A/N: Okay. I don't like this section as much, but I'll fix it somehow in
the edit for the final format. Standard disclaimers apply. I don't think I
spelled "Doose's" right…Taylor's market…yeah, I don't know that one. Please
read and review, please! Thank you!
The Buildup
Monday morning, Rory groaned and put a pillow over her head, determined to ignore her alarm for once in her life. She'd set it early, from some demented notion that if it went off earlier than necessary, she could lounge about it bed longer and not feel guilty. It didn't work: she still felt guilty.
"Tell me why your alarm is going off a half-our before usual, and tell me quick before I destroy it." Lorelai's voice came from directly next to Rory's bed, and she took the pillow off her head and looked at her mother. She explained her reasoning. "That sounds like it should work. But I can tell by your disgruntled expression that it doesn't." Lorelai reached over and hit the off button for her daughter, then sat next to her. "So," she said, far too cheery for the morning. Then she sighed. "Okay, five seconds is the record for pulling off that kind of perky at this hour of the night."
"It's morning," Rory said, rubbing her eyes, then stretching.
"To-may-to, to-mah-to," Lorelai said, yawning. "Anyway, I was going to say, how did things go last night after I went upstairs? When I came down a couple hours later for dinner Jess was gone." Rory blushed. "Good, huh?"
"Um, yeah," Rory said. "Are you a mom right now, or Lorelai?"
"I am capable of being both."
"Not before coffee."
"True. Hmm…Lorelai." When Rory heard this, she pulled her hair back. "Wow," Lorelai said around the tears she felt, but tamped down. Her baby wasn't going to be one for much longer. And her baby was happy about it. "That is one impressive hickey."
"Really?"
"Actually, no, it's about the size of a dime, but it's your first. Right?"
Rory sent her mother a look. "Of course it is," she said. "I would have told you. I tell you everything."
"Is he a good kisser?"
"You're much more casual about this than you were with Dean."
"I've had practice now, haven't I?"
"Yes, he's a very good kisser. I don't know; there's something…special, I guess, about his kisses. Not just because these are the first, I don't know…."
"It's that indefinable something," Lorelai agreed, being torn apart inside with envy that her daughter found something so special her second time out of the gate. She decided to confess. "You know, I was insanely jealous of you."
"When?"
"When I found you and Jess sleeping together. Damn, why do I always phrase that wrong? Sleeping in the same bed. That's really the only accurate way to put it. Anyway, I saw him with his arm around you. He had his face buried in your hair. It was so sweet, and he was so protective. And when I saw that, I got insanely jealous. He's so incredibly crazy about you."
"Mom—" Rory's eyes widened, and she felt the first stirrings of panic.
"No, no! Don't be like me," Lorelai said, grabbing her daughter's hand. "I think I've completely scarred you with bad relationships and fear of commitment. Be cautious, yes, but not scared. Jess wouldn't hurt you, not on purpose. You've got to know that. He's really just like Luke."
"Yeah," Rory said, and, eager to change the subject, added, "How are things with you two?"
Lorelai swallowed hard and then said, "So, how about some coffee? Let's go get dressed and shock the diner by getting there early."
"Mom, come on," Rory said, grabbing her mother's hand when she moved to stand. "I 'fessed up to you. It's your turn."
Lorelai sighed, and then sighed again, looking up at the ceiling. "We haven't slept together except that one time." Rory felt the slightest hint of embarrassment—this was mom and Luke! —but forced it away. "And that one time…it was incredible. I won't go into detail—"
"Thank you."
"Your welcome. But anyway, we've been dating, kissing, snuggling. Talking, laughing, getting to know each other really well. And he's not pushing, not getting impatient. He's not doing all the things the guys up to now have been doing. I'm usually the one who as to call him for another date."
"He's letting you pursue him, but keeping you at a distance," Rory said smugly. "Luke really is very smart. He's treating you like you treated all the other guys, without the physical stuff."
Lorelai flopped back on the bed and winced. "Yeah, I know. I'm really going to have to apologize to them…but now I see where they're coming from. I think I'm in love with Luke."
"Finally!" Rory shouted, clapping her hands. "Finally! You're the first to say it, and you admitted it out loud!" She bounced on the bed happily for a long moment. Then she said, "So, why aren't you happier about this?"
"Because, what if he really is doing the same thing as me? Leading me along, with no intention of being more serious?"
"You can't really think that," Rory snapped harshly—for Rory—making Lorelai look at her in astonishment. "You can't. That's the stupidest thing you've ever said. Luke has been in love with you for years," she said very slowly, and very distinctly. "Everyone knows it. Even Grandma saw it before you did. So, tonight, I'm ordering you to get dressed up, call him over here, and tell him you love him."
"But what if—"
"He won't."
Lorelai sighed. "All right. I agree. Provided no emergency springs up between then and now."
"Good. Now, let's go get coffee."
"Now?"
"Yes, now, you have a better suggestion?"
"But, I'd have to go to Luke's."
"Yes, that is typically where we find our particular favorite coffee."
"But Luke will be there."
"And it's the perfect time to invite him to dinner."
Lorelai sighed. "You're not going to let me out of this, are you?"
"Nope."
"What are you and Jess going to be doing?"
"Running the diner, most likely. I'll talk to Jess before you talk to Luke."
Lorelai nodded, and they separated to get dressed.
**********
They walked into Luke's diner, almost ready to start their day. When Luke saw them, he looked down at his watch, tapped it, held it up to his ear, and then finally looked at the wall clock. "These can't both have stopped at the same time," Luke said mockingly. "Really, what is the world coming to when you can't have at least one dependable time-telling device in the whole place?"
"Funny man," Lorelai said grumpily. "I told you he would mock us."
"I knew he would mock us. I just wanted to find out how."
"So," Luke said, bracing himself. "Why are you two here so early?"
"Trying something out that didn't work the way she planned," Lorelai said hurriedly. "She deliberately set her alarm for early, thinking she could ignore it and not feel guilty and still be on time."
"I still felt guilty."
"And her alarm woke me up. That thing is loud."
"Uh-huh," Luke said. "So you both got up, rather than go back to bed? I wonder if anyone's seen a pig with wings anywhere around…"
"You get two more," Lorelai said, holding up the corresponding amount of fingers. "And then we retaliate with flannel jokes."
"And baseball hat jokes," Rory put in.
"And diner jokes," Jess said. Rory looked at him and smiled. He smiled back, and then said, "Ah. There she is. The town princess, out for her morning stroll through her loyal subjects."
"There's just one loyal subject I want right now," Rory said. "The diner- boy who will immediately give the princess her coffee."
"Hey," Lorelai said to Luke. "If she's the princess, doesn't that make me a queen?"
"Of drama," Luke muttered under his breath. He grabbed the coffeepot, then stopped. "Wait a minute. I gave you coffee last night for this morning. You swore it would last until now, that you would heat it up." Lorelai grinned and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "You told me that if it didn't, you wouldn't ask for more this morning."
"Um…Rory drank it!"
"Mom!"
"No, really, she did. She went on this insane rampage last night and ate everything in our fridge. She wanted to get sick so she wouldn't have to go to Hell today." Luke just raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, it could have happened," she muttered to herself, folding her arms and pouting. "Please, Lukey?"
"Don't call me that." Luke winced.
"Why not, Lukey?"
"Because it's disgusting, that's why."
"What's disgusting, Lukey?"
"If I give you some coffee, will you stop that?" Luke finally gave in.
"Rory, too," Lorelai said. "Don't forget!"
"What do you want for breakfast?"
"Pancakes. Ooh, and French toast! Eggs, over medium, sunny side up!"
"Pick pancakes or French toast. I will not do both." Lorelai began to pout again. "You don't have time for both," Luke pointed out.
"Fine. Pancakes."
Jess and Rory's eyes bobbed back and forth between the two as if they were watching a tennis tournament. At the last of the exchange, they glanced at each other and simultaneously rolled their eyes. Then they grinned at each other. "I take it you want the same thing?" Jess asked rhetorically while Luke went into the kitchen.
"Naturally. Listen, Jess? Do you have any objection to the two of us working the diner tonight? Mom wants Luke to come over for dinner."
"You're not going to cook, are you?" Jess asked, not feigning horror. "I thought you liked my uncle."
Lorelai made a face. "No, I'm not cooking. I'm…what am I doing, Rory?" she suddenly demanded, looking in panic at her daughter. "There'll be no food! And I can't ask Luke to cook when I invited him over!"
"Mom, relax," Rory said. "And keep your voice down. Just ask Sookie to make something for you."
"Right. Sookie. Right." Lorelai took a deep breath, and let it out. "Okay. Great. First panic of the day, six forty-five in the morning. This is going to be a great day." She lay her head on the countertop, and considered bashing it a few times.
"Mom, it's okay. Really. It's not that bad."
"Shh!" Lorelai didn't raise her head. "Don't tempt Fate, remember?"
"Oh, right, sorry." Rory made a zippering motion across her lips.
Jess went off to serve another customer, and Rory and Lorelai were left at the counter. Miss Patty came into the diner. She immediately made her way to Rory. "Hello, dear. How are you doing?" Without waiting for Rory's reply, she went on, "I was so happy to hear about you and Dean getting back together. You're such a cute couple. You know, dear, I'm not sure you should be sitting at the counter. I heard that Jess and Dean got into quite a row Saturday. How is Jess? Dean supposedly beat him pretty badly." Miss Patty eagerly craned her neck, trying to see Jess' face. But Jess stayed with his back to the woman. "Oh well," she sighed. "His back's not too bad to look at either. Well, if you'll excuse me, girls, I've got an early morning yoga class to teach."
Before Rory could react, the large woman was gone. "She can move quick when she wants to," Lorelai muttered, looking as shocked as Rory. "Where did those rumors come from? I don't suppose Dean…?"
"He might have. Though it could just be overactive imaginations." Rory shook her head, dazed. Luke came out of the kitchen with two full plates in time to catch her movement.
"What are you shaking your head at?" he demanded. "You haven't even seen the food yet, and I know you're not turning down coffee."
"Miss Patty just said something interesting," Rory said.
"Everything that comes out of that woman's mouth is 'interesting.' Or so she thinks." Luke set the plates down in front of Rory and Lorelai, and they both eagerly dug in.
"What did Miss Flirty want?" Jess asked.
"You didn't hear her?"
"I was actually doing my job," he sighed. He recited two table's orders to Luke, who in turn relayed them back to the kitchen. "But, I assume what she said would be of interest to me, so spill."
"She said she'd heard that Dean and Rory got back together, and that in you guys' fight Saturday Dean beat you up." Lorelai had learned of the fight from Luke, and assumed that Jess had told Rory since she didn't look surprised.
Jess scowled. "I can't believe Dean would use the whole town to pressure you like that," he said. "That is so low. And he didn't even get a shot in!"
"Jess," Rory protested. "Calm down. It could just be someone overreacting. It's happened before."
"Yeah, but I bet he didn't do anything to set the record straight, either." Jess ran a hand through his hair. "You're going to talk to him, right? Soon?"
"Yeah. He'll probably call me tonight. I'll tell him then. I will not seek him out, because that will just intensify the rumors." Rory ate the last mouthful of pancake, and looked at her watch. "And just in time to catch the bus," she said triumphantly. "Maybe it did work." She kissed her mom on the cheek and hugged her, and took Jess' hand from across the counter and squeezed. "See you later?"
"Bet on it," he said quietly, and squeezed back.
"Bye, Luke," Rory said cheerfully and went to the bus stop.
After she was gone, Jess retreated to the tables, going around and re- filling coffee mugs and water glasses, leaving Luke and Lorelai alone at the counter. "Hey, Luke," Lorelai said.
"I'm not giving you more coffee," Luke said flatly.
"Oh," Lorelai said, peering into her mug. "I hadn't noticed. Um, anyway." She didn't see the confused and slightly worried look on Luke's face when he heard that she hadn't noticed she was out of coffee. "How about dinner tonight? At my place?"
"Uh, sure. I'll ask Jess to close tonight."
"Great, Rory can help, too. So, come over at seven, okay? I'll be waiting." She leaned over the counter to kiss him, making him blush. She smiled and left.
**********
At school, Rory had a light flush all day long. She kept thinking someone would notice her "gift" from Jess. The only thing people noticed was her goofy smile. She could only think, "I've got a great boyfriend!"
"What are you so happy about?" Paris demanded at the newspaper meeting.
"I'm having a good day," Rory said. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"No, there's nothing wrong with that. But, please, tell me what it's like to have a good day. I'd like to hear about the experience some time."
"You've had good days," Rory said chidingly. "Come on, that night at my house was fun." Rory thought back to the hilarious picture of Jess and Paris sitting at her kitchen table talking about literature. Who would have thought that the "hoodlum" and the utterly uptight girl would get along so well? Certainly not Rory.
Paris rolled her eyes. "Until the next morning. God, how can you eat like that?"
"Years and years of experience. And a few hits-and-misses as to limits."
Paris shuddered. The meeting went on from there, and they got their assignments for their next issue. Rory took her assignment and went directly to the bus, eager to get home so she could get coffee and see Jess.
She stepped off the bus, and saw Dean waiting for her. It struck her that even four months ago, she would have rushed over to him, kissed him, and then told him about her day. Now she just wanted to get their talk over with and go argue with Jess. Dean jumped up when he saw her, and she smiled thinly at her. "Rory!" he said.
*Uh-oh,* Rory thought. *He's speaking in exclamation points again.* "Hi, Dean," Rory said. "Look, I'm just going to say this quick. I don't think it would be a good idea for us to get back together. It wouldn't—couldn't—be the same as it was, and I honestly wouldn't want it to be."
Dean frowned at her and said, "It's that punk, Jess, isn't it?" He ran his hands through his hair. "What am I talking about? Of course it's him. You've gotten sucked into the romantic notion of taming the bad boy. Come on, Rory, you're too smart for that."
Rory frowned. "You don't know him, Dean. You can't talk about him like that. And apparently you don't know me, either, or you never would have said that." She turned and took a few steps towards the diner.
"Wait, Rory," Dean said somewhat desperately. Rory turned and looked at him expectantly, but didn't move towards him. "Just…just watch your step with him, okay? He's a lot more…experienced than you are. Just don't let him sweet-talk or pressure you into anything."
Rory rolled her eyes and again turned her back on him. "Oh, Dean?" she said, stopping, but not turning. "I'd try to set the rumors straight next time."
She opened the door to the diner, and immediately went to Jess, standing with his back to her, taking a late lunch order. She waited until he was finished, and then covered his eyes from behind. "Guess who," she said playfully.
"Scarlet? Is it really you?" he teased. He spun, and then frowned at her. "Oh, it's you."
"I didn't surprise you," Rory pouted.
"Nope," he said. "For one thing, I heard the door open. For another, I could feel you watching me. And thirdly," he bent down and whispered, "I smelled you."
"Gee, thanks," she said. "Good to know."
"You smell kind of like…I don't know. Some rainforest full of blooming flowers, or something."
She smiled at him. "Okay, you're forgiven. But you'll be even more forgiven when you get me coffee."
"We're out of coffee."
"Haha, that's so funny. I forgot to laugh. Now, come on, cough it up."
"I'm serious," Jess said, moving behind the counter. "We're all out. Luke's over at Doose's picking some up right now."
"As long as it will be here within the next hour," Rory said. "I can wait."
"So, did you talk to Dean yet?" Jess asked quietly. He noticed the stares he and Rory had gotten from the tourists. Most looked amused and a little nostalgic. A few looked a little put-off, but not enough to leave.
Rory nodded. "I told him that I wasn't going to go back to him." Jess reached for her hand.
"Did you tell him about us?"
"I didn't have to," Rory said dryly. "The rumor mill is working over time, it seems. He warned me that my desire to tame the wild boy, which is just so stupid, was simply drawing me in. Why would I want to tame you? I like you wild."
"Thank you," Jess said. "I think. And I'm not as wild as I used to be."
"You're just wild enough," she pronounced.
"Stop it, you're making me blush," Jess joked. "Ah, here's Luke with the coffee."
"Ah!" Rory cried. "My savior! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"You aren't going to kiss his feet or anything, are you?" Jess joked.
"No," Rory said, pulling a face. "But I do want that coffee brewing right this minute or I'll do something to embarrass you both."
"Like what?"
"Do you really want to know what I'm capable of when deprived of coffee?"
"Knowing who your mother is, no."
Luke just shook his head at this exchange, and put the coffee on. "So, what're you doing tonight, Rory?"
"Helping Jess run the diner. It'll be fun. It'll be like a date." Jess smiled broadly at that.
"And after we close the diner, we can go watch movies."
"Or read," Rory said with a secret smile for Jess.
"Or that."
"So, I'll be here at seven to help," she said. She took the travel cup of coffee from Luke's hand before he could set it on the counter. "I'll see you later."
"Wait, Rory," Luke said. Rory spun back around to face him. "What exactly does your mom have planned for tonight? I mean, she's acting kind of weird about everything, and…I thought she would have told you something."
"It's just dinner, Luke," Rory said, crossing her fingers behind her back. "Really, you have nothing to worry about. I promise. Bye!"
"Bye," Jess said. Luke echoed the sentiment distractedly. Jess turned and eyed his uncle critically. "So, what are you wearing?"
"What?"
"What are you wearing to dinner tonight?"
"What I always wear. Why? What's wrong with this?"
Jess sighed. "Okay, you don't have to wear a three-piece suit, but at least try to look nice for her. Do you have any slacks, or anything? Maybe a nice dress shirt? You don't have to look too fancy, don't freak out, but jeez! At least make the effort."
"You're gonna help me, right?" Luke demanded, grabbing Jess' arm. "She's never invited me to dinner at her house before. I mean, what is she doing? What if she's breaking up with me?"
*He sounds like a high schooler,* Jess thought, amused. *Better disabuse him of that little notion right now, though. It sounds like Lorelai has big plans for tonight.* "Trust me, Luke," Jess said soothingly. "You invite someone out for a dinner away from any personal space if you're breaking up with someone. You don't ask someone to dinner at your house."
Luke breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll have to take your word for it." Then he looked at his nephew, his face blank but his eyes pleading. Jess sighed, and nodded. The wordless exchange satisfied them both, and they went back to work.
The Buildup
Monday morning, Rory groaned and put a pillow over her head, determined to ignore her alarm for once in her life. She'd set it early, from some demented notion that if it went off earlier than necessary, she could lounge about it bed longer and not feel guilty. It didn't work: she still felt guilty.
"Tell me why your alarm is going off a half-our before usual, and tell me quick before I destroy it." Lorelai's voice came from directly next to Rory's bed, and she took the pillow off her head and looked at her mother. She explained her reasoning. "That sounds like it should work. But I can tell by your disgruntled expression that it doesn't." Lorelai reached over and hit the off button for her daughter, then sat next to her. "So," she said, far too cheery for the morning. Then she sighed. "Okay, five seconds is the record for pulling off that kind of perky at this hour of the night."
"It's morning," Rory said, rubbing her eyes, then stretching.
"To-may-to, to-mah-to," Lorelai said, yawning. "Anyway, I was going to say, how did things go last night after I went upstairs? When I came down a couple hours later for dinner Jess was gone." Rory blushed. "Good, huh?"
"Um, yeah," Rory said. "Are you a mom right now, or Lorelai?"
"I am capable of being both."
"Not before coffee."
"True. Hmm…Lorelai." When Rory heard this, she pulled her hair back. "Wow," Lorelai said around the tears she felt, but tamped down. Her baby wasn't going to be one for much longer. And her baby was happy about it. "That is one impressive hickey."
"Really?"
"Actually, no, it's about the size of a dime, but it's your first. Right?"
Rory sent her mother a look. "Of course it is," she said. "I would have told you. I tell you everything."
"Is he a good kisser?"
"You're much more casual about this than you were with Dean."
"I've had practice now, haven't I?"
"Yes, he's a very good kisser. I don't know; there's something…special, I guess, about his kisses. Not just because these are the first, I don't know…."
"It's that indefinable something," Lorelai agreed, being torn apart inside with envy that her daughter found something so special her second time out of the gate. She decided to confess. "You know, I was insanely jealous of you."
"When?"
"When I found you and Jess sleeping together. Damn, why do I always phrase that wrong? Sleeping in the same bed. That's really the only accurate way to put it. Anyway, I saw him with his arm around you. He had his face buried in your hair. It was so sweet, and he was so protective. And when I saw that, I got insanely jealous. He's so incredibly crazy about you."
"Mom—" Rory's eyes widened, and she felt the first stirrings of panic.
"No, no! Don't be like me," Lorelai said, grabbing her daughter's hand. "I think I've completely scarred you with bad relationships and fear of commitment. Be cautious, yes, but not scared. Jess wouldn't hurt you, not on purpose. You've got to know that. He's really just like Luke."
"Yeah," Rory said, and, eager to change the subject, added, "How are things with you two?"
Lorelai swallowed hard and then said, "So, how about some coffee? Let's go get dressed and shock the diner by getting there early."
"Mom, come on," Rory said, grabbing her mother's hand when she moved to stand. "I 'fessed up to you. It's your turn."
Lorelai sighed, and then sighed again, looking up at the ceiling. "We haven't slept together except that one time." Rory felt the slightest hint of embarrassment—this was mom and Luke! —but forced it away. "And that one time…it was incredible. I won't go into detail—"
"Thank you."
"Your welcome. But anyway, we've been dating, kissing, snuggling. Talking, laughing, getting to know each other really well. And he's not pushing, not getting impatient. He's not doing all the things the guys up to now have been doing. I'm usually the one who as to call him for another date."
"He's letting you pursue him, but keeping you at a distance," Rory said smugly. "Luke really is very smart. He's treating you like you treated all the other guys, without the physical stuff."
Lorelai flopped back on the bed and winced. "Yeah, I know. I'm really going to have to apologize to them…but now I see where they're coming from. I think I'm in love with Luke."
"Finally!" Rory shouted, clapping her hands. "Finally! You're the first to say it, and you admitted it out loud!" She bounced on the bed happily for a long moment. Then she said, "So, why aren't you happier about this?"
"Because, what if he really is doing the same thing as me? Leading me along, with no intention of being more serious?"
"You can't really think that," Rory snapped harshly—for Rory—making Lorelai look at her in astonishment. "You can't. That's the stupidest thing you've ever said. Luke has been in love with you for years," she said very slowly, and very distinctly. "Everyone knows it. Even Grandma saw it before you did. So, tonight, I'm ordering you to get dressed up, call him over here, and tell him you love him."
"But what if—"
"He won't."
Lorelai sighed. "All right. I agree. Provided no emergency springs up between then and now."
"Good. Now, let's go get coffee."
"Now?"
"Yes, now, you have a better suggestion?"
"But, I'd have to go to Luke's."
"Yes, that is typically where we find our particular favorite coffee."
"But Luke will be there."
"And it's the perfect time to invite him to dinner."
Lorelai sighed. "You're not going to let me out of this, are you?"
"Nope."
"What are you and Jess going to be doing?"
"Running the diner, most likely. I'll talk to Jess before you talk to Luke."
Lorelai nodded, and they separated to get dressed.
**********
They walked into Luke's diner, almost ready to start their day. When Luke saw them, he looked down at his watch, tapped it, held it up to his ear, and then finally looked at the wall clock. "These can't both have stopped at the same time," Luke said mockingly. "Really, what is the world coming to when you can't have at least one dependable time-telling device in the whole place?"
"Funny man," Lorelai said grumpily. "I told you he would mock us."
"I knew he would mock us. I just wanted to find out how."
"So," Luke said, bracing himself. "Why are you two here so early?"
"Trying something out that didn't work the way she planned," Lorelai said hurriedly. "She deliberately set her alarm for early, thinking she could ignore it and not feel guilty and still be on time."
"I still felt guilty."
"And her alarm woke me up. That thing is loud."
"Uh-huh," Luke said. "So you both got up, rather than go back to bed? I wonder if anyone's seen a pig with wings anywhere around…"
"You get two more," Lorelai said, holding up the corresponding amount of fingers. "And then we retaliate with flannel jokes."
"And baseball hat jokes," Rory put in.
"And diner jokes," Jess said. Rory looked at him and smiled. He smiled back, and then said, "Ah. There she is. The town princess, out for her morning stroll through her loyal subjects."
"There's just one loyal subject I want right now," Rory said. "The diner- boy who will immediately give the princess her coffee."
"Hey," Lorelai said to Luke. "If she's the princess, doesn't that make me a queen?"
"Of drama," Luke muttered under his breath. He grabbed the coffeepot, then stopped. "Wait a minute. I gave you coffee last night for this morning. You swore it would last until now, that you would heat it up." Lorelai grinned and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "You told me that if it didn't, you wouldn't ask for more this morning."
"Um…Rory drank it!"
"Mom!"
"No, really, she did. She went on this insane rampage last night and ate everything in our fridge. She wanted to get sick so she wouldn't have to go to Hell today." Luke just raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, it could have happened," she muttered to herself, folding her arms and pouting. "Please, Lukey?"
"Don't call me that." Luke winced.
"Why not, Lukey?"
"Because it's disgusting, that's why."
"What's disgusting, Lukey?"
"If I give you some coffee, will you stop that?" Luke finally gave in.
"Rory, too," Lorelai said. "Don't forget!"
"What do you want for breakfast?"
"Pancakes. Ooh, and French toast! Eggs, over medium, sunny side up!"
"Pick pancakes or French toast. I will not do both." Lorelai began to pout again. "You don't have time for both," Luke pointed out.
"Fine. Pancakes."
Jess and Rory's eyes bobbed back and forth between the two as if they were watching a tennis tournament. At the last of the exchange, they glanced at each other and simultaneously rolled their eyes. Then they grinned at each other. "I take it you want the same thing?" Jess asked rhetorically while Luke went into the kitchen.
"Naturally. Listen, Jess? Do you have any objection to the two of us working the diner tonight? Mom wants Luke to come over for dinner."
"You're not going to cook, are you?" Jess asked, not feigning horror. "I thought you liked my uncle."
Lorelai made a face. "No, I'm not cooking. I'm…what am I doing, Rory?" she suddenly demanded, looking in panic at her daughter. "There'll be no food! And I can't ask Luke to cook when I invited him over!"
"Mom, relax," Rory said. "And keep your voice down. Just ask Sookie to make something for you."
"Right. Sookie. Right." Lorelai took a deep breath, and let it out. "Okay. Great. First panic of the day, six forty-five in the morning. This is going to be a great day." She lay her head on the countertop, and considered bashing it a few times.
"Mom, it's okay. Really. It's not that bad."
"Shh!" Lorelai didn't raise her head. "Don't tempt Fate, remember?"
"Oh, right, sorry." Rory made a zippering motion across her lips.
Jess went off to serve another customer, and Rory and Lorelai were left at the counter. Miss Patty came into the diner. She immediately made her way to Rory. "Hello, dear. How are you doing?" Without waiting for Rory's reply, she went on, "I was so happy to hear about you and Dean getting back together. You're such a cute couple. You know, dear, I'm not sure you should be sitting at the counter. I heard that Jess and Dean got into quite a row Saturday. How is Jess? Dean supposedly beat him pretty badly." Miss Patty eagerly craned her neck, trying to see Jess' face. But Jess stayed with his back to the woman. "Oh well," she sighed. "His back's not too bad to look at either. Well, if you'll excuse me, girls, I've got an early morning yoga class to teach."
Before Rory could react, the large woman was gone. "She can move quick when she wants to," Lorelai muttered, looking as shocked as Rory. "Where did those rumors come from? I don't suppose Dean…?"
"He might have. Though it could just be overactive imaginations." Rory shook her head, dazed. Luke came out of the kitchen with two full plates in time to catch her movement.
"What are you shaking your head at?" he demanded. "You haven't even seen the food yet, and I know you're not turning down coffee."
"Miss Patty just said something interesting," Rory said.
"Everything that comes out of that woman's mouth is 'interesting.' Or so she thinks." Luke set the plates down in front of Rory and Lorelai, and they both eagerly dug in.
"What did Miss Flirty want?" Jess asked.
"You didn't hear her?"
"I was actually doing my job," he sighed. He recited two table's orders to Luke, who in turn relayed them back to the kitchen. "But, I assume what she said would be of interest to me, so spill."
"She said she'd heard that Dean and Rory got back together, and that in you guys' fight Saturday Dean beat you up." Lorelai had learned of the fight from Luke, and assumed that Jess had told Rory since she didn't look surprised.
Jess scowled. "I can't believe Dean would use the whole town to pressure you like that," he said. "That is so low. And he didn't even get a shot in!"
"Jess," Rory protested. "Calm down. It could just be someone overreacting. It's happened before."
"Yeah, but I bet he didn't do anything to set the record straight, either." Jess ran a hand through his hair. "You're going to talk to him, right? Soon?"
"Yeah. He'll probably call me tonight. I'll tell him then. I will not seek him out, because that will just intensify the rumors." Rory ate the last mouthful of pancake, and looked at her watch. "And just in time to catch the bus," she said triumphantly. "Maybe it did work." She kissed her mom on the cheek and hugged her, and took Jess' hand from across the counter and squeezed. "See you later?"
"Bet on it," he said quietly, and squeezed back.
"Bye, Luke," Rory said cheerfully and went to the bus stop.
After she was gone, Jess retreated to the tables, going around and re- filling coffee mugs and water glasses, leaving Luke and Lorelai alone at the counter. "Hey, Luke," Lorelai said.
"I'm not giving you more coffee," Luke said flatly.
"Oh," Lorelai said, peering into her mug. "I hadn't noticed. Um, anyway." She didn't see the confused and slightly worried look on Luke's face when he heard that she hadn't noticed she was out of coffee. "How about dinner tonight? At my place?"
"Uh, sure. I'll ask Jess to close tonight."
"Great, Rory can help, too. So, come over at seven, okay? I'll be waiting." She leaned over the counter to kiss him, making him blush. She smiled and left.
**********
At school, Rory had a light flush all day long. She kept thinking someone would notice her "gift" from Jess. The only thing people noticed was her goofy smile. She could only think, "I've got a great boyfriend!"
"What are you so happy about?" Paris demanded at the newspaper meeting.
"I'm having a good day," Rory said. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"No, there's nothing wrong with that. But, please, tell me what it's like to have a good day. I'd like to hear about the experience some time."
"You've had good days," Rory said chidingly. "Come on, that night at my house was fun." Rory thought back to the hilarious picture of Jess and Paris sitting at her kitchen table talking about literature. Who would have thought that the "hoodlum" and the utterly uptight girl would get along so well? Certainly not Rory.
Paris rolled her eyes. "Until the next morning. God, how can you eat like that?"
"Years and years of experience. And a few hits-and-misses as to limits."
Paris shuddered. The meeting went on from there, and they got their assignments for their next issue. Rory took her assignment and went directly to the bus, eager to get home so she could get coffee and see Jess.
She stepped off the bus, and saw Dean waiting for her. It struck her that even four months ago, she would have rushed over to him, kissed him, and then told him about her day. Now she just wanted to get their talk over with and go argue with Jess. Dean jumped up when he saw her, and she smiled thinly at her. "Rory!" he said.
*Uh-oh,* Rory thought. *He's speaking in exclamation points again.* "Hi, Dean," Rory said. "Look, I'm just going to say this quick. I don't think it would be a good idea for us to get back together. It wouldn't—couldn't—be the same as it was, and I honestly wouldn't want it to be."
Dean frowned at her and said, "It's that punk, Jess, isn't it?" He ran his hands through his hair. "What am I talking about? Of course it's him. You've gotten sucked into the romantic notion of taming the bad boy. Come on, Rory, you're too smart for that."
Rory frowned. "You don't know him, Dean. You can't talk about him like that. And apparently you don't know me, either, or you never would have said that." She turned and took a few steps towards the diner.
"Wait, Rory," Dean said somewhat desperately. Rory turned and looked at him expectantly, but didn't move towards him. "Just…just watch your step with him, okay? He's a lot more…experienced than you are. Just don't let him sweet-talk or pressure you into anything."
Rory rolled her eyes and again turned her back on him. "Oh, Dean?" she said, stopping, but not turning. "I'd try to set the rumors straight next time."
She opened the door to the diner, and immediately went to Jess, standing with his back to her, taking a late lunch order. She waited until he was finished, and then covered his eyes from behind. "Guess who," she said playfully.
"Scarlet? Is it really you?" he teased. He spun, and then frowned at her. "Oh, it's you."
"I didn't surprise you," Rory pouted.
"Nope," he said. "For one thing, I heard the door open. For another, I could feel you watching me. And thirdly," he bent down and whispered, "I smelled you."
"Gee, thanks," she said. "Good to know."
"You smell kind of like…I don't know. Some rainforest full of blooming flowers, or something."
She smiled at him. "Okay, you're forgiven. But you'll be even more forgiven when you get me coffee."
"We're out of coffee."
"Haha, that's so funny. I forgot to laugh. Now, come on, cough it up."
"I'm serious," Jess said, moving behind the counter. "We're all out. Luke's over at Doose's picking some up right now."
"As long as it will be here within the next hour," Rory said. "I can wait."
"So, did you talk to Dean yet?" Jess asked quietly. He noticed the stares he and Rory had gotten from the tourists. Most looked amused and a little nostalgic. A few looked a little put-off, but not enough to leave.
Rory nodded. "I told him that I wasn't going to go back to him." Jess reached for her hand.
"Did you tell him about us?"
"I didn't have to," Rory said dryly. "The rumor mill is working over time, it seems. He warned me that my desire to tame the wild boy, which is just so stupid, was simply drawing me in. Why would I want to tame you? I like you wild."
"Thank you," Jess said. "I think. And I'm not as wild as I used to be."
"You're just wild enough," she pronounced.
"Stop it, you're making me blush," Jess joked. "Ah, here's Luke with the coffee."
"Ah!" Rory cried. "My savior! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"You aren't going to kiss his feet or anything, are you?" Jess joked.
"No," Rory said, pulling a face. "But I do want that coffee brewing right this minute or I'll do something to embarrass you both."
"Like what?"
"Do you really want to know what I'm capable of when deprived of coffee?"
"Knowing who your mother is, no."
Luke just shook his head at this exchange, and put the coffee on. "So, what're you doing tonight, Rory?"
"Helping Jess run the diner. It'll be fun. It'll be like a date." Jess smiled broadly at that.
"And after we close the diner, we can go watch movies."
"Or read," Rory said with a secret smile for Jess.
"Or that."
"So, I'll be here at seven to help," she said. She took the travel cup of coffee from Luke's hand before he could set it on the counter. "I'll see you later."
"Wait, Rory," Luke said. Rory spun back around to face him. "What exactly does your mom have planned for tonight? I mean, she's acting kind of weird about everything, and…I thought she would have told you something."
"It's just dinner, Luke," Rory said, crossing her fingers behind her back. "Really, you have nothing to worry about. I promise. Bye!"
"Bye," Jess said. Luke echoed the sentiment distractedly. Jess turned and eyed his uncle critically. "So, what are you wearing?"
"What?"
"What are you wearing to dinner tonight?"
"What I always wear. Why? What's wrong with this?"
Jess sighed. "Okay, you don't have to wear a three-piece suit, but at least try to look nice for her. Do you have any slacks, or anything? Maybe a nice dress shirt? You don't have to look too fancy, don't freak out, but jeez! At least make the effort."
"You're gonna help me, right?" Luke demanded, grabbing Jess' arm. "She's never invited me to dinner at her house before. I mean, what is she doing? What if she's breaking up with me?"
*He sounds like a high schooler,* Jess thought, amused. *Better disabuse him of that little notion right now, though. It sounds like Lorelai has big plans for tonight.* "Trust me, Luke," Jess said soothingly. "You invite someone out for a dinner away from any personal space if you're breaking up with someone. You don't ask someone to dinner at your house."
Luke breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll have to take your word for it." Then he looked at his nephew, his face blank but his eyes pleading. Jess sighed, and nodded. The wordless exchange satisfied them both, and they went back to work.