Author's Note: This would have been up sooner but we all now that fan fiction.net has been stupid lately. I did consider changing the date of the wedding to a later date but I'm keeping it as June 12th because I don't want to change the date...sorry but the last chapter won't be posted on the date of the wedding (obviously).

Chapter 13

Saturday, June 1st...

"Can we rent this one?" Rory asked excitedly.

"What? Which one?" Tristan asked as he crossed the aisle and looked over at the selection she held up. "Them Mummy Returns? Haven't you seen that like, a million times?"

"Yes, but never with the audio commentary." Rory answered.

Tristan sighed for the millionth time that day. He never even thought of the repercussions of buying the Gilmore Girls a DVD player. Now, a month later he found himself sucked into the DVD section of the video store, looking over every movie to see if they had any worthwhile extra features that the girls may have missed out on.

"Fine, I could stand more mummies." Tristan acquiesced.

"Then we totally have to rent the first one." Rory picked up the prequel as well.

"Haven't you already watched every movie in this store? I'm surprised your poor DVD player hasn't burnt out from overuse."

"Yeah, well, I think that Desi handle it."

"Desi?"

"Yes, we named her Desi." Rory answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"When did you name it?" Tristan asked, confused.

"First of all, she is not an 'it'. Secondly, we named her last night." Rory shrugged.

"Why? Other than the fact that you and your mother are insane."

"Because, we were tired of calling it the 'DVD player'. She was begging to be named." Tristan held up his hands in defeat.

"Next time, I won't ask."

"Good boy. What else should we get?"

Tristan's eyes bugged out. "Rory! You're holding ten movies in your hands here! I think you have enough to last you until the wedding."

"I'm making up for lost time!" Rory rolled her eyes. "Fine, I guess we can go."

Just then Kirk came back, covered in navy blue paint everywhere from his boots to his clothes to his skin. His tool belt, containing a hammer and a few nails, hung haphazardly around his waist and he wore a weary expression.

"The room and bathroom are done. Every nail in place, every wire concealed, and every pipe attached to the right system. Just wait for the paint to dry and Jess can start moving in." he said, slumping down onto a stool behind the counter.

"Hello to you to Kirk." Rory said dryly.

Tristan looked over Kirk's shoulder and saw men coming from the direction of the Gilmore house in similar states of appearance. Everyone ranging from Taylor to the town Troubadour had been recruited for the job of making more room for the family to live and in one month's time the task was finally done. Of course, Rory had not been pleased with the developments interrupting her schoolwork during the last days of class when she desperately needed to study for finals. To save herself she had taken to hiding out in the apartment for the quiet she wanted, only returning home to sleep and watch the occasional movie.

"I'm tired. And I'm not even getting paid for this." he complained.

"Hey Kirk," Tristan cut in, "I've been meaning to ask, what do you do? Like what is your actual job? Because, it seems like you do...everything."

"Really? I never noticed." he replied vaguely, looking at an imaginary point as he thought it over. "I mean I know that I wander around a lot doing this and that but I never saw myself as doing too many..."

Rory cleared her throat. "Um, Kirk, we're kind of in a hurry so could you maybe ring up the total for the movies please?"

He looked back. "Yeah, sure."

Five minutes and thirty dollars later (paid for by Tristan) the two teens were out the door.

"So, are we heading to your house to veg-out in front of the tube now?"

"Nah, paint fumes ruin the whole movie watching atmosphere. Besides this is the one day that we have off from all and anything wedding related. Let's drop the stuff off at Luke's and walk around town for the day. It's so great out!" she said blissfully.

It was true. The sun was out and the temperature could not have been more perfect. Warm but not too hot. He smiled and held the door to Luke's open for her.

"Rory! Tristan!" Lane waved them over.

"Hey. Henry? When did you get here?" Rory asked.

"Just a few minutes ago. I actually tried to call Tris but his maid said that he was spending the next couple of days at a friend's house." Henry answered.

"Oh, yeah, I am. You know with the wedding being so close and all we're working overtime to ensure smooth sailing."

"Anyway, Henry and I were just celebrating school being over by hanging out around town today, would you like to join us?" Lane offered.

"Well, we were going to do the same but we wouldn't want to impose..."Tristan said hesitantly.

"Are you kidding, it'll be fine." Henry assured.

"Okay, let me just go put these movies upstairs then." Rory said before turning towards the back.

Just as Rory was at the base of the steps Lorelai came running down and nearly collided into her daughter.

"Mom!"

"Ror!"

"What were you doing up there?" Rory asked.

"Oh, Luke wanted to see if Jess left yet and he did."

"Wait? Where did Jess go?"

"He had to go to Hartford. My mom thinks that they messed up his tux again and she insisted that he go over and try it on to be sure." Lorelai explained. "Anywho, what are your plans for today?"

"Just going to hang out around town."

"Okay, don't forget the town meeting tonight. Taylor says that the town has a 'major' decision to make and I for one am curious to find out what the big fuss is about."

Rory just nodded her head in amusement at her mother's excitement and passed her to go up to the apartment and drop of the bag. A minute later she came back down. Tristan handed her a cell phone.

"You're mom said to carry this with you and that if you need her she'll be at the store with Luke to pick up stuff for their bathroom."

Rory nodded. "Sure, let's get going."

The guys headed slowly for the door.

"Hey, does Luke have any water bottles in the back?" Lane asked.

"Um...let's go check." Rory suggested.

Together they went in the back, saying hello to Caesar on the way, and emerged with two water bottles to share with the guys.

"So, are you going to be here for the big day?" Tristan asked Henry as they meandered through the door.

"Yeah, wouldn't miss it." Henry nodded.

"Guys. Move, you're going to slow!" Rory complained.

Tristan and Henry turned back around.

"Or what?" Tristan challenged.

Sharing a look, Lane and Rory reached out and shoved the boys off the steps. Falling ungracefully unto the pavement they groaned in pain. Nodding in satisfaction Rory and Lane stepped over them and continued down the sidewalk.

"I'm beginning to think I've gotten involved in an abusive relationship." Henry winced as he slowly got up.

"I know what you mean."

~~~~~~~~~

"Luke, this is not working." Lorelai complained as they wandered down the aisle with bathroom mats.

"What are you talking about?" he asked as he picked up a black mat and held it up for approval.

She shook her head and he put it back down. "I'm talking about the plan for Tristan and Rory. They're spending time together but I get this vibe that Rory is fighting her feelings for him. In fact I know she is. We need to do something that will get their attention and make them see that they shouldn't let this opportunity pass them up."

"Lorelai!" Luke whined.

"What?" she asked innocently. "Oh, what about the navy blue?"

"But that's the color of Jess's room." Luke pointed out. "I don't want to do anymore scheming. It's obvious that they aren't interested in each other and we need to stop pushing them."

"Oh please!" Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Getting involved is what I do best. Besides, don't you want Rory to be happy?"

"Of course, but we can't decide who she should be with for her."

"Would you rather she be with Dean?"

"No! That's the last thing I want."

"Well then..."

"Lorelai! I have had it. I put up with this for long enough. I refuse to go any further with your scheming." he said with a note of finality.

He pushed the cart further down the aisle, leaving Lorelai in a perplexed state of thought. By the time she had snapped out of it Luke was already rounding the corner.

"Hey! Wait! I have another plan and it's really good!" she called as she ran after him.

~

"Everyone quiet please!" Taylor ordered pounding his gavel down on the podium.

Jess snuck in and sat down in between Lorelai and Rory.

"Cutting it close there, you were almost late." Lorelai whispered out the corner of her mouth.

"Yeah but I had good reason. I had to try on my tux about a thousand times and get poked just as many times with a needle because the seamstress lady couldn't keep a steady hand. Emily's crazy." he whispered back.

"Amen to that." Lorelai agreed, knowing all to well about her mother's antics.

"Tonight's town meeting has come to order." Taylor pronounced.

"Brace yourself. These things can get pretty entertaining." Henry whispered to Tristan.

"Thanks for the tip." he replied back.

The meeting progressed with some minor topics of discussion: expanding Miss Patty's dance hall (proposal rejected), the town troubadour complaining about another free floater violating the 'one troubadour per town' law (situation to be dealt with), and the assembly of Danes/Gilmore wedding set up/clean-up committee (part of the town's gift to the couple)-just to name a few. Finally at the end of the meeting filled with crazy ideas and witty repartee from the back row (the row the Gilmore women claimed as their own) Taylor stood at the podium once again.

"Okay, now for the big decision that will change our lives in this town." he said enthusiastically.

Lorelai grinned in anticipation and Luke looked as though he was formulating a response to reject whatever idiotic idea Taylor had planned. Jess sat with his devil may care look, Rory with enthusiasm matching her mother's, leaving Tristan, Henry, and Lane looking on with mildly curious expressions. The rest of the town wore similar emotions as Taylor's dramatic pause broke and he began to speak again.

"Recently, because of the rearranging of store shelves to allow for more equal aisle widths at the market there is a free space opened with just enough room for...a vending machine! It is the duty of the council to decide what kind to put in place!"

"That's the big news? A new vending machine?" Luke asked in annoyed bewilderment.

"A vending machine Taylor? You turned down re-construction of my dance hall without a debate and you think a vending machine is more important?" Patty broke in.

Suddenly the townspeople, who were mostly half asleep, having only been kept partially awake by Luke's sarcastic protests, Lorelai's off-topic references that to her seemed perfectly relevant, and Rory and Jess cheering them on, were thrown wide awake to voice their concerns.

"What the hell do we need a vending machine for?" Babette asked incredulously.

"Yeah man, stick to the basics." Morey agreed.

"You dragged us out here for a stupid thing like this!"

"Waste of my time!"

"A freaking vending machine!"

Protests and sarcasm were thrown out in waves as Taylor helplessly pounded the wood of the podium with his gavel in attempts to calm the crowd.

"Please people! It will be a benefit to us all I assure you!" he cried.

"You mean a benefit to your pocket Taylor!" Luke stood up and shouted. "For crying out loud! All the money will go towards your bank account! And you expect us to help you decide the best way for you to make even more money? You already own half the freaking town on your crusade to run the place!"

"Now, Luke, is it my fault if I think I know what is best for this town? I just want to have us all working together to better our futures!"

"Yeah, that's what they said about communism!" Lorelai joined the fight.

Tristan looked on in astonishment. He had heard of the town meetings in the past, and while he would admit that the reason he never dared to attend one before was because of the horror stories he had heard, he never actually thought them to be true. Rory took note of his look and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"Seems kind of hard to believe that the town is fighting over a vending machine huh?"

"All this time I thought you were exaggerating about these meetings." he said numbly, watching the back and forth between Luke, Lorelai (who was out of her seat jumping up and down dramatically), and Taylor.

"These gatherings don't need exaggeration." Rory whispered back, turning her attention back to the main discussion.

"No, no we won't go! No, no we won't go!" Lorelai shouted at the top of her lungs.

Everyone looked at her in befuddlement.

"Lorelai what the hell are you going on about?" Taylor shouted.

"No, no we won't...I have no idea." Lorelai confessed, she stopped jumping and stood with an expression of perplexity. "I think I'll just sit down now." she said sheepishly.

"Yes, please." Taylor said, still confused at Lorelai's sudden (not to mention random) outburst. "Okay now please people, I'm only asking your opinion so everyone can enjoy the contents of the machine."

"Some of us don't even shop at your store." Babette grumbled.

"Well for those that DO then!" Taylor cried exasperatedly. "Any suggestions? Wait...what do you mean you don't shop at my store?!" he exclaimed, the meaning of Babette's protest coming into focus.

"What about one of those kind that spins around and has all the different levels to put different things in?" Someone suggested.

"What about a coffee machine?" Someone else offered.

"Aw, a person after my own heart!" Lorelai sniffled.

"I was thinking it could be filled with delicious yet healthy snacks." Taylor said.

"Boo!" the Gilmore girls crowed.

"You mean like, tofu snack bars? Who wants to eat that?" Lorelai shouted.

"Not me!" Rory agreed, loudly enough for Taylor to hear.

After ten minutes of back and forth between the grocer and the public finally Lorelai stood up, a thought striking her.

"What about a Slushie machine?" she asked excitedly.

"A Slushie machine?" Taylor shot back skeptically.

"Yeah, you know a machine. It takes ice, and some weird flavor of some kind, and then it...you know makes that whrrrr sound, and then you pull the little lever and it comes out all....slushified." she made up the word on the spot.

"Slushified?" Taylor repeated.

"Are we in Switzerland? I swear I hear an echo."

"All we need is a guy in lederhosen yelling 'Ri-co-la!'" Rory agreed.

"Yes, slushified." Lorelai affirmed.

"Hmm...no!" Taylor denied her request.

"But...!"

"No!"

"What if...?"

"No!"

~

"I'm hungry!" Lorelai whined.

"I'm too tired to cook." Luke grumbled.

"You know I think that's the first time I've ever heard you say that Luke." Rory said thoughtfully.

"Uh oh, I think the girls are rubbing off on you Luke." Jess teased.

"How about we go eat somewhere else tonight?" Luke suggested.

"What about Indian food? I love Indian food." Tristan confessed.

"So do I! How come we didn't find out sooner?" Rory exclaimed excitedly.

"I don't know, maybe because my mom doesn't like the smell of it. She keeps saying that the only way to get the smell out of the house is to burn it down."

The group laughed. "That's what I keep saying!" Lorelai said.

"Because it's true." Jess added.

"Well, sadly I don't think I can join in the festivities." Lane pouted.

"Yeah, neither can I." Henry winced. "Mrs. Kim wants Lane home in fifteen minutes and I really should head back to Hartford."

"Okay, we'll see you later then." Rory and the rest of the group bid the couple goodbye.

"Well, so, let's vote on where to go for food." Lorelai said to the remaining family. Rory opened her mouth but her mother cut her off. "And Indian food is not an option."

~

Lorelai crept up the steps to her parent's house as silently as she could. As she neared the door she stumbled on a potted plant. She cursed but kept going. Sneaking into her parents' house was definitely something she never thought she'd do, after all, sneaking out was her specialty. She swiftly withdrew her key and unlocked the door, walking in stealthily. Creeping up the stairs she winced as the last few creaked under her weight. Finally she breathed a sigh of relief when she reached her former room and shut the door softly behind her. She maneuvered her way around the more than numerous boxes that had piled in during the last few months. Wedding presents. Wedding presents for her wedding. She still couldn't believe it. She was getting married. Finally she stood before the reason for her midnight-mission...her wedding dress. Every time she saw it, it took her breath away. The glow from the moon through the window draped the dress in a fairytale like glow. Taking a deep breath and smiling she stepped forward and ran the cool, silky fabric in her hands, crying in happiness as she did so. Without a word she quickly took off her pajamas, that she didn't bother to change out of when she left the house, and slipped on the gown. She was just about to reach for the zipper when a voice startled her.

"That's the third time this week Lorelai." Emily said coolly from the door in her ivory robe and slippers.

"Mom!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Sshh!" Emily hissed. "Don't wake your father."

Emily crossed the room and came up behind Lorelai and gently twisted her back around so that she was facing the mirror. Smiling she zipped up the dress.

"Thanks mom." Lorelai whispered.

Emily nodded. "So you really love this man."

"How can you tell?" Lorelai teased.

Emily smiled knowingly and stood behind her daughter. "You really are beautiful Lorelai."

"Thank you." Lorelai sighed contently. "I've been itching to try this on again all day."

Emily backed away and sat on Lorelai bed, just staring at her pensively. Finally she cleared her throat.

"Lorelai...I'm sorry."

"For what?" Lorelai frowned, walking to sit next to her mother.

Emily closed her eyes as if remembering something painful. She opened her eyes and looked over at Lorelai's old dollhouse.

"That had windows when we bought it." she remarked.

Lorelai coughed guilty. "Yeah, yeah it did."

"That's what I'm sorry for."

"What? For there being no windows?"

"No, no Lorelai." Emily laughed ever so slightly. "I'm sorry for being the reason those windows are gone. I'm sorry for driving you away, for trying to force you to be something you weren't...something you're not."

"Mom?" Lorelai asked hesitantly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I was so tired of fighting you but I couldn't bring myself to stop. I just kept thinking that if I could get you to see things from my point of view...I envy the relationship you have with Rory. I wish so much that I could go back in time to fix it all." Emily admitted.

"I don't." Lorelai said. "Mom, what you don't get here is that nothing you could have done differently back then would have changed anything. I was immature, I thought that I was unstoppable. It's taken this long to see that you're not this over-bearing, intolerable parent...all the time." she murmured the last part under her breath. "You and I will never have the relationship that I have with Rory but that doesn't mean the one we can have won't be just as great. You're my mother, nothing will change that."

"You really mean it?" Emily asked hopefully.

"I really do."

"So does this mean the war is over?"

"I think so...but that doesn't mean we won't have a few battles every so often." Lorelai kidded.

"I suppose we wouldn't be us if we didn't." Emily agreed.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Hug please?"

Emily was more than willing to comply. She pulled back after a few moments and wiped away the tears that Lorelai didn't realize she had cried.

"There's one last thing you're missing." she said.

"What?"

"Your veil." Emily answered, leading Lorelai back to the mirror.

She pulled out the lacy material and placed it in Lorelai's hands.

"Actually mom, would you do the honors?"

Emily nodded tearfully and fixed the veil over her daughter's head.

"Now, you're ready."

Lorelai sniffled happily.

"I used to try on my dress every night the week I married your father."

"I know, where do you think I got the idea?"

Emily remained silent.

"You are wearing the tiara at the reception right? Because I wore a tiara." she finally said.

"Mom." Lorelai groaned.

~

AN: Okay, yes, I FINALLY got it up!!! So sorry! I swear this was going to be over months ago! Blame is on fan fiction.net!!! I'll have more up soon I promise!!!

PS-I've had this written for like, a month now...sorry I didn't post sooner but I kind of forgot to.