AN:I know this chapter is short, sorry for that. We're getting to the point where I don;t have things written. Chapter 16 is a long, far more involved chapter, so we're working very diligently on that.

Thanks so much to the people who reviewed. It means a lot to me. It was a great birthday present. Speaking of which..I had a great birthday. My friends took me out and tried to get me drunk-with little success. 2 whiskey sours, 2 long island iced teas, 3 tequila shots and 1 screaming orgasem later..I was still my usual self (and the most sober one there, lol) But anywho..lol. It was a great day, and I'm officially not a teenager anymore. Still not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.
But..lol. Thanks


"When I find myself fading, I close my eyes and realize my friends are my energy."
-Anon.


enjoy and please, review



Chapter Fourteen



Later that night, Lorelai and Rory drove quietly back to Stars Hollow. Rory's head was pressed against the window, her thoughts far away. Lorelai kept her eyes on the road, her thoughts sitting right next to her.

"So should we start by talking about anything else but tonight, or go straight to the point, or keep driving around in silence?" Rory asked.

"A or C are fine by me."

"You really have to stop making your sentences rhyme."

"What can I say, I missed my calling. I was meant to be a jingle writer."

"You'd be unemployed now. Commercial jingles are a lost art form."

"Then it's a good thing I missed that boat."

"So, now can we start talking about tonight?" Rory asked, trying to steer the discussion towards the key topic.

"It is a lovely night, the dark sky, the cool breeze, the sound of crickets...." Lorelai said evasively.

"Since when is the sound of crickets lovely?"

"Since it suddenly became better than the sound of my mother's voice."

"Good. We're talking about it."

"No, we're not. We've alluded to it, but we will not talk about it."

Rory wasn't about to be put off that easily. "She was only trying to help."

"She was not. And I said we were not going to talk about it."

"You brought it up."

"And I brought it back down," Lorelai declared with finality.

"Fine. If you're going to be this way, let's go back to option C."

"This is exactly what she wanted," Lorelai said, almost to herself.

Rory turned to face her mother. "*What* is 'exactly what she wanted'?"

"This distance between us. She's been lonely and miserable all summer and she's just relishing the fact that when you go off to Harvard -" Lorelai choked off the rest of her sentence.

It didn't matter; Rory heard the unspoken sentiment anyway. She even empathized with it. Smiling sympathetically, she tried to reassure her mother.

"It'll only be a physical distance, and Harvard isn't even all that far away.

"I know, sweetie. I know."

"And Grandma just wanted to help. She wasn't trying to rub anything in your face."

"Then why does it feel sticky?" Lorelai quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

"I think that's the honey glaze from the turkey."

"Well, what do you say we go to Luke's so I can wash this off with some coffee?"

"Sounds good."



Lorelai pulled up in front of Luke's, and the two entered the quiet diner.

"It's closing time in two minutes," Luke grunted.

"Regular closing time or our closing time?" Lorelai asked.

"I didn't know there was a difference."

"Of course there's a difference! The Gilmores are privileged patrons here. We get an extra ten minutes after closing."

"Who said?"

"It's a tacit agreement."

"Uh huh. And who agreed, tacitly?" Luke inquired.

"My negotiator and your negotiator."

"My negotiator?"

"Tacit negotiator. He's so quiet you probably never even knew you had him."

"You're insane."

"That's the best you've got? Boy, am I wearing you down!"

"Well, between you and Bootsy, I'd say I'm pretty much done for the day."

"It's been a long one."

"Amen," Luke agreed.

Rory had been silently watching the two in bittersweet amusement. Even though she could not imagine a better way to unwind after the evening they had just had, she could not help but feel Jess' absence.

"Hey, Luke," she finally said. "Jess hasn't come back yet, has he?"

"Nah. He's probably still working on the apartment with Bree. I guess he'll stay over if they're working too late."

"Oh."

Lorelai caught the drop in her daughter's voice.

"Um, Luke," she broke in, "and... you're okay with that?"

"Okay with what?" Luke blinked, missing her intent completely.

"I mean, two unchaperoned teenagers alone in an apartment?" she tried, a little more pointedly.

"There're going to be two unchaperoned teenagers alone in that apartment every day. As long as they do whatever they do over there, I'm not responsible for it. Taylor wants to point his finger at someone, he can point to the guy who sold them the place."

"Yeah, but Jess is always your responsibility no matter where he is." Her tone shifted, becoming almost lecturing. "You're a parent now, Luke. You have to start -"

"Oh, wait. Let me get my pad so I can take notes on another one of your 'How to be a Parent' lectures. Really, you ought to start charging for these seminars," Luke said sardonically.

"Look, all I'm saying is that you're not just some state ranger that once Jess crosses the border of your territory he's no longer your responsibility. He's under your charge all the time, everywhere, and because of that, lucky you, you're entitled to set certain rules. Like, uh, I don't know, let's see, he shouldn't be out after a certain time without letting you know where he is and what he's doing. He shouldn't be staying over at anyone's house without getting your permission. Let me know if these sound good to you."

"Hey, I understand what you're saying and believe me, I know how to lay down the law when it's necessary," he began, still miffed and trying (just a little too hard) to be convincing. Then he returned to his earnest argument. "But this, this is no big deal. He's been helping them move in. I'm sure they'll be too tired to cook up any town pranks tonight."

"It's not just town pranks we're talking about here, Luke," Lorelai pointed out, returning to her original concern.

"I get it, and I'm deliberately avoiding the subject because it's not my business. It now qualifies as your closing time, so we can either keep talking about something that isn't our business or you can order the coffee I'm certain you came in here for," Luke declared, trying to end the conversation.

Lorelai bristled at being dismissed so. "Now, listen -!"

"Um, we'll just take the coffee, Luke," Rory interjected, shooting Lorelai a stern glance as she made the save.

Luke nodded and gave them two paper cups of coffee.

"Thanks, Luke," Rory said, taking her coffee and pulling her mother off the diner stool and towards the door.

Outside again, Lorelai gave Rory a penetrating stare.

"What was that about?" she finally said.

"Yes, what was that about?" Rory returned.

"I asked you first."

"You had no business telling Luke all of that."

"What are you talking about? You mean to tell me you think -"

"It doesn't matter what I think!" Rory cut her off heatedly. "Wherever Jess goes and whatever he does is his business. When it affects the town, it's Taylor's business. When it affects Luke, it's Luke's business, and when it affects me, it's my business. It is never your business."

"When it affects you it affects me, so it *is* my business. Today, it affected you. It was my business, babe."

"It did not affect me."

"You don't care that Jess is alone with Bree at this time of night, that he might be staying over there with her?"

"It only affects me if... if... something happens," she mumbled shamefacedly.

"Oh, yeah, Jess. And Bree. Alone. In an apartment. At night. With paint. And nothing is going to happen. Yeah. Okay," Lorelai thought aloud. When she heard her words reverberate in her ear, she looked at Rory in mortification. "I mean, of course there's going to be some mean painting happening at that house tonight. Painting doesn't qualify as nothing. Remember when I was going through that Bob Villa phase? Boy, could that guy paint a house."

"I don't care what you think is going on at that apartment," Rory responded, not buying the bumbling save. "But whatever it is, it's none of your business. Even if it affects me, it has nothing to do with you. I can take care of myself. When I leave for college, I will be taking care of myself, and you can ignore it, deny it, run from it, but sooner or later you're going to have to face it. You might as well read Grandma's magazines and start preparing for it now, but whatever you do, stay out of this."

Lorelai stood baffled as her daughter started to storm away... but she rallied fast, and her face tightened. "Rory, you get back here right now!"

With a frustrated sigh, Rory turned around and walked the few paces to stand right before her mother, her arms folded.

"You're barking up the wrong tree," Lorelai began, "and I won't have it. You're angry. That's understandable. But instead of taking your anger out on the person who deserves it, you're taking it out on me, and I'm not going to take it. You want to talk about ignoring, denying, and running. You're the one doing it -"

"You don't know that there's anything to ignore or deny!" Rory shouted.

"Oh, there is. You're trying to ignore and deny the fact that you're bothered by whatever there is, has been, or may be between Jess and Bree. And that's fine, but sooner or later you're going to have to face it. In the meantime, keep me out of it. This is not about me and you know it."

"Are you done?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm going for a walk."

"I think you mean 'May I go for a walk?'" Lorelai corrected with a stern glare.

"'May I please go for a walk?'" Rory parroted acidly.

"Okay."

"Okay."

The two walked off in opposite directions. At home, Lorelai sank in front of the television with a mug of coffee and a box of Twinkies. She flicked through the channels, repeatedly looking toward the door, wondering where Rory was and when she'd be walking in. Eventually, unable to get into the mundane shenanigans of Laverne and Shirley repeats, she sighed, reached over to the side table, and picked up some of Emily's magazines.

Meanwhile, Rory walked to the bridge, holding reverently the cup of coffee Luke had given her. She sat in her usual spot. It was not the first time she had been alone, but it was the first time in her life that she felt lonely. And nothing in her grandmother's magazines could prepare her for this.




Next Time....

"Rory. Do you know what "criadillas de toro" are?"

"No."

"Bull's testicles."

"Gross."

"You eat them."

"I think I'd remember if I ate bull's testicles."
--------------------------------
"Not bad," Jess said, breaking the silence.

"Not bad at all."