DISCLAIMER: I own neither the show nor the characters of the Gilmore Girls.
Just the messed up way in which I am portraying them.
Standing outside the door to Chris' hotel room, Rory chewed on her lip as she postponed the inevitable. She had gone to work this morning, working to take her mind off of all the things having Chris in Stars Hollow could mean. She had told him last night that in no way could this be a 'them getting together' tactic, but it was never so black and white with him and her. Deciding to quit putting off seeing him, she tapped out the first part of 'Shave and a Haircut' on his door. Barely a moment passed before he opened the door, wearing a robe, his hair still wet from his shower.
"So, being ready at noon means, what, 12:20 to you?"
"Women are always allotted twenty extra minutes, guys can't have it every now and then?"
Rory rolled her eyes. "It's never supposed to take a man longer to get ready than a woman, unless, oh, Chris, I hadn't realized! When did you make such a lifestyle change? Did you like Queer Eye that much?" she gasped, putting one hand to her mouth.
"Hah. Come in, I'll just be a second."
Rory came into the room and sat at the desk chair. She ran her hands over the wood, admiring the desk. She decided that she should stop by Kim's Antiques and see if there were any new finds, maybe she could find something nice for her office. She had a desk that was probably bought at Office Max, made of plywood or compressed wood chips or some such nonsense.
"Should I leave you and the desk alone?" came the voice that snapped her back to attention.
"Wow, dressed already? They're going to make you turn in your rainbow sticker for your car," Rory warned.
"Will you stop? I'm as straight as I ever was. You of all people know how much I love to--," he smirked, but she cut him off there.
"Alright, Romeo, let's go eat. How about eating here, then I'll show you properly around town?"
"Eat here?"
"Sookie's amazing, she can make anything."
Chris shrugged. "Whatever you want. You know this place best," he offered.
"Great." She led him out of the room and down to the dining room. Sookie came out to see them when the waiter had told her Rory was here as he put in their lunch orders. She had heard so much about Chris over the years, but obviously had never had the chance to meet him.
"Sook! I want you to meet Chris, Lorelai's father," Rory introduced.
"It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"You too."
Rory suddenly got an idea, something to buffer any possible chemistry that might occur.
"Sookie, can you join us for lunch?"
"Well, sure, I guess so. As soon as I get a few things done, I'll be back out."
"Great!" Rory smiled at her, trying to convey her gratitude with her eyes. Sookie looked at her funnily and disappeared back into the kitchen.
"So, Sookie must get paid really well," Chris commented after coughing lightly.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, what with the double duty of cooking and playing chaperone to guests."
"What are you talking about?"
"Rory, you invited her to join us."
"So?"
"So? It's obvious you don't trust me."
"You're crazy."
"Am I? Okay, well, if you trust me, then you don't trust yourself around me."
Rory said nothing, just played with her napkin, which she had moved to her lap.
"I'm right! All that crap last night about how I can only be Lorelai's father. You know I'm more than that."
"Chris," Rory pleaded. Her expression said it all. She was trying so hard to not go there, and he knew if he pushed her too far, she'd crack. He backed off, nodding. At least, for now he'd just let it drop.
Sookie came out with the waiter and sat down to eat with them. They told stories, some of Rory and Lorelai when they had just moved to Stars Hollow and some of Rory and Chris' glory days. Currently, Sookie was going on about the time Lorelai had decided she wanted to be a chef like Sookie and followed her around on a Job Shadow assignment for school.
"I felt so bad, breaking her heart like that!"
"Well, Sook, you had to tell her that chocolate chip cookies weren't supposed to resemble charcoal briquettes."
"Wow, how old was she?" Chris laughed.
"Twelve, I think," Rory pondered, thinking back.
"Can she cook now?"
Rory and Sookie both laughed. "Neither of us can cook. We're at the sympathy of the town restaurateurs as far as being fed goes."
"Something Rory Gilmore can't do? Nonsense."
They laughed, and Sookie stood up to excuse herself when a waiter came out and whispered something in her ear.
"Sorry, the sauce, flames and not good! I'll see you later!" she blurted out as she ran towards the kitchen.
"Is she always this--," Chris started.
"Enthusiastic?"
"Enthusiastic, insane, whatever."
"She's the best. And yes, she is."
"Ah," Chris said, shaking his head in laughter.
"So, ready to see the rest of the town?"
"You're the tour guide. What's first?"
"Coffee. And books."
"You know, in the big cities, you get those combined in one."
"This may be the sticks, but we have a bookstore with a café in it."
"What genius brought that one here?"
"Jess, and please don't call him a genius. He's hard enough to deal with."
"Superiority complex?"
"He's mainly just cranky. Mostly harmless."
"Great," Chris said less than enthusiastically.
"But he makes a great pot of coffee."
They exited the Independence Inn, and headed towards town. Rory pointed out a few main places that they'd get to later on in the day, and finally arrived at the bookstore.
"Uh, Ror, this says it's a hardware store."
"Yeah, I know."
"But--,"
"Just come on," Rory said, pulling Chris in by his shirtsleeve. She opened the door, and the smell of old books welcomed them. Rory headed straight for the counter, and Chris looked around for a minute. He could see why Rory liked this place so much; it screamed her name. The smell, old books mixed with coffee, was something she'd probably wear as a perfume if they could bottle it. He stepped next to her as a man about their age stepped out from what appeared to be the backroom and behind the counter across from Rory. He noticed the looks between them, and he was definitely getting an unfriendly vibe from this guy, without a word being said between them.
"Jess, we need coffee," Rory said to the man.
"To go?"
"Sure, why not."
"Coming right up."
Jess stepped back and turned to pour the coffee. Chris leaned in her ear and whispered.
"Is the service always so friendly?"
Rory pinched his arm, and gave him a strange look. Jess turned back around and put the coffees on the counter. Rory got out her purse, and Chris shook his head.
"Let me."
"No, Chris, really," she protested. Jess rolled his eyes.
Chris handed Jess some money, and Jess handed him his change. Rory looked at them as they silently exchanged the money, and it occurred to her that she should probably introduce them after having poured her problems out at Jess the day before.
"Oh, by the way, uh, Chris, this is Jess. Jess, this is Chris."
"Nice to meet you. I've heard wonderful things about your coffee."
"You're Lorelai's dad," Jess nodded in rebuttal.
"That would be me," Chris agreed.
"I'm just showing Chris around, until Lorelai gets home from school."
"Is she done with Hemingway now?"
"Yeah, they've moved onto Edith Wharton."
"So, you've got this one handled."
Rory laughed, "Anything but Hemingway."
Chris watched these two talk, about things he should know about. What his daughter was studying in school, who the best one was to help her with her homework. He got the distinct feeling Jess brought this up to make him feel like he was walking into a family, when it was the other way around. He grabbed Rory's hand and pulled her gently towards the door.
"We should get going, if we want to be done by the time she gets back from school."
"Right. Thanks for the coffee, Jess."
Jess nodded and turned to grab a box of books from beside the counter. She let Chris lead her out from the bookstore and removed her hand from his.
"What was that about?"
"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing."
"What's your problem? Since when are we on holding hands status?"
"Rory, that guy..."
"Jess? You have a problem with Jess?"
"Are you two dating?"
"No! God, even if we were, what would it matter?"
"He just knows an awful lot about you and Lorelai."
"Chris, this town has like 200 people in it. Everyone knows a lot about me and Lorelai."
"I just, got a vibe from the guy, okay?"
"There was no vibe. You're crazy. Again, not that it matters."
"It does matter," Chris said, stopping in front of the gazebo in the middle of town. Their voices were continuously rising, and they were now just shy of shouting at each other. Several people stopped what they were doing to turn and look at the two. Chris took her hand again and pulled a protesting Rory up the steps and then down to sit on the bench next to him.
"Why?"
"I want to be with you guys, not just Lorelai, but with you too. The three of us, as a family."
Rory sat, just staring at him. She blinked a few times, thinking he would disappear or an alien would burst out of his chest, or maybe out of her own, anything so she would know this was a dream.
"Rory?"
"I, I can't have this conversation with you," she said blankly, standing up and walking off the gazebo towards her house. Chris looked after her, not following her because he knew better than that. He turned and looked back at the bookstore, seeing Jess had witnessed the whole thing. Most of the town had witnessed the whole thing. He sighed and stood, walking towards the Inn.
Another day had passed at Chilton, and Lorelai was heading towards the bus stop. She had her usual bagful of insanely heavy books, and was contemplating how she would get her homework done for the evening and still hang out with her dad. She had no idea how long he'd be around; the whole situation was strange. She was glad he was around, but he was so inconsistent when it came to her and her mother. She had no idea why, as much as she and Rory talked about everything, Chris had always been a taboo topic for them. She was lost in her thoughts until she heard her name from behind her.
Turning, she saw Tristan jogging to catch up with her. He smiled as she stopped for him.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"You want a ride home?"
"No, that's okay. I'll just take the bus."
"Come on, let me take you home. I know I won't get to see you much this week. At least let me take you home this week, so I can see you a little."
"You see me in class."
"That's not enough for me, I'm sorry," he smiled genuinely at her. She had to admit, he really could charm the pants off of her, as her mother liked to say. He was the most perfect boy she'd ever seen, and he didn't seem to mind working for the right to be with her.
"Fine. You may take me home. But you can't stay, I have to meet my parents."
"Deal."
She smiled as they turned and walked back to the student parking lot. He opened the door to his car, and she threw her heavy backpack into the back next to his before sliding into the front seat.
By the time they reached Stars Hollow, he had talked her into meeting him after her Friday night dinner. She leaned over to kiss him goodbye before exiting the car. She walked up the steps to the house, noticing the stillness of the house. She figured maybe her parents were still out in town, and opened the door and waving Tristan off.
She didn't get very far, as her mother was sitting on the couch, eating out of a huge tub of ice cream. Ben and Jerry's connotated that this was serious. The good ice cream was saved for major crises.
"Mom?" Lorelai asked with trepidation, sitting next to her on the couch.
"Hey, how was school?" Rory asked, trying to sound normal despite the fact it was obvious she had been crying and had eaten enough ice cream to ruin her appetite for the next week.
"What happened?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Mom, seriously, talk to me. I'm not a little kid. Is this about Dad?"
"Lorelai, things between your dad and I are complicated, and I don't want to drag you into it. I'll be okay, alright?"
"What happened? Did you fight?"
"We don't even really have to fight. We know each other too well to fight."
"Then I don't get it."
"He just wants to be more than we can ever be."
"What do you mean?"
"He wants us to be a family."
"Isn't that good?" Lorelai asked, trying not to sound excited.
Rory let out a little laugh. "Honey, if he could do it, it'd be great."
"You think he wouldn't stay?"
"I think it would be very bad. No one would be happy. He just feels bad for missing out on your childhood. This'll pass, I just needed to wallow a little."
Lorelai nodded, still not entirely understanding. She had no real idea of why her parents never got together; she knew they had been inseparable most of their childhood and that obviously they had sex. But then he just disappeared after she came into the world, but for reasons no one had seen fit to let her in on. She hugged her Mom, and went into her room to change. When she came out, Rory had put the ice cream away, and was reading on the couch.
"So, I guess the 'us hanging out with Dad' thing is off?"
"For now. I don't know where he is, but you can try him at the inn if you want to see him. I think it's best if I don't, for today anyway."
Lorelai nodded. "I'm going to take a walk, then I'll try to find him. I'll see you later, okay?"
Rory smiled at her daughter. "I know this is weird for you, but I want you to be able to spend lots of time with your dad. He's a great guy."
"I know. Thanks, Mom."
Lorelai walked straight to the bookstore, and stood at the counter, waiting for someone to notice her waiting. Normally she'd call out for someone, but today she was content to just wait and enjoy the quiet environment. Finally Jess came out from the book stacks, and hurried over to the counter.
"Hey, why didn't you say something?"
"Oh, I was just thinking. Can I get some coffee?"
"Sure." He poured her a cup. "Do you want to talk or something?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"I just know that you and your mom are pretty preoccupied lately."
"My dad's in town. That weirds her out, and that tends to weird me out."
"You don't like your dad?"
"No, I love my dad. He's not around much, but we get along really well." Lorelai bit her lip and traced the lip of her coffee cup. "It's just, I don't get it."
"Get what?"
"Why they aren't together."
"Sometimes things just don't work out," Jess shrugged.
"I know, but they were supposedly attached at the hip from the time they could walk. They were best friends, then they had me—then poof, my dad was MIA. I don't get it."
"Your mom doesn't ever talk about your dad, I really can't help you. Why don't you just ask her?"
"She evades the questions."
"Then I'd try your dad."
"Maybe."
She took a sip of her coffee, still looking rather distracted and concerned. Luke came down the stairs, and stopped next to his uncle.
"I'm going out."
"Alright. You wanna earn some cash later?"
"I'll help you close," Luke nodded. He looked over at Lorelai. "Hey, you want to take a walk, or something?"
Lorelai looked up at Luke and nodded. She thanked Jess again and they left, heading out to the park where they had ended up at when she showed him around town.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine, it's just family stuff."
"Ah, sorry."
"It's just my family's sort of dysfunctional."
"Yeah, I think everyone's is."
"Is yours?"
"You could say that."
"Are you okay?" she asked him, noting the sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"I'm fine. I'm used to it, I guess."
"Me too. I just wish I knew why my parents acted the way they do."
"The great mysteries of life."
"Yeah."
They sat on the grass, overlooking the rest of the park, and Lorelai looked over the hill to where the Inn was. She knew her dad had probably gone back there, since there wasn't anyone else for him to go to.
"So, how come you didn't call your boyfriend?"
"What?"
"Normally when girls get upset, they call crying to their boyfriends," Luke commented.
"Well, that's not exactly me. And we just started dating."
"My mistake. So, what do you do when you're upset?"
"Talk it out with people that give me perspective. My mom, Lane, new boys from New York," she smiled, picking at a blade of grass.
He smiled, but hid it quickly. "I see."
"So, tell me about New York," she said, her tone more upbeat.
"What about it?"
"What was your school like?"
"Big."
"What was your house like?"
"Small. It was an apartment not far from where I went to school."
"What do your parents do?"
Luke hesitated and looked around. "I should get back, I'm supposed to help Jess at the store."
"Oh. Alright. I guess I should go find my Dad," she said, confused as to where the conversation had gone wrong. He obviously wanted to get away from her in a hurry. He stood and turned to walk back towards town. She sat there for a moment and looked out over the water, which was peaceful and still today. She eventually finished off her coffee and made her way up the hill to find her father.
AN: sorry it took me so long. I started to write this chapter, decided it was crap and started all over again. I'm much happier with this version. Enjoy!
Standing outside the door to Chris' hotel room, Rory chewed on her lip as she postponed the inevitable. She had gone to work this morning, working to take her mind off of all the things having Chris in Stars Hollow could mean. She had told him last night that in no way could this be a 'them getting together' tactic, but it was never so black and white with him and her. Deciding to quit putting off seeing him, she tapped out the first part of 'Shave and a Haircut' on his door. Barely a moment passed before he opened the door, wearing a robe, his hair still wet from his shower.
"So, being ready at noon means, what, 12:20 to you?"
"Women are always allotted twenty extra minutes, guys can't have it every now and then?"
Rory rolled her eyes. "It's never supposed to take a man longer to get ready than a woman, unless, oh, Chris, I hadn't realized! When did you make such a lifestyle change? Did you like Queer Eye that much?" she gasped, putting one hand to her mouth.
"Hah. Come in, I'll just be a second."
Rory came into the room and sat at the desk chair. She ran her hands over the wood, admiring the desk. She decided that she should stop by Kim's Antiques and see if there were any new finds, maybe she could find something nice for her office. She had a desk that was probably bought at Office Max, made of plywood or compressed wood chips or some such nonsense.
"Should I leave you and the desk alone?" came the voice that snapped her back to attention.
"Wow, dressed already? They're going to make you turn in your rainbow sticker for your car," Rory warned.
"Will you stop? I'm as straight as I ever was. You of all people know how much I love to--," he smirked, but she cut him off there.
"Alright, Romeo, let's go eat. How about eating here, then I'll show you properly around town?"
"Eat here?"
"Sookie's amazing, she can make anything."
Chris shrugged. "Whatever you want. You know this place best," he offered.
"Great." She led him out of the room and down to the dining room. Sookie came out to see them when the waiter had told her Rory was here as he put in their lunch orders. She had heard so much about Chris over the years, but obviously had never had the chance to meet him.
"Sook! I want you to meet Chris, Lorelai's father," Rory introduced.
"It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"You too."
Rory suddenly got an idea, something to buffer any possible chemistry that might occur.
"Sookie, can you join us for lunch?"
"Well, sure, I guess so. As soon as I get a few things done, I'll be back out."
"Great!" Rory smiled at her, trying to convey her gratitude with her eyes. Sookie looked at her funnily and disappeared back into the kitchen.
"So, Sookie must get paid really well," Chris commented after coughing lightly.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, what with the double duty of cooking and playing chaperone to guests."
"What are you talking about?"
"Rory, you invited her to join us."
"So?"
"So? It's obvious you don't trust me."
"You're crazy."
"Am I? Okay, well, if you trust me, then you don't trust yourself around me."
Rory said nothing, just played with her napkin, which she had moved to her lap.
"I'm right! All that crap last night about how I can only be Lorelai's father. You know I'm more than that."
"Chris," Rory pleaded. Her expression said it all. She was trying so hard to not go there, and he knew if he pushed her too far, she'd crack. He backed off, nodding. At least, for now he'd just let it drop.
Sookie came out with the waiter and sat down to eat with them. They told stories, some of Rory and Lorelai when they had just moved to Stars Hollow and some of Rory and Chris' glory days. Currently, Sookie was going on about the time Lorelai had decided she wanted to be a chef like Sookie and followed her around on a Job Shadow assignment for school.
"I felt so bad, breaking her heart like that!"
"Well, Sook, you had to tell her that chocolate chip cookies weren't supposed to resemble charcoal briquettes."
"Wow, how old was she?" Chris laughed.
"Twelve, I think," Rory pondered, thinking back.
"Can she cook now?"
Rory and Sookie both laughed. "Neither of us can cook. We're at the sympathy of the town restaurateurs as far as being fed goes."
"Something Rory Gilmore can't do? Nonsense."
They laughed, and Sookie stood up to excuse herself when a waiter came out and whispered something in her ear.
"Sorry, the sauce, flames and not good! I'll see you later!" she blurted out as she ran towards the kitchen.
"Is she always this--," Chris started.
"Enthusiastic?"
"Enthusiastic, insane, whatever."
"She's the best. And yes, she is."
"Ah," Chris said, shaking his head in laughter.
"So, ready to see the rest of the town?"
"You're the tour guide. What's first?"
"Coffee. And books."
"You know, in the big cities, you get those combined in one."
"This may be the sticks, but we have a bookstore with a café in it."
"What genius brought that one here?"
"Jess, and please don't call him a genius. He's hard enough to deal with."
"Superiority complex?"
"He's mainly just cranky. Mostly harmless."
"Great," Chris said less than enthusiastically.
"But he makes a great pot of coffee."
They exited the Independence Inn, and headed towards town. Rory pointed out a few main places that they'd get to later on in the day, and finally arrived at the bookstore.
"Uh, Ror, this says it's a hardware store."
"Yeah, I know."
"But--,"
"Just come on," Rory said, pulling Chris in by his shirtsleeve. She opened the door, and the smell of old books welcomed them. Rory headed straight for the counter, and Chris looked around for a minute. He could see why Rory liked this place so much; it screamed her name. The smell, old books mixed with coffee, was something she'd probably wear as a perfume if they could bottle it. He stepped next to her as a man about their age stepped out from what appeared to be the backroom and behind the counter across from Rory. He noticed the looks between them, and he was definitely getting an unfriendly vibe from this guy, without a word being said between them.
"Jess, we need coffee," Rory said to the man.
"To go?"
"Sure, why not."
"Coming right up."
Jess stepped back and turned to pour the coffee. Chris leaned in her ear and whispered.
"Is the service always so friendly?"
Rory pinched his arm, and gave him a strange look. Jess turned back around and put the coffees on the counter. Rory got out her purse, and Chris shook his head.
"Let me."
"No, Chris, really," she protested. Jess rolled his eyes.
Chris handed Jess some money, and Jess handed him his change. Rory looked at them as they silently exchanged the money, and it occurred to her that she should probably introduce them after having poured her problems out at Jess the day before.
"Oh, by the way, uh, Chris, this is Jess. Jess, this is Chris."
"Nice to meet you. I've heard wonderful things about your coffee."
"You're Lorelai's dad," Jess nodded in rebuttal.
"That would be me," Chris agreed.
"I'm just showing Chris around, until Lorelai gets home from school."
"Is she done with Hemingway now?"
"Yeah, they've moved onto Edith Wharton."
"So, you've got this one handled."
Rory laughed, "Anything but Hemingway."
Chris watched these two talk, about things he should know about. What his daughter was studying in school, who the best one was to help her with her homework. He got the distinct feeling Jess brought this up to make him feel like he was walking into a family, when it was the other way around. He grabbed Rory's hand and pulled her gently towards the door.
"We should get going, if we want to be done by the time she gets back from school."
"Right. Thanks for the coffee, Jess."
Jess nodded and turned to grab a box of books from beside the counter. She let Chris lead her out from the bookstore and removed her hand from his.
"What was that about?"
"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing."
"What's your problem? Since when are we on holding hands status?"
"Rory, that guy..."
"Jess? You have a problem with Jess?"
"Are you two dating?"
"No! God, even if we were, what would it matter?"
"He just knows an awful lot about you and Lorelai."
"Chris, this town has like 200 people in it. Everyone knows a lot about me and Lorelai."
"I just, got a vibe from the guy, okay?"
"There was no vibe. You're crazy. Again, not that it matters."
"It does matter," Chris said, stopping in front of the gazebo in the middle of town. Their voices were continuously rising, and they were now just shy of shouting at each other. Several people stopped what they were doing to turn and look at the two. Chris took her hand again and pulled a protesting Rory up the steps and then down to sit on the bench next to him.
"Why?"
"I want to be with you guys, not just Lorelai, but with you too. The three of us, as a family."
Rory sat, just staring at him. She blinked a few times, thinking he would disappear or an alien would burst out of his chest, or maybe out of her own, anything so she would know this was a dream.
"Rory?"
"I, I can't have this conversation with you," she said blankly, standing up and walking off the gazebo towards her house. Chris looked after her, not following her because he knew better than that. He turned and looked back at the bookstore, seeing Jess had witnessed the whole thing. Most of the town had witnessed the whole thing. He sighed and stood, walking towards the Inn.
Another day had passed at Chilton, and Lorelai was heading towards the bus stop. She had her usual bagful of insanely heavy books, and was contemplating how she would get her homework done for the evening and still hang out with her dad. She had no idea how long he'd be around; the whole situation was strange. She was glad he was around, but he was so inconsistent when it came to her and her mother. She had no idea why, as much as she and Rory talked about everything, Chris had always been a taboo topic for them. She was lost in her thoughts until she heard her name from behind her.
Turning, she saw Tristan jogging to catch up with her. He smiled as she stopped for him.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"You want a ride home?"
"No, that's okay. I'll just take the bus."
"Come on, let me take you home. I know I won't get to see you much this week. At least let me take you home this week, so I can see you a little."
"You see me in class."
"That's not enough for me, I'm sorry," he smiled genuinely at her. She had to admit, he really could charm the pants off of her, as her mother liked to say. He was the most perfect boy she'd ever seen, and he didn't seem to mind working for the right to be with her.
"Fine. You may take me home. But you can't stay, I have to meet my parents."
"Deal."
She smiled as they turned and walked back to the student parking lot. He opened the door to his car, and she threw her heavy backpack into the back next to his before sliding into the front seat.
By the time they reached Stars Hollow, he had talked her into meeting him after her Friday night dinner. She leaned over to kiss him goodbye before exiting the car. She walked up the steps to the house, noticing the stillness of the house. She figured maybe her parents were still out in town, and opened the door and waving Tristan off.
She didn't get very far, as her mother was sitting on the couch, eating out of a huge tub of ice cream. Ben and Jerry's connotated that this was serious. The good ice cream was saved for major crises.
"Mom?" Lorelai asked with trepidation, sitting next to her on the couch.
"Hey, how was school?" Rory asked, trying to sound normal despite the fact it was obvious she had been crying and had eaten enough ice cream to ruin her appetite for the next week.
"What happened?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Mom, seriously, talk to me. I'm not a little kid. Is this about Dad?"
"Lorelai, things between your dad and I are complicated, and I don't want to drag you into it. I'll be okay, alright?"
"What happened? Did you fight?"
"We don't even really have to fight. We know each other too well to fight."
"Then I don't get it."
"He just wants to be more than we can ever be."
"What do you mean?"
"He wants us to be a family."
"Isn't that good?" Lorelai asked, trying not to sound excited.
Rory let out a little laugh. "Honey, if he could do it, it'd be great."
"You think he wouldn't stay?"
"I think it would be very bad. No one would be happy. He just feels bad for missing out on your childhood. This'll pass, I just needed to wallow a little."
Lorelai nodded, still not entirely understanding. She had no real idea of why her parents never got together; she knew they had been inseparable most of their childhood and that obviously they had sex. But then he just disappeared after she came into the world, but for reasons no one had seen fit to let her in on. She hugged her Mom, and went into her room to change. When she came out, Rory had put the ice cream away, and was reading on the couch.
"So, I guess the 'us hanging out with Dad' thing is off?"
"For now. I don't know where he is, but you can try him at the inn if you want to see him. I think it's best if I don't, for today anyway."
Lorelai nodded. "I'm going to take a walk, then I'll try to find him. I'll see you later, okay?"
Rory smiled at her daughter. "I know this is weird for you, but I want you to be able to spend lots of time with your dad. He's a great guy."
"I know. Thanks, Mom."
Lorelai walked straight to the bookstore, and stood at the counter, waiting for someone to notice her waiting. Normally she'd call out for someone, but today she was content to just wait and enjoy the quiet environment. Finally Jess came out from the book stacks, and hurried over to the counter.
"Hey, why didn't you say something?"
"Oh, I was just thinking. Can I get some coffee?"
"Sure." He poured her a cup. "Do you want to talk or something?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"I just know that you and your mom are pretty preoccupied lately."
"My dad's in town. That weirds her out, and that tends to weird me out."
"You don't like your dad?"
"No, I love my dad. He's not around much, but we get along really well." Lorelai bit her lip and traced the lip of her coffee cup. "It's just, I don't get it."
"Get what?"
"Why they aren't together."
"Sometimes things just don't work out," Jess shrugged.
"I know, but they were supposedly attached at the hip from the time they could walk. They were best friends, then they had me—then poof, my dad was MIA. I don't get it."
"Your mom doesn't ever talk about your dad, I really can't help you. Why don't you just ask her?"
"She evades the questions."
"Then I'd try your dad."
"Maybe."
She took a sip of her coffee, still looking rather distracted and concerned. Luke came down the stairs, and stopped next to his uncle.
"I'm going out."
"Alright. You wanna earn some cash later?"
"I'll help you close," Luke nodded. He looked over at Lorelai. "Hey, you want to take a walk, or something?"
Lorelai looked up at Luke and nodded. She thanked Jess again and they left, heading out to the park where they had ended up at when she showed him around town.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine, it's just family stuff."
"Ah, sorry."
"It's just my family's sort of dysfunctional."
"Yeah, I think everyone's is."
"Is yours?"
"You could say that."
"Are you okay?" she asked him, noting the sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"I'm fine. I'm used to it, I guess."
"Me too. I just wish I knew why my parents acted the way they do."
"The great mysteries of life."
"Yeah."
They sat on the grass, overlooking the rest of the park, and Lorelai looked over the hill to where the Inn was. She knew her dad had probably gone back there, since there wasn't anyone else for him to go to.
"So, how come you didn't call your boyfriend?"
"What?"
"Normally when girls get upset, they call crying to their boyfriends," Luke commented.
"Well, that's not exactly me. And we just started dating."
"My mistake. So, what do you do when you're upset?"
"Talk it out with people that give me perspective. My mom, Lane, new boys from New York," she smiled, picking at a blade of grass.
He smiled, but hid it quickly. "I see."
"So, tell me about New York," she said, her tone more upbeat.
"What about it?"
"What was your school like?"
"Big."
"What was your house like?"
"Small. It was an apartment not far from where I went to school."
"What do your parents do?"
Luke hesitated and looked around. "I should get back, I'm supposed to help Jess at the store."
"Oh. Alright. I guess I should go find my Dad," she said, confused as to where the conversation had gone wrong. He obviously wanted to get away from her in a hurry. He stood and turned to walk back towards town. She sat there for a moment and looked out over the water, which was peaceful and still today. She eventually finished off her coffee and made her way up the hill to find her father.
AN: sorry it took me so long. I started to write this chapter, decided it was crap and started all over again. I'm much happier with this version. Enjoy!