Title: What Sam Says
Chapter 4: The First Coffee
Disclaimer: See the first three chapters.
A/N: I'm back. It's still weird. I still love reviews. Flashbacks still in italics. I'm starting off with a flashback this time, picking up basically where I left off, so be prepared.
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"This is your suite, Mademoiselle," the man from the front desk said grandly, pushing the ornate white doors open and making a sweeping hand gesture.
"Whoa," Rory whispered, stepping onto the plush white carpet, and looking around at the large front room of the suite. "Wow," she whispered again as she turned a corner and found the other part of the rooms.
"I'm glad you're pleased, Mademoiselle. If you're pleased, so will Mr. Miller be." The man nodded and exited the room.
Rory walked after him to the doors and almost opened them, to ask the man what Mark had to do with everything here…but she lost confidence, and instead picked up her bag and purse and walked into one of the bedrooms to unpack.
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"And where was Mark during all this?" Lorelai asked, forcing the name out as if the taste it left behind hurt her mouth. Rory shrugged.
"I dunno. I haven't seen him since the plane landed in France."
"Really, now. That's interesting."
Rory nodded, watching as her mother mused.
"Why do I feel like I'm in the end of some detective movie?" Lorelai asked suddenly.
"That's the way I've felt for the past six months." Rory tried to stifle a yawn, looking away from her mother, but Lorelai noticed it.
"Hey. You tired?"
Rory shook her head, and then nodded slightly.
"You should get to bed. You've gotta keep up your strength, now."
"Right." Rory said, pushing herself off of the couch, and starting towards her old room.
"And you can finish the story in the morning."
Rory turned and smiled at her mother, who smiled back. Rory shook her head, still smiling, and walked into her room.
Lorelai watched her daughter leave, and then pushed herself off of the couch. She mused the newest news of Mark as she turned the lights out in the living room and headed towards bed, for the sleep she'd wanted earlier but that had gotten interrupted.
"Mark," she whispered to herself, shaking her head as she walked up the stairs. "You have been and always will be a bastard to me."
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"I'm sure she'll be here in a minute," Lorelai smiled to her parents, who smiled tightly back and sipped their wine. 'Where are you?' She sent the words to Rory via their mind connection that she hoped they suddenly had, trying to force Rory to show up at her birthday dinner, with the alleged boyfriend she'd been spending so much time with in the past month, that Lorelai still hadn't met.
Lorelai sighed audibly, and her mother noticed.
"Lorelai—" Emily started to lecture her daughter, but Lorelai tuned her out, turning her thoughts to her own daughter instead.
Suddenly her cell phone sang 'happy birthday' from in her purse—a song she'd put on there two years ago come April, and still hadn't changed.
"If you think about answering that—" Emily threatened, but Lorelai smiled slightly and pulled the phone from her purse.
"Might be Rory," she offered as a slight apology. "Hello?" she asked, flipping the phone open without looking at the Caller ID.
"Mom," came the static filled answer.
"Rory," Lorelai almost sighed in relief. "Where are you?"
"I'm—static—with Mark. I—static—you—static—here."
"No, I'm at my parents."
"Static—what?"
"My parents," Lorelai practically yelled into the phone.
"I'm—static—home—static—here?"
"Sure. I'll be right there." Lorelai wasn't sure if Rory had said she was at the Stars Hollow house, her New Haven apartment, or right outside Richard and Emily's. But she wasn't gonna stay around here for too long, that was sure.
"Sorry, Mom, Dad, I gotta go."
"Lorelai—" Emily started, but she was interrupted by
Richard.
"Sure thing, Lorelai. Goodbye. We'll see you soon, I suppose. Tell Rory we said happy birthday, and hello."
"Can do, Dad. Bye, Mom." Lorelai ducked out of the room and walked as quickly as she could from the house.
"Richard—" she could hear Emily getting ready to have an argument with Richard, and she grinned. Dinner theater. Too bad she couldn't stick around.
Taking a guess, Lorelai headed the half hour back to Stars Hollow and pulled up to her house. Sure enough, a strange car was parked in the street, and lights were on in the living room. Lorelai silently applauded her fabulous psychic skills and headed into her house.
"I'm home, babe!" she called as she walked in.
"Mom. This is Mark," Rory said immediately, pointing to the young man seated next to her on the couch.
"Oh. Hi." Lorelai stepped forward to shake the man's hand. He shook it, twice, and then dropped it. Lorelai almost yelled, but then noticed the way her daughter was staring at this guy—like she was in love. Lorelai sighed.
"Happy Birthday, sweetie. From my parents, too."
"Oh, thanks, Mom." Rory said quickly.
"Yeah, I would have told you earlier today, but you didn't call, and you weren't there when I called."
"Yeah, I was…busy," Rory avoided.
"I figured. You've been pretty busy for a while. You haven't been home for a month, and we haven't talked in almost a week."
"Yeah. I'm sorry. School, and whatnot." Rory shrugged.
"Right." Lorelai looked at Mark, who had his arm protectively around Rory's shoulder, and was every once in a while shooting a dirty look at Lorelai. "Whatnot."
"Yeah. You know. Now, I hate to do this, but we've got to go."
"What? But you just got here!"
"No, you just got here. We've been here for a while, and we've got to get going back. Bye." Rory kissed her mother quickly on the cheek and left.
"Bye." Lorelai said stupidly, watching as Rory and Mark got into the car and drove off. "Well, so much for birthday storytelling. Birthday movie night. Birthday talk." Lorelai ripped off her coat, scarf, and hat and threw them around the living room. "So much for birthday anything with the woman who made this your birthday."
Lorelai groaned disgustedly and started walking upstairs, her gaze passing a window as she did so. She did a double take and walked back downstairs, to stand on the landing.
It was snowing.
"So much for birthday midnight snow walks."
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"Good morning," Rory said as Lorelai walked into the kitchen at nine-thirty the next morning.
Lorelai just groaned in response.
"Some things never change," Rory half-laughed. Lorelai nodded and poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Thanks for the coffee," Lorelai said, waving her already half-empty cup around.
"It's decaf." Rory pointed out.
"I know," Lorelai said, polishing off the cup. "And that's why we're headed to Luke's!"
Rory's face fell.
"Oh," Lorelai said softly. "Not ready yet, huh?"
Rory shook her head.
"Okay. That's okay. You stay here. I'll go get coffee—the good kind for me, the crappy kind for you—and breakfast. Sound good?"
Rory nodded. "Thanks."
"It's nothing. You just have to promise to finish the story for me."
Rory nodded.
"And let me straighten out your hair. It's been driving me crazy!"
Rory half-laughed. "Sure, Mom. Anything."
"Okay, sweets. See you in a few." Lorelai waved and left the house. Rory bit her lip and looked around the kitchen, her mind jumping to one of the few conversations she'd had with her mother in this kitchen in between the time Mark took over her life and the time he left it.
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"Rory, he's taken over your life! Can't you see that?" Lorelai yelled—but in a concerned way.
"No, Mom. He's just involved. No one else has ever gotten this involved."
"That's cause he plans your entire life out! He says who you talk with and how long, and sometimes even what you talk about!"
"No, Mom. It's not like that."
"Yes, it is." Lorelai sighed. "When was the last time you saw me?"
"Mom—"
"No, listen. And answer. When was the last time you saw me—you, by yourself, no Mark?"
Rory thought. "Late August. Over four months ago."
"And when did you start going out with Mark?"
Rory sighed. "Mom, we've been through this—"
"Rory! Think about it."
"September. Four months ago."
"Any kind of connection?"
"Mom, it doesn't mean any—"
"Yes, it does! Can't you see?"
"No, I can't see! And I don't see what you have against Mark! He's wonderful, and he loves me, and I love him, so you should just accept him and get over it!"
"Has he told you he loves you?" Lorelai asked softly.
Rory sighed and left, slamming the door behind her. As the house shook with the force with which she'd closed the door, she leaned against the outdoor wall. The truth was, he hadn't ever told her he'd loved her. She just…knew it somehow.
Rory shook her head. He did love her. He did. Lorelai was just planting seeds of doubt in her mind. Yeah. That was it.
She pushed herself off of the wall and walked away from her mother's house, for one of the last times.
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"I'm back," Lorelai announced, walking into the house forty five minutes later. "And you would not believe how long it took me to convince Luke to sell me the food. Finally I had to threaten to leave his business forever. He, of course, saw directly through the threat, but he let me have the food anyway." Lorelai walked into the kitchen and noticed the faraway look on Rory's face. "Hey. You okay?"
Rory shook her head. "I'm fine."
"Okay. You sure?"
"Yeah. Nothing to worry about."
"Good," Lorelai said, unpacking her paper bag. She reached an item near the bottom and smiled before lifting it out. "Now, I hope you don't hate me, but I was walking by the bookstore, and they had this in the window."
Lorelai handed Rory a copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting. Rory grinned.
"Now, I haven't read it, but I've heard it's the best baby to-do book out there. And Hugh Grant read it in 'Nine Months', when he was trying to win over Julianne Moore, so it's gotta be okay."
"What did Andrew say when you bought it?" Rory asked.
"He didn't say anything, just raised his eyebrows."
"You'll be the town gossip before noon."
"Ah, Miss Patty's done worse to me before. There was a short period a few weeks ago where I was a convict."
"What? How'd she get that idea?"
Lorelai grinned. "I visited my parents for dinner, but I forgot they were gonna be on vacation, so I went into town and shopped around for a while. Turns out I parked in an illegal parking zone, and my car was towed." Lorelai grinned wider. "The nice people at the Hartford P.D. brought me home."
