Thank you for your reviews, I own nothing., Enjoy.
"Hey, do you guys wanna watch a movie?" Lo asked, digging through their massive collection. Once upon a time the DVD's had fit into a small cabinet, but that was years ago. The range had grown considerably since Rory and Jess first melded their selections.
"Are you bored with us already?" Jess asked, pushing out his bottom lip in an attempt at the Gilmore pout. He'd gotten pretty good at it over the years, but he still wasn't as good as Rory.
"No, I just thought you'd like a break. You've been talking about yourselves for weeks."
"Oh no, we like it that way."
"Of course you do. Well, I was gonna suggest a little Kate Hudson, maybe some Billy Crudup."
"No!" Rory groaned, and Jess grinned at his little girl. Over the years he had found many a movie to annoy Rory with, but nothing worked quite as well as the original; Almost Famous. "Anything else, please."
"I can't help it mom, I'm addicted."
"You really are my daughter." Jess remarked proudly.
"Was there ever any doubt?"
"Well, when you were about two, you were way too much like Finn."
"You didn't know him when he was two," Rory objected.
"He's always been two. The man is incapable of growing up."
"Ok, this is making me a little uncomfortable, but I assure you both, you are definitely father and daughter."
"That's very nice to know. So I'm sorry, where did we land? Movie or memory?"
"Wait for me! I'm coming, I'm coming." Emma cried out as she skidded into the room, having just finished speaking with her grandparents. "Ok, I'm here, did I miss anything?"
"Nope, we were just trying to decide between watching a movie or continuing the story." Rory explained. "They want to watch Almost Famous."
"Story! Story, definitely not that movie." Em replied emphatically. She was one hundred per cent on her mother's side when it came to that.
Jess shared a look with his first born and they each gave a short nod. "Fine, we'll watch it tomorrow."
"Sounds good to us. So we'd met just about all the important people in our lives and we were back on track. Now as you know, Taylor hosted a twenty-four hour dance marathon every year. One day we'll take you, but for now you'll have to make do with the stories." Rory explained.
On the first semester break from college, Jess and Rory both returned to Stars Hollow. Lorelai wanted to compete in the twenty-four hour dance marathon and beat Kirk, defeating him and taking the big shiny trophy from him for the first time in six years.
When her partner dropped out at the last minute, she begged Rory to dance with her. Rory reluctantly agreed, even though she had planned to sit and watch with Jess, showing him all the things that happened each year without fail.
But because of Stanley Appleman, she found herself standing out the front of Stars Hollow High before the sun had even come up.
"How ya doing there, champ?" Lorelai asked, nudging Rory as they came close to the registration line.
"Early." Rory slurred, tiredly. "No sun."
"Well, he's not up yet. Come on, I see Luke inside, let's get some coffee into you." Rory perked up slightly at the mention of caffeine and they moved inside towards the proprietor of the diner. "Two humongous coffees please." Lorelai requested, patting Rory's head as she nodded off on her shoulder.
"It isn't ready yet."
"What?"
"Mommy!" Rory moaned.
"You're scaring my kid Luke. How is the coffee not ready? It's six in the morning. Nothing says coffee like six in the morning."
Luke looked around quickly before producing a thermos from beneath the table. "You did not get this from me." He warned.
"Ah, yes! I knew you wouldn't hold out on us. Here honey, drink up." Lorelai selflessly offered the first drink to her daughter and the girl's eyes opened wide within seconds.
"Mmm Strong. Bless you."
Four hours in, Rory was starting to get the hang of things. Her feet hurt just the tiniest bit, but that was ok, the coffee Luke had given her was working wonders so she didn't really care about the slight pain.
By eleven, Jess had arrived to sit and mock his friends, who, like Rory and Lorelai had been dancing for hours. Joy and Tristan were doing well, and in the back of her mind Rory thought that they had a really good chance of getting to the finish line.
Rory was torn from her thoughts as Taylor's air-horn sounded and Lorelai groaned.
"Oh my God."
"What, what is that?"
"The run-around."
"The run-around?" Rory repeated, looking around the room; everyone was moving to one particular spot to line up. "That does not sound good."
"I'm sorry, baby. I'm so, so sorry." Taylor gave instruction on how the run-around worked and then everybody began to move as quickly as they could. As they ran, Jackson and Sookie appeared and Jackson and Lorelai engaged in an argument about whether or not she had any real say in his and Sookie's childbearing arrangements. The whole thing ended with him storming off the floor and then the run-around was over, and just about everyone dropped to the floor.
Slowly climbing to their feet, Rory and Lorelai were joined by Jess, Tristan and Joy within moments.
"Isn't this just the most fun you've ever had?" Joy asked; a huge grin in her face.
"You're evil. I don't like perky people today." Rory grumbled as the teens moved towards Miss Patty's for food and Lorelai went off to find Sookie and Jackson.
"You're not enjoying this? I think it's so great."
"What drugs did you take this morning, Happy? This is torture. I don't know how any of you are still standing." Jess commented, supporting Rory as they reached the Kim's eggless egg salad sandwich table.
"Coffee." The three of them replied.
"Although, I think Joy here has a little red bull and no-doze mixed in there somewhere as well." Tristan added.
"You said you weren't going to tell them."
"What can I say, I fold easily under pressure."
"What pressure? Nobody was pressuring you."
"Hey guys, how are you feeling?" Lane asked, handing over sandwiches. The three dancers mumbled various replies about being tired while Jess remained silent and just took the food offered to him. "Well you're doing great. Rory I really think this is the year."
"I hope so, coz if mom ever tries to make me do this again, I may just have to kill her. Or myself, I haven't decided yet."
"Here's hoping that doesn't happen." Joy replied.
Everyone ate quickly before preparing themselves for the next few hours of dancing and then they were back in the gym, starting again.
Hour sixteen, Tristan attempted some sort of flip and hurt his back. He wasn't used to lifting girls over his shoulder and wasn't quite in the right position when he attempted the move, so he and Joy had to sit out from there.
Jess headed outside to get some air while Rory was busy dancing with her mom. They were getting close, four hours to go. He had nodded off a few times, and wasn't really in the mood to read anymore, so he just decided to go out for a breather and then return to watch her triumphant last few hours.
As he returned inside, his eyes adjusting to the change in lighting, Jess tilted his head to the side as he caught sight of two people he knew, up in the bleachers. He'd known they were there, but he wasn't aware they were going to be doing what he could clearly see them doing now.
"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, coming over to stand in front of Happy and Tristan. He had met this boy attached to his best friend before, but since the two of them had started dating, he hadn't once seen them together. Until today, or yesterday... he wasn't sure what day it was anymore, this thing had been going on for way too long.
"Oh Jessie, if you don't know that, I feel very sorry for you right now." Happy replied; a very big grin in place as she rubbed at a smudge of lipstick on Tristan's face.
"Not you. You," he indicated Tristan and gave him a particularly menacing glare. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Hey man, you're dating Rory, so this really isn't-"
"I know that. What I want to know is why you think it's appropriate to have your hands all over my best friend?"
"Coz she's hot? And she likes me? I dunno. Why do you always have your hands on my best friend?" Tristan countered.
"Lane is Rory's best friend." Jess replied.
"I'm not disputing that. I said she was my best friend, not that I was hers. Ok, well maybe not best, best friend, but she is one of my best friends. You didn't answer my question."
"I'm still waiting for an answer to mine." Jess responded.
Throughout this entire exchange, Joy continuously looked from one boy to the other, but at this point she'd had enough. "Ok! That's it. Jess, I love you for trying to protect me, but I'm a big girl, I can look after myself. And I don't need you intimidating every guy that looks at me. And Tristan, a word to the wise; next time this guy starts to grill you, ditch the evasive manoeuvres and just give him the info he wants. He will beat you at the interrogation and can make you sing like a canary in no time. Now, I'm going to go get another one of Mrs. Kim's delightful sandwiches. When I get back, I expect someone to dance with me." She walked away, leaving the two boys to watch each other warily.
Rory was barely conscious, and she still had half an hour of stupid dancing to get through. "Mom…"
"Yeah?" Lorelai mumbled; she was almost as tired, but somehow was still able to hold up her daughter.
"I kind of hate you right now,"
"Oh, that's sweet, honey. Thanks."
"I just thought you deserved to- Ow!"Rory dropped to the ground, one hand against her ankle as she held onto her mom's hand with the other. "Ouch, ouch!"
"Rory? Honey, what happened?" Lorelai asked anxiously, still moving her feet.
"My ankle, I think… I don't know. It hurts mommy."
"Yellow card!" Lorelai called out, waving the paper as Jess and Tristan both swooped in to help Rory up. "Oh, this totally sucks. I can't believe how close we came."
"I'm so sorry mom."
"No, sweetie, it's ok."
"Hey, can you guys look after Rory for me, for a sec?" Jess asked Tristan and Happy, shifting her to lean on them. "I'll be right back. Lorelai, keep on dancing." He instructed, taking strides towards the door. "Luke!" he called out, rushing through the unlocked front door of the diner. "Luke, come on, I know you're here."
"What's going on?" Luke demanded, coming out of the kitchen.
"We need your help. Rory hurt her ankle, and Lorelai's struggling to stay standing. Someone needs to help her finish the competition, and I need ice." Jess rushed to explain. Luke stood frozen for a moment, before he returned to the kitchen.
"Come on, let's go." He said to Jess, moving to the door, holding a chunk of ice wrapped in a dish towel. "Hey, Rory, how're you doing?" he asked, kneeling down in front of her, holding the ice against her swelling ankle.
"Oh, well you know, just hanging out here at the bleachers." She replied, watching her mother attempt to keep herself motivated. She had tears in her eyes, being so sleep deprived, and having just let her mom down at such a crucial moment, combined with the pain in her leg, it was all making her a little emotional. Kirk and his partner were circling Lorelai and she was drooping. "She's not going to make it. She's too tired to stay up on her own; I have to get back in there."
"I'm sorry Rory, but you're not going to be dancing on this ankle for a while." Luke told her as her friends looked on sadly. They all knew how much the competition meant to Lorelai, and by extension, Rory. Luke looked over his shoulder to see Lorelai turning in slow circles. "Don't worry. She's going to win this." He replied, easing her foot up onto the step she sat on, before moving onto the dance floor.
They all sat and watched as he pulled Lorelai towards him, and slowly moved holding her against his chest. She was too tired and there was no way he was going to pull out any fancy moves; as long as they kept moving for the next eighteen minutes, then Lorelai would have achieved her dream of defeating Kirk.
Rory reached over and grabbed Tristan's arm, to check his watch, before she turned to look up at the clock on the wall. "She's going to make it. They're actually going to win!" she whispered. Jess squeezed her hand and Joy got up to find the first aid attendant to check on Rory's injury.
There was less than ten minutes to go when Kirk went rigid and fell to the ground, pulling his partner down with him. Four sets of eyes were glued to the dance floor at that moment and as soon as he hit the floor they all cried out, causing Patty to jolt awake.
"Oh, oh, oh. Taylor, wake up! It's over. Taylor, blow the horn."
But Taylor was dreaming of his childhood fantasy of becoming a magician, ". . .a quarter right out of your ear." He muttered, as he slept on some chairs.
"Taylor, the horn. Oh, for Pete's sake." She rushed over, grabbed the horn out of his limp hands and blew it, waking all of the people dozing around the gymnasium. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! The dance marathon winner this year is Lorelai Gilmore!" Patty announced. Rory, Jess and their friends all started cheering.
"I won?" Lorelai asked, dazed.
"You won." Luke told her
"Play the song Patty!" Lorelai instructed, taking Luke's hand and pulling him along for a victory lap around the room. As 'Eye of the Tiger' played, Lorelai cried out; "I win, I win! I win, I win, I win, I win!"
With the boys helping Rory, and Joy supporting Lorelai everyone returned to the crap shack while Luke headed back to continue opening up the diner.
"Can you get mom up to her bed? I really think she needs to just sleep now, she had a really big day."
"I did it Rory. I won." Lorelai muttered as she was led up the stairs.
"I know, you did it mom; you beat Kirk!" Lorelai laughed as she moved down the hallway, and everyone else just sat on the couch, laughing as well. By the time Tristan returned to the living room, Rory was asleep.
"Anyone up for a movie?" he asked, sitting beside Joy on the couch.
She shook her head, and pushed his shoulder, as if moulding a pillow. "Time to sleep." The boys both nodded and settled back to do just that.
"That's when I knew they were meant for one another." Rory finished. "Watching Luke dive in and help the both of us, I could just see it. He was always going to be there. It took a while longer for them to realize it though."
"Was this around the time Nana Liz got married?" Em asked.
"Yes actually. That was about two months later, and everyone knows how that turned out."
"I still can't believe Sniffy was dead," Lo shook her head.
"Oh my God, he was a dog. And it was years ago. Get over it." Jess told her. Every now and then Lorelai would start in about the back of the menu at Sniffy's Tavern. It drove him crazy, which was her main reason for doing it.
"So everyone was happy then?" Emma asked. She'd been waiting very patiently for a time when all the people she loved were happy. At one point or another, everyone had been upset over something but this sounded promising.
"Yes, everyone was happy. And they stayed that way for quite a while." Rory answered, smiling at her daughter. All Emma wanted was a happy ending, despite her dislike for princess stories, the fairytale ending was something she was clearly hoping for. "Being apart like that was hard for us, but not as hard as California. Since we'd already been through that hell once before, we knew what we needed to do in order to stop it from reoccurring. But we also needed to really focus on school at the same time, so that made it a little more difficult."
"But like I had said to Emily, I wasn't going to let anything tear us apart that time." The girls both looked to their mother for confirmation.
"He kept his word, and so did I. We both worked really hard to keep our relationship alive, be honest, and also live our lives as normally as we could. By the time we graduated, we'd gotten so good at being apart that I'm not sure either one of us knew what to do once we were back together. But we got through it, as you can see." Rory concluded, before finally succumbing to the yawn she'd been trying to fight off. She'd been doing pretty well lately, but from her two previous pregnancies, Rory knew that she would be really tired a lot of the time from now on.
Jess suggested they call it a night and all four of them stood to retire to their beds.
So, I had to do that. I just could not stop myself from including the dance marathon. I think it was because of The Ripple Effect, I loved the original dance marathon, but I wanted a happier one. And having Lorelai win, and kick Kirk's ass, well, that's always a plus. I hope this was as fun to read as it was to write, let me know.