Title: Always You
Chapter 17: He's Staying
I'm BACK!
It's OVER! Yes! Thank GOD! FINALLY!
~~~~~~~~
Lorelai Gilmore was sneaking out of her house.
She hadn't snuck out of her house since she was sixteen, and even then, it wasn't her house, it was her parents', so it was different.
But here she was, holding her shoes in her hand and creeping down her stairs, avoiding the fifth stair from the top and the third stair from the bottom because they creaked. Worried that the person she was sneaking away from was still awake, Lorelai stared at the closed bedroom door while still walking, and ran directly into the coffee table, hitting her shin.
"G--!" she started to scream, clapping her hand over her mouth just in time. There was a slight noise from the other room, but no shaft of light appeared underneath the door, so Lorelai continued on her way, contemplating which door to edge through before finally deciding on a living room window that led to the porch. So she edged the window open and crawled out, landing as ungracefully as possible on the porch, but luckily not making any noise. She continued creeping down the porch steps, avoiding the second one, because it also creaked. As soon as her stockinged foot hit the grass, she slid on her shoes and pulled her coat tighter around her as she started running down the street. Making her way to the Independence Inn, Lorelai ran in, waving to Tobin as she did. Bypassing a few confused employees, she ran up the stairs and to a door, knowing exaclty which one to stop at. She smiled, gazed around for any rogue spies, and knocked happily.
After a few minutes, Chris appeared at the door, rubbing his eyes.
"What are you doing here? It's bad luck," Chris pointed out after Lorelai released him from their kiss.
"I just had to see you. I can't handle spending a night away from you."
"That's very sweet. You need to go home, though. Get your beauty rest, although you certainly don't need it."
"You're so wonderful," Lorelai smiled, kissing him again.
"Do you want me to escort you home, my beautiful bride to be?"
"Only to the driveway. I don't want Rory to know that I snuck out."
Chris laughed and nodded. "Sure. Only to the driveway."
~~~~~~~~
Little James Hayden was being passed from arms to arms. First he stared into the face of his mother, who happily picked him up from his crib, spun him around, and sang--badly--about how she was getting married in the morning. As he was spinning, James noticed his sister walking into the room, and before long, he was in her arms. She carried him downstairs and cooed at him, and then she strapped him to her chest in one of those baby carrier things and took him to Luke's. As soon as they arrived at Luke's, Lane arrived and pulled James out of the carrier. She cooed at him for a while, and then they all went outside again--this time, there was snow--and made it to the Independence Inn, where Sookie cooed over him while he stared at her daughter, in a car seat in the kitchen. Then his grandmother showed up and carried him around, until eventually he made it to his father, who placed him on a blanket where he crawled around for a while and shoved big red and black things into his mouth.
~~~~~~~~
Rory Gilmore was experiencing cold feet.
The fact that she wasn't getting married didn't mean anything to her; she had cold feet plain and simple.
Her parents were getting married.
She'd been thrilled for the past eighteen months--since her father had proposed--but now that the wedding day was actually here, there was a horrible gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach. She figured it had somthing to do with her own lack of a love life, and the fact that she hadn't had a successful date since Jess had up and left her for California without so much as a 'goodbye' less than a year ago. She'd been thinking about him more than often lately, and now she seemed to be hallucinating. Because she'd just dropped her brother off at the Inn with her father, and she'd ducked into Luke's for a coffee, and standing across the street, carrying a large green duffel bag and sporting a five o'clock shadow, Jess Mariano appeared to be getting snowed on.
~~~~~~~~
Christopher Hayden was getting married. He didn't know how it had happened, he didn't understand why it had happened, and he didn't know how in the hell he'd become the father to two children in the process, but Christopher Hayden was getting married to Lorelai Gilmore, the girl of his dreams. He'd bought an engagement ring, he'd bought two wedding rings, he was wearing a tuxedo. And now Chris was sitting on the bed in his room at the Inn, his son crawling around on the floor beside him, and wondering about leaving his homebody life behind, even if it was for only a week, as he and Lorelai went on their honeymoon. He'd gotten used to waking up next to her, making her coffee, changing James' daiper, kissing them both, heading off to work, coming home after work, eating dinner at Luke's or in front of the TV, playing with James, playing with Lorelai, and finally going to sleep. Even James had gotten used to the schedule, sleeping through the night now. Rory came home every weekend, she and Lorelai spent the entire two days watching movies and talking girl talk, and then Rory hugged her father, kissed her brother, and headed back to college.
Somehow, it seemed that when he and Lorelai were joined in holy matrimony, it would all change.
~~~~~~~~
Jess Mariano had just spent way too long on a bus from sunny California, and he was now standing in a street in a small town in Connecticut, snow in his hair and on his eyelashes, staring at a godforsaken diner he hadn't seen in six months. He glanced over the signs, for lack of a better thing to do.
Williams Hardware
Luke's
GOOD FOOD
Oh, now he'd done it.
As he'd been staring at the words painted on the window, he'd inadvertently glanced inside, and now his gaze was held by two stunningly blue eyes, the owner of which was trying very hard to decide whether to kill him or kiss him. Either way, she'd have to travel out into the snow.
And so she did.
~~~~~~~~
Forgetting her coat and her coffee, Rory ran out of the diner and threw herself at Jess, causing his duffel bag to fall to the ground. The snow slowed down and the gray clouds overhead shifted slightly so that the couple was standing in a small shaft of sunlight. Jess, surprised that Rory had gone with the "kiss him" method, awkwardly lifted his arms and tried to hug her back, but she'd decided she'd had enough of hugging him and was now pounding on his shoulders with strong fists.
"Why did you leave me? You didn't say goodbye! You never said goodbye!"
"I'm sorry," he tried to say, but she just continued screaming and hitting him, and then she collapsed completely into his arms and started sobbing.
"You left me. You left me," she kept repeating, tears coming quickly and soaking his shoulder. Eventually he noticed her shivering, and led her into the warm diner, forgetting his duffel bag in the snow.
"You left me," she moaned into his shoulder seconds before he opened the diner door.
"But I came back," he said as he pulled the door open. She smiled then, a large, genuine smile, and kissed him as he pulled her into the warm diner.
~~~~~~~~
Lorelai Gilmore looked stunning as she walked down the aisle. She was wearing a long white velvet dress, silver snowflakes stitched all over it, and there were snowflakes in her hair, from her short walk from the door of the Inn to the warm tent that held the sixty-something wedding guests. Richard Gilmore happily led his only daughter towards Chris, who never stopped smiling. Rory and James, the maid of honor and best man, stood to the side, James in a stroller at Rory's side, playing with a small white pillow with the rings stitched inside. Emily smiled from the first row, thrilled that after all this years Chris and Lorelai were finally marrying.
Rory's eyes wandered during the ceremony, to the back row, where they met a pair of chocolate brown ones. The owner of the eyes smiled at her, and she grinned back. He was staying.
Lorelai and Christopher walked back down the aisle, together this time, a married couple with two legitimate children for the first time in over nineteen years. Rory rolled James out, who was gurgling and throwing smiles to all of the girls in the room. AFter a whirlwind reception, the Haydens edged into a white limo to the airport, headed away to Hawaii, the practically polar opposite of Connecticut in winter. Richard and Emily kissed cheeks and headed to Hartford. Rory and James wandered into the Gilmore--sorry, Hayden--home for rest after the long day, but after James had conked out, there was a slight knock on the door, and Rory pulled it open to reveal the brown eyes from earlier, the ones that were staying.
"Jess," she whispered.
"Rory," he nodded, sweeping into the room and kissing her.
He was staying.
Chapter 17: He's Staying
I'm BACK!
It's OVER! Yes! Thank GOD! FINALLY!
~~~~~~~~
Lorelai Gilmore was sneaking out of her house.
She hadn't snuck out of her house since she was sixteen, and even then, it wasn't her house, it was her parents', so it was different.
But here she was, holding her shoes in her hand and creeping down her stairs, avoiding the fifth stair from the top and the third stair from the bottom because they creaked. Worried that the person she was sneaking away from was still awake, Lorelai stared at the closed bedroom door while still walking, and ran directly into the coffee table, hitting her shin.
"G--!" she started to scream, clapping her hand over her mouth just in time. There was a slight noise from the other room, but no shaft of light appeared underneath the door, so Lorelai continued on her way, contemplating which door to edge through before finally deciding on a living room window that led to the porch. So she edged the window open and crawled out, landing as ungracefully as possible on the porch, but luckily not making any noise. She continued creeping down the porch steps, avoiding the second one, because it also creaked. As soon as her stockinged foot hit the grass, she slid on her shoes and pulled her coat tighter around her as she started running down the street. Making her way to the Independence Inn, Lorelai ran in, waving to Tobin as she did. Bypassing a few confused employees, she ran up the stairs and to a door, knowing exaclty which one to stop at. She smiled, gazed around for any rogue spies, and knocked happily.
After a few minutes, Chris appeared at the door, rubbing his eyes.
"What are you doing here? It's bad luck," Chris pointed out after Lorelai released him from their kiss.
"I just had to see you. I can't handle spending a night away from you."
"That's very sweet. You need to go home, though. Get your beauty rest, although you certainly don't need it."
"You're so wonderful," Lorelai smiled, kissing him again.
"Do you want me to escort you home, my beautiful bride to be?"
"Only to the driveway. I don't want Rory to know that I snuck out."
Chris laughed and nodded. "Sure. Only to the driveway."
~~~~~~~~
Little James Hayden was being passed from arms to arms. First he stared into the face of his mother, who happily picked him up from his crib, spun him around, and sang--badly--about how she was getting married in the morning. As he was spinning, James noticed his sister walking into the room, and before long, he was in her arms. She carried him downstairs and cooed at him, and then she strapped him to her chest in one of those baby carrier things and took him to Luke's. As soon as they arrived at Luke's, Lane arrived and pulled James out of the carrier. She cooed at him for a while, and then they all went outside again--this time, there was snow--and made it to the Independence Inn, where Sookie cooed over him while he stared at her daughter, in a car seat in the kitchen. Then his grandmother showed up and carried him around, until eventually he made it to his father, who placed him on a blanket where he crawled around for a while and shoved big red and black things into his mouth.
~~~~~~~~
Rory Gilmore was experiencing cold feet.
The fact that she wasn't getting married didn't mean anything to her; she had cold feet plain and simple.
Her parents were getting married.
She'd been thrilled for the past eighteen months--since her father had proposed--but now that the wedding day was actually here, there was a horrible gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach. She figured it had somthing to do with her own lack of a love life, and the fact that she hadn't had a successful date since Jess had up and left her for California without so much as a 'goodbye' less than a year ago. She'd been thinking about him more than often lately, and now she seemed to be hallucinating. Because she'd just dropped her brother off at the Inn with her father, and she'd ducked into Luke's for a coffee, and standing across the street, carrying a large green duffel bag and sporting a five o'clock shadow, Jess Mariano appeared to be getting snowed on.
~~~~~~~~
Christopher Hayden was getting married. He didn't know how it had happened, he didn't understand why it had happened, and he didn't know how in the hell he'd become the father to two children in the process, but Christopher Hayden was getting married to Lorelai Gilmore, the girl of his dreams. He'd bought an engagement ring, he'd bought two wedding rings, he was wearing a tuxedo. And now Chris was sitting on the bed in his room at the Inn, his son crawling around on the floor beside him, and wondering about leaving his homebody life behind, even if it was for only a week, as he and Lorelai went on their honeymoon. He'd gotten used to waking up next to her, making her coffee, changing James' daiper, kissing them both, heading off to work, coming home after work, eating dinner at Luke's or in front of the TV, playing with James, playing with Lorelai, and finally going to sleep. Even James had gotten used to the schedule, sleeping through the night now. Rory came home every weekend, she and Lorelai spent the entire two days watching movies and talking girl talk, and then Rory hugged her father, kissed her brother, and headed back to college.
Somehow, it seemed that when he and Lorelai were joined in holy matrimony, it would all change.
~~~~~~~~
Jess Mariano had just spent way too long on a bus from sunny California, and he was now standing in a street in a small town in Connecticut, snow in his hair and on his eyelashes, staring at a godforsaken diner he hadn't seen in six months. He glanced over the signs, for lack of a better thing to do.
Williams Hardware
Luke's
GOOD FOOD
Oh, now he'd done it.
As he'd been staring at the words painted on the window, he'd inadvertently glanced inside, and now his gaze was held by two stunningly blue eyes, the owner of which was trying very hard to decide whether to kill him or kiss him. Either way, she'd have to travel out into the snow.
And so she did.
~~~~~~~~
Forgetting her coat and her coffee, Rory ran out of the diner and threw herself at Jess, causing his duffel bag to fall to the ground. The snow slowed down and the gray clouds overhead shifted slightly so that the couple was standing in a small shaft of sunlight. Jess, surprised that Rory had gone with the "kiss him" method, awkwardly lifted his arms and tried to hug her back, but she'd decided she'd had enough of hugging him and was now pounding on his shoulders with strong fists.
"Why did you leave me? You didn't say goodbye! You never said goodbye!"
"I'm sorry," he tried to say, but she just continued screaming and hitting him, and then she collapsed completely into his arms and started sobbing.
"You left me. You left me," she kept repeating, tears coming quickly and soaking his shoulder. Eventually he noticed her shivering, and led her into the warm diner, forgetting his duffel bag in the snow.
"You left me," she moaned into his shoulder seconds before he opened the diner door.
"But I came back," he said as he pulled the door open. She smiled then, a large, genuine smile, and kissed him as he pulled her into the warm diner.
~~~~~~~~
Lorelai Gilmore looked stunning as she walked down the aisle. She was wearing a long white velvet dress, silver snowflakes stitched all over it, and there were snowflakes in her hair, from her short walk from the door of the Inn to the warm tent that held the sixty-something wedding guests. Richard Gilmore happily led his only daughter towards Chris, who never stopped smiling. Rory and James, the maid of honor and best man, stood to the side, James in a stroller at Rory's side, playing with a small white pillow with the rings stitched inside. Emily smiled from the first row, thrilled that after all this years Chris and Lorelai were finally marrying.
Rory's eyes wandered during the ceremony, to the back row, where they met a pair of chocolate brown ones. The owner of the eyes smiled at her, and she grinned back. He was staying.
Lorelai and Christopher walked back down the aisle, together this time, a married couple with two legitimate children for the first time in over nineteen years. Rory rolled James out, who was gurgling and throwing smiles to all of the girls in the room. AFter a whirlwind reception, the Haydens edged into a white limo to the airport, headed away to Hawaii, the practically polar opposite of Connecticut in winter. Richard and Emily kissed cheeks and headed to Hartford. Rory and James wandered into the Gilmore--sorry, Hayden--home for rest after the long day, but after James had conked out, there was a slight knock on the door, and Rory pulled it open to reveal the brown eyes from earlier, the ones that were staying.
"Jess," she whispered.
"Rory," he nodded, sweeping into the room and kissing her.
He was staying.