Disclaimer: We don't own anything affiliated with Gilmore Girls, the WB or anything even remotely related to it.
Summary: Just a cute, general story focusing on Rory and Lorelai's life in Stars Hollow before the show started. We both felt there was not enough stories of that sort so we decided to write one.
A/N: Here's another chapter. We'll try to keep this updated as much as possible but we'll both be busy this summer. We'll try the best we can. Hope you like this chapter.
Chapter 5:
"Bye, Rory!" Lorelai said, as she dropped off Rory at the Kim's house so that Rory could walk to school with Lane. Actually, it wasn't at the Kim's house, she noted begrudgingly, it was a "safe distance" away from it, due to the last incident with Mrs. Kim, who reminded Lorelai of a prison guard. She sighed, and scuffed back across town, and glanced into the window of Luke's. Rory was so full of it, when it came to men. She was eight, after all, and that guy was nothing more than a man who came bearing coffee.
But coffee was coffee, and as any java junkie knows, its callings cannot be denied. Lorelai opened the door of the diner, it dinged, and she sat herself at the counter.
The guy sitting next to Lorelai was talking to Luke about giving him a nickname. "How about… Duke?" the guy asked, laughing. Luke glared. Lorelai, who was trying to fixate herself by cutting up her pancakes into a million different pieces, sniggered. She loved this. For some reason, Luke's annoyed expression was just what she needed, her own little toy. "Hey, Duke, can you fill up my coffee again?" she asked. The guy next to her grinned. She sort of felt bad for this flannel-clad diner owner, but the again, she was having too much fun to stop.
"Duke, thanks for everything. The coffee kicked ass." She chuckled and left, happy with her teasing. The guy seemed like someone she would have gone to high school with and made fun of, of course. She was all snark and no love, except to Rory.
Lorelai made her way back to the Inn, and found Sookie in the kitchen.
"Well, well, missy, where were you?" Sookie asked, noting Lorelai's grin.
"At that diner, Luke's," said Lorelai. "I had been in there a few days ago to thank Luke for fixing Rory's cut a few days back. But then, this guy was there, and he was all, 'we should call you Duke!' and I sort of stole it, and now I started calling him Duke, it's fabulous—"
Sookie cut Lorelai off. "Luke Danes? He helped Rory? Aw, that's cute," she sighed. "I wish there were more men like Luke."
Lorelai gasped. She threw up a little in her mouth. "You… what? No, no, no, Sookie, that's weird. That's weirder than weird. That's my mother grinding with Louis XIV weird!"
Sookie just smiled, happy with her own thoughts. It's true he couldn't cook like she did. But he did cook, after all. And it's true he rarely talked. But she knew he was a good guy, deep down inside. After a few minutes, she looked at Lorelai again. "Duke?"
Lorelai nodded, grinning.
Sookie continued, "I never really liked him though, just something to look at when I had to get away from the inn, y'know? We'd be really competitive with our cooking if we ever got together. Well, anyway, I think he's been pretty involved lately…"
Lorelai checked her watch. "Ah, Sook, we can finish this little chat about Duke later. I've got a bunch of things to do back at the front desk, we're having a big group of antiquers in at two, and then go get Rory from school, then do the laundry. Bye, hon."
Sookie waved her off. She could hardly believe Lorelai was the same age as she was. Sookie had done what she'd intended to do: go to the Culinary Institute of America, help as the chef for a while at a great place, and eventually become the head chef. She thought about guys on the market and getting food for the day's recipe from the market. Her best friend was busy worrying about parent-teacher meetings, school-clothes and raising a kid.
Rory meanwhile was in school, sitting next to her new best-friend Lane. Ever since they met a couple of days ago they were almost inseparable. The Mrs. Kim blow-up was almost forgotten and Rory had, thankfully, not seen that woman since. Lane and she walked to school together but always met a little ways of where Mrs. Kim had no way of seeing them. As the bell rang signaling the end of the school day, Rory was already finished with the small math assignment they were to do. While everybody else would have to do it at home, it gave her valuable time to study the multiplication table again. She truly loved school.
Rory waited for Lane and then the two friends made their way, chatting happily and freely. They heard the harsh yell of, "Lane!" It was Mrs. Kim. Oh no. Lane quickly turned around towards the voice. Mrs. Kim asked sharply, "Were you walking with that...that girl?" With a glare towards Rory who stood to the side. Lane with an apologetic look towards Rory said, "No, Mama. She was just there." At that, Mrs. Kim grabbed Lane's hand and together they walked to the store.
Rory stared after them feeling a bit neglected and even hurt. She knew Lane's mother is strict and that Lane said what she had to say but it still hurt to hear her being treated as if she was below human, to Mrs. Kim she probably was.
That's how Lorelai found her a few seconds later, staring at the Antique store. Lorelai quickly figured out was happened; not the details but she had a good idea. Instead of pressing her daughter, she kindly asked her if she was hungry. With a promise of Sookie's wonderful cookies as a dessert, Rory cheered up but Mrs. Kim and Lane still nagged at the back of her mind.
They two went to bed not much later, both had an exhausting day. The next morning Lorelai woke up to a freezing shed, it was still dark out but why was it so cold? She shivered terribly and immediately wondered what caused it to be this cold. The cause was soon found, a window was broken. How it happened she had no idea, but it was an old shed, these things can happen. Of course it worried her, as she put on a thick sweater over her pajamas. She looked towards her small sleeping daughter and piled another blanket on her.
She didn't want Rory to wake up now, but she was worried what this cold could do to her. Not knowing what to do Lorelai walked outside, where it was somehow a bit warmer than inside. She needed to find something or someone preferrably who could help her, now; at about 5 in the morning.
