Title: Mission: Find my Dad

Summary: Lorelai 'Rory' Leigh Gilmore-Danes is on a mission to look for her father. AU. java junkie, LukeRory father daughter scenes

Disclaimer: Not mine. Not ever. Sigh.

A/N: Now I just want to let you know that the timeline is different from the show so just go with it.


Chapter 3: The Arrival

Lorelai had reluctantly said goodbye to her daughter the next day. Emily and Richard had sent a car to pick Rory and Paris up. Even though Lorelai was set to leave the next day, Rory had to leave today, insisted upon Emily. Rory was excited through out the ride to Hartford. She's never been there without her mother. And now that she is there, she'll be able to look for her dad. Paris had stayed quiet. She knew that the chances of finding Rory's real dad was low. But she didn't want to tell her best friend that. She's so excited about this.

When they arrived in Hartford at the Gilmore mansion, Paris was awestruck at the size of the house.

"Wow, your grandparents live here?" Paris breathed admiring the house. She's a New York native, the only grand house she's used to are penthouse apartments where the elevator doors open to your foyer.

"Yeah." Rory smiled. The two got out of the car and looked at the house. She's been here a few times when she was a kid, yet she's still amazed at the size of the grand house.

"Rory, you're here." Emily greeted walking out from the front door. She immediately gave her granddaughter a hug. "Oh I've missed you." she smiled. "Look at you, you're all grown up."

"Thanks grandma." Rory smiled shyly.

"And Paris. You look lovely as well."

"Thank you Mrs. Gilmore." Paris smiled politely.

"Come, come." she ushered them towards the house. "You two must be tired from the drive."

"Oh, we're fine grandma." Rory smiled.

"Nonsense. Come inside." she ushered them inside the house. "Margaret, please help the driver get the girls' luggage from outside."

"Oh that's fine grandma, we can get them."

"Nonsense. Ladies do not carry luggage. It is the maid's job." Emily scolded. "Richard! Rory and Paris are here."

"Ah, girls, you're here." Richard gave ach of them a hug. "My, you have grown. You're both taller."

"Yes, it's those damn growth spurts I tell ya." Rory joked.

"And funny." Richard chuckled.

"I hope you're hungry girls." Emily smiled. "I had our chef cook up something special just for your arrival."

"Grandma thanks again for letting us stay in such short notice."

"We're happy to let you stay. It's not everyday that you get to stay here."

"Thanks again for having me." Paris said shyly. She has met the elder Gilmore's before, but only spent a few moments with them.

"We are more than happy to have you here Paris." Emily assured. "Why don't the two of you go on up to your room and get dressed for dinner. Then we can talk about our agenda for the next few days. Francesca, please lead Miss Gilmore and Miss Geller to their rooms." she called to her maid. "Don't worry, I had the two of you stay in the same room. Your mother told me how close the tow of you are."

"Thanks grandma."


After preparing for dinner, Rory and Paris were seated across from each other at the dinner table while eating the pasta in front of them.

"How do you like the pasta?" Emily asked.

"It's good." Paris commented.

"It is." Rory agreed. "Although the sauce could use a little bit more Rosemary. and the pasta's overcooked. It's almost mushy." realizing she's being very critical. "Sorry." she said sheepishly. "I usually like my pasta crunchy. Not too cooked that it's mushy, but not undercooked that it's still hard."

"I didn't know you know how to cook." Richard said amazed.

"Please." Paris scoffed. "She's practically the only one who uses the kitchen back in New York."

"I do cook." Rory said shyly. "But I'm no Emeril. It's just something to calm me down."

Richard and Emily shard a glance, remembering a certain boy who also gave them the same advice when he ate pasta at their house. Even told them that he liked his pasta crunchy rather than mushy.

Changing the subject, Emily cleared her throat, "So Rory, since your grandfather and I are very busy for the week, we were wondering on what you and Paris should do so the two of you wont be bored."

Paris glanced at Rory, giving her a look. "Well actually grandma, Paris and I really want to cruise Hartford. It's been a long time since I've been here. And I would really love to see the sights. Besides, Paris has never been here and I want her to have fun as well."

"That seems fine." Richard said.

"Yes." Emily agreed. "We were thinking maybe the two of you would want join either one of us in our work, but the two of you touring Hartford would be nice."

"Specially for young ladies as yourself."

"Do you want us to set the driver to take you two?"

"Actually grandma, we wanted to experience this ourselves." Rory said. "Besides, we want to do this for our school assignment."

"Very well. I'll rent the two of you a car for the week so you two can tour Hartford."

"Thanks grandma." Rory and Paris shared a triumphant smile.

They continued to eat and Emily informed the girls of some events that would be happening while they're there.


The next morning Richard had left before any of the girls woke up. Emily, Rory and Paris had breakfast together, then an hour later, Emily left on her way for a DAR meeting before noon, then the car that Emily had rented for the girls arrived at the house. Almost immediately, the girls hit the road.

"Ok, I have the direction right here." Rory said, handing Paris her purse. Paris pulled out the paper Rory printed from her computer back in New York.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this." Paris said in amazement.

"I know." Rory squealed. "Just think, any minute now, I could finally meet my dad."

"Rory." Paris said warningly.

"I know Paris." Rory sighed, already heard this from her. "The chances of my father still in Stars Hollow is very slim. But then I'll be one step closer to knowing him. And if he's not there, then I'd get to see the place where my parents fell in love."

"You know I'm only agreeing to this because you're my best friend."

"Yes and I love you for it."

"Good." Paris nodded. "So, where are we gonna start our search? I mean, we get to Stars Hollow, and then what?"

"Well, I looked up in the internet for the address of William's Hardware, the hardware store my grandfather owns. But I didn't get any information. So I looked up Independence Inn which is owned by my grandparent's friend, Mia. She's also the reason why my mother loves the hotel biz. My mom told me she watched Mia work at the inn, she even helped out sometimes and she fell in love with the job. That's basically when she started fantasizing about owning her own inn."

"So did you find it?"

"Yes. It's about half a mile from Stars Hollow. That's where we're headed right now. It also says that Mia still owns it, so maybe she could tell us where my dad is."

"Wow, you've really got all of this planned out." Paris said amazed. "This might actually work."

"I know." Rory squealed in excitement. "And I brought all of my things that my mom gave me of my father. Just in case. my birth certificate. Pictures. Letters. God, just Imagine I might finally be able to meet him."

Paris watched her best friend. It was the hugest smile she's ever seen Rory wore. She really is excited about this. Although Paris can't help but feel a side of disappointment if they find out that her father may not be in Stars Hollow.

"So have you told Tristan about this?" she suddenly asked.

"Actually, I talked to him last night."

"Really? When?"

"After you went to sleep. I called him." she smiled thinking about Tristan. "He said he's doing good. His father is still pitching him to become heir to the family business. And they're getting ready to go to Italy."

"What did he say when you told him about this?"

"He was a bit disappointed about the fact that he wont be spending his remaining time in the U.S. with me. but he was very supportive of the idea. He knows how much I want to know my dad." it's true. Paris and Tristan were her two best friends that she could always confide in. they were the only ones who knows just how much she feels about her father and how much she wants to know him.

Rory kept on driving, still excited about the possibilities of meeting her dad. Finally, she got off the freeway and the road led to the inn.

"Wow." Rory breathed looking a the building. She had parked the car in the parking lot and she and Paris are now standing in front of the building. "It's even better than the pictures." a few pictures her mother had salvaged after having her are pictures of the inn. There were a lot of pictures from the interior and from the back of the inn where the lake was. But only one of the outside in the front. But it was such an old picture and practically ripped through. She had logged on the website and found it to be still as beautiful as the one in the picture.

"Let's go?" Paris asked. Rory just nodded, still speechless.

When they entered, Rory was even more speechless. The place was even more beautiful than the pictures. It was even better seeing it in real life than in a 2D photo. She needed to take a moment to process her surroundings. The smell of the place. The people. She saw that there was a harpist in the middle, playing beautiful music. Guests were hanging out in the lobby. Suddenly, she felt a tug on her arm. She turned and Paris was gesturing her head towards the reception desk. She looked ahead and saw a woman, well into her forties or fifties, in a blue blazer suit, talking to a rather nervous, yet agitated young man.

Rory took in a deep breath and they headed towards the desk.

"Now, the Markins luncheon wont be until noon, but I would love for the table to be prepared an hour before. They are very picky when it comes to these things." the woman went on telling the man. "And Michel, I would love for you to cover the Scott/Kearn nuptials. they are paying good money for this. I expect this wedding to be excellent."

"You can always count on me." the man, Michel, said in a French accent.

"Now. About the fundraiser tomorrow. I-" she stopped when she noticed Rory and Paris stopped in front of them, looking rather timid. "May I help you?" she asked with a smile.

Paris nudged Rory, giving her her cue. Rory cleared her throat and finally found her voice and courage. "Yes. Um…I was wondering if Mia is here?"

"I'm Mia." she smiled.

"You are?" Rory's eyes sparkled finally meeting the woman whom her mother had considered a second mother.

"Yes." Mia was rather curious as to who this girl was.

"I'm Rory." she introduced herself, couldn't stop herself from being excited. "Um, I was just wondering if you know where I might find Luke Danes?" she asked shyly.

"Lucas?" Mia asked. Rory showed a flash of hope in her eyes. "Well, I'm sure he's in the diner."

"Diner?" Rory asked.

"Yes. Luke's Diner, he owns it."

"He owns a diner?" Rory was now getting even more excited and jumping for joy on the inside. His father was here and he owns a diner.

"Yes. It use to belong to his father. it was a hardware store before."

"William's Hardware."

"Yes, that's the name. But after William passed away, Lucas turned it into a diner."

Rory's excitement had died down. "William passed away?" she breathed, tears filling in her eyes. Instinctively, Paris rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Just about the time Lucas turned 21." a sad frown came across Mia's face at the remembrance. "It was such a devastating time. Lucas was not the same. But a year after, he finally got back to his feet and opened the diner. It's the most famous eating establishment in town."

"That's cool." Rory said half-heartedly, trying to washout the sadness due to the fact that her grandfather had died. "Um, can you tell us where Luke's Diner is?"

"Yes." Mia turned to Michel. "Michel, will you please give these two lovely young ladies the directions to Lucas's diner. I have to attend to some of our guests. Michel will take care of you. Please excuse me."

"Thank you Mia." Rory waved to her as she left. Then they turned to Michel and Paris wrote down the directions.

Once outside the Inn, Rory suddenly felt like breaking down. Fortunately, Paris was one step ahead of her and immediately wrapped her arms around her. Even though she had never met William, her mother still talked about him as if he was a second father. Whenever she talked about William, Lorelai would smile and reminisce about how fatherly he was. How much of a father he was to her, more than Richard ever was. Rory was just disappointed that she would never get to meet him. She was sad that her grandfather died. She was sad that her mother would never get to see him again.

"Hey." Paris whispered to her softly. "At least we know where your dad is." That brought a smile to Rory's face. "Let's go?" Rory lifted her head from Paris's shoulder and smiled.

Paris drove the car to Luke's this time. She figured Rory would be too emotional. Besides, she was the one who talked to Michel about the directions. Minutes later, Paris had parked the car just outside of the diner.

"So, this must be it." Paris said. They were still in the car and they were both looking at the building. "Look, it says William's Hardware." she pointed to the sign. "He must have kept the sign in honor of his dad."

Rory just nodded, still not able to get words out. She was slightly surprised and pleased that the William's Hardware sign was still there. Her mom had told her how close her dad was to her grandfather. She was still sad about her grandfather passing away, but now those sad feelings are overcome with nervousness. She's going to meet her dad. She'll be able to see him. She has pictured this moment all her life. And here it was. Taking in a deep breath, Rory finally found the courage to get out of the car. Paris didn't mind the wait. She knew this was a big step in her best friend's life.

Finally outside of the car and into the Stars Hollow streets. Paris linked her arm around Rory's and they slowly made their way inside Luke's. When they entered the diner, they stood at the entrance for a moment. Rory, basking in the building. There were customers, still eating. It wasn't really packed, there were tables left, but just enough to keep the waiters busy. Rory took in the sight of the place. There were a lot of happy people eating and chatting. She noticed the decorations, on the far end, of wood and lumber. She figured those were from the Hardware store. It's amazing how her dad still kept it as it was.

She scanned the diner some more. Mia had told her that her dad would be here, since it is his. She scanned the place to see if she could find him. If she could recognize him. But when she did, she couldn't place any of them as her dad. There was a petite Mexican man, who was a bit chubby, wearing an apron. Though people called him Caesar, so she doubted that was him. There was also a boy, who seemed to be the same age as her, looking very bored and wearing a Led Zeppelin T-shirt, standing behind the counter, serving coffee.

He seemed to have noticed them since he looked up at them. "Take a seat anywhere." he called to them.

Paris nudged Rory and gestured for a table. Wordlessly, Rory nodded and let Paris lead her to one. Paris led her to a table by the window. They sat down across from each other. Rory had glanced out the window and for the first time basked in the beauty of Stars Hollow. Nothing changed much. It still looked the same as the pictures. Which she loves. This was the first time she has actually taken in the fact that she's in Stars Hollow. the place where her parents fell in love. the place that her father had grown up. The place her mother called was a magical fairy tale land.

She was so engrossed by the town, that she didn't notice anyone behind her.

"You guys want coffee?"

Rory, startled, jerked her head to him. It was the boy again, he was now standing in front of them with two empty mugs in one hand and a coffee pot on the other.

"Yes please." Paris said. Rory nodded.

The boy placed the mugs in front of them and poured them coffee. "Do you guys know what you want?"

"Not yet." Paris answered.

"Um…" Rory cleared her throat, finding her voice. "Excuse me?"

"Jess." he supplied.

"Jess. Right. Um, do you know where Luke Danes is?"

Jess looked at her, curious as to why she was looking for his uncle. But didn't ask further on. "Yeah, hold on." he walked away.

Rory inhaled deeply and looked at Paris. "He's here." she squeaked.

"I know." Paris smiled softly, taking a hold of her best friend's hand over the table and squeezing it comfortingly.

The two stayed that way for what seemed like forever. Rory was so wrapped up in the prospect of seeing her father, for the first time in her life.

"You guys looking for me?" came a gruff voice.

Rory snapped her head at his direction, her eyes wide, very childlike. "Luke Danes?"


Please Revivew