"Mystery Woman – part 2"

Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the reviews, I really appreciate them. :)

* * *

As they continued walking home, Lorelai tried not to think about Rory's observation. She wracked her brain trying to find something else to think about, but after a brief conversation with herself about which Back to the Future movie was her favorite, her mind drifted back to Luke. . .and Leslie.

She looks nothing like me, Lorelai told herself.

So they both have dark hair and blue eyes – so what? Millions of people have dark hair and blue eyes, and they don't all look the same. Lorelai glanced toward Rory. She's crazy. It's dark out. She couldn't have seen her clearly. Maybe she needs glasses. All of that reading she does has probably affected her eyesight in some way.

Lorelai walked a few more steps before her internal conversation took another turn. But let's pretend for one tiny moment that she did look like me. . . so what? It's no big deal. It wouldn't mean anything.

But as much as she told herself that, she knew what the townspeople would say if something like that happened. She knew that they'd throw that 'he has a thing for you' stuff in her face again, and use this as visual evidence to support their accusations. But she would be prepared for them, and she would convince them that they were wrong.

Luke can date whoever he wants, she thought. And if he wants to date someone who looks like me. . .then fine. Let him. No big deal. It doesn't mean anything. If I date a guy who looks like Mel Gibson, it doesn't mean I really want to date Mel Gibson.

Lorelai paused a moment and nibbled nervously on her bottom lip.

Or does it?

She thought for a moment, then shook her head. No, it doesn't, she decided.

It just means that she likes the way that Mel Gibson looks, not that she specifically wants to date him. So the most that a situation like that could possibly mean is that. . .Luke likes the way she looks.

Lorelai's eyes widened. Uh oh. Is that what it means? Does Luke like the way I look? She didn't like the sound of that – it was almost too supportive of the town's theory, because him liking the way she looks, and him wanting to date her, were kind of related.

She thought it over for a few seconds before she shook her head slightly to bring her back to reality. None of it matters anyway because that woman doesn't look like me. She doesn't.

As they walked up their driveway, Lorelai sighed loudly and glanced at Rory. "Hey?"

Rory turned to look at Lorelai. "Yeah?"

Lorelai stared at her for a moment. She wanted to ask, 'What does it mean if Luke dates someone who kind of, possibly, might look just a teeny, tiny bit like me?'

But she didn't.

Instead, she looked up toward the sky and said, "Nice night, huh?"

Rory gave Lorelai a curious look, but slowly nodded. "Yeah, it's nice." They walked up the front steps and into the house.

* * *

Over the next few days, whenever Lorelai went into the diner, she would scan it to look for Leslie. She wanted to get another look at her, to see if there really was any sort of resemblance, to see if what Rory had said had any substance to it. But Leslie was never in there.

She wanted to ask Luke about her, to ask how many times they'd gone out, to ask if they even were still going out, to ask if she lived around here, to ask a million other questions about her. . . but she couldn't. She had told him she wouldn't pry, and despite the difficulty of it, she was trying to keep her word. So, as much as she wanted to, she never mentioned Leslie or the date.

It was almost a week before she saw her again. On Saturday night, Lorelai and Rory were walking to the movie theater when Lorelai glanced across the town square and saw Luke and Leslie walk out of the diner. Lorelai stopped walking and grabbed Rory's arm. "There she is!" she hissed.

"Who? Where?" Rory asked, looking around.

"Leslie," Lorelai whispered, gesturing toward the diner. "With Luke. I guess they're still going out. I haven't seen her in like a week."

Rory narrowed her eyes at Lorelai. "You've been looking for her?"

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. The truthful answer would've been, Yes, I have, because I have an obsessive need to see if this woman really does look like me. And if she does, I need to sit down with several pints of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream and try to figure out what that means. And while we're at it, let's try to figure out why I care so much about what it means. And, by the way, I think I need help because not only have I become unusually obsessed with Luke's personal life, but I also have long in-depth conversations inside my head.

But instead, Lorelai scoffed and said, "No, I haven't been looking for her. . .it's just an observation." She gestured toward the lamppost. "I haven't seen the Troubadour around here in a few days, but it doesn't mean I'm looking for him. It just means that I haven't seen him around. It's an observation. There's a difference."

Lorelai watched Luke and Leslie walk down the street, both of them casually dressed in jeans and jackets. They were too far away for Lorelai to get a good look at her, but the one thing she did note was that they weren't holding hands – and she tried to ignore the fact that it made her feel relieved. "Where do you think they're going?"

Rory followed Lorelai's gaze. "I don't know. Maybe we should follow them and find out," Rory suggested.

Lorelai's eyes widened and she waved a finger at Rory. "Ooh, good idea, yes!" She grabbed Rory's arm and started pulling her down the sidewalk. "Let's go."

Rory rolled her eyes and planted her feet firmly on the ground. "Mom, I was kidding."

Lorelai cringed slightly as she suddenly realized how obsessive it would've been to follow Luke and his date around town. She turned back to Rory and forced a laugh. "Oh yeah, me too," she said, waving it off casually. Lorelai turned around and watched them some more, and her eyes widened as she saw them heading toward the theater. "Oh my God, they're going to the movie, too."

Rory started walking to the theater. "Okay, so we are following them. Let's go."

Lorelai walked quickly to catch up to Rory. "Do you think she lives in town? I mean, we never see her around. Not that I've been looking. . .I just - "

"I know, I know – you observed it," Rory finished, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe she came here as a spy from another town to try to find out what our next town function's gonna be so that she can get her town to do it first, thus making us look like copycats," Lorelai suggested.

Rory glanced at Lorelai skeptically. "Uh, yeah, that could be true."

"It'd be like our own little version of Alias," Lorelai said. "Ooh, maybe she has a bunch of secret gadgets. . .like maybe her lip gloss has a secret chemical in it that'll make Luke give her all the dirt on the town when she kisses him." Lorelai's eyes widened slightly, and she swallowed hard.

When she kisses him, Lorelai repeated in her head. A weird feeling came over her, like someone had just told her that they were discontinuing Snickers bars. She wondered if they'd kissed. . .and if they were passionate kisses or little pecks. . .and where the first kiss had happened, if the first kiss had already happened. Maybe it hadn't. Then she stopped wondering about them kissing and tried to figure out why she was so concerned with them kissing.

Rory's voice snapped Lorelai out of her daze. "Mom?"

"Huh?"

"You wanna actually come inside, or you wanna stand out here and listen to the movie from the steps?" Rory asked, gesturing to the door that she was holding open for Lorelai.

"Oh, sorry." Lorelai walked up the steps and into the theater.

* * *

Lorelai and Rory found seats in the back of the theater, a few rows behind Luke and Leslie. Lorelai stared at the back of their heads, trying to convince herself that the feeling in the pit of her stomach was caused by hunger and not jealousy. She shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth and chewed it slowly. She stared at them, watched them converse casually, wondered what they were talking about.

Then it happened. . .Luke laughed. Out loud. Lorelai was surprised to hear it – it wasn't a sound that she heard very often. She took this as a sign that Luke must be happy. . . a realization that should've, in turn, made her happy for him.

But instead, her nostrils flared as she stared at the back of the head of the woman who was making him happy. . . the woman who wasn't Lorelai. I can make him laugh, too, you know, Lorelai mentally conveyed to Leslie. Don't think you're all special because you moseyed into town and made him –

"You know, you're gonna bore a hole into the back of her head if you keep staring like that," Rory pointed out, interrupting Lorelai's thoughts.

Lorelai glanced down at her popcorn container. "I'm not staring at anything," she muttered.

"Uh huh," Rory replied. She glanced toward the front of the room, then back at Lorelai. She put her hand on Lorelai's cheek and pushed her face toward the left. "Huh."

Lorelai turned back to her and narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"The back of your head looks just like hers," Rory said, nodding toward the front of the room.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Stop it." She ran her fingers through her hair and settled back in her seat. "She doesn't look like me."

"You still can't see the resemblance?" Rory asked.

"I haven't seen her face up close yet, I've only seen her from behind," Lorelai explained. "So the only thing I know is that my butt looks better in jeans than hers does."

"Why were you looking at her butt?" Rory asked.

"To see if mine looks better in jeans than hers does," Lorelai replied as if it was obvious. "And it does."

"So, you're comparing yourself to the woman that Luke's dating," Rory observed with a smile. "Interesting."

"Tsk, no," Lorelai scoffed. "Not interesting."

"Someone seems jealous," Rory teased.

"Stop it," Lorelai admonished. The lights started to dim and Lorelai turned to face the screen. "The movie's starting. No more talking."

"Why are – "

"Shhhhh!" Lorelai hushed her loudly. They both turned their attention to the front of the room – but only one of them was watching the movie.

* * *

The movie ended and the lights came back on, and Rory stood up to leave. Lorelai grabbed her shirt and pulled her back down. "Wait a minute."

"Geez, watch the shirt," Rory complained, pulling the fabric out of Lorelai's hand.

"Tsk, it's mine anyway," Lorelai replied.

"Why are we still sitting?" Rory asked.

Lorelai didn't answer. Her gaze was fixated on Leslie. She was waiting for her to get up and turn around so she could finally get a good look at her.

Rory followed her gaze and nodded knowingly. "Ah. You know, I'm pretty sure that you're bordering on stalking."

Lorelai scoffed. "I don't think that looking at someone is the same thing as stalking them."

"This is how it starts," Rory said. "Pretty soon I can see you reenacting scenes from Vanilla Sky."

"Uh, I think you're overreacting just a – " Her voice trailed off as she saw Luke stand up and stretch his arms over his head. Leslie stood up, and Lorelai prepared for her to turn around. This is it, the moment of truth.

Leslie turned around to pick up her coat from her seat, and Lorelai finally got her first good glimpse of her face.

She's pretty, Lorelai reluctantly admitted to herself. She didn't want her to be pretty. She didn't know why, exactly, but part of her was hoping that she would have warts or acne or some hideous scar going across her entire face.

But she didn't. Her face was wart-free, acne-free, and scar-free. Her wavy brown hair was pulled back from her face with a barrette on either side. Her T-shirt stopped just above the waist of her jeans, exposing a small strip of her stomach. She pulled on her jacket, and she and Luke started walking up the aisle.

When they had passed their row, Lorelai gasped and turned to Rory. "Oh my God, it's like looking in a mirror!"

"See? I told you!"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I'm kidding." She shrugged. "I still don't see it. Yes, I see the similar-looking brown hair, but I'm sorry. . .I don't think she's my separated-at-birth twin sister like you seem to think she is."

Rory frowned. "You just don't want to see it, that's why you . . ." Her eyes wandered across the theater, and she smiled. "I think we need another opinion." Rory stood up and started walking across the theater.

When Lorelai realized she was walking toward Miss Patty, she suddenly jumped up and rushed over to her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing?" she asked, grabbing Rory's arm.

"I'm going to ask Miss Patty what she thinks," Rory said.

Lorelai grabbed Rory's arm and pulled her toward the door. "No way in hell are you doing that. That's like feeding the Gremlins after midnight – only bad things can come from it."

As they walked out of the theater, Lorelai saw Luke standing on the sidewalk alone. They walked up to him and Lorelai tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey."

Luke turned around and nodded toward them. "Oh, hey."

Lorelai smiled. "So, you enjoy the movie?"

Luke nodded. "Yup"

"Good. We did, too." The three of them stood there quietly for a moment, and Lorelai eyed him curiously, trying to determine whether or not to pursue the line of questioning she had in mind. Finally, she casually said, "So, I. . .uh, I noticed you were sitting next to someone in there. . .Leslie, right? Was that her name?"

Rory rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. She decided to just stand back and see how far her mother would go with this.

Luke nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

"So, what happened to her?" Lorelai asked. "Did she go home?"

"Nope, she's over there." Luke pointed down the sidewalk.

Lorelai glanced in the direction he'd pointed and saw Leslie talking on a cell phone. "Oh." She turned back to Luke. "So, does she live in town?"

"Uh, no, actually, she doesn't." Luke shoved his hands into his pockets and shifted his feet uncomfortably as he glanced away. He wasn't giving up any more information than was necessary to answer her questions.

Lorelai gave a sideways glance toward Rory and mouthed, "Spy."

Rory rolled her eyes, then cleared her throat. "So, uh, ready to go, Mom?"

Lorelai gave Rory a Look. No!, she wanted to shout. She was trying to stall around long enough for Leslie to walk back over so she could meet her. Couldn't Rory tell that? And this kid was supposed to go to an Ivy League school?

"Uh, yeah, just a second," Lorelai replied. She turned back to Luke and smiled. "So. . .how have things been? I haven't seen you in awhile."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "I saw you today at lunch."

Lorelai nodded. "Right, yeah, but we didn't really get to talk."

"We didn't get to talk, but I do recall you babbling incessantly about how much better a cream-filled cupcake is than a regular cupcake," Luke said.

Lorelai smiled. "You were listening to that? You looked like you were ignoring me."

"Yeah, well, I was trying, but it's hard to do when you're sitting right there at the counter," Luke pointed out. Lorelai saw Luke glance past her, and she turned to follow his gaze. Leslie was walking toward them.

Lorelai and Rory glanced at each other, sharing a "we're finally gonna meet her" look. Lorelai glanced back at Luke, who had an uncomfortable look on his face.

Leslie smiled as she reached them. "Sorry for taking so long," she said to Luke.

"Oh, that's okay," Luke said. "No problem."

Leslie smiled awkwardly at Lorelai and Rory. "Uh, hi."

Luke cleared his throat. "Oh, uh, Leslie, this is Lorelai and Rory," he said, pointing them out.

Rory gave her a shy wave. "Hi."

Lorelai smiled and extended her hand. "Hi, nice to meet you."

"Same here," Leslie replied, shaking her hand. She gestured to Lorelai's shirt, which featured the Superman symbol on the chest. "Cool shirt."

Lorelai quickly glanced down at it before she replied, "Oh, thanks."

"And those shoes are great – I have a pair just like them," Leslie commented. "They're really comfortable, huh?"

Lorelai glanced down at them. "Oh, yeah, they are, they're great."

Leslie looked up at Luke. "So, you ready?"

"Yeah, let's go," he replied. He nodded toward Lorelai and Rory. "See you guys tomorrow?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, probably." She smiled at Leslie. "Nice meeting you."

"Yup, same here," she replied. She and Luke started walking down the sidewalk.

When they were several feet away, the smile disappeared from Lorelai's face. "Oh my God, could that woman be any more obnoxious?" she whispered loudly.

Rory let out a surprised laugh. "What? She was perfectly nice."

Lorelai snickered. "Oh, she's such a phony. When you compliment someone you just met like that, it's because you're trying to make a nice first impression, not because you really mean it."

"And what's wrong with trying to make a nice first impression?" Rory asked.

"Nothing, but if she says she likes my shirt and my shoes, I'd like it to be because she actually likes them and not because she's trying to be nice," Lorelai said. "I don't like fake compliments."

"You don't know that they were fake," Rory pointed out.

Lorelai scoffed and nodded knowingly. "Oh, I know. . .trust me. And I have a feeling a couple of other things were fake, too."

Rory let out a surprised laugh. "Mom!"

"Lorelai, dear!" a voice called from behind them.

They both turned around and saw Miss Patty walking toward them.

"Hey Patty," Lorelai said. "What's up?"

"Who is that woman?" Patty asked, gesturing down the sidewalk toward Luke and Leslie.

"Oh. . .uh, Luke's date," Lorelai replied, snarling her nose slightly. "Leslie."

"Is she a relative of yours?" Patty asked.

Rory smiled. "Aha! You see it, too, don't you? Doesn't she look like Mom?"

Patty placed her hand on Lorelai's shoulder. "When I saw the two of them walking out of the theater, I almost fainted. I thought he'd finally gotten up the courage to ask you out."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "For the millionth time, he doesn't want to ask me out. If he did, he would've done it by now."

"Whatever you say, dear," Patty said, giving Rory a knowing look. "Oh, the town's just gonna eat this up! I wonder if Luke realizes the resemblance."

"Uh, probably not, because there is no resemblance," Lorelai said.

"I don't know. My bet is that he has subconsciously blocked it out like Mom did," Rory replied.

Lorelai groaned. "Look, Luke is dating someone and he seems happy, so let's stop imagining that she looks like me and just be happy for him, okay?"

"Okay, okay. Well, give me the scoop – what's she like? Was she nice?" Patty asked.

"She seemed friendly," Rory replied.

Lorelai shrugged and muttered, "Eh, she was okay."

Miss Patty eyed her with a smirk. "Looks like someone was bitten by the jealousy bug, huh?" she said, nudging Rory's shoulder.

"Tell me about it," Rory replied with a nod.

Lorelai checked her watch. "Oh, would you look at the time? Saturday Night Live starts in three hours. We better hurry home and get ready to watch it," she said. She grabbed Rory's arm and pulled her down the sidewalk. "Bye Patty."

"Bye girls," Patty called.

When they were a few feet away, they slowed down their pace, and Lorelai let go of Rory's arm with a loud sigh. She shoved her hands in her pockets and stared down at the sidewalk as they continued walking home.

* * *

To be continued. . .

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