Title: Back In Stars Hollow

Chapter 3: A New Start

Disclaimer: Don't own nothin'. Except, you know, a few things. But not really. I dunno. I had too much sleep last night. You guys are screwing with my sleeping routine!! Well, not really, but whatever.

A/N: "The Graduate" reference: "Are you trying to seduce me, Ms. Gilmore?" Changed from the "Mrs. Robinson" of the movie. Dustin Hoffman played the guy that Mrs. Robinson was trying to seduce. Or, who he thought she was trying to seduce. I haven't actually seen the movie (I know, I know: Bad Samantha!!) but I checked out all this stuff on IMDB.com last night and this is what I picked up. Anyway, Rory called Jess Dustin cause that was kind of what Dustin said in the movie.

Anyway.

The storm was written into the last story cause it rains a whole hell of a lot in southern Mississippi in July, and so yesterday this huge storm just whipped up out of nowhere, and then disappeared. I'm gonna try to pull this chapter out a little longer, and I've pretty much already gotten the ending figured out, and a few of the middle pieces, but I have no idea of what's going to happen.

Let's find out together!!!

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"I found some," Lorelai said, pulling three white candles from a drawer in the kitchen and setting them on the table.

"I don't know how you can find anything in this kitchen," Luke complained from the other side of the room, also searching through drawers.

"Shut up. It's like…organized chaos."

"Or just chaos."

"Don't be so rude. I could send you back into the rain."

"I'm starting to think that wouldn't be such a horrible thing."

"Of course it would. Have you seen my floor?"

Luke rolled his eyes, and continued searching.

"I can't find anything else over here. I'm taking the flashlight upstairs."  Lorelai grabbed the flashlight from its spot where it stood in the center of the table. Luke moved from his side of the kitchen and grabbed Lorelai's wrist.

"Why?"

"So I can look through the bathroom and my bedroom." Lorelai said matter-of-factly.

"Why do you have candles in your bedroom? That's a fire hazard."

"Luke…" Lorelai said pointedly.

"Oh," he released her wrist as he realized. "Oh. But, leave the flashlight, and you take a candle."

"But, Luke, I'm a girl."

"And I'm a guy. I get to keep the flashlight. You get to suffer."

"Why?" Lorelai whined.

"Because it's your fault I'm stuck here. If you hadn't made me stay here last night—" Luke was cut off by Lorelai.

"Gee, I'm sorry it was so horrible. Well, don't worry. You never have to do it again." Lorelai grabbed the three candles from the table and a box of matches from atop her pie safe. "I want you out of my house if you hate me so much." Lorelai started upstairs, trying to light the candles on her way.

Luke sighed, and wrestled internally. He didn't hate her…Jess' words from the day before rang in his head. "The Gilmore girls are good at making the men who love them make fools of themselves."  Jess had meant him, right? Lorelai was really good at making him make a fool of himself. And she seemed to always twist his arm just right…but, now that he thought about it, she hadn't really twisted his arm last night…he'd wanted to come. She'd come up with the idea, but he'd agreed. She hadn't forced him to do anything. He'd wanted to come. Luke grabbed the flashlight from the table where Lorelai had dropped it and started after her.

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"This is nice," Rory commented, as she and Jess curled together in the bed, the remains of their brunch on a tray on the floor.

"Very," Jess agreed, kissing her cheek softly.

"I just wished we could have reached Mom."

"Would have been nice," Jess nodded.

"We should see if Sookie's got a cell phone."

"Mmm, I think we should leave her alone, and let her and Jackson worry about their kids."

"Oh, God, I didn't even think about that. Their kids are in day care right now! During this huge storm! Poor Sookie."

"Yeah." Jess pulled Rory a little closer to him. "Just think, in less than four months, we'll have to worry about a little one of our own."

Rory grinned and rubbed Jess' arms, where they were wrapped around her stomach. "Yeah. I can't wait."

"Me, either."

Jess, feeling completely at rest with Rory in his arms, was starting to drift off when she suddenly sat up.

"Jess?"

"Yeah?" He sat up, too, and looked into her eyes.

"Did you just say what I think you said?"

"'Me either'?" he asked, confused.

"No, no, no, before that."

Jess thought back over what he'd said, and then recognition dawned in his eyes. "Oh."

"Yeah." Rory nodded. "Did—did you really mean that?"

Jess looked past Rory at the wall behind her, and then smiled—a real, genuine, smile—and looked into her eyes. "Can I?"

Rory ducked her head. When he placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head up to look at him, she had a grin on her face and tears in her eyes. "You better."

He grinned back. "I do."

She laughed and fell into his arms. "God! You're so great!"

"Thank you." He laughed also and fell back to the bed, pulling her with him. "I do mean it, you know," he started seriously, rolling Rory off of him and looking into her eyes. "A kid needs a father. I know that more than anyone. I'll be his dad."

"Even if it's a girl?"

Jess nodded solemnly. "Even if it's a girl."

Rory grinned again and kissed Jess. "Thank you."

"My pleasure." Jess leaned in and kissed Rory again.

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Luke crept slowly up the stairs, afraid to call out to Lorelai, in case she screamed at him and wouldn't let him near her. He kept the flashlight beam focused on the step in front of him, because he'd known Lorelai long enough to know that if you walked up her stairs without looking, you'd be at the bottom before long.

As he reached the top step, he noticed a soft flickering in her bedroom, and he clicked the flashlight off.

"Goddammit!" she screamed, and stomped her foot on the floor. Luke jumped back to the stairs, ready to flee back down, but apparently she wasn't yelling at him. He slid against the wall and peeked around her doorframe. She was holding one lit candle, standing in front of her dresser, and the other two candles were unlit and in candle holders. She had apparently been searching through her dresser, as clothes looked like they had been thrown onto the floor, but that could have already been there. She was scratching at something on her arm, and Luke figured that she'd spilt wax on herself.

"Lorelai? Are you okay?" he asked, walking around the corner into her room.

"Oh, my God," she said, holding her hand to her chest, "you freaked the hell out of me."

"Sorry about that." Luke dropped the flashlight on her bed and walked over to her. "Lemme see your arm."

"No," Lorelai protested, shielding her arm from Luke with her body. "I'm mad at you."

"Lorelai, don't be mad at me." Luke almost sighed, but caught himself. "Let me see your arm."

"No."

"Lorelai. I just want to make sure you're okay."

Lorelai, surprised by his soft tone, showed him her arm.

"Thank you," he said. He softly picked the dried wax off, and then examined the skin underneath. "It's a little red," he observed.

"Uh-huh."

"Does it hurt?"

Lorelai shook her head.

"Okay. Well, we should probably put a little aloe vera on it, just in case."

"I don't think we have any."

"Oh. Okay." Luke stared at the spot on her arm, and then, after a moment's thought, brought her arm to his lips and softly kissed it. Lorelai just stared. He lowered her arm and released it, keeping his head down so that Lorelai couldn't see the slight tinge of red in his cheeks.

"Wh—what'd you do that for?" she whispered softly.

Luke just shook his head and grabbed the flashlight from the bed. "Let's go downstairs."

"Luke." Lorelai walked forward two steps and grabbed his arm. He stumbled a bit, and ran into her. She grabbed both of his arms to steady him, and he grabbed her waist. Suddenly, without thinking, both leaned forward and they kissed.

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"Oh, the rain's stopping," Rory noticed, sliding from under the covers and walking over to the window. Jess groaned, and then followed her.

"Does this mean we have to get back to the real world?" he asked, sliding his arms around her waist.

"Yes, unfortunately." Rory grinned and placed her hands over his.

"Glad you agree with me on this."

"Mmm. Always. Oh, but I want to go back to the house, see how Mom's doing."

"You're so family-oriented."

"That I am." Rory patted Jess' hands. Jess squeezed her middle.

"Let's go."

"Okay."

They separated, and Rory changed in the bathroom, while Jess changed in the room. They were ready to leave in two minutes, and grabbed their jackets and exited the Inn.

"It's amazing how different this town looks after a rain storm," Rory observed, leaning into Jess' body, his arm around her.

"Yeah. All clean, and new."

"A new start." Rory looked up at Jess and smiled, injecting the double meaning into the words. He smiled back, and they kissed.

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A/N: Okay. So it's not longer. The ending's a little different than I thought, and it's after two. But did you see the fun Java love section? Java love! I love the Java love!!

And I was just thinking about this the other day—Daniel was nice enough to give us just enough of a Java scene to get us through the summer…Luke's little dream.

Anyway, so, I've written Java scenes before, and it's very strange to get them together, cause Luke's really not that brave, and Lorelai's oblivious, so I figured the best way to really get them to kiss would be to get them to kiss together. Of course, Luke's kissing of her arm was a little strange. Just a little crazy moment there. I dunno why I did it. But isn't it nice?