Chapter Six: The Few and the Proud

AN: I'm feeling preety confident about how this story is going. I actually like this chapter, which is hopefully a good thing. Thank you to all my reviewers. I really love hearing that you guys love this. I know that the last chapter was a little surprising, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to make them both have kids. But it gives them another thing in common, making this relationship a little more likely. Hope you all like this next chapter, I think it's my longest to date.

Rory pulled up to Finn's house at 6:57. She glanced over her makeup one last time and slowly walked up the stoop to the door, while she took in her surroundings. The front porch was small, and it contained only the welcome mat that she was currently standing on. The small front yard was well-kept, but not over done. The door was green, with a brass door knocker on the front. She hesitated to knock for a couple of seconds, during which the door flew open.

"Rory, there you are. You're late."

Rory looked at him quizzically, and then looked at her watch. "Finn, it's seven oh one. It just turned seven oh one. Which means, that thirty seconds ago, when you let me in, it was seven o'clock."

"No, it was seven o'clock and thirty seconds. What have I told you time and time again about being on time?"

"Nothing as of yet, but I've the feeling that that's about to change."

"Right you are. Here are my words of wisdom." He pondered for a moment. "Time is valuable, time is money. And never keep a hungry Australian waiting!"

"I'll remember that. So I got the movies."

"Excellent, because I just so happen to have brought the TV. It's downstairs, I'll show you." They made their way down the hall leading to the kitchen, where Rory paused to take in the scenery. The room was nice, but not large. The fridge was covered with letter magnets, pictures of various people, and artwork that was unmistakably that of a 5 year-old. Rory walked over to the fridge and looked at a picture of the dark haired boy holding a dog.

Finn walked up behind her. "That's Boomer."

Rory looked at him questioningly. "Boomer? I thought his name was Charlie."

"What? I was talking about the dog."

"Oh, right, the dog. Who would name their kid Boomer anyway?"

"It was my first choice, but Cindy wanted Charlie. That was really the only reason we got the dog."

"Riight. I had a similar situation with Jess. He wanted to name our son Ernest, as in Hemmingway. But I wanted to name him after my Grandpa Richard. He used the argument that he would get called Dick, so I caved."

"He's right though. It's parental suicide to name your kid Richard and not expect him to get made fun of." They both stared at the ground for a minute before Finn spoke again. "Well, let's get on with the evening, shall we?"

"OK, for food. I propose we take on the entire chicken column."

"The entire chicken column? That's preposterous! I've already ordered the entire menu!"

"What? Now that is preposterous."

"Well I didn't know what you liked, so I got everything."

"That might just be the sweetest, stupidest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"Well, appreciate it, because thanks to you I'll be feeding Charlie Moo Shoo Pork for the next week."

"Oh believe me, I do. So when is the ETA for the food?"

"I ordered it about 15 minutes ago, and they said it'd take about an hour."

"So an hour and a half then?"

"What? That's not right. An hour minus 15, that's 45."

"Right, but you can never trust the delivery time the guy on the phone gives you, which means we have and hour and 15 minutes, maybe an hour and a half for it to get here. Therefore, we need snacks!"

"Alright, I'll grab those. Why don't you head on downstairs?"

Rory went though the door that he gestured to. The stairs were carpeted with standard beige carpeting and the walls were white. When she turned the corner from the stairs, however, she was greeted with an entirely different scene. She saw a wall that was completely covered with a screen for the projector which was attached to the ceiling. The walls were covered with movie posters, ranging from Casablanca to Ferris Buehler's Day Off. She walked over to the leather sectional and collapsed into it. She gave out a contented sigh as she lay there.

"So I take it you like?"

She was slightly startled to hear Finn's voice behind her. She turner around to face him before speaking, "More like love. I think I could just live down here for awhile. Come get me next spring."

"Well, you're welcome to stay, but I do have to warn you that almost daily Charlie comes down here and watches Teletubies and or Barney."

"Thank God I never let Ernest see any of that crap. We stuck with the wholesome shows. You know, Sesame Street, Arthur, that kind of thing."

"Right. So what movies did you bring?"

"Well…for your viewing pleasure…and you should feel special, because I don't do this for everyone…I have organized the night into a theme."

"Ooh, is it Schwarzenegger's Greatest?"

"Yeah right. The theme is Australia!"

"Aww, how sweet, movies to remind me of the homeland."

"So first up we have the Mary Kate and Ashley classic, Our Lips are Sealed."

"What does that have to do with Australia?"

"If you knew ANYthing about your homeland, then you would know that it's the movie that put Australia on the map."

"God, I hope you're joking."

She ignored his comment as she continued. "Next we have Crocodile Dundee. The original, not the sequel. And finally, and I must admit, I've outdone myself, we have the coming of age story to end all coming of age stories."

"Thirteen?"

"No, but good guess. It's Babe."

"Yes! How did I get so lucky? An evening with talking pigs and the Olsen twins! And of course my favorite brunette reporter." Rory blushed just slightly.

"So what first?"

"I'm thinking we get the worst over with and do the Olsen movie."

She handed it to him and he put it into the DVD player. Then he took a seat on the couch next to her, careful to leave a safe, platonic distance, between them.

"So have you actually seen this movie before?"

"No, but the look on your face when I talked about it was priceless."

They began watching the movie, while making jokes every few minutes. The doorbell rang about an hour into it.

"I'll go get that."

He paused the movie and then got up. Rory watched his retreating figure for a second before he spoke again. "I know you're checking out my ass Rory."

She stifled her giggles into a pillow. A minute later he came down the stairs with five bags of food. She laughed at the sight of him.

"So how much do I owe you?"

"Huh? For what?

"The food. How much was it?"

"You don't owe me anything Rory. It's my treat."

"No, it was your treat last night, and this afternoon. Let me pick this one up. How much was it."

"Fifty cents."

"Be serious Finn."

"I am being serious. You really don't have to worry about that. Save your money. You have a kid for Christ's sake!"

"So do you Finn. I don't want you to feel like you have to pay the bill all the time. I can afford it."

"Rory, just let me have this one, please? It makes me feel good to spend money on other people. I'm one of those guys who buys his way into people's hearts."

"So you're trying to get into my heart?"

"Maybe," he answered truthfully.

Rory was surprised with his answer and wasn't ready with a retort. Instead she turned towards the screen and suggested they start eating and turn the movie back on.

Finn obliged and sat back down on the couch, still leaving a gap, but making it smaller than before. They ate as they watched the movie's thrilling conclusion, but with less conversation than before. They both probably would have blamed it on the fact that they were eating, but it was really because neither knew what to say after Finn's confession.

After the movie ended, Finn spoke first. "I think we should forego the next two movies in favor of one from my personal collection."

"I agree. That one just made me want to boycott all things Australian for life. Except you of course Finn."

"Of course." He got up and opened a large cabinet of the wall that had seemed like it wasn't there except for the handles. It was filled with movies. Rory was amazed.

"Where do we start?"

"Pick one."

She browsed for a minute before finding one that suited her needs.

"What is it?" He asked referring to the movie she clutched to her chest.

"Clueless! I can't believe you own this!"

"What sane person doesn't? Besides, that movie holds sentimental value."

"Oh, please enlighten me," she said, as Finn came back to sit on the couch. The gap he left was smaller than ever now, and their hips were almost touching.

"This was the fist movie I made out with a girl in."

She burst into laughter. "Are you joking? Who makes out during Clueless?"

"Me! And Kelly Landcaster."

"That might be one of the funniest things I've ever heard."

"Hey! Don't knock it till you've tried it. And believe me, I'd be a wiling participant."

"Not today, but thanks for the offer. Start the movie already, would ya?"

"Don't get snappy now." He pressed play and the two quickly began quoting their favorite lines. About halfway through the movie, Finn employed an old standby. He pretended to yawn and brought his arm around Rory's shoulders. This did not go unnoticed by Rory as he had hoped, however. She grabbed the remote and hit pause.

"Did you just use the yawn and stretch?" She tried to suppress her growing laughter.

"The what and what?" He figured ignorance would be the best route.

"Oh, you know what. I haven't been yawned and stretched since junior year, of HIGH school."

"Well, since I don't know what you're talking about…"

"You know."

"Fine, I know. But it totally ruins the whole thing if you acknowledge the yawn and stretch."

"You didn't have to pull the yawn and stretch Finn. We're adults; you don't have to look for an excuse to touch me. You could just do it."

"Oh I could, could I?"

"Yes." It was at this moment that she noticed the proximity of their faces to each other. And the fact that Finn's was approaching. She threw caution to the wind and closed her eyes and began to lean towards him. They up met somewhere in the middle, and shared one of the most passionate kisses that either of them had participated in for awhile. Finn slowly began to ease Rory's back onto the couch as he moved over her. They broke apart for air about a minute later, and Finn rested his forehead against Rory's. He spoke first.

"You have no idea how many times I've wanted to do that."

"How many times could you have thought about it since yesterday?"

He rolled over to lie beside Rory on the wide couch before speaking again, "I was including all the times when you and Logan were together.

She was shocked at this news. "Finn, I had no idea."

"You weren't supposed to. I wasn't supposed to be having those thoughts about my best friend's girlfriend, and then ex-girlfriend. It's just not right."

"Well you know," she said as she eased over so she was partially on top of him. "I'm pretty sure there's a statute of limitations of those things."

He caught her flow. "Oh really?"

"Yes. And I'm surprised you didn't already know about this, you know, being a lawyer and all."

"Uh huh, and how long is ours?"

At this point their faces were inches away from each other. "Long enough that it expired a couple of years ago."

With that they again met in a kiss, this time less urgent than before. When Finn ran his tongue along her bottom lip, she gladly obliged him with entry. At some point during their make-out session, the movie automatically restarted, although neither of them noticed. It was only after about fifteen minutes when they had both stopped to catch their breaths that Rory realized what had happened.

As she lay with her head on Finn's chest she let out a laugh. He too turned his head toward the screen and caught on.

"Well Rory Gilmore, you should be very pleased."

"And just why is that?"

"You have just joined the ranks of the few and the proud of people who have made out during Clueless. I welcome you."

AN: I'd really appreciate feeback. I didn't know how well this all went together. Plus, I want to hear how my love scene went. I'm not good at writing it. So, if you've got time, please drop me a note in the form of a review.