Okay, to make up for my Mini Me of a chapter last time, I've stayed up til 11 writing a new chapter. Two postings in one day is quite an achievement for me. And although 11 may not sound late, it is to me when I have to go to work tomorrow and work from 9 til 5 for the next five days. I hate Mondays. And I hate it when it's 11pm on Sunday and I know that as soon as I fall asleep, my next thoughts will be "No! It can't be 6:30 already!"

Enough with my rant. I would just like you all to appreciate this chapter. And to show your appreciation, I'd just love a couple of reviews, even if they are of Mini-Me-esque size. Tah muchly and enjoy!

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CHAPTER 5: Realisations and revelations.

After a few weeks, Lorelai discovered that everything had changed. Not in a huge Michael-Jackson-plastic-surgery kind of way, but she no longer relived conversations and the strange sense of déjà vu had pretty much disappeared. But some things, she wanted to relive. She and Rory still went to Harvard and it was only as they were driving back into Stars Hollow that she realised something very important would be missing from her life from now on….

"The chuppah!" she gasped as parked the car across the street from Luke's.

"What? Mom, you've got to stop having these random little outbursts. It's way too Jan Brady."

"Sorry, hon. I just remembered something…" Lorelai was interrupted by Lane.

"Rory!" she yelled, running towards them as they climbed out of the Jeep.

"Oh my God, Lane!"

"Hey, sweetie. Great to see you home. I'll leave you to catch up. If you need me, I'll be in Luke's." Lorelai already knew all of Lane's news so decided to leave the conversation early and visit Luke. She was still very bummed about the realisation that the chuppah was no longer in existence when she entered Luke's diner that when she approached the counter, she noticed he was looking at her very sympathetically.

"Hey," he said simply, placing a very large, blue mug in front of her and filling it to the brim with coffee.

Lorelai smiled at his gesture and took the mug into her hands, blowing lightly on the hot coffee before taking a long sip. "No comments on the dangers of caffeine consumption? I should come in here looking grumpy more often!"

Rolling his eyes, Luke grouched under his breath "Yeah, well, don't get used to it," as he headed off to serve the last few customers in***

Lorelai sat quietly at the counter, enjoying her coffee, waiting for Luke to return. When he did, he began wiping down the counter aimlessly.

"So, where did you guys go?"

"Well, we drove around a little, avoided this B&B I've been to… before… We ended up staying at this fancy little place just out of Boston. It was kind of like the Inn but a bit more… I don't know… fancy…" she laughed a little and then looked up at Luke, smiling, as she said "and then took a tour of Harvard."

"Harvard? Geez, Rory woulda loved that!"


"Oh, Luke, you should've seen her. She totally fit. She was in her element! All those beautiful, old buildings and the dorms and the library! I swear, that thing was as big as this entire town!"

Luke chuckled a little, watching Lorelai so excited about seeing Rory so excited. "I'm glad you guys had fun."

"Yeah, me too." Lorelai lifted her mug up to her lips and took another long sip, this time emptying it of its contents. She placed the mug back down on the counter and raising her eyebrows, pointed to it and coughed, looking anywhere but directly at Luke.

"Yeah, real subtle," he rolled his eyes again and refilled her mug.


Lorelai's face lit up as she smiled widely. "Thanks. But I missed this place so much. And I missed your coffee. I swear there is nothing like it anywhere else… within Massachusetts or Connecticut!"

Luke continued to wipe down the counter as he smiled at her. "Gee, thanks."

"Still, two outta fifty states ain't bad! And just think, I haven't even ventured to Maine yet, so…" she nodded to herself "as soon as that Bad Boy's conquered, you've… I've… I've forgotten what I was talking about…"

They both laughed and found themselves smiling at each other for a few seconds before Luke averted his glance and began staring at the counter, while still rubbing down the same spot he'd been working on for the last ten minutes.

Lorelai then gasped to herself for the second time that night. "Jess!" she half whispered.

"What?" Luke looked at Lorelai suspiciously.

Luke narrowed her eyes at him and replied "Have you talked to your sister recently?"

Luke looked suspiciously at Lorelai for a few seconds. "How do you know about Jess?"

"Oh, who? No, I was thinking about Tess… this woman at the place we stayed and… and then I just, y'know, thought about your sister cos… her name's Liz, right? And Liz and Tess just sound real similar and, well, you know how my mind works. Well, no, you don't cos nobody understands how my mind works, even me, so…."

Luke looked quizzically at Lorelai, thinking she had finally lost the plot. "Uh, okay… but there was something I was meaning to ask you about. My sister's kid might be coming to stay with me and I was thinkin' you might be able to…" Luke gestured aimlessly with his arms, "give me some kinda parental advice or somethin'…"

Lorelai had sort of forgotten about Jess. Well, not forgotten, but she'd been subconsciously hoping that somehow he wouldn't end up coming to stay with Luke, but because of her earlier promise to herself not to interfere with Rory's life, she knew she couldn't convince Luke to say no to letting Jess come and stay. And besides, however much she disliked Jess, she knew that Luke loved him deep down. Or would love him… all this future and past tense stuff was beginning to get on her nerves.


"Sure," she smiled. "If ever you need anything, you know where to find me." She spun around in her chair and pointed to the table near the coat rack. "Usually, right over there."

Luke smirked again and without really thinking, refilled her mug.

"But, there is one condition." He eyed her suspiciously before replying impatiently "What is it, Lorelai?"

She tried to act coy when she said "Well, I've been thinking about my future and everything and, well… I've decided it's time me and Sookie opened our own Inn, so… just, if I'm giving out parental advice, I'm gonna want some business advice in return!"

Luke smiled slightly and replied "If you think the time is right!"

"Oh, it is. And before you say anything, I'm Wonder Woman and can hack anything, so no need to ask."


"I know you are. No need to remind me."

Lorelai was taken aback at how genuine his compliment was and smiled at him. "Thanks, Luke." She stood up, picked her purse up off the counter and placed a few bills on the counter to pay for her coffee. She then walked around the counter and hugged Luke tightly, taking him by complete surprise. "Thanks," she whispered into his ear before stepping back and, smiling at him thankfully, left the diner.

After crossing the street, Lorelai saw Lane and Rory still standing where she'd left them, chatting excitedly. "Why don't you two hang together for a while," Lorelai suggested as she approached the two. "I've had Rory to myself for a few days now and, to be honest, I'm sick of the sight of her so if you would be so kind as to take her off my hands for a few hours, Lane, I'd be eternally grateful!"

"Thanks, Mom." Rory said, rolling her eyes. "I'll be back by… later." And the two girls walked away, still chatting madly.

Lorelai took out her cell phone and dialled Sookie's number. She knew exactly what Sookie's reaction was going to be when she heard Lorelai's news. This was one case of déjà vu she didn't mind having.


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Okay, so I skipped a few episodes, but they were all about weddings and veils and we all know what happened in Harvard so I skipped the majority of that episode too… but next up, we have "Nick & Nora/ Sid & Nancy", so anyone who's interested in how Lorelai will deal with Jess this time, you'd better hold onto your seats cos he's just around the corner… [And I apologise for the whole 'seats' thing just there… gimme a break, it's almost Monday! Who can come up with witty comments at 11pm on a Sunday?]