Doing a little skipping around in this chapter... There will be some parts that I can only best describe as 'flashbacks' and blend them in. This won't be the only chapter that does it.
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"I have a plan," he told her. "What if we moved to New York," her eyes lit up. "And we took Rory with us?" To his satisfaction, Sherry smiled even wider.
"That would be. . . Wonderful!" She ran over to him and jumped in his arms.
"Whoa, whoa," he laughed. "Lets call Rory and see how she feels about this."
Standing in a tight embrace with Sherry, Chris sighed a heavy breath of relief and anxiety. He didn't want his nerves to get to him. How would Rory feel about this new proposal? Would she adjust well? Would she even agree?
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Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel and shifting his weight from side to side, it took a little over an hour but he's finally there. Hartford. Flipping open his phone, he hit Rory's number on the speed dial once more.
"Dad," Rory said with a smile he couldn't see. "Where are you?"
"About fifteen minutes from where you are," his smile unknowingly mirrored hers.
Dumbfounded, "But- wha? How? . . . How did you get here so fast?"
"I might have already been in the car when I called you before," Chris chuckled. "Anxious to see you and break the news, I guess."
"Really?" Rory scratched her head. "Maybe we could just pack up a few essentials and sneak out when grandma and grandpa aren't home?"
"Huh, or we could do something Rapunzel-ish sans sliding down a pile of hair. Got any strong bedding?"
"The sheets are pretty good," Rory affirmed. "One thousand twenty thread count. Those run a couple hundred dollars, they should be able to hold our combined weight."
Chris choked back a laugh. "Nervous, hun?"
"A little," Rory admitted quietly. "I don't think they'll take it well."
"Your happiness comes first. They'll come around; they want what's best for you."
"But what if they feel this change isn't what's best?"
"That's for you and me to decide," Chris took a right turn and felt jittery again despite his calm façade. "Trust me, your relationship with them won't change."
Chris heard Rory breathe heavily on the other line. "I just want to get this over with," she admitted. "I love them, I don't want to upset them or make it seem like I haven't appreciated what they've done for me."
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It took less than a week but they made it. They were just hitting hitting New York, on their way to their new apartment with the moving trucks right behind them. Rory stared out the window lifelessly, replaying her last moments with her grandparents and saying goodbye to her friends in Stars Hollow. None of it was easy but she didn't honestly expect it to be any different.
"What do you mean 'leaving for New York', Christopher?" Emily wanted to fume, Rory could see the red tinting her grandmother's face. She could have sworn smoke started leaving her ears. "We just got Rory, you can't possibly think of taking her away!"
"I'm not taking her away, Emily," Chris's voice elevated just a few notches. "I'm trying to do something good for my daughter; this might be a good thing for her!"
"Might be," Richard retorted. "And what if it all blows up in our faces? Then what?"
"She'd come back," Emily told him with a slight smug face. "And how can you just pick up with Rory and move her in with another woman?" Emily asked with well hidden disgust. "We've never even met this Sherry."
"Hey now, wait just a minute,"
"This may have been dad's idea," Rory interrupted. "But I want to try it. I want to try to make this work. New York is full of opportunities, new people. . . It's nothing like home."
"Another point that should be addressed," Richard stood up. "How will she take to living in a bustling city?"
Chris stood up as well. "Rory would adapt. She's been in Hartford for weeks, living here with you. She's not completely unacquainted with city life."
The back and forth disagreements never seemed to stop. Rory even put her hands over her ears once or twice until Emily noticed. Quietly standing up, she moved off the couch and to her temporary room to finish packing, effectively ignoring and cutting off anymore discussion regarding her move with Chris and Sherry.
Back in Stars Hollow, Lane had been upset but much more supportive. Rory really needed that. She certainly shed more tears leaving the only real home she ever really knew.
"Do you really have to go?", Lane asked with sparkling, wet eyes.
Rory nodded, holding back a sob. "I'm going to miss seeing you everyday, you have no idea." She clung onto her best friend tightly, both needing a short gasp of air after letting go.
"Call me every single day," Lane emphasized the last three words. "No matter what; new friends, bad day, how school is . . . New boyfriend", she wiggled her eyes suggestively.
"Lane!" Rory gasped, hiding a small smile with an honest frown. She wasn't happy over what she and Dean had decided on but she knew it was for the best. Right?
Lane ignored her. "And seriously, any good concerts near your neck of the sewer smells, tell me! Maybe we can convince mama to let me stay the night with you."
Rory looked at her pointedly. Sighing, Lane mumbled "yeah, probably not going to work out in my favor." Rory simply pulled her in for another bone crushing hug.
Shaking her head to rid herself of the memory, Rory sighed against the back of her seat in her dad's car. She was happy to be bonding with her father, she just hated that it had to be because of something so horrible that drew them back together. She missed Lorelai insanely; never once had a day passed that she hadn't thought of her mother and her whereabouts. Rory gently leaned her forehead on the window, letting out a heavy breath to fog the glass.
"So Rory," Sherry pipped in from the front seat. "I know you might not want to walk around and scope out the city right away but I wrote out a list of things you may want to see," She gave the younger girl a small smile but her eyes shone brightly. At least one of them was happy, more or less. Rory tried to muster up a weak smile and nodded. "Chris told me different things you liked and were interested in, I thought maybe you and I could check out a few of these places while he deals with all the moving."
Chris let out a snort. "Hey!," he laughed. "Do you honestly expect me to move all of our stuff in the house by myself?"
Sherry shrugged her shoulders and voiced a 'yes' without missing a beat. Rory couldn't hold back a laugh at her dad's girlfriend's response. "And besides, you have some mighty strong moving men to help you in the midst of what I assume will be all the ensuing, manly struggles, right Rory?"
Rory continued back to blowing on the glass and drawing shapes as her mind took her back to Stars Hollow.
"So just like that?" Dean said with a sigh. "You're moving even further now?"
"Dean, I need to do this." Rory tried to make him understand. "I know we've been growing apart, and I know some of that is my fault but don't you dare look back and blame me."
"What do you mean 'look back'?" Dean asked, slightly taken aback by his girlfriend's choice of words.
Rory sighed, fidgeting with the hem of her sleeves and avoiding eye contact. "I think we need to take some time away from each other," she whispered slowly.
"Rory, no, I. . ." Dean sighed and threw his hands up. "Fine!"
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Of all the activities Sherry had planned to do with Rory that day, she had to admit, her favorite part had been early in the evening when Sherry decided to check out a "cute boutique", the blonde had put it. Rory was really enjoying time with Sherry but spending it in New York with an older woman had only reminded her of her mother; and how different Lorelai and Sherry were. Pulling out a few dollar bills, Rory spotted a hot dog stand near Washington Square Park; a few (rather large) blocks from the boutique Sherry ventured into. She's been walking around all day and officially starving so she didn't think too much of any illness she could get from consuming such food, as her stomach seemed to do the talking and thinking. As she made her way up to the small line in front of the cart, a lit building caught her eye as she heard the end of someone's order for their hot dog.
"Oh," Rory jumped back. "I'm so sorry! I'm new and wasn't looking and then your back was in the way and-" she stopped herself, feeling a little ridiculous and then a small blush rose high in her cheeks.
The guy she had bumped into whirled around, ready to say something nasty, Rory was sure of it. She could have sworn his eyes softened just a little but his face went blank. Well, at least he wasn't angry, she thought to herself. "It's okay," he mumbled towards her and faced forward again to pay the man who held out the hot dog. She eyed the teenage boy as he walked through the side of the park, and went to tell the man at the cart what she'd like. After thanking him politely with a tip, she turned around to head back to Sherry.
Taking a large bite of her hot dog, she couldn't help but wonder where she had been all her life. This was definitely the best one she's ever eaten, she knew it.
"Good?" she heard a low voice ask her from behind. Rory stopped hesitantly, turning just a little. She allowed a small smile seeing the young man who she had bumped into earlier with a smirk gracing his lips.
"Yeah," Rory laughed. "Definitely the best one I've ever had."
He nodded and seemed to keep pace with her as she started on her way again. "So if you're new, how do you know where you're going? I mean, a young, pretty girl like yourself walking the city streets alone, as the darkness is quickly approaching. Doesn't seem like a good idea for those that don't know the area well."
Rory blushed at his remark on her appearance and averted her eyes. "Oh, I'm just walking back the way I came. My dad's girlfriend is in a store a few blocks up, I was just wandering around while she had some fun. She endured so many things with me today and I knew she was bored, we don't have a lot in common so. . ." Rory trailed off, wondering why she was revealing so much to this strange guy. He seemed harmless but he was right, you never know what could happen here, especially after dark.
"Huh."
Rory narrowed her eyes. Boy, was this guy not the chatty type. "So anyway, it was nice meeting you. . . ." she waited for him to give her his name but had no such luck. "No name, hot dog guy who I still say was in my way, it is then."
The boy stared after her as she headed towards her destination, a smile smile forming on his face.
