Title: The Unknown Family
Summary: Richard and Emily's car broke down just outside of Stars Hollow. They couldn't get it fixed until the next day, so they decided to stay with their daughter and granddaughter, only to find a big surprise. Set in season 1, Pilot episode. After Rory got into Chilton, but before Lorelai asked for money from the Gilmore's. There are LL in it, but it's not focused on them. AU
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Chapter 4
Dinner had finally started. Although Emily would prefer to have dinner at a proper time, she was happy that at least the spread was edible for her to eat. And she must admit, she is a little hungry, even though they had just came back from an event that had food. Richard was right, the food at the event was nothing compared to the spread they have.
Luke and Jess sat next to each other, across from Emily and Richard, with Lorelai and Rory barricading the two of them from each other. each of them had a plate in front of them which was filled with lasagna and garlic bread.
"I must say, my compliments to the chef." Richard said in amazement, devouring the lasagna.
"Yes, this is absolutely amazing Luke." Emily raved.
"Thanks." Luke blushed slightly, which Lorelai and Jess smirked at.
"Where did you learn to cook like this?" Emily asked. "I have never tasted anything this good."
"Oh well I learnt from my mom." Luke responded. "When I was young she would teach me how to cook so I would at least be helpful around the house with my own family. And good thing too since Lorelai can't cook to save her life." Lorelai just playfully glared at her.
"You didn't take any classes?" Richard asked amazed.
"No."
"My that's amazing."
"Which is why dad's diner is the best in town." Rory smiled proudly at his father. Ever since Luke had placed a baby Rory in his arms, he was immediatly lost in her. He knew that he would never be able to refuse Rory. And Rory herself became a daddy's girl from the start. She and Luke were so much alike, whereas Jess, the Momma's boy, was so much more like Lorleai. Even though Jess is quiet like Luke, and Rory has inherited her mother's wittiness and coffee addiction.
"I bet." Emily smiled and took another bite.
"We should have lasagna more often." Lorelai said. "How come we only have this once in a while?"
"Because it takes a while to make." Luke said. "And you guys usually eat at the diner anyway."
"Well we should have more lasagna." Lorelai declared, taking another bite.
"What time is it?" Jess suddenly asked.
"Um…five minutes before seven." Lorelai answered. "Why?"
"Dad." Jess said to Luke.
"I got it." he said, then stood up.
"Got what?" the girls, as did Emily and Richard watched him in confusion.
Luke walked over to the microwave and took out a plate that was inside, which was covered with paper towel. He took the paper towel off and the plate contained French fries.
"What's that for?" Rory asked her father when he sat down, placing the plate next to his.
Suddenly the back door flew open and Lane entered with a breeze.
"Hi neighbors, can't talk." she said all in one breath and dove into the French fries. A look of realizations came across the girls' face, while Emily and Richard resume to be confused. "I only have five minutes until I sneak back into the house before my mom finds out I was gone. So I can get back to eating the sugarless, dairy-less, and lifeless meal she's prepared." she gasped for breath. Then noticed their added company. "Oh I'm sorry." she said, rather embarrassed. "I didn't know you were having company for dinner?"
"Oh, it's ok, this was unexpected anywyas." Rory said. "Lane, these are my grandparents. Grandma, grandpa, this is my best friend Lane Kim."
"Hello." the greeted her.
"Oh, hi. Elder Gilmore's. wow, full house." she chuckled embarrassingly. "So uh…thanks for the fries." she said to her adoptive family. "You guys are life savors." after one more handful of fries, she checked her watch. "Oh, I should get going. I only have three more minutes until dinner."
"Do you want to drink first?" Lorelai asked, holding up her water.
"No time for beverages."
"Right."
"I better go. Thanks guys."
"Wait!" Luke stopped her.
"What?"
Luke stood up and handed her a paper bag from his diner. "Another extra set of fries for you to hide under those floorboards or in your closet. Whichever Mrs. Kim wont check or smell."
"You are a god." she cried, hugging him tightly. "Rory, you have the best dad in the world."
"I know." Rory smiled, beaming at her father.
"Can you guys adopt me?" Lane asked Luke and Lorleai with pleading eyes.
Lorelai chuckled. "We would honey but your mother scares us and she can send us to hell."
Lane sighed in defeat with a pout. "Fine. Thank you again Luke." then she was out the door.
"That girl is so throwing up on the way home." Lorelai shook her head as Luke sat back down on his seat.
"What was that about?" Emily asked, she and Richard are still bewildered at what just happened.
"Oh, that was just Lane being Lane." Lorelai explained.
"Lane's parents are strict Korean's who have this thing about proper diet." Rory explained. "Basically they don't eat anything with meet or sugar. Anything that can contain glutton basically."
"And poor girl, sometimes starving herself." Lorelai continued. "So we help her out whenever we could."
"Like feeding the hungry." Jess muttered.
"This happens every other day." Rory said. "Dad usually makes an extra plate just for Lane."
"Well how thoughtful of you." Richard said, still not comprehending any of it.
They continued eating their meal, having small conversations now and then.
After dinner, everybody freshened up. Luke and Rory cleaned up the kitchen. Jess went to his room, Lorelai was helping her parents.
"So mom, dad, you guys ok?" Lorelai asked her parents. They were in hers and Luke's room. The place already cleaned up due to Lorelai earlier on.
Emily and Richard were dressed in nightwear. Emily had borrowed one of Lorelai's pajama's. while Richard borrowed William's old shirt and sweat pants.
"Yes we are fine thank you Lorelai." Richard smiled at his daughter.
"Ok, well, if you guys are bored, Rory and Jess brought us some of their books for you guys to read. And photo albums for you guys to look at, minus the commentary. And um…oh there are videos over here." she pointed to the shelf next to the TV. "These are just some home movies we made. Some when Rory and Jess were kids, some when they grew up. Just incase you guys want to watch."
"We would love that. Thank you Lorelai." EMily smiled.
"Yes. You have gone above and beyond for us."
"It's nothing dad. You guys are family." Lorelai shrugged it off. "Well, I'll be downstairs in Rory's room if you need anything."
"We're fine, thank you."
Leaving her parents in the room, Lorelai walked back downstairs. She walked into the kitchen , which is already clean thanks to Luke and Rory. She saw her boyfriend settling in her son's room.
"Knock, knock." she said, walking up to Jess's doorway.
"Hey." Luke smiled upon seeing her. He walked up to her and gave her a kiss on the lips.
"Hey, non of that in here!" Jess yelled.
Lorelai giggled at Jess, whereas Luke just rolled his eyes, trying to hide his blush. "So I'm gonna go and set in Rory's room now." Lorelai said to Luke after pulling him away from Jess's room.
"Ok. Well goodnight."
"Goodnight." she smiled. Then they kissed again. This time longer. Her arms encircling around his neck and his arms around her waist. The two pulled apart, their foreheads still attached, panting slightly. "I love you."
"I love you too." he breathed back. Then with one last peck, and a kiss on her forehead, Luke let her go and went back to Jess's room and Lorelai went to Rory's room.
"So we haven't done this in a while." Rory said smiled as they got ready for bed.
"Not since you and Jess got over your 'can't sleep by ourselves. So we have to sleep with mommy and daddy cause we're afraid a boogey man might be out to get us' phase. And even after that you two couldn't sleep by yourselves so you have to sleep together."
Rory rolled her eyes. "We were seven, and we just read a copious amount of Stephen King novels."
"Mh-hm. Whatever you tell yourself honey." she smirked at her daughter.
After much defense from Rory and more mocking and teasing from Lorelai, the two finally settled in the bed. Rory was already on her way to sleeping, her body turned away from Lorelai, whereas Lorelai was still fully awake, staring at the ceiling. She couldn't, for the life of her, sleep. Then it occurred to her that this has been the first time, in a very, very, very long time, since she and had slept on separate beds. When she and Luke started dating, they had wanted to go slow, but immediately, after they had first slept together, they could never sleep on separate beds. Even when they fought, they either made up quickly, or slept together on the bed angry at each other. And if ever one shall leave town overnight for some business thing, or personal reasons, then the other came with her.
"Hey Rory." she whispered, turning to look at her daughter, poking her shoulder slightly.
"Mmhh." Rory groaned, not bothering to open her eyes, or move.
"Hey, you know before I sleep Luke always kisses my forehead." Lorelai said in a soft, low tone, smiling. "And he always says I love you. And then, when we're in bed, I usually cuddle up to him. And he always hugs me up, maybe calling it spooking. But, he hugs me and it always makes me feel safe. And then, when he's asleep, he snores lightly. It's like a lullaby sung t me and it always makes me go to sleep." Lorelai chuckled softly, remembering hers and Luke's nightly rituals, the less dirty ones that is. "Oh and then he also-"
"Enough!" Rory yelled, jolting up from her resting position. She angrily got off the bed, then pulled her mother up as well.
"Rory, what's going on?" Lorelai asked, tumbling since her daughter hastily pulled her out of the room.
Rory stomped towards Jess's room. She knocked on the door loudly using her fists. Moments later, Jess opened the door, bewildered.
"What the-"
Rory immediately pulled him aside. "You." she pointed to her father, who was sitting p on the bed, looking at them bewildered as well. Rory entered Jess's messy room, skipping over the makeshift bed on the floor, where she assumed Jess is sleeping in. she headed to the bed and pulled her father out of it.
"Rory, what are you doing?" asked Luke.
Rory pulled him out of the room. "You two will sleep in my room, while I sleep in Jess's Hemingway infested room. Let this be known that the two of you will never sleep on separate beds ever again!" Rory declared. "Oh, and you two better not do anything in my room that will put me in therapy for the rest of my life!" and with that, Rory walked over to Jess's bed and got comfortable under the covers.
With one last wave, Jess closed the door, leaving the two adults, stunned in the kitchen. Lorelai and turned to Luke with a grin.
"So, let's go to bed?"
Luke just chuckled, nodding his head. Then he placed a hand on the small of Lorelai's back and guided her back in Rory's room and closed the door.
The next morning, when Richard and Emily woke up, they went downstairs and found everyone in the kitchen. Luke, slaving over the stove, cooking breakfast, Jess, sitting down on the chair, reading a book, Lorelai sitting across from him, annoying him endlessly, trying to see if she could distract him from the book, but had no luck in doing so, and Rory, setting the table.
"Hi grandma, hi grandpa!" Rory greeted, noticing her grandparents by the entryway.
"Good morning." they greeted back politely.
"Dad's just finishing up breakfast. You two can take a seat if you'd like."
"Thank you Rory." Emily said. The two sat down on the chairs, the same spot as yesterday.
"I hope you guys like pancakes." Luke said, flipping another jack over.
"Yes, we like pancakes." Richard said.
"Oh you're gonna love Luke's pancakes." Lorelai gushed. "It's so fluffy. You'll never taste anything as great as his pancakes. Seriously, he could give IHOP a run for it's money."
Richard chuckled. "Well judging by his lasagna last night, I have no doubt."
Luke served them pancakes and they started to eat. True to Lorelai's words, the pancakes were just as glorious as the lasagna. After breakfast, Lorelai suggested that Rory should give her grandparents a tour of the town. Jess begrudgingly agreed. As the two teenagers showed the elders around town, introducing them to their friends, and showing them around their favorite places, Lorelai went to Gypsy's to take care of her jeep, and check up on her parents' car. Luke's at the diner, not wanting to leave Caesar alone.
"Hello Lorelai." Emily greeted their daughter at Gypsy's Auto Body shop.
Lorelai had been talking to Gypsy and was surprised to see her parents and two kids. "Hey mom, dad. How was the tour?"
"Very productive." Richard answered. "This is some place you live in Lorelai. I could see why you love it here."
"Well it is our town." Lorelai said proudly.
"Well we're here to see if our car is functioning." Emily went. "As much as we would love to stay, we would really love it to go home and check up if any of the maids had screwed up and messed up the plants."
"It's done." Gypsy declared, closing the hood of the car. "I already took a test drive on it, and it works perfectly good."
"Thank you Gypsy." Richard said. "And Lorelai, thank you for your hospitality."
"It was nothing dad. We were happy to have you and mom over."
"And it certainly was a stay." Emily said. "But we're happy that we had this chance."
"I'm happy too mom."
Emily smiled. "After this meeting, I would love to get to know my grandchildren more."
"Grandchildren?" Lorelai asked surprised. Then her glance went to Rory and Jess, who were now engaged in another argument, probably about books again, then back to her parents.
"Jess is an amazing gifted young man. You and Luke raised him well." Emily said. "I see him doing something good in his life. We want to know him more."
Lorelai smiled softly. "Sure mom."
"And we also would love to know our future son in law also. And who knows, we may even have more grandchildren in the future. We wouldn't want to miss out on that."
At this, Lorelai was even more shocked. "Eh?"
Emily just smiled. "We will call you Lorelai." and with that, she and Richard got in their car and drove off.
Lorelai still stood there, stunned at her mother's words. Future son in law? More grandchildren?
Lorelai, Rory and Jess went into the diner shortly after Emily and Richard left. Immediately, Rory went behind the counter, helping her father out, where as Jess just went straight upstairs to his and Rory's 'club house'. Lorelai walked up to the counter and sat down on her regular stool. The one she declared her own the first day the diner opened. Even went as far as to have the stool carved her name on it, so everyone will know it's hers. Luke pretended to be annoyed about it, but hand made the stool himself, with the carving of her name on it.
"Hey." Luke greeted her with a kiss once she sat down. "Did your parents leave ok?"
"They're fine." Lorelai said, smiling at him.
Her mother's words, still repeated in her head. It wasn't like she hadn't thought of it before. In fact, she and Luke had even talked about it at one point or another. They had talked about it in general before they got together. They talked about getting married again when they did get together. Even more so since their kids and everyone else in town kept pushing them to the next step, since it already seems like they're married and have the perfect family. And they have also talked about more kids. Specially with Rory and Jess. In fact, they even said to them that they wouldn't mind having another sibling or two. But they never really went far as to, yes I want to get married someday and sure, kids would be an option. It never went to a point where they set a specific time frame or assurance that Luke would propose.
Although she knows, that no matter what, she and Luke would be together forever.
"What?" Luke asked. Lorelai realized she's been starring at him ever since she sat down.
Lorelai shook her head. "Nothing."
Someday, she thought, we'll have it. The whole package.
So, thanks for reading. That's all.