A/N- Reviews may replace oxygen for me. Though, that might be a little drastic. Still, I need more suggestions.
A/N 2- Questions! I don't know about Summer and Marissa. I've been toying with the idea, and it's a definite possibility. Keep your eyes open... I'm gonna repeat this for the people who reviewed that it's not believable- this is a different story than the show. Different characters, different situations. But, also, I'm setting up for something here. The adoption will go through, but I'm setting up for some drama here. Again, keep your eyes open. Not quite yet, but soon... I will have the dance, but it probably won't go exactly the way the one on the show did. Probably similar, though... The rules for guessing are posted in the chapter when Lorelai finds out she's pregant. I think that one's Life Changes. Or Beginnings. Whichever came first... The movies are just my favorites. I have a few lined up for the next few chapters... K that was a lot this time.
A/N 3- NOTE! NOTE! Please be sure that you've read the chapter before this. This story has been updated twice in one weekend.
Dedicated to: Everyone who knew that the movie in the last chapter was Airplane! That would be: Lonnie, Chelsea (You're back! Yay!), Kate, Beatlechicksteph, Du Grey, Dewster, Pepper, Bubbles, andGiraffe. I love that freakin' movie!
New Challenge: Ok, this one's ridiculously easy, so don't be ashamed to guess. You'll probably get it right. I wasn't even really trying thistime. What movie is Rory watching in the first scene? Same rules as always apply.
Disclaimer: I'm too tired to own anything.
Nowhere to Go
Rory sat on the couch in her den, an Afghan knitted by her mother draped over her small body. She resisted the urge to say the lines along with the movie she was watching, but left well-enough alone and settled for only watching.
"Who's that then?"
"I dunno, must be a king."
"Why?"
"He hasn't got shit all over him." She began to laugh, but was distracted as Lorelai ran frantically into the room.
Rory watched her mother curiously as she leapt to the window and yanked it open.
"Hey!" Rory protested, "It's cold out!"
"It smells like snow." Rory shook her head,
"I know it does. You've already said that three times today. Doesn't mean we should freeze."
"Just for a little while. Scooch," she shooed her daughter down the couch and Rory offered her half of the afghan. They sat together, shivering from happiness about the snow and chilliness from the cold December air.
"Mom, this can't be good for the twins."
"They're upstairs, asleep in the nursery with the heat turned on. They're in no danger. Trust me."
"Well, then, this can't be good for me. I'm freezing. Why won't you close it?"
"Because I'm the mommy. I hold power here. Just smell the snow."
"You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you," Rory joked. Lorelai laughed,
"Oh, you're watching this again."
"Of course." Lorelai pulled her daughter close to her,
"I love this time of year."
"I know you do," Rory breathed; now was as good a time as ever to bring it up, "Mom, I need to talk to you about something."
"Uh-oh. What's up with the puppy-dog look?" Rory shook her head,
"Grandma and Grandpa..." Lorelai cut her off,
"Never has a good conversation in the Danes' household started with those words."
"Mom... Grandma and Grandpa asked me to bring Hannah and Joshy to dinner on Friday." Lorelai laughed maniacally,
"Hannah and Joshy? Why are we subjecting them to this?"
"Mom..." Lorelai interrupted her again,
"This is your thing. Why are they trying to make you bring your brother and sister? Corrupt them while they're young? You're practically grown. They can't change you now. But Joshy could be that perfect Yale man with a curly mustache and those weird pantaloon things. And Hannie could be the perfect little lady in pink lacy gowns curtsying at age two while asking about the boost in the economy..." Rory knew that the rant wasn't directed at her; she was going to attempt to make her mother see reason. The best way to do that was to first bring her back to the movie,
"Look, Alice..."
"Herbert," Lorelai answered immediately.
"Right, Herbert..." They each glanced back at the tv before Rory continued, "They're their grandchildren, mom. They missed out on the early years with me. They don't wanna go through that with Josh and Hannah. It'll just be one night. We can dress Hannie up in a cute little pink dress and dress Joshy up like a groom. C'mon. It'll be fun getting them in those cute little outfits." Lorelai sighed, resigned,
"Can I dress Josh up like daddy?" Rory shrugged,
"I'm not sure how good of an idea that is, but if you really want to, it's ok. I think Grandma just wants to see him." Lorelai sighed,
"Fine."
"Thank you." Lorelai stuck her tongue out playfully,
"Yeah, well, I fart in your general direction!"
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Later that week, Lorelai and Rory met the Cohens out front of their house and began to walk towards Miss Patty's dance studio for the town meeting.
"Where's Luke?" asked Sandy, closing the front door behind him.
"He's cleaning a few things up at the diner so he can leave it with Caesar while he goes to the town meeting."
"And Jess?" asked Seth, zipping up his coat.
"He volunteered to stay home with the twins. Said he has a test to study for tomorrow anyway." Kirsten eyed Seth curiously,
"Seth, don't you and Jess have practically the same schedule?"
"Close. I don't have any major tests tomorrow."
"Any major tests?" she repeated, "Well, do you have any minor tests tomorrow?"
"Oh, yeah. Six," his mother glared at him furiously, "Kidding, mom. Kidding."
"You'd better be. You worked hard to get into that school," the boys imitated her behind her back, "Don't mess it up."
Five minutes later, they arrived at the town meeting, late, of course.
"Well, the Cohen and Danes families are here. Now we can start," Taylor announced sarcastically from his perch on the podium.
"Aww, that's sweet, Taylor. Thanks for thinking of us." He shook his head and scratched at his beard,
"Lorelai, what kind of message are you teaching your children, coming late to every town event?" Lorelai shrugged and threw her arm around Rory,
"That we're worth waiting for." Taylor sighed,
"Honestly, Lorelai. Just take a seat."
"Yessir," she saluted jokingly, taking a seat towards the back of the room, near Lane. She scanned the room for her husband as everyone sat next to her.
"Where's dad?" asked Rory, following her mother's lead.
"Maybe he's late?" Ryan suggested; Rory shot him a skeptical glance,
"And maybe Hell just stood up and said 'Huh, I'm sick of being hot. I wonder what it's like to be a tundra. Maybe I'll transform.'"
"Got it. It's not likely that Luke's late."
"No," she shook her head. The mayor, standing next to Taylor, forged on about leash laws, but no one paid any attention until the mayor mentioned,
"This coming Friday is the anniversary of the legendary Battle of Stars Hollow." Everyone applauded, but Rory, Lorelai, and the Cohens began to look more frantically for Luke.
"Do you see him?" whispered Lorelai. Ryan pointed up towards the third row,
"Up there."
"Penny will be circulating a sign up sheet for those of you who would like to participate in the reenactment of foresaid battle," the mayor babbled. Rory watched her father in amusement; one of her earliest childhood memories were Luke's yearly blowups about the Battle of Stars Hollow,
"He's turning red."
"He's so sexy when he does that," Lorelai joked.
"All right. It was a frigid November night, some 224 years ago." They all watched the pained look on Luke's face from the side as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The mayor continued, "The brave Stars Hollow militia stood in wait for the Red Coats."
"He's adjusting the cap," Rory subconsciously moved her hand to her head, unwittingly adjusting an imaginary cap on her head.
"That reminds me," Lorelai leaned to her daughter, "I need to get Daddy a new hat. Next time we go shopping." Rory nodded and the mayor kept talking, though very few people were actually listening; most people were focused on Luke's strenuous attempts to prevent himself from interrupting, "Tired and hungry, twelve proud men took their positions in the town's square, braving the elements..."
"He's got that look on his face. Like when you wanted to have a sleepover in the diner and he said no, but you puppy-dog-eyed him and he gave in." Rory nodded.
"That ended with the entire diner covered in cherry pie," Kirsten remembered.
"My money's betting that there will be cherry pie all over the place by the time this is over."
"Last year it was pudding." Ryan leaned over and laughed,
"Not that that was Luke's fault," he glanced pointedly at Lorelai, who held up her hands defensively,
"Hey, the pudding was there and I just assumed it had a purpose."
"...and imminent death in their valiant efforts..."
"Oh, for G-d's Sake, do we have to go through this every damn year!" Everyone turned to face Luke, who had finally exploded.
"Yes!" Lorelai celebrated, "Someone's gonna be great entertainment tonight!"
"Daddy can never resist the urge," Rory laughed.
"I thought we were here to discuss town issues. I don't bring my kids here so they can listen to you drone on about something completely stupid and unimportant!"
"This is a town issue," defended Taylor.
"Excuse me, who's talking?"
"It's me, Harry, Luke. You've known me since I was 5 years old. You've known my kids since they were born."
"Oh, Luke, yes. Sit down. Now as I was saying, twelve heroic men assembled with guns drawn ready to meet their maker." Luke cut him off,
"What are you talking about? Twelve guys stood in a row all night."
"Waiting for the Red Coats."
"Who never showed!"
"Now just a minute!"
"Twelve guys stood in a row all night waiting for an enemy that never showed. They got stood up. They should've been wearing prom dresses. It's my daughter's worst nightmare!"
"I've had just about enough of this," Taylor blurted.
"Sit down, Taylor."
"Menace."
"Suck-up."
"Five bucks says your father puts Taylor in a headlock."
"That's not even a fair bet. You know he will." Rory was brought back to the argument by Luke's voice,
"Have any of you ever considered the fact that you're glorifying a war we fought so we could keep land that we stole?"
"If you don't like it here in America, why don't you go stand in line for toilet paper in the USSR!"
"There is no more USSR," Rory whispered to her mother.
"There is no more USSR, Harry," Luke said to the mayor.
"So much like your father it's scaaaary..." Lorelai said in a sing-song voice. They watched Luke argue with Taylor and Harry for another five minutes before the meeting was adjourned, and Luke stomped towards the back of the room, finding his family and friends waiting for him. He looked at his daughter and her friends,
"Remember the time that Taylor asked you guys if you wanted to be the narrators?" they all nodded, "Did I ever tell you why I don't want you guys to do it?" Rory shook her head and Seth jumped excitedly,
"Tell us! Tell us!"
"Down, boy," instructed Ryan, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Why?" asked Sandy; he was against his children participating, also, but he always assumed Luke had a more valid reason than "This is ridiculous. My boys can't participate in something so inane." Luke sighed and wrapped his arm around Rory,
"Your grandfather used to make me do this. When I was a little kid. I was always the one with the most lines, and Lizzie was always the girl."
"Who was the second boy?" Luke shook his head in disbelief,
"When we were younger, it was Andrew. Then, we got older, and it was..." he paused for a second, "Could you imagine Kirk dressed in period costume?" Sandy nodded,
"Sadly, yes."
"Daddy, don't you have that pic..." Luke cut her off,
"Where did you find that?"
"Back of your closet. Remember when I was looking for shoeboxes for my school project a few years back, and mom told me to look in there? You had a whole shoebox of pictures. I just sat there and looked through them." Luke raised his eyebrows,
"You kept a secret all this time?"
"Didn't know it was a secret. Just looked like a picture of some kids dressed up in stupid clothes to me."
"It was. I hated doing it. It was so embarrassing."
"Why did you do it?" Luke shrugged,
"My dad liked doing it, and I wanted to make him happy, so I never fought him on it." Everyone nodded, understanding. As they began the walk home, Luke offered, "Anybody hungry?" Rory and Lorelai nodded enthusiastically; the Cohens shrugged,
"Sure." They redirected themselves and walked towards the diner.
"Ror, you're going to your grandparents' tomorrow, right?" asked Ryan, sidling up next to his girlfriend. Rory snuck a glance at her mother,
"Yeah... Daddy?"
"What's up?" She inhaled; she wasn't quite sure what his reaction was going to be,
"I'm... Grandma and Grandpa... tomorrow..." she stuttered. Luke looked at Lorelai,
"Do I wanna know?"
"Grandma and Grandpa want me to bring Hannah and Josh to dinner tomorrow night," she held her hands up as if to shield herself, but her father surprised her by shrugging,
"Ok." She narrowed her eyes and stared him down,
"Ok?"
"Yeah. Ok."
"I'm... um... I'm gonna take them early. That way we can be in and out, and Grandma wants to spend time with them. I'm gonna get right home and just get changed and then I'm gonna go. Take them."
"Just make sure that you give Josh his medicine before you go. He's been coughing a bit lately." Rory, perplexed, decided not to push her luck,
"Ok, daddy... Umm... Thanks," she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, scurrying away before he could comprehend what she had asked. Lorelai leaned over,
"Hi, you have to fill me in on exactly why you gave into subjecting our babies to that so easily." Luke whispered into his wife's ear,
"Jess is going out with Seth and Ryan tomorrow night. If Rory takes the twins, we have the house to ourselves." Lorelai, smiling broadly, kissed him quickly,
"Smart man. I knew I married you for a reason." He shrugged,
"Someone had to think ahead."
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"It's Friday," muttered Seth.
"It's Friday," repeated Jess.
"It's Friday," sighed Ryan, "and we're pathetically sitting at home."
"By ourselves."
"Why again?" Jess sat up from his space on the floor of Ryan's bedroom,
"Because my girlfriend has her cousins over, your girlfriend," he pointed to Ryan, "has gone to her grandparents' house, and your girlfriend," he pointed at Seth, "has an insane evangelical mother who won't let her out of the house without my mom taking her by the hand." Seth shrugged,
"I love Lane, though. Never promised to love her mother."
"So what should we do tonight?" All three boys sat and pondered before Ryan spoke up,
"Miss Patty's having that stand-up show tonight. We could head over there." Jess nodded,
"Not a bad idea."
"Doesn't start until seven, though."
"So?" Jess stood up, "That's never stopped us before. Let's head into town now, grab some snacks, go into the studio, and get the best seats."
"We have nothing better to do."
"Let's go."
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Emily picked up the phone and dialed her daughter. Michel answered the phone, and then handed it to Lorelai. She heard her daughter mumble something about rain coming and the rustling of the phone passing hands as Lorelai picked up,
"Hello?"
"Hello, Lorelai, it's your mother."
"Which one?"
"Lorelai," she instantly grew frustrated.
"No, I'm Lorelai."
"Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, you know perfectly well who this is."
"Ohhh. My mother. Yes, yes, I remember you now. How are you?"
"Lorelai, I don't have time for your games right now. There's a terrible snowstorm down here and it's heading your way."
"I think it's actually just about here, mom."
"Ok, well, tell Rory to stay home tonight. I don't want her driving in this weather."
"You know, I would, mom, but Rory left over a half hour ago."
"She what?"
"Yeah. She came home from school, grabbed the twins and their stuff, and hightailed out of here before I could ask her how to spell 'hippopotamus'."
"Why did you need to know that?"
"I have my reasons." Emily sighed,
"Alright, well, I suppose it's safer for her to finish the drive here than to turn around and spend another half hour on the road. She's probably nearly here."
"Ok."
"And you know, the children should probably spend the night tonight also." Lorelai, though she hated to admit it, knew her mother was right on this issue; she didn't want three of her children on the road in this weather,
"Ok."
"And if it's still bad tomorrow..."
"Mom, why don't you wait and see what the weather does before you fill out a change of address card for them." Just then, Rory, carrying two carseats, entered the living room,
"Hey, Grandma."
"Rory's here." Lorelai furrowed her brow,
"Please say that she has the twins."
"Of course she has Hannah and Joshua, Lorelai. What on earth made you think she didn't?"
"You just didn't... you need to... Put her on a sec."
"Rory or Hannah?"
"Mom!"
"Sorry. Just trying to see what it's like having your sense of humor," Emily handed the phone to Rory, who gently put the carseats, both covered in blankets, on the coffee table, "Rory, it's your mother." Rory nodded and picked up the phone, watching her grandmother pretend not to mind the possible scratches that the babies' seats could make,
"Hey."
"Hi. Things bad out there, huh?"
"It's crazy. There's snow coming down everywhere, and let me just tell you, saddle shoes are not the best all-weather footwear. Especially when you're carrying an extra twenty pounds of fussy weight."
"Aw, the twins aren't cooperating?"
"If you call Hannah needing two diaper changes and Josh spitting out his pacifier and screaming his head off the entire drive over not cooperating."
"Yikes. I'm sorry."
"Not your fault. Have them one at a time next time."
"I promise that I'll try."
"Ok. Thanks... Well, we can take our snow walk tomorrow night?"
"Absolutely. All right, now, honey, tell Grandma that you three arrived there not a member of the Junior League, I'd like you all to leave there the same way."
"Call to say goodnight."
"I will. Bye." Rory hung up the phone and turned to face her grandmother, who announced,
"Joshua's sleeping." Sure, now he falls asleep.
"Yeah, he does that. He'll be up within an hour, I'm sure. He'll be hungry."
"Are you?"
"Asleep?"
"No, though it appears that you did inherit your mother's sense of humor. Are you hungry?"
"A little."
"Ok, well, I'm gonna go get in touch with our cook. We'll have something whipped up by the time your brother wakes up." When did Fruit Rollups go out of style?
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Seth, Ryan, and Jess, laughing and throwing Salt and Vinegar chips, entered Miss Patty's dance studio, shutting the door tightly behind them.
"You idiot," Jess joked, laughing at Seth.
"What? I thought the lyrics were 'Ain't no lie, baby, pie, pie, pie.'"
"Who did you think wrote the song?"
"I don't know. Chris Kirkpatrick looks like he could enjoy the occasional pastry!"
"You're a moron."
"This is exactly why I don't listen to pop music." They walked up the rows of chairs, but stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of a familiar head,
"Kirk?" They all gawked in disbelief. Kirk turned awkwardly in his seat and greeted them stiffly,
"Hello, boys."
"Kirk, what are you doing here?"
"I'm waiting for the show to start."
"It doesn't start for another hour."
"I wanted a good seat. I figured this one is perfect. Near the middle, but not so near the middle that I get spit on by the comedians."
"You have to be kidding me." They were so immersed in their conversation that none of them heard the click come from the door behind them.
"Oh, no. Some of these comedians can get a lot of leverage with their spit." Ryan shook his head, but walked to the second row and took seats, continuing to joke and tease. Kirk turned around rigidly again,
"Are you boys going to be acting like this through the entire show?"
"The show doesn't start until seven, Kirk. We aren't interrupting anything."
"You're interrupting my preshow meditation ritual."
"Your what?"
"Just please stop talking."
"Alright, Kirk." The boys sat quietly for a full three minutes, but soon got antsy. They stood up together and, stifling laughter, began to rifle around the room. One poster caught Ryan's eye,
"Hey, guys, did you see this?" The boys shuffled over to read the sign that Ryan was looking at. It had been hastily written on a spare piece of computer paper in Miss Patty's handwriting.
Patty's comedy party has been postponed until further notice due to questionable weather.
Thank you,
Miss Patty
Seth sighed,
"Another night shot." The boys turned to the door to pull it open, but found it impossible to do so, "Guys, it isn't opening."
"Seth, you wimp. It's a little frozen and you can't open it." Ryan went over to pull the door open, but found that he couldn't either. Jess laughed,
"Cohen men. Try to act all macho, but deep down you couldn't open a pickle jar," Jess teased jokingly, trying (and failing) to open the door.
"Someone must've locked it from the outside," Ryan commented.
"Crap." Seth began banging on the door,
"HELP! HELP! WE'RE TRAPPED IN HERE AND KIRK IS MEDITATING!" Ryan shook his head and pulled his brother away from the door,
"Forget it, Seth. Everyone's at home or at the reenactment. We're locked in."
"Should we call our parents?" asked Jess, pulling out his cellphone. Ryan nodded, but Seth suddenly became excited,
"No! No, don't!"
"What?"
"Don't call them. This could actually be one of the best nights we've ever had."
"Seth, the snow's making you a bit loopy."
"No, think about it. We could have this place and just hang out. We have food. It's heated. We have a bathroom. Just call mom and dad and tell them we're fine and we're spending the night at a friend's house." Ryan grinned,
"Seth has a good idea."
"For once." Kirk seemed to be shaken from his odd reverie,
"What's going on?"
"We're spending the night here tonight."
"We're WHAT! No! Mother would never allow that!" Seth grinned,
"Mother doesn't need to know."
"Mother will know. She knows everything. She sees everything."
"Your mother is not omnipotent, Kirk."
"She is. A doctor prescribed medicine to take care of it," Jess, Ryan, and Seth eyed each other curiously, "I'm going to call her and get out of here." The boys quickly formulated a silent plan. Ryan put his hands on Kirk's as Jess pulled Kirk's cellphone out of his hand, and Seth pulled out a bag of Doritos from the Doose's bag in his hand,
"Look, Kirk. Look what we have."
"Oh, Doritos," he breathed excitedly, "I like Doritos."
"You can have some, too, if you promise not to call your mother." Kirk grappled with the idea for a moment,
"You promise she can't see us right now?"
"Yes."
"Gimme the Doritos."
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"Well, I just don't understand why you waited so late to call. . . Are you sure? . . . Fine. . .All right, yes, goodbye," she slammed the phone back onto its cradle, "Well, I don't know what I'm gonna do now."
"What's the problem, Emily?" asked Richard, looking up from the now-awake Joshua.
"The problem is that apparently Florence cannot get here because of the storm."
"Florence?"
"Our cook."
"Ah. Well, we'll just have to go out then."
"Oh, please, Richard, pay attention. We can't go out. It's miserable out there. Especially to put the children in such danger."
"Well, we'll figure something out then."
"What? What will we figure out?" Gotta love the self-sufficient women of the new Millenium.
"Well, I don't know, but..."
"I hate the damn snow." Mom's right, though. It's magical.
"Emily, calm down."
"This is a serious problem. These Friday dinners are the only proper food that child eats all week," she pointed at Rory, who innocently bottle-fed her sister.
"Rory, are you or any of your siblings in any way malnourished or in need of some international relief organization to recruit a celebrity to raise money on your account?"
"We're good."
"They're good, Emily."
"Your sense of humor rears its ugly head at the oddest of times, Richard." Someone's a bit dramatic, now, aren't we.
"Emily, I am not the mastermind behind some great scheme to spoil your dinner plans and I don't care to be treated as such."
"So you're fine with having no dinner tonight, is that it?"
"I certainly am not." Rory put Hannah back into her carseat,
"Hey, how about I check the fridge? I'm sure there's something in there we could whip up."
"Whip up?" Unfamiliar with the words?
"Yeah, come on. It'll be fun, I promise."
"Well, come on, Mr. We'll Figure it Out." Rory picked Hannah back up and allowed her grandfather to carry Josh into the kitchen. They opened the fridge and her grandmother sighed angrily,
"Nothing."
"Not a blessed thing." Rory leaned forward,
"Hey, there's frozen pizza." Emily seemed perplexed,
"How in the world did that get there?"
"Maybe you bought it and forgot about it."
"I have never bought frozen pizza. It must belong to Anna." Old cook?
"The maid." I was close.
"Yes."
"Ah, got one." I would be proud, too. Rory pulled out the pizza and shifted her sister, handing her to Emily.
"What are you doing?" I'm gonna make a hoverdisc to send for help.
"I'm gonna make it."
"Oh, Rory, you're not serious."
"That hardly looks like dinner."
"I agree. Rory, that's food you eat at a carnival, or in a Turkish prison."
"I promise you're gonna love it."
"But..."
"Listen, just leave it up to me. You guys go back into the living room, play with Hannah and Joshy, and I'll call you when it's ready," resigned, they headed back to the living room, "Hey, Grandma?"
"Yes?"
"What are the odds of you knowing where a cookie sheet would be?"
"I'd say very slim."
"Never mind. I'll find it."
"Very slim? Thank you for that." I don't think she's kidding.
Later that night, Rory set up her brother and sister in the extra clothes that she had packed for them in the diaper bag, placing their carseats on the floor of her mother's bedroom. After kissing them each on the forehead and bidding them a goodnight (for now; she knew they'd be up by three AM), she changed into a spare nightgown and climbed into bed. Glad to have allowed the twins to spend time with their grandparents, she leaned over and flicked the light.
Believe it or not, I think I made the right choice.
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Ryan, Seth, Jess, and Kirk sat in a circle, their smorgasbord of junk food placed directly in the middle of them. They had pushed the folding chairs to the far corners of the room, played games of Ding-Dong hockey (A variation of Lorelai and Rory's bagel hockey), candy basketball, and Name that Tune (which was Kirk's suggestion, but quickly went spiraling downhill as Seth and Jess began humming Because I Got High and Baby Got Back. Kirk had shoved his fingers into his ears and began singing My Mommy Always Comes Back to drown out the noise). At this point, they were playing a game of their own version of To Tell the Truth with host Seth Ezekiel (He had decided that his stage name would be sans last name; it was more Rock N' Roll that way, he had explained).
"Kirk Gleason, your question. What is your dream life?" Kirk stood up and took the Baby Bottle-Pop that Seth used for a microphone,
"Well, Mr. Ezekiel, there are many facets to a dream life. My dream life consists of being married to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with our 18 beautiful Ginsburg children- four sets of twins and two sets of triplets included, of course..."
"Of course," Seth agreed, shooting his brother and friend a skeptical glance. Kirk continued,
"We'd live in a nice three-bedroom house. Painted half sky-blue, the other half lavender, with red shudders in the window. Our children would play 'Commercial Actor' out front and then they'd come in asking for their favorite food. Smoked Salmon is delicious... Oh! And I'd be head mailman." Ryan nodded,
"Perfectly respectable."
"I thought so." Seth took back the faux microphone,
"Ryan, your turn." He turned to his brother and looked up,
"What's my question?"
"Ryan Cohen. What I want to know is... what do you think of teenage relationships?" Ryan sighed,
"What do I think? I think that they're a good idea. I don't... I don't know if I believe in all of that 'we're old enough to get married before we can drive' nonsense, but I do believe in teenage love. I mean, I love my girlfriend, but we're too young to do anything so drastic."
"What about taking your relationship a step further?" Kirk, perplexed, asked,
"What's he talking about?" Ryan ignored him,
"Not unless my girlfriend's ready," he answered, making sure to eye Jess, who was watching him with conviction; he was fiercely protective of Rory. Jess, satistfied, nodded,
"I guess that's an acceptable answer."
"I thought so."
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The next morning, Miss Patty came and opened the dance studio to find three town teenagers and Kirk fast asleep on the floor, food surrounding them. She had laughed it off and woken them up, explaining that next time, they should let their parents know where they were (The heat could've blown). They had apologized and headed towards the diner where they found Rory seated with her mother and siblings, eating breakfast.
"Hey," greeted Ryan, kissing her on the cheek, "You're back?"
"Yeah. Had a little sleepover with the grandparents, though."
"Well, make sure you put the keg back. That thing can leak all over the place."
"I did. How was your night? What'd you wind up doing?" Jess shrugged,
"Learning about Kirk's dreams for the future."
"Anything anyone else would ever wish for?" Seth shook his head,
"Gotta give him credit for being an individual."