Title: It All Starts With A Kiss
Chapter 17: Snow Parties
Yes, almost everything in that last chapter was Paris' dream. Hey, at least I made you laugh, right? Actually, I made me laugh too. That whole part where Lorelai fell out of bed and was all "make it stop make it stop my mind's eye is ruined!"? That made me laugh, and it makes me laugh every time I read it. I also like the whole "You drive a hard bargain, Gilmore!" "You need three times more therapy than you're getting, Gellar!" Yeah, it kinda reminded me of this scene from the first season of FRIENDS. (I'm a huge FRIENDS freak.) Anyway, the girls have challenged the boys to a game of poker cause the guys didn't think girls could play. And Ross, who's been in love with Rachel for forever, plays one-on-one with her. So this one time, he's coming out of the bathroom, and he says "Your money's mine, Greene!" and she says "Your fly is open, Gellar!" See? See? See? See? See? See how it's the same, kinda? They've even got that whole G/G thing going, and Ross' last name is Gellar, too! Wow! Okay, I'll stop boosting my ego now.
I'm really hyper right now. And I mean really. It's bad. And also, it's Christmas Eve, so I might not get as much out and as quickly as I've been doing lately. You might actually have to wait, oh, I dunno, as long as a week. Oh, it's bad, I know, but it is the holidays, so you're probably not even gonna be waiting, cause you're gonna be with your family and opening up your presents and wishing the new Gilmore girls would get here sooner. *sigh* Now I'm depressed. Wait, wait...yep, I'm still hyper.
~~~~
Luke woke up early to find himself alone in bed. He slid out of bed and into a robe, looking for Lorelai. As he was walking to the kitchen, he noticed the time flashing on the VCR. 2:53. Only Lorelai could be awake at three in the morning. Luke didn't find her in the kitchen, and she wasn't in the bathroom. He stood in the entryway, looking into the living room, wondering where she was. Something caught his eye through the window, and he grabbed his and Lorelai's coats and walked outside. Sure enough, there she was, sitting in a lawn chair in the yard, her head thrown back to catch the falling snowflakes in her mouth. Luke walked across the bare ground, already covered with patches of snow in some parts.
"Ahh, Luke! Come for my snow party?"
"No, the sane man has come to cover crazy lady with coat."
"Oh, I don't need a coat. It's just snow!"
"Yes, mid-Febuary snow. That mean's it's cold, and wet, and it's lost its nice, new-snow of the year feeling."
"That's what you think. Personally, I love snow all year round. Good things always happen when it snows."
"Hold that thought." Luke walked off.
"Luke, where are you going? Luke?"
"Relax, I wanna sit down too." Luke said as he reappeared seconds later with a lawn chair of his own. He sat down and turned to Lorelai. "So, you were saying good things always happen when it snows."
"Oh, yeah, every time."
"Like what?"
"Uh, my first kiss, Rory's first steps, things like that."
"So lots of firsts?"
"Not only firsts. And it's not always memorable, there's also stuff like a really good movie, a really good feeling, a great cup of coffee."
"Would you like me to make you some?"
"Yuck, no. I don't like the coffee without the caffiene. It sorta ruins it."
"Fair enough. So what special thing do you think's gonna happen today, while it's snowing?"
"Uh, I don't know." Lorelai looked off into the distance and contemplated. "I guess maybe--"
She was cut off by a large "OOF!" coming from Luke. She turned to find he had fallen through the chair and was sitting on the ground, his legs sticking out of the hole.
"--that." Lorelai laughed.
~~~~
Rory let the hot water from the kitchen faucet pour into one section of the sink. After it was filled to her satisfaction, she turned off the faucet and squeezed soap into the water. It didn't make bubbles, so she picked up a dish brush and swirled it around the water.
"You know, that's really not the best way to do that." Jess whispered into her ear as he slipped his arms around her waist.
"Well, since you're such a smart diner boy, why don't you show me?"
"It's way too early in the morning." Jess let go of Rory and extracted waffles from the freezer.
"What 'way'? It's not way too early in the morning; it's only six-thirty. Only two waffles."
"I'm a growing boy, I need my waffles. And I'm not Luke, you're not Luke; six-thirty is way way too early in the morning."
"Only two waffles; if you're really hungry you can grab something on the way to school."
"Whatever." Jess shoved the two waffles into the toaster. "Now, why are you crazily doing chores three hours before either of us has to be at school?"
"Dunno. I just felt like it."
"'Just felt like it.' That answer isn't vague in the least."
Rory sighed and turned around to face Jess. "It snowed in Stars Hollow this morning."
"And so you decided to clean. Hmm. That still makes no sense."
"Well, it snowed. My mom's really big on snow. She takes midnight snow walks and everything."
"Okay. So...?"
"So, I wasn't there this morning." Rory started scrubbing a pot again. "And she had to take her midnight snow walk by herself."
"She's got Luke."
"Yeah, she's got Luke, so she doesn't need me." Rory threw the brush and pot into the water, which caused it to splash all over her. She didn't notice and faced Jess again, starting to cry. "My mom doesn't need me anymore."
"Shh, shh, it's okay." Jess gathered Rory into his arms. "She'll always need you. You're the only person who understands her."
"That's just it! I'm the only person who understands her now. What if the kid she's having now knows her too, and she doesn't need me anymore?"
"Are you jealous?" Jess asked, holding Rory at arm's length so he could see her.
"No! Well...maybe."
"I think you are jealous."
"Well, so what if I am? I can be jealous. Dad got married and had a baby and we're just barely civil to each other. What if Mom goes off to be someone else's mom?"
"She will always be your mother. You grew up together. Well, you grew up; she's still sixteen. Hell, she might even be four."
Rory laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I am right. You're her best friend. She can't be closer to anyone. The two of you are sixteen years apart; she's gonna be thirty-something years older than this kid."
"Yeah. Yeah, okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay. Now, let's get going on these dishes."
Jess groaned. "Wait, don't you wanna talk about how you're jealous of your mom's new kid?"
"Dishes, buster."
~~~~
"Lukey, it's noon, it's time for your break." Lorelai trailed behind Luke as he complied with his customers' wants and needs.
"Lorelai, it's insanely busy here. And don't call me Lukey."
"Fine, Lucas, I'll just have to follow you around, annoying you, until you decide you want to take a break with the mother of your unborn child. As a matter of fact, I think I'll sing. Here I go!" Lorelai took a deep breath and prepared to sing. She looked out of the corner of her eye; Luke wasn't paying attention to her. She glared at him, looked around, and finally climbed on top of the counter. "Excuse me, excuse me!" she yelled to get people's attention. Individual conversations were dropped and all turned to look at Lorelai, wondering what she was going to do now. All except Luke. Lorelai stuck her tongue out at his back, and then launched into song.
"Way down among Brazilians
Coffee beans grow by the billions
So they've got to find those extra cups to fill.
They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil."
"Lorelai! What the hell are you doing?" Luke finally noticed her.
"Singing 'The Coffee Song' and trying to get you to take a break." Lorelai grinned and sat on the edge of the counter.
"And to do that you have to dance on my clean counter?"
"Yeah, it looks like it."
"Get down." Luke extended his hand to help her down.
"Okay." Lorelai slid off the counter, ignoring his hand. "So, you coming to lunch with me?"
Luke sighed. "Lorelai, it's really busy right now."
Lorelai pouted.
"Tell you what: I'll get you from work at four, and we'll watch a movie and eat and do whatever."
"That's an okay compromise. What movie?"
"What movie do you want to see?"
"There's a 'Brady Brides' marathon on ABC Family tonight."
"No."
"Yes."
"No, I'm not watching another 'Brady Bunch' movie."
"Oh, but it's fun! And you suggested it."
"Which movie is it?" Luke sighed.
"Yay! It's The Brady Girls Get Married. And the marathon starts at eight."
"Okay. I'll see you later."
"Bye." Lorelai and Luke kissed goodbye and she exited the diner, amid waves of applause from the townspeople. Luke sighed and returned to refilling cups.
~~~~
"School is boring," Jess said as he ran across Rory in the library later that day.
"Maybe to you. I like my classes."
"Freak."
"Weirdo."
"Cute."
"Hot."
Jess and Rory met for a kiss, but were soon interrupted by a crazed teacher ranting about people doing it in front of his book, so they went their seperate ways, heading for their classes. They met up again at four-thirty, after their last classes. It was Rory's day to work (she worked Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday; Jess worked Monday, Wednesday, Friday) so Jess headed to buy desperately-needed groceries while Rory transformed into a copy girl for the rest of the afternoon.
~~~~
"It's time for a break!" Lorelai proclaimed at the end of the movie.
"Hey, I have an idea."
"If you say 'burn the video,' I'm going to slap you with it."
"No, I have an idea for our break."
"Okay." Lorelai said hesitantly.
"Okay. I was thinking we could have a snowball fight."
"Oh, that's, like, so cool! Totally! We can, like, totally have a snowball fight."
"I'm taking away the Valley Girl movie."
"Party pooper."
"Yeah. Hey, I gotta grab something from upstairs, so I'll meet you outside."
"Okay," Lorelai agreed quickly, her eyes glinting mischievously, already thinking of her battle plan.
Luke nodded and headed upstairs, while Lorelai grabbed her coat and ran outside, scooping up snow and shaping it as quickly as she could. She saw him at the door and ran behind the side of the house. She gave him two seconds to shape his snowball, and then attacked.
"Ha! I got you!" Lorelai yelled as one smacked him in the head. While she was doing her victory dance, he threw three her way. They all hit her, two in the head and one in the chest. She looked up with a shocked look on her face. He just grinned and shrugged.
"I used to play lots of baseball."
"Oh, no fair! Now I know why you suggested this!" Lorelai threw four snowballs at him, missing with three.
"Oh, but you agreed!" He threw another two at her.
"Yeah, but I'm not at all like Sporty Spice!" She threw one at him, her last one.
"Good, I don't like the Spice Girls!" He threw two more at her.
"Not even Ginger?" Lorelai asked, standing still in front of him. A perfect target.
"Not even Paprika," Luke declared as he threw one last snowball directly at her chest. She put her hands in front of her chest, and the snow exploded in her gloves. Something small and black fell into the snow at her feet.
"What's this?" Lorelai bent to pick it up. Luke kneeled in front of her as she stood up and took one of her gloved hands in both of his.
"Lorelai Gilmore, I love you."
Lorelai opened the velvet jewelry box and gasped.
"I love you with all my heart, basically since the moment I met you. I mean, sure, you drive me crazy as hell sometimes, but you make me laugh at the same time. And I figure," Luke took the ring out and let the box drop into the snow, "that we'd be pretty good together. I mean, you're already having my kid, so we know we work in that department. And this may not be like the last time you got proposed to, or any of the other times you got proposed to, but I love you with all my heart and soul and coffee, and I would give anything if you would give me the honor of being your husband." Luke slipped Lorelai's glove off her hand and slid the ring onto her finger. She gazed at it. It was a white-gold band with a diamond set in the center that resembled the shape of a snowball. She looked closer and noticed the small snowflakes etched into the band. She looked back at Luke, tears in her eyes.
"Well, I don't know. I mean, after what you said about the Spice Girls? That almost makes me wanna say no. But you mentioned coffee in your proposal, and no one's ever done that before so--"
Luke held his breath.
"--yes, I will marry you."
"Yes!" Luke stood up and hugged Lorelai. She laughed and held her hand out behind him, gazing at her ring.
"I love this ring."
"I knew you would." Luke pulled away so they could both gaze at the ring.
"I just told you all that stuff about the snow today. How'd you get the ring so fast?"
"Lorelai, I've known you for years. I picked stuff up here and there."
"Oh. But it fits just perfectly!"
"Rory's pretty resourceful sometimes."
"Oh, Rory! I gotta call her!"
"Wait! I've got a better idea."
~~~~
"What time is it?" Rory asked Jess as she walked out of the bathroom, fresh from a shower.
"8:22." Jess answered from the kitchen where he was cooking dinner.
"Okay. Mmm, that smells great."
"To you, anything that didn't come from a take-out place smells great."
"Not true! Stuff from take-out places can smell good, too." Rory grinned.
"Iron-stomach lady."
"Says the fan of peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches."
"At least pb&b is made at home."
"Well, that's why I moved in with you. Home-cooked meals."
"Ah, the truth comes out."
"Yes, you've discovered my secret."
"I didn't discover it, you told it to me. You would make a horrible spy."
"That's what the Russians tell me."
"Here, Nadia, either leave or cook."
"Oh, I gotta change."
"But I like the robe and towel. It's very..."
"Just-out-of-the-shower?"
"I was gonna say Playboy mansion, but yours works too."
Rory threw one of her slippers at Jess and headed back to her room to change.
"Hey, hey, no shoes near the food!" Jess yelled after her. She yelled something to the extent of "yeah, whatever" back. Jess shook his head and continued cooking. The phone started ringing, but Jess was busy.
"Rory? Phone!"
She didn't answer, so Jess let the answering machine pick up.
"We're poor students and kinda busy, so leave a message!" Rory's voice said cheerfully before the beep. Then the singing started.
"We're getting married in the morning, so buzz us up, would you please? We're getting married in the morning," (then Luke's voice dropped away,) "and I wanna go shopping for maternity clothes," (and Luke's voice came back,) "so buzz us up, would you please?" There was a beep as the machine cut off the singing adults. Rory entered from her room.
"Was that my mom and Luke singing?" she asked as she pulled her wet hair back into a ponytail. Jess nodded. "Guess we should buzz 'em up."
"Yeah, we probably should." Jess flipped a hamburger patty over.
Rory headed over to the front door and pressed the button that let them in. "Do I look okay?" she asked, turning around for Jess to get the full effect.
"Yeah. It's jeans and a sweater; you look great."
"Thanks for that oh-so-enthusiastic response."
"My pleasure."
Rory blew Jess a kiss and headed for the door.
"Where ya goin'?"
"To meet 'em at the elevator."
"Wait, I'll go with you." Jess put the pan with the hamburger patties in it off to the side, turned off the stove, and headed out the door with Rory. They stood at one of the elevators, watching the numbers travel upward, and then stop at ten. They stared at the number, willing it to change, willing the doors to open, anything.
"So what do you think they meant by--aah!" Jess had turned to ask Rory a question and gotten a surprise from Luke and Lorelai, standing behind them.
"Well, Jess, it's nice to see you too."
"Lorelai!"
"I'm just everywhere, aren't I?"
"Yeah, Mom, you are. Now how'd you get here?"
"There's another elevator, sweets."
"Ohhh. Yeah. Well, come on, let's go to the apartment."
"Okay. Wait. Do you have food in the apartment?"
"Yeah." Jess shrugged.
"What kind?"
"Hamburgers."
"Freshly made?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, we can go. That hasn't been known to make me throw up. Yet."
Jess shuddered and followed the other three into the apartment.
"So, what are you doing here?" Rory asked her mother and the man she was attached to as they settled onto couches. "Without any luggage, any notice and at the last minute."
"Oh, well, something really big happened."
"Let me guess: you're pregnant." Jess said as he settled into the couch next to Rory.
"Oh, that's old news." Lorelai dismissed that thought with a wave of her hand. "The big news is...Luke proposed!"
"And Lorelai accepted!"
Lorelai squealed happily and Luke squeezed her hands. They both had huge grins on their faces.
"Wow, that's great!"
"Yeah, good for you."
"Mom, let me see the ring." Rory walked over to her mother and held out her hand. Lorelai hesitated, and then extracted her hand from Luke's grasp. "Ooh, that's pretty! Isn't that pretty, Jess?"
"Of course."
"Jess, get over here and look at my ring."
"Yes, ma'am." Jess leapt off of the couch and ran over to Lorelai's side. He collapsed near the couch and grabbed her hand. "Oooooh!"
"Yeah, I know!"
"You did good, Luke." Rory said.
"Thanks."
"It's really unique, Mom."
"I know. And it's engraved!"
"Really? What's it say?" Rory sat on the couch next to her mother, who detached herself from Luke and sat closer to Rory. Luke and Jess were left staring at each other.
"Here, let me show you." Loreali slid her ring off her finger and showed Rory the words written in fancy script inside.
"'To Lorelai From Luke With Love And Coffee-Flavored Kisses.'" Rory read aloud. "Awww. That's so sweet! Luke, I always knew you were an old softie. Mom, he's blushing!"
"I know." Lorelai giggled.
"Okay. I don't get the 'coffee-flavored kisses' part."
"Well, he kissed me, and then when I kissed him, I told him his kisses tasted like coffee."
"How? You don't drink coffee." Jess asked Luke as the girls kept babbling. Luke just shrugged.
"Aww. So, are you guys going to stay here?"
"Okay!"
"No, Mom, I wasn't suggesting. I was asking. We've got school and work and--"
"And you're young! But I'm your mother--admittedly devestatingly beautiful--and I'm pregnant, and we brought no clothes, so you should let us stay with you. Besides, I wanna go shopping for pregnant clothes!"
"Pregnant clothes?" the other three asked incredulously.
"Maternity clothes, whatever."
"Mom, you're not showing yet! You're only, like, two months pregnant."
"Uh! I am not two months pregnant, for your information, I just hit twelve weeks, which puts me at three months, only four weeks from my second trimester."
"Okay, whatever. You're still at least two months from showing."
"That's sweet, babe, but as we can tell by the non-existent pictures from when I was pregnant with you, I'm gonna blow up as big as a whale in two weeks at the latest. It's already starting. See?" Lorelai flattened her T-shirt to her stomach.
"No, you're not already showing, and the only way you're gonna blow up as big as a whale before too long into your second trimester would be if you ate too much."
"Are you insinuating that I eat a lot?"
"I ain't insinuating nothing, honey, I'm flat-out saying it."
"Ooh, good accent!"
"Thanks, I thought it was okay."
"Are you kidding, I think that's the best one you've done!"
"You're so sweet!"
"Aww, it's nothing, I'm your mother." Lorelai and Rory hugged.
"Girls make no sense."
"Gilmore girls make no sense." Luke clarified.
Chapter 17: Snow Parties
Yes, almost everything in that last chapter was Paris' dream. Hey, at least I made you laugh, right? Actually, I made me laugh too. That whole part where Lorelai fell out of bed and was all "make it stop make it stop my mind's eye is ruined!"? That made me laugh, and it makes me laugh every time I read it. I also like the whole "You drive a hard bargain, Gilmore!" "You need three times more therapy than you're getting, Gellar!" Yeah, it kinda reminded me of this scene from the first season of FRIENDS. (I'm a huge FRIENDS freak.) Anyway, the girls have challenged the boys to a game of poker cause the guys didn't think girls could play. And Ross, who's been in love with Rachel for forever, plays one-on-one with her. So this one time, he's coming out of the bathroom, and he says "Your money's mine, Greene!" and she says "Your fly is open, Gellar!" See? See? See? See? See? See how it's the same, kinda? They've even got that whole G/G thing going, and Ross' last name is Gellar, too! Wow! Okay, I'll stop boosting my ego now.
I'm really hyper right now. And I mean really. It's bad. And also, it's Christmas Eve, so I might not get as much out and as quickly as I've been doing lately. You might actually have to wait, oh, I dunno, as long as a week. Oh, it's bad, I know, but it is the holidays, so you're probably not even gonna be waiting, cause you're gonna be with your family and opening up your presents and wishing the new Gilmore girls would get here sooner. *sigh* Now I'm depressed. Wait, wait...yep, I'm still hyper.
~~~~
Luke woke up early to find himself alone in bed. He slid out of bed and into a robe, looking for Lorelai. As he was walking to the kitchen, he noticed the time flashing on the VCR. 2:53. Only Lorelai could be awake at three in the morning. Luke didn't find her in the kitchen, and she wasn't in the bathroom. He stood in the entryway, looking into the living room, wondering where she was. Something caught his eye through the window, and he grabbed his and Lorelai's coats and walked outside. Sure enough, there she was, sitting in a lawn chair in the yard, her head thrown back to catch the falling snowflakes in her mouth. Luke walked across the bare ground, already covered with patches of snow in some parts.
"Ahh, Luke! Come for my snow party?"
"No, the sane man has come to cover crazy lady with coat."
"Oh, I don't need a coat. It's just snow!"
"Yes, mid-Febuary snow. That mean's it's cold, and wet, and it's lost its nice, new-snow of the year feeling."
"That's what you think. Personally, I love snow all year round. Good things always happen when it snows."
"Hold that thought." Luke walked off.
"Luke, where are you going? Luke?"
"Relax, I wanna sit down too." Luke said as he reappeared seconds later with a lawn chair of his own. He sat down and turned to Lorelai. "So, you were saying good things always happen when it snows."
"Oh, yeah, every time."
"Like what?"
"Uh, my first kiss, Rory's first steps, things like that."
"So lots of firsts?"
"Not only firsts. And it's not always memorable, there's also stuff like a really good movie, a really good feeling, a great cup of coffee."
"Would you like me to make you some?"
"Yuck, no. I don't like the coffee without the caffiene. It sorta ruins it."
"Fair enough. So what special thing do you think's gonna happen today, while it's snowing?"
"Uh, I don't know." Lorelai looked off into the distance and contemplated. "I guess maybe--"
She was cut off by a large "OOF!" coming from Luke. She turned to find he had fallen through the chair and was sitting on the ground, his legs sticking out of the hole.
"--that." Lorelai laughed.
~~~~
Rory let the hot water from the kitchen faucet pour into one section of the sink. After it was filled to her satisfaction, she turned off the faucet and squeezed soap into the water. It didn't make bubbles, so she picked up a dish brush and swirled it around the water.
"You know, that's really not the best way to do that." Jess whispered into her ear as he slipped his arms around her waist.
"Well, since you're such a smart diner boy, why don't you show me?"
"It's way too early in the morning." Jess let go of Rory and extracted waffles from the freezer.
"What 'way'? It's not way too early in the morning; it's only six-thirty. Only two waffles."
"I'm a growing boy, I need my waffles. And I'm not Luke, you're not Luke; six-thirty is way way too early in the morning."
"Only two waffles; if you're really hungry you can grab something on the way to school."
"Whatever." Jess shoved the two waffles into the toaster. "Now, why are you crazily doing chores three hours before either of us has to be at school?"
"Dunno. I just felt like it."
"'Just felt like it.' That answer isn't vague in the least."
Rory sighed and turned around to face Jess. "It snowed in Stars Hollow this morning."
"And so you decided to clean. Hmm. That still makes no sense."
"Well, it snowed. My mom's really big on snow. She takes midnight snow walks and everything."
"Okay. So...?"
"So, I wasn't there this morning." Rory started scrubbing a pot again. "And she had to take her midnight snow walk by herself."
"She's got Luke."
"Yeah, she's got Luke, so she doesn't need me." Rory threw the brush and pot into the water, which caused it to splash all over her. She didn't notice and faced Jess again, starting to cry. "My mom doesn't need me anymore."
"Shh, shh, it's okay." Jess gathered Rory into his arms. "She'll always need you. You're the only person who understands her."
"That's just it! I'm the only person who understands her now. What if the kid she's having now knows her too, and she doesn't need me anymore?"
"Are you jealous?" Jess asked, holding Rory at arm's length so he could see her.
"No! Well...maybe."
"I think you are jealous."
"Well, so what if I am? I can be jealous. Dad got married and had a baby and we're just barely civil to each other. What if Mom goes off to be someone else's mom?"
"She will always be your mother. You grew up together. Well, you grew up; she's still sixteen. Hell, she might even be four."
Rory laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I am right. You're her best friend. She can't be closer to anyone. The two of you are sixteen years apart; she's gonna be thirty-something years older than this kid."
"Yeah. Yeah, okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay. Now, let's get going on these dishes."
Jess groaned. "Wait, don't you wanna talk about how you're jealous of your mom's new kid?"
"Dishes, buster."
~~~~
"Lukey, it's noon, it's time for your break." Lorelai trailed behind Luke as he complied with his customers' wants and needs.
"Lorelai, it's insanely busy here. And don't call me Lukey."
"Fine, Lucas, I'll just have to follow you around, annoying you, until you decide you want to take a break with the mother of your unborn child. As a matter of fact, I think I'll sing. Here I go!" Lorelai took a deep breath and prepared to sing. She looked out of the corner of her eye; Luke wasn't paying attention to her. She glared at him, looked around, and finally climbed on top of the counter. "Excuse me, excuse me!" she yelled to get people's attention. Individual conversations were dropped and all turned to look at Lorelai, wondering what she was going to do now. All except Luke. Lorelai stuck her tongue out at his back, and then launched into song.
"Way down among Brazilians
Coffee beans grow by the billions
So they've got to find those extra cups to fill.
They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil."
"Lorelai! What the hell are you doing?" Luke finally noticed her.
"Singing 'The Coffee Song' and trying to get you to take a break." Lorelai grinned and sat on the edge of the counter.
"And to do that you have to dance on my clean counter?"
"Yeah, it looks like it."
"Get down." Luke extended his hand to help her down.
"Okay." Lorelai slid off the counter, ignoring his hand. "So, you coming to lunch with me?"
Luke sighed. "Lorelai, it's really busy right now."
Lorelai pouted.
"Tell you what: I'll get you from work at four, and we'll watch a movie and eat and do whatever."
"That's an okay compromise. What movie?"
"What movie do you want to see?"
"There's a 'Brady Brides' marathon on ABC Family tonight."
"No."
"Yes."
"No, I'm not watching another 'Brady Bunch' movie."
"Oh, but it's fun! And you suggested it."
"Which movie is it?" Luke sighed.
"Yay! It's The Brady Girls Get Married. And the marathon starts at eight."
"Okay. I'll see you later."
"Bye." Lorelai and Luke kissed goodbye and she exited the diner, amid waves of applause from the townspeople. Luke sighed and returned to refilling cups.
~~~~
"School is boring," Jess said as he ran across Rory in the library later that day.
"Maybe to you. I like my classes."
"Freak."
"Weirdo."
"Cute."
"Hot."
Jess and Rory met for a kiss, but were soon interrupted by a crazed teacher ranting about people doing it in front of his book, so they went their seperate ways, heading for their classes. They met up again at four-thirty, after their last classes. It was Rory's day to work (she worked Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday; Jess worked Monday, Wednesday, Friday) so Jess headed to buy desperately-needed groceries while Rory transformed into a copy girl for the rest of the afternoon.
~~~~
"It's time for a break!" Lorelai proclaimed at the end of the movie.
"Hey, I have an idea."
"If you say 'burn the video,' I'm going to slap you with it."
"No, I have an idea for our break."
"Okay." Lorelai said hesitantly.
"Okay. I was thinking we could have a snowball fight."
"Oh, that's, like, so cool! Totally! We can, like, totally have a snowball fight."
"I'm taking away the Valley Girl movie."
"Party pooper."
"Yeah. Hey, I gotta grab something from upstairs, so I'll meet you outside."
"Okay," Lorelai agreed quickly, her eyes glinting mischievously, already thinking of her battle plan.
Luke nodded and headed upstairs, while Lorelai grabbed her coat and ran outside, scooping up snow and shaping it as quickly as she could. She saw him at the door and ran behind the side of the house. She gave him two seconds to shape his snowball, and then attacked.
"Ha! I got you!" Lorelai yelled as one smacked him in the head. While she was doing her victory dance, he threw three her way. They all hit her, two in the head and one in the chest. She looked up with a shocked look on her face. He just grinned and shrugged.
"I used to play lots of baseball."
"Oh, no fair! Now I know why you suggested this!" Lorelai threw four snowballs at him, missing with three.
"Oh, but you agreed!" He threw another two at her.
"Yeah, but I'm not at all like Sporty Spice!" She threw one at him, her last one.
"Good, I don't like the Spice Girls!" He threw two more at her.
"Not even Ginger?" Lorelai asked, standing still in front of him. A perfect target.
"Not even Paprika," Luke declared as he threw one last snowball directly at her chest. She put her hands in front of her chest, and the snow exploded in her gloves. Something small and black fell into the snow at her feet.
"What's this?" Lorelai bent to pick it up. Luke kneeled in front of her as she stood up and took one of her gloved hands in both of his.
"Lorelai Gilmore, I love you."
Lorelai opened the velvet jewelry box and gasped.
"I love you with all my heart, basically since the moment I met you. I mean, sure, you drive me crazy as hell sometimes, but you make me laugh at the same time. And I figure," Luke took the ring out and let the box drop into the snow, "that we'd be pretty good together. I mean, you're already having my kid, so we know we work in that department. And this may not be like the last time you got proposed to, or any of the other times you got proposed to, but I love you with all my heart and soul and coffee, and I would give anything if you would give me the honor of being your husband." Luke slipped Lorelai's glove off her hand and slid the ring onto her finger. She gazed at it. It was a white-gold band with a diamond set in the center that resembled the shape of a snowball. She looked closer and noticed the small snowflakes etched into the band. She looked back at Luke, tears in her eyes.
"Well, I don't know. I mean, after what you said about the Spice Girls? That almost makes me wanna say no. But you mentioned coffee in your proposal, and no one's ever done that before so--"
Luke held his breath.
"--yes, I will marry you."
"Yes!" Luke stood up and hugged Lorelai. She laughed and held her hand out behind him, gazing at her ring.
"I love this ring."
"I knew you would." Luke pulled away so they could both gaze at the ring.
"I just told you all that stuff about the snow today. How'd you get the ring so fast?"
"Lorelai, I've known you for years. I picked stuff up here and there."
"Oh. But it fits just perfectly!"
"Rory's pretty resourceful sometimes."
"Oh, Rory! I gotta call her!"
"Wait! I've got a better idea."
~~~~
"What time is it?" Rory asked Jess as she walked out of the bathroom, fresh from a shower.
"8:22." Jess answered from the kitchen where he was cooking dinner.
"Okay. Mmm, that smells great."
"To you, anything that didn't come from a take-out place smells great."
"Not true! Stuff from take-out places can smell good, too." Rory grinned.
"Iron-stomach lady."
"Says the fan of peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches."
"At least pb&b is made at home."
"Well, that's why I moved in with you. Home-cooked meals."
"Ah, the truth comes out."
"Yes, you've discovered my secret."
"I didn't discover it, you told it to me. You would make a horrible spy."
"That's what the Russians tell me."
"Here, Nadia, either leave or cook."
"Oh, I gotta change."
"But I like the robe and towel. It's very..."
"Just-out-of-the-shower?"
"I was gonna say Playboy mansion, but yours works too."
Rory threw one of her slippers at Jess and headed back to her room to change.
"Hey, hey, no shoes near the food!" Jess yelled after her. She yelled something to the extent of "yeah, whatever" back. Jess shook his head and continued cooking. The phone started ringing, but Jess was busy.
"Rory? Phone!"
She didn't answer, so Jess let the answering machine pick up.
"We're poor students and kinda busy, so leave a message!" Rory's voice said cheerfully before the beep. Then the singing started.
"We're getting married in the morning, so buzz us up, would you please? We're getting married in the morning," (then Luke's voice dropped away,) "and I wanna go shopping for maternity clothes," (and Luke's voice came back,) "so buzz us up, would you please?" There was a beep as the machine cut off the singing adults. Rory entered from her room.
"Was that my mom and Luke singing?" she asked as she pulled her wet hair back into a ponytail. Jess nodded. "Guess we should buzz 'em up."
"Yeah, we probably should." Jess flipped a hamburger patty over.
Rory headed over to the front door and pressed the button that let them in. "Do I look okay?" she asked, turning around for Jess to get the full effect.
"Yeah. It's jeans and a sweater; you look great."
"Thanks for that oh-so-enthusiastic response."
"My pleasure."
Rory blew Jess a kiss and headed for the door.
"Where ya goin'?"
"To meet 'em at the elevator."
"Wait, I'll go with you." Jess put the pan with the hamburger patties in it off to the side, turned off the stove, and headed out the door with Rory. They stood at one of the elevators, watching the numbers travel upward, and then stop at ten. They stared at the number, willing it to change, willing the doors to open, anything.
"So what do you think they meant by--aah!" Jess had turned to ask Rory a question and gotten a surprise from Luke and Lorelai, standing behind them.
"Well, Jess, it's nice to see you too."
"Lorelai!"
"I'm just everywhere, aren't I?"
"Yeah, Mom, you are. Now how'd you get here?"
"There's another elevator, sweets."
"Ohhh. Yeah. Well, come on, let's go to the apartment."
"Okay. Wait. Do you have food in the apartment?"
"Yeah." Jess shrugged.
"What kind?"
"Hamburgers."
"Freshly made?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, we can go. That hasn't been known to make me throw up. Yet."
Jess shuddered and followed the other three into the apartment.
"So, what are you doing here?" Rory asked her mother and the man she was attached to as they settled onto couches. "Without any luggage, any notice and at the last minute."
"Oh, well, something really big happened."
"Let me guess: you're pregnant." Jess said as he settled into the couch next to Rory.
"Oh, that's old news." Lorelai dismissed that thought with a wave of her hand. "The big news is...Luke proposed!"
"And Lorelai accepted!"
Lorelai squealed happily and Luke squeezed her hands. They both had huge grins on their faces.
"Wow, that's great!"
"Yeah, good for you."
"Mom, let me see the ring." Rory walked over to her mother and held out her hand. Lorelai hesitated, and then extracted her hand from Luke's grasp. "Ooh, that's pretty! Isn't that pretty, Jess?"
"Of course."
"Jess, get over here and look at my ring."
"Yes, ma'am." Jess leapt off of the couch and ran over to Lorelai's side. He collapsed near the couch and grabbed her hand. "Oooooh!"
"Yeah, I know!"
"You did good, Luke." Rory said.
"Thanks."
"It's really unique, Mom."
"I know. And it's engraved!"
"Really? What's it say?" Rory sat on the couch next to her mother, who detached herself from Luke and sat closer to Rory. Luke and Jess were left staring at each other.
"Here, let me show you." Loreali slid her ring off her finger and showed Rory the words written in fancy script inside.
"'To Lorelai From Luke With Love And Coffee-Flavored Kisses.'" Rory read aloud. "Awww. That's so sweet! Luke, I always knew you were an old softie. Mom, he's blushing!"
"I know." Lorelai giggled.
"Okay. I don't get the 'coffee-flavored kisses' part."
"Well, he kissed me, and then when I kissed him, I told him his kisses tasted like coffee."
"How? You don't drink coffee." Jess asked Luke as the girls kept babbling. Luke just shrugged.
"Aww. So, are you guys going to stay here?"
"Okay!"
"No, Mom, I wasn't suggesting. I was asking. We've got school and work and--"
"And you're young! But I'm your mother--admittedly devestatingly beautiful--and I'm pregnant, and we brought no clothes, so you should let us stay with you. Besides, I wanna go shopping for pregnant clothes!"
"Pregnant clothes?" the other three asked incredulously.
"Maternity clothes, whatever."
"Mom, you're not showing yet! You're only, like, two months pregnant."
"Uh! I am not two months pregnant, for your information, I just hit twelve weeks, which puts me at three months, only four weeks from my second trimester."
"Okay, whatever. You're still at least two months from showing."
"That's sweet, babe, but as we can tell by the non-existent pictures from when I was pregnant with you, I'm gonna blow up as big as a whale in two weeks at the latest. It's already starting. See?" Lorelai flattened her T-shirt to her stomach.
"No, you're not already showing, and the only way you're gonna blow up as big as a whale before too long into your second trimester would be if you ate too much."
"Are you insinuating that I eat a lot?"
"I ain't insinuating nothing, honey, I'm flat-out saying it."
"Ooh, good accent!"
"Thanks, I thought it was okay."
"Are you kidding, I think that's the best one you've done!"
"You're so sweet!"
"Aww, it's nothing, I'm your mother." Lorelai and Rory hugged.
"Girls make no sense."
"Gilmore girls make no sense." Luke clarified.