Author's Note: Two updates in as many days! Yes, I *am* an updatin' fool.
Thank you all for your lovely reviews. Also, I use an Austen quote here,
and I am aware that other fanfic writers have done this as well. I assure
you, I am not attempting to rip off your work- so, rather than flame me, I
do hope that everyone will experience a brief glow at the thought of our
shared fabulous taste.
Part Nine:
Neither Tristan nor Rory could have explained exactly how it happened, but within ninety seconds Lorelai had bundled them into their jackets, shoved Tristan into his car, and assured him that she and Rory would follow in the Jeep. She did this without seeming unreasonable, breaking a sweat, or raising her voice, but there was no doubt that any arguments would be swiftly and severely dealt with.
"Here," Lorelai said, tossing the keys to Rory. "You drive."
Rory blinked after Tristan's departing taillights. "Ohhhkay. Er-"
"Just one minute, little missy. I'll be right back." Lorelai hotfooted it into the house, darting out a moment later, clutching a small hardbound book. "Okay," she panted. "It's time for a little Gilmore family time."
Rory still felt a little shell-shocked, but she focused on putting the car in reverse and backing carefully out of the driveway. "Uh, sure. Mom? What's going-"
Lorelai held up a hand for silence, flipping through the pages of the book. "Heeeeere we go. I'm gonna break this down for you, babe, and I'm gonna do it using language that you- and only you- will understand." She paused, cleared her throat, and began to read. "'Lizzy, said he, what are you doing? Are you out of your senses, to be accepting this man? Have not you always hated him?'"
Rory gaped at her. "I- I-"
Lorelai waited patiently for her to finish her sentence. For Lorelai, "patiently" meant about 2.8 seconds. "Well?"
"I cannot believe you just condensed an entire lecture into a single Austen quote," Rory breathed. "If I wasn't worried about it being a sign of the Apocalypse, I think I'd be proud."
Lorelai huffed. "Hey! Focus! What are you *doing*? *Tristan*? I thought you hated him! Remember the P.J. Harvey thing? A certain Biblically- charged nickname? Sexual harassment of the third-grade kind?" She took a deep breath, laying a hand dramatically over her heart. "If you could but imagine my surprise- I was sitting innocently in the kitchen, when I couldn't help but overhear-"
"You were eavesdropping again, weren't you?"
"-my only child, throwing herself to the wolves," Lorelai finished, regally ignoring this interruption. She abandoned the grand manner. "So- what's up, buttercup? I grant you, Tristan's a cutie, but I though we'd agreed that he's a total jerk."
Rory hesitated. "Well, I haven't forgotten the P.J. Harvey incident, or the "Mary" thing, or the, er, third-grade approach to making friends. But he's been really nice the past few days, and I just…" She trailed off, feeling a little foolish. "I just didn't think it would hurt anything."
Lorelai looked at her a little strangely. "Well, not to point out the obvious, but it might hurt you."
Rory thought about it. Then she thought about it some more. "Well, that's possible, I guess. But I'd really like to make a friend at Chilton, and he's the first person to indicate any kind of interest in me- well, other than Paris. And sure, he's been a jerk in the past, but he seems to have backed off on the innuendos. Maybe he's willing to be friends now."
"How can you tell? 'Cause I was picking up some lust-vibes back there."
"I can't tell, not for certain." Rory frowned. "But if I never take a risk, I'll turn into that girl on 'Buffy' who turned invisible because no one ever spoke to her."
"Or you *could* take a risk and end up re-enacting 'Carrie'!" Lorelai paused, then scowled. "I can't believe I'm encouraging you to become *more* of a loner. Look- I firmly believe that if there was one girl on this planet with some kind of weird superhero ability to, er, domesticate foul-tempered, pretty rich boys, you'd be it." She sighed. "I'm not making much sense, am I? It's just- I want you to make friends, but don't let Tristan push you around, okay? Other people will want to be friends with you."
"Mom-" Rory hesitated. "I'm just trying out a few, tiny, itty-bitty baby steps toward friendship with Tristan. If it doesn't work out, I promise I won't let him hurt me or pressure me or anything. But I'd like to try."
Lorelai smiled at her, but there was still a shadow of concern in her eyes. "And I'm in the way of that, aren't I? Well, tell you what. Tell Tristan that I developed an overwhelming urge for a cup of coffee, and drop me off at Luke's."
"He'll think you're weird," Rory warned.
"Naturally- but if he's going to be a friend of yours, then we should establish my weirdness straight off."
Rory bit her lip. "Okay. But… but what if we run out of things to talk about?"
"Then you'll start to babble."
"Thanks, mom."
"Don't mention it."
TBC
Part Nine:
Neither Tristan nor Rory could have explained exactly how it happened, but within ninety seconds Lorelai had bundled them into their jackets, shoved Tristan into his car, and assured him that she and Rory would follow in the Jeep. She did this without seeming unreasonable, breaking a sweat, or raising her voice, but there was no doubt that any arguments would be swiftly and severely dealt with.
"Here," Lorelai said, tossing the keys to Rory. "You drive."
Rory blinked after Tristan's departing taillights. "Ohhhkay. Er-"
"Just one minute, little missy. I'll be right back." Lorelai hotfooted it into the house, darting out a moment later, clutching a small hardbound book. "Okay," she panted. "It's time for a little Gilmore family time."
Rory still felt a little shell-shocked, but she focused on putting the car in reverse and backing carefully out of the driveway. "Uh, sure. Mom? What's going-"
Lorelai held up a hand for silence, flipping through the pages of the book. "Heeeeere we go. I'm gonna break this down for you, babe, and I'm gonna do it using language that you- and only you- will understand." She paused, cleared her throat, and began to read. "'Lizzy, said he, what are you doing? Are you out of your senses, to be accepting this man? Have not you always hated him?'"
Rory gaped at her. "I- I-"
Lorelai waited patiently for her to finish her sentence. For Lorelai, "patiently" meant about 2.8 seconds. "Well?"
"I cannot believe you just condensed an entire lecture into a single Austen quote," Rory breathed. "If I wasn't worried about it being a sign of the Apocalypse, I think I'd be proud."
Lorelai huffed. "Hey! Focus! What are you *doing*? *Tristan*? I thought you hated him! Remember the P.J. Harvey thing? A certain Biblically- charged nickname? Sexual harassment of the third-grade kind?" She took a deep breath, laying a hand dramatically over her heart. "If you could but imagine my surprise- I was sitting innocently in the kitchen, when I couldn't help but overhear-"
"You were eavesdropping again, weren't you?"
"-my only child, throwing herself to the wolves," Lorelai finished, regally ignoring this interruption. She abandoned the grand manner. "So- what's up, buttercup? I grant you, Tristan's a cutie, but I though we'd agreed that he's a total jerk."
Rory hesitated. "Well, I haven't forgotten the P.J. Harvey incident, or the "Mary" thing, or the, er, third-grade approach to making friends. But he's been really nice the past few days, and I just…" She trailed off, feeling a little foolish. "I just didn't think it would hurt anything."
Lorelai looked at her a little strangely. "Well, not to point out the obvious, but it might hurt you."
Rory thought about it. Then she thought about it some more. "Well, that's possible, I guess. But I'd really like to make a friend at Chilton, and he's the first person to indicate any kind of interest in me- well, other than Paris. And sure, he's been a jerk in the past, but he seems to have backed off on the innuendos. Maybe he's willing to be friends now."
"How can you tell? 'Cause I was picking up some lust-vibes back there."
"I can't tell, not for certain." Rory frowned. "But if I never take a risk, I'll turn into that girl on 'Buffy' who turned invisible because no one ever spoke to her."
"Or you *could* take a risk and end up re-enacting 'Carrie'!" Lorelai paused, then scowled. "I can't believe I'm encouraging you to become *more* of a loner. Look- I firmly believe that if there was one girl on this planet with some kind of weird superhero ability to, er, domesticate foul-tempered, pretty rich boys, you'd be it." She sighed. "I'm not making much sense, am I? It's just- I want you to make friends, but don't let Tristan push you around, okay? Other people will want to be friends with you."
"Mom-" Rory hesitated. "I'm just trying out a few, tiny, itty-bitty baby steps toward friendship with Tristan. If it doesn't work out, I promise I won't let him hurt me or pressure me or anything. But I'd like to try."
Lorelai smiled at her, but there was still a shadow of concern in her eyes. "And I'm in the way of that, aren't I? Well, tell you what. Tell Tristan that I developed an overwhelming urge for a cup of coffee, and drop me off at Luke's."
"He'll think you're weird," Rory warned.
"Naturally- but if he's going to be a friend of yours, then we should establish my weirdness straight off."
Rory bit her lip. "Okay. But… but what if we run out of things to talk about?"
"Then you'll start to babble."
"Thanks, mom."
"Don't mention it."
TBC