: Second last one I'm afraid. Sorry for the insane delay but lately it feels like my life is just as chaotic as Rory's. Good thing it'll turn out just as fantastic... or will it? You'll have to come back to see how things turn out for her, to be sure.
Chapter Twenty One
It was a day unlike every other day in Stars Hollow, but the moment Rory's eyes flickered open as the sunshine reached her closed and her waking mind was effortlessly consumed by a handsome old friend, she knew it was different. Maybe it was the background noise. Maybe it was the previous late night's mascara burning her tender eyes. Maybe it was the fact that her mother was squatting next to her bed, with a huge grin on her face, whispering gentle threats of catastrophe overtaking them all should she not wake at that exact moment.
Rory groaned and rolled over, eager to escape her, but she only came face to face with another lovingly annoying female on the other side of her bed. Rory pulled the blankets over her head, groaning loudly.
"Don't you two have anything better to do? Children to harangue? People to annoy? ... murders to plan?"
"Nope." Lorelai offered brightly, jumping onto the bed next to her daughter like some twelve year old on her very first sleepover. "Today, we're all yours!"
Rory peeked out from under the covers, hesitantly. "Don't I feel privileged."
"You'd better." Lane chimed in, equally as bright but with a tiny chime of arrogance, eager to get things back on tract. "So. You want the Cliff Notes, thus far?"
"Thus far?" Rory squeaked, flopping the blankets down around her chest and checking the time. "It's not even seven yet!"
"Time moves quickly kiddo." Lorelai shrugged then rolled off the bed and landed onto her feet with a little hop. "Now... What first? Shower? Coffee? Baby snuggles? A secret broom-closet tryst with the groom?"
Rory pushed herself up onto her elbows, ignoring the faces her mother was making, but a knock on the door alerted them all to the closed bedroom door as if they'd all been discovered mid-bank heist.
Lane was on her feet in a second, running to the door and throwing her full hundred and two pounds against it... even if it was already securely locked.
"Who is it?" She demanded with a careful hiss.
"Coffee. Open the door!"
"Ah." Lorelai grinned. "Right on time. You may unlock the gates to 'oh the holy sanctuary' Lady of Exemplary Honor."
Both Lane and Rory rolled their eyes, but Lane's grin was a little more eager then that of the fleshly daughter of the theatric heretic. She unlocked the door and pulled it open, allowing the admission of one Paris Geller-McMaster, balancing a tray of coffee mugs like some high-class barista surprisingly enough.
"I can't believe I've been demoted to filling coffee orders. I have two PHD's and a-"
"Yeah, yeah no one cares today Paris." Another voice came from behind her, appearing in the form of Steph McCrea with baby Finn in her arms and looking quite wild with his unruly yet adorable cow-lick and dimples.
Rory smiled, squashing down a longing to see his namesake instead of all her beloved friends of the female variety. Thankfully more distractions were afforded her when her very own baby came waddling into the room ahead of her aunt Evie, asking for her momma. It hadn't taken her long to master the milestone of talking, once Finn devoted all of his time to the endeavor of teaching her a well-rounded vocabulary. And, following that bonding ritual, Lor quickly took up walking... simply to follow him around the house with more speed.
Her grandmother quickly swooped in, hefting the little nearly-two year old up onto her mother's bed so she could crawl with determination through the blankets to her mother's arms.
With a quick snuggle and her little face peppered with kisses, Lorelai Alice Gilmore Anderson sufficiently satisfied, pulled away from her mother and turned to Evie with grabby hands.
"Dadda."
With an apologetic smile Evie came forward and scooped her up. "Sorry. Apparently she's been promised some sugary overdoes by the old Derro if she lets him have a drink with the boys before they get ready, so she wont stop asking for him."
Rory grinned and let her baby go. She didn't blame her, wanting to see Finn, she did as well.
"Don't let him have too much luv!" She told her baby girl with a little wink, then watched them go.
She chuckled, slowly pulling back the covers and crawling finally out of bed, as Lor chimed a response.
"No dadda." She repeated, just as she'd been taught by both of them under various circumstances. "No dadda."
All the women smiled at their charge's adorable baby girl, but the newest mother of the clan was the first to speak up.
"I should go with them, check on the carousing." Steph grinned at baby Finnegan. "Keep them for overdoing it."
"If they need something to stand upright and blink on cue let me know." Paris droned with a self satisfied smirk.
"That's it. You're on kitchen duty!" Lane exclaimed loudly, pushing her way over to Paris and moving to usher her out of the room.
"What? Why the hell am I being evicted for offering an honest solution to a problem we all know we're going to encoun-"
Effectively out the door behind a chuckling Steph, Lane slammed the door and locked it. Paris pounded on the door a moment, stating her claims, but Lane just leaned against it and crossed her arms over her chest.
"See." She smiled at her friend, nodding towards the doorknob. "I told you those locks would come in handy waaaay before you need to worry about Lor."
Rory laughed and got out of bed, heading for the bathroom. "A very wise investment."
Lane flashed her a grin then turned to Lorelai as she withdrew her daughter's dress from the closet. Alone for a moment, the two women who had helped shape the bride into who she had become, stood in front of the cream floor length dress now laying atop the crumbled sheets.
Slipping her arm effortlessly around the Korean woman's shoulders, Lorelai was comforted by her little raven haired head as it rested upon her shoulder.
"We did good kid." Lorelai muttered quietly. "...didn't we?"
Lane smiled to herself, slipping her arm around Lorelai's waist as well. She gave her a little squeeze. She didn't need to say anything, that little squeeze told Lorelai everything she wanted to hear.
. . .
Luke had doubted he'd ever been as nervous as he was now, anxiously getting ready to go to his step-daughter's wedding. Rory Gilmore. Married. He couldn't even fathom it. Even after she'd had a baby and dated\been engaged to this supposed 'ideal man' for over a year and a half. Her daughter, Lorelai Gilmore-Anderson (already adopted by the husband to be) was already two years old. Or very nearly. Luke looked at his own face in the mirror, wiping the residual shaving cream off his chin, and could not deny the fact that he had never felt this old. Not when chasing down Jess during his wayward youth. Not when finally marrying Lorelai after a decade and a half of pinning over her. Not even the day his own daughter had gone off to college.
He wasn't sure he was ready for this.
Looking behind him in the mirror, at the suit shirt and jacket hanging on the hook... Luke just stood there, motionless. He thought about his life with Lorelai. How much joy she brought him. How much he'd always loved her wonderfully intelligent and clever daughter, Rory. How, once upon a time, he'd dreamed of her taming his nephew... of calling her his family. It hadn't worked out that way but she was still family. Now, closer then ever. She was his daughter, and he loved that more then words could ever express.
Uttering a little curse, Luke turned and left the bathroom, charging towards the nightstand on his side of the bed where the messy cards contained his speech for later that night. He'd re-written it several times but the true emotion and a solid message still eluded him. Why was it so hard to say what he felt? He'd cried like an idiot at Rory's Chilton graduation alongside Jackson... why did he feel uncommonly numb on this occasion? Why couldn't he say something that told her how he really felt... on today of all days?
...Because to you, honey, she'll always be that little kid toting around those big stupid books who could talk circles around you even without her daily overdoes of caffeine.
Lorelai's words to him, on the evening they'd heard of Rory's engagement, still clung to him like that pungent odor of rotting pickles the town had endured years ago. Maybe she was right but that didn't help the situation. He still needed to write something that would effectively sum-up his feelings as her step-father... as the man who loved her more then he'd ever thought possible. She'd been the one who had helped him be a father for April, she'd always supported his relationship with her mother...
Luke sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't ready to see Rory be anyone but 'Rory Gilmore'. He wasn't ready to see her married. It was all just... too different.
. . .
It wasn't long after that, once the bride was awake, that the entire house of women seemed to rapidly take on a chaotic life of its own. People constantly came and went with a question, a new shade of lipstick or a helpful hint or two about hair or dealing with the exciting rush of anxiety. Unfortunately, not all of it proved... sweet. One such example came in the form of Sookie . After a long drawn out shouting match, she burst into the bedroom with a pastry bag in one hand and a dirty spatula in the other, chaotic as usual.
"Rory, honey, I know Paris is your friend but if she says one more thing about the food I'm gonna kill her. Straight up kill her and bury her in the backyard."
"Excuse me?!" Paris shouted from the other room. "All I said was-"
"What happened?" Rory questioned, waving a free hand to 'sush' everyone else in the room. She was about to push that topic when she frowned, looking pointedly at the pastry bag and spatula. "Wait. What are you doing? I thought everything was done yesterday?"
"It was but I had an epiphany while Jackson and Martha were cleaning out the hampster's cage this morning."
Rory and Lane both cringed but it was Lorelai who swept in to their rescue.
"Sook. Honey. Everything was perfect yesterday. Both Rory and Finn agreed it was all exactly what they wanted."
"I told you not to touch the stupid thing!" Paris shouted from the kitchen.
Sookie just closed her eyes, cringing, before turning and shouting at the top of her lungs. "Can it PHD! It's my kitchen! Who asked you anyway?"
Lorelai bit back a smile, taking her best friend by the arm. "Come on Sook, together we'll handle the psychopath."
Sookie whimpered with exhaustion but shrugged a silence word of acceptance.
"Paris you'd better be gone by the time we get in there or Sweeny Todd will look like a Disney rendition of what's coming for you!" Lorelai shouted as they left the bedroom.
"More like Texas Chainsaw Massacre."Sookie added stubbornly before finding her voice again. "You'd better not of touched my salmon puffs!"
Once gone Rory shared a look with Lane. Her old friend grinned brightly, as they read each other's minds like they always had been able to.
"Shall we?" The little Korean woman inquired, picking up a makeup brush. "We have an hour before Evie gets back to start with pictures."
Rory grinned brightly and nodded.
. . .
It was quite the mix of men, collected across town, doing their best to get ready for the wedding scheduled for later that afternoon. The groom and his best man, Finn and Colin of course, hosted the ragtag group at the DragonFly, especially rented out entirely for their use. Robert was there of course, challenging anyone daring enough to match him in a game of wits. Jess lounged nearby, nursing his drink and chatting with Zach and his band as they went over last minute music details. The man of the hour, however, was seated cross legged on the carpet watching cartoons with Lor in his lap. She was munching on cereal while he nursed his scotch, prescribed by Colin for nerves.
It was an adorable scene. So much so that Colin snapped a few pictures, seeing as Evie had been called away to take pictures of the bride and her mother before the ceremony. Then Steph came by with baby Finn to ask a favor. So now, here he sat with his own child in his lap... watching the same cartoons as his old friend.
Finn checked the time on his phone, then with a smile picked up the bottle of scotch between them and held it out rather curiously.
"Just enough time for another. Care to indulge an old friend?"
With a faint smirk Colin lifted his glass, holding it out to receive the precious spirits he'd lifted from his old man's private storehouse some time ago. He'd been saving it for a special occasion. The plan had been to open it upon his son's birth, but Finn had provided his own gift of an expensive bottle... so here they sat, finally uncorking this one.
Filling the glass with an generous amount, Finn added a little to his own glass then set the bottle down and lifted his glass. With a smile, he tipped it towards his old friend. With a similar smile, Colin lifted his glass and held it out in imitation of Finn's.
"Here's to a lifetime of crazy, irrational adventures with the women we love most on this blessed planet."
Colin smirked, glancing at the children sitting with them, totally ignorant of the importance of this moment. "I've never understood your particular brand of crazy, but Darling, I've always admired your complete and utter commitment to it."
Finn flashed a grin and inclined his head towards his friend, as a gesture of acceptance.
"I thank you."
Colin chuckled, clinked his glass against the rim of Finn's and both men knocked back their drinks.
Lowering the glasses, both men looked back towards the tv as a particularly colourful animal appeared with a flourish on the screen. Out of his peripheral, Colin noticed Finn's hand lovingly stroke Lor's golden hair. A simple gesture, one he'd seen many times, but somehow it was different. The way his smile, softened around the edges, displayed very little of the craziness that they'd just toasted. This was a new man. A different man. A better man. One settled... one that no longer took unnecessary risks... a man who found something precious and had done everything in his power to secure it.
With a smile, prouder then he'd ever thought possible, Colin turned his attention fully back to the TV when all of a sudden there was a knock at the door. Both men turned, as it opened and the face of Jess Mariano appeared. He wore an easy smile, which only got a little brighter upon seeing both men seated with their kids in their laps, watching cartoons.
He looked directly at Finn, the corner of his mouth lifting ever so slightly as he uttered one simple word... just one word that meant the beginning of Finn's new life.
"Ready?"
. . .
Luke Danes, dressed-to-the-nines and looked over by his beloved wife, waited anxiously as Lorelai went to fetch Rory. There had been some debate about who would bring her to the ceremony and who would walk her down the isle... considering she had two fathers... but Luke had been astounded when Rory asked him to be the one to do it. He knew she was fond of him, and always sort-of thought of him like a more permanent father figure then the illusion which was Christopher Hayden but it was still shocking to him. To actually have her choose him, dull old diner owner Luke, over her influential and fun-loving biological father… it was a huge deal. This and the speech he was to give later... it was all so official. He was Rory Gilmore's dad. That little girl who had walked into his dinner decades ago, demanding coffee at the price of three cents... she belonged to him now. He...
"Ready?"
Luke turned, his breath catching in his throat as he caught sight of that 'little girl' of his in her wedding dress. He blinked, tears suddenly betraying the emotions he was feeling... emotions he didn't even realize he was experiencing until he was wiping his face stubbornly with his rough hands.
Rory grinned, unable to help herself. "I hope those are happy tears Luke and not an 'oh god, that dress is hideous.'"
Before Luke could reply, refusing any such thing, Lorelai appeared at her daughter's side and handed her the bouquet of white lilies she had requested from the very first day.
"Miss Celine had this awful cornflower blue monstrosity she claimed was 'all the rage in Milan' but we talked her out of it. Settled with this substitute, for that Vera Wang, which fell through at two weeks in." Lorelai explained with that teasing little smile of hers as she admired her daughter all decked out.
Luke looked at Rory, from head to toe, and could not imagine a more beautiful bride. Her dress, despite Lorelai's teasing, was perfect.
"Good thing." Luke replied with a little smile before shifting his eyes to Rory. "You look beautiful Rory."
Rory's smile, both angelic and flattered, was not followed by any words but none were needed. This was her wedding day, the day she would marry her best friend, and just like her mother… for once no amount of words or witty phrases would add anything more to the joy she felt at this moment.
Sensing this, her mother slipped her arm around her and gave her a tender kiss on the cheek.
"You ready, kiddo?"
Rory's smile only grew. She gave a brief nod and although things had changed completely in the years since Lorelai had left Rory last, to start a new life, she could not forget the feeling. They had been standing in the corridor at Yale, after moving Rory into her dorm, and they'd put off leaving each other for hours… then the time came to say goodbye…
Lorelai looked at her daughter with a sudden rush of emotion. Although she wouldn't be going anywhere, she wouldn't be changing at all… it still felt so much more painful to see her belonging to anyone else but her.
Rory, feeling very much the same, blinked through her own tears. "Copper boom?"
Lorelai laughed unexpectedly, sniffing back her tears. "Copper boom."
Luke watched his two girls embrace. His beloved wife and her daughter. Something was not right about this moment, tender and loving as it was, it still did not feel right. When the girls released each other and turned to him, Lorelai poised to give him advice on proper etiquette for a wedding ceremony, he gave his head a shake.
Lorelai frowned, not understanding him. "What? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Just…" Luke managed a smile. "You don't need to tell me what to do, Lorelai, because I won't be doing it… you will."
Lorelai blinked, unsettled by this news. She looked between her husband and her daughter, clearly sucker-punched by this news. Luke wasn't what? Lorelai turned to Rory, captivated by her beaming smile. Did she miss something? Had these two planned something together?
"…Will you mom?"
Lorelai blinked, for once her agile mind moving slower then molasses in January. She barely even noticed Luke come up alongside her and take her hand.
Will I what?
"Walk her down the isle, love. No one is better suited then you to give Rory away."