A/N: Sorry these new ones took sooo long, I lost my Internet for awhile. But I'm back, and so are my favorite stories, getting better if I do say so myself.

**//=**/=-+*/=/*/=*-+-*/=/-*/=+-/*-/-*/+=*/=*- "Coffee?"

"Why is it you still must ask?"

"Fine," Luke started pouring the coffee.

"I don't want coffee this morning. How about some hot chocolate and pancakes?"

Luke glared. "That is why I ask."

"Hey look."

"Yeah."

"Well, you know what we talked about, (last chapter (FYI)) a couple of months ago? Well, I hope that doesn't ruin our relationship."

"Don't worry.actually, I was rethinking the whole thing. Of course I'm in love with you and all, I was just too afraid to admit it. So, you wanna get married?"

"Oh, I love you Luke!" Lorelai kissed him over and over.

"Rinnnng!" That was the alarm clock, and thank God Lorelai had been dreaming.

"Rory!" I think I'm going to have a heart attack." Lorelai stumbled into Rory's room, shaking her bed until she was shaken out of her sound sleep.

"Mommm, stop it. Go away."

"Fourth one this week, Rory. I'm worried. Do you think I'm going insane."

"Another Luke dream."

"Do you think it's strange I confide in my daughter about my guy dreams?" "Until, they get sexual the daughter doesn't mind."

"You'll always tell me this stuff right."

"Well, I ruined our chances of being like Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson. I din't tell you I was having sex when I was fifteen. But now that I'm seventeen, I guess I can tell you. I've been having sex since I was fourteen."

Dumbstruck Lorelai laughed after two minutes of realizing the joke. "That was a lame joke. Never mind the fact that it wasn't funny."

"That's what we in the funny business call a nine o'clock in the morning joke. Oh my God what's today?"

"Saturday."

"No, the date. Dammit it's Valentine's Day. I promised Jess I'd meet him at the bridge at seven." Rory sat upright in her bed and ran to get dressed

"My question to you is how much has he learned about you? Seven?"

"Apparently he has this big romantic thing planned, before anyone wakes up. God, I hope he didn't leave. I love you. Happy Valentine's Day Ma! Bye!" Rory ran as fast as she could, her unbrushed hair flying behind her. The snow reached up her legs, she didn't even bother to wear socks. She finally reached the bridge and it was cleared of all snow. Jess sat there, looking proud about what he had done. There was tons of food around the bridge, with piles of books around. It may not sound romantic to most, but books were the common interest that flickered the first attraction between them.

"I'm so sorry I'm late."

"It's okay. I actually overslept myself and didn't get here until eight thirty. I thought you'd come and gone."

"As we know, neither of us are the early bird type. This is amazing." Rory walked over and they had a passionate kiss, then sat down to read book summaries and eat grapes. "A morning Valentine's Day. I didn't think one existed." "Well of course it does. And this year you get a lunch and dinner one as well."

"You mean, this isn't it?"

"Nope. You need to be at your house at one o'clock. And then you need to be at Luke's for seven thirty. It should be easier PM than AM."

"Oh my God. I can't believe you did all of this, for me."

"How's your grandmother? She's doing better isn't she?"

"Yeah, lots. Jess, I have a question, I've been trying to answer for awhile. What are you going to do after you graduate this Spring?"

"That reminds me I have another surprise this morning, I know you'll be proud of." Jess pulled a paper out of his back pocket.

"Your report card? A, B, B+, A-. B. I hate to sound like your friggin mother but this is awesome Jess."

" I applied to a couple junior colleges around here. I was thinking about how I want to be with you for a long time and we don't have much time until we're on our own."

"I don't think anything could go wrong." Rory and Jess started walking back toward town, with sacks of books over their shoulders. They put them in Luke's apartment and went back down where Lorelai sat at a table. "Look what I got!!" Lorelai lifted up a bouquet of flowers and a note. "It says to meet mystery man tonight here at seven. I asked Luke if anyone made any reservations and he said no. I also asked Miss. Patty if she knew and she didn't which means, that whoever it is, is going to extraordinary lengths to make it all secret. I just hope it's not Kirk."

"I think you'll be pleased with who it is."

"You know??"

"He came to me for advice."

"Is it Max?"

"Max? Maybe. I'll never tell."

"Only Brittany Murphy holds rights to those taunting three words." Lorelai pointed at Rory.

"Sorry, sworn to secrecy."

Suddenly Miss. Patty came storming in. "Lane Kim is missing!" she shrieked. "She's missing. Oh Rory Lane is missing. Do you know where she is. Everyone is frantic." A white sheet of horror overcame Rory's face.

~~~~~~~~^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^~~~~~~~~

" I can't even begin to guess if she got lost, kidnapped or if she ran away." Rory sighed, still crazed over her best friend's disappearance.

"I wouldn't blame her for running away from that place."

"She would tell me if she was plotting to run away." Rory and Lorelai kept walking through the streets trying to find Mrs. Kim. "Get away from me you people. Get away!" They identified that as being Mrs. Kim's voice.

"Mrs. Kim!"

"Rory. Do you know where she is? Did she tell you anything? Do you know anything? Anything?!"

"No. She didn't."

"Then get away from me. You can be of no assistance to us."

"Mrs. Kim, could I go to her room? I can tell if she ran away or not."

"Runaway? Why would she do that? She is perfectly happy. She has no reason to want to run away. That is absurd. How could anyone think that." Rory looked to her mother pleadingly.

"Sometimes kids are unhappy and we don't know it, you know?" Lorelai attempted to crack the frantic mother.

"Not Lane."

"Mrs. Kim, please just let me check her room, please."

"Fine, come with me. Just you no one else."

"Hey Rory! Any advances?" It was Jess.

"Especially not him." Mrs. Kim glared at Jess. Rory walked into the room and lifted floorboards and looked through closets. All CDs were in place. That meant it was impossible for her to have run away. Suddenly they heard Lane's giggle come from downstairs. Rory and Mrs. Kim ran down the stairs to find Lane in the doorway with a wide grin across her face, a rose placed in her hair.

"Lane! Where have you been? You have turned worry to this whole town. Where did you go? Answer me!" Mrs. Kim was furious.

"I'm sorry Mama. I got up extra early this morning to walk around the town. I went into the woods. I didn't realize what time it was."

"What time did you get up this morning?"

"Six o'clock. "

"It's noon time. Lane you are lying. Go to your room. Rory go home." As Rory stumbled toward the door, she saw Lane mouth to her "I had a date. Talk to you later." Rory smiled then opened the door to the whole town trying to figure out what was going on inside.

"Rory what happened? We saw her come in. We weren't sure if anyone was coming back out," Lorelai joked. They walked through the street, Rory explaining what happened. Miss. Patty led the parade that followed them trying to hear tidbits of what Mrs. Kim said, assuming she completely freaked out. They walked into Luke's and took a seat.

***********************************************

"Dean! Chill will ya? I'm just trying to walk to my girlfriend's house?"

Jess was trying to calm down a now furious Dean. He had appeared out of nowhere and started yelling at Jess as he was walking down the street. "Did you know I was Rory's first kiss? Her first boyfriend? We fell asleep at Miss. Patty's together once. Caused a big town controversy. I built her a car. What can you say like that?"

" I can say that she cut school to come see me in New York once. She kissed me at Sookie's wedding, when she was still going out with you. It took her two weeks to notice that the bracelet you made her was missing. When we were driving in the car you made her, I asked her if she wanted to go study or take a right turn and drive in circles. Yup, you guessed it, she chose to drive in circles so we could talk. Go away Dean. You and Rory are over, and the longer you hold on to the hell it must be to break up with her, the longer you're going to be this miserable, and hostile." Jess kept walking. Dean stared after him and took a shortcut to the Gilmore abode.

"Dean what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for that guy huh? That guy that you kissed at the wedding, cut school to spend a day with him in New York for, drove around town with him in the car that I made you, all while we were going out? That guy?"

"Dean stop it, that was a long time ago."

"No it wasn't. That wasn't long ago at all. Not for me. Do you know what you did to me Rory? You tore me up inside. Tore my heart apart. You did it all last year when you went out with me and still acted like his bimbo. You tried to do it this year too. And now I see you trudging through the town with that guy on your arm. And it brings back all the memories of what a bitch you were to me this past year. You lied to me, you played me like a fool. You kiss him and it feels like you're going to kick my soul right out of me. You deserve whatever pain comes your way Rory. You're the most selfish and greedy person I know and I hope you live the rest of your life regretting every second you spend with that scumbag." Rory was in tears.

"You do not talk to her like that!" Lorelai screamed from the house porch. "I know she hurt you. But a wonderful girl like her breaking up with a guy would hurt anyone. I thought you were a good kid Dean, but you have no right to talk to her like that. Now get out of here, and try anything like that again you'll be sorry you were born the day you were!" Lorelai was furious and comforted Rory. Jess was looking on by the trees and ran over to Rory embracing her. Lorelai backed away looking on longingly wanting to be the one her daughter hugged.

Later, Jess and Rory sat on the couch inside. They were talking. "Sorry I ruined your Lunch Valentine's surprise."

"You didn't ruin it at all. This is fine with me. This town is so romantically disabled, I was going through hell trying to figure out what we should do. But I figured I'd come over here and we could hang out here, or do whatever you wanted to do. I'm sorry I told him all that stuff. It's what fueled him to come over here."

"It's not your fault. He was right about all of that stuff he says I did to him. I deserved it." She looked at him and kissed him.