Disclaimer: No, I do not own Gilmore Girls, and that's all I'm going to say!

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Cheers

Chapter 10: Daisy Chains, Kung-Fu Fighting, and Partying Down

"Well, you have to admit one thing – the Gilmores sure know how to party."

Hearing this, Dean laughed before looking at Jess. "You have no idea." Gesturing around the party, he grinned widely. "You can credit Emily Gilmore for the chinaware and silver, and the matching napkins and table settings."

"And the swan ice sculpture," Tristan added, smirking as he stood surveying the huge centerpiece off to his left. "Interesting workmanship."

"One more reason for me not to hire Rory's grandmother as my wedding planner," Jess joked, and the others chuckled.

"As for the huge cups of coffee…" Dean shook his head sentimentally. "Well, I don't need to tell you who's in charge of that."

"Looks like someone's caffeine addiction is as healthy as ever," Jess agreed. The trio continued to stand around, quietly scrutinizing the gathering, half-full glasses of champagne in their hands.

"Oh looky here, it's my three favorite Stooges, all hidden away in the corner!"

Taken aback by the unorthodox greeting, all three men started with surprise, but they visibly relaxed when they saw who'd spoken. Dean grinned. "Hey, Lorelai. How's it been?"

Lorelai Gilmore bounced up, her smile sunny. "Oh, it's been awful lonesome without y'all here," she said, going for a Southern accent.

"Really?" Jess narrowed his eyes. "Let me guess. There's no one at the diner to sneak you a cup of coffee when Luke says no?"

"Yeah," Lorelai grinned sheepishly. "Besides, it's gotten kind of boring without the three of you following my daughter around, like little lovesick puppies!"

"Lovesick puppies?" Tristan wrinkled his nose. "Surely you jest, madam."

"I jest you not, Bible Boy," Lorelai shook her head solemnly. "I seem to recall many instances of you fine men fighting over Rory…" She grinned wickedly. "So, what are the odds of any kung-fu fighting happening at the dessert display later tonight? A battle to win the hand of fair Lady Rory Gilmore, perhaps?" 

Tristan raised an eyebrow. "Kung-fu fighting?"

"Yeah, you know," Lorelai nodded enthusiastically, "like getting all Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with the apple tarts. Or even Bruce Lee! Yeah, Bruce Lee's good too." When the men stared at her with bewilderment, she tried again. "How about Jackie Chan? Uh, Jet Li?"

Again, no response.

Frustrated, Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Geez, don't you kids ever watch good TV?"  

Jess shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint."

"Well…" Lorelai looked hopefully at the three men. "Is anyone going to lose an eye anytime soon, at least?"

"Afraid not," Tristan shrugged.

"Aw, darn! There goes the highlight of the party!" Lorelai pouted for a few moments before smiling again. "Oh well, I'm off to spike the punch. Anyone want to help?"

"That's an offer I find quite easy to resist," Dean laughed.

"Okay then," Lorelai gave them another mischievous grin. "See you guys around!"

"Now she is one cool mom," Tristan said, watching as Lorelai pranced off.

Dean grinned. "Without a doubt."

"Look over there."

It was Jess who had spoken, and the other two shifted their gaze across the room, where a small crowd had already gathered. Tristan raised his eyebrows. "Well, well."

Dean and Jess didn't respond – they were too busy staring at the arrival of the party's two guests of honor. Rory Gilmore, tall, beautiful as always, radiant in her simple dress of midnight blue, and the famous Robert Matheson, eyes proud, arm possessively draped around his fiancée's slim waist. There they stood, graciously greeting the crowd of guests gathered around them. Finally, Dean smiled. "So, I guess we should get over there, huh?"

"Good idea," Jess nodded, and off they went, threading their way carefully through the throng of revelers and well-wishers, somehow managing to make their way past the swarm around Rory. By now, her fiancé was conspicuously absent, having disappeared into the crowd just moments earlier. She was in the middle of greeting another guest, but when she saw the three men standing before her, the bright smile on her face visibly faltered, replaced by a look of confusion. "Dean? Tristan? Jess?" But then her courtesy won out once again, and she smiled politely at them – at the men who once held such prominence in her young life. "It's – it's nice to see you all here." The four of them lapsed into silence, not quite knowing what to say.

Somewhere in the back of his head, Jess realized that the last time any of them had been in the same setting together, it had most likely ended up with threats and near-violence – which would certainly explain the pained, awkward expression on Rory's face. Her eyes darted from Dean to Tristan to Jess, almost as though she was expecting one of them to let loose with a war whoop and pounce on the others, thus sparking the drawn-out brawl of epic proportions Lorelai had hinted at earlier. No, that wasn't going to happen.   

"Nice party," Dean finally volunteered, and that seemed to break the tension.

"Yeah, this is quite the bash you have going here, Mary," Tristan grinned, and Rory smiled.

"Ah, that name again. It's my cross to bear," she sighed, relief flickering across her face. "Am I ever going to be rid of that tag, DuGrey?"

"Nope," the blond man shook his head emphatically, and the others laughed. "Sorry."

"So," Rory began, her tone hesitant. "You guys, um…"

"Don't sweat it, Rory," Jess said smoothly. "No one's going to be stabbing anyone else with the asparagus tips during the meal, Scout's honor."

"So what?" she eyed them skeptically. "You're all friends now?"

"You could say that," Tristan averred, shooting the other two a sly glance.

"Yeah," Jess couldn't resist adding. "Later on, we're planning on going outside, holding hands, and skipping."

A look of mortal terror crossed Dean's face. "Please tell me you're joking, Mariano."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jess grinned. "Did you want to make daisy chains and bake cookies instead? My mistake."

Dean opened his mouth to zing one back at Jess, but a commotion at the far end of the room beat him to it. Curious, everyone turned around, the murmurs increasing, finally culminating with gasps of surprise and delight. Rory stepped forward, her smile enchanted as she took in the gigantic cake being wheeled toward her by two of the waiters, with her fiancé not far behind.

As if on cue, the entire assembly burst into a hearty, enthusiastic rendition of Happy Birthday as the cake came to a stop in front of the birthday girl, and everyone watched as Rory and her fiancé Robert embraced.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart," Robert said, and cheers filled the room as Rory bent down to blow out the candles atop the cake.

Jess smiled craftily at the others before clearing his throat. "Speech! Speech!"

Just as Jess had hoped, everyone took up the chant, and Tristan hid a grin at the dirty look Rory shot Jess. If there was one thing Rory Gilmore hated above everything else, it had to be impromptu public speeches. He patted Jess on the shoulder. Smart man.

"I, uh…" Rory's voice wavered before slowly growing stronger. "I want to thank everyone for being here today – you have no idea how happy I am to see you all here, it really means a lot to me. I'd like to thank my parents, and my grandparents, for making sure this party would go off without a hitch. And," she smiled lovingly at Robert before continuing, "and I want to thank my fiancé Robert for this wonderful surprise – I love you."

A few choruses of "Aw," filled the air, and everyone clapped. As Rory began the process of cutting the cake, Tristan turned to Dean and Jess.

"Okay, you wanted to meet Robert Matheson, right?" Tristan grinned as the other two nodded. "Well, here's your chance. He's coming this way."

"DuGrey! Nice to see you again!"

Tristan smiled and gripped Robert's hand in a firm shake. "Robert, good thinking with the cake, man."

"Oh well, you know how women are," Robert smirked. "Remember all the important things, and you're home free." He smiled at Jess and Dean. "I don't believe we've been introduced yet. I'm Robert."

Acutely aware that Dean was seething with anger, Jess smiled easily, choosing to speak first. "I'm Jess, and this rather tall fellow here is Dean. We're friends of Rory's."

"Of course," Robert nodded, oblivious of the expression on Dean's face. "How do you like the party so far?"

"It's okay," Tristan shrugged noncommittally.

Robert shook his head with disgust. "That's the problem: it's okay. Not fantastic. Just okay. You see," he lowered his voice, "I wanted to have this banquet at my family's manor in France, complete with fireworks and horse drawn carriages, the whole nine yards. But no, Emily Gilmore and the rest of the clan decided they want to have the whole thing here in Hartford. Talk about Hicksville." He frowned. "And Rory, she just went along with it, didn't want to go against her family's wishes. Pathetic."

At this point, Dean's face was turning the slightest shade of red. "Pathetic?"

"That's right," Robert nodded, and Jess had to marvel at the man's apparent inability to pick up on the danger signals Dean was sending out. "Absolutely pathetic. I mean, this party could have been incredible, truly something to talk about. Instead, here we are, in Hartford." He took another sip of his champagne, as though the name had left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Oh well," Tristan smiled slightly. "C'est la vie."

"Right indeed, DuGrey," Robert slapped Tristan on the back jovially. "Well, I'm off to check on the future in-laws. See you guys around."

"Party on, dude," Jess said, raising his fist, his smile mocking. "Party on."

After Robert had walked away, Tristan glanced at Dean. "Hey Bag Boy, you okay? You look kind of – red."

"I'm fine," growled Dean, his eyes shooting daggers at Robert's retreating figure. "Geez, when you said the guy was stuck-up, I had no idea…!"

"Welcome to the world of the rich, Dean ol' boy," Jess grinned. "Only the influentially snobby need apply."

"Hey, I resent that," Tristan protested, and Jess laughed. Even Dean cracked a smile.  

"So…" Dean glanced back to where Rory was standing, his eyes darkening when he caught a glimpse of Robert.

"Come on," Jess suddenly said, walking away, with the other two following close behind.

"Where're we going?" Dean asked, throwing one last glance at the happy couple before stepping in line behind Jess.

"Remember what Jess said earlier?" Tristan grinned.

Dean frowned. "What, about holding hands and skipping?"

"Better yet," Jess smiled evilly. "We're going to teach you how to make daisy chains."

"What?"

"Relax, Dean," Tristan laughed. "We're just going to put some distance between you and the Jerk Extraordinaire, before you get the chance to swing out and stab the guy with a fork. And the last thing you want to do in the middle of a Gilmore celebration is attack Rory's fiancé. Understood?"

"Okay," Dean nodded, but he still looked distrustful. "No daisy chains though, right?"

"No," Jess somberly avowed. "But I've always been more of a hopscotch man myself. So there will be hopscotch."

"Hopscotch?"

Jess sniggered. "Just kidding."

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To Be Continued…