AN: Sorry this update was so long coming, but it is before when I said it was gonna be, so that's a good thing. Plus it's long. What are you doing still reading this, read the story!

Chapter Twelve: Wednesday Morning Paper Never Comes

The next day, Finn rolled up to Rory's house, precisely at 2:30, as agreed upon, in his SUV. He parked in the front, and got out of the car to help Rory with her bags, while Charlie waited in the car.

He walked into the house without knocking, which was becoming a regular thing for him. When he failed to find Rory downstairs, he ascended to her second floor bedroom. As he suspected, he found her amidst piles of clothes strewn about the room.

"I should have known you wouldn't be ready."

"And I should have known you wouldn't have the common courtesy to be late. It doesn't matter though, because," she threw one last article of clothing into her open suitcase. "I am now packed."

"Good, now can we leave?"

"Sure. Can you help me with my stuff?" Finn moved towards the medium sized suitcase sitting on the bed. "Not that one, silly." She motioned to the large bag on the floor next to her, which Finn hadn't noticed before.

"Of course. Far be it for me to think you hadn't over packed."

"It's not over packing. It's being ready for everything."

"In Omnia Paratus," he replied jokingly as he followed her down the stairs. They made their way out towards the car, where the put Rory's bags into the back, and both climbed into the front seats.

"Wait, I forgot the snacks!"

"It's a two hour drive."

"Exactly," she said as she got out of the car and went back into the house. She returned a minute later with a grocery bag full of junk food. "I hope it's enough. I only grabbed a few things from the pantry.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to make it stretch," he said only half seriously.

They spent the drive with sporadic chit chat as they listened to a CD Finn made for the trip. When they arrived at the famed Stars Hallow rooster, Rory was so excited she could hardly give Finn the directions. As soon as they pulled up to Luke', Rory jumped out of the car and practically ran into the diner.

"Where's my mom?"

"Hey Rory, your mom's upstairs getting the place ready for Jess."

"Actually, I'm finished," said a voice from behind them.

Rory turned towards her mother. "Mother!"

"Daughter!"

The bell above the door rang signaling Finn and Charlie's entry into the diner, although neither Gilmore Girl noticed nor cared.

As they were having a reunification ceremony of sorts, Finn took the opportunity to introduce himself to Luke. "Hi, I'm Finn."

Luck took the hand Finn offered him and replied, "Luke." He looked down to the boy standing beside Finn. "You must be Charlie."

He only nodded in response.

"So, do they usually do this when Rory comes home, because she and Lorelai just saw each other a few days ago."

"Don't ask them about it, they'll only go on to mock you relentlessly for not knowing the difference between a reunion and a homecoming."

"Thanks for the tip."

"Well, I've made the mistake before and it was not a good thing."

Rory and Lorelai chose this moment to cease their celebration and came over to the men.

"So I see you've gotten aquatinted?" Asked Lorelai.

"Oh yeah," replied Finn. "We're old pals. Ain't that right Luke."

"Uh, yeah, sure."

Rory interjected, "When's Jess supposed to be here?"

"All he told me on the phone was, he'll be here when he gets here."

"Typical, thinking we cared at all about him. I just want to see my baby."

"Well, I'm guess he won't be here at least until 5:30. So you might want to think about something other than standing in the middle of my restaurant, taking up space."

"Luke likes to pretend he's tough, but he's really an old softy. He cried during Old Yeller," defended Lorelai for her husband's comment

"It's okay for a guy to cry during Old Yeller," he said as he repeated the familiar argument. "It's a guys crying movie. Now if you breakdown during Titanic, then there's something wrong."

They paused for a minute before Lorelai spoke. "So Rory, why don't you guys drive the car over to the house and unpack. Then you can leave Charlie there with the kids. Sookie's over there with the kids, and you can give Finn the grand tour of the town."

"That sounds like a plan," she replied and they made their way out to the car.

Rory directed Finn, "Okay, turn left down that street." Finn followed her directions. She waited a second before speaking again. "Annnnd, we're here."

"You're joking."

"Why would I joke?"

"That was like a twenty second drive."

"I know, my mom loves it. She used to have a ten minute walk separating herself and Luke's coffee. Now it's a minute thirty if she walks briskly. Although, since they got married, it was kind of beside the point, but hey. She likes the atmosphere."

He laughed as he got out of the car and started to unbuckle Charlie when Lorelai arrived.

"Wow Mom, I think you might have beaten your record this time."

"I know, I've been practicing. I think the only way I could get any faster would be to actually run." Both the women laughed at the thought.

Finn appeared next to him with Rory's bags in hand. "Where should I put these, babe?"

Lorelai did a silent 'aw' moment in her head at the sight of them together with Finn carrying her bags. Rory turned towards her. "What are the sleeping arrangements for the weekend, mom? Did you book a room at the inn, or what?"

"The inn, psh. I wouldn't make them stay at 'the top rated medium-sized inn in Connecticut.'"

"That's right mom, keep dropping that into every conversation you get a chance to."

"As I was saying, I wouldn't make Finn and Charlie stay in the inn. I've got it all figured out. Me and Luke will of course just sleep in our room. Billy's got bunk beds, so Charlie can have the bottom. Meanwhile, Sarah and Jessie will have their room. Jess sleeps at the diner as always. That leaves the guest bedroom and the study."

Rory stepped in. "Okay, so I'll take the pullout in the study and Finn can have the bedroom."

"Not so fast there. I insist that Rory takes the bed and I'll take the pullout. How bad can it be?"

"Bad," said both Lorelai and Rory together. Lorelai then continued alone, "But I digress. I swear, you people never let me finish. We will give Earnest the pullout since he's young and spry, and you two can share the guest bedroom."

"You really don't have to do that Lorelai. I mean, I could just get a room at the inn."

"You don't have to pretend nothings going on for my sake. I mean come on, Finn spent the night in Boston, why's it different here? I just want a promise that I will hear no noise coming from that room"

"You have my personal guarantee." She turned to Finn. "Let me grab some stuff and I'll show you to our room."

She led him into the large home and up the stairs to a room with a plush bed and oak furniture.

"So your mum turned your old bedroom into a guestroom then?"

"Well, I never actually live in this house. Luke bought it for him and my mom while I was in college, and by the time they were married and finally moved in, I didn't need a real room here. Besides, even though she calls this the guest room, I'm the only one who ever sleeps in it. So it could be called my room." He nodded in understanding.

"Plus," she moved towards the closet and opened the door. "My mom could never let a real guest see all the extra clothes she keeps in here."

"Yeah, I especially like that green sparkly one."

"So does she, believe me."

Finn went back downstairs to get the rest of the bags and they unpacked themselves and Charlie. When they went back downstairs, they found that Charlie had made fast friends with Billy, and the two were now playing a video game on the TV.

"Hey Charlie, we're gonna go…"

"Okay Dad. Bye."

Finn chuckled, "I guess he's found where he wants to be for the next four days."

"Yeah, Billy won't leave that spot all weekend except to eat."

They then moved outside to where Lorelai was watching Sarah and Jessie on the swing set.

"Sookie left already?"

"Yeah, she wanted to get to the inn to check on the dinner prep. She loves that new chef we got at the inn so much she trusts him to be in charge of dinner."

"He must be pretty impressive then," she said thinking that anyone who could get Sookie to step away from the kitchen had to be good. "We're gonna get going now. If Jess gets here someone better call me so I can get back to see my baby."

"Will do, hon. Have fun!"

They began to walk around the town square, with Rory pointing out interesting sights and sharing stories of her childhood with Finn. Twenty minutes later, when they had seen everything deemed good enough for the tour, including the crap shack, they found themselves in front of the foot bridge. Sitting on the bridge was none other than the man they'd all been waiting for.

"Jess!" Rory called out to him.

"Hey Ror." He got up and walked over to her. "How have you been?"

"Fine," she accepted the hug he offered her. "Where's Ernest?"

"I left him with Lorelai. She said she'd call you."

Rory looked into her purse for her phone. "Darn. I left it on silent." She then remembered Finn standing there where he discretely cleared his throat. "Sorry. Jess this is my boyfriend Finn. Finn, this is Jess."

"Nice to meet you Jess." Finn extended his hand. Rory prayed that Jess wouldn't revert back to his old jerky ways and refuse to shake it.

"You too Finn." He took the hand that was offered to him. Rory breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Okay, now that everyone's been introduced, I vote we go back to the house." Jess looked like he was about to speak. "And before either of you say anything, I'd like to remind you that mine is the only vote that counts."

"I was just going to agree with you Rory. Chill out."

"Ha! Chill out. I am chill. I just want to see my son, who you've been keeping in that stupid apartment in New York for the past two months, while I was left with nothing to do."

"Hey!" Exclaimed Finn in protest.

"Well, I might have had something to do."

"Damn right," he replied. They all laughed as they walked back to Lorelai and Luke's house.

Finn took the opportunity to talk to Jess. "So was Ernest excited to see his aunts and uncle?"

"First cousins once removed," replied Jess.

"Beg pardon?"

Rory interjected, "They're his aunts and uncle, and his first cousins once removed."

"I don't get it."

"Jess is Luke's nephew. Luke and Lorelai's kids are his cousins. So they're Ernest's first cousins once removed from Jess's side." Finn nodded in half understanding. "But since Lorelai is my mother, and hers and Luke's kids are my half brother and sisters, he's also their half nephew."

"Okay. So what you're telling me is that you're all inbred?"

"What she saying is that both of the Gilmore women couldn't resist the Danes charm."

Rory scoffed at this. "Yeah right!"

Finn laughed at their antics as they arrived back at Casa de Danes. Rory immediately ran into the house and scooped Ernest up from where he was sitting on the couch.

"My baby!"

"Mommy!" They wrapped each other into a big hug.

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you too Mom."

After they shared their embrace, she put him down and led him over to Charlie, who was still sitting next to Billy on the floor in front of the TV.

"I want you to meet someone, buddy. This is Charlie. Charlie's dad and I have been spending a lot of time together lately. He's a really nice kid, right Charlie?"

"Yep."

"Ernest, why don't you sit here and watch Billy and Charlie play?"

"Okay mom." Rory walked back to where Finn and Jess had been joined by Lorelai and were watching the introduction.

"I think they like each other," she said hopefully.

"I could agree with that," Jess replied as he motioned back towards the television set, where Charlie had given his controller to Ernest and was now helping the younger boy to navigate the turns of the game.

Later, Rory and Lane were lounging on the furniture in the back yard as they watched the scene in front of them. Lorelai had surprised them all with a party to celebrate their homecoming. It seemed like half the town was there including Miss Patty; Babette and Morey; Sookie, Jackson and their three kids; Kirk, Lulu and Kirk Jr.; in addition to all the other Stars Hallow favorites.

Currently, they were watching the football game going on with all of the kids. Finn and Jess were also playing, and Finn was currently rolling on the ground with Billy and Ernest hanging off of him.

"So you haven't asked what I thought yet," began Lane.

"What you thought of what?"

"The Australian of course."

"I don't think everyone realizes that he is an American citizen. He was born here for God's sake."

"He's got the accent, he's Australian."

"Fine," she paused. "So Lane, what do you think of Finn?"

"I thought you'd never ask. Honestly Rory, I think things have never happened at a better time for you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that usually when you meet a guy it's the wrong place or the wrong time. I mean, look at Jess. He didn't straighten out until six years after you broke up. And Logan was never really ready for a commitment. And Mark," she said referring to Rory's boyfriend after Logan. "He was a nice guy, but you guys did not want the same things at all."

"Yeah. I guess after all that I deserve to have my love life line up, huh?"

"You really do Rory. Not to freak you out or anything, but if you guys were to stay together for awhile, it might be a god thing."

"Well don't go and jinx it! So you really like him?"

"Yeah, don't you?"

The two giggled and continued on with their gossip. Rory inquired about Lane's husband, Stan, who was the manager of their band. Zach and Lane had decided to call it off shortly after Rory's sophomore year of college because of the tension their dating had caused in the band. Lane and Stan had been married for about a year, and were happy in their life together.

"Last week, he took me too this restaurant in Hartford, and then we went on a carriage ride through the park."

"Aw. I'm so happy for you guys."

"Yeah. So what about Finn, has he dazzled with any romantic escapades?"

"Well, we have this thing where we'll have a movie night at his house every week. So lately, we'll have a date and he'll recreate a scene from a movie."

"Aw! Like what?"

"Well it's not really even 'aw' because he likes to pick weird scenes form the movies. Like last week, I was leaving his house, and he told me to wait when I was near the door. Then he went into the kitchen and came out with a pot apologizing that he didn't have any clean Tupperware. So he put two meatballs into my hands, and told be to take a bite."

Lane burst out in laughter. "That's almost better than if he had done a romantic part from the Wedding Singer. What other movies has he done?"

"Last week he made me dance with him to the song from Dirty Dancing, and once he also had a fan blowing outside the front door so he grabbed my hand and pulled me back and kissed me like in The Quiet Man."

"I love that part! Especially when it was in ET."

"Me too!"

They continued talking until Lorelai came up to them at 7:30 to tell them the food was ready. Lane went to find Stan while Rory went over to where Finn was already waiting in line for the buffet.

"Way to snag a good spot in the line, Finn."

"I try."

"I saw you playing football. You could give, you know, some famous football player a run for his money."

"Thanks for the attempted compliment." They were now at the table, and Rory grabbed two plates.

"You eating for two there?"

"I'm making a plate for Ernest."

"Already taken care of," he said nodding to where the kids were sitting. "I convinced Luke to just let them get their food early."

"My hero!"

They ate and hung around outside, save the break they took to put the kids to bed, for awhile until it became suddenly apparent that it was 11:00 at night, and that both of them had gotten up at 6 that morning. They bid goodnight to the party, and went inside.

As they ascended the stairs, it became when Rory realized that someone's hands, other than her own, were on her ass.

"Hey, hey! No patsy fingers, if you please!"

"Oh, come on Rory, don't be such a spoil sport."

"I'm not being a spoil sport. I'm just wondering where the exhaustion you claimed to be suffering from a second ago disappeared to."

"I'll admit it. I was all a farce to get you up here."

"You heard what my mom said. No monkey business."

"Sweet, naïve little Rory. What she said was, she didn't want to hear anything. She never said nothing could happen."

"Well when you put it that way…" she giggled as he picked her up and walked through the open doorway.

AN: Hope the anecdote about Finn and movie scenes wasn't too corny. I also apologize if the scenes involving kids are really cheesy. It's hard to write them, so I try to avoid it. So assume there is other interaction happening with the kids in the story, I just don't feel confident writing it, and frankly I think it wouldn't be that interesting to read a ton of stuff with kids. You're getting the need to know stuff.

On another note, the line "No patsy fingers, if you please" comes from The Quiet Man. Great movie. Go rent it. It's got Irish people!