TITLE Second Star From The Right
RATING PG-13-R
SUMMERY After the fire at the Independence Inn one of the guests sues Lorelai.
DISCLAIMER I own nothing. I don't even have the cash to buy the DVDs. All 'previously on' parts were written by Daniel Palladino and transcribed by a friend of mine who loves script-format writing so I apologize for the scriptiness of the beginning but once the story starts it won't be like that anymore, I promise.
NOTES 1) This story came to me one night when my insomnia was kicking my butt and I'd spent the day enjoying a GG marathon with some friends. I won't get into the original 'what if' that got this tale started because that would be spoilerish for later chapters, but I was very excited when I started writing this.
2) This is my first GG fic, but I constantly annoy my friends and family with my Lorelai-speak so I think I might be able to pull this off. Eventually this will become a Luke/Lorelai story, but, since, at the time that the episode happened in the world of Stars Hollow, Luke and Nicole (aka Satan's whiny hell spawn) were still seeing each other (yuck!) I couldn't just jump right in with the romance. There will be longings, though, since the almost-but-not-quite love affair between Luke and Lorelai was a mainstay from day one, frustrating fans much like the Harm/Mac situation on JAG.
3) I am not a fan of Jess, so he won't be sticking around for very long. Sorry for any Jess/Rory fans, but I can't write something I don't feel right about.
4) This chapter is shorter than the average will be, but I needed to end where I did for a reason.
PREVIOUSLY ON GILMORE GIRLS
RORY: Hmm, looks like Nicole's got a little Lindsay attitude going.
CHIEF BAKER: Ma'am, I'm Chief Baker.
LORELAI: Oh, I'm sorry I jumped on ya.
CHIEF BAKER: That's okay. The good news is that this is almost out. The structure's stable, and you're probably gonna be able to get back in in about twenty-four hours.
LORELAI: Excellent. Twenty-four hours, structure's stable, thank you.
LORELAI: Hi everybody. Good morning, and uh… whoa, talk about your change of plans here. Unfortunately, you, uh, can't get your stuff out for at least a day. However, if you wanna get home immediately, we will check planes, trains, whatever you need. We will send your stuff to you later as soon as we get it. But if you can't get home yet, we will provide everything short of anything illegal, and that's gonna start with the best breakfast of your lives.
LORELAI: We had a fire.
RORY: I know.
JESS: What caused it?
RORY: They're not sure. Something electrical, probably.
LUKE: I'm fine with the couch. You're the one that's exhausted.
LORELAI: You know, I'm actually not.
LUKE: Really?
LORELAI: I'm, like, strangely exhilarated. I mean, as awful as what happened today was, I'm happy with how I handled it. You know, you never know how you're gonna react in situations like this until something happens and I think I did pretty well.
LUKE: Yeah, I do, too.
LORELAI: Well, you have nothing to hide here. You just took in a refugee.
LUKE: I know there's nothing to hide. It's just that… you've kinda become a…
LORELAI: Become what?
LUKE: A sore point with me and Nicole.
LORELAI: Ooh, wow, total déjà vu.
LUKE: Really?
LORELAI: It's the alarm clock. I had a dream once that you set eighteen alarm clocks to get me up, which is not a bad way to get me up.
LUKE: Where were we?
LORELAI: We were, um, at my house. I got up, I went downstairs for coffee, and you talked to my stomach.
LUKE: Why on earth I do that?
LORELAI: Well, because I was pregnant. Twins.
LUKE: Mine?
LORELAI: What am I, dream tramp? Of course yours.
LUKE: We were married?
LORELAI: Um, yeah. Did I not mention that?
LUKE: No. You know, you shouldn't drink coffee when you're pregnant.
LORELAI: Uh, true.
LUKE: It's probably why Rory's a caffeine addict.
LORELAI: Right, you're right.
LUKE: Dream go beyond that?
LORELAI: No. Um, you talked to my stomach and then you kis… well, no.
LUKE: Oh, okay. Well… night.
LORELAI: Yeah, night.
AND SO IT BEGINS...
The Poe Society had finally gone home, Lorelai and Rory had their bedrooms back, and the clean up at the Independence Inn was starting the next morning, so things were good again in the lives of the Lorelai's Gilmore.
After spending most of the morning on the phone with employees trying to reassure them that they would still have jobs to come back to Lorelai went to Luke's, her safe haven where cell phone usage was prohibited and friendly faces abounded, for a late lunch.
"What can I get ya?" Luke asked, pencil poised over his notepad.
"Cheeseburger, fries, one of those blueberry scone things—heated and buttered liberally—and a vat of coffee," Lorelai said without a moment of hesitation. She had been looking forward to this meal since the night before but things had been so crazy with the Inn and dealing with the remaining guests that she hadn't been able to go to Luke's at all. She was experiencing some serious withdrawals and didn't enjoy the feelings one bit.
Luke groaned but wrote down the order and headed back to the kitchen to make sure Caesar wasn't slaking off again. Once he made sure Lorelai's order was placed he grabbed the coffee pot and went over to her table, filling the cup before sinking down into the chair across from her.
"You okay?" Lorelai asked, amused but also concerned. She had never seen Luke acting this way before. Luke sighed heavily. "Luke, you're scaring me," she said, amusement officially gone. She wasn't sure if it was a mothering instinct to a friend thing or maybe just her Luke-something's-funky-radar but whatever it was Lorelai was off the charts disturbed by Luke's current despondent attitude.
Angry Luke she could deal with. Ranting Luke was hilarious. Helpful Luke was heart-warming. Monosyllabic Luke was par for the course. But Depressed Luke was completely uncharted territory.
"Jess isn't going to school," Luke said. He took off his hat and hit the table with it angrily before replacing it on his head. "He's not going to school and he's lying about it and the stupid Wal-Mart guys with their stupid blue vests think he's a gift from the Gods or something and he's lying to Rory because she would never let him not go to school and she is the only good thing that has ever happened to him and he's going to screw it up."
Lorelai sighed softly. She didn't like Jess. She knew he was going to end up breaking her daughter's heart. She knew that he was going to break Luke's heart.
She really hadn't wanted to be right.
"Luke, first of all, Rory is not the only good thing in Jess' life. Coming here, living with you, has changed him. Sure, he's still not Mr. Congeniality but think about how much better things are now than when he came here in the first place," she said, reaching over and putting her hand on his. His skin was warm against her palm and she fought against the little jolt she got from the contact. "And, okay, if he's skipping school then he's definitely lying to both you and Rory, but it's not like he's knocking over liquor stores or pushing little old ladies into oncoming traffic. He's working, at a reputable company, at a job that he obviously likes because Jess is not the type of kid to do something he doesn't like for forty-plus hours a week. And, yes, not going to school is going to screw him over, but even if he would accept it he's too old for you to hold his hand and walk him from class to class."
"I know," Luke said somewhat reluctantly. "I just… I told him when he came back last year that he was going to go to school, that he was going to graduate, and that if he didn't do those things he was out."
"So… are you going to stick by that?" Lorelai asked. She was worried for Rory, but she was more worried for Luke. Rory would be fine. Break ups were easy to get over. A little wallowing, some girls-only time with friends, maybe some dating downtime, and then you're back to your usual self. Plus post-high school romances with high school sweethearts were notoriously problematic, and Lorelai knew that Rory knew that and was prepared for the eventuality that her relationship with Jess would peter off once she went to Yale. But Luke… Lorelai knew that he would see this as a failure on his part, even though he did everything he could to make sure that Jess got his act together. And failing was not something that Luke Danes had mastered. Lorelai doubted he even knew how to fail, despite what he said about failing if it was his destiny when he opened the diner.
"I don't know," Luke sighed. There were no other customers in the diner and Cesar was in the back with the radio on. "I don't want to do it, but I can't just let him live here and lie to everyone." He groaned in frustration before getting up to get Lorelai's food.
"Hey, Luke, why don't you get something to eat and join me?" Lorelai suggested as Luke moved around the counter and tables with practised ease. "Unless you've already eaten or can't stand being in my presence for a moment longer, that is," she added, giving him an out in case he wanted it. She really hoped he didn't, though.
Luke flashed her a smile and disappeared into the kitchen for a minute, returning with a salad for himself. Lorelai grinned and waited for Luke to sit down before starting to eat her meal. They ate and chatted about unimportant things—how Papaya the cat had taken up residence at Miss Patty's studio, the squeaky step leading up to Lorelai's bedroom, the merits and horrors of baseball movies and all the other things that they never really got around to talking about. It was nice. Almost like the night they had watched Sookie and Jackson on their first date while playing poker at the counter. That had been a good night.
"More coffee?" Luke asked, glancing at the empty coffee cup that sat in front of Lorelai.
"No, I should get going. Chief Baker wants to go over some things before the clean up crew comes 'round," Lorelai said, fumbling through her purse to find her wallet. She located it and pulled some bills from inside, dropping them on the table without asking how much she needed to pay. It was automatic mental math that both she and Rory did whenever they ordered. She stood up and pulled on her jacket. "Thanks again for letting me crash at your place the other night. That was way above and beyond the call."
Luke shook his head, a soft smile gracing his lips. "You needed help. Besides, Mrs. Slutsky was about to pull out her shotgun. I had to do something," he said, trying to play it off like it was nothing.
"What is Mrs. Slutsky doing with a shotgun?" Lorelai frowned.
"She got it the day Jess moved in," Luke said before turning to tend to another customer. Lorelai rolled her eyes and tramped down the urge to ask Luke again what he was going to do about the Jess situation. It wasn't the right time, she decided, though she made a note to talk to him about it later.
Lorelai called a quick goodbye as she left the diner, knowing she would be back in a few hours for dinner and company since Rory was working on something at the Franklin and would be late since she was acting editor while Paris was away and with the fire and everything she had procrastinated too much already. She got in her Jeep and drove to the Inn where the Fire Chief had set up a tent that was acting as his office and headquarters for all things post-fire related.
Chief Baker wasn't there yet, but there was a black BMW parked outside the Inn. Lorelai frowned, praying it wasn't someone who hadn't heard the news about the Inn being closed until the damage was repaired. As she parked her car the driver's side door of the BMW opened and a young man in a dark suit stepped out, sunglasses perched on his nose.
"Lorelai Victoria Gilmore?" the suit asked as she got out of the Jeep.
"That's me. Can I help you?" she asked, nervous. She had never liked being full-named by her parents and having a total stranger do it was not a good sign.
The suit handed her an envelope. She took it and frowned. "You have been served," he said. "Have a nice day," he tossed over his shoulder before heading back to his car.
Okay, that was chapter one. I decided to jump right into the problem in the story because I couldn't have too much of a lead-in without giving everything away.
What did you think?
Mel