Families and other Freaks
Chapter 10 – It's Everyone Else That's The Problem
Rory giggled as she felt Jess blowing on her back. It was two days after her spontaneous proposal, and they had barely left their bedroom since. They were engaged! Even though she proposed, she still couldn't believe it. Suddenly Jess decided to change tactic and started kissing her back, then shoulder up to her neck.
"Isn't it a little early to be doing that?" She smirked as she turned to face him.
"We're awake aren't we?"
"Do you really think we can do anything after all the stuff we did yesterday?"
"I'm willing to try!" She giggled again.
"I bet you are!" He smirked and moved to kiss her again, but she decided to get up.
"Oh, where are you going now?" he moaned as she started to get dressed.
"We have to get up, Jess. Mom and Luke are coming back with April today and this place is a mess. They'll be here around two and it's ten already." Jess groaned and covered his head with a pillow. "Jess, come on!" He sighed, and then moved to get up.
"Hey, we're not going to tell anyone about our engagement yet, are we?"
"GOOD GOD NO!"
"Well, don't I feel special!"
"You know I didn't mean it like that! It's just my mom hasn't really even seen us together yet, I think telling her I decided I wanted you to be my husband in less than two weeks would freak her out a tad." Jess nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Then, I suppose, I have some time before a diamond ring becomes an issue!" Rory smiled and moved back over to him, to sit on his lap.
"Oh, yeah I'd almost forgotten about that!" He smirked at her.
"Honestly, Gilmore! You call yourself a girl!" She swatted him on the soldier.
"What kind of ring have you been thinking about?"
"Well, I was thinking that since you proposed to me, I should be the one that gets a ring!"
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, and I'm shrewd to the rules of diamonds Gilmore, it has to be worth at least three months salary!"
"Oh, how did I ever get myself mixed up in such a demanding relationship- AAHHH!" Jess had rolled on top of her and began tickling her.
"Jess-"laugh "stop-" laugh "please!" She carried on laughing until he started kissing her. They continued like this for about ten minutes when they finally broke apart. Rory looked at him deeply and smiled.
"Jess."
"Uh-huh." Then he began to nibble her neck.
"Get me a ring!"
"Yes Mame!" Then he leaned in to kiss her. "What time is it, again?"
"It's now 10:05 am." Then suddenly, Jess remembered something.
"Oh, crap! I promised Lane I'd cover for her and Zack at the diner yesterday, and I forgot!" he jumped off the bed and began to get dressed. "Now, not only did they have to work all day yesterday but open up today! She's gonna kill me! I tell you, that friend of yours maybe small but she's scary!"
"I know you should have seen her when she was pregnant!"
"A lot of Mrs. Kim beginning to shine through-"
"Okay, now you're taking it too far!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Later at the diner--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lane was rushing around the diner, trying to give a diner full of hungry people their breakfast, but all she could do was think up ways to get rid of Jess's dead body. I'll cover for you all day, he said. Have a romantic day with your husband, he said. I'll take care of the diner, he said. She and Zack had barely finished packing the kids up to spend the day with her Mom, when Caesar phoned in a panic because the diner was packed and he was the only one there, plus there were rose petals everywhere.. She tried phoning Jess and Rory all day but no answer. Well, she hoped he'd had a good night because she was going to make sure he was never happy again. Just then the bell above the door rang and Rory and Jess entered.
"YOU!" Lane cried pointing at Jess. "Where the hell, where you yesterday! Zack and I had dinner reservations and we were going to go see a movie but NO! That all went down the drain when Caesar phoned because you hadn't turned up! I tried phoning you all day – what were you doing that was so important that you couldn't pick up the damn phone! HUH!" Jess and Rory glanced at each other, and then looked down at the floor. "UGH, can't you two take your hands off each other for five minutes!" People in the diner were beginning to stare at them; Lane was seriously beginning to freak out. "I would love to spend the day doing nothing but having wild sex with my husband but I can't! We have kids, we have work but yesterday we had the opportunity to spend some time together and you ruined it!"
"Lane," Rory tried.
"Don't!" Lane said as she took off her apron.
"Lane, I'm sorry I forgot I'll cover for you today!"
"Zack's working with Brian on a new song today; I'm not to disturb them! I'm going on a break!" She then threw her apron at Jess, and then she stormed upstairs. Jess and Rory looked at each other again.
"I should probably go and talk to her." Jess nodded as she followed Lane up to the apartment. Jess then looked around the diner; everyone was still looking at him.
"Get on with eating your breakfasts, this is a diner not the Jerry Springer show!" Everyone then continued eating, and Jess went to make more coffee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Upstairs in the Apartment-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rory entered the apartment, to find Lane sitting at the kitchen table, crying. She rushed over to her.
"Lane, are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't know you and Zack had plans yesterday, other wise I wouldn't have kept distracting Jess and he wouldn't have forgotten he was supposed to be watching the diner be we just got so carried away because we were celebrating-" Rory suddenly stopped before she said any more.
"No, I'm sorry." Lane said. "I've just been so stressed lately. Money's getting a little tight and the boys haven't been sleeping well lately so I've been up all night and – wait what were you celebrating?" Rory shifted slightly.
"Err, well-"
"Did you get a promotion?"
"No."
"Did he?"
"He co-owns a publishing house there's no where to promote him to! It's nothing like that! We just made a very monumental decision about our future!"
"Oh, My God – You got married didn't you? Rory, what will your mom say about you getting married without her there! Remember how you felt when she married your Dad in Paris without you!"
"Lane relax, we didn't get married!" Lane breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank god! I know it doesn't really sound like you, but your senses have tended to go out the window in the past where Jess has been concerned!" Lane then suddenly laughed at a thought. "Come to think of it, that was a pretty ridiculous suggestion. I mean, you've only been back together for two weeks – just getting engaged would be insane!" She laughed again but stopped when she saw how uncomfortable Rory looked. "OH, NO! HE PROPOSED DIDN'T HE?! Rory, how could you say yes?!"
"He didn't propose, Lane!"
"Oh, thank god!"
"I proposed to him!"
"WHAT, ARE YOU INSANE?!"
"No, I'm in love!" Lane shook her head and sighed.
"What is it about that boy that makes you act so crazy?"
"I don't know all I know is that I want to be with him until he dies!"
"You mean until one of you dies, right?"
"Oh, please! He may be tough but there's no way he's going to outlive a Gilmore girl – especially if he's married to one!"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Later at the Crapshack-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later, after she made Lane promise not to tell anyone about her engagement to Jess, she had some breakfast and then went back home to prepare for her mom and her new step-father and stepsister getting home. She knew she and Jess weren't going to tell anyone about their engagement, with the exception of Lane now, but after seeing her reaction she was getting increasingly worried about how her mother would react when she found out. Though Lane had eventually calmed down she really didn't offer her blessing or any words of encouragement. Why couldn't anybody see how happy they were together, she almost felt like she was seventeen again and dating Jess for the first time. Sure he had been a little closed off back then, okay, a lot closed off back then but it wouldn't have been half as bad if people hadn't been willing their relationship to fail, her mother included. She knew they were all just looking out for her but still she was a big girl now, she didn't need protecting. But either way, she was going to make sure her mother saw how good she and Jess were together before she told her they were getting married.
Rory was finishing tidying around the house when she heard a car pull up in front of the house. She went to the window and saw her mother, Luke and April getting out of a taxi. She went outside and ran over to them.
"Mommy!"
"Offspring! I'm back!"
"I noticed, I thought your flight didn't get in for a while yet, I was going to pick you up!"
"Oh, we took an earlier flight, so I though we'd surprise you! Plus, Luke wanted to check on the diner a soon as possible, to make sure Jess hadn't burnt it down or anything!" Rory noted how Jess was the only one whom Lorelai deemed it possible to have burnt down Luke's diner, even though several other people were also looking after the place. But she decided to let it go.
"So, let's get all this stuff inside."
About an hour later they all decided to make their way to the diner. They were almost there when they bumped into Jess coming out of Doose's. Rory hugged him when she saw him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey, what are you doing out here? I thought you were supposed to be looking after the diner?"
"I am. We ran out of eggs so I came out here to get some."
"Ok, you guys all go ahead to the diner, I'll be there in a sec, and I just wanna get a paper." And with that she left, leaving Jess to fend for himself. He turned to look at Luke, Lorelai and April.
"So, Luke, Lorelai, how was the honeymoon?"
"Great," answered Lorelai, sharply. To cover she then smiled but Jess couldn't help but notice how strained it seemed. Was she ever going to be okay with him and Rory? Maybe, Rory was right and she just needed to get used to seeing them together again. Thank god she didn't know about their engagement yet – otherwise he would have gone shopping for body armour. Then Luke finally spoke up.
"You haven't burnt down my diner, have you? I haven't had my money's worth out of that paint yet!"
"Jeez, for two people that just got back from their honeymoon your both awfully snippy – have they been like this all the way?" he asked April.
"If only." She answered. "Their lovie dovieness made me want to throw up once or twice on the way home!" Jess laughed.
"HEY!"
"Don't get me wrong I'm really happy for you guys and everything, but I don't need to see you guys sticking your tongues down each others throats!" Once again Jess laughed, and then suddenly he remembered something.
"Oh, Luke – just a head's up, Jimmy is at the diner."
"He's still here?!"
"Yes and he will be for at least another two days, so would you just play nice!"
"Why should I?"
"Because if Liz can do it, you can!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In the diner-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When they walked into the diner, it was packed. Jimmy was sat at the counter and Lane was running around trying to explain to the customers who ordered eggs why they hadn't got their food yet. She saw Jess enter and ran over to him.
"Jess! How long does it take to buy some eggs when the store is just across the street?"
"Sorry, I ran into some people!" and then he bobbed his head to the happy couple behind him.
"Oh, hey guys," she said, "How was the honeymoon?" Lorelai giggled.
"Great!" she said and Lane smiled.
"What's the Bahamas like?"
"Err, well, it looked nice from our bedroom window." At these words Luke turned pink, and then moved to go behind the counter. It was then he first spotted Jimmy. Jess gave him a warning look and then he went to pour coffee.
"Err, hey Jimmy." Luke said awkwardly.
"Erm, hey Luke." said Jimmy. A few moments passed in silence, and then Lorelai finally decided to break it.
"Hi, Jimmy, I'm Lorelai, Luke's wife. And this is his daughter April." They both sat down next to him at the counter.
"It's nice to meet you both. Oh, congratulations on the wedding by the way."
"Err, thanks." Luke mumbled. "Oh, and to you too, I guess. Jess told me you and your wife recently had twins."
"Yeah, a boy and a girl; Jacob and Rose."
"Speaking of which," said Jess coming up behind them, "where are they?"
"They're with Sasha and Lily. Oh, and guess who else!?" he said in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Who?"
"Your mother!"
"What! How did that happen?"
"She and that husband of hers came to the inn for dinner, last night, and next thing I know I'm sat a table between my ex-wife and my current wife, listening to your step-father explain how he got the name T.J. from Gary!"
"He actually explained that! I still haven't gotten to the bottom of it!"
"Anyway, Liz and Sasha suddenly start planning to spend the day together shopping with the kids!"
"Oh, don't worry Jimmy, I'm sure Liz isn't telling her stories which are too humiliating!" smirked Luke, clearing the counter. Jimmy scowled at him.
"For your information my wife already knows everything about me! There are just a few things of which I skimmed on the details that I don't want Liz filling her in on!"
"Ahh!" Luke nodded, and then went back to work. Suddenly the bell above the door rang and Rory entered.
"I finally got one! Bootsy spent about fifteen minutes telling me the headlines of about fifty newspapers from around the world! I'm a journalist, I can find out for myself! Oh, hey Jimmy."
"Nice to see you again."
"Yeah you to. Have you met my mom, here?"
"Yeah, just now." Suddenly Jess interrupted laughing.
"Hey, Jimmy, don't look now but the current and former Mrs. Mariano are coming this way looking awfully chummy." Jimmy turned to look through the window and saw them laughing at something Liz had just said. "Boy that was a short shopping day!"
"Liz was showing them around town first. Oh, I can't stand this I have to know what they are saying. I'll you later!" And with that he left, leaving Rory to fill his seat.
"Well, it's finally here." She said.
"What is?" asked her mother.
"The first press coverage on the Huntzburgers divorce. Boy, Shira's really taking him to the cleaners. According to this she's set to take more than half of his estate, worth an estimated eleven point three billion dollars."
"Hmm, couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," scoffed Lorelai, "Okay, now where's my breakfast?"
"You didn't order any." Luke said.
"You are my husband you're supposed to anticipate all of my needs – especially considering I've been eating here for over fifteen years!"
"Okay, is there anything special you want today?"
"Err, LOTS of pancakes."
"Oh, and eggs," said Rory.
"Oh, and lots and lots of bacon!" said April. Lorelai squealed.
"You are so becoming one of us!"
"Lorelai, must you corrupt every minor that crosses your path?" asked her husband as his daughter pulled a face at him.
"No, only the special ones!" Just then Lane came up to them.
"Err, Luke I'm going on my break. Rory, can I talk to you upstairs for a minute!"
"Sure. Mom would you come up and get me when my breakfast arrives?"
"Sure sweets."
When Rory got up to the apartment Lane was pacing up and down and running her hands through her hair. She looked extremely pale, as if she was about to throw up any second.
"Lane what's wrong, you're turning white!"
"I think I'm pregnant again!"
"WHAT!"
"It's the only thing that makes sense. I'm late, I've been bringing up my breakfast for two weeks and I think your boyfriend would agree that I've had a lot of mood swings lately."
"Have you taken a test?"
"No."
"Well let's not get freaked until we know for sure!" Lane nodded but then started to sob and sat down on the couch.
"Oh, Rory what am I going to do if I am. We're barely getting by as it is, and the boys still need so much attention."
"Hey, calm down, look at the upside. Lane if your pregnant again you will have another beautiful baby, and there is an entire town out there that will drop everything to help you in an instant. Besides, you know Zack's getting a lot more paying gigs that'll soon start to make a difference financially and by the time this kid is born Steve and Kwan will be a lot bigger, and they won't need constant attention. But if all else fails with those two, they'll soon become addicted to TV." Lane laughed and then turned to look at her friend.
"You'd be a good mother, just like Lorelai."
"Thank you, but I think we're jumping the gun a bit."
"You're engaged aren't you? You must have started thinking about it a bit."
"Maybe a little. The corny girl inside me won't let me not think about it a little. But I'm trying not to focus on it. I want to show my mother how good me and Jess are together before I tell her I'm going to marry him, if I keep looking forward it will be all I can do to stop myself from bringing it forward sooner and shouting from the rooftops that I'm engaged to Jess Mariano!" Lane laughed and picked up a pillow next to her. She was just about to hit her friend with it when she saw a figure standing in the doorway. In all the palaver they hadn't closed it. Rory looked over to see her mother standing there, now paler than Lane.
"I came to tell you your breakfast is ready."
A/n – DUN DUN DUN! Lorelai knows! How will she react?! How will everyone else? And just who is Jimmy's mother?! – Keep reading and reviewing if you want to find out!