Author's Note: This chap was written by Marg, who is currently on her laptop on the plane en route to Raleigh, North Carolina. From there she plans to take a car to Figure Eight Island, just outside of Wilmington, where she plans to visit the vast entirety of her extended family. She is currently very worried, because she has never used the laptop before when it wasn't plugged into the wall, and she is quite worried that the battery will suddenly run out and she will lose this precious document. Of course, it wouldn't really be the end of the world, but you know, Marg is very sentimental. Marg is aware that this Author's Note is really actually quite rational as opposed to the usual insanity, but what the heck, that's what happens when the two Cheezmeisters are separate. And, seeing as Celia is back home in NYC, that is most certainly the case. Bear with us, because Celia is in NYC while Marg is in North Carolina, and by the time Marg gets back, Celia will be at camp. Therefore, Marg will be writing alone for awhile, and Celia will be only proofreading. This is because Marg has constant access to a computer wherever she is, but Celia will have no computer at camp. Marg is not the most glorious writer of comedy; she tends to lean more towards drama. The comedy in this fic is thanks to Celia. However, one thing you won't miss because it is created entirely by Marg is all the sap that usually comes with Untitled. Marg loves sap, and she would never leave it out of her fic. Now, I, Marg, shall move on to the actual chapter itself. Oh, just one quick thing. You'll notice that hugging is a major theme in this chapter. Right, one more thing. You all wrote reviews about how you were getting tired of so much Chris. Unfortunately, we can't write fics that aren't almost entirely focused around one person, so the focus appears to have switched from Chris to Maria. We hope you can tolerate that for awhile. By the way, you also asked for Trory interaction, which we tried to have a bit of in this chap. We know that Luke appears to have disappeared, but he has so little personality that once he's gotten together with Lorelai (which we took care of ages ago), he's not much fun to write. But we'll try to have him make an appearance at some point in the near future. Now, you see, I, Marg, have a tendency to ramble and ramble and ramble when Celia isn't here to shut me up. So I'll force it on myself now and let you just read the story, seeing as I just wrote nearly a page's worth of an author's note, which is wasting a lot of space that I could use for the fic. By the way, I would like to add that this chapter is the beginning of 'Season Two' of our fic, which is why we haven't uploaded in so long. I think we're going to say the same thing in a future chapter, but this is the true beginning of Season Two.
Chapter 21: Short King in Stars Hollow, Among other Things
Maria walked up to the diner. She entered, and as the bell rang, Jess looked up from the counter.
"Hey, Maria!" he said with a smile. "What's up?"
But when Maria didn't return the smile, he knew something was wrong. He walked over to her. "Jess, I-" she began. But she couldn't go on, for tears filled her eyes.
"Okay, let's talk outside." He led her to the door, and they stepped outside. "Now," he began again, "what's troubling you?"
"Jess, I-okay, there's no easy way to say this, so I'll just give you straight facts. I-I have a daughter."
"You WHAT?" Jess was appalled.
"I have a daughter."
"Are you trying to say that you're pregnant? Or have you been secretly pregnant this whole time and you just gave birth? Wait, no that makes no sense."
"No, Jess, I have a daughter. A living daughter. She's six."
"Which means that when she was born, you were-"
"Sixteen. Too young. My boyfriend, Jon, was already out of college. He took her to raise and let me go. I went back to school, and brought my grades back up, and now I'm a teacher. But recently, Jon was-Jon died in a car accident. Kyrie-that's my daughter, Kyrie Eleison Sassani-has no one else to raise her but me. I don't know how the lawyers reached me, since I haven't had any contact with him since I left after Kyrie was born. But they did, and I've agreed to let her come here and live with me."
"Wow, that's a lot to take in. When is she coming? Does anyone else know?"
"She's coming tomorrow; her flight gets in sometime in the afternoon. I haven't told anyone else but Rory. She was the first one I turned to-she's the best friend I have here in Stars Hollow—the best female friend, that is. After that, I knew I should come tell you."
"Why, Maria? Why'd you tell me before anyone else?"
"Because, back at Chris' birthday party when you asked me why I didn't have kids, and I just responded that I wasn't married, I felt bad not telling you about Kyrie. I didn't tell you because I figured it would never be important, and I would never even need to bring it up. But now I do need to bring it up, and I figure you ought to be one of the first to know."
"Thanks, Maria, that's really sweet. You know I'll always be there for you and Kyrie, right?"
"Of course, and I really appreciate it." Maria held out her arms, and Jess gave Maria a warm hug. Both felt an electric current of sorts run through their bodies, but neither said anything about it.
"Well, I'll see you later," said Jess. Maria left. 'Oh my gosh,' he thought as she walked away. 'I'm falling in love with her.' Meanwhile, as she made her way home, Maria was thinking the very same thing.
~~~*&*~~~
Meanwhile, Lorelai and Chris were walking through the center of town. All of a sudden, Chris' face lit up. "Mom, look!" he cried. He pointed at a man walking towards them.
"Shh, Chris!" cried Lorelai. "What is it?"
"Mommy, he's wearing shorts, and it's REALLY cold! Is he an alien?"
"No, Chris, he's not."
"Then why's he wearing shorts?"
"I don't know, but I bet I know who does know."
"Who?" asked Chris hopefully.
"Rory," returned Lorelai. "Let's go to her house now, okay?"
"Cool!" said Chris.
~~&~~
Meanwhile, at Rory and Tristan's, Tristan entered the apartment with an envelope in his hand and a smile on his face.
"You look happy," said Rory.
"I am," replied Tristan. "My law school problem is solved. I got into Yale!"
"Tristan, that's wonderful!"
"We don't have to move, because I can commute from Hartford every day."
"But Tristan, what are we going to do about income? You can't work if you're in school, and I can't work because I'll be home with the baby," asked Rory worriedly.
"Oh, don't you worry. Not to sound snobbish, and I hope you know that I'm not a snob, but my trust fund's large enough to hold us over until I'm out of law school. It's only three years."
"Oh, Tristan, this is amazing! I don't believe it!" Rory gave Tristan a hug, and then a quick kiss. Just then, the doorbell rang. Rory answered it, and it was Lorelai and Chris.
Tristan offered Lorelai a drink, and the two set off to the kitchen while Chris and Rory sat down in the living room.
"Rory, guess what!?" cried Chris.
"I don't know, Chris, what?" Rory was puzzled.
"I was walking with Mom, and I saw a man, and he was wearing this big, long coat, and he had an umbrella, even though it wasn't raining, but most of all, he was wearing SHORTS!"
"Oh yeah, that's Short King. He's been around since I was your age. He always walks down Main Street at the same time every afternoon, and no matter what the weather, he ALWAYS wears shorts."
"That's weird!" exclaimed Chris.
"I know," replied Rory. They both laughed. Rory gave Chris a hug.
(A/N: Short King is a real guy. We see him every morning when we walk to school. Always in the same place, and always in shorts.)
~~*&*~~
Later that afternoon, Jess was at the mall in Hartford. He hated malls. (A/N: Remind you of a certain relation of his?) But he had to be there. He had bought all of his Christmas presents except for two. One for Maria, and one for Kyrie.
(A/N: Incase you haven't figured it out, Kyrie is pronounced KEE-ree-ay. We hope you interpret that little pronunciation guide the same way we do.)
He was searching through all of the stores, wondering what to get for them. He remembered that Rory had told him that Kyrie was named after a song. So he peeked in a jewelry store.
They had beautiful silver charm bracelets. He decided to get one for Kyrie. For the charms, he picked a musical note and a treble clef. (A/N: If you're not musical and don't know what this is, email us and we'll give you a link to a picture of one.)
He also got a heart shaped charm, on which he had her name engraved. Just her first name—Kyrie.
But he still didn't know what to get Maria. He decided to wait until the last minute and see if he was inspired to get something very special. So he took the bracelet and headed home.
On the way, he saw a man walking down Main Street wearing shorts. 'It's Short King,' he thought. 'I remember him from when I was a kid.'
~~&~~
The next afternoon, Rory, Maria, and Jess headed to the Hartford airport to pick up Kyrie. Jess was driving, because Maria was too nervous (A/N: and anyway, as we said before, in real life, it would be life-threatening), and because Rory was seven months pregnant and preferred not to drive if it was possible to avoid it.
"So, Maria, when does her flight get in?" asked Rory.
"Three-thirty-four," replied Maria, reading off an itinerary that had been mailed to her. "At gate A6. The flight is coming from Augusta, Maine."
"Okay, we've got plenty of time," said Jess as he parked and turned off the car. "It's about two-forty-five."
The trio made their way to gate A6 to wait for Kyrie to arrive. Three-forty rolled around, and the plane didn't arrive. All of a sudden, they heard an announcement over the loudspeaker.
"Flight 2815 from Augusta, Maine is now arriving at gate A6." The door to the gate opened, and people began to come out.
All of a sudden, Maria saw who she knew had to be Kyrie. A small girl who looked about six stepped out of the doorway. She had long, blonde hair and brown eyes. Her eyes were just like Maria's eyes. She was wearing blue jeans, a pink turtleneck, and a blue coat with pink lining. She had on a backpack. Her strawberry-blonde hair was in two neat braids that were tied with pink bows.
The little girl walked over to them. She looked at Rory. Then, quietly, she spoke. "Are you my mother?" she asked Rory, barely audible.
"No, sweetheart, that's your mother," replied Rory softly and kindly. She pointed to Maria, who was in tears. Kyrie walked over to her.
"Mommy," said Kyrie quietly, as she gave Maria a shy hug.
Maria gulped. "That's me," she whispered so that nobody but Kyrie heard it.
~~~&~~~
(A/N: Oh. My. Gosh. That was the most dramatic thing EVER. See what happens when Celia's gone? That's right. Marg has a dramatic HAYDAY. She loves drama, because drama=sap!)
~*~*&*~*~
About a week later, everyone had settled into the fact that Kyrie was to be a part of the gang's routine. (A/N: The official "gang" at this time consists of Lorelai, Luke, Chris, Rory, Tristan, Maria, Jess, and Kyrie. The unofficial gang includes Lane, Henry, Sookie, Jackson, Wyatt, Dean, Sandra, Emma, and Janie.)
Everyone had worried that Chris and Kyrie wouldn't get along, but it hadn't been a problem, because Chris, having been an only child for five years, had learned to play on his own, and the same had happened to Kyrie. Chris often played games in his room, and Kyrie liked to read.
It was Christmas Eve, and everyone was eating at Lorelai and Luke's. The house was beautifully decorated.
Luke had cooked a delicious turkey, with stuffing, and all sorts of other wonderful things that Lorelai or Rory never would have even managed to avoid burning.
After the delicious dinner, everyone retired to the room for presents.
"Who's going to deliver the presents?" asked Tristan.
"Not me," said Lorelai, "I don't want to move."
"Ditto," said Rory.
"Okay, I'll do it," volunteered Maria.
"Me too," said Jess. The two walked towards the tree.
"STOP!" cried Rory.
"STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!" yelled Lorelai.
"What's wrong?" asked Jess.
Maria looked worried. "Is there a bug?" she asked.
"Nope," said Lorelai with an evil grin, catching on. "May I just quote a song lyric that will say exactly how we all feel right now?"
"Why not?" asked Rory. "Can't hurt."
"Okay, from 'Everybody Rejoice' from The Wiz: "Everybody look up, and see the hope that we've been waiting on!"
(A/N: Juju, in your honor. *bow* By the way, Juju is a real person and a very good friend of ours. Juju, the girl in Chris' class, is based on her.)
Maria and Jess looked up. And there, above them, was a wreath of….(A/N: Can you guess?)
Mistletoe.
"Oh boy," said Jess, as Maria thought the very same thing.
Chris, always blunt, cried, "KISS!"
And so they did. Jess leaned in towards Maria and placed his lips on hers. This one kiss, this pivotal kiss, was a major turning point in the relationship. In it, they let out all the feelings that they had held back for so long, since the day they met. Both knew that nothing would ever be the same between them.
That's it. That's the chapter. I, Marg, am terribly sorry if you dislike drama. However, I need to give you the lyrics to the songs I mentioned so that it's not plagiarism. Also, we are I am not entirely sure of the exact lyrics at every single part, so go with the flow.
1) "Everybody Rejoice" (aka "Brand New Day") from The Wiz
A/N: Marg knows this song very well, because she did this show (The Wiz) and this song was her song, the whole thing was her solo.
Everybody Rejoice
Everybody look around,
'Cause there's a reason to rejoice, you see,
Everybody come out,
And let's commence to singing joyfully.
Everybody look up,
And see the hope that we've been waiting on,
Everybody be glad,
Because our silent fear and dread are gone!
Freedom, you see,
Has got our hearts singing so joyfully,
Just look about,
You owe it to yourself to check it out!
Can you feel a brand new day?
Can you feel a brand new day?
Can you feel a brand new day?
Can you feel a brand new day?
Everybody be glad,
Because the sun is shining just for us,
Everybody wake up,
Into the morning, into happiness.
Hello, world!
It's like a different way of living now,
Thank you, world!
We always knew that we'd be free somehow!
In harmony,
Let's show the world that we've got liberty,
It's such a change,
For us to live so independently.
Freedom, you see,
Has got our hearts singing so joyfully,
Just look about, you owe it to yourself to CHECK IT OUT!
Can you feel a brand new day?
Can you feel a brand new day?
Everybody be glad,
Because the sun is shining just for us,
Everybody wake up,
Into the morning, into happiness.
Hello, world!
It's like a different way of living now,
Thank you, world!
We always knew that we'd be free somehow!
In harmony,
Let's show the world that we've got liberty,
It's such a change,
For us to live so independently.
Freedom, you see,
Has got our hearts singing so joyfully,
Just look about, you owe it to yourself to CHECK IT OUT!
Can you feel a brand new day?
Can you feel a brand new day?
Can you feel a brand new day?
Can you feel a brand new day?
Can you feel, CAN YOU FEEL A BRAND NEW DAY!
(A/N: Flashbacks, anyone? Juju, this was directed at you and me.)
2) "This Kiss" by Faith Hill
(A/N: We didn't quote this, but we kinda referenced it, and also, ya know how some people put songs at the end of their chapters that they think captures the mood? Well, that's how we feel about this song.)
This Kiss
I don't want another heartbreak,
I don't need another time to cry, no,
I don't wanna learn the hard way,
Baby, hello, oh no, goodbye.
But you got me like a rocket,
Shooting straight across the sky,
It's the way you love me,
It's a feeling like this,
It's centrivocal motion,
It's perpetual bliss,
It's that pivotal moment,
It's-ahhh-impossible,
This kiss, this kiss,
Unstoppable,
This kiss, this kiss,
Cinderella said to Snow White,
How does love get so off course?
All I wanted was a white knight,
With a good heart, soft touch, fast horse.
Riding off into the sunset,
Baby, I'm forever yours,
It's the way you love me,
It's a feeling like this,
It's centrivocal motion,
It's perpetual bliss,
It's that pivotal moment,
It's-ahhh-unthinkable,
This kiss, this kiss,
Unsinkable,
This kiss, this kiss,
You can kiss me in the moonlight,
With no rooftop, under the sky,
You can kiss me with the windows open,
While the rain comes pouring inside,
Kiss me in sweet slow motion,
Let's let everything slide,
You've got me floating,
You've got me flying,
It's the way you love me,
It's a feeling like this,
It's centrivocal motion,
It's perpetual bliss,
It's that pivotal moment,
It's-ahhh-unthinkable,
This kiss, this kiss,
Unsinkable,
This kiss, this kiss,
It's the way you love me, baby,
It's the way you love me, darling,
It's the way you love me,
It's a feeling like this,
It's centrivocal motion,
It's perpetual bliss,
It's that pivotal moment,
It's-ahhh-subliminal,
This kiss, this kiss,
It's criminal,
This kiss, this kiss,
It's the way you love me, baby,
It's the way you love me, darling…
K, that's it. Now, pleeeeeeeeeeeez leave a review, and we'll be very very very very very very happy!