Family Portrait
A/N: Alright, thank you everyone who reviewed. I am so happy that you are enjoying this story. The whole Rory/Jess encounter should be coming up but there will be a lot of trying to keep them apart first. Remember this: Luke does not know that Rory is coming to town. Let the fun begin!
Chapter 3: Home Sweet Home
Rory sat in the back seat of the fully packed car. It had been decided unanimously that Jamie would drive the one hour to Stars Hollow and back. Paris was seated in the passenger's seat reading an assignment both girls had received the previous morning at Yale. Rory glanced over at her daughter who was playing with the leap-frog she had received from Richard and Emily for her birthday. Her long, dark, wavy brown hair tumbled over her face as she tried to read her current book. Her brilliant blue eyes with the sprinkles of brown were full of concentration. Sometimes it was hard to tell who she resembled more at this age. "I'm going to call Lane and see if she'll meet us at Luke's in a half hour," Rory mentioned pulling out her cell phone. Paris and Jamie nodded acknowledgement. Rory pressed the speed dial button on her phone.
"Hello you've reached Lane Kim drummer extraordinaire," Lane's spunkiness filled the other line.
"Hey stranger," Rory greeted her best friend.
"Hey! Where are you?" Lane wondered.
"In a car on the way to Stars Hollow," Rory grinned.
"Oh my god!" Lane's voice glistened with excitement, "We're almost there now."
"Meet us at Luke's?" Rory asked.
"You bet!" Lane exclaimed, "Oh, got to go. I forgot to recharge my cell so my batteries are low. Bye!"
"Bye!" Rory saluted before hanging up the phone. Rory couldn't have been happier to be returning home for the weekend.
"Mommy, can I have Boo?" Liza whined, pushing the book off her lap.
"Sure babe," Rory nodded, reaching into Liza's backpack and pulled out a teddy bear handing it over to Liza's outreached hand. Boo was Liza's favourite bear. Luke had given it to her when she was born and since then they had been practically inseparable.
Rory glanced around the car once more before she pulled out her current novel and begun to read away as they drove closer and closer to Stars Hollow and what she thought would be a rather fun weekend.
(Meanwhile over at Luke's Diner.)
"Hello Uncle Luke!" Jess entered the diner a duffle bag over his shoulder, smirking.
"It's just Luke!" Luke grunted shaking his head. Lorelai pivoted on her stool to face Jess, a cup of coffee in her hands.
"Lorelai," Jess nodded towards her.
"Jess," Lorelai returned the acknowledgement before turning to Lucas sat on the stool next to her quietly.
"Is that the little one?" Jess inquired.
"That's little Lucas Gilmore-Danes," Lorelai nodded forcing a smile, "And the Gilmore-Danes twins are right in here." Lorelai patted the small lump of her stomach.
"Well, I'm here to help aren't I?" Jess placed his bag on the stairs that led to the apartment above the diner, "So, where do you want me?"
"Work out there at the tables," Luke ordered.
"OH! And get me some coffee, please," Lorelai begged.
"No, you're pregnant," Luke shook his head, "It's either decaf or tea."
"Not fair!" Lorelai pouted, "You let Ro-" Thankfully she was cut off before she could finish her sentence, and Lane burst into the diner.
"Hello Stars Hollow!" Lane shouted.
"Hello Lane!" Lorelai hollered and the two embraced in a hug, "You're here! Where's Dave?"
"He's coming!" Lane grinned, "I'm just so excited to see Ro-" Lane stopped as she noticed Jess standing there. "What's he doing here?" she whispered to Lorelai. Luke looked curiously at the two girls and put two and two together.
"Jess, get upstairs!" he instructed, "Get settled in or something."
"But-" Jess began to protest but gave up, and shaking his head went on his way upstairs.
"Lorelai, is Rory coming down this weekend?" Luke interrogated.
"Nope," Lorelai lied. Luke then turned to Lane. He knew she couldn't lie to him.
"Lane?" he questioned. Lane tried to hold out on him. She shifted from leg to leg but finally gave in.
"Yes," she sighed, "She called me from the car and told me to meet her here."
"How long have you known?" Luke turned back to Lorelai.
"Since this morning," Lorelai confided, "She called, but I couldn't reach the phone and I didn't want to call her back. Luke, if she found out Jess would be down here for a week I wouldn't hear from her for a whole week. I couldn't live with that."
"So, why is Jess here anyways?" Lane put in as Dave entered the diner.
"To help me," Luke replied.
"Dave!" Lorelai exclaimed noticing him approach them, "HI!"
"Hello Lorelai," Dave nodded and wrapped his arms around Lane, "What's going on?"
"Jess is here," Lane filled him in. Dave was wide-eyed and speechless.
"What are we going do?" Dave wondered.
"They're driving meaning they're going to drive right up to the diner," Lorelai began, "So, why don't we meet her outside with coffee and take them over to the house."
"Wait, I want to see the kid," Luke protested, "It's been two weeks and kids at that age seem to grow fast."
"Softie," Lorelai accused.
"Jess is supposed to come over for supper tonight remember?" Luke ignored Lorelai's previous comment, "So, not only do we have to worry about hiding all our pictures of Liza but about Liza herself."
"No, see we could send them to my parents' house," Lorelai offered, "We know they'll find out Rory's here and be upset that she didn't visit."
"We still have the whole 'she's coming to the diner' bit to worry about," Lane pointed out.
"How long do we have?" Dave inquired.
"Around a half hour to fifteen minutes," Lane answered.
"Great," the other three mumbled as Jess returned from upstairs and Lucas started to grow impatient. The four knew this would be a long weekend.
(Meanwhile just outside Stars Hollow.)
"Hickory Dickory Dock," Liza began chanting, half asleep. Rory began thinking that maybe she would be asleep in fifteen minutes.
"Doesn't she know another nursery rhyme?" Paris groaned. An hour in the car with a four year old is a lot to be asking. Although they had done this every two weeks since they had started at Yale it still got to them all now and then.
"She'll fall asleep soon," Rory muttered, "Then it'll be quiet once again." Half way through the nursery song the third time around Liza stopped and her eyelids began to droop. A minute later she was sound asleep.
"Finally," Jamie heaved a sigh of relief.
"Do we have anymore coffee in the thermos?" Rory wanted to know.
"No, the last cup you had finished it," Paris replied. They looked out the window to see the sign bearing Welcome to Stars Hollow on it. Rory smiled and looked out on her small town. She saw familiar townspeople walking about and whispering to one another. Then her eye caught sight of Luke's where Lane, Dave, Luke and her mother were probably waiting for her.
"We're here," Jamie announced parking the car in front of the small diner.
"Finally," Paris opened the passenger's door and got out, "I'm going ahead in while you get Liza out alright?"
"Sure," Rory nodded. Jamie and Paris both shut their doors and headed into the diner as Rory sat a minute and began to unbuckle Liza in her seat without waking her right away.
(Inside the Diner.)
The bells on the door jangled and every one's eyes but Jess' and Lucas' went directly towards the door. Paris and Jamie stepped in and looked oddly at the familiar crowd. Panicked looks crossed the faces of all immediately and the couple did not understand why until they finally noticed Jess. "Shit," Paris managed to mutter. The rest raised and inquisitive eyebrow. Paris and Jamie nodded towards the car.
"Lorelai and I will distract her," Lane jumped off the stool, "Luke, you know what you've got to do." Luke nodded as Lorelai picked up Lucas and followed Lane out of the diner. Jess looked curiously at the remaining four.
"Jess, go around back to Taylor's," Luke ordered, "I need a head of lettuce." Jess shook his head in disbelief as he headed towards the back door.
"Why's he here?" Paris asked.
"To help," Dave replied for Luke. Paris and Jamie nodded and Rory along with Lane, Lorelai, Lucas and a sleepy Liza.
"Hey!" Luke greeted them. Liza's eyes darted around the crowd and she smiled bashfully.
"Hi Luke," Rory waved taking a seat at the counted, "Can I get a coffee, a donut and some milk for Liza?"
"Milk for a Gilmore," Lorelai laughed, "Give the kid a coffee. If I can't have any she certainly should."
"Lorelai, she's four," Luke grunted.
"Plus, she hasn't had any coffee yet," Rory mentioned, "Luke asked Lane who asked Paris to make sure she didn't get any until she was old enough to decide for herself what she wants to drink."
"That's preposterous!" Lorelai exclaimed, "A Gilmore can't be deprived of coffee Lukey deary. Just look at what it's done to me!"
"You're just as kooky without the coffee," Luke shook his head.
"That's because I found the secret stash at home," Lorelai grinned, "You can't hide it from me. I have a nose to find it."
"Fine, I'll just take all the coffee from the house," Luke threw back, "And that way there will be none and the whole town knows better than to give you some." Lorelai pouted and Luke handed Rory her order. Just then the back door creaked open. Paris, Dave, Jamie and Luke shared a look. Lorelai and Lane caught on fast. Jess was back from his errand.
"Let's go see Sookie!" Lorelai grabbed her purse and Lucas, "She's dying to see you two." Confused, Rory shrugged and followed her mother taking Liza's hand. Lane and Paris went with the two while Jamie, Dave and Luke stayed behind in the diner. The front entrance closed just as Jess appeared behind the counter.
"Here's your lettuce," he placed the leaves down and went to clean up some tables. Jamie and Dave ordered something to eat as they sat there.
(In the Streets of Stars Hollow.)
Liza seemed wide awake after their visit at Luke's and was skipping around. Rory held firmly onto her hand. Although it wasn't likely that Liza would get lost for very long Rory was just feeling protective of her. "Grams," Liza whined, "Can Lucas walk?
"Yes," Lorelai nodded shifting Lucas in her arms.
"So, put him down," Liza suggested, "I promise I'll hold his hand."
"No honey I think I'll just hold him until we get to Sookie's," Lorelai shook head. Liza frowned, but let it go.
"Um...Rory," Lorelai bit her lip, "I think you should probably take Liza over to see your grandparents."
"I was panning on stopping by on the way home," Rory told her mother, "I haven't seen you in a week."
"Well, Luke and I are kind of having company over for supper," Lorelai explained.
"Oh," Rory furrowed her eyebrows, "Alright then. So, what are you guys planning on doing tonight?" Rory turned to her two friends.
"I'm not sure yet," Lane shrugged, "But I'd be more than happy to spend the night with you. It's been too long." Rory nodded in agreement.
"Rory!" Sookie raced out from her house a huge grin on her face, "Honey how have you been?"
"Good," Rory hugged Sookie. It surprised Rory that even though she had only been absent from the town a week she tended to forget its craziness, and, like her mother always said, she expected it to look completely different every time she retuned. It never was though.
The four women and the two kids entered the house. Jackson was out back working in the garden and their daughter, Rosie, sat on her knees coloring. She was a year younger than Liza. Rosie slid off her chair and approached Liza. "Now can Lucas come play with us?" Liza looked up at Lorelai. Lorelai nodded and placed Lucas on the floor.
"Mama!" Lucas reached upwards trying to get Lorelai to pick him up again.
"Go play with Liza and Rosie Lukey honey," Lorelai told her son. Lucas sighed as he was dragged away by the two girls to Rosie's room.
"How's college treating you two?" Sookie questioned once the kids were out of the room.
"It's tough, but it's the last year," Rory replied.
"Yeah, it's great to have Jamie though," Paris smiled secretively, "He's a big help."
"All men are very helpful at times," Sookie giggled, "Very, very helpful."
"Sookie!" Lorelai, Rory, Lane and Paris exclaimed.
"It's true though," Sookie defended. All girls nodded slowly.
"Speaking of men," Paris put in after a while, "Rory and I ran into someone from back at Chilton earlier today."
"Who?" Lane wanted to know.
"Tristan," Rory murmured.
"Really you ran into the Spawn of Satan?" Lorelai raised and eyebrow inquisitively.
"Bible Boy himself," Rory nodded, "And he gave me his number."
"Does he know you have a four year old kid?" Lane asked.
"Yeah," Rory nodded affirmative, "He gave me the number after he met her."
The girls continued to talk until Jackson came in and declared that he was going to get Rosie ready for supper. Lorelai and Rory went on their way to fetch Liza and Lucas to go. Then they said their good-byes to Sookie and promised to visit before they left. On their way back to the diner they ran into Dave and Jamie.
"Hey," Lane grinned kissing Dave, "What do you want to do tonight?" Dave shrugged.
"We could always see a movie," Lorelai suggested.
"We could," Rory nodded in agreement, "Would you take Liza and put her to bed though?" Lorelai hesitated a moment before nodding. If Liza was upstairs asleep, safely, there was no way Jess could find her as long as he didn't go upstairs or Liza woke up.
"Sure," she sighed shifting Lucas so that one hand was free, "Go on you crazy twenty-two year olds. Go bar hopping or something."
"Later mom," Rory rolled her eyes and kissed Liza on the forehead, "Be good for Grandma." Liza nodded and the two headed off towards the Gilmore-Danes home.
(At the Gilmore-Danes Residence.)
Lorelai burst into the house and called out Luke's name. He wasn't home yet. She heaved a sigh of relief and dropped Liza's hand. There was a lot that had to be done. She had better start with feeding the kids and getting them to bed. At five-thirty both Liza and Lucas were clean and safely tucked in and sleeping. Phase two was getting all pictures of Liza hidden safely. Lorelai pulled out a basket and began delicately placing any signs of Liza's existence away. She paused as she came upon a picture of a very pregnant Rory. The picture had been taken a week before Liza was born. Jamie come down to see Paris and the two came to see Rory. In the picture Lane had her ear on Rory's stomach and Dave stood smiling behind her. Paris and Jamie were on the opposite side, Jamie's arms wrapped around Paris while Lorelai lay sprawled by Rory's feet. It had taken a lot to get the picture done. It was one of her favourites.
Finally, when all seemed done Luke and Jess walked through the front door. Lorelai heaved the biggest sigh of relief she could as she rolled over on the couch. Luke went over to her and kissed her lightly on the lips. Lorelai smiled at this. "Hey," she mumbled, "Have a good day?"
"It was fine," Luke shrugged, "Is Lucas in bed?" Lorelai nodded and slowly sat up.
"Did you bring home food?" Lorelai wanted to know. Luke nodded and held up a bag of Chinese food, "OH! YAY! We should have Jess over more often!"
"Long day?" Jess asked.
"Yes! I don't think the stress I've had is good for the babies," Lorelai groaned.
"Your own fault," Luke grunted. Lorelai made a face as Luke headed towards kitchen to set up supper. Jess began to stroll around the living room gazing at the pictures that remained of Rory, and Lucas. He stopped and furrowed his eyes brows in front of one picture. Lorelai's eyes widened as she realized that she had forgotten on of Liza's baby pictures.
"Who's this?" he picked up the frame and faced it towards Lorelai, "It doesn't look like the other baby pictures of Rory and Lucas."
"She's a relative," Lorelai said. It wasn't a lie, Liza was her granddaughter. She just hoped Jess didn't ask how they were related. He didn't ask anything though. Jess shrugged and placed the picture back where it had been. "I'll be right back," Lorelai approached the kitchen, "I need to talk to Luke a second. Sit down make yourself comfortable. Do you want a soda, or beer seeing as you're legal now?"
"I'm fine," Jess sat on the couch as Lorelai disappeared into the kitchen.
"Luke," Lorelai wrapped her arms around Luke as he tried to place more food onto a plate, "Liza's sleeping upstairs in our bed."
"What?" Luke whirled around, "Jess is right in the living room."
"I know, but Rory is out with the others and they couldn't take her," Lorelai explained, "It'll be fine. She's sleeping."
"Lorelai, she's a four year old girl," Luke pointed out, "What if she wakes up?"
"We'll lie," Lorelai flashed Luke a smile and picked up a plate of General Tao chicken and began to eat. Luke grabbed the plate and replaced it on the table. "Jess! Come and eat," Lorelai shouted as she grabbed another piece of chicken.
Dinner was silent and the three of them ate. Lorelai tried to be fine and dandy about everything while Luke tried to mediate the two. Finally, as they Lorelai polished off her late the worst happened. A piercing scream rang through the house. Lorelai and Luke shared a look knowing that it was not Lucas who had woken up. Jess curiously looked between the two as they fits of crying floating down to them. Liza had had a bad dream.