Disclaimer: Still not mine. Some of it is, but mostly not.
AN: Wow, you guys with the reviews—it still makes me smile to see all the things you have to say. I'm especially happy about those of you who say you thought I'd taken on too much, but are rethinking it now. I am glad it's so clear and the story lines are making sense. It is what I'd hoped for, after all. Enough of my rambling, on with the story.
They sat around the table, remains of food now forgotten as conversation had long since taken over. Ice-skating had gone well enough. At least until Will fell. He'd been so timid, so careful. He stayed against the wall, until Anna grabbed his hand in attempts to get him to join the group out in the middle of the rink. He let her lead him, attempting in vain to just stay on his feet. It wasn't in the cards, however, and with Anna trying to steady his fall—Will's larger frame brought her down with him. Luckily, he fell backwards, pulling Anna on top of him, leaving her relatively dry and unscathed.
And, of course, no one had let it go during dinner.
"Why didn't you tell us you couldn't skate?" Anna asked.
Will groaned, "I'm just a little rusty."
Dave snorted. Will glared at him.
"When was the last time you went?" Mallory asked.
Will shrugged. "I think I was about five. Mom dragged Dad, Rory, and me to a rink in Hartford. Rory tried to show me how to skate, but we didn't really stay long. Mom kept falling, and she finally twisted her ankle. Dad took her to the emergency room, and Rory and I spent most of the night in the cafeteria, drinking hot chocolate."
"That explains so much," Anna laughed, "I should have known this had something to do with Lorelai. Did you guys ever go again?"
"Mom wasn't a big fan after that, no," Will smiled.
"So, you're really close to your family?" Mallory asked.
"Oh, yeah. We're all sort of freakishly linked," Will nodded in agreement.
"You'll really have to meet Lorelai and Rory to believe it," Anna agreed. "Lorelai is Mom's best friend, and Rory is Will's sister," she explained to Mallory, who looked slightly confused.
"I see," she looked to Dave.
He sighed. "You really want to meet them?"
"I really do. You've met my folks," she reminded him.
"They're normal," he retorted.
"Hey!" Anna swatted him playfully.
"You're going to say our family is normal?"
"Well, no, but it's not like they're psychotic serial killers or anything. Dad might scare her with some fruit, and she might not be able to walk after Mom feeds her, but they're really relatively safe."
Will laughed, and Mallory looked highly amused at the exchange.
"Scary fruit?"
"Oh, yeah. But it's always tasty," Will assured her.
&&&&
The next morning, Jess was in his room, trying to get back to sleep. It'd been a long night. He'd spent some time with both kids, talking to Ambrose about what was going on, then reading to Jules until she fell asleep. He hadn't done that in years. By the time he got to his room, it was past one, and it was just now seven in the morning. He rolled over, pulling a pillow over his head when he heard knocking at his door. He thought for a moment if he should answer it, but deciding it might be one of the kids, or as unlikely as it might be, Erin, he got up and shuffled to the door.
Standing at his door with a large take-out container of coffee and a paper bag was Luke. Jess scratched his head and stepped back to allow his uncle entry. Neither spoke, they just sat down at the small table in the corner of the room.
"Uh, Lorelai wanted me to make sure you ate, so I brought your favorite Danish," he explained.
"Thanks, Luke."
He nodded. "So, you alone?"
"Yeah. I rented a car to drive back here."
"Where's Erin?"
"Boston."
"Boston?"
"With her folks. I took the train down to New York, and she'd been there—she left me a note."
"A note?" Luke's anger had been just under the surface, but now it threatened to boil over.
Jess nodded, taking a grateful drink of the coffee. "That's good," he commented.
"Jess, what did the note say?"
"That she needed some space to think, that she'd be with her parents for a while."
"And she can't tell you that in person?"
"We had a fight Friday night, and she didn't come home with us. I left the next morning, to find her and give them some time alone. They should be back today sometime."
Luke just shook his head. This isn't how things go. Families don't just leave notes and disappear. When people had lost basic consideration for one another was beyond him. He began pacing, thinking of what he could do to make this easier on Jess and the kids.
"Luke, sit," Jess pleaded.
"Do you need anything? Do you want to stick around here for a while?"
"Can't. The kids have finals in a couple of weeks," he paused, "Thanks, though."
"I just, can't believe she'd do this. Did she say why?"
Jess sighed. She'd been very clear in her note, he just wondered if he could say it out loud. Actually, he wondered when it was going to hit him. He was surprised, to say the least, but hadn't really reacted to the news. He just put down the note and gone to rent a car to get back up to Stars Hollow.
"There is someone else," he said slowly.
"Someone else?"
"This guy she worked with, he transferred out to California, and got them to offer her a job out there as well. She said nothing happened between them, they were just good friends and he begged her to come with them. That was when she started fighting with me all the time, and she was angry that I wouldn't consider moving—then on the trip she accused me of being in love with Rory—which Tristan loved, let me tell you."
"She what?"
"You heard me right," Jess looked full on at his uncle.
"So, she wants to be with this guy?"
Jess shrugged. "She said she needed to get away from her life and think about things. She went to Boston, for as long as that takes."
"And you're just supposed to sit around and wait it out?"
"I don't know."
"Geez."
Jess just nodded, and picked at his Danish.
"So, you need to leave today?"
He nodded again.
"What about the kids?"
"I'm not going to tell them about the other guy, unless they specifically ask. They know she's at her folks' house. That's enough for them for now."
Luke nodded, and sat back. He had no words for his nephew, and he had no idea how he must be feeling. What he was being put through was unfair, that he knew, but he had no way of making it better. Not for him or for the kids. All he could do was be there for them.
&&&&
"We're home!" Rory called out as she entered her mother's house. Tristan came in just behind her, ready to collect the kids and say goodbyes.
"Hey!" Lorelai called, coming in out of the kitchen. "How was the trip?"
"Oh, Mom, it was great!"
"What about Jess and Erin?" she whispered.
"Not good, later," she whispered back, motioning to Jake and Ella, who were watching television on the couch.
"Ambrose will just tell me later," Jake informed them, turning to look at his parents.
Rory gave him a look, and turned back to her mother.
"So, where's Will? I want to say goodbye."
"I'll call him. Luke's at the Dragonfly, so maybe we can all convene there for goodbyes."
"Alright. Hey, you two, get your stuff," she instructed, causing Jake to get up and head down to the extra bedroom.
Noticing her daughter not moving, she went and sat down next to her, seeing that she was painting her nails.
"Peach?"
Ella nodded, blowing on one hand to dry them faster.
"That's different."
"Felt like a change."
"I like it."
"Thanks," she smiled at her mom.
"So, tell me about the boy."
"Fink!" she cried to her grandmother, who was on the phone with Will.
"So, tell me about the boy," Rory tried again, putting her arm around her daughter.
"What boy?" Tristan asked, concerned now and moved to sit in front of them on the coffee table.
"Daddy," she groaned.
"Billy Melville," Rory explained.
"I knew it! I told you!" he said to Rory.
"Tristan get a hold of yourself, seriously," she giggled.
"Did that punk try something?" he asked Ella, to which she rolled her eyes.
"It's Billy, honey, not some ruffian," Rory also rolled hers, "They just kissed. At least, last I talked to Mom. You did just kiss, right?" she asked, trying not to sound freaked out.
"Geez. Yes, Mother, we just kissed."
"How come he gets 'Daddy' and I get 'Mother'? That hardly seems fair," Rory put out her bottom lip a little for effect.
"You know, you two are always all over each other, why are you so concerned about me?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, we're married, and she made me work to even kiss her, I'll have you know."
"Phhfff," Rory exclaimed. "I would hardly call that work," she reminded him.
"Military school was work," he smiled.
"Piano bench, my dear," she led him back.
"Oh. Right. Well, that wasn't fun, either."
"Thanks."
He rolled his eyes this time, before looking at his daughter. "So, what is the deal here? Are his intentions honorable?"
"You guys are so dramatic. We kissed, we didn't get engaged," she said, moving to stand up.
"Where are you going?"
"To get my stuff, like you asked."
Rory and Tristan shared a look as she walked off to get her stuff. He leaned closer, conspiratorially.
"You knew about this and didn't tell me?"
"Well, you sort of distracted me. You had me going with the whole 'leave the world and your worries behind' thing!"
"Man. Anything else you'd like to tell me? Do we have any other children? Is Jake working for the government?"
"Tristan, please. It's just a kiss. She's kissed boys before."
"I know," he said bitterly.
"You're so cute. Do you not remember what you were like at her age?" she raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for his response.
"That's just how boys are!"
"Jake isn't like that!"
"Jake's only fifteen. Plus he takes after you, and you were a pr--," he started, but stopped, thinking better of his choice of words. He saw the look on her face, and suddenly the possibility of sleeping on the couch tonight was very high.
"I mean, you were, uh, you know, selective," he tried.
"Uh-huh."
"Faithful to the small town boys you dated."
"Sure."
"How much trouble am I in? I didn't actually say it," he cringed.
"Don't worry, you can make it up to me," she said, standing up now that the kids were ready to get into the car. Lorelai grabbed her keys as well, ready to meet them over there to say goodbye to everyone. Tristan sighed, standing up and following everyone else out the front door.
&&&&
Will hadn't slept at all last night. They'd all gotten along so well, and he was truly happy for Dave. Mallory seemed like a good match for him. Bree had been avoided altogether, and they'd all had a good time. All the talk of their families being so intertwined as it was explained to Mallory, it made him think of Anna and how she still hadn't told anyone of her situation. She had to leave for school today, and he hated to think that she had to go back all alone with that still haunting her. When his mother called, he realized it was late morning, and he hadn't slept at all. Sighing, he got up to go meet his sister at the inn to say goodbye. He stumbled out into the hall, seeing Anna first thing in the kitchen.
"Morning," she said distractedly, going back to her paper.
"Morning."
"What are you up to?"
"Going over to the inn to say goodbye. Wanna come?"
"Nah, I have to get my stuff ready for school."
"Right. Listen, Ann, can I see you before you leave?"
Her heart could have stopped right there. He looked serious, and all she could think of was how Mallory assumed they were dating. All weekend, people had been planting the seeds of them being together in her mind, and now it was like a filter she saw the world through. She looked at him, and nodded.
"Uh, yeah. I'll come by on my way out of town."
"Great. I'll see you later, then," he said as he moved back to get ready to head to the inn.