Rating: PG-13
Feedback: Greatly appreciated. I won't withhold writing for feedback, but it certainly makes it feel more worthwhile. I'll put each chapter up seperately, one day at a time to keep people interested. Anything you want to tell me, a line or scene you liked, would honestly make my day.
Author's Notes: This takes place sometime in the future. The events in the Previously on... are partially fictional (some from Oh, to Be Amish) and partially things that have actually happened on the show. The title is from an Erma Bombeck book: Motherhood, the Second Oldest Profession. The Emily Dickinson sex conversation comes from Alex in my English class; it was pretty funny when he said it. Much thanks to Bella for her wonderful, insightful, and understanding help: she's my psychic fic twin!
Music references: The la-las. (There's a bunch of variations. Imagine whichever one you want.) The Barenaked Ladies. Five for Fighting. Third Eye Blind. A theme I'm calling Townie Mischief. (See the scene in Christopher Returns, where Miss Patti spreads the word about Chris through town for an example of what I mean. It's sort of sneaky sounding.)
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They, and some of the scenes in the previously on are not my own writing, they belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and the other creators of the Gilmore Girls universe.
*
(Outside of Stars Hollow High. RORY sits on a bench in her uniform, reading, a cup of coffee in hand. JESS appears behind her and leans his arms on the back of the bench. He watches her read with a half smile on his face, then gently blows on her neck. She jumps, then turns to look at him, smiling. He leans in to kiss her.)
Rory: (pulls back) Not here. Kirk's ticketed three couples just in the time I've been waiting.
Jess: Okay. (grins crookedly) Let's go somewhere else, then.
Rory: I can't.
Jess: Why not?
Rory: My mom needs help at the Dragonfly. I told her I couldn't because I had a Franklin meeting, but then Paris canceled it.
Jess: (walks around to stand in front of her) Why are you here, then?
Rory: (stands up) I thought maybe we could walk over to the Dragonfly together.
Jess: (not following) Why?
Rory: (quickly) Well, I stopped by Luke's to get some coffee, and he said your mom was staying there, so I thought that maybe you could come with me and go talk to her?
Jess: (sets his jaw and looks away, annoyed) She doesn't listen.
Rory: (hopefully) Maybe it'll be different this time. She came to see you, Jess. You should at least talk to her. (trying to explain) Whenever my mom and I are fighting I—
Jess: (sharply) I don't need you telling me what do do, okay?!
Rory: (hurt, in a small voice) That's not what I meant.
Jess: (condescendingly) Look, Rory, this may be a little hard for you to conceive, but my relationship with my mom is nothing like yours! Talking won't help, and neither will you interfering all the time! (He turns and starts walking away from her.)
Rory: (upset) Jess! (Sad la-las. She watches him storm off and her face starts to crumble. With sheer effort she pulls it back together, takes a deep breath, and goes to get her bag from the bench.)
(Sad la-las fade out. RORY is sitting at the front desk at the Dragonfly, chin in her hand, looking depressed. LORELAI enters breathlessly from the door behind her.)
Lorelai: Okay, I'm back.
Rory: (looks up) Better?
Lorelai: Gosh, I'm telling you, I haven't had to pee that badly since this awful party of my parents' when I was pregnant, and my mother wouldn't let me get up from the table because they still hadn't told anyone about me yet and I was starting to show. And I was just sitting there through course after course with my mother glaring at me and... (notices that RORY's not listening) hey, are you okay?
Rory: (coming back to earth) Oh, yeah, I'm fine. (stands up) Um, I left your messages here, and two people called to make reservations, so I wrote it down in the book.
Lorelai: Okay. (watches with concern as RORY grabs her backpack) Hon, are you sure everything's good? You seem kinda...down.
Rory: (covering) No, I'm not down. Absolutely not. No sir. No one could be more up than me. I'm like a balloon. Or the Hubble telescope!
Lorelai: Wow. (joking) Is this a euphemism to let me know that you're high?
Rory: No. (Her smile falters, but she pastes it back in place.) I'm just in a good mood.
Lorelai: (doubtfully) Okay. (goes behind the desk) Um, Sookie and I've been taking turns with the night shift, and it's my turn tonight, so...
Rory: That's all right. I have some reading to catch up on anyway.
Lorelai: Good. Hey, any chance you can come in tomorrow?
Rory: I guess so.
Lorelai: I promise, as soon as we hire some more people, and I'm done at the Independence, this will be a lot less crazy.
Rory: (listlessly) It's okay. (shouldering her backpack) I'm gonna head home now.
Lorelai: Fine. (She watches with concern as RORY trudges out. The phone rings. She answers automatically, her mind elsewhere.) Hello, Dragonfly Inn, Lorelai speaking. (smiles) This weekend? Three rooms? Well, let me check... (flips through the book) you're in luck! Now, you'll be checking in...
(La-las drown out the rest of her conversation. LIZ walks purposefully through the lobby and out the door.)
(La-las trail off. JESS is sitting on a bench in the town common, reading. LIZ approaches from behind him. He senses that she's there and puts the book down, annoyed.)
Jess: (snaps) What?
Liz: Can I sit down?
Jess: It's a free country. (As soon as she sits he stands up.) I got curfew.
Liz: Jess, don't be like that.
Jess: (turns around) Okay, Mother. How should I be?
Liz: (pleadingly) Please sit down. I just want to talk to you.
Jess: (sits down sullenly) So talk.
Liz: (tries to smile) How's school?
Jess: Fine.
Liz: Luke and you getting along okay? (JESS makes a noncommittal noise. LIZ looks down, searching for something else to say.) Lorelai says you're dating her daughter.
Jess: (looks up, trying to hide a twinge of fear) You talked to Lorelai about me?
Liz: Is that a problem?
Jess: (barely containing his anger) What the hell do you think you're doing, talking to Lorelai?! She already has enough reasons to hate me—you just thought you'd give her a few more?!
Liz: Well, excuse me for being friendly! (getting upset) I mean, it's not like I'd have any idea, seeing as how you tell me absolutely nothing about your life!
(JESS rolls his eyes, like he's heard it all before.)
Liz: Were you even going to tell me that you had a girlfriend?! Or did you think it would be better to wait and let me embarrass myself in front of her mother?!
Jess: (explosively, standing up) Why should I tell you anything?! You never listen!
Liz: (standing up as well, furious now) Keep your voice down! You want everyone to know our business?
Jess: Everyone already knows our business! This is Stars Hollow, remember?
Liz: (offended, returning to the original topic) I can't believe you'd accuse me of not listening.
Jess: It's true!
Liz: Oh, I listen plenty! (nastily, her voice rising) I listened when your teachers told me you were failing your classes! I listened to your friends' parents when they called to say you were a bad influence! I listened when your principal called to tell me why you were thrown out of school! Believe me, I've done more than my share of listening!
Jess: (caustically) Yeah, sure, you listen to that stuff, but when it comes down to it, you know nothing about me!
Liz: And whose fault is that?!
Jess: It's yours! (He takes a step closer, and it suddenly apparent that he's taller than her. His tone is scathing, meant to hurt.) Who stopped listening first, Mom? Do you honestly think it was me? Do you think a kid will actually turn on their parents voluntarily, if their parents haven't already abandoned them?! (LIZ looks stricken.) I mean, jesus! You don't know the first thing about me anymore! You don't even know what my favorite book is!
(He glares at her for a minute, disgusted, then turns and walks off. LIZ's eyes fill with tears and she presses a hand to her mouth, sitting down unsteadily on the bench.)
(RORY's sitting at the kitchen table, reading. Someone knocks on the door, and she opens it to see JESS is standing outside, looking miserable. He doesn't meet her eyes.)
Jess: (voice cracking) I'm so sorry.
(RORY immediately pulls him inside and hugs him. He buries his face in her shoulder, holding onto her shirt with both fists. His shoulders shake a little, as if holding in repressed sobs. RORY's eyes are visible over his shoulder, in pain on his behalf. She pulls back slightly and studies him, looking like she wants to cry.)
Rory: Your mom?
(He nods and looks away, embarrassed to be crying. She reaches up and lightly brushes away the tear on his cheek. He swallows hard.)
Rory: Don't let her get to you, okay?
Jess: I wish that— (he chokes on his words and tries again, carefully) I'm somebody else around her. (She waits patiently for him to elaborate.) And I hate that person.
Rory: (softly) My mom's the same way with her parents. Sometimes it just...happens.
(He nods, taking a deep, steadying breath. Gently, she reaches up and kisses him. It's an innocent kiss, like the one the night before, but he grabs onto her shoulders. The silence is overpowering around them as the moment turns passionate. She wraps an arm around his neck to steady herself.)
(Panning shot across the dim lobby of the Dragonfly. A few floral couches are arranged in a circle in the center of the floor. LORELAI is dozing at the front desk.)
Babette: (off-camera) Lorelai!
(LORELAI jumps awake to see BABETTE hurrying towards her in a nightgown.)
Lorelai: (disoriented) Babette! What are you doing here? (worried) Is everything okay at home?
Babette: (ecstatic) Lorelai, sweetie, it was rescinded!
Lorelai: What?
Babette: The law! My mother got it rescinded!
Lorelai: (excited) Are you sure?
Babette: Positive.
Lorelai: How'd you figure this out?
Babette: I was just lying in bed, and suddenly I remembered helping my mother get the petition signed. I was just a little girl when it happened. I completely forgot the other night; it was really hot in there that evening. You know how I get in the heat, my ankles swell up, I start seeing those little black spots...
Lorelai: Right.
Babette: Anyway, as soon as I remembered, I came straight here.
Lorelai: I can see that. Why were you so anxious to tell me, though?
Babette: I have a plan.
Lorelai: Wow, a plan? Do we get code names?
Babette: (lowers her voice to a stage whisper) Meet me tomorrow at the town hall at twelve. Don't tell anyone about this conversation.
Lorelai: (adopting the whisper) Okay. I'll see you tomorrow Babette.
Babette: Night, sugar. (starts to leave, then turns back) Oh, and Lorelai?
Lorelai: Yeah?
Babette: Wear something low-cut.
(BABETTE leaves through the door. LORELAI looks amused and sits down again. LIZ enters through the door and goes to sit on one of the couches. She buries her face in hands; a sob escapes her. LORELAI stands up and goes over to her.)
Lorelai: (concerned) Liz?
Liz: (jumps and looks up) Lorelai! (She hastily wipes at the tears on her face.) I'm sorry, I didn't realize there was anyone else here.
Lorelai: I'm on the night shift. (sits down beside her) Are you okay?
Liz: (after a minute, in a choked voice) No. (sniffs and presses her knuckles to her mouth) He hates me.
Lorelai: Who? Jess?
Liz: (nods, closing her eyes miserably) And I can't—he won't— (slowly, falteringly) I don't know what to do anymore.
Lorelai: You two are going through a tough time, huh?
Liz: (sounding lost) He used to be such a sweet little kid.
Lorelai: (sympathetically) It was probably hard for him, having his dad leave like that.
Liz: It was hard on both of us. After Gary took off, everything changed. We had to move to a smaller apartment, I went back to work full-time. Jess switched schools.
Lorelai: Did you ever ask Jess how he felt about all this?
Liz: I should have. I should have talked to him, but I just—couldn't. (miserably) I mean, my life was falling apart, and every time I looked at him I saw Gary, and all the mistakes I'd made. I didn't realize things were so bad until... (shakes her head) It's too late. Maybe I should just go home.
Lorelai: Oh, don't do that. (gently) Sometimes you just get stuck in a bad pattern with someone, and it's really hard to get out. But it is possible.
Liz: (looks at LORELAI, surprised) You sound like you're speaking from experience.
Lorelai: My parents. Growing up with them—god, I can't remember a time when we didn't fight.
Liz: What happened?
Lorelai: (chuckles wryly) I got pregnant at sixteen and moved out.
Liz: Oh.
Lorelai: Recently we've been trying to work out some of our problems, though.
Liz: Really? Is it working?
Lorelai: Sometimes. Sometimes not so much. (sighs) I guess my point is that it's never too late to start again. Or at least try again.
Liz: It sounds so simple.
Lorelai: Trust me, it's not. But for every time I've walked out of that house, I've walked back in again. And it does get easier.
(LIZ nods, watching her seriously. Both sit in silence for a minute.)
Liz: So... (leans sideways to look at LORELAI, a half smile tugging at her mouth) our kids, huh?
Lorelai: (grins sheepishly) Yeah.
Liz: How long have they been together?
Lorelai: Four months now. They were friends for awhile before that, though.
Liz: Wow.
Lorelai: I know.
Liz: (carefully) How—how is he?
Lorelai: (laughs a little) Oh, I'm not really the best person to ask. You should talk to Rory. I think she knows him better than anyone.
Liz: So it's serious?
Lorelai: Looks like it.
Liz: Good. (confidentially) He normally goes for the type of girl who looks like she should be getting paid at the end of the evening, if you know what I mean. (LORELAI raises her eyebrows, and LIZ lifts her hands to her mouth, aghast.) Oh my god, I didn't mean to imply...
Lorelai: (laughing) Don't worry, that's not Rory. She likes to take things slow.
(Cut to RORY and JESS, still locked in an embrace in the middle of the kitchen. Deep Inside of You by Third Eye Blind starts quietly. He kicks off his shoes as they walk backward into her room, kissing passionately. RORY drops her hands from his back to the hem of his shirt. She starts pulling it off, they separate while he helps her pull it over his head. He takes her face in his hands again; they study each other, wide-eyed. Wonderingly, she touches his shoulders, and pulls him to her. Together they stumble back to her bed, fall onto it, slowly, deliberate. He props himself up on his forearms, hands cradling her face. She smiles, traces his jaw line with her index finger. They kiss again. Fade to black.)
(third commercial break)