"Revolving Satellites Redux" by Gluglug
Chapter three: Hangovers and Letterman crushes
Author: Gluglug
Spoiler Warning/Timing: mid - Third Season
Rating: PG -13
Summary: Rory and Lorelai discuss the previous evening's events
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls and all characters are property of The Dubba Dubba Dubba WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions and Amy Sherman- Palladino. They don't belong to me, just borrowing.
It was Sunday morning and Rory woke with a start. She looked at her clock and groaned when she saw that it was 11AM. She was supposed to meet Paris at the library in an hour to work on their presentation about romantic heroines of the Bronte sisters' stories. Fearing the wrath of Paris, the first thing she did was call her cell phone to tell her that she would be running late. Rory was relieved to get her voice mail - she didn't want to deal with Paris rants without her morning coffee.
Rory went into the kitchen. She was surprised that the coffee maker was empty and there was no sign of her mother. Rory assumed that Lorelai's date had gone really well and that she was still sleeping. Or perhaps she had slept over at Alex's? Her mother had never spent the whole night at a man's house, at least not to Rory's knowledge, even when she was engaged. Rory put the coffee beans into the maker, and went upstairs to find out the scoop.
On her way to the stairs, Rory rubbed her eyes awake and nearly tripped on something. She looked down and saw Luke's toolbox.
"Hey Bert, long time, no see."
As she headed upstairs, Rory couldn't believe she had just greeted a toolbox. Damn her mother's quirks. Every day, she started to think that they were becoming even more alike, if that were possible.
Rory approached Lorelai's room and gently knocked on the door. There was no answer so she peeked in and saw her mom still in bed - lying on her stomach, snoring away. She hated waking her up because she was usually such a grouch first thing. But it was getting late and Lorelai usually never slept past ten on weekends.
Rory went to the bed, sat on the edge and gently shook her mother's shoulder.
"Mom, are you alive in there?"
Lorelai groaned. "Go away, little girl."
"C'mon, Donny Osmond, it's time to get up."
Lorelai turned over onto her back, opened her eyes and squinted. "I feel like crap."
Rory raised an eyebrow at her mother. "Rough night?"
"Like you wouldn't believe."
"Mom, it's after eleven. I'm supposed to meet Paris at the library in about an hour to work on our Bronte sisters project, which doesn't leave me much time for your fourth date with Alex-the-man-of-your-dreams post mortem. I put some coffee on, so the least you can do is come downstairs with me."
"Help Mommy get up."
Rory pulled her up by the hands and got her to stand up. She wobbled at bit, so Rory took her by the hand and led her downstairs. When they reached the bottom step, she didn't want to add to her mother's list of maladies, so she gave her a warning.
"Mom - be careful. Don't trip over Bert on your way to the kitchen."
Lorelai cocked her head at Rory. "Bert?"
"You know, Luke's toolbox, he must've left it behind. I'm assuming he came by yesterday to fix the porch railing."
Considering her fantasies from last night, Rory's unintentional sexual references sent Lorelai into a fit of giggles. "Toolbox, dirty."
Rory grew impatient and practically dragged her mother to the kitchen table. She had a feeling breakfast was going to be like one of those AbFab episodes where she was Saffy and her mother was Edina. She poured two cups of coffee and put one in front of her mother and realized that Paris would blow a gasket if she were any later.
"Here, drink this, you'll feel better. I have to make a call, I'll be back in a second."
Again, she dialed Paris' number and got her voicemail. Rory told her that her mom was sick and she needed to take care of her. She apologized profusely and told her she would call her later and they could go over their presentation by phone. Well, it wasn't exactly a lie, Lorelai was hung over, and that technically meant she was ill.
When Rory returned to the table, her mother had brightened considerably. She still looked like her head was in a bit of pain, but coffee was the panacea for all Gilmore problems.
"Mom, I just lied to Paris so I could stay home and hear all about your date. I'll probably go to hell for that, so this better be a good story."
Lorelai put down her cup and held her head in her hands. "Ugh, where do I begin?"
"At the beginning?"
"Nah, I'll start at the end and work my way back. Alex and I broke up last night."
Rory's blue eyes widened. "You're kidding, what happened?"
Lorelai looked soberly at her daughter. "I wish I were kidding."
"So you didn't sleep with him last night?"
"Rory, what makes you think I slept with him?"
"Mom, it was date number four."
"How do you know about date number four?"
"I may still be a virgin but I'm not stupid, you know."
"What do you mean by "may" - you and Jess haven't done the deed without getting my written permission first, have you?"
"Of course not. Don't worry, my virginity is still intact. And it's not like I have time for that anyway, I've barely seen Jess all week because of my final semester in Chilton hell. Anyway, we're not talking about my romantic troubles, we're talking about yours."
"Right, well I hope your virgin ears can handle what I'm about to tell you."
"Mom, I'll be ok."
"Well, Alex and I were doing what many consenting adults do on a fourth date, and it was going really well, until I did the most inappropriate thing ever, at least in bed."
Rory had no idea what to expect and held her breath. "Mom, don't be gross, please."
"I called out the wrong name."
Rory giggled. "George Clooney or David Letterman?"
"You know about my Letterman crush?"
"Oh come on. I hear you giggling in front of the TV when you should be getting ready for bed. I know you wanna to marry him."
"All right, I do have a crush on him - it's that crooked grin that gets me every time. But it wasn't him or George."
"Then who was it?"
"Luke."
"Huh? You mean as in Perry or Skywalker?"
"I wish." She sighed. "As in..Danes."
"Whoa."
"You can say that again, Keanu. Hey, he could've been another option along with Clooney and Letterman."
"You called out Luke's name while you were with Alex? Wow - that must've been embarrassing."
"That's the understatement of the year. He kicked me out of bed so fast, I didn't even know what hit me. I tried to explain but he wouldn't listen. He called me a cab, I got dressed in a hurry and that is the end of Lorelai and Alex - a match made in hell!"
"What kind of explanation could you offer him, anyway?"
"Well, Luke was here yesterday fixing the porch, as you astutely pointed out. I made him some tea and we talked for a bit in the kitchen, at this very table. I haven't spent much alone time with him lately, so I guess he was just on my mind. And he left Bert here, so..."
Lorelai started to blush - she was having those dirty Luke thoughts again.
"I think I'm beginning to understand your 'toolbox, dirty' comment and the uncontrolled giggling."
"Rory, get your mind out of the gutter."
"Projecting much?"
Lorelai sighed. "Okay, I admit it - I'm having not-so-innocent thoughts about Luke and his toolbox."
Rory rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'll never look at Bert the same way again." She paused. "Hey, I'm wondering if we should revisit your dream."
"Which dream, Dr. Freud?"
"Remember the one you had right before I came back from Washington - the one where you and Luke were married and he talked to your stomach?"
Lorelai had forgotten that dream, but apparently Rory hadn't. It all came rushing back, especially the three kisses he gave her. "Yeah, I remember."
"You rejected my analysis that you were secretly in love with him and wanted his babies, I hope you're not still in denial, are you?"
"I don't know. Just because I'm having lustful thoughts about Luke doesn't necessarily mean I want to become Mrs.-backwards-baseball-cap and have diner babies for the rest of my life."
"Oh yeah?"
"Oh come on, Rory. Luke is dating Nicole now, he's finally getting something resembling a life and the last thing I want to do is screw that up for him. I can't just walk into the diner and say, 'Hey, Luke I want some coffee and pancakes. Oh and by the way, the other night I called out your name while I was having sex with another man, what do you think of that?'"
"Hmmm. Well, maybe you're starting to notice him because he's moving on with his life, he's not waiting around for you to jump his bones anymore."
"Rory, what are you talking about? He's moving on from Rachel, not me. I thought you were the only holdout in the Stars Hollow crackpot-Luke-loves- Lorelai theory."
"Well, I've held my tongue, but I've always thought it held some weight. I mean - think of all the sweet things he's done for you, for us. He's always giving us free coffee, and he's not the generous type. He drove you to the hospital when Grandpa was sick, and Luke hates hospitals. He built you the chuppa even though he didn't like Max, and he's always fixing things around the house, including the porch rail for the hundredth time. And you know he looks out for me like I'm a daughter."
"Yeah, and he also gave me the cold shoulder the entire summer, that's really sweet," Lorelai snorted.
"Well, that's because you hurt him."
Lorelai started to think that Rory was making sense. She had hurt Luke, badly, after all the incredibly sweet things he had done for them. And he did wind up forgiving her in the end.
"Oh Rory, what if you're right? I mean I'm not running to the diner right now to declare my undying love for him - this isn't one of your Bronte stories. But I've got to give this some more thought."
"I'm glad to hear it. You know, even though he's dating Nicole, it doesn't mean that he's not still waiting for you. I don't think Luke could just turn off his feelings. I would bet on my rare book collection AND my U.K. imports that you and Luke will be a twosome of cuteness some day."
"Wow, you're that sure? You wouldn't be lying to Mommy to make her feel better, would you?"
"I'm sure," Rory nodded vigorously. The truth was she wasn't 100% sure, but she wanted her to seriously consider a future with Luke. She suddenly realized she was hungry and needed energy to complete her school project and deal with Paris.
"Let's see what we can salvage in the fridge for brunch. We're not going to the diner today, are we?"
"You read my mind. I can't face Luke again until I know what I'm gonna do about this."
"Okay, but make up your mind soon, I'm not about to become a fixture at Al's Pancake World."
A/N: That went on a little longer than I had anticipated, but hope y'all like it. I also wanted to try writing more from a Rory POV, b/c I don't write much Rory centered fic. Jess might pop up later too, but all the Literati folks should look elsewhere.
Oh, thanks for all the kind reviews so far - will write for feedback, because I'm certainly not doing this for cash.
Not so inside joke alerts: I put Lauren Graham's crushes on Clooney and Letterman in here. I also put in a small shout out to "Pyramid" - the Donny Osmond reference. Scott Patterson was a recent guest - it's so jarring to see him without his Luke costume. Also the "twosome of cuteness" is a Buffy-ism from way back. I thought it was appropriate for L/L.
Chapter three: Hangovers and Letterman crushes
Author: Gluglug
Spoiler Warning/Timing: mid - Third Season
Rating: PG -13
Summary: Rory and Lorelai discuss the previous evening's events
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls and all characters are property of The Dubba Dubba Dubba WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions and Amy Sherman- Palladino. They don't belong to me, just borrowing.
It was Sunday morning and Rory woke with a start. She looked at her clock and groaned when she saw that it was 11AM. She was supposed to meet Paris at the library in an hour to work on their presentation about romantic heroines of the Bronte sisters' stories. Fearing the wrath of Paris, the first thing she did was call her cell phone to tell her that she would be running late. Rory was relieved to get her voice mail - she didn't want to deal with Paris rants without her morning coffee.
Rory went into the kitchen. She was surprised that the coffee maker was empty and there was no sign of her mother. Rory assumed that Lorelai's date had gone really well and that she was still sleeping. Or perhaps she had slept over at Alex's? Her mother had never spent the whole night at a man's house, at least not to Rory's knowledge, even when she was engaged. Rory put the coffee beans into the maker, and went upstairs to find out the scoop.
On her way to the stairs, Rory rubbed her eyes awake and nearly tripped on something. She looked down and saw Luke's toolbox.
"Hey Bert, long time, no see."
As she headed upstairs, Rory couldn't believe she had just greeted a toolbox. Damn her mother's quirks. Every day, she started to think that they were becoming even more alike, if that were possible.
Rory approached Lorelai's room and gently knocked on the door. There was no answer so she peeked in and saw her mom still in bed - lying on her stomach, snoring away. She hated waking her up because she was usually such a grouch first thing. But it was getting late and Lorelai usually never slept past ten on weekends.
Rory went to the bed, sat on the edge and gently shook her mother's shoulder.
"Mom, are you alive in there?"
Lorelai groaned. "Go away, little girl."
"C'mon, Donny Osmond, it's time to get up."
Lorelai turned over onto her back, opened her eyes and squinted. "I feel like crap."
Rory raised an eyebrow at her mother. "Rough night?"
"Like you wouldn't believe."
"Mom, it's after eleven. I'm supposed to meet Paris at the library in about an hour to work on our Bronte sisters project, which doesn't leave me much time for your fourth date with Alex-the-man-of-your-dreams post mortem. I put some coffee on, so the least you can do is come downstairs with me."
"Help Mommy get up."
Rory pulled her up by the hands and got her to stand up. She wobbled at bit, so Rory took her by the hand and led her downstairs. When they reached the bottom step, she didn't want to add to her mother's list of maladies, so she gave her a warning.
"Mom - be careful. Don't trip over Bert on your way to the kitchen."
Lorelai cocked her head at Rory. "Bert?"
"You know, Luke's toolbox, he must've left it behind. I'm assuming he came by yesterday to fix the porch railing."
Considering her fantasies from last night, Rory's unintentional sexual references sent Lorelai into a fit of giggles. "Toolbox, dirty."
Rory grew impatient and practically dragged her mother to the kitchen table. She had a feeling breakfast was going to be like one of those AbFab episodes where she was Saffy and her mother was Edina. She poured two cups of coffee and put one in front of her mother and realized that Paris would blow a gasket if she were any later.
"Here, drink this, you'll feel better. I have to make a call, I'll be back in a second."
Again, she dialed Paris' number and got her voicemail. Rory told her that her mom was sick and she needed to take care of her. She apologized profusely and told her she would call her later and they could go over their presentation by phone. Well, it wasn't exactly a lie, Lorelai was hung over, and that technically meant she was ill.
When Rory returned to the table, her mother had brightened considerably. She still looked like her head was in a bit of pain, but coffee was the panacea for all Gilmore problems.
"Mom, I just lied to Paris so I could stay home and hear all about your date. I'll probably go to hell for that, so this better be a good story."
Lorelai put down her cup and held her head in her hands. "Ugh, where do I begin?"
"At the beginning?"
"Nah, I'll start at the end and work my way back. Alex and I broke up last night."
Rory's blue eyes widened. "You're kidding, what happened?"
Lorelai looked soberly at her daughter. "I wish I were kidding."
"So you didn't sleep with him last night?"
"Rory, what makes you think I slept with him?"
"Mom, it was date number four."
"How do you know about date number four?"
"I may still be a virgin but I'm not stupid, you know."
"What do you mean by "may" - you and Jess haven't done the deed without getting my written permission first, have you?"
"Of course not. Don't worry, my virginity is still intact. And it's not like I have time for that anyway, I've barely seen Jess all week because of my final semester in Chilton hell. Anyway, we're not talking about my romantic troubles, we're talking about yours."
"Right, well I hope your virgin ears can handle what I'm about to tell you."
"Mom, I'll be ok."
"Well, Alex and I were doing what many consenting adults do on a fourth date, and it was going really well, until I did the most inappropriate thing ever, at least in bed."
Rory had no idea what to expect and held her breath. "Mom, don't be gross, please."
"I called out the wrong name."
Rory giggled. "George Clooney or David Letterman?"
"You know about my Letterman crush?"
"Oh come on. I hear you giggling in front of the TV when you should be getting ready for bed. I know you wanna to marry him."
"All right, I do have a crush on him - it's that crooked grin that gets me every time. But it wasn't him or George."
"Then who was it?"
"Luke."
"Huh? You mean as in Perry or Skywalker?"
"I wish." She sighed. "As in..Danes."
"Whoa."
"You can say that again, Keanu. Hey, he could've been another option along with Clooney and Letterman."
"You called out Luke's name while you were with Alex? Wow - that must've been embarrassing."
"That's the understatement of the year. He kicked me out of bed so fast, I didn't even know what hit me. I tried to explain but he wouldn't listen. He called me a cab, I got dressed in a hurry and that is the end of Lorelai and Alex - a match made in hell!"
"What kind of explanation could you offer him, anyway?"
"Well, Luke was here yesterday fixing the porch, as you astutely pointed out. I made him some tea and we talked for a bit in the kitchen, at this very table. I haven't spent much alone time with him lately, so I guess he was just on my mind. And he left Bert here, so..."
Lorelai started to blush - she was having those dirty Luke thoughts again.
"I think I'm beginning to understand your 'toolbox, dirty' comment and the uncontrolled giggling."
"Rory, get your mind out of the gutter."
"Projecting much?"
Lorelai sighed. "Okay, I admit it - I'm having not-so-innocent thoughts about Luke and his toolbox."
Rory rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'll never look at Bert the same way again." She paused. "Hey, I'm wondering if we should revisit your dream."
"Which dream, Dr. Freud?"
"Remember the one you had right before I came back from Washington - the one where you and Luke were married and he talked to your stomach?"
Lorelai had forgotten that dream, but apparently Rory hadn't. It all came rushing back, especially the three kisses he gave her. "Yeah, I remember."
"You rejected my analysis that you were secretly in love with him and wanted his babies, I hope you're not still in denial, are you?"
"I don't know. Just because I'm having lustful thoughts about Luke doesn't necessarily mean I want to become Mrs.-backwards-baseball-cap and have diner babies for the rest of my life."
"Oh yeah?"
"Oh come on, Rory. Luke is dating Nicole now, he's finally getting something resembling a life and the last thing I want to do is screw that up for him. I can't just walk into the diner and say, 'Hey, Luke I want some coffee and pancakes. Oh and by the way, the other night I called out your name while I was having sex with another man, what do you think of that?'"
"Hmmm. Well, maybe you're starting to notice him because he's moving on with his life, he's not waiting around for you to jump his bones anymore."
"Rory, what are you talking about? He's moving on from Rachel, not me. I thought you were the only holdout in the Stars Hollow crackpot-Luke-loves- Lorelai theory."
"Well, I've held my tongue, but I've always thought it held some weight. I mean - think of all the sweet things he's done for you, for us. He's always giving us free coffee, and he's not the generous type. He drove you to the hospital when Grandpa was sick, and Luke hates hospitals. He built you the chuppa even though he didn't like Max, and he's always fixing things around the house, including the porch rail for the hundredth time. And you know he looks out for me like I'm a daughter."
"Yeah, and he also gave me the cold shoulder the entire summer, that's really sweet," Lorelai snorted.
"Well, that's because you hurt him."
Lorelai started to think that Rory was making sense. She had hurt Luke, badly, after all the incredibly sweet things he had done for them. And he did wind up forgiving her in the end.
"Oh Rory, what if you're right? I mean I'm not running to the diner right now to declare my undying love for him - this isn't one of your Bronte stories. But I've got to give this some more thought."
"I'm glad to hear it. You know, even though he's dating Nicole, it doesn't mean that he's not still waiting for you. I don't think Luke could just turn off his feelings. I would bet on my rare book collection AND my U.K. imports that you and Luke will be a twosome of cuteness some day."
"Wow, you're that sure? You wouldn't be lying to Mommy to make her feel better, would you?"
"I'm sure," Rory nodded vigorously. The truth was she wasn't 100% sure, but she wanted her to seriously consider a future with Luke. She suddenly realized she was hungry and needed energy to complete her school project and deal with Paris.
"Let's see what we can salvage in the fridge for brunch. We're not going to the diner today, are we?"
"You read my mind. I can't face Luke again until I know what I'm gonna do about this."
"Okay, but make up your mind soon, I'm not about to become a fixture at Al's Pancake World."
A/N: That went on a little longer than I had anticipated, but hope y'all like it. I also wanted to try writing more from a Rory POV, b/c I don't write much Rory centered fic. Jess might pop up later too, but all the Literati folks should look elsewhere.
Oh, thanks for all the kind reviews so far - will write for feedback, because I'm certainly not doing this for cash.
Not so inside joke alerts: I put Lauren Graham's crushes on Clooney and Letterman in here. I also put in a small shout out to "Pyramid" - the Donny Osmond reference. Scott Patterson was a recent guest - it's so jarring to see him without his Luke costume. Also the "twosome of cuteness" is a Buffy-ism from way back. I thought it was appropriate for L/L.