DISCLAIMER: I am in no way shape or form affiliated with Warner Bros., Amy Sherman-Palladino, or their hit series "Gilmore girls." I do not own any of the following characters, or the settings in which they take place, or the scenarios.
SUMMARY: This chapter revolves around the conversation between Lorelai and Rory, sparked by Rory's bizarre reaction to Dean, and her earlier reality shock delivered by Jess and Shane.
PAIRING: Eventually, R/J.
RATING: PG (for language)
In the Blue of the Morning
Go From Here
"All right, what's going on?" Lorelai demanded as she entered the Gilmore residence close on her daughter's heels.
"Nothing!" Rory answered for what seemed like the twelfth time since they'd left Dean at Doose's to begin his shift.
"That wasn't nothing, Missy, that was a whole lotta something," Lorelai remarked. She kicked the front door behind her and slung her overcoat and purse off her shoulders, and extended them towards the coat hook, which she missed. The coat and purse fall to the floor, but Lorelai simply ignored them and followed Rory to her room.
"I didn't ask you what you thought it was," Rory said plainly.
"What is going on, Rory?" Lorelai said a little more gently.
"Nothing. How many times to I have to say it?" Rory asked, the proceeded to throw herself on her bed.
"Until you tell me the truth," Lorelai announced.
"How do you know I'm not telling the truth?" Rory said incredulously.
"You forget, that I have told them all before, and 'nothing' happened to be one of my favorite responses. When your grandmother caught me making out with your Dad on the balcony, it was 'nothing', when I got a less-than-perfect grade on a math quiz, it was 'nothing', when she found the box to the pregnancy test in the waste basket it was 'nothing.' And obviously, it was all something. I'm good at these things. I'm a regular Sherlock Holmes," Lorelai stated.
"So what, you're the superhuman Polygraph test now?" Rory interrogated pointedly.
"Rory! Something is wrong! I know you. I've lived with you for almost eighteen years. I know your tricks, I know you're stubbornness – mainly because you are … me, when it comes to all that. And I also know, that when you tripped into the garbage cans after seeing Jess and that girl, then took off like the Roadrunner for home, that that wasn't 'nothing.' It was something," Lorelai's voice became increasingly understanding, but still stern as she finished.
"It had nothing to do with Jess and Shane," Rory said bluntly.
"Shane?" Lorelai asked.
"Yes, Shane. Shane is Jess's girlfriend. Not that I know for a fact or anything, I just heard … tidbits, on my walk, and everything. And the point is that what she and Jess choose to do, or not to do, had nothing to do with my running off today," Rory explained.
"I've got at least two things on you that would prove that theory entirely wrong," Lorelai challenged.
"Like what?" Rory asked.
"Like … I found you standing on the sidewalk, like an awestruck teeny-bopper who'd just seen Justin Timberlake's bare-ass. Only a guy can do that to ya, babe," Lorelai pointed out.
"Exactly. I was excited to see Dean," Rory defended.
"Is that why your look of amazement turned to one of sheer panic when you noticed us … mainly, Dean, coming towards you?" Lorelai asked.
"You're exaggerating," Rory accused.
"It was like you'd just seen The Blair Witch," Lorelai joked.
"The Blair Witch Project was not scary … it was funny," Rory exclaimed.
"Fine. Paris, PMSing, and no Midol left in the world," Lorelai stated. Rory shuddered a little.
"Maybe so, but it didn't mean anything," Rory gave in a little.
"You also brushed him off, and were in quite a hurry to let him get to work," Lorelai pushed.
"It was nothing. I just wanted to get home, that's all," Rory explained.
"You're not that good a liar, Ror," Lorelai tried to make light of the situation.
"I'm not lying," Rory attempted to convince her.
"Have I not taught you the Gilmore-patented 'Poker-Face'?" asked Lorelai.
Rory buried her face in her pillow. It was just too much. She couldn't keep it up any longer.
"Ikissedhim," she mumbled into the pillow, her words stringing together.
"I'm sorry, I don't speak Pillow," said Lorelai.
Rory sat up, and looked in her mother's eyes, scared of the reaction, her voice shaking as she spoke slowly, "I … kissed … him."
"Who?" Lorelai asked inquisitively.
"… Jess," Rory cringed.
Lorelai breathed deep, trying not to raise her voice, "When?"
Rory was sure Lorelai would blow now, "At … Sookie's wedding. Before we were about to go walk down the aisle."
"Hence the sudden, unplanned, undying need to go to Washington, right?" Lorelai put the pieces together.
"Well … I would've had to go, I think. I just … I didn't want to research any other options, because I needed to get away. I wanted to clear my head in some place … not here," Rory tried to explain, admiring her mother's composure.
Lorelai sighed, but kept herself reserved, and amazingly calm, "So … and this is the million dollar question … why did you kiss him?"
"Mom, if that is supposed to be sarcastic-" Rory began.
Lorelai cut her off, "It's not at all sarcastic. It's just an honest question. It's the question that out of who, what, where, why, when, and how … matters most."
"I … I'm not sure. He was just standing there … by the lake, you know. And it was a beautiful day. And I was so happy to see him … I don't know that I've ever been so happy to see anyone. I'd missed him so much, for some reason … and I just kissed him," she said indecisively.
"So what does it all mean, then?" Lorelai prodded.
"I don't know. I came home today … ready to … end things with Dean. But then, I saw Jess with Shane. And now everything is … just not going the way I planned," Rory tried to make herself clear, but it was becoming more and more impossible.
"What are you going to do then?" Lorelai tried to get her daughter to generate more rational thought.
"I don't know," Rory said softly.
"I hate … to, you know, point out the blatantly, and painstakingly obvious, here … but … you have do something. Because, you happen to have a boyfriend, who, you know, loves you, and thinks the entire solar system revolves around you. You have to do something. You did something, now you have to figure out a solution," Lorelai was blunt.
"Don't throw the guilt card at me, Mom," Rory accused.
"I'm not, Rory. I'm just stating what is the truth. Dean loves you, and he deserves better than this. He has been, for the most part, good to you. There have obviously been his moments of jealousy, and bitterness, but at the end of the day, he cares about you unconditionally-" Lorelai explained.
"That's what everyone thinks," Rory muttered to a point where Lorelai could barely hear.
"My point is … that he doesn't deserve to be strung along. And for that matter, neither does Jess. It's terrible to treat them that way, and you have to make a decision. And you can't just buy more time, by staying with Dean, and blowing him off … and, if you decide that it's Jess that you want to be with then, I guess I'll have to live with that, because I refuse to be Emily, and truthfully, if you want him, you can't just let whats-her-blonde-face run off with your man. But you need to figure things out, once and for all. For the sake of Dean, Jess, me, Luke, this whole damn town who watches your every move, and will eventually dig this up … and … yourself. Most importantly, yourself," Lorelai finished, quietly, and stood up, leaving Rory lying on her bed to think.
It was only six-thirty in the evening. Earlier than Rory had ever even thought about going to bed, but suddenly, she could think of nothing else. So she pulled back her covers, slipped under the covers, clothes on and all, barely even remembering to slip her shoes off. She turned off the lamp next to her, and pulled the covers tight around her shoulders. Underneath the blanket, Rory's back lifted and fell with the weight of each heaving breath of sobs that she had held back … for so long.
SUMMARY: This chapter revolves around the conversation between Lorelai and Rory, sparked by Rory's bizarre reaction to Dean, and her earlier reality shock delivered by Jess and Shane.
PAIRING: Eventually, R/J.
RATING: PG (for language)
In the Blue of the Morning
Go From Here
"All right, what's going on?" Lorelai demanded as she entered the Gilmore residence close on her daughter's heels.
"Nothing!" Rory answered for what seemed like the twelfth time since they'd left Dean at Doose's to begin his shift.
"That wasn't nothing, Missy, that was a whole lotta something," Lorelai remarked. She kicked the front door behind her and slung her overcoat and purse off her shoulders, and extended them towards the coat hook, which she missed. The coat and purse fall to the floor, but Lorelai simply ignored them and followed Rory to her room.
"I didn't ask you what you thought it was," Rory said plainly.
"What is going on, Rory?" Lorelai said a little more gently.
"Nothing. How many times to I have to say it?" Rory asked, the proceeded to throw herself on her bed.
"Until you tell me the truth," Lorelai announced.
"How do you know I'm not telling the truth?" Rory said incredulously.
"You forget, that I have told them all before, and 'nothing' happened to be one of my favorite responses. When your grandmother caught me making out with your Dad on the balcony, it was 'nothing', when I got a less-than-perfect grade on a math quiz, it was 'nothing', when she found the box to the pregnancy test in the waste basket it was 'nothing.' And obviously, it was all something. I'm good at these things. I'm a regular Sherlock Holmes," Lorelai stated.
"So what, you're the superhuman Polygraph test now?" Rory interrogated pointedly.
"Rory! Something is wrong! I know you. I've lived with you for almost eighteen years. I know your tricks, I know you're stubbornness – mainly because you are … me, when it comes to all that. And I also know, that when you tripped into the garbage cans after seeing Jess and that girl, then took off like the Roadrunner for home, that that wasn't 'nothing.' It was something," Lorelai's voice became increasingly understanding, but still stern as she finished.
"It had nothing to do with Jess and Shane," Rory said bluntly.
"Shane?" Lorelai asked.
"Yes, Shane. Shane is Jess's girlfriend. Not that I know for a fact or anything, I just heard … tidbits, on my walk, and everything. And the point is that what she and Jess choose to do, or not to do, had nothing to do with my running off today," Rory explained.
"I've got at least two things on you that would prove that theory entirely wrong," Lorelai challenged.
"Like what?" Rory asked.
"Like … I found you standing on the sidewalk, like an awestruck teeny-bopper who'd just seen Justin Timberlake's bare-ass. Only a guy can do that to ya, babe," Lorelai pointed out.
"Exactly. I was excited to see Dean," Rory defended.
"Is that why your look of amazement turned to one of sheer panic when you noticed us … mainly, Dean, coming towards you?" Lorelai asked.
"You're exaggerating," Rory accused.
"It was like you'd just seen The Blair Witch," Lorelai joked.
"The Blair Witch Project was not scary … it was funny," Rory exclaimed.
"Fine. Paris, PMSing, and no Midol left in the world," Lorelai stated. Rory shuddered a little.
"Maybe so, but it didn't mean anything," Rory gave in a little.
"You also brushed him off, and were in quite a hurry to let him get to work," Lorelai pushed.
"It was nothing. I just wanted to get home, that's all," Rory explained.
"You're not that good a liar, Ror," Lorelai tried to make light of the situation.
"I'm not lying," Rory attempted to convince her.
"Have I not taught you the Gilmore-patented 'Poker-Face'?" asked Lorelai.
Rory buried her face in her pillow. It was just too much. She couldn't keep it up any longer.
"Ikissedhim," she mumbled into the pillow, her words stringing together.
"I'm sorry, I don't speak Pillow," said Lorelai.
Rory sat up, and looked in her mother's eyes, scared of the reaction, her voice shaking as she spoke slowly, "I … kissed … him."
"Who?" Lorelai asked inquisitively.
"… Jess," Rory cringed.
Lorelai breathed deep, trying not to raise her voice, "When?"
Rory was sure Lorelai would blow now, "At … Sookie's wedding. Before we were about to go walk down the aisle."
"Hence the sudden, unplanned, undying need to go to Washington, right?" Lorelai put the pieces together.
"Well … I would've had to go, I think. I just … I didn't want to research any other options, because I needed to get away. I wanted to clear my head in some place … not here," Rory tried to explain, admiring her mother's composure.
Lorelai sighed, but kept herself reserved, and amazingly calm, "So … and this is the million dollar question … why did you kiss him?"
"Mom, if that is supposed to be sarcastic-" Rory began.
Lorelai cut her off, "It's not at all sarcastic. It's just an honest question. It's the question that out of who, what, where, why, when, and how … matters most."
"I … I'm not sure. He was just standing there … by the lake, you know. And it was a beautiful day. And I was so happy to see him … I don't know that I've ever been so happy to see anyone. I'd missed him so much, for some reason … and I just kissed him," she said indecisively.
"So what does it all mean, then?" Lorelai prodded.
"I don't know. I came home today … ready to … end things with Dean. But then, I saw Jess with Shane. And now everything is … just not going the way I planned," Rory tried to make herself clear, but it was becoming more and more impossible.
"What are you going to do then?" Lorelai tried to get her daughter to generate more rational thought.
"I don't know," Rory said softly.
"I hate … to, you know, point out the blatantly, and painstakingly obvious, here … but … you have do something. Because, you happen to have a boyfriend, who, you know, loves you, and thinks the entire solar system revolves around you. You have to do something. You did something, now you have to figure out a solution," Lorelai was blunt.
"Don't throw the guilt card at me, Mom," Rory accused.
"I'm not, Rory. I'm just stating what is the truth. Dean loves you, and he deserves better than this. He has been, for the most part, good to you. There have obviously been his moments of jealousy, and bitterness, but at the end of the day, he cares about you unconditionally-" Lorelai explained.
"That's what everyone thinks," Rory muttered to a point where Lorelai could barely hear.
"My point is … that he doesn't deserve to be strung along. And for that matter, neither does Jess. It's terrible to treat them that way, and you have to make a decision. And you can't just buy more time, by staying with Dean, and blowing him off … and, if you decide that it's Jess that you want to be with then, I guess I'll have to live with that, because I refuse to be Emily, and truthfully, if you want him, you can't just let whats-her-blonde-face run off with your man. But you need to figure things out, once and for all. For the sake of Dean, Jess, me, Luke, this whole damn town who watches your every move, and will eventually dig this up … and … yourself. Most importantly, yourself," Lorelai finished, quietly, and stood up, leaving Rory lying on her bed to think.
It was only six-thirty in the evening. Earlier than Rory had ever even thought about going to bed, but suddenly, she could think of nothing else. So she pulled back her covers, slipped under the covers, clothes on and all, barely even remembering to slip her shoes off. She turned off the lamp next to her, and pulled the covers tight around her shoulders. Underneath the blanket, Rory's back lifted and fell with the weight of each heaving breath of sobs that she had held back … for so long.