Beach

By: Alyson Tierney

Disclaimer: I do not own Lorelai Gilmore, Rory Gilmore, or any related Gilmore Girls characters or places mentioned. Those all belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and the WB network. I also do not own Buffy Summers, Dawn Summers, Willow Rosenberg, Tara Maclay, Angel, or any related Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel characters or places mentioned. They belong to Joss Whedon and the WB and UPN networks. After this long paragraph it should be obvious that I am simply borrowing such characters for entertainment reasons, so don't sue.

Author's Note: This is a short four-chapter story that came to me one day as I was thinking about my two favorite shows and was thinking "Hey, how cool would it be to combine them?" Basically, this takes place after season 5 of Gilmore Girls, and two years after the demise of Sunnydale. There is a pair of lesbians in this story, so if that isn't your thing, please leave the page now. I didn't have any real plans to extend this story any more than just a way to get Lorelai and Rory speaking again. There may be other stories with Willow and Rory and everyone else together, but this is the last chapter for this story. Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story, and keep an eye out for other stories.

Chapter Four

Rory didn't move for a second, seemingly letting the information seep in. Then her eyes widened in a huge grin, and she let out a screech of happiness. Rory lunged into her mother's arms and hugged her tightly, "Oh, my God! When? What happened? Who proposed? Oh, my God, why didn't you say something?" Rory let loose with a rapid-fire of questions as she pulled away, her blue eyes bright and sparkling.

"Well, I asked him, and he said yes a few weeks ago, but we both swore not to say anything or display my ring until we'd told you. I wanted to call and just scream the news at you, but I felt like giving you a chance to calm down and talk to me before we got all excited." Lorelai grinned at her daughter's excitement.

"You have a ring? Let me see! I know you have it on you!" Rory was practically shrieking with happiness now.

Lorelai smiled and reached into the pocket of her denim shorts, "You know me too well. We had this designed and it was ready last week, and I've carried it with me ever since." She produced a simple but elegant engagement ring, bordered with several smaller multicolored gems and a larger diamond in the middle. Rory grinned as she realized the smaller gems were opals, her own birthstone. The message was clear, Lorelai and Luke both wanted to include Rory when they created a family.

"It's beautiful." Rory said, softly, "Did you pick a date yet?"

"We waited for your input before deciding on anything related to the wedding. I wouldn't make any major decisions without telling you first." Lorelai said, smiling as her daughter examined the ring, before leaning over and slipping it onto her mom's left ring finger where it belonged.

"I say as soon as damn possible." Rory grinned mischievously, "I want the twin sister and brother you're supposedly giving me."

Lorelai held back a bark of laughter, "Oh, this happiness is a scheme to get a baby brother and sister?"

"A larger family always suited my interests." Rory grinned and shrugged.

Lorelai grinned for a moment, and her face turned solemn, "Would you please come home? It's lonely without you. Luke does his best, but he's no you."

Rory's face broke into an even wider smile, "If you'll have me."

Lorelai nodded, "Can we move you back tonight?"

Rory chuckled, "Sure, why not."

Lorelai bounced on the bench, and squealed with happiness, "Thanks, babe."

Rory looked out at the ocean, and realized that no one was in the water anymore. They were all seated on beach towels, and it looked as if they were having a snack. She grinned, and then turned back to her mom. Lorelai stood, and extended her hand to her daughter, which Rory took gratefully. Heading back to the beach where Willow and her family was, the duo swung their arms together, and Rory very nearly started skipping. She'd come here so miserable just a couple of hours ago, thinking her life couldn't get any worse, and now she was over the moon happy.

Willow and her family all looked up as Lorelai and Rory came back towards them. Rory reached the sand, and pulled her sandals back off. She loved feeling sand between her toes, but hated walking on pavement with bare feet. She smiled as they walked closer, and Willow stood to meet Lorelai and Rory.

"Hey, Rory, is it all good now?" Willow asked, smiling at her new friend.

Rory nodded, "Yeah. This is my mom, Lorelai. Mom, this is Willow."

Lorelai extended her hand, which Willow shook, "Nice to meet you. This is my family. Buffy, Xander, Dawn, Angel, and that's my wife, Tara." Willow pointed to each of them in turn and they smiled and waved at Lorelai.

"It's nice to meet you all. Thank you for being so nice to Rory and having her call me." Lorelai said.

Willow smiled, "Don't mention it. I just was never a fan of estrangement from family or friends." Willow cast a glance to Buffy and Xander, who smiled at her. Lorelai wondered what estrangement she was talking about, but since they were practically strangers, it wasn't exactly her business.

"Hey, you want to join us? We've got extra snacks." Buffy offered, nudging Angel so he would move over to make room. Rory noticed the gold ring on his finger, with a red gem imbedded in it. Buffy had an engagement ring on her left ring finger, but she'd taken it off when she was swimming. Angel had never taken the ring he was wearing off.

Lorelai smiled, "We've got snacks to share, too. Let me just run to the Jeep."

Rory watched her mom race to the Jeep, as she sat down between Dawn and Buffy. Dawn smiled at her as she rummaged through the cooler for more snacks. She watched as Willow sat back down next to Tara. The way Willow looked at Tara intrigued Rory. There was love and trust and compassion, naturally, but she sensed a hint of darkness and loss. Realization that she'd just observed that struck her, but she shook it back and took the pack of fruit snacks Dawn offered her. Feeling her presence, Rory looked up and watched as her mom raced back towards the group. Lorelai plopped down with an armload of goodies that could probably feed an entire school cafeteria for a month—or Lorelai and Rory for a day.

Rory's cell phone rang halfway through snack time. Pulling it out, she groaned, "It's Grandma." Rolling her eyes, she walked a few feet from the towels and answered, "Hi, Grandma."

"Rory!" Emily's shrill voice came over the line, "Dinner is in an hour! Where are you? When will you be home? You have been gone all day!"

"Sorry, Grandma. I just went to the beach and met these amazing people and they got me to call Mom, so she came here, and we're hanging out at the beach." Rory explained.

"Oh." Even Lorelai could hear Emily's disappointment from three feet away, "Are you coming back?"

"To get my stuff and go back to my own house, yes." Rory informed her. She could feel her mother's gloating without even looking at her.

"Oh." Emily said again, "We'll keep the light on for you in the pool house then."

"Thanks, Grandma. Thanks for everything. It's just time for me to go back to my rightful home." Rory said, sincerely. A strong feeling of happiness emanated from Lorelai, and Rory smiled at her mother.

"You're welcome, Rory. You are family, and your grandfather and I are here for you." Emily said, managing to hide her disappointment.

"I will always remember that. Mom and I will be by later tonight or tomorrow to get my stuff." Rory noticed Lorelai's eyes widen and she shook her head, mouthing 'No!' Rory looked at her sternly, and turned back to the conversation.

"All right, Rory. Goodbye." Emily said, her tone void of any emotion.

"Bye, Grandma." Rory beeped the phone off and headed back to her mom. Lorelai reached up and grabbed Rory's hand as she sat, and kissed her soft brown hair, happy that her daughter was coming home.

The End

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