in disbelief.
"Well clearly, you have better things to do than say here and get chastised by the Gilmore clan."
"Thanks…" She began, nervously picked at her fingers "I just… I can't be here right now."
Jess nodded, he understood the feeling.
"Hey," he called out to Hannah as she opened the door, "I never saw you."
She smiled at him and continued her getaway.
Jess knew he was probably doing the wrong thing but he couldn't help it. Hannah reminded him so much of himself. He knew that even though Hannah seemed like she didn't care about anything, deep down she was just scared. By this time, Hannah was straddling the ledge of the balcony and the giant oak tree that she intended climb down for her escape.
"If you ever need anything," Jess called out to her again, "just…" he took a breath, searching for the right words, "you know where to find me."
Author's Note: I'm sorry that it took me so long to update. I'm done with finals as of right now so I can finally breathe and spend some time working on my baby. I love comments but I love constructive criticism even more! This was my hardest chapter to write so please review :) I know that you all want to know what the deal with Tristan is. Relax, the next chapter will explain I promise…