DISCLAIMER: I own neither the show nor the characters of the Gilmore Girls.
Just the messed up way in which I am portraying them.
Rory got out of the car with all her bags. Jess had insisted on splitting up the leftover food from the restaurant with her and she had a couple of bags from the bookstore. She was still in awe of the store, as they talked about how Jess stumbled upon it a few years ago. He had been visiting his sister and Luke, and the bookstore happened to be a few blocks from where they had been living at the time. Jess had learned a lot of the city, as his sister had moved so many times.
"Thanks for taking me, Jess."
"Anytime. I'll see you later?"
"Yeah. Later."
She gave him a smile and watched as he backed out of her driveway. She noticed that Tristan's car wasn't in the driveway and breathed a sigh of relief. She checked on Lorelai as she got into the house, to find her fast asleep in her bed. She pulled up the covers more securely over her daughter before looking over the room silently. Pleased not to see evidence of any funny business, she left the room and went to crash in her own bed.
Rory woke early, having had vivid dreams all night. She kept having the same dream, that she and Jess were together in high school, and Chris had been his best friend, who stole her away from him. She was sweating and breathing hard, having been pleading with Jess to forgive her in the dream just before she woke out of it. She trudged down the stairs, and went back into Lorelai's room. She jumped down on the bed, causing Lorelai to moan in protest.
"Get up!"
"No!"
"I had a weird dream."
"Was it dirty?"
"Lorelai!"
"Cause seriously, if it wasn't, there's some beauty sleep I need to catch up on."
"Well, I was dating Jess in the dream."
"You have my attention."
"But we were in high school, and your dad was his best friend, who then stole me from Jess."
"Ooh, weird."
"I know, bizarre, right?"
"So, your date went well," Lorelai mocked.
"It wasn't a date. But we did have a lot of fun."
"When did you get home, anyway?"
"We hit an accident, so we actually didn't get home 'til around one."
"And it's 8 now?"
"So?"
"It's Sunday. Day of rest."
"Tell me about your evening," Rory attempted.
"Well, there wasn't exactly a love connection."
"Poor Lane," Rory said sympathetically.
"Yeah, but they did seem to be pretty friendly by the end, so hopefully if nothing else, Luke made a new friend by the end of the evening. He walked Lane home."
"That's nice."
"Yeah."
"So, how was lover boy?"
"Lovely."
"That's not comforting."
"Nothing much happened."
"Nothing, much?"
"You don't want to hear about this."
"No, we can talk about this. You didn't, you know, yet, did you?"
"No, we didn't. It was just, more than kissing."
"How much more?"
"Hands were roaming."
"Is that all?"
"That's all. I swear."
"Alright. Is this the first time, that you've ever," Rory stammered a little.
"Yeah. Everything with him is the first time I've ever done anything. I mean, I'd kissed boys before, you know that."
"Okay. It's good, that we can talk about this. My mother and I, we never really could."
"I sort of figured. You guys can't talk about much now."
Rory nodded. She wished so many times she and her mother could be closer, but it just didn't seem to be in the cards.
"So, it's your birthday soon."
"Yep."
"I'm thinking a big birthday bash."
"I'm all for it."
"Get me a complete list of anyone you want to invite."
"Including an older couple that doesn't get out of Hartford much?"
"Lorelai, seriously?"
"They're my grandparents."
"Who've never been here or to any of your other birthday parties, might I add."
"Well, it's different now. We should try to include them."
"I suppose so."
"They might say no," Lorelai comforted her mother.
"You're so good to me."
"I try."
Rory looked at her daughter and whimpered like a puppy.
"You want me to get up and go get coffee with you, don't you?"
Rory nodded vigorously and smiled.
"You're an evil mother. And you just want to go see Jess."
"I do not!"
"You love him! You want to kiss him and marry him!" Lorelai teased as Rory jumped up from the bed and ran to the door.
"Be nice, or I will go get some without you."
"Oh, I bet you'll get some alright!" Lorelai laughed, as her mother slammed the door shut on her.
The run for coffee was fairly uneventful. Jess had been in the back, and Luke evidently hadn't woken up yet. They got their coffee to go and headed back to the house so Lorelai could work on some homework. Rory settled herself at the kitchen table to do some editing. The phone rang and she answered it without thinking, red pen still marking on the page as she pushed the button and brought it to her ear.
"Talk to me."
"Ror," came the male voice on the other end.
She put down her red pen and stared straight ahead. She swallowed hard and spoke.
"Chris."
"How are you?"
"I'm fine. Fine, just fine. How are you?"
"I'm good. I'm in the area, and I was hoping I could stop by. See Lorelai," he explained.
"She mentioned you might come this way. Where would you like me to bring her this time?"
"I was thinking I'd come there, stay a couple of days. If that's okay with you."
Rory bit her lip. This wasn't in the plan. He'd never come to Stars Hollow. He rarely saw his daughter at all. Phone calls were one thing, but even that was irregular at best.
"I guess so. We have a couch, that might not completely screw up your back for a couple of nights."
"Sounds great. Thanks, Rory."
"Sure. Do you need directions?"
"That would be great. I'm somewhere in New York right now. I'll be around sometime tomorrow."
"Fine, I'll see you then."
Now very dazed, she tried to go back to work. Tapping her pen against the table, she bit her lip and kept staring at the phone.
Lorelai came into the kitchen, looking annoyed. Rory looked up sheepishly.
"The tapping?"
"Sorry. I'll stop."
"Thank you."
"Your Dad called. He'll be here tomorrow."
Lorelai's eyes widened in surprise. "What? Here, really?"
"Really. Or so he says."
"Wow."
"Yep."
Lorelai sat down in the chair next to her mom. "Are you cool with that?"
"I'm letting him crash here. How much cooler does it get?"
"Wow. Dad's coming here!" Lorelai smiled and hugged her mom. She returned to the living room to continue working on schoolwork. Eventually Rory got back to her work, but didn't get very far before the phone rang again. She stared at it, not wanting to answer it. She had been so carefree before, but now, who knows what's waiting for her on the other end? She felt like the world would open up and swallow her if she answered. Against her better judgment, she answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Rory, it's me."
"Oh, Jess, thank God."
"You okay?"
"I'm—I'll be fine. What's up?"
"I had a few questions about the sample you wanted."
"Okay."
"Well, I picked a book, and I think I'll have time to get it done by Wednesday, so do you want me to drop it off there or at the paper?"
"Oh, just drop it off here. We can go over it then."
"We could go out to dinner somewhere, to get some privacy. No kids and all that."
"Oh, sure, sounds great."
"Alright. Guess I better get reading."
"Have fun."
She hung up the phone, relieved. She thought about the conversation for a moment. 'Did he just ask me to dinner?' The question came quickly, but she dismissed it. It was work. If you can write it off as a business dinner, it's not a date. She repeated that a couple of times to get Lorelai's voice from earlier out of her head. She went back to editing and the phone rang yet again.
"Hello?" she asked exasperatedly.
"Rory? Is there some reason answering the phone is such a dreadful task for you?"
"Hello, Mom."
"Well?"
"No, it's just been ringing off the hook. I'm trying to get some work done."
"Honestly, I will never understand some of the things you do," Emily informed her.
"Is there something I can help you with, Mom?"
"Well, as a matter of fact, I was just calling to let you know that this Friday will be a special dinner. I just got off the phone with Francine, and she said that not only will she and Strobe be in town, and Christopher will be in town as well, and they're all going to be here for dinner."
"Wh-what?"
"Now, I know everyone hasn't been together in years, but it's finally happening."
"Mom, I'm not sure," Rory started to interrupt her all too excited sounding mother.
"Rory, is there some big problem with the entire family getting together this Friday?"
"No, Mom, it's just that Lorelai has really never known the Hadens."
"Well, I'm sure they're thrilled to get an opportunity to get to know her."
"Right, I'm sure they're just counting the moments," Rory said sarcastically.
"Well, be on time, and make sure you're both presentable."
"Fine."
"Goodbye, Rory."
"Bye, Mother." She hung up the phone and marched into the living room where Lorelai was studying.
"If the phone rings again this evening, let it ring. We're now officially screening our calls."
"What if Tristan calls?"
"You can call him back."
"What's with you?"
"I just got a call from my mother. After a call from your father."
"Poor Mom."
"So not only is your Dad coming here, but my mom is hosting a dinner party featuring us, your dad and his parents this Friday night."
"Dad's parents?"
"Yep."
"I've never met them."
"Well, you have, but you were asleep the whole time. I think you might have been a month old at the time."
"Wow."
Rory slumped down next to Lorelai on the couch. "Yeah, wow."
Rory got out of the car with all her bags. Jess had insisted on splitting up the leftover food from the restaurant with her and she had a couple of bags from the bookstore. She was still in awe of the store, as they talked about how Jess stumbled upon it a few years ago. He had been visiting his sister and Luke, and the bookstore happened to be a few blocks from where they had been living at the time. Jess had learned a lot of the city, as his sister had moved so many times.
"Thanks for taking me, Jess."
"Anytime. I'll see you later?"
"Yeah. Later."
She gave him a smile and watched as he backed out of her driveway. She noticed that Tristan's car wasn't in the driveway and breathed a sigh of relief. She checked on Lorelai as she got into the house, to find her fast asleep in her bed. She pulled up the covers more securely over her daughter before looking over the room silently. Pleased not to see evidence of any funny business, she left the room and went to crash in her own bed.
Rory woke early, having had vivid dreams all night. She kept having the same dream, that she and Jess were together in high school, and Chris had been his best friend, who stole her away from him. She was sweating and breathing hard, having been pleading with Jess to forgive her in the dream just before she woke out of it. She trudged down the stairs, and went back into Lorelai's room. She jumped down on the bed, causing Lorelai to moan in protest.
"Get up!"
"No!"
"I had a weird dream."
"Was it dirty?"
"Lorelai!"
"Cause seriously, if it wasn't, there's some beauty sleep I need to catch up on."
"Well, I was dating Jess in the dream."
"You have my attention."
"But we were in high school, and your dad was his best friend, who then stole me from Jess."
"Ooh, weird."
"I know, bizarre, right?"
"So, your date went well," Lorelai mocked.
"It wasn't a date. But we did have a lot of fun."
"When did you get home, anyway?"
"We hit an accident, so we actually didn't get home 'til around one."
"And it's 8 now?"
"So?"
"It's Sunday. Day of rest."
"Tell me about your evening," Rory attempted.
"Well, there wasn't exactly a love connection."
"Poor Lane," Rory said sympathetically.
"Yeah, but they did seem to be pretty friendly by the end, so hopefully if nothing else, Luke made a new friend by the end of the evening. He walked Lane home."
"That's nice."
"Yeah."
"So, how was lover boy?"
"Lovely."
"That's not comforting."
"Nothing much happened."
"Nothing, much?"
"You don't want to hear about this."
"No, we can talk about this. You didn't, you know, yet, did you?"
"No, we didn't. It was just, more than kissing."
"How much more?"
"Hands were roaming."
"Is that all?"
"That's all. I swear."
"Alright. Is this the first time, that you've ever," Rory stammered a little.
"Yeah. Everything with him is the first time I've ever done anything. I mean, I'd kissed boys before, you know that."
"Okay. It's good, that we can talk about this. My mother and I, we never really could."
"I sort of figured. You guys can't talk about much now."
Rory nodded. She wished so many times she and her mother could be closer, but it just didn't seem to be in the cards.
"So, it's your birthday soon."
"Yep."
"I'm thinking a big birthday bash."
"I'm all for it."
"Get me a complete list of anyone you want to invite."
"Including an older couple that doesn't get out of Hartford much?"
"Lorelai, seriously?"
"They're my grandparents."
"Who've never been here or to any of your other birthday parties, might I add."
"Well, it's different now. We should try to include them."
"I suppose so."
"They might say no," Lorelai comforted her mother.
"You're so good to me."
"I try."
Rory looked at her daughter and whimpered like a puppy.
"You want me to get up and go get coffee with you, don't you?"
Rory nodded vigorously and smiled.
"You're an evil mother. And you just want to go see Jess."
"I do not!"
"You love him! You want to kiss him and marry him!" Lorelai teased as Rory jumped up from the bed and ran to the door.
"Be nice, or I will go get some without you."
"Oh, I bet you'll get some alright!" Lorelai laughed, as her mother slammed the door shut on her.
The run for coffee was fairly uneventful. Jess had been in the back, and Luke evidently hadn't woken up yet. They got their coffee to go and headed back to the house so Lorelai could work on some homework. Rory settled herself at the kitchen table to do some editing. The phone rang and she answered it without thinking, red pen still marking on the page as she pushed the button and brought it to her ear.
"Talk to me."
"Ror," came the male voice on the other end.
She put down her red pen and stared straight ahead. She swallowed hard and spoke.
"Chris."
"How are you?"
"I'm fine. Fine, just fine. How are you?"
"I'm good. I'm in the area, and I was hoping I could stop by. See Lorelai," he explained.
"She mentioned you might come this way. Where would you like me to bring her this time?"
"I was thinking I'd come there, stay a couple of days. If that's okay with you."
Rory bit her lip. This wasn't in the plan. He'd never come to Stars Hollow. He rarely saw his daughter at all. Phone calls were one thing, but even that was irregular at best.
"I guess so. We have a couch, that might not completely screw up your back for a couple of nights."
"Sounds great. Thanks, Rory."
"Sure. Do you need directions?"
"That would be great. I'm somewhere in New York right now. I'll be around sometime tomorrow."
"Fine, I'll see you then."
Now very dazed, she tried to go back to work. Tapping her pen against the table, she bit her lip and kept staring at the phone.
Lorelai came into the kitchen, looking annoyed. Rory looked up sheepishly.
"The tapping?"
"Sorry. I'll stop."
"Thank you."
"Your Dad called. He'll be here tomorrow."
Lorelai's eyes widened in surprise. "What? Here, really?"
"Really. Or so he says."
"Wow."
"Yep."
Lorelai sat down in the chair next to her mom. "Are you cool with that?"
"I'm letting him crash here. How much cooler does it get?"
"Wow. Dad's coming here!" Lorelai smiled and hugged her mom. She returned to the living room to continue working on schoolwork. Eventually Rory got back to her work, but didn't get very far before the phone rang again. She stared at it, not wanting to answer it. She had been so carefree before, but now, who knows what's waiting for her on the other end? She felt like the world would open up and swallow her if she answered. Against her better judgment, she answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Rory, it's me."
"Oh, Jess, thank God."
"You okay?"
"I'm—I'll be fine. What's up?"
"I had a few questions about the sample you wanted."
"Okay."
"Well, I picked a book, and I think I'll have time to get it done by Wednesday, so do you want me to drop it off there or at the paper?"
"Oh, just drop it off here. We can go over it then."
"We could go out to dinner somewhere, to get some privacy. No kids and all that."
"Oh, sure, sounds great."
"Alright. Guess I better get reading."
"Have fun."
She hung up the phone, relieved. She thought about the conversation for a moment. 'Did he just ask me to dinner?' The question came quickly, but she dismissed it. It was work. If you can write it off as a business dinner, it's not a date. She repeated that a couple of times to get Lorelai's voice from earlier out of her head. She went back to editing and the phone rang yet again.
"Hello?" she asked exasperatedly.
"Rory? Is there some reason answering the phone is such a dreadful task for you?"
"Hello, Mom."
"Well?"
"No, it's just been ringing off the hook. I'm trying to get some work done."
"Honestly, I will never understand some of the things you do," Emily informed her.
"Is there something I can help you with, Mom?"
"Well, as a matter of fact, I was just calling to let you know that this Friday will be a special dinner. I just got off the phone with Francine, and she said that not only will she and Strobe be in town, and Christopher will be in town as well, and they're all going to be here for dinner."
"Wh-what?"
"Now, I know everyone hasn't been together in years, but it's finally happening."
"Mom, I'm not sure," Rory started to interrupt her all too excited sounding mother.
"Rory, is there some big problem with the entire family getting together this Friday?"
"No, Mom, it's just that Lorelai has really never known the Hadens."
"Well, I'm sure they're thrilled to get an opportunity to get to know her."
"Right, I'm sure they're just counting the moments," Rory said sarcastically.
"Well, be on time, and make sure you're both presentable."
"Fine."
"Goodbye, Rory."
"Bye, Mother." She hung up the phone and marched into the living room where Lorelai was studying.
"If the phone rings again this evening, let it ring. We're now officially screening our calls."
"What if Tristan calls?"
"You can call him back."
"What's with you?"
"I just got a call from my mother. After a call from your father."
"Poor Mom."
"So not only is your Dad coming here, but my mom is hosting a dinner party featuring us, your dad and his parents this Friday night."
"Dad's parents?"
"Yep."
"I've never met them."
"Well, you have, but you were asleep the whole time. I think you might have been a month old at the time."
"Wow."
Rory slumped down next to Lorelai on the couch. "Yeah, wow."