DISCLAIMER: I own neither the show nor the characters of the Gilmore Girls.
Just the messed up way in which I am portraying them.
Wednesday after school Lorelai called Chris to come over to the house. Rory was lying on the couch with a cold compress over her forehead, claiming to have a headache. The night before, Lorelai had found her father at the Inn, and they had headed to Hartford for dinner then saw a movie. They hadn't talked about Rory at all, and she was in bed by the time Chris dropped Lorelai off at home. Nor had Rory and Lorelai talked about Chris since she'd been home from school.
"Are you going to stay on the couch or hide in your room?" Lorelai asked, leaning over the back of the couch to see her mother, the phone still in her hand.
"This is my house, why should I have to move?"
Sighing, Lorelai continued to stare at her mother.
"What?" Rory asked again, noticing Lorelai wasn't going away.
"Dad is on his way over. And obviously something happened with you two yesterday, so I just figured you were avoiding him."
"Why, what did he say?"
"He didn't say anything, Mom, I have better deductive skills than that."
"I'm going out to dinner later, anyway. I'll just go get ready," Rory said, standing up from the couch. Lorelai had her arms crossed over her chest, still staring at her mom.
"We're really not going to talk about this?"
"Lor, there is nothing to talk about. Your father and I had a misunderstanding, and it'll pass. It has no bearing on you and him spending more time together."
"Fine. Whatever you say."
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll recover in time to be caned together at Friday night dinner."
"We can only hope," Lorelai commented, slumping onto the couch and flipped on the television as Rory disappeared up the stairs. She found a Queer Eye marathon on, and lost herself in the current show. The men were trying to convince the poor straight man on the show that his collection of empty liquor bottles filled with iridescent fluid was something he needed to part with. The black light that caused the bottles to glow was a whole other fight. The phone rang, but she didn't want to miss the intrigue.
"Not it!" she shouted towards the stairs.
"Fine, but have you seen my new boots?"
"Uh, perhaps."
"I need them!"
"Fine!" she yelled back, but didn't move to retrieve said boots.
Rory pulled her skirt up around her and lunged for the still ringing phone. She dropped it, and grimaced. Retrieving it, she apologized first.
"Sorry, hello?"
"Rory?"
"Oh, hey Jess. Did you finish the sample?"
"Yeah. When should I come get you?"
"Uh, I'll be ready any second, so come by in about ten minutes?"
"Sounds good."
She hung up and came downstairs to get her boots from Lorelai. Lorelai was sitting on the couch, now very much engrossed in her television show. Rory tapped her bare foot, looking at her daughter.
Looking up slowly to see her mother looking rather impatient, she pointed to the screen as she laughed.
"You have to see this! They just dumped all this guy's liquor bottle collection in the trash, and he's crying! What?"
"Boots?"
"In my closet."
"You couldn't pay me to look in that closet."
"It's not that messy."
"I'll be eaten alive if I go near it."
"Mom," Lorelai rolled her eyes.
"Seriously, last time I went in there, I finally spotted my favorite skirt wadded up in the back, but when I stood up to get out, an avalanche of shoes clobbered me!"
Their standoff was interrupted by a knock at the door. Rory turned, pointing at Lorelai.
"Boots, now!"
She opened the door, to see Chris standing on the porch. She opened the door further and stepped back to allow him to come inside the house.
"You look nice."
"Thanks. You guys going out tonight again?"
"No, we're staying in. I take it you aren't going to join us?"
"No, I have plans. Lorelai's in the front room, excuse me," she said, moving towards Lorelai's bedroom.
"I thought you said you wouldn't go find them!" Lorelai called after her.
"Well, you obviously aren't doing it and I have to leave soon!" came Rory's voice muffled from down the hall.
"Am I interrupting some mother daughter cat fight?" Chris asked bemused.
"Just fashion wars. Mom and I don't really have big blowouts."
"Wow. I can't imagine how you are our child and have just said that. All I ever did was have blowouts with my dad."
"Well, if you like, you and I could have a fight."
"I think I'll pass. Maybe later, though," he promised.
The doorbell rang and Rory came out, still trying to get her boots on. Sitting on the bottom step of the staircase, she looked up at the two on the couch.
"Someone, please?"
Chris rose, and Rory went back to her task.
"By the way, I can totally see your underwear," Lorelai whispered to her mom, who then blushed.
"Thanks," Rory grimaced, standing now and smoothing her skirt. She looked at the doorway, where Chris and Jess seemed to be staring each other down. Lorelai noticed her mother's face and stood next to her to see what was going on.
"Oh, I get it now," Lorelai said as it dawned on her.
"What?"
"You took Dad to the bookstore."
"So?"
"So, he thought you and Jess were dating?" Lorelai guessed.
"Maybe. So?"
"So you had a fight about Jess? Yeah, this will help it pass."
"Shush you, I have to go before one of them strains something."
Lorelai sat on the arm of the couch and Rory headed to the doorway. Moving Chris back with one hand, she stepped between them facing Jess.
"Hey, let's go."
"Sure," Jess said, slowly turning to leave.
"What time will you be back?" Chris asked.
"Why does that matter?" Rory asked, turning to face him.
"Just wondering whether or not I should wait up for you."
"I'm sure you'll be back at the Inn by the time I get back."
"You never know, I might just crash on the couch."
Rory didn't like where Chris was trying to take this. "I don't think that's a good idea. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night." With that, she turned and followed Jess out the door. Once she had shut the door behind her, he turned to her.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry for him, I think he's actually lost his mind."
"He was laying it on a little thick," Jess sardonically added.
"So, where are we going?"
"This place in Hartford, you like Italian, right?"
"Just as long as I can manage not to get sauce on the sample," she smiled.
He smiled back and they headed to her car. Meanwhile back in the house, the tension was continuing to grow. Chris stared at the door after Rory shut it. Lorelai continued to sit on the couch looking at her dad in frustration. She was seeing why her mom had been so ticked off at him. By clearing her throat, his attention was caught and he turned.
"So, how long has that been going on?"
"What?"
"Your mom dating that guy?"
"Jess? Mom and Jess aren't dating. They're out on some business meeting."
"Your mother wasn't dressed for a business meeting."
"Yeah, she was."
"Lor, she was wearing a thong."
"You were looking!" Lorelai admonished.
"Hard not to. Are you sure they aren't dating?"
"I'm sure. Why does it matter, anyway?" she asked knowingly.
"I'd just hoped this visit would be more than this."
"I thought you came to see me," she replied, sounding disappointed.
"Honey, I did. I just hoped your mom and I could finally work things out."
"Dad, look. I used to really want that. But when it didn't happen after so many years, I finally realized that both of you should find happiness, separately. Maybe it's time you should realize that too," she said, putting her hand on her dad's arm.
He looked into her eyes, ones she got from Rory, and nodded. "I guess you're right. Let's stop talking about this. How about a movie?"
"Sounds like a great idea," she said, moving to grab a movie and put it in the player.
In Hartford, Rory was reading through the sample that Jess had prepared for the first time. He was attempting to busy himself by drinking water and eating bread. He couldn't believe he was nervous. Rory had read things he'd written as many times as they had borrowed books from each other. He gave up and finally took to trying to read her facial expressions. He held himself back from telling her she definitely had a career in poker, as he couldn't read any of her feelings. At long last, she put the papers down and looked at him. When she didn't say anything in favor of taking a drink of her wine, he sat back in his chair.
"I'm taking it you're regretting your decision."
"What? Why would you assume that?"
"You can't even say anything. You are a lot of things, but speechless is never one of them."
"Did you ever consider I was trying to figure out how to best express my joy and excitement?"
"Right."
"Jess, I love this. It's as original as I could have hoped for, it's insightful, it's bittersweet and thought provoking. Please tell me you're going to take this position," she poured the compliments on him.
He smiled for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah, alright."
"What, no more begging required?"
"Nope."
"Don't even want to haggle on salary?"
"You'll pay me fairly. I know you," he reminded her.
She blushed a little and took another piece of bread. She played with it more than eating it. He took another drink of water and wondered if he should delve into what seemed to be eating at her.
"So, Lorelai was pretty upset the other day."
"When?"
"She came in yesterday, for coffee. She was worried about you, I think, but mostly she was confused."
"What did she say?" Rory sighed, partially knowing what was coming, partially amazed that she had gone to Jess about this.
"She said no one has bothered to tell her what went on with you and her dad. She said she knew you guys were tight most of your lives, then as soon as you got pregnant, no one will fill her in on details."
Rory put her head in her hands. Of course she wanted to know, she's the most curious person in the world. Rory had never had the words to tell her, or the heart, so she just avoided it.
"You want to practice on me?" he offered.
"You don't want to hear this. There's not really much to tell."
"Then why won't you tell her?"
"Because no kid wants to hear that their parents aren't mature enough to just be together."
"Ah, maturity. So overrated."
"That's what Chris' mantra seems to be."
"Come on, you'll just feel better."
"Fine. We were best friends, our parents were close, and so we were shoved together a lot since our parents were always busy. But when it got serious, and the hormones hit, well we just figured someday we'd be getting married someday anyway, so we started having sex pretty fast. Then before I knew it, I was pregnant. After that, our parents suddenly paid attention to us again, well, to our 'situation'. It was being 'handled'. They decided we were going to get married and live with my parents. No one asked us, no one cared what we wanted. Chris was willing to go along with it, but I knew it wouldn't have worked. We were sixteen, you know?"
Jess listened to her tell the events of years ago, and nodded. "Yeah, I know. Then what happened?"
"Well, I put my foot down, and Chris took it personally. I was trying to look out for all three of us, not just me. He took it to mean I didn't love him, and he just sort of distanced himself. My parents thought I was crazy, but I stayed living with them, until Lorelai was about two months old. I just couldn't take it anymore; I needed to start a new life for us, to figure out the good in this on my own. So one day I just left and never looked back. We ended up here."
"Wow. How did your folks take it?"
"Man, was that not pretty. It's still like a battle every time I see them. We never really talk about it, we just try to leave each meeting with no permanent scars."
"Don't you see them every Friday?"
"Yes, yes we do. Now you know why I come in looking so pale and drawn every Friday."
"You always look fine."
Rory looked up at him in interest. Surely that just came out ... wrong.
"You think I look fine all the time?" she asked in curiosity.
"You know what I mean, you never look sickly. Unless you're sick, I mean," he tried to explain. He was definitely babbling. He felt stupid for doing it, and while she was enjoying it a little, she decided to help him out.
"Jess, you don't have to butter me up, you already have the gig," she teased.
"Shut up," he muttered, taking another drink of water.
Their food came and they continued to talk. He changed the subject, much to her relief, and he hoped she forgot about his prior comments. She had made light of it, but the look on her face when he'd said that. No, he'd just forget about that for now.
When he dropped her off at the house, he got out to walk her to the door. She told him she was perfectly safe and fine, as it was perhaps one of the smallest towns in the world, but he insisted.
"So, this is great. I'm really excited about the reader response to your columns."
"When will I get my first assignment?"
"I'll get it to you tomorrow. You should have about six days to prepare each one, so we can get it to print for the next week. Is that doable?"
"Yeah," he paused for a moment, and got an impish look on his face. "You do look fine, you know."
She blushed and ducked her head so he couldn't see her face as well. "Thank you."
"So, you're fine to get in?"
"Yeah, I'm good. I'll uh, see you tomorrow," she stammered a bit.
"Goodnight, Rory."
"Night," she said, a bit flustered. He stood still as she climbed the stairs and opened the door. She gave him a small wave, her stomach flipping a little as she saw him wave back and turn towards his car. Since when did Jess give her butterflies? This was quite a surprising evening. First with Chris and then with the business dinner feeling very much like a date. She had fun, for the first time in a long time, just going to dinner with a man. It had even been easy to tell him about her problems with Chris and her parents. But it hadn't been a date, she reminded herself. Coming into the living room, she saw Lorelai and Chris both asleep on the couch. The television screen was blue, the movie they watched having long been over. She shook Chris, gently until he awoke. He focused his eyes and looked up at Rory.
"Hey. Sorry, I guess we fell asleep."
"Looks like. You should get going, it's late."
"Right. Did you have a good time?"
"Chris, it was just a business dinner," she informed him, still whispering as not to wake up Lorelai.
"That wasn't my question."
She smiled a little, still feeling the remnants of flutters in her stomach. "Yeah, I had fun. Happy?"
"I should go, I'll see you tomorrow," he smiled as he leaned over to kiss the top of Lorelai's head.
"Right, tomorrow."
She stood there for a moment, in full on confusion. Jess was dominating her thoughts, and Chris was glad she was happy without him? This wasn't the world she woke up in this morning. Snapping out of her thoughts, she woke up Lorelai so she wouldn't wake up with a horrible crick in her neck in the morning.
"Hey, what time is it?"
"About midnight. Time to move to the actual bed."
"Did you have fun?"
"It wasn't a date," she pointed out exasperatedly.
"Did you have fun?" she repeated unwaveringly.
"Jess got the job," she offered.
"You had fun. I can see it, you're blushing!"
"So, you should get to sleep, you still have school in the morning," Rory ignored her.
"Mom, this is Jess. You like Jess!"
"I do not. I'm his boss now. And he's my friend. That's all."
"Then why are you blushing?"
"Goodnight," Rory said with an air of finality as she rose and headed upstairs to go to bed. Lorelai developed a little song about Rory kissing Jess, which Rory could hear even after she put her pillow over her head to drown it out. Eventually she must have tired herself out, as the house once again got quiet and Rory was finally allowed to drift off to sleep.
Wednesday after school Lorelai called Chris to come over to the house. Rory was lying on the couch with a cold compress over her forehead, claiming to have a headache. The night before, Lorelai had found her father at the Inn, and they had headed to Hartford for dinner then saw a movie. They hadn't talked about Rory at all, and she was in bed by the time Chris dropped Lorelai off at home. Nor had Rory and Lorelai talked about Chris since she'd been home from school.
"Are you going to stay on the couch or hide in your room?" Lorelai asked, leaning over the back of the couch to see her mother, the phone still in her hand.
"This is my house, why should I have to move?"
Sighing, Lorelai continued to stare at her mother.
"What?" Rory asked again, noticing Lorelai wasn't going away.
"Dad is on his way over. And obviously something happened with you two yesterday, so I just figured you were avoiding him."
"Why, what did he say?"
"He didn't say anything, Mom, I have better deductive skills than that."
"I'm going out to dinner later, anyway. I'll just go get ready," Rory said, standing up from the couch. Lorelai had her arms crossed over her chest, still staring at her mom.
"We're really not going to talk about this?"
"Lor, there is nothing to talk about. Your father and I had a misunderstanding, and it'll pass. It has no bearing on you and him spending more time together."
"Fine. Whatever you say."
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll recover in time to be caned together at Friday night dinner."
"We can only hope," Lorelai commented, slumping onto the couch and flipped on the television as Rory disappeared up the stairs. She found a Queer Eye marathon on, and lost herself in the current show. The men were trying to convince the poor straight man on the show that his collection of empty liquor bottles filled with iridescent fluid was something he needed to part with. The black light that caused the bottles to glow was a whole other fight. The phone rang, but she didn't want to miss the intrigue.
"Not it!" she shouted towards the stairs.
"Fine, but have you seen my new boots?"
"Uh, perhaps."
"I need them!"
"Fine!" she yelled back, but didn't move to retrieve said boots.
Rory pulled her skirt up around her and lunged for the still ringing phone. She dropped it, and grimaced. Retrieving it, she apologized first.
"Sorry, hello?"
"Rory?"
"Oh, hey Jess. Did you finish the sample?"
"Yeah. When should I come get you?"
"Uh, I'll be ready any second, so come by in about ten minutes?"
"Sounds good."
She hung up and came downstairs to get her boots from Lorelai. Lorelai was sitting on the couch, now very much engrossed in her television show. Rory tapped her bare foot, looking at her daughter.
Looking up slowly to see her mother looking rather impatient, she pointed to the screen as she laughed.
"You have to see this! They just dumped all this guy's liquor bottle collection in the trash, and he's crying! What?"
"Boots?"
"In my closet."
"You couldn't pay me to look in that closet."
"It's not that messy."
"I'll be eaten alive if I go near it."
"Mom," Lorelai rolled her eyes.
"Seriously, last time I went in there, I finally spotted my favorite skirt wadded up in the back, but when I stood up to get out, an avalanche of shoes clobbered me!"
Their standoff was interrupted by a knock at the door. Rory turned, pointing at Lorelai.
"Boots, now!"
She opened the door, to see Chris standing on the porch. She opened the door further and stepped back to allow him to come inside the house.
"You look nice."
"Thanks. You guys going out tonight again?"
"No, we're staying in. I take it you aren't going to join us?"
"No, I have plans. Lorelai's in the front room, excuse me," she said, moving towards Lorelai's bedroom.
"I thought you said you wouldn't go find them!" Lorelai called after her.
"Well, you obviously aren't doing it and I have to leave soon!" came Rory's voice muffled from down the hall.
"Am I interrupting some mother daughter cat fight?" Chris asked bemused.
"Just fashion wars. Mom and I don't really have big blowouts."
"Wow. I can't imagine how you are our child and have just said that. All I ever did was have blowouts with my dad."
"Well, if you like, you and I could have a fight."
"I think I'll pass. Maybe later, though," he promised.
The doorbell rang and Rory came out, still trying to get her boots on. Sitting on the bottom step of the staircase, she looked up at the two on the couch.
"Someone, please?"
Chris rose, and Rory went back to her task.
"By the way, I can totally see your underwear," Lorelai whispered to her mom, who then blushed.
"Thanks," Rory grimaced, standing now and smoothing her skirt. She looked at the doorway, where Chris and Jess seemed to be staring each other down. Lorelai noticed her mother's face and stood next to her to see what was going on.
"Oh, I get it now," Lorelai said as it dawned on her.
"What?"
"You took Dad to the bookstore."
"So?"
"So, he thought you and Jess were dating?" Lorelai guessed.
"Maybe. So?"
"So you had a fight about Jess? Yeah, this will help it pass."
"Shush you, I have to go before one of them strains something."
Lorelai sat on the arm of the couch and Rory headed to the doorway. Moving Chris back with one hand, she stepped between them facing Jess.
"Hey, let's go."
"Sure," Jess said, slowly turning to leave.
"What time will you be back?" Chris asked.
"Why does that matter?" Rory asked, turning to face him.
"Just wondering whether or not I should wait up for you."
"I'm sure you'll be back at the Inn by the time I get back."
"You never know, I might just crash on the couch."
Rory didn't like where Chris was trying to take this. "I don't think that's a good idea. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night." With that, she turned and followed Jess out the door. Once she had shut the door behind her, he turned to her.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry for him, I think he's actually lost his mind."
"He was laying it on a little thick," Jess sardonically added.
"So, where are we going?"
"This place in Hartford, you like Italian, right?"
"Just as long as I can manage not to get sauce on the sample," she smiled.
He smiled back and they headed to her car. Meanwhile back in the house, the tension was continuing to grow. Chris stared at the door after Rory shut it. Lorelai continued to sit on the couch looking at her dad in frustration. She was seeing why her mom had been so ticked off at him. By clearing her throat, his attention was caught and he turned.
"So, how long has that been going on?"
"What?"
"Your mom dating that guy?"
"Jess? Mom and Jess aren't dating. They're out on some business meeting."
"Your mother wasn't dressed for a business meeting."
"Yeah, she was."
"Lor, she was wearing a thong."
"You were looking!" Lorelai admonished.
"Hard not to. Are you sure they aren't dating?"
"I'm sure. Why does it matter, anyway?" she asked knowingly.
"I'd just hoped this visit would be more than this."
"I thought you came to see me," she replied, sounding disappointed.
"Honey, I did. I just hoped your mom and I could finally work things out."
"Dad, look. I used to really want that. But when it didn't happen after so many years, I finally realized that both of you should find happiness, separately. Maybe it's time you should realize that too," she said, putting her hand on her dad's arm.
He looked into her eyes, ones she got from Rory, and nodded. "I guess you're right. Let's stop talking about this. How about a movie?"
"Sounds like a great idea," she said, moving to grab a movie and put it in the player.
In Hartford, Rory was reading through the sample that Jess had prepared for the first time. He was attempting to busy himself by drinking water and eating bread. He couldn't believe he was nervous. Rory had read things he'd written as many times as they had borrowed books from each other. He gave up and finally took to trying to read her facial expressions. He held himself back from telling her she definitely had a career in poker, as he couldn't read any of her feelings. At long last, she put the papers down and looked at him. When she didn't say anything in favor of taking a drink of her wine, he sat back in his chair.
"I'm taking it you're regretting your decision."
"What? Why would you assume that?"
"You can't even say anything. You are a lot of things, but speechless is never one of them."
"Did you ever consider I was trying to figure out how to best express my joy and excitement?"
"Right."
"Jess, I love this. It's as original as I could have hoped for, it's insightful, it's bittersweet and thought provoking. Please tell me you're going to take this position," she poured the compliments on him.
He smiled for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah, alright."
"What, no more begging required?"
"Nope."
"Don't even want to haggle on salary?"
"You'll pay me fairly. I know you," he reminded her.
She blushed a little and took another piece of bread. She played with it more than eating it. He took another drink of water and wondered if he should delve into what seemed to be eating at her.
"So, Lorelai was pretty upset the other day."
"When?"
"She came in yesterday, for coffee. She was worried about you, I think, but mostly she was confused."
"What did she say?" Rory sighed, partially knowing what was coming, partially amazed that she had gone to Jess about this.
"She said no one has bothered to tell her what went on with you and her dad. She said she knew you guys were tight most of your lives, then as soon as you got pregnant, no one will fill her in on details."
Rory put her head in her hands. Of course she wanted to know, she's the most curious person in the world. Rory had never had the words to tell her, or the heart, so she just avoided it.
"You want to practice on me?" he offered.
"You don't want to hear this. There's not really much to tell."
"Then why won't you tell her?"
"Because no kid wants to hear that their parents aren't mature enough to just be together."
"Ah, maturity. So overrated."
"That's what Chris' mantra seems to be."
"Come on, you'll just feel better."
"Fine. We were best friends, our parents were close, and so we were shoved together a lot since our parents were always busy. But when it got serious, and the hormones hit, well we just figured someday we'd be getting married someday anyway, so we started having sex pretty fast. Then before I knew it, I was pregnant. After that, our parents suddenly paid attention to us again, well, to our 'situation'. It was being 'handled'. They decided we were going to get married and live with my parents. No one asked us, no one cared what we wanted. Chris was willing to go along with it, but I knew it wouldn't have worked. We were sixteen, you know?"
Jess listened to her tell the events of years ago, and nodded. "Yeah, I know. Then what happened?"
"Well, I put my foot down, and Chris took it personally. I was trying to look out for all three of us, not just me. He took it to mean I didn't love him, and he just sort of distanced himself. My parents thought I was crazy, but I stayed living with them, until Lorelai was about two months old. I just couldn't take it anymore; I needed to start a new life for us, to figure out the good in this on my own. So one day I just left and never looked back. We ended up here."
"Wow. How did your folks take it?"
"Man, was that not pretty. It's still like a battle every time I see them. We never really talk about it, we just try to leave each meeting with no permanent scars."
"Don't you see them every Friday?"
"Yes, yes we do. Now you know why I come in looking so pale and drawn every Friday."
"You always look fine."
Rory looked up at him in interest. Surely that just came out ... wrong.
"You think I look fine all the time?" she asked in curiosity.
"You know what I mean, you never look sickly. Unless you're sick, I mean," he tried to explain. He was definitely babbling. He felt stupid for doing it, and while she was enjoying it a little, she decided to help him out.
"Jess, you don't have to butter me up, you already have the gig," she teased.
"Shut up," he muttered, taking another drink of water.
Their food came and they continued to talk. He changed the subject, much to her relief, and he hoped she forgot about his prior comments. She had made light of it, but the look on her face when he'd said that. No, he'd just forget about that for now.
When he dropped her off at the house, he got out to walk her to the door. She told him she was perfectly safe and fine, as it was perhaps one of the smallest towns in the world, but he insisted.
"So, this is great. I'm really excited about the reader response to your columns."
"When will I get my first assignment?"
"I'll get it to you tomorrow. You should have about six days to prepare each one, so we can get it to print for the next week. Is that doable?"
"Yeah," he paused for a moment, and got an impish look on his face. "You do look fine, you know."
She blushed and ducked her head so he couldn't see her face as well. "Thank you."
"So, you're fine to get in?"
"Yeah, I'm good. I'll uh, see you tomorrow," she stammered a bit.
"Goodnight, Rory."
"Night," she said, a bit flustered. He stood still as she climbed the stairs and opened the door. She gave him a small wave, her stomach flipping a little as she saw him wave back and turn towards his car. Since when did Jess give her butterflies? This was quite a surprising evening. First with Chris and then with the business dinner feeling very much like a date. She had fun, for the first time in a long time, just going to dinner with a man. It had even been easy to tell him about her problems with Chris and her parents. But it hadn't been a date, she reminded herself. Coming into the living room, she saw Lorelai and Chris both asleep on the couch. The television screen was blue, the movie they watched having long been over. She shook Chris, gently until he awoke. He focused his eyes and looked up at Rory.
"Hey. Sorry, I guess we fell asleep."
"Looks like. You should get going, it's late."
"Right. Did you have a good time?"
"Chris, it was just a business dinner," she informed him, still whispering as not to wake up Lorelai.
"That wasn't my question."
She smiled a little, still feeling the remnants of flutters in her stomach. "Yeah, I had fun. Happy?"
"I should go, I'll see you tomorrow," he smiled as he leaned over to kiss the top of Lorelai's head.
"Right, tomorrow."
She stood there for a moment, in full on confusion. Jess was dominating her thoughts, and Chris was glad she was happy without him? This wasn't the world she woke up in this morning. Snapping out of her thoughts, she woke up Lorelai so she wouldn't wake up with a horrible crick in her neck in the morning.
"Hey, what time is it?"
"About midnight. Time to move to the actual bed."
"Did you have fun?"
"It wasn't a date," she pointed out exasperatedly.
"Did you have fun?" she repeated unwaveringly.
"Jess got the job," she offered.
"You had fun. I can see it, you're blushing!"
"So, you should get to sleep, you still have school in the morning," Rory ignored her.
"Mom, this is Jess. You like Jess!"
"I do not. I'm his boss now. And he's my friend. That's all."
"Then why are you blushing?"
"Goodnight," Rory said with an air of finality as she rose and headed upstairs to go to bed. Lorelai developed a little song about Rory kissing Jess, which Rory could hear even after she put her pillow over her head to drown it out. Eventually she must have tired herself out, as the house once again got quiet and Rory was finally allowed to drift off to sleep.