A/N: Who's ready for April to come visit? Well, here she is! :)
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 25
They were all out on the porch of the Crap Shack when Lorelai arrived back from the airport with April - Rory and Jess with Jack and Tori at their side, then Billy with Luke parked up in his wheelchair as well. It was a round of hugs and cheers as she came rushing up the steps to greet everyone.
"Oh, it's been way too long since we saw you!" said Rory as she hugged her step-sister tightly. "And congratulations on getting engaged."
"Thanks, and you're right, way too long," April agreed. "I'm just sorry it's only me."
"What happened to that future husband of yours anyway?" asked Jess.
"There was a complete mess at the hospital," his cousin explained, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Half the surgical team have gone down with the norovirus, Paul just couldn't get away."
"Well, we're glad you're here," said Tori happily.
"Me too. My God, I swear you three grow an inch every time I see you. They're starting to make me feel short," she told the responsible parents with fake annoyance.
"You are short," Jess countered, stepping back when she plafully swung at him.
A moment later his arm was around her shoulders as he led her inside, following Luke who struggled still with his wheelchair. April asked how he was doing with the leg and all, and as usual Luke said he was just fine. It was Lorelai who came in bringing up the rear who gave a proper explanation. Oddly, Luke's health had only been skimmed over in the car ride from the airport. Lorelai and April had got straight into ideas for the wedding, as women were wont to do in such a situation.
"Wow, that is some ring," said Tori, taking a look at the rock on April's finger, only having seen it in pictures up to now.
"You are not wrong," Rory agreed.
"What impressed me was how you can't even see where the Titanic hit it," Lorelai grinned. "April, I left your bags in the car and I'll drop them by the inn when I go back to work later."
"Thanks," she said with a smile. "As for the ring, it was actually Paul's grandmother's. Kind of a big deal," she said, looking almost nervous as she turned it around and around on her finger. "Anyway, before this trip becomes all about my wedding plans, how's everybody else doing?"
The kids were happy to tell all about their new relationships. Though April was technically Billy's half-sister and Jack and Tori's cousin-once-removed, she pretty much held the role of cool aunt in the lives of all the kids. They told her things that they probably wouldn't even have told their parents, and she never really judged at all. She was old enough to be full of good advice, and young enough to not feel like a real adult to the teens.
"So, apart from Dad's accident, everything seems to be going pretty good," said April happily, smile fading some when she noticed a look pass between Jess and Rory. "Or possibly there's something you're not telling me? Seriously, guys, what gives?"
"Doula's had a little trouble lately," said Jess, sighing heavily. "She's doing better now, but... There was a bad kid hanging around."
"A bad kid that brought a friend named Mary Jane," supplied Lorelai.
"Lorelai," said Luke, not unlike a warning, as he shook his his head.
"What? It is what it is, Luke. No use hiding it, especially not from April. Doula is her cousin after all."
"A lot of kids experiment with drugs."
"We don't," said Jack seriously. "I didn't think Doula was that dumb."
"Jack," said Rory in the same tone Luke had used with his wife just moments before.
"It's cool, Ror. He's right," said Jess easily. "I'm glad our kids are smarter than that. I'm only sorry Doula wasn't."
"Well, she's out of that situation now, right?" asked April.
"Jess talked her around", Luke promised. "He's pretty good at that."
Rory smiled and leaned into her husband's side. She was very proud of him, of what a great man he was, what a wonderful husband, father and brother he had proven to be. So much for all those people, including her own mom, who once said Jess would never amount to anything, that he was a bad influence, not trustworthy. Rory had always known she was right to put her faith in him, to give him her heart. Never once since they got back together had she regretted a moment of their entwined lives.
"Y'know, I look at you guys and I think if Paul and I can be even half so happy and in love after being married so long, we'll be doing okay," said April, smiling at the two of them.
"Takes a lot of effort," said Rory, too seriously. "You have no idea what I have to put up with."
"Huh!" Jess reacted with mock-hurt. "What you have to put up with?" he countered, trying not to smirk and failing badly. "I'm amazed I haven't gone crazy after all this time living with you."
"Crazy is as crazy does," she said, unable to keep from laughing by now.
Tori laughed too. Some teens would be grossed out by their parents being cute, but not her. She always found it funny and kind of cool actually. It had to be nice to be so in love, so sure of the other person like that. She wanted that one day.
"Y'know you guys don't have to hang here all day with me," April told the kids then. "I mean, I love that you're here to see me, but you probably have more exciting plans than wedding talk, which is all you're gonna hear from me for the next few hours."
"Actually, I should get back to the diner," said Billy checking his watch.
"Me too," Jess realised suddenly. "We'll catch up some more later, cous," he told April, before heading out with Billy on his tail.
"I could stay, if you want a third opinion?" said Rory hopefully. "There's an article I have to get done by Monday but I have some time for my sister's wedding plans," she said with a smile at April.
"I was thinking I'd head over to see the bands practice," said Tori, moving from April's side and encouraging her mom to take her place. "Hep Alien have their reunion gig in a couple of weeks," she told April.
"Yeah, and they're planning on having Anarchy's Child join them for a couple of songs," said Jack, getting up to go with his sister. "Kwan's excitement levels are off the chart."
"I'll bet they are." April laughed. "Well, tell them all good luck from me... or break a leg, I guess? I don't know what the correct sentiment is for rock bands," she noted with a frown.
"We'll tell them you said 'hi'," Tori promised, leaning in to hug her cousin. "If you get a chance you should swing by and hear the music. They all rock."
"Especially the new drummer for Anarchy's Child, at least that's what Toria thinks," said Jack, earning himself a smack in the chest from his sister.
Nevertheless he was laughing as they left together.
"They're so grown up," said April as the door closed behind them. "Daddy, I feel old!" she whined, letting her head fall forward onto his knee.
"I'm sorry? You feel old," he countered. "You, the twenty nine year old with her whole life ahead of her?"
"The twenty nine year old who doesn't have a thirteen year old daughter, like I had at that age," added Lorelai as she rejoined them, a bowl of chips in one hand and a pile of bridal magazines in the other.
"Point taken," said April as she sat up and took notice. "So, I really don't have much planned yet, wedding-wise" she admitted, as the pile of magazines were dropped unceremoniously into her lap - she passed a couple to Rory. "All Paul and I have really decided for sure is that we want something fairly small, at the inn, obviously, and I did agree to let my mom help pick out my dress."
"Of course." Lorelai nodded. "Well, y'know, if you want Anna to be here-"
"No," said April quickly. "No, I... I love my mother, but we don't have much in common when it comes to this kind of thing. The dress may yet be a drama, but as to the arrangements, I'd rather make those choices with a professional. You've done this a hundred times before, plus I trust your judgement," she said with a smile before turning her attention to the first magazine on her pile.
Lorelai looked at Luke over April's head and wore a wide smile. He returned the look, proud as she was to be involved in April's wedding like this. Maybe they should feel bad for Anna, and yet somehow, they really didn't.
There was an enormous round of applause in spite of the small audience gathered in the converted-garage at the Van Gerbig house. Hep Alien brought their medley of rock classics to a crashing end, and nobody could tell they hadn't played together much in the past few years. Jack, Tori, and Steve stood alongside the four members of Anarchy's Child, cheering and calling for an encore.
"What do you say, babe? One more for the kids?" said Zach to his wife.
"I have a better idea." Lane grinned. "I think we've had enough practise for now, how about letting the next generation show us what they can do?" she said, getting up from the drum stool. "Have you guys decided what you want to play at the gig yet?"
"It's gotta be something that fits in with the set, guys," Zach warned them.
"Dude, they know what it is to rock!" Gil reminded him. "Whatever they pick, I know it'll be awesome."
"Wish me luck," whispered Dax as he passed by Tori.
"You don't need it," she promised him with a smile that wouldn't shift.
Kwan had been as good as his word on letting Dax try out for the band. With his basic skills already and a whole lot of natural talent, Lane found he didn't need that much tutoring to be really good. When the choice was Dax or a drum machine, Kwan favoured the actual human before he even tried him out. Since hearing him play, he was not at all disappointed with the idea of having him join the band. The others easily agreed.
"What are we going for?" asked Shelley, adjusting her guitar strap across her body. "Radioactive? All The Small Things? Invincible?"
"Invincible," said Kwan, looking to Peter who nodded his approval. "You got this Dax?"
"Sure," he agreed, taking a breath and then hitting the sticks together to count everybody in.
They absolutely killed one of OKGo's greatest tracks, with all of Hep Alien, plus the other kids, clapping and singing along. Maybe they weren't quite as strong or as polished as their inspiration, but they held their own. Lane certainly wasn't regretting her decision to have Anarchy's Child debut at the concert in two weeks' time. It was going to be amazing.
Nobody yelled louder than Tori when the song was over, but everyone knew as much as she loved the band in general, she was mostly screaming her lungs out for the drummer. Dax looked exhausted when he relinquished the drum stool to Lane again and returned to Tori's side.
"That was pretty awesome," she told him happily.
"Yeah?" he checked. "So are you," he said, pulling her closer and kissing her quickly on the lips.
Maybe it was adrenaline from playing even to this small audience after the mighty Hep Alien had done the same. Dax couldn't say for sure. He just knew that Tori looked totally kissable right there and then so he acted on instinct. It was the first time anybody had ever seen the two in any kind of embrace. Jack looked visibly squicked when Tori glanced at him and she blushed terribly when she realised what just happened.
"Ooh, check out the lovebirds!" said Gil with a chuckle. "Dude, that is adorable."
"Gil, leave them alone," Brian advised. "You're embarrassing them."
"I second that," said Tori, hiding her face in Dax's shoulder just as much as she could as almost everybody else laughed.
Jack was about to make a comment when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Checking the screen, he suddenly smiled.
"Good news?" asked Steve.
"Ah, no... or, yeah, I guess," he explained badly as he typed a text in reply to the one he had just received. "Alison asked if I wanna go over to her place, so..."
"So, obviously, you're going," said Tori, with a sigh she couldn't help.
Within a minute her brother was gone. Nobody else paid much mind to his absence, focused as they were on the music, but Tori couldn't help but feel his loss. She really didn't like that Jack just seemed willing to drop everything and bolt the moment Alison Forester snapped her fingers, but it was his raison d'etre of late.
"What's going on?" asked Alex as he appeared at the door.
Martha was beside him, her hand held firmly in his. "Jack just ran by us like his butt was on fire. Any idea where he's going?"
"Three guesses," said Tori, rolling her eyes. "You won't need 'em."
They were all thinking the same thing, there was no doubt about that. Something just wasn't right about how things were going with Jack and Alison. It was tempting to suggest some kind of intervention, but Tori didn't like to say it, and clearly neither did Martha nor Alex.
Instead, they concentrated on the music of Hep Alien and Anarchy's Child as they continued to practise for the gig in two weeks, figuring out the set list and how it would all work as a show. The whole time Tori kept sneaking looks at Martha and Alex, unable to keep from smiling at how happy they looked together in their new, closer relationship. Of course, she felt equally as good in her own situation, Dax's arm around her shoulders as they bopped along to Hep Alien's screaming performance of 'Fell in Love with A Girl'. Life wasn't exactly perfect, but it wasn't half bad right now.
To Be Continued...