Disclaimer: I indented no ill will towards the Gilmore Girls, I do not own them.

Chapter 4: I love Paris in the Summer

"Grrr." Lorelai said hanging up the phone.

"Problem?" Rory said.

"There is no water pressure in half of the rooms."

"Ahh."

"This is hard, this wasn't supposed to be hard, we were supposed to water the ground and an Inn was supposed to appear."

"I don't think that is how it works mom."

"I know, I know it isn't."

"So uh, are you going to still planning on going to Liz's wedding tonight?"

"Yeah, I mean I told Luke I would go with him."

"You have a date with Luke." Rory said mocking her mother.

"I do not. He asked me to go as friends, it is a theme wedding he knew I would fit in, that is all."

"He likes you." Rory said.

"Can it fatty." Lorelai shot back. Lorelai still wasn't thrilled with the idea of being a grandma, but she couldn't make every day miserable for Rory, so she had begun to keep her true feelings to herself, Rory had enough to deal with, without worrying about her feelings.

"Hey!"

"You started it."

Just then Paris barged through their front door.

"What is wrong with this town?" Paris exclaimed.

"Uh, hi Paris, how are you today?" Lorelai said.

"What is wrong with this town isn't their a single place to rent that isn't a hole in the wall or a coliseum. Why are there no nice smallish apartments for lease?"

"Because the forces of the earth are all against you?" Lorelai said.

"Does she have an off switch?"

"Not that I have found, what is wrong now? I take it you took the internship?" Rory said.

"I had to Rory it is the only one I heard from and as much as I hate the thought of working for Aunt Mae here in the sticks it is better than nothing, I can't do nothing I have never not done anything." Paris said.

"Ok Paris, breath?"

Paris inhaled deeply.

"What is it that you need?" Lorelai asked.

"A place to stay this summer." Paris said annoyed.

"In Stars Hollow?"

"I would rather not fight tourist traffic all summer." Paris barked.

"Well Paris you can crash here if you want." Lorelai said.

"Really?"

Rory shot her mother a look.

"Sure, I mean, uh, we really don't have an extra room unless you count the kitchen because we don't really use it, but, uh you could couch it, or you I think we might have an old mattress from the dorms in the garage…you can sleep on that in Rorys room right Rory?"

"Right." Rory said with a smile as Paris turned back to her.

"Really?"

"Sure why not." Rory said faking her happiness.

"Great, I will go get my things and be back here later this evening."

"Sure, uh there is a key in the frog out front if for some reason we aren't here, help yourself to what is in the fridge and uh, yeah it is good to have you."

"Thanks!" Paris said giving Lorelai an awkward hug.

"Ah, Paris, I always knew you had it in you." Lorelai said with a smile. Rorys tightly wound friend had become like a part of the family over the years, granted more like a part of the family you don't talk about, but Lorelai was glad she was getting more comfortable with them too.

"Huh?"

"Never mind, see you tonight hon."

No sooner had Paris left than Rory cornered her mother.

"What was that?"

"What honey, she needed a place to stay there is enough room in your room for her."

"I know that but, now I have to live with Paris all summer."

"You lived with her all year, and you plan on living with her next year, with your little bundle of joy."

"Exactly."

"Yes Rory exactly. She gave up her spot in student housing to share a two bedroom apartment with you and your baby, child, tiny person who will cry a lot. That was a big thing she did for you, you can at least let her crash on a mattress on your floor for a couple of months. Besides it will be good for you and her she will bond with the baby, you know, feel like a part of it and it will make it easier when the baby comes if she feels like, she was a part of it getting here." Lorelai said.

Her mother had a point as much as she hated to admit it.

"So Paris is staying with us this summer." Rory said.

"Try saying it with a smile next time." Lorelai said walking out of the room.

Later that Day….

Lorelai swept down the stairs in a tizzy, Rory looked up from her book to see her mother riffling through the drawers on the desk in the hall.

"What are you looking for?" Rory asked.

"A clue evidently." Lorelai said.

"What?"

"This isn't a date right?"

"If you say it isn't a date it isn't a date." Rory said.

"Luke and I are friends, just friends."

"Keep telling yourself that maybe one day you will believe it."

"Rory!"

"I am sorry mom, he likes you and you like him, I don't know why you two don't just get it over with."

"Me, and Luke together would change the make up of the time space continuum, there would be panic in the streets, chaos would result, the oceans would take over land, the sky would fall, the world as we know it would be permanently be altered in ways we can't even imagine."

"And why does that have to be a bad thing?" Rory asked her mother.

Lorelai looked up surprised by her daughters comment.

"You know, you might want to lay extra low today."

"I know, I don't want to see him either."

"He should be gone tomorrow I would guess."

"You think he knows I am here?"

"Honey, this is Stars Hollow, he will find out soon enough."

"You think he knows, I am…"

"Honey this is Stars Hollow, he will find out soon enough."

"All right…hon, I am off, I won't be late, why don't you and I plan on going shopping tomorrow?"

"Uh…random much?"

"I just think it might be time to get you some maternity clothes, you are busting at the seems there and I have seen you in those sweats for the past three days, I think it is time to leave the house again, you can't avoid the world forever." Lorelai said, she knew it was going to be hard for Rory to face the towns' people. So far they had just let the news leak and Lorelai wasn't talking to anyone about details. She told anyone who asked to ask Rory, it was her deal. The only person she answered a specific question for was Luke, to think that he thought that Jess was the father…he was ready to find Jess and kill him. He seemed hurt by the news as well, like he let her down as much as Lorelai felt like she had. It was especially hard on Rory that everyone knew that the father was a virtual stranger, she had been hiding out for weeks.

"I will think about it."

"Think hard, because it is happening." Lorelai said leaning over and kissing her daughters forehead and patting her stomach.

"Night Hon."

"Night mom."

Rory watched her mom walk out of the house, she looked phenomenal better than she would look for an 'actual date'. Rory knew that tonight was going to change everything, she could feel it in her bones.

Lorelai sauntered up to Luke and gave him a sly grin.

"Greetings, my lord. Your lady hath arrived to be escorted forthwith." Lorelai said fighting to keep a straight face.

"That's pretty good. I didn't know you spoke Renaissance." Luke replied.

"Oh, yeah. I'm quite fluent in Renaissance. You look nice. I'm lovin' the tie."

"Thanks. You look beautiful." Luke said.

Luke just called her beautiful, she felt like she might faint. What was going on, she thought, so he called me beautiful, I do look pretty damn good. But it meant more to her than that, there was more to her reaction than just a friendly compliment, could she be? Could they? She shook the thought from her head and replied.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, my friend. Shall we?"

"Let's go. " Luke said.

Paris arrived back at the Gilmore house later that evening. Rory had cleared a space for her in her closet and managed to free up a couple of drawers by putting all the clothes that she wouldn't be able to wear for another 6 months in a box and storing.

"There is quite a shindig going on in the town square, why aren't you there?" Paris asked.

"It is too early, I didn't want to take any attention away from Liz."

"Who is Liz?"

"The bride, and Jesses mom coincidently."

"Jess as in your Jess?" Paris asked.

"Yeah."

"So is he here?"

"He is in town yes." Rory said.

"Does he know?"

"I would imagine someone has told him."

"Wow."

"I am just laying low tonight." Rory said.

"Fair enough. You hungry?"

"Starving."

"Want me to go get us something?"

"That would be great."

"What do you want Mama?"

Rory smiled slightly.

After Paris left, Rory decided her mom was right she was looking a mess. She decided to go take a shower and clean up before Paris returned with their food. She had just finished getting dressed into the last pair of clean sweat pants that would accommodate her growing belly and t-shirt that clung to her bump tightly.

She studied her new figure in the mirror, it was a curious thing carrying a child. There were times she felt like the changes were going to make her crazy before the baby even arrived.

"Hey!" Paris called as she re-entered the house.

"Hey, I am in here." Rory called.

"And it is only going to get bigger." Paris said looking at her friend.

"I know, thank God there isn't a man around that has to look at me." Rory said.

"Yeah, good thing there isn't a dad." Paris said mocking her mocking of the situation.

"Yeah, right. God, this sucks, I wish that I knew more about Sean other than his name is Sean, anything else, that he hates broccoli anything!"

"No one likes broccoli, I am sure you can go with that."

"Paris I mean it, this kid isn't going to have a father."

"Not a father as in, this is the man that helped me make you father, but someday I am sure that it will have someone."

"Who is going to want me…I will have a kid, I am like manthrax."

"You are crazy, eat your burger." Paris said.

"Get that away from me, I don't want it." Rory cried.

"Seriously Rory, what is up."

"Lucy, I'm home from the club!" Lorelai called as she walked into the living room.

"We're in here and she is having a fit." Paris called.

"I am not having a fit!"

"She is having a fit." Paris said.

"Okay, hon, what happened." Lorelai asked.

"I don't know what the hell is wrong with her, she went from normal to nutty in 60 seconds." Paris said.

"What?" Lorelai said, her high from earlier in the evening was leaving her quickly.

"No man is going to want a girl with a baby." Rory said.

"Oh." Lorelai said changing gears quickly.

"I mean look, you had me nineteen years ago and you are still single."

"Hey! That has nothing to do with you, it has to do with me. You will understand, and hey there have been guys, you don't even know about all of them, I am no loser my friend." Lorelai said.

"My baby doesn't have a father." Rory said.

"Well hon, we have known this for a while." Lorelai asked sitting.

"I hate that I don't know him." Rory said. "And everyone knows and they all look at me like I am some kind of floozy."

"No one looks at you like you are a floozy, they are just a little intrigued, shocked by it all."

"I don't want them to think of me like that."

"I know hon." Lorelai said rubbing her back.

"I mean, I know that you and I were always fine without dad, but I always thought when I had a kid, it would have a dad that was there for it, and I found the one way for that to be impossible." Rory said.

"This kid will be all right, it is going to have you and me, and Paris."

"I am no man." Paris said looking up from her dinner.

"Yeah but, there won't be a guy around it will have no male influences." Rory said trying to ignore Paris.

"Uh Rory, did you really get your male influences from Chris?"

"Well, he at least called."

"I am sorry honey, but Chris did not shape you."

"Ok, but I had Luke…he was always there." Rorys comment shocked Lorelai a little. She knew that Luke was always there for Rory, she just never heard her talk about him like he was so much a part of her life, it put her evening into a whole new realm.

"And honey he still is, he will be around for you now just like he has always been, in fact…I think he asked me out."

"How do you think he asked you out?" Rory asked through her tears.

"He asked me if I wanted to go to a movie next week."

"Ok, so he asked you out."

"Nah…you think?"

"Yes."

"Luke asked me out?"

"And what did you say?"

"I think I said yes."

"Ahh…that is so cute."

"I am going on a date with Luke."

"It appears that way." Rory said.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah I am fine. I seem to cry at everything these days."

"Ahhh hormones." Lorelai said.

"Yeah it's just great." Rory said.

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You want more? So do I, you review and I will post, how does that sound?

PS I am starting to take votes on if Rorys baby should be a boy or a girl, lemme know what you think.