Hugs to Elise!

The Orange Soda Will Get You Every Time Pt 2

Luke blinked as Dan made his way down into the diner at opening. "Hey. It's six AM."

"Is Rory here yet?"

Luke blinked. "Uh...no. How do you know Rory?"

"Dad and I walked with her last night," Dan said. "She's nice."

"Well," Luke replied, taking the last chair down. "She doesn't get here until much, much later."

"Oh," Dan replied, disappointed. "Okay."

Luke nodded. "You wanna be my helper?"

"How?" Dan asked curiously.

"Open the door and let Kirk in?"

Dan nodded and walked over to the door. He unlocked it with his small hand and then pulled it open. "Hi, Kirk."

Kirk nodded. "Dan. Come to mock me in your short way?"

"Uncle Luke says you can come in now," Dan replied, grimacing a little. "But you're mean. So I'm gonna close the door."

"Hey!" Kirk said, rushing forward. "You can't lock me out! Luke said I could come in!"

"But you're mean!"

"You don't know mean, little man," Kirk threatened. "I can BE mean!"

Dan's eyes widened in fear, and he slammed the door and rushed behind the safety of the counter, and Luke's legs.

Luke blinked. "Did he scare you?"

Dan nodded. "He said he was gonna be mean."

Luke walked over to the door and opened it. "Did you scare him?"

"He wasn't going to let me in!" Kirk cried.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Get in here. And leave the kid alone!"

Kirk grumbled and took a seat, glaring at Dan, who rushed behind the counter again.

Four hours later, Jess emerged from behind the stairway curtain to find the diner bustling as it did on any given Saturday morning. The usual suspects were present. Lane and Dave were in town, Dean and Lindsay were sitting in a corner, Luke was rushing around, Kirk sat in a corner, and Lorelai and Rory were sitting with Dan, who looked ready to take a big swig of coffee.

Jess blinked.

Dan.

Coffee.

Jess's paternal alarm buzzed loudly, and he rushed forward and snatched the mug away from the boy before he had a chance to taste. "I don't think so."

Dan looked up. "Why not?"

"Stunts your growth."

"Really?"

Jess nodded. "Rory would be a lot taller if she hadn't started drinking this stuff."

"I'm already tall!" Rory said, obviously offended.

Jess set the mug down in front of Lorelai. "Don't feed my kid coffee... he gets enough caffeine from the orange soda."

Dan brightened up and slid out of his chair. "Orange soda!" He ran behind the curtain and up the stairs.

Jess looked perplexed. "For breakfast?!"

Dan walked back down the stairs, lugging a two-liter bottle of Sunkist in his arms. He sat down in the middle of the diner, and was about to twist the cap off, when Jess snatched the bottle away.

"Come on. Let's go in the kitchen and open it over the sink," Jess ordered.

Dan looked up from the floor. "But... I wanted to watch it explode."

Jess sighed and headed for the kitchen.

Rory watched Dan follow him and smiled.

Lorelai smirked and watched Rory. "You have it so bad."

Rory whirled around to face her mother. "I do not."

"Do so. You look all wistful," Lorelai snickered.

Rory rolled her eyes.

At that moment, Dean sat down with the Gilmores. "Was that Jess?"

"That was Jess," Rory nodded.

"And was that his kid?" Dean asked.

"That was his kid," Lorelai replied. "Cute, isn't he?"

"He tried to explode a bottle of soda in the middle of the diner," Dean stated, wrinkling his forehead.

"Like father, like son," Rory snickered.

Dean watched her. "You're falling for him again."

Rory's eyes widened. "I am not!"

"You are, I can't believe it," Dean said.

"You're crazy," Rory snapped.

"And you're crazy in luuuuv," Lorelai cut in.

Suddenly, Dan came sliding out of the kitchen, dripping with orange soda. He laughed and ran up the stairs again.

Jess came barreling after him, also covered in sticky soda. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH TROUBLE YOU'RE IN!"

Luke growled loudly and ran after them. "DON'T GET THAT CRAP ALL OVER MY APARTMENT!!"

"NO!"

Jess nodded as he carried Dan to the bathroom like a sack of potatoes. "Oh, yes."

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!"

Jess smirked. "Yup."

"No bath!"

Jess set him down on the closed toilet seat and yanked his sticky shirt over his head. "Bath time."

"Hate baths!"

"Tough." Jess went to the tub and turned on the water.

Dan took this opportunity to run out of the bathroom and back down to the diner. He skidded under Rory and Lorelai's table.

Dean blinked. "There's a shirtless kid under the table."

Lorelai leaned down to peer at Dan. "Hey."

Dan pulled his knees to his bare chest. "Hi."

"What are you doing?"

"Hiding."

"Why?"

"Dad's trying to make me take a bath," Dan replied.

"The injustice!" Lorelai cried.

Jess stormed down into the diner, and glared at his son, pointing behind him to the stairs. "Now."

Dan hid further under the table.

Jess softened a little. "Dan..."

Rory got up and knelt under the table. "Hi."

"Hi," Dan replied.

"You should take a bath," Rory told him. "You don't wanna be stinky."

At that moment, Taylor walked in. He spotted Dan on the way to the counter. "Why is there a shirtless child here?!"

Dan cringed.

"That is indecent exposure!" Taylor cried.

"He's five!" Jess, Luke, Lorelai and Dean chorused.

Lindsay walked over and knelt next to Rory under the table. She got a look at Dan and smiled. "Awww, how cute is he?"

"Very," Rory smiled.

Lindsay giggled. "Hi, there. I'm Lindsay."

Dan waved a little.

"He's Dan," Rory said. "Dan, it's okay. Lindsay's nice."

"Hi," he said quietly.

Lindsay smiled wider, and then peeked up over the table at Dean. "I want one."

Dean paled.

"No, you don't," Jess growled. "Because they wind up under tables, covered in orange soda."

"That's only because he's your kid," Lorelai interjected. "Marianos are known for weird and degenerate behavior."

Jess rolled his eyes.

Rory smiled at Dan. "You wanna come out now?"

"Do I have to take a bath?" Dan asked.

"Yes," Jess snapped. "Come on, Dan. You know it's not that bad."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Rory asked.

Dan nodded, and crawled out from under the table.

Rory and Lindsay both got to their feet, and Lindsay watched as Rory lifted Dan into her arms and carried him up to the apartment.

Jess watched with a confused look, and slowly followed.

Lindsay took a seat on Dean's lap and smiled. "Rory and Jess sitting in a tree."

Dean shook his head.

Dan glared off at nothing as he sat in the full bathtub. "Hate baths."

"I know," Jess replied. He squirted some shampoo into his hand and then began working it into his son's hair. "I just don't care."

Dan squeezed his eyes shut and stuck his tongue out at his father, and then coughed and developed a disgusted look. "Tastes icky."

"You're not supposed to eat it," Rory snickered from her spot on the closed toilet seat.

Dan took a deep breath and then slid under the water.

Jess rolled his eyes. "Jeez..."

"What's he doing?" Rory asked, looking slightly alarmed.

"Being a pain."

Rory stayed silent until Dan shot up, gasping for air. "Dan?!"

Dan squinted from the soap in his eyes. "That was cool."

"Okay, Dan, time to get out," Jess ordered.

Dan looked down and then motioned for Jess to come closer.

Jess leaned in and Dan whispered in his ear. Jess smirked and glanced at Rory. "He says you have to leave, because he doesn't want you to see him naked."

Rory smiled. "Sure." She got up and walked out, closing the bathroom door behind her.

Jess snickered at Dan.

Dan stuck his tongue out. "You wouldn't want Rory to see you naked either."

Jess thought the statement through for a moment. "Well... I guess not..." he muttered as he wrapped his son in one of Luke's big towels and lifted him out of the shallow water.

"You guess not?"

"Nah, I don't want Rory to see me naked," Jess reassured him.

Dan smiled. "Are you sure?"

"What-?!" Jess shook his head. "Conversation over. Let's go get you dressed."

"JESS!"

Jess rolled his eyes as he handed Dan the pile of clothes sitting on the sink counter. "WHAT, LUKE?!"

"SHANE'S HERE!"

Jess rolled his eyes and groaned. "Damn Patty... TELL HER I'M BUSY!"

"I got it, Jess!" Rory called from the living room.

Jess squinted as he tugged Dan's shirt over his head. "What?!"

He got no answer.

Rory walked down into the diner to find Shane sitting at the counter. It had been just about nine years since Rory had last seen her. Nine years, and she was still as blond and busty as ever.

"Shane."

Shane gave a slight glare and popped her gum. "Rory."

'Unbelievable!' Rory thought. 'Twenty-seven and still popping gum like a teeny-bopper!'

"I'm lookin' for Jess," Shane said.

"He's busy," Rory informed her. "Y'know...having a kid kinda takes up most of your time."

Shane gave her a sour look. "Kid?"

"You didn't know?" Rory asked.

Shane's sour look turned into a shocked one. "No..." She looked to Luke, who was behind the counter. "I didn't know he had a kid."

Luke shrugged and sauntered back to the kitchen, throwing Rory a knowing smirk.

"Oh, yeah, Dan," Rory nodded. "Cute kid. Shy. Doesn't like people too much..."

"Ah... huh..." Shane said, staring, still shocked.

"He exploded a bottle of orange soda this morning," Dean interjected as he wrapped his arms around his wife.

"And hid under a table, half-naked," Lindsay added, giving a sugary- sweet smile to Shane.

"And he wants to take over France," Lorelai added. "He has Napoleonic delusions of grandeur."

Shane blinked and headed for the door. "I... I just remembered... I gotta go. Tell Jess I said bye." With that, she left.

Rory watched her with a satisfied smirk.

And the group that knew Rory all too well watched her with knowing grins.