Pairing: Established relationships for L/L and P/J; R/T…eventually
Rating: R
Spoilers: May reference anything from seasons 1 & 2
Summary: Seven years after graduating Chilton, Rory and Paris are business partners. What happens when they strike up a joint venture with Tristan DuGrey?
Disclaimer: The characters depicted here were created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, and are the property of Hofflund-Polone and Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions. They are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made from their use.
And this chapter's title quote is from Mission: Impossible II, a thoroughly implausible but delightfully entertaining action-filled romp..
Unholy Alliance
By Grace
Part Twenty-four: …this isn't mission difficult, it's mission impossible. "Difficult" should be a walk in the park for you.
"What are you doing in California with Tristan?" Lorelai yelped.
"He invited me," Lane replied. "It seemed like a better option than hanging out with Mama and Pap Kim."
"Hmm. I guess that's true," Lorelai conceded. "I take it you're up to speed on the Rory-Ryan-proposal fiasco, then?"
"Even if I wasn't before, I heard you squawking on the phone with Tristan earlier."
"A Gilmore never squawks."
"Whatever, Lorelai."
"You're losing sight of the bigger picture, Lane. Your impromptu vacation with Tristan might actually work to our advantage."
"That sounds ominous."
"Why does everyone doubt one?" whined Lorelai.
"Because you're mentally unstable?"
"Hmph. My mental health notwithstanding, you can't possibly think that Rory marrying Ryan is an ideal situation."
"No, I don't. Rest assured, I'm trying my best to convince Tristan that we need to be proactive about this."
"Any luck so far?"
"Apparently, certain parties—Rory not being one of them—think that Tristan and I are a couple. I was thinking that we might be able to convince your daughter of the same thing."
"Ooh, classic! The jealousy card is always a good route to take."
"Has anyone considered just talking to Rory?" Paris unexpectedly piped up.
Lorelai covered the mouthpiece with her hand. "Such a poor, misguided, Hartford high-society lady you are. Straightforward honesty is always a last resort in Stars Hollow."
"And no one questions that policy?"
"Well, Luke does sometimes, but we chalk it up to his being a grump."
"Lovely. I think I'm going to go to the grump's diner and visit my husband while you continue your juvenile plotting."
"Fine, go!" Lorelai turned her attention back to the phone. "You know what annoys me? When boring, rational people are right."
Lane laughed. "It must be something in the Hartford water. Tristan thinks that convincing Rory to fall for him via subterfuge is a bad idea, too." She paused. "Actually, when I put it that way, I'm not so keen on the plan, either."
Lorelai groaned. "Don't bail on me, too!"
"Look, Lorelai, I gotta go. I need to think this over for a while."
She hung up abruptly, and Lorelai was left staring at the phone. "How rude," she mumbled.
* * *
Paris waddled into the diner, happily inhaling the comforting scents of bacon frying and coffee brewing. Luke was stationed behind the counter, his customary flannel shirt and backward baseball cap firmly in place. Also as per usual, he was arguing with Taylor.
"For the last time, no! I don't care what stupid proclamation the town council has passed—I'm not putting a light-up plastic Santa in my window!"
"That's just fine, Luke. You'll once again be the lone black hole in our town's galaxy of Christmas spirit."
"Spare me the metaphors, Taylor. The only reason anyone abides by these stupid proclamations of yours is because you threaten them! Well, I'm not having it. Now get out!"
"I'm warning you, Luke," Taylor declared, wagging a finger. "This year, the town council isn't just going to sit idly by while you flout our regulations."
"Well, you just tell the town council that from now on they can eat at Al's Pancake World. Luke's diner is officially exercising its right to refuse service."
"You haven't heard the last of this, Luke Danes!" Taylor announced as he exited the diner.
"That's because you never shut up!" Luke shouted after him. Finished with his tirade, he finally noticed the presence of his nephew's wife. "Oh, hey, Paris. Can I get you something?"
She nodded and took a seat at the counter. "Yes, may I have some scrambled eggs, toast, and a mug of hot tea?"
"Coming right up. Want me to go get Jess?"
"No, he'll wander out eventually. I'll just people-watch for a little while."
"Suit yourself." He wandered off to tend to his other customers.
Paris glanced around the diner, picking out the faces she recognized. Kirk was eating alone at a small table by the window, while Babette and Miss Patty were gossiping over cups of coffee. Only a scant five minutes had passed when she heard the clink of dishes behind her, and Paris swiveled in her stool to find Jess smiling at her from across the counter.
"Morning, sleepyhead," he said, leaning over to brush a kiss across her forehead. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"I just needed to find some peace and quiet."
He quirked a half smile at her. "So you came here just in time to see Uncle Luke fight with Taylor?"
Paris chuckled. "It was actually a nice change of pace from listening to Lorelai plot how to keep Rory from marrying Ryan."
"I didn't realize that was an immediate concern."
"It wasn't, until Ryan proposed this morning."
Jess' eyebrows shot up. "That was quick. Did Rory accept?"
"Not yet. She's still thinking it over."
"Hmm. That doesn't exactly scream 'undying love,' does it?"
"That it doesn't. Still, I don't agree that the best way to handle this is by scheming to somehow trick Rory into falling for Tristan."
Before Jess had a chance to respond, Lorelai burst into the diner. "Luke!" she bellowed. "Coffee!"
Several seconds later, the man in question appeared from the kitchen. "Lovely to see you too, dear," he said dryly.
She scowled. "This is not the morning to mess with me buster. You might find yourself sharing a bed with Billy tonight."
Luke turned to Paris and Jess. "Can't you just feel the love?"
"I think she might be serious, Uncle Luke. Ryan proposed to Rory this morning."
Luke's face darkened like a thundercloud. "The little punk did what? How long have they been dating? Five minutes? Did he ask anyone for her hand in marriage? What do we know about this kid, anyway?"
Unexpectedly, Lorelai grinned. "Easy there, Papa Bear. If it makes you feel any better, she hasn't said yes…yet."
"Well, good!" he blustered. "Now call her up, talk some sense into her—I'll even let you use a cell phone in here."
Paris groaned loudly. "Has everyone taken leave of their senses? Rory is an adult. She gets to make her own decisions, regardless of whether or not we agree with them. At any rate, if Rory is anything like her mother," she shot a pointed glance at Lorelai, "the more we plot and scheme and try to trick her into doing what we want, the less likely she is to do it."
Lorelai looked over at Jess. "Doesn't her unerring rationale ever make you want to scream?"
"Only at appropriate times," he joked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Jess!" Paris cried, flushing bright red.
"Yeah, kinda like that," he smirked.
"As entertaining as humiliating Paris is," Luke began, "we have a more pressing issue at hand."
"I agree," piped up Lorelai. "Even if we do decide that a Mission: Impossible approach isn't best, don't you think we should at least let Rory know how we feel about this? Or more importantly, how Tristan feels about her?"
"I really don't think it's our place to tell her about Tristan," Paris protested. "If he wants her to know, he needs to be the one to tell her."
"I agree," Luke said, while Jess nodded.
Paris looked at Lorelai, who pouted, but then grudgingly nodded her head.
"Then we're agreed," Paris continued. "Now, if we do talk to Rory, what do we want to say? Other than thinking she belongs with Tristan, what reasons do we have for not wanting her to marry Ryan?"
The four of them sat in silence, pondering her question.
* * *
Hand in hand, Rory and Ryan strolled through the Art Institute of Chicago. Rory was completely enchanted by the experience. Upon seeing the majestic stone lions outside for the first time, she had insisted that the two of them have their picture taken beside one of them.
Once inside, they had immediately gone upstairs to Gustave Caillebotte's Paris Street Rainy Day, and then strolled through the museum's rather extensive Monet collection, at Ryan's insistence. Rory had gasped in delight upon seeing Seurat's masterpiece, and stared with awed appreciation at Picasso's The Old Guitarist. Now, as they meandered through the galleries of medieval religious art, Rory paused and asked, "Ryan, why do you want to marry me?"
He stared at her in surprise. "Because I love you, Lorelai. I thought that was obvious."
"I know you love me, and I love you too. But why do you want to marry me?"
"Because when I picture my future, I can picture you in it. I know we can be happy together."
She smiled, a bit sadly. "I can picture my future with you, too." But I can also picture my future without you, she thought to herself.
"Are you okay, Lorelai?"
"I'm fine, Ryan. You…you're not mad that I couldn't give you an answer right away, are you?"
"Of course not. But…do you have an answer for me now?"
She shook her head. "I'm sorry. When I said I needed some time to think, I meant more than a few hours."
Ryan chuckled. "Fair enough. Since we're asking tough questions, though, I have one for you. Why do you need time to think about it?"
"I just do. I didn't exactly grow up in the traditional nuclear family. My mom did pretty well for herself for a long time without being married. She waited years to get married—waited until she was positive she was with the right guy. I need to feel as sure as she did about Luke."
His expression was slightly hurt. "And you don't feel sure about me?"
"Not yet. I'm sorry, Ryan. That's not to say I never will feel sure about you. I just need time. We haven't been together all that long. Do you understand?"
"I don't have much choice, do I?"
"I'm sorry, Ryan."
"You don't need to be sorry, Lorelai. You just need to say yes."
"I'm working on that."
* * *
Lane's eyes widened at Tristan pulled the car up to a magnificent resort. "This is beautiful," she breathed.
"Wait until you see the inside."
"If I don't remember to say it again this weekend, thank you so much for bringing me here."
He grinned widely at her. "Believe me, I'm happy to have you here. Now, are you ready to meet my oh-so-charming family?"
"Ready as I'll ever be. They're going to hate me, aren't they?"
"Doubtful. It's me they're not so fond of."
"So who will I be meeting?"
"My parents, of course—Philippe and Sandra DuGrey. Then there's my younger sister, Natalie. She's the most normal one of the bunch, and we get along pretty well. My aunt and uncle will be there as well—my dad's sister Felicity and her husband Jacob. They have four kids. Susanne and Cassidy are twins, two years older than we are. Andrew is our age, and Simon just turned eighteen, which is an utterly terrifying concept."
"There's not going to be a quiz later, is there?" Lane asked worriedly.
"No, that's tomorrow," he teased.
"You're so encouraging," she sighed.
"Come on—we should get checked in."
"Lead the way."
Fifteen minutes later, Lane stood at the threshold of their bungalow, mouth agape. "This is unbelievable!" she squealed. "If this is the lifestyle I could become accustomed to, maybe you and I should start dating."
"I'm glad you like it. Honestly, though, all the fancy accoutrements can't begin to compare to having a friend here with me."
Impulsively, she hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You're too sweet! Rory would be crazy to choose RJ over you."
Instantly, his expression sobered. "Doesn't crazy kind of run in her family?" he joked.
"Well, yeah…"
"I'm doomed, aren't I?"
"Not yet. Now come on, we're going to enjoy this vacation if it kills us. Why don't you give your family a call?"
"I thought you wanted to enjoy this vacation?"
"Tristan…"
"Lane…" he sighed. "Fine." Picking up the phone, he dialed the front desk. "Yes, could you please connect me with Mr. and Mrs. Philippe DuGrey's room? Thank you."
After a moment, Lane heard him say, "Natalie? It's your big brother."
"Yes, I'm finally here."
"I couldn't help it, Nat! Blame the weather, if you must. How's it been going so far?"
He chuckled slightly. "That good, huh?"
"What bungalow are you guys in?"
"Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes."
Hanging up the phone, Tristan turned his attention back to Lane. "Apparently, the entire crew is gathered at my parents' bungalow." He offered her an arm. "Shall we?"
"By all means."
It took them almost ten minutes to navigate the sprawling grounds en route to where Tristan's family was staying. As they were walking, a thought suddenly occurred to Lane. "Does your family know I'm here with you?" she asked.
He ducked his head sheepishly. "Not exactly."
"And the reason for that would be what, exactly?"
"Well, for one thing, I try not to communicate with my family unless it's absolutely necessary, and the decision to bring you along was pretty spur-of-the-moment. Besides, it's much more entertaining to surprise them with things like this."
She groaned and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm telling you, they're going to hate me."
Tristan patted her on the hand. "And I'm telling you they're not. Now come on, we're here."
Lane waited nervously as Tristan knocked on the door. When it finally swung open, she found herself face-to-face with the most beautiful man she had ever seen.
To be continued…